Faces & Places

or, The Agents of Fate

What follows are the faces and places created by the players in developing the story. Where applicable (i.e., not giving away an important plot detail) they are linked to their main page. Note that aspects and abilities remain hidden until discovered.

George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert (better known as Lord Carnarvon), added by Keri. In our world this good fellow was born in 1866, making him... uh... eight years old. So I forced him to be born fifteen years earlier, so that our famed Egyptologist is 23. Heigho!

The infamous Ten Bells tavern was added by Burt as an interesting (if dangerous) location.

Abby added a mummy. She did not specify which one, so... heheheh.

A black market dealing with stolen antiquities was logically added by Robin.

Vickie suggested a dockyard or ship, which became the Demeter.

Intrigued by Eddie Marsan's depiction, Burt chose to add Inspector G. Lestrade.

Thinking of creepy locations (particularly ones with -- wait for it! -- mummies), Abby suggested a museum.

Keri recommended a dockyards shanty-town, the sort of place where a person (or treasure) can disappear.

Being a fan of David Tenant, Vickie added The Doctor for a touch of time-traveling trickery.

Finally, Robin observed that the closest he knew to a real-world Moriarty was J.P. Morgan. Born in 1837, he makes an excellent candidate.

From Tempus Fugitive

Two individuals stand out as being particularly pivotal. The Reverend Padraig Witherspoon is a silver-tongued street preacher whose message resonates among his flock. He is an adamant foe of the uses and agents of Magic, and urges the destruction of their places and influence; however, he is no advocate of steam tech either. Both, he argues, are violations of the natural order, but Magic is particularly seductive and corrosive to the human soul.

Edward Albert, the Prince of Wales and heir apparent to Queen Victoria, discovered an innate faculty with magic at a young age. Due to his parents support of progress and disapproval of magic, the Prince was obliged to cease his studies and publicly reject the practices of magic. Rumors still imply that not only has he secretly completed his studies, but that he covertly supports the secret orders.

Two organizations have come to some prominence in the subtle conflicts, one public and the other secret. The Royal Society for Technical Advancement is a well-funded public service organization founded in 1857 by the late Prince-Consort Albert of Saxe-Coburg. It is currently supported by the Queen and Prince of Wales. The Society envisions a Great Britain leading the world in technological advancement, social transformation and public wellbeing.

The Scarlet Ring claims ancient origins, but not in Great Britain. Two dissident groups (one Irish Elven, one Indian Thugee) formed a recent alliance. Both are dedicated to the subtle arts of manipulation and assassination, and both burn with hatred of the imperialism of the despised British monarchy. They remain in the shadows after the Ring was outlawed by the Queen in 1841. They oppose the burgeoning powers of steam tech and seek to overthrow the Royal house. It was the Scarlet Ring who engineered and executed the assassination of Prince-Consort Albert in 1861.

Finally, there is something of an open secret among the progressivists in London. In the early days of their marriage, the Queen was far more traditional than her visionary husband, Albert. He, fascinated with the prospects of technology to improve the lives of common people, secretly communicated with the American inventor Thomas Alva Edison. Together, the two built a secret steam tech lab under the crumbling medieval ruins of Bartholomew’s Cross Chapel. While secrecy is no longer necessary, the facility has become a workshop for underprivileged inventors. James Clerk Maxwell is a frequent contributor.

Faces & Places?

The standard rules in Fate Core include a Session Zero, where all members of the group have the opportunity to add a person (or group) and a location to the fiction. This has proven a useful and entertaining tool, so this page records the results of this brainstorming

Where applicable, these ideas are linked to the pages that flesh them out more fully.

Go here for more information.