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SoB Time Line
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11-02-2013, 09:14 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-25-2014 12:08 PM by Old Dwarf.)
Post: #1
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SoB Time Line
I know what your thinking " OD, is your social life so
pitiful that you have time for this stuff?" Well YES Actually a lot of the enjoyment I get from Games is developing back stories for ones that interest me. Even though SoB is still in it's early KS days & not all info has been released ,I think there is enough to speculate on some of the background that FFP has left vague. Like where in the hell was Brimstone beyond their "on the edge of the hottest desert in the SW & on a rail line" and why the rush for Dark Stone, it's warm, glows & is a crystal/metal mix. Rather a bit thin to set off a Rush. Plus when did this all happen ? Probably after the Mexican War in the 1840's & well before WWI by which time the classic Old West was history. It would be nice to come up with something that's not completely made out of Whole Cloth. If you could fit actual history & events into Brimstone & Dark Stone. This for me at least would allow the fantastic & supernatural stuff a firm holder to which to suspend disbelief & immerse oneself in the Game. So Location-The Mohave is the hottest desert in the US, so we are into Nevada, Arizona. Now was their anything odd that actually happened that might be explained by Brimestone & it's destruction as FFP says the Govt. denied the incident. That led me to find out more than I cared to about NW Arizona & SW Nevada but then the magic moment, The Lost County of Pah-Ute Arizona. Unexplained boundary adjustments, abandonment of towns & finally internment of the region under Lake Mead. I had my location but Pah-Ute only existed from 1865- 1869 so the part about Brimstone being on a rail line was not going to work as rail roads didn't get to the area until the 1880's. I had to fudge it by creating a modest 15 mile narrow gage rail line to connect Brimstone to the Colorado River. The rest of the areas actual history then fell into place. The U.S.Army, Mormon settlements (god I tried to work in the Danites but just could not stretch the fluff that far-though a squad of Mormon hit men would be a cool group of heroes-I doubt FFP is including them). Once the Time Line jelled (with it's subtle hints of Govt. actions in the background) I was ready to tackle Dark Stone. Obviously the shards have many properties that "other world" Societies value but what would make it so attractive to humans that they would pay big for it, set off a Rush & risk their lives to obtain it? Problem Solved....it's a natural CRACK!!. So without further rambling here's my Time line (well you'll need to read the next post. OD 1846-Dalton Outfitters receive contract to supply US Army with provisions during the Mexican War & set up a base camp in NW Arizona.The Teamsters, Hunters/Trappers, Stock men are soon joined by a raffish assortment of prostitutes, gamblers & vagrants. Advanced Mormon missionaries seeking to bring the camp into the Mormon Fold had little success & the wide open camp soon provoked them to call down God's punishment of Fire & Brimstone on the camp. The camp residences respond by naming their town Brimstone. 1847-Mexican patrol from the San Luis Potosi Battalion invade NW Arizona in an attempt to cut the American Army supply lines. Residents of Brimstone stage a night ambush & wipe out the patrol. Their bodies are dumped into a chasm inside one of the caves found in the Region. 1849-The Gold Rush, Brimstone prospers as a way station for gold seekers using the Southern Route to the California Gold Fields. 1850-The Brimstone Spur-to keep up with the demand of the gold seekers Dalton Outfitters construct a narrow gage rail line some 15 miles away to gain access to the Colorado River & constructed a wharf/warehouse. Federal troops establish Ft. Mohave just across the border in California. Brimstone was soon full of off duty soldiers with no where else to spend their pay. 1858-Dark Stone discovered. Zebulon Baxter hunting Jack Rabbits comes across a cluster of strange Dark shards. Passing the stones around the saloon as a curiosity, then it's noticed touching the stone to bare skin causes a Euphoria which can last several days. Soon the locals begin to search for the strange stones to sell to the soldiers. The area around Brimstone become pockmarked from the digging. 1860-The Civil War begins 1861-Federal Troops abandon Ft. Mohave & the solders are withdrawn to Los Angles & then sent to the Eastern Theater. They carry cachets of the Dark Stone with them. Within months orders begin arriving in Brimstone from the East requesting Dark Stone. 1863- Federal Troops reoccupy Ft. Mohave & the demand for Dark Stone grows. Dalton Mining Company-Paul Dalton General Manager of Dalton Outfitters was at first amused by the Dark Stone stir and figured the novelty would ware off but it be came apparent that the use of the stone was addictive. The surface shards soon were played out people then turned to serious mining. The completion was such that claim jumping & robbery became common place. Dalton Outfitters was at this point wholly dependent an the Federal Army as a money source & should the increasing violence cause Brimstone to be put off limits the company would go under. Plus as Dark Stone was now a steady income source & the company was getting no financial benefit from the use of company land something needed to be done to uphold the Companies claim. Dalton created the Dalton Mining Company and used his company police forces to size the existing mines. Leases were offered and the miners were allowed to reopen their mines but under the supervision of the Dalton Mining Company. 1864-Mormon Settlements-Brigham Young seeking to create a greater Mormon State of Deseret sent expeditions to the Brimstone Region establishing the settlements of Callville, St.Thomas & St. George. Mormon Missionaries to Brimstone find no acceptance & the communities ignore each other. The Allcock Manuf. Co. Order- Dalton Mining receives a massive order from Benjamin Brandreth," the Patent Medicine King" for Dark Stone. Well beyond the current production capacity of the mines. The upfront money allows Paul Dalton to cancel all leases, buy heavy mining equipment & hire professional engineers. The 13 Dark Stone Mines are dug deeper & deeper & a huge warehouse is built to store the mined shards. 1865-Pah-Ute County is created by the Arizona Territorial Legislature with Callville as the County Seat & includes Brimstone. 1866-The Great Explosion-Feb.3rd a tremendous explosion & fire at the Dalton Mining Co. Warehouse wipes the town of Brimstone off the map creating a several mile wide swath of desolation. Survivors flee to Callville . Later It's found that all the stored Dark Stone was consumed in the conflagration. No officials of Dalton Outfitters /Dalton Mining survive. Elias Stewart of Boston MA. a cousin to Paul Dalton inherits the properties & hires Samuel Benson a surviving mine supervisor to try to continue mining operations . Mining resumes on a small scale in May but shut downs within a month as miners report weird sightings, strange encounters & refuse to enter the mines. The Hoo Doo reputation make it impossible to find people willing to work the mines. Elias Stewart has the estate declared insolvent & all formal attempts to mine for Dark Stone end. The Brimstone area & it's mines are deserted but brave or desperate individuals continue to enter seeking economic gain or refuge. 1867-Duffield Report-The wild stories of mutated men, demonic monsters, old tales of ghosts, vampires & werewolves coupled with disappearances & occasional mutilated bodies begin to have a chilling effect on the areas population. People begin to leave the region for California & Utah or Nevada & the Territorial Legislature becomes concern that Arizona's march toward Statehood could be impacted by the drop in population. December-The U.S Marshal in St.Thomas Milton Duffield is ordered to conduct an investigation, into the abandoned mines that seem to be the epicenter of the weirdness , by Henry Stanbery U.S.Attorney General at the request of Arizona's Governor John Goodwin. 1868- March-Duffield Report-submitted in secret direct to Attorney General Stanbery. Confirms that the fantastic & outré rumors are indeed true. Recommends that Federal Troops be sent in to quarantine the Brimstone area. President Johnson rejects the use of Federal Troops as he does not wish to provoke Southern sympathizers from the Recent Unpleasantness. Unspecified other measures are to be taken to isolate the Region. Governor Goodwin request for information concerning the investigation is simply told the matter is being studied. 1869-The Lost County-In a surprise move the U.S. Legislature dissolved Pah-Ute County & divides it up between Nevada & Utah.The U.S. Army removes it's Callville Garrison & the Callville Landing is declared too shallow for steamboat landings & closed. In June Callville is abandoned & it's residents relocate to St. Thomas. This isolates the Brimstone region which remain in an remote rump in Arizona. This leaves a week's hard journey to reach the nearest settlement at Ft. Mohave CA. now that the Ferry is no longer in operation & travelers have to go North to find the Ford. 1870-1932-Brimstone & Dark Stone slowly fade from memory with the passage of time. However the Brothels & Saloons of Ft. Mohave still hear outlandish tales of strange encounters & occasionally a stranger shows with a odd artifact at the pawn shop. Then every few months or so someone shows with Dark Stone tempting the more daring to dare the old mines. 1882-Construction of the AT&SF Rail from New Mexico to Needles California is briefly halted as the US Govt. determines the soil will not support a rail road, the Govt. changes AT&SF right of way & construction takes a deep turn to the South. 1933-The Oakie Massacre-A caravan of Oklahomans fleeing the Dust Bowl for the promise land of California make a wrong turn which causes them to camp for the night in the desolate remains of Brimstone.7 people turn up 3 weeks later in St. George Utah all that remains of the 6 car caravan & some 25 people. An incredible tale of attacks by mutated men with snake like bodies & tentacles leads police to believe the party just fell out with one another due to drinking. Arizona State Police make a cursory investigation but find no evidence. The surviving Oakies are released to travel on to California & the incident is dismissed. Arizona officials are surprised when the Office of the U.S. Marshal request the State Police files on the incident. 1936- Brimstone & it's surrounding regions now rest 400' under lake Mead courtesy of the U.S. Govt. Hoover Dam project. All secrets now rest in the deep. Sighing like the night wind and sobbing like the rain,— Wailing for the lost one that comes not again: |
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11-07-2013, 08:51 AM
Post: #2
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RE: SoB Time Line
Actually the "official" timeline of the game is set in about 1886, 50 years after the Alamo. The explosion of the town of Brimstone is 6 months before the game.
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11-07-2013, 10:18 AM
Post: #3
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RE: SoB Time Line
Welcome to TZG-DSC-Yes the Lost Army fluff has them
active 50 years after the Alamo time frame, but I gave myself some wiggle room & just figured they were reanimated by the BS explosion but it took a couple of decades of BS exposure in the mines to get then to the point they were built up enough to leave the mine & pillage the countryside. The Pah-Ute background was only viable between 1865-1869 so that made the Brimstone explosion need to happen during that period. Jason said that the Adventure Book would have a lot of background my Time Line may turn out to be totally off base. OD Sighing like the night wind and sobbing like the rain,— Wailing for the lost one that comes not again: |
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