Dracula, The Hunters' Journals: 23 August Dr. Seward's Diary (Cont.)

Dr. Seward continues to monitor Renfield.

23 August.—“The unexpected always happens.” How well Disraeli knew life. Our bird when he found the cage open would not fly, so all our subtle arrangements were for nought. At any rate, we have proved one thing; that the spells of quietness last a reasonable time. We shall in future be able to ease his bonds for a few hours each day. I have given orders to the night attendant merely to shut him in the padded room, when once he is quiet, until an hour before sunrise. The poor soul’s body will enjoy the relief even if his mind cannot appreciate it. Hark! The unexpected again! I am called; the patient has once more escaped.

 

Later.—Another night adventure. Renfield artfully waited until the attendant was entering the room to inspect. Then he dashed out past him and flew down the passage. I sent word for the attendants to follow. Again he went into the grounds of the deserted house, and we found him in the same place, pressed against the old chapel door. When he saw me he became furious, and had not the attendants seized him in time, he would have tried to kill me. As we were holding him a strange thing happened. He suddenly redoubled his efforts, and then as suddenly grew calm. I looked round instinctively, but could see nothing. Then I caught the patient’s eye and followed it, but could trace nothing as it looked into the moonlit sky except a big bat, which was flapping its silent and ghostly way to the west. Bats usually wheel and flit about, but this one seemed to go straight on, as if it knew where it was bound for or had some intention of its own. The patient grew calmer every instant, and presently said:—

“You needn’t tie me; I shall go quietly!” Without trouble we came back to the house. I feel there is something ominous in his calm, and shall not forget this night....

Notes: Moon Phase: Waning Crescent

There is no evidence of Benjamin Disraeli (or any other Disraeli) ever saying the quote above. It is an English proverb recorded for the first time in the 19th Century; when Dracula was published and Disraeli was PM.

Renfield is obviously a lot smarter than Seward is giving him credit for.  He is also focused on something that Seward doesn't quiet yet see.

#RPGaDAY2024 Peerless Player / Amazing Anecdote

There are so many choices again here as well. Hard to narrow it down really.

So I am going to with "Amazing Anecdote" instead.

A couple years back we were all at Gen Con waiting to get into the Dealer room. I had been commenting to my wife and kids that the crowd seemed younger, and far more diverse than in previous years. We also noted more families.

As we were walking by two young women, likely in their late teens or early twenties, were going the other direction. One was telling the other, "I love it here, this is one of the few places I can really feel like I am being myself."

I can completely relate!

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I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

#RPGaDAY2024 Notable Non-player Character

 I have a lot of characters. Often times, the difference between a PC and an NPC is only "Am I running this game."

One of my favorite NPCs is my unquestionably evil necromancer / warlock Magnus. 

I have had this guy for a few decades now really. He began as a Death Master from Dragon Magazine #76, expanded on him a bit more when Quagmire came out, and he got a big boost in college when he became my big bad for my "Atlantean" campaign. 

I created my Death Pact Warlock to make sure I could use him in my Basic-era games, too. 

One thing I've never done is play Magnus as a PC. However, I'm now experimenting by using the Dread Lord mod for Warlocks in Baldur's Gate 3. He's currently a 2nd level warlock, but I plan to give him some levels in Wizard (Necromancer). I'm playing him as a 'Dark Urge', which is a change from my usual preference for good characters fighting evil. 

Maybe I'll even hire some NPCs and mod them to be Runu and Urnu. I have a witch mod (naturally) for BG3, so that actually might be fun. I'll have to see if I can manage that.

I'll have to keep you all posted. 

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I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

Dracula, The Hunters' Journals: 21 August Letter, Messrs. Carter, Paterson & Co., London

 Letter detailing the delivery of Dracula's boxes of Earth.

Letter, Messrs. Carter, Paterson & Co., London, to Messrs. Billington & Son, Whitby.

“21 August.

“Dear Sirs,—

“We beg to acknowledge £10 received and to return cheque £1 17s. 9d, amount of overplus, as shown in receipted account herewith. Goods are delivered in exact accordance with instructions, and keys left in parcel in main hall, as directed.

“We are, dear Sirs,
“Yours respectfully.
“Pro Carter, Paterson & Co.”

Notes: Moon Phase: Waning Crescent

The biggest question here is, how do we know about this letter? All correspondences are assumed to have been collected by Mina and organized.  But how did she obtain these letters?

Were they discovered by our hunters when they went and searched for clues? I mean I am sure Holmwood could demand to see them, he was a Lord afterall.

In any case they got them and it helped to track down the boxes.

#RPGaDAY2024 Classic Campaign

 For today I have to talk about my Order of the Platinum Dragon campaign of my massive Come Endless Darkness romp through all the Classic D&D adventures. 

Since D&D 5 came out I have been running my family through the "Gygaxian Classics." while we technically started with B1 In Search of the Unknown with AD&D 1st ed, we quickly moved to D&D 5.  From here we did B2 Keep on the Borderlands and moved through the Great Greyhawk Campaign.

Our order of games has been:

• T1 Village of Hommlet (forgotten by the characters, played as a flashback after I6)
• B1 In Search of the Unknown (Gen Con Game)
• B2 Keep on the Borderlands
• L1 The Secret of Bone Hill  (Gen Con Game)
• X2 Castle Amber
• I6 Ravenloft (Gen Con Game)
• C2 Ghost Tower of Inverness
• A1-5 Slave Lords
• C1 The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
• G123, G4 Against the Giants  (Gen Con Game)
• D12, 3 Descent into the Depths of the Earth, Vault of the Drow
• Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits (Gen Con Game)

I wanted my family to have the "Classic D&D Experience) with this.  Communities are often defined by the stories they share. These are the stories we all share.  How did you defeat Strahd? Did you shout 'Bree Yark'? What did you do in the Hill Giant's dining room?   Did you survive the Demonweb?

For various reasons we have not finished the last part of the Demonweb. Maybe we will one day.  I would like to hope so.

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I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

Dracula, The Hunters' Journals: 20 August Dr. Seward's Diary (Cont.)

Dr. Seward continues to monitor Renfield.

20 August.—The case of Renfield grows even more interesting. He has now so far quieted that there are spells of cessation from his passion. For the first week after his attack he was perpetually violent. Then one night, just as the moon rose, he grew quiet, and kept murmuring to himself: “Now I can wait; now I can wait.” The attendant came to tell me, so I ran down at once to have a look at him. He was still in the strait-waistcoat and in the padded room, but the suffused look had gone from his face, and his eyes had something of their old pleading—I might almost say, “cringing”—softness. I was satisfied with his present condition, and directed him to be relieved. The attendants hesitated, but finally carried out my wishes without protest. It was a strange thing that the patient had humour enough to see their distrust, for, coming close to me, he said in a whisper, all the while looking furtively at them:—

“They think I could hurt you! Fancy me hurting you! The fools!”

It was soothing, somehow, to the feelings to find myself dissociated even in the mind of this poor madman from the others; but all the same I do not follow his thought. Am I to take it that I have anything in common with him, so that we are, as it were, to stand together; or has he to gain from me some good so stupendous that my well-being is needful to him? I must find out later on. To-night he will not speak. Even the offer of a kitten or even a full-grown cat will not tempt him. He will only say: “I don’t take any stock in cats. I have more to think of now, and I can wait; I can wait.”

After a while I left him. The attendant tells me that he was quiet until just before dawn, and that then he began to get uneasy, and at length violent, until at last he fell into a paroxysm which exhausted him so that he swooned into a sort of coma.

 

... Three nights has the same thing happened—violent all day then quiet from moonrise to sunrise. I wish I could get some clue to the cause. It would almost seem as if there was some influence which came and went. Happy thought! We shall to-night play sane wits against mad ones. He escaped before without our help; to-night he shall escape with it. We shall give him a chance, and have the men ready to follow in case they are required....

Notes: Moon Phase: Waning Crescent

Renfield has made some significant changes here. First is his behavior switches between the daylit and night time hours. 

He also seem less interested in his collection of lives to consume, even refusing Seward's offer of a cat.

#RPGaDAY2024 Amazing Adventure

 Again, I seem to cheat on these more often than not. I know what this one is supposed to be about, but I am still going to do this. Today I want to feature Amazing Adventures!

Amazing Adventures is overtly a pulp-style modern game from Jason Vey (long time writing partner) and Troll Lords Games using the same SIEGE game engine that powers Castles & Crusades.

Here are some reveiws I have done in the past.

• Amazing Adventures (Core Rules)
• Amazing Adventures Companion
• Amazing Adventures Book of Powers

Some characters for this world

• Willow & Tara (Pulp versions)
• Willow & Tara (Modern versions)
• Giovanni "John" Zatara & Zatanna
• Universal Monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, The Creature from the Black Lagoon)
• Libby Sawyer
• Rachel Morgan
• The Wayward Sisters
• The Acrobatic Flea
• and of course, my little witch Larina Nichols.

And for free

• The Demon Hunter Class
• 5th Edition Amazing Adventures Preview

I don't play AA as much as I used too, and I never got to play it as much as I wanted. NIGHT SHIFT has taken over that niche for me. 

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I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August.