Stargate 1895 - OOC Thread

[Jibjib]

Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the convivial confoundment of.... Stargate 1895

Introduction:

► Show Spoiler

In November of 1893 the renowned Egyptologist Lord Conway made an amazing discovery in the Qattara Depression. It was in a previously unsurveyed temple complex, buried beneath the floor of what appeared to be a great tomb. In his journal he described the artefact as ÔÇÿa giant quoit of an unknown metal, some 8 yards across. Accompanying it were a number of other artefacts also of great antiquity.ÔÇÖ

Lord Conway arranged for the artefacts to be taken secretly to his estate in Yorkshire via Tobruk, to avoid the attentions of the antiquarian community, until he could decipher their purpose. He quickly came to the conclusion that it pre-dated any previously known Egyptian finds and that it was a machine of some description. In
order to further his research he engaged the brilliant young Scottish engineer John Macfarlane.

Over the next year Macfarlane laboured day and night until he worked out how to power the quoit up. Conway meanwhile, with the help of his daughter Felicity, had set about deciphering the many inscriptions upon the quoit and ancillary equipment. From here on in the story is somewhat confusing and is based on the somewhat unreliable
evidence of a surviving footman, one Joseph Higgins, and MacfarlaneÔÇÖs hurried notes. Late in the evening of 19th December 1894 Macfarlane powered up the gate and Lord Conway pressed several of the panels on the circular control device. A ÔÇÿpoolÔÇÖ appeared vertically in the quoit and after a few seconds the generators overloaded and the quoit went dark.

The following evening, after Macfarlane had repaired the generators, Lord Conway prepared to make a second attempt. Before he was able to press any panels the quoit lit up on its own and after that there was chaos. Apparently a number of large men in ancient armour, with the heads of Serpents, came through the quoit. They blew a hole clean through Macfarlane and took Lord Conway, Felicity and several of the staff captive, departing to whence they came. Baffled the police alerted the Government who in turn handed the situation to a Special Under Secretary at the Foreign Office, one Mycroft Holmes. He has seized control of the estate and has summoned a number of eminent scientists and others to his aid.

You have each been recruited by the new Office of Exploratory Studies to investigate the world beyond the quoit, and rescue Lord Conway and Felicity.

It is March 21st, 1895.

The rules are linked to here: https://deadsimplerpg.files.wordpress.c ... fi-rpg.pdf

and also in my signature

Could each of you read through the rules if you haven't before and write a brief character 'sheet' and maybe a paragraph of background about your character?

For example:

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Jib 'Jibjib' Jibbington

Background: Soldier
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 3
Intelligence: 2 (+1)
Spirit: 2

Social Class: Middle (+1 INT)

Agility: 5
Craft: 5
Fighting: 9
Education: 5
Perception: 6
Persuasion: 4
Shooting: 7
Speed: 5
Stealth: 4
Toughness: 6

Equipment: Sabre and Scabbard, Webley Service Revolver, Buffcoat

Jib, a 2nd Lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers, was recruited by Holmes from his unit on the recommendation of his commanding officer. A dedicated and loyal soldier, he has been decorated twice for bravery in the course of duty and sustained an injury to the leg in the First Boer War that to this point has seen him relegated to the position of instructor to new recruits. Although not a religious man, Jib has been assessed by the OES as of the sound mental fortitude required to visit the New World.

As far as equipment goes, I've made some slight changes to the original rules that I THINK will work, we'll see You can take 3 points worth of equipment per person.

Equipment:

.

[ChuckDaRighteous]

Character:

Name: Thomas Stone
Class: middle (+1 int)
background: criminal
Str: 2
Dex: 4
Int: 2 (+1 middle class)
Spt: 2

Trained: stealth, perception
familiar: speed, education, agility

Background: Thomas was a spy in the scientific community. He would infiltrate labs and steal scientists secrets and sell them to their competitors for a fee. Rarely would he steal actual physical items. Instead he would diagram the items and copy any notes, so no one would ever know he was there. His education afforded him the ability to understand these devices in the brief moments he had to study them. He rarely did it for the money, but instead simply the thrill of it. Unfortunately one day he tried to steal a security device from a government facility. He had the bad luck of trying to steal it when it was being tested and set it off. But luckily his potential was seen and he was sent to the stargate program instead of prison.

Equipment: (it all seems to be combat instruments and no utility items, asking for a little leeway for RP), dagger (1pt melee instrument), fancy leather-bound notebook/writing implements (1pt?), buffcoat (1pt armor)

[Jibjib]

Good point re: equipment, all the equipment in the original rules were weapons so I'll add a few things in as I think of them Also if you guys have any suggestions, either for items or balancing, please do yell them out

[Jibjib]

Opinions on adding these to the equipment list?

.

[ChuckDaRighteous]

Cool in that case I will take shoes instead of armor, and spectacles instead of a knife. Might not be wise not to have a weapon. We'll just say being a criminal, they don't quite trust me with a weapon yet. Hopefully I don't run into an army of Jaffa on our first outing. Speaking of which, are we going to be facing traditional SG-1 enemies? Goa'uld, replicators, etc, or perhaps something different?

[Nolandking]

Name: Corrado de Benivollis
Social Class: Gentry (+1 SPT)
Background: Clergy
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
Intelligence: 3
Spirit: 3 (+1 Gentry class)

Trained Skills: Persuasion, Education
Familiar Skills: Perception,Craft,Speed

Agility: 4 (-1 Untrained)
Craft: 5 + (+0 Familiar)
Fighting: 5 (+2 Clergy bonus)
Education: 6 (+2 Clergy bonus, +4 Ethnolinguistics Study) + (+1 Trained) + (+1 Spectacles)
Perception: 7 + (+0 Familiar) + (+1 Spectacles)
Persuasion: 8 (+2 Clergy bonus) + (+1 Trained)
Shooting: 5 (-1 Untrained)
Speed: 4 + (+0 Familiar)
Stealth: 6 (-1 Untrained)
Toughness: 6 (-1 Untrained)

Background: Corrado born an orphan in the city of Rome in 1866 and raised by a Vatican priest. At the age 15 Corrado under go training in becoming a priest of the Vatican church. He study many fields of both religion and culture with his focus study being Ethnolinguistics which is the study o the relationship between language and culture, and the way different ethnic groups perceive the world. Corrado was studious in this field since study other peoples cultures, beliefs, and languages was fascinating to him. Corrado gain much renown for being one of the youngest graduates to make it to priesthood at the age of 21. After spending more years in Rome studying Corrado was recruited by Holmes because of his renown intelligent and dedication to his field.

Equipment: Spectacles, Pistol, Opium Lozenge

[WearsHats]

I'll have to review the rules tonight. If I can get some sleep. Meantime, I'm just posting to remind myself to come back. So far, all I've got is a name. What do people think of my being Jack Danielson? (I think that would make me a borderline alcoholic archeologist trained in karate...)

[Jibjib]

Chuck, all I'm going to say for now is that it is the same universe as SG-1, but an alternate reality... I promise that'll make sense almost immediately

Nolandking, I think I'm going to rule that each character should have at least one weapon, trust me you're going to need them If it's better coming from in-game:

Mycroft: "Sorry Padre, I can't allow you into the field unarmed. After seeing what happened to poor Macfarlane the brass aren't taking any chances with our Explorers."

And Wears, awesome

[Synch]

I'm thinking I want to be a hunter; I was leaning toward a French-Canadian or Iroquois scout/tracker, but then they typically wouldn't use big firearms, so maybe I should go with the typical English pompous big game hunter?

[ChuckDaRighteous]

Chuck, all I'm going to say for now is that it is the same universe as SG-1, but an alternate reality... I promise that'll make sense almost immediately

Apparently a number of large men in ancient armour, with the heads of Eagles, came through the quoit.

Somehow missed the reference to horus guards the first time. Wahoo we got Jaffa.

[spiderwrangler]

Name: Professor J. Edmund Wellford
Social Class: Middle (+1 INT)
Background: Scientist
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 3
Intelligence: 4 (+1 Social class) = 5
Spirit: 1

Agility: 3 DEX * 2 = 6 + 0 Familiar = 6
Craft: 3 DEX + 5 INT = 8 + 1 Trained = 9 (+ 2 [Invention])
Fighting: 2 STR + 5 INT = 7 - 1 Untrained = 6
Education: 5 INT * 2 = 10 + 1 Trained + 2 Scientist + 1 Spectacles = 14 (+ 4 [Biology])
Perception: 5 INT + 1 SPT = 6 + 0 Familiar + 1 Spectacles = 7
Persuasion: 1 SPT * 2 = 2 - 1 Untrained = 1
Shooting: 3 DEX + 5 INT = 8 + 0 Familiar = 8
Speed: 2 STR + 3 DEX = 5 - 1 Untrained = 4
Stealth: 3 DEX + 1 SPT = 4 - 1 Untrained = 3
Toughness: 2 STR + 1 SPT = 3 -1 Untrained = 2


Background: Young Edmund's parents were the proprietors of a Wellford Books, who instilled in him a love of learning and reading from a young age. He finished 'Origin of Species' at the age of eight, and bombarded his parents with questions far beyond their understanding. This persisted so much that within the month, his exasperated father was moved to prevail upon the renowned naturalist to meet with his son. Fortunately, Darwin's residence was not to far distant from the bookshop, and the scientist graciously agreed to meet his young fan. At that point Edmund's life took a new direction, as the elderly man was impressed with Edmund's intellect and thirst for knowledge. He became somewhat of an unofficial apprentice, helping out where needed, whether it be in the preservation or obtaining of specimens, to reviewing and preparing manuscripts. They would have long conversations on the myriad forms of life and its diversity, and in time Edmund came to call his friend and mentor 'Uncle Chuck'.

Uncle Chuck's health declined, and he eventually passed the year Edmund turned fifteen. Devastated and adrift intellectually, Edmund was able to find no solace even in the books that had always comforted him. He was broken from his despondence when he received a letter from Cambridge University regarding his admission there. Uncle Chuck had written to the school, praising his potential, and had left sufficient funding behind for Edmund's education and to finance his eventual research. Edmund blazed through his education before departing on an expedition to study and catalog the diversity of organisms of Africa and Asia. While his focus was on the biological world around him, like many scientists he grew adept at devising the necessary tools and apparatuses he needed for his studies, as well as being able to fix things when they broke during his travels.

Twelve years after his mentor's death, Edmund's research funding left to him by Uncle Chuck began to get tight. He was faced with a bit of a dilemma, as he felt on the cusp of a big breakthrough, but didn't have the monies necessary to continue. He was forced to take a break from his research and take a job teaching at University, living as spartan a lifestyle as possible to save as much of his earnings as he could to continue his research. After the first year, he calculated that at this rate, if he taught for two more years, he would have saved up enough to continue his research for another six months...

He could try finding a better job at a different university, or apply for outside funding, or...

It was at this point that he received a letter from the British Government, offering him a position on an expedition of undefined duration or location, but the compensation described would suffice to extend his research by another three years. It was an easy choice to make, take part in this expedition, make it home and he'd be set. Three more years should allow him to publish his findings, and then he'd be able to secure a better position and funding. He resigned his position at the University and packed his belongings.

Equipment: Spectacles (+1 Education, +1 Perception), Krag-Jorgensen rifle (57 rounds, +2 to damage when firing, +1 to damage as melee (stock))


Leaving other equipment blank for now, since it sounded like you might be adding others to the list? As is, I'd likely take the rifle, but bayonet doesn't fit him necessarily. If these are our own items, he would be more likely to have something more along the lines of a smaller caliber rifle fitted for taking down specimens at varying ranges without destroying their scientific value. If these are government supplied weapons, he'd choose the rifle as the most familiar.

[Synch]

William Woodward

Attributes
Background: Hunter
Social Class: Gentry
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 3
Intellect: 2
Spirit: 3 (+1)


Skills (Adjusted)
Agility: 5
Craft: 5
Fighting: 3
Education: 7
Perception: 8
Persuasion: 7
Shooting: 9
Speed: 4
Stealth: 6
Toughness: 6

Trained: Shooting, Education (Fieldcraft)
Familiar: Toughness, Perception, Craft

Equipment
Lee-Enfield .303 Rifle, Bayonet and 60 rounds, Kukri (melee weapon)

Background
Born into a wealthy British family in the Kumaon region of India, William Woodward was the son of the region's governor. However he showed an immediate disdain for education and politics, preferring to spend his time instead as a truant learning bushcraft and tracking from local Indian hunters and woodsmen, as well as various tribal skills such as herbalism and the crafting of snares, traps and pits. Upon finishing his time at school, his father made him enlist in the British Indian Army, where his social standing, gallantry, and pragmatism soon saw him rise to become the youngest Captain in the BIA, and in charge of a battalion in the 5th Gurkha rifles. It was with the Gurkha that he developed a natural aptitude for riflery and scouting, and was rumored to have been the best shot in the entire regiment. He saw action in the Second Anglo-Afghan war, and following its successful conclusion he embarked on a career leading big game hunting expeditions in the jungles and mountains of India and Nepal for the British elite. His renown as a hunter was such that he was regularly sought out to take down man-eating tigers and leopards, as well as rogue bull elephants, and developed a reputation as the best big game hunter in the Indian subcontinent. It is for this reason that Woodward drew the attention of Mycroft Holmes.

[Synch]

► Show Spoiler

Apparently a number of large men in ancient armour, with the heads of Eagles, came through the quoit.

Somehow missed the reference to horus guards the first time. Wahoo we got Jaffa.

If you read Jibjib's introduction in his first post, they have heads of serpents, not eagles. So I think we're dealing with Apophis, not Ra

[ChuckDaRighteous]

Apparently a number of large men in ancient armour, with the heads of Eagles, came through the quoit.

Somehow missed the reference to horus guards the first time. Wahoo we got Jaffa.

If you read Jibjib's introduction in his first post, they have heads of serpents, not eagles. So I think we're dealing with Apophis, not Ra

hmmm... the intro in the original post differs from the intro in the rules link. Its one of the two. Unless we end up with the helmets of jackel or necropolis guards in another post. At least we know its jaffa.

Got around to tallying the skill totals: so my full character sheet is:

► Show Spoiler

Name: Thomas Stone
Class: middle (+1 int)
background: criminal
Str: 2
Dex: 4
Int: 3 (2+1 middle class)
Spt: 2

Trained: stealth, perception
familiar: speed, education, agility

Agility 8 (4x2 dex +0 familiar)
Craft 6 (4 dex + 3 int -1 untrained) (+2 burglary)
Fighting 4 (2 str + 3 int -1 untrained)
Education 6 (3x2 int +0 familiar)
Perception 6 (3 int + 2 spt +1 trained)
Persuasion 3(2x2 spt -1 untrained)
Shooting 6 (4 dex + 3 int -1 untrained)
Speed 6 (4 dex + 2 str + 0 familiar)
Stealth 10 (4 dex + 2 spt + 1 trained + 3 criminal)
Toughness 3 (2 str + 2 spt -1 untrained)

Equipment: spectacles, vulcanized rubber tennis shoes, fancy leather-bound notebook/Charcoal writing and drawing implements

Background: Thomas was a spy in the scientific community. He would infiltrate labs and steal scientists secrets and sell them to their competitors for a fee. Rarely would he steal actual physical items. Instead he would diagram the items and copy any notes, so no one would ever know he was there. His education afforded him the ability to understand these devices in the brief moments he had to study them. He rarely did it for the money, but instead simply the thrill of it. Unfortunately one day he tried to steal a security device from a government facility. He had the bad luck of trying to steal it when it was being tested and set it off. But luckily his potential was seen and he was sent to the stargate program instead of prison.

[Synch]

Jibjib, do you think perhaps Fighting is calculated oddly? It would seem like it should be, STR x2, STR + SPT or STR + DEX as opposed to using INT. It just seems odd that my character who has a background in the army and as a hunter, has a much lower fighting skill than a boffin like Spiderwrangler's character. Not that either of us are going to engage in melee, I'd assume

[spiderwrangler]

It just seems odd that my character who has a background in the army and as a hunter, has a much lower fighting skill than a boffin like Spiderwrangler's character. Not that either of us are going to engage in melee, I'd assume

Ah, but if he does have to fight, he fights SMART, not hard. He knows WHERE to hit you to make it hurt. Of course, if Edmund does go toe to toe, he'd better hope he lays his opponent out quick, that Toughness score has me a bit worried (was considering moving 1 over from DEX), but as long as the meatshield durable Explorers engage first, he'll be able to pick off Jaffa from a distance.

[Nolandking]

I found it funny that my priest can crack more skulls then a soldier.

[spiderwrangler]

I found it funny that my priest can crack more skulls then a soldier.

When it comes to bareknuckle brawling at least... so the clergy are like monks with unarmed strikes?

[ChuckDaRighteous]

Yeah the classic "monk" archetype does seem a little odd in the Victorian era background. But I can still roll with it.

[Synch]

It just seems odd that my character who has a background in the army and as a hunter, has a much lower fighting skill than a boffin like Spiderwrangler's character. Not that either of us are going to engage in melee, I'd assume

Ah, but if he does have to fight, he fights SMART, not hard. He knows WHERE to hit you to make it hurt. Of course, if Edmund does go toe to toe, he'd better hope he lays his opponent out quick, that Toughness score has me a bit worried (was considering moving 1 over from DEX), but as long as the meatshield durable Explorers engage first, he'll be able to pick off Jaffa from a distance.

Yeah I can believe that. Sorta like Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes, I suppose.

[Patdragon]

Oscar Miller

Attributes
Background: Solider
Social Class: Working
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 2 +1
Intellect: 3
Spirit: 2

Skills (Adjusted)
Agility: 5
Craft: 5
Fighting: 9
Education: 5
Perception: 5
Persuasion: 3
Shooting: 8
Speed: 6
Stealth: 4
Toughness: 6

Trained: Fighting, Toughness
Familiar: Shooting, Perception, Speed

Equipment
Lee-Enfield .303 Rifle, Bayonet and 60 rounds, Light Armour

Background
Born in England on the Isle of wight and being the 5th boy of a 7, Oscar was use to fighting over the dinner table for what was available and you had to be quick enough as what was set was gone quickly. Fighting with his brothers was a common occurrence and he certainly had the build for it. His 2 older brothers following in his father fishing trade just not interesting enough for Oscar so he left home when he could to see the cities and find his own way. After many failed attempts of normal working class jobs, someone suggested the army and it seemed to fit. Once there he was drilled, trained and gained his sense of following orders after getting into a few to many fist fights. He is all for King and county, and has been in the army for several years now and has progressed well. He was recommended for the position on this task force his admirable actions previously perform in the course of his career.

[WearsHats]

Hey, if we're going to be meeting Jaffa, maybe we can bring them some cake?

Anyway, having reviewed the rules, it seems a whiskey drinking karate fighting archaeologist would be a clergyman. Right, then.

Name: Rev. Dr. Jack Danielson
Social Class: Gentry (+1 SPT)
Background: Clergy
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 1
Intelligence: 4
Spirit: 2+1 = 3

Agility: DEX * 2 -1 = 1 (Untrained)
Craft: DEX + INT -1 = 4 (Untrained)
Fighting: STR + INT +1 +2 = 10 (Trained, clergy)
Education: INT * 2 +1 +2 +1 = 12 (Trained, clergy, spectacles) (Specialty: Comparative religion)
Perception: INT + SPT +1 = 8 (Familiar, spectacles)
Persuasion: SPT * 2 +2 = 8 (Familiar, clergy)
Shooting: DEX + INT -1 = 4 (Untrained)
Speed: STR + DEX -1 = 3 (Untrained)
Stealth: DEX + SPT -1 = 3 (Untrained)
Toughness: STR + SPT = 6 (Familiar)


Background: Jack was the layabout in the family. Never particularly agile or coordinated, he was often shoved about and mocked by his peers. Until the day his parents, despairing of him, brought in a tutor from the Orient. Besides teaching young Jack to study languages and cultures, the old man taught him treat fighting as an intellectual puzzle. Fight with all your heart, but be guided by your mind. Under his guidance, Jack flourished in his studies - intellectual and martial. He also gained an appreciation for the revolutionary idea that non-European cultures could have something of value to offer the modern world.

As the layabout son of minor nobility, Jack was destined for the clergy. But his tutor from the Orient had sparked his curiosity about other cultures. So he began to study other religions as well as his own, telling his superiors that he wanted to find the common threads of God's influence, even in places where the Word of Christianity had not spread.

Naturally, as a gentleman of leisure and intellectual pursuits, Jack picked up a taste for whiskey. He does not drink to excess, but an evening without a good drink just isn't an evening at all. Possibly also an afternoon. And maybe Sunday morning, depending on who's giving the week's sermon.

Jack is looking forward to this opportunity to explore a wider world and fulfill the heart's desire of any well-to-do boy of the era - becoming a gentleman adventurer.

Equipment: Spectacles, Opium (2), Humble but elegant walking staff (melee weapon)

[nikohl]

I will try and get a character started a little later on today if that's OK - no problem if you want to start without me though.

[Jibjib]

No problem nikohl

Gosh, didn't really expect this many players as it stands, each of the adventures I've written is rather undersized for a party of 6/7, what would you guys feel about splitting into two groups of 3 or 4 and running them concurrently? There's nothing in either that would make a clash

[Synch]

Yeah no worries, whatever works best for the game Jib.