Solo Tabletop Actual Play – Kids on Bikes Solo Part Three

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Read our previous session here

Scene 4 – Rising Action 1 of 8 – Waldo’s House

Modified proposal: Add some trouble or bad news
Oracle question: Is this trouble a person? No, not yet.
Danger: Expose one weakness

Waldo and Bopper pull into the driveway. Waldo immediately notices his front door is open.

(Trigger Waldo’s fear of the supernatural: -2 penalty to rolls in this scene)

Waldo peeks inside his living room, looking for signs of who broke into his house.

(Brains check – 9 vs. 3 + 1 – 2 = 2, Failure. +1 Adversity token.)

A shuffling noise comes from down the dark hallway to Waldo’s bedroom. He turns tail and flees from the house. Bopper is close behind. Waldo hops on his late grandma’s old purple bicycle and high-tails it, leaving his truck behind in the driveway. A silhouetted figure stands in the living room window, watching him flee.

Scene 5 – No progress – Town Square

Modified Proposal: Add some reward or good news
Oracle: furious karma
Who: Belongs to a family or faction

Waldo profusely thanks Eric Wheeler, the teenage son of his deputy buddy Reid. Eric is helping Waldo carry a rolled-up sleeping bag and other supplies to the park in the center of the town square. Waldo is pushing the bike. He’s filled the basket on the front with snacks, a flashlight, and other camping supplies.

“So, why didn’t you load stuff up in your truck, Waldo?” Eric inquires.

Waldo nervously responds, “I just wanted to, um, stretch my legs. Yeah. Needed to limber up. Knowing how tonight will probably go, I’ll need to be in, uh, hot pursuit of my target.”

“I definitely think I’m onto something, Eric. Some force out there knows that I know, that they know that I know. So that means we’re in the endgame now.”

“Sure, Waldo.” It’s obvious Eric doesn’t fully believe his dad’s friend but has learned to humor the guy over the years. “Can I put the stuff down here?”

They’re standing under a large oak tree twenty meters away from the statue of Enoch Harvey.

“Looks good to me,” Waldo replies. Eric drops everything on the ground.

Bopper barks, drawing Waldo’s attention to something. The ex-janitor turns around and sees a gathering of people led by Rita Hyde. They approach the statue of Enoch Varney. Hyde begins ranting about the founding of Westgrove and its deep Christian roots. She says that the people have drifted too far, and she is here to…

A flock of pigeons shit all over Hyde and her entourage of conservatives. Waldo and Eric have a good laugh. Hyde notices them and glares, then stomps off to clean herself off.

Scene 6 – Rising Action 2 of 8 – Town Square

Modified proposal: Cause confusion, doubt, worry
Who: Someone currently in trouble
Danger: Endanger lives or an area

Waldo has set up under the oak tree. He got a warm meal to-go from the diner and is about to dig in. Bopper watches, periodically licking his chops and imagining eating that himself. Waldo looks up and tells Bopper to shoo. The dog whimpers. Waldo’s face softens. He cuts the steak in half and offers one to his dog. Bopper happily chows down.

We see thin wisps of clouds move across the moon. It’s full tonight, illuminating the Westgrove town square. Some time has passed. Bopper is licking the to-go container clean and Waldo has drifted off to sleep. His snores cut through the air like a saw through wood.

He wakes up to Bopper nosing him and softly whimpering. Waldo blinks and sees the statue of Enoch Varney pulling its bronze legs off the plinth and stepping down onto the grass. The statue doesn’t seem to notice him and works its way eastward. Waldo finds he’s breathing heavily but grabs a flashlight and tries to carefully grab his bike so he can follow.

(Grit check – 6 vs. 2+1 = 3 – Failure. Gain 1 Adversity token.)

Waldo loses his grip as he tries to upright the bicycle from its position, leaning against the oak tree. It crashes to the ground on top of the man’s other camping supplies. Waldo’s shoulders tighten, and he shuts his eyes, bracing himself.

Danger: Lose or break an object.

The sound of heavy footsteps comes closer. Waldo hears a crunch, and then the footsteps move away. He opens the footsteps and sees the bicycle’s front wheel bent and twisted. The statue is moving westward now. Waldo scrambles to try to get the bike working. Bopper barks at him as if he’s trying to shout commands.

(Grit check – 10 vs. 4+1 = 5. Failure. Gain 1 Adversity token.)

He hops on the bike. The dented wheel struggles to turn once, and Waldo loses his balance and falls off. He looks at Bopper, and the dog looks at him. They pursue on foot. Waldo doesn’t notice the shadowy figure, similar to the one glimpsed in his front room window, watching from the other side of the park in the square.

Scene 7 – Rising Action 3 of 8 – abandoned house in Winslow-Heights

Random proposal – Lead to an interesting location
Mood: unease, distress, anxiety
Discovery: Reveal a secret or conspiracy

Waldo finds he’s lost the statue somewhere just outside of Winslow-Heights. It’s an old suburb built in the early 1980s, populated by mostly what was considered wealthy. Since then, it has aged, with a few new houses being built, but it still looks like it did back in the day. A stone sign marks the main entrance. Waldo notices the slight impression on the pavement from the statue’s heavy steps. While walking through the neighborhood, he notices a light in the old Sykes house, which has been abandoned since a mysterious fire a decade ago.

Oracle question: Is Waldo’s Fear triggered by exploring this house? Answer: No, not yet.

Waldo clicks on his flashlight. Bopper is right behind. The door swings open, the flashlight beam sweeping over the charred, crumbling husk of the old house. There’s a mumbling sound from somewhere deeper inside the house. Waldo moves towards it. He finds an area of the house where the floor has collapsed, allowing for a view into the basement.

Below is a circle of cloaked figures, a pentagram drawn on the floor, cleared of rubble. Waldo swallows. “Ain’t that somethin,” he barely whispers. One figure steps forward and produces an ornate blade from beneath their robes. The ground rumbles, and the statue emerges carrying an unconscious Cooper Sargent. The statue walks towards a rickety table in the center of the pentagram. Waldo knows he has to do something. He decides to get their attention and see if that might scare them off.

(Fear triggered -1 to rolls)

(Fight check – 13 vs. 7-1 = 6 – Failure. Gain 1 Adversity token.)

“What in the tarnation do ya think ya’ll are doin’ down there? I think you better git!” Waldo puffs up his chest as he issues these statements.

The entirety of the group looks up at Waldo. This is when he sees they are wearing white, featureless masks. Their eyes are dark voids. Even the statue looks up at Waldo. He gives his trademark nervous laugh. “I’m sorry. I’m with DoorDash. I think I must have the wrong house.” He makes a run for it.

(Flight check – 13 vs. 14 – Success)

Waldo is out the door, running down the street, knowing he needs to get to Reid’s house ASAP. He stops. What about Cooper? He can’t just leave the kid with them.

Scene 8 – Rising Action 4 of 8 – abandoned house in Winslow-Heights

Modified proposal: Add some trouble or bad news
Findings: Rita’s Necklace

Waldo hypes himself up, takes a few quick breaths, muttering, “You can do this Waldo. You can do this.” Bopper barks approvingly. They turn around and march back into the house. It’s quieter than before. Waldo notices the floorboards creaking under intense weight, looks up, and sees the Enoch Varney statue stomping forward. The hooded figure who holds the dagger steps forward. Waldo sees the full moon’s light sparkle off a Celtic cross hanging from the necklace.

“Hyde,” Waldo says, eyes wide. Bopper growls and yaps. The hooded figure points at Waldo, and the statue stomps forward.

(Flight – 11 vs. 9 + 2 Adversity tokens = 11. Success)

The statue brings down its closed bronze fist, and Waldo leaps out of the way. The floorboards crack and begin crumbling into the basement below. Waldo runs towards the stairs. He can feel the floor falling away just inches from his heels. Boppers pumps his little dog legs, and they both leap onto the stairs, now an island on a nearly floorless ground floor.

The statue and the cloaked figure withdraw into the shadows of the house. Waldo and Bopper spend the night trying to keep from drifting off as they sit on the stairs.

Scene 9 – Rising Action 5 of 8 – Westgrove PD

Modified proposal: Cause confusion, doubt, question
Who: A famous figure or leader

Waldo wakes up in the early morning light. Sunrays spotlight him and Bopper as they sleep, slumped on the stairs to the second floor of the Old Sykes House. Waldo tries to gain momentum and leap across the gap between the stairs and the front door, where the floorboards have crumbled away. He misses by inches, and we hear his crash on the concrete below.

Wipe to Waldo and Bopper, covered in dirt, rushing to the Westgrove PD. He stumbles and talks far too fast: “Reid!Reid! TherewasacultattheoldSykeshouseandtheywerecontrollingthestatueandtheyhadCooperand…” Clem, the cop at the front desk, is mid-bite into his doughnut as he stares wide-eyed at Waldo’s rambling and gesticulations. Bopper interjects with barks.

Clem’s eyes glance to the right. Waldo turns his head to follow them. Quick zoom on Rita Hyde sitting across from Reid at his desk. Reid nods as he takes notes. Hyde dabs at her eyes with a handkerchief. Reid is focused on his notes. Hyde glances at Waldo, briefly letting a sinister smile break.

“Clem! Her, Hyde. It was her. She was there!”

(Charm check – 10 vs. 7. Failure. Gain 1 Adversity token)

Hard cut to the bars of a cell sliding into place. Ernest and Bopper are behind them.

“But I didn’t kidnap Cooper! You’ve got to believe me, Reid.” Waldo pleads.

Reid looks disheartened. “Cooper’s t-shirt was in your backpack you left under the oak tree, Waldo. I…I have to do my duty here. Mrs. Hyde said she saw you creeping around the old Sykes House late last night. We’re searching there. If you can explain why this shirt was in your backpack…maybe you can get out.”

Reid leaves Waldo. Waldo sits down on the bench in the cell, looking broken & dismayed. Bopper whimpers.

To be continued