March '94 - Medicine Hat College, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Three students from Medicine Hat return from a night of drinking with a short stop at Mac's Convenience Store.
Bob Krebs: A college student in his third Sophomore year, Bob's a Liberal Arts major at Medicine Hat College with a minor in Art History Appreciation (he's failed the same class so many times, they gave him a minor in it). He enjoys listening to lumberjack grunge music, wearing lots of red flannel, looking for "the mara-who-juana" and hanging with his friends.
Motivations: Looking for Funyuns, coffee, and a convenience store hot dog with kraut, and maybe try on some cool shades of the display.
Alan Jonas: A Junior at Medicine Hat College, studying Geography. He was an academic drop-out at the Royal Military College of Canada, known for academic guffaws and short, violent outbursts. Nowadays, he's relaxed a bit and can be found relaxing with his friends, Bob and Russ.
Motivation: Looking for these new Magic the Gathering cards that came out last semester.
Russ Kinew: A sophomore at Medicine Hat, he is a member of the Tsuu T'ina Nation, and the first member of his family to attend college. He's studying to be a high school science teacher. When not ruining his potential while hanging with his friends, he enjoys working on VCRs, CD Players, and other electronics, sometimes jury-rigging them with completely inappropriate parts.
Motivation: Working his sweet move on the cashier, but he doesn't know how to proceed
After staggering into the store, Bob heads towards Funyuns and Hot Dogs... and a group of animated Canadian males hovering around the beer cooler.
Alan cruises the sunglasses rack, but in reality is trying to steal the Galactic Empires cards.
Russ spends some time trying to get to know the cashier, Timmy Thibidoux, better.
Despite the liquid courage coursing through his veins, Russ couldn't muster more than pleasantries to Timmy, who was actively trying to watch the dudes by the beer. Russ wandered over to see what the hub-bub was about. It seemed that all the guys were Pro Wrestling fans and Bret Hart had just won the WWF World Heavyweight title at Wrestlemania earlier that night. It was a time for celebration, even if Russ couldn't tell the title belt from the Stanley Cup.
Right around then a lime-green Gremlin pulled up to the front door of Mac's. Out popped a middle-aged man that time forgot to care about: Long greasy graying hair, bushy beard, round, reflective sunglasses, and a Grateful Dead shirt under his vest two sizes too small. Everyone knew Ralph, the man who prowled the campus looking for Freshman and Sophomore girls. His current eye candy was a cute, blonde, and folksy transfer student from the Yukon, Jewel. He perused the car magazines in the front while Jewel stared off into space.
Somewhere between a futile attempt to explain a suplex and cracking open a beer in the store to give to Russ, one of the wrestling fans straight up vanished behind the others. Even drunk wrestling fans would think he might be hiding, if it weren't for the sizable pool of blood on the floor, and his left arm sitting in it.
The customers all freaked out in the store, but no one left. In fact, as Timmy was calling the RCMP, Alan snuck back to check out the video tapes of the store cameras. Even with a bit a trouble, he could pull up the last few minutes and could see something invisible sort of float towards the dude and almost swallow him whole!
Alan moved over towards Ralph and Jewel to strike up a conversation... and more near the road flares, tools, and automotive section in the front aisle.
Once everyone's favorite Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Constable Paul, arrived at the scene, everyone calmed down... until the invisible creature bit off his arm! Russ closely watching the Mountie's investigative procedure and stumbled back into a rack of snow brushes, With the invisible creature still intent on eating the rest of Constable Paul, Russ grabbed two snow brushes and tried to attack the entity.
Alan, only a few steps behind, had convinced Ralph to help the the paranormal activity. Ralph charged forward with some WD-40 and a lighter... and Alan pulled Jewel back "for safety."
Neither Russ nor Ralph would survive the encounter. Alan pulled Jewel out the front door of Mac's, with Bob quickly following, a large supply of Funyuns under his flannel coat.
Outside of a quick memorial of some fallen comrades on the Medicine Hat BBS, there was no mention of the supernatural attack in the papers.
Mac's was closed for a week for "zoning violations" and re-opened like nothing else happened. Russ was kicked out of school for failure to attend classes and Ralph's Gremlin was towed away, never to be seen again.
But Alan started dating Jewel... and Bob enjoyed his stash of Funyuns.
And Constable Paul of the RCMP was seen working his regular patrols a few weeks later... completely recovered from being completely devoured...
Keeper Notes: In a world where I already run Risus-Illuminati Univerisity or BECMI D&D when our regular 5e online game cancels, it doesn't surprise me too much when a 24-hour cancellation resulted in some odd requests from my players:
Alan Jonas: A Junior at Medicine Hat College, studying Geography. He was an academic drop-out at the Royal Military College of Canada, known for academic guffaws and short, violent outbursts. Nowadays, he's relaxed a bit and can be found relaxing with his friends, Bob and Russ.
 |
| From that one time he joined a Robin Hood themed game of Killer on campus. |
Russ Kinew: A sophomore at Medicine Hat, he is a member of the Tsuu T'ina Nation, and the first member of his family to attend college. He's studying to be a high school science teacher. When not ruining his potential while hanging with his friends, he enjoys working on VCRs, CD Players, and other electronics, sometimes jury-rigging them with completely inappropriate parts.
Motivation: Working his sweet move on the cashier, but he doesn't know how to proceed
After staggering into the store, Bob heads towards Funyuns and Hot Dogs... and a group of animated Canadian males hovering around the beer cooler.
Alan cruises the sunglasses rack, but in reality is trying to steal the Galactic Empires cards.
Russ spends some time trying to get to know the cashier, Timmy Thibidoux, better.
Despite the liquid courage coursing through his veins, Russ couldn't muster more than pleasantries to Timmy, who was actively trying to watch the dudes by the beer. Russ wandered over to see what the hub-bub was about. It seemed that all the guys were Pro Wrestling fans and Bret Hart had just won the WWF World Heavyweight title at Wrestlemania earlier that night. It was a time for celebration, even if Russ couldn't tell the title belt from the Stanley Cup.
Right around then a lime-green Gremlin pulled up to the front door of Mac's. Out popped a middle-aged man that time forgot to care about: Long greasy graying hair, bushy beard, round, reflective sunglasses, and a Grateful Dead shirt under his vest two sizes too small. Everyone knew Ralph, the man who prowled the campus looking for Freshman and Sophomore girls. His current eye candy was a cute, blonde, and folksy transfer student from the Yukon, Jewel. He perused the car magazines in the front while Jewel stared off into space.
Somewhere between a futile attempt to explain a suplex and cracking open a beer in the store to give to Russ, one of the wrestling fans straight up vanished behind the others. Even drunk wrestling fans would think he might be hiding, if it weren't for the sizable pool of blood on the floor, and his left arm sitting in it.
The customers all freaked out in the store, but no one left. In fact, as Timmy was calling the RCMP, Alan snuck back to check out the video tapes of the store cameras. Even with a bit a trouble, he could pull up the last few minutes and could see something invisible sort of float towards the dude and almost swallow him whole!
Alan moved over towards Ralph and Jewel to strike up a conversation... and more near the road flares, tools, and automotive section in the front aisle.
Once everyone's favorite Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Constable Paul, arrived at the scene, everyone calmed down... until the invisible creature bit off his arm! Russ closely watching the Mountie's investigative procedure and stumbled back into a rack of snow brushes, With the invisible creature still intent on eating the rest of Constable Paul, Russ grabbed two snow brushes and tried to attack the entity.
Alan, only a few steps behind, had convinced Ralph to help the the paranormal activity. Ralph charged forward with some WD-40 and a lighter... and Alan pulled Jewel back "for safety."
Neither Russ nor Ralph would survive the encounter. Alan pulled Jewel out the front door of Mac's, with Bob quickly following, a large supply of Funyuns under his flannel coat.
Outside of a quick memorial of some fallen comrades on the Medicine Hat BBS, there was no mention of the supernatural attack in the papers.
Mac's was closed for a week for "zoning violations" and re-opened like nothing else happened. Russ was kicked out of school for failure to attend classes and Ralph's Gremlin was towed away, never to be seen again.
But Alan started dating Jewel... and Bob enjoyed his stash of Funyuns.
And Constable Paul of the RCMP was seen working his regular patrols a few weeks later... completely recovered from being completely devoured...
Keeper Notes: In a world where I already run Risus-Illuminati Univerisity or BECMI D&D when our regular 5e online game cancels, it doesn't surprise me too much when a 24-hour cancellation resulted in some odd requests from my players:
- Base it off of Gilligan's Island
- One player asked to play one of the natives.
So with those odd requests in hand, I pulled out a copy of "Clean Up, Aisle Four!" by Michael LaBossiere, made up some Call of Cthulhu characters vaguely based on Gilligan, Skipper, and the Professor (a member of the First Nations), and set the game during the first attack... in 90's Alberta, Canada.
And with that a new, go-to filler game was born.
The best part of this 90-minute game was introducing Russ' motivations at Mac's. Without a blinking, the player went, "He's got a crush on one of the cashiers."
Glancing at the roster of characters, I quickly followed up, "Is that Timmy or Robert." I was surprised by a rapid-fire response of "Definitely Timmy, much better dresser, and a better taste in music than Robo..."
Even in mid-90's rural Canada, the people were more enlightened than they are today...
Next: #2 "Calgary Deep Dish"
Sounds like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteI've been to Medicine Hat. My grandmother moved there from Vancouver in the mid-80s. It was a dull place. there was a huge waterslide park on the outskirts of town I remember going to once or twice.
For what it's worth, Funyuns - not available in Canada. I don't think Mac's stores ever sold Magic: the Gathering or Galactic Empires cards... or Beer. In most provinces in Canada in the 90's, alcohol was still only sold though government owned Liquor Board stores or licensed off-sales at hotels or bars - never at convenience stores.
At least it was a Mac's store and not "Eh to Zed" (The convenience store in Kevin Smith's Yoga Hosers!)
I strive for the utmost accuracy in my parody Cthulhu games!
ReplyDeleteI know that I did research Funyuns while the group was distracted, and while I'm unable to pull it up at this second, there was limited access to them along the US border at some points in the 90's. Possibly just errant delivery trucks? ... and I bought beer in some pretty shady places in Ontario in the mid-90's, so I assumed it was widespread in "better" establishments.
But a waterslide park?????!!!!!????? That just filled a much needed Summer slot for the storyline.