Game: Adventure! (White Wolf Publishing, 2001)
My Experience: Somewhere out there, there’s an Origins Award for this book with my name on it. Admittedly, my name’s on the thing only because of the way the Origins Award process sorted the author names, but there it is. So at least I got that going for me.
Ainsley McTavish, Heiress of Secrets
In records of the Scottish peerage, the last holder of the title Baron McCorquodale and the lands around Loch Tromlee died in the 18th century, leaving Clan McCorquodale without a clan chief and the barony without an heir. That’s not entirely accurate… but it took several years for the last McCorquodale heir to escape his captors in the Zagros Mountains and make his way back to the British Isles. By then, it served the Crown’s purposes for the McCorquodale bloodline to be believed extinct – and for its members to continue serving the British Empire’s interests in various matters which would best never see the light of day.
Ainsley McTavish is the not-quite-disreputable only child of a Scottish industrialist of no particular import. Upon coming of age in 1922, she announced her intent to embark on a Grand Tour. Although such pursuits were customary only for young gentlemen, it’s well known that Arran McTavish dotes shamelessly on his daughter and is, perhaps, far too permissive in her education and exploits. In any event, that was several years ago, and Ainsley shows no inclination to return home and settle down. She’s far too busy flitting about Europe and spending her father’s wealth.
There is, of course, absolutely no connection between the McTavish family (which came to prominence in the late 18th century following a series of wise – almost providential – investments) and the lost McCorquodale line. Why, it would be utterly absurd to even suggest such a thing. And it would be beyond absurd to connect Ainsley to any occurrences in her vicinity which might somehow benefit British interests. At times, the poor girl barely seems to know what country she’s in, and she has absolutely no head for politics. At least she has the courtesy to regularly write home – though her letters are dreadfully unfocused, darting from thought to thought almost within the same sentence, and peppered with all manner of obscure literary references that one only hopes her father might be able to follow.
(It’s said that only a few months into her Grand Tour, she was involved in some sort of unfortunate business in Cairo. The rumors were hushed up, but those in the know do agree that she had some sort of seizure during an embassy reception where some newly-discovered archaeological treasures were being shown. She spent several weeks in hospital, feverish and hallucinating. Everyone thought she would swear off this foolishness and come back to Scotland after that, but it seems to have only redoubled her wanderlust.)
Traits
Virtue: Hot Shot (gain Willpower upon surviving a dangerous situation entered deliberately)
Vice: Explorer (must spend Willpower to resist blindly pursuing a juicy lead without regard for consequences)
Allegiance: Secret Intelligence Service
Attributes and Abilities
Strength ••
Dexterity ••: Athletics •, Firearms •, Legerdemain •••, Martial Arts •, Melee ••, Stealth •••
Stamina ••: Resistance
Perception •••: Awareness ••, Investigation •••
Intelligence •••: Academics •, Bureaucracy (British government) •, Linguistics (Arabic, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Scots) •••
Wits •••
Appearance •••: Disguise (blending in with the locals) ••, Style (high society) •••
Manipulation ••••: Interrogation ••••, Savvy ••, Subterfuge (playing innocent) ••••
Charisma ••••: Command •, Etiquette (high society) •••, Rapport •••
Advantages
Backgrounds: Backing ••• (SIS), Cipher ••••, Contacts ••• (shipping magnate, Scottish peerage matron, British Museum curator), Influence •• (Foreign Office), Mentor •• (father), Resources •••• (family wealth)
Willpower •••••
Inspiration (Heroic) •: Intuitive facet ••, Reflective facet •, Destructive facet 0
Complete Privacy (heroic knack): All attempts to surveil or eavesdrop on Ainsley automatically fail without the use of an Inspired power. Shadowing or tailing her is at +2 difficulty.
Jack of all Tongues (heroic knack): Ainsley knows twice the normal number of languages for her Linguistics score and pays half XP to learn new ones. Her accent is always a native one. She may decipher a completely new language with a Linguistics roll at +2 difficulty.
Perfect Poise (heroic knack): Ainsley is completely immune to panic unless it’s induced by another Inspired power. She never displays shock, discomfort, or surprise unless she chooses to do so. She gains 2 dice in staredowns and all social rolls involving grace or composure, and one die in any gambling situation where a “poker face” is beneficial. She’s also immune to minor embarrassments like stumbling on curbs or having drinks spilled on her, and her clothes almost never suffer damage or get dirty outside combat.
Equipment
passport
calling cards
expensive wardrobe
locally-procured inexpensive wardrobe
extensive cosmetic (disguise) kit
silver cigarette case
book of matches from her current hotel
lockpicks disguised as dangly earrings
portable writing desk
several books for use with her father’s current set of book ciphers
oryx-horn-handled switchblade made from a shard of Clan McCorquodale’s ancestral sword
Bayard 1908 automatic pistol
Notes and Afterthoughts
Writing Ainsley reminded me of just how much fun Adventure! is. We barely even got to write the book – sales of Aeon and Aberrant weren’t high enough to justify continuing the planned trilogy. I’m glad we did, and I’m still mostly happy with the work I contributed.
As a daredevil character type, Ainsley doesn’t have flashy powers. She’s quietly hypercompetent, and her Knacks only serve to enhance that baseline capability. That work I mentioned? That included all of the book’s Knacks.