Behind You

*Check Please!*

"**Behind You**" is the 9th episode of the first season of *Check Please!* Campaign One. It was first released on September 7th, 2019.

## Summary

Having witnessed the Cataclysm and the resulting damage to the Tellic House and loss of life, the Party finds themselves trapped with an angry spirit inside the decaying manor, and must search for a way out.

## Synopsis

### Get Out!

Immediately after Ann-Lysse Tellic questions Sol's identity, color fades from view, light dims, and the world appears to crack apart. The manor now appears in disrepair (though not as much as its present-day state). The injuries to all the Party members (except for Sol) remain. Although the other Tellics have vanished, Ann-Lysse remains in the room, but is now a spectral figure with missing eyes. Sol attempts to communicate with her; the ghost advances and demands that the Party leave.

Sol, deeply frightened, attempts to escape, but Lovette prevents them from leaving. Sol states their feeling that Ann-Lysse hated them and belief that the spirit will seek particular revenge against them. Lovette tries to convince them to explore the manor in search of useful items, since that was the Party's objective in entering the Deadlands in the first place. Markus agrees. Vera suggests having Archie guard Sol while the rest of the Party explores.

### Ransacking

Vera starts removing the more expensive-looking trophies, goblets, silverware, and other items from the smoking room, while Lovette and Markus search elsewhere for unique valuables. Lovette notices that the outward-facing windows now show Nothing – the house is now positioned in some kind of endless void. She continues to loot the dining and music rooms.

### No Escape

Markus begins examining the manor's many doors using Door Sight, attempting to discern a way out; every external door reveals the same void visible through the house's windows. He finds the stairwell to the second floor, and suggests venturing up; Sol agrees. The Party heads upstairs to find the second floor of the house split apart, with different pieces and doors suspended in the void at random distances from each other. From somewhere nearby comes the sound of gentle weeping. The Party members (both in and out of character) consider potential ways to safely cross from area to area. Markus also hears the crying, and follows it to once again encounter the restless spirit of Ann-Lysse Tellic behind a closed door.

Trying other doors, the Party enters the manor's library. Markus tosses a piece of debris into the void; it falls until it's too small to see. Removing a door panel from its hinge, the Party is able to bridge one of the gaps and further explore the area. Lovette examines the contents of the shelves, noting a few rare printings of potential resale value; however, none are directly relevant to the situation at hand. She pockets one of the lewder volumes. The Party make to leave the Library but are confronted again by the spirit of Ann-Lysse, who implies that Sol and the Party are hurting her by making her relive these horrrific events.

### Hiding

Markus attempts to explain the Party's presence in the manor to Ann-Lysse, who examines the halfling with curiosity and implies that something is deliberately hiding within him. This alarms and confuses the Party, although Markus pleads ignorance. Ann-Lysse again fades from view.

## Key Points

### Character

#### Sol

* Sol shows more concern for the lost lives than for the potential wealth of the ruined manor.

#### Vera

* Vera's suggestion of Archie to protect Sol indicates at least the start of a concern for the elf's welfare.

#### Markus

* Markus remains callous towards Sol, noting that Ann-Lysse only showed anger towards Sol, and that the rest of the Party may not be at risk.
* Ann-Lysse believes that something is hiding within Markus; other Party members interpet this to mean Markus might be hiding something, but Markus doesn't appear to know what the ghost means either.
* Markus experiences a sense of dissociation when probed by Ann-Lysse, feeling "like a puppet".

#### Lovette

* Lovette continues to be extremely physically protective towards Sol.
* Lovette turns bright red when Sol uses her as a teddy bear.

## Running Gags & Callbacks

* Markus has fought a will-o'-wisp and lived to tell the tale to whoever will listen.
* Once again, Screwy needs Knowledge (Religion), and doesn't have it.
* Lovette / Grem incurs 1 HP of pun damage for mentioning a "Lost Sol [Soul]".
* The Chuck Tingle-esque erotic romance novel "Taken by the Pterodactyl" is first introduced.
* Screwy asks for a reroll and is denied.

## Memorable Quotes

* "You ain't seen nothin' until you've been in front of a will-o'-wisp!" – Markus
* "Why are you doing this to me? [...] Why are you forcing me to relive this?" – Ann-Lysse Tellic, directing the tragic questions towards Sol.
* "Why are you hiding in there? [...] I can see you back there. Why are you hiding?" – Ann-Lysse, sensing something to be off about Markus's nature.
* "Are you gonna give her a fuckin' magical pony for six seconds?" – Beardy, dubious of Screwy's idea to use magic to placate Ann-Lysse.
* "Do you have a god trapped in you?" – Xeno, in with a solid guess.

## The Dice

(These are estimates, since not all rolls are called or broken down out loud.)

## Trivia & References

* "Who Are You", the titular track from the Who's 1978 album, is referenced by a player.
* The transition of the Party from their vision of the past to the broken manor in the void marks the end of Part C of Beardy's narrative outline for the season one campaign. Everything from the moment they first entered the manor grounds was Part B. At this point in the gameplay, Beardy had completed preparations through Part R.
* Beardy mentions that not many groups make it through this part of the narrative, but declines to expand on the specific ways it's possible to "fuck it up". However, he does note that Grem's desire to have Lovette indulge in consequence-free actions almost brought about failure for the Party.
	+ In a discussion on Discord in 2021, Beardy explained that a previous failed attempt at the Tellic House scenario took place in a non-canon side game hosted on the message board RPOL circa 2011, prior to the advent of virtual tabletop RPG systems.
* Xeno references *Scooby-Doo* with an impressive Shaggy impersonation.
* During the original game session, the Players were listening to the background score from the Luigi's Mansion series of video games.
* Grem jokes about the hit Smash Mouth track "All Star" being Sol's bardic inspiration song after Keni begins singing it.
* Screwy's confusion regarding the developments with his character is genuine, since he wasn't aware at the time of the direction of Beardy's storytelling.

## Notes

* This episode features three Nat 1 rolls in sequence. Beardy calculates the odds of this occurring as 1 in 8000.
* This casual editor remains curious about what would have happened if Markus's charisma or sense motives checks had been successful.