My 2010 gaming wishlist #3: Roleplaying

Looking back
The bad
That definite hankering which came upon me earlier this year gnaws away at me ever more insistently, and yet we didn't get any roleplaying going. Why? Short form: there wasn't enough interest around the table for me to want to change tack with a successful boardgaming group. Long form: well, therein lies the rub.

Readers with more than passing roleplaying experience will be well aware that clashing playstyles and other social dynamics are core issues which can confound a roleplaying group. They are also very personal issues since they arise from the relationships between friends. Tempting as it was therefore to sound off a GM's frustrations here @RD/KA!, I could never escape the realisation that any such roleplayer's bitching in which I felt like indulging should be kept strictly face-to-face. It's only fair after all.

The Adventures of Felix Mephisto, Gentleman

Donald ran this back in 2005, using FGU's quirky old game Flashing Blades. It was a lot of fun and some moments stand out as among the best roleplaying sessions I've ever played. :0)

The Adventures of Felix Mephisto, Gentleman:
- Prologue
Part 2:
- Chapter 1. In which: Felix Suffers for his Naiveté
- Chapter 2. In which: Comforts & Clever Contrivances Notwithstanding, Felix just Suffers
- Chapter 3. In which: A Taste of Pain & Poison Gives Felix a Taste for Bloody Vengance
- Chapter 4. In which: A Taste of Power and the Imbecility of Minions Give Felix Pangs of Guilt
- Chapter 5. In which: Conspirators Are Confronted & Confounded, & Felix Receives His Just Reward

The Adventures of Felix Mephisto, Gentleman: Part 2

Chapter 5. In which: Conspirators Are Confronted & Confounded, & Felix Receives His Just Reward

So, with 4 of us knackered after Saturday's long session and subsequent late night, we decided yesterday just to round off Donald's first Flashing Blades adventure. Brian's presence brought a 5th PC into the adventure just in time for the conclusion.

**********

It might've been the pangs Felix was feeling over the fate of the innocent servants of the Chevalier Didonner. Or it might've been the tensions of the wait for the confrontation with the conspirators that was to follow that evening. Either way our 4 heroes spent a quiet and restless afternoon which was broken only by another trip to reconnoitre the nearby graveyard, and by discussions to plan their attack.

In the end it was agreed to split into pairs- Felix and Baron Tourné- posing as people interested in graveyard memorial architecture, on the one hand; and van Horstmann and Marie- posing as mourners, on the other. Arriving with plenty of time to spare, our heroes deployed their bravoes- 7 city guardsmen under their command on the authority of the Constable General- in hiding in a nearby mausoleum (Felix winced to see their desecration of this repose of the dead, until he realised that it was a Papist plot, after all). The guardsmen were told that a gunshot would be their signal to rush to our heroes' aid.

Another long wait began.

Some time later shouting was to be heard from the mausoleum that was the guardsmen hideout. Hastening thence our brave defenders of France discovered 2 guardsmen- one of them their sergeant- arguing over a game of dice. Felix instructed the guard sergeant to exercise more control over his men, not to mention more discretion himself. The Baron Tourné had to be dissuaded from joining their game.

Returning to their watch our intrepid investigators didn't have long to wait before they caught sight of the first conspirator, who Jean-Claude recognised as the Baron de Gras, who was the intended overseer of the new project to construct the series of fortifications along the Spanish Netherlands border. He and his 2 henchmen both were decked out in the by now familar red kerchief, which was soon accompanied by a mask that was pulled down from under their hats.

De Gras and his henchmen noticed Felix and Jean-Claude lurking nearby as they passed, but fortunately our pair's ruse to conceal their intentions passed muster, and the conspirator and his companions passed by. Our 4 heroes sought suitably concealed vantage points from which to maintain a watch on events. Soon there were 4 recognised conspirators present- one of whom was a leading member of the Bank of the Brothers de Vittoria, so that Felix and the Baron finally realised that the bank was part of the conspiracy and not one of its victims. Also recognised was the Spanish ambassador. Each was accompanied by 2 henchmen.

Unbeknownst to all present, there was also another watcher nearby, but he chose to maintain his concealment at this point.

Seeing the conspirators gathered for their planned gathering, our intrepid investigators rapidly understood that this was no time for subtlety. This was reinforced when- as our heroes looked to their weapons- another outburst of shouting was heard from the mausoleum where the city guard was hidden. Our heroes opened fire, Felix choosing to aim for the villainous Spanish ambassador.

Taken unawares, the conspirators and their henchmen rallied quickly, drawing a variety of weapons to prepare themselves against attack. Gunshots were exchanged, including some which appeared to target the traitors from an unexpected quarter. The conspirators' bodyguards were just preparing to launch an assault at our heroes when they were diverted by the arrival of the city guard, who had managed to respond to the prearranged signal despite their own brouhaha.

The ensuing melee was mercifully short, thanks in part to the arrival of the mysterious 5th man- a gentleman who became known to Felix only as Xavier; but mostly because the plotters had little stomach for a fight. The one traitor who posed a real threat delivered some telling blows to the unfortunate Baron Tourné, but chose to surrender when his more lily-livered fellows left him outnumbered several to one.

Relieving the plotters of their weapons and other possessions before they were marched off to meet their well-deserved fates, our brave defenders of France found detailed specifications of the plans and armaments for the projected fortresses, as well as a credit note from the crown for several hundred thousand livres: a conspiracy that could've ripped the heart from France's continental power just as it had been stabilised following the victory at Rocroi in other words.

Felix's satisfaction at this outcome was magnified when the Constable General paid our heroes for their endeavours. Receiving the sum of 200 livres, our young gentleman's first thought was that he could, after all, pay his taxes this year. Our would-be bourgeois was to enjoy further gratification later, when he discovered that his services to France had led to his promotion at his Club of Saint George- he was now a club manager, who could enjoy the club's services for no annual fee in return for a minor allocation of his time.

All of which left our gentleman finding it very easy to nurse his minor wounds when he returned to his apartments sometime thereafter.

The Adventures of Felix Mephisto, Gentleman: Part 2

Chapter 4. In which: A Taste of Power & the Imbecility of Minions Gives Felix Pangs of Guilt

Arriving at the Baron's apartments still groggy and sore, Felix made to head off to get some sleep, but this was to be delayed. While the others divested themselves of their outdoor garments so as to get comfortable, Hugo took off his hat to reveal a shock of long hair and an obvious talent for disguise: 'he' was none other than Marie Hugo- a female, of all things! The Baron and Piedro's surprise wasn't shared by Felix, still too intent on sleep to care. But he still wasn't going to get his much needed rest, for there came an immediate and unexpected knock at the door.

Upon answering the Baron was surprised to see none other than the Constable General himself. Expressing irritation at the fact that our intrepid investigators hadn't made a report as per instructions (which Felix deflected with a reference to what had befallen that afternoon), the Constable General explained that, in the light of France's victory at the Battle of Rocroi last May, it had been decided at Court to build a series of fortifications along the Spanish-Dutch border. A certain M. Moulin- head of the already familiar Bank of the Brothers de Vittoria- was going to be in charge of funding, while some Baron de Gras was going to oversee the project. Our heroes didn't need the Constable General's word that this was relevant to their investigations, but they listened politely enough in any event.

The Constable General's amateur agents gave their tardy report thereafter. Pronouncing himself satisfied with their efforts thus far, the Constable General gave his assent to the plan to seek the Chevalier Didonner in his town house. He prepared a warrant permitting our heroes to search the premises, telling them that they could call on a patrol of his guard if their assistance should prove needful. Then he took his leave.

Felix finally got the sleep he so craved. The others whiled the time away at cards and general idling.

And so it was that, a couple of hours before dawn, our fearless four set out in a carriage to the Chevalier's by now familiar house. Confronting the door, Marie found herself baffled by the lock. Piedro wasn't so baffled, but his strength was defeated by the door being solidly barred on the inside.

Our heroes knocked.

As the door swung open, Piedro kicked it in and Felix burst through to point his pistol at the same old flunkey. Brooking neither argument nor dissent, and with a startlingly threatening demeanour, Felix explained that the man's master was a traitor to France and that he himself would suffer an accomplice's fate if he didn't cooperate fully- a point that was reiterated whenever our hero felt it needful (which was quite often, given the young man's wrathful desire for vengance on his would-be assassin and the evil fellow's masters).

Didonner's servants were rounded up at gunpoint and locked in the dining room, by which time a goodly proportion of them were hysterical- something which left Felix not quite as unmoved as he appeared to demonstrate. The house was searched. The Baron and Marie found the Chevalier's cellars, which they promptly sampled. Van Horstmann soon found a message written in a cipher the key to which had been found at the start of the investigation, which key Piedro had wisely retained. Decoded, the message revealed that a meeting was to take place in a nearby graveyard at 7 of the evening.

The Chevalier's flunkey explained that his master had departed at about 7 the previous evening, which news led Felix to believe that the undated message referred to the evening of the day just dawning. Marie and Piedro confirmed this with a quick visit to the appointed rendezvous point, where Piedro quickly found that the ground didn't show the footprints of a recent large gathering.

Meanwhile Felix and the Baron soon attracted the attention of a passing patrol of the city guard, who were deputised to fetch the reinforcements promised by the Constable General. Marie and Piedro returned and the reinforcments having arrived, it was decided to make an attempt at the basement of the bank into which so many wearers of the red kerchief had been seen to descend only the other day.

Two guards were left to watch the Chevalier's servants, with instructions from Felix to keep them securely under lock and key, while the remaining 7 accompanied our intrepid heroes up the street ready to assist in case of resistance. Face swathed in a scarf purloined from Didonner's house and red kerchief worn just so, Felix descended to the basement door and knocked.

No answer.

Some thought was given to breaking in by use of pry-bars or black powder, until it dawned on our companions that breaking into the basement of a bank in the service of the Crown might not be... appropriate. Felix in particular began to realise that- having spent his entire annual disposal and his savings in the few days of this mission, the last thing he wanted to do was to endanger the lucrative reward which he felt must be his just desserts on completion of his hazardous service to France. So our agents of the Crown returned to the Chevalier's house to consider their next move, to be astonished and stunned to find it empty.

Their first thought was treachery on the part of one of the guards- the Constable General had repeatedly warned our heroes about infiltration of his department. Felix's next thought was the cook, who he knew had keys. In any event our 4 companions made haste to the offices of the Constable General to report to him this dire news. There they discovered that the entire household of servants had been carted off to the Bastille by a guard who had taken Felix's instruction about 'under lock and key' a lot more literally than our young gentleman had intended.

Even the vengeful young Felix felt a twinge of guilt at his part in such a fate visited upon the innocent servants of a treacherous man, and he put in a plea for their release upon the conclusion of the whole affair, a plea which he hoped the Constable General would hear and attend to. Thereafter everyone repaired again to the Chevalier's townhouse there to await their confrontation with the red kerchief plotters that same evening.

The Adventures of Felix Mephisto, Gentleman: Part 2

Chapter 3. In which: A Taste of Pain & Poison Give Felix a Taste for Bloody Vengance

Well, Brian being away on holiday this week, I felt uncomfortable at the thought of pushing his PC into the background of the session I've been planning for so long. So we all agreed to play Donald's Flashing Blades yesterday instead of the expected WFRP. So this time there were 4 PC's to pursue the investigation into the affair of the Red Kerchief Plotters.

**********

Recovered from the rigours of their visit to the Baron's aunt, Felix and Jean-Claude met up late the next morning at the Club of St. George. They were joined there by Piedro van Horstmann, his pressing family business now concluded.

By this time Felix and the Baron had realised that the Chevalier was no victim, but was undoubtedly a key conspirator. As a result the note they had left for him must mean that the red kerchief plotters knew that our heroes were on their trail. In fact, mayhap the activity seen the previous day had been a response to this exposure of their schemes. As our 3 heroes planned their next move, Felix insisted they had to move fast and hope to exploit any potential confusion that their own sudden intrusion into the course of events might've engendered.

While the 3 companions considered what this would entail, word came that there was someone waiting to see Felix. The visitor was brought in. Introducing himself only as Hugo, the newcomer turned out to be bearing a message from the Constable General. The message told that events at court were unfolding which might have some bearing on our heroes' investigations, and insisted that a report be delivered that day.

Taking the Constable General's confidence in this Hugo at face value, Felix, Piedro and Jean-Claude outlined the situation and options were discussed with the newcomer over a game of cards or two (in which fortune favoured the Baron as ever). The decision was that it was time to try the ruse with the red kerchief at the basement door of the bank of the Brothers de Vittoria. Three more kerchiefs were obtained through the services of van Horstmann's handy flunkey.

Our party set off.

Someone soon noticed that 2 men were following our intrepid band. Felix quickly brought the party to a halt. Giving the impression of talking animatedly and adding some extravagant gesticulation, Felix proposed to continue on ahead while everyone else should take to a side alley to outflank the shadowers for the sake of an ambush. This was agreed. With a last gesture, Felix set off as before.

The next thing Felix knew a crossbow bolt skidded off his sturdy leather boot. The busy street left Felix unable to spot the attacker, so he turned about and headed back down towards his fellows by which time the hidden attacker had had time to reload, and his 2nd bolt hit home more solidly. Felix winced as the bolt bit into his right thigh- painful, but fortunately only a flesh wound.

At this point the others spotted not only the crossbow-armed assassin on a nearby rooftop but also the 2 shadowers moving up to the attack. Van Horstmann went to Felix's assistance while Hugo and the Baron turned to face their pursuers one of whom unleashed a hail of throwing knives. Thankfully our heroes were prepared for hazard and the Baron's cuirass saved him from injury.

Felix and Piedro sought cover from the rooftop assassin. Pistols were pulled and several shots discharged by to no avail. Hugo drew his sword and closed in to attack. He avoided his opponent's attempt to parry and delivered a slashing cut which left his man staggering backwards to fall to the ground. Putting the point of his blade to his hapless assailant's throat Hugo waited for the man to surrender. He tried instead to knock the blade aside and strike out at Hugo, for which he paid with his foolish life just as the Baron was calling out to take him alive.

Meanwhile Felix and Piedro were moving to cut off the retreating rooftop assassin, Felix looking for a side-alley for the sake of getting round behind the villain. Ignoring the pain of his wound and the blood dripping into his boot Felix threw himself against the wall under the eaves. Suddenly he felt strangely woozy. Poison!- he thought. As van Horstmann drew a bead on the assassin and fired- to no avail- Felix's head swam more and more and he soon passed out altogether.

As Felix lay unconscious in the street van Horstmann made a last attempt to pursue the crossbow armed assassin, but gave it up as futile as said villain made his escape across the Paris rooftops. Piedro then returned to attend to the health of his young companion. A local doctor soon arrived on the scene, and Felix was carried to his house nearby.

Nearby, the villainous companion of Hugo's victim having fled, and the Jean-Claude having given up the chase as futile, the Baron and his new companion were searching the corpse for clues when a city magistrate arrived. With the aid of his rank and the Constable General's warrant the Baron was soon able to convince the magistrate of the true circumstances of the murderous situation. Grasping these realities the magistrate sent for a contingent of the city guard to dispose of the corpse.

By this time the doctor was investigating Felix's injuries. Sure enough: he diagnosed a poisoned wound. With the help of van Horstmann's chemical knowledge, he was able to prescribe an antidote. The doctor's daughter was sent to procure the ingredients while his wife attended to cleaning and bandaging our young gentleman's wound. Baron Tourné and Hugo caught up with their companions, having watched their would-be assassin's corpse being unceremoniously dumped into a wagon for removal, then being directed to the doctor's house by a bystander at the scene.

Everyone watched as Felix was fed the antidote drip by drip. He'll be unconscious for several more hours, the doctor told them. Come back later this evening.

And so it was that Felix awoke, naked, and in a strange room. His head was sore beyond a mere ache as he struggled even to sit up, but he still made a determined effort to get to his pistol and sword which he could see nearby. At this point the doctor's plain young daughter stuck her head round the door, whereupon, espying that the patient was awake, she fetched her parents.

Felix was soon being sat up in bed with pillows fluffed behind him, and being fed a bowl of heartening broth. This'll need some bleeding suggested the doctor. No replied Felix, I've bled enough today. Then the doctor gave the young man an unpleasant tasting concoction to drink. This'll soothe the pain he told our young hero. It did that, and more too, leaving Felix without a care in the world despite all the trials, tribulations and excessive expenses of the past few days.

Sometime thereafter the rest of the party arrived to collect their unfortunate companion. Paying the doctor his fee on the spot (10 livres!- Felix's annual disposable- not to mention his meagre savings- had pretty much been disposed of by now) Felix was given a bottle of the miraculously soothing medication and told to return in a few days for a final check-up. More expense?- was Felix’s immediate thought.

Ensconced in the carriage the Baron Tourné had brought, the PC's decided to repair to the good Baron's apartments, there to prepare for the next stage of the investigation. This had become a simple matter for Felix:- as he repeated time and time again: these people were traitors to France and lowlife scum employing evil means like poison- there was nothing for it but to track them down and kill them. No one demurred.

The Adventures of Felix Mephisto, Gentleman: Part 2

Chapter 2. In which: Comforts & Clever Contrivances Notwithstanding, Felix Just Suffers

Fortified by a night of prayer, sincere repentance, and the sound sleep of the just, Felix rose at 7am according to his well-regulated habits. He was surprised - and not a little nonplussed - to see the Baron arrive bright, early, and confoundedly chipper at their designated rendezvous for the day. Thus refreshed, both our servants of the Crown faced the new day with the same idea: why not just maintain a watch upon the Bank of the Brothers Di Vittoria, to see what befell?

Preparing themselves again for hazard, they set off. Unfortunately there was no convenient tavern nearby to provide a comfortable vantage point. Fortunately there was an aging wealthy aunt of the Baron's living just across the street... ["You'll need a VERY good roll on your Luck," said Donald, in reply to Tony's query about local contacts. Tony rolled his dice. "Is a 2 good enough?" chorused our grinning faces.]

Greeted generously by said aunt's wrinkled retainer upon his answering the good Baron's knock at the door, we were introduced first to the aunt's lady companion: a veritable battle-axe of a virago who greeted our intrepid pair with all the warmth of a polar hurricane. Jean-Claude's aunt, on the other hand, greeted her prodigal nephew with questions about his health and his persistent bachelorhood, in the sort of barrage unique to distaff doting dotards. Sensing how long this would persist, the already noticably taciturn Felix requested a moment with the aunt's lady companion.

Showing her the Constable General's warrant that he had obtained from the deluged Jean-Claude, Felix explained the situation to this steely-eyed and icy matriarch. Spying her rosary, Felix privately bemoaned the loss - to the True Faith - of such a staunch matron. With a show of reluctance and evident distaste, she instructed the decrepit butler to show our young gentleman to the balcony, which turned out to have the perfect prospect for our pair's purpose.

Settling down Felix attended to his deck of cards, and to the game which had already cost him 8 of his precious 48 disposable livres per annum (an unprecedented run of luck for our good Baron, though insufficiently lucrative to recover the fortune his hitherto poorer luck had cost him, naturally enough). Brought some refreshments by the household's serving staff, he also began to enjoy a taste of the comforts to which he aspired. Eventually, he was joined by the Baron. Lunch was served soon thereafter.

In the hours they spent at their post, Felix and Jean-Claude saw 3 men follow the steps down to the basement door that had earlier caught their attention, only to reappear some quarter hour or more later. All of them wore in their breast pockets the vivid red kerchief which our PC's had found just so on the body of the dead le Droite; which le Droite and Chevalier Didonner were similarly wearing when the former was last seen alive - by the barman at the Black Cross Club; and which Felix still retained - for the sake of a possible ruse, naturally enough.

After a brief conference, our good Baron and his gentleman friend agreed that this was not a situation into which they could afford just to blunder, relying merely on the red kerchief and Felix's silver tounge. After all, there might be passwords, secret signs, and so on. They agreed on a simple plan proposed by Felix.

And so it was, after loitering in the street by the bank for some considerable time, Felix contrived to have to step smartly out of the way of the next wearer of a red kerchief who made to descend the steps to the basement door, then to drop his pack of cards. Picking them up gave him plenty of time to spy out the fellow's entry, which turned out to require nothing more - apparently - than the sight of the red kerchief through a spyhole in the door.

Things started rapidly to fall into place at this point. The situtation was thus: the war with England; Italian bankers handling Crown bonds to raise funds for the armed forces of France, and raising investments to equip ships of marque to take the war to the English in the Orient; a mysterious Spaniard lurking somewhere behind the band of the red kerchiefs; and the Constable General's fear that his own staff had been infiltrated. Our 2 companions were clearly facing more than merely the larceny that Felix had long suspected.

But all of that was as nothing right at that moment: it was time for dinner, and the good Baron and Felix were to dine with the Baron's aunt, and - as it turned out - a cousin of his: female, and also unmarried (tragically - in the eyes of the aunt, naturally enough).

This cousin turned out to be a prattling horse-faced dullard with a laugh like a braying donkey, a sentimental attachment to the indigent, and a passion for her Catholic faith. All of which reduced her to less in Felix's eyes than the utter disinterest Jean-Claude could barely be bothered to conceal. The meal passed in a strained atmosphere utterly devoid of conviviality. Even Felix's charm failed him conspicuously.

Suddenly our young gentleman felt a stockinged foot stroke his calf under the table. The man's astonishment rapidly turned to utter horror when he realised that his would-be seductress wasn't the droning mare. No. It was the grim-faced battleaxe (a hatchet-faced hag aged some thrice Felix's 19 years, by God!), whose foot spoke of something of which her face betrayed not a jot. Begging to be excused, Felix attended to his toilet in the hopes of regaining a measure of what would pass for composure, and the cessation of this torment on his return to the table.

Luck was not with him however. So he grit his teeth, planted both feet firmly on the floor, and added his grimly restrained hysterical outrage to the pleasures of the company for the remaining courses of the longest meal of his short life. The gentlemen's retreat to the smoking room came as a blessed relief.

We have business to attend to, he implored the Baron.

At this time of night, when the ladies are about to join us? came the crushing reply.

As the evening wound its painful way to a polite goodnight, Felix fondly hoped that the successful conclusion of their mission would not only benefit his beloved France, but would also bring him his just reward in terms of favour, fortune and advancement.

Otherwise... Otherwise... Otherwise...Well, otherwise what exactly?

**********

How we laughed! ;)

The Adventures of Felix Mephisto, Gentleman: Part 2

Chapter 1. In which Felix Suffers For His Naiveté

Well, the pressures of organising my upcoming jaunt- not to mention my rampant foolishness in deciding to run a WFRP scenario of my own devising- mean that I decided last week to put my little Old World on hold until after my return. And so it turned out that yesterday's roleplaying took place entirely in Donald's version of Dumas' Paris, dateline June 1643.

Meanwhile pressing issues of real life and other things had reduced yesterday's group to just Donald, Tony and myself.

**********

So it was that, having gleaned the name of the Chevalier Didonner from the barman at the Black Cross Club, our 3 companions retired for the evening. Van Horstmann to the comforts of his apartments and an attentive flunkey. The good Baron and Felix first to the Club of St. George, for a slap up feed which- at a hefty 5 livres- cost our young gentleman fully one tenth of his annual disposable income.

Over dinner our PC's resolved to find out more about this Chevalier Didonner. They consulted the Club's concierge. A few more livres from Felix, topped up by the Baron, brought the assurance of some information on the morrow.

Thereafter: to the Baron's apartment, there to await a report from Piedro on the contents of the goblets from which the late M. le Droite had been seen sharing a bottle of wine with the aforementioned chevalier just before the untimely death that had caused the Constable General to call upon his acquaintance Baron Tourné in the first instance. Van Horstmann's flunkey delivered his master's word in the course of the evening. The results of his chemical studies of the 2 goblets from which the Chevalier Didonner and M. le Droite had shared what had turned out to be the latter's last drink?

Poison.

An as yet undiscovered 2nd corpse was thus our heroes' immediate concern for the next day.

It was that evening also that Felix discovered an unexpected taste for gambling at cards, while the good Baron hit an even more unexpected winning streak. Felix retired to the Baron's guest room 5 livres down on the night (and some quarter or more of his annual disposable gone already, in a single day!).

Rising early as is his wont, Felix had to awaken Baron Jean-Claude to answer the door. They beheld an urchin bearing a message from the concierge at the Club of St. George: said Didonner happened to live at Rue St. Michel 18, surprisingly close to the Bank of the Brothers Di Vittoria (Rue St. Michel 32). It was to this very bank that our trio had been pointed the previous day by a major clue uncovered by their grisly examination of the already almost rotting corpse of the unfortunate le Droite.

Making haste to find out about the fate of the Chevalier, the Baron and his gentleman friend made first for the office of the registry of births and deaths, where they discovered that no Didonner had been reported dead in the appropriate period.

There was nothing else for it then but the Rue St. Michel 18. Diverting only to prepare themselves for the possibility of a trial at arms, our intrepid pair made haste thence. Arriving, they conducted a quick reconnaissance to discover it stood secure against entry via the alleys at each side, and from the yard at the rear. The front door it was then.

Deciding to exploit their official status, the Baron knocked and presented their warrant to the flunkey who answered the door. They were told that the Chevalier was most definitely alive (despite having drunk of the poison?- how strange); that he was out; that their man could tell us nothing of his master's whereabouts- despite Felix's protestations that it might be a matter of Didonner's life or death; and that the time of his return was uncertain.

Felix insisted on leaving a note:

"On the business of the Constable-General of France, we have reason to fear for your safety. Must insist on an immediate audience before the day is out.
"RSVP care of the Club of St. George."
Signed (with a flourish),
"Felix Mephisto, Gentleman"

This done, off our pair headed to the bank. There Felix posed as Baron Tourné's amateur financial advisor while Jean-Claude asked about potential investments with said bank. The Baron's income frankly announced soon revealed him as small fry beneath the Bros Di Vittoria's notice, although a couple of useful clues were picked up about the bank's major current ventures. These immediately struck Felix and the Baron both as somewhat germane to their investigation.

[Oh, and Felix criticaled on his Banking roll (1 on a d20 of 9-!), meaning that not only did he give an utterly convincing account of the Baron's financial prospects- thus leaving the invaluable 'good impression' despite everything; but he also got 1 of the 2 checks needed to advance his Banking to 10-. Heh!]

This lead exhausted, our pair of companions returned to Felix's club to await the Chevalier Didonner's reply. This not coming, the good Baron hired a coach to take them back to #18 with appropriate speed and due propriety. Brooking no argument, Felix insisted on satisfaction in the face of more ignorance on the part of the same flunkey at the threshold, the result of which was a list of his master's haunts. The name of the Black Cross Club immediately caught Felix's eye. Back in the coach, off they went.

There the good Baron and Felix spoke again with the barman who had proved so helpful the last time, although their warrant secured his services rendered at a 100% discount. Yes, the Chevalier had indeed been there earlier that afternoon, staying only long enough to share a quick libation before departing in the company of the veiled lady of means with whom he had shared a rendezvous.

Curses!

Luckily though, our louche Baron guessed their game, having already noted the name of a sometime haunt of his own on the list of places where they were to track down the unexpectedly still living Chevalier: the Nun's Habit. Flush with the thrill of the chase, Felix came up with a ruse with which he hoped to beard their #1 suspect in his den of lascivious iniquity.

And so it was that Felix Mephisto, Gentleman - a charming but gauche young fellow, of pure heart and honourable intentions - found himself sitting in a tavern across the way from the Nun's Habit: a place infamous for its ruthless enforcement of discretion in all matters pertaining to liasons dangereuses; awaiting the arrival of his friend, the Baron Jean-Claude Tourné, in the company of a certain married lady of his intimate acquaintance. It must have been the time the young man had to ponder on his own machinations, because it has to be said that young Felix certainly wasn't as pleased - at his own first visit to this den of vice - as was Tourné's companion at hers.

In any event: playing his part, Felix gave Tourné 10 minutes, then approached the door with the letter our, erm... 'adventurous' pair had prepared, to be delivered with all urgency ( naturally enough) to the Baron. As noted, Felix's discomfiture at what he had so eagerly and so unwittingly become a party to began to rule his head as well as his already sinking heart [he fluffed his highly respectable d20:14- Charm roll]. Thus it was that, Felix's protestations notwithstanding, a burly bouncer instructed our young hero to wait outside while he ensured the delivery of this 'message' of such vital import. Not unaware of how these things go, Baron Tourné required 'his gentleman'(?!) to be brought to his private dining room.

Discretion forbids me from detailing the sights that our hapless young gentleman beheld on his passage thence. Sufficeth to say that, by the time he arrived to speak to the Baron, his horror knew no bounds, and he knew that his scheme to seek the Chevalier within these walls was sheer and utter folly. The sound of rustling silk from behind the screen whence had disappeared the Baron's lady companion was the last straw.

Felix fled into the night.

The Adventures of Felix Mephisto, Gentleman: Prologue

Well we finally got ourselves organised so that Donald could get his turn at the GM's table Sunday. He ran Flashing Blades in its original 1984 edition. Written by Mark Pettigrew, FB was published by Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU), the company responsible for, among other things, Aftermath and Bushido- 2 rpgs of which I have particulary fond memories; and Chivalry and Sorcery- a game I never played (for which much of what I've heard makes me thankful).

I've played this PC a couple of times before with Donald. But it was so long ago that all I can remember is some scrolls we had to deliever and my decision not to help out what looked like a damsel in distress because I didn't want to risk splitting the party in a game where all the other players were pretty much unknown quantities to me as roleplayers.

Oh yes, and Felix's decision to pull his pistol and open fire on some Italian border guards because no Papists were going to lay hands on a Hugenot gentleman. Y'see, PC's in FB all have some kind of secret, and Felix's is that he is a fanatical Hugenot. Which is not the most comfortable of religious persuasions to follow in 17th century catholic France at just about the time that Cromwell and his Puritain roundheads are running riot across in England.

Colourful stuff, eh?

Felix himself is a gentleman of some real charm, fair phsyique and fortune, and evident dimness. He has a passing knowledge of banking, can stay on a horse if he doesn't get too showy, and is unlikey to choose the wrong fork at a banquet, or to commit some other similarly devestating trivial social gaffe. He is a Fellow of the Club of St. George.

All in all, promising material for, well, for being some crass nobleman's smooth-talking henchman or somesuch really. Unless, that is, he chooses to apply himself and get some serious learning. Fat chance would seem to be the current state of play.

I mean, there he was, just sitting in his club, when he received a visit from his acquaintance, the good Baron Jean-Claude Tourne (pron. Tourn-ey: don't know how to do accents above e's yet)- played by Tony- on what turned out to a mission of some delicacy. Game as he is, Felix soon found himself joining the good Baron, and one Piedro Van Horstmann- played by Andy- on a secret mission on behalf of the Constable General of France.

So secret in fact, that I can say no more about it here. Sufficeth to say that Felix learned some lessons about the care and feeding of a good flunkey (not his own sadly), and might soon realise the perils and pitfalls of being just a wee bit too clever by half for one so ultimately slow on the uptake.

This session was great fun. Donald hadn't GM'ed FB since the last time I played Felix, several years ago, and was naturally a bit nervous. But he did a fine job of sitting back and letting the 3 of us enjoy getting into ever more flowerly language as we got to grips with our coarse version of 17th century life in Paris (my own model was the inimitable movie The Three Musketeers- the classic 1980's version starring, among others, Oliver Reed and Spike Milligan). He was also able to steer us back on course when we got utterly lost in our investigations, mostly I fear because I was having too much fun being Felix.

Good fun and many belly laughs were had by all. More soon I hope.