Jubilee and Briggs (A Contact for Lighthouse)

anyanp

Lighthouse has seen better days: the folks remaining are thin on the ground and operating on shoestrings. Were they to attract the attention of the powers that be, they'd likely be convicted of terrorism or vanished into the night. The organization cannot survive without the solidarity of its allies and friendly contacts.

Parties will start with one primary contact for the group and a minor contact for each player. They may gain more over the course of play.

Jubilee and Briggs

Lovable Muscle Idealist + Burnout Punk Nurse

Abigail "Jubilee" St. James is a true believer: in Lighthouse, in the Ecumene, in the Saints and Watchers, in things like mercy and justice and the inherent goodness and dignity of people. She does nothing with half measures, all with the sort of unshakable sincerity that can make people uncomfortable.

Her day job is technically fitness blogger. She spends most of her time doing the rounds in the community making sure everyone is taken care of. If that means roughing someone up, she'll do it without hesitation. She is very good at it.

Appearance - Six foot five and built like a brick shithouse. Loose blonde hair.
Manner - Lovable muscle idealist. Claims she was born laughing. Extreme empathy.
Wants - To protect her community. To fight EMPEROR. To take Steph out on a nice date.
Morality - Do things because they are the right thing for someone else.
Secret - Knows that people think she's stupid. Uses it to her advantage, hates it.

Stephanie Briggs is a nurse at the local hospital and the primary breadwinner. The endless parade of extra shifts and overtime is burning her out, and more and more she'd like nothing more than to hand in her two weeks' notice. She stays in for the sake of her wife, and if not for her own hope for the future, for a feeling of going down fighting.

Appearance - Short. Wiry. Bright blue pixie cut, brown roots. Two full sleeve tattoos.
Manner - Sleep-deprived, stressed, short on temper. There's someone only Jubilee sees underneath.
Wants - Everything to stop moving so fast. To go to sleep and wake up when things are better.
Morality - Pragmatic, cynic, has kicked the shit out of multiple fascists.
Secret - Is terrified of falling apart like her mother did.

As a Contact: Jubilee and Briggs can serve as an easy introduction to Lighthouse for new players and for characters starting outside the organization.

Hooks

• We've got a lead on...
• A monster sighting.
• A murder scene.
• A kidnapping.
• A mysterious death.
• A new phenomena.
• Those fucking hood-wearing fascists.
• Thimble Slim fucked up and dumped a shipment. Find him, see if you can recover any of the drugs, teach him a lesson.
• Hold down the fort (it's date night!) Things will definitely not go wrong.
• Help some refugees through the Underworld to one of the shelter sites down there.

Insight Unlocks

• Extra Key (G-1) - No teeth, a strange gold symbol on the bow. It will let you into the house if they're out. Might also work on other doors: keep an eye out for the mark.
• Field Manual (G-1) - A spare copy with minor annotations. It has a base reference score of 10 - this may be increased by 1 for 2 Insight (+1 for every upgrade past the first).
• I Know Someone (G-2) - People know you as friends of Jubilee, and will be more willing to help you. You can make a Spirit check without penalty to get aid from someone in her contact book.
• A Little Bird Told Me (I-3) - This dead sparrow will animate if a secret word is whispered to it. It can record a short message (~3 sentences) and will take it to anyone you know personally, speaking with your voice. It will return to you afterwards.
• Off the Books (G-3) - Briggs will provide emergency triage and surgery, as well as smuggle you some painkillers (1/session)
• Magic Bullet (I-5) - A one-way ticket out of the Underworld. Can be bought multiple times.
• The Blue Notebook (I-5) - Briggs' mother fancied herself a sorcerer. Her surviving notes indicate she was working on calling something, summoning it here...
• Icon of the Agapaetokos (I-10) - A riot shield painted with the image of the Agapetokos and the Fourteen, matching the one Jubilee made for herself. It has a 80% chance of reducing incoming damage from bullets and hand weapons to Minor.

Major Goals

(In the completed form of this, each of these would have a list of specific steps that need to be undertaken to reach the goal. For now, I'll just describe the summary of those steps.

Clear out a path for the Green Stripe branch of the Underworld Railroad.

• Requires physically and legally securing a property with a vital Underworld junction accessed through its basement, and stabilizing that junction

Hunt down the Crooked Man

• A monster that has eluded Lighthouse for years. Will involve investigating old sighting spots, cross-referencing records, acquiring the means to get rid of it, and competing with PMC hunters after the same prize.

Find and kill EMPEROR

• The toughest of the bunch, as his existence is mostly conjecture. This will involve the capture of Agency members, infiltration of facilities, and figuring out how to kill someone of his particular posthuman persuasion.

Design Notes

This is a beta framework for how I want contacts to work in Lighthouse - all the other will follow this pattern.

A Major Contact consists of:

• An NPC(s)
• A list of hooks (≤ 1 session activities)
• A selection of Insight unlocks (shorthand is I(ndividual) and G(roup), # = cost.)
• One or more Goals (long-term achievements that have a nice bullet list of steps to overcome)

Minor Contacts will usually just have a single Insight unlock and maybe a single hook.

There are two other major contacts half-written:

• Mr. Tamam (Mysterious postmaster of the Underworld)
• FRIEND (Of course FRIEND is here! FRIEND is always here!)