[CoCd20] Flintlock & Tomahawk

This is my PbP game set in the Massachusetts Bay colony during King Philip's War.

The OOC thread can be found here.
The RG thread can be found here.

The current roster of characters includes:
1. Archibald Pitcairne, Natural Philosopher (MummyKitty)
2. William Summerset, Pamphleteer and Writer (WargamerX)
3. Quincy Abcott, Esq., Barrister and Bootlegger (taitzu52)
4. Thomas Sykes, Militiaman (Rookseye)

Former PCs:
1. Surean Sikapanderijin, Batsman to Archibald Pitcairne (Dr. Zombie)
2. Tisaquantum, Indian Scout of the Capawack tribe (Bobitron) — NPC

Shaggy Spellsword and taitzu52 will be joining the game in a short while.

Introduction

Between the months of October and November 1675, constant Indian attacks reduced most of the villages in the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts to rubble. Deerfield, Brookfield, and Northfield would all be abandoned for at least ten years.

29 October 1675: Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony

It is unseasonably warm in Boston this fall, and the foliage has been late in changing. War with the tribes allied with Metacom continues throughout Massachusetts and threatens settlements across the colony and down into Plymouth as well. News of Moseley and Lathrop's defeat at Muddy Brook is still fresh, with casualties up towards the low seventies, although the bad luck is followed quickly by good at Hatfield. Colonial authorities have started to inter praying Indians on Deer Island, just off the coast of Boston.

Int. - The Home of Archibald Pitcairne - Afternoon

But this afternoon finds Pitcairne at study, reviewing his observations of the night before, has found irregularities in the paths and motions of the heavens, stars out of place, winking out, falling, almost rearranging themselves in the sky west of Boston. [1]

His studies are interrupted, however, by the arrival of his batsman, Surean, and a man clearly enrolled in the colonial militia. The man coughs politey, "Mr. Pitcairne, I presume? My name is Winthrop. Jebediah Winthrop. I've been sent to talk to you about some abnormalities in the skies. I was told you were the man to talk to."

Int. - The Home of William Summerset - Afternoon

Elsewhere, one Mr. William Summerset finds his afternoon's work, some writing, interrupted by a knock on his door. Through the window, he can see a colonist with a rifle waiting politely. "Mr. Summerset, the captain would like to speak with you at once, sir."

Ext. - Outside Boston, near the Charles River in Waltham - Afternoon

And, finally, not so far away, but far enough away that it might as well be a world away, Tisaquantum, tracking some game along the river banks, finds himself face to face with a group of armed colonists. They stare at him menacingly and start to advance towards him. Shackles hang off the belt of a beefy man off to the left.[sblock]Footnotes
[1] June 1675 saw a lunar eclipse. Both Puritans and Indians would have seen this as portentous. For the Englishmen, it was sign of divine disfavor; for some Algonquian tribes, this meant that the son of the sun and moon was walking the earth, bringing death [James D. Drake, King Philip's War: Civil War in new England, 1675-1676, U of Massachusetts P, 1999, p. 73-4]. Other meteorological phenomena aren't recorded that I'm aware of, but there is some basis for funny business in the historical record.[/sblock]

Archibald welcomes his guest, Mr. Winthrop

Archibald looks up from his studies with a warm smile.

"Ah Mr. Winthrop, welcome, welcome. Faith and beggorah, I trust my good man Surean has seen to your comfort," he says with a slight Scottish brouge. He begins arranging stacks of paper and books in a half-hearted effort to tidy up his study, which is quite disorganized to anyone's eye but his. "I'm afraid I'm not much of a host..." He shoos some sleeping cats from a nearby chair and beckons Mr. Winthrop to sit.

"I too noticed, some... strange phenonmenon in the heavens..." Not wanting to alarm Mr. Winthrop, and also somewhat unsure of his own observations of the stars disappearing, he sticks to the lunar eclipse for the moment... "I can assure you that despite the superstitious talk that may be going around, the lunar eclipse of recent times was nothing unusual. In fact, such events can be predicted with quite some precision these days."

He can perhaps see that Mr. Winthop was not there to discuss the lunar eclipse alone. "Mr. Winthrop, I did not mean to babble on. Please, if you will, let me hear your questions and I will try to answer to the best of my abilities."

Kajamba Lion said:

Ext. - Outside Boston, near the Charles River in Waltham - Afternoon

And, finally, not so far away, but far enough away that it might as well be a world away, Tisaquantum, tracking some game along the river banks, finds himself face to face with a group of armed colonists. They stare at him menacingly and start to advance towards him. Shackles hang off the belt of a beefy man off to the left.

Click to expand...

Tisaquantum chides himself for not noticing the colonists long before coming upon them. Too much attention to the game trail had led to this situation. He raises a hand in greeting. "Good afternoon." He spoke clear English, the strong undercurrent of native accent not thick enough to obscure his words. "I move south and east, toward Providence." He looks over the men calmly. "Where do you travel?" He rests his loaded rifle on a nearby birch, silently thankful they hadn't found him sneaking behind a treeline as he had been only minutes before.

[Int. - The Home of William Summerset - Afternoon

Elsewhere, one Mr. William Summerset finds his afternoon's work, some writing, interrupted by a knock on his door. Through the window, he can see a colonist with a rifle waiting politely. "Mr. Summerset, the captain would like to speak with you at once, sir."]

William opens the door for the militiaman. Making the assumption that this can only have something to do with the war, and bizzare eclipse he feels it best to come before the militai captain prepared. I beg your patience a moment whist I secure my things. Summerset moves to his sitting room and secures his traveling coat, musket and acutrements, ending the ensamble with a haversack containing writing and drawing materials. Returning to his guest, William puts his wide brimmed puritan hat on and gestures towards the door. After you.

Stepping outside with the militiaman, William is careful to lock his small home and place the iron key in the haversack. Musing, as he follows his fellow militaiman down the nearly vacant Boston street William wonders when, if ever, he will return to his quiet home.

Ext. - The streets of Boston - Same

As Summerset follows the militiaman out through the streets and towards the captain's residence, the militiaman quietly explains what he knows of the war and how it goes. "Sir, things are going badly in the Connecticut River Valley. It has put our leaders in a most foul temper. Dedham has nearly found itself overrun with refugees, Christian and Indian."[sblock][Listen check, Spot check] You can hear some hooves pounding down the road and smell the faintest scent of brimstone wafting your way.[/sblock]

Int. - Pitcairne Residence - Same

The visitor coughs. "Well, sir, it's mostly that —," he coughs again, shakes his head, and starts afresh, "Refugees from the Connecticut River Valley have reported some odd happenings. Indian attacks have increased, but the Indians seem to fight with a fierce and unholy energy." He pauses again, continuing in a low voice. "And some have reported bizarre movements in the heavens — we're attributing it to fear, but they've made some amateur charts, and the movements are unsettling."[sblock][Listen check, Spot check] You can hear some hooves pounding down the road outside your house and smell the faintest scent of brimstone wafting your way.[/sblock]

Ext. - The banks of the Charles - Same

"Due west and through Boston," replies the leader. "Perhaps you'd like to come with us?" The one with the shackles grins menacingly.[sblock][Listen check, Spot check] The pounding of hooves and scent of brimstone assault you.[/sblock]

William raises his hand to pause militiaman Jim's narrative.

[sblock]He should be named something...Jim?[/sblock]

William tilts his head and looks in the direction of the oncoming horses.

[sblock]Got a 12 on the listen check and a 17 on the spot check.Listen and Spot check (1d20+7=12, 1d20+7=17) If successful, William tries to pull Jim into a nearby dark alley or doorway and hide. Not sure about what Jim can do, but William rolled 17 on a hide check. Hide check (1d20+1=17)[/sblock]

[sblock]OOC: Let's call him James. We barely know him. Y'all can definitely feel free to do this — minor creative editing such as naming unnamed NPCs or such is fine. I don't mind that, and if I do, I will tell you.

As for the rolls, no worries, I'll be rolling all the dice (especially Listen and Spot and Search and Sense Motive). What I give you in the spoiler blocks reflects the results I rolled. But, if that changes, I will be using Invisible Castle.

Finally, let's put all the game related OOC stuff that pops up in this thread in the spoiler blocks (tags would be (sblock) and (/sblock), using []s, of course).[/sblock]

"Ah yes, the savages are getting more bellicose by the day... So you say there are drawings of strange phenomenon in the skies? I should like to see those drawings," says Archibald, shuddering slightly. I can only hope that they don't confirm my own disturbing findings, he thinks to himself...

Hearing the horses coming, Archibald goes to the window and looks out.

"Surean, are we expecting any other guests today?" he asks his faithful batsman. "Mr. Winthrop, it appears we have more visitors coming. And merciful heavens... do you smell that? Is something burning?"

[sblock]OK, so I edited this to remove the mention of spot and listen as apparantly Archie already made his rolls... right?[/sblock]

OOC: Please read the spoiler block below and my last post. If I have something specific to address to a character (priveliged information), I'll label it as such and use the other spoiler tags.

[sblock]OOC: I'll move this along soon, once everyone's had a chance to reply, but I did want to reiterate that y'all don't need to roll any dice. I've got you covered. [/sblock]