Detail of Thomas Moran's "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone," featuring a waterfall pouring into a majestic mountain canyon. The cliffs are illuminated with golden, late-afternoon light.

Troika Backgrounds

This feature is a reprint from Unwinnable Monthly #150. If you like what you see, grab the magazine for less than ten dollars, or subscribe and get all future magazines for half price.

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Detail of Thomas Moran's "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone," featuring a waterfall pouring into a majestic mountain canyon. The cliffs are illuminated with golden, late-afternoon light.

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A sepia photograph of Samuel Morse. He is a white-haired man wearing an oversized topcoat and cravat.

The Ghost of Samuel Morse
You lead a cursed existence all anyone remembers are the dits and the dahs! Not the man, not the paintings, not the cravat! The CRAVAT!

Advanced Skills

PtsSkill
3Sneak
2Spell – Electromagnetism
2Painting
1Engineering

 

Possessions
A bunch of paintings proving that you were an artist first 
A fancy cravat with “What Hath God Wrought?” embroidered on it
A spectral guide to Morse Code (noncorporeal must be summoned into existence to be used by anyone not a ghost)

Special
Communication Breakdown: You can only communicate via a series of dits-and-dahs rapping on tables, walls, etc. This is frustrating and would be much less so if you could just find a HAM radio operator or if one of your companions had a copy of a Morse code manual.

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An etching of Boston during the Great Boston Fire of 1872.

The Great Boston Fire of 1872
You’re like…a fire. A chemical reaction, but sentient. You can’t carry possessions, that would be weird.

Advanced Skills

PtsSkill
2Spell – Firebolt
1Spell – Quench
1Spell – Flash
1Spell – Ember

 

Special
Burns Too Brightly: When you come into contact with a living being, you can Test Your Luck to avoid burning them. If you fail, they take 1 STAMINA damage. They can Test Their Luck to avoid this damage.

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A sepia photo of a miner inspecting his haul.

The Great Diamond Hoax
Look, it’s not your fault people want to get rich without working for it. If you happen to convince them that there’s an untapped source of diamonds across the sphere, well, it’s on them for believing it.

Advanced Skills

PtsSkill
3Cheat
2Fast-Talking
2Crime

 

Possessions
Bounties on your head (3)
Generic maps (2) (With a little bit of work, these can be made to look like any part of any sphere)

Special
Con Man’s Bluff: Once per Sphere, if you can convince someone in a position of power that you’ve discovered a diamond mine, a mining rush will be triggered. For d6-2 (minimum 1) days, everyone in town will be obsessed with getting in on the action. After this time has elapsed, the fraud is revealed and you probably don’t want to stick around or ever come back there again. Gain another bounty on your head.

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A sepia photograph of an infant in a white christening dress and bonnet, said to be Edith Rockefeller

Newborn Socialite Edith Rockefeller
You’ve got several decades of society parties and hanging out with Carl Jung ahead of you. Some people might call your father a Robber Baron, but to you he is “goo goo da.”

Advanced Skills

PtsSkill
3Etiquette
2Whine
1Sneak
1Jungian Psychoanalysis

 

Possessions
Inherited wealth (Test Luck to see if your family owns something. If they don’t, Test Luck to buy it)
Small stature (as Light Armor) 

Special
Adorable: All attacks directed at this character suffer a -2 penalty to hit.

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A small painting of a large ship being tossed by choppy seas.

The Mary Celeste
You were famously found adrift and abandoned off the Azores. What happened to your crew is a mystery to everyone.

Everyone but you, that is….

Advanced Skills

PtsSkill
3Survival
3Sneak
2Swim
2Blending In

 

Possessions
Cargo of denatured alcohol
d6-1 lifeboats
Missing crew

Special
Shipworthy: You can act as nautical transport for up to ten other characters. Whether they all make it to the destination is up to you.

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Thomas Moran's "Yellowstone Park," featuring Tower Falls and Sulphur Mountain.

Yellowstone National Park
You’re America’s first national park, and while you’re over two million acres in area, it’s unclear if that’s all densely packed into your current form or if you’re some form of avatar.

Also, you sit atop a caldera that’s probably going to explode one day.

Advanced Skills

PtsSkill
3Spell – Earthquake
2Agriculture
1Creature Husbandry

 

Possessions
A plethora of visitor’s badges (as Light Armor)

Special
Geothermal Activity: You are immune to cold and can generate heat that will warm a small room or a large vehicle. When acting in combat while Geothermal Activity is active, Test Your Luck to contain yourself. If you opt not to or fail to do so, a geyser of superheated water erupts from your chest and does 2d6 stamina damage to anyone in the way. You take half that stamina damage. They can Test their Luck to avoid.

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BRIAN TAYLOR STOP FROM PITTSBURGH WAY STOP DON’T COME HERE STOP HOUSING OUT OF CONTROL STOP

 

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