The Arundel Information Caper (OOC)

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So I guess this is the right time to use my Let It Out special move to sniff out a secret stash, isn't it? Not sure if this application of the Move is intended as a shortcut to avoid the description of how we inspect every inch of the castle, or if we should start with the fiction and only trigger the Move when it is applicable.

I mean, I know we always start with the fiction, but not sure if there's a prerequisite for triggering the Move.

We might eventually need to do that.
Ultimately that is what all game mechanics are. :)
There comes a time when describing what we are doing can't get us further, possibly because we don't know how to describe what we are doing (maybe because the players don't know how a thing would/could be done), or possibly because we don't know if what we are describing will succeed. That is when the dice help us out.

Sometimes, like when we already know what we are doing but want to know if we should describe our characters in a victorious or defeated manner, it can be appropriate to roll and then describe.
Yeah, but that can get a bit muddy when we already have the fiction and know what we are doing. We don't always need to describe the detailed search of every room, most of which are essentially 'empty'.
The trigger for this move is that you want to try achieve one of the things it can do and are in a position to do that. So it could be met, but could also benefit from some more detail about where you are looking.

Remember that I don't know where this 'stash' is, you can place it anywhere you think would be interesting and we can deal with how that placement complicates your characters' lives.

How you are looking for it also affects what protections and resistance you might face. This resistance might come from your 'party members' as Benji and Emma might not be completely willing to 'break into the private places of this castle' (or whatever you are doing) and may need some convincing in the RP.
If you jump straight to rolling the dice we need to know what happens on a Miss. I assume we don't want to leave it as a 50/50 (42/58, really) chance of not being able to achieve our goal? And Let It Out is a tricky one to adjudicate since Corruption is actually a reward... so should you still get Corruption on a Miss? I assume no (or 'not unless it is a thing you would rather avoid at this time?'), and since we want to still have the option of completing our goal, that just means significant obstacles to overcome.

If your description justifies it you might be able to achieve this 'locate' goal without needing to roll at all (we assume you will succeed eventually, no?). But —and more likely— your described 'careful actions' might remove most of the dangers or obstacles. Jumping to dice does not give you that narrative control.

I also need to know, at least, the basics of what you are actually doing in order to adjudicate the outcome. A roll right now leaves me with no clues as to what opposition you might face, and we would need to have an OOC conversation about the scene (and its contents) before we could proceed. That can be OK if the players really have no ideas, but should not be our first port of call.

I found a map to maybe help spark some ideas. Maybe we can see how you move around the castle (boldly, like a tourist; sneakily avoiding the staff; hiding and waiting for everyone to leave; etc; there are all sorts of options); and where you think might be an interesting part of the castle or grounds to find this hidden place, the map has many possible locations. :)

It is up to the Vampire and Demon players to decide if they have any issues at all going into a church. They can also say if this only applies to their character or to other vampires and demons.

Yes, in my case, I am thinking that demons do have a problem with holy ground, but with a caveat: the more you are connected to Hell, the more it affects you.

So a powerful archdemon would suffer a lot and probably couldn't resist the pain for more than a few minutes. But for Jacob, who is sort of detached from his previous life, it would be more of an annoying feeling, like an itch that you can't scratch or something like that.

That makes perfect sense.

As for Benji, I think I established that crosses don't actually do anything to vampires so I don't think it would make sense for churches to have any particular effect :P

Which Move do we think applies here? The most obvious is Keep Your Cool, as it directly deals with 'the situation you want to avoid' (being noticed); but Mislead, Distract, and Trick also seems like it could apply (with a little generous interpretation). Is there some other Move you guys would prefer?

Who they are might affect which Moves are most appropriate.

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As always: I don't yet know who is in there. You guys can tell me what is most interesting to the group. Is it 'guards', or 'Arundel staff' of some sort? Is it 'competition' [ref], and if so, are you, maybe, able to try to team up with them? Something else? If you want I can decide (final details), provide as much guidance as you like.

Yes, this:
... also suggested maintenance staff to me.
In my opinion, probably Keep your Cool makes more sense, given the situation.

Roll it and let's see what the maintenance staff are up to.

Even with Help that 5 can not reach a 7. :)

Emma has encountered two of these strange staff members [ref] already, both her driver [ref] and the attendant who tried to 'welcome' her to the castle [ref]. It seems her driver was arranged by the castle/party and not directly by Elliot?

Does anyone have prior knowledge of these guys? You can Put a Face to a Name with Wild if you do?

Benji has been to one of these events before (a long time ago) so I think it’s possible he might have encountered them then. I’ll make a roll in the other thread!

A twelve! :D
Would finding out what these guys are be something interesting/useful or would that fall under 'what most people know about them'?

Excellent! That gives you a lot of freedom to define details about these guys. Do we want to wait and see if anyone else gets interesting rolls before we go into detail?
Presumably not all such events happen at Arundel. So these guys work elsewhere as well. Given how far Arundel is from London we need them to be active there as well for the roll to really matter.

One wonders if they mainly serve the 'gatherings', where people of many Factions get together?
With any success on Put a Face to a Name you learn 'what most people know', since you rolled well you either are Owed a Debt by them (again, we are doing Debts with organisations rather than individuals, but, again, the Move seems to work for that, we would need to deal with finding someone in the Faction who knows about you and your Debt if you wanted to extract it, but we can assume that is possible), or you know things that are 'interesting or useful' —presumably in the immediate situation, but they could be 'useful' in a more broad sense if we don't care about 'now'.

I can tell you what I know (what most know) and we can work on what more Benji might know, together (if we go that route).

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• They are called 'The Servitors', and are, apparently, 'constructs' of some type. People are unsure exactly who 'made' them or how.
• They seem 'content to serve' and don't seem to engage in 'The Faction Game' of political maneuvering.

Okay, I think it makes the most sense to learn something useful to the immediate situation. Perhaps something that could be used as leverage for Persuade an NPC or an opportunity to Mislead, Distract or Trick them?

Why don't you add a roll to the post and we can see how well you Mislead, Distract, and Trick them.

Having Emma with you definitely helps with that fib (or, enables it). :) If need be, we can see if Delirium wants to have Emma do anything to Lend a Hand to the lie, or would rather stay out of it.

A 9, I think we can live without the Lend a Hand, even if that would bring the total to 10. It's probably enough if I pick these two:

• you confuse them for some time
• you avoid further entanglement

That should be enough for them to be convinced for the rest of the night, right?

Nice.
Benji might also be able to Lend a Hand with his knowledge of these guys. But I am not sure how that will help right now. Maybe later?
Should be.

We may bring them back as part of a consequence for a future bad roll, but we can discuss that if it becomes relevant.

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I will give the others the rest of the day to add anything if they want. Anyone is free to take us inside and describe what we see if they want to.

Unless we have a reason for the number [ref] [ref], I had pictured there being more than three Servitors present. There was the one standing (guard?) by the door and then a 'group' 'around the table', so possibly more like the two Emma met and three more?

But, as I say, I don't really care how many there were. Especially if we don't see them again tonight.