Could be Fun

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Allan Quatermain's Consanguine
The game is a treasure hunt, set in the Victorian Era with travel along major rivers, exploring into the Heart of Darkness. Expect to die. That's not so much a threat as a way of getting better. For you start as one man and at each death become another continuing the adventure. You could be the father who passes a legacy onto his son. The professor who passes his notes off to a student. The captain asking his aide de camp to continue the fight.

The campaign takes place in Three adventures along Three great rivers. Up the Irrawaddy, Up the Amazon and concludes with finding the Source of the Nile. The game gets harder over time. Adventures two and three are brutal for your first character. If you haven't experienced death by the Nile cruise, I'll wager you won't end the game in that role.

Irrawaddy: D8 decides Success or Failure at attempts.
Amazon: D12 decides Success or Failure at attempts.
Nile: D20 decides Success or Failure at attempts.

Each character has five Stats: Agility (A), Eagle Eye (B), Genius (C), Raconteur (D), Recall (E). These Stats are rolled as a single D6. Wow, maybe try again if the total is below fifteen. Okay, make that a Rusty Rule that total Stats >= 15. You still might have a Stat one.

Along the Irrawaddy your success and failure = D8 Stat or under. So in some cases, you need to be lucky. Else, some failed attempts will trigger your death and continuation as your explorer's henchman, beloved companion.

How do you expect to survive Amazon with D12 and Nile's D20!

Upon death, you will pass Critical Gear, Knowledge and a Legacy to the lad who comes after. He too--on second character death by a player--will give a boost to that grandson or third-in-line for command. You might start with a General and end with a lowly, yet seasoned Lieutenant. Assume that all three player character heroes are in the adventure, somewhere helping out. No, you cannot use them as soak-offs.

The next character's Stats are still rolled as D6, but he gets to add the Stats of his predecessor. e.g., 4-2-1-3-5 would become D6 +4 for Agility, D6 +2 Eagle Eye, D6 +1 Genius, D6 +3 Raconteur, D6 +5 Recall. Perhaps for a final total of 6-8-4-7-10. Rolling a D8 for that guy is a fait accompli. Less so on Amazon and back to hoping for luck on Nile (or next guy).

But that's not all. During any character's play, he might have opportunity to invest in his Heir Apparent. e.g., Pyrate Gold collected offers enough for university (extra Starting Skill). Or Jade Idol allows your next guy to reroll 1 and 2 Stat results. Ali Baba's Scimitar +3 in melee. Bit of time travel or artistic license could be occurring, shall we say.

On the downside, these special boosts are only gained by Character One in Part A, Irrawaddy, by Character One or Two in Part B, Amazon, or by any Character in Part C, Nile. Don't die too quickly. Maybe you expect to simply retire between each part and let your protege travel to the next river.

What if my third guy dies?

Serious question and the result is you start over with a brand new D6 in each Stat guy. He'll probably cack-cawk rather quick and then it's Doormat Number Two at roughly 2D6 per Stat. Maybe in the grand finale you'll be floundering and lose a couple rounds generating the Gunga Din who is the one who triumphs. Wait, Gunga Din dies?!? Oh well, the game can be brutal.

Each character may acquire the following ten Skills: Archeologist, Bon Vivant, Coxswain, Doctor, Fencer, Lawyer, Nimrod (Woodsman), Pentathlete, Rugger, Sophist

Each character starts with one skill, plus the other skills his master had.

In many cases the character needs a certain Skill to attempt a roll to overcome an action. e.g., Doctor to heal the famished sailor and gain clue. You may still fail the roll!

The Skills also boost Stats to help dice Tests.

Archeologist ~ +1 Eagle Eye (B), +1 Genius (C), +1 Recall (E)
Bon Vivant ~ +1 Eagle Eye (B), +1 Raconteur (D), +1 Recall (E)
Coxswain ~ +1 Agility (A), +1 Genius (C), +1 Raconteur (D)
Doctor ~ +1 Agility (A), +1 Genius (C), +1 Recall (E)
Fencer ~ +1 Agility (A), +1 Eagle Eye (B), +1 Recall (E)
Lawyer ~ +1 Genius (C), +1 Raconteur (D), +1 Recall (E)
Nimrod ~ +1 Agility (A), +1 Eagle Eye (B), +1 Genius (C)
Pentathlete ~ +1 Agility (A), +1 Eagle Eye (B), +1 Raconteur (D)
Rugger ~ +1 Agility (A), +1 Raconteur (D), +1 Recall (E)
Sophist ~ +1 Eagle Eye (B), +1 Genius (C), +1 Raconteur (D)

Death and HPS are Cutlass tradition. Each character can suffer one Vicious wound. A second means he dies. Onto the next character of the sequence. I expect true role-players to have a known connection, a thread of plotline. e.g., Plantation Owner, Taskmaster Overseer (Right Hand Man), House Slave (Trusted Servant). Or if that seems too Antebellum, maybe just Grand Pappy, Dad, Favorite Son.



Yours,