Fellow role-players, here is my update for the latest D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" steampunk/fantasy scenario, which I hosted and ran last night (Monday, 8 February 2010) in Needham, Mass.:

In one world, the magicks and demihuman races of the "Vanished Lands" never disappeared, instead dispersing throughout the world. Three millennia later, European empires compete to explore and control the globe, technology has developed, and new villains and heroes arise....

>>Dramatis Personae for Gene D.'s D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" ("G3")

-"Dr. Alexander Terence Levy" [Paul J.]-male British human, inventor of clockwork marvels (Explorer/Trader, Lvl. 2/1)

-"Tariq Asrad Saladin" [Beruk A.]-male Turkish 'human, Dervish traveling the world (Warrior/Mystic, Lvl. 1/2)

-"Mr. Herod Ambler" [Greg D.C.]-male British human, 'gentleman and stage magician (Mystic, Lvl. 3)

-"Miss Bella Moonseeker" [Sara F.]-female Texan Wolfen rancher and hunter (Warrior, Lvl. 3)

-"Mssr. Louis Renee LeShove" [Josh C.]-male French Sylvan Elf martial artist and carouser (Mystic, Lvl. 3)

-"Mr. John 'Hop' Scott" [Dave S.C.]-male Scottish cyborg with a steam-powered prosthetic to replace a leg lost in an industrial accident; ancestor of "Gavin McManus/HopScotch" (in Gene D. and Paul J.'s D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed. superhero scenarios; Warrior, Lvl. 3)

>>Associates [and absent]:

-"Prof. Connor Winstead" [Alex J.]-male North American human, archaeologist and lecturer at a northeastern university (Explorer, Lvl. 2)

-"Ms. Eleanor Wright" [Brie C.-R.]-female British human, dilettante of the Raj in India and spy/smuggler (Diplomat/Trader, Lvl. 1/1)

-"Mr. Hank Avery" [Brian W.]-male Texan human, entrepreneur and gunslinger (Diplomat, Lvl. 2)

-"Sparrow" [Sara F.]-female North American cyborg, a wanderer with mechano-organic wings (Explorer, Lvl. 2)

Chapter 2: Sky pirates! "1 to 6 February 1876 A.D./C.E.:" A few months after their misadventures in the Midwest ("Carriage Chaos"), several members of the intrepid band receive letters and telegrams inviting them to come to New York City. After long train journeys, they convene at the Peregrinator's Society.

"Dr. Levy" [Paul J.], "Mr. Saladin" [Beruk A.], and "Mr. Ambler" [Greg D.C.] enter the exclusive club and find the lobby filled with nonhumans. The three men meet a fellow with gray muttonchops and a hussar's uniform. Horace Duttweiler says they were referred to him by eccentric industrialist Duncan Cogsworth, despite the uncertain outcome of their previous mission.

The retired military officer then introduces the trio to "Miss Moonseeker" [Sara F.], "Mssr. LeShove" [Josh C.], and "Mr. Scott" [Dave S.C.] and explains that he has procured expensive airship tickets for them to visit his kinsman in London. Mr. Brucker will have further instructions, he says.

Englishmen Dr. Levy and Mr. Ambler are suspicious when Mr. Duttweiler says that he was instructed to hire experts in America who were unknown in certain circles, since they are renowned as an inventor and stage magician, respectively. The onetime hussar hints that they'll want to avoid occult organizations such as the Order of the Golden Dawn, which Mr. Ambler and Mssr. LeShove recognize.

Although they find Mr. Duttweiler to be either badly misinformed or deliberately obtuse, the six travelers accept his offer and scatter. Alexander and his clockwork dog visit the aerodrome where the H.M.A.S. Ruritania is berthed. He talks with members of the armored German airship's crew.

Put off by the intolerance and ill manners of some of his companions, Turkish dervish Tariq retires to meditate and has a vision of people in surprise or fear above a green land. Gentleman Herod finds a well-heeled friend and visits various Manhattan attractions. Bella considers buying supplies, but the Wolfen cowgirl is unable to find a gun range and settles for some dance halls.

Gallic Louis has a wine-fueled romantic liaison with a fellow Sylvan Elf at the Peregrinator's Society, while John borrows money from an associate named Buford and proceeds to multiply it several times playing cards. However, the laborer's steam-powered prosthetic leg prevents him from entering polite society.

The next morning, the six wanderers board the Ruritania, which takes flight toward the rising sun. They are given small but well-appointed cabins in the dirigible's middle deck. The cabins are in the center of the gondola deck, surrounded by hallways with wide windows overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Dr. Levy notices a rhythmic sound that's unlike any engine he knows of, so the curious gadgeteer goes to find its source. Alexander is politely redirected by the airship's crew. Tariq's contemplations are also disturbed by the sound, so he also goes up.

Rolando, the Halfling morale officer of the Ruritania, asks "King Herod" if he would put on a show for the captain and first-class guests on the top deck at dinner. Mr. Ambler replies that he will perform, but on the condition that any nubile young women be delivered to his cabin for "inspection as assistants."

Unfortunately for Herod, Rolando sends furry Bella, who says she has some experience as a sharpshooter and knife thrower. The disappointed mage stays in his cabin, and the Wolfen goes to the lounge. After a swashbuckling swing in the rigging, Mssr. LeShove loudly feigns drunkenness and strolls about the decks.

At the bottom level, Louis finds Mr. Scott entertaining the steerage passengers (of a higher class than on other ships) with his impressions of the snobs on the upper decks. The bored Elf wanders off, eventually joining Dr. Levy and Mr. Saladin.

Mssr. LeShove distracts some airshipmen by dragging them into the top deck's lounge for drinks and to watch Miss Moonseeker's act. Alexander and Tariq quickly climb up into the dirigible and wait for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. They smell salt water.

Having been reassured that the Germans are using a nonflammable gas for their balloons, the inventor lights a match. Alexander and Tariq are surprised to see a huge beast resembling a cross between a whale and a manta ray harnessed to the dirigible's frame!

Dr. Levy is concerned that a sentient creature is being enslaved to provide propulsion, but Mr. Saladin (and later, Mr. Ambler) note that it doesn't seem to be mistreated and that further investigation would be needed to determine the flyer's true status.

Later that night, the passengers of the Ruritania are awakened by the sounds of cannons! An autogyro and a ornithopter have pulled alongside the zeppelin and extend gangplanks!

Herod pulls out a pocket watch and hypnotizes two of the would-be boarders, sending them tumbling to the waters far below. Alexander finds some tools and detaches a window frame -- and the attached hooked plank. John uses his mechanical leg to hop across to the lead heavier-than-air craft.

Defying the crew's wishes, Bella loads her six shooter and fires at the sky pirates. The four remaining attackers draw cutlasses and advance, as Louis acrobatically leaps over them into the airborne attackers' vessel. Tariq hits with his scimitar and joins the Ruritania's crew in repelling the boarders.

Mr. Ambler notices that the attackers speak with Irish accents and are dressed as fancy highwaymen. Dr. Levy tosses a fake bomb into the rear craft before crossing over himself. Mr. Scott exchanges fisticuffs with two of the corsairs of the clouds before destroying one gangplank with his cybernetic leg.

The raiders injure John and Bella, who bounces one of them off the remaining plank. Each of the two smaller airships has two pilots and an engineer. A massive airship flying the Jolly Roger breaks through the clouds above and port of the Ruritania!

Louis slams one co-pilot into the controls, and Tariq does likewise with another, who manages to backhand him. They use megaphones to communicate, evacuating the rear dinghy of crew. Unfortunately for the pirates, they're soon surrounded by Germans with harpoon guns. The lead aircraft, its crew disabled, begins to plummet. John and Louis scramble to the roof and manage to leap to the second ship.

Aboard the autogyro, Dr. Levy and Mssr. LeShove take the controls, with Mr. Scott and Mr. Saladin manning the engines. They pick up Mr. Ambler and Miss Moonseeker from the zeppelin before flying toward the massive airship, which extends magnetic docking chains....

Next time: The party meets the captain of the Sargasso Albatross!

I hope you enjoyed last night's game, and I look forward to your constructive criticism and next week's session! Now that everyone has finally created or revised their Player Characters, we should be able to resume more promptly. I could have explained feats/powers/spells more clearly and recommend that each of you stick to one D20 source when choosing them.

I expect this adventure to take about four sessions. Weather permitting, Brian plans to run his "Savage Worlds: Hellfrost" on Monday, 22 February 2010, and in the meantime, the "Pathfinder: Holy Steel" teleconferencing team will need to reschedule around Valentine's Day. Take it easy, -Gene


Boston-area one-shots and miniseries of early 2010:

>>Already played:

-Greg D.C.: InSpectres (rules-light horror/humor scenario)
-Paul J.: D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed.: "League of Vaguely Interesting People--the Four" (superhero comedy)
-Brian W.: Fate 3.0: "Spirit of the Caribbean!" (swashbuckling pirates)
-Gene D.: D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" (steampunk/fantasy)

>>Coming soon:

-Paul J.: Pathfinder: "Crossroads of Eternity" crossover with Gene D.'s "Vanished Lands" (fantasy)?
-Greg D.C.: Dread (horror using Jenga)?
-Beruk A.: D20 "Rifts" (multidimensional homebrew)
-Beruk A.: Dragon Age (MMO-based fantasy)
-Brian W.: Savage Worlds: Hellfrost (fantasy)
-Brian W.: Spirit of the Century (pulp 1920s)?
-Brian W.: Polaris: Chivalric Tragedy at the Utmost North ("rules-lite" mythic)
-Brian W.: Dirty Secrets (G.M.-less noir storyteller)
-Gene D.: D20"M&M"2e: "S.J.I.: Chrome City" (comic book superheroes)
-Gene D.: "Vortex" (space opera using D20 Star Wars: Saga Edition, Starblazer Adventures, or GURPS 4e)