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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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Character sheet excerpts
JesterPoet wrote: My name is Leroy Bannens And I am a sinnerWhat just happened to you? Mama always told me if I ever had relations with a woman, Stringbones would come, but Mama's been gone three years now. I was a good boy, but it was hard. Two weeks ago I picked up a prostitute. After the deed, she laughed at me when I started crying. I strangled her and stuffed her body into the trunk of an abandoned car. Tonight, my doorbell rang. It never rings. I opened the door, and a clown stabbed me in the arm. Exhaustion talent: Go unnoticed. Madness talent: Inhuman Strength  1-2 Lift something really heavy, like the front end of a car, or push a car up a hill unaided, etc  3-4 push something without wheels up to a few tons, lift one end of a bus, flip a car over with a simple grab and lift  5-6 throw something like a car, lift something roughly two bus heavy, push down a brick wall with your bare hands Fight: 1 Flight: 2 Discipline: 3 Madness: 0 Exhaustion: 0
The moment flowed in slow motion, like the whole world had been submerged in honey, but kept right on moving. Time seemed to stop for a moment as the ringing of the doorbell echoed in the hallway. Although unusual for you to get visitors, especially at an hour such as this, mama raised you well, and you instinctively get up and move to the door. When it opens, you see the clown. Well, you see a clown, though he doesn't look exactly like any clown you've ever seen. The shoes, still big and red, are not the usual shiny bright red. The nose looks like it's held on by staples, and the makeup on the clown's face defies reason.... the blood red color, especially around the eyes, just throws you off. And the clothes.... dirty, ragged, but still colorful, and with spots of what looks like blood in various places. The fake flower on his lapel droops like a long dead blossom. The clown looks at you for what seems an eternity. You open your mouth, as if to say something. Maybe to ask what he's doing here. As your jaw begins to move, the clown swings his arm at yours. It moves faster than you've ever imagined an arm can move, and when it hits you, you feel the pain. Sharp, shooting, stinging pain. You look down, and see the knife sticking out of your arm. You look up, and see the clown is already off and running. Quickly, you decide to....
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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"OH MY GOD!" I scream, looking at the knife sticking out of my arm.
As my blood flows down my arm and drips to the floor, I get woozy and collapse to my knees. Drawing my knees to my chest I start to rock back and forth...
"Mama... Mama, I'm sorry. Tell them I'm sorry."
After what seems like an eternity, I discover that I've crawled halfway to my neighbor's door. I don't know her name. She's pretty, but the landlord calls her "old fatty." Actually, she looks like Mama. I've never talked to her before. I need help, though.
I pull myself up on the door handle, but the blood makes me slip and I bang my head loudly against the door...
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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The sound of your head hitting the door fills you mind for just a moment, but it's quickly replaced by the pain in your head from the blow. You struggle to pull yourself back up.... fighting the pain in your arm and the pain in your head, you pull yourself back up to your knees. As you get to your knees, you hear the door opening. You look up to see if you can get help from whoever is at the door. As it opens, for a moment you could swear mama is standing there. You come to your senses, though, as the woman in the door screams loudly.
It's hard to hear anything else as the woman's scream echoes in your ear. But you do distinctly hear the door slamming. Feeling a sense of defeat, you start to slump back down.... you're not sure how long passes before you hear the sound of sirens.... the sound spurs you to move, though, as your mind suddenly flashes to the image of a woman in a trunk.
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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I get up, clutching my arm. I don't know where to go. The police are coming for me. I know I should go to them. I know I should turn myself in.
I can't. If they lock me up, Stringbones will get me for sure. I'll be stuck in a cage with nowhere to go.
I run into my apartment and grab a backpack. I put a toothbrush, a box of crackers, a pair of underpants and a shirt into it. The sirens are right outside the building, so I know I can't go out the front door. I run into my bedroom and throw the window open. Climbing out onto the fire escape, I slowly let down the old rusty ladder. I climb to the bottom and step over a homeless guy, then huddle down behind a dumpster.
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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Huddled behind the dumpster, you hear the sounds of the sirens get closer to your building.... then silence. The sudden lack of noise is almost deafening, but you stay hidden in your spot, out of sight and prepared for whatever comes your way.
In the silence of the alley, after what seems like forever, you finally hear the sound of an engine starting, and a car pulling out. You're not sure what to do about it now. Your arm still throbs where the knife sticks out of it. You poke your head out, and look around.... hoping to see a clear coast and a safe place. Down the alley, standing just near the corner of the building, you see a clown. He stares straight at you, but the grin on his face is frightening.
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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I dive back behind the dumpster and shake the homeless man awake.
"Mister! Mister! He's coming to get us! We've got to get out of here!
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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The homeless man rolls over. "Shut up ya moron. Who do you think you are, waking me up? I just wanna sleep here. Now ya gone and disturbed me. Leave me alone."
Over the dumpster, you hear the sound of the clown laughing, but it doesn't sound like a friendly laugh.
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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This is it. This is my end. What would Mama do? What would she do?
"WHAT WOULD MAMA DO?!"
Something snaps. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I tear the knife from my arm and push it against the homeless man's back.
"Get up. GET UP!. That clown is going to kill me. Mama's not here and someone needs to stop him. Go get him or I'll... I'll.... I'll HURT YOU!"
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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As you hold the knife, something doesn't quite seem.... right about it. When you look down, you realize that it is made of rubber.
The homeless man is still startled and scared, in spite of the fact the knife is rubber. He runs around the dumpster, charging towards the end of the alley with a loud scream. You peek out, and see him running towards the clown.... though he doesn't seem to really be into it. Regardless, this is your moment. What do you do?
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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I run. I run like the very hounds of Hell are nipping at my heels.
I pay no attention to where I am running. I simply run until I drop to the ground gasping for breath.
When I can finally breathe again, everything seems clearer. There's only one path ahead of me. I have to fix all of this. There's only one way to do that. It starts with going to get the girl.
Still lost, I begin wandering, looking for a friendly face to help me out.
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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You look around, trying to get your bearings. You're in a park of some kind. There are trees all about. As you look, you notice a few things that seem out of place. Firstly, some of the trees have doors in them.
Secondly, there don't seem to be any people around. The park is empty, and the silence is strange. You wander around aimlessly... going from trail to trail.... finally, after hours of wandering, you find the entrance to the park. Standing at the entrance is the clown. He's holding the jacket the homeless man was wearing.... and stealing from you.
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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I run back to the closest tree with a door in it and fling it open, diving inside and pulling the door shut behind me.
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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You jump through the door... into darkness. You feel like you're falling for several minutes - when suddenly you land. You blink your eyes a few times.... finally you look around, getting a sense of the world around you. You find yourself in an alley... though not one you're familiar with. You look around more, but something seems odd about it.... though you can't quite tell what. You drag yourself to your feet, your arm still sore where the blade was in it, and try to get your bearings.
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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Slowly I put my had against the damp wall. It has to be my imagination, but it almost felt as though the wall flexed.
Following the wall, with my eyes closed almost to a squint in fear, I head down the alleyway.
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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The alleyway leads out into a wide street. There are a few cars visible, parked on the side of the road, ranging in age from a classic Model T, looking showroom new to something that looks like last years Prius, and everything in between, in about equal parts. The buildings all look fairly normal, though one right across the street has some ugly stone gargoyles on it, going for something in a semi-gothic style. Down the street a few doors is what looks like an old church, colorful stained glass taking up a large part of the wall you can see.
Looking around, you notice a distinct lack of people on this street.
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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There is no question of what to do. The church is a sign. I will go and pray in hopes that Mama will hear me and I will be delivered from Stringbones. I run toward the church and pull the doors open as fast as I can.
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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You step through the doors of the church. The light coming through the door is blinding, and you blink as you try to focus.
Looking around, things seem wrong.... as your eyes adjust to the light, you notice that the pews sink.... the ground slopes away down, and there are spotlights swinging through the air. As your eyes follow the slope down, looking over the stands, you notice the rings in the middle of what can only be called an arena. Three rings.... each one with clowns putting on a solid act. Some of them are juggling, some are doing some kind of comedy routine, some are climbing in and out of a tiny little car. The whole thing seems preposterous. You check behind you real quick, just to see what happened, and notice the stained glass window still over the doors, which gives the whole scene an eerie kind of feel, as the circus music contrasts sharply with the window.
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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It is at this point that something inside of me snaps. I have run, and run, and run... and somehow Stringbones keeps up with me.
Screaming, "It's NOT MY FAULT!" I heave one of the pews and throw it into a circle with juggling clowns.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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(That's going to require some dice, I think, to kick your madness talent in. Give me a roll at your current discipline + at least 1 madness + exhaustion (should you choose to raise it). I'll roll the pain for throwing the pew into the ring once you give me a roll, and we'll continue from there. It'll be a fairly small amount.)
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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Here goes...
Discipline 1 1d6 = (2) = 2
Discipline 2 1d6 = (1) = 1
Discipline 3 1d6 = (6) = 6
Madness 1 1d6 = (3) = 3
I'm going to pass on exhaustion this time... He's just getting worked up. Won't be long, though.
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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2d6ic[3] = (6, 3) = -2 (Let's see if I formatted that right or not - ETA: nope. Off to the requests list for that one.)
(Your successes are more than mine, so it works, but pain dominates, so I get a coin of despair.)
Casting about in a rage, you grab the nearest bench, and with a mighty roar you throw the bench towards the middle of the room. The crowd (what little there is) is stunned to silence. The clowns all turn towards you. With a sudden shout, followed by a creepy laugh, three of them charge up between the benches, running straight towards you! What do you do now?
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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I run like Hell.
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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Out the door and into the street you run, the laughter of clowns pursuing you. The street is still empty, and your footsteps seem to echo off the buildings. Thinking quickly, you turn right, running away from the place you entered the street, deeper into the city. The street lights create circles of brightness in the dark air around you. You pass by what seems to be dozens of them, and finally stop to catch your breath. You look back in the direction you came from, all sense of where you are lost by the turns you made while fleeing, and see three clowns running down the street toward you.
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Toad
United States
Bloomington
MN
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I can't run anymore. I can hardly breathe. And my eyelids are getting heavy. Looking at one of the strange Model T's parked along the side of the road, I quickly scramble under... both holding my breath, and trying as hard as I can to keep my eyes open. As my breathing slows, with all that I have in me I will the clowns to run by my without noticing where I've holed up.
I'm going to try my best to do this right... Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Discipline 1 1d6 = (1) = 1
Discipline 2 1d6 = (2) = 2
Discipline 3 1d6 = (4) = 4
Exhaustion 1 1d6 = (4) = 4
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Kendall Merriman
United States
San Jose
California
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The three clowns search as best they can.
5d6ic[7,3] = (5, 6, 4, 6, 2) = 1
Fortunately for you, the clowns are stupid. They run past, searching the area. They can't seem to find you, and round a corner. Just as you think about starting to run, you hear them round the corner again. The sounds of their squeaky shoes echoes through the area.... you hide for what seems like hours as they search. You feel yourself exhausted by the time under the car, but finally the clowns leave.
(Pain dominated again, so that's another point of despair)
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Posted Wed Feb 1, 2012 8:14 pm
