Sucker Punch, Commentary

Sucker Punch is an adaptation of an adventure from a Call of Cthulhu campaign I ran many years ago. That campaign was initially intended to be a serious, tentacle-horror-oriented game, but the personification of Richard Drew III, heir to fortune from his mother’s invention of gummed tape, immediately changed the nature and tone of the tale.

Richard Drew III was originally described as a Big Game Hunter, who listed his homeland as “America, Nation of Awesome,” and said “the only thing Drew fears are things that scare him.” He was a tall, handsome man with an outgoing personality. He was also incredibly naive, was an inadvertant master of disguise, and could win any argument with his catchphrase, “I’ve heard it both ways.” He lived in a large penthouse, where he was served dutifully by his butler, Woodhouse.

Mr. Drew was surrounded by an entourage of trusted colleagues.

Drew’s faithful bodyguard was Kathryn “Kate-O” O’Hare. O’Hare had been a mercenary in several conflicts immediately following the Great War before giving of the hard living for a “cushy” job protecting a spoiled rich guy. Hired by Drew’s mother to keep him out of trouble, O’Hare found it was a nearly impossible task on account of Drew’s uncanny ability to attract trouble to him.

Tank McGuire, an Irish bare-knuckle boxing champion, was Drew’s sparring partner and friend. Independently wealthy himself, Tank accepted Drew’s hospitality and lived in the penthouse as well. Tank dutifully followed his employer into danger to protect him when Drew managed to evade Kate-O’s watchful gaze.

Dr. Anna Rykov, the protagonist from the Utgarda Series novels, was originally a conceierge physician hired by Drew to tend to his and his associates many “best left unexplained” injuries. Rykov was the widow of a Tsarist Russian who had fled to London, and whose home there had secrets of its own.

There were several others who assisted Drew over the course of his adventures: Harold Pruit, a crazed inventor, Hazel Carnegie, a down-to-earth nurse, and archeologist Penelope Caddock.

If you liked Sucker Punch, and would like to see more Richard Drew Adventures, lease comment on this post.