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Insurgent Team Vanguard

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Episode 2: Shadows of Pallas, Part 3

  • Having identified the probable location of the Imperial basecamp, the Team considers their options and decide that they need to capture or neutralize the AT-ST they passed during the speeder chase before it can get clear of the radio interference and alert the base of their presence.
  • Thanks to Tina’s sense of absolute direction, they are able to quickly locate the walker, then stake out locations ahead of it. When it passes, Luck uses his jet pack to spring down on the roof; the Team’s new ally, Ronan, decides to make a mad jump to join him, nearly going over the side. Ronan yanks the hatch open and with two well-placed stun shots, Luck neutralizes the pilot and gunner.
  • The two are extracted and interrogated, though not a great deal is really learned. After heavily sedating the two and ensuring they are both bound and their rebreathers are topped off, the Team leaves them behind and then moves forward to observe the camp again. Ronan returns to his people to bring Darrrill and any reinforcements that want to assist. In that time, Tina’s droid, H4X-R, is able to insert into the facilty and secure images, including that of the hideous experiments going on in the biolabs.
  • Upon arrival, the Wookie is dispatched to take out the comm array, while Luck and Bostco lead a ground team, augmented by the AT-ST, piloted by Nim and gunned by Tina.
  • Attempts to stealth forward are foiled by a single alert stormtrooper, and a fierce firefight ensues. Two of the troopers are dropped by regular shots, and a third surrenders when the walker blows up the gun emplacement on the roof and then vaporizes the fourth trooper who is locked in a deadly exchange with Luck. Ronan is grievously injured during the exchange, but not killed.
  • The Team look in the direction of the comm array which Darrrill should be reaching at any moment…

Player Notes:

  • Still down Nosh for this session as he went on vacation, though he’s coming back next week, just in time for Darrrill’s thrilling heroics.
  • Thanks to Return of the Jedi, we know hijacking an AT-ST is ridiculously easy. So we did it! Gigermann joked that, since we ended Episode 1 with having “obtained” the pirate starship, and now we’ve taken this AT-ST, we should end every chapter with us having stolen another vehicle of some sort. I’m looking forward to the AT-AT!
  • Tina’s last shot at the poor stormtrooper was brutal. Three hits. Before calculating DR reduction, damage was 200, 200 and 250. Stormtrooper armor on the torso is DR 60, but the weapon was (5), so only 12 protects, which means he took 188, 188, and 238. That’s 614 points of damage! Ronnke said it was like -50x his base HP and -10x is essentially disintegrated. I think that’s the most damage I’ve ever seen done with a non-starship weapon.

Insurgent Team Vanguard

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Episode 2: Shadows of Pallas, Part 2

  • With their new ally, Ronan, leading the way, the Team links up with the remaining members of Pallas’ citizens who have been harried and hunted by Imperial forces.
  • The Team divide to gather intelligence from or lend assistance to the survivors, learning that few of them know what the Imperials want here either. Eventually, they narrow down the probable locations of the Imperial basecamp to one of two mining camps.
  • Leaving Darrrill behind to assist with any defenses and with Ronan leading the way, the rest of the Team take speeders to scout out the two spots … but en route, they are sighted by a pair of biker scouts who pursue!
  • When one of the scouts breaks off, the Team realize he is likely going to get within comms range and summon reinforcements so they wheel around and pursue him, leading to a three-way chase as they are still being hounded by his buddy. In the end, the Team opt to ground their vehicles and open fire with their weapons just as the scout reaches transmission range. They then flee the smoking wreckage before the AT-ST they passed during this chase can investigate.
  • Identifying the basecamp is easy as one mining facility is obviously abandoned, but the other still has Imperial activity – and guards! – at it. In fact, the Team are able to witness something strange: a shuttle arrives at the camp as lab-coated techs push a repulsor-sled toward it. Upon the sled is a very high tech cryo-tube containing a person who looks … mutated!

Player Notes:

  • Still late recaps. Kept getting stupid busy. Trying to keep these minimal.
  • Down Nosh for this session as he went on vacation.
  • We missed two weeks in a row after this – the first week was due to two additional absences (me for a stupid amount of OT, Giger for a computer catastrophe), the week after due to Ronnke being sick and FX having computer woes of his own.


Insurgent Team Vanguard

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Episode 2: Shadows of Pallas, Part 1

  • On Phantine, the Team is investigating why Pallas, one of the city-states on Phantine, went silent. The official story is that city shields failed, but Luck doubts this and wants to discover the truth.
  • Via speeder, the Team reach the outskirts of Pallas, discovering signs of sabotage that lend credence to their theories.
  • As they enter the city, several of them realize that they are being watched and a quick chase ensues …
  • …but comes to an abrupt halt when the Team finds itself engaged in a firefight with a squad of stormtroopers! It is a fierce engagement, but on that ends with only the Imperials downed and the Team having made a new (temporary) ally.
  • The sound of an approaching AT-ST forces the Team to bug out quickly…

Player Notes:

  • Way, way, way late recaps. Kept getting stupid busy. Trying to keep these minimal.
  • Full house again, though the next two will be down one as Nosh (Darrrill’s player) went on vacation.
  • The bulk of this session was taken up by the firefight.

Insurgent Team Vanguard

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Episode 1: The Diplomat, Part 3

  • Suspecting that the Crimson Corsair pirates are here for the same reason they are, the Team accelerates their time table.
  • Bostco enters the hotel lobby and tries to get a room for the night, confirming that they’re booked up.
  • Nim enters via a service entrance, posing as a pizza guy trying to deliver to someone. When he exits, he does so ensuring that the service door can be quickly opened.
  • Just as the team are preparing to enter via the service entrance, the pirates storm the front lobby, making no attempt to conceal their assault. This provides excellent cover, however, and with Tina discreetly providing overwatch via the systems she’s sliced into, the team locates Diplomat Wren’s room, slices it open, and extracts with her via a lift following a quick bit of convincing. And, as they are entering one lift, another opens to reveal a couple of hostile pirates. Luck leaves them a parting gift in the form of an armed thermal detonator. They don’t seem to like it very much.
  • Downstairs, the team extracts, using the now abandoned service entrance once more. Crowding aboard a speeder, they are unfortunately observed by the pirates and a short-lived chase ensues that ends at the hangar…
  • At the hangar bay, the Crimson Corsairs have an exceedingly bad day as they are quickly cut down by the expert fire of the team. And to add insult to injury, the Team decides to escape the station in the (late) Corsair’s own ship!
  • Mission accomplished.

Player Notes:

  • Way, way, way late recaps. Kept getting stupid busy. Trying to keep these minimal.
  • Down Tina’s player due to her being on vacation.

Insurgent Team Vanguard

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Episode 1: The Diplomat, Part 2

  • The Team arrives at Starhaven Station and are relieved that their codes check out. Leaving Darrrill behind with Kira Thalos to ensure their escape route is secure, the Team inserts onto the station and begins to gather information
  • Bostco takes Tina with him and plays up his reputation as a semi-famous physician to gain access to the wounded at the local medical facility so as to ensure that Katalana Wren, the woman they wish to extract, is not among the casualties.
  • Darrrill observes the arrival of who he suspects to be more of the pirates who initially attacked the ship that caused all of this mess in the first place and alerts the rest of the team.
  • Nim hits a local casino with Luck acting as a sort of bodyguard; there he engages with Xal’Dor Vorkesh, the casino owner and a known info-merchant. While this going on, a bounty hunter wearing Mandalorian armor enters with a warrant to take Vorkesh into custody. A tense stand-off ensues with Nim pretending to be another hunter who already has taken Vorkesh into custody while Luck is preparing to get into an ugly shoot-out with the hunter. Eventually, the hunter withdraws in the face of overwhelming odds, though he promises Vorkesh that this isn’t over.
  • In appreciation for Nim defusing the situation, as unusually as he did so, Vorkesh provides the information on Wren’s probable location…

Player Notes:

  • Way, way, way late recaps. Kept getting stupid busy. Trying to keep these minimal.
  • Mostly information gathering in this one, along with some almost shooting. And I was gonna get me some Mandalorian armor too! Maybe later…

Date Course Knots NM Notes
31 Dec 1724 Ashore
Refit complete; ship christened Graceful Dame, launched, anchored in Kingston Bay
1 Jan 1725 Ashore
Ventured inland to query Old Tom regarding Morgan’s Coin
2 Jan 1725 Ashore
Dove in Port Royal for Morgan’s Coin; began provisioning for voyage
3 Jan 1725 Ashore
Provisioning, continued
4 Jan 1725 SE 4 72
Cleared Kingston and put to sea in AM
5 Jan 1725 SE-NE 4-2½ 84 At sea
6 Jan 1725 NE 62
Arrived at île-à-Vache before noon; entered Ferret Bay and went ashore
Ashore
Rumjack entered port after noon; Mr. Ned Long threatened company with death.
Rescued Ms. “Dora,” fled bay during confusion
SE 4 35½
Departed Île-à-Vache in PM
7 Jan 1725 SE 83½
Hove-to for guardacosta inspection
8 Jan 1725 SE-NE 4 94
Favorable weather. Passed S of Isle de la Beata in AM
9 Jan 1725 NE 89
Passed French schooner in PM, headed W. Shifted torn sail for spare.
10 Jan 1725 Ashore
Arrived at Santo Domingo around midnight
11 Jan 1725 Ashore
Shifty hanged in AM.
12 Jan 1725 Ashore
Took on provisions; cleared port after noon
EbSE 63
Mr. Moggridge on light duty due to illness
13 Jan 1725 EbSE 132
Sail sighted ahead at noon, Princess Mary, hailed for news.
Mr. Moggridge on light duty due to illness
14 Jan 1725 EbSE 150
Performed divine service. Mr. Moggridge on light duty due to illness.
Strange man from the sea leapt aboard, and leapt away
15 Jan 1725 EbSE 150
Mr. Bold employed fixing hull leak.
Mr. Moggridge on light duty due to illness
16 Jan 1725 EbSE 6 144
Favorable wind shift.
Mr. Moggridge on light duty due to illness
17 Jan 1725 EbSE-NNE 6-4½ 89
Tacked NNE in AM. Winds shifting unfavorably.
Mr. Moggridge on light duty due to illness
18 Jan 1725 Ashore
Arrived at Barbados very early AM; waited for sunrise to enter port. Rumjack entered port in PM.
19 Jan 1725 Ashore
Purchased 2 tuns cotton for sale at St. Kitts, 1 tun spiced rum.
A shore expedition (Sir Randel, Dr. Spenser, Mr. Palange, and Mr. Lucroy – visit the ‘devil’s house’ where they have a strange encounter
Cpt. Hayden & LT Rogers meet with Cpt. Lockhart
20 Jan 1725 Ashore
Departed Bridgetown in convoy with Princess Mary afternoon
NbNW 62¼
21 Jan 1725 NbNW-W 116½
Rescued Cpt. Dufresne & Crew in a.m.
in p.m., encounter Charon (?), observe Pelican take Rumjack (now dead ship)
22 Jan 1725 NbNW 142
Arrived at Saint Kitts very early in a.m
23 Jan 1725 Ashore
Sold 2 tuns cotton; purchased 2 tuns goods for sale at Port-de-Paix
24 Jan 1725 Ashore
Took aboard passenger, Geoffrey de Saloman
25 Jan 1725 WNW 10½ 177½
Departed St. Kitts in AM. Light rain AM, and Evening.
Passed S of St. Thomas, N coast Puerto Rico
Dutch flute sighted heading SW
26 Jan 1725 WNW 182¾
27 Jan 1725 W/WNW 146½
On middle watch, narrowly avoided uncharted reef
28 Jan 1725 W/WNW 196¼
Arrived at Port-de-Paix after midnight, anchored until AM
29 Jan 1725 Ashore
Accompanied Mr. de Saloman to duel Dutchman (?), Falko Rijnders, at nearby island; Dr. Spenser meets Mdme Cassandra
30 Jan 1725 Ashore
31 Jan 1725 Ashore
Sir Randel, Dr Spenser, Lt. Rogers and Cpt. Hayden attend a party
1 Feb 1725 WbNW 72½
2 Feb 1725 WbNW 4 94½
3 Feb 1725
WbNW-NNW
6 148½
Encountered British schooner under-manned due to impressment by Navy vessel; Geoffrey de Saloman agreed to captain for them, departed company
4 Feb 1725 NNW 210¾
Arrived at Nassau just before midnight
5 Feb 1725 Ashore
Delivered message to Raynard Adler, who paid agreed-upon 1s
Rescued merchant’s daughter, Rogers and Bold injured
Discovered Cpt. Doyle as behind the attack
6 Feb 1725 Ashore
La Dame Blanche at port; Sir Randel joins Mr. Boissonade at meeting with Captain Morgan expert, discovered to be “Handsome Ned” Long, who is apparently not dead
7 Feb 1725 Ashore
8 Feb 1725 Ashore
9 Feb 1725 Ashore
Ms. Dora recovered her former captain’s pocketwatch from a local sailor
10 Feb 1725 Ashore
11 Feb 1725 Ashore
La Dame Blanche departed in AM
12 Feb 1725 NW
Departed Nassau in AM; winds increasingly gusty
Ashore
Arrived at Harbour Island in PM; secured for bad weather
Dora kidnapped, rescued
13 Feb 1725 Ashore
Detained for questioning by Lt. Brace of the Hazard, and released
SWbW 52¼
Put to sea in PM
14 Feb 1725 SWbW
WNW 10½
Entered Gt. Bahama Bank
SWbW 175¾
Evaded pursuit by unknown vessel in eve
15 Feb 1725 WbSW 5-8 107
In Florida Channel current. Nearly becalmed around midday
16 Feb 1725 WbSW 31½
Ashore
Arrived at Havana late AM
17 Feb 1725 Ashore
18 Feb 1725 Ashore
19 Feb 1725 Ashore
20 Feb 1725
Cleared port before noon, with passenger, Amira Inara Muñoz
Stranded Spanish sloop sighted. Did not assist-appeared capable
21 Feb 1725
22 Feb 1725
23 Feb 1725
24 Feb 1725
Arrived at Campeche before sundown
25 Feb 1725 Ashore
Dinner with Gordon Reade, Maurice Boissonade, and company


Insurgent Team Vanguard

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Episode 1: The Diplomat, Part 1

  • On Phantine, Insurgent Team Vanguard receives a new mission from their contact, Kalen Brie: Katalana Wren, a Naboo diplomat and secret asset of Brie’s is dangerously close to being compromised by the Imperial Security Bureau after the ship she was on was heavily damaged by pirates. Brie needs the team to get aboard the space station where this is taking place, get her out, and do so quickly. To Luck, he will also add (discreetly) that if they can’t get her out, then she will need to be eliminated.
  • With limited time before they are scheduled to depart, the Team gets as much data as they can, as well as working landing permits on the space station, though this results in Bostco now owing something of a favor to the crimelord, Hobbs.
  • Brie arrives to pick them up before flying them to a rendezvous with a friendly corvette docked with the small freighter that will be taking them to the station. The captain of this corvette provides Luck with a beacon call that will summon the ship to cause a distraction.
  • The freighter captain, Kira Thalos, is eager but cautious, and very worried that their landing codes will trip alarms..
  • The team makes the jump to lightspeed and tensions run high…

Player Notes:

  • Way, way, way late recaps. Kept getting stupid busy. Trying to keep these minimal.
  • Mostly lots of planning, discussion options and general goofing off during this session.

Insurgent Team Vanguard

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Episode 0

  • We begin in media res with most of the team already sneaking aboard an Imperial Gozanti-class light cruiser. RK-0336, a former clonetrooper better known as “Luck”, is in command of the small insurgent team with Bostco Buczynski, a semi-famous pharmacist turned rebel, Nim Zholwa, a Duros thief and scrapper, and Tina Crankshaft, a genius mechanic they call Tiny, making up the team.
  • Flashing back twenty-four hours, we learn how the team got this mission: Nim has agreed to help out local crimeboss, Hobbs, liberate a captured asset. Accomplishing this goal will wipe out the debts Nim’s family owe to Hobbs.
  • The rest of the team spend a bit of time obtaining as much information on the target vessel in the limited time they have. Ultimately, they come up with a means to get smuggled aboard the vessel.
  • Back to the present: the team encounter stormtrooper resistance but with Luck leading the way, the quickly cut through them with a great deal of shooting. Jaxon Crossfire, the objective, is rescued, and the pirate gang that Hobbs promised to send to aid quickly boards.
  • The team exfiltrates with the pirates, even though they would very much like to keep the Gozanti. Perhaps another time…

Player Notes:

  • Way, way, way late recaps. Kept getting stupid busy. Trying to keep these minimal.
  • Luck began the campaign with TA: Blaster/Neck while operating on a mistaken presumption about the armor covering, which made him terrifyingly deadly. We’ve since adjusted it so he’s using TA: Blaster/Chinks in Torso Armor.
  • This was a sort of ‘get to know what your characters can do’ mission, since one of the players was out.

Insurgent Team Vanguard


Command Crew of the Graceful Dame

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II-XI. Ashore in the Yucatán. Sunday, March 4, 1725 Anno Domini

  • Having discovered what he thinks is the entrance to the Treasury, Sir Randel advises the members of his company and then arranges for everyone to go to that hole the following morning in small groups or individually so as to not draw attention.
  • On Monday morning, March 4, the crew rappel down into the cave and begin exploring. Their explorations lead them to what seems to be a small construction buried deep within the cave; within is a single, small strongbox filled with old coins. A treasure, indeed, but not that impressive of a haul.
  • As the crew are discussing next actions, everything shifts around them without them noticing. There is suddenly a large solid gold two-headed snake statue. Each member of the crew has a sudden and intense flash of future individual memory that was bought by a mountain of gold.
  • As they are recovering and bickering, one of the many shadows coalesces into Mister Gordon Reade who rambles about how he is the Steward of this treasure and none of it will leave this place. More shadows seem to gain human-like shape and the crew begins to withdraw toward a doorway … that might not have been there before.
  • The flight of the expedition leads them into a stone maze of some sort, during which there is a quick scuffle between Misters Lucroy and Palange who have been more badly affected by the intense greed that afflicts the entire crew; blood is drawn and the image of Mister Reade cackles. Good! The Treasury requires a blood sacrifice! Sir Randel snaps at the two, intent on shouting some sense back into them.
  • With the faceless shadows still pursuing them, the crew enters a vast treasure room which Mister Lucroy all but dives into. The others alternately pick some pieces or look for another exit.
  • To Doctor Spenser’s eyes, each member of the expedition have barely visible two-headed snakes wrapped around their necks, which he takes to be a curse of some sort. Recalling the Irish faerie tales he frequently reads, he murmurs something in old Gaelic and then, serendipitously discovers an old leather bottle filled with druid water. He splashes some upon himself, feeling the curse lift immediately.
  • Mister Reade reappears while this is happening, and Sir Randel, unsure how to proceed any further, calls out a challenge. As the two men are approaching one another, though, Mister Palange fires The Gun at Mister Reade and the shot seems to blow the man apart like he was a shadow!
  • Having been splashed by the rapidly dwindling druid water, the crew are once more back in control of their senses and begin looking for a way to escape. Once more, the two-headed snake statue is present, now next to a great pit filled with corpses of varying ages. After some discussion, the crew decide to simply toss the statue into the pit, even as they can sense that it disapproves. The moment the statue strikes the bottom, the entire Treasury trembles and begins to shake. It is definitely time to flee!
  • The crew flee back toward the large pile of treasure, with some of them pausing briefly to grab several handfuls, before darting toward the tunnel they hope will lead to safety. Behind them, the ceiling begins falling in and the crew must run faster! They emerge once in that small construction within the cave, nearly tripping over the small strongbox which is quickly snatched up.
  • Outside the small building, they are surprised to discover Mister Reade’s body. He is clutching at his chest and has an agonized look on his face.
  • Retracing their steps to the hole, they are surprised to discover Mister Long loitering above them. He informs them that his Master is going to be very displeased at what they’ve done before he instructs some unseen helpers to begin.
  • And to the horror of the crew, an immense stone slab is slid over the top of the hole, cutting off all light. The crew … is trapped.

Player Notes:

  • Full house for a change.
  • As mentioned previously, I’ve skipped over a lot of stuff in an attempt to keep the outline short … and even still, its too long.
  • The “druid water” stuff I pulled out of nowhere came from an Irish faerie tale I discovered called “The Greedy Fox” – it didn’t really go into any crazy detail about what “druid water” is or does, but the GM rolled with it and let it remove the magical Greed. I used the last of the water in the game by pouring it on the statue (though that did nothing), but Spenser is absolutely keeping the bottle.
  • I think CommJunkee was mildly irked at Andricus for stealing his moment with the gunshot even though it made perfect sense.
  • Gigermann grumbled that the final escape was as life-threatening as he anticipated, but based on Spenser’s encumbrance levels – he was literally a half pound from entering Light – I calculated that if he’d grabbed the basic lift of treasure like everyone else, he’d have been shifted into Medium encumbrance, which would reduce his Move to 3 … which meant the collapsing ceiling would have buried him. So it was a good thing Spenser didn’t grab any treasure apart from what he already had…
  • I think the hard cut-off time and late start messed with Gigermann’s plan – I was expecting a fight of some sort and I think that might have made things flow a little better? Not sure.
  • Gigermann has mentioned maybe doing a one-off session 12 later in the year to act as a denouement or follow-up to properly end the season. Time will tell.
  • Next week we’re doing a Session 0 for our impending GURPS Star Wars game.

See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.