Episode Summary: Session 11

Summary

Session 11 opens with the party deep inside the Underground Thunderhog Facility, having knocked out two guards in a previous encounter. Sucks (still wearing the Bear Costume) and Safia search the unconscious Prison Guards, discovering 8 coins and a blue access card. Kat compares this to a red card found earlier outside Sniffler's Cave, and Safia identifies them as keycards used for restricted areas based on her knowledge from growing up in a technologically advanced place.

The campaign shifts into a tense infiltration sequence as the party hides from a third guard, who Kat incapacitates with a non-lethal trick shot through the foot. Searching this guard reveals The Wasteland Map—a rudimentary chart showing landmarks outside New Smoke, with various locations marked with X's in burnt match charcoal and "TYR" written in the corner. Using Safia's ability to communicate with animals, the party learns from a Cockroach that most prisoners have been moved "upstairs somewhere" to "The Big Room." The group devises a disguise plan where Sucks poses as a guard while the others act as prisoners.

Infiltrating deeper into the facility, the party discovers the Thunderhogs' true objective: they are searching for a mysterious "casket" somewhere in the wasteland and have taken The Mayor of New Smoke prisoner to extract its location. Sucks successfully infiltrates the main Assembly Hall where the Thunderhog Leader delivers a speech promising his followers they will "leave this dump" once they recover the casket. Through Safia's Communion of Whispers ability using a stolen Silver Ear Cuff, the party overhears the leader interrogating the mayor, who insists she knows nothing about the casket. When Sucks's cover is nearly blown by a suspicious guard named Winslow, Vasso creates a diversion by imitating Five Fingers' voice through the ear cuff network, drawing guards away. Monster the cat provides an additional distraction, allowing the party to reach The Dressing Room where the mayor is held. The campaign ends with Greta finding The Silver Object on the Thunderhog Leader's body and activating it, causing Sucks's vision to go black as The Trapped Entity makes contact, asking cryptically about loyalty and wishes.

Events

Initial Search and Discovery

The campaign opens with Sucks and Safia searching two unconscious guards they had subdued earlier. They find 8 coins worth of valuables and a blue access card. Kat produces a red access card found previously outside Sniffler's Cave, and the party compares the two devices. Safia draws on her background from a technologically advanced place to identify them as keycards for restricted areas.

The party's investigation is interrupted when they hear footsteps and a voice calling out: "guys, where are you? The boss is calling everybody. We gotta go." Vasso quickly drags the unconscious guard bodies into a nearby cell to hide the evidence. Kat successfully conceals herself deeper in the corridor shadows. Sucks and Safia attempt to hide under the Bear Costume disguised as a rug, but when this fails, they abandon it and flee to join Kat.

The Trick Shot

As the third guard approaches the cell where Vasso has hidden with the bodies, Kat prepares to shoot. Sucks whispers encouragement to "kill him," but Cat (as Kat is sometimes called) announces: "trick shot." Kat shoots an arrow through the guard's foot into the concrete floor, causing him to trip and knock himself unconscious on impact.

Searching this third guard, Sucks discovers burnt matches, wrapped cheese, and a folded rudimentary map. Through careful examination aided by Kat, Sucks determines the map represents The Wasteland outside New Smoke. The map shows New Smoke as a half-circle at the bottom with small buildings inside, and various wasteland landmarks marked with X's drawn in burnt match charcoal. One landmark—an archway with a sign—is circled, suggesting it's a target location. In the corner, "TYR" is written and underlined multiple times. Kat observes the pattern: "It looks like they're just using whatever landmarks they think of while they're out there to mark where they've been."

Intelligence Gathering

The party debates disguise options. Safia considers using her ability to communicate with animals to gather information about the tunnels. She questions a Cockroach about the prisoners' whereabouts. The cockroach reveals: "They took most of them out, though. Upstairs somewhere. The big. The big room upstairs." The insect confirms that some prisoners may remain on the current level, but most—including people matching the party's targets who "came out of a bear costume"—have been relocated.

The group settles on a disguise strategy. Sucks proposes: "What if I just pretend to be a guard and you guys pretend to be prisoners?" Safia helps make Sucks look older by using burnt matchsticks to create facial stubble and crow's feet. The teenage boy claims confidence in his deception abilities: "I'm the best at accents in my old thief crew."

Advancing Through the Barracks

Using keys from the guards, the party proceeds upstairs and discovers the Barracks Level—a mix of barracks-style rooms containing beds and storage chests. Vasso scouts ahead, checking rooms for occupants. The group moves cautiously toward the sound of many voices that the cockroach had mentioned.

When a large, muscular guard emerges from one of the rooms, he confronts Sucks about his suspicious behavior. Sucks attempts to maintain his disguise by claiming to inspect doorknobs and organizing a "Bridge Night" for guards. Cat (as Kat is also called) aids by sending Monster into the hallway as a distraction. When the guard bends down to look at the cat, Sucks performs a spinning heel kick to the guard's neck, slamming his head into the wall and rendering him unconscious. Sucks exclaims: "Holy shit, that was close. Vaso, I need your help to drag him into a room."

While moving the body, Sucks notices "a silver cuff clipped to his right earlobe." The Silver Ear Cuff appears valuable, and when Safia examines it with her Communion of Whispers ability, she perceives a network view: "You're seeing where other things networked to this cuff are in the building."

The Assembly and the Leader's Speech

The party advances to The Big Chamber, where dozens of Thunderhog Gang members have gathered. Sucks, maintaining his guard disguise, infiltrates the crowd. He overhears conversations revealing low morale among the gang: "They're just like, what? Why? He's calling another meeting. It's like, we've been working day and night. How have we not found anything yet?" Another voice adds: "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get back to work. The sooner we get back to work, the sooner we can finish this and the sooner we can leave this dump."

The Thunderhog Leader—a scraggly, built man with greasy black hair and a long beard—delivers a speech to his assembled gang. He promises: "We recover... get... leave this place." He explains their mission: "The mayor's gonna tell us everything that we need to know. She's gonna tell us where the casket is." He continues with grandiose promises: "We're gonna find the casket. We're gonna retrieve it. Here is going to give us everything we've ever dreamed of."

The leader sets a deadline: "Just one more day. That's all it's gonna take. One more day." He assures his followers: "We'll be gone as soon as we get what we want, this place won't matter anymore."

Overhearing the Interrogation

Through Safia's Communion of Whispers using the Ear Cuff Communication Device, the party overhears a private conversation between the Thunderhog Leader and The Mayor. The leader threatens: "Just tell us where this thing is and we'll let you go." The Mayor responds with frustration: "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know where it is. I don't even know what it is. Just. This is all pointless. Just leave."

Sucks attempts to blend in with the Thunderhogs, joining conversations and even starting a "speech, speech, speech" chant during the leader's address. However, his social awkwardness—including a story about eating a roadside sandwich and getting diarrhea—makes several guards suspicious of him.

The Cover Nearly Blown

A guard named Winslow confronts Sucks, questioning his identity and asking why he's wearing "Ashford's vest." Sucks improvises wildly, claiming his name is "Road Sandwich" and that he won the vest in a Bridge game. Winslow reports the suspicious kid to Five Fingers over the ear cuff network.

Vasso demonstrates impressive improvisational skills by imitating Five Fingers' voice through the stolen ear cuff. First claiming to be held up, Vasso then creates a false emergency: "Hey, guys. Actually, sorry, I was being held up downstairs, but there's something weird going on in the basement. Can I get some backup? I probably need a few guys." This diversion successfully pulls many Thunderhog Gang members downstairs, thinning the crowd in The Assembly Hall.

The Rescue

With many guards drawn away by Vasso's diversion, Cat deploys Monster the cat as an additional distraction. The adorable feline successfully captures the attention of remaining guards, who cluster together to pet the cat. One guard comments that The Mayor is in The Dressing Room with the leader and observes: "I think he's all bluster because he's telling everybody that tomorrow's the day, but it seems like he's no closer to knowing what he needs."

The party crosses to The Dressing Room. Inside, they find The Mayor of New Smoke—an older woman with gray hair, stocky build—tied to a chair, with the greasy-haired Thunderhog Leader standing in front of her. A confrontation ensues, resulting in the leader's death.

The Silver Object

Greta (identified as The Mayor) walks up to the body on the ground and confronts Sucks: "She's, like, rifling through the pockets of the guy on the ground. She pushes you away, like, hard now. And she finds something in his pocket. It's like a little. It's like a kind of oblong, shiny silver object."

When Greta activates The Silver Object, Sucks's "vision immediately goes black." A voice speaks: "Who are you?" Then: "You are not the one from before." The Trapped Entity asks Sucks: "I just need to know that you will be loyal to me." When Sucks asks what the entity wants, it responds: "What do you wish for?" Sucks replies: "I am no genie." The entity explains: "I was trapped long ago by the hubris of man."

The mysterious exchange ends with the entity saying: "That kid," before the GM calls the session's end.

Key Developments

The party successfully infiltrated deeper into the Underground Thunderhog Facility, incapacitating multiple guards non-lethally through Kat's trick shot and Sucks's martial prowess
The Wasteland Map revealed the Thunderhogs have been systematically searching landmarks outside New Smoke, with "TYR" marked as significant
The party discovered the Thunderhogs' true objective: recovering The Casket from somewhere in the wasteland
The Mayor of New Smoke (Greta) is being held prisoner and interrogated for information about the casket's location, which she claims not to know
The Thunderhog Leader set a deadline of "one more day" (sunset the next day) to extract the information
Safia's Communion of Whispers ability proved critical for intelligence gathering, first through a Cockroach and later through the Silver Ear Cuff network
Vasso successfully impersonated Five Fingers through the ear cuff network, creating a diversion that drew guards away from The Assembly Hall
The party successfully rescued The Mayor, with the Thunderhog Leader killed in the confrontation
Greta found and activated The Silver Object, which contains The Trapped Entity—a being claiming to have been "trapped long ago by the hubris of man"
The Trapped Entity made contact with Sucks, asking about loyalty and wishes, and noted that Sucks is "not the one from before"
The entity's nature and connection to Nick Silver (noted by players in discussion) remains mysterious
Multiple characters leveled up: Sucks added +1 to constitution (reaching 14), Kat selected either Camouflage or Viper Strike (a move allowing two-weapon strikes with an extra 1d4 damage)
The campaign is played in Dungeon World, confirmed during post-session discussion about builds and moves