Month: December 2017 (Page 1 of 3)

Redmark Session 26: Entering the Great Gates

December 29, 2017 / Stan Shinn

April 3-6, TA 1331

The shock of the unusual trip to another world the group just took quickly turned into yet another party with the natives. And another eating contest for Quintos to foolishly volunteer for. This time, however, he actually managed to win. Who knew a Roman could eat such a horrible food and not die from some horrible food poisoning.

The next day, and under much fanfare, the adventurers left the party happy little village in search of the fabled Buffalo and the legendary lost city located somewhere in the depths of the dark and scary jungle. None struggled with fear, however, as several local wilderness men were coming along as guides. Given the guides already outstanding track record, having lost only 27 of their original 30 members, things were looking very promising.

The journey went swimmingly until a rabid group of baboons descended upon the party like a horde of wild trinket collectors. They lurched at everything they could see that was shinny, including an item of great sentimental value to Marcus. Fortunately, he was able to win the game of grabsies and maintained ownership of his family heirloom. The fight was brought to a close when the red bottomed menaces fled in terror thanks to the clever use of a war cry enhanced with Thaumaturgy. Following the baboons led the group to an alcove where sat a large and well-adorned orangutan. With his new ability to speak with animals, Ghost Dancer sought and was granted an audience with the clear leader of this group of primates. This led to the question to end all questions…”Is an orangutan aware that it is actually an orangutan?”

This conversation was cut short when a giant Roc snatched up this lordly orangutan as he heatedly blamed Quintos’ “war crrwwyy!!” for summoning the winged beast. While tracking the Roc, Nerio (Quintos’ owl familiar) discovered that the Roc’s nest was filled with great treasure. So, for the benefit of…..the….Desperate Adventurers Charity our now sweaty and stinky adventurers made for the nest. At the base of the mountain upon which the Roc nested, their “nest invasion planning” session was rudely interrupted by a gigantic chameleon. This inconsiderate chameleon was quickly dealt with but not before it swallowed poor Ku, one of the guides, like a tiny cricket.

Although forced to adjust their success rate numbers to having lost only 28 out of 30, the guides are still convinced they can turn their luck around. Now the party readies themselves for the climb….of…..DOOM!!!

Vanguard Session 01: Signals (Take 1)

December 27, 2017 / Stan Shinn

Red Dwarf by Justv23

Note: We had some audio issues with this first session so we rebooted the adventure and recorded it again over here.

Captain’s Log: Stardate 1266.01

“We’ve received a message from the civilian exploration starship Ventura that their long-range shuttlecraft called the Susquehanna has gone missing in the Carina Nebula, deep within the Taurus Reach. The Susquehanna was investigating an unusual alien signal that originated from the nebula when all contact was lost. We have been ordered to enter the nebula, find the shuttle, and determine the origin and cause of the alien signal. Starfleet has also advised that Romulan and Tholian ships have been sighted in the region, so we should exercise caution since they may well have detected the alien signal as well.”

Characters

Lieutenant Bennett (the Human Chief Medical Officer, played by Bailey)
Lieutenant Commander Abossas (the Andorian Chief Of Security, played by Mason)
Ensign Sevek (the Vulcan Science Officer, played by Jeff M.)
Captain Gregory Konstans (NPC)

Episode Summary

Captain Konstans summons an away team aboard the U.S.S. Darius, a single-nacelle, Saladin class starship patrolling the Taurus Reach. He dispatches a team of 3 to beam down to a Class M planet recently discovered nested in the Carina Nebula. The Darius had traced the ion trail of the lost shuttle Susquehanna to this location. Heavy electrical interference in the atmosphere is making reads on the planet difficult, but a clearing in the perpetual storms allows the away team to beam down.

Planetside, the away team beamed down and were almost immediately attacked by 3 Romulans. Due to their superior training and tactics, the Starfleet officers manage to stun the Romulans.

A tricorder scan of the area indicates three notable areas of interest.

Two kilometers to the North are trace signs of civilian Combadges, a signal consistent with the crew of the lost Susquehanna.
Three kilometers to the Southeast, a trail of smoke (barely visible in the red, dim horizon) snakes up into the sky.
Six kilometers to the Southwest the tricorder picks up a chirping signal consistent with the signature of the alien signal the Ventura was seeking when it dispatched the shuttle the Susquehanna to investigate.

The episode ends with the away team communicating with Captain Konstans about their findings and discussing next steps before an incoming magnetic storm again disrupts communications.

Rules Questions

Does momentum go away at the end of a scene? (We seem to recall it does in Conan)
How many questions does Momentum grant you? (With a successful roll and 2 momentum earned and spent, is that 2 questions, or 3?)
GM picking who goes first (Need to read the full rules on initiative)
Turn order and cost to retain the initiative (Bailey’s character had a special ability but we had questions on how it exactly worked)
General questions on how Advantage and Complications work and what mechanically it means to create a problem (Quickstart rules are unclear on this)
What type of ‘Ice pick’ does the Andorian have? (Answered: It’s a climbers ice pick).

Redmark Session 25 Epilogue: The Forgotten Kobold Shaman

December 26, 2017 / Stan Shinn

(A cut-scene that occurs immediately after Session 25)

In the pre-dawn hours of the battle of Agincourt, flames consume the tattered pavilion of the Duke of Bar. Shocked French guards hazard the flames to rescue the beheaded Duke’s body, ignoring the hapless screams of the Duke’s ‘demon’. Gone are the interlopers who entered the tent then disappeared, abandoning the tent, and the kobold inside, to the flames.

Inside the wood shed, a metal cage grows heats and burns the kobold shaman inside. He writhes and shouts curses in French. The immolated kobold with one hand clutches a lump on his chest beneath his tunic, lit orange by rippling, consuming fires. With his other hand, the dying creature pulls a vial from a hidden pouch and unstoppers it with a thumb. He consumes the fluid therein. His face is a rictus of horror as his body jerks in unnatural spasms.

The kobold’s agonized shouts transform into a scream of triumph. A burst of smoke, and the cage, still aflame from the collapsing timbers around it, is now empty, the flaming kobold’s body gone. A disembodied, maniacal cackle rolls over the French camp like a gathering thunder.

The French soldiers who witnessed these chilling events die within hours, the shafts of English arrows peppering their bodies.

Starbase 47 by archangel72367 on DeviantArt

Star Trek Campaign Name & Monologue

December 21, 2017 / Stan Shinn

Starbase 47 by archangel72367 on DeviantArt

A quick blog post to get feedback on our upcoming Star Trek opening credits monologue, and also on the name of our Star Trek campaign.

First, a bit of context on what I’m aiming for in the campaign.

We’re currently doing a Season 1 which is a prequal series of planet-of-the-week adventures using pregens. We’re aboard the U.S.S. Darius.

Later, maybe mid-year, we’ll move on to Season 2. We’ll do joint character creation using the full rules. Anyone who was in love with their pregen can ‘upgrade’ them into a long-term PC. 1st Thursdays will be the Star Trek main campaign with these characters. I’ll call this the ‘Alpha’ campaign. Then, we’ll additionally have opportunistic games which I’ll call ‘Omega’ missions that will feature below decks characters on your ship, or possibly characters on other starships in the sector. We’ll have 2-3 starships in Starfleet attached to Starbase 47 (also known as Vanguard). So focus will be on main crew and campaign but we’ll have other organized-play style games in the same universe. A PC in an Omega game (sidequest game) could be featured in an Alpha game as an NPC. If Omega game characters fail in a mission and are captured, the next Alpha game could be to save them.

The setting is the Taurus Reach, which is also called the Rimward Frontier. We include the names of the starship (the U.S.S. Darius and others to come) in each opening monologue, and if we switch to an Omega game with a different starship, then we have a different opening that references _that_ starship.

Or, we could just reference Starfleet having operations in the area.

Here are some examples. Happy to entertain other takes on what we should say on the opening.

For reference: Star Trek The Next Generation Opening Credits Monologue

“Space… The final frontier…
These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.
Its continuing mission:
To explore strange new worlds…
To seek out new life and new civilizations…
To boldly go where no one has gone before!”

Here’s some possibilities for us.

Star Trek Adventures Concept 1 (Campaign Name: ‘Star Trek Darius’):

“Space… The final frontier…
These are the voyages of the Starship Darius.
Its continuing mission:
To explore strange new worlds…
To seek out new life and new civilizations…
To boldly go where no one has gone before!”

Star Trek Adventures Candidate 2 (Campaign Name: ‘Star Trek Taurus Reach’):

“Space… The final frontier…
These are the chronicles of Starfleet in the Taurus Reach.
Our continuing mission:
To explore strange new worlds…
To seek out new life and new civilizations…
To boldly go where no one has gone before!”

Star Trek Adventures Candidate 3 (Campaign Name: ‘Star Trek Rimward Frontier’ or ‘Star Trek Frontier’; maybe Season 2’s ship is named the U.S.S. Frontier):

“Space… The final frontier…
These are the tales of Starfleet in the Rimward Frontier.
Our continuing mission:
To explore strange new worlds…
To seek out new life and new civilizations…
To boldly go where no one has gone before!”

Star Trek Adventures Candidate 4 (Campaign Name: ‘Star Trek Vanguard’):

“Space… The final frontier…
These are the tales of Starfleet in the vanguard of Federation space.
Our continuing mission:
To explore strange new worlds…
To seek out new life and new civilizations…
To boldly go where no one has gone before!”

Thoughts? Let’s chat on GroupMe!

'U.S.S. Darius' by unusualsuspex on DeviantArt

Star Trek Away Mission: Signals

December 18, 2017 / Stan Shinn

Below describes a quickstart adventure I plan to run this Wednesday (quorum permitting) or at some other future point in time.

Away Mission: Signals

CAPTAIN’S LOG
STARDATE 2266.01
“We’ve received a message from the exploration vehicle Ventura that their long-range shuttlecraft called the Susquehanna has gone missing in the Carina Nebula, deep within the Taurus Reach. The Susquehanna was investigating an unusual alien signal that originated from the nebula when all contact was lost. We have been ordered to enter the nebula, find the shuttle, and determine the origin and cause of the alien signal. Starfleet has also advised that Romulan and Tholian ships have been sighted in the region, so we should exercise caution since they may well have detected the alien signal as well.”

What You Need to Know

Basic familiarity with the Star Trek universe (The Prime Directive, Phasers, ‘Beam Me Up’) is desired. Rules will be taught in-game, with all accessories needed supplied by the GM. Read the ‘Quickstart Rules for Players’ PDF below and pick a Pregen character from below if you have time before the game.

Setting

The game takes place in the Star Trek universe in the year 2266, during Kirk’s “Five Year Mission” in The Original Series. Adventures take place in the Taurus Reach which is a region of space in the rimward Alpha Quadrant. A zone of Federation expansion in the mid-23rd century, the Reach was also bordered by the Klingon Empire and the Tholian Assembly. It is largely an unexplored, stellar frontier.

Quickstart Rules for Players

Download and read the quickstart rules on your digital device.

Species Mix

For story reasons, we want about half or more of characters to be human.

Pregens

Download and select a pregen from this folder.

Theme Music

Before we air the podcast, we will compose a nice intro. audio track with a voice-over using this as the background music.

You Starship

You are crew members of the U.S.S. Darius (designation NCC-502, a single-nacelle Saladin class starship).

‘U.S.S. Darius’ by unusualsuspex on DeviantArt