The Vital Victor Wong

 

“In the 1950s, while studying art under Mark Rothko, Victor Wong had his first art exhibition at the City Lights Bookstore. During this time, Wong befriended Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He illustrated Oranges, Dick McBride's first collection of poetry, which was handset and printed at the Bread and Wine Mission in 1960. He met Jack Kerouac in the early 1960s, who chronicled their meeting in his novel Big Sur (1962). In the novel, Wong is characterised as "Arthur Ma".” - from Victor Wong’s Wikipedia page.

Can you pick this man as the new focal point of your entire campaign?

Advisor to the Last Emperor of China. Poet to Chiang Kai-shek. Conferred with Nazis just before they fled the Communist takeover of Tibet. Was a spiritual trainer the “the chosen one”. Set in motion a movement to open mankind to the 6th Age. Guided the infiltration of Hell. Abetted the utter destruction of ghost demons from the 4th Age*. Set up an operation to deal with the psychic tremors of the assault on Hell. Created a lineage and trained his descendants to protect mankind using eon-old martial arts and magical masks. Are you GM enough to put this change-point hero in your game and confound your players?

Remember, the shortest guy here is the hero...

We are of course speaking of Egg Shen, hero of Big Trouble in Little China and his real life counterpart, Victor Wong. We will be viewing his legacy in film and life as one continuous life, mashed together, So let’s start at the beginning.

David Lo Pan was cursed with “no flesh” by the first Emperor of China, Huangdi**. Portuguese Jesuits have dated his rule to approximately 2697-2952 BCE, right on the cusp of the end of the 4Th Age. (Other scholars have put his ascension anywhere from 2700 BCE, to 3707 BCE, to 6078 BCE!) But by using the Jesuit claim (and their ties to the Order of New Jesuits) we can get close enough to the last age of magick to get this started. Was Egg Shen there? Has he been a guardian, looking to stop Lo Pan’s efforts for over 5,000 years? Was he tasked by the White Tiger of the West, or the Yellow Dragon of the East, aka Cheng Dai? If so, he is an immortal, but which one? One of the elves? A dragon? A drake? Something else?

“You never could beat me, Egg Shen.” - Lo Pan

No, he will outlast you, Lo-Pan...

Later, Egg Shen reappears in the records of men, this time as an advisor and the tutor to Puyi, the Last Emperor of China until 2058 and the ascension of Emperor Tianzi of Beijing. He did so under the nom de guerre Chen Pao Shen. Did he instruct the Emperor on methods to tame the Dragon Lines? Was the fragmentation of China a cover for Egg Shen’s movements and telesma gathering? Six-Demon Bags don’t make themselves! Did Egg Shen need the tears of China’s Emperor to create an alchemical potion to see things that can’t be seen?

Our next glimpse of Egg Shen is during the Second World War, in Tibet. Here he oversees the Chinese efforts to takeover Tibet. Is he trying to stop the Ahnenerbe’s efforts^ to assimilate ancient Tibetan mystic rites? Keep Austrian mountain climbers away from sleeping Dragons? Stop thefts of the sacred Kangyur?

Journalist, artist, poet, actor, millennia-old
mystic master with a singular purpose,
the creation of the 6th Age...

After his Tibetan activities, Egg Shen moves to America and adopts the name Victor Wong. Under this name he helps inspire the 50’s Beat culture. The early “mind expanding” activity of the Beat poets and artists start to seep into the American zeitgeist. This slowly paved the way for magick acceptance and counterrevolution. “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness,” indeed. The death of Rothko, one of Wong’s teachers may have been the result of several of Wong’s “hidden works”, those he inlaid with mystic elements and telesma, to permeate San Francisco’s Chinatown. Could they have corrupted the flesh of mere mortals on viewing? Was this in reaction to the creation of the Wing Kong Exchange and the growth of the Wing Kong Triad and their various street gangs such the Lords of Death? Did Victor Wong’s various alchemistrical artworks spur the Chang Sing’s martial abilities? Are they still hidden? And if found, what power do they contain in 2080? Is the ultra rare, “Red” edition of Oranges a tome of spell formulae?

Next is the action of Big Trouble in Little China. We have already discussed this, so let’s jump forward a few months...

Only Eddy could be taken in by this cunning disguise...

While Egg Shen’s activities in BTiLC are well known, less is known of his return to Tibet, and the training of the “chosen one” Chandler Jarrell. Egg Shen, under the guise of “Old Goupa”, protects the Ajanti dagger, a weapon foci capable of banishing spirits from the Outer Metaplanes. After awakening Jarrell’s mystic abilities, Jarrell is able to send home a powerful spirit intent on devouring a “spike baby”, or more properly its Essence. The spirit has obviously been freed during the assault on Lo Pan. Did Egg Shen get any vacation at all, or was that an act for Jack Burton? Or has Egg Shen learned to bilocate? 

You look like this if your were in 2 places at the same time...

And what if there is a layer to BTiLC that the veiled eyes of Westerners missed? 

Egg Shen changes history, once again...

Under the Wing Kong Exchange are various hells, (the Chinese, famously, “have a lot of hells”) the Black Blood of the Earth, and the Bog of Dead Trees***. Did Egg Shen actually lead them through Diyu, Chinese Hell, to get to Lo Pan’s palace? Or was it a journey into Diyu? With the various creatures, spirits, and hells, the latter makes more sense. This also creates the repercussions for Egg Shen’s next appearance.  

A little Chinese black magick...

Led by Egg Shen, Wang Chi, Jack Burton,  and the Chang Sing “shake the pillars of heaven”. Did they actually shake the 8 pillars that support the earth and heavens? This may be why Egg Shen sets up shop (literally) in Perfection, Nevada, using the name of Walter Chang. Did all that “heavens shaking” wake the “Graboids”, as “Walter” names them? Is Chang’s Market a penance? Did Egg Shen set up a second family to protect mankind and assuage his guilt? Does one of his family still run it today in the PCC? Just how much telesma must it have? And are you willing to send your Crew into Ute territory to hunt/dodge giant shrieking sand worms for magickal worm scat?

Or fake his death. 3 families are enough for even an immortal...

Lastly, Egg Shen sets another family lineage into play. Knowing that “all Asians look alike”, Egg switches to being perceived as Japanese. He then trains his grandchildren in “ninjutsu”, but it is more likely an ancient combat style (similar to Sinanju) perhaps taught to him during the time of the Yellow Emperor. 

Stopping nuclear threats and defeating the spirit masks...

He creates a set of masks for his protégés, which are certainly imbued with magickal energies. Is this part of the “False Face” troubles****, 

Or both!

or an effort to stymy it? Has Egg Shen thought this far ahead all along? Has he created a school of White Tiger/Yellow Dragon operatives to oppose evil “outsiders” intent on destroying the world, armed with fighting techniques from the 4th Age, powered by alchemical potions and the wisdom of Cheng Dai, emboldened by hidden artworks of immense power, and armed with advanced foci?

“I’ve waited a long time for this Jack.” - Egg Shen

Perhaps he has…

*BTiLC. Lo Pan is a ghost and a demon, served by powerful free spirits of wind, water and electricity.

** We are playing a little loose with the timeline given in BTiLC. But doing so gives us the immortal Yellow Emperor, the first Emperor of China, and allows us to play with the 4th Age. Well worth it, Mr. Black thinks. For those who think otherwise, Egg Shen and Lo Pan may have been playing games with each other for 2,258 years ago, (272 BCE.)

^The Ahnenerbe went to Tibet to find proof of “Glacial Cosmogony” in part through “geology and earth magnetic”...

***To be discussed in a future post!

**** To also be discussed in a future post!

The Vital Trideography of John Carpenter, part 3. Big Trouble in Little China

 John Carpenter may not be the first filmmaker that comes to mind as the creator of the dystopian future genre, but he came damned close. Films from his golden era set the tone for everything Shadowrun, including the addition of magic. Mr. Black will take you through 6 of his groundbreaking and iconic films, and illustrate what a GM can take from them and add to his or her game.

We are doing 6, in chronological order: We have covered Escape from New York, and The Thing. Now we cover one of Mr. Black’s all-time favorites, the true glory that is Big Trouble in Little China (BTiLC). Spoilers ahead, so grab your Six Demon Bag, and settle in. We have lots to cover…

(But before we do, Mr. Black needs to address an issue of cultural appropriation. There are some who have problems with BTiLC over its use of Asian culture. We will be looking at this movie and its applications through Mr. Black’s eyes, an angry Caucasian grognard. Mr. Black apologizes in advance for any anger and/or hurt he may cause, as that is not his intent. Dear Readers, you have been warned…)

“I’m a reasonable guy, but I’ve just experienced some very unreasonable things." — Jack Burton

1. BTiLC places magick, specifically,  “Chinese Black Magick”, into a mundane world. It is worth thinking about Jack Burton’s slack jaw as he is exposed to the magick. He and the other “Westerners” experience shock, fear, and true awe*. We as gamers are so used to magick in our games and entertainment, that it barely registers. But we need to remember it is rare. Channel Jack, Gracie and Margo’s fear and wonder, and apply it to the mundanes in your games.

   
   

   

   Scares the drek out of Mr. Black!

2. This is one of the few “Hollywood” movies that show us magickal martial arts. Embrace this! Adepts do not fight like a cybrawler or a street samurai. Channel Wang Chi at the wedding fight when describing the actions of enemy adepts when they start smacking your crew about. Describe their unnatural grace, their inhuman speed, the preternatural glow their limbs give off when Killing Hands or Elemental strikes are used. Facing a martial adept should be a frightening experience.

   
   

   

   He is here to kick ass and chew bubblegum...

3. BTiLC is often praised for the way it portrays Jack Burton and Wang Chi. It appears initially that Jack is our hero, but on rewatching it is Wang Chi who is actually our hero and our protagonist. Reflect on their changing roles, when you give time to let each character shine in your games.

4. There are 2 “warrior societies”, the Wing Chung and the Chang Sing in BTiLC. They are our stand-ins for the Triads in the trideo. Use them for interesting encounters. The Triads of Shadowrun should be full of low status gangbangers, cybered-up mid level members practicing various martial arts, and high flying masters of martial arts and physical adepts performing trust badassery. If they are just “Asian-looking guys” with guns, why make them Triad members? Use their uniqueness, create a special and memorable encounter for your players.

   
   

   

   The Yellow Lotus are here to say hello...

5. We get a good look at a “Chinatown”. We should remember it is more than just pagodas, guardian lions and out-of-place spirit gates. It is a living, breathing place, a home for immigrants. It is full of regular businesses, not just take out places and mahjong parlors. Tell your players about the smells coming from restaurants, the signage in various characters and syllabaries, the sounds of multiple languages (Mandarin, Cantonese, CitySpeak, and likely some sort of pigeon tongue), the bustle, people everywhere, most in Western or semi-Western wear, but some in traditional (more likely “reformed”) Hanfu or Tang style clothing. Use the differences (e.g., in the opening gang fight of BTiLC, one of the gangs wears white, the traditional mourning color of Chinese culture) as a reminder that it is a foreign place, but not alien. And depending on its size, walking tours (or ARo tours) would not be out of place, and great fun for GM’s (a running gun battle sidestepping tourists, people taking selfies with buskers in traditional outfits, gamers chasing special “Tomogatchi-Ko”** icons, hawkers peddling “real” “Peking Duck”, lion dancers, and wedding/funeral parties/parades? Sign Mr. Black up!)

6. The Three Storms. 

   
   

   

   What GM worth their salt doesn’t want to throw these 3 at their players? Even though good old Mr. Black’s trench coat is blacker than Vantablack, we still get chills whenever Lightning enters from the Heavens on his preternatural blue bolt. If you ever wanted to unleash the full magickal, mystical force of Shadowrun on your players, these three gentlemen are where to start. Don’t worry too much about stating them out. After all, if you haven’t drunk Egg Shen’s potion you can’t truly hurt them!

   
   

7. Never forget Lo Pan. 

   

   He’s never forgotten you!

   Not the truest face of evil. He is no Noah Cross. But he is a greater personnel threat. Need an ancient terror for your game? He is your man. Need a soulless murderous sociopath with money and local power? Lo Pan is your man. Need a smart dressing smack talking spellcaster capable of shredding your Crew? Lo Pan is your man! And do you need all of the above wrapped in a sympathetic goal, to regain his humanity? Lo Pan is still your man! Better yet, confound your players by blinding them with magick, sicing monsters on them, and condemning them to the Hell of the Upside-Down Corpses, all while doing your best kindly Mr. Ping impression!

   

   And you were not put on this Earth to “get it”!

8. Egg Shen. Kindly old wizard, or eternal philosopher-sorcerer in the shenguai xiaoshuo*** tradition? You decide. Of all the strange events and beings in BTiLC, he just might be the strangest.

   

   An American Legend

9. And lastly, Mr. Black just wants it on record that James Hong is a Goddess blessed American treasure. Born in Minneapolis, served in the Korean conflict, with 142 films (and counting) and countless TV appearances. He embraces his ethnicity and his country of birth, and always entertains while doing it. In his 90’s, he teaches a new generation of AAPI actors, and doesn’t even have a star on the Walk of Fame. If anyone in the film business deserves an American Medal of Freedom, it is James Hong.

*an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime.

**Tomogatchi-Ko is a AR trideo game similar to Pokémon Go. Special areas of a city (or those willing to pay the designers a fee) have unique “battle gatchi” to capture.

***Shenguai Xiaoshuo is a traditional Chinese literature that roughly translates to “Gods and Demons”. It concerns immortal beings fighting each other. Has Egg Shen been waging his war a lifetime, or since the demon Lo Pan was cursed with “no flesh” centuries before… Mr. Black has more to say about mixing Chinese classics and culture with Shadowrun, but that is for another post.

Mr. Black's Guide for New Shadowrun Game Masters - Part 2, Let Them Simmer

In Part 1, we talked about getting out of the gates fast. In Part 2, we will be cooking the Crew like carnitas, low and slow. You (hopefully) brought them to a rapid boil in the first Run. Time to let off the heat and let them simmer.

Your Party had a great time (hopefully) and was successful (again, hopefully) on their first Run. But you can't stay at that high level of activity. Ideally, the characters in the Crew all have Contacts, Dependents, and even Day Jobs to maintain. You should give them the chance to do so. Additionally, you have a Grand Plot (still, hopefully) to start building on. This is the time to start the groundwork.

First, let your players make any adjustments to their character and their gear. They probably found some skills they needed and some they didn’t, some gear that is bad/redundant, and so on. Let them swap things around. If they really need a do over, let them work it out while their character is doing surveillance. It is really easy to take too much of a good thing/not enough of a needed thing, Qualities that don’t quite work for the character, either mechanically or otherwise, or a lack of day to day skills. Let them fix it now. We want clean, scrubbed down characters and happy players as early as possible.

He’s back!! And he has another job for the Crew...

Ideally, set up the second run. Have your fixer gather them up for a job. This job should have about a week to complete. This will allow the Crew to do by Legwork and run their Contacts, Dependants, Day Jobs, etc. Let them take their time and get everything done. After all, surveillance is boring. No one wants to roleplay sitting in the Van for 48 hours, pissing in old take out cups and crapping in a bucket. So let the surveillance happen in the background while you do some actual roleplay.

“Hello? Can we get some more soycaf?
We need the cups to urinate in...”

Start with their Contacts. Let the characters call them and set up deals, inquire on prices/availability, and generally shoot the breeze. This is the time to play up those quirks each contact has, and do some good role-playing. Use your arsenal of accents and funny voices. Take notes on which NPC’s resonate with the players. These will get more “stage time” in the future. Note which ones need a little something more. You can bump their cred later. 

Have those Dependents call up. Give it the full drama/guilt package. Channel the whole “Jewish Mother” trope. Give it to them hard, “When are you going to call, when are you going to visit, I’m sick and need a ride to the doctor, are you getting enough to eat when are you going to meet a nice person and settle down, when am I getting grandkids, I’m not getting any younger you know, when are you getting a real job, etc.” Do this for any and all Dependents. Child Dependents want to know why the character didn’t make it to that school event. Lovers remind them about the number of times they’ve been stood up. Parents remind them of missed family dinners and siblings who are more conventionally successful (“Your brother, the doctor, just got a senior position with DocWagon…”) And all of them want know when the character is going to stop by and visit, and whether they are coming for that holiday family meal. Apply it thick and heavy. Anyone can kidnap or threaten a Dependent. You want to force moral choices on characters. Make mom happy and show up for dinner or make the run? Hard choices are what we want. 

“Are you coming over for the Awakening Day barbecue?
You can bring your friends...”

Do the same with a Day Job. Maybe someone called in sick. Maybe the run needs to happen a day early because one of the characters works the best night to do it (if they don’t, they do now!) Remember, this and Dependent are Negative Qualities. So give them negative consequences! We are not trying to kill or hurt the characters, just make them live with the choices they made.

Sick those Enemies on them. We don’t want a fight just yet, just some foreshadowing. Start ramping up some paranoia. Is someone following the Crew? Maybe an Enemy is also casing the Crew’s target. Is a character Wanted? Then they get a call from a Contact saying someone is asking about them. Just start the conversation. There is plenty of time in later session for resolution. Save the fighting for later, you know, like during the run...

Remember to let everyone shine as well. Joe the Fixer may have dozens of people to talk to, but Stella the rigger needs some time as well. Give each player some time to schmooze and network. Give them little scares during legwork. Keep everyone occupied.

“But then that’s how it always starts, small.” - Egg Shen

Now is also the time to start dropping hints for future events. They should be small. A mention from a Contact. A snippet on the scream sheets. Just a little here or there. You want to seduce the Crew into your Vast Conspiracy. Smother them and they’ll bolt. So go lightly. After all this is only the second session! 

To recap, first session, boom-boom pow-pow. Second session, talky-talky walky-walky. First session fight and roll dice, second session talk and roleplay. That should settle everyone down for all your future wicked plans. You want them all relaxed when you clobber them later...

10-in-Ten, Glow Deer Edition

 Jason A Wedel over the the Shadowrunners’ Union FB group posted about the use of reflective paint on deer, which is an actual real thing. Go figure, neh? But of course it triggered both Mr. Black’s mnemonic enhancer and cerebral booster (go EVO or go home, says mr. Black!) and so we get this, a fresh 10-in-Ten. For those new around here, a 10-in-Ten is 10 ideas for runs, just enough to get you going, no stats, totally (okay, just mostly) edition agnostic. This time, we have a livestock issue.

Yep, they glow!

And just before we get started, here are links to 

Glowing Reindeer

Not so glowing reindeer

Armed with all this, let’s dive in.

1. The town of Shelbyville recently found the local deer population has Awakened. Trids have popped up all over about the deer with glowing antlers. This naturally created problems, between thousands of folks showing up to see them, which snarled up traffic and parking, trampled all the local scenery, and ran the Likkle Splick diner out of chicken fried steak and Wanda’s World Famous Chuckleberry Cobbler. But events turned dire when the talisleggers showed up and started poaching deer. Bad enough they don’t have licenses or permits. But trespassing can get people killed around here. And the ‘leggers are scaring the tourists. The town council wants this controlled, quick. Can a crew of runners, media savvy enough to act in a way that will keep any bad news off the Matrix, but good enough to still run the ‘leggers off, before any locals or those money spending tourists get hurt?

2. And soon things are going to go bad. Small-time talisleggers are one thing. But when the Triads or Koshari come a-knockin’, you know the drek’s gone sideways. The Crew better bring their AAA game, because when the Three Storms show up, it’s all gone real retrograde.

   

   Can the Crew come out and play?

   
   Better hope a local alchemist can whip up some Chuckleberry Brew, so one can see things that can’t be seen, and do things that can’t be done. Sadly, chuckleberries are out of season, but there is a small Corp-run greenhouse over in Springfield that has them year ‘round…

3. And if this isn’t enough, with less hunting, (the kiddies want to pet the glow deer and post about it on Twanger and MeTube, not see them bloodily murdered) the deer have been quietly devouring the local crops. Someone is going to have to stop Old Man Clayton from doing it loud, from the back of his pickup, while blaring “Drinking Beer and Wasting Bullets'' Is the Crew up to culling 20-30 glow deer, quietly, off the record, on the Q.T., and very hush-hush?

4. And if news of a cull gets out, TerraFirst! is bound to come calling. That is if they can elbow their way in past Sierra Inc., those Gaia’s Orphans hippies, GenePeace investigators and ALF protesters. Does the Crew have enough political savvy, fixer contacts, surveillance drones, and good old fashion muscle to help Sheriff Ponder keep the peace? And how is your Michael Rooker impression?

   

   And how do you look in capezios?

   
   

5. Speaking of the Sheriff, the locals will have some problems with the influx of new faces. All these hunters and poachers are sure to uncover some hidden stills, pot farms and other less-than-ethical activities. Does the crew help out the law, or Mags Bennet, queenpin  of Shelbyville, and her Bennet boys? And how is your Margo Martinsdale impression?

   

   And how is your glass of Apple Pie?

   
   

6. All this new activity is bound to interrupt “the Shelby Slot”, a drek hot T-Bird run that used to pass nearby, through a valley outside town. But all these poachers, talisleggers, AnimalsFirst! types, tourists, and out-of-town criminals are getting in the way. Bad enough some poacher takes the occasional potshot at a T-Bird, but trideos going up everywhere? That drek has got to drop! Can the Crew intercede to keep the peace? And how is your Harrison Ford impression?

   

   Mr. Black chooses this smuggler, but voice from Anchorman 2...

   
   

7. And speaking even more of Sheriff Ponder, 2080 has put the “uncivil” in “civil forfeiture”. If the Crew can’t stay on his good side, it is bound to go badly. Say, just how much is that GMC Bulldog worth, you know with all those spitting-hot modifications?

8. And while all this is going on, Old Man Clayton found some local boys trespassing and poaching glow deer on his land. So now they are full of rock salt and buckshot. Doc Quinn says they need a hospital. Can the Crew, in their Van (assuming they can get it out of impound), take the Frey brothers up to the Crash Cart facility up the line, quiet like? Sally May Frey is sure to be thankful, and Mrs. Frey makes the best Chuckleberry pie in Shelbyville.

   

   Very thankful. But no kissing...

   
   

9. And now that things have quieted down, Shelbyville may fall apart. While the town council is busy setting up tourist arrangements new parking, new hotels, better photo opportunities, road widening, etc., and all the new taxes to pay for it), and 2 neighbors are feuding  over whose “Glow Deer Cookies” are the “original”, and half the town is angry about some outsider Springfield trash opening a new diner (truthfully, there is enough business for a third…) that dares to serve “Better Than Famous Cobbler”, factions have shown up. The “townsfolk” faction wants the glow deer protected. They see all those fat nuyen coming in with the deer. Tourist money, endorsements, licensing, etc. Hell, the Likkle Splick is doing booming business shipping its Chuckleberry Cobbler, and there is talk of setting up a facility for more goods (Glow Deer Beer, Glow Deer Berry Preserves, etc.) and a shipping hub. All of this might keep some of the young folks in town. The “upcountry”  faction wants hunting of the deer, but for locals only. They want to start selling glow deer jerky and flash frozen venison steaks. And glow deer antlers of course. While glow deer drop their antlers like any deer, they only glow while still attached. Talismongers are willing to pay for both. (Big time. Lisa Frey is rumored to have gotten 35,000 nuyen for a pair of 16-point antlers.) And finally Boss Hoggerty wants this whole thing turned into a farming operation. Big business means big profits of course. And Boss Hoggerty has the money to do it. Can the Crew resist Hoggerty’s cash? Or will this go all Yojimbo/Fist Full of Dollars/Last Man Standing? Lots of options, and so little time…

   

   The face of trouble, and lots of money

   
   

10. Because having run out the ‘leggers, calming down the town, faced down the Triads, having dealt with all the infighting (and the advances of Widow/Widower Jenkins, who has a little mileage on her/him, but still a MILF/FILF, and runs a nice little Matrix Chuckleberry preserves operation), the biggest foe of all is coming. Yep, one of the Mega’s is coming to town. And they want it all. The tourism, the talismonger biz, the non-Awakened glow deer biz, the Chuckleberry action, everything. They even have plans for prime time trideos, and sending “Santa and Grudolf, the Glow Horned Reindeer” on tour, all over the world. Whether they buy out everyone, or just buy the rights to everything, or run everyone off is up to the Crew. And how much they like nuyen, or Widower Jenkins…

11. And none of this accounts for the arrival and manifestation of a Great Spirit form of the glow deer, in the middle of town square, during the Christmas holiday season! Can you say “Riftmas”? Does one of the major magickal groups show up as well? Do we really need to throw the Dunkelzhan Institute, the Atlantean Foundation, the Painted Horse Lodge, even the Black Lodge/Ordo Maximus in the mix?

    

    You know Mr. Black had to go there sooner or later...

    
    

And none of this includes the fact that, if this is out of Seattle, or about half of North America, then this all goes down in or near NAN lands. Can this go all Banshee on us real quick? Does your Crew possess ID good enough for a border crossing? Do they need to be smuggled in? And if so, how is your Nathan Fillion impression?

Do you dare to pit your Crew against Tsimshian Dogmen, redneck hunters, Aztechnology Leopard Guards, Boss Hoggerty and his henchmen, eco-terrorists, the Widow Jenkins, the Triads, Koshari talisleggers, toxic spirits, lonely farmers daughters/sons, the Atlantean Foundation, the Bennett’s, and Crotchety Old Man Clayton, who may or may not be one of the deadliest street samurai ever, hiding out in the sticks? All while little Cindy Lou Who just wants a picture with the “glowy deers”? 

Your Crew is going ruin her Christmas
and make cry, aren’t they?

And remember, save room for pie when passing through Duckabush!