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A new shadow over Innsmouth...
So, after eight years of running Arcanacon Warmachine tournaments, I have finally passed the event on to Melbourne's newest Pressgang member. That means I can actually play in next year's tournament (which will be a bit weird), but more importantly it means that I can write something new.
I miss writing and running tabletop games.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
aeliel and I have started planning something for Arcanacon XXX. mousebane, miss_rynn - would either of you be interested in helping to write some material? I'd like to borrow your science-and-mythos brains...
The year is 1932. Four years ago, federal raids on the town of Innsmouth were conducted by the BOI. What they saw and did there has been locked away in classified files, and all media coverage was rigorously suppressed. For three years the town lay almost deserted. Then, as part of President Hoover's Economic Modernisation scheme, an attempt was made to reinvigorate the ship-building trade and capitalise on the town's docks and deep harbour. The town was extensively re-settled, with generous federal grants and concessions offered to industry. For a time, life returned to the town.
Six days ago, a series of grisly murders were discovered in a warehouse by the riverside. The newspapers have begun to stir people into a panic, suggesting that a mass murderer is at work in Innsmouth. Local police have grudgingly handed jurisdiction over to the United States Bureau of Investigation. Now, four members of the newly established Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory have been sent back to that sleepy town on the river mouth, for their first public test.
Yes, it's essentially CSI: Innsmouth, set at the end of the prohibition era :)
I'm looking at running it as a 4-5 character game. The fifth (optional) character will be the local police liaison; able to add some interesting local contacts to the group, but not essential to the Fed story. The Bureau had a major shuffle and re-naming earlier in 1932, with associated bureaucratic power games limiting access to information from older cases, so the group won't know very much about the town's history. That's probably a good thing - there's no saying that the same forces are involved, and it will be healthier for their sanity if they don't know too much.
I really like making props for games: maps, handouts, photos. I'd like to prepare enough photos of suspects to be able to give the players a whiteboard to build their case on...
I miss writing and running tabletop games.
aeliel and I have started planning something for Arcanacon XXX. mousebane, miss_rynn - would either of you be interested in helping to write some material? I'd like to borrow your science-and-mythos brains...The year is 1932. Four years ago, federal raids on the town of Innsmouth were conducted by the BOI. What they saw and did there has been locked away in classified files, and all media coverage was rigorously suppressed. For three years the town lay almost deserted. Then, as part of President Hoover's Economic Modernisation scheme, an attempt was made to reinvigorate the ship-building trade and capitalise on the town's docks and deep harbour. The town was extensively re-settled, with generous federal grants and concessions offered to industry. For a time, life returned to the town.
Six days ago, a series of grisly murders were discovered in a warehouse by the riverside. The newspapers have begun to stir people into a panic, suggesting that a mass murderer is at work in Innsmouth. Local police have grudgingly handed jurisdiction over to the United States Bureau of Investigation. Now, four members of the newly established Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory have been sent back to that sleepy town on the river mouth, for their first public test.
Yes, it's essentially CSI: Innsmouth, set at the end of the prohibition era :)
I'm looking at running it as a 4-5 character game. The fifth (optional) character will be the local police liaison; able to add some interesting local contacts to the group, but not essential to the Fed story. The Bureau had a major shuffle and re-naming earlier in 1932, with associated bureaucratic power games limiting access to information from older cases, so the group won't know very much about the town's history. That's probably a good thing - there's no saying that the same forces are involved, and it will be healthier for their sanity if they don't know too much.
I really like making props for games: maps, handouts, photos. I'd like to prepare enough photos of suspects to be able to give the players a whiteboard to build their case on...
Pedantry.
But I would love to see it at a con. :)
Re: Pedantry.
Do you know how the newspapers would have referred to cases like Burke & Hare before the term appeared in English?
Re: Pedantry.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/result?q=%22jack+the+ripper%22&l-title=The+Argus+(Melbourne,...|titleid:13
even in the 30's:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/result?q=%22jack+the+ripper%22&l-title=The+Argus+(Melbourne,...|titleid:13&l-decade=193
or as a "series of murders".
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/result?l-title=The+Argus+(Melbourne,...|titleid:13&q=series+of+murders&l-decade=193
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Migrants vs. USA "locals"
Innsmouth locals vs. newcomers from other towns
Local police vs. Federal officers
I like the idea of having the local liaison as a relatively junior cop - lots of local contacts to help the team, but not much clout with their superiors. The local department would assign someone they could afford to lose if things went badly, but need to have a presence in the group so they can claim some of the credit if it goes well.
I'll have to read up a bit on migration in the early 30s, to see which groups would have been most common on the east coast.
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