It is November 16th, 1861, six months into the American Civil War. On the small British island of Bermuda, the war has brought prosperity as European ships bring weapons and other goods necessary for war to Bermuda for sale to the Confederacy. From there, blockade runners in fast, small, short range ships run from Bermuda to Confederate ports in Virginia or the Carolinas and exchange the European goods for cotton. The cotton is then smuggled back to Bermuda where it’s exchanged for more goods, and the cycle continues. This situation has brought a lot of money into the tiny island, but it puts the British Empire in an awkward position. They own the island of Bermuda, but they officially don’t recognize the Confederacy. Any attempt to interfere in the war would be considered an act of war by Lincoln’s government. So, the Empire looks the other way, acting as if it doesn’t know where all the goods flowing into Bermuda are going, and the Union tolerates it for hope of avoiding a war with Great Britain.
This precarious balance might be tipped soon, however. Many blockade running ships have been sunk off Bermuda’s coast, that’s to be expected when running a blockade. However, last month, the HMS Stephenson was sunk while patrolling Bermuda’s coast. Many blame the Union Navy, though President Lincoln insists they had nothing to do with it. Other’s blame the Confederacy, thinking that they have sunk the British ship on order to frame the Union. Again, President Jefferson Davis insists they had nothing to do with it. The Royal Navy has begun an investigation into the sinking, but Jefferson Faulkner, an eccentric Southern millionaire who’s been acting as a broker for the Confederacy in Bermuda, doesn’t trust the Royal Navy. He is planning to hire his own people to take a ship out and patrol the shores of Bermuda for any signs of the wreck. The players of this game will be those hired to investigate the sinking of the HMS Stephenson.
While the description doesn’t note it until this point, this will be a game in the Steampunk genre. The history is exactly the same as our own, but when investigating the sinking of the HMS Stephenson, the player characters will make an amazing discovery that will change the world. When this game is done, we will start Etheria : Part 2, which will take place in 1891, in the world that the character’s discovery has formed. When we make the jump 30 years into the future, you may play the same character 30 years older, your character’s child, or a new character, which ever you prefer. Feel free to play anyone you want, provided you can explain why they were hired to investigate a sinking ship. I look forward to building the world of Etheria with you!
Hosted and narrated by:
Perry
Started 07/06/14.
Scenes played: 5
License: Community License
