PARALLAX, Session 17: The Meaninglessness of Life

Scene setup

Scene Expectations

The team sneaks into LaRoux’s home and finds some leads to the book.

Expected scene test

Interruption Event
PC positive
Expose + Conflict
My interpretation: Robertson calls, informing us that someone visited the sniper at the hotel and a heated argument ensued.
FQ: what is the argument about?
A: Cold + Defiant
My interpretation: Hastur is unhappy with how the mission is proceeding. Threats are made against the sniper.

Playing the scene

While we drive to LaRoux’s home, Pariah’s phone rings. It’s Robertson again. Someone just visited Hastur’s sniper at the motel. Robertson managed to sneak close to the room and overhear a heated argument ensuing inside. Apparently, Hastur is furious with the operation’s failure, and terrible threats were made against the sniper’s life unless the book is promptly retrieved.

Pariah instructs Robertson to tail the visitor, but stresses not to take any unnecessary risks. It is far better to lose the target than to be caught off guard by a potential spellcaster.

We arrive at LaRoux’s home just as dusk settles. The house is an old, isolated building situated right on the outskirts of town, practically in the middle of nowhere. Anything could happen out here and nobody would notice. Whether that is a good or a bad thing for us remains to be seen.

FQ: is there anything odd with the house?
A: Yes
Open + Portal
Ruin + Separate
My interpretation: Carcosa is breaking through our reality: the ruins of an ancient building seem to be fused with LaRoux’s the house.

What we see when we approach, however, is complete madness.

The building seems to be slowly changing, shifting its architecture from an old New Orleans home into the jagged ruins of an ancient Bavarian castle. Our minds struggle to grasp the impossible geometry warping in front of us. Carcosa is actively creeping into our reality.

Sanity check (2/D6)
(D100): (15) < (63) => success => 2 sanity loss (unnatural)

Placebo: “Carcosa!”

My mind falters at the unnatural sight. For a second, a wave of blind panic hits me and I want to run away screaming, but I manage to clamp down on the fear and maintain control.

Pariah: “Indeed. The book must be in there. We have to find it and destroy it.”

Phalanx: “Easier said than done. We have no idea what’s waiting inside. We’re going in completely blind.”

Pariah: “We have no choice.”

The front entrance is no longer that of a 20th-century house; it has transformed into a massive wooden portal, towering higher than the building itself in a display of non-Euclidean geometry. The sheer reality of it defies reason.

FQ: is there any other entrance?
A: yes!

Along the wall, a few meters from the portal, we spot a regular-looking window.

Phalanx: “That window might be our way in. Let’s take a look.”

FQ: is it a modern room?
A: yes

We approach the glass, hearts hammering against our ribs, and peer inside. The interior looks like a standard, modern living room—a couch facing a TV, and a desktop computer. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Phalanx: “This is our entry point. I say we break the glass.”

Pariah nods in agreement.

Phalanx Stealth check
(D100): (79) > (50) => failure

Phalanx wraps his jacket tightly around his arm and smashes the pane. The shattering glass echoes through the quiet night, far louder than any of us expected.

FQ: does someone/something hear the noise?
A: Yes!
Beast + Aggressive
Crazy + Ruined
My interpretation: a Dimensional Shambler attacks us!

Dimensional Shambler
STR 22 CON 30 DEX 15 INT 10 POW 14
HP 26 WP 14
ARMOR: 4 point of leathery hide (see FOCUSED TRANSCENDENCE).
SKILLS: Alertness 44%, Apport 60%, Athletics 99%.
ATTACKS: Flailing Smash 55%, damage 2D6.
Grapple 55% (see GRASP AND VANISH).
APPORT: As its action in a turn, and with a successful Apport skill roll, the shambler can teleport anywhere within 50 meters. It seems to shudder, stumble, and fade as it exits “reality.” It snaps back into reality suddenly and silently.
BLOOD FEAST: A prone target that is bleeding significantly causes the shambler to enter a blood feast. Quick as lightning, it seizes the victim and drains one point of STR per round from blood loss until the victim dies. A Dodge roll allows the target to escape. A seized victim can attempt an opposed STR roll against the shambler, suffering 1D4 damage from tearing flesh if the victim struggles free. Any attack on the shambler that inflicts damage stops the blood feast and causes it to drop the victim.
FLAILING SMASH: The shambler batters at its opponents with wild, windmill swings of its inhumanly long arms, inflicting 2D6 damage. A human-size target hit by the smash must make a STR test or be knocked prone. If a target is knocked prone, the shambler attempts to grasp and vanish on its next turn (see GRASP AND VANISH).
FOCUSED TRANSCENDENCE: When focused on a single target, the shambler becomes immune to all physical attacks from that particular target. It can still be affected by any other attack, effect, or power.
GRASP AND VANISH: If any human target goes prone nearby, the shambler moves in and attempts to grapple. If the shambler pins the target, it and the target whisk out of existence on the shambler’s next turn, never to be seen again.
LOPING: The shambler can move and climb with the agility of a great ape, allowing it to scale, leap, climb, and swing in a manner more accomplished than any human gymnast.
UNNATURAL BIOLOGY: The dimensional shambler’s physiology would baffle any biologist. Making a called shot for “vitals” or another apparently vulnerable area inflicts normal damage, with no special game effect.
SAN LOSS: 1/1D6.

The noise immediately attracts something. From the darkest corner of the living room, a massive black shape begins to move toward us.

Combat begins
Shambler goes first because of surprise attack. Action: Appraise Dimensional Shambler Apport skill check (D100): (38) < 50 => success

The shadow vanishes from the room, only to materialize instantly right behind us out of thin air. In the dim light, we finally see its gargantuan, blasphemous form—a hulking monstrosity that looks like a horrific cross between a giant ape and a massive insect. Its loose, rugose hide hangs in folds over its frame, and its dead-eyed, featureless head sways drunkenly from side to side. Its long forepaws extend toward us, talons spread wide, its entire body taut with a cold, murderous malice.

Sanity check 1/1D6
(D100): (37) => success => 1 sanity loss (unnatural)

For a paralyzing second, I am frozen. The creature’s existence defies all physical laws. But raw survival instinct finally kicks in before my mind completely unravels.

Pariah doesn’t hesitate. She draws her .357 Magnum, points it directly at the creature’s mass, and fires.

Pariah’s turn
Action: shoots with heavy gun
Firearms skill check
(D100): (20) < (60) => success
Damage: (1D12) - 4 armor: (8) - 4 => 4 damage

The bullet hits home, but it tears through the hide with far less effect than a weapon of that caliber should ever produce.

Placebo’s turn
Action: shoot with medium gun
Firearm skill check
(D100): (88) > (40) => critical failure

Having regained enough coordination to raise my own gun, I fire wildly at the creature, barely aiming through my panic. The shot goes wide, completely missing the monster, and the stray projectile grazes Phalanx’s arm instead.

Phalanx’s turn
Action: shoot with heavy gun
Firearm skill check
(D100): (37) => success
Damage: (1D12) - 4 armor: (9) - 4 => 5 damage

Barely acknowledging the scratch, Phalanx lines up his heavy pistol and fires. It’s a solid hit, but once again, the heavy rounds seem to do negligible damage against its otherworldly flesh.

Shambler’s turn
Action: FLAILING SMASH (55%)
Target choice: (D6): 1-2=> Placebo, 3-4=>Pariah, 5-6=>Phalanx
(D6): (6) => Phalanx
Flailing smash skill check
(D100): (46) => success
Damage: (2D6): (7)
Phalanx is knocked prone and stunned.

The creature batters Phalanx with a wild, windmilling swing of its incredibly long arms. The heavy blow hits him with crushing force, leaving him badly wounded, stunned, and knocked prone on the dirt.

Pariah’s turn
Action: shoots with heavy gun
Firearms skill check
(D100): (6) < (60) => success Damage: (1D12) - 4 armor: (5) - 4 => 1 damage

Pariah fires again, but the bullet merely grazes the creature’s dense, leathery shape.

Placebo’s turn
Action: shoot with medium gun
Firearm skill check
(D100): (75) > (40) => failure

I squeeze the trigger again, my hands shaking so violently that the shot flies wide into the night. I am completely out of my depth.

Shambler’s turn
Action: GRASP AND VANISH (grapple 55%)
Target: Phalanx
Grapple skill check
(D100): (4) => success
Shambler grapples Phalanx

Seeing Phalanx prone and incapacitated, the creature lunges forward, pinning him to the ground beneath its immense mass.

Pariah’s turn
Action: shoots with heavy gun
Firearms skill check
(D100): (57) < (60) => success
Damage: (1D12) - 4 armor: (6) - 4 => 2 damage

Desperate to free him, Pariah pumps another round into the beast, but it barely registers the impact.

Placebo’s turn
Action: shoot with medium gun
Firearm skill check (D100): (43) > (40) => failure

Through trembling hands, my next shot misses entirely. I am completely useless.

Phalanx’s turn
Action: attempts to break free of grapple with unarmed combat (60%)
Phalanx: (D100): (9) < (60) => success
Shambler: (D100): (22) < (110) => critical success
Phalanx fails to break free

Phalanx fights like hell to break free from the creature’s grip, trying to find leverage, but the entity possesses a terrifying, unnatural strength. Escape is impossible.

Shambler’s turn
It and phalanx whisk out of existence, never to be seen again.

The creature suddenly fades backward into its own reality—taking Phalanx with it. The space behind the monstrosity briefly peels open, revealing a fleeting, horrific glimpse of its home dimension: a long, gray, oozing plain beneath skies writhing with hellish fumes. Then, in the blink of an eye, both the monster and Phalanx vanish into the void.

I stare at the empty space, completely paralyzed by shock. Then the brutal reality of what just occurred sets in. Phalanx is gone.

Sanity check 2/D6
(D100): (89) > (60) => failure
(D6): (4) sanity loss (helplessness) Sanity has reached breaking point => one more point of sanity loss and it’s a bout of madness for Lawrence!

My mind fractures at what my eyes just witnessed. A man who just saved our lives is erased from existence in a matter of seconds. The sheer meaninglessness of it all crashes down on me. My legs give way and I collapse to the ground, entirely unable to move or think coherently.

Pariah is much quicker to snap back.

Pariah: “Lawrence! LAWRENCE! Look at me. Keep it together! I know… it’s a hell of a lot to take in. But Phalanx knew exactly what he was getting into. If we give up right now, he gave his life for nothing. Get up! We have to find that book.”

Forcing the horrific image into a dark corner of my mind, I desperately try to claw back some semblance of control. It isn’t a cure, and I know I’ll have to pay the psychological toll for this later, but right now the mission is the only thing keeping me anchored.

Focusing entirely on that single objective, I slowly force myself back onto my feet. Together, we approach the broken window and climb inside the house.

---

Scene bookkeeping

Chaos Factor

9 (+2)

Character list

Unchanged

Thread List

Unchanged