1.11 Fetch the Letter

Status

::REVISE::

Location

Name And Address: There are two locations that need to be staffed:

1. Fort Point (one person)
2. Far west end of Crissy Field (two people)

Parking: (Fort Point) free lot; (Crissy Field) park at the free lot at the intersection of Mason Street and Pearce Street

GC PoC: Erik, (650) 395-8463, lab@trenchwood.com

Notes: Approach via Mason Street because of construction street closures. No permit required for "picnic" or similar events with fewer than 50 people.

Type

Mandatory Puzzle

Plot Setup

• Iconoclast scientist Doctor When has attempted to demonstrate his time machine before an audience of VIPs.
• But it malfunctioned due to a faulty key component. The players have helped fix that.
• The malfunction is causing the Doctor to bounce around randomly in time from era to era, facing untold dangers!
• Repairs also required access to the Doctor's supercomputer, but the team successfully hacked the password.
• Along the way they learned someone named "Buffy" was important to him back in high school.
• The players helped the Institute rescue the Doctor from the Big Bang
• The Doctor has asked not to be returned to 2012, but rather sent to Paine Memorial High School on May 31, 1986 at 2 PM
• Once there, the Doctor discovered he had lost an envelop containing "information vital to restoring the timeline" somewhere during his random bounces through time
• The players discovered the envelope was lost at Fort Point in San Francisco

Props

Fort Point:

• Lab coat (should have from previous location)
• Trenchwood Institute name badge and lanyard (should have lanyard from previous location)

Crissy Field:

• file cabinets or storage bins
  • 21 "decoy" envelopes
    • contains paper towels
  • 18 "correct" envelopes, marked with code "EA" (but only one is in the file cabinet at a time)
    • contains "aged" envelope and newspaper clipping (with handwritten note)
• specific "scavenger" items
  • TBD
• snack food for all teams
• 1 hint sheet

How To Give To Players

If teams are on schedule, the phone call at the end of Locate The Letter continues with the lab assistant saying:

Please go there now. You'll probably want to take Mason St. because of construction closures on Lincoln Ave. Park at the intersection of Mason Street and Pearce Street, then walk west the rest of the way.

If you find it, give it to one of the other lab assistants at that location to rush back to Prof. Chronos. Then call any lab assistant at the Institute. Now go!

SUPPLEMENTAL EMAIL

Research Project Title: Retrieve The Envelope
Objective: Search where the envelope was lost back in 1958 and attempt to retrieve it
Location: Fort Point, San Francisco (approach via Mason Street because of construction street closures; park at the intersection of Mason Street and Pearce Street, then walk west the rest of the way.)
Upon Completion: Call the Institute and speak with any lab assistant.
Parking: Free lot
Need To Park: Yes
Personnel Required: All
Bathrooms At Location: Yes
Food At Location: No

If teams are running behind, the phone call at the end of Locate The Letter continues with the lab assistant saying:

Now that you mention Ft. Point, that reminds me of something: I read that there was some sort of archeological dig there. But because of security concerns, they moved all the findings just a little ways away to the western edge of Crissy Field. You should start your investigation there. You'll probably want to take Mason St. because of construction closures on Lincoln Ave. Park at the intersection of Mason Street and Pearce Street, then walk west the rest of the way.

If you find it, give it to one of the other lab assistants at that location to rush back to Prof. Chronos. Then call any lab assistant at the Institute. Now go!

SUPPLEMENTAL EMAIL

Research Project Title: Retrieve The Envelope
Objective: Search where the envelope was lost back in 1958 and attempt to retrieve it
Location: Far western edge of Crissy Field, San Francisco (approach via Mason Street because of construction street closures; park at the intersection of Mason Street and Pearce Street, then walk west the rest of the way.)
Upon Completion: Call the Institute and speak with any lab assistant.
Parking: Free lot
Need To Park: Yes
Personnel Required: All
Bathrooms At Location: Yes
Food At Location: No

Plot Point to Convey

Doctor When isn't seeking "vital technical information." Rather it is something to do with a traumatic event he endured at his high school science fair. And he's willing to deceive the players to get it.

Short Description

Retrieve the envelope from where it's been waiting for 50 years.

Open Time Period

Ft. Point: Saturday, 5 PM - 6 PM Crissy Field: Saturday, 5 PM - last team finishes (16 teams Game 1, 17 teams Game 2) estimated 8:30 PM.

Staff Instructions

Your Role: (Fort Point) Lab Assistant; (Crissy Field) 1 person runs the archeological site (unrelated to Trenchwood) and the other is a Trenchwood Institute lab assistant

Interaction Instructions:

Fort Point:

Welcome! Unfortunately because of heightened security procedures the collection has been moved to the western end of Crissy field. You'll have to turn around and walk back the way you came...and then walk another 2/5 of a mile to Crissy Field.

Crissy Field, Archeological Site:

blah blah blah something about needing to show credentials

Crissy Field, "Crazy Tracy":

blah blah blah?

Crissy Field, Archeological Site, after shown credentials:

Okay, that seems reasonable. Let me tell you a bit about what we're doing here. For the last few decades, the Jones Archeological Institute has been working on a big project called the "Civic Refuse Archeological Project. We catalog and organize different sorts of refuse found at dig sites like this from all over the country. Now, how can I help you?

The team should mention something about trying to retrieve an envelope that was lost here in the 1950s (1958, to be exact).

Hmm, we did have a dig here in 1958, I think. See, when artifacts from a particular dig are found, the dig site overseer puts them into a tagged envelope. Each envelope has a different two-letter sort tag that uniquely identifies which dig site it was from. Now, I think the dig that was here in 1958 would have been part of the 1971 re-organization. Let me find the log for that re-organization... ah, here it is!

Hand the team a "reorganization log". Look over their shoulder as they look at it.

Hmm, I don't recognize any of the sort tags or the site seer names. Things must have changed quite a bit between 1971 and now; the log doesn't seem to say anything about the location of the dig! I honestly have no idea which one is from the local 1958 dig and which one is from one of the 1958 digs in some other state. Hold on, I think I saw some sort of note about this 1971 re-organization... here we go.

Hand the team a "memorandum".

I don't have time to read this, but maybe it will help you. Company policy says that we can only open one dig site envelope at a time so as not to cross-contaminate the artifacts. So I'm afraid you are going to figure out which envelope you need. Let me know when you've figured out what sort tag is from the local 1958 dig.

The team should now go to work on the puzzle from the "reorganization log" and the "memorandum". The correct answer is sort tag "EA"; if they request a wrong tag, say "XX":

Okay, let me get "XX" for you. (Rummage through the bin until you find "XX", then open and look into it.) You know, I don't think this is the one you want; all it has is some old paper towels or something. Please stop wasting my time. Find out exactly which sort tag you need before you come back again.

If they come again with a wrong tag:

Look, we're very busy here and can't just go through all the bins based on your silly hunches. You need to be absolutely sure of the correct sort tag.

If they ask for the correct sort tag, "EA", find it, and look into it:

Huh. It's just a beat-up old newspaper and an envelope. I really don't think has any true archeological significance. Here, you can have it. (Hand the newspaper and envelope to teams.) Okay, now we need to get back to work.

When the team leaves, "reload" the bin with another "correct" envelope.

Fort Point, staffer playing lab assistant should take the envelope (not true any more?) and say words to the effect of:

Fantastic, you've found it! I'll rush it back to the lab so it can be sent to Doctor When in 1986. Now please call the Institute and speak with any lab assistant for your next research project.

Hints: Teams may call in for hints. But if the character playing a Trenchwood Institute lab assistant familiarizes him/herself with the attached hint document, feel free to give hints.

Answers: Teams have been instructed to give the envelope to the onsite Trenchwood Institute lab assistant and then to call the Institute.

Site Close Down:

• Break down and pack up set
• Call GC
• Return materials to GC
• Return your name badge(s) and lanyard to GC HQ at the end of your shift

Other Instructions:

• Stay in character.
• Except ... if a team says "time out," break character and help them.

Detailed Description

The letter has been salvaged by the "Historical Archeology Society of San Francisco" along with other local items. They are being held at a temporarily-erected station for observation and analysis by visiting archaeologists. Players must gain admittance past the station guard, and then interpret the cataloguing scheme to locate the letter.

Puzzle Answer

Players must physically hand envelope off to lab assistant on site.

Puzzle Solution

The station guard informs players they cannot gain admittance without proof of their legitimacy. They must visit a nearby cache of confiscated items, and pilfer something that suits their role (scientist, journalist, etc). If they are not successful, the guard confiscates their item, sends it with an assistant back to the cache, and informs players why they failed.

(TBD: cataloguing scheme inside the station)

Budget

$300 props, estimated

Credits

Concept: Sean Development: Sean, Erik

Manager

Sean

Hints

Ask teams what they have done, probing details if necessary (often this will get a team unstuck by themselves).

Response to Correct Answer

When team calls in congratulate them with words to the effect of,

You didn't just locate the envelope...you retrieved it?! That's fantastic. We need you to get it to one of our lab assistants out in the field so that they can rush it back to the Institute. From here we can use the time machine to send it to the Doctor in 1986.

Then continue the phone conversation with the lead in to the next puzzle (probably an optional or Consolidator 1).

To Do

• Itemize full set dressing
• Itemize puzzle components
• Stage a mockup station for play test. The actual site is a plain grass field, so the play test can be anywhere.

Other Notes

Pilfering the items may involve a blunt hook on a pole, remote grabber hand, or similar. Park regulations limit the height of our set, we may simply rope off areas at ground level.