Pat - More Spoiler Questions

[klofft]

More questions:

1) Is Nathan Sparks' dead? I seem to remember you saying that Sandman is in charge.
2) When does the flying helicarrier thing enter the story?
3) The Nightfall virus occurred before Project Pitfall attacked Illuminated Futures, yes? That attack was when, 2005 maybe?
4) President Hunt elected in 1996, Westcott in 2000, Winter takes over before 2004, is re-elected in 2004...who would you suspect is president in 2008?

Thanks for your help...again!
C

[Crafty_Pat]

When reading these answers, note that the PDFs advance the timeline slightly, each as much a miniature episode in the last of the "canon" storyline as a part of the expanding backdrop.

1) Is Nathan Sparks' dead? I seem to remember you saying that Sandman is in charge.

Right now, Nathan Sparks is not dead. He embarks on a personal mission when Poole turns and that is fully detailed over the course of the PDFs. While he's gone, Sandman is indeed in charge of the Banshees.

2) When does the flying helicarrier thing enter the story?

The Gondola has been around for a while but it becomes the Banshee HQ after they lose the Illuminated Futures building.

3) The Nightfall virus occurred before Project Pitfall attacked Illuminated Futures, yes?

Yes.

That attack was when, 2005 maybe?

July 19, 2004 - see the sidebar starting on page 46.

4) President Hunt elected in 1996, Westcott in 2000, Winter takes over before 2004, is re-elected in 2004...who would you suspect is president in 2008?

I'm intentionally leaving everything after the end of the PDF series up to you (just as I built the book to lead directly into your adventures until the PDFs are out, or in case you choose not to pick them up). You could probably infer some obvious contenders though - Century for a brighter tomorrow, perhaps running against a Franchise prop.

[klofft]

Thanks.  I got more answers than I expected to.

As for the "attack" I asked about, I was referring to the IF Building, not the virus.

Century as presidential candidate is great...except it won't have the resonance it deserves with a group of players brand new to the setting.  I'm leaning to having Winter win another term (which, if I remember my law right, is possible, though unusual).

Don't take this the wrong way, but I can't wait for FantasyCraft  to be done - not because I have any interest in it, but just so you can get back to finishing the spy stuff that I love! I promise: those WoF PDFs will be purchased the day they are released!

[Krensky]

US presidents are limited to two terms.

[Mister Andersen]

US presidents are limited to two terms.

That doesn't preclude a VP stepping into the position at the halfway point of a prior incumbant's term before being elected to presidential terms of their own

[klofft]

US presidents are limited to two terms.

That doesn't preclude a VP stepping into the position at the halfway point of a prior incumbant's term before being elected to presidential terms of their own

That's what I was thinking.  OTOH, going back to what Pat said, while Century as president may lack resonance for my newbie players, Century losing to a Franchise set-up may make for a nice reveal later on...hmmm...fun thoughts for inauguration day...

[Mister Andersen]

The Franchise wouldn't run against Century, they'd run with him by making sure they owned his VP...

[klofft]

Hmmm...that's good too.  Century + Franchise vs. Winter for re-election? Who'd win that one?

[Crafty_Pat]

Thanks.  I got more answers than I expected to.

Here to help!

As for the "attack" I asked about, I was referring to the IF Building, not the virus.

Ah. That's a detail I don't have locked down yet. Perhaps I will by the time the PDFs are done.

Century as presidential candidate is great...except it won't have the resonance it deserves with a group of players brand new to the setting.  I'm leaning to having Winter win another term (which, if I remember my law right, is possible, though unusual).

I could see Winter scoring another run as discussed earlier in the thread, and Winter vs. Century would be interesting, particularly if the Franchise won regardless.

Personally, I'd probably restrict my own games to the 2001-2008 period, at least to start. It's where most of the action I'll be discussing in the PDFs takes place, and where the heart of the setting's crisis lies.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I can't wait for FantasyCraft  to be done - not because I have any interest in it, but just so you can get back to finishing the spy stuff that I love! I promise: those WoF PDFs will be purchased the day they are released!

Believe me, I completely understand. Fantasy Craft has been a fun project, but also involved and stressful. Serving its two masters - fans of Spycraft 2.0 and Mastercraft - and building for as much overlap between them as possible, is not easy. It's all time and effort well invested in the future though, and we won't have to repeat it anytime soon. Even if we go with another system for Mistborn, it'll be an entirely separate animal with very few of the same challenges.

[klofft]

Personally, I'd probably restrict my own games to the 2001-2008 period, at least to start. It's where most of the action I'll be discussing in the PDFs takes place, and where the heart of the setting's crisis lies.

Obviously - that makes sense.  But for a setting designed to be modular and without significant metaplot, I'd face more difficulties working around "scripted" events by sticking to 01-08, especially as new ones are revealed.  It's also a little odd to me to do a "historical" game (if you will) that's only 5 years old.  Playing a game in the 60s makes sense to me - playing one that happened three years ago is a little tougher for me to make sense of.  I could still advance the book's plotline a few years into the future (making where the book ends very recent rather than 2-3 years ago), or I could hypothesize wildly where the setting might go into the future.

The advantage of this last option (and the one I'm likely to choose, just because of the work I've already done prepping the players on the setting) is that, when the PDFs finally do come out, I can more readily pick and choose which elements you introduce happened as written or differently or not at all!

But lest that sounds too cavalier about all your efforts, I still would like to get those texts tomorrow rather than a year from now!

[Krensky]

One of the nice things about WoF is the Mouthwash Confession. Just because you told the players one thing doesn't mean it has to be true ones the PDFs drop.

[Crafty_Pat]

The advantage of this last option (and the one I'm likely to choose, just because of the work I've already done prepping the players on the setting) is that, when the PDFs finally do come out, I can more readily pick and choose which elements you introduce happened as written or differently or not at all!

But lest that sounds too cavalier about all your efforts, I still would like to get those texts tomorrow rather than a year from now!

No worries. It's exactly what I'd do.

[klofft]

[Typing this as Pat responded.  This was intended for Krensky but I suppose it applies to both...]

And the actual played reality of it is even simpler: most of my missions will still end up being "standard Spycraft fare," with the player characters performing admirably as Shadow Patriots, just as easily as if we had decided to call the PCs CIA, or UNITAS, or whoever, in a different campaign.

Again, this is not to minimize Pat's work, which I love.  It's just an observation that all this hand-wringing I'm going through might be a backdrop to the game and little more.  I hope that makes sense.

I hope Pat and others will continue to be helpful to me as I move forward with this process!

[Crafty_Pat]

One of the nice things about WoF is the Mouthwash Confession. Just because you told the players one thing doesn't mean it has to be true ones the PDFs drop.

Absolutely intentional. The Confession was the first thing I came up with for the setting and everything else was developed outward from there. I wanted to empower GCs and players to create a modern world that worked for them, without worrying about whether it was "accurate" to the headlines of the day (or, as Krensky points out, whether it was true to the "canonical" backdrop).