[D1 EA] Event: Getting Your Bearings

[GhostWolfe]

Participants: Unlimited
Contracts: Allowed

Welcome to Maize: just another boring town on the United States corn belt. With its aging population of farmers, it certainly isn’t the most interesting place to visit, and the locals don’t seem to want you around, either. Regardless, there’s a reason you came, so it’s best to try and settle in, and not ruffle too many feathers.

Step 1: Finding Your Way
It’s a small town, it shouldn’t be too hard to work out all the landmarks, right? Roll (a Physical Trait of your choice) + (Athletics or Stealth or Streetwise). Exceptional Success grants +1 die to your next roll, while a Dramatic Failure imposes -1 die.

Step 2: Making New Friends
Perhaps not making friends, exactly, but at least getting to know the lay of the social landscape. Roll (a Social Trait of your choice) + (Empathy or Socialise or Streetwise). Exceptional Success grants +1 die to your next roll, while a Dramatic Failure imposes -1 die.

Step 3: Settling In
Putting together what you’ve learned could prove to be helpful during your stay. Roll (a Mental Trait of your choice) + (Investigation or Politics).

Success: Gain +1 die to Social rolls involving the residents of Maize for the remainder of the game day.
Exceptional Success: Gain +1 die to Social rolls involving the residents of Maize for the remainder of the Session.
Failure: You manage not to make waves, but you get no bonuses either.
Dramatic Failure: The locals have formed an unfavourable impression of you. Take -1 die to Social rolls involving the residents of Maize for the remainder of the Session, and they may be more aloof towards you than the others while you are in town.

[Imogen Baker]

Imogen had been on the road before but she never had stopped at a town as small as Maize before. There was the odd time where she might have stopped at a gas station to fuel up or grab a quick burger to go. Now that she had more than a moment to take in the surroundings, she had the realization that a town that didn't even have a Wal-Mart to its name was truly missing something in life. What they had instead was something she would have to find out later in her stay.

The streets here were different, she noticed that they didn't have much in the ways of speed humps or street lights. There were some places that could have used some stop signs. She took some extra care in crossing the streets and walking on the right side, perhaps narrowing avoiding a truck full of produce and a tractor on the way. She initially thought about driving around town but her braving the sidewalk didn't cost her an arm or a leg thankfully.

The people here, however, were perhaps a different matter. The streets were rather barren and dreary. She perhaps caught someone refilling their truck or picking up a newspaper. Not a fan of small talk herself, she still attempts to start a conversation. They merely gave her two looks and didn't give her the time of day. After her short stroll around, she would ultimately return back to her room, having taken note of the street signs and the churches that brought the community together. She caught a glimpse of a builtin board, which perhaps should give her some insight into their quiet lives and the current events that would allow her to make small talk later.

Step 1: Finding Your Way
Step 1: Finding Your Way w/ Athletics+Dexterity: 5d10o10h8 3
Step 2: Making New Friends
Step 2: Making New Friends w/ Presence+Streetwise (Sorry, did not get that +1 die, reroll): 3d10o10h8 0
Step 3: Settling In
Step 3: Settling In w/ Wits+Investigation: 6d10o10h8 3

Success: Gain +1 die to Social rolls involving the residents of Maize for the remainder of the game day.

[Marlowe Phillips]

To say Maize was a small town was an understatement. It was easy to forget that places like this exist. And, it was hard to think such a place would have need of a guy like me.

I wasn't sure yet what I was doing here, but it was clear I stood out. Everyone knew everyone here, probably knew most of each other's secrets, too. I was a stranger. Yhe way some looked at me, maybe I was just strange. Fortunately, I'm really good at sticking to the shadows. Even in a place like this, a guy can move about unnoticed, if he's careful.

I'm very careful.

It doesn't matter how small the town is, there's going to be a bar. The only real question was which there were more of, bars or churches. I decided to count the churches some other time and headed into one of the bars.

She wasn't a dame I'd die trying to forget, but she was worth buying a few drinks. The truth was, I was interested in her mouth more than anything else. The rest was nice to look at, but the things she told me about Maize were more pleasing. There was more to this place than corn. Nthat wasn't surprising, but now I had some idea of which shadows to pick at.

* * *
[D1 EA] Event: Getting Your Bearings, Step 1: Finding Your Way, Dexterity+Stealth: 6d10o10h8 3

[D1 EA] Event: Getting Your Bearings, Step 2: Making New Friends, Manipulation+Empathy: 5d10o10h8 1

[D1 EA] Event: Getting Your Bearings, Step 3: Settling In, Wits+Investigation: 6d10o10h8 1

Success

[Penn Umbra]

Penn was used to towns like this. He grew up in one, before the Dust Bowl. Before he went from the Carnival he left home with, to the Carnival of Terror.

He could run towns like this from one end to the other without breaking a sweat, and find all the major landmarks.

Talking to people, that's what he was used to. Getting them to open up, and get the lay of the folk, lay of the land.

And after all was said and done, they felt he wasn't an outsider, he was one of them. Might as well have been home.

EA1 - Getting Your Bearings (Dexterity 4 + Athletics 2): 6d10o10h8 2

EA1 - Getting Your Bearings - Making New Friends (Manipulation 4, Socialize 2, WP +3, striking looks 2, Bright One (3 successes = exceptional): 11d10o10h8 2

EA1 - Getting Your Bearings - Settling In (Wits 3, Investigate 4, willpower +3): 10d10o10h8 5

Results: Exceptional success. Gain +1 Social die with Maize citizens for the rest of session 1

[Jean Wellspeak]

Jean has seen places more miserable than this place, though that had been a lifetime ago. Several life times. Noyers sur Serein had been worse, much worse. For starters, Maize did not have corpses laying on a street. The people here seemed to be of the good, god-fearing kind he had met in the US. Not very talkative, but in times like this, who trusted strangers? And Jean was a stranger, with his accent betraying him as someone who had come from far away. When asked, he would tell people he was from Montreal. The locals could not quite understand how a Canadian person had ended in their small town. Many eyed his with suspicion, his fair features making him stick out like a sore thumb.

He walked around, not that there were much to see, taking note of the two churches. Jean found this fact comforting, even if he thought that most of the people had lost their faith in this brave new world. No-one said their prayers as he was taught to, no-one gave praise has he was used to give. Many mocked his faith. Jean knew they would burn in hell. He was sure it existed, for he was almost certain he had been there. As he walked around, he stopped to chatter with the locals, with most taking time to talk with him. This surprised him a little. The only people who had stopped talking with him in Montreal and Toronto had been the hopeless ones. The homeless and the drunkards. Here, everyone was like that.

Despite managing to have few short conversations with the locals, he didn't actually pick up anything interesting. There was a lot of talk about King Trump, with many hoping that his reign would continue. Jean understood this desire all too well, even if he didn't quite know why the Canadians and Americans were so keen on changing their lords so often. Trudeau, the baron of Canada had seemed like a decent man, at least when he had seen him on the magic box. The nobleman had spoken well, even if he looked like a priest. They had a lot of problems in this time, so, maybe it was good to have godly men in power.



____________________
D1 EA Step 1: Finding Your Way Strength+Athletics: 7d10o10h8 4

D1 EA Step 2: Making New Friends Presence + Streetwise: 4d10o10h8 2

D1 EA Step 3: Settling In Presence + Investigation: 6d10o10h8 0

[Reina Silva]

It was fine. This was fine. Reina could handle interacting with people. She'd had to do this at the Freehold and the last couple of towns she'd stopped at. She was starting to get used to it. It made it a little easier, though she wished it was moreso. Instinct still nagged at her, telling her that every new face could be a dangerous predator feigning normality. Every landscape had its own monsters. The best way to avoid or stop them, though, was to get the lay of the land. She took a jog, deciding to take in what little of the town there was. What could be a den or a bolthole, where she could find work. There were doubtless someone needing animal care nearby. Farming towns were good for that, she'd discovered.

Fortunately, she was able to find one. She was nervous about approaching, but despite the general empty atmosphere of the town, they were friendly, and she was able to warm up to them a little. Not without caution, of course, on both sides, but it was productive. This could be an okay stopover.

She headed back to the town, mulling over what she'd learned of the town. There was an odd scent to the air. Her friend wasn't wrong about his hunch on that. She'd have to wait and see what it meant.

***

Step 1: Finding Your Way w/ Athletics+Dexterity: 7d10o10h8 3
Step 2: Making New Friends w/ Empathy+Composure: 4d10o10h8 1
Step 3: Settling In w/ Investigation+Resolve: 6d10o10h8 3

Success: Gain +1 die to Social rolls involving the residents of Maize for the remainder of the game day.

[Jonathan Whitford]

((Insert Flavor Text here later, I swear))

EA1 - Getting Your Bearings (Dexterity 2 + Athletics 1): 3d10o10h8 1
Step 2: Making New Friends w/ Manipulation+Streetwise: 4d10o10h8 1
Step 3: Settling In w/ Politics+Intelligence: 6d10o10h8 1