Whoever Owns the Land Makes the Rules
From Bust to Boom - Colonisation 101
Here is the start, possible middle, and fanciful ending of a role-playing campaign set in the world of Antipodean Moon. Play sessions have only just started, so this plot could go in strange new directions depending on the actions of the player characters. Subplots may run in sequence or in parallel depending which seeded plot hooks player characters pursue.
The player characters have the herculean task of saving the Colony of South Australia and getting it under steam once again. They need to know what the issues are, gather their resources, determine what they're going to do, and then do it.
Relations
Protagonists
Allies
The Hon. Sir Henry Ayers, K.C.M.G.
Mr. Thomas Wellington, Esq.
Mr. Thomas Wellington, Esq.
Neutrals/Bystanders
Unaligned or neutral individuals who the League of Gentlemen may come into contact with during the course of this campaign include:
- banking and finance officers, stock exchange dealers, and bank agents
- members of the South Australia Police, the courts, and judiciary
- doctors, specialist medical practitioners, nurses, hospital staff, and morgue attendants
- newspaper reporters, photographers, and journalists
- colonists of all classes going about their daily activities, business, and work.
Competitors
The League of Gentlemen has competition in the "save the Colony" stakes.
The Governor of the Colony of South Australia, the Hon. Sir William Robinson, K.C.M.G., has a hand-picked committee of advisors working on the myriad problems facing the Colony. Sir Henry Ayers is unimpressed with the advisory committee's progress to date. Too many meetings and not enough action in Sir Henry's opinion. In Sir William's defence, in 1886 the role of Governor of the Colony is more symbolic and ceremonial than in previous years. Governor Robinson lacks the power to implement advice from his committee.
Real political power resides with the Premier, the Hon. John Downer, M.L.C., and the Parliament of South Australia. Most of Premier Downer's Cabinet ministers have portfolios in or across which the issues facing the Colony fall. The ability of the Cabinet to deal successfully with any issue is dependent on their ability to work together, and on the depth of the public purse. Both political co-operation and government funding are in short supply after two years of a catastrophic drought.
Despite the problems inherent in the Governor's advisory committee and the Premier's Cabinet, the League of Gentlemen will cross paths with these competitors from time to time. At least, while the Colony still has time.
Lastly, the League weren't the only attendees at the recent meeting of the Old Colonists' Association who took notice of Sir Henry Ayers impassioned speech on behalf of the Colony of South Australia. There was a table of wealthy and well-connected men across the room from the League who have taken it upon themselves to be the saviours of the Colony. They are yet to reveal their hand as they don't want to step on the toes of Sir Henry's hand-picked team, but they are watching the League closely.
Adversaries
There are those who will oppose all attempts to save the Colony of South Australia from sliding into the abyss. These individuals are not mundane criminals, opportunists, or anarchists, but adherents to a will far darker and more dangerous than anything that can be imagined by sane minds.
The League of Gentlemen will need their wits about them if they want to survive encounters with these adversaries.
Backdrops
Locations
Locations include prominent civic, military, mercantile, and private buildings and infrastructure extant in the Colony of South Australia in 1886. Many of these structures were built during the Colony's boom years and are comparable in size and quality to fine late 19th-century architecture in London, Europe, other British overseas colonies, and the United States.
Threats
Intercolonial Rivalry
The Colonies of New South Wales and Victoria have unhealthy rivalries with the Colony of South Australia. These rivalries are acted out on sporting fields usually, but some may stoop to ruining competitors as a growth strategy for their own colony. In 1863 New South Wales lost 520,902 square miles of the Australian mainland and all of its untapped resources when the Crown transferred what became the Northern Territory to South Australia. Well placed and powerful New South Welshmen have been unhappy about that decision ever since. If South Australia fails, New South Wales would be well-positioned to benefit by annexing the entire Colony.
Plot type
Campaign
Subplots
Related Characters
Related Organizations
Related Session Reports
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