If we are ready to proceed ...

Sorry guys. Things have been a bit busy with real life post Gen Con.

Assuming that everyone is still on board and you are all ready to proceed, I will show you the way.

What I need before I will post the next chapter is a course of action. That may be something as simple as "we fly above the storm until it clears and make our toward Skull Island at best speed". If you have anything else in mind, I need to know.

Chapter 7A – The Broadcast

Bear and Dr. Lambshead strain to hear the German voice broadcasting over the radio. The transmission is filled with static and strange noises garble the message. Suddenly, the message becomes clear and is easily understood.

“This is Expedition 12. We have achieved success. The door on Skull Island proved viable. Proceed to rendezvous with rear guard and establish supply depot. Forward camp and perimeter have been established. Glory to the Fatherland!”

The message seems to repeat before the voice is lost again in the static.

While listening to the broadcast, Bear continues to climb the Daedalus above the approaching storm. The craft responds smoothly and seemingly without effort. The German zeppelin is obscured from sight and the view below is replaced by dark clouds and lightning. Above the stars of the night sky are visible.

Apology to my players

I wanted to take a minute to apologize to my players. Things have been busy for me the last several weeks. Part summer craziness, part family obligations, part work deadlines and part preparing my 4 HEX scenarios for running at Gen Con has eatten up my time.

As a first-time convention GM I have been very concerned about getting it right so that everyone has fun. The story I wanted to tell was ambitious. It required the creation of 24 pregen Player Characters, 28 NPC/creatures, 12 new rituals (including a new tradition), 14 new artifacts and 4 semi-connected stories spanning 4 different settings. I have been able to get everything done but just in time. Playtesting turned out to be a good idea as some mistakes and oversights we found and corrected. Wish me luck.

This online game has some ties into the Eye of the Gods scenarios that I am running at Gen Con. I hope that they will turn out to be positive experiences for all parties involved. I expect to be recharged and ready to play after the convention.  I hope that everyone is still interested in playing this game. I will do my best to pick things back up and proceed with the story after I return from Gen Con next week. I have some plans for this game. I really like the characters. I want it to be fun and to thrive.

Chapter 7 - The Flight

The trip continues smoothly for over 12 hours. The Daedalus has passed over the Mediterranean and the Middle East and is currently passing above the Arabian Sea in route to the Indian Ocean. Bear has learned to love the luxury of the autopilot and all have managed to relax and some sleep.

The first signs of possible trouble appear when a German zeppelin is spotted in the darkness off the port side. It is some distance away and several hundred feet below the Daedalus. That the craft is large, armored and armed is easy to see as the exterior is illuminated. A squadron of four Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters appears to be flying escort. The zeppelin shows no immediate signs of hostility but seems to be following a similar flight path. Bear is certain that the Daedalus can out distance and out maneuver the craft if necessary.

Ahead the night skies look ominous. A large electrical storm looms on the horizon. It is still a few hours before dawn.

Chapter 6 – The Launch

The night passes uneventfully. Many of you find it difficult to sleep. Anticipation of the flight and rescue has your minds racing. On top of that, the manor is old and full of strange noises.

Morning and the promised breakfast come sooner than you realize. Once you have dressed and eaten you are escorted onto the grounds where the Daedalus is hovering. The ramp is extended revealing red interior illumination. The exterior of the ship seems to glow with a eerie green light without any obvious source.

Mr. Dirks walks around the craft and addresses Bear, “She is all packed and prepared for launch Mr. Grissom. Once you are at the controls, I will remove the mooring lines. The course has been plotted in the onboard navigation. After that, the rest is up to you. Good luck to you all!”

Vance Mercury continues, “Well said. I expect that you will do your best to return my uncle and his crew to us safely. They are your first priority. If you can salvage any of the Icarus, please do. Trust the people from Project Legacy. They are the closest we have to experts about this mysterious and dangerous island.”

Once everyone is aboard, Mr. Grissom closes the ramp and heads to the cockpit and starts the launch checklist. The craft bobs slightly as the mooring lines are removed. Dirks moves to where he can be seen from the cockpit and waves. Once Grissom acknowledges him, he gives the thumbs up sign.

After completing the checklist, Grissom lets out his breath and opens the throttle and pulls back the yolk. The Daedalus takes to the sky in a fluid leap. The passengers can feel the acceleration as it presses them back into their seats. It is strong but not as jarring as anticipated.

The expedition is underway.

Chapter 5 - The Evening

After receiving instruction on the Daedalus and examining and packing the gear in its hold, the party is escorted back inside the manor once more by Vance Mercury. He announces, “We will be serving dinner in the dining room shortly. Those who are inclined may spend the night here at the manor. Accommodations have been made for you. The Daedalus will be moved to the launch pad and you will embark in the morning at first light.”

What follows is a pleasant dinner prepared by the middle-aged cook, Alice. The fare is simple but very tasty and filling. It consists of a garden salad, freshly baked bread, a beef stew, roasted lamb with potatoes, carrots and onions. Coffee is severed with desert, individual apple torts, and later drinks are offered again in the sitting room. The staff is very busy throughout the process of feeding the party. It appears that there are only the four staff members; Jefferies, the butler, Ms. Adele Westcott, the maid, Dirks, the grounds man, and Alice the cook. That seems to be too few for a property as large as the Mercury estate.

Chapter 4 - The Daedalus

Vance Mercury dismisses the staff and gives the remaining group a few more minutes to finish your snacks and drinks.

After about ten minutes, the man-servant that was serving drinks returns dressed in clothes that appear to suit him better. He is dressed in khaki pants with boots and a light jacket. A worn flat cap sits atop his cropped short salt and pepper hair. Vance speaks to the group. “Dirks here will show us the craft and the supplies.” He motions to the servant with a flourish from his hand.

The servant speaks, “If you would be so good as to follow me, I will show you to your craft.” Without waiting for a response, Dirks exits the room and continues down the hallway. The expedition team follows him down the hall and past the kitchen where a woman works busily preparing dinner. Dirks opens a door that leads outside behind the manor.

The destination is apparently the strange barn behind the manor. He keeps a reasonable pace but it is brisk enough that Tempest has to hurry to keep up. He does wait at the barn door for everyone to catch up before proceeding inside.

In the center of the building sits the Daedalus. It is a strangely shaped wedge of shiny metal. The craft looks to be about 30 feet long from nose to tail and 60 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip. A wide bank of windows adorns the front above the nose and an open ramp extends from the belly of the craft below the tail. Small windows also run along the sides above the wings. The wings start from the nose and flare back forming a triangle. The center of the craft is like a cone but flattened at the bottom where it meets the underside of the wings. This sits atop the wings. A tall tail fin protrudes from the cone at the rear above what you take to be the engine.

The bottom of the craft is black. 6 large fans are in set within the wings and positioned on either side of the cone-like center; 2 toward the rear and 1 center, also in a triangular pattern. Oddly, there does not appear to be any landing gear. The whole thing floats about 4 feet above the floor. Heavy ropes extend from the floor to the craft at the wings, nose and either side of the access ramp.

Behind the Daedalus are many stacked crates. There appears to be food, weapons and ammunition, clothing and medical supplies. There are backpacks outfitted with ropes, machete and canteens. A couple of tents in canvas bags are stacked near bundles or wooden poles. There are also small odds and ends that have been placed in open boxes nearby. These items appear to be afterthoughts gathered neatly by someone well meaning. Together the supplies seem to be enough to support a dozen people for 6 months.

The rest of the barn is filled with all manner of strange and unusual things. The area in front of the craft looks to be the repair and maintenance facility. Tools, conventional and the strange, are mixed throughout the area. The interior perimeter of the barn is stacked with more crates and more items covered with tarps. Stairs lead up to a loft where more items can be seen. Ropes, chains and pulleys hang from the beams above. A large empty area is located next to the Daedalus. It is clearly large enough to accommodate another craft.

Dirks turns on all of the lights so that you can get a better view of the ship and your surroundings. The Daedalus bobs gently against its restraints like a boat upon water. Vance Mercury says “This is the Daedalus and the expedition supplies. I believe that you will find everything is satisfactory.”

Chapter 3 – The Briefing

Shortly after everyone has completed the application and interview process, Jefferies returns to the drawing room. He marshals all of the applicants and Mr. Tempest. “Gentlemen, if you would be so kind as to follow me, we will continue these proceedings.”

He ushers into a ballroom which has been setup with various chairs from other parts of the house. A stage has been erected at the far end of the room. The maid, Adele and another man-servant, who clearly is unused to domestic tasks, supply you with refreshments. The fair is simple hors d'oeuvres and more cocktails. The young woman serves the plates of food while the older man pours the drinks.

After about 20 minutes, a man in his 30’s enters the ballroom through a door near the stage. He mounts the platform and clears his throat and gestures for the assembled to take seats. Once everyone is settled. He begins speaking.

“Thank you for coming. I am Vance Mercury. I am the nephew of Dr. Milton Mercury. Firstly, I am glad to inform you that your applications for the Explorer’s Club have been approved and you are now members in good standing. It is now time to tell you more about why you are here.”

The young man pauses before continuing, “Dr. Milton Mercury, his crew and their rocket ship, Icarus, have gone missing. The team had set out on the grand expedition of traveling the moon when their craft experienced difficulties as it approached the Antarctic continent en route to escape the Earth’s atmosphere near the southern pole. Some sort of problem or mechanical failure caused the Icarus to turn back and eventually crash over the Indian Ocean. That was 10 days ago.”

“We know that the Doctor and crew survived the crash as we were in radio contact shortly after the incident. All four expedition members were reported in good health and spirits but repairs to the Icarus seemed unlikely. Communication was sporadic but was maintained for two days. Messages were always brief and often broken but were enough to determine the crew’s location. We place the crash site somewhere on the interior of Skull Island. Yes, I mean that Skull Island.”

After waiting for the surprise and commotion to subside, Vance Mercury continues. “We have not had any communication with Icarus in the last week. This is where you come in. We are mounting a rescue mission. As luck would have it, there is already another expedition on its way to the Island. It is a scientific mission to study the island’s mysterious population and unique flora and fauna. They are provisioned for a long stay and should have all of the necessary equipment to affect a rescue. We have been in contact with this expedition. Their mission is one of science and exploration but they have been persuaded to assist in your humanitarian endeavor.” 

“Your mission is to find the Icarus crash site and rescue the crew. Besides Dr. Mercury, there are the pilot, Stanley “Top Cow” Kowolski, the exploration specialist, Max Steele and a reporter, Ms. Juliette Karr. Beyond that, it would be a windfall if you can salvage the Icarus, in part or in whole. It would also be of great benefit to determine the cause of mechanical failure. All that is left to do is get you to the Project Legacy expedition.”

“We believe that we have that problem solved as well. Here on the grounds we have the first generation version of the Icarus rocket ship, the Daedalus. The Doctor deemed it unsuitable for the trip to space but it is still a functioning aircraft and it is very fast. You should be able to rendezvous with the Project Legacy expedition within a day. From there you can coordinate the rescue operation.”

“I am sure that you have questions. I will do my best to answer them.”

New Rituals

I have added some new rituals to my HEX page and I have created a link under the Game Resources section. The direct link is https://sites.google.com/site/zombiehomepage/Home/zombie-s-hex-page/modified-ritual-rules/new-rituals.

These new rituals were created as part of the character creation process for Justin Tylmaronde.

Wally Brown

Did a stint in the army after school and the war.  When I got out, I went home and worked on the farm for a while.  Figgered I was meant for other things, after all I can make people laugh.  Got some jobs in town and when they put in the radio station, I went and applied.  They liked me and I liked performing.  Figured that I will get into acting if the chance arises.  Saw the ad for adventures wanted, and you know that sounds just like me. 

Name: Wally Brown  Actor / comedian

Born: 9-Oct-1904

Birthplace: Malden, MA

Archetype: Celebrity

Player: Kelly

Motivation: Mystery

Age: 32

Height: 6 foot   

Eyes: hazel

Hair: dark brown

Skin: fair

BODY: 3

DEX: 3

STR: 2

CHA: 3

INT: 2

WILL: 2

STUN: 3

SIZE: 0

MOVE: 5

PERCEPTION: 4

INITIATIVE: 5

DEFENSE: 6

                 Passive:  3

                 Active 3

Health:  5

Skills; Base+Levels=Rating

Acrobatics: 3+1 = 4

Animal Handling:  3+1 = 4

Athletics: 2+1=3

Brawl: 2+1=3

Con: 3+1 = 4

Diplomacy: 3+1 = 4

Drive: 3+1=4

Empathy: 2+1=3

Firearms: 3+3 = 6

Intimidation:3+1 = 4

Performance: 3+3 = 6

     Oratory: 6+1=7

Stealth: 2+1=3

Streetwise: 3+1 = 4

Talents:

Captivate = if performance is greater that their will, they can’t attack for number of rounds = to extra successes. 

Resources:

Fame:  Famous in one city

Flaw: 

over confident

Chapter 2 – The Manor

The conversation continues as you move toward the front door. Mr. Tempest limps up the steps and onto the porch where he raps the door loudly with his cane.

The door opens after a lengthy wait by Tempest’s standards but just in time as the rest of the party ascends the stairs. A man dressed in servant’s attire opens the door and welcomes you. “Good day gentlemen. I assume that you are here about the Explorer’s Club solicitation. If you would be so good as to follow me, we can see to the particulars.”

As he closes the door, the butler says, “It is good to see you again Mr. Tempest. I expect that you will wish to join the others. I believe that your business is entwined with theirs.”

The butler leads the group through the entry hall and into a drawing room. From what you can see of the mansion, it definitely lacks a woman’s touch. The decor is eclectic and strange. Several large objects stand against walls and in corners, covered with sheets which obscure what lies beneath. Stacks of books and crates pepper the length of the hallway. The paint and wallpaper are faded and the carpets are a bit worn but you would not describe the place as dirty or unkept.

A man in a suit and another who looks to be a clerk both sit behind a large ornate desk. The desk is out of place with the rest of the room. You get the impression that it was moved here expressly for the purpose of conducting interviews and taking applications. A short line of men wait their turn to approach the desk. A few others carry on quite conversation at the other end of the room by the bay window which provides a view of the grounds.

“I will leave you gentlemen here to attend your business. If you find yourselves in need of anything, please feel free to ask the staff. My name is Jefferies.”

Bookkeeping

I have reviewed all 5 of the characters that I have received to date. We have worked out the details that needed discussion and I have posted and linked reference copies under The Cast section. Clicking the character's name should download and open a copy of the character. I did not add equipment, descriptions or backgrounds to these documents but I can if folks really want them. I just like to have an easy reference to the characters handy on whatever computer or screen that I am on.

If there are other handy references that you would like added, please let me know.

Chapter 1 – The Gathering

With Explorer’s Club application and references in hand, you make the drive to the estate of Dr. Milton Mercury. It is located outside of Valhalla, New York, near the grounds the former U.S. Military hospital now called Grasslands Hospital. The estate has spacious grounds and a sizable mansion at the end of a long drive. A few moderately sized outbuildings can be seen upon the grounds and a large barn can be seen looming behind the main house. It appears to be a recent addition based upon its style and modern building materials.

A sign is posted on the gate that reads “1 Mercury Drive”.  As you turn in and approach the mansion, you notice several cars are parked along the drive. Passengers are disembarking and heading toward the door. It appears that the other applicants are just arriving as well.

All of the player characters are currently standing in the drive. Having seen the article in the paper, Jack Brattle, Bear Grissom, Dr. Thackery T. Lambshead and Justin Tylmaronde are all here to apply for the expedition. Howard Renfield Tempest III, also seeing the article, is here to check on his investment with Dr. Mercury. He gave the man a fair sum of money and has not heard from him for a few weeks. This whole proceeding strikes him as highly irregular. A few others applicants are also present.

(This would be a good time to introduce yourselves and set the tone for your characters.)

Are we ready to start?

Is everyone happy with their character? Are we ready to get the game rolling forward?

House Rules and Clarifications - Going On the Record

I have been asked some questions as characters have been created. Prompted by this, I wanted to state a few things before we get started. If anything below affects your character, now is the time to address it.

Everyman Skills - We are using the Level 0 Everyman Skills found on page 8 of SotSW.

Resources - I will not be granting free Level 0 Resources at character creation. On page 18 of SotSW it states that the GM may opt to grant a free resource at character creation. In this case, I am not. If you want to have a resource to start, you will need to buy it. If you wish to purchase a Level 0 Resource later in the game, the cost is 7 XP.

Artifacts - Through Wierd Science or Alchemy, it is possible to modify existing equipment. If the net Enhancements/Enchantments are 0, the item will count as modified equipment. i.e. no additional XP cost. If the net Enhancements/Enchantments is 1, the item will count as a Level 0 artifact. If the net Enhancements/Enchantments is 2, the item will count as a Level 1 artifact. If the net Enhancements/Enchantments are 3 or 4, the item will count as a Level 2 artifact. Etc.

Rituals - We will be using my Modified Ritual Rules found at http://sites.google.com/site/zombiehomepage/Home/zombie-s-hex-page/modified-ritual-rules. This will allow for the creation and use of Rank 0 Rituals and limit the level of rituals a caster may employ based upon their Sorcery rating. This allows for growth as the characters learm to master the arcane. (These modified rules are a long-term work in progress. Things may change during the course of play.)

Howard Renfield Tempest III

Howard Renfield Tempest III
…of the Nantucket Tempests!

Archetype: Moneyman
Motivation: GREED (naturally)

Health: 5
Style: 0
Experience: 0

PRIMARY ATTRIBUTES
Body: 2
Dexterity: 2
Strength: 2

Charisma: 2
Intelligence: 4
Willpower: 3

SECONDARY ATTRIBUTES
Size: 0
Move: 2 (due to being Lame)
Perception: 7

Initiative: 6
Defense: 4
Stun: 2

SKILLS (base + level = rank)
Bureaucracy (4 + 1 = 5)
Diplomacy (2 + 3 = 5)
---Persuasion (6)
Empathy (4 + 3 = 7)
Gambling (4 + 1 = 5)
Intimidation (2 + 1 = 3)
Investigation (4 + 2 = 6)
Melee (2 + 1 = 3)
---Swords (4)
Streetwise (2 + 2 = 4)
---Haggling (5)

TALENT
Jack of All Trades (Improved Untrained Skill Rolls)
(Daddy used to say "It’s good to know what the common man does, that way you can tell when he’s trying to cheat you!")

RESOURCES
Wealth I ($250 monthly income, plus investments)

FLAWS
Lame (Has a bad leg and moves slower than others)

ATTACKS
Punch (0N + 2Str = 2N)
Colt Pocket Model (Hammerless) .32 (2L + 2Dex = 4L)
Sword Cane (2L + 4 Melee/Swords = 6L)

Gear

When traveling outside "civilized" areas, Mr. Tempest carries his personal backpack, which contains a first aid pouch, flashlight, a flare pistol (with 4 flares), spare canteen, a spare box of ammunition (.32 ACP, 100 rounds, but no spare magazines), a deck of cards, several hand flares, box of cigars and a military grade knife. His porter always caries a heavy pack with his bedroll, sleeping bag and folding cot, toiletries, portable tent, along with his eating supplies.

In his pockets, in addition to his wallet (and money), he always carries a tin of cigars, lighter, a Swiss Army Knife, a deck of playing cards and his Colt pistol.
　
In Brief;

Howard Renfield Tempest III (of the Nantucket Tempests) is a middle aged gentleman, always to be found in a fine suit, who always walks with a simple hardwood cane due to an injury he sustained while in Europe years ago. He is the senior partner in Tempest, Stanley, Stanley & Brickfield investments out of Hartford. He has always had a fascination with the unknown and discovering new things (that is, after all, how the Spanish became rich, right? By plundering the "New World"), so to that end he is always willing to invest (controlling interest) in projects that may bring these new discoveries to the table of his investment firm.

He calls himself a very "Hands On" person, being on site at any project that he feels warrants his supervisory skills, making sure that the hired staff is working efficiently and not causing any loss of materials or revenue. If he is out "Exploring," he always makes sure that his porter is an honest, hard working man, and is sure to pay him a fair wage as good help is hard to find (upon completion of the journey of course).

Little is known (publicly) about his personal life. He is currently married to his third wife, and has a teenage daughter (in boarding school) from his first marriage. The only sport he enjoys is Horse Racing, and he does place a wager or two from time to time, but that is only when it best suits him to make a connection with a new client ("trusting a beast to win out over 14 other horses is more problematic than finding an honest man"). He also enjoys card games, face to face, man to man, where he can see when a man is trying to cheat him, and thus take great pleasure in leaving that man penniless at the end of "a friendly game."

"Bear" Grissom

"Bear" Grissom

Background

I was born in the green mountains of Vermont just before the new century. My Da had jumped the pond from County Cork a few years earlier and married locally, but he took pains to remind me of my roots. He worked at keeping the equipment going at the local quarry, so I took to machinery early on. By the time I was in my teens, I was fixing tractors and trucks to make my own living.

Now, like I said, Da may have left the Old Country , but the Emerald isle was never far from his heart. He'd been part of this group of folks , called themselves Fenians or something like that, who were all for Ireland getting out from under England's boot. When a bunch decided to head back and make a difference, my Da was at the head of the line, with me in tow. Mind you, I wasn't that big a patriot, but I figured I owed it to the old man. Besides, Ma wanted me to keep an eye on him for her. For all the good it did.

So, we arrived in Ireland in the middle of a big hullabaloo. Folks are screaming and plotting on both sides. I stuck close to the old man, which is why, on 1916, I ended up running for my life as a bunch of folk tried to kick the British off the Isle and they kicked back, hard. A lot of Fenians ended up executed; I made it to a ship heading back to the States. My Da didn't.

I made it back home and told Ma the news. She wasn't too happy at losing her husband, and I felt rotten at letting her down. I guess at some point I went from feeling sad to feeling angry, 'cause next thing I knew, a judge was banging a gavel at me, saying I was guilty for certain acts I won't go into. Looking back, I think Hizzoner had some sympathy for me, 'cause he gave me a choice: cool my heels in the slammer, or "volunteer" to head to Europe and kick the Kaiser's hiney. I saw the handwriting on the wall and enlisted. Mrs. Grissom's darling boy was in the Army now.

Lucky for me, the brass recognized my mechanical skills and put me in the motor pool. When the "Jennies" started rolling in, I got a post helping to keep the birds in the air, which was tough enough, let me tell you. The way things were, I even got to fly a couple of the birds and let me tell you, there are very few things that can give you that kind of thrill.

When the war finally ended, I moped around, not sure I wanted to go back home. I hung around with a bunch of Aussies that had come over to fight. Man, those boys liked to drink. After one night and enough booze to fill Lake George, I cried in my beer about my lack of direction. I woke up the next day with a hangover in a ship headed to Australia. I had somehow agreed to head back with the boys during the night.

I bummed around down under for a couple of years, using my skills as a mechanic to keep me in food and beer. I ended up going walkabout, heading westwards, more or less.

Anyways, like I was saying, I've been to a lot of places. Seen quite a few things. Met a good number of highly interesting people. Some I drank under the table, others I laid out with the old one-two. Make my living as a mechanic most of the time. Haven't met an engine yet I can't take apart and put back together better than it was before.

That's pretty much what I do these days. Fixing engines, keeping things running smooth, if you know what I mean.

Visual Description

Bear stands about 5'9", although his wide shoulders and compact frame narrowing down to slim hips tend to make him look shorter. His well-muscled arms are covered with coarse, bright-red body hair and sport large scarred, gnarled hands that look like they've made violent contact with other objects plenty of times in the past. His face is broad; beetling brows over eyes that glint like blue ice chips, topped by a shock of orange-red hair.

Dress him in a leopard loincloth and hand him a club, and he could pass for a caveman. Normally, though, he wears a work shirt with the sleeves rolled up, well-worn denim trousers and sturdy boots, with a cap at a rakish angle to complete the "palooka" image.

Character Write-up

Archetype: Engineer
Motivation: Duty

Age: 38
Height: 5'7"
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Red

Body: 3
Dexterity: 3
Strength: 3
Charisma: 2
Intelligence: 3
Willpower: 2

Size: 0
Move: 6
Perception: 5
Initiative: 6
Defense: 6
Stun: 3
Health: 5

Skills: Base+levels=Rating(Average)
Athletics: 3+3=6(3)
Brawl: 3+5=8(4)
Craft/Mechanics: 3+3=6(3)
Drive: 3+1=4(2)
Firearms: 3+2=5(2+)
  Pistols: 6(3)
Gambling: 3+1=4(2)
Gunnery: 3+1=4(2)
Linguistics: 3+1=4(2)
Melee: 3+1=4(2)
Pilot/Aircraft: 3+1=4(2)
Streetwise: 2+2=4(2)
Stealth: 3+1=4(2)
Survival: 3+1=4(2)

Talent: Tough (+1 Body rating)

Resource: None

Flaw: Sucker For a Dame (+1 Style point when getting into trouble for trusting a woman)

Jock Brattle

Jock Brattle has been hunting since he was a child. Though he completed high school he never could afford to go the college, instead making his living hunting and trapping to keep his mama and siblings fed. Now that she is gone and his siblings are adults he is looking for a bit of a change, maybe some travel.

He is looking for a job that could use his skills and figures that the Explorers Club could use a man who can hunt.

Name: Jock Brattle
Archetype: Hunter
Player: AlexK
Motivation: Duty

Age: 27
Height: 6'1"
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
Skin: Fair

BODY: 2
DEX: 5+1
STR: 2
CHA: 2
INT: 2+1
WILL: 2

SIZE: 0
MOVE: 8
PERCEPTION: 5
INITIATIVE: 9
DEFENSE: 8+1
STUN: 2
HEALTH: 4

Skills; Base+Levels=Rating
Athletics: 2+1=3
Brawl:  2+1=3
Drive: 6+1=7
Empathy:3 +0=3
Firearms: 6+5=11
Melee: 2+1=3
Stealth: 6+2=8
Streetwise: 3+1=4
Survival: 3+5=8

Talents:

Agile
Intelligent

Flaws:

Phobia: Poisonous Critters

Resources:

None

Equipment:

Rifle (3L); Bandoleer w 50 rifle rounds; .38 special revolver (2L); Belt w 40 .38 rounds.
Leather clothing (+1 Defense).
Bowie knife; compass; Zippo lighter; pencil; wristwatch; small telescope; canteen.
Backpack: Bedroll; 6 oz. lighter fluid; watertight case w 30 wooden matches; 150 rifle rounds; 160 pistol rounds; spare shirt; shorts; 4 pr socks; 4 pr underwear; rain poncho; notebook; sewing kit; acetylene lamp; container 1 lb acetylene; roll of wax paper; 1st aid kit.

Thackery T. Lambshead

Thackery T. Lambshead, author of

The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases

   *”Thackery Trajan Lambshead was born on St. Genesius the Comedian’s Day (August 25th), 1900, in Wimering on the Brink, Devon (county), England. He was the second of seven children born to Casper and Eucaria Lambshead, although a putative resemblance between Thackery and one Neb Gariad, an itinerant glass blower and sin-eater who passed through Devon late in 1899, has been the cause of some rather pointless gossip. Casper Lambshead served his community as a notary public and importer and retailer of monkey-picked teas (although his father had run a traveling medicine show). Eucaria, who had enjoyed some minor success on the stage, gave voice lessons and raised owls. A mediocre student with a penchant for marbles and catching frogs, Thackery proved to be a late bloomer. His interest in medicine crystallized in 1913, when his mother was struck in the head with a petrified sponge belonging to Kimball’s Curiosities, which had accidentally been displaced from its temporary situation on a third-floor windowsill overlooking the street in a moment of mental abstraction on the part of Mr. Rearben Kimball, Jr. The resulting injury, while not life threatening, brought on a case of classic amnesia from which Eucaria Lambshead never recovered—and neither did her son. He put aside his ambition to appear in silent films and, largely by mere force of will, got himself admitted to Oxford Medical College.

   Thackery later confessed to Sterling Silliphant that he passed through his remarkably rapid medical training in “a brown study.” Intense, somber, indefatigable, and seemingly immune to the lure of the ordinary student dissipations, he graduated in 1918, easily the most generally resented graduate in the history of that institution (perhaps the fatuous rumors involving Lambshead in an infernal bargain originated at this time—however they began, he has never entirely been able to shake them). His reception among the staff at Combustipol General Hospital, back in Devon, was far warmer, and, during his internship there, his mood correspondingly improved. A lifelong pacifist, he elected, in late 1919, to tend veterans at the St. Agnes Charity Clinic of Edinburgh, as his Whitmanesque way of contributing to what he called the “post-War effort.” There was, at this time, some expectation of marriage (the details are impossible to trace), which met with an abrupt and bitterly disillusioning reverse, and this, perhaps, was at least in part, to blame for Lambshead’s decision to leave England for a time. The tendency to bury any possibility of a private life in an unremitting application to his work would be one of the only constants in his eventful life. He traveled to India, where he established his first and only private practice: the work bored him, and he made use of his spare time to pursue all manner of projects, from public works and choreography for the Salvation Army Modern Dance Society, to the accumulation of medical documents of a generally abstruse and obscure character. It is out of this later pastime that the Guide was born.

   Lambshead took advantage of an offer to serve as court physician to Prince Varchambara of Nagchampabad—the position afforded considerable free time, and the Prince’s libraries were vast—and he produced the first formal collection-draught within six months. This was not simply a matter of collating materials, but also, most crucially, of developing a methodology for their evaluation. Forced to abandon his post within the year, due to an imbroglio with one of the Prince’s wives, Lambshead, now completely dedicated to the perfection of his guide, moved to Berlin.

   Berlin in the 1920s was a heady place, an anarchic hubbub of possibilities: in addition to his extensive research in the medical archives of that city, Lambshead also had ample opportunity to contribute materials based on his own eyewitness accounts. Indeed, some entries were written on the very spot of discovery, in the presence of the victim, as was the case with Erotomotor Pseudalgia and 139 Hauptstrasse Explosive Plumagnetism, the later named for the street address adjacent to which the known attack took place (the subject’s body erupted in iron feathers and elaborately-pigmented wattles in Dr. Lambshead’s presence—as the plumage was highly magnetic, the patient was able to walk only in the direction of magnetic north). Aggravated Inguinal Palsy was provided to Dr. Lambshead by the real Mata Hari (not the pasty who was executed in her place), whom he met by chance in the back parlor of The Black Cube Club. In his travels throughout Europe, Lambshead visited nearly every major city on the continent, and a great many of the more out-of-the-way spots as well, combing even monastic records for evidence of unknown ailments.

   In 1928, after a brief stint in hospital (not due to illness: having encountered Antonin Artaud in the streets of Paris, and rather foolishly slapping him in the face with the injunction, in English, to “Snap out of it.” Dr. Lambshead found himself at the mercy of the irate actor’s horny knuckles). Lambshead set off on the first of his many African expeditions. He left Europe I a huff, after receiving an endless series of obtuse rejection letters from all the major medical and even commercial publishing houses he had approached with the Guide. “Book publishers are the most infernally slow and pachydermously unimaginative race ever to blast the surface of the earth!” he wrote to Andreas Embirikos. : A pox on those turquoise devils!”

   Lambshead spent much of the 1930s infatuated with Madagascar, where he wrote the now classic “Treatise on Trans-species Human-Lemur Pyrethroblastastosis and Emittomatism, or Crater Flatulence his own peculiar strain of antibiotic vanilla. His idyllic, If solitary, life on the cliffs overlooking Madagascar’s otherworldly beaches was disrupted by rumors of war: his only college friend, John Trimble, who had been secretly employed by Winston Churchill to spy on the Germans, warned of the impending conflict, and Lambshead decided to return to England and make his services available there…“

 *from the foreword, by the editors Dr. Jeff VanderMeer and Dr. Mark Roberts

The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases

   First "published" in 1915, as World War I raged through Europe, The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases was for years disseminated to doctors around the world in the form of loose-leaf carbon copies and photocopies.

   From Freetown to Istanbul, Timbuktu to Ulan Bator, it has proven its worth under less than ideal conditions. When a doctor lost in the Congo rainforests with only a few antibiotics and feral pigmy elephants for company cannot diagnose his odd spinal condition, he reaches for his handy copy of the Guide. When a family practice doctor cannot understand why a patient of 30 years with no history of mental defect suddenly begins to mimic inanimate objects, she turns to the reliable Lambshead Pocket Guide.

Name: Dr. Thackery T. Lambshead
Archetype: Scientist
Player: Bruceifer
Motivation: Truth

Age: 36
Height: 5'10"
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Skin: Fair

BODY: 2
DEX: 2
STR: 2
CHA: 2
INT: 4
WILL: 3

SIZE: 0
MOVE: 4
PERCEPTION: 7
INITIATIVE: 6
DEFENSE: 4
STUN: 2

Skills; Base+Levels=Rating

Science/biology: 4+3=7
Craft/medicines: 4+3=7
Medicine: 4+3=7
Linguistics: 4+1=5
Science/engineering: 4+3=7
Craft/mechanics: 4+3=7
Demolitions: 4+1=5
Firearms: 2+1=3
Athletics: 2+1=3
Brawl: 2+1=3
Drive: 2+0=2
Empathy: 4+0=4
Stealth: 2+0=2

Talents:

Wierd Science

Resources:

Artifact 0(stun pistol)

Flaws:

Absent-minded

Extra Languages:

German
Latin
Hindi

Justin Tylmaronde

I was just a dumb kid when the magic hit.

I enlisted when I was sixteen.  I was stupid enough to think I was gonna change the world but smart enough to learn fast how the world worked.  Nothing like the War to End All Wars to make a kid grow up quick.

So I'm part of the advance on Ghent, and I'm dodging bullets like a psychotic monkey.  I was the smallest and the fastest runner, so they had me running messages between the trenches.  Artillery hits my unit trench and I'm far enough away not to die, but not far enough to escape being knocked out and deafened.  When I come to, Jerry has the trench and I'm lying too close to them and not close enough to the Allied line.  All I can hear is a dull roar and as I stagger upright, three Germans catch sight of me.

To this day I don't know what Words I spoke, or the exact stance I used.  All I know is that when they raised their rifles and pulled the triggers, I stretched my hand out like I was going to catch the bullets--and they bounced, sparking, off a translucent blue disc I had cast between me and them.

All of us were shocked.  I'm sure me and the Jerrys had the exact same look on our faces.  We looked at the blue shield-disc, then at each other--and then the Germans caught an artillery shell, and my shield blocked body parts as they were torn apart and flung away.

I never told anyone in the service about the magic.  Years later, when I was on the force, a couple of my partners figured it out--smart cookies; us detective types.  I guess your average Joe finds it kinda creepy, even when I do spells to save their lives.  I went through a lot of partners, got a lot of cold stares, and pointedly didn't get invites to weddings and parties... until I got the message and quit the force.

The detective business has been pretty good for me.  I have a good reputation.  But... I think my life should be about something else.  I can't have been granted this God-given ability to cast spells like a wizard to just find lost cats.


Name: Justin Tylmaronde
Archetype: Lawman
Player: Sinister Simian
Motivation: Truth

Age: 36
Height: 5'10"
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Skin: Fair

BODY: 2
DEX: 2
STR: 2
CHA: 4
INT: 3
WILL: 2

SIZE: 0
MOVE: 4
PERCEPTION: 5
INITIATIVE: 5
DEFENSE: 4
STUN: 2

Skills; Base+Levels=Rating

Sorcery: 4+5=9
Investigation: 3+3=6
Firearms: 2+4=6
Pistol Specialization: 7 
Streetwise: 4+1=5
Con:4+1=5
Athletics: 2+1=3
Brawl: 2+1=3
Drive: 2+1=3
Empathy:3+1=4
Stealth: 2+1=3


Talents:
Magical Aptitude

Flaws:
Phobia: Spiders



 
 

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