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Like COTWs 9, 15 and 20, this week features a match pair, a
couple of scoundrels appropriate for the late 19th century.
The first is an independent trader with a lot of money (and
influence) to spread around...
Reginald "Colonel" Smith; unsavory but very capable
colonist
(c) copyright 2000 Volker Bach
Total Points: 92 Points
Age mid-50s; 5'10"; 300 pounds; a tall, blond, florid-faced
and immensely fat man - wearing tropical linens and a
monocle, as well as either a fez or a pith helmet.
ST 10 [-] - thrust 1d-2, swing 1d
DX 10 [-] - basic speed 5.25, move 3*, dodge
3
IQ 13 [30]
HT 11 [10]
WL 13 [-]
*includes -2 Encumbrance penalty from Fat
ADVANTAGES: Ally (Sergeant Jimmy, 9-) [5]; Charisma
+2 [10]; Courtesy Rank (Colonel) [6];
Disease-Resistant [5]; Language Talent +1
[2]; Legal Immunity (effective Consular
jurisdiction) [5]; Reputation +3 (as being "in the
know", among Traders in East Africa, 10-) [2];
Status 1* [0]; Wealth (Very Wealthy)
[30].
*free from Wealth
DISADVANTAGES: Bad Sight (Nearsighted, Correctable)
[-10]; Broad-Minded [-1]; Fat [-10];
Greed [-15]; Reputation -4 (as "an unsavory old
bastard gone native to a shocking extent", to Europeans,
10-) [-5].
QUIRKS: Uses offensive language; Lavish in his personal
lifestyle; Makes friends quickly, and sticks by them
loyally; Forgiving; Admires Arab culture, and collects books
and antiques. [-5]
SKILLS: Accounting-11* [0]; Administration-13*
[0]; Area Knowledge (Western Indian Ocean)-16
[6]; Brawling-10 [1]; Diplomacy-14**
[2]; Fast Talk-14** [1]; First Aid/TL5-13
[1]; Freight Handling-12 [1]; Gambling-11
[.5]; Guns/TL5 (Rifle)-12# [1]; Guns/TL5
(Pistol)-11# [.5]; Leadership-14** [.5];
Literature (Arab World)-10/16 [1]; Merchant-16
[8]; Packing-11 [.5]; Riding (Horse)-9
[1]; Savoir-Faire-15**## [2]; Teamster-8###
[.5].
*default from Merchant
**add +2 from Charisma when used as
Reaction/Influence roll
#includes +2 from IQ
##free from Status, and includes Arabic culture
(see below)
###default from Riding
LANGUAGES: English (native)-14* [0]; Colloquial
Arabic-12* [1]; Swahili-12* [1]; Persian-11*
[.5]; Hindi-11* [.5]; French-12*
[.5]; Portuguese-12* [.5]; Levantine-11*
[.5]; Latin-12* [.5]; Greek-11*
[.5].
*includes +1 from Language Talent
EQUIPMENT
Reginald Smith dresses in tailor-made white tropical suits -
Coorts of Calcutta - when meeting Europeans or Arab business
partners. In private, or when entertaining friends, he
prefers a flowing white 'country cloth' robe and richly
decorated slippers. When leaving home he will always carry a
heavy revolver in his coat pocket or belt, though as often
as not it will be unloaded. (His revolver of choice might be
the Webley No.1 .455 [p.HT124], or something like
it.) He uses it to make wild gestures and intimidate native
workers unfamiliar with his temper. He is also likely to
have money with him - $10 when out for pleasure, up to $500
when on business, in a mixture of British and French
bank-notes, gold nuggets, Maria-Theresia Thalers, Turkish
and Egyptian coin and Company rupees. He is usually
accompanied by servants with fans, a stool and his books and
sometimes a few Askari (native mercenaries).
'Colonel' Smith's house is a treasure trove of stealable and
saleable items - rich robes, silk cushions, gilt
stained-glass lanterns, priceless Arab manuscripts, fine
spirits, bales of trade cloth, stacks of ivory, spices, and
coffee, and a zenana full of lovely native women. PCs
invited here are likely to be quite overwhelmed, and
burglars could make a fortune here - if they'll risk
tangling with the guards.
BIOGRAPHY
Reginald Smith (he doesn't use his first name much) was born
to the most boring of backgrounds. A rural Kentish parson's
son, he received a fine education of the public school kind
until the day he was sent to the Inns of Court to clerk at
law. The boy hated every minute of it, especially since he
was among the poorer pupils. Once in London he quickly left
the practise of law for the more exciting world of foreign
trade - high profits, the allure of exotic places, and a
less respectable, filibustering image appealed to his active
imagination as well as his native greed. Talented and eager,
he quickly earned a position of responsibility in the
trading firm of Strickland & Mercer. Eventually he even
managed a partial reconciliation with his father.
When he turned 19, Reginald was sent off to work in the
Bombay office of Strickland & Mercer. A punishment in
most people's eyes, the assignment proved a boon to the
increasingly unruly and abrasive young man. He throve on the
challenge, the climate, and the brash, rapacious commercial
culture of Britain's Eastern possessions. Neither the heat
nor the fever seemed to bother him in the least, and he was
swearing fluently in Hindi in no time. Judicious (and
occasionally illegal) investment of his small stipend gave
him a fortune of £1,000 by his 24th birthday. With this
in his pocket he left the service of Strickland & Mercer
and struck out on his own.
The intervening 20 years are a mystery. Smith himself
recalls the period in many boastful and unlikely stories in
which he casts himself as a colonel in the Egyptian Sudan
army, a commercial advisor to the Maharajah of Gwalior, a
commissariat officer in the army of Menelik and a gunner
under 'Chinese' Gordon. Irrespective of how much of this is
true (probably little enough), a few years ago he turned up
in Sansibar as a brash white trader fluent in every local
language and with his pockets bulging with money, ready to
settle down. He bought a palatial residence and set up
business with his partners on the continent.
This is pretty much what he has been doing for the last
decade. He is well-connected over the entire area and has a
knack for getting all kinds of goods at low prices whenever
the market calls for them. Arab traders often rely on him to
'settle things' with the Royal Navy and owe him return
favors. In his downtime he collects Arab books, antiques,
tall tales of old Africa hands and native women. His house
is hospitably open for adventurers and explorers, and he is
always ready to underwrite crazy ventures that could be
profitable. He expects to collect, though.
ENCOUNTERED
Reginald Smith is a loud, brash, overbearing man with a
booming laugh, a crude sense of humor and the dirtiest mouth
this side of Suez. Not exactly a pleasant person, he still
manages to pull it off with some roguish aplomb. Renegade or
adventurous PCs could even like him at first sight, though
anyone with finer, civilised sensibilities will be quite
offended the first time the trader opens his mouth. He
certainly takes to strangers of all kind and will readily
extend hospitality to Europeans stranded in his town.
Perhaps the "Colonel"'s main virtue is his ready generosity.
He has a knack for deciding almost immediately who his
friends are and will see to it that they lack nothing. His
zest for adventure is little changed by his domestic life
and he is happy to help anyone along whose plans are crazy
enough to resonate with his own dreams of an 'African Trade
Empire' opening up the treasures of the dark continent. He
doesn't like civilisers and missionaries at all, though, and
a disparaging comment about Muslims will get you on his bad
list in no time at all. (Mind you, he calls them 'ragheads'
and 'Mussulman niggers', but in his mouth the words resonate
with a certain respect.) He also reacts badly to any
suggestion that he could be engaged in slave trading - he
owns slaves, but he would never buy and sell them
commercially!
CANONICALITY
Reginald Smith has been built with -41 points of
Disadvantages - a single point more than the suggested limit
for beginning 100-point characters. If this is a problem,
Broad-Minded can replace one of his Quirks.
Also, it should be noted that his Savoir-Faire at skill
level 15 technically applies to his home culture, that of
his native England; he is at a -2 (or greater) penalty
(p.B64) in the Arabic culture in which he currently lives.
Savoir-Faire doesn't take optional specialisations (aside
from the several options listed on p.CI189), so in order to
model Smith's equal familiarity with his non-native social
surroundings, he was given a manoeuver as per the
suggestions in the sidebar on p.CI165. Assuming a default of
-3 and a manoeuver of Average difficulty (given a M/E
skill), this cost 2 points. For the sake of simplicity, this
cost was included in his normal skill list.
And finally, if Smith is to be adapted for use as a PC or if
tight accounting is necessary, his background suggests that
he could very well have a not insignificant number of
character points put into the Contact (p.B234) and Favour
(p.CI25) advantages, to represent a network of particular
friends in high places. These were not written out, with the
assumption that the GM will add them as the narrative
requires them.
WHAT IF?
In terms of time and place, Reginald Smith is intended for a
fairly specific locale - East Africa, somewhere between 1850
and 1900. A more genericised version of the character could
fit into a Malaysian, Polynesian or Indian background, but
it would probably not be half as much fun without the allure
of a 'Dark Continent'. In terms of genre and setting,
however, Reginald Smith can be used in a variety of ways,
some of which will be explored below.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
Reginald Smith works nicely as 'background flavor'. Season
to taste as an offensive European oppressor or a genial (if
rough) expatriate. PCs could even have their expedition into
dark Africa financed by him if they take his fancy, and even
if not he is an invaluable contact for people trying to put
together an adventuring party on its way to Solomon's mines
or the 'Second Rand'. Given his interest in local culture
and his extensive trading contacts he certainly should be a
fountain of information. In any game where this plays a
major role he is likely to have Occultism and Hidden Lore
(East African Mysteries) at reasonable levels.
Bring Me The Head of Lourenco Marques (Historical):
'Colonel' Smith has begun negotiations with the Gaza north
of the Limpopo river in order to secure himself a monopoly
of the lucrative ivory trade. However, the Portuguese
authorities in Mozambique may have reservations about this.
That is why he needs somebody - the PCs, if they're up to it
- to extend an invitation to the governor at Lourenco
Marques and bring him safely (and secretly) to his Sansibar
home to negotiate the requisite bribes.
Homeward Bound (Cinematic): Let nobody say that Reginald
Smith has no heart. A young slave-girl he recently acquired
has turned out to be the abducted daughter of an Unjamwesi
chieftain from the highlands near Lake Victoria. The poor
girl is heartbroken, and Smith sympathises. Indeed, he goes
so far as to support - and even finance - an expedition by
the PCs, on the condition that they return the girl safely
back to her family. Of course, once they manage this they
might well find themselves in the middle of a succession
struggle - princesses don't end up in slavery just like
that, after all.
A Treasured Collection (Horror): The PCs met Smith socially,
and had the opportunity to look at his impressive collection
of Arab manuscripts. In the course of the evening he
entrusts to them his greatest wish - to find the two
companion volumes to a crumbling, mouldy but priceless
Abassid scroll, if possible before October next year when he
'wants to send the whole collection to the British Museum as
a donation'. The PCs will probably take up the challenge,
and acquire the scrolls. The manuscripts will be found in an
isolated mountain fastness guarded by fierce tribesmen, but
they can be secured by dint of great effort and bravery. If
the PCs try to read them, they will seem fairly
unintelligible, but clearly ominous instructions for a
ritual the purpose of which is outlined in the third. If
they don't they will return unprepared to a changed,
brooding, cruel Smith whose gratitude is far from the
exuberance and ready generosity they have come to expect. He
is compulsively looking for twenty 'suitable' slaves, and
very soon the stars will be right...
- written by Volker Bach
(volker_bach@public.uni-hamburg.de)
- editted and formatted by andi jones
(andi@angelwerks.com)
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