ELECTION SEASON

A Disturbance for Monster Hour: Absurdia (Arc 4)

The Disturbance

“By order and supreme graciousness of the City Council, there is hereby to be held an election
for one (1) seat amongst Somewhere's most esteemed body politic. Per the City Charter, most
consecrated of all codes, the vote shall be held two weeks hence, rather than yesterday, to
allow time for candidates to "declare" and "campaign." The candidate receiving the most votes
shall join the Council. The candidate receiving the fewest votes shall be banished from town by
way of the Screaming Fog. Voting is mandatory.

As is customary, candidates shall be invited to compete in a series of challenges to demonstrate

their governing prowess. These challenges will be set by the Producers and broadcast on
Surreality TV's Candidate Survivor. May the polls be ever in your favor.”
- City Hall press release announcing the upcoming Council elections

Countdown
1. City Hall announces the upcoming election for a seat on the City Council (praise be).
Savannah and the other producers arrive to manage the electoral challenges and
provide unbiased, gossipy coverage of the election to Somewhere voters.
2. The first of three election cycles. During the campaign phase, candidates and their
supporters have free reign to campaign for votes however they like. During the challenge
phase, candidates compete in a reality TV style challenge presented by Savannah and
the producers. The first challenge is “Gladhand or Gadfly.”
3. The second of three election cycles. A free play campaign phase, followed by “The
Deadliest Catch” challenge.
4. The third of three election cycles. A free play campaign phase, followed by “The
Enraging Race” challenge.
5. Election Day! Candidates make their closing arguments as voters go to the polls. At the
end of the day, an Election Night ceremony is held to announce the winner and cast the
loser into the Screaming Fog.

Threats

Election Season (Conflict)

The Issue: No one can remember the last time Somewhere had an election, but the town’s
factions are certainly not going to let a shot at joining the City Council go to waste - even if the
loser gets ceremonially sacrificed to the Screaming Fog. After the election is announced, each
faction quickly rallies behind one of their own to support and campaign for.
The Factions:
Involvement Resources Strategy

Bureaucracy Bureaucracy is Mina is well versed in Bureaucracy will work to set

supporting Mina the Municipal Code and Mina up for success in the
Redmond in the always knows if challenges to demonstrate
election. someone is lying; her skill and competency. It
Bureaucracy will confer will seek to negotiate
to her it’s specialized favorable deals and
equipment and status alliances on her behalf.
and privilege to the
fullest extent possible

Community Community is The PTA starts with While Community may be

supporting the high name ID and at a disadvantage in dealing
Parent Teacher favorability (i.e. strong with Somewhere’s many
Amalgamation in the initial polling); strange and surreal events,
election. Community’s strength a City Council campaign is
in numbers constitutes something they can handle.
a large base of voters Community will go hard on
traditional campaigning for
the PTA, trying to overcome
any setbacks suffered
during the challenges with
elbow grease and retail
politicking.

Underbelly Underbelly is C-Mac is clever, While Underbelly is

supporting C-Mac in resourceful, and able to nominally supporting C-Mac
the election. create illusory effects in the race, few believe he
with his entropic paint; has much of a shot - or that
Underbelly’s unusual anything would really
expertise and change if he won.
contraband offer unique Underbelly will spend as
avenues and strategies much time preparing for the
for campaigning election’s inevitable fallout
as it will actually
campaigning.

Entropy Entropy is supporting Solar is a martial Entropy is hardly a

Solar in the election. powerhouse capable of monolith; while some
handling most physical elements support Solar,
threats with ease; others are simply hoping to
Entropy will cause sow as much chaos in the
chaos and undermine election as possible.
other candidates using Entropy’s strategy is
its fear and unpredictable and largely
uncontrollable power unknowable.
resources
Custom Rules: Campaigning
Each candidate begins the election with a base of supporters, measured as a percentage of
their standing in the polls. The base is determined by how well known (name ID) and how well
liked (favorability) they are in town. The candidates’ goal is to have the highest amount of
support when the election ends. Candidates can improve their standing in the polls in a variety
of ways, including:
● Winning or performing well in the Producer’s challenges
● Demonstrating unexpected skill, bravery, altruism during the challenges
● Securing the endorsement of an important entity within a faction
● Campaigning in unique or unusual ways
● Joint campaigning with other candidates
● Seeking a leg up in an upcoming challenge

Candidates can also attempt to undermine other campaigns, though that has the risk of hurting
them as well if voters know who was behind the negative campaigning.

The Producer’s Challenges (Quest)

● What is the objective? – The objective is to win (or at least survive) each of the
Producer’s three electoral challenges.
● What are the stakes? – Winning and/or putting on a unique performance in each
challenge will provide a substantial boost to a candidate’s standing in the polls.
● What are the obstacles? – Each challenge is an obstacle, outlined below:

Challenge 1: Gladhand or Gadfly

A test of the candidates’ ability to handle constituent relations and suss truth from lies.
Candidates are set up to speed date five Somewhere residents, each with a problem that needs
to be solved. They must convince at least one constituent to pick them as the best candidate to
solve their issue. If they don’t match, they lose. However, one constituent is secretly a Gadfly:
someone who wastes everyone’s time with constant inane quandaries. If the candidates match
with the Gadfly, they also lose.
● Melvin, the Butcher - “The City has a lot of rules about what can and can’t be cut in half.
A lot of people have asked me to cut their lots in half, but I can’t do that because the City
considers that a “subdivision”. I’m just a simple businessman trying to divide things into
equal pieces - can you clear some of this red tape for me?”
● Eric Bemo - “The recent crisis has made it painfully clear that most Somewhere
residents don’t know the first thing about basic financial management. We need a return
to fiscal responsibility and proper currency storage. Can you help me?”
● PrinciPal - “Repeating the same year thirteen times really gave me a new perspective on
our education system. We need more of it. I propose lengthening school days. Monday
through Friday should be 26 hours long for extra learning. Adult’s get time off as a treat.
What do you think?”
 ● Sam the Juror - “My issue is with the town’s jury duty system. Look, I’m all for civic duty
and rendering judgment on your peers and all that, but people shouldn’t have to worry
about being thrust into an ongoing conflict when they become an avatar for the
bureaucracy’s will. It’s time for a juror’s bill of rights.”
● Andrew the Alligator [GADFLY] - “Parks. They are good. Nature. Better. We need more
parks. Less maintenance. More flora. More fauna. Less humans. Conservation.
Devolution. The Old Ways. Trees. Trees. Trees.”

Challenge 2: The Deadliest Catch

A test of the candidates’ ability to handle Somewhere’s constant reality-bending, life-ending
threats that distract from day to day governance. The five constituents from the last challenge
have been tossed into the Forsaken Pool with the Pool Kraken. The candidates are charged
with rescuing the constituent they matched with.

Savannah will interrupt the challenge twice, offering the audience a change to make things more
interested with a pair of ballot propositions:
● Round 1
○ Group Project - Candidates can't save their own constituents, only each other's.
Team up, or lose out.
○ Shuffle - Constituents are periodically moved to different tentacles.
● Round 2
○ Release the Kraken! - Opens the emergency drain, allowing the Pool Kraken to
fully emerge.
○ Submersive Theater - Floods the pool with water.

Custom Move: Ballot Boxing

When you whip votes ahead of an audience vote, pick up to three factions and roll with your
combined rating. On a 10+, the vote goes your way. On a 7-9, you need to grease some palms;
if you want to get your way, you'll owe a debt to one of the factions you rolled. On a miss, [cue
Hamilton soundtrack] you don't have the votes!

Challenge 3: The Enraging Race

The truest test of the candidates: whether they can tame City Hall itself. Because the
bureaucracy is just as unwieldy from the inside as it is from the outside. Candidates must
construct a “campaign platform” tall enough to reach the Council Dias, which towers over the
City Hall lobby. They can use whatever resources they can gather from City Hall - though they
may not be met with welcome arms inside.

Departments:
● Code Compliance - officers, red tape weapons, paperwork
● Parking Enforcement - impounded vehicles
● Public Utilities - utility reservoirs (water, sewer, air, electricity, technicolor), generators
● Finance - economics, financial models, Bureaumancers
● Judgement - Sentient red tape, verdicts, jurors
 ● Licensing - see below

The Heist (Quest)

● What is the objective? – Jackie has enlisted Duncan and Max’s help to pull off a daring
heist from City Hall’s Department of Unlicensing, where all the contraband and illicit
goods the Bureaucracy has confiscated are stored.
● What are the stakes? – Among other untold valuables, the Department of Unlicensing is
purportedly home to the Metronome of Perfect Time - an occult object said to hold sway
over time itself.
● What are the obstacles? – The crew must overcome City Hall’s myriad defense systems
without getting caught or exposed, including:
○ The Abandoned Parking Garage (carnivorous plants, feral fleet vehicles,
pneumatic tube entry system)
○ The Department of Licensing (getting lost, filing cabinet defense matrix,
marauding PTA members)
○ The Recorder
■ Can revoke the licensing of items, sending them directly to the
Department of Licensing
■ Can rapidly reduce items to component pieces and suck them up into the
tubes
■ Can alert the entirety of City Hall within moments

Custom Move: The Heist

When you plan the details of an elaborate heist off camera, roll +Wits. On a 10+ hold 2, on a 7-9
hold 1. You can spend your hold to push yourself without marking essence during the heist. To
do so, you must say “but what you didn’t know is” followed by a flash back revealing how you
perfectly anticipated the problem at hand. On a miss, the GM holds 1. They can spend their hold
at any point during the heist to make a hard move against you, as a crucial flaw in your plan is
revealed.

NPCs

Absurdia GM Principle: “Give Everyone a Name, a Quirk, and an Agenda”

● Savannah (Entropy) – Surreality TV’s Lead Producer, responsible for running the
challenges for Somewhere’s election. A glam girl with a Hollywood movie camera for a
head. Extremely powerful but pretty much exclusively into juicy gossip, shipping
candidates, and living her best life.
● The Recorder (Bureaucracy) – A reclusive bureaucrat who lives within the heart of City
Hall, the Department of Licensing. They are hooked up to the interoffice pneumatic tube
 system, putting them at the center of all information and data exchanged at City Hall.
Extremely analytical and detail oriented.
● Grippy (Bureaucracy) – An sentient stapler and customer support specialist in the Code
Compliance Division. Part of City Hall’s Inanimate Object Understanding and Support
(IOUS) program. Grippy is extremely helpful, provided you complete their customer
satisfaction survey requests.