As I recall,
the Purists used the Legacy and the knowledge they extracted from Dr. Zaius
to build their own version of the Discombobulator. The difference was that
their version was stable and controllable. They used it to open up a portal
to the early 1930s, and began building a power base there. Their eventual
goal was to cause a critical shift by enacting a powerful ritual that would
instantly attune one of their members to every FSS in the world, while de-attuning
all their current owners at the same time. They chose the early 30s because
they knew the Ascended's grip on power was weak, having been shaken by the
events of WWI, and also because they caculated that the optimal time to
conduct the ritual would fall right around then.
What they
didn't count on - because no one knew about them - was the Reascended. Julian
wrote the piece describing how Reascended interference led to them accidentally
opening up portals all over the Netherworld to the early 30s. Naturally,
all the factions rushed in to stake their claims in the new juncture, as
follows:
Both Bonengel
and Boatman sent agents to infiltrate Nazi germany. In Bonengel's case,
he saw it as an opportunity to undo one of the greatest wrongs in human
history by reshaping the 3rd Reich. In Boatman's case, he simply saw them
as the most efficient way to seize power. Both are attempting to gain influence
by having their agents introduce new technologies in order to win der Furher's
favor. Bonengel's agent, Col. Reiger, is pushing things like the Eisenriese
and other advanced weapons, while Boatman's agent, Dr. Herrbruck, is promoting
abominations and supersoldiers.
The Lotus
have established ties with the Red Scorpion Tong, who were themselves the
descendents of the Poison Clan from Seven Masters, and who are essentially
the Lotus' agents in that time. The Red Scorpion are a powerful, world-spanning
criminal society, with a hand in pretty much every form of organized crime.
The Hand have
also connected with their agents in the juncture: a revolutionary secret
society known as the Swords of Heaven, and a group of monks known as the
Jade Dragon.
The Ascended,
of course, already control the juncture, although their control is shaky,
and so their influence is in the usual places: government, industry, crime,
media, and so on.
The Jammers
have hooked up a rag-tag collection of anarchists, communists, and malcontents
- essentially the resistance, before there's anyone to resist. However,
they've also established a secret base in Africa known as Ape City, where
they're busy making new cyber-apes. Their first conversion - who now acts
as the leader of Ape City - is a white gorilla whom the natives call K'
Tongo.
The Monarchs
have infiltrated the juncture through their agents as follows: The Thunder
King has taken control of a semi-secret German society known as the Teutonic
Knights. The Fire King has control of a ring of Arabic assassins, and the
Darkness Queen has taken over an ancient Indian death cult hidden deep within
the Amazon. The Ice Queen's agents are essentially the Dragons, and so any
influence she has is through them.
As for the
Reascended, Saleem has sent John Fenris back to the 1850's, where he's been
put into stasis until some time before the juncture actually opens. Once
he awakens, he creates a solid, well-established powerbase for the Reascended,
so that they'll be able to act effectively when the juncture opens. There
are other Reascended in the juncture as well, including Athena, but I can't
remember if she was supposed to be there before the juncture opened, or
if she came in afterwards. We may have never decided.
As for the
Purists, they already have a head start on everyone else, and they've managed
to infiltrate themselves into the uppermost echelons of society. They've
created a phony, Cthulu-esque mythos around "The Nameless One"
and have built a cult around it made up of bored, jaded, and gullible socialites.
As I mentioned, the Purist's goal is to enact a powerful ritual that will
give them control over the world's FSS. To power this ritual, they need
five, extremely potent magical artifacts that are scattered all over the
world. That's where the Dragons come in. Sir Arthur Broome approaches the
Prof., gives them a run-down on the situation in the juncture (it's 1934
at this point, to be precise), and convinces them that they need to get
a hold of these five artifacts. To be honest, I can't remember what he told
them to get them to go along with this, but at any rate, he pairs up five
of the "classic" Dragons - The Golden Gunman, Tricia Kwok, Silver
Jet, Dr. John Haynes, and Zheng Yi Quan, with five "exceptional individuals"
from 1934: The Nemesis, Jake Molloy, Amanda Snow, Tom Donovan, and John
Fenris. He convinces each of these individuals to go after these artifacts
by playing on their weaknesses: greed for Tom, glory for Amanda, ego for
Jake, and vengeance for The Nemesis.
The one mistake
they make is with John Fenris. They don't know he's one of the Reascended,
and that he isn't truly native to the juncture. He's suspicious, and by
using the resources of the Reascended, he figures out that the Purists are
behind this. He agrees to go along, however, because he wants to find out
what it is they're up to, and figures he can best keep tabs on them "from
the inside."
Anyway, at
this point the overall story breaks down into five different stories based
around each one of the pairings. Zheng and David Maxwell travel to Shanghai,
where Madame Yen, acting on the behalf of the Red Scorpion, is auctioning
off the Jade Dragon. The Swords of Heaven and the Jade Dragon Monks get
involved as well. Dr. Haynes and Amanda Snow go down to South America in
search of the Crystal Skull, and end up tangling with the Darkness Queen's
followers. Silver Jet and Jake Molloy infiltrate Rabenfels Castle, where
Dr. Herrbruck is holding the Spear of Destiny. They're alternately helped
and hindered by the Teutonic Knights, who also want the spear. Tom and Tricia
infiltrate a party being held by the mob boss Vincent Benilli, who's showing
off his prize acquisition, the Ruby Eye. They're assisted by Athena, who
has been ordered to help them out by John Fenris. Finally, John Fenris and
the Golden Gunman travel to Cairo, pursuing rumors of the location of the
Ivory Goddess. They eventually end up heading down to Ape City, hidden in
the heart of Africa, with both Khalid al-Haddad and Col. Reiger in pursuit.
Eventually,
the Dragons get all five artifacts and they regroup and turn them over to
Arthur Broome. However, Broome has lured them into a trap, and he leaves
the cult to deal with them. However, Fenris, expecting a double-cross, has
prepared for this contingency, and the long and the short of it is that
the Dragons prevail, and then everyone goes down to Antarctica, where the
Purists plan to work their mojo, in pursuit. The final confrontation takes
place in Mt. Erebus, the Purists' secret base. The Dragons battle the cult
and various constructs and The Nameless One. Broome performs the ritual
and sacrifices the artifacts, charging up a... well, a thing that will allow
him to attune himself to every FSS in the world. Also, Fenris finally reveals
his true colors and tries to go for the power himself. However, in the end
it's Zheng who foils the Purists' plans by finishing the ritual and attuning
to every FSS in the world. At any rate, I think the volcano erupts, and
in the end, only a very few of the Dragons, both old and new, end up getting
away. The fate of the rest is left unknown.
Two-Fisted
Tales is a booster-only expansion set released by Z-Man Games in November 2004.
It's a 128-card set that contains 116 new cards, with rarities divided into
Common, Uncommon, and Rare. 5 cards are errata of Daedalus cards (Booby Trap,
Deathtrap, Difficulty at the Beginning, Necromantic Conspiracy, Probability
Manipulator); the other 7 cards are reprints of Daedalus-edition cards. All
cards are black-bordered with a 10 cents price tag symbol 
in the upper right corner, presumably in homage to the pulp paperbacks. The
set symbols are color-coded to indicate rarity: white for rare, grey for uncommon,
and black for common. Still not foil.
