Answer the following questions in as much detail as you can. I may send some follow-up questions to refine certain plot points, and you are all certainly free to send me questions to clarify a poorly-worded question, or to ask if a particular choice will work for the game.
- Please provide player name and contact information (phone, e-mail, etc.). I will only publish your contact information on a list of players in the game - this information will not appear on any web site.
- What is your character's name? Please include any military rank, official title, or aristocratic honorifics.
- What is your character's nationality? In the Vienna of 1946, the city was occupied by a joint force made up of the Russians, French, English and Americans. In addition to natives of Austria, one might also find refugees from Germany and eastern European countries (e.g., Hungary, Czechoslovakia) controlled by the Soviets in Vienna.
- Please give a brief physical description of your character. In particular, is your character especially attractive of physically imposing? Are there any significant differences between your own description and that of your character?
- Please describe your character's personality. Does your character present a very different face to the rest of the world?
- What is your ostensible occupation in Vienna? (e.g., cultural attaché, impoverished aristocrat, military police inspector...)
- What is your actual occupation (if different from #6 - e.g.. KGB station chief, dealer in black market penicillin, refugee Nazi rocket scientist...)
- What is your political alignment? Please chose from among the following:
- I am a devoted believer my nation's political system (e.g., communism or western democracy)
- I am more interested in my own personal well-being, and would sell out my country if the price is right
- I am a devoted believer in the political system of my nation's rival, and would sell out my country for ideological reasons
For Austrian, German, or other refugee characters not aligned with either the Soviets of the Western powers, the following scale may be more appropriate:
- I am a devoted believer in Western democracy
- I am neutral in the democratic capitalism/communism debate, and will take the best deal I am offered if I have to chose between the two
- I am a devoted believer in communism
- I am still a devoted follower of National Socialism (this would make a fine "dark secret" - see below)
- What is the ostensible reason for you to be attending this chess exhibition?
- Name at least three real goals you hope to accomplish while at this chess exhibition. (e.g., make contact with a possible defector, acquire atom bomb secrets, convince a refugee German rocket scientist to defect to your side, get a look at the Russian grandmaster's notebook for his possible endgame strategies, get your Hungarian girlfriend a visa, score some black-market booze, assure your side wins/loses the chess match, etc.)
Please be as specific as you can with these goals - use them as opportunities to flesh out your background. How did you meet your Hungarian girlfriend? Why does she need a visa? But please also bear in mind I may have to change or alter some of the details (okay, she's really Czech - and did I mention she was the former mistress of a Nazi intelligence officer?) to make all the plots fit. Rest assured, I will consult you before I make anything more than cosmetic changes.
- Name at least one Dark Secret that you have, and describe the possible consequences should this secret be revealed. They should, of course, be dire!
A round or three of consultation will follow this initial set of answers. The earlier you get your reply in to me, the more likely it is that your plot ideas will help shape the game. If you get me your answers on June 14, I may find myself required to make broader changes to accommodate what's already in place.
Please direct all game-related correspondence to Ray Lavoie at [email protected].
