Space Oddity: Mindbending linked investigations in 1969/2009

[Mr. Handy]

July 1969 - a time of great turmoil. America is deeply embroiled in a hot war in Vietnam and a cold war with the Soviet Union, while on the homefront there is tremendous unrest as the culture undergoes radical changes. While astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins are on their way to a date with destiny aboard Apollo 11, life on Earth is becoming more and more confusing. Defenders of established traditions are fighting an increasingly losing battle against those who want change. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll are becoming more prevalent, and the threat of nuclear annihilation hangs over the planet like a shroud.

July 2009 - a time of great turmoil. America is deeply embroiled in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, while on the homefront there is tremendous political division and the economy is in dire shape. A new president promises change, but can he possibly live up to lofty expectations? Crime has worsened with the economic situation, the scourge of drugs ruins countless lives, and the threat of another terrorist attack looms always in the background.

Having taken complete leave of my senses, I'm considering starting a new game while I'm still running Zombie Apocalypse. I know, I know...but try reasoning with a lunatic! Anyway, I'm looking for 3-6 investigators, and I'd expect a rate of about two or three posts per week. There are two settings. 1969 is the primary setting, and most of the investigators will be in it. I only need one character for the 2009 setting, but this character will be very important to the plot. If you want to play the 2009 character, you'll need to commit to seeing this game through beforehand. If your situation changes and you have to drop out, I'll understand, but please don't make the commitment if you have reason to believe you might not be able to keep it.

I'm not sure when (or if) this game will start, but I'll start by gauging interest now. If you'd like to play, let me know and think about what sort of character you'd like. Much of the adventure will be tailored to fit the characters. The soonest it could possibly start would be the first full week of April, when I have some time off from work and might be able to get a lot of the heavy-duty work of getting Space Oddity started out of the way. Otherwise, it might have to wait until Chapter 4 of Zombie Apocalypse concludes, so I can get things rolling during the break between Chapters 4 and 5.

[Mr Zombie killer]

i am interested in playing this game. I like your style of keeping and you have taught me alot which is why I feel so far my new game is far better run then my old weekend in the country when I tried to run everything and thus made it not so fun.

Anyway i would like to play out of type....maybe a student radical or a black soldier just home from Vietnam or maybe a housewife facing a new world even though she has chores and kids and stuff running around wanting to do something with the world. Any of those sound like someone you could use?
-steve

[Mr. Handy]

Thanks! In Search of the Mythos so far is better than Weekend in the Country. Yes, any of those characters would be good. Choose whichever one you want to play the most.

[Mr Zombie killer]

How bout this: student radical whose brother was killed in Vietnam and who is also rebelling against her parents?

By the way if Tabs does not answer back feel free to post as well. If they found your accent to be bad they will mention it but France is full of refugees now and your backstory of being farm laborers should cover all.

[Mr. Handy]

That character will fit in quite nicely. If I get at least one more 1969 player and a 2009 player, I'll create a forum and get started on character creation with an expected start date of April 3-5.

Tabs often doesn't post on the weekends, but should be back by Monday. I don't mind waiting, and I'm very busy anyway.

[Sufirjp]

I could be interested in this.

Although we have one student protester already, I figure it won't hurt to look to the counter-culture. How about a hippie who, like many by 1969, is burned-out by the increasing levels of hard drugs, STDs, and police brutality in Haight-Ashbury and decides to turn towards communitarian living, following many youths of the time into the mass exodus into the country?

While many of these experiments failed, it did lead into a huge number of cults as an increasing number of hippies turned to guidance from alternative religions (whether home-grown or imports from Asia) and fundamentalist Christianity (the Jesus Movement). It might be interesting to use the character's travels across the country and with the various groups springing up as an introduction into the Mythos.

Of course, if this isn't at all where you intend to take the plot, we can discuss other options. Here's a few:

1. Black Panther
2. FBI agent involved in COINTELPRO
3. Author/Conspiracy Theorist, writing trash exposes on the JFK Assassination

[Mr. Handy]

Thanks for your interest, Sufirjp! There's room in this adventure for both members of the counter-culture and members of the establishment, as well as ordinary people who don't want to get involved in the cultural struggle. Any of your character ideas would work nicely. The adventure will not be a road trip, as it is set in a city. I decided on Philadelphia, though San Francisco and Houston were other cities I had considered. In the end I made my decision because I've lived in Philly all of my life except when I went away to college. While I wasn't born yet in 1969, I didn't miss it by too long and I have a good feel for the city's history and how it has changed over time. Your hippie character could be from San Francisco or have spent time there, but would be in Philadelphia at the outset of the adventure and should be willing to remain there at least for the duration of the adventure. Any of your character ideas could be placed with Mr Zombie killer's character initially (even the FBI agent, who could be posing as a radical in order to infiltrate radical groups), but it's also fine if someone comes up with a character that would not normally be associated with the others.

[Sufirjp]

I think it might be interesting to play COINTELPRO infiltrator, or Black Panther. The hippie character could work, assuming that he's got a spiritual teacher in Philadelphia, although the counterculture movement was apolitical in the extreme.

The Black Panther could have some problems as they cut a lot of their ties with the Democratic Party, since one of Carmichael & Hamilton's primary critiques in Black Power was how the larger party failed to address their concerns.

The COINTELPRO guy could be the best fit, although I'd need a stronger idea of the organization that Zombie Killer's working for. Is it the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)? I doubt it, since they were effectively dead at that point. There were plenty of splinter groups, but I'd be interested to know which one.

[Mr. Handy]

If you play the COINTELPRO infiltrator, I'll decide what your assignment is and which group you've been sent to infiltrate. The SDS had collapsed by this point, and in fact the SDS National Office was just taken over in June 1969 by the Weathermen, which used the SDS name as a front. That would be a viable target, as would the Black Panther Party itself (which was the target of most official COINTELPRO operations in 1969). It's funny how most people have forgotten by today that in the South it was the Democratic Party that was behind Jim Crow and that staunchly defended segregation. The South effectively had a one-party system for decades, and the Democratic primaries were the elections that really mattered. The general election was a mere formality. Your character is free to be as involved or uninvolved in politics as you wish.

If you're looking for local potential spiritual teachers for a hippie character, there's always Ira Einhorn. This was years before he became a murderer and fugitive. You could also have a fictitious character as your teacher if there's no historical teacher you'd like.

[Mr Zombie killer]

Hey can my character belong to the Weathermen or were woman not allowed in that group? I cannot quite remember not having studied that point.

[Mr. Handy]

Yes, there were women in the Weathermen, and yes, you can play one. One of their founders and leaders was Bernardine Dohrn (she and Bill Ayers were considered the two top leaders), and there were other women in leadership positions too, as well as members of the rank and file. They're a new group at this point, and are in fact a splinter group of the SDS. They just took over the National Office of the SDS in June 1969, and they often use the SDS name. They were also sympathetic with the Black Panthers at this point.

[Mr Zombie killer]

Okay that sounds cool. Just remember that my character is white so the Black Panthers would not like her.

[Philulhu]

Hi,

this sounds interesting. What would the playing the 2009 PC involve? I'm thinking (perhaps) a college professor who saw the 60's first hand, possibly with an old FBI file somewhere with a list of radical groups he got involved in?

~~~

A bit of background (should you want it?) - I've not been on the board for a while but I've got form, in Hurrican Cthulhu and The Season of our Discontent plus my own game off-board.

I get on-line 2-3 times per week so I should be able to keep up

Cheers,

Philulhu

[Mr. Handy]

Welcome back, Philulhu! I've read and enjoyed both Hurricane Cthulhu and The Season of Our Discontent, and would be glad to have you aboard.

I can't tell you everything that playing the 2009 character would involve, as that would give away some surprises. The main thing this would involve is commitment to see the game through, as I said. While you'll be the only PC in your thread, at least initially, you won't miss out on anything. In fact, I think it's something you can really sink your teeth into and enjoy. While you're solo, you can play at your own pace. If you can't get on that often, it won't affect any of the other players. If you can post more frequently, your thread can move faster as long as I have the time to move it forward.

You can really play just about any kind of character you like, and I'll tailor the game to fit. A professor can work well, and while it's not required that your character has ties to the 60s, it is a plus and it gives me more to work with.

If you confirm that you want to play the 2009 character, I'll go ahead and create a forum, since we would now have enough players to get started. Character creation would then proceed over the next week or so, with an anticipated start in early April.

[Philulhu]

Great stuff - count me in! <rubs hands in anticipation>

Philulhu.

[Mr. Handy]

Far out! Prepare to have your mind blown!

We have a forum now, and I've just set up the OOC thread, so discussion can continue there. Here's the link to the forum: Space Oddity

[TheAlchemist]

Hey Mr.Handy

If you've still got room, I'm interested in playing as well. I was considering some sort of Roman Catholic Priest as a foil to the counter culture folks in the group.