Here's a recap of the latest session of my Sentinels RPG campaign "The Alternates"! As per usual, there's a narrative recap (written as if it was in-metaverse) and then I go over the actual running of the game, and any lessons I learned as the GM.
If you're lost, you can catch up with the previous Game Recaps! You can find links to the first "Season" (the first 12 episodes) in the Recap for Game 12. "Season 2" will encompass Episodes #13 through #30. Here is the Recap for Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18, and Episode 19.
Brief Description of the Game: In the meta-verse (where Sentinel comics is a published comic book multimedia empire), there is a premium cable animated television series (in a style similar to “Into the Spider-Verse”), which itself is based on a comic series called "The Alternates." This RPG campaign represents that show, with each game session (ideally) representing one hour-long Episode of the show. The recap below is written in-metaverse as if it was an article on a popular website that posts recaps of episodes.
Player Characters/Protagonists:
- Cytoblast: Dr. Douglas Hemlocke can control plants, including transforming himself into a plant form, all thanks to his mystical knowledge and his ancient magical staff.
- Dr. Comet: Possessed by a demon that travelled to earth inside a comet, Dr. Diana Aster can magically control fire and ice, though her powers often go often out of control when her emotions flare up.
- Jersey Devil: A barely human cryptid of mysterious origins, "Mr. Leeds" is both man and monster, able to teleport by way of a parallel dimension.
- Kid Radical: A highly skilled autodidact with a strict code of behavior, Kid Radical has a superhuman ability for following trends and learning new skills, although it often seems like he can't quite connect with modern society.
- Quasar Kid: A superhero teen from the far future, Quasar Kid has a cosmic metabolism, super strength, and the power of flight, but he hasn't yet adjusted to being in "the past."
Recurring allied NPCs/Supporting characters:
- Starshadow: A retired intergalactic adventurer, Starshadow wields mighty cosmic powers, but he is now reluctant to use them.
- Bouncer: An invulnerable action movie star, Bouncer is also super-strong and capable of mighty leaps (hence the name "Bouncer"), but he hasn't been the same since the Oblivaeon Crisis.
- Night Knight: A costumed, armored vigilante who has taken over the protection of Rook City, despite the country legislating against super vigilantism. With a gravelly voice and endless gadgets, Night Knight has sort of picked up where the Wraith left off.
A Very Quick Story Synopsis: In an alternate timeline where Baron Blade was killed decades earlier (causing countless changes to the world of Sentinel Comics), the heroes of the Multiverse are almost all killed in the "Oblivaeon Crisis." The few remaining heroes, especially the Alternates, are left to deal with the villains and interstellar threats that still endanger the Earth!
Also, some important villain stuff going on - Unbeknownst to the heroes, Baron Blade has reappeared (after being presumed dead), and was secretly striking at the heroes during the last season. He has assembled a Vengeful Seven team, which is being lead by Hippocampus (the Hippo, except now he's super-smart). They are working behind the scenes on some sort of revenge plot.
I've also done some very amateur sketches for the game! You can see them in this Google Photos album.
And now, an imaginary recap of an imaginary episode of an imaginary television show about an imaginary superhero team!
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The Alternates Episode #20 Recap:
“A Voice That Told Her When And Where to Act”
By Eddie Jaczerkowski
Where magic and science collide, you find… the Alternates? With two “magic” characters (Cytoblast, Jersey Devil) and two “science” characters (Quasar Kid, Kid Radical), and one scientist who is very uncomfortable with her magical powers (Dr. Comet), it’s no surprise that the theme of “magic versus science” would be central to some Alternates stories, and there’s some of that in this episode, for certain.
However, this episode is more themed around Dr. Comet’s powers, and her tentative grasp of them (perhaps due to her lack of understanding or denial of their source). In this episode, we get a glimpse of the struggle taking place inside Dr. Comet - a struggle of scientific thinking versus “magical fact”, if you will.
Let’s jump into the Recap!
Episode Recap
The episode begins with a vignette about Baron Blade and his Vengeful Seven. These vignettes have been happening in a strange order - definitely not chronologically - and this one seems to jump back to a much earlier time, when the Vengeful Seven was still being formed.
The episode begins in the same room we saw in the previous episode - the room where Baron Blade spoke to Recursor. Hippocampus enters the large room, and greets the Baron. Baron Blade is once again on the giant screen in the room (more on that in my Final Thoughts below). Standing next to the screen, we see a man in a suit and tie. The man is also wearing a white half-mask over the upper half of his face.
“Hello Hippocampus!” the Baron’s voice, somewhat marred by static, echoes through the room. “I have brought a new recruit here to talk to you.”
“Coincidentally,” Hippocampus responds, “I have brought a recruit to speak with you!”
“Very good!” The Baron replies. “First, allow me to introduce you to The Elocutioner, whose precise words can cut a person down where they stand!”
The man in the suit and tie bows deeply to Hippocampus and says, with very precisely pronounced words, “It is a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
Hippocampus nods and introduces his recruit. “Allow me to introduce DJ Doctor Dancefloor, who can spin heads as easily as he spins beats.” The outrageously-dressed DJ Doctor Dancefloor appears from the hallway and enters the room.
The Eleocutioner scoffs. “I had heard that name before,” he says. “I thought for certain it was a joke. But now that you stand before me, Mr. Dancefloor, I can see that you are, indeed, a joke.”
DJ Doctor Dancefloor narrows his eyes and shouts, “I don’t have to put up with no crap, man! I can wipe the dancefloor with you. My powers are so fresh I gotta wrap `em in plastic.”
“Please Baron,” Elocutioner says. “Allow me to take out the trash and rid you of this second-rate sound-summoning simpleton.” He enunciates each ‘s’ very clearly.
“Very well,” says the Baron. “If each of you wishes to practice on the other, we can see whether either of you is worthy of this team.”
The Elocutioner quickly launches his attack. “The shiek’s sixth sheep swallowed six thistle sticks!” he shouts. As he says each word, visible waves of slashing sound launch toward DJ Doctor Dancefloor. The DJ dodges deftly, as the waves dart by him. After the enunciated attack passes, DJ Doctor Dancefloor moves his hands to and fro, as if he was scratching a record, and the room fills with music - an electronic dance beat.
Confused, the Elocutioner looks around the room for a music source, but sees none. He stares down DJ Doctor Dancefloor and shouts another attack. “Red leather, yellow leather! Red leather, yellow leather!”
The dangerous sound attacks appear once again before the Eleocutioner, and fly towards his opponent. This time, they disintegrate as they hit an invisible wall in front of DJ Doctor Dancefloor. The DJ shakes his head with a wicked smile.
“Oh what a todo to die today at a minute or two til two! A thing distinctly hard to say but harder still to do!” the Elocutioner shouts in desperation. His voice creates bigger, brighter edges of sound that race toward DJ Doctor Dancefloor, but still they crash against an invisible shield and break apart into nothingness.
Suddenly, the Elocutioner begins dancing. His body jerks uncontrollably to the beat, and his face (well, the part we can see beneath the mask) fills with fear. His eyes go wide as he swings about, shouting, “A three-toed she-toad throws free throws at Heathrow!” Despite his best efforts, he cannot summon any more “sound swords” to throw at DJ Doctor Dancefloor.
We hear a horrifying crack as the Elocutioner’s body twists impossibly, and he collapses to the ground, crying and screaming. DJ Doctor Dancefloor, puts his hands at his sides as the background music subsides.
“Don’t mess with the best!” the DJ shouts.
“Oh my,” Hippocampus interjects. “Is he going to be alright?”
“Yeah, yeah,” says DJ Doctor Dancefloor with a somewhat subtle but very stereotypical Jamaican patois. “A doctor make him right as rain, but he gon’ need some physical therapy for sure. Seen?”
Baron Blade’s maniacal laughter can be heard, and we see him laughing on the screen. “Oh, I can’t wait to see the look on their faces when they meet you, DJ Doctor Dancefloor. Welcome to the Vengeful Seven.”
Hippocampus reaches out to shake DJ Doctor Dancefloor’s hand as Elocutioner rolls about on the floor and moans.
The show switches to the Alternates, who are hiding in a dark alley in Rook City after fighting vampires last episode. Quasar Kid regains consciousness, and we see from his perspective - Night Knight is at the end of the alley with Kid Radical, watching to see if they were followed. Cytoblast is trying to treat the unconscious Dr. Comet. Jersey Devil is also at the end of the alley, but seems to be staring off into space.
Kid Radical asks Night Knight if he has somewhere safe they can go, and Night Knight tells him help is on the way. From around the corner, an all-black military-style armored truck appears and rushes down the road, stopping suddenly in front of the alley.
“This is the M.A.V.E.R.I.K.” Night Knight explains. “Mobile Armored Vehicle Enforcing Responses In Kind.” Night Knight opens the back of the self-driving armored truck and the Alternates pile inside. He produces a folding stretcher, and he and Cytoblast load Dr. Comet onto it. Night Knight gets into the front seat of the M.A.V.E.R.I.K. and drives them away.
Cytoblast works furiously on Dr. Comet, using both medical methods and magical ones. Kid Radical is using his View-Mister scanner to inspect Dr. Comet. Quasar Kid is close by Cytoblast, standing over him as he tries to help their teammate.
Quasar Kid tries to ask Cytoblast what’s happening with Dr. Comet, but Cytoblast is focused and barely answers. The two are very agitated, and they start a short argument - Cytoblast insists he’s busy trying to help Dr. Comet, and Quasar Kid wants to help, too. They both raise their voices.
Jersey Devil, ignoring the argument, is staring out the windows and watching the streets as they ride through Rook City. He poofs, disappearing from the truck, only to reappear a few moments later. “Thought I saw a vampire,” he mumbles. “Not a vampire,” he adds.
The argument between Cytoblast and Quasar Kid starts to heat up when Kid Radical interjects, saying he’s going to ask Unity for her help with information about vampires.
Kid Radical taps his new communicator slap-bracelet, but instead of Unity, a hologram of Omnitron-X appears hovering over his wrist. Kid Radical, a bit surprised, asks Omnitron-X about vampires, and he responds:
“The last known vampire on Earth is Blood Countess Tachyon. According to Freedom Seven records, there are no other known vampires.”
“Wait. Blood Countess Who?” Kid Radical asks.
Omnitron-X explains the history, briefly, of Blood Countess Bathory choosing Tachyon as an heir and turning her into a vampire. This backfired for Bathory when Tachyon, and the rest of the Freedom Five, destroyed the Court of Blood completely. However, it was too late for Tachyon, who inherited the mantle of Blood Countess, and vowed to hide herself away until she found a cure. She has not been seen in the decades since the incident.
This is all news to Kid Radical, but it’s a bit of an aside - it doesn’t help the Alternates in their current situation. He thanks Omnitron-X and turns back to his team. He continues to scan Dr. Comet and take readings on her condition.
“You have to help your teammate before you worry about vampires,” Night Knight says to them. As the M.A.V.E.R.I.K. makes a tight turn, he adds, “Why not go to someone who knows about magic and monsters? Nightmist is still in Rook City,” he says.
“Then let’s go see her,” Quasar Kid says.
“The problem is… she’s in the Rookery. The Raven Rock Psychiatric Recovery Institution. I don’t know how… cooperative she is, lately,” he says. Night Knight explains that Nightmist lost control of her magical powers many years ago, as the madness inherent in her spells and relics finally took her sanity. Her powers were sealed away, and she was moved into a local sanitarium where she would be safe.
“Take us there,” Kid Radical says.
Meanwhile, Cytoblast mentions something about infernal influence in Dr. Comet. Quasar Kid asks Cytoblast if he knows anything about “negative thaumitons.” Cytoblast curtly says, “No.”.
“Skrak it, I’ll do it myself,” Quasar Kid replies. Using his own energy manipulation powers, Quasar Kid attempts to draw the “negative thaumitons” out of Dr. Comet. However, things don’t go well for Quasar Kid, as the energy he draws from Dr. Comet knocks him backwards into the side of the M.A.V.E.R.I.K. and he blacks out for a moment.
Jersey Devil, an infernal being himself, decides to try his “soul drain” trick out on Dr. Comet to pull the infernal influence out of her and consume it. But instead of drawing the influence out, Jersey Devil gets sucked in. He briefly has a vision of a giant, demonic monster, grinning widely at him and glowing with green light. He snaps back into reality, visibly shaken.
As Night Knight’s armored transport exits Rook City limits and approaches “The Rookery,” Dr. Comet regains consciousness and sits up. She doesn’t remember anything that happened at the end of the fight, especially not summoning a fireball from the sky.
Kid Radical shows Dr. Comet a projection of a spectrometer reading he took from her earlier.
“That was your spectrometer reading of me?” she asked. She tells Kid Radical she has seen a reading like that before, and then goes on to somewhat uncomfortably explain, using as many scientific terms as she can, that the readings represent an electromagnetic anomaly that creates thermodynamic phenomena, but ultimately, it’s clear she can’t really explain what’s happening (and that clearly frustrates her).
When she finishes, Jersey Devil asks if that’s science-talk for “A thousand feet tall and made of fangs.”
The team arrives at the Rookery, and Dr. Comet makes it clear she is not going to go to an asylum willingly, and accuses the team of thinking she is “hysterical.” But the team assure her they are there to see Nightmist.
The Alternates enter the Raven Rock Psychiatric Recovery Institution, which appears to be an old mansion that has been converted into a third-rate psychiatric hospital. While it’s not absolutely horrifying, it’s also not a state-of-the-art facility - it’s basically about what you’d expect from the best psychiatric facility that Rook City has to offer… and since it’s Rook City, “the best” is not all that great.
They are led to Nightmist’s place in “the Rookery” - a large, three-story conservatory building attached to the hospital. The room is an enormous greenhouse full of plants, with gothic shapes framing its glass exterior. Faye Diamond stands atop a tall ladder, watering a plant. She descends as she sees the team enter the room. She has an odd look in her eyes, but all signs of “Nightmist” are gone - her hair is brown, her body is completely physical, and there are none of her signature wisps of mist.
As she approaches, she says, “Hello! Do I know you?” Faye is distant and strange, and she speaks in a strange cadence, almost as if she’s speaking in riddles. Cytoblast tells her that they’ve met, and Faye nods, saying she remembers.
“Who did you bring with you?” she asks them. They all introduce themselves, but she asks again, “No, who is the other one you brought with you?”
In her strange way, Nightmist reveals that there is another presence with them. She eventually names it - a demon from the stars named Asteraxxal (the “infernal influence” that has been possessing Dr. Comet). She explains that Asteraxxal was trapped in a prison of stone, but he managed to escape to a “prison of flesh” (indicating Dr. Comet).
Dr. Comet is very frustrated by the conversation, as she continues to try to deny that there’s any sort of supernatural presence inside her, but as the conversation continues, she seems to finally resign and admit (although not aloud) that there’s something magical and unexplainable happening to her.
Nightmist tells them (rather mysteriously) that their trip to space empowered the star demon, and the vampire bite allowed him to take full control of Dr. Comet. They must banish the demon or he will continue to gather power.
And she warns them that Asteraxxal is listening to them right then, so he will be ready for their attempts to exorcise him.
Quasar Kid asks why Asteraxxal was imprisoned, and Nightmist replies that he was imprisoned for the same reason any criminal is imprisoned.
Finally, Cytoblast asks if she can help them defeat Asteraxxal, and Faye tells him that he is “an accomplished magician,” so he can perform the rituals necessary to destroy the demon.
First, she explains, they will need to transport themselves to a place of magic, where Asteraxxal will be more vulnerable. She suggests the Realm of Discord. Once there, the star demon can be forced to exit Dr. Comet and take on a more vulnerable form. In that form, he can be destroyed forever.
She tells Cytoblast that she will allow him safe passage into her haven, and inside he can find the Book of Astral Mysteries, which will help him perform both rituals. The Alternates agree to take Nightmist’s advice, and bid her farewell. As Cytoblast hugs her, we hear her yelp, “Ouch!” Cytoblast pulls back and shrugs.
Nightmist says farewell, but tells them, “Can you please ask my hero friends to visit me? I haven’t seen any of them in months.” The Alternates all look at each other uncomfortably and nod to her, exiting quietly.
In the final scene, we see the Alternates walking carefully through Nightmist’s haven, with shelves of books and strange trinkets all around them.
“Don’t touch anything unless I tell you to,” Cytoblast tells them. We see each of the Alternates carefully looking around as Cytoblast reads through a giant tome.
The scene then cuts to them sitting in a circle by candlelight as Cytoblast chants magic phrases. A whirling portal begins to open, but something goes slightly wrong, and magical energies start to erupt from the haven itself.
“Guardians are being summoned to protect the haven against extradimensional incursions!” Cytoblast explains.
At the sides of the room, elemental guardians appear - a guardian made of fire in the shape of Expatriette, a guardian made of stone in the shape of Setback, and a guardian made of wind, water, and lightning in the shape of Mr. Fixer.
“Keep them away from the portal!” shouts Cytoblast. The Alternates stand and fight the guardians, keeping them at bay. During the fight, we don’t see Dr. Comet use any of her powers, so we can probably assume she was reluctant to use them.
Finally, the portal opens wide enough that Cytoblast tells the Alternates to walk through. One by one, the Alternates disappear, until finally Cytoblast walks through. The portal disappears, the guardians disappear, and we are left looking at an empty room in Nightmist’s haven.
A drum beat starts, and the song, “She’s Lost Control” by Joy Division begins to play. The song plays for a moment as we pan through the quiet room of books and relics, until finally it fades to black and the credits roll.
Final Thoughts
What a fantastic episode, as Dr. Comet’s past and power source finally catch up to her! Plus, the episode touches on a few points of the unique history of this alternate universe and the stark differences between it and the main Sentinels Comics universe.
Before we dive into the whole episode, let’s talk about Baron Blade! Baron Blade has appeared many times since the end of Season 1, but he’s never once appeared in person - he has either been a face on a screen or a disembodied voice. This has begun to make fans very suspicious, and lots of theories have started to pop up on the internet. Here are some of those theories:
- The most popular theory I’ve seen is that this Baron Blade is some sort of ruse created by Hippocampus to use the Baron’s name to gather some henchmen to work with him. In this episode, it does seem like Hippocampus talks to the Baron, but I suppose that could be part of the trick. Hippocampus is the leader of the team, and he seems to have his own thing going on. What did he do with that vial of blood he took from Quasar Kid? We still don’t know!
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Baron Blade is far away, possibly in space. Since the Baron was killed in space, there are some other theories that go along with this - for instance, that Baron Blade was disintegrated, but that the space dust that he was disintegrated into maintained sentience, and is now possessing computers in the same way that “Unity-X” was stuck in some sort of electronic form.
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Baron Blade is Starshadow! In some sort of insane turn, either the Baron has possessed Starshadow, or Starshadow’s mind has broken and he is pretending to be Baron Blade for some reason. I don’t much buy this one, but it’s definitely out there on the internet.
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Baron Blade is actually communicating from the past, before his death. This explains why the signal is full of static - because recording devices in the past were of lower quality. It sounds crazy, but it just might be right!
- Nothing is weird, Baron Blade just likes to communicate to his minions via electronic means while he’s inventing all sorts of world-ending devices. This is a very plausible explanation.
Baron Blade features in the Alternates comic series, but it goes very differently, and I won’t get into it here because it could possibly spoil the truth. Time will tell!
Feel free to comment on this article with your own “Baron Blade Is Always On-Screen” theories! But now, let’s review some other points in the episode.
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The Elocutioner is a side character who appears in one issue of The Alternates comic series, and he fares about as well there as he does here.
- I love the expanded role of Night Knight in the television series, and I can’t wait to find out more about him. The M.A.V.E.R.I.K. isn’t just some souped-up truck - some of the technology in there looked either alien or futuristic (or both). What is Night Knight’s story?
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Blood Countess Tachyon! She is also named in the Alternates comic series, and while we hear her backstory, we never get to see her in the pages of the comics. I kind of hope the Alternates television series is able to bring Blood Countess Tachyon on-screen. I would love to see what she’s all about!
It’s also worth noting that, according to the Alternates comic series, Tachyon leaving is the first divergence of the Freedom Five in this timeline, chronologically. After she leaves the team, the team is the Freedom Four until Unity joins. Then, later, “Young Legacy” and “Miss Conception” join the team to make it the Freedom Seven.
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This world’s Nightmist survived the Oblivaeon event! For those who don’t get into the gritty details of the comics, it was Nightmist’s sacrifice that allowed heroes from all over the timelines to come and fight against Oblivaeon and defeat him. However, there’s a series of events that lead to this timeline’s Nightmist losing her powers, and thus not sacrificing her life to become a “mist portal.”
Since Baron Blade dies, he never hits Nightmist with a regression dart, and that leads to Nightmist’s powers going out of control, which leads to her losing her sanity and having her powers sealed away (by whom, we never actually find out). This means that the Faye Diamond of this timeline is still alive, although she does not have access to her powers (and also, it seems, to any magical ability) and she is still fairly insane.
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Dr. Douglas Hemlocke doesn’t appear many times in the main Sentinel Comics line, and when he does it’s as a side character in Nightmist stories. So it must have been a pretty big blow to Cytoblast when Nightmist doesn’t recognize him. Maybe it’s the green skin?
He looks emotionally wrought when he has to tell her that they know each other. Cytoblast also looks emotionally wrought while caring for Dr. Comet.
While this episode was obviously about Dr. Comet, she is in denial when she’s not unconscious. The emotional wreckage in this episode was all Cytoblast’s, as he tries to be both a doctor and a magic-user, and the affliction plaguing both Dr. Comet and Nightmist are beyond his ability to simply heal.
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Dr. Comet and her team finally have to face her literal inner demon. The demon is named Asteraxxal, the first five letters of which are “Aster” (meaning “star”), which is coincidentally Dr. Comet’s last name (“Dr. Diana Aster”) - no coincidence, I’m sure.
- The “prison of stone” was likely the comet that Asteraxxal was imprisoned inside (although comets are actually icy balls of dust and small rocks), and the “prison of flesh” means that he was similarly imprisoned inside Dr. Comet. However, Nightmist makes a point of saying that a prison of flesh is not as strong as a prison of stone, so Asteraxxal was probably happy to escape the comet to make his way into Diana Aster.
- Dr. Comet doesn’t let the trip to the sanitarium pass without referencing the historical place of such institutions in their mistreatment and abuse of women. The word “hysterical” relates to “hysteria,” which was once considered an ailment of excessive emotion that occurred almost exclusively in women. Although such ideas date back to the Victorian Era, the general idea of “hysteria” continued well into the 20th century, and continues today in the general stereotype of women being overly emotional.
Of course… Dr. Comet is actually out of control because she’s possessed by a demon, and often she loses her temper (maybe because of the demon, but maybe not), but that does not dull the serious point the character is making here.
- We’re all wondering - if Asteraxxal is the source of Dr. Comet’s powers, what happens when he’s exorcised and destroyed? It very well could cut Dr. Comet’s career short. But I have a much more interesting question - what if Asteraxxal is destroyed and Dr. Comet still has her powers? How does she explain that? Will that be even more frustrating for her? How is she going to deal with traveling to the Realm of Discord and having to go through magical rituals herself? I can’t wait to find out!
- The closing song, “She’s Lost Control,” is a great choice for Dr. Comet (and Nightmist, actually). It contains some great lines that can apply to Dr. Comet, and the title of this episode comes from the song. Here are some choice lines:
Confusion in her eyes that says it all - she’s lost control.
And she’s clinging to the nearest passerby - she’s lost control.
And she gave away the secrets of her past
And said, “I’ve lost control again.”
And of a voice that told her when and where to act,
She said, “I’ve lost control again.”
The lyrics on top of the lonely guitar melody that plays under the song’s open frame Dr. Comet’s situation perfectly, and hold a certain double-meaning when we see them over Nightmist’s empty haven, as Faye Diamond is another character who has lost control.
Join us next week for a Recap of Episode #21, titled “Do You Believe in Magic?” Season 2 is now about halfway over, so it's all downhill from here!
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Running the Game
I ended up very tired and underprepared for this game due to a work project that's finally almost nearly close to over... ahem... so I didn't get to plan this episode out as well as I like. I knew what was going to happen within some boundaries, and I knew what I was going to dangle in front of the characters, and it was all a pretty easy path. "Oh, hey, Nightmist is right over there. Want to talk to her about magic problems?" The easy answer was, "Yes," so that worked out as I planned.
But for the Baron Blade vignette, I actually just started the game and said, "Okay, what story about the Vengeful Seven do you want to hear?" It was suggested that DJ Doctor Dancefloor just didn't seem like the kind of character who belonged in Baron Blade's henchmen, so I told them that Hippocampus actually brought him onto the team, and then we crafted the whole vignette together. One of my players suggeded "The Elocutioner" and it was an easy trip from there to a guy who precisely pronounces things in order to generate sound attacks, and then we just all started shouting out vocal exercises and tongue twisters.
Then the game went pretty much as I figured it would, and I became very tired as the night went on. So when it came to the fight in Nightmist's haven, I just asked if folks wanted to run it or narrate it. They decided to narrate it, and one of my players suggested that the elemental guardians should look like the other members of Dark Watch to make it very extra sad that Nightmist doesn't seem to know they're dead. OUCH. So that's actually how that came about. If I had run the fight the normal way, they would've just been generic elementals! Hooray for cooperative storytelling!
For next week's game, I will hopefully be more well-rested!
I'm glad I finally got to talk about Blood Countess Tachyon, which is a thing I've had in my back pocket for a year or something now. It's nice when all these dumb ideas I've come up with and had rotting in my head finallly get to come out into the world! I can't wait to tell you about Night Knight and what's going on with Baron Blade and what's happening in Mordengrad and how Parse and Stuntman and Tempest are doing since they survived the Oblivaeon Crisis and what happened to Void Guard and Skyscraper and Lifeline and Akash'bhuta, since none of them have yet appeared in this series. And did I really just let Scholar and Guise die out there in space with no fanfare? I mean, the Scholar is my favorite character ever. Did I really just let him stay dead? It doesn't seem like a thing I'd do. Seriously. But I can't tell you just yet.
Also, seriously, "She's Lost Control" by Joy Division is my Dr. Comet theme song. When I first sent Dr. Comet's player my idea for this story, I sent her a link to that song because both the sound and the lyrics scream "Dr. Comet" for me. Dr. Comet's player seems to agree, so go give it a listen (if you don't know it by heart, which you should because it's also just an amazing song).
Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for reading!