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Adventure!: The Exotic Acquisitions Department [Recruitment]


Heritage

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England, 1938. Another war is looming in Europe, less than a generation after thirty-seven million men, women and children perished in the so-called 'War to End All Wars' - if only that were true.

Disturbing reports are filtering back to British intelligence about the true goals and methods of the Third Reich and Fascist Italy, reports that border on the realm of science-fiction. It soon becomes clear that this impending war will be a very different struggle, once for which Britain is woefully unprepared.

What England needs now is men and women of vision and accomplishment, comfortable in the dark corners of the world where the lines separating truth, history and legend blur. Men and women of outstanding courage and innovation, who have seen the future but are not afraid of what lies ahead, individuals who will use the amazing gifts Providence has given them to throw a beacon into those dark corners, and drag those who lurk there out into the sunlight.

His Majesty's Government has begun quietly reaching out to these sorts of individuals to recruit them into a very special, very secret new endeavor, in fact so secret that only a handful even know it exists. Housed with the walls of the esteemed British Museum and known only as the ‘Exotic Acquisitions Department’, this team of scientists, explorers and men of action are tasked with a singular mission: to explore new technologies and find rare artifacts that might help the coming war effort, and perhaps more importantly, to keep them from falling into the hands of madmen.

So this is an Adventure game set just before World War II; the dramatic text above pretty much sums it all up. We have three team members now and I'd like to get two or three more before we start.

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I don't know if you are counting me as one of those three or not, but since I haven't decided yet I would suggest that if you are counting me you might want to re-label me as a strong maybe.

And considering my job is keeping me super busy most days and my hope computer just shat the bed ... strong maybe might be too strong.

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I don't know if you are counting me as one of those three or not, but since I haven't decided yet I would suggest that if you are counting me you might want to re-label me as a strong maybe.

And considering my job is keeping me super busy most days and my hope computer just shat the bed ... strong maybe might be too strong.

No worries, jameson; I'm counting Quotemyname (Tarik), Kamiko (Lady Anne) and Jeremy (Mel Grimson) as my three, though you are of course always welcome if you've got the time and inclination.

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I could be interested in this as a Warehouse 13 H.G. Wells-esque character (a woman that lets a man take credit for most of what she does because otherwise it wouldn't be taken seriously), a gadgeteer genius that loves adventure and has little use for the more prudish parts of Western society/morality. It'd even be fun to throw in 'fiction' books that the aide/secretary in the Exotic Acquisitions Department 'dreams up' that are journal of their exploits. With some dramatic license, of course.

She lets a friend that's a terminal screw-up be her 'beard' for the books and the few inventions she makes that are put out for general consumption, both as a smokescreen on her actual activities and as a revenue stream for both of them.

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Most probably a Daredevil with the Gadgeteering knack and lots of Gadget/Artifact. I see her, personality-wise, as a cross between Lara Croft, HG from Warehouse 13, and (when she's playing her 'official' role in the EAD) Evy from The Mummy. Her friend is probably another social outcast using her for social acceptability as well (I'm thinking he's gay and they're officially courting, maybe even engaged).

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Hey gang; sorry I wasn't around much the last few days; Thursday I was in a very blue funk, which I've thankfully shaken off, and I have minimal internet access. over the weekend. I had an opening shift today, which means up at 3 am after about 3 hours of sleep (my own stupid fault) and then solid work from 5am to 11:30. My brain is pretty much Jello right now, but tomorrow I should be much smarter and productive.

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What's the news on this?

The news is we have four characters that I feel good about (Lady Anne, Mel, Tarik and the mysterious 'Archie'), and we are going to start moving forward - huzzah!

Today I drew up Prof. Nigel Tremayne, who will be your immediate superior at the EAD; a noted expert with advanced degrees in anthropology, archaeology and history, he is not a field agent, and this sort of 'cloak and dagger' business is new to him. I will also design another NPC, more than likely with some sort of military background, who will act as a liaison between the department and Whitehall (aka the gov'ment), who will make irregular visits to team HQ. I'm also doing research into the British Museum itself, so I can incorporate those sorts of details into the narrative.

Jeremy asked me about which individuals and/or factions were still active, and my initial response was to take a 'you'll see' approach, but I think it might be better for both the team and myself to do a sort of 'where are they now?' just to make life a bit less complicated.

At this point, all members of the Aeon Society are still active back in the US (and around the globe!) and Sarah Gettel is still one of the world's most renowned reporters.

The Air Circus is still active; its pilots expect to be airborne for another war soon.

Baron Halcyon (and Gar) have not been seen in many years; there has been no contact with the world below in over a decade.

Branch 9 (and its counterparts) have been absorbed into other national intelligence agencies, and is the source of some of their best agents.

Ernest Warren Caldwell is currently doing time on Alcatraz, and his Manifest Destiny Infantry has been disbanded, though not every member has been found.

The Contedorri, Ubiquitous Dragon and King of the World are still in business, and doing very well for themselves.

The Cult of the Sun-Disk is still active; Nefertiti's public identity remains unknown.

Hephaestia Geary-Wexler was exposed as 'the Machinatrix' by her ex-husband Prof. Dixon and the rest of the Aeon Society in 1932, and fled the United States for the Continent; her exact whereabouts are unknown.

Jackson Harley, aka Mister Saturday, was killed in 1928, and his cult seems to have died with him.

The Inquiry has been silent for many years.

The International Detective Agency (IDA) is still active and working harder than ever.

Ocelotl is still 'Queen of the Amazon'.

The Order of Murder was exposed by Scotland Yard in 1933.

The Ponatowski Foundation still exists, though its secret backer 'the Czar' was killed by Soviet agents in 1934; the Princess Anastasia was never found.

Die Rationale-Experimente-Gruppe (REG) is currently sponsored by Nazi Germany - may God have mercy on us all.

Le Salon des Femmes Nouveaux split into two factions upon the death of its founder in 1929, one more militant, the other more subtle. Each claims to be the 'true followers' of the late Minh Truong.

Scalper Dutch was finally 'sent to Hell' in 1925, just over the Mexican border; it took nearly a hundred rounds to finally drop him.

Imam Khwarazmi ibn Abi Tirmidhi (aka 'the Turk') was arrested by his countryman in 1928; he died in a turkish prison three years later.

Doctor Manfred von Zorbo was arrested in 1931 after his airship crashed in Montana, and was extradited back to Germany for trial...right before the Nazis seized power.

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Zorbo... Zorrrrboooooo.... He has to have taken advantage of this...

That name strikes pause in the hearts of all my fellow Aviatrixes... By my honor as one of Amelia Earhart's 99's and a member of the Flying Circus I make this oath - THE SKIES BELONG TO EVERYONE! Not Baron Zorbo... not any Facists... EVERYONE!

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There's another Turk in this universe?! IMPOSTER!!! :P

List looks cool. But honestly, I have to ask: How much of this stuff am I going to need memorized to make myself workable in this game? I'd really rather not have to study the rulebook for a game I've never even played.

I could manage Tarik as an up and coming Mentalist who's "new to this sort of thing". He knows his own powers and what they do/are capable of. He knows that there are other organizations out there, but he's not necessarily 'all studied up' on the current reigning powers. He's probably from more of an inactive corner of the world, which is what made his powers so astonishing to those around him when he got his start.

I dunno. Reality is, if I've gotta pass a test on all this stuff, it's gonna be difficult for me to make the cut. I don't have all that much time to be pouring over rpg books these days :(

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None of that stuff is necessary information; if anything, it's of more use to players than their characters. A few of the names might be familiar to some of you, depending on where you're from and the Backgrounds you've chosen. For instance, Lady Anne would most certainly know of Baron Zorbo, since she is a pilot and he's known for using airships for nefarious purposes. As for tarik, he may well have heard of 'the Turk' and possibly the Cult of the Sun-Disk, since it's based out of Egypt, but that's about it.

I found some awesome maps of the British Museum online; technically I think there a bit earlier than our period, but they will do for now.

Ground floor

First floor

In terms of looking for areas that might work four our HQ, I was drawn to this area of the lower left corner of the ground floor, which is linked to the First Graeco-Roman Room:

EADHQ.jpg

In real life, it may well have been offices for the museum staff or something, but it might work for us; I have the image of a secret door behind a large seated figure of Pallas Athena which team members can duck behind, as well as miniature electric railway built in an old Roman sewer that runs beneath the museum, allowing the team to slip down to the Thames, where Lady Anne's seaplane waits in a converted warehouse. Sound like fun?

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I found a somewhat more complete map here:

Ground Floor

Which does make it clear that area is the main office of the museum, but there are a set of rooms unclaimed on the Mezzanie level; near the Oriental Library; perhaps these are the 'front' offices, and the 'real work' is done in a secret set of rooms below street level and accessable by a hidden elevator.

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I was thinking we can also add a hidden entrance and staircase in a bookshelf in the main reading room in the center of the museum, and have a secondary entrance (a latter in this instance) built into a police box outside the museum. Always best to have more than one way out or in!

Yes, multiple entrances are always a good idea in this sort of game!

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Anne, yes you did. But don't worry, it was a bad joke, so easily missed :P

Jameson: Sorry to hear that. Hope you get stuff sorted out.

Still I think we can make this work REALLY well with a tight knit group. After all, Indiana Jones never traveled with more than one or two people. And most of the time one of them was really a traitor! :P

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