Second Dawn: Donald Baxter

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

Donald Baxter Player: Jerry S Immortal merchant Age: 361/30s

Additional information (read first): Ageless, Cataclysm, Black Science, Sickness

Background: You were born in 2064, thirty-four years before the Cataclysm. Before the last few years, your life back then was ordinary enough; you worked as a wholesale manager for a chain of retail stores, a buyer and seller and trader behind the public’s eye. You were good at the job, and you liked it. Your wife Charlotte was an engineer, and the two of you had a good, stable, loving relationship; in 2096, she gave birth to your child Daniel. Your future looked glorious and joyful- until Daniel suddenly took sick and died, less than six months old. Your relationship with Catherine turned into a thing of sadness and regret, too mixed in with the pain of young Daniel’s death; you took solace in your work while the two of you fought and drifted apart. You wanted to keep life going, to keep working and have a new child; she, believing that Daniel’s death was caused by pollution, wanted to join the revolutionary Green organizations seeking to tear down the industrial-technological industries of the age. In autumn of 2097, she moved out. She was going to stay with family down in Texas for a few months or a year, until she felt able to see you again- but before she could return, the Cataclysm struck. You were out visiting your own parents in rural eastern Connecticut when the bombs fell, and their farm made it possible to survive those first few years. But as your parents grew ever older, you never did; and when they passed away, you made your way back towards the grounds of old Providence, and the new city being built higher up over the drowned old one. Only there did you first meet other “Ageless,” the half-dozen in the New Providence area who kept showing up decade after decade, looking the same, just like you did. As the generations passed and the Eastern Union began to form, you found your calling- your old calling, once again. You knew how and where to move, who to find and what to tell them, to best and most cheaply move goods from one place to another. A trader, a seller and buyer; this is what you’ve always done, and where you feel most comfortable. It keeps you in a good little life, too, because you’ve found the perfect thing to trade: high tech equipment. In the old sense, that is; the stuff made in the “Ancient” days, smuggled out of Quebec (excuse me, the Maple Kingdom) and ancient ruins, not the simple junk they make nowadays. Sure, the Tinkers say they can still make it all, but the trickle they release isn’t nearly enough to satisfy the peoples’ desires for wonder and convenience. You’ve been in this business in one form or another for a hundred and fifty years now, since before the founding of the Eastern Union. Quite incidentally, in the process you became a major player in the region’s black market. You know everyone, though only a few know you; some people know your “mentor,” the identity you played in the last generation; or some people have never heard of you as more than a shadowy figure who can get you in touch with exactly what you need. For all this nefarious mystique, you’ve never thought of yourself as a criminal. You do try not to involve yourself in truly malign things, murders and robberies and protection rackets; all you do is buy and sell things that should be perfectly legal. (Interestingly, with the lack of global transportation, drugs other than alcohol and marijuana have vanished.) You also manage a good deal of debt, working a sort of banker to the underworld, and occasionally to the other Ageless. This party tonight should be a fine time and a fine opportunity, since your biggest suppliers and clients will both be here. Your wares come from two sources: first, from a group of folks calling themselves “spelunkers,” adventurers who ransack Ancient ruins for fun and/or profit. They have to work through the black market, since in the Union, all such ruins are legally Tinker possessions. Some of them destroy their black science finds, but some sell them to black marketers like yourself. A few you know will be here, but more have come to see the ship launch, and this could be a good chance to make a few more contacts. The second source is from the ruins and archives of the Maple Kingdom. Your biggest single supplier is Jean Achard, a businessman from Montréal with extensive government contacts. He gets his hands on a lot of the things the Maple government tries to put into storage and forget about, bringing them down to you. On the sales end, your biggest purchasers are other Ageless, those who wish to recover things they remember from centuries past. But there are many, many people who are looking for an item here or there, people who need (or don’t yet realize they need) some convenience the Ancients took for granted. Two wrenches have been thrown into your business plans for the evening, though. First, just today you were looking through a block of debts you’d recently purchased, and you found something infuriating. It turns out it includes some debts you explicitly forbade: those of violent criminals. Not many, but a few, including one professional assassin! You’ll deal with the source later, but for now you’ve got to get her off of your books while maintaining your reputation as a businessman who neither asks for nor cuts any slack. Second… second. Oh dear god in heaven. Those strange foreigners in white, who arrived yesterday on their zeppelin? Their leader? That’s Charlotte.

Roleplaying notes: You have been a buyer and seller for hundreds of years, and sometimes it’s all you are anymore. You’re very good at it; you enjoy the challenge, you like it, you even really do believe that people legitimately should have the things in which you trade. You keep your moral standards, even far down below the law. But immortality has, above all else, made you more and more like the person you were at the end of the old age: a trader, focused on his work, ordinary but somewhat embittered.

Goals: 1) Continue your trade of bringing Ancient technology to those who need it. 2) Have some sort of confrontation and/or resolution with Charlotte. 3) Collect your debts. 4) Expand your trade contacts, especially among the spelunkers.

Opinions: Second Dawn: It reminds you of the old days, but in ways both good and bad. Remember when governments spent vast money on quasi-military scientific programs while social programs went underfunded? Here it is again. Black Science: Perfectly useful conveniences; you remember when even nuclear fission had its uses. Mankind would’ve brought that war down on itself eventually one way or another, don’t blame the technology. Tinkers: Possessive wannabes. After safeguarding all the old secrets and technologies through the dark ages, they should have given it all back to the people instead of holding on to it for their personal power. The Watch: Institutionalized paranoia and fear, helping people remain afraid of what they need. While the New Providence government turns a blind eye to you, these federal folks won’t give you that courtesy, so be careful. Religion: You were a Catholic born, and you suppose you still are, though you’ve never been very religious.

Key Information: •Legally speaking, you run the company “Baxter Imports,” and are Donald Baxter IV. You use Donald Baxter whenever possible, because it was your original/real name. •Your wife Charlotte left you in 2097, less than a year before the Cataclysm, in the bitter aftermath of your child Daniel’s death. She went to go live with her parents in Texas, and you’d presumed her dead until this very night. •You recently purchased a batch of debts. Unfortunately, some of those debts from a loan shark named Alfonso Goff are involving you in businesses you normally try to avoid, like the assassin Elizabeth Rowell. Her debt is worth approximately 4 valuable items. •Another newly-purchased debt it forcing you into politics; purchased from a Patrick Buckland, you now own gambling debts from Luther Gaines, Minister of the Watch. He owes approximately 5 valuable items. •A few weeks ago, you last batch of goods included some unusual Ancient jewelry, all inlaid with wires. You sold them to Franklin Kennedy, Kathleen Penland, Ed Archibald, and Rosetta Jones.

People (in approximate order of importance): Charlotte Rutledge “the White” (Michelle B): My god, it’s her. It’s your wife, whom you’ve thought dead these three hundred years, going by her maiden name once again. You’re torn; you want to find out what she’s done, where she’s been. But the sight of her opens old wounds, old arguments; the compulsion to yell at her far outweighs the need to embrace her. Jean Achard (Isaac H): A Maple Kingdom businessman who keeps you well-supplied. He claims he’s been feeling pressure from the government lately, so you may have to work to get his goods tonight. You have to get them, though; you’ve already spread word about the items he told you he’d bring. Elizabeth Rowell (Isabel K): A construction worker, and apparently a new professional assassin. Turns out her debts were snuck into the pile you bought lately. You need to get this business done and over with fast; you don’t deal with killers, though neither can you turn in someone with whom you have (or have had) a business relationship. She won’t know your name, but she will know Alfonso Goff. Luther Gaines, Minister of the Watch (Kyle R): As the head of the black-science-hunting Watch, you’d normally stay away from him. But you’ve ended up with some of his debts, and they’re big ones. Your best leverage against him is probably a threat to reveal his debts to the newspapers; gambling (especially losing) is widely disapproved of, and illegal in many places. He won’t know your name, but he will know Patrick Buckland. Kathleen Penland (Katie G): Another local Ageless, she’s been in and out of the city for as long as you have. She was a good friend of yours for generations, and a few decades ago you became lovers, but she broke it off suddenly after a few brief years. She never explained why, but she’s never stopped being a good friend, so you’ve mostly gotten over the lingering suspicion. Russ O’Malley (Santo S): This construction worker is a ruin-delver, he’s sold some things through you before, and may have more merchandise today. Jules Dyer (Thomas L): Obviously an Agent of the Watch, and not a local one; keep away from him, he’ll certainly want to ruin your business. You might be able to use your leverage on Gaines to stop him, but it’d be risky. Jill Deasey (Kendra T): The daughter of the owners of a successful railway-parts factory, you’ve met once or twice at social functions, though you didn’t pay much attention to her at the time. Since then, you heard that she too was a ruin-delver; you can’t imagine why she’s never sold you any of her finds. Rosetta Jones (Suzanne G): A local socialite who arrived from Maine 6 years ago; apparently, her parents mine the ruins of Bangor outside of Union territory. You’ve never gotten her to open up about that, but maybe she could be a source of new goods. She’s bought a thing or two from you over the years, and was at Patricia’s funeral. Niallghas Tinker/Niles Maddox (Aaron B): An Ageless from New Providence, he’s been in and out a lot later pretending to be a Tinker for some convoluted reason or another. He’s your biggest single purchaser, he’ll surely want some of your goods. Charles Bazett/Christopher Knapp (Paul E): He used to be an Ageless around here, but you haven’t seen him in almost 70 years. Looks like he’s gotten himself into the post of a big-shot Minister. He too probably has some sort of big, Byzantine scheme brewing. Edward Archibald (?): Another local Ageless, you two get along pretty well. He spends his time relishing life’s simple physical pleasures; it’s a bit unfocused for you, but he’s good company and an occasional buyer. William Cone (Richard S): An Ageless who arrived in New Providence around the founding of the Eastern Union. He started as a rough wanderer, but for most of the past few generations, he’s been happy just doing physical labor. Weird. Franklin Kennedy, Chief of Staff (Matt W): A New Providence native, he’s bought a few things from you as exotic gifts for his wife Patricia over the 5 years they’d been together. You didn’t know him well, so you didn’t talk at the funeral. Isaiah Whittaker (Joey B): He heads some unusual religion; supposedly they have great rituals, reminds you of the Catholic old days. Still, you can’t imagine breaking from your routines and beliefs at this age to go pursuing some new religion.

Ratings: Pilot: 0 R: 1 D: 2 G: 3

Nametag Symbols: E, O, R*

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

Recoveries: -Have an emotionally intense exchange with Charlotte (+3 points, 1/hour) -Meet someone’s business or mercantile needs (+1 point, 3/hour) -Remain focused on your work despite surprises and diversions (+1 point, 1/hour)

Abilities: Penetrating Insight, Charm, Attack, What do you Want?, Survivor (x1), Evasive (x1), Convince, black ways, personal security, professional confidentiality, virtual sales, events

Items: Briefcase full of coins, pouch of coins (x2), pistol

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.

Virtual Sales System: Recognize an item with the “V” quality as virtual reality gear. Many Ageless would probably like to get their hands on it, so you might not want to just sell it to the first person who asks.

Events System: See a GM after you purchase the merchandise from Achard, before you sell any of the items.

Character Addition: An Old Friend

When you returned to the grounds of old Providence, the first Ageless you met was a young woman named Victoria Tillman (Sarah H). She had apparently lived among the Greens before the Cataclysm, but as part of a natural everyday life away from the cities, not the violent rebels that Charlotte had spoken about joining. She was angry at what “her people” had done to the old civilization, and frustrated by all the chaos and looting and savagery that had taken its place. She was convinced that Europe, not being aligned with any of the old world’s three great powers, might still hold a real civilization. You and her old traveling companion Edward Archibald (unplayed) helped her get and rebuild a boat that would take her across the Atlantic, and you haven’t seen her since. When you first lay eyes on the stowaway, though, you’ll recognize that face in an instant. It’s Victoria again, after nearly 300 years. She looks terrible, and there’s no way she was on the invite list, the poor thing! It’s been a long time, but you don’t forget a friend.