SPF - The HypnoMechanical Theater, in Brazil

[Onix]

McLusky speaks into Brisbane's ear "Sir the machine took some damage in unloading so the doctor and his daughter are working on getting the parts they need and fixing it. The doctor says we'll test it by putting on a play in town here. He's asked if we could assemble what provisions we'll need to travel and he handed me some instructions for getting flyers printed up."

So the things that you'll need are a translator who can speak english, portuguese and as many native languages as possible, then provisions for the trip, a boat and a guide or guides that know the jungle and tribes around. Beyond that Mclusky has to find a printer that speaks english enough to print flyers.

How would you like to set about finding these things?

The city is large but quite poor and prices are cheap. It has won it's independence from Portugal a decade or so ago, the rubber trade is just getting started but hasn't hit full swing yet.

[Drakeknight]

"Well," I say, pushing up the brim of my bowler hat with my index finger, "The locals will be under no illusions as to whether or not we're English, I don't doubt if we take a walk around or head into a public house, someone who speaks English will offer themselves up as a translator. At the very least, we'll be able to find someone who can point us in the right direction, don't you think?"

"Yes." Says Brisbane, "Yes, quite right." He heads off and I keep pace.

"And once we have a translator, I don't doubt we could find a guide," I snap my fingers, "If indeed we'd need one. Brisbane, you said you'd travelled this way before, do you think you could service us as a guide?"

[Onix]

In walking about you find the heat quite oppressive. It's only after a short while in the sweltering sun that several teenage boys come up and attach themselves to you. One of them speaks some broken English "Ey, Englase, you need some protection here? My boys, can protect you." He lifts his head up waiting for your response. These boys seem to be bunch of lions on the prowl, they make almost no noise as they move through the streets. Paddington has seen this kind of thing before (having done it quite a few times) they're looking for a payoff. You're in their territory, pay them and they'll work for you, refuse and they'll scatter, only to come back later with more of their cohorts and sabotage anything they can. Maybe they'd even try a mugging.

Brisbane however is likely unaware of this and will think their protection is not needed.

How will you deal with them?

[Drakeknight]

I ahem, and lean towards Brisbane, then speak in a hushed tone, "Either you can open your wallet to these young men and save us some trouble or I can try my hand at turning them away without repercussions. Your decision."

[Evil Scientist]

"You think that's neccessary?" whispered Brisbane back to Paddington, then glanced at the gathering - their rags, their faces, their eyes full of hatred and a certain feral instinct. "You might be right..."

He reached into his pocket and produced some golden coins. Made sure the rest did not make a sound. "Here," he handed them over to their leader, hoping that that would be enough to keep them satisfied.

After this incident was resolved (if ti was), Brisbane said to Paddington:
"You see, I didn't come unprepared. An old friend of mine had given me the address of a certain Gilbert Daffod, a Frenchman living in these parts, who could provide us some information. He lives not far from the docks, over Julio's Canteena, as I've been told."



Off topic: sorry guys, my reactions will be scarce, I have a lot to do now. You can make minor decisions for Brisbane (as you already do).

[Onix]

[Evil Scientist]

"I cannot wait to see our machine in action - not only to see my money's worth, of course, but out of plain curiosity!" Brisbane said to Paddington, while strolling through the city, "Alas, I have to wait. In the meantime, I propose we do what's the best for two young gentlemen to bond... hunting..."

The last word he stressed in a very specific way. It was his favourite activity, after all.

"But not the usual get your gun - shoot the biggest mammal possible type of hunting. Daffod says that it's the time of year the famous Amazonian emerald butterflies fly out. They are a common species, but some of them grow larger and they are called emerald kings - those are real trophies, the pride of any hunter! What do you think you and me go out and try to catch one?"

[Onix]

Not what I was expecting but ok.

So you go out stalking your prey. Your butterfly nets in hand. The tension is so thick you can taste it (um, ).

I'm not going to treat a butterfly as an NPC so this is a skill check. Think about what attributes you'd need to catch a butterfly, then select any tricks or methods you have in your skills that you think will help to catch that butterfly. If you pick a method that doesn't seem to fit, it can be disqualified from the test unless you give a convincing description of how you incorporate it. The two of you can work separately and try to catch one each or together and have an easier time of catching one.

So go ahead and declare your methods and tricks. You don't get to know what the difficulty numbers are but with each try I'll give clues as to what is enough and what you're missing. I'll warn that maxing out one attribute will not solve the skill challenge by itself, you have to try boosting more than one attribute. Intelligence would be used to remember where the butterfly can be found, Perception would be used to find the butterfly, Agility would be used to catch the butterfly.

[Evil Scientist]

Brisbane was probably unaware, just how stupid he looks in his tropical hat, wielding his mighty net, crawling through the bushes. He chose to rely on his hunter's instincts and act just as if he were firing a single-barrel gun: each shot counts! Instead of randomly whacking at the butterflies (there was plenty of them), he was waiting patiently, ready to strike when the emerald kings emerge.

Brisbane is using his Perception and Will, I guess?
:Marksmanship - Wait For It method - Will + 2
and the Calm Nerves trick.:

He was concentrating so hard that he hadn't noticed that he got separated from his servant, his riffle and Paddington. He only had a small ebony-clad six-shooter and a water flask on him. And a butterfly net.

[Onix]