conversations.from: system
conversations.value: **Please make sure you have read the rules at the link below before submitting a character. This is not an ordinary Storium game. Also please see my forum post on this game in Looking for Players.**
  
  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-luDaXgx4OJEIuTbn6cZ5IGMzQADc_TjH_MtWGi5Zsk/edit?usp=sharing
  
  I’ve chosen a setting written by Ed Greenwood called ‘For Queen and Country’. It’s taken from the published drama system play sets.
  
  **Summary**
  
  Deadly faerie monsters invade an alternative Elizabethan England, perhaps with the Virgin Queen’s connivance, leaving the defense of the realm in the hands of an outwardly motley but tight-knit group of adventurers, plotters, and lovers.
  
  **Setting**
  
  England and the high seas, circa 1567. The latest public craze is investing in expeditions to recover rich treasures of pirate gold recently buried on remote tropical isles. Old salts spin wild yarns and sinister backstreet bookshops sell treasure maps galore. Agents of the Virgin Queen have hanged every last pirate they haven’t sunk on the waves, and are hot on the trail of The Black Spot, a secret pirate brotherhood ashore in England, traitors who seek to bring down the Crown.
  
  Away from London, the countryside is alive with very different rumors; monsters out of fairy tales and old folklore prowl and lurk, and farm folk are disappearing. 
  
  The young Queen Elizabeth came to the throne imperious, full of both promise and energy. She convened councils to personally direct sea captains, issuing letters of marque making them privateers in personal service to the Sovereign, and promptly sent them on secretive voyages to the Caribbean. Word spread that they were hounding pirates and bringing a new peace and prosperity, tightening England’s rule over the waves, and spurring the bright dream of empire. 
  
  Now, almost a decade later, with Philip of Spain rattling sabers, and werewolves, satyrs, sinister spell-hurling elves, and worse abroad in the wilder woods of the realm, word is spreading that Britain’s privateers sailed to uncharted isles to bury not treasure, but runestones—the ancient enchanted stones that kept shut the gates of Faerie, barring the beasts of the fey from England. Undercover Black Spot members roam England, whispering over tankards in the taverns late at night that the Virgin Queen seeks to become the Faerie Queen and establish a Faerie rule first over England, and then over all corners of the burgeoning Empire.
  
  **Tone**
  
  I’m seeing this as a episodic drama about a group of ‘experts’ who band together to fight the influx of supernatural incidents as the faerie world begins to bleed into our own. Think Tudor era Buffy/X Files and you won’t be far off.
  
  
  **Potential characters**
  
  You play characters held together by blood, love, and the loyalty of comradeship in a time that desperately needs them.
  
  Characters might include (but are not limited to):
  - Black Spot member
  - young recruit to the cause of freedom
  - opportunistic pirate privateer chartered by Elizabeth
  - member of the Royal Secret Service 
  - courtier (pro- or anti-Elizabeth) 
  - bewildered but sword-skilled noble 
  - stalwart yeoman farmer (seeking to defend your home locale and the wider realm) 
  - Spanish undercover agent (seeking  to foment discord, slaughter, and  public mistrust) 
  - Royal Society member
  - Minor count or countess
  - Wife to local land owner
  - Expert in faerie lore
  
  Historically women were considered inferior to men and expected to be led by them at all times. I would like any female characters in this story to be quietly effective and able to hold their own against the patriarchs of these times. I'm not overly concerned about historical accuracy but it would be good to retain a Tudor flavour. Female characters will probably encounter light sexism from male NPCs but hopefully with the end product of proving them all wrong. Perhaps male characters will be on the end of light sexism from faerie NPCs. That is up to us..
  
  ------------------------
  
  **Example poles (strength/weakness cards)**
  Loyalty vs. ambition
  Bravery vs. cowardice
  Teacher vs. tyrant
  
  **Example desires (subplot cards)**
  To gain power
  To be loved
  To be forgiven
  To be desired
  To be powerless
  To be happy
  To be punished
  To gain vengeance
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Example role in the tribe.
conversations.prefix: Role: Elder:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Example role in the tribe. Please feel free to make your own.    
conversations.prefix: Role: Lady of the Court:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Example dramatic pole (twinned with weakness card of ambition)
conversations.prefix: Pole: Loyalty:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Example dramatic pole (twinned with weakness card of loyalty) 
conversations.prefix: Pole: Ambition:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Example desire.
conversations.prefix: Desire: To gain power:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Example role in the tribe. Please feel free to make your own.
conversations.prefix: Role: Spanish Agent:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You achieve a strong outcome
conversations.prefix: Green procedural token:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You achieve a partial outcome or one with a twist / unforeseen consequences.
conversations.prefix: Yellow procedural token:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You achieve a negative outcome.
conversations.prefix: Red procedural token:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Spend 1 drama token to:
  • Call a scene in which your character does not appear;
  • Duck a scene in which your character has been called;
  • Crash a scene in which your character was not included;
  • Prevent a player from crashing a scene in which their player was not included.
  
  Spend 2 drama tokens to:
  • Force an unwilling granter to make a significant concession
  
  Spend 3 drama tokens to:
  • Block a force
conversations.prefix: Drama token:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Spend 1 drama token to:
  • Call a scene in which your character does not appear;
  • Duck a scene in which your character has been called;
  • Crash a scene in which your character was not included;
  • Prevent a player from crashing a scene in which their player was not included.
  
  Spend 2 drama tokens to:
  • Force an unwilling granter to make a significant concession
  
  Spend 3 drama tokens to:
  • Block a force
conversations.prefix: Drama token (copy):
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Spend 1 drama token to:
  • Call a scene in which your character does not appear;
  • Duck a scene in which your character has been called;
  • Crash a scene in which your character was not included;
  • Prevent a player from crashing a scene in which their player was not included.
  
  Spend 2 drama tokens to:
  • Force an unwilling granter to make a significant concession
  
  Spend 3 drama tokens to:
  • Block a force
conversations.prefix: Drama token (copy):
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You achieve a strong outcome
conversations.prefix: Green procedural token (copy):
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You achieve a negative outcome.
conversations.prefix: Red procedural token (copy):
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You achieve a partial outcome or one with a twist / unforeseen consequences.
conversations.prefix: Yellow procedural token (copy):
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Spend 1 bennie at any time to:
  • Gain a drama token card;
  • Jump the queue and call the next scene. (the queue-jumper’s next scene will be skipped and then the order of play reverts to back to normal);
  • Burn any one token held by any other player.
  • Gain a procedural asset card of any colour you don’t already have.
conversations.prefix: Bennie:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Kraka wants Old Oak to trust her with the traditions of the tribe.
  
  Old Oak does not trust Kraka because she is disconnected from the real world.
conversations.prefix: Seek trust from Old Oak:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Old Oak wants Thorn to show him (and the tribe) some loyalty.
  
  Thorn feels misunderstood and threatened by Old Oak's questioning.
conversations.prefix: Seek loyalty from Thorn:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Thorn wants Drace to boost his self-confidence. In particular in relation to Kraka.
  
  Drace thinks a man's truth has to come from the inside.
conversations.prefix: Seek encouragement from Drace:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Kraka wants Drace to show that he is responsible. Wants him to want to be responsible. 
  
  Drace thinks he already is responsible. But Kraka doesnt understand.
conversations.prefix: Seek signs of responsibility from Drace:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Drace wants approval from him but Old Oak has expectations that he does not meet.
conversations.prefix: Seek approval from Old Oak:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Drace wants that someday Thorn might someday see more of Drace’s own -truth- than others seem to.
  
  Thorn thinks that Drace's focus is holding him (and everyone else back).
conversations.prefix: Seek recognition and reconciliation from Thorn:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Drace wants that someday Thorn might someday see more of Drace’s own -truth- than others seem to.
  
  Thorn thinks that Drace's focus is holding him (and everyone else back).
conversations.prefix: Seek recognition and reconciliation from Thorn:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Old Oak has been turning to Kráka for spiritual reassurance that his spirit will be welcomed by the gods after he leaves the mortal world.
  
  Kraka cannot tell him unless the spirits find him worthy.
conversations.prefix: Seek hope (for life after death) from Kraka:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Thorn wants to appear special somehow in the eyes of Kráka.
  
  Kraka doesn't understand him and thinks he does not like her.
conversations.prefix: Seek love and recognition from Kraka:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You achieve a strong outcome
conversations.prefix: Green procedural token:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You achieve a strong outcome
conversations.prefix: Green procedural token:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You achieve a strong outcome
conversations.prefix: Green procedural token:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You achieve a negative outcome.
conversations.prefix: Red procedural token:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You achieve a negative outcome.
conversations.prefix: Red procedural token:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You achieve a negative outcome.
conversations.prefix: Red procedural token:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You achieve a partial outcome or one with a twist / unforeseen consequences.
conversations.prefix: Yellow procedural token:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You achieve a partial outcome or one with a twist / unforeseen consequences.
conversations.prefix: Yellow procedural token:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You achieve a partial outcome or one with a twist / unforeseen consequences.
conversations.prefix: Yellow procedural token:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You achieve a strong outcome
conversations.prefix: Green procedural token (copy):
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You achieve a negative outcome.
conversations.prefix: Red procedural token (copy):
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You achieve a partial outcome or one with a twist / unforeseen consequences.
conversations.prefix: Yellow procedural token (copy):
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Example role in the tribe. Please feel free to make your own.
conversations.prefix: Role: Scientist of the Royal Society:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Colin wants Alfredus to do what he wants and brew the Herzwasser.
  
  Alfredus is unable to brew it. He is a sinner.
conversations.prefix: Seek obedience from Alfredus:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Edmund wants respect from Alfredus. He wants his father to hear good things.
  
  Alfredus doesn’t think Edmund’s life surrounded by poets is deserving of respect.
conversations.prefix: Seek respect from Alfredus:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Margaret wants Alfredus to be a friend and confidant
  
  Alfredus doesn’t believe Margaret’s studies are of interest to a Royal Fellow.
conversations.prefix: Seek friendship and confidence from Alfredus:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Margaret wants Colin to approve of her work.
  
  Colin worries that Margaret’s work could lead to his exposure
conversations.prefix: Seek approval from Colin:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Edmund wants signs of security from Colin as he is vulnerable to info Colin has.
  
  Colin intends to keep Edmund guessing. He could be a useful scapegoat.
conversations.prefix: Seek signs of security from Colin:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Alfredus wants Colin to trust him with his medical care.
  
  Colin shies away from doctors in case of what they might learn.
conversations.prefix: Seek trust from Colin:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Alfredus wants Edmund to be impressed by his research.
  
  Edmund worries that supporting Alfredus will harm his standing with the Queen.
conversations.prefix: Seek to impress Edmund:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Margaret wants a Edmund to show public affection to her.
  
  Edmund doesn’t understand that Margaret wants this.
conversations.prefix: Seek public affection from Edmund:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Colin wants deference from Edmund in matters of the Crown.
  
  Edmund is happy to appear to defer to Colin but true loyalty must be earnt.
conversations.prefix: Seek deference from Edmund:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Alfredus wants the company and affection of Margaret.
  
  Margaret has no time for anyone who doesn’t value her work.
conversations.prefix: Seek love from Margaret:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Edmund wants Margaret to accept him and a possible marriage of convenience.
  
  Margaret doesn’t trust Edmund enough to believe that marriage would let her be free.
conversations.prefix: Seek acceptance from Margaret:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Colin wants Margaret’s cooperation as he wants her to research half-fey.
  
  Margaret believes the subject is scandalous and would bring her trouble.
conversations.prefix: Seek cooperation from Margaret:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The society's core members are the fellows: scientists and engineers from the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth selected based on having made "a substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics, engineering science and medical science".
conversations.prefix: Role: Royal Society Fellow:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You desire achievement, fame, wealth, status, and the respect of your peers. Things which do not advance  your goals,  such as sentimentality and emotionalism, have little place in your life.
conversations.prefix: Ambition:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Her Majesty tolerates only accomplished women about her. She requires each to be an expert at something that may prove useful to her.
conversations.prefix: Role: Lady of the Court:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: "First, do no harm," the oath of a physician since the time of Galen and Hipocrates, guides your hand in all your dealings with the health of others. Properly balanced humours  are the foundation of good health.
conversations.prefix: Pole: Physician:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: So little that is true or useful is known about the human body. Some properly-done experiments would answer many questions, even if they did result in suffering for the patient.
conversations.prefix: Pole: Scientist:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: To be recognized as a leading figure in the world of Natural History is your greatest desire; to be honored by the Royal Society, or even be elected its President, is a dream yet unrealized.
conversations.prefix: Desire: To Gain Fame:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: There is so much to be learned from texts both ancient and new. Education is the only way to eliminate ignorance and superstition. 
conversations.prefix: Pole: Scholar:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Some knowledge is too dangerous or heretical to fall in the wrong hands. Someone must protect the world from the unscrupulous who would use this power for their own advantage.
conversations.prefix: Pole: Censor:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You want to be acknowledged for your expertise and your long years of study. 
conversations.prefix: Desire: Respect:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Serving the Prince is never quite what it appears to be. Elizabeth is no weak-willed ruler, and she demands unswerving loyalty from those in her inner circle. She is canny enough to keep even the most polished courtier on his toes.  
conversations.prefix: Role: Courtier:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Elizabethan stage has countless luminaries. The shoes of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Kyd, Dekker, Middleton, Jonson, and Massinger are hard to fill, and having the soul of a great playwright and a poet doesn't make the path ahead easy. 
conversations.prefix: Pole: Poet:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The rationalist views of the Enlightenment have their hooks firmly in England. If there isn't a logical, scientific explanation, then perhaps it isn't worth considering. Those who devote themselves to the principles of logic and reason can be slow to credit what lies beyond nature.
conversations.prefix: Pole: Philosopher:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Elizabeth can lift a man out of obscurity and just as easily send him dashing down to earth. Her court is as enticing as it is dangerous. With the Queen's patronage, anything is possible. However, fortune is a wheel and that wheel is always turning. Rising to the top is not nearly as difficult as remaining there.
conversations.prefix: Desire: The Queen's Favor:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Royal Secret Service depends on men with quick wits, quick blades, little scruples and an unshakable loyalty to Queen and country. 
conversations.prefix: Role: Half-Blood Spy:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: To defend Queen and Country against all threats no matter the consequences.
conversations.prefix: Pole: Loyalty:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: To give in to the Fey heritage in his blood and plunge Queen and Kingdom into darkness.
conversations.prefix: Pole: Fey Heritage:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Living in turmoil for all his live, torn between the rage within and his conscious thoughts, feeling like an outcast -this has to end.
conversations.prefix: Desire: A place to belong:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Baldassare Castiglione pointed out that the court is no place for a weakling. A man can make his fortune...or he can lose his head. 
conversations.prefix: Courtier:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The poetic soul recognizes that there are more things in heaven and earth that are dreamt of in philosophy. 
  
  Being possessed of wit, along with the ability to weave words together as well as any of the luminaries of the court, can be a powerful weapon. 
conversations.prefix: Pole: Poet:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Science has made great strides, and the rational mind demands proof and logic and rejects credulous simplicity without evidence. 
  
  An adherent to the philosophical tenets of Enlightenment thought will trust only what their senses verify. 
conversations.prefix: Pole: Philosopher:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The sun rises and sets with the Queen's smile. She can make a man's future, piling glory and honor upon him, or she can utterly destroy him. 
  
  Gaining Elizabeth's favor is like catching hold of Fortune's wheel. It is relatively simple to rise to the top at Court, but remaining there takes skill and luck. 
  
  Is it possible to craft a name for oneself that is based on merit rather than birth? How does one go about gaining royal favor so that new-made reputation shines brightly? 
conversations.prefix: Desire: To Make a Name: