WARNING: This game is the ancestor of the Clerical Error game written more recently by Kathleen De Smet. The newer game has undergone heavy revision. If you read this game you will both spoil some secrets and end up with some wrong information.
The original character concept for Seth was a WWII veteran with little willpower or drive. Seth was one of the harder characters for us. He didn't really do much of anything on his own, and yet we still had to fill in his long and complex story. Since he took the easy path to everything, in the end writing his story was a matter of drawing out the "easiest" path we could phrase for him. The hardest part was justifying how he felt when he faced the world. We tried to come up with a female version of Seth's story (involving a nurse in a hospital near the front), but it was just too contrived.
Seth's important item was Geoff's dog tags. We wanted to telegraph to the players that on some level Geoff's death did affect Seth, he just wasn't really prepared to accept it. I found an awesome site to buy the dog tags from. They were inexpensive and the folks there gave me the format for traditional WWII era dog tags (and corrected me when I wrote something inappropriate for the blood type!). I would definitely buy from Dog Tags Online again. Since the tags were pristine, we got Kathleen's young nieces to "distress" them a bit with hammers. I got Alan's help when picking a Social Security Number for Geoff. His number suggests he grew up in Illinois and started working around '39 (I assumed he had a paper route or something at 15, since people used to get SSN's when they started working, not at birth). I was kind of proud of that.
The dog tag text:
Angsten
Geoffrey, S
318 05 7523
O POS
LutheranNote: Observant folks (unlike me) will notice that Seth's story mentions Rae/Ray by name. Unfortunately, we didn't notice that we sent out some copies of the sheet with the incorrect version of Rae/Ray's name on them until it was too late. Fortunately, our players were good sports about it.
Friday's Seth.Seth's original concept paragraph:
Seth / Steph Lazzaro
Seth was a soldier in World War II who had a fellow soldier friend, Geoff Angsten, suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression, etc. Rather than invest the emotional energy in helping his friend, he drifted apart and learned later that he had committed suicide. Seth feels guilty, but ignores it, trying not to think about Geoff anymore. Late 1940's.
Seth's final character story (as given to players):
Seth Lazzaro, age 30. 1949
My life just kind of happened. My wife Cecelia natters on about this poem she read once, something about two roads diverging and taking the one least traveled by, but I never really understood it. Why bother hacking your way through the brush when there is a nice smooth path already laid for you?
I came from a military family-a line of army privates stretching all the way back to the Civil War-so Father fought in World War I. He brought home a French wife and daughter, installed them in his parents' home, then immediately left again for the front lines. I was their Victory baby, born nine months after peace was declared. The military stationed my father on a small base in a small New England town and that's where I grew up.
I attended school on the base with the other military children. Cecelia was one of them. Our parents were close friends, so the two of us spent our whole childhood together. My parents were quite fond of her and everyone was pleased when we started dating in high school.
It seemed only natural, given my family history, for me to join the army after I graduated. My father insisted that I try for an officer's commission even though it didn't seem to suit me. I made no argument and eventually found myself awarded the rank of second lieutenant.
After much hinting from my mother, I married Cecelia and we moved into the base's family housing. Cecelia always had her own little projects to keep her busy, so I didn't have to go out of my way to entertain her. Thus we lived our quiet lives until the trouble in Europe grew so bad the president could no longer ignore it. My unit was mobilized.
Saturday's Seth.Belgium was not in the heart of the war zone, but it was still dangerous territory. Our assignment was to hold a machine gun nest at the top of "Cornflower Hill" which we did for several grueling weeks. During one of the German advances, our commanding officer took a mortar shell to the chest and left me in charge of the unit. Despite my officer's stripes, I had not had much command experience. I waited for the scouts to report in and by the time the message came through that we should retreat, it was too late. The Germans had us surrounded. Our retreat became a rout and most of my men were slaughtered. I myself was shot in the thigh and was certain I wouldn't make it. I crawled out from under the pounding boots and after collapsing in a bush, gave up and lost consciousness.
Somewhat to my surprise, I woke up in the field hospital with my leg bandaged and an eager face watching over me. It took me a moment to recognized Geoffrey Angsten, private enlisted grade 2 from my unit. I could hardly imagine how the two of us could still be alive. Later the nurses told me how Geoff had come stumbling in with me draped over his shoulders, having carried me alone for two miles on a twisted ankle and a gunshot wound to the arm. We were both out of commission. I couldn't get a status report on any of my other men, so for all I know we were the only ones left.
We spent a few months recuperating in a Brighton hospital. The boredom gave us plenty of time to become close friends. I liked this open, affectionate, laughing young man more than anyone else I'd met in my life. Unlike my other friends and family, Geoff didn't seem to expect anything from me, made no demands on my conduct. I felt like I could be myself around him; I didn't have to put in any special effort and he still liked me.
We were shipped home and stationed on the same base doing desk work. Cecelia joined us there, as did Geoff's wife Nancy and little daughter Rae. We had some fun at first, bowling on Wednesday nights and sharing a few drinks on the Fourth of July. But over time, we seemed to drift apart. Geoff became somewhat reclusive, lost a lot of weight, and even eventually resigned his commission. I spotted him in the bar a few times, but he was never smiling. I wondered a few times if something was bothering him, but I didn't ask. If he had wanted me butting in, he would have said something. So we just stopped talking.
About a year later, I was surprised to receive a letter from Geoff. When I unfolded it, his old dog-tags clattered into my lap. The letter rambled uncharacteristically. He mentioned our shared war experiences and reminisced about our friendship. It didn't sounds as cheerful as I remembered him. He said he wanted me to have his old dog-tags as thanks for being a good friend who always been there for him. Something about his tone struck me as odd, but I couldn't quite pin it down. In the end, I shook it off and decided that if he wanted to tell me something he would do so.
I was shocked to get a phone call from Nancy several months later: Geoff had killed himself and the funeral was on Thursday. I attended the funeral and wondered, like everyone else, what had driven him to take his own life. I stood opposite his family by the grave and tried not to look at Rae's streaming face or hear her heart-wrenching sobs.
After that, I started carrying Geoff's dog tags around with me constantly, but did my best not to think about him. It was too bad; he had been my best friend.
Sunday's Seth.Why You're Here:
You've been sent to a high school in Cincinnati for a recruiting assignment. You've just checked into a local hotel and aren't expected to report to the event until morning.
Tips:
Seth is a career military man, but his heart has never really been in it. Since he is not reporting for duty until tomorrow, it is up to you whether or not he'll be in uniform. We will supply you with Geoff's dog tags and all other props that your character would carry. We are going to ask everyone to empty their pockets at the beginning of the evening, so you might not want to bring stuff you don't trust us to hold for you.
