Remove ads

Shapers of the Apocalypse (Cosmic Horror vs. Player Characters)

Reader mode
Evilness42 said:
"A fine gentleman, you say? Bainsbridge cares little for the Association. Why, he only sees us as a prop, produced to elevate him to fame and fortune! That man will get us all killed within the decade! Corbyn too, if you put him in the field as he is.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
"And how do you think the likes of Alexander the Great, and William the Conquer achieved greatness? Hmm? It was their ambition, to become immortalized in the annals of history that not only themselves, but all those who followed them, into greatness! An organization can only be as great as the man who leads it!"

"As for Corbin, well, the lad has a bright future before him, either way. Pah, and you speak as if some unknown horror might drag him into the depths the moment he sets foot outside these halls!"

Incidentally, would either of you be interested in a game of Bridge later? I discovered this rather fascinating journal not long ago, and I was hoping to share it with someone...

1061
 
Last edited:
Powerofmind said:
"Bainsbridge is damn talented, I'll give you that. But if he's looking for my vote he won't get it. Schwarzwald is reliable and brilliant and focused on the founding principles of this Association. I would consider it a stroke of fortune if Bainsbridge doesn't forget his place and call for more journal and paper interviews than our public appearances vice-president! This Association is not for the personal enjoyment of some up-and-coming new-blood! Or old-blood for that matter! A fresh lawyer does not a Cartographer make, either! Better to keep the man away from leadership in the field for now, and put him in this vice-presidency to see how he can handle the pressure when he isn't risking himself or any of our other members or workmen!"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
"I can't contest Schwarzwald's reliability, but his brilliance is matched an' exceeded by Bainsbridge. Bainsbridge is as a wild stallion to be sure, but we're men of action, explorers, and breaking stallions is what we were born to do! I trust him not to run to the Boston Globe every time he buys a new shirt, because we are standing here vigilant to see him prove himself for the next election.
As to Corbyn, I don't intend to send him against cannibals in Africa just yet, but there isn't a man here not eager to risk his life a little to add to the knowledge of man!"
 
Last edited:
VP - External (Primarily uses Charisma to build Influence and make contacts)
[X] Henry Jackson

Treasurer (Primarily uses Management to build Resources)
[X] Simon Ulysses

VP - Operations (Primarily uses Management and variable skills to do various tasks)
[X] Tyler Freeman

President (Represents and leads the organization)
[X] Michael Bainsbridge
 
VP-External:
[X] Corbyn James

Difficult choice this, both are more than capable but I feel like Henry is better suited in the field leading at the front of an expedition rather than sitting behind a desk. Now, could Corbyn use a little more worldly experience? Certainly. That said he has a natural charm that so many lack, always one to greet you with a smile and put down his books for a pleasant conversation. Not to mention one should always keep a lawyer close at hand. Yes, let Corbyn represent us in civilization and Henry in the wilderness. That is a winning combination.

Treasurer:
[X] Simon Ulysses

Easier choice here, Ulysses is brilliant and Blumstein is blind. The market has no use for a man who can not see the wider picture. He might be able to overcome that with dogged determination but his ego is a deal breaker. It might not be the death of him but it easily could be the death of our finances. Besides Blumstein is a stupid name for a mountain. Might work for a lake or perhaps a - yes - a bluff. Blumstein Bluff has a nice ring to it. Come to think of it, I should try to get a few hands of cards going tonight, might be able to make a modest sum.

VP-Operations:
[X] Tyler Freeman

Only choice here. Freeman might better suited to the field at Henry's side but God knows that Wilhelm belongs on a boat, he certainly has the mouth of a sailor. Let's see if our dear departed founder's trust was well placed and give Freeman a chance to prove himself. That would allow us to keep Wilhelm at sea. Constantly.

President of the Association:
[X] Peter Schwartzwald

Keep your money and keep your credentials. Passion! That is what a leader needs! I will not be represented by a man who seeks power wherever he can find it. Someone should take him aside and tell him that he is trying to hard. Bainsbridge needs to realize that if he wants to get anywhere he needs to slow down. At least he has something to show for himself. Grant on the other hand couldn't find his way out of a paper bag if his family bought the factory and a servant showed him the way. Once again there is only one proper choice here - Peter.
 
I still think that Schwartzwald is a mistake. We don't need a guy who's a good explorer for the President. Schwartzwald is certainly better on that front.

However, we do need someone who's GOOD AT MANAGING THE ORGANIZATION. Bainsbridge brings in better connections, resources and management skills. That's what we actually want from the guy running it >.<

Also: Corbyn James is just absolute crap in terms of stats compared to Jackson. Not sure why people are still voting for him.

Schwartzwald is the least offensive wrong choice, but I still contend that he won't take the organization as far as Bainsbridge could. He's more at home on a dig site and Bainsbridge is more at home making the gears keep turning.
 
Ekans Ekans Ekans said:
I still think that Schwartzwald is a mistake. We don't need a guy who's a good explorer for the President. Schwartzwald is certainly better on that front.

However, we do need someone who's GOOD AT MANAGING THE ORGANIZATION. Bainsbridge brings in better connections, resources and management skills. That's what we actually want from the guy running it >.<

Also: Corbyn James is just absolute crap in terms of stats compared to Jackson. Not sure why people are still voting for him.

Schwartzwald is the least offensive wrong choice, but I still contend that he won't take the organization as far as Bainsbridge could. He's more at home on a dig site and Bainsbridge is more at home making the gears keep turning.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
In OC terms, while an elected character will be less available for expeditions, all characters are explicitly still able to go on expeditions. We elect Henry, he demands an expedition in a dangerous place, he dies. Boom, instant PR problem. We elect Corbyn, we see how stat gains work for our major characters, let him lead an expedition near the tail end of his first term.

Schwartzwald is perfectly capable of leading the association correctly. He will find us quality expeditions and digs to vote on taking, whereas Bainsbridge will only try to find popular expeditions(or worse, excessively risky expeditions) as they are the only way for him to grandstand more.
 
Powerofmind said:
In OC terms, while an elected character will be less available for expeditions, all characters are explicitly still able to go on expeditions. We elect Henry, he demands an expedition in a dangerous place, he dies. Boom, instant PR problem. We elect Corbyn, we see how stat gains work for our major characters, let him lead an expedition near the tail end of his first term.

Schwartzwald is perfectly capable of leading the association correctly. He will find us quality expeditions and digs to vote on taking, whereas Bainsbridge will only try to find popular expeditions(or worse, excessively risky expeditions) as they are the only way for him to grandstand more.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Corbyn is the more likely one to demand an expedition if it works that way, and I hardly think Jackson has such a death wish as that. He's lived this long and there's no reason to think that's a new ambition.

Correctly isn't enough to save the world, and we need Influence so popular sounds good to me!
 
George said:
Corbyn is the more likely one to demand an expedition if it works that way, and I hardly think Jackson has such a death wish as that. He's lived this long and there's no reason to think that's a new ambition.

Correctly isn't enough to save the world, and we need Influence so popular sounds good to me!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Academia Nut said:
His only ambition as he enters his twilight years appears to be to end his life doing something worthwhile.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's new.

I see two main types of resources we can earn from expeditions. Bainsbridge is worth temp resources(I.E. funding). Schwartzwald is worth artifacts and knowledge. Take a guess at which one I want more.
 
Powerofmind said:
In OC terms, while an elected character will be less available for expeditions, all characters are explicitly still able to go on expeditions. We elect Henry, he demands an expedition in a dangerous place, he dies. Boom, instant PR problem. We elect Corbyn, we see how stat gains work for our major characters, let him lead an expedition near the tail end of his first term.

Schwartzwald is perfectly capable of leading the association correctly. He will find us quality expeditions and digs to vote on taking, whereas Bainsbridge will only try to find popular expeditions(or worse, excessively risky expeditions) as they are the only way for him to grandstand more.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Why do you assume that Bainsbridge is a pure showboat with no sense of practicality, is what I wonder? He's a self-made man. Yes, he wants the glory, but he knows how to do things effectively. You're just speculating with no real backing that Bainsbridge is somehow going to force us to take worse expeditions. That's a complete intangible. I would like to see you back up that assertion- some of these stats we know about how they'll work and that's what I'm basing this on. What you're suggesting is pure conjecture.

And Henry's actually SUITED to doing a dangerous expedition- do you really think that there won't be any dangerous ones to go on? I'd like basically-Alan-Quatermain leading our boys when that time comes :p Suggesting that Jackson is most likely to get killed when he's literally the toughest guy applying for ANY of the jobs seems a bit spurious.
 
Sightsear said:
"And how do you think the likes of Alexander the Great, and William the Conquer achieved greatness? Hmm? It was their ambition, to become immortalized in the annals of history that not only themselves, but all those who followed them, into greatness! An organization can only be as great as the man who leads it!"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

"Alexander? Pshaw! Died drunk before he was thirty, and took everything he was in charge of with him. You call that greatness? Guess they'll let just about anyone join these days...this right here is why we need someone with some class and a real education as our president, a man like Schwartzvald! Maybe he can drag the rest of you up with him."
 
Last edited:
OOC: Since apparently the debates are going to be IC now...

"Mister Representative, I find it interesting that you say that that Schwartzwald is focused on the founding principles of this Association. I would like to remind you that we are the Explorer's Society not the Geology and Paleontology Society. He's a scholar and dilettante, one who only had a good family name to propel him through graduate school and one who lacks any sort of experience outside his limited field. More than that, he is a man who has no drive. Our funding, our existence, hinges on how well we explore - not unearthing some prehistoric animal fossil and having it named after ourselves as Mister Schwartzwald has made no secret is his ambition. No. Michael Bainsbridge is a self-made man who rose up from the streets of Boston. I would rather rise up on his coattails then be left in his dust and forgotten. If I wanted to be an archaeologist and study dusty rocks at home in a laboratory I would vote for Schwartzwald, but I'm a tad more ambitious then that.
 
Last edited:
Academia Nut said:
An intensely driven man, Michael considers himself a self-made man but still yearns for the acceptance of more old-money families and has made something of a business of attempting to break into the hobbies of the various aristocracies of the world. While it is clear that the Association is a means to an end for him, it is also clear that he has the skills on paper to make a fantastic president.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Here's your quote, @Ekans Ekans Ekans. Mikey has all but made it his job to 'get refined' like the Unsinkable Molly Brown is portrayed in Titanic. There's even good old AN foreshadowing that Bainsbridge doesn't give a damn about the organization itself. He just wants the glory that being it's president and leading publicized expeditions will give him. This comes with a corresponding increase in the difficulty of expeditions, because it's always been cool to do challenging things, especially if nobody did it yet.
racnor said:
Still, both Corbyn and Henry have an ambition to be taken on expeditions. Of the two, Henry is better at taking care of himself right now, so given a choice of Henry being able to leverage his position to join a teams and Corbyn having that ability, I'd go with Henry.
EDIT-Dia'd
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The point is that I want to leverage Henry having more expeditions, because he has no obligations internally. Corbyn can join expeditions all he wants, but leading them is what his ambition is. He takes a few practice runs, then he can do a real one.
 
Wade Garrett said:
"Alexander? Pshaw! Died drunk before he was thirty, and took everything he was in charge of with him. You call that greatness? Guess they'll let just anyone join these days...this right here is why we need someone with some class and a real education as our president, a man like Schwartzvald! Maybe he can drag the rest of you up with him."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
"But you remember him. A man who lived and died before the Rise of Rome itself, and you REMEMBER him. You remember what he did, what he built, what he came so very close to achieving! That, right there, is a greatness that cannot be lightly dismissed. Perhaps his empire died with him, but it is remembered! And it fell because there was no man great enough to succeed him! Instead, it shattered into three kingdoms, that would only kneel before the Roman Legions."

"To become immortal does not mean to survive forever, as some mediocre shadow. It means to leave a mark so grand, that even long after you are dead, you will be spoken of in awe!"
Hey, I know how I want to win the game now!

1063
 
Last edited:
Sightsear said:
"But you remember him. A man who lived and died before the Rise of Rome itself, and you REMEMBER him. You remember what he did, what he built, what he came so very close to achieving! That, right there, is a greatness that cannot be lightly dismissed. Perhaps his empire died with him, but it is remembered! And it fell because there was no man great enough to succeed him! Instead, it shattered into three kingdoms, that would only kneel before the Roman Legions."

"To become immortal does not mean to survive forever, as some mediocre shadow. It means to leave a mark so grand, that even long after you are dead, you will be spoken of in awe!"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

"I also remember the Light Brigade but that doesn't mean I want to take their place."
 
Powerofmind said:
Here's your quote, @Ekans Ekans Ekans. Mikey has all but made it his job to 'get refined' like the Unsinkable Molly Brown is portrayed in Titanic. There's even good old AN foreshadowing that Bainsbridge doesn't give a damn about the organization itself. He just wants the glory that being it's president and leading publicized expeditions will give him. This comes with a corresponding increase in the difficulty of expeditions, because it's always been cool to do challenging things, especially if nobody did it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
See, I'm with you on the "get refined" part. I'm clearly seeing the same thing as you are. But how that extends to "Worse missions", I'm not seeing. He'll be results oriented, because that's what gets him the acclaim. He wants the same things we do- success. I suspect him being ruthless or removed will be flaws, but not shitty mission selection. I feel like that's a bit taken out of the blue. I'm still not seeing it.

The point is that I want to leverage Henry having more expeditions, because he has no obligations internally. Corbyn can join expeditions all he wants, but leading them is what his ambition is. He takes a few practice runs, then he can do a real one.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Having our public face leading the hardest missions strikes me as a grand idea, actually. :p And again, he blows Corbyn away by a mile on pure stats.
 
Ballot
VP - External (Primarily uses Charisma to build Influence and make contacts)
[] Corbyn James
[X] Henry Jackson

Treasurer (Primarily uses Management to build Resources)
[X] Morgan Blumstein
[] Simon Ulysses

VP - Operations (Primarily uses Management and variable skills to do various tasks)
[] Tyler Freeman
[X] Wilhelm Sonnenberg

President (Represents and leads the organization)
[] Michael Bainsbridge
[X] Peter Schwartzwald
[] Gary Grant

"Jackson and Schwartzwald are from proper families, and Sonnenberg is a veteran, so he should know what he's doing. As for treasurer, I believe young Ulysses has his heart in the right place, but he's just too... young. We'll go with Blumstein. That fellow has remarkable focus.
 
BlueFlamingWings said:
OOC: Since apparently the debates are going to be IC now...

"Mister Representative, I find it interesting that you say that that Schwartzwald is focused on the founding principles of this Association. I would like to remind you that we are the Explorer's Society not the Geology and Paleontology Society. He's a scholar and dilettante, one who only had a good family name to propel him through graduate school and one who lacks any sort of experience outside his limited field. More than that, he is a man who has no drive. Our funding, our existence, hinges on how well we explore - not unearthing some prehistoric animal fossil and having it named after ourselves as Mister Schwartzwald has made no secret is his ambition. No. Michael Bainsbridge is a self-made man who rose up from the streets of London. I would rather rise up on his coattails then be left in his dust and forgotten. If I wanted to be an archaeologist and study dusty rocks at home in a laboratory I would vote for Schwartzwald, but I'm a tad more ambitious then that.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
As a note, we're the Massachusetts Cartographer Association for direct mention of the association.

"Schwartzwald is hardly so unmotivated! He's a fine explorer and Cartographer, even if he does get distracted occasionally... Besides that, Bainsbridge only ran for the presidency because he wants to add another title to his growing list. He can lead all the expeditions he wants without it."
Ekans Ekans Ekans said:
See, I'm with you on the "get refined" part. I'm clearly seeing the same thing as you are. But how that extends to "Worse missions", I'm not seeing. He'll be results oriented, because that's what gets him the acclaim. He wants the same things we do- success. I suspect him being ruthless or removed will be flaws, but not shitty mission selection. I feel like that's a bit taken out of the blue. I'm still not seeing it.


Having our public face leading the hardest missions strikes me as a grand idea, actually. :p And again, he blows Corbyn away by a mile on pure stats.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Because he wants publicity, he'll go for things that A. literally nobody has done before, like trying to climb Everest or B. we'll end up racing others to do because they're high publicity. Purely academic expeditions don't exist on his radar, unless someone wants them done like a university.
 
BlueFlamingWings said:
OOC: Since apparently the debates are going to be IC now...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I know I won't be able to resist for much longer myself... @Academia Nut , I stand in awe of your ingenuity. You have turned the perpetual argument that has persisted across AoS and ItAA into a source of entertainment for yourself.
Powerofmind said:
Here's your quote, @Ekans Ekans Ekans. Mikey has all but made it his job to 'get refined' like the Unsinkable Molly Brown is portrayed in Titanic. There's even good old AN foreshadowing that Bainsbridge doesn't give a damn about the organization itself. He just wants the glory that being it's president and leading publicized expeditions will give him. This comes with a corresponding increase in the difficulty of expeditions, because it's always been cool to do challenging things, especially if nobody did it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You've persuaded me to withdraw my vote on him, at least.
Powerofmind said:
The point is that I want to leverage Henry having more expeditions, because he has no obligations internally. Corbyn can join expeditions all he wants, but leading them is what his ambition is. He takes a few practice runs, then he can do a real one.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
But as for this, AN said that the VP's might actually get more missions due to their influence.

"Now if only that Tyler boy was twenty years older. He's the one we really need in the big chair, has a real fire in him when it comes to exploration. Pity, but it can't be helped"
 
Last edited:
Powerofmind said:
Because he wants publicity, he'll go for things that A. literally nobody has done before, like trying to climb Everest or B. we'll end up racing others to do because they're high publicity. Purely academic expeditions don't exist on his radar, unless someone wants them done like a university.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
True, but there's advantages with focusing on raising our own prestige first. Get enough of it, and we can MAKE an expidition a big deal, instead of chasing stuff that's already big news. Once you become famous, everything you do becomes a big deal, you become a trendsetter!

1065
 
Last edited:
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top