The Crash Pad: Out of Character Conversation

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Talk about anything here.

[evil_scientist]

Hi everybody! Glad to be onboard for this game! If Mr. Handy's touchstone is Curse of the Crimson Altar, I think mine is Dracula AD 1972!

I'd be interested in playing a musician, singer-songwriter, who is heavily into Arthurian myth, Eastern philosophy, new age occult stuff. These leads to dabbling in things they don't understand.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Very nice. Could be a Tortured Artist or a Mystic/Everyman/Everywoman, depending on how you want to play it.

[evil_scientist]

Either way, I think it's possible to connect my character to SunlessNick's pretty easily. And maybe Mr Handy's parapsychologist "studies" the visions of Zara?

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Certainly a possibility. I'll come up with some way to get everybody together.

I am open to suggestions, but right now I am toying with the idea of starting this adventure in Venice, California, in 1967 or thereabouts.

[evil_scientist]

I am open to suggestions, but right now I am toying with the idea of starting this adventure in Venice, California, in 1967 or thereabouts.

For some reason I was sure the game would be set in the UK!

But 1967 California is great too. Haight-Ashbury would be a good option as well.

Edit: Wow, a nice synchronicity! I took the first name that came to my mind, Bill Ferris. Then googled it: William Ferris was a prominent collector of folklore music in the 60s and 70s! https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/ ... ississippi

[Mr. Handy]

Yes, Liz would be glad to help Zara understand her visions and would be fascinated by her precognitive abilities.

I had thought it would be the UK too, but California also works. Liz would be happy to travel anywhere on Earth (or beyond, for that matter).

[SunlessNick]

Either way, I think it's possible to connect my character to SunlessNick's pretty easily.

One of the special abilities of the Cursed Artist class is a local haunt where you can get rest and respite. We could easily have the same one.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

One thing I was thinking about when Venice came to mind was the fact that an amusement park known as Pacific Ocean Park closed down near there in 1967.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ocean_Park

The city of Venice, by 1967, was losing its former status as a place for the elite and becoming a lower class/bohemian area, with beatniks and hippies and the like.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice,_L ... es#Neglect

Los Angeles had neglected Venice so long that, by the 1950s, it had become the "Slum by the Sea." With the exception of new police and fire stations in 1930, the city spent little on improvements after annexation. The city did not pave Trolleyway (Pacific Avenue) until 1954 when county and state funds became available. Low rents for run-down bungalows attracted predominantly European immigrants (including a substantial number of Holocaust survivors) and young counterculture artists, poets, and writers. The Beat Generation hung out at the Gas House on Ocean Front Walk and at Venice West Cafe on Dudley. Police raids were frequent during that era.

As the name suggests, it also has canals! They would be in very bad shape by 1967.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice_Ca ... c_District

. . . as the automobile gained in popularity, the canals were viewed by many as outdated, and the bulk of the canals were filled in 1929 to create roads. By 1940, the remaining canals had fallen into disrepair, and the sidewalks were condemned by the city. The canal district remained in poor condition for more than 40 years, as numerous proposals to renovate the canals failed due to lack of funding, environmental concerns, and disputes as to who should bear the financial responsibility.

[SunlessNick]

That sounds like an interesting parallel to the Gothic vibe. So, for Zara's local haunt, how about the Sospiri? Named after one of Venice's famous bridges, it was originally upmarket, but is now seedier, haunted by lovers of counterculture?

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

That sounds perfect.

[Starspawn338]

Do you care if I arrange my rolled abilities to fit my character concept rather than put them in order of roll?

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

That's fine.

[evil_scientist]

Should I flesh out the details about Bill's girlfriend's death and Bill's nemesis, or leave this in the shadows?

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Whatever you prefer. I'll leave that entirely up to you.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

A reminder that I will be away for four days.

You may wish to have your characters already inside Sospiri when Liz enters, or walk in later, or be somewhere outside, or , for that matter, somewhere else entirely if you prefer.

[SunlessNick]

I love that you're calling the scenarios Tracks.

[evil_scientist]

Cool, going to jump in soon!

[jp1885]

Thanks for letting me join!
I've generated my character, Tony Patchpole: Playboy Detective, who can be seen in the characters thread. I hope I've managed to get it right first time
I'll dive straight in - see you in Sospiri!

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Welcome aboard!