Cast and Director Commentary

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Feng Shui: Case Files of Section 44
1

Out of character banter and table-talk goes here.

2

I've thought a bit more about the practicalities of running it, and there are a few things I've decided on:

  1. I'll start a new thread for each scene. They'll be numbered, and usually only one will be active at once, but it will stop one thread becoming monstrous and it means the party can split up to follow up two leads at once (in two threads) easily. Unless, of course, this puts too much stress on the forum system...

  2. When questioning witnesses, to avoid it taking a huge amount of time with back and forth conversation, you can post a list of questions and the witness will answer them. The maximum number of questions you can ask in a scene is equal to your Police AV or Perception attribute. After that, the witness clams up, calls for their solicitor or runs away.

  3. Quips. If you want to make a quip that falls inside an existing post (an aside during an NPC speech, for example), quote the cue line and make the quip in its own post, so we don't get confused between quips and the action.

  4. If you say anything in front of NPCs (even whispering) I'll make rolls to see if they overhear. Beware!

  5. Evidence! Would you guys like key items of evidence to have their own thread to discuss them in? Or would that become too difficult to follow?

3

[color=darkblue]1. Cool.

  1. Does everyone in the scene get to use their skill for questions, or just the dude with the highest AV? (I mean, if everyone asks the same guy questions, we'll have dozens of questions.)

  2. Cool.

  3. Gotcha.

  4. I think evidence could all go into one thread. But I'm good with whatever.

4
  1. Sounds good to me.
  2. The list of questions sounds perfect.
  3. Absolutely.
  4. Oh yeah...mwahahahaha! :smiling_imp:
  5. Seconding Sensei here. Evidence does need to go into one basic thread (the Evidence Locker?)
5

I guess highest AV, +2 for each additional character. That will make 15 questions total with these characters. Remember that follow-up questions have to come out of this allotment.

6

If Huang comes off as something of a grump in this opening scene, it's because he's meant to -- he usually plays the grumpy veteran cop with the limited knowledge of magic when he's on the team.

Besides, in Huang's mind, the voice thing could have any number of causes: Mingxia could be a ghost now, she could be a sorcerer who's in trouble and is trying to communicate with the father by means of her powers, or she could have gotten grabbed by a demon who's using her voice to mess with the father. None of those ideas exactly sit well with him, especially that last one, for obvious reasons.

7

Queex, can you PM us when you put up a new thread? I've got mine set up to notify me by email when something new posts to a thread I've replied to, but I'll never see the new ones you're putting up.

8

I did mention the new thread in my last post to the first one, but I'll start PMing as well from now on, just to make sure.

9

Like the credit sequence. I can see Huang doing the "oh ----" face quite well.

10

Thanks, Queex! I really appreciate it. :slight_smile:

11

That was cute, what you did with Ming here. :smiley:

Now, would this be a butler, a guard, or Mr. Thomas himself? I notice you didn't give his ethnicity here (which Ming would definitely have noticed).

Either way, I think Huang will be flashing the badge here. This is police business, after all.

12

Sorry my posts have been so far between ... for some reason I'm not getting notices when replies are posted, even though I have it checked in my posts. Weird.

13

I've not noticed any missed notifications- could it be a spam filter issue?

14

Guy-1 hasn't posted since the 20th, so for continuity purposes I'm going to rule that he's downstairs talking to Aaron Thomas.

15

Yeah, I was wondering where he's been. Can he come up and give the bedroom a once-over for funky chi or anything that he can spot, when he's done with Aaron?

16

I'd prefer not to impose actions on him (apart from ones necessary to explain his absence)- but things like Sorcery knowledge checks or just close observation may reveal many of the same things.

17

So, how do you like Huang as an investigator so far?

18

He Gets Things Done. On the grand investigator scale, he currently ranks as a 'Catherine Willows', although with less exotic dancing.

19

Queex,

In the current scene at Mingxia's house, Nic is going to the pond to use the surface as a scrying device, per the rules in Golden Comeback p. 92.

He's studied the photos and personal belongings in the room to get a better reading. Nic just wants to see if he can zero in on where Mingxia may be, or who may be with her, or honestly anything he might see by concentrating on her image.

My sorcery AV is 14.

20

As per Ming's ever-so-helpful suggestion, Huang's going for the intimidation approach. He's using a combo of pulling rank, guilt and the threat of loss of face with Mingxia's family and the Superintendent in general.

He generally saves the physical stuff for the actual perps and less than reputable witnesses that the crew hauls in.

In any case, Huang's Intimidation AV is 10.