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GURPS: Traveller, “The New Deal” Session 4.13

May 1, 2018 No comments

Spinward Star, LLP

The Count’s Gambit, Part Three

  • On Quopist, having just repulsed the initial boarding team from the Dzarukh, the crew contemplates counter-boarding but Haank orders them to hold. At the same time, Lee abruptly shouts for them to brace!
  • As the Miss Adventure struggles to dodge, the Dzarukh tears free of the connecting umbilical, opening fire with one of the laser turrets. Eddy, who is outside the Adventure witnesses this, noting also that the corsair’s other turret is spraying fire in a different direction. He also observes several of the vargr who were boarding the Adventure come tumbling out; many of them are instantly incinerated by the engine backwash.
  • It quickly becomes apparent that Resolute has dispatched fighters and the corsair is fleeing from them, but the damage to the Adventure is fairly significant … and Aris has been killed by an exploding panel. (To him, though, there was a massive power surge and now he seems trapped in the virtual headspace that he went to while remote-piloting his drone, Jim…)
  • The Adventure limps toward the Resolute, which is in a geosynchronous orbit above Tel Bollin, the single major city on Quopist, and is allowed to land upon the massive warship. Soon after, Ella and Haank are escorted to meet with the ship commander, Angela Krin, though Haank knows her by a different name from their time at University: Elana Shankarr Muudashir, the heir to Duchess Delphine of Mora. Commander Krin advises them they are not allowed to land dirtside due to the quarantine, though she is greatly interested in information on the vargr corsair. This leads Ella and Haank to suggest she speak with Sae who knows a great deal more about them, which she will do later in great detail, a meeting that culminates in her shifting Sae’s Scout status from Detached to Active.
  • Commander Krin assembles the Adventure crew – sans Ella, who is somewhat shaken by Aris’ apparent death … although by now, the Aris-driven drone has related his strange predicament – and advises Haank (who she calls “Henri,” much to the crew’s continued amusement) that she will allow some of them to go dirtside while the rest remain on the ship to conduct repairs to the Adventure; in return, the crew will halp her locate and seize the vargr corsair.
  • The following morning, Haank leads his team consisting of Ar-Jim (the drone that may or may not contain Aris’ consciousness), Armin, Buck, Eddy, Sae and Doctor Lewys dirtside via an automated landing shuttle carrying supplies where they promptly discover Tel Bollin to be a miserable, wretched place thanks to the ongoing outbreak. Despite the fact that this is normally a ‘high law’ world, the security personnel are stretched too thin to care about blatant displays of weapons.
  • With Eddy convinced he can ‘find a guy,’ they set out where they encounter several afflicted fellows and negotiate. One of them is rather untrustworthy so Sae punches the man rather fiercely and sends him running. The others led the crew to Skydove Freight which is owned by the count; they discover is ransacked but find hints pointing them toward the Fallen Warrior cantina.
  • In the cantina, they find one of Lord Mika’s bodyguards, Orgamon, who is currently visibly afflicted with the plague and unconscious; a band of tempest-abusing gang members are harassing the poor man and Haank’s initial, quasi-diplomatic efforts to handle this without violence quickly go south. Because some of the crew have already had bad experiences with such addicts, they open up with lethal fire (much to Haank’s chagrin.) In seconds, the last of the addicts is down, either dead or dying, with the crew wholly unscathed…

GM Notes:

  • I kind of messed up the opening scene. It was clear in my head what I wanted to do, but game-time came and I botched it.That’s turning into a very frustrating pattern.
  • Mel is looking to retire Ella, so this was part of her phasing the character out. I thought she would have her be injured in the opening bit, but she decided against it. She’s taking over Armin since Loki is absent and we’ve already started a discussion about how we handle the captain leaving (since technically, Haank is the number two and nobody, not even his player, wants him to be in charger; there is some consideration of Haank picking up a Ally to act as the captain.) Aris being killed and then being stuck in the drone was something Andricus and I have discussed in the past and this was just a good opportunity for it.
  • I’m retrofitting the Star Wars d20 adventure module, “Tempest Feud” for this although I’m definitely making some tweaks and adjustments to fit better.
  • Since we’re livestreaming our games every Saturdays (6:00PM Eastern) at Ronnke’s Twitch channel and then later uploading the stream on the YouTube channel, we’ve decided to dial back on the extensiveness of the recap to just the overall outline..

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Holiday List Delayed

April 26, 2018 No comments

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE EMPEROR

The Holiday List for year 1123 will be delayed by a period of at least two weeks due to unforeseen circumstances related to the Emperor’s health and schedule. As reported previously, His Royal Majesty’s planned tour of the historical Sylean Worlds was postponed due to illness but has since begun, which by necessity prompted a delay in His additional duties. The Office of the Emperor expects the delay of this year’s Holiday List to be no more than 30 days and next year’s to be on time.

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GURPS: Traveller, “The New Deal” Session 4.12

April 24, 2018 No comments

Spinward Star, LLP

The Count’s Gambit, Part Two

  • Dirtside on Porozlo, the crew are dismissed from Count Para’s presence, having agreed to go to Quopist to retrieve his son.
  • The count’s aide-de-camp, Vago Gejalli, converses with the crew and reveals he is authorized to offer 200K for this mission. Recognizing that they have insufficient numbers to properly crew and maintain the Miss Adventure, the crew convince him to pay for additional personnel in the form of the Aimless Pilgrim crew still on Porozlo.
  • Once upon Nemso Orbital, the crew split up to accomplish different tasks. During this, Eddy is jumped by muscle for the “merchant” he owes a Debt to and is thoroughly roughed up. Only the intervention of a helpful stranger stops this.
  • Once the medical supplies are loaded aboard the Miss Adventure, the crew depart the following day. They Jump to Tureded, refuel, then continue on to Quopist.
  • Immediately upon arrival, they are engaged by a vargr corsair waiting to ambush them despite the sheer impossibility of such an action. These are the Dzarukh, an enemy of both Ella and Sae. Quick shots are exchanged with the corsair hammering the Miss Adventure. Ella orders a stand-down and agrees to allow the vargr to board…
  • But the crew is waiting for the vargr boarding teams. In seconds, five of the vargr are dead, including the commander, and the rest are in retreat while the crew press their advantage and move to counter-board…

GM Notes:

  • I thoroughly screwed up the space battle at the beginning. It was terrible.
  • The vargr’s tactics were kind of terrible for the boarding action. I’d originally intended on them being smarter and more aggressive, but then Haank’s player called for a Tactics check which resulted in him beating me by 2 – he made it by 1, I failed by 1 – so I decided the vargr were bored and not expecting real resistance so when they started taking fire, they panicked. Next week, we’re going to start with the counter-boarding action…
  • I’m retrofitting the Star Wars d20 adventure module, “Tempest Feud” for this although I’m definitely making some tweaks and adjustments to fit better.
  • Since we’re livestreaming our games every Saturdays (6:00PM Eastern) at Ronnke’s Twitch channel and then later uploading the stream on the YouTube channel, we’ve decided to dial back on the extensiveness of the recap to just the overall outline..

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Global Debt Jumped to Record 329 Quadrillion Last Year

April 12, 2018 No comments

POROZLO TODAY / 347-1122 / Staff Writers

Global debt rose to a record 329 quadrillion in the fourth quarter of 1122, more than 70 quadrillion higher from a decade earlier, according to an analysis by the Institute of Planetary Finance.

Among mature markets, household debt as a percentage of GDP hit all-time highs in Anisinta, Hauvania, Morovic, Nemso, Turin and Zenerabi. That’s a worrying signal, with interest rates beginning to rise globally. M’Dwailei and New Dalmatia are the only major countries where household debt as a percentage of GDP is below 50 percent.

Still, the ratio of global debt-to-gross domestic product fell for the fifth consecutive quarter as the world’s economic growth accelerated. The ratio is now around 317.8 percent of GDP, or 4 percentage points below the high in the third quarter of 1121, according to the IPF.

Among emerging markets, household debt to GDP is approaching parity in Vyben at 94.6 percent.

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GURPS: Traveller, “The New Deal” Session 4.11

April 10, 2018 No comments

Spinward Star, LLP

The Count’s Gambit, Part One

  • Dirtside on Porozlo, the crew have spent twenty-one days dealing with the aftermath of the previous adventure as well as poking into other things.
  • Ella is obsessed with locating Sam and her investigation overlaps with Sae’s own digging into his unsanctioned Aramis operation. In a sleazy urban bar in Madua, Nemso, the two get involved in a fight with inexplicably enraged barflies. At the beginning of the fight, Sae observed a familiar woman who he suspects to be responsible for the sudden flare-up of hostilities. Following the fight, as they are exfiltrating, Ella and Sae encounter Envoy Dannica who passed on information she’s found from Sam.
  • At Nemso Orbital, Haank is approached by a drone bearing an invitation for the crew to meet with His Excellency, Count Para Anjiliac which he acknowledges and schedules for later.
  • Once the full crew is reassembled, they review the Sam information and learn he is behind the disappearance of the Spinward Star because he was concerned about being killed by Monsaanti-Neogene. He has also renamed the ship to Ellasaurus Rex so as to avoid further detection; everyone but Ella is delighted by this name change.
  • The crew proceed on to their scheduled meeting with the count. His Excellency’s aide-de-camp, Vago Gejalli escorts them planetside to the count’s personal domain where they meet him and his eldest son, Viscount Zonno.
  • The count informs them that a plague has enveloped the planet, Quopist, in the Lanth sub-sector, and it has been quarantined. His Excellency desires the crew to captain a ship that will be carrying medical supplies to assist … but more importantly, he wants them to locate his youngest son, Mika who went to Quopist on routine business and has since vanished.
  • Viscount Zonno interrupts and insists that the crew does not look up to this task. This eventually results in a duel between Sae and one of the viscount’s aslan retainers to prove they are capable. The fight is fast and frenetic, but culminates in the vargr kneeing the aslan so hard in the junk that the poor kitty passes out…

GM Notes:

  • There will likely be no game next week (4/14/18) since I (the GM) will be travelling. At least one other PC is out, and possibly a third (both related to my travel.)
  • Andricus (Aris’ player) was out and will miss the next two or three sessions due to wedding and work stuff.
  • I’m retrofitting the Star Wars d20 adventure module, “Tempest Feud” for this although I’m definitely making some tweaks and adjustments to fit better.
  • Since we’re livestreaming our games every Saturdays (6:00PM Eastern) at Ronnke’s Twitch channel and then later uploading the stream on the YouTube channel, we’ve decided to dial back on the extensiveness of the recap to just the overall outline..

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GURPS: Traveller, “The New Deal” Session 4.10

April 2, 2018 No comments

Spinward Star, LLP

Corporate Retreat, Part Five

  • Dirtside on Porozlo, the crew land on the top of the targeted building in Nemso, having learned that one of the air cars has been shot down.Unfortunately, Eddy displays his utter lack of competence with the contragrav belt and badly overshoots, smashing into control panel of the uplink dish which knocks it out of alignment.
  • Aris reports that the mining facility on the island, which is the second target, has also exploded and there are reports of other explosions across the planet. Realizing that this likely means that Monsaanti-Neogene is trying to cover its tracks and that this building is probably also wired, the crew decided to conduct a frontal assault down the stairwell.
  • Almost at once, a fierce firefight ensues between the crew and multiple armored and armed personnel, with Sae pulling out some near movie-level gun fu theatrics. In the course of this encounter, Eddy pursues and tackles the facility commander only after she has activated a bomb. Sae ends up rescuing his friend with a well-placed pistol shot.
  • As Eddy and Sae disable the bomb, the rest of the crew spread out to search for intel. Haank discovers Roxy in Recovery and, when he checks her pulse, she wakes with a simple “Did I fall asleep?” It does not take him long to realize that she’s evidently been mindwiped.
  • In the level below, the crew also discover numerous cryo tubes containing important businessmen and women of Porozlo, though they are unable to determine what the purpose is as someone has initiated a remote system purge. Hearing the distant sound of sirens approaching, the crew exfiltrate from the building.
  • In the week or so after this, the news about Monsaanti-Neogene’s connection to the various explosions that have caused so much trouble across Porozlo comes out and a feeding frenzy ensues as rival corporations swarm them. Besieged on all sides by their various corporate rivals, MNC is quickly forced to declare bankruptcy.
  • The courts promptly throw out the case against Spinward Star, LLC, which means they are once more masters of their own destinies.
  • That is, until they discover that the Spinward Star is missing…

GM Notes:

  • We had to skip last week. There were two planned absences and one unexpected one.
  • This ended up being (as I feared) just one long combat. I could have (and probably should have) tried to figure out a way to speed up this process or at least make things more interesting for everyone.
  • Andricus (Aris’ player) was out and will miss the next two or three sessions due to wedding and work stuff.
  • Since we’re livestreaming our games every Saturdays (6:00PM Eastern) at Ronnke’s Twitch channel and then later uploading the stream on the YouTube channel, we’ve decided to dial back on the extensiveness of the recap to just the overall outline..

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Count Anjiliac Pushes Back on Reports of Chaos Within His Court

March 29, 2018 No comments

POROZLO TODAY / 325-1122 / Staff Writers

ANJILIAC CITY – Count Para Anjiliac sought to push back Tuday on news reports that “chaos” has enveloped his court, saying that staff turnover and turnover are part of the normal course of business.

He also warned that more dismissals may be on the way but offered no comment regarding the unverified reports that his security forces were recently involved in arresting multiple members of his bureaucracy on Nemso Orbital three days ago.

“People will always come and go,” the count’s spokesperson said in a morning briefing with planetary media. “His Excellency has insisted that he desires a strong dialogue before making a final decision, but maintains that he will exercise his rights under Imperium law to dismiss those who are not proving their worth.”

Later in the day, during a joint news conference with the prime minister of Nemso, Count Anjiliac again dismissed the idea of staff turmoil and said he will not have any trouble filling all of the positions that have opened up within his court.

Staff turbulence has been a regular feature of Count Anjiliac’s administration since he assumed his fief in 1101 Imperial following his father’s demise.

Most recently, twelve crewman and officers serving aboard one of the count’s personal starships were taking into Imperial custody for unspecified crimes although experts close to the investigation indicate that they were jailed on espionage-related crimes. This marks the fourth such arrest in the last ninety days, prompting experts to suspect the long-simmering cold war between Count Anjiliac and Countess Varin Arabella of Rhylanor is once again flaring up.

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City Drug Crisis Blamed on Lax Peacekeepers

March 22, 2018 No comments

MADUA NEWS / 325-1122 / SAKHILE NDLAZI

LACK of law enforcement lies at the heart of the drug scourge that has taken root in Lesser Madua and North Beach, with concerned residents claiming drug dealers continued unhindered because peacekeepers did not stop them.

This was the feeling expressed during a Regional Drug Meeting held in North Beach yesterday, where local councillors, NPOs, churches and concerned community members discussed the drug crisis and its impact on the city.

The meeting is part of an initiative to establish regional and local drug action committees across the province. Councillor Masello Mahwayyi claimed the metro peacekeepers showed no initiative in fighting drug use. As a result, the community had lost faith in them. When peacekeepers did act, she said, they focused on “catching the small fish” – drug users, rather than the “big fish” – drug lords and drug sellers, suggesting corruption was at play.

“The peacekeepers know exactly who the dealers are, and even who their big bosses are, yet are protecting the drug dealers because there is something in it for them,” she said.

She pleaded with law enforcement agencies present at the meeting at Landfall Hall to set a good example and lead the anti-drug fight in the city.

Recovering tempest addict Tebogo Makobe, said that when a dealer was arrested with a user he was set free, while the user was detained.

MMC for Health and Social Development Sakkie du Plooy said the aim of the local action committee’s task was twofold: to provide children and parents with information to prevent drug use, and to help users find the support they need. “We are using a community-oriented primary care approach, the Community Oriented Substance Use Program (Cosup) could become a model of effective best practice.

“This approach is making Nemso a global leader in community-based response to the care and treatment of people who use drugs.”

Cosup was founded in 1120 – eight sites are operational across the greater Madua area. More than 2500 people are enrolled, with 450 on medication to help them reduce and eventually stop tempest use.

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GURPS: Traveller, “The New Deal” Session 4.09

March 19, 2018 No comments

Spinward Star, LLP

Corporate Retreat, Part Four

  • Dirtside on Porozlo, the crew are aboard the train-bus Pod en route to Nemso.
  • During the trip, Buck finishes his hack into Sam’s computer and, with Sae’s assistance, they identify links to Monsaanti-Neogene Corporation.
  • There is a brief delay on the train line during which Sae is embarrassed by a very young child who is ecstatic about seeing a puppy!
  • Shortly before arriving at Nemso, Ella receives a voicemail message from Abe that strongly indicates that he’s on Porozlo (against her orders!) and is now at the Madua Metro Diner. Almost simultaneously, Sae receives a coded message from an unidentified number that all but confirms his theory that they’re being tracked by their financial accounts. Luckily, a former co-worker of Ella’s from the taxi company she once worked for happens to be pulling into the station terminal and he owes her a favor…
  • Following a quick, high-speed trip to the Metro Diner, the crew discover Abe chatting with a woman who introduces herself as Ivixia Dannica, an agent entrusted with extraordinary authority operating on a ducal warrant signed by His Grace, Leonard Stephanos Kirgashii, Duke of Rhylanor. She is tasked with apprehending Breyon Sodhii, who was once an Envoy himself until he went rogue.
  • After confirming that their foe is Monsaanti-Neogene, Ivixia offers an alliance: she wants to hit a data farm to track down Sodhii and would appreciate if the crew could provide a distraction by hitting a MNC facility. She offers three solid targets – one an abandoned oil rig no longer in use, one an island mining facility, and the third a building here in Madua, Nemso. After much discussion, the crew decide to go for the triple distraction: they will rent a pair of aircars with company assets, then send one to the oil rig and the other to the island. While this is going on, they will then hit the Madua building personally.
  • To that end, Eddy and Sae hit the startown, seeking out personal contacts first to get some clean funds (so as to avoid drawing further attention to themselves) while also purchasing gear like contragrav belts and explosives. Buck and Haank attempt to hack the building schematics but find they’ve been intentionally blanked out. Ella reaches out to the lawyer firm to arrange for them to begin researching (through the courts) the island and the oil rig in the hopes that this will cause further distraction.
  • The following day, while Aris lurks in a secure location so he can remote pilot the two air cars, the rest of the crew move to assault the Madua building.
  • And then, Aris announces that one of the two air cars has been shot down…

GM Notes:

  • Andricus (Aris’ player) was out and will miss the next three or four sessions due to wedding and work stuff.
  • Since we’re livestreaming our games every Saturdays (6:00PM Eastern) at Ronnke’s Twitch channel and then later uploading the stream on the YouTube channel, we’ve decided to dial back on the extensiveness of the recap to just the overall outline..

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Peace Conference Collapses, Fails to Approve Count Anjiliac’s Propositions

March 15, 2018 No comments

ANJILIAC CITY, 324-1122. The latest round of peace talks between representatives of the Free Commerce and Private Ownership blocs ended in failure yesterday following a bitter dispute centered around the nature of reparations.

At the heart of this ongoing disagreement is the Republic of M’Dwailei’s continued insistence that the Almarac Federated States return the island Tychon which the AFS seized during the recently ended war, as well as pay for damages incurred. The AFS continues to insist that the seizure took place legally and has petitioned for further redress in Rhylanor courts.

Count Anjiliac, who has made establishing a planetary governing body one of his primary objectives, is claimed to have threatened both representatives with execution by fusion gun in the closed session for their continued belligerence, but this report remains unverified. Facing staunch opposition by Free Trade bloc representatives, his latest resolution to establish a ‘Global Security Council’ was voted down.

Notably, the Democratic Republic of Digloiotti and the Stepozhevac Union sent no representatives to these rounds of talks. Both nations are members of the Private Ownership Bloc but are currently engaged in a regional border dispute that experts fear may spill over into open war.

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