Tag Archives: Story Time

Character Backstory: Rasputin Goldfingers, the Halfling Gambler

Posted on October 26, 2016 | Leave a comment
Voodoo Halfling by Eric Belisle

Voodoo Halfling by Eric Belisle

I’m joining a new Dungeons & Dragons 5E campaign at 5th level, playing the Gambler we designed on Episode 61 of Total Party Thrill. Rasputin Goldfingers will begin his playing career as Bard 3/Warlock 2, with the character concept that he’s made a pact with a fiend for mortal power, but must play a single hand of cards for his immortal soul upon his death. Obviously, he intends to ensure he wins that final hand. I wrote the following vignette as his backstory:

“And so, the bargain is struck, the pact completed!” roars the archfiend joyously, as the halfling’s blood dries upon the parchment. “Rasputin Goldfingers, your soul shall be mine. And sooner than you think, I’m sure!”

The halfling grins, his golden eyes glittering with greed. “We shall see, Avarixhal. As I reckon it, I’ve got a good 60 or 70 years to figure out your tell. If I can’t, then I suppose I deserve what fate befalls me, mate.”

A second cackling joins the devil’s raucous laughter.

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Letters from the Quarantine Zone: Pandemic Legacy March Recap

Posted on January 20, 2016 | Leave a comment

LettersFromQZHeader

Spoiler Warning: Letters from the Quarantine Zone is a recap of a playthrough of the board game Pandemic Legacy (an After Action Report, if you will), retold in-character. Though the series does not directly acknowledge game mechanics or cards, it references their content, and the events from the game described within will result in spoilers. This is a work of fiction. You can read the entire series here.

March, 2016

Sigh. Another month, another crisis. On the bright side, the media has begun to follow our activities and has really trumpeted our accomplishments in 2016, especially in the face of our severe budget cutbacks. For me, the tragedy is in the cost. It all could’ve been avoided if only this Presidential administration would give the Centers for Disease Control the funds we need.

In many ways, we’ve crossed a Rubicon. The CDC is no longer simply fighting disease; we’re now fighting public perception. First, we have added Essen to the ranks of panicked cities. Worse, we’ve got riots beginning in Osaka. Riots! In Japan! The CDC isn’t equipped to handle riots; we’re a civilian organization. We specialize in epidemiology and public health, not politics. This struggle has grown irrevocably political, and we are poorly equipped to handle it.

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Letters from the Quarantine Zone: Pandemic Legacy February Recap

Posted on January 15, 2016 | 1 comment

LettersFromQZHeader

Spoiler Warning: Letters from the Quarantine Zone is a recap of a playthrough of the board game Pandemic Legacy (an After Action Report, if you will), retold in-character. Though the series does not directly acknowledge game mechanics or cards, it references their content, and the events from the game described within will result in spoilers. This is a work of fiction. You can read the entire series here.

February, 2016 

The media has moved on, but the Centers for Disease Control certainly hasn’t. The end of January saw us gain stable footing against the rise of four dangerous new diseases, but within the CDC, we all knew this was just the opening lines of a story that was yet to play out. And, wouldn’t you know, February proved us right.

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Letters from the Quarantine Zone: Pandemic Legacy January Recap

Posted on January 8, 2016 | Leave a comment

LettersFromQZHeader

Spoiler Warning: Letters from the Quarantine Zone is a recap of a playthrough of the board game Pandemic Legacy (an After Action Report, if you will), retold in-character. Though the series does not directly acknowledge game mechanics or cards, it references their content, and the events from the game described within may result in spoilers. This is a work of fiction. You can read the entire series here.

Early January, 2016

Well, 2016 is off with a bang. First there were fireworks, then there was sickness. I’ll say one thing: it’s never a dull day at the Centers for Disease Control. At least the weather has been nice here in Atlanta. The media is calling this the “January of our Discontent.” Clever. They don’t know the half of it.

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