The following is the start of 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, want an idea of what it’s like, or are running Heart of Glass and want to see how someone else’s campaign went. I’m also adding some design notes or my thoughts on certain things, along with any tweaks or alterations I made while running it.
This is for the currently in the works Year Zero Engine version of Street Wolves, though 99% of it applies to the original Savage Worlds version, since I’ll be focusing on want transpires rather than specific mechanics.
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. While running the first session I was in locations section of the pdf 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 the town of Keysville circled, 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 Keysville and they should look for another tape in the ruins of an old factory. (The woman is an important character named Stacy, but they didn’t know about that yet).
Design Note: During the Backerkit crowdfunding of Heart of Glass I was able to get a budget to hire Meghan Caves to do production on and record Stacy’s linces. The players responded REALLY well to the audio.
The Abandoned Workshop
The Wolves first stop was the ruins of the old abandoned workshop/factory to look for the clue the mysterious woman on the tape had 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 picture 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 looking for 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 flirt 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 the diner 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 room they had a key for, thinking it was a trap. Inside that room, Doc and Cobra found a letter on the bed from their sponsor. It basically told them it was dangerous and to watch their backs. It also said they’d meet up if they made it through the investigation.
Design Note: After this run through I added an extra line in the note in the 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, which was indicated as the place they should go in Tape 1. When they got there, they found a pretty cool place and they seemed to take a shine to the bar owner Johnny Phipps. They told Johnny 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 (Johnny was suprised to get the code phrase all these years later and was confused that they Street Wolves hadn’t directly talked to Stacy).
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 to go the big speech route. Cobra started making this rousing speech about him being a Vietnam Vet and how they fought for this country and the sacrifices he made to protect freedom. 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 drom all the free drinks they got 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. The Wolves didn’t show it to him, but rather struggled with what it could be for. As written, Johnny suggests the bowling alley in Keysville that got closed down by a group called the Crusaders. Well, paranoid players like mine won’t show him. So I added a detail that there was a bowling pin engraged on it. 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 in town and the Drifters were blamed and labeled a Satanic cult. The players figured out the people in the picture they had gotten in the wall were the main Drifters. Johnny informed the Street Wolves that two of the Drifters re 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! See you next time!