The following is a SPOILER HEAVY recap of Heart of Glass for Street Wolves. I’m writing this out in a bit of a loose notes style, so it’s not like reading a book. It’s a tool for GMs who are interested in running Heart of Glass or want an idea of what it’s like. I’m also adding some design notes or my thoughts on certain things, along with any tweaks or alterations I made while running it.
Oh and this is for the in the works Year Zero Engine version of Street Wolves, though 99% of it applies to the original Savage Worlds version.
I’ll also note that I’m trying to run it directly from the book as much as I can. I’ve found that it is fairly easy to do if you have absorbed a lot of the back story. At least in this first part I was in the pdf in the locations section and would just jump to a new location when the Players moved. I had to go back into the back story stuff here and there and generally it was easy as I could look up people by faction. Even though I wrote it I don’t remember all of it!
Okay onto session 1!
The Intro
I was joined by four players for session 1. They played the following characters:
- Doc a medic
- Crash a con artist
- Hornet a driver
- Cobra a thief
The players started on the road to the small town of Keysville, Wisconsin. Their latest mission went horribly wrong and they were lying low until they got a mysterious message consisting of a map with a circle around Keysville, a key to a motel, and a tape (Tape 1). Being heroic types combined with being bored trying to stay off the radar, they decided to go on a road trip from Miami to Wisconsin to check this mystery out.
Tape 1 featured the voice of a woman telling them that something went real bad in the town of Keysville and they should look for another tape in the ruins of an old factory. (This was Stacy, but they don’t know about that yet).
Design Note: They responded REALLY well to the audio that was recorded by Meghan Caves.
The Abandoned Workshop
Their first stop was at the ruins of the old abandoned workshop to look for the clue the woman left them. They snuck around the creepy place until they dug into the hole in the wall as indicated in Tape #1. They found Tape #2, a flyer for a prayer group, and photo. The photo was a Polaroid of some younger looking folks with no labels, so that was a dead end for the moment.
Design Note: Not much happens in the way of action in the first few hours of the campaign. This is to build anticipation. You might be tempted to throw some sort of ecounter during this part, but I wouldn’t.
After getting the clues out of the wall, they listened to the tape. The voice told them to go to a guy named Johnny at a bar called The Hideway. Since they had no idea where the Hideaway was and the prayer group didn’t meet until Saturdays and they were getting hungry (in character), they decided to head into Keysville to find food and the motel before trying the Hideaway.
The Diner and Motel
At the diner in Keysville they got a bit of info from the waitress named Gina (who is a recurring NPC) who started to get flirty with Crash who was doing most of the talking. As the team’s con artist, Crash is the “face” of the team. Basically, Crash got some vibes about the town. In particular he was wondering if kids were trouble makers thinking crazy teens might be a problem here. The team got the info that not all is exactly right with Keysville, what with their weird moral codes and enforcement of them.
Design Note: As they entered town I emphasized the wrestling statue and the state titles. It didn’t mean a whole lot to them, but they thought it was odd. Mission accomplished.
After that they headed over to the motel. Crash and Hornet checked into two rooms while Doc and Cobra checked out room #6. As predicted, the team was wary of the them, thinking it was a trap. Doc and Cobra found a letter on the bed from their sponsor.
Design Note: I added an extra line in the note they find in the motel room that clearly states that the room was booked for them. While I enjoy freaking out the players, it does eat up a lot of time as they try to figure out what’s going on. Now there should be some trepidation, but it becomes a bit more clear when they read the note.
The Hideaway
With it being 9pm, they decided to head to the Hideaway Bar, which was indicated as the place they should go in Tape 1. When they got there, they found it to be a pretty cool place and they seemed to take a shine to the bar owner Johnny Phipps. They told them the code word and after a bit of confusion on Johnny’s part, he went to get them the envelope that Stacy had given him years ago.
When he returned, that’s when the Fronters showed up to cause a problem. As written they act like jerks and leave without causing an actual fight, but players may decide to intervene. This was the first time that a Player decided the speech route. Cobra started making this rousing speech about he’s a Vietnam Vet and he fought for this country and they should back down. Not only was it role played really well, but they backed down and left. It was a “and then everyone applauded” type situation. And the capper on it was Cobra was making it up. He’s not a vet, but he was a stunt man in a movie about Vietnam. Also, Hornet’s PC acting as tipsy was excellent.
Design Note: The Fronters scene is written as optional, but it really does help set the tone and gauage how violent your Players are going to be. Plus it introduces the faction to get their minds turning.
Anyway, in the envelope they got from Johnny was a key. They didn’t show it to him, but rather struggled with what it could be for. As written Johnny suggests it. Well, paranoid players won’t show him. So I added a detail on the spot that there was a bowling pin. At that point they asked Johnny where there were bowling allies and he drops mention of the one closed by the Crusaders
Design Note: Yeah, I really needed some more clues on the clue. Fixed now!
They asked Johnny for more details on the Crusaders, the group that got the bowling alley shut down. And more details on who the “Drifters” were when their story was brought up. Johnny was able to give them the gist of things: The town had been taken over by a group called the Crusaders and the Drifters were a group of younger folks that needled the hell out of them. Suddenly a serial killer appeared and the Drifters were blamed. Worse, they were labeled a Satanic cult. The Players figured out the people in the picture were the main Drifters. Two of them are dead and another is in a metal health facility. The fourth is Stacy, presumed to have run off to Chicago six years ago.
Design Note: I’m really suprised that the players didn’t show Johnny the picture they got of the Drifters.
And that’s where we ended the session. The Street Wolves have some solid leads (a bowling alley key, a flyer for a support group) and a whole lot of questions!