Lieutenant Windhoek history

[Whipsnade]

Originally Posted by robject

I'm also adding Gavery (I have a Vilanicized name for him, but it slips my mind at the mo).

That's a very good idea. It will help with the "This is the 57th Century..." immersion any good session needs.

I may just tack on that Patron Encounter/Amber Zone mashup you wrote.

Well... I wrote it and, for various reasons, I don't much care for it. I like the idea and not the application, if that makes any sense. I threw in everything I could think of in the hopes that folks could rummage useful bits out the heap. It's what? Seven pages? Take a good machete to it and there could be a good page or two under everything. Grab whatever paragraphs strike your fancy, Rob, but don't saddle your supplement with the entire mess.

If I do, I'm likely to add one of those short-paragraph starship descriptions of a typical Type A for quick use. And then I just may gen up a sample crew of 4.

That's another great idea.

TODAY I thought that the supplement could be re-cast as an Imperial Bulletin, like an All-Points Bulletin -- in other words, THE order to capture Windhoek dead or alive, and a data feed to aid his would-be hunters.

And that's a genius idea. It would really make the supplement standout.

[robject]

xmail bound:----------------------------------------
routing: XMAIL/IMP/NET/GOV/XMIT-ALL-POINTS 
status: BULLETIN
mode: FLASH
----------------------------------------
134-1116
FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH
ALL XMAIL POINTS BULLETIN

Person of interest Windhoek, Trace, Lieutenant, Imperial Navy Intelligence, 
wanted in connection to the assassinations of the Emperor Strephon and 
Crown Prince Varian. Subject was last seen fleeing the Palace, booking 
passage via forged papers to Fornol. Subject is likely armed and considered 
extremely dangerous. Officials are hereby ordered to apprehend and detain
by any means necessary, ishiganziri**.

** dead or alive.  [we need a Vilani slang for "dead or alive"]

Then comes the official Navy Bulletin, incorporating background and known timeline details. In-game data is retained in the flow but separated from the storyline-text, to keep the relevant data together without breaking the immersion.

Or alternate method?

Then comes the additional data.

[mike wightman]

Make sure you get his rank right - he is a Sublieutenant in the Rebellion sourcebook

[Kilgs]

I did find a nugget that supports him running for Coreward or Deneb. His account was transcribed by a info-company out of Corridor...

[Whipsnade]

Originally Posted by Kilgs

I did find a nugget that supports him running for Coreward or Deneb. His account was transcribed by a info-company out of Corridor...

You can read all about that in the thread's earlier posts.

Inarli is in the Corridor Sector, but it's that "appendix" of Corridor which is across the Rift to rimward from the rest of the sector. There were also questions about whether someone running for their life would upload such a story to a new agency on a planet where they currently are or whether they'd arrange to have it uploaded to create a false trail.

I'd first thought a "long" escape plan on Windhoek's part would provide more opportunities for referees to have their "intercept" Windhoek. Inarli suggested he may have been fleeing spinward - just not through Inarli proper - which in turn suggested he was fleeing "west" out of the Imperium. Having him flee "west" would also place him in the Marches where referees could use 40+ years of materials.

Following that line of thought, I came up with various rationales - Note to the Usual Suspects, rationales and not reasons - why Windhoek was fleeing "west". The actual reason Windhoek was fleeing "west" is a metagame reason and not an in-game one: Fleeing "west" provides more opportunities for referees to use Windhoek. For the same metagame reason, I also suggested his attempt to pass through Vland-Corridor in Plan A could be rebuffed and he'd then try to cross the Rift as Plan B. Again, the escape plan would be "long".

What I've come to realize that a "long" escape plan could also be a "Schrodinger" escape plan. "West" isn't the only direction. He could potentially flee in any direction and that direction would only be known when a referee decided to use Windhoek. An escape to coreward and trailing wouldn't last as long, for example, but it would give referees using those parts of the OTU a better chance to use Windhoek. An escape to rimward or Ilelish might be more dangerous as would hiding with patrons or growing a beard and living in a broom cupboard in the Palace, but those possibilities would also give referees more options.

Limiting Windhoek to one plan makes the supplement easier to plot. Limiting Windhoek to one plan, however, doesn't make the supplement easier for more referees to use.

[robject]

Originally Posted by mike wightman

Make sure you get his rank right - he is a Sublieutenant in the Rebellion sourcebook

Ah, that's in the advanced rules. Yeah, I was torn, but I think there's no harm keeping him at that rank.

[robject]

Thinking about the format of the Navy Communique/Bulletin/thing.

1. Initial order with similar terseness of Xmail message, perhaps worded more formally rather than telegram-style.

2. Current status of Windhoek and likely location + routes.

3. Brief profile of Windhoek.

4. Recounting, in official tone, of Varian's assassination, perhaps incorporating Lucan's story and tone rather than Windhoek's (duh).

5. Retracing his steps, from hindsight and eyewitnesses, where he must have gone and in what order, including taking the TJ to Fornal. But there's no additional HARD information after that.

6. BOX TEXT containing Windhoek's predicament and strategy (because we're breaking the fourth wall there and talking directly to the referee).

7. Personal testimony tacked in a sidebar explaining how Capital and the Palace was in chaos for the first few days.


UPDATE TO THE BULLETIN SOME TIME LATER, AFTER CORRIDOR COLLAPSES

8. Encouragement to find and turn over Windhoek to Imperial authorities, and a warning that Imperial concerns will be compromised if ANY other authority gets ahold of him, for use as a bargaining chip, or a PR coup for Dulinor raising money against the Imperium, etc etc.

9. Possible escape routes as the Navy sees it. Analysis of Corridor and the likelihood that he escaped via THAT route.

10. FEINTS PERPETRATED BY OR ON BEHALF OF WINDHOEK TO POSTPONE HIS BEING BROUGHT TO JUSTICE

11. Op-Ed Piece musing about the Brothers of Varian

12. IMPERIAL PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT WARNING ABOUT WINDHOEK: HOW HE MIGHT APPROACH YOU, AND WHAT TO DO IN THOSE SITUATIONS

(the scenarios go here of course)


13. OTHER SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS WHO MAY BE CONSPIRING WITH WINDHOEK

(the NPCs go here, even if they're working AGAINST Windhoek)

[Whipsnade]

About Vilani slang for "dead or alive", would a euphemism be more appropriate than a "straight" translation?

I'm thinking about how languages get slippery, especially at the hands of bureaucracies. "Suspect" is now "person of interest", "downsizing" means "layoffs", and "interesting times" means "everything is going to Hades".

I'm wondering if the Vilani term could be something like "Wanted as an object or idea". "Object" would refer in a backhanded way that the person doesn't matter as a person, meaning you can hand over a corpse for the reward. "Idea" would refer to the concept that an idea should be examined, meaning the person needs to be able to answer questions.

Just spit balling...

[robject]

Originally Posted by Whipsnade

About Vilani slang for "dead or alive", would a euphemism be more appropriate than a "straight" translation?

YES! THAT is the word I was groping for. Euphemism. Thank you.

ishiganziri [<ishim, shadow, hidden + ganzir, A.V. term for world surface] 1. Seeking a hidden object or concept. 2. Euphemistically applied in a law enforcement context for a criminal who is wanted simply for confirmation of capture and containment, regardless of whether or not he is still living.

[Whipsnade]

Originally Posted by robject

ishiganziri [<ishim, shadow, hidden + ganzir, A.V. term for world surface] 1. Seeking a hidden object or concept. 2. Euphemistically applied in a law enforcement context for a criminal who is wanted simply for confirmation of capture and containment, regardless of whether or not he is still living.

Hehehehe... love it!

A completely innocuous phrase which means exactly what it says to the uninformed and which tells those in the know that they can show up with someone's head in a bowling ball bag and still get the reward!