[TE] Tales of the Fearless Coward

[Monolith]

Here is a quick rundown of my group's current Terran Empire adventure.

 

The Crew:

Janner “Cap†Marineris (Martian – Male) – Captain (Captain)

Kyrella “Ky†Purvree (Fex - Female) – Second in Command and Engineer (Commander)

Harmond “Hard†Burlle (Heavy - Male) – Security Specialist (Lt. Commander)

Nathan “Nate†DuMont (Human - Male) – Espionage Specialist (Lieutenant)

Gremlik “Rem†Ver’shara (Mon’dabi - Male) – Communications Specialist (Lieutenant)

Xerxesterus “Xerx†Yllarziz (Catavalan - Male) – Navigation Specialist (Ensign)

 

Public Identity:

The crew of the Fearless Coward are mercenary traders, and sometimes smugglers, who travel around the Frontier in a dilapidated, and modified-for-cargo, Gorgon-Class explorer in the year 2638. The Fearless Coward will also occasionally enter the Ackalian Neutral Zone and Vorsan Expanse in pursuit of the all-mighty credit. No job is too big, too small, or too illegal as long as credits can be made.

 

Secret Identity:

The crew of the Fearless Coward are actually hand-picked officers of the Imperial Navy. The Coward’s mission is to pose as mercenary/merchants and scout the Frontier, while all the time searching for dissidents and attempting to uncover and destroy plots which might threaten the Empire. The crew’s secondary goal is to expand the Empire’s knowledge-base regarding the planets and alien species within the Frontier, Ackalian Neutral Zone, and Vorsan Expanse.

 

Unknown to everyone except Captain Marineris, Lieutenant DuMont is a member of the Imperial Psionics Foundation, as well as being a member of the Terran Intelligence Command, and has a Psi-Gamma rating. Unknown even to Captain Marineris is that “Lieutenant†DuMont is actually Commander DuMont and was assigned to the ship to make sure the crew did not go renegade during their long undercover mission.

 

To add a slight twist to things, Commander Purvree is also under orders from the Terran Intelligence Command to keep an eye on Captain Marineris and “Lieutenant†DuMont, and to report anything unusual regarding those two officers to TIC Central immediately. It would seem that the TIC does not trust anyone, and even the watcher’s watcher gets a watcher.

 

The final secret is that which belongs to Ensign Yllarziz. Yllarziz was raised by Spacers who discovered him as a teenager aboard a destroyed Catavalan freighter. Yllarziz was actually planted on the derelict by the Velarian Confederation in the hope of eventually getting secret operatives within the Terran military and other branches of the Terran Government. In essence, Ensign Yllarziz is a Velarian spy, spying on the spies who are spying for the Terran Government.

 

Mission 7.1: “Intruderâ€

The Fearless Coward was in-route to Vinarcus after spending two weeks return-jumping from Kurnoris IV, deep within the former Mandarrian’s space. The mission was a success and the Mandarrian energy crystal, as well as some discovered scientific documents for the TIC, was in the crew’s possession. All Cap had to do now was convince Daber Mo’Ran, “king†of the Black Holes, that the Mandarrian crystal was a spacer’s tale and did not truly exist. Hopefully the Deveran borraxx within the ship’s hold would pacify the smuggler’s anger at the Fearless Coward’s failure. The crew had worked too hard getting into the Black Holes to jeopardize their relationship with Daber now, but as officers of the Empire there was no way they were going to turn over such a sophisticated piece of technology to a criminal.

 

One jump inside Terran space Rem detected an Ackalian Intruder-Class ship at the extreme edge of their sensor range. The crew knew the Fearless Coward was no match for the Ackalian warship but as members of the Imperial Navy it was their duty to learn why the Ackalian ship was in Terran space. Hopefully this could be done without physical confrontation, but everyone knew it was unlikely. Cap ordered the Coward in to investigate while Hard secretly prepared the ship’s final space nuke. If things turned sour the Coward would get one good shot in. Even if the missile did not destroy the Ackalain ship it would, with luck, disable them long enough for the Coward to get away. To be honest, everyone knew they had little choice. The Ackalian’s hyperdrive was substantially faster than the Coward’’s, and the crew knew they did not have four hours to plot a jump. A strategic first-strike was the only option available.

 

The Intruder and the Coward were similar in size but the Intruder’s armaments and shielding gave it a far greater tactical advantage. The Coward approached the Intruder from a lower-aft angle. Cap’s strategy was to attack the ship’s aft propulsion units if things turned sour. As the Coward approached Rem began broadcasting standard greetings on the normal merchant’s frequencies. The Intruder made no response; there were no signs of activity at all. If it were not for the slight glow of the Intruder’s hull force field, which allowed the Coward’s sensors to detect it in the first place, the ship would have appeared to be nothing but a lifeless derelict. Fearing a trap, Cap halted the Coward 5,000 km from the Intruder and powered the lasers. Ackalians were not know for being shy and, considering that they were just detected in Terran space, it seemed illogical that they would not make an attempt to destroy a much smaller and weaker ship to protect their treaty violation.

 

Unexpectedly, Hard, well know for his own aggressive tactics, advised an immediate retreat; he knew just how under-matched the Coward was to the Intruder. Cap had other ideas though and ordered the ship forward until the Coward was sitting completely underneath the Intruder, no more than 1,000 meters away! The Intruder did not respond in any fashion. It just continued sitting quietly, the reddish-glow of the Intruder’s force fields glowing brightly into the Coward’s external ports. Rem began a full sensor sweep but there was little that he could detect. The Intruder was fully powered – engines and shields were primed – but the weapon systems were not charged. The Coward’s computer decoded the Ackalian words printed on the ship’s hull. The Intruder was named the “Blood Brother.â€

 

Cap ordered a more intense sensor sweep of the Blood Brother. If the Ackalians did not like it then too bad! Cap did not like being ignored, even when he was the clear underdog. Most of Rem’s scans were distilled by the Blood Brother’s force field but the few which did manage to penetrate showed a full complement aboard the ship. Surprisingly though, none of the crew aboard the Blood Brother were active or mobile. It was as though the entire crew was either sitting or standing in one place and did not, or could not, move. An Ackalian not moving when battle was near was as unlikely as a Baldarian Joy-Parrot not constantly squawking when someone entered the room. Something was wrong about the Blood Brother and the crew of the Coward was not sure if that was a good or bad thing.

 

Nate, ever the loyal Intelligence operative, decided the crew needed to board the Blood Brother and discern what was going on aboard the ship. While most of the crew, everyone except Xerx, thought this to be a foolish idea eventually Nate, with the help of Xerx, convinced his fellow officers that the Intel gained from such an expedition could prove priceless to the Empire. Nate also argued that some of the equipment and material aboard the Blood Brother could be used as a bargaining chip with Daber Mo’Ran. Cap, knowing that staying on the good side of Daber was important to their overall mission, finally agreed to Nate’s plan and gave orders to board the Blood Brother.

 

The crew’s first obstacle was to deactivate the Blood Brother’s hull force field. The second task would be to run a grav-tube between the two ships’ external docking portals. The next task would be to decode and open the Intruder’s door. The final task, should everything else go according to plan, would be to overpower the compliment of thirty Ackalians and four Shiseki the sensor scans indicated were aboard the Blood Brother, assuming they were not immobile as the sensor scans seemed to indicate. Six Terran officers against thirty-four beings of the Ackalian Empire. No one was too happy with the odds.

 

Deactivating the hull force field surrounding the docking portal went off without a hitch. Ky managed to whip-up a suppression buffer large enough to divert the force field around the portal. Of course suppression buffers had a tendency to frag-off from time to time, so everyone was hoping the SB would hold and that they would not be trapped aboard the Blood Brother should things go poorly.

 

The grav-tube was a bit of a problem. The stealth coating of the Intruder’s hull made it difficult to magnetize the tube to the Blood Brother’s hull. Fortunately Ky was able to spot-weld the final twenty inches of the grav-tube to the hull to make an environmental seal, but that meant either taking time to remove the weld or destroying the grav-tube if a quick get-away was needed. Neither option was preferable.

 

Surprisingly, Nate was able to pop the Intruder’s docking portal codes in only a few seconds. Espionage was Nate’s game, but everyone had to wonder just how many things Nate knew which he never bothered to tell anyone. The crew knew that trust was essential when on such a long-term and important undercover mission, but it was hard to trust people who never told you anything, and Nate was the most closed-lipped person any of the crew had ever know. By the time Nate reported that the portal was ready to be opened the rest of the crew was suited-up and properly armed. Hopefully the final task would go as smoothly as the first three.

 

Nate popped the portal and Cap and Hard were the first two through. Ky and Xerx were the second pair through and they were quickly followed by Nate and Rem. The Blood Brother’s internal lights gave off a dim purple glow. For the humans this made seeing anything in the small cargo hold they had entered difficult. Both Xerx and Ky seemed to have better luck in the dim light though, and so they took point. The pair led the squad across the room to the hold’s exit hatch. On the other side of the hatch would be a hallway leading to engineering and the crew’s quarters; and beyond that the armory and bridge. Those were the team’s two primary targets.

 

Ky hit the sensor pad on the door and it slowly opened with a hiss. Rem jumped through the door first and took up a crouching defensive posture. Rem informed the team that the corridor was clear. One by one the team entered the narrow hallway and took up defensive positions. Ky was the last to enter the corridor and the first to get hit with a long, sticky strand of string as the cargo bay door slowly hissed shut.

 

And thus ended mission 7.1!

[BobGreenwade]

Coolness!

 

When do you expect to post the next installment of this tale? I want to be sure and have some popcorn ready....

[Monolith]

Re: Coolness!

 

Originally posted by BobGreenwade

When do you expect to post the next installment of this tale? I want to be sure and have some popcorn ready....

The next game is not for two weeks, so you have plenty of time to stock up on popcorn.

[1Big Rich]

Excellent!

 

Sounds like an excellent adventure, Monolith! My compliments to the crew of the Fearless Coward and their story teller...

 

Regards,

 

Big Rich

[Monolith]

Re: Excellent!

 

Originally posted by 1Big Rich

Sounds like an excellent adventure, Monolith! My compliments to the crew of the Fearless Coward and their story teller...

Thanks!

 

The game has been a lot of fun, and is actually much more interesting than my meager writing skills can portray. I am just glad I learned to take fairly good notes in my youth.

[Monolith]

Here is a very brief synapses of the crew’s origins. I have typed this up from notes (the GM had each of us tell the group about themselves at the beginning of the campaign) so there might be a mistake or two. If so, I hope the players forgive me.

 

Janner Marineris

Captain Janner Marineris was born and raised in Chryse City on Mars. The Marineris family has long been involved in merchant endeavors and after graduating remedial education Janner spent two years as a mate aboard the merchant ship Polaris Star learning the basics of the family business. Janner became smitten with the stars and when he returned from his two year tour of duty he immediately applied for admittance into the Naval Academy. Thanks to his family’s influence Janner was accepted and has since shown himself to be an excellent Command officer.

 

Janner was chosen for his assignment aboard the Fearless Coward due to his excellent ability to handle cultural differences and ambiguities. The need to be able to deal with literally hundreds of difference cultures in a deceptive manner, without jeopardy to himself or his crew, is by far the most important aspect of Janner’s assignment. Janner is a quick thinker and has the ability to see every aspect of a problem at once. This allows Janner to make his determinations based on experience and need as well as empirical data.

 

Janner is tall, standing 1.96 meters, and has an athletic, rather than powerful build, weighing in at 84 kilos. Janner has dark black hair that, at the age of 47, is showing no signs of graying; but his hairline is starting to recede. Janner refuses to use the restorative hair crèmes feeling that it is below his dignity. Janner’s piercing blue eyes and hawkish nose are probably his most noticeable features, and both seem to accent his already commanding presence.

 

Kyrella Purvree

Commander Kyrella Purvree is the niece of Grand Admiral Vraor Ptrunvar, commander of the Core Fleet. Any speculations as to how Kyrella managed to get into the Naval Academy, or how she managed to reach her rank at such an early age, she is only 28, are quickly put aside once someone actually gets to know her. Kyrella’s keen mind makes her and excellent engineer and she has turned down a teach position at the Naval Academy on more than one occasion. Of course the fact that Kyrella’s uncle did get her into the Naval Academy is neither here nor there.

 

Kyrella had to beg, plead, and even pull a few strings to get her current assignment aboard the Fearless Coward. Even though she is a “techie,†Kyrella has always felt that there was more to her than just numbers and equations. Serving as the engineer aboard the ancient rust bucket, while all the time posing as a hard-nosed criminal, seemed like the perfect opportunity to prove herself to both the Navy and to her uncle. Of course ending up as Second-In-Command was not something Kyrella was prepared for and she is somewhat unsure of her command decisions when forced to make them.

 

Kyrella is somewhat on the tall side for a Fex female, standing 1.7 meters, and even though she only weighs 62 kilos her tawny fur makes her at times appear to be heavier than she really is. Despite her size, Kyrella is quite athletic and can actually out run every other member of her crew. There is a vast intelligence behind Kyrella’s green eyes, and also a strong sense of modesty; especially when she is being complimented.

 

Harmond Burlle

Lieutenant Commander Harmond Burlle was born and raised on Rusalka and probably would have remained there working in the tymerite mines had it not been for the uprising of 2620. It was at that time that Larence Churlm attempted a coup of the unstable Rusalkan government. This coup resulted in the death of Harmond’s family, and also brought the Imperial Marines to Rusalka to restore order in the Emperor’s name. The 15 year old Harmond saved General Dulaxis’ life from an Assassination Drone, and in gratitude the General enrolled the orphan in the Imperial Military Orphanage.

 

Harmond, or Hardcore, later shortened to “Hard,†as he came to be called at the orphanage, applied for the Imperial Navy and was readily accepted on General Dulaxis’ recommendation. Harmond wanted Command but his nature and Heavy physiology eventually forced him into Security. Harmond spent the next ten years transferring from post to post and ship to ship. After each posting Harmond earned a promotion and more responsibility. After spending two years as Head of Security on Emerald, Harmond was ready for a drastic change and applied for and received his posting on the Fearless Coward. Harmond is not sure he made the correct decision.

 

Harmond is a huge man, even by Heavy standards, and at 33 is in the prime of his life. Harmond stands 2.05 meters tall and weighs in at nearly 220 kilos. Harmond has thick brown hair which he wears in a standard military crew cut, and dark brown, almost black eyes. Harmond’s ruddy complexion seems to match his disposition and it is a rare thing to see him smile or laugh. Harmond always takes his job and responsibilities seriously.

 

Nathan DuMont

As far back as Commander Nathan DuMont can remember he has always had “gifts.†At a very early age Nathan was classified as a Psi-Gamma and was taken into the Imperial Psionics Foundation under the belief that he might eventually become a Psi-Eta, or possibly even greater. This never came to pass though as Nathan’s rating never seemed to advance beyond Psi-Gamma. Nathan’s childhood was very lonely, as one could imagine it would be living as a test subject, but Nathan had a keen mind and learned how and when to show his emotions. This would later serve Nathan quite well in life.

 

At the age of 18 Nathan was approached by representatives of the Mind Police. Even though Nathan was only a Psi-Gamma he showed the making of becoming an excellent Intelligence agent and the Mind Police wanted him to utilize him. Unfortunately, so did the TIC. In the end Nathan choose to benefit both groups when he decided to join the Imperial Navy. Nathan was rushed through the Naval Academy and given “choice†assignments. Nathan was the perfect operative as his boyish good looks and charm immediately disarmed people he was spying on. Growing frustrated by it all though, when the Fearless Coward mission became available Nathan jumped at the chance. The mission seemed like the perfect opportunity to get out from underneath both the TIC and Mind Police’s clutches; unfortunately Nathan was wrong.

 

Nathan is a handsome man with boyish good looks, sandy blonde hair, and crystal blue eyes. Nathan has an athletic build, standing 1.85 meters tall and weighing in at around 90 kilos, and spends several hours a day jogging around the ship and exercising in the cargo bay when not needed for other duties. Nathan has grown to like his crewmates very much, and has started to grow resentful of the fact that he is required to spy on them. This has led to some hostility and distrust between himself and the others as he tries to push his feelings of friendship away.

 

Gremlik Ver’shara

Chun’ta’cha, which translates to the equivalent rank of Lieutenant in Terran, Gremlik Ver’shara is a member of the Mon’dabi Federated Command. Gremlik is one of ten Mon’dabi officers currently serving in the Imperial Military as part of a cultural exchange program between the Terran Empire and the Mon’dabi Federation. It is hoped that an exchange of military information and experience might bring the two empires closer together; especially considering that they both have a common enemy in the Ackalians. The fact that no Mon’dabi Federated Command officer is actually in any position of authority or has access to any sensitive military technology just goes to show how much faith the Imperial Military puts into this program.

 

Gremlik’s uniqueness as one of the few Mon’dabi within the Imperial Navy actually serves the mission of the Fearless Coward quite well. While many dissidents might be leery of trusting a group of mercenaries comprised of entirely Terran citizens, the fact that the Fearless Coward has both a Mon’dabi and a Catavalan within its crew only adds to the belief that they truly are mercenaries-for-hire. Gremlik’s aggressive style has also helped the team get into many areas where Cap’s more passive style would not have done the trick.

 

Gremlik is average sized for a Mon’dabi and stands 1.9 meters tall and weights in at around 100 kilos. Like all Mon’dabi, Gremlik has no hair or distinguishing characteristics. The general consensus within the Imperial Military is that if you have seen one Mon’dabi you have seen them all. Gremlik has always failed to see the humor in that statement and his black, reptilian eyes seem to bore into people he hears making such statements. Gremlik has three more Terran “years†at his current assignment, and then he is desperately looking forward to returning to Mon’da.

 

Xerxesterus Yllarziz

Ensign Xerxesterus Yllarziz was born in Caraton on the planet Cataval. Xerxesterus’ family was in high favor of the Monarch and so Xerxesterus was chosen as a baby to serve in a unique fashion. Xerxesterus was given growth retardant drugs which made him appear younger than his real age and then trained in the arts of espionage to serve the Monarch. Xerxesterus original mission was to pose as a child to members of the Legislative Council and to spy on the Velarians for the Monarch. Unfortunately the Velarians discovered Xerxesterus, but instead of killing him the Regents decided to use him as their own tool and place him aboard a merchant freighter. When inside Terran space Xerxesterus destroyed the ship and waited to be rescued. It did not take long.

 

The Novas, a family of spacers living aboard the The Big Flush, thought they were rescuing a 13 or 14 year old child. In fact, Xerxesterus was well into his 40s. Xerxesterus spent the next five years living with the Novas, and slowly began taking a serum to negate the growth retardants. At the age of ‘18†Xerxesterus applied for Terran citizenship, and with his adopted family’s blessing applied to join the Imperial Navy, which was at first leery but eventually agreed to allow the application. This thinking came for the TIC who, as with Gremlik, thought Xerxesterus could be useful in an intelligence capacity for the Empire.

 

Now, at the ripe old age of 21, Xerxesterus stands 2.2 meters tall and weighs 97 kilos. As with all Catavalians, Xerxesterus is completely hairless and his grey skin still has the sheen of youth and exuberance. Xerxesterus plays the part of a new Ensign quite well, and have even managed to get the Fearless Coward into a scrape or two because of his “youth.â€

 

The Fearless Coward

The Fearless Coward is a Gorgon-Class Long-Range Explorer. The Gorgon-Class was phased out of operation in 2618 when the Imperial Navy decided to center their exploration ships into either small, short-range ships or large, long-range ships. This meant there was no room for the mid-sized ships. Most of the Gorgon-Class ships were sold as scrap, but a few were sold into the private sector and eventually made their way into the smuggler sector. The Fearless Coward is supposedly one such ship.

 

The Fearless Coward was originally designated as the IEM Pathfinder. In a surprising good use of long-term planning, the Imperial Navy put the Pathfinder in storage, knowing at some point in the future it would make a perfect ship for espionage missions. That time can in 2635 when the Imperial Navy began refitting the ship into its current configuration. The Pathfinder originally had a crew compliment of 30. Today the ship has space for a crew of 10. The remaining space was converted into an expanded engineering and cargo bay. The Fearless Coward is, as far as anyone knows, the only Gorgon-Class ship to have both a Hyperdrive (Class Theta) and a Displacer Drive (Type 15). This gives the ship greater range and speed, something the Imperial Navy thought would be important for an espionage ship.

 

The Fearless Coward sports a fore and aft Mark VIII Starship Laser as well as a Type A Tractor Beam. Hidden in special tubes in the cargo hold are two Nuclear Missiles which the ship can use in an emergency. The ship also sports a Type 2.H Defensive Package and a Mark IV Basic Point Defense System.

 

Where the Fearless Coward really shines is in its Sensor System. The ship has the most advanced sensors currently in existence. This gives the Fearless Coward a huge advantage when monitoring situations, meaning that it does not need to approach whatever it is monitoring any closer than necessary. The Fearless Coward can stop, take a long-range sensor reading, and be gone before most ships even know they were there.

[1Big Rich]

Great Origins!

 

Those are some good backstories, Monolith. I'm happy the Fearless Coward/Pathfinder has a backstory, too. Adds to the realism.

 

It sounds like your dealing with some good players. Would that a similar number of SF/Hero fans were in my area.

 

Regards,

 

Big Rich

[Monolith]

Re: Great Origins!

 

Originally posted by 1Big Rich

It sounds like your dealing with some good players. Would that a similar number of SF/Hero fans were in my area.

They are a pretty good bunch of gamers. I am pretty lucky to have found them. Now that we have made the switch to Star Hero from GURPS Traveller it's even better.

[Monolith]

Here is the write-up for the ship. Hopefully someone can use it for target practice or something within their game.

 

The Fearless Coward

 

11 SIZE 55

65 STR 0

16 DEX 18

50 BODY 29

8 DEF 18

4 SPD 14

 

Total Characteristics Cost: 134

 

Power Systems:

• 100 Medium Antimatter Power Plant: Endurance Reserve (250 END, 250 REC) (275 Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Only Powers Electrical Devices (-1/4)

• 30 Auxiliary Power Plant: Endurance Reserve (75 END, 75 REC) (83 Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Only Powers Electrical Devices (-1/4)

 

Propulsion Systems:

• 57 Type 2-A Reactionless Drive: Flight 40", x4 Noncombat (85 Active Points); Costs Endurance Costs END Every Phase (-1/2) 8

• 10 Class Theta Hyperdrive: Teleportation 8", Megascale (1" = 100 LY; +4), Can Be Scaled Down: 1" = 2,000km (+1/4) (84 Active Points); Extra Time 1 Week (-4 1/2), Increased Endurance Cost 4x END (-1 1/2), Costs Endurance Costs END Every Phase (-1/2), Requires Gravitational Distortion-Free Field (-1/2) 32

• 9 Type 15 Displacer Drive: Teleportation 7", Megascale (1" = 10 LY; +3 3/4) (66 Active Points); Extra Time 4 Hours (-3), Increased Endurance Cost 6x END (-2 1/2), Costs Endurance Costs END Every Phase (-1/2), Requires Gravitational Distortion-Free Field (-1/4), Requires A PS: Operate Displacer Drive Roll (-1/4) 42

• 7 Inertial Compensation Field: Force Field (22 PD) (22 Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1), Only To Protect Occupants From G-Force Damage (-1) 2

• -12 Spaceflight Only: -6" Running

• -2 Spaceflight Only: -2" Swimming

 

Tactical Systems:

• 80 Mark VIII Starship Lasers: Multipower, 180-point reserve, all slots: (180 Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4)

• 5u Near-Target Beam Mode: Killing Attack - Ranged 6d6 (vs. ED), Increased Maximum Range (2250"; +1/4) (112 Active Points) 11

• 8u Far-Target Beam Mode: Killing Attack - Ranged 6d6 (vs. ED), Megascale (1" = 100 km; +3/4), Can Be Scaled Down: 1" = 1km (+1/4) (180 Active Points) 18

• 5u Near-Target Pulse Mode: Killing Attack - Ranged 5d6 (vs. ED), Autofire (3 shots; +1/4), Increased Maximum Range (2350"; +1/4) (112 Active Points) 11

• 7u Far-Target Pulse Mode: Killing Attack - Ranged 5d6 (vs. ED), Autofire (3 shots; +1/4), Megascale (1" = 100 km; +3/4), Can Be Scaled Down: 1" = 1km (+1/4) (169 Active Points) 17

• 6u Sustained Beam Mode: Killing Attack - Ranged 4d6 (vs. ED), Increased Maximum Range (3000"; +1/4), Continuous (+1) (135 Active Points) 13

• 5 1 Additional Mark VIII Laser: (5 Active Points)

• 22 Type A Tractor Beam: Telekinesis (40 STR) (60 Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1), Affects Whole Object (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), Limited Arc of Fire 180 Degrees (-1/4) 6

 

Defense Package 2.H:

• 3 Outer Force Field: Force Field (9 PD/9 ED) (18 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost 10x END (-4), OIF Bulky (-1), Ablative BODY Only (-1/2) 20

• 2 Hull Force Field: Force Field (7 PD/7 ED) (14 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost 10x END (-4), OIF Bulky (-1) 10

• 48 Ablative Armor Plating: +28 DEF (84 Active Points); Ablative BODY Only (-1/2), Limited Coverage (hull only) (-1/4)

• 34 Hull Armor: +14 DEF (42 Active Points); Limited Coverage (hull only) (-1/4)

• 14 Basic Point Defense System Mark IV: Multipower, 34-point reserve, all slots: (34 Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1), Costs Endurance Costs END Every Phase (-1/2)

• 1u Close-In Defense: Missile Deflection (Bullets & Shrapnel), Ranged Full Range (+1) (30 Active Points) 3

• 1u Distant Defense: Missile Deflection (Bullets & Shrapnel), Megascale (1" = 1 km; +1/4), Ranged Full Range (+1) (34 Active Points) 3

• 4 Missile Tracking System: +2 with Missile Deflection

 

Operations Systems:

• 114 Sensor Package III: Variable Power Pool, 100 base + 14 control cost (150 Active Points); Only For Sensors And Communications (-1), OIF Bulky (-1), Costs Endurance Costs END Every Phase (-1/2) 10

• 87 SP-3 Long-Range Sensors: , Megascale (1" = 1 trillion km; +3 1/4), Can Be Scaled Down: 1" = 1km (+1/4) (175 Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1)

• 15 SP-3 Long-Range Sensors: Telescopic +20 to PER Rolls (only to offset the Range Modifier) (Radio Group) (30 Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1)

• 15 Electronic Warfare Defense I: Flash Defense (15 points) (Radio Group)

• 2 Sensor Enhancement I: +2 to Systems Operations Rolls (4 Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1)

• 2 Navigation Computer I: +2 to Navigation Roll (4 Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1)

 

Personnel Systems:

• 12 Life Support: Life Support , Safe in High Radiation, Safe in Intense Cold, Safe in Intense Heat, Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum, Self-Contained Breathing (18 Active Points); Costs Endurance Costs END Every Phase (-1/2) 2

• 6 Backup Life Support: Life Support , Safe in High Radiation, Safe in Intense Cold, Safe in Intense Heat, Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum, Self-Contained Breathing, 1 Continuing Fuel Charge Lasting 1 Month) (+0) (18 Active Points); Only Within Affected Area (2.5" x 1.25") (-2)

• 20 Backup Life Support: 9 Additional Backup Life Support Chamber (20 Active Points)

• 3 Food Supplies: Life Support , Eating: Character does not eat, 1 Continuing Charge Lasting 1 Year (+0)

• 15 Thibault Gravity Plating: Telekinesis (20 STR), Selective (+1/2) (45 Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1), Only To Pull Straight Down To The Floor (-1) 4

• 7 Medical Facilities: Paramedics 11-

• 2 Medical Facilities: SS: Medicine 11-

 

Skills/Labs:

• 3 Tactical Systems: +1 with Ranged Combat (5 Active Points); Costs Endurance Costs END Every Phase (-1/2)

• 4 Navigation Systems: +2 with Flight

 

• 7 Cryptography 11-

• 7 Electronics 11-

• 7 Mechanics 11-

• 6 Navigation (Space) 11-

 

Total Abilities & Equipment: 778

Total Vehicle Cost: 912

 

Disadvantage:

• 15 Distinctive Features: Ex-Military Vehicle (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 15

Total Cost: 897/5 = 179

 

Additional Vehicles:

Escape Pod: (22 points)

3 Additional Escape Pod (total of 4): (10 points)

Nuclear Space Missile (20d6 RKA): (70 points)

1 Additional Nuclear Space Missile: (5 points)

[Mastermind]

You mean we gotta wait 2 weeks for more!

[Monolith]

Originally posted by Mastermind

You mean we gotta wait 2 weeks for more!

Well, I guess I could just make something up. Who needs game sessions?

[Mastermind]

Re: Re: Great Origins!

 

Originally posted by Monolith

They are a pretty good bunch of gamers. I am pretty lucky to have found them. Now that we have made the switch to Star Hero from GURPS Traveller it's even better.

 

Interesting...I've for so long been a fan of Traveller...the Universe and the pseudo-history, though not neccessarily the game systems.

 

I started back up again with T20, which I grabbed at to support Traveller stuff in general and familiarity (we have had a long-going D&D game) . However, HERO came along. So now, I too am thinking of a sci-fi game set in the Terran Confederation.

 

I would like to know your reasons for The Switch.

[Monolith]

Re: Re: Re: Great Origins!

 

Originally posted by Mastermind

I would like to know your reasons for The Switch.

The main reason for switching was that I wanted to get the players away from the GURPS System. While GURPS does have a lot of interesing variations at low levels it just was not the feel I like in a game system. I will be working very hard to switch them away from D&D when Fantasy Hero comes out too. What can I say, I am a loyal HERO System player to the end.

 

I have always enjoyed Traveller, and like yourself never really cared for any of the game systems being used for it. The GM was preparing to convert the Traveller information from GURPS to Star Hero when I got my hands on the Terran Empire manuscript. It just seemed like a perfect fit for us. The world has a certain Traveller feel, but it also has a bit of a Star Wars feel, and a couple of other feels thrown in too.

 

The thing about TE is that if feels uniquely similar. I could easily see myself playing a Farscape-like game, or a Firefly-like game, or even a Star Wars-like game within the campaign world. The setting is easy for the players to relate to without getting too alien or unusual. A player can immediately grasp that Ackalians and Thorgons are aggressive enemies and that Varanyi are those sneaky, get you from behind, enemies. And then on top of that you have the evergrowing Imperial enemy.

 

The drawback to TE is that there is not much support information (one book this year and two books next), but you can easily incorporate older Traveller and Star Wars (even Star Frontiers, Shadowrun, Babylon 5, and Gamma World) information into the game. Old alien books never die, they just get transplanted to new game worlds.

[Talon]

Heh, might be interesting to see the difference between what you make up based on what they are "supposed" to do, and what actually ends up happening. At any rate, the story so far is very entertaining!

 

I'd be curious to hear about any house rules you're using, as well as how the SH rules are working out (how the sensor package gets used during the game, for example).

[Monolith]

Originally posted by Geoff Speare

Heh, might be interesting to see the difference between what you make up based on what they are "supposed" to do, and what actually ends up happening. At any rate, the story so far is very entertaining!

Thanks!

 

The one constant in the gaming universe is that players never do what you think they are going to do. You want them to go right, they go left.

 

I'd be curious to hear about any house rules you're using, as well as how the SH rules are working out (how the sensor package gets used during the game, for example).

We are not actually using any house rules. We all agreed to take the first year of the campaign and just use the standard rules to try and get an overall feel for them; that way we could really learn whether we liked certain rules or not. We are using most of the optional rules such as Hit Location, Wounding, etc.

 

Sensor Packages are an enigma. I wish I had thought during playtest of Spacers to ask for some examples of them. Oh well, too late now. Some of what we have been doing is as follows:

 

• Ship’s Communicator: HRRH, -10 Concealment, Rapid x1000 (31 AP)

• Atmospheric Analyzer: Basically the version from Spacer’s, but with extended range to work from space.

• Bio-Scanner: Basically the version from Spacer’s, but with extended range to work from space.

• Energy Scanner: The same as Bio-Scanner, only it detects energy sources.

• Radar Pulse: Radar, -5 Concealment, Discriminatory, analyze, Tracking, Transmit plus +5 Enhanced Perception (42 AP)

• Long-Range Video Scanners: Clairsentience (Sight), -5 Concealment, Discriminatory, Targeting, Transmit plus +5 Enhanced Perception (47 AP)

• Thermal Detectors: Infrared Perception, -5 Concealment, Discriminatory, Analyze, Range, Transmit plus +5 Enhanced Perception (32 AP)

 

Basically everything up there is always getting used with either the naked MegaScale Advantage or Telescopic. Most of our missions have been planet-side so there has not been much use for ship's sensors yet.

 

Now that I think about it, the GM does rule that Bio/Energy Scanners do take a -1 per 500km if trying to read through a ship's force fields; thus the need to get closer to get more accurate scans. That might be the only house rule I can think of off the top of my head.

[Mastermind]

Did you give the PCs a ship or ask them set aside points to buy it?

[Monolith]

Originally posted by Mastermind

Did you give the PCs a ship or ask them set aside points to buy it?

In this case the ship belongs to the Imperial Navy. The PCs are just assigned to it. I really do not make players pay for things like group bases and group transports even in my Champions games; and I would never make them do it in a Star Hero game. The whole concept of paying for a group base or vehicle just seems very much out of genre to me. It is one thing for Batman to pay to have his private Batcave, but it is another thing entirely to make him pay for part of the JLA satellite, IMO.

[Monolith]

The Crew:

Janner “Cap†Marineris (Martian – Male) – Captain (Captain)

Kyrella “Ky†Purvree (Fex - Female) – Second in Command and Engineer (Commander)

Harmond “Hard†Burlle (Heavy - Male) – Security Specialist (Lt. Commander)

Nathan “Nate†DuMont (Human - Male) – Espionage Specialist (Lieutenant)

Gremlik “Rem†Ver’shara (Mon’dabi - Male) – Communications Specialist (Lieutenant)

Xerxesterus “Xerx†Yllarziz (Catavalan - Male) – Navigation Specialist (Ensign)

 

Mission 7.2: “Confused Intruderâ€

As the sticky strand hit Ky’s arm she let out a panicked growl and immediately activated her force field belt. This startled the rest of the crew, who also quickly activated their belts while taking up fighting postures; a rather bright silver-gold glow quickly filled the corridor from all the activated belts. Ky’s pistol traced the path of the string to the ceiling where she found… an Ackalian web-bat casually making a nest for itself in the corner. The small, eight inch long creature was quickly reeling in the web it had accidentally dropped. The web-bat gave Ky an slight “hiss†of annoyance and then continued on with its work. Ky quietly apologized to everyone as she turned off her belt, but soon after Ky’s embarrassment quickly turned to annoyance because of the expressions on Hard’s, Xerx’s, and Nate’s faces. What did they expect? Ky was an engineer, not a soldier!

 

Hard let out a slight grunt of disgust as he deactivated his belt and then took his place at point. Cap did not say a word, he just quickly joined Hard. Rem gave Ky a comforting clasp on the shoulder, and, surprisingly there was quite a bit of compassion in his reptilian eyes. Ky nodded that she was ok and glanced down the corridor, willing her Fex eyes to see through the purple gloom. Hard began to advance down the corridor and everyone else was in tow. Heavies, though, were not designed for stealth and Hard’s footsteps made firm “thumps†with each step along the wood-like polymer floor. Nate, on the other hand, was quiet as a mouse as he walked down the corridor; his eyes never seeming to leave the small scanner he held out before him. The corridor was only a few dozen meters long but it curved inward not allowing more than a five meter viewing distance. The journey down it seemed to take forever. At about midway Nate signaled for everyone to halt. The door he stopped in front of, the forth they had passed so far, led to the armory. This was the first room that needed to be secured.

 

Cap quickly issued his orders to the team while Nate unlocked the armory’s security door with his “secret†pass-code. Hard listened as he set up two Lasers Sentries in the corridor. The lasers sentries would provide cover and support fire in the hallway. Anyone not wearing a CommTab set to the correct identifying frequency would quickly get shot to pieces by the lasers. Hard, Rem, and Xerx were ordered to secure the armory while Cap, Nate, and Ky were going to do the same on the bridge. Cap’s orders were to shoot first and ask questions later. Hard gave a slight rumble when the group assignments were declared. He did not like the idea of having to secure an armory with only a Com and a Nav specialist as backup; there was nothing to be done about it now though, but Hard planned on putting his displeasure into his report later. With his orders understood, Cap led “Team Alpha†to the bridge and left “Team Beta†to deal with the armory.

 

Hard watched Team Alpha head up the corridor for a moment and then he nodded to Rem and Xerx. Taking a slow deep breath, while at the same time whispering a prayer to the Creator to himself, Hard pushed the over-sized datapad and opened the armory door. The room was dark, not even having the purple glow which the corridor had, and it seemed as though only a very small amount of light spilled in from the corridor. Hard could see various colored lights faintly glowing along, what he surmised to be, weapon stands around the room’s walls. Rem gave Hard a low-pitched chirp quite clearly meaning “get in or get out of the way.†Ackalians were huge beings, and thus their doorways were large, but Hard was huge too and he was blocking the view of the other two. Hard frowned slightly and then took one quick step into the room and two to the left. Rem and Xerx quickly entered the room behind him: Xerx to the center and Rem to the right. The door, sensing no one in its path, quickly shut behind them.

 

Hard activated the flashlight on his “66†and Rem followed suit on his Mark V. Xerx was holding a Flashlight in both of his secondary arms and quickly switched them on. For an instant the armory seemed bathed in light, and that is when the team saw the two Ackalians standing not more than 3 meters from them, one on each side of the room at the opposite ends of a table which took up the center of the armory. Without even stopping to think Xerx fired his “2-T†pistol at the Ackalian to the right. Surprised by the sound and rapid action of Xerx, Rem fired his Mark V at the same Ackalian. With a grunt of frustrated anger Hard activated his force field belt and then took a quick bead on the Ackalian to the left, but did not fire. It seemed like there were several seconds of quite and then Xerx fired again, apparently because his Ackalian was still standing. Then all was quite again.

 

Hard’s weapon never left the Ackalian it was pointing at, but something was not quite right. The Ackalian never moved during all the weapon’s fire. Glancing quickly at the Ackalian on his right, Hard could see that it had not moved either. Xerx let out a small curse and was preparing to fire again when Hard ordered him to hold up. Rem nodded his head in agreement. It seemed clear to everyone but the spooked Xerx that something was not quite in the armory. Hard motioned for Xerx and Rem to keep their weapons ready and he took a step toward the Ackalian on his left. It was on the second step that Hard heard the click when he put his foot down. Hard had just accidentally activated a security pressure plate!

 

Meanwhile, Team Alpha followed the curving corridor forward, moving slowly and carefully toward the bridge. As the team approached an intersecting corridor going right, Nate quickly moved up and peaked around the corner. Not seeing anything he quickly performed a scan of the corridor, shook his head no, and quietly continued along his original path not waiting to see if Cap or Ky were following him. After another curving ten meters Nate signaled for everyone to halt. Nate informed Cap and Ky that his sensor scan indicated that two female Ackalians were positioned outside the entrance to the bridge, just around the final bend of the corridor. The three retreated down the corridor about 5 meters and quietly discussed what they were going to do. The scan showed the Ackalians were not active, but that was little comfort for the trio.

 

Ky was all for heading down the branching corridor and getting an idea of where all the other Ackalians were. Creeping down a corridor was one thing, but there were 34 “enemies†aboard the Blood Brother and so far no one had seen any of them. Ky did not want to walk onto the bridge only to find the entire ship’s crew waiting there for her. Ky preferred to think her way out of trouble not fight her way out of it. Cap considered Ky’s suggestion but Nate quickly vetoed it. The team’s mission was to get onto the bridge not to take their time scouting the Intruder. From the bridge, Nate argued, Ky could shutdown life support, effectively eliminating any potential combat obstacles. Cap listed to both sides state their cases a second time and then decided to go with Nate’s plan. The bridge was the crew’s only real chance.

 

Nate swung his Mark V over his shoulder and drew his gamma pistol, hoping the radiation would cause greater damage to the Ackalian’s body than the laser. Cap stuck with his Mark V and Ky took a tighter grip on her “2-T.†The team slowly crept back up the corridor and then waited as Nate took one more scan. After confirming that nothing had changed, Cap silently counted to 3 and then the trio activated their force field belts and leapt around the corner, firing upon the Ackalians. In what seemed like an instant 6 or 7 shots rang out, but in the dim, purple light of the corridor neither of the Ackalians appeared to move or react to the weapon’s fire. From his position on the floor Nate did another quick scan of the Ackalians but could find nothing unusual about them. Both Ackalians were severely injured, and even on the brink of death, but neither had moved a fraction of a centimeter or showed any signs of being injured. Even in the dim light the wounds from the Mark V and “2-T“ were clearly visible on the huge aliens’ bodies, and blood ran freely down the Ackalian’s clothing and pooled on the floor beneath them.

 

Back in the armory, Hard rumbled a curse in his deep voice which seemed to reverberate off the walls of the room. The Ackalians were a sophisticated race, perhaps as sophisticated as the Terrans, and they still used simple pressure-sensitive traps. Apparently those traps still worked though; Hard had just fallen victim to one. Hard knew if he moved his foot the trap would detonate. There was no way of knowing what type of trap it was either. It could be something as simple as a frag grenade or something as complicated as a neutron burst. Judging by the amount of ordinance in the room Hard was guessing neutron burst. Even the Ackalians would not be so stupid as to set off a ricocheting weapon in a room full of munitions.

 

Rem glanced at the two Ackalians, and seeing that neither were moving or reacting to their weapon’s fire or presence, moved to assist Hard. But Hard quickly ordered the Mon’dabi back. There was no way of knowing how many such traps there were within the room and the team did not need another victim. Their job was to secure the armory, not play with it. Frustrated, Hard tossed his “66†to Xerx, who nearly did not catch it and had to drop one of his flashlights to use two of his arms to catch the rifle. Things were going from bad to worse and Hard’s temper was beginning to get the best of him.

 

Hard pulled out his security scanner and began to take a sensor reading of the pressure plate beneath his huge foot. After grunting to himself one last time, Hard pulled out his combat knife, bent over, and quickly thrust the knife into the flooring through the pressure plate, burying it all the way to the hand-guard. Xerx let out a small squeal of alarm thinking that Hard had just driven the knife through his own foot. Hard just gave Xerx a look of disgust then stood back up and stepped away from the trap. The knife held and the trap was neutralized. Rem gave another angry chirp in Hard’s direction, which Hard ignored. Rem knew that Hard had taken quite a chance that his knife would hold. At the very least Hard should have ordered Rem and Xerx out of the room. That way if the knife did not hold there would still have been two members of the team left to complete the mission. Rem and Hard were going to have a serious discussion about protocols once the team made it back to Vinarcus; or perhaps if the team made it back to Vinarcus.

 

Hard turned up his scanner and gave the room an intense sensor pass. As he had now surmised there was a second pressure plate a few steps into the room on the right side of the door which matched the one on the left. Apparently the Ackalians did not like strangers walking around their work tables. Hard pulled out a piece of phosphorescent chalk and circled both pressure plates, making sure to point them out to his two teammates. The team then turned their attention back to the two Ackalians. As with Team Alpha’s pair, booth Ackalians stood completely motionless. The Ackalian to the right oozed blood from Rem’s and Xerx’s attacks but it continued to stand rigidly in place as if being held up by some invisible force field.

 

Confounded by the Ackalians, and still greatly frustrated by the whole armory experience, Hard reached over and grabbed the uninjured Ackalian, and immediately received a jolt of energy which sent him flying across the room, and, unfortunately, into the back of Rem who then fell into the second Ackalian. The jolt created from Rem crashing into the second Ackalian was not as great as Hard’s, but it still shoved Rem backwards and both team members slumped to the floor: Hard unconscious and Rem stunned. Xerx just stared at his two downed companions trying to suppress a smile and small laugh. Terrans were so impulsive, it was a wonder they did not get everyone killed! Xerx immediately commed Cap to inform him of Team Betas discovery, and it was not a moment too soon.

 

Nate was just reaching out to touch one of the injured Ackalians when Xerx’s signal stopped him. After hearing the message Ky immediate pulled out her scanner and began looking for an energy signature. Sure enough, the Ackalians were completely encompassed by an energy sheath extending from their bare feet; the grounded point for them. From what Ky could discern it was the same general effect that certain types of electricity have when someone is frozen in place by creating a grounded circuit; only in this case the energy was not killing its target, just holding it completely immobile. Ky surmised that if their team had not killed the two Ackalians the captives would be quite conscious and capable of understanding everything that was going on around them, they would just be unable to respond or communicate in any manner. They had just killed two helpless foes.

 

Cap ordered Xerx to administer assistance to Hard and Rem from his Medkit and then turned back to Nate and Ky. Whomever had immobilized the Ackalians was probably still onboard, and more than likely on the bridge. Cap needed to know if it was possible for the captor to use the energy immobilizer on them as it did on the Ackalians. After a few more scans Ky determined that it was an unlikely possibility. Ackalians did not wear boots or shoes aboard their ships, which was probably the reason for the softer polymer deck, and their bare feet created a perfect contact point. As long as the team continued to wear their insulated boots they were in no real danger; or at least that was the theory. Cap looked past the two female Ackalians to the door of the bridge. Time to get this over with!

 

Back in the armory, Xerx pulled the “STIM†out of his Medkit and quickly injected the stimulant into Hard’s thick neck. Hard made a deep grunting sound and shook his head to clear the cobwebs as his eyes slowly began to regain focus. Xerx looked at Rem while holding up the applicator, but the Mon’dabi shook his head “no†and slowly began pushing himself to his feet. Xerx spun around to face the Armory door as soon as he heard the slight hydraulic hum coming from the hallway beyond. The Laser Sentry had just been activated. Something, or several somethings, was moving toward the Armory!

 

And thus ended mission 7.2!

[Monolith]

Here is the write-up and a rough picture for the Laser Sentry. Sorry about the quality of the picture but no one in our group has any artistic ability at all.

 

Laser Sentry Mark III (ATRI 10)

Lasers Sentries are small, two foot high and eight inch diameter, cylindrical robots that, when activated, elongate and plant themselves onto a surface. Two sensor antennae come up from the top and begin scanning for both motion and CommTab signals. The body of the sentry rises on a central pole and four legs unfold from the pole in a classic “X†shape. This allows the body to move up to 20 centimeters forward, backward, left or right along the “X†path of the legs. The body can also spin a full 360 degrees on the pole, allowing it to shoot its Gatling Laser in any direction. The Gatling Laser folds out from the body and protrudes about 35 centimeters. The energy packs for both the laser and robot are stored in the remainder of the sentry’s body and are protected by a Dyraniam plastic shell. A Laser Sentry can take quite a beating before becoming completely deactivated. When the Gatling Laser’s power cell reaches 25% capacity it broadcasts a signal stating that it needs a new cell. This serves the purpose of possibly getting it a recharge, but more importantly it informs those who activated it as to just how close the Laser Sentry is to expiring.

 

Laser Sentry Mark III

0 STR -10

18 DEX 24

0 CON -20

10 BODY 0

5 INT -5

10 PRE 0

0 COM -5

8 PD 24

8 ED 24

3 SPD 2

 

Characteristics Cost: 34

 

Automated Laser Sentry

• 60 1) Automaton (Takes No STUN)

• 15 2) Does Not Bleed

• -12 3) Immobile: -6" Running (-12 Active Points)

• -2 4) Immobile: -2" Swimming (-2 Active Points)

• 1 5) Program: Monitor Motion Sensor

• 1 6) Program: Monitor CommTab Sensor

• 1 7) Program: Target & Attack Non-Recognized Moving Objects

• 1 8) Program: Broadcast Signal When Laser Power Cell Reaches 25%

 

Sensor Systems

• 39 1) Motion Sensors: Detect Physical Movement 14-, Increased Arc of Perception: 360-Degree, Range, Targeting Sense, Telescopic (+5)

• 29 2) CommTab Sensor: Detect CommTab Frequencies 14-, Discriminatory, Increased Arc of Perception: 360-Degree, Range, Telescopic (+5)

• 5 3) Com-Signal Alert: Radio Perception/Transmission (10 Active Points); Transmit Only (-1)

 

Weapon & Defensive Systems

• 110 1) Mark IV Gatling Laser: Killing Attack - Ranged 2 1/2d6, Autofire (5 shots; +1/2), Armor Piercing x1 (+1/2), 125 Charges (+3/4) (110 Active Points)

• 15 2) Compact Size: +3 with DCV

• 24 3) Resistant Coating: Damage Resistance (8 PD/8 ED)

• 6 4) Targeting System: +3 with Gatling Laser

• 5 5) Targeting System: Accurate Sprayfire

• 5 6) Targeting System: Concentrated Sprayfire

• 5 7) Targeting System: Skipover Sprayfire

 

Powers Cost: 308

Total Character Cost: 342

 

75 Disadvantage

15 Distinctive Features: Laser Sentry (security weapon) (Con; Ext React; Not Distinctive In Some Cultures)

10 Vulnerability: 2 x BODY Magnetic-based Attacks (Uncommon)

242 Equipment Bonus

[Talon]

I think Cap needs to learn the Firefly chain of command definition.

[Mastermind]

Originally posted by Monolith

 

And thus ended mission 7.2! [/b]

 

Monolith, how long are your sessions?

[Monolith]

Originally posted by Geoff Speare

I think Cap needs to learn the Firefly chain of command definition.

Matt, the person who plays Cap, is sort of funny. He wanted to be the captain of the ship but he has a really hard time making suggestions and decisions. The fact that the other 5 gamers are always wanting to push in different directions because of all their hidden agendas only makes it worse. Joe, who plays Nate, is really the natural leader but he plays his character so evilly that no one would ever follow him.

[Monolith]

Originally posted by Mastermind

Monolith, how long are your sessions?

They are generally around 4-5 hours but this week we threw the GM a curve and thus did not get as far as we wanted too. On top of this the GM likes to end most sessions with a "cliffhanger." I think we were supposed to explore the Intruder a little more and gather clues, not just head directly for the Bridge. Usually the players have a tendency to go in random directions when it comes to planning. I think the GM had to slow us down because he was not prepared for us to make it into the bridge.

 

Of course the players did have a 40 minute "discussion" as to what we wanted to do, so we wasted a lot of time coming to a concise battle plan. The player who plays Hard, for example, really did not like the idea that he was stuck with two non-combatants in defending the Armory. That brought about a much bigger out-of-character discussion than what I eluded to in the description.

 

Two game session into it, and we still don't know what is going on; but I have a feeling that will change in the next session.

[Killer Shrike]

Wow. I must admit to being suprised at how gun happy the group is, popping caps into immobilized foes, particularly considering the situation.. Are the Akalians that psycho-aggressive that preemptive strikes are the only way to go?

 

Also, if the group is trying to maintain a cover as smugglers, they should probably take something(s) of value from the ship that they are willing to dump on the black market when they leave to "justify" the absurd risk they took in approaching the ship in the first place -- not too many smugglers would siddle up next to a gunship for no profitable reason; there's no percentage in it.

 

Finally, wouldnt it have been advisable to leave someone on the Fearless Coward as a rear guard/sentry/listening post? abanodining the ship like that practically screams "GM, screw us over please!"

 

Keep the storyhours coming please; I love reading in game accounts like this

[Talon]

Leaving someone behind would probably be smart, but it also tends to bum out the player whose PC doesn't get to join in the fun.