Whelp here's our roster, get to picking sides!
Remi Tesson the French pianist and small-time occultist
Harvey Andrews the construction foreman
Isabelle Fitzsimmon the spoiled debutante
David Trufant III the freelance photographer
Professor Simon Rose the Miskatonic anthropologist
Michael Andrews the disillusioned veteran
Leonard Whitman the hard drinking detective
Jeff "Rusty" Henderson the homeless mortician
By the way, both teams must have characters with points in Psychology and Art. As far as I know, only two characters have these skills and they both have both of them. This means that as Rusty and Remi must be on seperate teams! Perhaps that will help you get started.
By the way Rusty, you need to specify what kind of art your Art skill applies to, either in your bio or on the character sheet.
Ah, thank you. That'd be Art (Cosmetology).
Interesting requirement with Psychology and Art.
Not sure how we should divide ourselves. Any thoughts? Could do randomly, but maybe evenly distributing our skillsets would be more fair. Or pairing up the characters that would look like would hit it off.
Dot
Isabelle is a Tomboy, and quite good with machines, repair etc. IF there is another character with those skills they should probably be on opposite teams.
Also, since it fits the spoiled debutante story, I could re-position a few points into Art. Any particular area that would be more helpful?
Well, with Michael's military experience, perhaps it would make sense to have him hired on to assist one of the more aristocratic or leader-types. A bodyguard to keep someone out of trouble, to lead them through some of the more unsavory areas a rounder might wander, or to guide/right hand for a traveling scholar perhaps.
Sorry about that Trufant!
If I were you, I'd side with Rusty, just to bring some more classical artistic skills to his side.
Well, with Michael's military experience, perhaps it would make sense to have him hired on to assist one of the more aristocratic or leader-types. A bodyguard to keep someone out of trouble, to lead them through some of the more unsavory areas a rounder might wander, or to guide/right hand for a traveling scholar perhaps.
Leonard also has some military experience I believe, perhaps you two could be war buddies - or rivals...
@Ms. Fitzsimmon: Feel free to switch some points into art if you wish; it may or may not help you. Past that, my lips are sealed!
Rusty and Remi are going to be on opposing teams, being the only ones who invested some points in Psychology.
Rusty is good with the sciences and medicine so the professor and him should probably be on opposite teams.
Harvey Andrews is good with machines and such, so Isabelle and him may be on opposing teams.
And hey, we have two Andrews. Could they be related? Perhaps each team should have an Andrews for kicks.
Oh, and Leonard versus Michael for war experience? More competition! Also spreads out combat some. Michael getting hired as a bodyguard for Isabelle sounds plausible too.
So these splits:
Rusty - Remi
Rusty - Professor Simon
Isabelle - Harvey
Michael - Harvey
Michael - Leonard
And here's the final proposal:
Team Paparazzi
Jeff "Rusty" Henderson - homeless mortician
Isabelle Fitzsimmon - spoiled debutante
Michael Andrews - disillusioned veteran
David Trufant III - freelance photographer
Team Nosy
Remi Tesson - French pianist and small-time occultist
Professor Simon Rose - Miskatonic archaelogist
Leonard Whitman - hard drinking detective
Harvey Andrews - construction foreman and ex-occultist
It seems to be though, that these are the two that can be switched around freely:
Isabelle & Michael versus Harvey & Leonard
So Rusty could get Harvey & Leonard instead and Remi can have Isabelle & Michael.
These are just suggestions based on their skills though! Feel free to join whichever side.
I think the way you have it suggested is just fine...And I'll squirrel in a few points in Art along the way.
I really like Rusty's team rosters - he's created a great balance of skills and motives.
I also think that the Isabelle/Michael and Harvey/Leonard pairings should stay where they are. Remi and Isabelle are likely the two wealthiest characters (Remi from his marriage, Isabelle from her family), and so they should be kept in separate groups to even the odds as far as money is concerned.
Any objections, or shall we begin?
Seems acceptable ol' chap.
Full speed ahead!
Good work folks! Allons, mes amis!
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Works for me. By the by, Leonard's not the drinker - after the things he saw as a kid, he's a teetotaler. Also, he didn't go in the Royal Army, but signed up for the police force instead.
He could definitely have been hired on as muscle or something, since a policeman's wages have never been great.
Now, to just make a profile...
Ms Fitzsimmon, shall I gather the bags or bring the car around?
I presume that Michael will have been hired either by yourself, as a companion, confidant, and Man Friday, or else by your family as your chaperon, bodyguard and protector. Either way is good for me, so the choice is yours.
As an aside, I assume we'll get along, since we have aeroplanes in common. With Michael's experience as a gunner and navigator, shall he be the Fred Noonan to your Amelia Earhart. (Granted Lindy only made his trans-atlantic flight last year, and Amelia just made hers this past June, but hey the 20's aren't over yet.)
Hey that all sounds fine with me, including the potential family relationship between Michael and Harvey :p Thinking second cousins or something; all Michael's likely to know of Harvey is that his parents ended up obtaining black sheep status when they got involved with one of them religious types and dropped off the radar.
As far as the nuts and bolts of this goes, will we be having two separate gameplay threads, or do we just have to be careful to only read posts for people on our team?
Professor Rose, in my background I've referred to an anthropologist colleague of Remy's late wife (also was an anthropologist) that became friends with the Tessons, and has helped Remy out of his wilderness of the soul through investigating the occult. Would you be interested in being that anthropologist? Would give us a good connection. Perhaps Remy's American wife studied at Miskatonic as well.
I note you speak some French, and I have a rudimentary understanding of anthropology. It's a pretty easy match.
Also, you're an academic, and I'm rather wealthy :)
I would vote for two separate threads. Are we going to be rivals for some reason, or unaware of each other, or some other situation?
I haven't worked out all the specifics just quite yet, but yes, seperate threads is first on the list.
good to know :)
Hey ya cousin Harvey. Yeah I can see why ol' dad doesn't talk to your pops anymore, what with the old man's position at the State Department and all. Can't have it out about the snake handling and everything now can we?
But then again, I did run off and pretend to be Canadian, just to get into the action, rushing to Great Britian's aid well before the War Department got involved. So I guess I'm kinda in the same black sheep doghouse too. Or would that be the sheeps' pen?
From the trenches to driving for the AEF to flying with the Royal Flying Corp, memories too strong to be thinking about. Best finish off this pint before milady needs me again.
Aaah! Chang! I completely forgot about you, so sorry.
We'll have to figure something out as far as which team your on.
We'll take Chang, I'm reasonably worldly and could have met him at some point.
Erm, did you mean to call your character Simmon? I though it was Simon...
You might wanna change that before you post 10 times, or it'll be stuck that way forever...
Also, what do you think about aligning our back stories a bit Prof?
Fixed the spelling thanks, somehow I missed your post above. I'd be happy to be the connection.
As a note I see his rudimentary French as mostly being African Colonial to speak with local guides when going big game hunting.
Cool story Chang.
So - who gets him? :)
That's for you guys to decide!
Anyways, I'll be traveling for the next five days and I likely won't be able to kick off the campaign during then. So for now, feel free to keep discussing among yourselves but don't expect any responses from me until next week.
Sorry folks!
No worries Gluttony :) lets me procrastinate writing Harvey's background more ;)
Haha, nice. I'm alright with Remy's Team getting him.
For my team, I'm not sure how the game starts off--do we already all know each other (at least in passing)? Is that something for us to decide? I'm intrigued already.
Isabelle and Michael already have a solid relationship. David could possibly have taken pictures at one time or another for Isabelle's family (or of Isabelle herself). Rusty, on the other hand, is a bit difficult to come across on. Unless you happen to have had your family embalmed years ago at his mortuary and he happens to recognize the same features on you, or he's just a random vagrant you stumbled upon.
I do like the idea that you just came across him when the game starts. I made it so that he's just somewhat newly arrived in London so he doesn't have his bearings yet.
Professeur, I have updated my profile to include you in it, part of which is spending some time in the US with you, which gives added opportunity for us to connect with Harvey (who I assume is American?). Were you planning to be in the US at the start of play?
I think the intro said we'd start on a ship to London or some such, I was imagining that ship had left from the US.
Sorry I haven't posted in a bit - life's been weird.
Leonard's a London native, so it'll probably be the reverse for him. He was on holiday in the States, and just came back on the same ship as the rest of you.
Oh, we're on a ship? I must have skimmed over that. Or forgot it. Err.
Rusty will probably be a stowaway or got into some menial job that gives him free passage for that trip.
Professeur, I have updated my profile to include you in it, part of which is spending some time in the US with you, which gives added opportunity for us to connect with Harvey (who I assume is American?). Were you planning to be in the US at the start of play?
Harvey just finished construction on his last job. He never likes to stay in one spot for long (6-12 months), and had well overstayed that this time, not liking to leave something unfinished... The feeling of something... watching had grown unbearable however, and so after his relief at completing the much delayed building, he took the first offer that came his way, which turned out to be an opportunity in London.
Sorry if I'm not being much help in linking people together, lemme review who's meant to be on my team and consider. I do see him having come from the US, but as stated above, Harvey doesn't settle down. Despite the frustration of having to work his way up from the bottom in a new location (his skills and strong references stand him in good stead) he finds that preferable to the anxiety he feels whenever he stays overlong in one place, something he is never quite able to explain.
Isabelle was once again making "bad choices" when it came to friends, and the way she was spending her time, so her over-protective (In her opinion anyway) father decided it might be best she get away from these unsavory influences for a while...Hence her Birthday present. An ocean voyage to spend some time with her aunt in England.
And young Andrews would make a fine traveling companion. He is a trustworthy young man, and her father had big plans for him. Why couldn't she meet a nice young soldier like him instead of the ruffians she tended to run around with.
"Yeah". "Whatever". "I'm going to see if there is an open bar on this tub". Isabelle, then sees the 'no smoking' sign above the particular doorway she's entering, and promptly lights up a cigarette and walks inside.
Michael sees to it that Ms Fitzsimmon's luggage is loaded aboard ship for the journey, and delivered to her cabin. He then makes sure the adjoining stateroom for himself is ready as well. His rucksack, kit, and trunk are already aboard. Rather than take the time to unpack, he instead checks his shoulder holster for his M1911, then heads off to locate his charge.
I wonder if her "documentarian" is aboard yet?
Best not keep the lady waiting. Can't afford to mess up on the first day of our journey. Off to the bar and a pint for myself.
It seems strange being on the Olympic, knowing so many soldiers had sailed "Old Reliable" back in the heyday of the war. Definately a different, more elegant lady now. How many ghosts does she hold?
Along the way Michael stops a steward, and discovers the sailing should take between 7 and 10 days, depending upon the weather.
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David's parents were nothing special, lower middle class. His father a local college professor and his mother a house-wife. David had always been fascinated by photography he taught himself all he could about the medium. In his late teens, David started working for the local paper, taking shots of sports players and debutants attending various shows and plays. This was where he ran into Isabelle.
David, when in his mid 20s, met up with Isabelle and struck up a friendly chord. David was fascinated that a woman of her upbringing, a woman born into money and the ability to do anything who runs from it, so to speak. After taking a few shots of her at a opening night if an opera, he continued to follow her and document her life, shot by shot.
After Isabelle was sent on her "birthday" present by her father, Isabelle chartered a ticket for David, if only out of pity for him.
Miss Fitzsimmon, I hope I was able to catch you in flattering views. And once again thank you for bringing me along on your "vacation". I could have never had this opportunity to visit the states on my wages. David says with a genuine smile on his face.
Hey everyone, I finally ended up in a hotel with some decent wifi! Anyways, great work on the backgrounds so far. I'll be available for questions for the rest of the night, but after that its back to traveling.
Unfortunately I don't have access to my Tatters pdf right now, so I can't kick off the adventure proper, but can tell you that you will need to supply your own reasons for partnering up.
Heya, GM! Glad to see you're doing well.
Cute link, Remy. :P
Since we're going to be partnering up, and David, Isabelle, and Michael already have a solid background, Ms. Fitzsimmon befriending Rusty at the bar is a good idea.
Rusty, while not being able to afford a ride on the ship, had enough to grease a ship officer's palm, promptly disappearing into the third class section. Keeping a low profile is no problem with all the passengers aboard so he might as well take a look around.
Ending up at the cozy location of the bar, he's just enjoying the ambience (not being able to afford any of the drinks) when a lady sits down next to him, smoking a cigarette when he remembered there was a clear no-smoking sign at the bar.
It's enough to make him strike up a conversation. "You know this is a no-smoking area, yes?" His voice is breathy and has an unclear American accent to it, possibly a mix of several locations, but the overall result is rough and unsophisticated.
By the way, as soon as I get home (two days from now), I'll set up separate campaign threads for the two groups, just in case they have any confidential information that they must discuss.
Leonard was on the deck of the Olympic, enjoying the feeling of the wind through his hair. The air here smelled clean, fresh, and invigorating - a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn from London's filthy streets and choking pollution. So many people crammed together in one of the greatest cities in the world led to the usual human problems, not the least of which was the smell. So many automobiles tooling through streets designed for horses gave the place a chemical stench that was hard to get out of your clothes and hair.
It was therefore ironic that Leonard lit up a cigarette and began to enjoy the taste of the burning tobacco. At least now he could choose how to stink up the air, rather than have a few hundred thousand of his closest friends and neighbors do that for him. He watched as the waves splashed harmlessly against the ocean liner's hull, still kilometers away from land in any direction. He leaned against the rail, and watched some of his fellow passengers wander the decks. A young well-dressed woman entered the bar with a small entourage of assistants. Clearly, she had some wealth. Not unusual for this ship at all. She was way out of his league.
I'm thinking that for "Team Nosy", as we've been dubbed, Prof Rose might be the common link... He seems to be the most sociable, wide-ranging and successful one of us.
Thoughts? Team Nosy?