<br /><br />Chapter 51: The Jaded Temple - Introduction

Subscribe to Talien's Tower by Twitter, email or via the Site Feed

Thursday, February 18

Chapter 51: The Jaded Temple - Introduction

This story hour is from the "Chinatown: The Jaded Temple," in Dragon Magazine #62 by Jerry Epperson for Top Secret. You can read more about Delta Green at http://www.delta-green.com. Please note: This story hour contains spoilers!

Our cast of characters includes:

Game Master: Michael Tresca (http://michael.tresca.net)
Joseph “Archive” Fontaine (Dedicated Hero/Acolyte) played by Joe Lalumia
Jim “Jim-Bean” Baxter (Charismatic Hero) played by Jeremy Ortiz (http://jeremyrobertortiz.blogspot.com)
Hank “Guppy” Gupta (Smart Hero/Field Scientist) played by Joseph Tresca (http://www.eyeballistic.com)
Kurtis “Hammer” Grange (Fast/Dedicated Hero/Gunslinger) played by George Webster
Sebastian “Caprice” Creed (Fast/Charismatic/Smart Hero/Techie) played by Bill Countiss

There are a lot of gems hidden in archives of Dragon, back when a magazine was willing to fill its pages with a multi-page layout of an area that might – MIGHT – have something interesting in it. These were the days when vast pages would be taken up with scenarios that read more like blueprints, with no clear narrative path for the agents to follow. In this case, it's a temple that just happens to be hiding radioactive isotopes.

I knew that I wanted the agents to take on Tiger Transit's headquarters in full force, and that I would eventually need a layout for them to infiltrate. With the Portuguese translation of the Seventh Scroll of Hsan, the Focloro Verdadeiro, slipping through their fingers, the agents are rushed. There's no time for preparation – I threw them right into the next scenario. The twist is that the Tcho-Tchos are trafficking in Fumo Loco, which is highly flammable. That provided a fun twist: Sprague specifically prohibited firearms lest the whole place go up in flames.

This really perturbed Hammer, as I knew it would. But it also provided for some interesting twists. In the end, it comes down to Mok Bin Tau, leader of the White Shadows, and Jim-Bean, the increasingly erratic psychic abductee. We know this will end badly.

Defining Moment: Hammer gets fed up with not using his pistols.

Labels: d20 modern