Defeat is an Orphan

Scenario Overview

The player characters were all residents or employees of The New Old Way Home, a well-run orphanage outside of Boston, Massachusetts, around the turn of the century. The Home was always resource-constrained, but always did its best.

They've all been called back now for a ceremony marking the final closing of the Home - it held on as long as it could, but political and social changes have made orphanages largely untenable by this time.

A good, safe time will be had by all.

Helpful Resources

• In Character Thread
• Out of Character Thread
• Recruitment Thread
• Blank Character Sheet

Mechanical Game Information

Player	Investigator	HP	Sanity	Luck	Magic Points	Notes
brahnamin	Fletcher John	11	80/78	47/50	16
Naphthalim	Caesar Williams	8/9	49	55	10
Potted Plant	Lars Olsen	13	50	25	10
Elfwine	Graves
strange behaviour	Cleveland Russell	14	50	50	10
pstjmack	Robert Collins	9/7	65	55	13

Investigative Leads

Note: not every Investigator may be aware of all of these. This is an overall summary for convenience. Also, this isn't exclusive - there may be leads that the players/Investigators develop that aren't listed here. This is just a list of items presented in the game that may be worth further investigation.

• Party Attendees
  • Who was invited
  • Who attended
  • Which attendees were hurt
  • Who did not attend
  • Why
• Catastrophes affecting the Home and those related to it
  • Timing
    • Was there a determinable start point
    • End point?
  • Nature of the effects
    • Collapse of structures on the property
    • Environmental impacts (dead soil)
    • Medical crises
    • Personal crises
    • Physical samples from the Home with Dr. Munroe at Boston Tech
  • Similarities to other historical or recent events
    • Saint Lydwina's Women's College
• NPC information
  • Thomas Shipley's wound
  • Clara Shipley's odd quotation
• Other
  • Bergeron v. New Old Way Home Trust
  • Kopecki's information (coming noon on Day 2)

Important Locations

The New Old Way Home

The New Old Way Home orphanage sits several miles outside of town in one of the still-bucolic areas of eastern Massachusetts, though its questionable how long the area will remain its rural character with the growth of the suburban areas around the city. The sprawling structure was built in the mid-19th Century to help aid the rise in uncared-for children caused by increasing industrialization and deaths from the Civil War. Never religiously-affiliated, the Home relied on the largesse of New England's upper classes and the Massachusetts state government. It's a bit run-down, now - a symptom of the hard times on which it has fallen.

Now, in the modern days of 1924 and in the wake of the Progressive movement, institutions of the sort have fallen out of favor. While the Home had done well in navigating the winds of political change of the last quarter-century, things seem to have taken a precipitous turn in the last year or so. Donations have dried up or fallen through. The Home's endowment suffered some unlucky financial losses. Local and state governmental bodies have become less cooperative. Planning and permitting paperwork has been frequently lost or inexplicably filled with errors. Key staff members have experienced personal issues that have required them to depart suddenly. Everything that could go wrong, has.

History of the Home

• The Home was founded in 1867 by a consortium of Massachusetts mercantile gentry, needing more beds to house the urchins that were then plaguing Boston and its environs, and wanting to feel good about themselves in the process.
• The cornerstone for the Home itself was laid in summer 1868 and the building complete in the fall of that year.
• It was first populated in December of 1868. Most of the initial children were Civil War orphans.
• The Home went through a handful of administrators over its first decade, until Artemis Strozier took over in 1876. The Home prospered under his leadership.
• He retired in 1890, to be technically succeeded by his son, Geoffrey. There is some question about whether Geoffrey was anything other than a figurehead as opposed to his sister Bernice.
• In any event, Geoffrey retired in 1914 and his son-in-law Thomas Shipley technically took over at that point. As Graves would know, Clara did most of the actual administering.
• The Home came close to closing a few times in its early years, Artemis Shipley righted the ship and there were no really notable catastrophes until recent events.
• There is an off-hand mention of a legal case in 1906 - Bergeron v. New Old Way Home Trust - mentioned on a court calendar. But no other reported information about it.

Important NPCs

Thomas and Clara Shipley

Thomas is the son of Thomas Shipley, Sr., the owner of a prosperous mercantile concern in Boston and formerly a substantial donor to the Home. Clara is the last in the line of the Strozier family, who have run the home for some time.

Clara would have been a kid/young woman during the relevant time period. You would all definitely have met her; beyond that, you can decide the contours of your relationship.

Thomas you may or may not know - he wouldn't have come onto the scene until about 10 years ago.

Anderson Whitehurst

• Advisor to Governor Cox on the matter of child welfare.
• Has some sort of personal problem with orphanages.
• Badly hurt in the catastrophe at the House
• Owes Bobby and Graves for saving his life.
• Kind of a prick.