OK, I'm on a little bit of a cinema kick.
Johnnie To is, by far, the best action cinema director working today. I'm going to take one of his films and make a Night's Black Agents Thrilling scene out of it. The film is Three, set in a hospital, where the cops have a robber in custody and are trying to get him to talk before manure hits the fan.
Trailer sourced from Movie Maniacs
This is a Thrilling Interrogation.
It takes place in a Hospital:
Antiseptic, organized to a fault yet seething with chaos underneath. Security is tight yet not so tight; a little bluff, a little chutzpah, and anyone can get anywhere. Harried medical staff rush from crisis to crisis. Nurses exercise whatever authority they possess, as often as they can. Low chatter from the patients, sometimes moans, once in a while a scream. Expensive machinery hums and gives out information, to what end is unclear to anyone except the medical staff. High-powered consultants breeze in like little Gods, then breeze out again, leaving stressed medical staff in their wake.
Extras and Cameos
Grim policemen watch over a captured felon. Injured Civilians from all walks of life kibbitz their fellow sufferers, offering unsolicited advice. Medical staff rest wherever they can find an empty space, smoking forbidden cigarettes. Relatives and friends hover on the sidelines, not sure what to do or what civility dictates, anxious and afraid. A Disgraced Doctor on their last day before they get kicked out, trying to steal as much as they can. Reporters in search of a story pretend to be relatives or friends.
Clues
There's a lot of activity in the Morgue for some reason. That Civilian's symptoms are familiar - is this an indication of vampire activity in the Civilian's place of work or home district? Why does that Doctor seem to be under the influence? Is it illicit drug use or something more supernatural?
Rules Effects
It's easy to hide in this mess, provided you can score a medical gown and have any points in Surveillance. If that applies, refresh 3 points Surveillance at any time. Also, the difficulty for Preparedness for any medical-related task is reduced by 1. However, if an overtly violent act takes place Heat increases by an extra 1 point, due to the sensitivity of the location.
In A Fight
Preparedness can be used to score impromptu weapons (scalpel, syringes, bone saws) and drugs. If your game uses tasers and stun guns, then assume that Medical Staff have access to sedatives and other drugs that act in exactly the same way as a taser but require a Called Shot (Limb) to work.
In A Chase
Hospital corridors can turn from calm to chaos at the drop of a surgical mask. Assume chases start Open and move to Cramped within two rounds. Hazards include pools of unidentifiable fluid on the floor, unexpected medical staff or civilians in a romantic clinch in what was supposed to be an empty room, cleaners trying to get rid of biohazardous waste.
Objective of the Exercise
A Renfield of interest to the agents has been brought in for emergency medical treatment. If they don't get that treatment they will die within 12 hours. The Renfield is refusing treatment, for reasons known only to them.
The agents may be disguised as Police or similar, on a Preparedness check or a Cover spend. If they are not so disguised, they will need to justify their presence and may have to rely on Flattery, Flirting or other interpersonal skills. Anyone with 2 points Diagnosis can pretend to be a Doctor and avoid being challenged, but that only protects the one with Diagnosis, not any of their non-medically trained friends.
The agents must successfully Interrogate the Renfield before one of two things happens:
- The Renfield dies.
- The Renfield's heavily armed associates arrive to bust them out of hospital. The Renfield may or may not welcome this intervention.
Potential complication: there is vampire blood on the premises. It can be there by accident; it can be there because someone smuggled it in. Regardless, if the Renfield gets hold of that blood they can access all of their powers. Otherwise, they are normal for their type.
This seed assumes a base Thug template for the Renfield, with possible Gym Rat boosts.
This is an Open interrogation for rules purposes, in that the Renfield is in a public area watched over by medical staff and civilian patients.
Assume for purposes of Maneuver that the Renfield is less ethically constrained.
Enjoy!
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