Character Statistics
Adventure Ideas
Dale McQuarrie is a Californian Success Story. He was born in 1832 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1837 he crossed the Atlantic with his family and settled in the Americas. His family moved into Texas in 1839, where his father became a hand on the Littlefield Ranch near the Rio Grande.
When he was ten Dale began working with his father on the ranch where he learned the basics of cattle and gleaned insight into the inner workings of business from his bosses. At fifteen he set out on his own to the (then) Bear Flag Republic and never came back.
Arriving in San Diego in 1848 with his life savings of 50 dollars and little more than his clothes and a bedroll he moved northward, working on a fishing boat in Los Angeles, doing odd-jobs on various ranches, and even doing a little guard work for the Wells & Fargo company.
In 1849 he took his stake of fifty dollars and bought some canvas, picks, shovels and food, which he then sold to miners for double what he paid. In 1851 the money was rolling in. He owned two stores, several acres of land and over a hundred head of cattle. He invested in cattle futures and land development and even helped fund a small business owner, Levi Strauss, who was making canvas trousers for miners and ranchers.
By 1853 he had switched from cattle ranching to venture capital. Though it was his ranches that would make him famous, the bulk of his money came from other investments, particularly Jupiter Arms. He is a major stockholder in one of California's largest arms manufacturers.
As his money grew so did his political saavy. He became a regular at state dinners, funded elections and even spoke publicly on behalf of government officials.
Maintaining his wealth allowed for little reacreation. He became restless and in 1865 he took a yacht with a skeleton crew and travelled the Pacific for two years. Upon his return he was a changed man. In addition to business risks, now he took more personal ones.
In 1869 he helped fund the Aerial Steam Navigation Company's first semi-rigid airship "Aviator" and even helped pilot it on its maiden voyage. He joined the militia in 1870 at almost 40 years of age and fought in the Second California-American War where he was awarded the Medal for Extreme Valor in the Northwestern Campaign. After the war he volunteered to the Emperor for a host of diplomatic tasks; ambassador, diplomat, courier and on more than one occasion spy.
He died in 1899 at the age of 67 from pneumonia. A copy of his memoirs, "A Body In Motion" was published posthumously.
| Great | Exchequer | Dale owns controlling interest in several major companies. His holdings are mostly in cattle but he also has substantial investments in gold and silver, real estate, magic, utilities and shipping. |
| Good | Connections | Dale's position as a Cattle Baron allows him to mingle with the creme of California society. Though most of his connections are businessmen and government officials a few are inventors, mages, foreign ambassadors, and even a few artists and poets. |
| Good | Courage | Fear is not unknown to Dale, but surrender is. He has exhibited his valor in his business undertakings as much as he has on the battlefield. |
| Good | Fisticuffs | What good is courage if you can't back it up? He is well known in various San Francisco bar circles as an expert brawler and an accomplished knife fighter. |
| Good | Riding | His years on the range have allowed Dale to perfect the art of horseback riding. Though not willing to perform tricks for show he has been known to do some pretty daring feats when the need arises. |
| Poor | Fencing | Dale has seen a sword a couple of times, but never really understood the use for one. In Britain when someone challenged him to a duel it was a solid right hook that ended the argument. |
| Possessions | Six-shooter, horse (Mary-Beth - named after a girl he knew a long time ago), Ranch (The Dancing W in Santa Rosa), | |
Dale can show up in several places throughout a campaign either as an ally, a patron or just a source of information. The trick is to befriend him. Here are some ideas.
| Patron |
| Jupiter Arms is selling weapons to the Twenty Nations. As their representative Dale has arranged for a shipment of Jupiter Arms Zeus .30-.30 rifles to be delivered. He has hired the players to handle the delivery. Along the way the players may be attacked by agents of the United States, rival political factions within the Twenty Nations (Can everybody say Civil War?), outlaws, or worse. |
| Jupiter Arms buys the chemicals they use for their explosives from various sources in California. Due to the stiff competition of Winchester Arms Jupiter has found their local sources becoming too costly. They have bought several hundred tons of unprocessed nitrates (bird guano) to make explosives with from Chile, one of the major producers of the chemical in the Western hemisphere. Dale hires the players to go with the ship and guard the cargo on its way back to the Empire. The catch: The Mexican Empire is gearing up for war with California and is requisitioning (i.e. stealing) the raw materials it needs for its war machine. Potential conflicts include battles at sea, gunfights and wagon chases (imagine a fight over several wagon loads of bird guano - not a pretty sight, or smell). |
| Ally |
| If the players are in a jam, be it a firefight in a bar or someone to take cues from at a state function, Dale may be just the man to get them out. On the open range Dale may be found moving cattle from his ranch in Santa Rosa or traveling to or from the Twenty Nations or another part of the Bear Flag Empire. In San Francisco he may be encountered in one of several bars or brothels (he's not a saint) or even at a state dinner or high tea. |
| Informant |
| Though he does not hobnob with the Emperor, Dale does have very good connections with sources throughout the Empire. If he doesn't know a particular piece of information, he will know someone who does. |