The matchbooks
The matchbooks in the resource file are very cool if you have access to a color printer and can find some matte (non-glossy) white cardstock to put in it. There’s a matchbook for both the Moulin Rouge and for the Paradice Island Lounge. You can easily make a realistic prop by taking the matches from a real matchbook and attaching them to the fake matchbook. I carefully pried open the staple that held the matches into the real book, and then used a pin to poke the holes needed for that staple in the fake.
For the Paradice Island Lounge matchbook that the characters found in Highland, I left them a fully-used matchbook (one without any matches, but with the roots of matches still there). This avoided any problems with explaining that the matches don’t really work in Highland.
For the Moulin Rouge matchbook that Deanna carries in San Francisco, I also pasted a real striking strip across the printed strip so that I could have her really light a match from the Moulin Rouge book.
Obviously you’re going to want to be careful lighting matches in the paper-heavy environment of most gaming tables.
The Gambling House riddle
This riddle is also in the resources file at the Gods & Monsters web site, suitable for printing on a 4x6 card.
You may wish to take the source file and modify the introductory text or title to match your own world.
Door sigils
Newspaper articles
The GIMP file of newspaper clippings is designed for images from the San Francisco Chronicle (sfgate.com) article “The Zodiac Killer in print” from February 25, 2007. Save the PDFs for August 2 and August 9 at 300 dpi to fit into the “original” layer if you want to make changes. The Tuesday original should be 1512 by 994 pixels. The Saturday original should be 1440 by 887 pixels.
Tuesday, August 5: Wey in Washington
Black activist August Wey met with Senator Alan Cranston in Washington today to fight for more school funding in slums and call for an end to racial discrimination.
Mr. Wey attempted to meet with President Nixon, but Nixon ignored the request on advice from Governor Reagan. Last year, Reagan pressured Berkeley against employing Wey as a guest lecturer. Wey called Reagan “the chief priest of the temple of Ares”, an allusion to the governor’s support of the war in Vietnam.
Wey returns on Saturday. A spokesperson for Wey said that he will speak “to the people” about his efforts when he returns.
Saturday, August 9: Black Nationalist March Today
August Wey, the controversial San Francisco black nationalist, will lead a protest march up Market Street this morning. He returned from Washington Friday evening, where he met with Senator Alan Cranston and other Democratic congressmen.
The march begins at noon and will culminate in a demonstration at Market Street Park.
The decoded Zodiac letter
ilikekillingpeoplebecauseitissomuchfunitismorefunthankillingwildgameintheforrestbecausemanisthemostdangerousanamalofalltokillsomethinggivesmethemostthrillingexperenceitisevenbetterthangettingyourrocksoffwithagirlthebestpartofitisthatwhenidieiwillbereborninparadiceandalltheihavekilledwillbecomemyslavesiwillnotgiveyoumynamebecauseyouwilltrytosloidownorstopmycollectingofslavesformyafterlifeebeorietemethhpiti
Soundtracks
I don’t normally use music during a game, but for both the San Francisco adventure and the Vegas adventure I wanted to use music to help evoke the spirit of the times. Because this adventure started our group looking for the Eternal City, I went for an on the road theme. You might choose a different theme to match your group’s campaign. For both sets of music, tell the players that they can assume that their characters have heard this music at some point during the adventure. Let them learn from the lyrics, and let them ask questions about the songs to better understand the world they’re in. More than just mood, they’re also icebreakers.
San Francisco, 1969
These tracks are basically in chronological order. I switched a few around to ensure variety, but I wanted the music to evolve through the adventure.
Eight Miles High(The Byrds/Fifth Dimension)
Sloop John B (The Beach Boys/Pet Sounds)
Season Of The Witch (Donovan/Sunshine Superman)
Highway 61 Revisited (Bob Dylan/Highway 61 Revisited)
The Fat Angel (Donovan/Sunshine Superman)
7 O’Clock News/Silent Night (Simon & Garfunkel/Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme)
I Know A Place (Sammy Davis Jr./The Sounds Of ’66)
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (The Beatles/Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
Easy Rider (Big Brother & the Holding Company)
Tales Of Brave Ulysses (Cream/Disraeli Gears)
House of Jansch (Donovan/Mellow Yellow)
Break On Through (To The Other Side) (The Doors)
The Golden Road (Grateful Dead/The Grateful Dead)
The Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix/Are You Experienced?)
Pride Of Man (Quicksilver Messenger Service/Classic Masters)
The Weight (The Band/The Last Waltz)
I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine (Bob Dylan/John Wesley Harding)
Rainbows are Back in Style (Dean Martin/Gentle on My Mind)
The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In) (Gerome Ragni, James Rado, Galt MacDermot/Hair)
Dark as a Dungeon (Johnny Cash/At Folsom Prison)
The Times They Are a-Changin’ (Bob Dylan/The Times They Are a-Changin’)
Mechanical Man (Charles Manson/Lie)
Interview (Charles Manson/Lie)
Sick City (Charles Manson/Lie)
Safe in My Garden (The Mamas & the Papas/The Papas & the Mamas)
Oh Gosh (Donovan/A Gift From A Flower To A Garden)
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix/Electric Ladyland)
The Wall (Johnny Cash/At Folsom Prison)
Midnight Voyage (The Mamas & the Papas/The Papas & the Mamas)
A Hazy Shade of Winter (Simon & Garfunkel/Bookends)
Wheel of Fortune (Arlo Guthrie/Running Down the Road)
Carry That Weight (The Beatles/Abbey Road)
Rockin’ Chair (The Band)
Graveyard Train (Creedence Clearwater Revival/Bayou Country)
Western Ford Gateway (Elton John/Empty Sky)
Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival/Green River)
Just Like Strange Rain (Elton John/Empty Sky)
Peace in the Valley (Johnny Cash/Johnny Cash at San Quentin)
The Circle Game (Joni Mitchell/Ladies of the Canyon)
Viva Las Vegas (Elvis Presley/Can’t Help Falling in Love)
Friend Of The Devil (Grateful Dead/American Beauty)
The Hitchhikers’ Song (Joan Baez/Blessed Are…)
New Speedway Boogie (Grateful Dead/Workingman’s Dead)
Old Devil Time (Pete Seeger/Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon)
All Along The Watchtower (Dylan & The Dead)
Las Vegas, 1955
“Magnificent desolation”
C’est Si Bon (Eartha Kitt/Hear Them Again! The Big Entertainers)
Everyday I’ve the blues (B.B. King/B.B. King 20 Greatest Hits)
3 o’Clock blues (B.B. King/B.B. King 20 Greatest Hits)
My Heart Belongs to Daddy (Mary Martin/Hear Them Again! Great Moments from Broadway Musicals)
Day in, Day out (Billie Holiday/All or Nothing at All)
Stars Fell on Alabama (Billie Holiday/All or Nothing at All)
One for My Baby (Billie Holiday/All or Nothing at All)
Let’s Call the Whole Thing off (Billie Holiday/All or Nothing at All)
The West’s Awake (The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem/The First Hurrah!)
Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go? (The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem/The Boys Won’t Leave the Girls Alone)
Preacher (Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong/Bing & Satchmo)
’Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong/Bing & Satchmo)
Dream a Little Dream of Me (Bing Crosby/Bing With A Beat)
Down Among the Sheltering Palms (Bing Crosby/Bing With A Beat)
Heat Wave (Bing Crosby & Buddy Bregman/Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings)
You Came a Long Way from St. Louis (Bing Crosby & Rosemary Clooney/fancy meeting you here)
Calcutta (Bing Crosby & Rosemary Clooney/fancy meeting you here)
That Old Black Magic (Cab Calloway/Minnie The Moocher)
We The Cats Shall Help You (Cab Calloway/Minnie The Moocher)
Clinging Vine (Dean Martin/The Door is Still Open to My Heart)
I’ll Buy That Dream (Dean Martin/Dream with Dean)
Hernando’s Hideaway (Ella Fitzgerald/Ella Sings Broadway)
Whatever Lola Wants (Ella Fitzgerald/Ella Sings Broadway)
The Lady Is A Tramp (Ella Fitzgerald/Mack The Knife)
Love For Sale (Ella Fitzgerald/Mack The Knife)
Mack The Knife (Ella Fitzgerald/Mack The Knife)
One For My Baby (Frank Sinatra With The Red Norvo Quintet)
Let’s Do It (Frank Sinatra & Shirley MacLaine/Cole Porter’s Can-Can)
On The Road To Mandalay (Frank Sinatra With The Red Norvo Quintet)
When the Saints Go Marching In (Harry Belafonte/An Evening With Belafonte)
Jamaica Farewell (Harry Belafonte/Calypso)
Wake Up Jacob (Harry Belafonte/My Lord What a Mornin’)
Oh Freedom (Harry Belafonte/My Lord What a Mornin’)
Paris is a Lonely Town (Judy Garland/Gay Purr-ee)
Get Happy (Judy Garland/The Golden Years at MGM)
St. Louis Blues (Lena Horne/Hear Them Again! The Unforgettable Blues)
Stormy Weather (Lena Horne/Hear Them Again! The Big Popular Singers)
An Ace in the Hole (Lee Wiley, Billy Butterfield & his Orchestra/Hear Them Again! The Great Rhythm Singers)
You’d Be Surprised (Marilyn Monroe/Hear Them Again! The Movie Stars Sing Again)
La Vie en Rose (Tony Martin/Hear Them Again! They made such beautiful music)
Hallelujah (Tony Martin, Vic Damone, Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell, Ann Miller, Kay Armen/That’s Entertainment)
Lonesome Road (Sammy Davis Jr./Starring Sammy Davis Jr.)
These are not in any particular order, though I’ve tried to keep the same artist’s songs together to provide the impression of “shows” (even though many of these artists would not have performed at the Moulin Rouge).
You might also use these songs for foreshadowing. Take note of what the players talk about, and see if those pieces can’t be worked into a future adventure.
