Sub-Plot: Harbortown Versus The Cut
The truce between Harbortown and The Cut is breaking down. Jeanette and Millions are seeking support to defend themselves from the other settlement, or to try to gain the upper hand.
The intention was that this conflict would be the main driving force of the Adventure: The Door in Reality. In some sessions, players did get their characters involved in the rivalry (Reginald Fulton in particular was keen to encourage a war), but this fizzled out as a focus for the ongoing stories. Ultimately, we didn't discover what happened with the two settlements.
Themes
Subterfuge and betrayal, choosing sides.
Structure
Exposition
The Starting Situation
Jeanette leads The Cut harshly - life there is uncomfortable, but no resident goes without their very basic needs, at least. She will not allow her people to die unnecessarily, but their lives can certainly be very hard. The defenders and scavenging/raiding parties are very well equipped. Millions leads Harbortown ruthlessly, always out for gains in wealth and power (mostly at a personal level, though they’re clever with how they spread their wealth). Residents have a vast gap between the poorest and the most comfortable. The defenders are few but well equipped, with heavy weapon emplacements around the walls. Harbortown and The Cut have a shaky alliance - they work together as far as it is mutually beneficial and are aware that an open war would be very costly to both sides. Their ideologies and ways of life are incompatible, though, which causes much friction. Both forces are certainly ruthless, but many of the fighters from Harbortown can be cruel, while the forces of The Cut seem more stoic.Components
Goals
- To support either Harbortown or The Cut in their rivalry. (Or to play both sides.)
- To help one of the settlements permanently resolve the threat of the other, or to broker some lasting peace between the two.
Hooks
- Millions offers good rewards for interfering with The Cut's operations, and perhaps taking more aggressive actions.
- The relative honour of the way of life at The Cut may inspire some to help them become more secure / comfortable.
- Either settlement may offer shelter or other services for somebody who joins their side of the rivalry.
Stakes
The lives of the residents of The Cut, in particular, are at stake if the conflict were to turn physical.
Open conflict could have ramifications beyond the two settlements - others caught in the crossfire, displaced creatures, roving gangs of violent fighters, etc.
Moral Quandaries
Are any of Those Who Will Open The Door's ethics challenged by the rival ways of life of The Cut and Harbortown? Could anyone stand by while they act against each other, endangering their civilians?
Relations
Protagonists
Backdrops
Locations
Past Events
Harbortown and The Cut were in open conflict for land and resources up until about two years before the start of Adventure: The Door in Reality. Jeanette and Millions themselves negotiated a truce, and it has held.
Unfortunately, the competing ideologies of the settlements and the scarcity of resources have tested the peace. Residents of both have expressed "grass is greener" views and little good salvage remains in the nearer areas of The Buried City. Millions has been quietly paying people to undermine The Cut's operations and Jeanette has altered scavenging missions to deliberately hinder Harbortown's own efforts.
Plot type
Sub-Plot
Parent Plot
Related Locations
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