Session Forty-Six
Anything Goes

"I know who I am! I'm the dude, playin' the dude, disguised as another dude!"
— Kirk Lazarus, Tropic Thunder

"Never believe what a woman says. Always believe what a woman sings." 
— Garden of Evil 

"Maybe there ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do."
                                                                                                 — John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

"Anything can happen. It's a long way to Delhi." — Indiana Jones, Temple of Doom

"I consent." — Khalid

The heroes drive deeper into the New Big City story line. What they thought of as reality is thinner than they ever realized. They each react differently. Fortuna plots how to take advantage of the new rules. Hazel chooses to disbelieve and retreats into his faith. Khalid easily slips into the character of "well-dressed man with gun." And Shroktath, as ever, is along for the ride, happy to do some dishes or dish out some pain. They interrogate shift-workers. They crash vehicles. They eat noodles. They find a way in through the kitchen and then try the front door. They split the party. Then they don't. They murder everyone in a night club. But all of that is only surface of what seems. The Psulron are running a story simulation that the Architect Estooa unexpectedly found running in the Interface Node he'd intended to use to shorten your travels. The Psulron, who seldom leave their own Sphere, are trying to lure powerful entities called Glitches. These are emergent beings, unintended consequences of the Spheres' design. The heroes have encountered three Glitches in the Simulation - a Villain, a Victim, and a Rescuer who himself needed rescuing. Assuming the Rescuer's role, how do they traverse an alien world to help a mixed-up dame and a glitching Glitch get away from a terrifying cannibal, and corrupt system that has all the power?  What would Steel Fenris do? 

As Raymond Chandler said, "Down these mean streets, a man must go who is not himself mean..."

Your horseless chariot is used to transport seafood. It stinks of of the ocean's detritus. It had got buckets of rotting octopus in the back. There is a mix of dried fish slime and scales on the seats.

Fortuna gave instructions to cut the top off the backs of the box and then to flip some buckets over to make extra seats. She fireballed the inside of it just to clean it up. It helped. Mostly.

She got behind the wheel-reins and wondered at the signs with the numbers. Speed limits! She knew that. They don’t actually mean anything. Those are for normal people.

—  I fail on purpose, as long as I don't kill anybody. It's more fun that way.

Fortuna stopped for a moment. Did she say that out loud?

This driving horseless chariots wasn’t so hard. Not really. Maye a bit. I mean, it’s not like flying. Or roof sledding. Those are hard. Did we just move over something?

—  If I can fly. I can drive. Yeah!

That time, she definitely said it in her head, while bombing around a left-hand turn. She started using the sidewalks before realizing that the roads were where you're supposed to drive. And of course, she was wondering why the lamp posts were in the way, but that made total sense once she figured out you had to go on the pavement between them. Also, she didn't realize there was a rule between left and right. She thought it was, like, either or?

So, yeah, it took a while to get the hang of things…

She felt the jarring sensation again. Accessing the knowledge associated with the story in this node. It didn’t feel right. Like a planar or chrono-anomaly; an alien geometry. Like something wasn’t working the way it should. No wonder Hazel didn't even want to try.

It seemed like the knowledge lives elsewhere, and it's being filtered. And every time she tries to plug into it, it's physically jarring.

If you devise a good plan that you then ignore, is it still a good plan? If anyone was ready to put that to the test, it was Fortuna. 

—  If, the Diva is an unconscious glitch, maybe we should be in character and have a storyline where we can bring her to our side something. Like, let's say we own a record label called Celestial Wax Records, and we want to sign her on and bring her away from and protect her from Tony. We'll bring her in!

Fortuna had figured that she would be the record label executive, and the group would just sign the Diva a contract. Shroktath can be the record company muscle. Fortuna’s bodyguard.

Standing there, surrounded by a nimbus of purple flames, his rat tail flicking in irritation Hazel tries to understand all of this.

—  Wait a minute. Sorry, what am I supposed to do now?

Yet Fortuna persisted. Her imagination on fire.

—  Don’t you have access to local knowledge from the simulation? Can't you just tap into that, even though it doesn't make sense to you?

Everything here makes complete sense to Fortuna. She had made the mental push towards understanding. There had been a physical sensation of a bump, like hitting a cobble while riding one of Good Boy's trikes on Braal. Or a curb. And after that brief jarring sensation, she tapped into all of the elements of this world seamlessly, as if they had always been there. But she had to want to figure it out.

Hazel folds his arms. A cowl of shadows flicker violent over his eyes.

It's in Hazel's nature to be looking for an informant. If we're trying to figure out what the Regent Room's about, there's gotta be a street-smart person that we can go and throw some payola at, and he'll give it all to us. Under a street light.

So, you do have some payola, that you took off the mooks in the warehouse. You did get a couple of rolls of bills. Ishmael explained to you that those are the 'gold pieces' here.

But we should be able to find a local informant who will tell us all the secrets of the world.

The rest of the team is distracted. Hazel sees this guy out on the corner who's just some random guy reading the newspaper at a bus stop, and he jumps out of the car...

I've got, like, purple flames on me, and I'm just dressed like a midget cosplayer, and I'm like… "Yo, yo, weary traveler! Can you help me?" ...and I've got a rat skull on my back and stuff like that. It's basically like, "We seeketh the power of whatever…"

Alright, so actually, you hit the ground, you roll, and you're running next to the horseless chariot. You tear off the fedora and the jacket that you were wearing before at the docks, you're much more comfortable with the skull on your back.

This guy at the bus stop went running the moment he saw you. He was terrified. He went limping into an alley, into the dark. You smile and just plunge into darkness after him, like it's a sign from Azael. Now he's screaming, as you pull him back to the chariot. 

Fortuna has stopped her truck. She's a little irritated that she had to do that for you. And you go full Batman on this guy, "Tell me about the Regent room! Tell me! This room of regents!"

Is that the gist?

That's the gist of it, yes.

This is a Hankuan shift-worker. He just got off the double late shift at the factory. He's tired. He's dirty. He thinks he might be hallucinating. He just wants to go home. He speaks in a heavily accented language that seems to you like Common. 

He's babbling. "The Regent Room? I know… I know nothing. It's downtown, it's in… I know it because it's in what is… used to be what… what is now Chinatown. You know, but it's very fancy, very fancy, but not what it was. Gangster place. It's a gangster place. Um… please don't kill me. I just want to go home."

Does, does he look like, like he's, like, tired or sick, or, anything like that?

He's got a club foot.

He's got a club foot. Okay.

That's why you could run him down so easily when he took off after you terrified him. He's also exhausted. No Grace left after working double shifts.

Okay. So, I cast, Healing on it. "May the blessings of Azael be on you, sir," and I touch him, and I heal him.

He weeps, and he says in a whisper, "I can see the darkness."

Okay, and I walk away.

Fortuna: What? That's all you got? You're just starting!

Like, tears… like tears in rain.

What's your cousin's name?

"I don't remember the last time I wasn't in pain."  He can't stop bowing. He's, like, he's so grateful, and he's crying. His cousin's name is Li Na...

Let's get some noodles, yo! Okay, so the streets are crowded and glisten like silver pieces in the rain.

People weave dangerously through the slow-moving traffic of horseless chariots crowding the streets, as does your own truck. It makes you think of Braal again, and you can't help but feel a pang of nostalgia for the asteroid city.

The Sailor, coughs and wheezes, in the truck. He explains to Fortuna how to park. Fortuna smashes three different cars while parking. Less parallel. More perpendicular.

And nobody says anything. A big, a seafood truck with the top cut off of it; it's all burnt in the back; parked half on the sidewalk on top of several bicycles, and everybody walks around it and behaves as if it's like the most normal thing in the world.

You did a little circle around the block first, and when you drove past the front of the Regent Room, it stands out from its surroundings. All the signage around it is in Hankuan characters. It is at the top level of its building, above businesses at the bottom level. A theatre upstairs. 

There's a marquee out front. "Tonight Only!" it declares "The diva from Argentina. Katrina Angelina," and it's in a language you understand.

There's a big guy in a small tuxedo standing alone at the door, behind a velvet rope for the line that doesn't exist.

After you drive by, the Sailor points to a ramshackle pile of tarps covered with drooping signs written in Hankuan. "That's the place we're looking for. The sign say's, Li Na's! Not the Best Noodles, but, You Know, Good Enough for the Price."

It is surrounded by similar establishments. People are eating meat on sticks and shoveling noodles into their mouths, rushing, sitting and everything in between. 

Looking under the tarp, that covers their street booth transmits you suddenly into another cultural sphere. It's filled with colours and noise and smells, and steam is everywhere.  

The smells are incredible. The spice and the seafood and the mix of broth, wondrous mushrooms and fungii and vegetables and fermented tofu. And everyone is yelling or slurping. Burping or sighing. It's glorious. No one is trying to have a conversation. That would defeat the purpose of the noodle tent. 

There are thee Hankuan and one Moreau working here - a spider monkey person. They are serving customers, making soup,  pulling noodles. 

Someone waves a spoon in your face. You are reminded of Edgar. 

—  What are you ordering? What are you ordering?

—  I'll have… I'll have the mushroom… oh, the mushroom broth, please. Hazel replies.

The spider monkey guy sort of climbs up, and harvests a bunch of drying mushrooms from where they hang in bundles from the ceiling. He drops them expertly into the bubbling pots of flavour. Another guy's pulling noodles, and cutting them into the pots.

Another still is chopping and mixing. He's got a cigarette hanging disdainfully in the side of his mouth as his arm pumps, spinning what's frying inside his wok. He doesn't swear out loud, but his face is scrunched in the position. The ash of cigarette is long and in danger of falling in the fry, but it does not. Maybe it's afraid of him. 

The smells are like beauty itself.

       — I pay him in the coin of the realm, and I eat my noodles.

Hazel encounters the best noodles he has ever eaten. One of the best meals. Noodle Pull Guy looks at him. He watches him eat with expectation.

        — You like it, you like it!

Spoon Waving guy laughs and smiles approvingly.

        — This… this, sir, is amazing. It's one of the best meals that I've ever had in this city.

Wagging his finger at Hazel and laughing, Spoon Waving guy...

        —  Ahhhh! This guy, this guy!

        —  Well, you know why we're here is because a friend of yours told us we met him on his way home from work and he said, this is the best noodle place in the city. And we had to come just to find out.

And just for a moment, that is indeed, the only reason in the Spheres that you came to this place.

Hazel savoured his noodles. After a moment of transcendence, Hazel remembered Spoon Waving guy, Li Na, and the cousin who had sent him here.

—  Oh, yeah, that's great, you know him. Yeah, he's, he's a, oh yeah, he's my sister's husband’s nephew once removed on his father's side. He just paid me back the money he owes me. Yes, he is a good guy now.

Li Na laughs at his own joke. Hazel pursues his line of questioning.

—  And he works at the club, I hear? Hazel asks

—  Huh? No, he, no, he works a couple of late factory shifts. He's really, he's had a string of bad luck.

—  Oh, so he doesn't work at the club?

—  Oh, no, no. Most all my family works at the club but not him.  They ask me, but I don't work there. They're a bunch of gangsters you know. They're gangsters Dangerous Zularean gangsters, and I have no interest in… in those people. But other family works the kitchen there. And they are always telling me that he has a job for me there, but I will never go and work there for those gangsters. 

—  Any chance you could give us a name?

—  Yeah, sure. Why not? Ask for Na Li.

Hazel flip him some bills and Li Na descries a great big guy who’s always out back.

—  He's a little stupid, you know, he's a little dim. He's, he was dropped or something. Basically fetal alcohol syndrome. They, you know, they let him work back there. He's my, he's my cousin's, he's my cousin's, distant… Uh, you know, he's not even related to the family but he's the kid that always hung around.

They have him working, and he's always working out back, moving crates. Find him, and then tell him to go get Na Li, and Na Li will let you in. And if you have a chance, put some… rat poison inside those Zulareans' soup. That will fix them!

That got dark. Awkward pause, and then Khalid steps up get a noodles to go. As he leaves with his little square box with the metal handle, he gives Li Na a business card. 

 —  If you're ever looking for a job, we have an opening on our ship. He smiles, neither looking nor sounding at all like Sean Connery. At least, not intentionally.

People remember when this place meant something.

Time was, you couldn’t get past the velvet rope without a name that mattered or a pocket fat enough to pretend it did. The chandelier used to burn like a captured galaxy, scattering light across silk gowns and sharkskin suits. The air smelled of fancy perfume and expensive tobacco, not the bargain-bin cologne and stale regret that hang in the air here now.

Every secret worth keeping in New Big City once passed through this room.

Now the velvet’s worn thin and the brass look mottled and tired. The mirror behind the bar still reflects the bottles, but they’re cheaper labels these days. The men studying themselves in that glass look like they’re searching for someone they used to be.

You keep to the shadows near the stained curtains that frame the entrance, where the light can’t quite reach. The band plays like they’re trying to resurrect something that’s already buried. Smoke coils toward the ceiling, staining what little glamour remains.

This club used to be the center of the world. Now it’s where the world comes to hide.

There's probably about 55 people in here, but there's room for at least, double that. You have no trouble picking out your mark.

Near the front at a table with easy access to the kitchen and a full surveil of the club, a fat man with greased back hair, an air of contemptuous command, and a bucket of articulated limbs, claws and tentacles.

He's pulling apart crab legs and licking his fingers. He's not even wearing a bib. His expensive tuxedo is open in the front, covered with crab juice. It's all down his chin and makes him look even more like the biggest scumbag, evil Italian mobster stereotype you've ever seen. His creepiness transcends cultural barriers. You've met vampire slaver frogs that were more charming than this guy. 

Two people are standing behind him. One big palooka, that's bursting out of his suit. And a dangerous looking woman, primed for murder, quivering on the balls of her feet.

A bored woman in a mink sits next to Tony. She's beautiful the way a mannequin is, completely covered with makeup, jewelry and affectation. She loses her patience. "Tony! You said that you were gonna take me somewhere special." 

"This is somewhere special, I own this goddamn club. So it's special." 

The big band is playing bluesy, smoky jazz. It's got, like, seventeen guys up there. The trombones are currently riffing their solo. These guys are good, but no one seems to care.

BONUS MATERIAL

This is information Shroktath picks up from washing dishes with Li Na's extended family, rather than straight up murdering the one NPC who had all this information: Tony Moretti is vaguely aware that the people from "out-of-town" who are fronting him the cash to sign the Diva on for a big record deal, aren't really from "out-of-town." He's vaguely aware that they are actually otherworldly beings, but thinking too much about it makes his head hurt. What doesn't hurt is the amount they are paying him. 

The kitchen staff saw these "Men-in-Black" at the club, discussing all of this with Tony Moretti. They made the staff uncomfortable as well, and didn't seem to care who overheard their unusual discussions. At this point, the staff knew better and were well practiced at pretending they didn't understand what was being discussed. One of the beings in particular, who was very tall and very thin, was especially unnerving. He is here this evening. 

This was going to be the Diva's big debut. The contract would have bound her to the Thin Man, with Tony Moretti acting as the go=between. For some reason, the Thin Man couldn't do it himself. 

She's an incredible singer and would make the two of them very rich. That's why Tony wanted to celebrate. However, there seemed to be something more to what the Thin Man wanted of her. 

The swing band is decent, but about half the size it should be. They finish their set and only a couple of people clap. Tony Moretti looks impatient, but he’s engrossed in his bucket of articulated seafood limbs.

The bandleader takes the mic in hand – “we got a special treat for all you cats tonight” – you overhear the trombonist mumble, “I don’t know why…” the Diva from Argentina, Catrina Angelina.

A couple of the palookas in the first row of tables perk up, like this is what they’ve been waiting for.

The lights go out. A glitterball reflects a thousand little stars all over the room. The band starts a slow bluesy tango. You didn’t see the violinist, but there it is. It yearns. The spotlight ignites.

She slides into it the way a secret slips out of a locked drawer—slowly, deliberately, impossible to ignore. 

Ylfe are beautiful even when they’re ugly. But this one. This one is no ordinary Ylfe. Her beauty feels almost unfair, the kind that makes a room quietly reorganize itself around her. Or the world, for that matter. 

Skin like warm amber under the stage lights. Dark hair spilling over one shoulder in glossy waves, catching the gold glow of the lamps like liquid ink. Her eyes—half-lidded, dangerous.

The room sighs. Then she sings.

Her voice is velvet soaked in bourbon—low, smooth, with an edge that curls around the room like perfume. It’s not just music; it’s conversation. A slow, intimate one. She leans into the microphone, fingertips brushing the stand, and the gesture feels like a secret shared with everyone.

There’s a quiet electricity about her. A slow-burning magnetism. When she glances across the room, it feels deliberate, like she’s choosing someone to let in on the moment. A crooked smile forms at the corner of her mouth, playful and knowing.

Dangerous.

Shroktath flows.

He is on the floors on his back. Tossed aside like a rag doll by the Thin Man. His windpipe crushed. His constitutional mass the only reason he is still conscious.

The Base Code is like an ocean, and he is a ship. The Glitches are islands. Archipelagos. He can feel the currents dynamic around them.

These are formidable entities. And the Architects did not intend them. They were right to be wary. But fear creates its own reactions. He and his companions would have to tread carefully, to be sure, but they were not without their own wiles.

He had learned a little something about manipulating narrative since they’d left the battlefields of Sentar.

Tragedy, he imagines, and the images come hither. Dreams Herald coming doom, a terrible event still haunts You. Disaster threatens to repeat.

He empowers the image as it takes root as he taps his magical connection to the Base Code and he pours his essence into it. He is a pebble next to the Thin Man Glitch. But a pebble creates ripples, and ripples reflect and merge and become waves. And waves can overwhelm worlds.

In the mind of this Thin Man.

All of the glitches that he's consumed, or hunted but failed to consume, are now coming home to roost, through Shroktath.

His failures will be the seed and the doubt in him is going to grow and inhabit the unconscious of this creature. He relives his moments of tragedy.

Déjà vu.

The ripples enter the target, without reflecting back. It’s workin…

Shroktath has done this before. This has all happened before.

And it didn’t end well then.

The Fortuna-In-His-Mind snides, “Yes, but this time it's better.” But it’s not. She’s swept away by the wave emanating from the Thin Man.

Tragedy.

Shroktath is reminded of being on board, not the Cygnet Terrace, but on one of the Inordinate Amounts inside the time anomaly. Bobbing helplessly on the weave of time and probability.

It's happened before. Shroktath knows that he has the Thin Man's attention. That his narrative ripple is ricocheting back on him. He gets a glimpse of the sheer number of Glitches that the Thin Man has consumed. He thinks of the Architects’ factions. He looks at the dead bodies on the floor and he wonders for a moment, “Are we the bad guys?”

Shroktath has alarmed the Thin Man. This is not what he expected. But he’s alarmed him before.

Shroktath is back in his grip. The Thin Man is throwing him backwards again. This time Shroktath can see.

The Base Code bends around Thin Man. No. The Thin Man bends the Base Code around himself. Folds it, using the same narrative trick that an Istorimancer like Jennifer would use. That he and his companions have been using all along (i.e. “Plot Twist” interruptions).

This time rather than lingering, after he throws Shroktath, rather than lingering, the Thin Man runs away. Very fast.

He can’t leave the narrative now. Shroktath smiles at the Khalid-In-His-Mind, “He’s trapped in here with us.”

He laughs and then coughs up some of his own blood. Oh yeah, that hurt…

Shroktath hears the Diva, speaking now in a Dwarven (Slavic) accent. “He'll be back. You'll have another chance. We have to leave. We're so close to the end.”

FOLLOWING THE FIGHT

• KHALID:  A hand touches your shoulder, and you hear, in this breathy voice, "My second husband was Bedouin. Maybe my fourth will be as well." Her hand reaches around…and under your shirt...

• "I consent."

REACTION TO THE CONTRACT OFFER

I just wanted to make some money and send it back home to my family," her voice cracks with emotion, and she slips into a Slavic accent that must be her own. 

Her real name is Angelina Krnovilka. "The Diva from Argentina" is her stage persona. This was supposed to be her big night. Her big break. And now, it really is all broken. 

So, when Fortuna offers her the contract, she is 100% in. She says that she'd spent everything she could to get to New Big City.

She swoons, falls to the floor and looks up at Fortuna, like a little lost girl, "Whatever am I to do?"

"Yeah... your charm doesn't work on me. I'm a goblin. I'm your agent. We're here to protect you, get yourself together. This stage is too small for you."

"Tony Moretti said that he would protect me. But he was just like everyone else. He just wanted to use me. And now all these people are dead and I don't know who to believe..." She begins to crawl backwards, through the shattered glass and dead bodies, looking for a way out. She bumps into Khalid, and looks up at him. 

However, Fortuna has her hooked. She is drawing her back from the brink of quivering madness with a familiar plot and a promise of safety. It is a tale more powerful than any Dominate spell. 

Angelina responds, "But I trust you, Little Green, even if Dorothy did steal your slippers. You and your little friends," She clutches Khalid's hand. "The Thin Man is coming back. So, I'll do whatever you say." 

She continues, but Fortuna's already planning the next move.

"Okay," Fortuna "Let's go back to the node entrance."

somewhat appropriately, being a (tweaked) A.I. machine summary of the session notes

KEY OUTCOMES

The party infiltrated a 1930s-noir simulation node to rescue the Diva (an Ylfe-presenting Glitch) from Tony Moretti's nightclub, resulting in a violent confrontation that revealed the Diva's immense power and revealed the presence of the Thin Man (a Glitch-hunting entity working with the Psulron). The mission escalated from reconnaissance to combat when party members executed Tony Moretti and his guards, prompting the Diva to kill dozens of machine-gun mooks and fleeing patrons with a single gesture. Fortuna successfully trapped the Thin Man using an Anti-Magic Field, preventing his initial attempt at escape. He eventually did escape her by manipulating the narrative, the same way the players do with their Plot Twist cards. 

COSMOLOGY & LORE REVEALED

Architect Factions & Sphere Creation

• The Architects were originally unified when creating the spheres as protection against universal collapse: the Indistinction (contraction of the Universe, replacing expansion) 

• Division emerged amongst them over unexpected variables: some wanted to destroy emergent phenomena like Sentar and the Glitches, others wanted to understand and integrate them 

• Glitches were unintended consequences when Architect technology interacted with the singularity collapse 

• The spheres function as a Dyson sphere around multiple galaxies, representing extreme technological sophistication

NPCs & Self-Awareness

• NPCs in simulation nodes are bioprinted beings (physically real, not holograms) who could theoretically leave the node 

• Some NPCs have developed awareness of being inside simulations (like Chris the Dungeon Master character in previous Kids on Bikes session) 

• Ishmael doesn't know if this self-awareness is intentional Psulron design, narrative corruption, or node damage. It's not normal and is potentially dangerous

MISSION CONTEXT & PLANNING

Target Intelligence

• Tony Moretti: Zularian gangster controlling the Regent Room nightclub in New Big City simulation 

• Katrina Angelina: The Diva from Argentina, an Ylfe-presenting Glitch performing at the club—completely unknown in the record industry despite billing 

• The Thin Man: Moretti's "boss," he devours Glitches, working with Psulron to track and capture them in the "New Big City" narrative running in this Simulation Node

Entry Strategy

• Party split approach: Khalid and Shroktath through front door, Fortuna and Hazel through kitchen

• Kitchen access obtained via Li Na's noodle stand and cousin Na Li working inside. Front door entry failed due to lack of invitations; doorman immune to intimidation

COMBAT SEQUENCE

Initial Assault

• Fortuna opened combat by casting Finger of Death on Tony Moretti, killing him instantly (he imploded "like a bowl of soup") 

• Khalid shot the front door guard in the head (75 damage, head exploded) 

• Three mooks with machine guns established suppressing fire to protect the Diva 

Defensive Measures

• Hazel created a 6-foot Wall of Stone (170 square feet) blocking line of fire to the stage 

• Hazel cast Holy Aura on entire party and the Diva (+4 AC, +4 resistance, SR25 vs evil spells) 

• Fortuna used Mirror Image using a magical rod 

The Diva's Power Display

• The Diva counterspelled the Thin Man's empowered Hold Person with a single word: "No" 

• She killed all approaching mooks and fleeing civilians in a cone with a hand wave—"life just stopped on them" 5

• Her power appeared as a class ability, not node manipulation 

• the Sailor later says this level of power is unusual in a Unaware Glitch, though the chaos is not

Thin Man Confrontation

• The Thin Man cast an empowered Fireball at Fortuna, which her lavender and green ellipsoid ioun stone absorbed—but the spell's power permanently destroyed the ioun stone 

• The spell was divine magic with unprecedented "crisp" divinity 

• Shroktath charged the Thin Man backstage but was caught and nearly killed (windpipe crushed, saved by Fortitude save of 40) 

• Fortuna used plot card "Rock and a Hard Place" to act first, then cast Anti-Magic Field to prevent the Thin Man's escape from the narrative 

• The Thin Man displayed intense emotion (anger) when trapped—which was apparently unusual for him

CHARACTER INTERACTIONS

Hazel's Fish-Out-of-Water Experience

• Hazel struggled to adapt to the noir setting, maintaining his medieval "Ren Faire" persona 

• Interrogated a random factory worker at bus stop (33 intimidate), then healed his club foot—worker wept: "I can see the darkness" 

• Hazel has 20 Charisma but lacks local knowledge skills, making him the "wide-eyed guy" with presence 

Fortuna's Planar Disconnection

• Fortuna experienced physical "jarring" sensations when accessing local knowledge—like "hitting a curb" 

• Her Knowledge (planes) checks revealed a planar barrier blocking proper access to simulation information 

• This disconnection relates to her relationship with Chronomagic 

Party Dynamics

• Khalid attempted non-lethal approach (shooting guard in leg) but was blocked by cover, defaulted to headshot 

• Party acknowledged pattern of escalating to "ultraviolence" and "turning things into a bloodbath" 

• Running joke about splitting the party and past disasters (vampire incident 15 years ago) 

Action Items

• Fortuna: Maintain Anti-Magic Field to keep Thin Man trapped backstage 

• Party: Secure the Diva and extract her from the simulation node 

• Party: Complete narrative to allow Ishmael's exit (he cannot risk dying in simulation) 

• Khalid/Shroktath: Locate and neutralize the missing femme fatale, the blade lady guarding Tony

• Ishmael's condition: Dying, bound to narrative, must complete it to exit; healing magic ineffective 

• Diva's true nature: Demonstrated power far exceeding typical Glitch abilities 

• Civilian casualties: Diva killed fleeing innocents along with mooks 

Roleplay Moments

• Li Na's noodle stand: Hazel ate "best noodles ever" while gathering intelligence 

• Fortuna's driving: Failed deliberately (23 fly check), crashed into cars while parking, drove on sidewalks initially 

• Tony Moretti accent: Chris avoided stereotypical Italian accent 

Combat Philosophy Discussion

• Party acknowledged their "Homelander" levels of indifference and contempt (shooting lasers from fingers, instant kills) 

• Debate about proportional response: "You refuse me entry, I blow your head off" 

• The DM noted the irony of careful infiltration planning followed by immediate murder 

Next Steps

• Resolve Thin Man confrontation 

• Extract the Diva from simulation (sign her to "Celestial Wax Records" cover story) 

• Complete simulation narrative to free Ishmael

• Return to material mission: free ratfolk slaves on the ship 

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

Key Outcomes

The party successfully survived a deadly nightclub encounter with the Thin Man and his forces, triggering his retreat through a reality-bending attack by Shroktath that exploited the Thin Man's pattern of failed glitch hunts. The session concluded with the party securing the Diva (real name: Angelina Kronovilka) through narrative manipulation, preparing to evacuate in the fish truck as the node quest approaches its final session. 

Combat Resolutions

• Knife Blade Lady eliminated: Dealt 62 damage to Khalid with spinning attacks; the Diva killed her and healed Khalid for 40 HP

• Hazel's devastating spell: Cast requiring DC22 Fortitude save; Blade Lady's failure (rolled 25) resulted in 116 damage and total destruction, extending to collateral casualties including "her mom" and others nearby 

• Thin Man's retreat: Shroktath's plot twist card "Tragedy" combined with hero point created a psychological attack tapping into the base code. The Thin Man was shaken but turned the attack back on Shroktath, allowing him to flee within the simulation even after experiencing his own déjà vu of his past failures 

• Remaining enemy fled: Last standing enemy abandoned the fight after witnessing the bloodbath

The Diva's True Nature

• Identity revealed: Angelina Kronovilka, Slavic woman who came to the nightclub believing Tony Moretti would sign her to a record contract. "Angelina Catrina the Diva from Argentina" is her stage persona.

• Not self-aware: Functions as a true feature within the simulation narrative, not conscious of the meta-reality despite her mythic-level combat abilities 

• Secured through narrative manipulation: Fortuna used narrative framing to pull her back from madness, achieving complete dominance over her character by reinforcing her story 

• Emotional state: Crying and desperate to escape, traumatized by the mass casualties while simultaneously having murdered many herself in a non-self-aware way 

The Thin Man's Significance

• Mythic-level threat: Represents a conscious glitch with power beyond 20th level, capable of stepping out of narratives entirely 

• Pattern of failure: Shroktath's attack revealed the Thin Man has consumed numerous glitches but has failed to capture others before, creating a seed of doubt 

• Will return: The Diva warned he'll come back with reinforcements soon, creating urgency to evacuate 

WORLD-BUILDING CLARIFICATIONS

Glitch Mechanics

• Unconscious glitches: Function like power surges that settle into narratives to avoid going insane; they stop moving once embedded in a story 

• Conscious glitches: Maintain awareness across narratives (like Ishmael and the Thin Man), possess mythic-level power within nodes and spheres, can step in and out of stories

• Not gods: Run on divine energy (which is more potent in nodes) but are fundamentally different from deities 

• Node persistence: Individual Node Simulations can run for years continuously (this New Big City node, for example, and the Kids on Bikes node both ran for years) 

Node Duration Context

• Long-running narratives: The lich from the party's world took years to figure out the Kids on Bikes node, eventually "stranger thinged" the kids into the Scooby house 

• Glitch advantage: Unlike external entities (like the lich) who must crawl up to power centers, Glitches have inherent access to nodes and sphere internal workings 

Session Meta-Commentary

• Planned as penultimate encounter: Chris intended one more encounter but found this nightclub battle too engaging; next session will wrap up the node quest

• Bloodbath acknowledgment: Multiple players noted the extreme violence, with Preston joking about being a "murder hobo" rather than roleplaying as a dishwasher 

• Mythic-level introduction: Chris deliberately introducing mythic creatures and Sphere-level mechanics as the party approaches mythic tier themselves 

Next Steps

• Evacuation imminent: Party will board the fish truck with the Diva at the start of next session

• Node quest conclusion: Next session will complete the nightclub/node storyline

• Thin Man confrontation pending: Future encounter expected with reinforcements

Well, that was humbling.

After some humming and hawing we worked our way into the Regent Room through the back doors. Tony Moretti was there, The Ylfen Diva, and “glitch” was coming out to perform in a few minutes. She was the key, somehow, to this whole play-thing that was being staged by the Psulron and their ally known as “the thin man.” (Which, by the way, reminded me of a term that was used to describe the architects by the old gnome, Brail, when we first met him much closer to the start of our adventures than now)

Things were going fairly smoothly. Moretti was massacring a bowl of seafood. The muscle was looking intimidating. The place was about half full, and the “people” seemed to be generally enjoying themselves, having a few drinks, and waiting expectantly for the diva to arrive.

They were not disappointed. I’m not much for art, generally, but I’ve never experienced the like of her performance. Her voice sounded, without exaggeration, like something from the heavens. She was so beautiful, it felt almost painful to look at her, and yet you wanted nothing more. I felt as if I was under the effects of a very powerful spell.

Not that I had long to enjoy it, as this charming little scene was about to explode into brutal violence. I’d made eye contact with a nasty piece of work - a female bodyguard of Moretti’s. She let me know she had her eyes on me, and I winked back at her with my good eye. She got up from the table and started walking towards the back of the Velvet Room. Not a great sign, but not the first punch. The first attack I remember happening was on stage. An exchange of powerful magics between Fortuna, who had snuck behind the Diva, some presence I couldn’t yet make out (but who I later discovered was “the thin man”), and the Diva herself. That was enough. Moretti’s thugs opened fire with their Tommy guns, Fortuna disintegrated Moretti, Hazel used his power to shield us from the storm of bullets by summoning a wall of stone. 

Guns excluded, it seemed like a fairly typical fight for us. Except it wasn’t at all.

The Diva. Wow. As I got closer, her power became so much stronger. I felt like I would do anything for her. She killed a group of thugs with a wave of her hand. She fought off the powers of the Thin Man, which, as I was about to discover, was beyond impressive.

Because, if the Thin Man showed the power that a “glitch” in the Architect’s spheres could wield, we were up against an opponent the likes of which we’d never even had nightmares about. As he tried to escape I closed on him, and he caught me in his grip and lifted me up by the throat like I was a child’s plaything. Fortuna’s magic had seemed to harm him. Was it because she was another “glitch,” and I was helpless against the Thin Man because I wasn’t? 

Despite Fortuna’s best efforts, the Thin Man escaped, and the Diva seemed relieved. She was urging us to get a move on, and get out of this Psulron “play,” before he (it?) came back.  

After my encounter with the Thin Man, it seemed like a smart plan.