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Jurisfiction

4 December 2011 - Current

Perhaps it's odd to have a page for one-shot adventures, but they are recurring to the point where I think a separate page is warranted.

Jurisfiction is the name given to the policing agency that works inside books. Under a remit from the Council of Genres and working with the intelligence gathering capabilities of Text Grand Central, the Prose Resource Operatives at Jurisfiction comprise a mixed bag of characters, most drawn from the ranks of fiction but some, like Harris Tweed, Mrs Nakajima and most recently, Thursday Next, from the Outland. Problems in Fiction are noticed by 'spotters' employed at Text Grand Central, and from there relayed to The Bellman, a ten-yearly elected figure who runs Jurisfiction under strict guidelines laid down by the Council of Genres. Jurisfiction has its own code of conduct, technical department, canteen, and resident washerwoman. [Source]

The Game

Based on the BookWorld/Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde, Jurisfiction is a free-form game set in the world of fiction, described as "sort of like World of Darkness but rolled like Eclipse Phase". Until the second edition came along, which is a complete rip-off of tribute to first edition Deadlands.

The players are characters from various novels and are tasked by the Bellman to do a variety of missions - usually involving stopping Something or Someone from messing with the narrative of a particular book. Always consider the reader! Remember how much trouble Thursday Next got into for permanently changing the ending of Jane Eyre?

The current Bellman is Kate Schechter from The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams.


Recurring Agents

Abraham van Helsing
From Dracula by Bram Stoker. He doesn't trust Carmilla, that's for sure ... Is co-responsible for turning an Enid Blyton novel into an S&M paradise.

Alice
From Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. She may be a perpetual naive seven-year-old, but she's a senior agent. Unfortunately, meeting her heroes (the cast of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) put a slight damper on her mood.

Captain Arthur Hastings
From random Agatha Christie novel about Hercule Poirot. He's not the sharpest prose in the book, but he seems to somehow get the job done anyway. The other person responsible for the whole Blyton débacle.

Carmilla
From Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. A creepy vampire who likes little girls - especially Alice, whose blood seems particularly sweet. The rest of the party try to keep a safe distance.

Long John Silver
From Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. A pirate he may be (ARRRR) but he's a capable agent. He's not particularly stealthy, but that's peg legs for you. Is accompanied by Polly, his foul-mouthed sidekick of a parrot.

Louis Gridley Wu
From Ringworld by Larry Niven. Has lots of grandchildren and is constantly surprised by how low-tech everything is. Who'd ever think to use a metal key to unlock a hotel room? He does a great impression of Father Christmas and is available for bookings - please contact him on his FootnoterPhone.


Other Agents

Captain Haddock
From The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé. Fond of grog and cursing, but did okay aboard a spaceship.

Captain Hook
From Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie. Finally found his happy thought. It involved Peter Pan on a rack, say no more, know what I mean.

Frankenstein's Monster
From Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Got the nickname "George" when "Frankenstein's Monster" proved too cumbersome a name.

Gabriel Betteredge
From The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. Unusually fond of the book Robinson Crusoe.

Hari Seldon
From the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. Spent most of the adventure asleep, but then it was the final session of a ChimeraCon ...

Horatio Hornblower
From a series of books by C. S. Forester.

Kaa
From The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. You'd think being a snake was a hindrance, but you'd be wrong.

Macbeth
From Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Insists on being called a king, even though the investigations aren't necessarily fit for one.

"Outlander"
From the Outland, the so-called RealWorld. He wasn't keen on taking on t' windy moors of Emily Brontë.