Campaign: Facets

[tshiggins]

My apologies for the significant edits. Anten finally got back to me with some corrections -- I got the sequence of events wrong, in a couple of places, and forgot who did what, at one point.

I really do need to start writing these up, sooner after the sessions. :p

We hold the next session this Saturday. :)

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

I'm just surprised you don't have at least one hardline moralist among the group. I'm just guessing that line hasn't come up.

My PC was originally conceived as a pretty okay guy, but I sort of began to fill the "moral center" niche after the rest revealed themselves as more or less ruthless pragmatists after the first attempt or two on our lives. He has a massive unrequited crush on probably the closest character to actual evil, which makes for some inner conflict at times.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

My PC was originally conceived as a pretty okay guy, but I sort of began to fill the "moral center" niche after the rest revealed themselves as more or less ruthless pragmatists after the first attempt or two on our lives. He has a massive unrequited crush on probably the closest character to actual evil, which makes for some inner conflict at times.

"Why does she keep insisting we kill people? It's so wrong.... so... hawt..." /blushes

[Gold & Appel Inc]

AURELIA: We should steal a dirigible because it would be really useful for [piracy and smoking crack and ... reasons!]

ALMOST EVERYBODY ELSE: No that's a bad idea that we should definitely not do.

RANDY: We should steal a dirigible because we should steal a dirigible. I've never jumped out of a dirigible.

AURELIA: Thank you.

BOTH: [fist bump]

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

AURELIA: We should steal a dirigible because it would be really useful for [piracy and smoking crack and ... reasons!]

ALMOST EVERYBODY ELSE: No that's a bad idea that we should definitely not do.

RANDY: We should steal a dirigible because we should steal a dirigible. I've never jumped out of a dirigible.

AURELIA: Thank you.

BOTH: [fist bump]

Yeah, that's about how that goes, all too frequently. Randy definitely takes the high road most of the time, but he gets a lot more... flexible, when Aurelia is involved. :)

The original law enforcement character, Diego "Danny" Torres, was originally written up as the solid moral center of the group. He had strong family ties throughout the area, spoke to priest regularly (albeit about his increasing doubts about his faith), and generally believed the most rational choice was the ethical one, over the long term.

However, when Chris L. dropped out of the group, Torres disappeared, and then we ret-conned in Frank Moses, who was much less morally grounded. At that point, the group's ethical orientation took a decided turn toward the "situational."

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

Yeah, that's about how that goes, all too frequently. Randy definitely takes the high road most of the time, but he gets a lot more... flexible, when Aurelia is involved. :)

The original law enforcement character, Diego "Danny" Torres, was originally written up as the solid moral center of the group. He had strong family ties throughout the area, spoke to priest regularly (albeit about his increasing doubts about his faith), and generally believed the most rational choice was the ethical one, over the long term.

However, when Chris L. dropped out of the group, Torres disappeared, and then we ret-conned in Frank Moses, who was much less morally grounded. At that point, the group's ethical orientation took a decided turn toward the "situational."

I'm pretty sure that in the long run, having any kind of morality that isn't ruthlessly pragmatic is not compatible with a career in violent crime.

And unless a PC adventuring group is employed and backed by the state, typical adventures more-or-less boil down to 'violent crime'. The violence can be motivated by ethical considerations, but I've never seen any group of PCs that weren't themselves 'The Law' actually follow the law when people started to try to kill them.

There is an inherent conflict between the natural desire of PCs to be at the center of events and the state's monopoly on violence.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

My PC was originally conceived as a pretty okay guy, but I sort of began to fill the "moral center" niche after the rest revealed themselves as more or less ruthless pragmatists after the first attempt or two on our lives. He has a massive unrequited crush on probably the closest character to actual evil, which makes for some inner conflict at times.

Originally Posted by evileeyore

"Why does she keep insisting we kill people? It's so wrong.... so... hawt..." /blushes

Or as they might could say in them honkey-tonks out West, there's many a good man been brung low by his love of a bad woman. Fall in with one o' them Hard Headed Women, you'll soon find yourself livin' the Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.

Goes t'other way as well, o' course, in more or less every song Taylor Swift ever wrote, even when she Knew He Was Trouble from the start.

I reckon that's why all them country singers, whether they happen to be fellows or ladies, keep singing all them 'somebody done somebody wrong' songs.

I done heard somewhere that these days it don't always call for a lady, neither, but I don't much know about that. Still, what do you reckon all them saddles an' boots is about?

I figure it must happen without any fellows, too, but I reckon folks in places like Northampton and Berkeley might jes' be singing about it in tunes they don't play in them honkey-tonks so much.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Icelander

I'm pretty sure that in the long run, having any kind of morality that isn't ruthlessly pragmatic is not compatible with a career in violent crime.

And unless a PC adventuring group is employed and backed by the state, typical adventures more-or-less boil down to 'violent crime'. The violence can be motivated by ethical considerations, but I've never seen any group of PCs that weren't themselves 'The Law' actually follow the law when people started to try to kill them.

There is an inherent conflict between the natural desire of PCs to be at the center of events and the state's monopoly on violence.

Especially when said monopoly on violence could very well turn against any PCs who turn out to possess powers beyond what is considered "normal." Nobody wants to be on the end of a "Majestic 12" group that actually finds something.

[tshiggins]

We held a bit of a short session, just before Thanksgiving, and a lot of it was devoted to bookkeeping, scheming and plotting. However, the group did make a decision about the next endeavor, and found out some interesting information toward the end of the night.

This session commenced moments after the end of the last one.

Characters Present:

Dr. Henrietta "Indiana" Johnson -- A personable, age 29-and-holding Anthropologist who specializes in the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the American Desert Southwest. A Native of Apache Junction, AZ, "Indiana" is good with people and has been fascinated by American Indian religion and folklore since she was a child. Henrietta speaks Apache fluently, and not-so-secretly wishes archaeology could be more like Raiders of the Lost Ark and less like digging in a trench with a trowel and a toothbrush -- Played by Debbie S.

Dr. Arthur "A.J." Jamison -- a retired NASA scientist with a home in one of Moab's nicer canyon sub-developments, who volunteers for 4CSAR because he needs to do something to get out of the house. Considers himself responsible for Sunmi Jones, who is enough of a science-geek that the two of them can actually hold a conversation. -- Played by Anten S.

Aurelia R. Lockrin -- A young woman with a shady past who teaches History at Grand County High School (Home of the Red Devils!), and volunteers for 4CSAR because she's a bit of an adrenalin junkie, and likes the companionship. -- played by Bennie Rae P.

Randy "Random" Shoop -- a twenty-something, semi-pro mountain-bike competitor who has trouble staying focused, but is basically a good and reliable member of the team, with an unexpectedly strong moral character -- Played by Gold & Appel, Inc.

Dr. Belody "Doc" Bascher -- a local veterinarian for both large and small animals, who frequently fixates on her job and uses 4CSAR as her primary social outlet. -- played by Samantha H. (Unable to attend.)

Sunmi Jones -- A Korean-American prodigy and student of chemistry at Utah Valley University, who spent most of her childhood with her deceased mother's family in Korea, but has come to Utah to attend college and work with her father's petroleum exploration firm. Somewhat moe, awkward-but-cute, glasses-wearing nerd girl, who only volunteers with 4CSAR because volunteer work is required for her degree. Recently suffered mental damage after an attack by a spirit of pain and violation, and agreed to become a chwal for the loa Erzuli Dahomey, as a way to replace the negative affects with those more positive. -- Played by Rebecca W. (Out of town.)

Beatrice "B" Lawrence -- U.S. Army veteran who works for a local air charter service as a helicopter mechanic. She recently lost the lower part of her left leg in a fight with a sorcerer from an opposing lodge, and now wears a high-tech prosthetic. A cynic about men, she is accompanied by "Grunt," the biggest, best-trained pit-bull anybody has ever seen (purchased as an ally, and a totally badass dog, even before it was possessed by what appears to be a benign “foo” spirit) -- played by Bernetta W.

Claudia Abigail Tavulari, member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, and an old friend of Arthur Jamison’s. The team has been helping Arthur research the portal physics, on the sly. – Played by Tisa T.

Stephen Mack, another member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, a former U.S. Marine Corps test pilot, and outdoors enthusiast. – Played by Jeff T.

NPCs Present

Trooper Frank Moses -- A former Marine who recently quit his job as a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP), based out of the Section 13 office in Moab, under Lt. Lee Exeter. Moses works with 4CSAR as needed, and has an interest in Doc Bascher. Frank finds himself attracted to what he perceives as the much simpler life on the 1918 side of the portal.

Jimmy Ehrland – A fugitive from the 1918 Colonia de Nova España, on the other side of the portal, he had fled from his vampire mistress, Doña Eva, only to find himself in a strange, alien world to which he must struggle to adapt. – Shifted back to NPC status.


Grunt: Beatrice's ally, a large pit-bull possessed by a protective "foo" spirit. (Finally healed, but remained on the other side of the portal with Beatrice.)

##

As the group of astral travelers reported the details of the destruction of the rape spirit, and learned of the attack by the kanontsistonties spirits, they were greeted by Aurelia and Randy, who had arrived at the portal entrance base-camp just after the fight. The group quickly got them up to speed on current events, and then the members of the Friends of Olivia Lodge (FOOL) sat down with the representatives of the two different lodges – George LaMarque of Chicago’s Order of the Goldenrod; and whatever the name was of the one headed by Don Maximo and Don Reyes (they somehow “forgot” to mention it…).

Much to the consternation of the FOOL members, LaMarque, Maximo and Reyes spent a fair amount of time with one another, in cautious “getting to know you” conversations. Aurelia, for her part, quietly told her colleagues that any rapprochement between LaMarque and the Santa Fe sorcerors made her distinctly uncomfortable, given the power and opportunity offered by control of the portal.

However, the camp broke up, soon thereafter, and each of the different lodge members went their own way. Reyes, Don Maximo and Jeb returned to the 1919 world, and LaMarque bundled up the stasis box and headed south to the campground where he’d parked his rental SUV.

During the course of the next several days, the group met several times to figure out what to do, next. After considerable debate, the group decided to delay the trip to 1711 France until September, as nobody relished the notion of trudging through the Northern European summer in the heavy period garb.

A.J., especially, argued that the late summer/early autumn period would be much more comfortable for land travel, generally speaking, while the trip across the channel in a leaky sailing vessel would still remain (relatively…) safe. He also noted it would give the group more time to learn some spell lists and gain at least some familiarity with the French language of the time, as well as period weapons and customs – a real concern now that they’d learned of the qlippoth.

At that point, Aurelia piped up and said she preferred to jump through the portal to the 1919 world, first. She noted that their research had indicated the gateways to Shanri-La seemed to exist on many different planes, so it seemed reasonable to expect that such a gateway existed in the 1919 world, as well.

That provided the opportunity to take a dirigible to Shangri-La by the 1919 portal, Aurelia explained, clear out Sunmi’s spiritual hitchhiker, and then exit from the mystical realm via a gate to the 1711 world. That would give them a real asset and a way to travel much more freely in the 1711 world, than they otherwise would have if they stuck to the traditional, clandestine approach that had already proven problematic for the members of the Enlightened lodges.

Other members of the group noted that the presence of such anachronistic technology raised the real possibility that the dirigible could trigger a qlippoth infestation that would threaten the existence of the 1711 universe dominated by the Angevin Empire. Because of its close proximity to their own world, it also posed a risk that any such infestation could bleed through the Paris catacomb portal and threaten billions of additional lives.

Aurelia agreed that the group would have to exercise due caution, but noted that they’d already used anachronistic technology on the 1919 world (the buggies and the ultralight), which indicated to her that the worlds were probably reasonably resilient. As long as they kept the dirigible up high and mostly out of sight, and landed it only in remote areas, she said she thought the benefits were worth the risk.

Henrietta raised the possibility that additional spells might give them the opportunity to conceal the dirigible completely, and began to research the Light and Darkness college. As she did so, she learned of the existence of an “Invisibility” spell from some of the Thaumatology tomes, but could find no such spell in the book for that college of magic.

Could it be possible, she wondered, if the masters of existing lodges restricted access to some spells that offered real opportunities for abuse? If so, Henrietta hypothesized, the only way to get access to some of those spells might require that they do a tremendous favor for the 1711 London lodge founded by John Dee, and as a reward ask not only for the method by which to create stasis boxes, but also the right to copy from more complete spell lists.

The discussion of new spell colleges prompted Claudia to check whether or not some magic existed that might make it easier to operate technology, and was pleased to locate such a tome in Oliver McShane’s library. The physicist and mathematical whiz noted that all technology required at least some infrastructure support – none of which would exist for dirigibles in the 1711 world; no fuel, no spare parts, and certainly no helium tanks.

As such, Claudia said, any magic that would allow them to use spells to supplement the technology (which was very new to the 1919 world and therefore probably glitchy, anyway, given the retarded pace of technological development, there…) could prove the difference between success and disaster.

(continued...)

[tshiggins]

(...continued)

With that, Claudia and Henrietta sat down to study those new spell colleges, while Beatrice practiced European fencing and read up on the Musketeers, and Randy decided to study French. Aurelia, who already knew modern French (although accented) decided to read up on the differences between the modern language and the French of the period. She also decided to study the Gate college, since the notion of leaving such power only in the hands of Sunmi gave the former high school art teacher and skilled forger the heebie-jeebies.

(That said, other members of the party also expressed some dismay about the notion of giving such power to someone who had so unexpectedly proven to be as ethically “flexible” as Aurelia….)

That left A.J. and Steven, who decided that, if they planned to steal a dirigible, it might help if at least a couple of people in the group actually knew how to fly the damn thing. The two of them hit the Internet and found that FAA licensing required several hundred hours of flight time in an actual powered airship, but that no formal training programs existed, anywhere.

It seemed that all airship piloting skills om 2015 America were passed along in an apprentice-type system, where the vanishingly small number of people interested in learning the craft applied for jobs with the few companies that actually flew them, and tried to get positions as airship crew members.

That prompted A.J. to look into the sorts of companies that flew airships (exclusively blimps – they were a lot cheaper than dirigibles with rigid air-frames), and he hit the jackpot. The former NASA engineer found a vacation travel firm that offered airship tours of the Pacific Northwest, and provided a two-month training program in airship piloting to anyone with a small aircraft pilot license, willing to pay the (steep) tuition fee.

Since both A.J. and Steven had such licenses (Steven also had one for high-performance combat jet aircraft…) the two of them made queries and soon found themselves as the only students on the roster for the next class.

With that, we fast-forwarded a couple of months to May 18, 2015, and the group found itself (now in appropriate 1919 period garments and bearing concealed modern equipment) in Dark Canyon as the portal appeared. The gateway between dimensions opened on schedule, and the group drove the buggies through the now quiet and peaceful tunnel to the box canyon in the other world.

There, they were greeted by the amiable Heck and Izzy, who took delivery of the blood tolls, as usual, but who noted that Don Maximo had sent two other guardians to join them. Within a couple of minutes, the group was shocked to see two large, brutish figures come around the bend in the canyon and walk toward them, dressed in ragged uniforms of the 1919 United States Army.

As the two got closer, the group noted that they had started to resemble the ogre-like tsiants they had tangled with on their very first trip, a year before. From that, a disturbed Henrietta deduced that Don Maximo had apparently found a way for the kanontsistonties spirits to possess two American soldiers, and that meant the war had likely broken out between Spain and the United States.

The group decided to talk to them about that, and after the forethoughtful Aurelia had handed over two large honey-baked ham from Wal-Mart, the two former soldiers proved willing enough to talk.

Apparently, the spirits had access to the minds and memories of their host bodies, and reported that they’d been members of a reconnaissance unit that tangled with a troop of Spanish cavalry, in the area near the ford across the Rio Grande del Norte normally used by the party when they drove the buggies up to Valle Grande. The recon unit had been badly mauled by the superior numbers of Spanish cavalry, and they were the only two to have survived the skirmish.

A few days after capture, the two reported that someone the group recognized from the description as Don Maximo had appeared and taken custody of the prisoners. The cavalry commander, who didn’t want to be slowed down by POWs, anyway, had readily turned them over to him.

Don Maximo had done something to make them docile, the two possessed soldiers said, and led them to Dark Canyon. There, the Spanish mage had staked them out, and the kanontsistonties spirits had soon taken control of their new bodies and agreed to guard the portal in exchange for the offering.

Somewhat aghast at the story, but nonetheless recognizing the value of the information, A.J. had pressed forward with the interrogation. He wanted to know about the progress of the war, in general, and local troop movements, in particular. The newly-rebirthed tsiants proved willing to talk, noting that Don Maximo had instructed them to cooperate with anyone who came through the portal and offered the proper toll.

The former U.S. soldiers said the commanding general of the Rocky Mountain theater of operations, Gen. Douglas McArthur, had launched probes in force all along the Rio Cimarron Front, east of the Mountains, as soon as the weather allowed it. Brisk fighting had broken out, over there, but it had proven inconclusive as the Spanish had spent more than a year bolstering defenses.

It had also been a grand feint, the soldiers-turned-monsters reported, designed to draw Spanish attention away from the real assault.

That was led by Major (now Lt. Colonel) Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had spent the past two years cutting a road through the Rocky Mountains wide enough to allow him to take Valle Grande with 50,000 troops.

Eisenhower had secured the large Navaho settlement by late April and began to push south along the Camino Real del Norte by the start of the second week of May, about a week past. The rapid victory had earned the young logistical genius his silver oak leaf, and Eisenhower had capitalized on the rapid surprise victory by initiating the strong push south.

As they understood it, the former troopers said, the idea was to move the army south as rapidly as possible, while the Rio Grande del Norte still ran high from the snow-melt. They wanted to cut across to the Rio San Juan drainage, and reach the mountains southwest of Santa Fe by the time the weather got really hot.

Their commanders had told them the fighting in the mountains might get pretty hot, but felt that if Eisenhower could move fast enough, he could take the passes by late summer.

A.J. hauled out his maps and checked out the situation. If Eisenhower’s 50,000 men could take the mountain passes as planned (which the group knew reasonably well, by now, as they’d gone through them several times), it would put him in the position to move into the farm valleys west and southwest of Santa Fe, and take them by early autumn.

If Eisenhower could do that, A.J. explained, he’d stand on a reasonably well-supplied position with 50,000 men and lots of artillery, ready and able to assault Santa Fe from the relatively undefended southwest. However, until that happened, it gave the American colonel a long supply line (albeit one guarded by a river on his west and mountains to his east), which meant the entire valley of the Rio Grande del Norte would turn into one huge war zone of Spanish cavalry raids against heavy American patrols.

There was no way the group could take the buggies into that, A.J. said, since the nature of war by maneuver meant that both sides would covet the buggies (able to make the entire trip from Valle Grande to Santa Fe in less than two weeks, with no need to stop for repairs…).

Steven agreed, and the former Marine combat pilot said that were he in charge of the American forces, he would just confiscate the buggies for reverse engineering without a moment’s hesitation. A.J. added that might just trigger the qlippoth, and destroy the world.

Aurelia asked the two tsiants if the Americans had brought a dirigible to the west side of the mountains. They replied that they’d seen one, and as of their capture a couple of weeks before, they thought the Army Corps of Engineers might have started construction of an airfield west of Valle Grande, but weren’t sure.

The group decided that, since aerial reconnaissance would prove invaluable for Eisenhower’s efforts, it was likely he planned to build airship hangars as soon as possible on this side of the mountains. However, given the possibility of Spanish cavalry raids and uncertain attitudes by the Navaho and Ute nations, the group figured they’d be highly guarded, if they were even done yet, at all.

As such, the party members thought it best to cross the mountains and try to steal a dirigible from what would likely be a quieter airfield. The tsiants-soldiers said they understood the U.S. Army’s main dirigible base was located in the prairie near the new steel town of Pueblo, on the banks of the Arkansas River, well south of Denver and a convenient distance from the Rio Cimarron Front.

That raised the question of where to cross the river (if at all), since any pass in Colorado would likely be well-guarded by Americans or subject to serious raids from the Spanish (and possibly Utes and Apaches, too).

(continued....)