conversations.from: system
conversations.value: **July 1933, on the rural outskirts of Savannah, Georgia.**
  
  The Great Depression hits the American South hard. Drought ruins the land, children starve, and disease runs rampant. In a small sharecropping community named Barefoot Crossing, a Methodist minister claims divine providence, and founds a church among the failing cotton fields and abandoned plantations. Soon the formerly destitute community is on its way to flourishing - the congregation is growing and even the land appears to be recovering. 
  
  But as in all things, sorrow merely uses hope to sharpen its blades. When March is found in his study with a stomach full of buckshot, the whole community launches into an uproar. Who would want to kill such a noble man? What will happen to the Unifying Word? Will the fate of the congregation mirror that of their champion?
  
  As the community of Barefoot Crossing recruits those capable of finding answers, they may not like what the unfortunate investigators discover.
  
  ————————————————————————————————————
  
  **GENRE:** Investigative Horror, **PLAYERS:** 2-3
  
  Characters should all be people who are recognized for finding hidden information, enough so that they might be hired to look into March's death. Private investigators are the obvious choice, but there are many other aspects of the situation under examination besides the murder itself. Nearly any learned profession would do. Trusted community doctors might be consulted, or local historians, amateur journalists, thugs willing to do some extra-legal snooping, etc. So long as someone might realistically hire the character for their discretion & investigative abilities, a character can come from almost any 1930's occupation.
  
  Aside from having a realistic skill set, players should be concerned about which faction would hire their character. 
  
  ·  Rathbone, Rathbone & Wilks: the most prestigious law firm in Savannah, charged with executing the March estate.
  
  ·  The Prophetic Baptist Assembly: concerned with possible violence towards the black community as a result of March's murder.
  
  · The Chatham County Sheriff's Office: seeking March's killer
  
  · Atticus Wambles: a carpet-bagger claiming to  be March's illegitimate son & seeking a portion of the inheritance
  
  It should be noted that factions will not hire indiscriminately. It's unlikely a prestigious law firm in the Jim-Crow South would hire anyone of color for any reason. It's equally unlikely a black pastor would trust a white man to protect his flock.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Caiden Garrod accessed a Swiss bank vault using false credentials. What was he after? Did he take anything? You have his hotel address & room number.
conversations.prefix: Accusations of Misconduct:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The report lists specific details about Dashell March's murder, especially the sighting of Claudette Spratt escaping into an apparent negro man's car.
conversations.prefix: Police Report:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The reports say she was there when March was murdered & now she's missing. Where is she?
conversations.prefix: Find Claudette Spratt:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Confirming that her daughter "consorts with the lowliest trash", and that both her & Claudette have been over to the March's for dinner before.
conversations.prefix: Becky Spratt's Statement:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Places heavy emphasis on the presence of a negro, and notes the getaway vehicle is a bed-less '24 Model TT truck.
conversations.prefix: Lydia March's Statement:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Apparently this bed-less '24 Model TT truck, driven by a negro man, was seen fleeing the scene with the Spratt girl. Where is it now?
conversations.prefix: Find the Getaway Truck:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A restraining order filed in Indiana requiring that Atticus Wambles be kept 500 yards away from the Marches at all times.
conversations.prefix: Protection Order for Wambles:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Garrod's reference sheet for files at the Chatham County Records Office concerning the Marches. It should save you some time.
conversations.prefix: Bibliographic Notes:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The first wife, Virginia Maia, presumed dead since 1927. The second wife, Lydia March, recently widowed. The third wife??
conversations.prefix: The March Will:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Columbus Rathbone obtained this from a contact of his in a newspaper clipping service.
conversations.prefix: Photo of Atticus Wambles:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A British claims investigator sent by Lloyd's of London has been missing for about a week. He was on the March case. Where is he?
conversations.prefix: Find Caiden Garrod:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A northerner by the name of Atticus Wambles is in town, claiming to be the illegitimate son of the late Dashell March. Could he be telling the truth?
conversations.prefix: Question Atticus Wambles:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Did you notice something a little odd on your way into the hotel? 
conversations.prefix: Something Odd:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You know that Caiden Garrod had rented a room on the third floor of the hotel. With him missing, the hotel is not allowing anyone access. After all, they do have a reputation for discretion to mantain.
conversations.prefix: Caiden Garrod's Hotel Room:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The day is too young to be breaking into a claims investigator's apartment. Perhaps you should look elsewhere?
conversations.prefix: Pursue Other Avenues of Investigation:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: When confronted by a mystery, you can't help but investigate. Damn the risks, there's something going on here and you're going to figure it out! If you don't, it will just drive you crazy worrying about it.
conversations.prefix: Curiosity:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You know it's dangerous and ill-advised, but somebody's got to go down those steps or bust up that cult. And you're elected, because if you don't take care of things now, they're just going to get worse.
conversations.prefix: Duty:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You've tried everything else, and nothing else matters. So what if it might kill you? At least that would be different.
conversations.prefix: Ennui:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: This wasn't actually your idea. But someone else - someone who's important to you for whatever reason - went down that tunnel, and you'd better go after them to make sure they're safe.
conversations.prefix: Follower:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Quite frankly, you're not sure why you keep coming back to the moldering graveyard, or poring over those antique texts. But queer behavior runs in the family, apparently. Outsiders wouldn't understand.
conversations.prefix: In the Blood:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Something out there hurt you, or hurt someone you care about. Therefore, it must be destroyed, burned out, taken down, exposed...whatever it takes, and whatever it costs.
conversations.prefix: Revenge:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Uncovering the truth about the world is what true scholars do. You investigate in order to find the underlying pattern of things.
conversations.prefix: Scholarship:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Something has ripped the scrim off the world, and you can't go back to believing in Baby Jesus and FDR anymore. You might as well go further in, because you aren't going back any time soon.
conversations.prefix: Sudden Shock:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You must learn the secret lore of the cosmos. This is not academic. Only you truly burn to possess such secrets, and only you are willing to do what it takes to get them.
conversations.prefix: Thirst for Knowledge:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Not much gets by you. You have a rare combination of clarity of mind and spatial awareness that results in being especially observant.
conversations.prefix: Percipient:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You have learned to master your fear, whether you are brave, foolish, or just too jaded or emotionally distant to be affected by anything.
conversations.prefix: Dauntless:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You are one of the few left in this era with significant financial resources to spend. You can mingle with the upper tiers of society effortlessly. Who said money can't buy happiness?
conversations.prefix: Affluent:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Be it good looks or simply a magnetic personality, you have a way with people. After a conversation with you, most people can be persuaded or milked for information.
conversations.prefix: Charismatic:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Athletics have always come naturally to you. You can run faster, jump higher, climb further, and swim longer than most. You have the tenacity & endurance of a bull.
conversations.prefix: Olympian:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You have always been good with your hands. You can do nimble & delicate work with ease, whether it's picking locks or palming evidence.
conversations.prefix: Dextrous:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Whether you were professionally trained deception or are just naturally stealthy, you find it easy to slip out of rooms unnoticed and to find alcoves in which to eavesdrop.
conversations.prefix: Clandestine:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The squalor & filth of Depression-era slums is what you call home. You don't get lost in cities, and know what channels to go through to find out the latest in underworld gossip.
conversations.prefix: Streetwise:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You can ferret out information from collections of books, records, or big piles of unsorted telegrams & correspondence. You can also navigate bureaucracies & legal systems.
conversations.prefix: Archivist:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A gigantic tent filled with a zealous-eyed congregation, complete with a stage, altar, and pews.
conversations.prefix: Unifying Word Revival:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The colour of your skin marks you out, and you are treated harshly for it. The Jim Crow laws force racial segregation, and most of white society treats you like trash. You live a hard life.
conversations.prefix: Outsider:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The pastor's eldest son, he bears a striking resemblance to his father and enthralls the crowd with practiced ease.
conversations.prefix: Dashell March Jr.:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Make a first impression on the locals that won't get you in trouble later.
conversations.prefix: First Impressions:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Your ultimate success will be its own justification. The rules of petty people don't apply to you, and neither do their shrinking, timorous fears.
conversations.prefix: Arrogance:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You are a specialist in mental illness and the human psyche, whether a dabbler in phrenology or an expert in Freudian thought.
conversations.prefix: Alienist:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Whether a learned professor, devoted student, or amateur enthusiast, you have a vast field of knowledge on a chosen subject or two.
conversations.prefix: Scholar:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Creed, belief, or race, you cannot tolerate those that are not your own. Whether you are a simple God-fearing American or have dedicated yourself to the KKK or Zionists, your intolerances rule you.
conversations.prefix: Bigot:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You are just one of millions in this era with almost nothing left. Every day is a struggle for food, clothing, and shelter. 
conversations.prefix: Destitute:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Your body is weak, and you fall easily to illness or injury. You may have unhealed wounds from the past, or perhaps your age is finally taking its toll.
conversations.prefix: Anemic:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You have always felt certain things more strongly than others. At times you've been called a coward, other times a madman. There might be an inkling of truth in both.
conversations.prefix: Feeble-minded:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You were never much good with people. Unable to judge & improvise interactions appropriately with others, you much prefer just being alone.
conversations.prefix: Socially Inept:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: There's nothing out there you can't defeat, at least in your mind. You believe you can do most anything, and you'll never retreat from a challenge. 
conversations.prefix: Cocksure:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You never make rash decisions & like to plot things out in detail long before any action is taken, sometimes bordering on paranoia.
conversations.prefix: Cautious:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You lacked the opportunity or means for a proper education. You are probably illiterate and while not necessarily slow, your lack of formal education makes it easy for some folk to look down upon you.
conversations.prefix: Rube:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Grace has never come naturally to you. You are always knocking over random objects or tripping over your own feet, and activities requiring manual dexterity are, you find, best avoided.
conversations.prefix: Unwieldy:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The wife of the deceased pastor & matriarch of the family. There is an unsettling quality to the intensity of her gaze...
conversations.prefix: Lydia March:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Atticus looks youthful for a man in his forties. He claims to be an illegitimate son of the deceased pastor Dashell March.
conversations.prefix: Atticus Wambles:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Instead of the passive deacon seen during service, this man is a confrontational drunk at home. He reeks of alcohol & slurs his words.
conversations.prefix: Dave Carter:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Dave's wife, and a church patron. She is pregnant with her fifth child. She has a vacuous look on her face.
conversations.prefix: Mary Beth Carter:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A widowed church patron & mother of four, Annabelle has retained much of her beauty. She looks to be of Italian descent.
conversations.prefix: Annabelle Lee:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A surprisingly youthful lawman. He looks stressed, as if the weight of the world rests on his shoulders.
conversations.prefix: Sheriff Reed Ritson:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A well-groomed man in an expensive & finely-tailored suit. The only lawyer in the firm not currently out of town on business.
conversations.prefix: Columbus Rathbone:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The pastor of the Prophetic Baptist Assembly, concerned about protecting his flock against the reprisal of the white community.
conversations.prefix: Theo Phillips:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: An articulate, friendly man. Sharecropper by day & well-known musician 'Country Large' by night.
conversations.prefix: Alphonso Banks:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A renovated townhouse in downtown Savannah, predating the Civil War.
conversations.prefix: Offices of Rathbone, Rathbone & Wilks:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Though located in a downtrodden section of Savannah, the church is well-maintained. 
conversations.prefix: Prophetic Baptist Assembly:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Located in the heart of Savannah, the department is fairly modern & sophisticated.
conversations.prefix: Chatham County Sheriff's Department:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A pleasant hotel, sporting a popular restaurant next to its lobby despite being in a less reputable part of Savannah.
conversations.prefix: Le Fruit de la Rose:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Housed in one of Savannah's oldest civic buildings, it is in dire need of maintenance & repair.
conversations.prefix: Chatham County Records Office:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Savannah's finest lodging establishment, boasting gourmet chefs, profession service, and lavish décor.
conversations.prefix: Hotel de Soto:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A massive property, dotted by large barns with huge swathes of land largely unused.
conversations.prefix: March Farms:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Located on the outskirts of Savannah, the house is small, but pleasant.
conversations.prefix: Carter House:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: As much a state of mind as a profession, you value the past and willingly immerse yourself in it. You may be a resident scholar at a museum, or you may deal in antiques, books, or the objet's d'art of a more gracious era.
conversations.prefix: Antiquarian:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You travel to strange, far places to uncover the past. You may be a meticulous scholar, working in libraries & devoting your career to a single dig, or you may be little better than a tomb robber.
conversations.prefix: Archaeologist:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Located on the easternmost edge of the expansive March landholdings, this is a beautiful house, surrounded by lush forest & green fields.
conversations.prefix: Lee House:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: She reeks of sweat and old beer, while her face and body are covered in bruises, a few weeks old. Becky is as xenophobic & close-minded as she is obese.
conversations.prefix: Becky Spratt:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: In a country ravished by poverty, the Spratt home manages to somehow look more pitiful than most. The one-room hut is surrounded on all sides by swamp.
conversations.prefix: Spratt Shack:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Although barely more than a teenager, Claudette is remarkably progressive for her time.
conversations.prefix: Claudette Spratt:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Signs of crushing poverty dot every street, and few white people ever dare show their faces here.
conversations.prefix: West Savannah Slums:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: This March home might be the most lavish house in Georgia outside the governor's mansion. Massive, spotless, & tastefully furnished.
conversations.prefix: March Plantation:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Whether you are a painter, musician, sculptor, architect, or performer, you follow your Muse wherever she leads. 
conversations.prefix: Artist:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You use words to capture existence, to conceal yourself, to reveal the truth, or to sell fantasy to Depression-stricken readers. Your labors are solitary & your rewards sporadic.
conversations.prefix: Author:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Itinerant revival preacher, trusted neighborhood priest, scholarly rabbi, or eager missionary, the varieties of clerical life present many of the same challenges to those who listen most intently for God's call.
conversations.prefix: Clergy:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You are self-supporting, living off an inheritance, trust fund, or other source of independent income. Free from the pressures of forced employment, you may dedicate yourself to any pursuit you choose.
conversations.prefix: Dilettante:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You are not merely one of the millions out of work in the Depression. You are a breed apart, a king of the road. You ride the rails to avoid society, looking for handouts & working only when necessary.
conversations.prefix: Hobo:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Those who live on the other side of the law are already aware of a secret world of degeneracy, desperation, and evil beneath the normal ways of civilization.
conversations.prefix: Criminal:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Whether for newspapers, magazines, or radio, you piece together the patterns of life & build them into a story, revealing the truth about the world around you.
conversations.prefix: Journalist:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A nurse is a trained medical assistant, sometimes male, more often female. Nurses are usually less comprehensively trained, always less well paid, and often less distant & callous than medical doctors.
conversations.prefix: Nurse:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You believe that the supernatural is merely the natural we have not yet studied, or perhaps that the methods of science can uncover or confirm the truths of theology. 
conversations.prefix: Parapsychologist:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You place yourself between others & danger, for a paycheck, for your flag, for your mates, or because you have no other good options. Your life is rote & routine, boredom & bureaucracy, dust & drill.
conversations.prefix: Military:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You live to fly, and you fly to live. You might be a Great War veteran seeking leftover thrills on the barnstorm circuit, or a private courier hoping to strike it rich & found your own air service.
conversations.prefix: Pilot:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You live by the code of the cop, whether it's the one they put on the wall at the academy, or the one you picked up on foot patrol in the bad neighborhoods.
conversations.prefix: Police Detective:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: There are things that cops can't do, and things that cops won't do, and you'll take money to do either.
conversations.prefix: Private Investigator:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You might be a calm solon, dispensing the wisdom of the ages between puffs on your pipe. You might be a hapless child in an adult's body, incompetent in anything except Middle High German.
conversations.prefix: Professor:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You seek to advance science, perhaps to improve the world, or perhaps to tease out some long-denied truth. You just need more equipment, more time, more samples, more understanding colleagues.
conversations.prefix: Scientist:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Nothing gets you going like the promise of action, combat, and strange new experiences. You're an adrenaline junkie and if ichor is the cure, then so be it!
conversations.prefix: Adventure:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The dead past is the only place you feel truly alive. Discovering some truth about it, or simply experiencing old & beautiful houses or items, is the purpose for living at all.
conversations.prefix: Antiquarianism:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You are already aware of the numinous & supernatural quality of the world - it is what you seek to capture in your art, of course. You must follow your Muse wherever she leads, clay in her hands for molding.
conversations.prefix: Artistic Sensitivity:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: These things just seem to happen to you, although your luck might sour after you dig up a statuette, sleep in the wrong boarding house, or decide to rob a terrible old man. 
conversations.prefix: Bad Luck:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: No matter your familiarity with Christianity, this speech feels different than any other you've heard.
conversations.prefix: The Sermon:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: There has never been a more readily accessible source of intelligence than church gossip. See what you can find out.
conversations.prefix: Church Gossip:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Something about the crowd is bothering you, but you find it hard to grasp exactly what it is.
conversations.prefix: Something About the Crowd...:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You see someone who is clearly not from Barefoot Crossing, like yourself. Perhaps you should introduce yourself.
conversations.prefix: A Stranger in the Crowd:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Neither of you know what room Atticus Wambles is staying in. Perhaps you can persuade it out of the receptionist?
conversations.prefix: The Receptionist:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Gideon knows this area, both the good and the bad.  He's not afraid to stick his nose into any of the local goings-on. 
conversations.prefix: Local Boy:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Gideon grew up in a religious family and hated it.  He distrusts preachers and churches.  
conversations.prefix: Distrustful of Religion:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You've never been one for large crowds, and though seemingly benign, this one is rather rowdy. 
conversations.prefix: Uncomfortable in a Crowd: