The Trouble with Rose: Not London

The Trouble with Rose is a story telling parlor game which uses dominoes to guide character
actions and a secret playing card to determine their hidden agenda. There are 28 dominoes in a
double six set. With five characters at the table, each one will have five in their hand. The high
scorer gets narrative control of the epilogue or final scene.

Note, in the Ghost/Echo/Rose playset, there are no genders assigned to any of the characters. It
is done on the fly during game play. Narrative control passes around the table as each player
plays a domino and describes what happens. Technically, the action does not have to match the
domino, but they only score points when it does.

The sky was tuned to the color of static. But it wasn't cyberspace, the Echo was real. You could
bleed and die here. Some visitors enjoyed the strangeness or the danger, for others it just
another job. This Echo is an alternate dimension where things went wrong and the rules that
defined reality are different if not outright broken. Accessing the ghost field for example.
Everyone had some gift, some manifestation of the ghost field. It was usually a signature power
and no two people have the exact same gift.

Not London, as it was called, seemed to have reached the age of steam and industry before
everything went to hell. Some parts have burnt to the ground, but other sections are remarkably
intact. The city is now empty except for wraiths and scavengers like this crew.

---

[Coil plays , The Captain made the plans, I just deliver the goods. Doubles are wild, no
plan survives contact with the enemy. Since it is the first scene of the game, Coil also shows her
colors and ghost field powers. All legit, but she only scores points if she uses what’s on her
domino. Players are free to pull from the lists (OTHERS, WRAITHS, and PLACES) and add
details.]

In a flash of jade leathers, Coil runs up the brick wall of an alley and makes a seemingly
impossible backflip in bullet time. While in mid-air, she drops a grenade on a snarling wraith, a
twisted hybrid of spider, shadow, and something that might once have been human. As she
completes her leap, she snags the fire escape on the other side of alley and scrambles for the
roof. The sharp crack of the grenade sends shrapnel flying as she clears the parapet wall and
lands on the roof of the Factory with cat-like grace. Coil looks around and sees that the rest of
the crew is there. She straightens her jade green jacket and pulls her long black hair back.

"Where the hell is Rose? I infiltrated the Watchtower according to the plan and got the goods.”
She fishes out an emerald the size of her thumb out of her belt pouch. "I've got the stone, but
there’s a shit-ton of wraiths on my tail. Where's our evac?" The gem seems to gleam with an
internal light, but it could be a trick of the sunless sky.

[Hull plays , Gray goes with everything. Has anyone seen Nix?]

"Damn good question. I haven't seen him or Nix since we started on this run." Hull takes off his
top hat and runs his hand through his close cropped gray hair. He has a thing for gray; top hat,
long coat, shirt, pants, and boots. Everything is a shade of gray. Coil suspects that even his
underwear is the same color. Hull continues in his gravelly voice, "I swear. If Nix and Rose have
ditched us for a romp, I'll punch them both in the face."
[Demon plays , Red is faster. Demon can create claws of ghost field energy. Players can
mess with other characters, but they normally can’t inflict harm unless the victim draws a
blank.]

"Who cares what Nix is doing? I'm here to get paid." A foot-long claw of red energy pops out of
his index finger and with almost casual ease Demon flips the emerald out of Coil's fingers. Quick
as a snake, he snatches the gem out of the air with his other hand and stuffs it into his own belt
pouch. "I'll hold on to this if you don't mind. You're liable to run off with this pretty bauble."

[Vixen plays , A blank is always a set back and may cause harm. Yellow isn't just for
cowards. In Ghost/Echo/Rose, it usually involves wraiths. Players can assign actions to other
players, but the affected player does have veto power.]

Vixen is a good looking canary blonde and her signature weapons are two submachineguns that
she carries in slings under her arms. Her bright yellow trench coat looks like it came right out of
a Dick Tracy movie. Coil starts reaching for her weapons and Vixen immediately moves in to
keep Coil and Demon apart. “Chill.” Secretly, she agrees with Demon and turns to give him a
wink. Which is why she totally misses seeing the punch that Coil throws. It connects with her
right cheek and sends her crashing to the cold concrete of the Factory's roof. Demon holds out a
hand to pick her up. "Thanks, mate. I think that punch was meant for me." Vixen gives Coil a
look that could freeze and boil water.

[Grip plays , Vixen is a distraction and should never have joined. Wild, Grip doubles down
of the distain for Vixen.]

"Heh. That’s what you get for trying to make peace between those two." Grip checks his rifle and
black nylon tactical gear. "We can't spend all day here. Coil brought the whole pack with her."
Just then, the roof access door gets knocked off its hinges and skitters across the concrete. "Hey
Vixen, why don't you go negotiate with those Wraiths. I'm sure they'll listen to reason." Glowing
red eyes set in twisted black bodies glare at the crew from the doorway.

Round 1 score: 4,7,5,1,10

[Coil plays , I went through a weapons detector once, it had a nervous breakdown.
Demon has no honor.]

Coil looks around and doesn’t see any sign of an airship or escape. The wraiths howl, their voices
inhuman and setting nerves on edge. "I don’t have time for the BS." She pulls two silver knives
out of her sleeves and throws them into the chest of the first wraith. It twists and writhes in pain
as the metal burns. Its actions impeding the rest. Shouting at Hull, "Make sure, dumb-ass…",
she points at Demon with a pistol that wasn’t there before, "gets to Cathedral Hill before Sky
Fall. I’ll see if I can draw some of them off." She then fearlessly leaps off the roof of the Factory.
[Hull plays , The ammo weighs a freaking ton, but the big ass rifle demands respect. Has
anyone seen Nix?]

"You heard the lady. Hit the fire escape before we get over-run." Hull scans the sky, but there is
no sign of Rose or Nix. The plan was starting to fall apart, and he figured that it was Nix’s fault.
Hull hefts his anti-material rifle, "Go! I’ll cover you.” The ear-splitting report of the big gun
drowns out any immediate reply. The lead wraith literally explodes and the next ones in line are
staggered by bits of slug and bone fragments.

[Demon plays , Harm. I saw this in a videogame once, I kicked its ass.]

"Thanks, big guy, but I make this look easy." Demon vaults parapet wall at the edge of the roof
and swings around by grabbing the metal railing of the fire escape. The look of confidence on his
face quickly turns to surprise when part of the rusted railing snaps off in his hand. [Possibly due
to Coil’s handiwork with the grenade earlier.] "Well shit", and Demon disappears over the edge.

[Vixen plays , Yellow isn't just for cowards. Wild, Vixen stands her ground.]

Vixen picks herself up and gingerly feels her jaw. Her blonde hair is askew, but nothing appears
to be broken. Looking at the fire escape, "That idiot is going to get us all killed one of these
days." She hauls back her right hand and almost like a fisherman casts out a glowing yellow line.
The yellow tendril makes an unnatural turn and dives straight down the alley way. With a visible
ripple, the line goes taunt and Vixen digs her heels in. There is a meaty thump as something hits
the factory wall. Demon distantly replies, "Thanks again, you’re a doll. "

[Grip plays , AK-57 with a night scope and flash suppressor, don't leave home without it.
Wild.]

Grip drops to one knee and lays down a withering burst of fire at every wraith that tries to get
on to the roof. The brass makes ringing noises as it bounces and scatters across the concrete.
With a practiced motion he ejects one magazine and slams another into place. "When you’re
done playing games, I’d like to get out of here." Vixen glares at Grip, "What the hell is your
problem?" Grip replies by shooting another wraith in the forehead.

Round 2 score: 12,16,7,3,16

[Coil plays , Harm. Demon has no honor.]

Coils puts a bullet in the head of the spider wraith that got the jump on her. She’s got a few
gashes. "I guess grenades are not that effective, too random." She looks up at Demon hanging
from a yellow energy tentacle. "She should have dropped you, on your head." Demon just grins
and laughs, "I didn’t expect the rail to give out, almost like it was sabotaged." Demon’s glowing
line fades away and he drops the remaining distance to the ground. Coil ignores the accusation,
"I saved you from being wraith bait. The least you can do is give me the stone back as a sign of
trust." Demon’s response is to look down the alley behind Coil and pull out his shotgun. Coil
spins and scans for targets, but there’s nothing there. When she turns back to Demon, he’s
already long gone.
[Hull plays , Gray goes with everything. Grip enjoys killing far too much. Who's next?]

The drab gray of the Factory roof is littered with blood, brass, and wraith parts. Grip is smiling a
bit too much as he goes about his bloody business. Hull coughs, "You know, they were people
once." Grip nods but does not turn to face Hull, "Once. Now they’re just target practice that will
gladly rip your throat out if you let them." Hull sighs and looks up at the static filled skies
reflected in his gray eyes. "You ever wonder what happened here?" "Nope."

[Demon plays , Harm. The combat shotgun is the most versatile weapon on the
battlefield. I've got a load-out for anything.]

Demon laughed out loud. He couldn’t believe that Coil fell for that ruse. He still had to make it to
Cathedral Hill, that was the alternate pick up point for the team. It was a race against time, Sky
Fall was only hour or so away and you did not want to be in Not London after dark. He took a
couple zigs and zags to lose Coil and ran straight into a dead-end alley. Before he could turn
around, he heard the howls from above and wraiths started jumping down. Blocked and
surrounded there was too many of them at too close range. Fortunately for him, the combat
shotgun was its own monster and shredded black wraith flesh just as easy as the regular kind.
The problem was there were more of them than rounds left in his shotgun.

[Vixen plays , Oh, the submachine guns? I'm just not a pretty face. Vixen can create a
tendril of ghost field energy to make a whip or rope. Demon’s player could have vetoed some of
this but the player likes the direction that the story was going.]

Using the ghost line, as Vixen called, she was able to pull herself from roof top to roof top and
avoid most of the wraiths stalking the others. It didn’t take her long to hear the repeated blasts
of Demon’s shotgun, it was the silence to come that she was dreading. When she got to the
mouth of the alley, the shooting had stopped but the howling had not. Demon was bleeding from
claw marks all over the place, but he was dishing it out with his own claws of glowing red
energy. Vixen unholstered her SMGs and charged the wraiths, firing controlled bursts to avoid
shooting Demon. The surprise attack did its deadly work and she blew away the remaining
wraiths. Demon slumped down against the back wall. His red claws flickered off, "Hey Vix, we’ve
got to stop meeting like this." She broke out her first aid kit and started trying to patch up the
worst of the slashes. "Demon, just shut up and rest." "Sure thing, Vix.", and he promptly passed
out.

[Grip plays , Harm. Grip can use the ghost field to reach into or through solid matter.]

Grip was starting to run low on ammo and the wraiths were not running out of bodies. He slung
his hot assault rifle on his back, armed and threw a satchel charge at the entrance to the roof
top access. "Fire in the hole!" He reached for his detonator, but the explosive charge
immediately went off and the blast sent him flying backwards and over the roof top wall. His
hands slipped on the brickwork, and then he sunk them straight into the stone work to stop from
falling into the alley below. "What the hell?" He hung there half dazed, the roof top access was a
smoking hole, but no wraiths appeared.

Round 3 score: 17,22,10,10,20

[Coil plays , Demon has no honor. Crane must die.]

Coil was fuming when she came across the broken body. Even with the splattered blood she
recognized the white parka and knew it was Crane. She searched the body, no weapons, the
blood was cold but still fresh. Hell, he wasn’t even supposed to be on this mission. Crane
preferred the sniper rifle and wouldn’t be caught out in the open like this. She checked the
remains again, no claw or bite marks. It was almost like he fell to his death.

It didn’t take her long to catch up with Vixen and Demon. The pavement was covered in dead
dog-headed wraiths and she pulled out her pistol. Demon looked like shit and Vixen’s cheek was
starting to change color. "I found Crane’s body. Was that your handiwork?" Vixen shook her
head, "What was he doing here?" "Dying." Coil leaned in and removed the emerald from
Demon’s pouch. "If he had any honor, you wouldn’t be in this mess. Only an hour until Sky Fall.
Thanks." "Thanks for what?" "Being slower than me."

[Hull plays , Most people don't know that I have a degree. The ammo weighs a freaking
ton, but the big ass rifle demands respect.]

A big hand reached out and pulled Grip up. Hull was standing over him. A pretty impressive feat
given that Hull was standing in mid-air over the alley. "How?" Hull smiled and grunted as he
pulled Grip to chest level. He had his heavy anti-tank rifle in the other hand to balance him.
Sweat was starting to bead on Hull’s brow. He took careful, measured steps across the alley
way. Grip looked down and noticed that before each step a small grey stepping stone of ghost
energy appeared. Hull huffed but kept up the slow and steady pace, "I’ve been thinking.
Someone has set us up to fail. The facts add up, but I don’t understand the motive. Yet." "How
do you figure that?" "The satchel charge was the final straw. It was rigged to explode
prematurely. It was just dumb luck that you threw it as soon as you armed it." "Damn. What
makes you so sure?" "I’ve got a degree in Criminology. Let’s just say that understanding the
criminal mind comes in handy in our line of work." They reached the building on the other side
and Hull set Grip down. "Who had access to your gear before the mission?" "Well everyone, none
of it was locked away. But, I don’t think anyone on the crew has a death wish." Hull rolled his
shoulders to get a kink out of his back and then checked the sky full of static again, "Anyone on
the ground, that is…"

[Demon plays , I saw this in a videogame once, I kicked its ass. Where's Wheel? That was
our ticket out.]

Demon came to as Coil was leaving the dead-end alley. He immediately grabbed his pouch to
discover the stone was missing. He was slower trying to get up and Vixen pushed him without
much effort. She leaned in close, "Maybe if you slowed down, you’d see what is right in front of
you." Demon looked her in the eyes and grinned, "If this was a video game, I’d jack a car and
take you from this mad house. Maybe some place warm, like the beach." "Some place warm
sounds real good right now." "I wish Wheel was here. A street rod with a heavy machine gun in
the back would be our ticket out of here." Vixen looked a Demon and a thought came to mind.
"Yeah, that might work. Load up, cowboy. You get to ride shotgun."
[Vixen plays , Yellow isn't just for cowards. I'm the Face for the crew.]

Vixen looked Demon in the eyes, "You trust me, right? I won’t drop you." "It’s not the most
embarrassing thing I’ve done." "You’ll have to tell me that story some time, promise." "If we get
out of this in one piece, I’ll own you more than that." Demon finished loading his last shell and
stood up. Vixen conjured up her ghost field and the yellow tendril snaked around Demon’s torso
like a harness. She lifted him up and moved Demon so they were back to back. "I got your back,
Vix." "You say the nicest things when you’re all tied up." Demon was glad that she couldn’t see
him blushing. Vixen took off at a dead running for Cathedral Hill with Demon in tow.

[Grip plays , Grip can use the ghost field to reach into or through solid matter. If Sledge
was here, we could take on these wraiths.]

It was child’s play for Grip to open the door on the roof and they made their way down the
stairs. They made it most of the way across town without encountering more wraiths. But, that
luck ran out as they approached Cathedral Hill. The church and its tower were still standing, but
there had to be dozens if not hundreds of wraiths outside the build. Hull ducked down behind the
low wall they were using for cover, "What the hell are they waiting for? If there was someone
inside, wouldn’t they be tearing down the doors to get in?" Grip check his ammo supply, "Beats
me. Man, I wish Sledge was here. Her mini-gun would tear these things apart. Any sign of the
rest of the crew?" "Nothing."

Round 4 score: 28,27,18,13,30

[Coil plays , Players gets taken out on a double blank. Since it is technically doubles, it is
also a wild draw, so they pretty much get a blank check to describe it. This tile is held fo last.]

Coil looked out from the roof top at the assembled mass of wraiths, "Damn." She might be able
to clear the distance if she got a running start. She got as much space as she could and started
her run.

You know how they say you never hear the bullet that gets you? There’s some science behind
that, bullets travel faster than the speed of sound. It will literally hit you before you can hear
the sound of the gun shot. Coil was in mid-leap when she felt the impact in her back. The pain
was intense. Her green leathers did little to stop the bullet from passing straight through her
chest. She hit the ground hard, and something might have broke. Okay, maybe a couple of
somethings. The wraiths turned and began to howl. Coil look up at the sky and saw a silent
airship. Someone was hanging out the side door with Crane’s sniper rifle. Her vision fading too
fast to see who it was.

[Hull plays , Has anyone seen Nix? Wild.]

Hull turned at the sound of the gun shot and saw Coil fall among the wraiths. "Son of a bitch!
They’re trying to pick us off." He spun around and lined up his big gun. Two shots. The first
one took out the gunner, sniper rifle falling to the streets below. He put the second shot into the
bridge, the pilot disappeared from view. Grip scanned the wraiths, but they seemed intent on
tearing Coil into bloody chunks. "Who was the shooter?" "Does it matter? Nix and Rose are in it
together."
[Demon plays , Harm. Where's Wheel? That was our ticket out.]

Vixen skidded to a stop at the side of a building when she heard the sound of rifle fire, "You see
anything back there?" "I got nothing. Shit!" A hawk-headed wraith screeched and jumped on
Vixen’s back, which unfortunately for Demon, was his face. The shotgun blast went wide and
the wraith knocked it out of his hands like it was a pencil. Its beak clamped down on his wrist
with a crunch. Demon screamed in pain and rage, red energy claws flashed and he shoved them
straight into the creature’s skull. The wraith fell off and Vixen set Demon down and cradled him.
His wrist was at a very bad angle. Demon was half delirious, "Hey Doc, can you have Wheel
bring the ambulance around? I’m not feeling very good."

[Vixen plays , Vixen can create a tendril of ghost field energy to make a whip or rope. Coil
is foolishly blinded by vengeance.]

Vixen tried to make a splint with her ghost field, but Demon screamed every time she tried.
"We’ll get you a real doctor. Just don’t go dying on me. We made a deal. Promise?" "Sure, but I
really could use something for the pain." Vixen sniffed, "This is all Coil’s fault. She botched the
run and then took off. We should never have split up." Demon mumbled, "Hey, hey. We all
have our demons to bear. She was caught up in getting revenge. Your demon, just happens to
get beaten up… a lot." She pulled him in closer, "This is one Demon I’m willing to bear.”

[Grip plays , Grip can use the ghost field to reach into or through solid matter. Wild.]

Grip looked up at the carnage that Hull had delivered. "Nice shooting", he sarcastically
commented, "How are we going to get back up to the air ship?" Hull smiled, "Your powers allow
to grab anything, right?" Grip nodded, "If it can handle my weight, I can’t climb air." Hull stood
up, "I’ll provide the handholds." He concentrated, and a gray wall of ghost energy shimmered
into existence. "The stepping stones would be too unstable since my power is not linked to your
sense of balance. And, frankly you’re too heavy for me to climb that far." They began to the
slow climb to the airship

Round 5 score: 28,39,24,19,38

Secret agendas are revealed:

Coil and Grip had clubs (protect Rose) - fail.
Hull had spades (harm/kill Rose) - success.
Demon and Vixen had hearts (romance Rose) – fail.

The audience decides to give Demon and Vixen a half success each for finding romance with
each other instead of Rose. Rose did bring them together, even if it was only to kill them later.

[Hull’s player ‘wins’ with 49 points and gets to wrap up the story.]

Hull and Grip eventually make it back to the airship and discover that both Nix and Rose are
indeed dead. From their vantage point they can see Vixen and Demon and lower a line to bring
them on board. Vixen helps Demon into a bunk and administers some morphine. Grip sees Hull
sorting through Rose’s papers. "So, Hull, have you figured out why they did it?" "Greed. The
Captain had found another buyer for the stones. But, he needed the stones and no witnesses.
It looks like Crane was in on the plan, that’s probably why the missed the first pick-up at the
Factory. It seems that either Rose or Nix decided to cut Crane out of the deal."
- fin -