Second Dawn:Jefferson Lee Wharton
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This is a reference document for the LARP The Second Dawn.
Jefferson Lee Wharton Player: Albert L Appalachian Ambassador Age: 40
Background: Being an “ambassador” isn’t an especially respected position in Appalachia, but you didn’t get into this for the recognition. You were just a regular guy with a way with words who wondered what lay beyond the mountains. Well, you’ve seen it, and for all its glitter, it isn’t pretty. In the Eastern Union, they have cities larger than any you’d imagined. But the rich live off the poor - beautiful houses in one part, slums in another. Where you’re from, nobody’s rich, but everybody gets by. Possibly even worse, they have all sorts of laws, taking away peoples’ rights. The Watch agents can come into your home at any time, and take anything they consider contraband. Also, all citizens are forced to pay money to the people in charge, and these taxes are given to the richest citizens. Their “civilized” way of life is a shame. The Plains people aren’t really any more to your liking. True, they don’t have any airs about being better than everyone else, and they don’t have a lot of nonsensical laws. But they are crude and warlike and haven’t learned a thing from the past. They barely care about Black Science, the very things that caused the ancients to fall. They could do with a bit more fear of things that should not be delved into. You’re in an unenviable position right now. The Plains has of late been organizing under a new leader, and they look to be mobilizing for war. They like to fight, and if they aren’t fighting each other, they’ll find someone else to fight. The fact that they’ve even been invited here tonight means the Union is afraid. The Eastern Union, on the other hand, has a strong standing military of its own; their President has poured so many resources into this Second Dawn, but once it launches, you don’t know what comes next. You can guess, though: a war between the Plains and the Union, with your people caught in the middle. You’ve lived by one motto all your life, the words of a true Appalachian man: “Live Free or Die.” When you were young, your friends used to sit outside drinking, trading stories of what you’d do to defend your freedom. Back then, it was all bravado, but now it’s dead serious. You’re old enough to see that things are changing, and if you don’t act, you, your kin, and the land you’ve lived on for generations is going to be taken from you. You’re here to make sure that doesn’t happen, no matter what it takes. You do have one secret weapon which may be able to help. Your cousin, Candace Glenn Hood, is a junk woman. She goes to places with old stuff, digs it up, and resells it. A few months ago, she came across something priceless and terrifying. In a bunker which had been undisturbed since the days of the ancients, he found a demon of black science, an artificial inteligence. You were nervous about doing anything with it – AIs are ancient technology better left forgotten. But any edge you could get in these troubling times is necessary. So you agreed to get it working. With your government contacts, you were able to get a human volunteer who would get possessesd- excuse me, take the AI’s consciousness. Since no one in the Appalachian confederacy knew how to work with tech like this, Candace found a Tinker kid to help you out. He did the downloading of the AI into a man named Rawle James Kershwin, and he also reprogrammed it for you. The AI-Kershin hybrid is now fully loyal to you and your country. He will obey any order you give. You don’t know the full range of his capabilities, but like all demons, he is smarter and faster than any human. You expect he’d be an expert assassination tool, if things end up going that way. The one unfortunate thing about this whole affair is about that Tinker kid, Odhran. The fellows who brought you Rawle pointed out that he’d need to be neutralized, and you saw their point. Your secret AI weapon wasn’t going to be real secret if some Tinker blabbed to his whole family in the Eastern Union about it. You just couldn’t bring yourself to do anything to her though. He was just a kid, barely 20, and he’d been so helpful. So you asked Candace to get rid of him for you. Your cousin never had much of a sense of morality. You sent Kershwin into the Union, to work on the Second Dawn and gather intel for you. You plan to question him tonight, see if he’s found out anything about the political situation that you can use to your advantage. One thing you’ve been thinking is that there might be some political advantage in delaying – or just threatening to delay – the ship launch. If Rawle and a couple of other workers would be able to stop the Second Dawn from launching, you could use it as a bargaining chip with the EU. Your biggest advantage tonight is your secret AI weapon. However, you’d rather not have to use him to overtly fight in a war; after all, he’s not an army. If it looks inevitable that the Plains or EU will try to occupy the Appalachian territory, you might want to let on that you have something that would make it very difficult for them. Alternately, since you have a real one-of-a-kind thing, and all politicians are greedy, you may be able to trade your AI to another country for a guaranteed border. It’s risky though, of course – you never want to give weapons to your enemy. The best solution of all would be if the Maple Kingdom were to overtly ally with you and threaten to go to war with anyone who violated your borders. Also, you have a more personal score to settle tonight. You used to be involved with an odd but wonderful woman. She was creative and quirky, and had a strong free spirit. Three years ago, you were invited to Minneapolis, to talk with the Plains government. Haley Jean Cole asked if she could come with you. She’d never traveled that far before (nor had you), and it seemed like it would be a great vacation and a business trip all in one. Things went well between you and the Cordelia Wayne, the warlord of Minneapolis. You think her main purpose had just been to feel you out, see if the Appalachian Confederacy was going to be a threat or an ally. At the time, you were so impressed by her you considered trying to get your people involved in the Plains States war that was raging at the time. And then you met Edward Dockrill. He seemed a mild mannered type. Quiet, interested in pushing papers, that sort. But you underestimated him. He seduced Cole while you were talking about matters of state and convinced her to leave you! You got out of Minneapolis in a hurry, never solidifying any plans with Wayne. But you haven’t forgotten, or forgiven. Edward Dockrill is here tonight, and you plan to give him a peice of your mind. More than that - you plan to get Cole back from him!
Roleplaying Notes: You’re the plucky underdog in the political sphere. You’ve made it this far because you’re sharp and determined. You love your land and home and would make great sacrifices to keep it independent. You can be very convincing in a plainspoken/earnest way. The wonders of the Union do still impress you, but they don’t take you off balance; you’re both a provincial hick and a very clever person. In fact, you prefer to play up your naiveté to trick people into thinking you’re dumb.
Goals: 1) Keep the Appalachian Confederacy free and independent. 2) Confront that backstabbing Dockrill, and get your girl Cole back. 3) Make trading deals with the Union, Plains, and Maple Kingdoms, preferably for arms. 4) Find out your AI weapon’s exact capabilites and use him to good effect.
Opinions: Second Dawn: A waste of time, but you’re glad it’s kept the EU off your back. It’d be great if they started making a Third Dawn and a Fourth Dawn and kept building spaceships instead of trying to expand. The Eastern Union: You’re wary of ‘civilized’ ways, but you can’t stand the backstabbing violent Plains folk. At least you know where you stand with an EU man. The Plains States: A bunch of backstabbing louts, their giant military is really a problem for the Appalachian Confederacy. Be careful not to offend their leader – there is no way your people could prevent an invasion if they decided to go that route, although you’d make sure they regretted it. The Maple Kimgdon: Your best hope for a stable alliance. These people hate black science just like your folks do. The Tinkers: A bunch of reclusive technophiles, you’ve never had much to do with them. You still feel guilty about Odhran, though. Black Science You were raised right, so you know to be suspicious of it. However, desperate times call for desperate measures - you’re glad you have an AI weapon, even if it does make you nervous. The Watch: You generally approve of the idea of destroying black science, but these people go too far, taking away people’s rights. You’d do well to stay away from them.
Key Information: •Appalachia stands between the Plains and Union over a long stretch of border; if a Plains army could cross it, it would allow them to open a second front. Similarly, the Union will want that front secured. Try to prevent war, or at least get what concessions you can. You have few things with which to bargain, since an alliance could threaten your sovereignty. You can certainly threaten guerilla warfare against any army that tried to move through; in fact, you probably couldn’t prevent it. •The Maple Kingdom would be your best ally, since they’re far away, but may be the hardest to win over. If you had to choose between the Plains and the Union, you’d probably take the Union, but you could be convinced. •Rawle James Kershwin, the AI, is programmed to obey your direct commands. •Appalchia’s main export is moonshine; its main imports are manufactured goods (from the Union) and grain (from the Plains). Appalachia can feed itself, but buying grain allows more moonshine to be made. •The President runs the Union, but his Ministers have a lot of power, so it’s good to negotiate with them to. Presidents come and go, after all. •The Premier of Congress is in the party opposing President Grant. If you can’t make headway with one group, you can try the other.
People you know: Candace Glenn Hood (Marsha M): Your cousin. A bit slow, and definitely lacking in a strong sense of right and wrong, but you grew up together, and you stick by your blood. Normally she wouldn’t get to go on a diplomatic mission such as this, but since she found the AI you thought it only right that she come. Rawle James Kershwin (Sean C): Formerly a blacksmith in the Appalachian town of Clarksburg, now an AI weapon, under cover as a construction worker on the Second Dawn. You can’t trust him entirely though, he is black science. Haley Jean Cole (Xephyr Z): She was your woman three years ago, and you sure did like her smart and free-spirited ways. You haven’t seen her since she ran off with Dockrill during your visit to Minneapolis. Edward Dockrill (Dan S): There’s the sneaky bastard that stole your girl. Charles Bazett, Minister of the Border (Paul E): He’s in charge of borders so a good place to start negotiating. Stay off our lawn and we’ll keep the Plains off yours. He also is in charge of the moonshine imports. You’d like looser healthcode restrictions on them, and higher tariffs. Walter Palmer, Plains States Ambassador (Ilya M): You’ve never met him before. You’d like him to guarantee your border; don’t go through us to get to the Union, and we’ll keep them from getting to you. Also, you can discuss grain imports – the Plains is a bigger importer of moonshine than the Union, and you need grain to make it. Kara Atkinson, Minister of the Army (Hillary K): You can play up this buffer zone thing to her – as the buffer between the EU and the Plains, if you gave us some weapons, we could protect you from them that are militarizing to the west and all. Conrad Gaudet, Maple Kingdom Ambassador (David C). He’s new. You know that he hates and fears black science, and that he’s a Gaian - so he’s probably not a fan of the ship launch either. Hopefully you can use this somehow to your advantage in gaining an alliance with him against both the EU and the Plains. Better not let him find out about Kershwin!
Ratings: Pilot: 0 R: 0 D: 4 G: 1
Nametag Symbols: A, I, R
Attributes: Physical: Defense 3 Pool Rating 3 [] [] [] Mental: Defense 4 Pool Rating 4 [] [] [] [] Social: Defense 3 Pool Rating 3 [] [] []
Recoveries: -React in an awed, excited or ignorant fashion to some new aspect of this party or city life, whether exaggerated or true (+1 point, 3/hour) -Do something plucky or underdog-like (+2 points, 1/hour) -Privately drop your pretense of excessive ignorance (+2 points, 1/hour)
Abilities: Penetrating Insight, convince, fisticuffs, attack, suspect, harmless mountain folk, charm, very important person
Items: Knife, Pistol, molded plastic piece, slippery yellow powder
