With the completion of this “issue” of Gorilla Ace! here’s an adventure seed for GMs:

The characters are on their way to Canada from the UK, and are traveling by airship, R.100.  The trick is to set up the environment well — the cargo they can’t take into their room is winched up into the cargo bay, including a beautiful sporty car (I used a red SS100 Jaguar.)  Going up the mooring mast elevator and the wee gangway into the ship, the interior with the bulging gas bags in their secured netting, the guy wires, the aluminum girders, wires, water and fuel tanks — all exposed around the crew catwalk that runs the length of the ship; the tight tramp-steamer like interior with the promenades on either side, and the carpeted, drawing room like main lounge.  No flames, no guns, no lighters, cigarettes or flammable stuff.  It’s a three day trip to Canada, with part of the first day over England and Ireland, the whole of the second over the North Atlantic, and the last day is mostly over Canada.

Over dinner, introduce a few of the characters — Captain Booth, who has commanded the ship for x-number of seasons (she started running in 1930, and in our campaign, she was still flying in 1936); the stewards Howdett and Savage, there’s James Gaddes — an MP of the Canadian government ( a snobby man); Claude Rennie, a banker with the new central bank (Bank of Canada established in 1934) and his traveling companion — a gold-digging Irish actress named Irene Tennant; John Forster, an insurance guy for Quebec Assurance Associates.

In the middle of the second day, a crewman goes missing for his shift.  They search the ship and find the man crammed into the boot or interior of the car.  He’s been bludgeoned to death with a claw hammer from a nearby common tool kit.  At some point you should describe the collection of baggage, all tarped and tied down, and a large safe welded to one of the support girders.  (This is where weaponry, valuables, flammables are kept.)

The investigation should give a doctor or cop a chance to assess the forensic evidence — he was hit from behind, most likely by a claw hammer.  When they find it, it will have some blood and tissue on it.  they can’t run fingerprints, but can hold it for the RCMP when they get into Montreal.  Invertviewing the crew and passengers should present a few red herrings, and there is a time constraint.  They will arrive in Montreal in 28 hours.  They can interview people during the evening — most of the crew were solidly neutral about the crewman, some didn’t like him, some did, but not with any strength…certainly not enough to kill him.

The passengers didn’t even know him, and the GM should try to lead the players astray a bit, to think that maybe it was some kind of attempt to hurt Gaddes?  Embarrass him?  Something?  If they are successful, they should twig there’s something not right about Forster, but they can’t put their finger on it.  At some point, hopefully, they’ll think to investigate the cargo manifest.  The list is fairly accurate for weight (important on a flying vessel), and basic descriptions of stuff and who it belongs to.  There’s a cryptic note next to a 20 lbs cargo for Mr. Rennie in the safe…the captain will have to be called about it and Mr. Rennie summoned to observe if they succeed in getting the captain to check the safe (a big and modern one — of course, uncrackable!)

Two satchels of 10 lbs. each…and inside, just paper.  Which makes Rennie lose his mind!  He’s in trouble — inside the satchels were $1 million Canadian in treasury-issued bearer bonds, borrowed from the UK to shore up the Canadian economy!  The bonds have been replaced with blank paper!

They will have to search for the money, but will not find it (it’s hidden between the top of the passenger decks and the gas bag above.)  If they search Forster’s two stored steamer trunks, they’ll find fake passports, money, a pistol, and other items to identify himself as eight different people.  The other has a parachute…

They will be searching through most of the night.  In the early morning, they’ve passed over Newfoundland, and Forster will get ready to make his big escape with his cohort in crime, a wireless man in the crew (the actual murderer who killed the crewman after he found Forster cracking the safe.)  A chase through the rigging inside the ship ensues (or did in our game) and a good denouement is a fight on the top of the airship (the safest place to jump from the ship is the tail section, behind the engines.)  There is a guide wire along the top with d-clipped safety lines and harnesses.  Go for broke.