Improbability Squad

An episodic campaign set in the latter half of the 1800s on Gurth. Initial GM: John

Setting

Our opening scene is of crowded filth in the streets of Philadelphia in the latter half of the 19th century. The city is booming, thanks to decades of growth and innovation in paper, steel, leather, and fine goods. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants have arrived, and bitter ethnic rivalries often turn violent. It is a dangerous city, teeming with gangs and disease.

The camera pans out, rising to thousands of feet above the hazy mayhem, and an orderliness emerges, a pattern of thoughtfully laid-out grids of thoroughfares, major and minor, embracing the shore of the mighty Delaware River.

And to the west, where industrial development, foundries, mills, and tanneries, belch smoke and employ thousands.

Further west still, and country estates dot the green hills. Some are simple farm houses with crops and animals and barns, but others are grand marble-columned affairs, stately mansions with outbuildings and guest houses, financed by old European money, or the riches of the new captains of industry.

It is one such magnificent chateau upon which the camera descends, to reveal the matron of the house through the window of a stone tower atop the structure. The tower is striking, medieval in its blocky grandeur, flat-topped with battlements. A glimpse at her surroundings reveals high bookshelves packed with old leather-bound books before the camera descends to a magnificent courtyard of crisply-trimmed hedges, classic marble statues, and a pentagonal reflecting pool.

This is the home of Andrew Madison Spencer, the Secretary of War of the United States, and his wife of nearly thirty years, Lady Abigail Vanderbilt Spencer. Spurring tradition, she prefers to be referred to by her old world title, Lady Vanderbilt.

With her husband generally residing in Washington, Lady Vanderbilt spends her time commissioning the collection of rare objects and knowledge.

Background

Lady Vanderbilt is the party's Patron.

Her interest is more expansive, and specific, than merely 'rare' objects and knowledge. Priceless antiquities are in the hands of grubby shamans. Ancient evils brood and ripen in hidden caves and castles -- and sometimes, in broad daylight. Powerful artifacts lay dormant, fools' plunder. Mysteries abound, overlooked by "reasonable people".

She is obsessed with the supernatural, and has spent decades recruiting a handful of those exceedingly rare individuals who are built of something special, something beyond humanity. This small company of investigators, hunters, thinkers, thieves, scouts, and enforcers, each one a rare specimen themselves, are her eyes and ears and hands out in the world, a world in which all is not right.

Recent actions of this so-called Improbability Squad include:

• The seizing of a centuries-old Comanche 'death totem' from a scurrilous French fur trader in the wilds of Wisconsin.
• The expulsion of an angry spirit from a mansion in New Orleans.
• The chasing-off of a 'beast-man' in rural Virginia. The party sought to capture the enormous creature, but it got away.

Character Creation

Character creation begins with submitting your general concept and background to the GM to be sure the character fits. Example:

Jimbo Dawkins trapped beavers in the wilds of southern Ohio for most of his adult life, 
but it was when the circus came to Columbus that his notoriety commenced. The 'human flea'
could jump over a standing man, to the great astonishment of the crowd. But Jimbo was 
puzzled -- that was a trivial jump for him, and he often leaped across sizable rivers
while maintaining his trap lines. Giddy in the presence of the crowd, he demonstrated.

Ladies fainted and men shouted, and the circus strong man would have beaten Jimbo senseless if
he hadn't jumped over the bleachers to safety. He headed east, the stories followed him, and
Lady Vanderbilt recruited him.

Jimbo is an illiterate woodsman, a big softy who doesn't want to hurt anyone, and enjoys working for
Lady Vanderbilt because she reminds him of his mother.

A reliable Contact is Mildred Evans, a spinster who has a room overlooking the town square of 
Columbus and knows what's going on.

His Enemy is Barnaby Ringling, whose circus event he ruined.

advantage="Super Jump"

Background

You may be from any believable background for the setting.

The culture is highly stratified, so spend points accordingly. e.g., without spending points on appropriate social advantages and/or skills, you will be ignored and discredited by upper classes generally, and even your Patron will treat you with a level of condescension.

You have up to 25 points to spend on GM-approved Supernatural (lightning bolt) / Exotic (alien head) advantages. This needs to be a part of your background story. Lady Vanderbilt sought you out (through emissaries) and recruited you to join the squad. You may have joined to avoid something else, or for the money she offered you, or the glory, or because your 'uniqueness' made you an outcast. It's up to you, but it needs to be described.

That story will help establish your Sense of Duty, Code of Honor, and/or Vow that ties you to the squad.

You may be any human age and may have worked for Lady Vanderbilt for up to twenty years if desired.

Define (a sentence or two minimum) at least one Contact and at least one Enemy.

Your purchased Wealth level determines your starting budget for personal possessions. Normal wealth starts with $1000.

Equipment

This is TL 5.

Generally, Lady Vanderbilt will be able to provide many common items, food, liquor and transportation if requested in advance of a mission.

But you'll need to buy the clothing you're wearing and any weapons, ammunition, repair kits, books, specialized tools, flasks, canes, tobacco, pocketknives, etc.

Some NPCs will judge you based on the quality and style of your clothing.

Guns: Guns in this campaign will malfunction frequently (any roll of 15+ regardless of skill), require expert care, and should be generally concealed in public. Brandishing a firearm on the streets of Philadelphia will lead people to assume you are a violent gangster or bank robber, which in turn will attract thuggish police. Public standards in the rural areas are more accepting.

Points

We'll start out with 120 point characters.

Patron (Lady Vanderbilt) is free and doesn't need to be listed on your sheet.

Up to 50 points in disadvantages, and up to 5 quirks and perks.

Up to 25 points in GM-approved Supernatural & Exotic traits. No 26+ point Advantages will be approved. If desired, you can choose one Exotic/Supernatural Disadvantage as part of your general Disadvantage pool.

Literacy and languages cost points and might matter.

Magery 1 is allowed, but there are no teachers, mentors, or spell books, as far as you are aware. So you'd start with no spells at all.

Characters

• Helen Atherton, Susan's beguiling healer
• Walter Blackstone, Brad's electrifying magician
• Marcus Wells, Dio's otherworldly engineer
• Arizona Smith, Jeff's mystical professor
• Wyeth Wilson, Eli's hotblooded jeweler