h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If you are not playng Second Mate Gilling, STOP READING AND LEAVE THIS THREAD.

"Greed is good. Strength is good. Power is good. Evil is GOOD!"

THE SECOND MATE: Dane Andrew Gilling

AKA -Yclept, Black Magus of Atlantis; First Lord of the Black Court

YOUR STORY - No spell is perfect. When the White Priests froze your body your mind was unaffected. You were paralysed, trapped, but you were still awake and aware. You were helpless, and the White Priests could have claimed their ultimate victory and slain you and your brother wizards. But they were pathetically weak. Out of the " goodness of their hearts" you were spared, stored in suspended animation in sunken Atlantis in the sick hope that someday the White Priests could revive you and teach you to be as weak as they were.

The strong will always take advantage of the " goodness" of the weak.

It took time. It took over 2000 years for you to gather enough power to escape your body; 2000 dark, cold years. Once free you possessed the first man you encountered, a simple fisherman. You destroyed his life force so you could use its power for magic, then you took his body for your own. This is how it has been for more than 500 years; possessing a new body, abandoning the too old one's empty husk, taking what power you can steal. And searching, ever searching, searching for what remains of the White Priests and the Soulstone of Atlantis.

Now your search is at an end. Lizzie Briggs is the last High Priestess of Atlantis. She probably doesn't know it yet. This isn't something that can easily be explained to a three-year-old, even one as precocious as Lizzie. It doesn't matter. She doesn't have to be ordained. There isn't any ordination ceremony. There is no ritual of any kind. The resolve of the White Priesthood is even weaker than you suspected, and their order has withered to almost nothing. All that is left is the empty title "High Priestess" and the soulstone.

Sarah Briggs, of course, retains the soulstone. At least she did. You could sense it, its power called to you. Then, early today, it disappeared. You can detect no trace of it. Impossible! If the soulstone were destroyed (which should be impossible) or cast away you would have felt it. The Soulstone has simply vanished. What has Sarah done with it? It appears that after all these years the White Priesthood has finally learned a new trick, and you don't like it. This presents a problem, you do not know what the soulstone looks like. You did not think you would need to, you can sense the damned thing (it has a bit of you stored inside after all). Now what?

You need the soulstone to raise Atlantis, regain your own body, and reclaim all your power. You have seen much of the world in your 500 years of tracking the soulstone, and you are not impressed. The horrors of the recent Civil War in America are nothing compared to what you are capable of once you are whole again. With your fellow Black Wizards as your servants you estimate you can bring this world to its knees in five years.

You've devised a ritual that will not only raise Atlantis but give you total control of the restored Black Court. Tonight, after the full moon rises and turns from red to silver (in 2 hours) you will sacrifice a High Priestess of Atlantis, then release the energy stored in the Soulstone. Ideally the sacrifice will be little Lizzie, Sarah will do in a pinch but since she is not a virgin the spell will be imperfect (Atlantis will rise, but there is a chance the other black wizards won't be totally enslaved to your will).

Of course none of this is possible until you have the soulstone.

You have an ally of sorts in your quest for the soulstone. It is possible to possess a soul without relinquishing control of your current host body, though it is difficult to do and control is imperfect. You have been trying to control Seaman Martens since this voyage began. Thus far you have succeeded only in slowly driving him mad, though you believe he will obey any simple instructions you send him. You could take total control of the fool if only he would addle his wits; strong drink would do it but that imbecile Captain Briggs won't permit alcohol on his ship and the cargo is poisonous. Martens' usefulness remains limited.

However, you have eliminated one obstacle. You discovered that another force had been advising Martens to ignore your instructions. This was the ghost of Robert McLellan, the Mary Celeste's first captain. Luckily, there isn't much to McLellan, he is the palest of shades. You performed a simple ritual last night and now McLellan is trapped in an empty bottle you found on the deck (ah, someone breaking the Captain's rules against strong drink, eh). You should have better luck with Martens now that McLellan has stopped whispering in his ear.

You have also used your ability to read auras to search for potential allies (i.e. evil b******s) aboard the ship. You have had mixed success. You have identified the good and the bad, but you are not sure if this will do you any good. Anyone wicked enough to help you with your plans could certainly never be trusted.

There has been one bit of good fortune. To raise Atlantis it is necessary to be directly above Atlantis. You thought you would have to perform a ritual to becalm the ship, but the winds have taken care of that on their own and now the Mary Celeste rests just exactly where you want to be. This reaffirms your faith that fortune favours the strong.

GOALS AT A GLANCE - Find the Soul Stone, sacrifice little Lizzie, perform the ritual and raise Atlantis. Then kill everyone and take over the world. You have waited a long time for this, and you expect to enjoy yourself.

ROLE-PLAYING HINT - You are disguised as a dutiful ship's officer and you are good at your part. However, you are a megalomaniac, frighteningly ruthless, totally without conscience, and possibly the most evil being ever to walk the Earth. The plans you have for this evening are your idea of fun, you have waited a long time for this, and you are having trouble containing your excitement.

STATISTICALLY - Gilling's body is young, fit and strong and you should do all right in a brawl. You have no skill with a sword nor are you a marksman. Magically, while you have only a fraction of the strength of your own body, you very strong (no doubt more magically adept than anyone living in these poor unmagical times), though most of your magic is stored in your talisman.

THE OTHER CHARACTERS

CAPTAIN BRIGGS -This good-hearted fool doesn't even suspect the legacy of magic he's married into. As his mate you have worked for Briggs like a slave and look forward to paying him back for your servitude. You'll see his tattered hide hanging in the rigging when this voyage is through. Very strong willed, curse the luck!

SARAH BRIGGS - If you don't need her for your sacrifice then you plan for her to take a long, long time to die. Three thousand years seems about right. There will be a special place in the hell-on-Earth you'll create for last of the White Priesthood. Surprisingly strong willed for a weakling of the White Order, equal to her husband.

LIZZIE BRIGGS - Death is too good for her kind, but you need your sacrifice. Poor dear, she's heir to the Soulstone and doesn't even know it. She won't be claiming her legacy; and the White Priesthood ends with this wretched child. As typical with a child, no will at all.

FIRST MATE RICHARDSON - His aura is white but with a thin line of black, meaning that he is your typical good weakling but for some misguided reason Richardson plans some evil act. Pathetic, but perhaps this can be used to your advantage. At any rate Richardson is senior to you on the Mary Celeste, so when this is over he gets the same treatment as the Captain. The young fool is weak of will.

THE COOK - Unusually strong willed for a menial. He has an obsession for fish that drove the Captain to give orders that he serve something else occasionally. His aura shows him to be a good man, just like all the other sheep. His will is oddly strong for a menial's.

THE FOUR JOHANS -The Mary Celeste's swabs, all named Johan. Lorenzen is the most interesting. He has a will of iron. He also has the blackest aura you have ever seen, but for your own. Potentially a useful -ally, certainly a rival you will eventually have to destroy.

Volkert and Goodschad have impossibly faint auras, too faint to take the measure of their wills? Puzzling, very puzzling, perhaps there is some magic masking them (another Atlantean trick? Unlikely, as there is no reason to believe these men knew the Briggs before this voyage began). What little of their auras you can read is pure white, and they are clearly devoted to the Captain and his family. Martens is your pawn, a weak willed fool (but not quite weak enough). In the nightmares you create for him he steals the Captain's ornamental sword and hacks away at everyone. Addle his brain just a bit more and this will become reality. Thus far all you have done is driven Martens mad, he infuriates everyone by seeing sea monsters everywhere. Eliminating McLellan will help.

THE STOWAWAY AND THE CASTAWAY - You have yet to learn anything about them, and for the moment they are in the hands of the Captain and Richardson.

THE SHIP'S CAT - Repulsive animal! You did not permit familiars (except ravens) in the Black Court and this cat only serves to reaffirm the correctness of that policy. It wouldn't even serve as a decent sacrifice.

ITEMS

VERY, VERY SHARP DAGGER - Because you hate it when a dull knife slows down a sacrifice.

SMALL ROUND BLACK AMULET - You store most of your magic here. This allows you to retain most of your magic if you have to change bodies (assuming you can retrieve your amulet).

ITEM NOT ON YOUR PERSON

EMPTY BOTTLE - Captain McLellan. You have him in your sea chest, stored in the forecastle (saving him for later).

SPECIAL ABILITIES

AUTHORITY FIGURE - On the Mary Celeste you are subordinate only to the Captain and Mate Richardson (unfair, but you'll change that). The swabs and the cook must obey you.

RITUAL MAGIC - You are magically very strong and you are very skilled in the arcane arts.

RAISE ATLANTIS - You have worked out the ritual and for perfection you must sacrifice an Atlantean High Priestess while she is still a virgin, under a full silver moon, directly over Atlantis. An imperfect spell probably means Atlantis still rises (probably) but you'll have to share control of the world with the surviving Black Wizards.

The following are easy spells which require little or no ritual:

MAGIC SHIELD - Protects from magical attack.

NORMAL SHIELD - Protects from normal attacks. You can only cast one of your shield spells at a time. Note that these spells are limited e.g., if five men strike you with cutlasses at once then the fifth attack pierces your shield (mind you, it is impossible for five men to all attack one target, but you get the idea). Note also that both shields will sometime repel the same attack (a magically summoned lightning bolt, for example, but not a summoned fireball). You begin the game with your Normal Shield in place.

POSSESSION - The total take-over of a body. All the victim's skills and memories may be used (hence a leisure class wizard can man a windjammer). Automatically kills the victim. However, it requires a battle of wills to take control, a mentally exhausting process that can be tried only once a day. Failure to gain control of your victim means you are a disembodied, hostless spirit for the rest of the day.

POSSESSION - LIMITED - This allows you to control someone without giving up your current host. You may send the target visions, and compel them to obey simple commands (e.g. Go to your bunk, climb the main mast, etc.). The target may try to resist these compulsions. Total control is only possible if your target's wits are completely addled (i.e. drunk). Can also be used to manipulate existing strong feelings, particularly hatred.

FIREBALL - Your favourite spell. Sufficient to incinerate most strong men. Each blast has a five foot radius. Not entirely safe for use aboard a ship of well cured wood, soaked in pitch. Usable four times each day.

READ AURA - Allows you to "see into another's heart" and detect good and bad intentions. Also gives you a measure of another's force of will (useful for potential Possession). Requires only a touch. Ask GL what you learn.

Also read fact sheet 1 (but not 2 or 3).

The world *WILL* be mine....

Ooooo. You had me scared there - I thought you were giving away your character. But this thread is just for you and me, so it is okay. Phew!

Garius, you've known me for, what, three years now? I don't give stuff away *THAT* easily.

Whadda ya mean? I've got a full dossier on you. Well, almost full. Er, at least half-full.

Okay, okay, the dossier is almost empty, but I expect to uncover lots of info real soon now. Anytime now, in fact. Or in the next few days, maybe. Or weeks.

Alright, I give in. It's true - you don't easily give things away.

Then again, that would account for the shock, if you really thought that this was another forum....

Well, it was only a momentary lapse, but it did give me a bit of a shock. Anyway, do you know when you will be away yet?

If I go at all, it'll be Sunday. It's possible that those plans have fizzled out.

Have I read the Cat's aura, and when did we find the stowaway and/or the person who was lost at sea?

There is a stowaway AND a castaway. The finding of them is described on the main scenario page.

No, you haven't read the Cat's Aura yet.

I'm doin' that one sooner than later. The very fact that it exists indicates that it could be important to the plot. It's a rule.

I've touched the cat, and the stowaway. I tried to shake hands with the castaway, but didn't get a response before it would've become awkward.

So, did I learn anything that I couldn't have guessed by their descriptions, or do they now represent some difficulty that I hadn't forseen? BTW, does my Aura-meter show magical abilities, or just their personalities?

The Aura-meter, according to the character description allows you to "see into another's heart" and detect good and bad intentions. Also gives a measure of force of will.

Now, the cat. When you touched the cat, you found no aura at all! Just as if you touched an inanimate object. Since the cat appears to be an ordinary cat in every way, you wonder if something is wrong with your aura reading powers.

The stowaway. She has a very strong will. Her aura is white, with a touch of gray, meaning that she is a goody-goody, but may bend rules if it is in a good cause.

Hmmm, very interesting....the cat may have to die....it could be a reincarnation....maybe....no way to tell....

I've just touched the castaway. What've I learned? This is my first personal mission accomplished.

The Castaway. Very very strong willed, and pure white aura.

Ah, very interesting indeed. Now, could you tell me if the captain and family all share the same room, or does the captain have one room and the wife and kid have a seperate room? I'd assume that I'd know already, but I want to be sure.

They all stay in one cabin, but there are some curtains to make some private areas.