The End of John Company, India 1857

[Lammomedes]

Setting: Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, January 1857

The days of the British East India Company's rule over South Asia are coming to an end. But it is the start of a a new year, and the troubles that are about to spring forth are only vague rumors and distant stories slowly filtering to the teeming populace of Calcutta, the administrative heart of British rule on the subcontinent. The soldiers of the EIC are proud of their victories over the Sikhs (who in return seem to respect their conquerors, especially the British officers and the fierce fighting skills of the average Indian sepoy) and the company's political control is spreading outwards, to the northwest. This control, both political and economic, emerges in the recently conquered province of Oudh and then beyond, including the lands that will eventually become Punjab province. Peace, it seems, is being achieved through unification and pacification.

For the young British officials employed by what is affectionately known as "John Company" it is a chance to make a fortune before one day returning to England with money in one's pocket and a substantial financial investment in India's growing commercial development. The so-called "fishing fleet" is due to arrive, bringing with it a score of young women from Britain, hoping to score a husband among the many bachelors on India service. The sounds, the sights and smells of their arrival on this foreign soil is nearly overwhelming, as it seems ever so much more crowded and less sophisticated than the rapidly industrializing Britain they have just left. But in the 1850s, Victorian pluck and courage allows for adjustment and what passes for acceptance to quickly appear. India is a mystery, and a welcome one, for so many Britons wishing to escape the coal and soot of the factories, as well as the oppressive tyranny of the clock on their daily lives, now spreading across the "Green and Pleasant Land" they have only departed.

You are the young East Indian Company officials or Company soldiers, or perhaps their spouses or fiancees, who are assigned as staff members to a newly appointed District Commissioner for the recently pacified region of north India the British are calling the Oudh. Destiny is calling, as is adventure and mystery. Are you willing to participate in this call to your duty as well as the lure of potential profits beyond even your wildest beliefs?

[Lammomedes]

It looks like with the following people who have already expressed an interest that I have a pretty good list of players or potential players:
Collector
Mr. Handy
Phil
Markh
Gaffer
Seon

No Flashman, or Carry On up the Khyber stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashman_in_the_Great_Game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carry_On..._Up_the_Khyber

If anyone is interested about the situation in India during the Mutiny period, I can recommend the following source material:
David Gilmour, The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj (2005)
Richard Holmes, Sahib: The British Soldier in India, 1750-1914 (2006)
Lawrence James, Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India (1997)
Margaret MacMillan, Women of the Raj: The Wives, Mothers, and Daughters of the British Empire in India (2007)
Stanley Wolpert, India, 4th edition, 2009

Those are all books I am using in the college course I am teaching currently: The British Raj and Its Legacy, 1858-1947: Britain and South Asia--the Intersections of Many Cultures.
I do have a more extensive bibliography if anyone is interested in other topics and titles, along with some potential movie sources. If you have a chance, I do recommend trying to catch at least these two movies if you have the ability to track them down: The Deceivers (1988) and Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005). The first stars Pierce Brosnan and is about a local EIC district commissioner investigating the Thuggee and Kali cults in the 1830s/1840s, while the later is a westernized Bollywood film about one of the original Indian sepoys at the center of the Mutiny.

In the next week or so I will start posting some of the preliminary information I have for background and character generation.

[Lammomedes]

For character creation, since we are slowly getting to that period of time, I am going to use an array of stats for you to assign where you like.
There are 8 stats (STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, APP, INT, POW, EDU) and the array is as follows:

17, 16, 13, 12, 12, 11, 10, 09

You should also use the 1890's character sheet linked below (it's one of the best I have seen in a while), removing the skill Machine Gun on the sheet.
Everything else should already be modified.

http://cthulhureborn.wordpress.com/2011 ... ter-sheet/

If you have any suggestions for a better character sheet, let me know.

I'll pull out my Mysteries of the Raj monograph and post whatever appropriate suggestions this weekend.

[Gaffer]

I'm afraid I cannot figure out how to fill or copy the character sheet.

Also, what are we to do about wealth/savings?

[Mr. Handy]

Sounds good to me!

I'm going to be very busy over the next week or so, but I should have time to put together my character sometime between the night of November 10 and November 13.

[Lammomedes]

I'm afraid I cannot figure out how to fill or copy the character sheet.

Also, what are we to do about wealth/savings?

Crap Gaffer, I am sorry. I just realized it isn't editable. I mean it is printable, and you could fill it out that way, but you would have to scan it back in. Okay, let me look for a suitable character sheet that can be edited online. I am sure they are out there. Mad Irishman usually has one on his site.

Money, savings: Let me get back to you with a firm number about that. I'll probably come up with some flat amount of money, with a modified amount based on stats/credit rating. I'll have that up in a day or so. I'll also try to post up some basic info about weapons and equipment for the era in the next week or so.

[Lammomedes]

Sounds good to me!

I'm going to be very busy over the next week or so, but I should have time to put together my character sometime between the night of November 10 and November 13.

I was thinking of trying to have first posts by Wednesday the 16th, which means character generation should be done by the 14th.

I'll work on getting more things down on the site this weekend for generating characters.
I am just swamped with a few personal things that need to be handled over the next few days.

[Mr. Handy]

Player: Mr. Handy
Name: Julia Kaye
Age: 18
Sex: Female
Occupation: Missionary
Colleges, Degrees: None
Birthplace: Portsmouth, England



Characteristics:
STR: 9
CON: 14 (includes +1 from Investigator's Companion option for Missionary)
SIZ: 10
DEX: 11
APP: 12
INT: 16 (Idea - 80)
POW: 17 (Luck - 85)
EDU: 12 (Know - 60)

Sanity: 85
Phobias/Mental Disorders: None
Maximum Sanity: 99
Hit Points: 12
Magic Points: 17
Damage Bonus: +0

Background: Julia Kaye is the daughter of Randolph Kaye, an Anglican minister from Portsmouth, and his wife Elizabeth. Julia has always been bright and precocious, filled with curiosity about the world around her and a desire to help others. When her fiance was assigned to go to India, she determined to join him there. What she has learned about India fascinated her, and she eagerly learned what more she could about the language and the culture before and during the voyage. She looks forward to spreading the Gospel and helping the people of India.

Skills: (Non-default skills BOLD, Professional Skills ITALICS, Hobbies preceded by a DOT. Checked skills followed by a *)
Accounting (10%):
Anthropology (01%):
Archaeology (01%):
Art(Drawing) (05%): 25%
Astronomy (01%):
Bargain (05%):
Biology (01%):
Chemistry (01%):
Climb (40%):
Conceal (15%):
Craft(Sewing) (05%): 25%
Credit Rating (15%):
Cthulhu Mythos (00%):
Disguise (01%):
Dodge (DEX x 2): 22%
Drive Carriage (20%):
Electrical Repair (10%):
Fast Talk (05%):
First Aid (30%): 70%
Geology (01%):
Hide (10%):
History (20%):
Jump (25%):
Law (05%):
Library Use (25%):
.Listen (25%): 45%
Locksmith (01%):
Martial Arts (01%):
Mechanical Repair (20%): 35%
Medicine (05%): 55%
Natural History (10%): 30%
Navigate (10%):
.Occult (05%): 25%
Operate Heavy Machine (01%):
.Other Language: Hindi (01%): 31%
Other Language: Latin (01%): 31%
Own Language: English (EDU x 5%): 60%
Persuade (15%): 60%
Pharmacy (01%):
Photography (10%):
Physics (01%):
Pilot Balloon (01%):
Pilot Boat (01%):
.Psychology (05%): 45%
.Ride (05%): 25%
Sneak (10%):
.Spot Hidden (25%): 55%
Swim (25%):
Throw (25%):
Track (10%):

Hand-to-Hand:
Fist/Punch (50%):
Grapple (25%):
Head Butt (10%):
Kick (25%):
Knife (25%):

Firearms:
Handgun (20%):
Rifle (25%):
Shotgun (30%):

Equipment:
Bible
Small knife
Sketchpad and charcoals
Sewing kit
Medical supplies

[Gaffer]

Arthur Phillip Dodgson
39 years of age (born 1817) 5’8” 12 stone
Occupation: Soldier/Sapper
Education: Giles Grammar School (until he was 10)
Birthplace: London, England

Characteristics [17, 16, 13, 12, 12, 11, 10, 09]
13 STR 11 SIZ 12 INT 60 Idea
16 DEX 15 EDU* 75 Know *17-2 for Soldier Occupation
10 CON 09 APP 12 POW 60 Luck
11 HP 60 SAN +D4 dmg bonus

***********************
Dodgson in uniform ******************** Dodgson today

Dodgson is a good-sized man and strong in the bargain; nimble and dexterous, as well. He has a strong will and is quite intelligent and a quick learner. Of average appearance, his manner is somewhat boisterous and he is generally amiable, with a smile and a ready handshake for all.

At 18 (1836), Arthur went for a soldier and soon was a sapper-private in the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners. He was assigned to a survey company until 1849. In 1842, he was ordered to India as a member of the Great Trigonometrical Survey being conducted for the East India Company. He was present when Everest departed for his retirement and served under Waugh for four years. In 1849, Dodgson was promoted to corporal and assigned to the 7th Company at Corfu.

7th Company was sent to the Crimea in 1854 with the British Expeditionary Force during the Russian War. Corporal Dodgson was present at the June 18, 1855 attack on the Redan, serving under Lt. Howard Elphinstone and Colour-Sergeant Henry MacDonald when they performed the actions that led to their Victoria Crosses. He was one of the men who held the Sap with MacDonald. He was wounded in the side and was one of those brought back to the British Trench by Elphinstone. Fortunately, he recovered from his wound when thousands were dying of wounds and fever (under the personal ministrations of Florence Nightingale).

At the end of hostilities, Dodgson left the Queen’s service as a lance-corporal (acting sergeant) after twenty years. He determined to return to India, having decided that was a place where a man could find a fortune.

Investigator skills
Occupational points: 300+50 for combat/firearm skills (Soldier); Personal points: 120

*Bayonet 20+20=40%
*Craft, Construction 05+45=50%
*Craft, Mining 05+20=25%
*Dodge 32+5=37%
*Grapple 25+25=50%
*Head Butt 10+10=20%
*Kick 25+10=35%
*Knife 25+25=50%
Languages, English 75+1=76%
Languages, Hindi 01+34=35%
Listen 25+10=35%
*Mech. Repair 20+30=50%
Pistol 20+15=35%
*Punch 50+25=65%
Ride Horse 05+35=40%
*Rifle 25+25+15=65%
*Sneak 10+55=65%
Spot Hidden 25+25=50%
*Throw 25+40=65%

unimproved skills
Accounting 10
Anthropology 01
Archaeology 01
Art 05
Astronomy 01
Bargain 05
Biology 01
Chemistry 01
Climb 40
Club 25
Conceal 15
Credit Rating 15
Cthulhu Mythos 00
Disguise 01
Drive Carriage 20
Fast Talk 05
First Aid 30
Geology 01
Hide 10
History 20
Jump 25
Law 05
Library Use 25
Locksmith 01
Martial Arts 01
Medicine 05
Nature History 10
Navigate 10
Occult 05
Persuade15
Pharmacy 01
Photography 10
Physics 01
Pilot Boat 01
Psychology 05
Shotgun 30
Swim 25
Sword 20
Track 10

Gear
compass, pocketknife, match case, watch & chain (Masonic fob), ivory toothpick in silver case; tin cigar case with a half dozen cheroots (two boxes in his luggage), briar pipe, leather pouch of shag-cut Turkish tobacco (a two-pound tin in his luggage); tin hip flask of brandy (quart bottle in his luggage); riding whip, gloves; solar topee, heavy boots; two valises; two suits with four shirts and two ties; tropical weight trousers, shirts and jacket; soft cap, underclothes and socks, kerchiefs, nightshirts, etc; 4 decks of playing cards, two pair dice, whist set; razor, shaving mug/soap, tooth-powder & brush, hairbrush; tropical kit, including mosquito netting and patent medicines (quinine, iodine, camphor oil, etc.); map case, map of India, map of Awadh; haversack and water bottle; .32 calibre pepperbox pistol, 12-bore scattergun w/ canvas case, .577 howdah pistol w/saddle holster, sheath knife

Firearms
% damage range pb #att shot malf hp
.32 pepperbox 35 D8+1 10yds 16' 1or2 6
12-bore scattergun 30 4D6 10yds 16' 1or2 2
.577 howdah pistol 35 3D4 5yds 16' 1or2 2

Unarmed
% damage
Grapple 50 special
Head Butt 20 d4+d4
Kick 35 d6+d4
Punch 65 d3+d4

Melee
% damage
Knife 50 d4/6+2+d4
Bayonet 40 d8+1+d4
Club 25 d6/8+d4
Sword 20 d8+1+d4

[Mr. Handy]

Arthur looks like he's shaping up nicely. He's in the running to be Julia's suitor, though there is quite an age difference. If you put 25 points into Punch, he should have it at 75, though. The damage bonus kicks in with a STR+SIZ of 25, and it looks like you've got a total of 24 there, so you may want to shuffle a couple of stats around.

I see you've used the 1920s Investigator's Companion options. I just recently got that book myself. I hadn't known if we could use it, especially since it's not the 1920s. I noticed that Missionaries get +1 CON, but the skill list presented there is very different than the one I used from the core rulebook (though my chosen eighth occupational skill and some of my hobby skills do coincide with skills on the other list).

[Lammomedes]

Mr Handy and Gaffer, characters both look fine.
Mr. Handy, if you want to modify your character using the Investigator's Companion, go ahead and do so.

Matt

[Lammomedes]

Here is a good source for finding appropriate pictures:
http://www.users.waitrose.com/~victorianphoto/

[Mr. Handy]

Thanks! I'd like to add the +1 to CON in that case, though I don't want to have to recalculate and redistribute my skill points. I like them where they are.

[Seon]

Name: Hermann Lovell
Age: 56
Occupation: Retired Company Official
Education: Oxford
Birthplace: London

Background:

Hermann Lovell was the second son of an industrialist who made his fortunes in textile mills. With the firstborn son slated to take over the factories, Hermann instead joined the West India Company as an official, soon making his own fortune by investing money into opium and saltpeter business.

He married a socialite woman named Clarice while he was in London, having a single child, James. However, neither Clarice nor Hermann truly cared for one another and soon drifted apart, something that James never quite forgave either of them about.

Hermann, as the end of his tenure in the West Indies Company approached, became obsessed with the occult and the esoteric knowledges of long past. He became entranced by it on a misplaced belief that all their ramblings had some kind of meaning behind them.

Characteristics [17, 16, 13, 12, 12, 11, 10, 09]

STR: 9
DEX: 10
CON: 11
SIZ: 12
APP: 12
POW: 13
INT: 16
EDU: 17
IDEA: 80
KNOW: 85
LUCK:65
SAN: 65

Investigator Skills:
340 Occupational.160 Personal.

Skills to be modified:
Occupational: Persuasion. Law. Hindi. Credit Ratings. Accounting. Psychology
Personal: Fast Talk. Listen. Hand-to-Hand combat.

Skills: (Non-default skills BOLD, Professional Skills ITALICS, Hobbies preceded by a DOT. Checked skills followed by a *)
Accounting (10%): 60
Anthropology (01%):
Archaeology (01%):
Art(Drawing) (05%):
Astronomy (01%):
Bargain (05%): 50
Biology (01%):
Chemistry (01%):
Climb (40%):
Conceal (15%):
Craft(Sewing) (05%):
Credit Rating (15%): 70
Cthulhu Mythos (00%):
Disguise (01%):
Dodge (DEX x 2): 20
Drive Carriage (20%):
Electrical Repair (10%):
.Fast Talk (05%):55
First Aid (30%):
Geology (01%):
.Hide (10%): 40
History (20%):
Jump (25%):
Law (05%): 60
Library Use (25%):
Listen (25%):
Locksmith (01%):
Martial Arts (01%):
Mechanical Repair (20%):
Medicine (05%):
Natural History (10%):
Navigate (10%):
.Occult (05%): 55
Operate Heavy Machine (01%):
Other Language: Hindi (01%): 31%
Own Language: English (EDU x 5%): 85%
Persuade (15%): 75%
Pharmacy (01%):
Photography (10%):
Physics (01%):
Pilot Balloon (01%):
Pilot Boat (01%):
Psychology (05%): 60%
Ride (05%): 25%
Sneak (10%):
Spot Hidden (25%):
Swim (25%):
Throw (25%):
Track (10%):

Hand-to-Hand:
Fist/Punch (50%):
Grapple (25%):
Head Butt (10%):
Kick (25%):
Knife (25%):

Firearms:
.Handgun (20%):50
Rifle (25%):
Shotgun (30%):

[Gaffer]

I don't think Dodson's much of a prospect for a missionary girl. They might have made acquaintance on the ship coming out though.

Set your sights on young Granville, Miss. You got it from the old Dodger.

She could also have been widowed almost as soon as she was wed (or even lost her fiance before the wedding) and be traveling to rejoin her parents who are already at a mission station in Oudh.

[markh]

Here is a provisional bio for my character. Comments gratefully received, and I'm happy to change details as needed to fit in.

Ensign Thomas Wakeham, Age 25

Young Bristolian Thomas arrived in India as a newly commissioned ensign at age 17, eight years ago. His family is reasonably well to do, but is without any great position, and has an unfortunate excess of sons. Many of his contemporaries have been promoted once or twice by now, due to greater wealth or a bloody campaign, but he lacks the resources to purchase his step. Thomas served with the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers, finding that the expense of keeping several horses and the other accoutrements of a young cavalry officer swallowed all his pay and more. About three years ago, with debts mounting, he accepted a move to the Oudh Frontier Police, where his horsemanship and language abilities would stand him in good stead, and his pay would go significantly further. At that time, Oudh was still independent; the Frontier Police were paid for by the Nizam but controlled by the British Resident; their primary duties were to deal with fugitives attempting to avoid British jurisdiction by fleeing into Oudh.
Thomas took to his new lifestyle well, and his native troops brought him a closer acquaintance with Indian culture than he had ever experienced. Spending long weeks on patrol, away from other Europeans, dealing with remote communities, it was natural to start to adopt native ways to better deal with them. Indian clothing was better suited to long days riding in the climate, eating food offered was necessary to avoid insult, and he soon found himself impressed by the native culture. On each return to “civilisation”, he found it more difficult to return to his character as a fine upstanding English cavalryman.
By the time Oudh was fully annexed by the British, and the Frontier Police folded into a new force, Thomas had gone native to an alarming extent, openly adopting native dress whenever possible, and running an essesntial native household. While 50 years ago this might not have been blinked at, attitudes have hardened by the 1850s, and Thomas would be considered with grave concern in Delhi. Now that his frontier has been moved, Thomas faces an uncertain future, particularly as his household has recently added a young woman of a good Oudh family. Rumour has it that Thomas has gone so far as to marry her according to the native rites.

EDIT: Stats and skills, based on Military Officer from Inv. Com.

STR 11
CON 12
SIZ 09
DEX 17
APP 13
INT 16
POW 10
EDU 12


From his military training, he is an good rider, is used to navigating rough country, and handle a pistol and his sabre. He's picked up a little bit
of field craft from his time with the Frontier Police, but not much.
He speaks good Hindi, and is good at reading people and issuing commands (I've gone with Fast Talk to represent this, rather than persuade, as it
seemed more appropriate).

(Professional skills in Bold)

Bargain (05%):5
Credit Rating (15%): 25% (inc +10% from Military Officer) 40
Dodge (DEX x 2): 54
Fast Talk (05%): 60
Hide (10%): 20
Jump (25%): 25
Listen (25%): 30%
Navigate (10%): 50
Other Language: Hindi (01%): 60
Own Language: English (EDU x 5%): 65%
Persuade (15%): 35
Psychology (05%): 50
Ride (05%): 70
Sneak (10%): 20
Spot Hidden (25%): 30

Hand-to-Hand:
Fist/Punch (50%): 55%
Grapple (25%):
Head Butt (10%):
Kick (25%): 25%
Knife (25%): 25%
Sabre (20%): 55%

Firearms
Handgun (20%): 60%
Rifle (25%): 25%

(I've contrived to lose all the changes in the sheet I was using to work these out, so I'll have to double check it all) (2nd EDIT: double checked, hadn't copied in sabre and handgun, adjusted a few other skills)

[Philulhu]

Player: Philulhu
Name: Granville Michaels
Age: 17
Sex: Male
Occupation: Ensign, The Royal Corps of Engineers (Engineer)
Colleges, Degrees: None
Birthplace: Southwark, London, England




STR 12
CON 13
SIZ 12
DEX 16
APP 11
INT 9
POW 10
EDU 17

SAN 50
IDEA 45
LUCK 50
KNOW 85

MAGIC POINTS 10
HIT POINTS 13

Accounting (10%)
Anthropology (01%)
Archaeology (01%)
Art (05%):
Astronomy (01%)
Bargain (05%) 20
Biology (01%)
Chemistry (01%) 76
Climb (40%)
Conceal (15%)
Credit Rating (15%)
Cthulhu Mythos (00%)
Dodge (DEXx2) 32
Drive Carriage (20%)
Fast Talk (05%)
First Aid (30%)
Geology (01%) 86
Hide (10%)
History (20%)
Jump (25%)
Law (05%)
Library Use (25%) 60
Listen (25%)
Locksmith (01%) 6
Martial Arts (01%)
Mechanical Repair (20%) 80
Medicine (05%)
Natural History (10%)
Navigate (10%) 30
Occult (05%)
Operate Hvy. Machine (01%)
Other Language (01%):
Own Language (EDUx5): English 85
Persuade (15%) 25
Pharmacy (01%)
Physics (01%) 86
Pilot Balloon (01%)
Pilot Boat (01%)
Psychology (05%)
Ride (05%)
Sneak (10%)
Spot Hidden (25%)
Swim (25%)
Throw (25%)
Track (10%)
Handgun (20%) 40
Rifle (25%) 45
Shotgun (30%)
Fist/Punch (50%) 1D3+db
Head Butt (10%) 1D4+db
Kick (25%) 1D6+db
Grapple (25%) special

[Seon]

Edited in skillset for Herman.

[Philulhu]

Added details for Granville. Does the letter work for background?

[Lammomedes]

Added details for Granville. Does the letter work for background?

Sounds good to me.