Daniel Webster¶
Daniel Webster is an FBI Special Agent who is put in charge of the former task force agents when they are sent back to Radford, Virginia in April 1993; he is the second player character of Ezra, played alongside Dick "The Biz" Baxter.
| Type | Player character |
| Aliases | Special Agent Webster; Agent Webster; Dan; "Officer Webster" (the lawyers' slip) |
| Affiliation | FBI; reports to Director Rudy Giuliani |
| Status | Alive (as of Radford Horrors 04); on rabies treatment |
| First appearance | Radford Horrors 01 |
| Played by | Ezra |
Description¶
Ezra's own description is "a man who looks about twenty-five percent more like a Fed than Andrew Howard": square-jawed, "identifiably from a distance Mormon," with shiny shoes, the hair and the briefcase. The table's shorthand is that Andrew Howard looks like The X-Files while Webster looks like Law & Order, a recruiting ad or Silence of the Lambs; Zack calls him "the Bean to Howard's Ender." His first act on screen is to give the team "the hairy eye" across a waiting room. (Radford Horrors 01)
He is in his late forties, dresses in suits and travels with spares. In style he is the opposite of the Biz, whom the table describes as a greasy, zoot-suited gambler type. Dante's joke is that Webster "looks like he has a son named Enoch." (Radford Horrors 02)
Ezra gives him no special voice: he speaks "in a normal, boring voice," formal and dry, and insists on being called Webster. He tends to stay at the back of the group and writes notes hastily and constantly. (Radford Horrors 02)
Background¶
Webster comes from rural Utah, not far from the ranch the team investigated in The Walkers in Skin. He was raised in a polygamist household that was "not super orthodox," of the kind where boys were put out at around sixteen, and he is still a Mormon. He grew up "a fairly avid outdoorsman." (Radford Horrors 02)
In 1978 he worked at the State Department, where he handled the United States side of the logistics for the operation that rescued Ross Perot's employees during the Iranian revolution. He never went over himself. That history is why President Perot trusts him. (Radford Horrors 02)
What he believes about the team¶
Webster arrives convinced that the old Paranatural Incident Task Force was a unit that President George H. W. Bush used for "political corruption dirty work," staffed with agents the president could manipulate, and that "all of the alien stuff is just cover." This is the same belief that led Ross Perot to disband the task force in Roulet Estate 01. Andre adds that Webster thinks its members are "all dirty as hell" and covered something up in Radford, and that he may fear a serious criminal operation is still running there. He counts Andrew as a known weirdo and treats Kurt Larson's wetwork background as close enough to a disgrace. He has heard both office rumors about Andrew (that he was sleeping with former Director Sessions, or had dirt on him) and has not picked one. (Radford Horrors 01, Radford Horrors 02)
His view of the individual agents is unflattering: the Biz was caught photographing Bill Clinton in a hotel room (the Clinton surveillance scandal), Kurt "has probably skinned at least two people," and Huell Kendrick is a chain-smoker on crutches. Watching them at the diner, he starts to call them the "worst political wetworks group I've ever" met, and is cut off by the table's laughter. (Radford Horrors 02)
History¶
The Radford Horrors¶
Assignment. Webster first appears in the waiting room outside the director's office at FBI headquarters, on the morning that Giuliani takes over the Bureau. Giuliani says that he and Webster "came to an understanding" earlier, then gives the orders: Webster has operational authority, and Andrew, Kurt and Huell are consultants "strictly there for informational purposes." The goals are to find out what happened to the missing FBI task force that Perot sent to Radford, and to establish an acceptable fact pattern for the original investigation. (Radford Horrors 01)
The Biz is in Moscow throughout the arc, and the two characters never share a scene. (Radford Horrors 01)
Arrival in Radford. Webster books the whole team onto one flight, already fuming that he could not get a helicopter, and is alarmed by the clanking of their luggage at Roanoke. On the drive Kurt rides with him to "vibe check" him; Webster's Investigate a Mystery concludes that Kurt is hiding most of his career and has "skinned somebody." At the Ferry Lodge he books two doubles and insists on bunking with Kurt, and when IRS Criminal Investigations agents storm the lobby he sides with them, tries to tackle the document-shredding clerk, and scolds Kurt for answering a police raid with a drawn gun and a grenade. (Radford Horrors 02)
At the Lonely Mountain Diner he watches Andrew mix a maroon powder into hot water and writes "Andrew Howard is a vampire?" in his notebook. He then reads the full original case file, takes Molly Underhill aside for her own version, and comes away distrusting both the cartel explanation and the convenient church fire. (Radford Horrors 02, Radford Horrors 04)
The fence. Webster chooses to visit the missing agents' camp at the Sportsman RV Campground first and documents it with photographs and video. Following the missing agents' map to the Safe Environment Fund fenced site, he fails his Act Under Pressure roll (5) and is left hanging from the barbed wire by his coat and vest until Andrew lifts him down "like a child." When armed guards of the Safe Environment Fund arrive he shouts "FBI! Get on the ground!" and levels his shotgun, fails Manipulate Someone (5), and is tasered. He takes 1 harm (torn skin on the neck, a damaged shoulder tendon) and his shotgun goes off wide. (Radford Horrors 02)
In the exchange that follows he clearly sees Andrew shot (Investigate a Mystery 10) and tells himself it was armor, a taser-addled misperception, or "something weird." He demands an ambulance over the guards' radio and gives his badge number. Further in, he tastes the pearlescent goo Kurt scrapes from a branch: eye-wateringly bitter, then cold sweats, nausea, a sweet aftertaste and compulsive salivation. Andre's recap the following session sums up the flavor as "batteries and baby shit." (Radford Horrors 02, Radford Horrors 04)
On the drive back Ezra says that the team's behavior fits no political conspiracy Webster can construct: nobody has mentioned Clinton, the Bush family or the Kennedys, only aliens, moths, woods and bad hotels. Rita's summary is that Daniel is "having to do some recalculations this evening." (Radford Horrors 02)
The mouse. At the Pay n' Stay Webster leaves his camcorder running in a corner and wedges the door. At about 3 a.m. a foaming rabid mouse crawls up his stomach; his Kick Some Ass (9, mixed) flicks it off with his gun barrel, and it bites him through the shirt on the nipple for 1 harm before Kurt pins it to the floor with his spear gun. (Radford Horrors 02)
At the Radford ER the bite has swollen to the size of a gumball. The others receive rabies immunoglobulin by IV; Webster gets about twenty injections around the wound. Forty-five minutes after they fall asleep he is paged by Giuliani about "the thing with the fence." Webster claims probable cause and asks to press charges against the guard as leverage; Giuliani warns of the Bivens lawsuit, a retroactive warrant and a possible reprimand, and asks whether Webster has worked out the team's "angle." Webster says he sees nothing of political importance and is told to keep an eye out. Four hours with FBI counsel follow. He then accepts Sheriff Underhill's offer of her mother-in-law suite. (Radford Horrors 03)
The reprimand arrives by the next session: the President wants no more "cowboy shit" and everything by the book. (Radford Horrors 04)
The skeptic. While the team works the disappearance of Elizabeth George from the Douglas Pinball Emporium, Webster hears about the "face in a bag" from the Georgia case and visibly feels his career flash before his eyes. He calls Giuliani again, reports no link to "political wetwork," and passes along the team's theories about the gray van crew and the LA treatment cover story. His Manipulate Someone (10, Charm +1) leaves the Director disappointed but still trusting; Giuliani wants the missing agents found within twenty-four hours, dead or alive. (Radford Horrors 04)
After the visit to Wilbur Whateley at the Roanoke mental hospital he asks whether they have just tortured a mental patient. At the campfire that night Kurt tells him the true story of the Spaceman, which is mundane enough to make him feel better. A Sharp roll of 12 then lets him add things up: Andrew's satchel produces more than it could hold, Andrew keeps showing casual superhuman strength, Webster is increasingly sure he saw him shot, and Andrew keeps drinking blood. He chooses not to confront him. The arc's most recent image is Andrew lifting Kurt into a tree one-handed while Webster watches. (Radford Horrors 04)
Relationships¶
- Andrew Howard: Webster replaces him as leader. He rates Andrew the least threatening member of the team at first, is surprised by his strength, and by the fourth session suspects that something is wrong with him (see Andrew's Condition). (Radford Horrors 02, Radford Horrors 04)
- Kurt Larson: the agent he distrusts most, rooms with, and will not let out of his sight. He is convinced the spear gun will eventually be used on him, yet says he trusts Kurt "more than the townsfolk" and does not question his Vietnam credentials. (Radford Horrors 02, Radford Horrors 04)
- Huell Kendrick: noted mainly as a chain-smoker on crutches. (Radford Horrors 02)
- Rudy Giuliani: his superior, who asks him to watch the team and report their "angle." (Radford Horrors 03)
- The team as a whole: they do not trust him yet either, and follow him into the hospital hallway to eavesdrop on his call. (Radford Horrors 03)
Abilities and equipment¶
Webster's playbook is never named at the table; Andre lets Ezra allocate his ratings as play goes on. Two are stated: Sharp +1 and Charm +1. See Game mechanics. (Radford Horrors 02, Radford Horrors 04)
| Roll | Result | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| Investigate a Mystery on Kurt | 8 (7 on the dice, Sharp +1) | Radford Horrors 02 |
| Read a Bad Situation at the Ferry Lodge | 7 | Radford Horrors 02 |
| Act Under Pressure at the fence | 5, fail | Radford Horrors 02 |
| Manipulate Someone on the guards | 5, fail | Radford Horrors 02 |
| Investigate a Mystery after the shooting | 10 | Radford Horrors 02 |
| Kick Some Ass on the mouse | 9, mixed | Radford Horrors 02 |
| Manipulate Someone on Giuliani | 10 | Radford Horrors 04 |
| Sharp, at the campfire | 12 | Radford Horrors 04 |
Harm. 1 harm from the taser and 1 harm from the mouse bite, followed by rabies treatment. (Radford Horrors 02, Radford Horrors 03)
Gear. Shabby 1990s body armor, a pump-action shotgun, a scoped .44 "Dirty Harry" revolver, a camera, a camcorder, a tape recorder whose tapes he changes, a flashlight, a pen and notepad, and spare suits. He also brought his own silverware for fear of being poisoned, and says he will make a daily phone call or people will come looking for him. (Radford Horrors 02)
Memorable quotes¶
Quote
"Kurt, your reaction to somebody announcing that they're the police cannot be to pull a gun on them." Ezra (as Daniel Webster) (Radford Horrors 02)
Quote
"I don't want you to take offense at any of this, but I am recording everything. It's for my own protection." Ezra (as Daniel Webster) (Radford Horrors 02)
Quote
"Without using words like 'aliens,' what do you think we're going to find in these woods?" Ezra (as Daniel Webster), to which Dante (as Kurt Larson) replies: "Foreign element." (Radford Horrors 02)
Quote
"Yeah, I mean, the Pay n' Stay part isn't even the second-worst thing about my day. But it's not good. Pay n' Stay is not getting a good review." Ezra (as Daniel Webster) (Radford Horrors 03)
Quote
"Could people stop going missing?" Ezra (as Daniel Webster) (Radford Horrors 03)
Quote
"I'm trying to put together a story that isn't weird, and I'm coming up extremely short. It's just weird." Ezra (as Daniel Webster) (Radford Horrors 04)
Quote
"I mean, did we just torture a mental patient for no reason?" Ezra (as Daniel Webster) (Radford Horrors 04)
Trivia¶
- Ezra had not prepared the character. Asked for a name at the table, he answered: "Fuck me, I didn't actually come up with one." He then settled on Daniel Webster and hoped it was not the name of a real person. (Radford Horrors 01)
- Ezra was muted when the GM first asked what Webster looks like. (Radford Horrors 01)
- Asked by Rita how old Daniel is, Ezra answered that he is in his late forties. (Radford Horrors 02)
- When Andrew tries "Daniel," "Dan" and "Danny Boy," Webster asks to be called simply Webster. Kurt calls him Dan anyway. (Radford Horrors 02)
- Three sessions in, Ezra missed a cue addressed to "Daniel Webster" and apologized: "I forgot that my character's name was that." (Radford Horrors 04)
- The 1978 rescue of Perot's employees from Iran, which Webster worked on, is real history borrowed for the campaign's alternate history. (Radford Horrors 02)