travisl found Cache at Pooh Corner - the Rehide (Multi-cache)
Much like a role playing game (I'm thinking of Neverwinter Nights, but any RPG will do), this cache hunt seemed like the person running the game wanted me to meet fascinating people and either get information from them, have them send me on a quest, or kill them. Fortunately, I suck at RPGs and don't like playing them, and I didn't actually communicate with any of the people along the way. But if I did, it would go something like this:
GM: You are on a road on the outskirts of a grassy park in a residential suburb of anywhere, USA. Although it's hot and sunny, a cool breeze makes it bearable. The sign you are looking for is here. So is your car.
Me: I follow the instructions on the cache page. I approach from the south.
GM: What's your intelligence? OK, no need to roll for this one. You have the next set of coordinates.
Me: I walk through the park to get to the coordinates.
GM: About halfway through the park you see two 12-year-old black kids. They're facing away from you and don't see you. Every few seconds, a cloud of smoke rises from them.
Me: Can I see what they're smoking?
GM: It looks like a fat cigarette.
Me: I warn them of the hazards of smoking. ''Hey, you two! I'm not a cop or anything, but that stuff isn't good for you.''
GM: They're startled to see you. They run into the woods. What do you do?
Me: I continue to the next coordinates.
GM: OK, you continue through the park without incident. You reach another road, turn north, and reach your next waypoint.
Me: I do the math.
GM: No need to roll for this one. You did it and have the final coordinates.
Me: I go to the next waypoint.
GM: The tree cover is making your GPS unreliable, but after overshooting it by a few feet, you find the right spur trail. It's overgrown, but usable.
Me: I go down the trail and try to find the cache.
GM: Roll for initiative.
Me: I rolled a 10.
GM: You go down the trail, but when you're about 20 feet from the cache, you're confronted by a large white guy. Shaved head, gold chain, white T-shirt. He doesn't seem to be doing anything other than standing in the middle of the overgrown trail.
Me: Do I recognize him as a geocacher?
GM: No. He doesn't have paperwork or a GPS visible. He attacks you.
Me: I cast magic missle.
GM: At the darkness?
Me: No, at the guy attacking me.
GM (rolling dice): You've wounded him, and he runs away, the way you came in.
Me: I continue to the cache.
GM: What's your search skill?
Me: It's low. It's at one.
GM (rolls dice): You search for a few minutes, but don't find the cache.
Me: I decode the hint.
GM (rolls dice): OK, you've found the cache.
Me: I sign the log, take nothing and leave nothing, and replace it. I then head back to the car.
GM: OK. As you approach the road again, you encounter the big white guy again. Roll for initiative.
Me: I rolled a 9.
GM: He has the initiative. He swings and misses.
Me: I cast ''hold person''.
GM: It works. He's not moving.
Me: I go back to my car.
GM: As you re-enter the park, you see an old asian woman is sitting on the sidewalk. She has two white plastic grocery bags in front of her. She's rummaging through one of them.
Me: I ask her if she needs any help.
GM: As you approach her, a wide grin spreads across her furrowed face. ''Yes, you may,'' she says in a croaking voice. ''A few months ago, as I was hobbling through this park, a hawk swooped down upon me and took a stuffed duck I was carrying home to my grandaughter. Every day since, I've come here hoping to see the hawk so I could ask him to return it. Could you find him and get my duck back?''
Me: ''Nah, I need to go get lunch.''
GM: The woman reaches into her pocket, pulls out a wand, and points it at you. Make a saving throw against curses.
Me (rolling dice): I roll a 12.
GM: Not good enough. A bolt of crimson light flies out of the tip of her wand. You feel your vision become hazy, then clear up again. Let me see your character sheet. (I hand him my sheet. He erases a number.)
Me: Hey, I've lost my search skill entirely.
GM: Sorry. When you look up, the old woman is gone.
Me: OK, I head back to my car.
GM: When you're almost there, you hear singing through the woods. It sounds like a ten-year-old boy, trying to sing an opera.
Me: Do I recognize the song?
GM: What's your arcane knowledge skill?
Me (grinning): It's at 8.
GM: It's the theme song from Disney's ''Teacher's Pet'' cartoon.
Me (the grin replaced by a look of terror): I run to the car.
GM: OK, you make it. You get 200 XP for this mission. Unfortunately, you also have that song running through your head for the rest of the day.
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