This session continues on from:
Part 1 https://www.ppmgames.co.uk/2022/01/08/modernage-solo-ap-1-the-gate-crasher/
Part 2 https://www.ppmgames.co.uk/2022/01/10/modernage-solo-ap-2-what-are-they-looking-for/
Part 3 https://www.ppmgames.co.uk/2022/01/15/modernage-solo-ap-3/
The last part in this series was posted on January 15th, and it is now mid-Feb. This was not the plan. One of the great things about solo is that your can play whenever you want. The flipside of that is that when life gets busy, it is easy to end up not playing. There is no commitment to other people that would make me put time aside.
But, back to the game.
Pàrlan looks that the scrap of paper, and the note. How did anyone know he had the knife? They must have been watching him. Maybe there was someone up at ruins. There was that parked car down the hill.
Either someone on the street slipped it into his pocket, or someone at the hotel. There are two avenues to investigate. The first is the piece of paper, is it hotel stationery, or from a hotel napkin. That would narrow it down to when the note ended up in his pocket. The second option is to take a stroll around the hotel car park and see if that same car is now parked here. It is probably better to do that sooner than later, they may leave, assuming of course that they ever parked here. Making sure he has his phone, Pàrlan heads back to reception, and out into the car park, time to take a stroll around the guest and staff parking.
I will start with a memory check to see if Pàrlan can actually remember the make of the car. This is an Intelligence check and he has no focus to help. I make the test Challenging because I don’t think Pàrlan made an effort to remember the make/model of car. The colour should be obvious. I roll 4, 5, 5, with +2 for Intelligence, that is a total of 16, the TN was 13, success with 5 stunt points. i choose BREAKTHROUGH and decide that the car did stick in Pàrlan’s memory because it an unusual license plate P54 CHO, which reminded him of Psycho.
Now is the car in the parking area? Perception test first, this will be easy, it is a well laid out car park because it was designed for guests and staff. I roll a total of 13, success. If the car is here I will see it. Oracle Question 50/50, is the car here? No.
Well, that doesn’t prove or disprove anything. It may not even have been the right car. Pàrlan takes out the piece of paper and examines it.
Is it hotel stationery? 50/50, No. Is there any identifying marks or design on the paper? 50/50, No.
Pàrlan draws a blank. There are two options. Three options. Put the knife back, and then try and watch for who comes to get it. Sit tight and force them to come and get it. Walk to the nearest post office, buy a padded envelope, some bubble wrap, and post the knife back to his university office. That would put it out of reach. Putting the knife back is a bit like admitting defeat, and mailing the knife is too much like theft. That leaves sitting tight and doing nothing. Let them come to him.
I just had a thought, did the paper come from Pàrlan’s own notebook? Unlikely, No. OK, so that was an outside chance.
Pàrlan takes dozens of photos of the knife, back in his room. Taking pictures from every angle lined up against a ruler for scale. He then emails the images to Lillie Gallagher at Oxford. He writes a short email, something like “A came across this, what do you think?”
Now what to do with the knife? The hotel safe sounds like a good idea. He drops the knife into the safe in his room. Now he has to make himself obvious and easy to contact. Time to head to the hotel bar, and have a drink.