Characters and Figures

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Figures

These are printable paper figures similar to Steve Jackson Games' Cardboard Heroes™, except that they are only detailed on one side; the format is used with the permission of Steve Jackson Games. They include some of the NPCs mentioned in the adventures and some generic children. The children are mostly scanned from 1919-1922 sources and some costumes may seem a little anachronistic in a Victorian campaign, but simple clothing of the type depicted was already favoured by progressive parents at the end of the nineteenth century. See the Forgotten Futures Theatre section of the FF CD-ROM and collections from FF VI onwards for more figures in this format. The figures for the third adventure were previously used in FF VI, but have been colorised for this release.

Several metal figure companies make ranges that include Victorian and Edwardian civilians; see my web site for a list of manufacturers. An alternative source may be model railway figures, although they are rarely the correct scale to be used with other figures.

Sample Adventurers

Six children were used as the sample characters in most play-tests. They were middle-classed and lived in London, all other details of their background were kept vague so that they could be used as members of the same family, friends, or schoolmates as needed for each adventure. They had The Box (see Too Many Dragons) in the first two adventures, and Arnold, but didn't initially know that Arnold was more than a toy. They didn't know any other magic. If there are fewer than six players it is suggested that the children should be run as follows:

Players
Five	Omit Gordon or Avril.
Four	Omit Gordon and Avril.
Three	Each player runs two childen, a boy and a girl.
Two	Omit Gordon and Avril, each player runs two children, a boy and a girl.

For the third adventure, which is set at a boarding school, all adventurers should be aged seven to twelve. The second set of skills and description for each character assumes that two moderately eventful years have passed which included opportunities to improve their skills (including Wizardry) and characteristics, but no formal magical training. This was done by giving each character two points for age and 2D6 Bonus points for experience, rolling as described in the worldbook, and adding more traits where appropriate. Not all rolls for improvement were successful; for example, Ruby rolled high for Bonus points and improved all skills successfully, but first lost then gained MAGIC so that the characteristic remained unchanged. Tim retained his magic by similar rolls. Tom lost MAGIC twice and failed all rolls to improve characteristics and skills with the exception of Wizardry. Jane and Avril also lost MAGIC twice but did well on characteristics and skills. It was also assumed that the children lost The Box somewhere along the way.

Ruby (age 5)
BODY [1], MIND [2], SOUL [2], MAGIC [7], Brawling [1], Medium [3], Stealth [1], Wizardry [1]
Traits: Beautiful, Lucky, Imaginary friend (Arnold)
Spells: Access to The Box
Equipment: 8d in pennies.
Quote: "Arnold says you should give him back to me, you rotter."
Notes: Arnold the bear was stolen from you by Jane, and you have sworn that you will somehow recover him. Unfortunately Jane is bigger and stronger than you so you will have to be very sneaky! You've seen ghosts once or twice, but none of the other children believe you.

Ruby (age 7)
BODY [3], MIND [3], SOUL [2], MAGIC [7], Actor (violin) [4], Brawling [3], Linguist (Italian, French) [4], Medium [3], Stealth [2], Wizardry [2]
Traits: Beautiful, Brave, Lucky, Imaginary friend (Arnold),
Spells: Communication (most animals), Clairvoyance.
Equipment: Teddy bear (Arnold), 14s in assorted copper and silver
Quote: "Arnold says you're too old for bears and can't have him back, so there!"
Notes: As above, except that Ruby has recovered Arnold.

Tim (age 6)
BODY [2], MIND [2], SOUL [1], MAGIC [5], Athlete [3], Brawling [3], Stealth [2], Wizardry [1]
Traits: Androgynous, Brave, Lucky
Spells: Access to The Box
Equipment: Pocket knife, 6d, bag humbugs.
Quote: "Come back here and fight, you coward"
Notes: You have a twin brother, Tom. It's fun being a twin, you can pretend to be each other (and blame each other for your own misdeeds). Usually you're friends, but sometimes Tom is a bit of a prig and you have to slap him down. You are occasionally allies against Gordon, who is a bully; fortunately he doesn't usually have the stomach for a fight against both of you.

Tim (age 8)
BODY [3], MIND [3], SOUL [2], MAGIC [5], Athlete [4], Brawling [4], Linguist (Greek, Latin) [4], Stealth [2], Wizardry [2]
Traits: Androgynous, Brave, Greedy, Lucky
Spells: Transformation (mainly of small clay models into living toys with a limited capacity to obey orders; they "die" when the clay dries out.)
Equipment: Pocket knife, 3s 6d, bag humbugs.
Quote: "Come back here and fight, you coward"
Notes: As above, except that Tim and Tom are now on slightly better terms and rarely argue; you are both more aware of the advantages of co-operation. You are currently a little bigger than Tom, making impersonation difficult.

Tom (age 6)
BODY [2], MIND [2], SOUL [2], MAGIC [5], Brawling [2], First Aid [3], Stealth [2], Wizardry [1]
Traits Prig, Stoic, Grubby
Spells: Access to The Box
Equipment: Pet frog (usually in a pocket or large jam jar), 1s 3d
Quote: "Come on, froggy, beg."
Notes: You have a twin brother, Tim. You hate being a twin, Tim is always being naughty then blaming you for it. However, you are occasionally allies against Gordon, who is a bit of a bully. You want to be a doctor when you grow up, and have learned some first aid.

Tom (age 8)
BODY [2], MIND [2], SOUL [2], MAGIC [3], Brawling [2], First Aid [3], Stealth [2], Wizardry [2]
Traits Prig, Stoic, Grubby, Secret (you have a powerful air rifle hidden in a shed just outside the school grounds, a serious breach of the school rules)
Spells: Communication, especially with cats and dogs.
Equipment: Mounted skeletons of a rat and a frog, a chemistry set, 7s 6d, air rifle and 25 pellets (Effect 7, A:B, B:F, C:F/I, one shot per two rounds)
Quote: "What's that? Tim's fallen down the well?"
Notes: As above, except Tim is now bigger than you are. You expect to catch up eventually. You are more reconciled to Tim now that he can't easily pretend to be you.

Jane (age 7)
BODY [3], MIND [2], SOUL [1], MAGIC [4], Actor ("Who, me?") [5], Brawling [3], Stealth [1], Wizardry [1]
Traits Bully, Imaginary Friend (Arnold), Greedy, Grubby
Spells: Access to The Box
Equipment: Teddy Bear (Arnold), rusty penknife, 2s 3d
Quote: "He's mine and I'm going to keep him, so there!"
Notes: When you grow up you plan on being a duchess or something where you get to cut off people's heads. Meanwhile you make the best of things. Currently you have a problem with Ruby, who gave you Arnold and is now claiming that you stole him. Never mind, Arnold says he likes you so she can't have him back.

Jane (age 9)
BODY [3], MIND [3], SOUL [2], MAGIC [1], Actor ("Who, me?", Pianist) [6], Brawling [4], Linguist (French, Italian) [4], Stealth [2], Wizardry [3]
Traits Beautiful, Bully, Imaginary Friend (Arnold), Greedy, Vain
Spells: Illusions (usually used to trick people), but she finds it increasingly difficult to cast them or hear Arnold.
Equipment: Swiss Army knife, 16s 10d, geometry set, pencils, basic cosmetics.
Quote: "You really look so young in that outfit..."
Notes: Jane is starting to mature, and finding magic increasingly difficult. Her looks have improved with age, and she has replaced the "Grubby" trait with "Vain". She is still a bully, but her bullying now tends to be more psychological than physical, picking at the weak points in the personality or appearance of other children. Play her as a young Cordelia (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and you won't go far wrong. She still occasionally finds herself talking to Arnold (who is mostly Ruby's toy these days), but no longer believes in him and can't hear him.

Avril (age 8)
BODY [3], MIND [2], SOUL [2], MAGIC [4], Brawling [3], Riding [4], Stealth [3], Wizardry [1]
Traits Lucky, Hobby (horses and ponies), Hobby (collect post cards), Brave.
Spells: Access to The Box
Equipment: Pony books, doll, watch (nurse type), 1s 6d
Quote: "Come on, gee up!"
Notes: You're mad about horses and want to ride in gymkhanas etc. You will always be distracted if you see them, and indignant if you see a horse or pony mistreated.

Avril (age 10)
BODY [3], MIND [2], SOUL [3], MAGIC [2], Brawling [3], Riding [6], Stealth [3], Wizardry [2]
Traits Lucky, Hobby (horses and ponies), Hobby (collect post cards), Hobby (collect horse brasses), Brave.
Spells: Communication (with horses and ponies only)
Equipment: Pony books, watch (nurse type), riding cups and medals, horse photographs and horse brasses, £2 7s 6d
Quote: "Come on, gee up!"
Notes: As above. You have lost none of your enthusiasm for riding, and hope to compete for Britain in the Olympics when you are older. You take riding lessons at your school and naturally have access to the stables. You don't own a horse but the school has several good mounts for the riding classes.

Gordon (age 9)
BODY [1], MIND [3], SOUL [2], MAGIC [3], Brawling [2], Linguist (French, German) [4], Science [4], Stealth [2], Wizardry [1]
Traits: Notorious (small London area), Streetwise (small London area), Coward, Bully
Spells: Access to The Box
Equipment: Pocket microscope, butterfly net, jar for specimens, pocket watch, 4s 1d
Quote: "I'll run for help!"
Notes: You plan on being a scientist when you grow up and you've already dissected most of the smaller British animals. You'd like to dissect a frog, but Tom and Tim ganged up on you when you tried to get one.

Gordon (age 11)
BODY [2], MIND [3], SOUL [2], MAGIC [2], Brawling [2], Linguist (French, German) [4], Science [5], Stealth [2], Wizardry [2]
Traits: Notorious (small London area), Streetwise (small London area), Coward, Bully, Hobby (fossil collection)
Spells: Enhancement (of own characteristics especially BODY)
Equipment: Pocket microscope, butterfly net, jar for specimens, pocket watch, rock hammer, 12s 6d
Quote: "I'll run for help!"
Notes: As above, but Gordon is a little more careful about his bullying, since he is now smaller than most of the boys in his class.