Hiding Under the Table

Marking my return to properly updating this blog, I'll relate this story from my first-ever RPG campaign. I think it's funny, and I hope you'll agree.

The game was a Hunter scenario, where we were otherwise normal people with unsuspected paranormal abilities, which we rolled up randomly from a list of 20 at chargen, each getting two powers which the GM wouldn't reveal until we triggered them. We were a party of four - a secretive gunslinger with mafia connections, a gentleman butler with somewhat disconcerting hidden skills, a huge, tattooed Maori warrior and myself, a street doctor with kickass Kung Fu expertise - brought together by a mutually-distrusted employer for unclear reasons, and given tasks to perform. In this particular case, the mission was "Enter CEO Goldman's office, look for anything that can be used to incriminate him, and get out without raising a fuss." The plan was to dress up as the washing personnel, infiltrate the building, pick the lock to the office, rummage, and leave. Ah, well - the best laid plans...

We made it in without any problems, even getting so far as to making it to the second-highest level with only a single close call, but there we got stumped. Security in the "executive level" - the top floor - was top-notch, with cameras and all. There was no way we'd be able to sneak in. So we arranged to be let into the top floor by convincing the guards we had business there. No problem, they let us in, and we got to the door. It was locked, of course, but this was expected. What wasn't, however, was that the lock was electronic. Damn. And not one of us had the necessary electronics skills to open it. Well, never ones to be stumped, the butler organized a distraction by locking the Maori warrior into a room a few levels down, and calling security to get him out. Well, they did, and the butler took that chance to swipe the guard's keys, which he brought to me with the instruction to enter Goldman's office and take a look.

No problem, there. One of the keys worked, and I entered his office, where I proceeded to manage to guess the password of Goldman's computer correctly on the second try by inputting the signature from a child's drawing, something the GM hadn't expected. I discovered child porn on the guy's computer, which disgusted me enough to send off a quick mail to the police, from Goldman's computer, containing all the pictures I had found. I then deleted the original folder, and started downloading Goldman's C: drive onto a portable hard drive I'd brought with me. Then I took a drink from his bar.

And then I heard somebody start fiddling with the door. Oh, shit! I turned off the monitor, turned off the light, and hurried into an adjoining room in the hope of finding a hiding place.

A vain hope, it'd turn out - that room was a conference room, and all it contained was a conference table.

Damn.

Footsteps in the main office - only one thing to do.
I hid under the table.

Somebody who were trying to be quiet were now walking through the main office, and I was hiding underneath the conference table. Then the footsteps stopped, then they started again, then the door slammed. I waited. No sound. I waited. No sound.

I crept out from underneath the table, and slowly, carefully, I crept over to the door and listened. No sound. Still. no needless risks, eh? I his underneath the table again.

The footsteps began again, even more quietly now, and this time they were moving towards the door, and then the person in the main office began opening the door - slowly, slowly. He entered the conference room, and stopped.

"What do you do?" the GM asked.

Well, what's there to do? I sat as still as I could, hoping the sneaky guy'd go away. Instead, he crouched down, brought a gun down into my field of view, and made as if to look under the table.

"What do you do?" he GM asked again.

"I crouch down, make myself as small a I can, make no sound, and I cross my fingers and try to make myself invisible."



There were 20 abilities. Each of us rolled up 2 random ones, not knowing which ones we got, and one of mine was . . . invisibility. The moment was perfect.