INTRO
SATAH: Welcome to Folio, a CRiT award nominated actual play podcast about solo and epistolary TTRPGs. I'm your host, Satah, & I'm showcasing multiple possible experiences of self-paced games by inviting guests to play them alongside me so I can compile our stories together. Now and for the rest of June, you can head over to critawards.org to vote for Folio to win "best upcoming podcast" or for me to win "best tech/producer." I think that Folio is doing something cool and weird in the actual play space and it pretty neat to have that recognised with a win.
This is episode two of our games of Furyya, a solo journalling game in "a dystopian future where creatures of the night adapt to technology to survive" by Uoshi, who is also the layout artist for the currently-crowdfunding print editions of Galactic & Going Rogue.
The other two beautiful undead trawling the neon streets with me are Matt Orr and Alyssa. Check out wetinkgames.com for more of Matt's work and pick up Alyssa's games at adisasterqueer.itch.io, especially because in a bunch of places, it is pride month, and they are all thematically appropriate.
This episode is already hitting the cusp of my 75 minute limit, so let's jack the fuck in already:​​
GAME
SATAH: I'm in TRAINR's, and I think I'm gonna– [Laughing] I'm gonna, uh, send a log off real quick. I'm gonna take one– I'm gonna just take a couple minutes to, uh, write it out.
MAT​​T, AS IMPERIOUS: Log 002: The Praug File.
Well, this is not how I wanted it to start. I went down to level 15 and talked to Miss Torino. She's a lot older than I imagined she'd be… feeding for a long time. A lot of ideas in her head. Frankly, she talked rings around me.
I still might have gotten some out of her if I hadn't mentioned Halacarnassus. I thought mentioning a Praetor who was involved would win some cooperation, but it just made her more angry. She started yelling about corruption in every rank of the Cursus. I was already backing down, trying to get away, but the other women on the floor started coming out of their doors. Some of them were yelling, too. They called me a disgrace and mocked my cap.
I was leaving! I was trying to leave, but they all wanted to look at me, to– a sniff of me. Miss Torino said they'd all know me for the rat I am if we ever met again.
I can guess a good number of those women knew exactly where Miss Praug is, but I don't know. How can they- how can they be in the hall and still have such contempt for the leadership?
I got back up to street level and went out into the rainy night. It's always a rainy night.
I don't think I was really thinking. I sort of just walked and found myself at The Drip. Hadn't been there in a while, but it seemed the same as ever. I figured a place run by the Calamity would contain someone who both knew Miss Praug and would talk to me.
Inside, I saw Enraptured, and a little while later, I saw Teeming. They both have entourages now. Humans and vampires and security. Rapture had Hovecams streaming it all live. I checked. He's up to 34 million followers! I knew him when! Or… he knew me when.
They didn't know Miss Praug. Not even Teeming could tell me more than I got from Halacarnassus. At least that confirms I'm not chasing a ghost– he had seen her before.
I got a drink– just some AB stuff– and was having a think when someone came up to me. A tall woman. Just turned. Very visible bite implants. Fashionable dress. She told me she'd heard me asking around and would like to take a message to Miss Praug. Enlightened Canossus is who she said she was. I confirmed later, but I should have looked her up right then. She's one of Praetor Grieving Samarican's faction– I would guess, from what happened, a Lichtor.
But… then she said she was just concerned about Charitable– just as concerned as I was. But she wanted to know how I knew her. And again, she offered to take a message.
I kept the Praetor's name out of it this time. I could feel that we were talking past each other, not really communicating, and there was definitely more that she wanted to tell me, or something. I kept asking to meet Miss Praug. Eventually, she agreed, and we went back out onto the streets. Then she just hit me. Her hand opened up into energy claws– real, real rumble pit stuff. I got no defense against that.
I ran. I'm on the Skyway tram now. Lots of people around, none of them currently looking at me.
This is not about Miss Praug. What is this about?
End log.
SATAH: Well, that didn't end up being a very long pause at all. For log 002, I've written, "Boss. Compromised. Going dark." [Chuckles] As Speck cuts off some communi– like, logs off the Calamity net in hopes that, like… even if she gets found, like… or is worried that there's, like, a worm in the tracker, basically? And doesn't want it to, like, go out on the network to, you know, find the locations of other Calamity members.
Yeah. Goes dark. And is in TRAINR's store.
And I think… I rolled for the other job that I had low caliber armament and I was thinking, like, the poison– the, uh– the computer virus was part of that. But I think it would make sense that I have like a low caliber weapon with me? Like, that that was part of it? I feel like that makes sense. I don't know that I'm particularly good at using it, but I do have it… actually, I'm probably pretty good. Like, I probably do weird rich girl hobby shooting as well as, you know, being– doing wet work for the mob. The vampire mob.
ALYSSA: The Calamity is rich. Is powerful. I have every right to be here in the Gardens, and even in this apartment building above the clouds. And so I dress in my best clothes and I go and I say I have an appointment and I am on… hmm. Am I on the list or do I have to commit violence in order to get into the building itself? I rolled vigor for this, so I'm able to do what I want once I'm up there.
You know, I don't go through the building. I don't go through the lobby of the building. I don't bother with that. I scale the outside of it up into the clouds, and that vampirism sure is helpful for not needing to breathe in thin atmosphere through the clouds.
Obviously, people see it. I think that they probably assume that it is some type of corporate publicity stunt or something. You know, weirder things have happened. No one is notified until it's too late.
SATAH: There's an item called Adaptskin Camouflage. "The Adaptskin mesh acts as a second skin so thin it's barely noticeable. It is applied as an adhesive over the skin and when activated, generates a camouflage by reading and reproducing the environment."
It is 32 credits. I have 10 credits. I'm going to attempt… [Laughing] to steal some credits right now.
The thing is with TRAINR… TRAINR is my contact. They're reliable. They don't do loans… to me, because… ooh, why is it I only– I only have 10 credits because I logged off of Calamitynet. You know? Like, I don't– I don't have the charge card. I only have the, like, physical credit thing that I have on me, which I never use, because why would I? I have the infinite resources of the clan, usually. Um… oh, I like that. I'm– I'm glad that I had, like– ended up logging off and having like a reason to only have limited funds.
But yeah, TRAINR knows that I have the money and so usually won't lend me things. I am good for it, so they know that I would pay them back, but also they're like, "Why the fuck would I wait for you to pay me? I know that you have it." I just don't happen to at the moment… but I could.
So I'm gonna roll… [Laughing] I'm gonna roll to steal money– am I stealing it from TRAINR? No. So I know that the traitor, Dax Nocturne, is currently under the knife. Is currently getting surgery from TRAINR to install her, uh, new set of gnarly fangs. I know that's true. And so I am going to try and, like– she has, like, her phone on her or whatever? I'm going to try to just, like, as she's sedated especially, hack in and take some money from her to buy some camouflage tech.
I'm actually going to give myself advantage here because Dax was a member of Calamity. And so I'm like, I can bet on her not having changed her password or something. Or like, I know the systems. Like, I can… try and get around her like security code because I can get into her authenticator or whatever. You know? Yeah. I'm just– I'm going to give myself an advantage, which means I can add a die to the attribute tested and gain a fury, but I haven't spent any fury. So that is alright.
So that puts me up to 4d6. I would like to roll a five. [Dice rolling] I rolled two fours… [Dice rolling] and I rolled a four and a two. [Laughing] Fuck me. Oh my god. Okay.
I'm gonna roll for failure. Six: tolerable failure. No consequence. Good! I'm fine.
MATT: So I said we were on the skyway. So I think it makes sense to get off the skyway in a different part of the city. So I'm gonna roll the Book of Fate for location again and see where. we get off the train.
Five this time. "Desperados. War debris inhabited by mutants, cyborgs, petty criminals, renegades, and recluses." Alright. There'll be somebody to talk to there for sure.
What else do we have here? I was thinking about one of the paragraphs of setting information about the City of Angels, Belona, is… it's got a big, you know- it's, like, corporate high rises and, you know, all financial trading and stuff like that. But there's a mirror image of the city in the digital realm. And I think I would like to explore some of that as well.
So I think perhaps in this war debris, and inhabited by mutants and cyborgs, I think they still have Internet cafes. And I think Imperius is going to get on the Internet and go checking out some of those places on the internet that are on the network that might be… you know… what kind of trails can be left there.
And I feel like that will be a challenge. I think I gotta roll Trauma again because that's the hacking one, so let's see. That's 2d6. What do I want to make my wager… and- and I think the wager is, like, I'm trying to find something, but I think maybe even more important than finding something is not being found myself, because now I'm into this other, you know, internal strife of some sort.
I've been rolling a lot of low rolls. I'm going to roll two. Two is my wager here. [Dice rolling, hard sigh] Five and a three, so that is a failure. So now I roll… [Die rolling] two. "Failure with punishing consequences." Okay. Well, that's obvious. If I've set my wager or stakes at not being caught, then I'm going to get caught as part of this and maybe some aftermath of the encounter with Enlightened that I described in the last log. Um…
SATAH: So I don't get the money… [Laughing] but it's fine.
I think that genuinely what it is is just that I get into the account fine; the failure is that Dax already spent all of their money on these new fangs. I hack into an empty bank account.
Okay. Boy. So I do think, like, having taken the time to try and… [Laughs] the thing I was going to say is, "do this the legit way," which– I was going to steal money to legitimately buy something. It's complicated!
I think that, like, the private security that was eyeing me before is starting to, like… they don't know I'm in here, but they know that, like, they were brought to this general area. And I'm looking out and there's, like, more of them now.
How many are there? I'm rolling a d6. One. There's one more. [Laughs] Um… but that's worrying enough that they're, like, calling in other people.
So there's now– there's the person who was looking around. There's a second one. They're talking right outside of TRAINRs.
I… I'm just gonna steal. Like, TRAINR is in surgery. I was gonna buy this camouflage. I'm just gonna assume I'm gonna be able to make it up to them later. I don't think I need to roll to do this because no one is watching me. I was just left here, you know? I'm gonna steal it.
I'm gonna steal this Adaptskin Camouflage and I'm gonna try and sneak past these guards that are outside.
MATT: I think maybe… it's not a random roll table, but there's a bunch of cyberware. Two of the six sections in the Book of Fate are cyberware. So maybe one of these can inspire something.
I was thinking about this Adaptskin Camouflage.
SATAH: The Adaptskin gives me 2d6 to Vigor rolls, which are, like, the physical prowess.
MATT: You know, second skin, barely noticeable, adhesive camouflage.
SATAH: It generates camouflage– oh, right! So it's not a disguise. It's just camouflage. Perfect. I'm just going to straight up roll to try and sneak past them.
MATT: Real cool cyber stuff.
SATAH: I have a one in Vigor, plus the Adaptskin is 3d6. And I would like to roll, again, a one. Small. Being small, being unnoticeable. [Dice rolling] Jesus christ. [Laughs]
MATT: So maybe there is some sort of, um… interaction involving that. Is this going to be an assassin? Is this going to be a casual encounter?
Maybe this becomes a goal, right? It costs 32 credits, and I have marked down that I have 9 credits because I bought that drink. So then that might become the next step of the mission.
Adaptskin Camouflage doesn't sound totally right. So maybe it's intrusive in the sense of the algorithm of the network is monitoring and these secretive actions that he's trying to do then attract the attention of ads. "Hey, you look like you're trying to be secretive. Would you like to buy some Adaptskin Camouflage?" I think that is then what causes him to exit the network. I think that's fun.
SATAH: Let's, uh– let's roll for failure. [Die rolling] Four. "Tolerable failure, negative consequence." Yeah, okay. There is a consequence, but it's the least bad one.
Mm… okay, well, I have, no, because I have to fail at the thing, so I don't sneak by them.
MATT: I don't know how I've made a vampire that's so inept, and– I don't know.
SATAH: TRAINR has some sort of automated system, or they were keeping an eye on the security camera, and they saw me steal, and so they come running out. I haven't left yet. I'm still sort of, like– I'm- I'm trying to keep an eye– I'm hoping that, like, I can wait to the last possible moment to maybe learn more– to, like, figure out how much they know. And while I'm doing that, TRAINR comes out, still, like, you know, suited up, uh, with- with blood on them. Not, like, a lot a lot, but some.
And they actually come out to yell at the guards. They're like, "Hey! I just watched somebody fucking openly steal from my store while you two idiots are just sitting here. What is the point of you? Why does some of my commission– why does some of my Tower commission go to your fucking salaries?" and so… I'm still hidden here, but I am– I didn't get out, and I'm probably more trapped than I was before, because I bet TRAINR knows how to spot this.
Though I think, before I decide that, I'm gonna try one more time to sneak by again. The guards are trying to explain, like, "We have another situation," and TRAINR's like, "I don't fucking care," and they're just yelling and yelling and yelling.
I was gonna give myself a disadvantage because I'm using equipment that TRAINR would be familiar with, but then I also was gonna maybe give myself advantage because they are so distracted in the fight that, like, I might be able to sneak by? But I think… that equals out. I'm just going to roll the straight 3d6, which is my Vigor plus the Adaptskin, which I do still have on.
3d6… [Pained sigh] I would like to roll a one. [Dice rolling] Oh my god! I did it! I rolled two threes and a one!! Oh my god!
ALYSSA: So I physically scale the side of this giant skyscraper, up into the unit that I know belongs to Brahm. And I break through the windows and I wait.
And when eventually ze returns home, we fight it out.
Um, I believe that there are rules specifically for fights. So it says, "To resolve a combat, use the same system, rolling for hit and wound."
I am going to say that because I got the Vigor success, I am successful in my challenge, but I will roll to see if I take damage as well. And it says using the same rules, so I'm just going to roll the three dice again. I will call two and three… no. I'll just call two this time.
[Dice rolling] Which I do not have! I rolled a one, a six, and a five, so I think that I am going to take damage in this fight.
MATT: All right. There's my three beats. I'm gonna write up my journal.
SATAH: Baby's first success. Can you even imagine? I also rolled it, like, the one, like– the die that has the one on it, slipped out of sight behind something, and so that was very suspenseful.
My god. The fuck do I do if I succeed? I guess I just succeed. Yeah, I managed to sneak past. Whoa. [Laughs]
And, uh… yeah, I mean I'm still being privately tracked by the Hoshi people, so I know it's not forever, but I do at least manage to get past here and I think…
I'm gonna go- I'm gonna get on that stupidly long elevator. On the way down, I'm gonna try and disable the tracker again. I don't think this is a good idea, but Speck will not let it go.
So this is T plus disadvantage, because again, Hoshi people are really good hackers, and that is a 2d6. I would like to roll a three… [Dice rolling] six and a five. [Laughing] Okay.
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: Log 003. The Praug file. Plus.
I rode the skyway all the way out to the Desperados. The end of the Silian line. I've been out here before, but it's been a while. I'm so used to the rises and the hall and the workroom…. this is all still debris.
It looks the same. Same lights that are both harsh and too dim. Same scent of all the Zega rays that tore the armies apart. It's all hardened now. Like, before, the piles of rubble looked temporary, like they might be cleaned up at any time. Now they seem cemented over with new signboards in place. It's just the landscape now.
I paid for a booth in a jack parlour. I didn't use their equipment, though; just wanted a place with a door so I could sit down and get on the network for my own signal. It's all so bright out here on the other side. Brighter than the network rises. It's like banishing the night entirely.
I don't know what I expected. I didn't think I'd just find Miss Praug sitting there at the fountain when I stepped out of the parlour.
I visited the local branches of some of the new religions and conspiracy cults. I didn't see any mention of the names concerned.
There's some anti-Calamity sentiment out here. I shouldn't be surprised. But sort of short of specific clan clubs, no rival stood out to me as particularly worth noticing. The only thing that's even a hint of a clue is a patent code sales rep talking about editing your own hardware to be untraceable. If the Praetor can't find Miss Praug, she must be doing something to hide herself.
I listened, but I'm not about to have a serious conversation with a Rule 63 John Brown. Still, there's something there. A child and sh– sire can always locate each other. So is Prog not 
MATT, INTERRUPTING AS A POP-UP AD: Hey there, pal.
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: Oh no.
MATT, AS THE POP-UP AD: You look like the sort of person who has some secrets.
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: No–
MATT, AS THE POP-UP AD: We all have secrets.
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: Close!
MATT, AS THE POP-UP AD: But you're out here doing something about it. 
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: Deny–
MATT, AS THE POP-UP AD: I like that about you. But I gotta say, you do kinda stick out.
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: Unsubscribe! [Heavy sigh]
MATT, AS THE POP-UP AD: That suit's too clean for this part of the city. Take it from a guy like me. 
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: Unskippable?!
MATT, AS THE POP-UP AD: What you could use is Adaptskin camouflage. It's an adhesive second skin, so you can totally still floss while wearing it.
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: Stop following me… I don't want this!!
MATT, AS THE POP-UP AD: The mesh constantly monitors your position and generates video imagery to match. You're guaranteed to be 16 % more stealthy than your current cape and cap ensemble.
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: Leave me alone!
MATT, AS THE POP-UP AD: That's right. For only 32 credits, the Adapt Skin Camouflage can be yours. And payment plans are available.
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: What?! Ugh– end log.
ALYSSA: So I break through this window, and an alarm immediately starts going off, obviously. It is bad in your high altitude condo for windows to be shattering. So any sort of element of surprise that I might have hoped for is immediately lost.
And he may be an apprentice, but Brahm is still an apprentice to the best, and a vampire hunter in his own right.
So he comes at me, weapons at the ready. And in order to make my climb easier and less suspicious, I am fully unarmed. I mean, what weapons do I need when my body and my things are a weapon, right? Except then there's a man coming at you with a gun and a flamethrower, and suddenly the idea of having armor, having weapons, seems a lot more appealing.
But I am able to take him down, I think just guided by pure animal rage versus his confusion at being targeted in his own home. That's not the way that things work in this city. There are rules of engagement that are followed, typically, even among the vampire clans, and especially, you would think, from the Calamity, who value honour above all else.
But I'm not following those rules. I am not tethering myself to them anymore.
MATT: I feel the mission creep of this, uh- of what I'm doing here. You know, record a actual– play a game, play a solo game. Great, I can do that. Record it while you think about it. Yeah, I can do that. But now it's, like, audio logs, and I'm trying to create some sort of verisimilitude and I'm aware as I'm writing that I'm going to be performing this in a second. I don't think anything– I don't think that's bad or wrong for this context, but it is, um… I'm aware of it. It's a real ouroboros sort of situation here. And I would like to tone down the… the performing side of this. This is a journaling game and I want to journal and not have to fact check my jokes before I, um make them– before I read them to- for an audience. Um, but we'll see if I'm able to to succeed at that or not.
SATAH: Gonna roll for my failure… [Die rolling] three, "failure, punishing consequence." Goddammit, yeah– luckily, I know exactly what this is.
MATT: Alright. Log four, um. I'm coming into this one knowing pretty much exactly what I want to happen; I just have to roll it.
So, we ended the last log with, uh, Imperius still in the network, being accosted by advertising, and so I think he has to log out and I think he's going to buy some adrenaline, because that's the thing I can do with some of my currency, and it's going to add to my… give me a bonus on Vigor, right, which is the physical prowess. So it'll add– I'll have 1D6 Vigor instead of one Vigor, which I think will be very helpful in a fight.
Because what I think is going to happen next is I'm going to have to fight. And so I'm going to roll now to see, you know– this is… somebody's caught up to me. Somebody who doesn't want me looking into things is going to find me. So I think all of that is going to happen.
SATAH: I got in the elevator and I was like… I think it's like I got in the elevator. I was just going to try and get out, but got antsy about the tracker in that long elevator ride and tried to disable it again.
And the punishing consequence is that the elevator car that I'm in just stops.
I'm, like, doing my hacking thing and my, like, inlaid over– the overlay that I'm looking at just shorts out, and at the same time, the power in the elevator flickers and it starts to slow down. I think it's a very, very fast elevator, despite it being very long, and so it can't stop immediately, but it is slowing down on the tracks.
And it slows and slows and stops, and the doors open. I still have the Adaptskin on. I'm going to try and, like, hide against the wall of the elevator so when the doors open, whoever's there, like, if they just shoot or whatever, they don't get me, and I'm going to try and, like… run past them. This is assuming that someone's there, and I- there- there certainly ism because this was a punishing consequence.
Let me see- let me see how many people are there. I'm actually gonna roll the threats to see who exactly it is… no, because it should be– it should just be somebody from Hoshi, so I'm just gonna roll, like, how many. [Die rolling] Two. Okay!
MATT: Let me make sure I get the look at the adrenaline here… it's kind of a one -time use thing, but it's going to turn my vigor into 1d6 vigor. [Die rolling] Four. Alright, that's much better.
So then I get to roll four dice in this fight. And I think what I'm going to do is I'm actually going to spend a Fury as well to pick two numbers. So I'm going to pick two and five? Is that good? Two and five, and I'm gonna roll four dice.
[Dice rolling] Alright. I got one five, which means I succeeded at the fight, which means I'm not going to end up having to roll for terrible failure, which is great. I'm very, very happy about that.
SATAH: So there are these two Hoshi agents. I'm going to roll to try and get past them. Like, you know, I'm pressed against the elevator wall. The doors open and they're there and they're confused because they don't see anybody immediately, and I'm going to try and get past them.
So my vigor plus the Adaptskin is 3d6… is that everything? Yeah. I would like to roll a six. [Dice rolling] I did! I rolled two ones and a six. My god! Great. So! Okay! Wow! Still not used to success. I managed to get by them. That's great.
MATT: And so the last roll that I'm making in this little section is I'm gonna learn… I want to learn something about the clan- who the rival clan is that's involved here. That's what I'm going to learn- take away from the fight. I rolled a one, which is Calamity. I kind of was hoping for one of the others because it would be more, more… but that's what I rolled. So I think this is an entirely internecine fight then. At least for these people who are beating me up, or trying to because I failed. I fought them with my adrenaline– my adrenaline boost.
SATAH: So I sneak by them. And I think… I, you know, I- I- I'm still really high up. These towers are so big. And I got, let's say– let me– I'm gonna- I'm gonna roll to see how far down I got. So like, I'm gonna say that they're percentages. If I roll a six, I got 60 % of the way down. That's the– that's the most amount that I could have gotten down. And so like five is 50, whatever.
[Die rolling] Two. Only 20% of the way down. That's too bad! I didn't get that far at all.
And I'm like, okay, so I can't do the elevator right now. Let's look for the stairs.
ALYSSA: I attack him in his home and I kill him. And with the sound of the alarms blaring, I rip out his canines to send to the vampire hunter himself, um, if they don't get here soon, because again, apartment alarm system… probably some special vampire hunter alarm system things happening?
And I really need to get out. And in the fight, I was wounded. I think he got in a good shot through my shoulder, not the cybernetic one. And I am bleeding and certainly can't take the elevators down the building, and also, am probably physically incapable of scaling down the walls in this state.
So I need to come up with a new plan for exit.
MATT: Log 004. The Praug file.
[Panting] Okay. I'm really in it now.
I could feel them coming. Once the network started targeting pals on me, Lictor Canossus was on her way. Cut the connection and walked out of the parlour. There was just enough time to get an adrenaline shot from the slot shop. I took it and went across the street to a guy who was selling steel slag under a "Zega Rays Don't Melt Steel Beams" sign. I grabbed the biggest one I could find.
And about right then, Canossus landed on her grav boots.
I was hitting the peak of the shot. She tried something with that energy claw of hers, but I smashed it into the ground. And then I hit her with it. Shoulder… neck… head… she's got a lot of reinforcing. She didn't fall down easily. I just kept swinging the piece of steel until she did fall down.
I tossed away the slag. I got down beside her. Asked her who she was really after.
She had alarms going off all over. Repairs already in progress. "Calamity will bear no kings." That's all she said before her backups put her out.
There were people watching. I got up and left. I don't know if she'll survive the scrappers. But no one stopped me as I left.
I'm walking back along the cyan line. Running, mostly. I gotta keep ahead of the dawn. It's a lot wilder between the tram stops.
I don't want to stop. Not here. Not for long.
"Calamity will bear no kings." Does she think someone would claim that ancient title? Is that what the Praetors are feuding about? Who even has that much sway? All the Praetors kind of hate each other, but they're all pretty balanced… right? What would Miss Praug have to do with any of that?
Gotta keep moving.
End log.
SATAH: I think finding the stairs should be relatively easy, so that isn't really a challenge, but… what is- what is my next move? I know that I'm being tracked. Yeah. I go down the stairs, and as I'm running, I hear footsteps on the stairs above me, like chasing after me.
I'm going to track this- the tower. So what did I say? I got 20% of the way down? I'm making- I'm making myself a clock that is, "Escape the tower." It's got 10 ticks and I need to get all the way down.
So- so I hear these footsteps above me and at a certain point I hear footsteps below me coming up as well. And that's going to force me to go into the hall. I'm going to roll another d6 to see how– at, like– do the same thing of like one is 10%, two is 20% to see how much farther down the tower I got.
[Die rolling] Another two. Not bad. Not great, but not terrible.
ALYSSA: I think that my plan is… oof. Unfortunately, I think that my plan is via hacking and attempting to trick the alarms into thinking that this was a technological misfire, not something for the building to check out.
So! I– that means I am rolling a stat in which I have zero die, zero points. The way that I'm going to attempt to resolve this is like Blades in the Dark, I think, so basically rolling at disadvantage, which means that I would need both of my dice to show up as a wagered number because I will be discarding one of them if one of them is a hit. So I need two hits, basically, in order to succeed, which gives me a better chance than if I was not rolling at all and took an auto failure, but it's still not super likely.
To increase the likelihood of success, I'm going to go ahead and burn another Fury so that I am able to wager on two numbers. I've been getting fives lately, so I'll keep a five. And this time we will go with a one. So I want a one and a five on these dice in order to sort of hack my way into the apartment complex security system and disable at least the building alarms, if not whatever protections that Brahm had for the vampire hunter themselves.
[Dice rolling] Okay! That is a one and a three. Unfortunately, that means I fail because I got one hit, but I needed two. So! I can now roll a d6 to determine the level of my failure. [Die rolling] And that is a five, which is a, shockingly, a "tolerable failure with no consequence." So.
SATAH: So I get another 20% of the way down the tower, and then the footsteps above me are joined by footsteps below me, and I'm forced to, like, duck out of the stairwell back into, like, one of the main hallways, the main floor.
And I think I'm actually going to roll on the location lists… not to get a whole new location, but just to see what the vibe of this floor of the tower is.
[Die rolling] Three. "Dock warehouses: no man's land, one of the city's most dangerous areas." [Laughing] Okay, good!
I mean, yeah, it's– these towers are so big that, like, you can't store everything in one place, right? It's, like, every 10 or 20 floors, there is a warehouse. And it's weird because like– I think they're not accessible by just the regular elevator that I was in, right? Like, they'd be accessible by like a freight elevator, but I don't think I've ever been in one of these really, and it's only because I was in the stairwell that I burst out into this.
And it's weird as fuck because it is just open. I, like, burst out the door or– quietly, trying not to slam the door so that they don't know where I went– and I'm hoping that, like, they'll confuse each other's footsteps for me and it'll give me some time? Which I might roll on in a second.
I expect to burst out into, like, a hall or like, you know, a mall that has– it's like a mall that has a thoroughfare, but it's pretty closed in. But this is just, like, a whole floor that is a warehouse, that is open, has these huge shelves. And it's dark. It's just like shitty lighting.
And it is dangerous. And the reason it's dangerous is because– or one of the reasons it's dangerous is because a lot of the warehousing is done with, like, digital sensors? A store can say, "Oh, we need this item," and scan a code and then there are little, like, just droids down here. Non-sentient or sapient droids that just go over and automatically pick up the boxes and that kind of thing, and that means there are like… not- not cameras, probably… I think actually explicitly there aren't cameras because people don't want you to just be able to, like, look at their merchandise. They're super paranoid about that. But there are just, like, sensors for, like, weight everywhere, like– there's a box here; there's not a box here. And there's all these droids, and, like, there are security features just because… theft. They're worried about theft. So it's not dangerous necessarily because of, like, people, but just because of security measures.
Um… I am going to roll to see if I managed to… no. I'm not going to roll to see if I managed to shut the door quietly enough, because I think like I'm on a timer anyway. Like, they're- they're tracking me. They- they might be confused temporarily, but, like, ultimately they will still be able to find me no matter what, and so it doesn't really matter. I try my best, but ultimately, like, I'm fucked, so this- this particular success or failure doesn't matter particul- like, a lot.
So I think I want to do two things. I want to try and set it up so that some of the security measures- the warehouse security measures will work for me, rather than against me, by, like, defending me from any of the people who managed to find me here.
And I want to find the freight elevator. As I was talking about it, I was like, oh shit, that would be awesome. Like, if I could find the freight elevator, that seems like I'll be able to get out more easily– like I wonder if it can, like, sort of express get down, you know?
So I think the first thing I'm going to do– I'm like, looking, around this warehouse, I'm walking around, I'm noting when droids start to like light up, when the little eye icon appears above them to be like, "Hey, I'm starting to notice you," and the sensor starts to fill up for when my stealth has failed. I'm just like, as I'm running through trying to test all this stuff, and I think I'm going to try… and hack… to like… yeah, just make it so anybody who comes in behind me will be targeted. I doubt that it would like attack them, but there's almost– there's gotta be like a system to detain potential thieves, right?
So I'm gonna try– I'm gonna try and do a little hacking to do that. So I'm gonna roll for that. I think this is just 3d6… this is my- my T stat… do I have advantage or disadvantage? Not particularly. I think if I weren't a rich asshole, I would maybe give myself advantage here for, like, having worked in the towers. Like, I worked at the mall and so I know how it works. But… like, theoretically, I do know that because I've stolen. But I think honestly, like I'm- I'm from a rich clan. Like, I might steal for thrill, but probably not from the mall? Probably not from the Towers. Otherwise, like I think that Speck enjoys flexing having the money to spend more than she enjoys the thrill of theft.
So yeah, I'm gonna roll 3d6 and I'm gonna spend a fury to add another number to my wager. So I'm at four out of five fury. I've got 3d6. I would like to roll a three or a five. Those are good numbers and I'm doing really well at that so far. So. [Dice rolling] Oh my god yes. Okay. I rolled a four, a two, and a three.
MATT: Unlike yesterday, I don't have a clear sense of what I'm about to do. I think it's too… I don't think Imperius knows enough to, like, go back to the Calamity Hall and confront anyone there. I think he's got to go somewhere else, so maybe he got a list.
I said in the first entry that he had a list of Miss Praug's friends, and so… I only went to one, so I think I'm going to look at the list again and see who else I might be able to talk to, and I think that means I've got to go to the Book of Fate, and I think I've got to generate another NPC.
[Die rolling] So this person is an adult. [Die rolling] Is also in Calamity. And their disposition will be… [Die rolling] violent. And let's find out where this person is. [Die rolling] The Gardens. "Upscale part of the city, skyscrapers as far as the eye can see, luxurious residences above the clouds."
ALYSSA: I attempt to hack into this man's security system. I am not a hacker. This is not my wheelhouse. This was Ayla's part of the job, but Ayla is no longer here. So I'm able to pull some protocols from her, but I really don't know how they work. or how to finesse them, and so I'm able to, I think, silence the blaring alarm itself in the unit, but it doesn't stop any of the sort of systems from being alerted, and suddenly there are, I think, iron shades rolling down the windows and the building is in lockdown. Uh, so… I didn't have a direct punishment, um– I wasn't going to be able to go out the window anyway, but I have certainly not stopped the security from, uh, sort of continuing into its next stages.
And so I think my next approach is just going down the elevator, down to the lobby and hoping that I'm not stopped, and… if I am stopped, just fighting my way out of it.
MATT: So I think this is a contact, then… someone that Imperius knows, but… they are not going to be happy to see him because they've, uh… they're at the top of the game, right? And living in the Gardens and having fresh from a throwdown Imperius show up right as dawn breaks at their doorstep is not a situation that they want to be put in, I think.
But then maybe… I think I have to roll a wager again to see what kind of information I get out of this person. Even though it's the same number, I think I'm going to roll insight this time, like- how much can I take from the conversation? Like, what is this person saying by what they're not saying in the conversation? So that'll be 2d6. Do I want to spend Fury on this? I think I have to, because I really need a clue, some direction. Um… I'm gonna go with… let's do it. One and six. One and six, spending a Fury. 2d6 for my insight.
[Dice rolling] I rolled double fours, which is a failure. Let's see how bad of a failure. [Die rolling] Three. More punishing consequences. Okay.
So I've said more than they've said… I think this person is, then, part of the conspiracy and the punishing consequence is… something… is it getting captured? Is it just having to flee again? I'm not decided on that. Let me see what I come up with when I write.
SATAH: So I successfully hack this security, and I think I like the idea that this is, like, just in the nick of time. I'm doing this hacking and like just as I finish sending in some commands, the door opens. They even spot me. Like, it doesn't matter, right? They know where I am, so they even spot me, and as we make eye contact, a warehouse security droid is like, "Thief, we will detain you until," blah blah blah blah blah, uh… "this merchandise is owned by the fucking Gap. Get your ass out of here." That's right. Security droids swear. They're cool now.
And so they see me, but a few of them– how many of them burst into this warehouse? Rollin' my d6… [Die rolling] three… there were two groups of them, so rolling another one… [Die rolling] six. Oof. Nine. Yeah. So there are nine guards, or nine, uh– nine, um– ooh, maybe three of them are the- the Tower security and the six are, like, Hoshi agents. Should probably flip that. Yeah. Six tower security, three Hoshi agents.
I think Tower security hasn't been told exactly, like, you know– they are security. Like, the Hoshi agents are security. They're network security. And there's a little bit of a, like– they're posturing at each other of, like, whose domain this is, 'cause we're in the physical realm. And so Tower security is like, "Hey, this is us," and the Hoshi agents are like, "Okay, but this is also about digital. Like this is– this- this- this is bigger than you, actually, so get out of our fucking way." And uh… and yeah, they've all been detained and I am running to this freight elevator.
Do I need to roll to get the freight elevator moving? No, I feel like there's probably something I can just, like… like, there's probably a clearance, but it would make sense that I had, like, managed to get that in my roll to hack the security, right? The question is like, again, how far down can I get? [Laughs]
Um… is that the question? What do I want here? What's- what's fun here? I'm in the freight elevator…
Yeah, I think I want to be able to– I think it's most fun if I get it moving. I am going to have to roll to see if they can overcome the hacking I did of the security. Because if they can, like, get to the panel, they can certainly stop the freight elevator, right?
Is this hacking roll? Or is this… what is this? Let me think about this.
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: Log 005. The Praug file.
Am I making progress?
I got back on the skyway and took another look at the names Halicarnassus gave me. There's only one person that I know. Well, kind of know. Knew.
Virtuous Abydos. He's a friend of the clan, but he's gone for the double life, posing as a human in the world of business. He has a flat in the Gardens. I dropped in.
He didn't want to see me, of course, but it was almost sun-up, plus we're old pals. He still looks right in the prime of life, and he has all the finer things. Business. He makes chips. He let me crash in the guest room for the day. I slept like a stone. If he wanted to throw me out a window, he could have done it then.
When I woke up, I skimmed the network… anonymous mode. Just a quick dip in. There's nothing too nasty searching for me.
Once it was night, Virt and I had a talk. I had to hear a bunch about how he's unaligned and he doesn't need anyone coming along to try to drag him into this… what "this"? He backtracked. It was all about the humans and how he couldn't have the nightlife disrupting his operations.
I tried to put Halocarnassus into the mix. I'm here on assignment from the Praetor. He sent me to you.
He was very uncomfortable with my questions.
Something made me ask if Miss Praug was in the other guest room. I don't know if that was the right question or a very wrong question, but it was the end of the interview. He threw me out, right over the balcony.
He might be living the day life, but he gets to feed regularly. He didn't even struggle with tossing me over. The good news is I had time to appreciate the Gardens from a whole new perspective before I hit the street!
Well, obviously, I- I must have landed in something that was softer than the actual street. But I woke up here in the undercity. I was in a recycle bin that was about equal parts e-waste and fish guts, so I don't think I'm even under the Gardens.
It's only been a few hours, though. No one else is down here. No one is supposed to be down here. It's all automated. I'm on level 10! I've only seen one door, and it was locked.
Obviously, Virt knows more than he said. I'm beginning to think all the people on this list are just Holocarnassus' enemies. Maybe he is making stuff up to get them censured? Why would the clan be investigating if there wasn't something to investigate?
I just feel really bad at this. He must have known that. Am I just supposed to stir people up? So he can… what?
Did Virt have Charitable there? I thought I heard music.
End log.
ALYSSA: I am going to roll with Vigor because I think that there aren't people in the hallways, really. I think I have to physically break down the door in order to get out of Brahm's unit, and everyone else is sort of trapped inside their own units as well.
And, you know… elevator's probably locked down. I'll have to take however many stairs down as I'm bleeding out of my shoulder, and if I have to fight my way through the lobby and out of the building, then so be it.
SATAH: This is me trying to maintain the hack that I already did. So this is essentially me fighting, like– they are trying to, like, counter hack and I'm trying to, like, keep them at bay.
So I'm gonna roll 3d6… I think this would be disadvantaged, because I am directly fighting in Hoshi network security agents, because that's who's following me, but I want to give myself advantage because– or, rather, I want to, like, cancel out that disadvantage because, like, I'm defending? You know what I mean? Like, I already- I already won. I already did this, and the thing I'm trying to do is just, like, waste their time. That- that's part of what it is is, like, if I were trying to make this permanent, I think it would be harder but I'm not, so I'm gonna keep my 3d6, and I would like to roll… being- going really well so far, a three. [Dice rolling, pained sound] Six two four… nah.
MATT: Hopefully you can't hear my dishwasher going two rooms away but, uh, if you can, uh, it's just verisimilitude for the Undercity where Imperius finds himself.

I've been thinking about whether or not this this whole Undercity thing, being trapped here or at least for now, is a sideline to the story and I should resolve it in one, uh, log entry, or if this should- like, being underground and possibly meeting the denizens who live below the city surface or the city streets is sort of, like, the next step in the mystery. And… I- I'm not sure which way to try to resolve that.
I feel that… every thing is connected. That's kind of the move to make in a in a noir-ish cyberpunk-y kind of thing and I've already been below the street with the, um– the original friends of Charitable, so I think there's a possibility to, like, pick up on some of those threads again and- and meet up with some of those same people.
But I think there's some physical dangers first. Do I want to roll..? I mean, no is the answer– I don't want to have to roll, uh, because this is this system is- is tough.
ALYSSA: I will roll now with Vigor and the number that I will bet on is a six. [Dice rolling] Okay! One one six, thank you!
So I am able to, despite my wound, um… I think sort of after breaking down Brahm's door with my cybernetic shoulder, cybernetic arm, take a minute to sort of fasten off a little tourniquet, DIY, onto my shoulder. I mean– I'm a vampire, I assume I feel pain, and I assume that, especially from combat with a vampire hunter, I am feeling the consequences of my actions, so… tie off the shoulder wound. I think that it is starting to burn as something that was on the bullet is working its way into my system.
But I'm still able to make my way down the many, many, many, many, many staircases of this skyscraper to the lobby.
And once there… do I think they have human security? I think that human security has been alerted. That is an external force. And right now, what they're sending through are little droids. Robots, rather than actual people, and that is easy enough for me to deal with, and I think I don't even register, actually, as a threat to them because I'm a vampire, not a person. And so any sort of heat registering technology, that is not going to catch me, a dead body.
So, fortunately, I'm able to make my way down to the lobby. I, you know… there is a desk person, not a security force, just a sort of nice face to greet people as they come home, and just easy enough for a big, strong girl like me to knock them out and get out of the building without further incident.
MATT: I'm looking at the Book of Fate again, just seeing what other things I can randomise. I haven't rolled yet on the event table. What else is here that I haven't rolled on? Threats, armament. Maybe that's just do all three of those, and that's my three things, and we'll see how they run together.
Alright, so an event. [Die rolling] Four. "It was an accident. You must run against the clock."
Threats. Roll 1d6 for quantity as well; that's dangerous. [Dice rolling] Five vampire hunters is what I've rolled. That's, um, that's real bad.
And then what is… I think the last one is armaments. [Die rolling] Four again. "Low caliber. Just slug throwers. Pistols and revolvers. No special bullets." Okay.
How to put these three things together. What have I created for myself?
SATAH: So let's see how badly this gets me. One. "Critical failure. Harsh punishment."
I know exactly what it is. Part of the way that I was… managing to maintain– like, I was- I was keeping them at bay was that, uh, I was just sending– I was making them, like, consistently re-trigger the anti-theft measures? Like, they'd get them under control and then I'd send a new alert, basically manually, and so it was just, like, in their way, and new droids kept coming over to, like, detain them and just be annoying.
And, uh, the big failure here is that I sent too many threats. I pushed too hard. And a huge lockdown goes in, like, just gets enabled. An alarm sounds and the freight elevator is going to grind to a halt.
I'm going to roll to see again how far I went down– [Laughing] this is my fun new little mechanic that I've put in. I'm going to roll with disadvantage. I'm going to take the lowest. I rolled a 4, 40%. I rolled a 3, 30%. Okay. That's fine. I got another 30% of the way down the tower in the freight elevator. It is fast, is the thing. Uncomfortably fast. I had to, like– I was standing up and the force of it– because it's not meant to have people in it usually? Or like there's a setting for people that I did not put it on, and so it's super fast, uncomfortable. I was standing up. I ended up sitting on the floor and then it stops really suddenly as well. It's painful.
And I am 70% of the way down the tower!
MATT: I think what makes sense here… the two things that I'm thinking about are going to be one and then the other, basically.
So I'm leaning toward… Imperius is wandering about. There's some vampire hunters. Something he's done or, possibly been tipped off by the guy who threw him into the- into the, uh, recycle bin, um– yeah, you got the vampire hunters. And they're coming. And they don't want to- they want to hunt; they don't want to kill me, which is why they're using just pistols, right? So it's, like, painful and slightly debilitating, uh, but not deadly. They're not trying to kill me. They're trying to have some fun here in the Undercity. Real nastiness.
And so I gotta run. "You run against the clock." They're after me and I think… it does say it was an accident, so maybe they found me coincidentally? But I think this sideline is sort of the situation and I think I'm able to get away, but then that's going to lead to the mystery. However I escape these people leads to the next clue, potentially. We'll deal with that next time.
SATAH: The freight elevator did not stop at a floor, or it didn't stop exactly at a floor. That's the other harsh punishment. I'm stuck.
ALYSSA: That, I think, is where I will leave my first log.
SATAH: At this point, I think that I am admitting– Speck is admitting, that things are pretty bad. And she is going to, real quick, hop back on Calamitynet and send in a log to Klysm. I'm going to go write that down real quick; I'll be back.
MATT: Let me… let make a journal.
SATAH: Okay. Before I read this log, I need to roll something to determine someone who's in it.
So I was like, I want to send a log that is encrypted- that is like, you know, "If I don't make it out of here," type thing, and I was like, what if there's something… there's, like, a death encryption that we have that essentially, like… you can put things in code. The most difficult to crack code that– maybe it's all the katas, everyone with my level and higher or whatever,w we have, like, code ciphers that are truly uncrackable until the person who sent the message dies. And I was thinking that like the cipher is installed on our fangs or, like, you know, the little– the implant that we get, the one that's like… yeah, it's, like, under the cheekbones and there is, like, a cipher in there that can crack this level of encryption. And so it's- it's a like, "Hey, if you can read this, I fucking died," kind of thing. Um. I don't know all the details of it, but that's basically where I'm at. And so I'm sending something that is encrypted at that level.
And I just want to roll… I want to mention a person in it. And so I just wanted to hop on-mic and figure out who that person is.
I- I want an NPC that I'm going to mention who went into the public sector. [Laughs] Um, started working for the government in some way. And I'm just going to roll to see… if they defected from Calamity or something else. So I'm going to roll on that NPC list again that is like, one and two are Calamity clan, three is a nomad, so I guess unaffiliated, four to six is a rival clan. Three… unaffiliated! Interesting.
Okay. I think what that's going to mean is that it was, um… this was actually the person who I used to– my former… Calamity's former cyberware dealer before TRAINR who started working for the military. Like… the- the government military. [Laughs] Yeah, so…
ALYSSA: Log 001.
MATT: Log 006.
SATAH: Log 003, which is encrypted with my death codes, death encryption, just says, "Eyes on Hoshi. Net acquisition deal. Client reminded me of our old friend Lex."
ALYSSA, AS TISIPHONY: A bit bloodier than I'd like, but mission accomplished. I wonder if the vampire hunter will react as well as I did, opening a package of his protege's teeth.
I hope he will. I'm betting on it.
SATAH: You know, basically just saying, like, "Remember how we had somebody we could rely on, or at least reliably manipulate, who is no longer under our control because they started working for the government? Yeah. Look into what Hoshi's doing with the 'net and, uh… with that in mind!" is the message I'm going to send.
ALYSSA: And I think that's it. Just a little short and sweet message to the ether, to her love, letting them know that revenge is coming.
MATT, AS IMPERIUS: Julius H. Caesar, why? What is happening?
I wandered, and the only routes I found in the machines were trending down. I've been down here a while. Eventually I found an air shaft, and I climbed up, just to get closer to the streets. But that was a mistake, or something, because I met some hunters. Down here! Waiting for me? Already tracking me? Did someone send them?
I think there are five of them. They were armored, but they didn't use anything too nasty. They were just picking at me with small arms fire. It still hurts to get hit with bullets.
If they wanted me dead, I have no doubt I would be. They want to chase me. Just good old time fashion hunters out for a weekend fun.
At least these levels are more open. I think I'm up to 12 or 14 now?
They always move together, but if I can get one alone for just a moment, then I'll do what vampires do.
End log.
ALYSSA: I do have a pretty nasty shoulder wound, and it's only getting worse as the night progresses. And so I think that, unfortunately, my next step has to be to go to a doctor.
MATT: I don't know if it matters, but I have been recording one log a day during this process. That's kind of how I like to play a solo game, making one entry and thinking about it.
So I've been thinking about the situation that I've left Imperius in.
SATAH: I'm stuck in this freight elevator. I've just sent out this message.
At this point, I think the elevator, like– there's a grinding noise and it starts moving again really slowly, and it's actually going a little bit back up. It's going up to the nearest door, and they are going to, uh… no, wait! I'm… yeah, no, I think I'm going to do that. I was like– okay, here's my thought process. I was like, they can pull me back up. They can open the door. I can deal with, like– the challenge can be getting by them again. Then I was like, do I want to try and disable the tracker again and have that be a potential consequence for failure? If I do succeed at that, how do I get out of the freight elevator? I guess they would still know that I'm in it because they managed to track me there. So yeah, okay.
While I'm sitting, like, trapped in this elevator, I'm gonna try again… [Laughing] to disable this tracker.
And I know there's something a little gauche about rolling to do the same thing multiple times. I think the thing is… I'm counting as like, there are changed circumstances every time, in that, like, part of the reason I am consistently failing is because I'm on the run? Every single time I have tried to roll, it's in part because, like, I can't give it my full attention. I can't take time. Which is still true here, but it's like– I'm basically just saying like, this is why I feel like it's fair to keep rolling for it, rather than just being like, you have to stop trying to do that. Um…
Because I mean, I can keep failing! And I have. And stuff will keep happening. But, like, it's OK to keep trying. What a beautiful sentiment for life.
Uh, yeah. OK, OK, OK. So.
MATT: There's one little part of the rules left that I haven't used, and that's advantage and disadvantage. Basically, if you are in a better position, you've got the right equipment, all that kind of stuff, you have advantage on your wager, so you get one Fury back and you add one die.
There's also, I guess– part of that is if you win a challenge with advantage, then you "Kill to feed," which also gives you one Fury, and I like this because it kind of plays into– it says, "Take note of the victim's name." I have established in my fiction that, like, drinking the blood kind of gives you some of their knowledge as well? So that, take note of the victim's name, is like, I don't know who this guy is. Until I eat him! And then I know everything that he knew, which is kind of weird and creepy and vampirey.
So anyway, I'm planning to bring all of that in. And I like the idea of giving Imperius, like, kind of the best chance possible to have this happen, so I'm thinking… and again, this is implied in my fiction already. I don't think that vampires in this sort of setting have the, like, turn into mist, turn into bat kind of situation, but I think they do have sort of superior movement, because I described dropping into the Gardens. So how could just some guy have gotten into, like a– security of– the security of the Gardens to talk to the guy he knew without some sort of vampire powers? Although I've left them very vague.
I think in this sort of Undercity context that I've been exploring, you know, recycling machines and, you know, pipes and air vents and stuff like that, I think Imperius has the advantage of movement. So what I'm imagining is that he's waiting on some pipes in the ceiling or on the ceiling, against the ceiling, waiting for just one of these hunters to be in the right position.
Even though this is, uh- should probably be Vigor because it's probably going to be a physical fight, I think I'm going to roll Insight. I'm going to roll Insight because I'm waiting for just the right moment, so that gives me two dice to roll, plus I'm gonna- because the advantage of the movement and I'm on the ceiling and I'm unexpected, it's a surprise attack, I'm gonna give myself the bonus die.
Because I'm attacking with advantage, I get one fury back, which I'm gonna spend to pick two numbers here.
So this is where this really feels dangerous, because I could still lose. I could still lose, even with this advantage, um, but I- I'm gonna- I'm gonna try for it.
Alright. What do I want to pick for my wager? Um, the dice are on four and five right now, so I think I'm gonna pick- I think I'm gonna say four and five. I'm gonna pick them up… four and five. [Dice rolling, huge sigh] I got one four. I got one four. So I've succeeded in this thing, this attack.
ALYSSA: I can't imagine that a regular cyberdoc would be thrilled to see me, and I wonder if this means I have to go to a specific vampire doctor. Obviously, people in the family get into scrapes; I assume we have some doctors in the know on retainer. I mean, someone has to help with the fangs and everything else.
But this was an off-book mission, and if I report to a Calamity doctor, then the Calamity will know that I was hurt, and I have no reason to be hurt right now, so that would only cause problems, so I think that what I am going to do is rely on one of the other clans.
SATAH: I am going to spend another Fury. I'm down to three out of five. I'm going to do just my straight 3d6. Am I? Or should I be at disadvantage at this point? Because… I've been rolling at disadvantage to disable the tracker. Yes. Yeah, I'm gonna do that.
So I'm rolling 2d6. I'm spending a Fury. I would like to roll a three or a five. [Giggling, dice rolling] Oh my god, I did it! I did it! I did it; I rolled a three and a two. Holy shit! [Laughing] Okay. Okay! I disabled the tracker!
MATT: So I imagine Imperius drops down behind, let's say, the last guy, the last hunter in this pack. Drops down behind him, grabs him, does the vampire thing, feeds to kill as the advantage. I've overcome this challenge with advantage, which means I feed to kill. So I get back the one Fury that I had spent on this attempt. I'll mark that, which gives me– I'm back up to four of five fury.
And alright, I'm going to roll this into a combat now, which I think is… because I'm going to keep going with this sort of, like, giving myself the best chance to succeed, I'm going to do a combat, but I think it's, again, going to be an insight-based combat, because I think mainly what he wants to do is he wants to start insulting these other hunters with, like, secrets that he just learned from the guy he ate. Like, hey, Brian, did you know that, like, your wife was cheating on you with Chad here? Like, did you know that? For, like, six years? Wow. And other things like that, that Imperius is going to be kind of shouting in the dark of this Undercity area, just really trying to throw these people off their game.
So again, two dice for insight. I'm going to carry that surprise advantage and this sort of, like, targeted– it's advantage because I have the secret information from… did I say Chad? Did I eat Chad, and then I've got his secrets? So I'm using that against them. I'm going to spend a Fury to pick two numbers, so back down to three Fury.
I think I'm going to go two and five this time. [Dice rolling] I got two fives. That doesn't give me more success, but it is success.
ALYSSA: "Clan SSinor: Founded by a scientist, this clan is heavily involved in biocybernetic development and dominates the underground market for synthetic and organic organs." I don't know that I need organs, but I certainly need blood and patching up. And I think there's probably someone in this clan that I could call on.
MATT: I've overcome again on advantage, so I kill to feed again. I do have to roll for damage. [Die rolling] That also gave me a five. So again, I have come out of that combat basically clean.
ALYSSA: The question is how easy it is to do.
OUTRO
SATAH: This has been Folio, an actual play podcast about solo and otherwise self-paced TTRPGs. As you're filling out your CRiT awards ballot this month, I would deeply appreciate a vote for Folio as "best upcoming podcast" and Satah– that's me– for best tech/producer.
Otherwise, to find where you can find the show, check out foliopod.carrd.co. Sign up as a paid member at patreon.com/foliopod to vote on games and get early access to the bonus feed with edited audio-only versions of livestreams a while after they happen and occasional other stuff, or join there as a free member to get slightly delayed access to the bonus feed.
You can follow Matt Orr on instagram at wetinkgames or check out all things Wet Ink at wetinkgames.com.
You can follow Alyssa on Bluesky at adisasterqueer.bsky.social and find their games at adisasterqueer.itch.io. Four days after every episode of this series, Tuesdays at 8 PM Eastern time, they are running Soothwardens, a two-player game about big feelings and big monsters, at twitch.tv/gamemastermonday
You can follow Satah– the aforementioned me– on Bluesky at posatahchips.gaygothvibes.online and check out my work at gaygothvibes.online.
Next week, Matt and Alyssa and I will continue our games of Furyya by Uoshi, the layout artist for the currently-crowdfunding print edition of Galactic & Going Rogue. Everything I mentioned here is linked in the show notes. Thanks so much for listening, and take care out there.