Cold City: First Session Post Mortem

So, the plot was that sometime during the war the Nazi's summoned some Eldritch Horror from Beyond the Universe to Earth. Whatever they wanted to use it for, it was non-compliant and locked away, to be forgotten once the Reich fell. Four years after the end of the war it managed to escape and discover that it greatly enjoyed the touch of flesh, despite having none of its own. For months now, it has been murdering and skinning attractive people, then using their forms to seduce and have sex with unattractive people. Unfortunately for the monster, it is radioactive, and prolonged exposure to it leads to radiation poisoning and eventual death.

I thought of the creature more like an animal than a person, using the same hunting grounds over and over, unconcerned with being caught. We started in the middle of the investigation because there was some information that I decided the players had to start with, otherwise I feared it would take a few hours just to get to the Mockingbird. "Mystery" games can be surprisingly un-fun, especially if the players miss a lot of clues, either by bad rolls or just not thinking the way the GM expects them too. So it was useful to at least point them in a direction before letting them run wild.

The visit to the Mockingbird I expected, and had planned for the creature to be there at the same time. I was prepared for the agents to capture it there, but I was fairly relieved that they didn't. Chris handed me a huge out with his bribe to the police at the warehouse. With that, I had an immediate get out of jail free card in case we ran out of time. Which we did, a little, so I used the card and we had a fairly successful conclusion.

I didn't give the creature ample opportunity to explain it's own motivations, but then again, it's an Eldritch Horror from Beyond the Universe, and it should remain a little alien. I was prepared for the group to use the creature's radioactivity against it and use geiger counters to track it through the city, but lack of time prevented us from getting there. Over all it was good, thought I felt the end was a bit rushed.