Lost Chapters
Benjamin Franklin: Quartz Character
Benjamin Franklin (1706 to 1790) was a Philadelphia printer, writer, scientist and diplomat. He published Poor Richard's almanac, invented the lightning rod, won French support for the American Revolution and signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
- Cost
- 5 crystals
- Type
- Character · Founder
- Power / Health
- 3 / 5
- Color
- Quartz (Founders & Revolution)
- Rarity
- Ultra-Rare (Legacy)
- Set
- Liberty & Lightning (Set 1)
On play: Build 1 Lightbulb Token and draw a card.
Polymath diplomat whose greatest achievement might have been his own carefully crafted public persona.
The real history
Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. His father sent him to learn printing in the shop of his older brother James, where he served as an apprentice from 1718 to 1723. He kept learning the trade in Philadelphia and England, and in 1728 he opened a printing office in Philadelphia with a partner.
In 1729 he bought the Pennsylvania Gazette, and from 1732 to 1757 he published Poor Richard's almanac, one of the first best sellers in the colonies. He also became postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737. As a young man he owned enslaved people, and his newspaper carried advertisements for the sale of enslaved people.
Franklin was a serious scientist too. His electrical experiments, including the famous kite test of June 1752, showed that lightning is a form of electricity, and he invented the lightning rod to protect buildings. Bifocals and the Franklin stove were also his.
In 1776 he served on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence, and Congress sent him to France as a commissioner. There he negotiated the 1778 Treaty of Alliance and helped negotiate the peace with Britain that ended the war. In 1787 he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
Late in life he turned against slavery. From 1787 he served as president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and his last public act was a 1790 petition asking Congress to end slavery and the slave trade. He died in Philadelphia on April 17, 1790, at age 84.
Sources
- Benjamin Franklin's Resume, Independence National Historical Park, National Park Service
- Benjamin Franklin FAQ, The Franklin Institute
- Benjamin Franklin's Anti-Slavery Petitions to Congress, National Archives
In the game's story
In the game's invented story, Franklin gives the Archive's Registrar eleven occupations for the Book of Arrivals and adds four more once he settles in Marginalia. He is caught in the royal library of Spinehold after hours, writes a Marginalian almanac that the Bridgecrew already quote and keeps up a friendly feud with Tesla about electricity. When it matters, he is a patient diplomat, and he quietly negotiates the first truce between the Guardsmen and the Bridgecrew over a very long dinner.
How the card plays
Benjamin Franklin costs 5 crystals and is a 3/5 Ultra-Rare Quartz Founder, which makes him a Legacy card. When he arrives, Build 1 Lightbulb Token and draw a card. The Lightbulb is a 0/1 that draws you another card when it is destroyed, so he refills your hand twice over.
He is legal under the George Washington Leader, whose passive gives Founders +0/+1, so he lands as a sturdy 3/6.
National Convention gives your Founders +1/+1 and makes them cost 1 less, so Franklin drops to 4 crystals. John Adams adds +1/+0 to every Founder, Franklin included. George Washington, Freeworld Founder gives your other characters +1/+1, which turns the Lightbulb into a 1/2 that can block a small attacker and still draw a card when it falls.
- Playable in decks led by George Washington, and by any Traveler Leader whose colors include Quartz.
- In the Washington starter deck (1 copy). Deck code:
LC2-BhoCgAKBAYIBgwGEAYUBhgKHAYgBiQGKAYsBjAKNAY4BjwGQAZEBkgGTAZQBlQGWAZcBmAGZAZoCmwGcAZ0BngGfAaABoQFBjA - A deck holds up to 3 copies of this card.
Questions about Franklin
What did Benjamin Franklin invent?
The Franklin Institute lists bifocals, the lightning rod, the glass armonica, swim fins, a long reach device, the Franklin stove and a catheter among his inventions.
Which founding documents did Benjamin Franklin sign?
According to the Franklin Institute, he is the only person who signed all four: the Declaration of Independence, the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France, the peace treaty with Britain and the Constitution.
Card art
The standard version of Benjamin Franklin. The Full Art above is a rare version that can appear in packs.
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