Focal Characters
From Gothic Earth Wiki
Gothic Earth engages all player characters whenever it is played, but sometimes the plot intentionally shines a spotlight on one character to further his or her development. The chart below breaks down which characters were intended by Scott Hardie to be the focus of each chapter, and which characters wound up getting the lion's share of attention when the chapter was played. Themes explored by the chapter are also listed.
| CHAPTER | INTENDED FOCUS | ACTUAL FOCUS | THEMES |
| Baltimore | Ensemble: All seven new player characters needed equal attention when the game began. | Ensemble. | beyond the grave, family secrets, house exploration, insanity, mad science, Red Death, running out of time |
| Philadelphia | Ensemble: All seven player characters needed equal development at this early stage. | Aidan Kane: His moral choices toward the the enemy shaped both the mission and the group's future.[7] | American government, American history, class discrimination, crime, dangers of magic, occultism, qabals, surveillance, teamwork |
| New York | Elise LeBlanc: She would be deceived by her employer.[11] The group would learn about her job.[8]
John Sheppard: The plot depended on his relationship with his friend and his interest in ancient Egypt.[8] | Elise LeBlanc.
Gao: This new character's introduction and liberation from the Six-Fingered Hand dominated the chapter.[10] | ancient Egypt, cats, crime, homelessness, journalism, lies, precognition, presumption of guilt, trust, Vistani |
| Boston | Ensemble: This standard adventure came straight from the sourcebook with few additions by Scott Hardie. | Alexandria Knight: Her confrontation with an old nemesis took up much of the group's attention.[14] | beyond the grave, grudges, homelessness, immigration, insanity, prostitution, spirits, witchcraft |
| Arkham | Alexandria Knight: The villain's scheme to use her mental power would be the first indication of her potential.[20]
Lawrence Tate: The group would visit his former home and learn his real identity.[18] He would face pressure to reveal his father's secret fate.[22] | Alexandria Knight and Lawrence Tate. | beyond the grave, dreams, dreamscape, family obligations, family secrets, Great Ones, insanity, precognition, rescue, resurrection, sanitariums, self-sacrifice, teamwork |
| Providence | Katerina Petrovich: The group would meet her mentor.[25] She would help him defeat a great evil.[27] | Ensemble: After Melissa Turffs left the game, the same adventure was played with Katerina as an NPC being rescued by the group. | Catholic horror, fire, ritual ceremony, rescue, running out of time, trains |
| Pittsburgh | Elise LeBlanc: Her relationship with a professional rival was intended to reflect the group's morality back at them.[28] | John Sheppard: He died at a fellow scientist's lab despite the group's efforts to save him.[29] His surprise return from the dead dominated the rest of the chapter.[30] | beyond the grave, competition, electricity, journalism, professional rivalry, resurrection, technology, trains |
| Washington | Fayt Leigngod: The group would meet his mother and visit his home.[34] He would learn who had created him and confront the destiny planned before his birth.[36] | Fayt Leigngod. | American government, choosing whether to accept destiny, class discrimination, dangers of magic, discovery of personal origin, family obligations, family secrets, faulty memory, material possessions, surveillance |
| Salem | Elise LeBlanc: Her duty to The Circle, her identity as a witch, and her struggle against a great evil would propel the plot.[41] | Elise LeBlanc. | abuse of the law, American history, belonging with other outcasts, beyond the grave, dreamscape, faerie folk, fire, house exploration, nature, Ravenloft, responsibility to stop evil, teamwork, witchcraft |
| Oceanic | Ensemble: After three long and heavy chapters, this lighter adventure was intended to give every character small challenges. | Ensemble. | ancient Egypt, child abuse, class discrimination, insanity, prostitution, ships, surveillance, Victorian values |
| London | Gao: The group would learn who wanted to acquire Gao in the Six-Fingered Hand and why.[55] The group would learn more about Gao's dual nature with the help of a scientist's serum.[54] | Ensemble: The unexpected absence of Aaron Shurtleff and the introduction of two new characters threw the chapter off-balance. | duality, fire, insanity, mad science, rescue, secret identities, surveillance, theater |
| Kitty Hawk | Alexandria Knight: She would be put to the test as the group's new leader.[55]
Lyon Omen: His evil parentage would be revealed, and he would have to make a major decision whether to betray the group.[58] | Lyon Omen. | American history, betrayal, Catholic horror, choosing whether to accept destiny, dangers of magic, discovery of personal origin, fire, precognition, technology |
| Dunwich | Alexandria Knight: She would learn who made her incapable of love and be reunited with her dead mother. The group would learn her dark secret concerning her father.[62]
Lawrence Tate: He would be reunited with his dead mother and his dead father, receiving forgiveness from both.[60] | Alexandria Knight and Lawrence Tate. | beyond the grave, child abuse, discovery of personal origin, dreams, dreamscape, family obligations, family secrets, faulty memory, forgiveness, house exploration, lies, prostitution, resurrection |
| Sarasota | Ensemble: After a major shift in the group membership, the game needed a simple adventure with few connections to the ongoing plot in order to clean the slate. | Ensemble. | animal rights, hunting, mad science, nature, professional rivalry, sanitariums |
| Atlanta | Caleb Lonergan: He would discover the existence of his past lives, and have to confront misdeeds done by his immediate predecessor.[70] | Caleb Lonergan. | American history, beyond the grave, class discrimination, discovery of personal origin, duality, fire, grudges, occultism, photography, presumption of guilt, race relations, reincarnation, running out of time, sanitariums, spirits, trains, war |
| New Orleans | Elise LeBlanc: She would search for her missing nanny and mentor, learn that evil sorcerer John Malveau had fathered her alternate form, and fight Malveau to the death. | Elise LeBlanc. | avatars, beyond the grave, class discrimination, discovery of personal origin, family obligations, family secrets, fire, grudges, house exploration, hunting, magic, professional rivalry, rescue, ritual ceremony, running out of time, spirits, voodoo |
| Surrey | Gant Harrington: He would spend time with childhood friend Grace Jessel and learn more about himself from his father's ghost.
Gao: Her dream-like state would reveal details from her subconscious, including her real name Enid and details about her dark side.[82] | Caleb Lonergan: Between an ardent fan, a graveside eulogy, and a rapid-aging curse, Caleb received unplanned but welcome attention.
Gant Harrington: Although Jeremiah Poisson's departure mid-chapter changed the plan, Gant still wound up as a major focus. | beyond the grave, discovery of personal origin, dreams, dreamscape, duality, faerie folk, family obligations, family secrets, faulty memory, fire, house exploration, material possessions, mirrors, Red Death, rescue, running out of time, secret identities, spirits, surveillance |
| Paris | Ensemble: This chapter would be about the group discovering qabals and world history, rather than any individual character. | Ensemble. | ancient Egypt, belonging with other outcasts, betrayal, crime, dreamscape, forgiveness, lies, precognition, qabals, Red Death, resurrection, secret identities, spirits, surveillance, teamwork, technology, thieves, trust, world history |
| San Francisco | Ensemble: A major change in the character roster necessitated an open adventure. This one came from the sourcebook with only minor changes. | Ensemble. | beyond the grave, family secrets, fire, immigration, insanity, qabals, race relations, Red Death, responsibility to stop evil, running out of time, sanitariums, ships, spirits, thieves, vampires |
