Uh, are we on?  Is game on?  I'm unclear.

And are we sticking to the epistolary/journal format of the novel or normal third-person-present-tense RP style?

We are indeed getting started. My hope is to get things going according to the book, and then start doing our own thing once the hunters realize that Dracula has slipped through their fingers. They have a few days in Varna to prepare to face Dracula -- they imagine trapped on a boat, but nevertheless formidable if it gets dark before they can kill him.

Once they realize he has gone past them into Romania they will be on the hunt. Then you will have to decide your own tactics. You will be able to travel by train to Bucharest but beyond that, your options will be limited to road travel (horse or carriage) or river boats. In the book, the hunters used both means.

Harker has local knowledge and a rough map of Borovia sketched out (see Maps section)

Van Helsing can hypnotize Mina to gain insight into Dracula's movements, but it is a double-edged sword. He becomes aware of her and her circumstances.

If you just chase Dracula to his castle as they did in the book, you will lose. Van Helsing believes there is an ancient bible that gives not only the heritage of Dracula but also clues into how to overcome him. Your first task will be to find this bible somewhere in Barovia.

Van Helsing, Harker, Seward, and Mina are all skilled researchers. Godlaming has plenty of money and Quincy is muscle (right now -- he's an NPC).

Feel free to post as if writing a journal but we will also have scenes of interpersonal communications and other adventures.

Are there players for Van Helsing and Godalming?

I am running Van Helsing as an NPC right now to manage the knowledge he has. Godalming is wide open.

Hello all.  I will be portraying Antanasia Vulpe in this fantasia on the Dracula legend -- a daughter of Romanian gentry, she has her own reasons to desire the Count's downfall.  While I believe the two storylines will begin separately, hopefully we will be able to cross paths fairly soon.  Looking forward to writing with all of you!

Howdy, partners. Name's Quincy. Best let me do that there dirty work I see you fixing to start up, roughing up those folk what may be uncharitably reticent, lest y'all get any stains on yer fine clothes there. Nor upon yer souls, by gawd.

Are we making our own characters, or will they be supplied to us? I know the GM has kitbashed a few different rulesets together....

Welcome Quincy and Antanasia!

There is a cut down D20 character sheet in the Game Setting and Potential Characters thread -- you're welcome to use it. Or not. If not we'll use some very simple dice rolling when the time comes to determine successes. If you'd rather submit a character sheet from d100 Call of Cthulhu (any edition) that's fine. But I would mostly like to get your idea of what your character looks like -- just send along a link to a picture and I'll get them up.

Feel free to post in character in the main thread of your story and let me know what weapons and special gear you have with you.

In reply to haruspex (msg # 25):

I'm only seeing this thread and somebody's journal.

The journal is also the IC thread now, I think?

Van Helsing scours the local book shops for maps of the region, the more detailed the better. He also obtains a railway timetable. While he is buying maps, he asks about old legends, especially if they are recorded in any books. Whatever he finds, along with a good sized bible, he stores for travel in a sturdy trunk.

He visits a local church and takes mass there, afterwards making a sizeable donation to the poor box and obtaining in return a flask of holy water and six wooden crosses, each about one foot high, that have been blessed by the priest.

He buys a powerful crossbow and pays to have the bolts (12) tipped with silver. He has a pistol already -- a C96 "Broomstick" Mauser. He carries a pocket knife with which he trims his cigars and a box of matches to light them. A leather case contains 5 cigars. He has a magnifying glass and a telescope. An oilskin Sou'wester raincoat and hat can be worn over his Burberry jacket in wet weather and he has a pair of Wellington boots in addition to the stout walking shoes he normally wears.

And finally he has a stout cane with an iron ferrule and a heavy handle.

Quincy has a thick leather duster, well aged but kept in meticulous condition, a 10-gallon hat, a pair of knee-high leather boots suitable for riding, a pair of six-shooters and a knife which he says was blessed by one of the First People, apparently some kind of American savage custom which he takes great pride in. Beyond that he wears several religious icons around his neck which sometimes chime against each other (the collection could almost be a roadmap of his travels).

Among his things, carried only when fixin' for trouble, is a shotgun for which he has acquired several different kinds of buckshot (included silver loaded, blessed, iron soaked in wolfsbane, and other unusual loads). These are carried in a bandolier pouch* alongside his holstered guns.

He joins Van Helsing at the church, hoping to acquire a similar flask of holy water, and to have a locally produced cross blessed by the priest as well. While Val Helsing bartered, Quincy prayed for guidance and forgiveness.

If such things are available in this era, he'd have silver bullets for his pistols, but wouldn't usually keep them loaded.


* turns out the Browne belt hadn't been invented yet.

I think I'mma bow out of this one.  Y'all have fun.  :-)

Noooo! Stay, creepy doctor!!

Agreed, doc needs to stay.  As far as gear goes, can we role play learning what gear we might need?

Say, Haruspex, are you doin okay my friend?

I apologize for the horrible translation. But working from my phone it is difficult to get anything better.

First timer I ever used Google translate. Pretty cool. This what I got:

Mina:
I'm his Princess! You are all fools, peasants and food for the creatures of the night. We will be together once again, as we were in front of the Turks, and their dirty lies separated us!

Jonathan:
Am I talking to Dracula or my boyfriend? I do not know. I don't know what lies the Turks told you. I don't know what lies Satan told him. Dracula's three brides had anger, lust. I was bitten by slaves. Reflecting the lies he tells their soul to themselves and to himself

The gender stuff is always tricky in foreign languages but in general a very coherent exchange in Romanian. Kudos to both of you.

In reply to haruspex (msg # 35):

Not quite on the money but close enough.  Gender is a different beast in Latin, old Roman, the root of Romanian.  I originally wrote my beloved.

See Van Helsing's character description to see a quick list of gear

While I encourage the presence of other players I role played with the expectation of Dr Seward not being in the room as directed by Van Helsing

My bad. Fixed the post. Just trying to emphasize the creepy aspect of the character.

   I’m afraid my Jonathan is a little more proactive than I perceive the one in the movie would be.  If he caught another man leering at his wife while she was under the influence of demonic lust, he would physically remove said persons from the room.

Looks like this game never caught fire. It's been a month or more since any posts, and I apologize for not offering a more engaging entertainment.

It's sad to see it in my list, so I will be deleting the game in a few days. Please consider this the required warning.