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Old 02-17-2018, 11:10 PM   #291
SionEwig
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Default Re: Campaign: Facets

I'll agree with johndallman that it's nice to see the party trying to be less violent.

I did love this quote
Quote:
(The group tried to figure out what to do about the nine cavalry scouts.)
Steve: I have traps and explosives…
Aurelia:.. and I know how to use them!
Steve: We could plant claymores!
GM: You don’t have claymores. Those would be improvised explosive devices. You would make the transition from “villains” to “terrorists.”
They really did get smacked around this time. I'll even go so far as to say that this encounter was a draw (at best) for them. They did, by more than a bit of luck manage to not have any fatalities thankfully, but it looks to have been close.

Thanks on the better notes on the route, I've been all over that area more times than I can remember. I will mention that the headwaters of the Arkansas are approximately 70 miles to the NW near Leadville as the crow flies. Also, just to throw this out there, several miles north of Texas Creek (as the snake slithers) is a rather rich deposit of absolutely beautiful rose quartz, some even facet grade and I've been told of some from that quarry exhibiting moderately nice asterism but I've not personally collected any. In addition, black tourmaline (schorl) is not too uncommon, mostly crystals up to 1/2" dia and 1" long though larger specimens are unknown. I collected one that was just over 2" dia and 3" long and a giant (for there) at 2" dia and 17" long. At Canon City is/was/will maybe be (LOL) a dinosaur quarry producing rather nice silicified dinosaur bones, some quite large. And just east of Pueblo is a large mesa that if they bother to look at a map they could figure out what is easily found on it's slopes. But that's just me.
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Old 02-18-2018, 02:58 AM   #292
johndallman
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Originally Posted by SionEwig View Post
Thanks on the better notes on the route, I've been all over that area more times than I can remember.
The closest I've ever been is Portland, Oregon, but the clearer route information meant I could follow along on Google Maps.
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Old 02-18-2018, 11:00 AM   #293
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Default Re: Campaign: Facets

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Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
The closest I've ever been is Portland, Oregon, but the clearer route information meant I could follow along on Google Maps.
Well, I knew SionEwig (and acrosome, especially) liked that stuff, so I tried to do a better job of it. I asked Anten to post the route on the DenverGURPS Group forum, but about the only time he has for gaming is the time he spends during the sessions.

He and Debbie have a lot going on, all the time. Jeff and Tisa's new baby is their grandchild, if that gives you any idea.

Edit: Actually, at a year old, I guess she doesn't really qualify as a "new baby," any longer. However, the youngest person in my family is currently my brother's daughter, who is five, so Jeff and Tisa's daughter seems like a pretty new person, to me....
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Old 02-18-2018, 11:08 AM   #294
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Default Re: Campaign: Facets

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I'll agree with johndallman that it's nice to see the party trying to be less violent.
Universal acclaim for restraint shown by recovering villains!

New direction of applying targeted violence in self-defence toward dangerous animalistic spirits possessing human cadavers applauded!

Audience sympathy for protagonists increased measurably, as their violent acts merely disfiguring the already dead and sending possessing spirits back to Yetzirah reduces their widow and orphan count by a wide margin over previous killing sprees of humans just doing their jobs.
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Old 02-18-2018, 11:12 AM   #295
johndallman
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Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
He and Debbie have a lot going on, all the time. Jeff and Tisa's new baby is their grandchild, if that gives you any idea.
Yup. We had some new people in January at the semi-annual games con I attend near Manchester: a couple in their sixties and their daughter, none of whom had played for decades. They could remember a fair amount about their old characters, so we built new versions, and they had a good time.

Thanks for these write-ups; it all makes more sense after my read-through.
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Old 02-18-2018, 02:04 PM   #296
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Default Re: Campaign: Facets

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Universal acclaim for restraint shown by recovering villains!
I'm still meaning to get back and respond to your last large post. There's just a lot to unpack and I've been tired.
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Old 02-18-2018, 02:40 PM   #297
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Default Re: Campaign: Facets

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Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
Well, I knew SionEwig liked that stuff, so I tried to do a better job of it. I asked Anten to post the route on the DenverGURPS Group forum, but about the only time he has for gaming is the time he spends during the sessions.

<SNIP>
Well, I this particular case (the Facets Campaign), I've tromped over many of the areas and places that the characters have. And in general, when someone writes up a game or I play in one, I'm the guy who pulls out the maps to see where things are. In play some GMs like that and others give me an exasperated look and wish I'd shut up. ;-)
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Old 02-18-2018, 03:58 PM   #298
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Default Re: Campaign: Facets

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Originally Posted by SionEwig View Post
Well, I this particular case (the Facets Campaign), I've tromped over many of the areas and places that the characters have. And in general, when someone writes up a game or I play in one, I'm the guy who pulls out the maps to see where things are. In play some GMs like that and others give me an exasperated look and wish I'd shut up. ;-)
That's Anten, in this group. I know you and acrosome both appreciate the outdoorsy stuff, so I've tried to take more care with my reporting.
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Old 03-25-2018, 11:01 AM   #299
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Default Re: Campaign: Facets

We held the latest session of Facets, a couple of weekends ago, and the group seems to be getting into the groove of how to get along in a world not their own. We did have a lot of absentees, this time, though.

I didn’t have time to write up any newspaper stories, for this adventure, but I plan to have another batch of them, next time.

##

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.

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. – played by guest, Chris.

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.

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. (Not available, this time.)

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. (Not available, this time.)

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. (Not available, this time.)

NPCs Present

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 – Currently in NPC mode.

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. – Currently in NPC mode while Rebecca is on hiatus.

Grunt: Beatrice's ally, a large pit-bull possessed by a protective "foo" spirit.

##

The group traveled another morning toward Pueblo, but by early afternoon a cold, drenching rain began. The group decided to call it a day, early, and Henrietta found a good campsite east of what would be Westcliffe, in their world.

They quickly pitched their brightly-colored REI tents (Henrietta, whose tent had been shredded by a bear, shared Aurelia’s), and tried to stay dry. A.J. couldn’t get a fire started that would last long enough to cook anything, so the group settled for re-hydrated rations. The rain continued throughout the night, with only a few pauses, although the wind kept blowing.

The next day dawned gray and dreary, as well, and while the group discussed whether or not to move on (given Claudia’s difficulties), Grunt suddenly barked. Looking in the direction of his gaze, the group saw six horsemen coming down a hillside in their direction, about a half-mile off.

Those who had them quickly grabbed binoculars, and saw what appeared to be a group of civilians, albeit alert and packing saddle-rifles. Not wanting to start trouble, they waited patiently for the visitors to arrive.

The horsemen made it to the edge of camp within 10 minutes and, peering from beneath the brim of a Stetson dripping with rain-water, a middle-aged man hailed the camp. Jimmy and Aurelia walked forward to say hello, and the main introduced himself to Jimmy as Charlie Cooper.

Cooper said the party had pitched their tents on his land, and he asked Jimmy their business. Caught flatfooted (Chris, the guest player, had never participated in an RPG, before, and had no idea what to say…), Jimmy didn’t say anything, so Aurelia stepped forward and smoothly asked Cooper to forgive her mute brother.

At that moment, A.J. emerged from his tent and walked over. As the middle-aged scientist approached, Cooper switched his attention to what was clearly the senior male present.

A.J. and Aurelia said they’d come east from across the mountains in an effort to get away from the war, which had interfered with their trading business.

The rancher glanced around, noticed the number of women with the group, and relaxed a bit. He asked if they were Mormon, to which Aurelia and A.J. replied in the negative. That relaxed the riders a bit more, and they asked how the group had managed to make a living selling to “sp**s and Injuns.”

The two smoothly replied that they made money in the usual sorts of way, purchasing rare commodities at a low prices and selling them for higher. They had a number of bags of salt, they noted, and asked if Cooper might be interested? The rancher declined, noting that a salt-mine lay only a few days north and that kept everybody pretty well supplied.

However, when A.J. noted they’d also brought along some spices, Cooper expressed considerable interest. He invited the group to accompany him back to the ranch-house, to get a hot meal in out of the rain.

A.J. and Aurelia quickly agreed, and the group began to break camp under the increasingly curious gaze of Cooper and his men. The colorful, light-weight, but durable, REI tents with their fiberglass poles on elastic cords folded down into tiny (by their standards) packages.

At one point, Cooper asked about the type of cloth they were made of and, without missing a beat, A.J. replied it was a combination of silk and cotton, oiled for water-resistance.

Right about then, Aurelia noticed that several of the younger men (teenagers, really) had noticed Sunmi’s pretty Eurasian features (and straight, white teeth), and had started to nudge one another. After that, Aurelia and Henrietta made sure Sunmi stayed close to them.

Soon enough, the group had packed up the tents and set off eastward, led by Cooper and his men. Within an hour, they arrived at a large, rambling ranch home of stone and pine logs, with glass windows, a big porch and sizeable barn, nearby.

Jimmy and Henrietta got the animals into the warm barn, with the help of the men, while the Mrs. Cooper and several other women came out and bustled the women off to the kitchen. Once the animals were fed and curried, the men-folk retired to the main room and sat around the table to talk business, while the women-folk prepared a late breakfast.

In the kitchen, Aurelia, Henrietta, Doc Bascher, Sunmi and Beatrice each realized that none of them had any skill in cooking, whatsoever. Henrietta smoothed things over with a “bread-and-butter gift” of some pepper, nutmeg and other spices from the orient. Aurelia and Sunmi (who couldn’t cook but who did have some skill with knives…) focused on chopping vegetables, while the Doc Bascher (the veterinarian) helped slice some pork.

Beatrice, still wounded (and whose player couldn’t make it to the game, this week) stayed in a warm corner, out of the way.

Mrs. Cooper looked on with approval as Aurelia kept Sunmi, nearby, and noted that “them squaw girls” made for good servants, if trained up, properly, kept in line with close supervision and kept away from the men-folk. (Fortunately, Sunmi’s player couldn’t make it to the session, either….)

Out in the main room, the men-folk talked mostly about the war. Cooper said his two oldest boys had joined up several months, past, and were stationed in the trenches down along the Rio Cimarron front. The war had been good for business, as the population of Pueblo had really started to boom.

Between that rapidly-expanding population, plus purchases by the Army, the price of beef had gone up nicely, Cooper said. As long as they got enough rain to keep the pastures green, the rancher continued, he stood to make a little money “for once.”

(continued...)
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Old 03-25-2018, 11:02 AM   #300
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(...continued)

The chit-chat went back and forth like that, for a bit, and the ranchers soon figured out that Jimmy could follow the conversation just fine, claims of being mute notwithstanding. However, Jimmy successfully followed through on Aurelia’s claim and managed to not say anything.

Eventually, Mrs. Cooper and the other women-folk brought out the hot meal, and everybody tucked in. Conversation paused for about 20 minutes, or so, but after that A.J. complimented Mrs. Cooper on her cookery.

He told Cooper that, rain or not, they really needed to try to make some of the distance toward Pueblo. The Coopers wished them well as they set off in the driving rain. The group eventually made camp in late afternoon in the area of what would be (appropriately) Wetmore, where they pitched camp.

The night passed uncomfortably, and everybody was ready to go by dawn, so the group packed up everything, and pushed toward Pueblo. By late in the afternoon, they saw the smokestacks from the smelters, in the distance, and within an hour they had reached the bustling town of 15,000 or so people.

As they walked by the foundries, A.J. looked with keen interest to see what he could. He saw the equivalent of late 19th Century, labor-intensive steel-production in full swing inside ugly cement buildings with belching smokestacks.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...I-PuebloCO.jpg

The group continued through town, and A.J. bought a newspaper from a kid on a corner. He asked the boy where to find a decent hotel, and the kid told him the better places lay north of the Arkansas River, which ran through the middle of town.

The party hurried north in the increasing gloom, and crossed the river fairly soon. Shortly thereafter, they found a decent-looking hotel that advertise hot baths, and a quick look around the back also showed it had a stable. Cold and tired, the group decided that looked good enough, and they booked the last three rooms available.

Henrietta and Jimmy headed ‘round the back, again, and found a single elderly livery-man who seemed far more interested in staying warm than taking care of their animals, so Henrietta and Jimmy saw to them. They didn’t complain, either, as they didn’t really want the guy to spot the U.S. Army tattoos on the inside of the lips of the horses they’d stolen after they slaughtered the troop of U.S. Cavalry.

By the time they made it back inside, Claudia had come up from a hot bath and was finishing up a big bowl of hot beef stew and a fistful of fresh bread. A few minutes later, the physicist brushed her teeth, donned her pajamas, crawled into one of the beds, complained briefly about the lumpiness of the mattress, pulled up the blankets, and then went into what resembled a coma for the next 13 hours, as the rain beat on the windows.

The rest of the group stayed up and read the newspapers, for awhile. The Rio Cimarron front seemed to have settled into a grinding war of attrition, but the latest news from the Caribbean indicated that General John J. Pershing’s Marines had pushed west into the hills above Santiago de Cuba.

Apparently, they were fighting hard to encircle it, and some of the reports indicated the Spanish fleet in Santiago Bay might make a run at the blockading U.S. Navy’s White Fleet.

A.J. and Henrietta noted that the news had very little to say about Col. Eisenhower’s expeditionary force over on the Western Slope, and wondered if perhaps the U.S. government of this world sought to minimize information about the gambit. Realizing they had little more to go on, at that point, the group decided to settle in for the night.

The next day dawned cool and bright, and the party decided to hit the town. Aurelia wanted to learn the layout of the small, but booming, community, and do a little shopping, while A.J. and Henrietta wanted to find any bookstores or libraries.

Doc Bascher elected to stay at the hotel, and began to quietly sterilize one of the three rooms. By mid-morning, Aurelia and Jimmy returned with six quarts of laudnum, and Doc Bascher said it was time to put Beatrice under for her surgery.

The veterinarian decided to avoid the opiate-tinctured alcohol and stick with the modern anesthetics she’d brought with her. Doc Bascher soon had Beatrice unconscious, and began to cut and suture. Four hours later, the veterinarian declared that she’d stitched all of Beatrice’s tendons back together and immobilized the arm.

Under regular circumstances, Doc Bascher said, healing would take at least a couple of months, followed by at least another eight months of physical therapy, but she had no idea how healing spells would impact that timeline.

(We’ll wait to roll the healing spells until Bernetta, Beatrice’s player, can attend.)

Meanwhile, Aurelia and Jimmy had scouted out the town, and discovered that, as with Santa Fe, the better neighborhoods lay to the north, where the railroad from Denver came in, while the southern (downwind) end of town held the steel-mills and the poorer areas. Additionally, the southern neighborhoods held most of the housing for the increasing number of soldier either based in, or moving through, the town.

Jimmy also noted that even the shops in the better part of town lacked the quality of the goods they’d brought with them through the portal,. He recommended that, rather than try to sell to dry goods store or a wholesaler, they instead find buyers in the better restaurants or sell directly to the one or two boutique stores that catered to wealthy Pueblans. (Good roll against Merchant skill!)

Aurelia thought that an excellent idea, and the two of them spent the next several days marketing their re-packaged modern-day goods. By the end of their time, they’d brought in nearly $5,000 in 1918 silver and gold coinage, much of it fresh-minted in Denver, 100 miles north.

Aurelia estimated that, between the precious metal content and the numismatic value (the coins matched period currency from their own time), they’d probably earned nearly a million dollars in the 2015 collector market. Even with her fence’s customer 30 percent cut (the group much preferred to carefully launder funds made through inter-dimensional trade…), they’d still walk away with at least $800,000 for a few days’ work.

For his part, A.J. located a shop that sold maps and illustrations, and he picked up several of the Western United States of this world, as well as the rest of the country and the world. He quickly noted that the British Empire apparently remained at its height, here, with the entire British Raj, as well as Egypt, South Africa, the Levant, Canada, Australia and New Zealand stained red.

Spain remained nearly as expansive, with all of South America (except Brazil), Central America, the and north America (including what would be Old Mexico, New Mexico, California, the East Indies, the Philippines, and most of the Great Basin) colored with the gold of its Dominion.

The map also showed the yellow and black double-eagle of Russia spread across that country’s traditional territory that stretched from eastern Europe to northeast Asia, but also included Mongolia and what would be Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, in the modern day. It also included all of Alaska (dubbed Alyeska, on the maps), as well as what would be Moresby Island, Puget Sound and a strip (bordered on the north by British Canada) along the Columbia River and the Snake River, to the mountains of what would be Western Wyoming.

The map indicated that Russia had apparently found the Yukon gold fields and built a substantial port at Puget Sound. However, Vancouver Island was noted as disputed territory with the British Empire – apparently, the Great Game extended into North America, in this world.

A.J. noted the French Empire seemed much less extensive; they held the entire hexagon and a few Caribbean islands, as well as Algieria, Morocco, Corsica and Sardinia, but had no territory in the Far East.

On the other hand, Japan’s Empire seemed a going concern, with the Rising Sun noted as flying over the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria, and large swaths of coastal China – including Nanking.

Meanwhile, the United States was a truncated, besieged version of the one in their history. It held the East Coast, the Midwest, the Old South, Florida, and the west up to the Rocky Mountains. The mountains, themselves, were marked as territory disputed with New Spain, while the border to the south ran along the Sabine River until it reached what would be the Cowleech Fork.

There, the disputed border apparently jogged north to reach the Red River valley and continued west from there until it reached what would be about Amarillo. At that point, it jogged north, again, to reach the disputed border in the valley of the Rio Cimarron and the front of the war.

This United States held no overseas territory, with the Caribbean split between Spain, Britain, the Netherlands and the few remaining French possessions. The northern border with Canada seemed to match the one from their history, following the 45th Parallel, through the Great Lakes and along the St. Lawrence Seaway. None of that was marked as “disputed.”

Henrietta ensconced herself in the history section of the main public library and started to look at history with the Louisiana Purchase. The archaeologist noted that it took place more or less on schedule, in 1803. However, as she worked her way forward, Henrietta soon found that Napoleon had lost the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, and in so doing had also lost his life.

(continued...)
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