The GLOW 1996: Psychic Eustace Delmont, Episode 6 - Knives Out
- "Previously..." and Campaign/Arc Summary
- The GLOW 1996: Psychic Eustace Delmont Episode 6 - Knives Out
- Drop Off, From Afar
- Two Hours Earlier
- Angelic Intervention
- Sharpening the Blades
- When Is a Wall a Door?
- Doug's Commentary
- Mechanical and Story Notes
- Credits
- Taxonomy and Technical Data
Previously, on The GLOW: 1996 Psychic Eustace Delmont
Hitomi had to flee back to Century to try and save Bee. Eustace, trying to reach Hitomi, triggered a strange force that brought sizable quantities of Soulburn into his body. As the two stop a group of militant street punks - the Terminal Assassins - Eustace loses control and becomes a weapon for The Order.
About The GLOW: 1996 Psychic Eustace Delmont
Eustace Delmont is a psychic on the cusp of "graduating" into a full-blow Field Psychic. He requests his right to Walk, a brief period of freedom to encourage psychics to see the other side of The GLOW. He tries to finish his long-time partner Jani Blum's final unfinished mission: to find a mini-disc and crack open the Patel crime family. He meets Hitomi Meyer, a criminal hacker. The two are now on the run between a powerful crime family and an even more powerful adversary: The Order and its plans for Eustace.
Content Warning: Occasionally very foul language, lots of smoking, quite intense violence, drinking, gambling, non-graphic sex, drugs, criminal behavior, and black magic. The GLOW is a world of spiritual torture and weird horror.
This post is in the standard Doug Alone post style. See Anatomy of a Post for more details.
Attribution for the tools and materials used—including the splash art—can be found in the Credits below along with some details.
The GLOW: 1996 Psychic Eustace Delmont. Episode 6 - Knives Out
Eustace and Hitomi are going to get +2 Adrenaline for that previous session.
Setting the Scene. Drop Off, From Afar, and the Expected Betrayal.
Date: Saturday, June 1, 1996.
Time: 8:47pm.
Place: Around half a kilometer from the entrance to the Knives of the Fallen Star's compound.
Expected Scene: Eustace and Hitomi dicuss recent events while watching Genny make the drop off.
Scene Test: [c19] 6. 2d10 5 + 10 = minor twist. "A flash of an energy weapon."
Actual Scene: The Knives try and betray Genny.
Did Mrs. Yuuki survive? (Even) → [c71] No? Hmmm. She's unconscious. Critical condition. Not expected to pull through, but currently in hospital. We'll roll again later and it will be "Bad".
Drop Off, From Afar, and the Expected Betrayal.
Date: Saturday, June 1, 1996.
Time: 8:47pm.
Place: Around half a kilometer from the entrance to the Knives of the Fallen Star's compound.
Hitomi hands Eustace the binoculars and sits down behind an old A/C vent unit. From the roof of the warehouse, they have a fairly clear view of the Knives' compound. Unfortunately, even at their current distance they can't risk someone from the paranoid group of cultists spotting her lighting up a cigarette, which is what she is now doing.
"We can call it, you know?," Eustace says, "If you want to get to the hospital."
By hospital, Eustace means StormGroup Medical. Mrs. Yuuki might be a bit old school but she plays by new world rules. She has been paying up her StormGroup dues for years and lived relatively healthy — minus the smoking and the stacks of discount red meat — so has quite a few credits in their system. They took her there after she was found a few feet from manager's desk. She had apparently tried to save the petty cash. The Terminal Assassins shot her and then set the safe on fire destroying the Cred. Bee was the only uninjured survivor besides a few that made it out in the initial chaos. Bee lived by hiding their small frame on the bottom shelf of the ice cream section. She'll have an indefinite mother of a chill but currently is being kept by Juan. [1]
"I'm fine."
Eustace says nothing as he watches Genny's gray truck approach the front gate of the Knives of the Fallen Star's compound, one of the many hydroponic green houses visible behind the wall. The plan is Genny drops off the guns. They give a count of an hour or two, enough time for the guns to get distributed but not enough time for the Knives to take them out for target practice. Then Eustace and Hitomi attack the north tower. Draw people to them. Then they try to lead that group to the west tower. Once enough commotion is going, Anastasia Yuma and her group are going to launch an attack on the south tower and the main compound. If it goes well, the Knives who are looking to quit but are currently trapped within the walls will join the fray. Magnus Odinson's plans of toppling The GLOW will come to a halt. It's a lot of ifs.
"Bee was smart and hid. Mrs. Yuuki was dumb and is probably dead. She could have hid. Could have gone out the back and maybe saved people. It's not them I am worried about," Hitomi finally says. Her position leaning up against the metal frame looks dejected. Worried. She holds the cigarette like it's medicine. A medicine that isn't making a dent. "I'm worried about you. You were glowing. And...they were there."
Eustace sighs. They already discussed it. Eustace was in the middle of the bike race and started reaching out pulling Soulburn in, something he wasn't aware he could do. After a point, he stopped being able to see anything but Soulburn. He does not remember any Psychics or killing a group of armed attackers. The next thing he recalled was Hitomi on the verge of tears holding him. Then getting to Bee and finding Bee shivering and losing consciousness from the cold. And a few other survivors like Mrs. Yuuki. A couple had insurance. The rest were taken to discount regional clinic and most likely will be organ donors before morning with their families billed for the remainder.
"I wish I could tell you it made sense to me, Hitomi."
"Do Psychics believe in luck?"
He takes his eyes off the the deal going down. One where several people with robes are walking around the truck and it all seems pretty amicable. Eustace is having a hard time getting a read but currently Phase...whatever...seems to be going well. Looking at Hitomi, he waits for her to continue.
"I just mean, the Patels hit my kiosk. Then the Sasakis betrayed me. Then Juan got hit by Ouroboros. Then Bee and Mrs. Yuuki got hit by something that seems complete unrelated. Just meaningless violence, sure, but why a fucking grocery store?"
"SHIT!"
"What?" Hitomi is standing up.
Eustace has put the binoculars back to his face and has just seen one of the cultists hit Genny with some sort of stun stick. "They got Genny. Call Anastasia, we have to go!"
Setting the Scene. Two Hours Earlier.
Date: Saturday, June 1, 1996.
Time: 6:35pm.
Place: Anastasia's apartment, above the BioKraft Club.
Just a quick sort of talkie scene to help establish a few plot points. Was the "first' scene of this session but got moved down to help move action forward.
Two Hours Earlier.
Date: Saturday, June 1, 1996.
Time: 6:35pm.
Place: Anastasia's apartment, above the BioKraft Club.
Hitomi lights the blonde woman's cigarette. If Hitomi had to make a guess, Anastasia was withdrawing from something. Not drugs. That doesn't feel right. Something else. Something more vital. Lanky frame. A certain haunted look in her eyes. A smile that feels foreign to her face. Like she is hearing ghosts talk to her.
"You're a low level psychic," Eustace says, "Grade One or Two."
Anastasia stares at him. Her face going through all of its odd and no doubt unhappy emotions. Myranda had looked at Eustace with barely controlled lust. Anastasia looks at him somewhere between wonder and fear. Hitomi wonders what she sees.
Eustace ditched the t-shirt he had been wearing earlier. Already bloody and having holes from the gunshots. Still, the freshly laundered — or at least freshly bought — Hawaiian shirt does not dispel the scent of blood on him. He looks like a man who just got out of a fight with twelve angry killers.
"I was," Anastasia says, the hint of an accent — Slavic or Russian — on her tongue. Like Hitomi's British accent it is mostly gone except as affectation. "Then I met Magnus. What do you know about him?"
"Absolutely nothing," Hitomi says. Eustace shrugs. "We were just told about the job just last night. Well, maybe this morning. Recent."
"Magnus is the trope of the idiot genius. Plays up himself as the founder of a new religion. An ancient prophet. A literal son of Odin. But down inside he is a scientist looking for guinea pigs."
She walks over to a desk that has a number of cigarette burns on it. Despite the stale smoke smell permeating the place, there is not an ash tray in sight. In fact, the whole apartment has a very pre-furnished, temporary abode vibe. Opening a bottom drawer she brings out a device that looks like a tiara. Hands it to Eustace. He holds it a second and then half drops, half tosses it back into her hands.
"It feels, weird. Cold."
"Magnus calls it the crown of thorns. He has dozens of these. Maybe hundreds. New recruits are forced to wear them. Says it purifies your thoughts from the Soulburn. Gets all the tortured souls out of you. Only it does something else. It makes it so you brain, your body, detests Soulburn. The city smells like rotted flesh to me. I want to leave, only I left friends behind."
She tells them that she was a young hippie type. Came to the city to find dreams. Only it awakened something in her. The ability to see. "I could see the Soulburn bright during the day. See it move and flow and dance. Only the city is such a terrible place. A giant mouth that chews. I found out about the Knives. 'Back to Earth' they said. A place that was The GLOW but was also something old world. It appealed. I got here and got fitted with that very crown. And it all went wrong." She stopped being able to see the light dance and started sensing something dark and fearsome moving instead. Eventually, even that died down. Left her feeling like amputee. A phantom limb she only grew in Soulburn but now one her body craves to get back.
"There are many like me. Hedge mages. Psychics. Others. People who considered their new gifts to be a blessing. A way to fix this place. Magnus feeds off of us. Alters us. Claims to be fighting back against the evils of the Harrowing. Only..."
"Only he is turning you into weapons, people with a vested interest in destroying The GLOW."
Anastasia nods.
Then they get to work making plans.
Setting the Scene. Angelic Intervention.
Date: Saturday, June 1, 1996.
Time: 8:51pm.
Place: Near the Knives Compound, approaching the "South Tower".
Expected Scene: Eustace and Hitomi try to shut down the so-called South Tower.
Scene Test: [c95] 5. 2d10 = 7 + 10. Major twist/complication. "Drone Attack!" + "Speed or Agility Challenge" + the picture of a person with a knife through them that made me think of angel wings works plenty.
Actual Scene: The Knives realize they are being attacked and send a group of drones to attack.
For the "angels" we'll use Bad Guys Template 3. Attack 2xCrit. Defense: Crit. Grit: ☐◯☐◯☐☐. Feats (3pts) = Tactics + One Step Ahead. Basically, it is hard to approach them AND there is no weak spot. Weapons will be the equivalent of pistols for range.
Angelic Intervention.
Date: Saturday, June 1, 1996.
Time: 8:51pm.
Place: Near the Knives Compound, approaching the "South Tower".
"Are those harps?," Eustace manages to ask a half second before flinging himself, and Hitomi sidewise. Gunfire from above them tear into the spot they just were. Unfortunately, there is more where that came from as another attacker has set up on the side they dodge down. Neither Eustace or Hitomi are able to dodge this gun fire as well. [2]
"Are those ANGELS!?"
"Drones meant to look like angels!"
"I thought Magnus hated all this GLOW shit?"
As Hitomi says this bit, she is opening fire on the "angel" (one of three) right above her, unloading a whole clip. A few bullets graze off its metallic structure and send it back a bit. Eustace runs over and leaps off a trash bin and flies up to grab hold of another one. As it tries to maneuver to throw him off, he latches on to a drain pipe of an abandoned store front and locks the "angel" in place. [3]
The Angel that Eustace is on tries to slam the man against the wall but Eustace manages to hold on and weather the blow, though the sound of a cracking rib can be heard. The other two are focusing on Hitomi who takes multiple shots and glancing blows from ricocheting debris. [4]
Hitomi realizing Eustace and herself are in danger, slams another mag into the assault rifle and screams as she opens fire. The bullets cut through the angels above and the two not currently carrying Eustace falls to pieces. Eustace has figured out the general structure of the drone, jams a blade into, and pulls up, shorting it out. As the being crashes to the ground he manages to roll with the fall. [5]
"How did they know we were coming?," Hitomi asks as she slides down the wall and grabs her injured sides.
"Most logical answer is that they have psychics. People like Anastasia, only she was too weak to be of use. The others are higher grade. People outside of the Compound. Mages. Psychics. Whatever. Doing the work for him."
"How does that work, though? His plans would destroy him. Why help?"
"History has plenty of people siding with their oppressor if they think it shields them, often with the obvious result. But I don't think his goal is to destroy the GLOW."
Eustace looks down at Hitomi, all those emerald lines dancing around and through her. More than ever. He doesn't tell her his new fear, why things are starting to impact her so much. Why the two of them must have stood out like beacons in the night to any Psychics watching. Instead, he focuses on his new realization. About what a power mad man might be doing by gathering up and experimenting on a bunch of low level mages and Psychics, hiding out in a compound where a particular agency would have problems keeping track.
"I think Magnus's plan is to overthrow the Order."
We have unexpectedly come to a great opportunity to have a Turning Point. It's a bit "mid-session" but I'm fine with that since these solo playthroughs treat sessions a good bit differently. At any rate, neener neener.
Eustace: He has spent a lot of time punching and getting shot so I think Fight & Stunt are his most logical choices for skill pips. For a Feat, the most Eustace thing would be Counter. This allows him to React with Brawn + Fight, ignoring certain penalties. It is very much so him to leap into a gun fight or to keep punching when he should be dodging. He also gets 1 Adrenaline for the Turning Point and 1 for the fight scene that happened.
Hitomi: I think Stunt would be a good one since there's been a lot of dodging and diving. For the other, going with Fix. A lot of hands-on type hacking and that's the skill that makes the most sense. For her Feat, I am going with Tormented by the Past ("Neon Noir"). Her issues with Dave Akari are a scar that she has worked past. She (essentially) gets a bonus to all rolls to Cool and Endure. She also gets +2 Adrenaline for the Reasons above.
Setting the Scene. Sharpening the Blades.
Date: Saturday, June 1, 1996.
Time: 10:51pm.
Place: In a back alley a few blocks from the Knives Compound.
This is a bit of a Time Out. Rather than roll anything: they clear off the conditions and Eustace is running interference with the Knives' psychics. Hitomi is going to be on the "phone" and setting up a response.
NOTE: By the nature of parsimony, this essentially will be tied to the bigger plot. Magnus working with or against the Patels seems likely. I learned my lesson. *wink*.
Sharpening the Blades.
Date: Saturday, June 1, 1996.
Time: 10:51pm.
Place: In a back alley a few blocks from the Knives Compound.
Hitomi and Eustace have broken into what was once a store front. Bodega. Electricity and water still on but shelves picked bare. A large blood stain near the cash register suggests it might have been closed due to violence, but if it was it was the kind of violence that didn't tear up other parts. Targeted. Someone looking to kill, not to vandalize. They are back near a soda dispenser. Based on the smell, the soda has gone bad some time back. Hitomi is sitting on the counter and keeping a broad eye on the door. Eustace is laid out on the floor and stretched out, getting rest in before going back into battle.
"If this is what you say it is," Hitomi asks, "The start of a full on rebellion against The Order, why don't you call them? Tell your people they need to act. They showed up to watch a grocery store get slaughtered."
"I'm not sure I have the authority. Also, when this Walk is up, I probably won't be let back out unless I have a mask. Eustace will be gone. Only Nurse will remain."
"How long do you have before it's up anyhow?"
"Walks are funny. In theory, it means only the Psychics that are willing to dedicate themselves to The Order make it. They are the ones that come back. Others go on the run."
"And your people allow that?"
Eustace thinks, again, to those people that get caught, have their powers stripped. Sigils cut. And the others. Limbs removed, brains carved directly with sigils. Floating in vats. Dying and burning out but able to untangle threads so effectively.
"No, not exactly. Unless we leave it all behind. Go north. South. Get out of the Soulburn."
"And what are you going to do? When it's time?"
"A mayfly lives its forever in a day, Hitomi. I'm just going to be myself. It started out about trying to find that mini-disc, fix Jani's last mistake. Only now, I don't really care what is on the disc. I only care about...well, you know."
Hitomi gets up and walks over to him, crawls down beside him and wraps her arms around his chest. The two of them find things to worry about until the rest of the people can get in line and a more coordinate assault on the Knives can begin.
Setting the Scene. When Is a Wall a Door?
Date: Sunday, June 2, 1996.
Time: 12:51am.
Place: The wall closest to the southern "tower."
Expected Scene: Eustace breaks through the wall to start launching the fight against the Knives.
Scene Test: [c5] 3. 2d10 = 1 + 1.
Actual Scene: As expected
How about a gunfight while Eustace is cutting through a wall? BOOM!
We'll treat the wall as Defense = 2xCRITICAL enemy with no attack and 6 GRIT boxes.
The cultists shooting at Hitomi will be Cannon Fodder: 2xBasic/Basic/9. The twist is that the first time that Hitomi and Eustace both make a Reaction test, their guns will break. They can still come in punching and such.
The soundtrack for this particular scene will be Mister 404's "Blow that Smoke." I found that Youtube channel earlier today and have been enjoying some of the vibe it puts out. In fact, the entire Mister 404 playlist is worth a listen for this...
When Is a Wall a Door?
Date: Sunday, June 2, 1996.
Time: 12:51am.
Place: The wall closest to the southern "tower."
The north side of the street is the five meter tall southern wall of the large Knives of the Fallen Star Compound. Eustace and Hitomi picked this spot as some distance from any of the guard posts and gates, but they know the Knives can sense them coming and so even with Eustace running psychic interference, they only have a short period of time. Eustace's plan is to cut a circle in the wall here, about as close as they get to the Southern Tower, and then they will bee line for the tower. It should help them to escape, after they have Genny in hand.
The south side of the street is cheap apartments and more stores. The kind of place that closes up at 6pm with heavy shutters. The Knives make weird neighbors. Offering some protection and generally keeping the violence down, they also discourage anyone but the desperate to move in. Folks here can't afford garages or armored cars. Sensible, older models are parked right out on the road. A lot of the buildings have old school fire escapes. Street lights are barely frequent enough to cover any of the glow.
Eustace rams the blades on his arms into the wall at the 3- and 9-o' clock positions and then, muscles bulging, starts cutting through. He gets a about half a meter into his large circle when shouts are heard from up the street. A group of Knives are pouring out from a building across from the Compound's walls, still in white robes, and starting to open fire. At the same time, Hitomi gets her gun up and starts peppering the guys with shots while also diving back behind a light pole to avoid getting hit herself. Eustace just flattens up against a wall. Two of the guys fall back from Hitomi's gun fire. The sounds of clicks and curses announces that Hitomi's sabotage is working. The four guys still standing pull out knives and start charging. [6]
Hitomi leaps over a car to give herself a cover and try and pull the guys off of Eustace. A few seconds later, all of these are dead in the street. She cocks her head and listens for anything like sirens. What she hears is more shouts from both directions. Soon, more of the Knives will be here. Eustace has the circle cut all the way to the top and bottom but will need more time to get through. Hitomi starts across the street and shoots out the windows of a car. She jumps inside and starts slamming the equipment to start all of its alarms going off. Right as she does, a much larger group of Knives can be seen running in their direction. [7]
Sure enough, they spot her and the loudly beeping car and make tracks in her direction, she gets behind the car and waits for them to get a bit closer to make sure they are all focusing on her. [8]
As soon as they are close enough that all eyes can be on her, she starts shooting into the mass of people and sees the woman in front go down under the bullets. One the guys behind the frontwoman also drops. Hitomi then turns her gun and shoots a blue car near the Knives, causing a second car alarm to erupt into the street. She glances towards Eustace who is continuing the "draw" a large circle in the wall but as she watches, he fades from her view. Even the hole in the wall itself is hard to focus on. [9]
Running backward while they open fire on the car she is behind, she again hears the sound of clicks and confusion. Not giving them time to adjust, she rolls out from behind the car and shoots through the group. Soon enough, this second group of Knives has fallen. [10]
"Hey, Nurse, not to hurry you up but we can't have too much longer before MUNI shows up. Or worse."
Eustace grunts and keeps cutting through the wall. "But you are doing....sooo...well." His blades are somewhat stuck. He's having trouble getting through. Struggling even harder, he brings the blades to within half a meter or so to completion. [11]
"THEY WERE NOT TRUE BELIEVERS!," a voice sounds down the street. A few heads that had poked out to see what the gun fire had been about start going back in. Coming down the street is a short man in a dark suit. Glasses glow in the night. "Then again, who is?!" The man laughs. [12]
"Who the fuck are you?," Hitomi shouts back as the man pulls out a large pistol from a holster. She drops her assault rifle and pulls her own handgun. [13]
"Such language, Hee. Toe. Me. My my."
"Um, Nurse, this is really bad."
"Be done in a tick..."
"Great...," Hitomi says as she aims the gun at the man. He knows who she is. This means he is probably working with the Patels. Or the Knives' Psychics have far too much information. Either way, she is tired of having bad days.
She pulls the trigger and the man is moving. Hard to tell if she got any hits in or not. She's trying to move back into cover but isn't going fast enough. She hears a thud as Eustace finally finishes cutting through the wall. Even as a hole big enough for them to get through is left exposed, he is moving to intercept the man. [14]
The man is on top of a car and shoots at both them. Eustace slashes at the bullets with his blades and manages to stop most from hitting him. Hitomi is not so lucky and she is tired of being shot, tonight. So many things have tired her out. [15]
Eustace closes the distance and even behind the strange bug-eyed glasses, Hitomi can tell he someone not used to dealing with opponents so one on one. Eustace slams the man down into the car and then kicks him down into the pavement. He drops down and stabs the man through the legs. Hitomi squeezes off a couple of shots, hoping to hit Eustace, but nothing seems to connect. [16]
As Eustace is about to bring his blades down into the guy's face, another figure drops out of seeming nowhere — a woman with matching glowing goggles as the man — and kicks Eustace fully in the chest hard enough he tumbles back up and over the car. By the time he and Eustace gets around, both are gone. [17]
Eustace picks himself up. Sirens can be heard in the distance. As well as gunshots and shouts. The others are assaulting the other parts of the compound but MUNI is incoming. Maybe more than just MUNI this time around.
"Time to go, Mochi."
DOUG'S COMMENTARY
February 22, 2025
I'm going to be honest, the reason I stopped the battle there is because I want Yori and Ambra to return. Roger Patel's more specialist agents. Hunting Hitomi but also working with Magnus with a plan to weaken the Order. Eustace and Hitomi are having to pass on and going longer into the battle would have ended up with the siblings probably dead and it's more fun to have that moment where the next level bad guy shows up and goes "boo" before disappearing.
I'm still struggling a bit to be creative but that final scene was a lot of fun. Increasingly difficult bad guys building up to a mini-boss fight. It helped me get a feel to how well the new Eustace skill kit works and that's about right. I like it. Yori "The Poltergeist" got his vibe because I had some Nick Fancher art bookmarked to use somewhere since a lot of seemed like it would be a good match and when I did a search for "cyber cowboy" it brought back the picture that became Yori. It wasn't a perfect match for my initial idea but I quickly realized the opportunity for sibling assassins with glowing eyewear. We'll build up Ambra in the future.
The shift from Magnus Odinson being a brief stop to one of the major turning points was a welcome one. It's the part of solo play that I really like. Where you find a way to trick yourself and surprise yourself with the plot. In this case, it was meant to be maybe episodes 3 and 4. Then it stretched out. It's already 4 episodes into dealing with it. As I got a few major twists and realized where it could be going it just made a lot of sense. Something I had not planned but something that made the story more interesting. Because while there is still no good way to have a happy ending for Eustace, there is an odd side-truth: he is still sort of doing what The Order wants. Fighting back against the enemies of The GLOW.
There was meant to be at least one more scene involving shutting down the tower and figuring out how much of an impact the towers were having on Eustace. Still, we'll start there next time and deal with rescuing Genny and maybe fighting Odinson. A proper mini-boss battle.
Have started embracing more art with people in it. Anastasia, Magnus, Yori, and Ambra. It's a neat thing but it still makes me a bit self-conscious. At any rate, the pictures I have found have been perfect for telling the story.
MECHANICAL AND STORY NOTES
- Quick card to make a hospital. [c29] Don't like 'Tryhard E-Sports' so will take the image oracles: lightning bolt and a mob. Will go with a bit of cyberpunk hypercapitalism tropes.
- Eustace gets Double Basic and manages to absorb only 2 of the 6 Grit (takes 4). Hitomi gets a Critical and 'only' takes 3. Ouch.
- Hitomi empties a mag for +1. Gets +1 for the range. Nerves + Shoot nets her 3 Basic which turns into 1 Crit damage. Eustace tries to leap up to get to them (full action, not quick). Brawn + Stunt nets him one Crit + Basic. He makes it and gets a quick action as well. This does two grit total with the first hot box hit.
- The angel tries to slam Eustace into a wall. Eustace gets a Critical (+1 Help for using the enemy as a shield) and manages to hold on (still takes 3 Grit). Hitomi does get any successes and takes 6 danged grit. Both take the You Look Hurt condition.
- Hitomi has banked 6 adrenaline. Spends them to take the Spotlight. She gets an Extreme success which does three grit and takes them down to a single grit remaining. Coin flip lets her keep the spotlight. Eustace spends an Adrenaline to use Focus + Know + Blades + 1 for grappling (8 dice). Gets a Critical and two Basics. Is able to roll with the fall and avoid further damage. That finishes off the Angel drones.
- Brawn + Fight. +1 for arms. +1 for blades. Eustace gets 2 Crits + a Basic. He knocks out one Grit from the wall and has enough left over to attempt to dodge. For shooting back, Hitomi gets Critical + Basic and does 4 damage. For dodging, both Eustace and Hitomi *just* get Double Basics which means they avoid getting hit but this activates the jam for the guys, who now have to run foward.
- Shoot + Nerves + 1 for range + 1 for confusion. Gets an Extreme and has enough to cut down the rest. Eustace gets Extreme + Crit for 2 more successes. The wall is around half cut now.
- Next group is Critical/Critical/9. Hitomi has the attention brought on her and has partial cover from the car. 50% chance they will spot Eustace.
- Hitomi loses 1 for the partial cover but after going all in, but with an All-In manages to hit Extreme + Basic. The Extreme will do 3 Grit damage to them. The Basic she will use to shoot another car down the street and set off its alarms to add the noise. Eustace gets Extreme + 2 Basics. He has moved it just one more notch forward but with the two basics we'll say he partially obfuscates himself from their mind. Combined with Hitomi's actions, he will get one more turn before they even check to notice him.
- Hitomi gets an Impossible Reaction. I like to play that leftovers can be used for counter attacks so that becomes 1 for dodge and 8 successes to fire back. She mows them down.
- First roll, nothing. Second roll, he gets a double crit. He is now 4 Grit into the wall.
- A bit behind the scenes but the man's name is [c19] Yori The Poltergeist. As an agent, he is all about inspiring fear and being something of an infamous legend.
- Even with a free reroll, she doesn't make a Focus + Streetwise.
- Bad Guy Template 4. 9 Grit. 2x Critical Attack. Critical Defense. 9 grit. 2 hot boxes (4 and 8). Bullet Proof Vest and Hard to Kill. Hitomi still manages an Extreme hit and drops him to his first hot box. Holy crap, Eustace finally gets enough to finish off the wall (Extreme + Crit). The wall drops and he can join the fray.
- Eustace gets Crit + 2x Basic and only takes one grit. Hitomi only gets 2x Basic and loses 4.
- Eustace spends 1 Adrenaline to roll 9 dice. After the reroll and going all in, he has 1 Extreme + 1 Crit + 1 Basic. 4 Grit, taking Yori to his next hot box. Hitomi gets no hits but doesn't accidentally shoot Eustace so there's that.
- Going to use the Call Backup special action. Ambra (name from same card) will show up. Bad Guy Template 5. She'll do one Reaction and her and her brother will go. She is no joke at allllllllllll... Eustace gets a Critical + a Basic but loses the Basic on a reroll. Takes 3 Grit. They are then going to disappear and show up later as a team.
CREDITS
The GLOW 1996: Psychic Eustace Delmont is played using Two Little Mouse's Outgunned and Outgunned: Action Flicks (especially, but not limited to "Neon Noir" and "Great Powers"). It uses Larcenous Designs' Gamemaster Apprentice Deck: Cyberpunk 2E as its main oracle.
Other sources used include:
- Zach Best's Universal NPC Emulator.
- Cesar Capacle's Random Realities
- Kevin Crawford's Cities Without Number
- Matt Davis' Book of Random Tables: Cyberpunk 1, 2 and 3.
- Geist Hack Games and Paul D. Gallagher's Augmented Realities.
ART CREDIT AND EXPLANATION
Knives worship meeting: Photo by Janay Peters on Unsplash.
Greenhouse: Photo by Viktor Talashuk on Unsplash.
Anastasia Yuma: Photo by Oleg Onchky on Unsplash.
Angel Drones: Photo by Kasper Rasmussen on Unsplash.
The Back Alley: Photo by omid armin on Unsplash.
Outside the Compound: Photo by Minsoo Eun on Unsplash.
Yori = this photo. Ambra is this photo. These are a pair of photos that convinced me to try out the Unsplash+ license.
Taxonomy and Technical Data
- World: The GLOW
- Campaign: The GLOW
- Arc: 1996 Psychic Eustace Delmont
- Post: Episode 6 - Knives Out
Dates Played: February 20-22, 2025.
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