Second Dawn:Jackie Drake

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This is a reference document for the LARP The Second Dawn.

Jackie Drake Player: Sheyna G Famous spelunker and Plains diplomat Age: Late 30s

Additional Information (read first): Plains States, Society of Spelunkers, Black Science

Background: You’re the most famous adventurer in the world. The Plains is full of buried cities, hidden vaults, and lost military bases. You’ve been through more of them than most, but there is always more to discover. You consider yourself an archeologist, always looking for ancient finds, trying to keep them out of the wrong hands. It can be dangerous work, but you excel at it. You didn’t start the Society of Spelunkers yourself; they say it goes back to the Dark Ages. You’ve done a lot for its popular image, however; these days in the Plains, every young kid who has ever dug up a piece of plastic in his backyard wants to be a spelunker when he grows up. You also have helped with organization, doing your best to keep this far-flung group of loners in contact with each other. It would make you an excellent fence for black market trading, but you don’t believe in trading Black Science. The most dangerous pieces that you find you destroy so no one can get their hands on it, but in general, it belongs safely and securely in your collection. About a month ago, your collection was robbed. It made you very unhappy, although it seemed to clearly be an amateur job. They left some priceless artifacts which they obviously couldn’t tell the worth of, and instead took several cursed pieces of jewelry. They’re tainted with the path of decay, but not enough to cause harm this quickly. Your first famous exploit was defusing the bomb under Denver. When you were delving in some nearby mines, you discovered trigger wires leading to a still unexploded cache of horrible black science weaponry. It could have destroyed the entire city and made the area for miles around into a wasteland! It took a combination of guts, intuition, and luck, but you were able to safely disarm the weapons and prevent a disaster. That was when Gunther, the warlord of Denver, really took an interest in you. You had thought at the time that this was a good thing; after all, you like the limelight. It’s definitely had its upsides, being on the government payroll. You are more able to freely travel to wherever you want, you’ve been able to hire an assistant or two occasionally, and you have the best high tech equipment for your delving. But ever since Cordelia Wayne, the warlord of Minneapolis, took over Denver, government sponsorship has gotten worse and worse. You are very high profile, and Cordelia likes having you around; however, she is adamant that any weaponry you find be donated to the Plains. You’ve been walking a fine line with her, sometimes giving her weaponry you find, but other times destroying black science you think too dangerous even for the Plains to have. You’re sure she suspects what you’ve been up to. That’s probably why she gave you the ultimatum. She knows that you hold a lot of sway over the other spelunkers. She wants all spelunkers to give her a tithe – 10% of their finds. If you don’t get that for her, she’s told you in no uncertain terms she’ll start taking it out of your personal collection… or, she implied, your hide. She has the power to do as she pleases, and you don’t want to be on her bad side. Besides, 10% isn’t really all that much. You know the other spelunkers though – they are an independent bunch and the idea of a tithe will stick in their craw. You’ll need to do a very careful carrot and stick approach. There rarely have been so many spelunkers in one place, so this will be a fine time to get people together, exchange stories about who found what and where and all those dramatic details. With so many of you here, people are bound to have some personal agendas they are trying to get done, and you’d like to facilitate an open atmosphere of helpfulness among your fellow spelunkers; after all, with your fame and political sway, there’s a lot you can do to help. Then, when people have accomplished some of their goals and are feeling lucky to be part of such a group, you’ll spring the bad news on them. You’re planning on saying the 10% tithe is going to a sort of ‘emergency fund’ for spelunkers; most of the spelunkers here aren’t from the Plains, so have no reason to support your government. It might even be true- the more Wayne likes you, the more resources you’ll have to help out spelunkers in need. You’re looking forwards to the story-telling on its own merits, though; you do love to hear and tell a tale of a good adventure. You had a great one last year… in your fancy fusion car, you drove south from Tulsa, crossing the uninhabited desert, towards where the old maps said the ocean would be. You not only found the ocean, but a hidden town living all alone by its shores! When you approached its walls, some woman came out to talk to you. She claimed to be a “white AI”, like a demon but benevolent. You’d fought demons before, living entities inside Ancient machines, and she didn’t seem at all like one, so you took her word. She showed you a bit of her town, El Dorado, in secret, then hired you to go explore some nearby underground ruins. Down in those metal-walled ruins, you found countless sealed canisters of lighter-than-air gas. You brought those to this Rutledge woman/demon/whatever, took her payment (some fabulous solar-power generators that sit now in your collection at home), and drove back north. Finally, you have a political agenda. There are the famous Ruins of Annapolis, which are considered off-limits. You’d like to be able to bring a large team down there, with people of different skills to thoroughly explore the area. However, according to Eastern Union policy, no one is allowed to enter that area without a permit. You suppose you might be able to sneak in, but you’d like the legitimacy of permission to explore at your leisure, and it would be difficult to sneak a big team in. Additionally, you’d like to be able to take your finds back to the Plains. You believe the people to talk to in the Eastern Union government are the Minister of the Interior (for a permit), and the Minister of the Border (for permission to take artifacts out). On the other hand, it might be good to talk to the Minister of the Watch and see if he can help you out – you are a well-known destroyer of Black Science, so you could even explain your expedition in terms of making Annapolis a safer place. Additionally, if you find that you are just being stonewalled, you know that Walter Palmer, the ambassador from the Plains, is coming here to get concessions from the Eastern Union. Since you are a famous citizen, you may be able to convince him that one of the concessions he needs to get is permission for you to explore Annapolis.

Roleplaying Notes: You’re an intrepid adventurer and love the thrill of discovery; you’re brave, brash, capable and clever. You’re generally an ethical person, but wouldn’t hesitate to tell a tall tale if it suited your purposes. You’ve become very famous, but haven’t let it get to your head. You think that there are some things that Man Was Not Meant to Have and believe that these should be destroyed rather than used.

Goals: 1) Assemble and organize a trip to explore the ruins of Annapolis. 2) Convince members of the Society to sign a contract tithing 10% of their finds. 3) Find new blood for the Society. 4) Get the Society of Spelunkers together to share stories.

Opinions: Second Dawn: Going to space would be the greatest adventure of them all; a shame the ship is not taking passengers. Black Science: You know to be wary of the curse of black science. You’ve had companions possessed by demons, and sickened or killed by horrific decay diseases. Religion: You are a loose adherent of Natural Theology, the belief that all matter holds information. By digging up the lost artifacts, you are in a way giving them new life. Tinkers: Reclusive Eastern Union people; you hear they don’t like spelunkers, so you see no reason to like them. You hear they “own” all ruins in the Union. The Eastern Union: They have a few too many restrictions for your taste, you’d hate to live there. The Maple Kingdom: They have some of the best ancient sites of all, and guard them all jealously. You’ve never been up there and would like to go delving there some day. The Plains: Your home, full of your sort of people. El Dorado: Never thought you’d see those folks up here! Those zeppelins are a sure sign that they found a good use for that light gas. Their town looked like a quiet, idyllic place, though you didn’t get to meet any of its citizens.

Key Information: •Your ideal group to go to Annapolis would include: -At least one other person with delving experience like you -Someone who knows the nearby area (i.e., from the southern Union), -Someone with some skill at fighting (for protection on the road), -And a newbie, whom you can show the ropes and train up. •You would need two permits to explore Annapolis: one to be there, and one to export goods back home. You could make do with only the first, but you’d hate to leave treasures behind. •Anyone with a sense of adventure and a willingness to learn could make a good recruit to the Society of Spelunkers. To officially join, they have to swear to follow the three tenets. You could come up with some formal ceremony if you wanted. (Make sure to give any inductee’s nametag the “L” symbol.) •Some slightly-cursed pieces of Ancient jewelry were stolen from your collection a few months ago. It would take a wearer months or years to show ill effects. •You have fought AIs (demons) before; awake, seemingly-living minds in Ancient machines. They’re usually wild, clueless but dangerous, still trying to perform whatever tasks their Ancient masters set before them centuries ago. •Last year, you discovered El Dorado and did an exploration for their unusual “ruler,” Rutledge the White. She claimed to be a “white” AI, but you aren’t sure if that’s true or what it would mean if it were.

People (in approximate order of importance): Russ O’Malley (Santo S): A spelunker who lives in New Providence, currently working on the Second Dawn project. Jill Deasey (Kendra T): Another spelunker from New Providence, she’s a rich daughter of a local railroad baron or something. Ryan Healey (Matt M): A spelunker from the Southern Eastern Union; you’re not sure how he ended up all the way up here for the Second Dawn launch. Candace Glenn Hood (Marsha M): A spelunker from Appalachia, you know she makes her living selling her finds. Artair Tinker, Minister of Sciences (Jed S): Tinkers control all ruins in the Union, you’ll need his permission to explore Annapolis. Charles Bazett, Minister of the Borders (Paul E): Controls trade and import/export, can give you a permit to take goods out of Annapolis. Luther Gaines, Minister of the Watch (David R): May be positively inclined towards you because of your famous exploits, he may be useful in getting the support of those other Cabinet members. Walter Palmer, Ambassador from the Plains States (Ilya M): A very canny man who has the ear of the warlord of Minneapolis herself. General Olan Hyndman (Mackie C): An amazing military leader who has made Minneapolis and the Plains strong, he too has Wayne’s confidence. Edward Dockrill, ambassador’s assistant: A dull sort of man, content to stay in his little world doing his bureaucratic job. Still, there are some rumors about how he still a visiting diplomat’s lover a few years ago. Diedre Lamprey (Emily B), Peter Dogfish (Bryce K): These people were just added to the Plains delegation and have the look of pirates to you! How they got invited to this diplomatic event is a real mystery. They may be the right sort of people to be explorers, or they might just be brutes, you won’t know until you talk to them more. Rutledge the White (Michelle B): She’s the “White AI” who runs El Dorado. She’s very different from the demons/AIs you’ve met before; maybe that’s because she’s “white”, perhaps? Regardless, sure is dangerous for her to come up here, some people might not stop to see what kind of AI she is.

Ratings: Pilot: 1 R: 1 D: 1 G: 2

Nametag Symbols: P, H, L

Attributes: Physical: Defense 4 Pool Rating 4 [] [] [] [] Mental: Defense 2 Pool Rating 3 [] [] [] Social: Defense 3 Pool Rating 3 [] [] []

Recoveries: -Get 4 or more spelunkers (potentially but not necessarily including yourself) together (+3 points, twice ever) -Tell a story about one of your adventures (+1 point, 3/hour, only once per listener) -Hear someone express awe or admiration for you (+1 point, 3/hour, once per person)

Abilities: Fisticuffs, attack, survivor (x1), charm, penetrating insight, disarm, monitor, sneak, diversion, disarm, black ways, citizens of the plains, society of spelunkers, oratory, pokerface/tall tales, monitor readings

Items: Whip, Pistol, Decay monitor, molded plastic piece, piece of jewelry, gyroscope, slippery yellow powder, glassy bundle, exotic gadget

Black Ways System: Any item with the “B” quality seems suspicious, potentially using black science. Only an extensive study of its workings or uses could verify this with complete certainty, so you will have to use your personal judgment tonight.

Citizens of the Plains System: You can identify any character with the “P” symbol as being from the Plains States.

Society of Spelunkers System: Any character with the “L” symbol is a member of the Society of Spelunkers.

Monitor Readings System: This is the key for interpreting the readings of your Monitor ability. Your decay monitor picks up the amount of harmful emanations (from the black science path of decay) from a person or object. 0 = no decay 1 = minor decay 2 = significant decay 3 = severe decay 4+ = life-threatening