Posts
Steppe is a Piers Anthony science-fiction/fantasy novel from the mid-1970s that anticipates, in a surprisingly accurate way, some concepts that have become commonplace today. The story involves a 9th century Uigur warrior from the steppes of central Asia being abducted into the future in order to play a role in a vast game. The game, run by a powerful central computer, allows people to take on roles in a historical simulation and tracks their progress (and rewards) by how well they succeed. If a character "dies", the player exits the game but can pay to come back in with a role that could be better or worse depending on how well the player did with the previous role. In short, it's the idea of a massively-multiplayer online RPG about twenty years ahead of its time! Anthony's story has a clever way that the computer anthropomorphizes entires countries as individual people in order to teach players history before they enter the game. The story drags a little in the latter half and could have a more interesting conclusion, but the basic concept is really cool. A good add to the Planet Stories line.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Piers Anthony's Steppe (Planet Stories # 23)
Steppe is a Piers Anthony science-fiction/fantasy novel from the mid-1970s that anticipates, in a surprisingly accurate way, some concepts that have become commonplace today. The story involves a 9th century Uigur warrior from the steppes of central Asia being abducted into the future in order to play a role in a vast game. The game, run by a powerful central computer, allows people to take on roles in a historical simulation and tracks their progress (and rewards) by how well they succeed. If a character "dies", the player exits the game but can pay to come back in with a role that could be better or worse depending on how well the player did with the previous role. In short, it's the idea of a massively-multiplayer online RPG about twenty years ahead of its time! Anthony's story has a clever way that the computer anthropomorphizes entires countries as individual people in order to teach players history before they enter the game. The story drags a little in the latter half and could have a more interesting conclusion, but the basic concept is really cool. A good add to the Planet Stories line.
Mynock Squadron Recap # 16 [RPG]
[4.7.19 continued]
Having returned from a conference on immunology, Warrant Officer Kero Andro lands her shuttle in one of the Flourishing's many hangar bays. The information she obtained about the nanoshape virus is not good: researchers have had no luck compiling a shutdown signal for the virus, and only extreme cold seems to keep it from spreading quickly. In a bid to prevent panic and preserve military security, the existence of the virus is being kept highly confidential.
When she lands, Kero is greeted by Private Mikaela Sor, a new member of Mynock Squadron responsible for communications and operational support. Sor tells Kero that with Torga still in hypo-stasis and Stavros having received a medical discharge, Tuvolo has arranged for a new member to be added to Gamma Flight named Max Cindarion. Sor goes on to tell Kero that her fellow members in Gamma have been sent on a Search & Rescue mission to find Max, but they haven't returned. Kero resolves to go after them, but first prepares for the inhospitable climate of Haruun Kal by requisitioning a slughthrower and some valuable crystals to serve as currency.
Meanwhile, after an uncomfortable night's sleep inside the Y-Wings, the other members of Gamma Flight awaken. Keth quickly realizes that jungle nexu are circling the vessels, and one has even jumped up on the fuselage of Waric and Tazo-Rhi's ship. Realizing the threat, Waric tries to spin his turret around rapidly to knock the creature off, but it nimbly avoids the maneuver and starts scratching at the turret canopy. In their vessel, Trill and Max commiserate over being forced to fly such antique starfighters. When she hears about the nexu, Trill orders Keth to lift off and serve as a spotter so that Max can advance on foot towards Waric and Tazo-Rhi's Y-Wing and shoot the nexu that are surrounding it. Max resists the order at first, but eventually complies and opens the canopy of his vessel's cockpit. A nexu hidden under the fuselage claws and scurries its way on the vessel's top surface. Max tries to retreat by climbing up a tree, but falls and lands awkwardly on the ship's port thruster. The nexu advances, but Trill slows it with a blast from the Y-Wing's ion cannon turret. Max executes a perfect somersault, draws his blaster, and kills the creature seconds before it can leap on him.
Kero, having first stopped at a Korrunai village to trade for some portaak amber to insulate electronics from the native spores, arrives at the scene in her shuttle. Seeing several nexu circling the grounded Y-Wings, she draws upon her knowledge of predator carnivore physiology and broadcasts an extremely high-pitched frequency to drive them away. After Waric, Trill, and Max receive first aid, Waric and Keth succeed in repairing the engine on the downed Y-Wing and Gamma Flight is able to escape the dangers posed by Haruun Kal.
When they arrive at the Flourishing a few hours later, the pilots are told they have a short period of free time before a major briefing that will involve the entire Squadron. Kero chats with the newest member of the group, and Max tells her his military specialities include flying, dueling, and infiltration. Kero explains that she was extremely bored at the medical conference, and the two decide to share some blaster target practice. Keth requisitions a new sidearm to replace the one that was damaged on Haruun Kal and then joins them. Warik runs a self-diagnostic on his cybernetic equipment and then writes an after-action report on the failed mission to secure the Guiding Heart. Warik writes that he suspects the unusual manifestations of energy and strange behaviour of Gamma Flight may have been caused by some sort of anomalies in the Force. Later, Kero talks with the director of the Flourishing's medical team and suggests that if the native Haruun Kal spores disrupt electronics, they may be useful in suppressing the nanoshape virus. The medical director seems intrigued by the new line of inquiry and promises to research the idea.
When the members of Gamma Flight enter the briefing room, they see that the members of both Alpha and Beta Flights are there as well. With Mikaela Sor operating the holodisplay, Lt. Tuvolo explains that the sudden withdrawal of Grand Moff Artis Kain's Pentastar Alliance from known space has left the Imperial-held planet of Nishr vulnerable to attack. Mynock Squadron has been tasked by the Provisional Council with liberating the planet, and Tuvolo explains each Flight's role. Alpha is to establish air superiority near the Imperial garrison and Beta is to sneak in and destroy the garrison's shield generators so that regular New Republic infantry can lay siege. Meanwhile, Gamma Flight has been tasked with freeing the four remaining members of Nishr's past elected government to serve as transitional leaders once the Imperial grip on the planet has been broken.
The members of Gamma Flight pay close attention to this part of the briefing, and learn that the four politicians, and many other prisoners, are held in a detention camp about twenty kilometers from Drushar. The camp is operated by DuraSun, a mercenary group hired by the Imperials. A small contingent of TIE-fighters have been assigned to the camp to provide combat air patrol, but the camp is also defended by multiple E-Web blaster towers, an electrified durasteel weave perimeter fence, and armoured landspeeders. However, a member of New Republic Intelligence known to Gamma, Marrass, has infiltrated the camp in the guise of a captured member of a rival Imperial warlord and is able to provide some intelligence through a short-range synthflesh transmitter. Sor will be coordinating the entire operation in orbit in a shuttle, and will land to pick up prisoners once the evac signal is given.
Tuvolo says that the C.O. of each Flight should decide on a tactical plan in consultation with their subordinates, and that a proposal should be brought to him in the morning. The members of Gamma Flight proceed to discuss various options long into the night, including whether they should go in "hot" and fight their way into the camp, or go in "cold" and infiltrate the camp. Warik suggests that a combination may be feasible, with someone on the inside to help Marrass secure the high-value prisoners and the others on the outside to destroy the E-web towers. There is major disagreement on the best way to handle the E-web towers, with Warik initially suggesting that he could sneak up and plant explosives on each one, but Kero stating that the idea is too risky. She suggests, instead, using the group's assigned Y-Wings to destroy the towers with proton torpedos, but Max expresses his view that the turrets might shoot down the aged starfighters, and there is some general concern about what will happen if a stray torpedo hits the prisoner blocks.
Discussion turns to whether someone should infiltrate the camp. Max suggests that the infiltrator could start a riot of prisoners to provide a distraction, but Kero says there is no guarantee they would assist during a battle. Discussion is had as to whether two Gamma members should infiltrate: Max as a prisoner, and Keth as a mercenary. Warik and Kero clash over the idea of someone infiltrating as a prisoner, because Kero doesn't see the value of having one of their few assets trapped inside during an attack, unarmed. Warik replies that they could provide useful intelligence.
After thinking over the various proposals, Kero tells the others that she has made a decision: most of Gamma will remain in their Y-Wings to destroy the TIEs and E-Web towers from the air. Meanwhile, Max will approach the southeast corner of the compound on foot, cut or blast through the fence, and release the prisoners. The plan is for him to carry with him several stealth suits so that he, Marrass, and the prisoners can sneak away while the guards are distracted from the heavy bombardment coming from the Y-Wings. Once the prisoners are a safe distance away from the camp, the shuttle can fly down to extract them.
At first, Kero's decision meets with resistance. Max says it's suicidal to have just one or two people on the ground going up against over a dozen hardened mercenaries. Kero remains firm in her decision, however, and replies that the air support will provide enough of a distraction to keep the guards from heavily defending any particular part of the base. Warik suggests using a concussion-missile launcher from the ground to soften up the E-web towers without the danger of proton torpedoes, and preparing some proximity mines for aerial dispersal at select points inside the camp. Kero agrees.
Having decided on a general approach, the members of Gamma set to work deciding on equipment to requisition and sorting out other important details of the operation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Director's Commentary (November 13, 2016)
I thought this session had a really nice mix of action and role-playing. The conclusion of the Haruun Kal cliffhanger was exciting and proved a great introduction to Max Cindarion. I was really struck by how clever Kero's player was in suggesting that the native spores on the planet (which suppress electronics) could be the key to stopping the nanovirus--it makes perfect sense, but I hadn't planned any such solution at all!
The latter half of the session featured a lot of strategic planning. This is something I really wanted to see happen since it's one of the things that distinguish a military-themed campaign from the usual "bunch of adventurers stumbling into trouble" sort of campaign. I think it went pretty well, though it did reveal that some players couldn't separate the in-character disagreement from out-of-character disagreement, and that some players didn't have a lot of patience for planning. Still, as we'll see in a couple of sessions, their plan went off like gangbusters . . .
Next Recap
Having returned from a conference on immunology, Warrant Officer Kero Andro lands her shuttle in one of the Flourishing's many hangar bays. The information she obtained about the nanoshape virus is not good: researchers have had no luck compiling a shutdown signal for the virus, and only extreme cold seems to keep it from spreading quickly. In a bid to prevent panic and preserve military security, the existence of the virus is being kept highly confidential.
When she lands, Kero is greeted by Private Mikaela Sor, a new member of Mynock Squadron responsible for communications and operational support. Sor tells Kero that with Torga still in hypo-stasis and Stavros having received a medical discharge, Tuvolo has arranged for a new member to be added to Gamma Flight named Max Cindarion. Sor goes on to tell Kero that her fellow members in Gamma have been sent on a Search & Rescue mission to find Max, but they haven't returned. Kero resolves to go after them, but first prepares for the inhospitable climate of Haruun Kal by requisitioning a slughthrower and some valuable crystals to serve as currency.
Meanwhile, after an uncomfortable night's sleep inside the Y-Wings, the other members of Gamma Flight awaken. Keth quickly realizes that jungle nexu are circling the vessels, and one has even jumped up on the fuselage of Waric and Tazo-Rhi's ship. Realizing the threat, Waric tries to spin his turret around rapidly to knock the creature off, but it nimbly avoids the maneuver and starts scratching at the turret canopy. In their vessel, Trill and Max commiserate over being forced to fly such antique starfighters. When she hears about the nexu, Trill orders Keth to lift off and serve as a spotter so that Max can advance on foot towards Waric and Tazo-Rhi's Y-Wing and shoot the nexu that are surrounding it. Max resists the order at first, but eventually complies and opens the canopy of his vessel's cockpit. A nexu hidden under the fuselage claws and scurries its way on the vessel's top surface. Max tries to retreat by climbing up a tree, but falls and lands awkwardly on the ship's port thruster. The nexu advances, but Trill slows it with a blast from the Y-Wing's ion cannon turret. Max executes a perfect somersault, draws his blaster, and kills the creature seconds before it can leap on him.
Kero, having first stopped at a Korrunai village to trade for some portaak amber to insulate electronics from the native spores, arrives at the scene in her shuttle. Seeing several nexu circling the grounded Y-Wings, she draws upon her knowledge of predator carnivore physiology and broadcasts an extremely high-pitched frequency to drive them away. After Waric, Trill, and Max receive first aid, Waric and Keth succeed in repairing the engine on the downed Y-Wing and Gamma Flight is able to escape the dangers posed by Haruun Kal.
When they arrive at the Flourishing a few hours later, the pilots are told they have a short period of free time before a major briefing that will involve the entire Squadron. Kero chats with the newest member of the group, and Max tells her his military specialities include flying, dueling, and infiltration. Kero explains that she was extremely bored at the medical conference, and the two decide to share some blaster target practice. Keth requisitions a new sidearm to replace the one that was damaged on Haruun Kal and then joins them. Warik runs a self-diagnostic on his cybernetic equipment and then writes an after-action report on the failed mission to secure the Guiding Heart. Warik writes that he suspects the unusual manifestations of energy and strange behaviour of Gamma Flight may have been caused by some sort of anomalies in the Force. Later, Kero talks with the director of the Flourishing's medical team and suggests that if the native Haruun Kal spores disrupt electronics, they may be useful in suppressing the nanoshape virus. The medical director seems intrigued by the new line of inquiry and promises to research the idea.
When the members of Gamma Flight enter the briefing room, they see that the members of both Alpha and Beta Flights are there as well. With Mikaela Sor operating the holodisplay, Lt. Tuvolo explains that the sudden withdrawal of Grand Moff Artis Kain's Pentastar Alliance from known space has left the Imperial-held planet of Nishr vulnerable to attack. Mynock Squadron has been tasked by the Provisional Council with liberating the planet, and Tuvolo explains each Flight's role. Alpha is to establish air superiority near the Imperial garrison and Beta is to sneak in and destroy the garrison's shield generators so that regular New Republic infantry can lay siege. Meanwhile, Gamma Flight has been tasked with freeing the four remaining members of Nishr's past elected government to serve as transitional leaders once the Imperial grip on the planet has been broken.
The members of Gamma Flight pay close attention to this part of the briefing, and learn that the four politicians, and many other prisoners, are held in a detention camp about twenty kilometers from Drushar. The camp is operated by DuraSun, a mercenary group hired by the Imperials. A small contingent of TIE-fighters have been assigned to the camp to provide combat air patrol, but the camp is also defended by multiple E-Web blaster towers, an electrified durasteel weave perimeter fence, and armoured landspeeders. However, a member of New Republic Intelligence known to Gamma, Marrass, has infiltrated the camp in the guise of a captured member of a rival Imperial warlord and is able to provide some intelligence through a short-range synthflesh transmitter. Sor will be coordinating the entire operation in orbit in a shuttle, and will land to pick up prisoners once the evac signal is given.
Tuvolo says that the C.O. of each Flight should decide on a tactical plan in consultation with their subordinates, and that a proposal should be brought to him in the morning. The members of Gamma Flight proceed to discuss various options long into the night, including whether they should go in "hot" and fight their way into the camp, or go in "cold" and infiltrate the camp. Warik suggests that a combination may be feasible, with someone on the inside to help Marrass secure the high-value prisoners and the others on the outside to destroy the E-web towers. There is major disagreement on the best way to handle the E-web towers, with Warik initially suggesting that he could sneak up and plant explosives on each one, but Kero stating that the idea is too risky. She suggests, instead, using the group's assigned Y-Wings to destroy the towers with proton torpedos, but Max expresses his view that the turrets might shoot down the aged starfighters, and there is some general concern about what will happen if a stray torpedo hits the prisoner blocks.
Discussion turns to whether someone should infiltrate the camp. Max suggests that the infiltrator could start a riot of prisoners to provide a distraction, but Kero says there is no guarantee they would assist during a battle. Discussion is had as to whether two Gamma members should infiltrate: Max as a prisoner, and Keth as a mercenary. Warik and Kero clash over the idea of someone infiltrating as a prisoner, because Kero doesn't see the value of having one of their few assets trapped inside during an attack, unarmed. Warik replies that they could provide useful intelligence.
After thinking over the various proposals, Kero tells the others that she has made a decision: most of Gamma will remain in their Y-Wings to destroy the TIEs and E-Web towers from the air. Meanwhile, Max will approach the southeast corner of the compound on foot, cut or blast through the fence, and release the prisoners. The plan is for him to carry with him several stealth suits so that he, Marrass, and the prisoners can sneak away while the guards are distracted from the heavy bombardment coming from the Y-Wings. Once the prisoners are a safe distance away from the camp, the shuttle can fly down to extract them.
At first, Kero's decision meets with resistance. Max says it's suicidal to have just one or two people on the ground going up against over a dozen hardened mercenaries. Kero remains firm in her decision, however, and replies that the air support will provide enough of a distraction to keep the guards from heavily defending any particular part of the base. Warik suggests using a concussion-missile launcher from the ground to soften up the E-web towers without the danger of proton torpedoes, and preparing some proximity mines for aerial dispersal at select points inside the camp. Kero agrees.
Having decided on a general approach, the members of Gamma set to work deciding on equipment to requisition and sorting out other important details of the operation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Director's Commentary (November 13, 2016)
I thought this session had a really nice mix of action and role-playing. The conclusion of the Haruun Kal cliffhanger was exciting and proved a great introduction to Max Cindarion. I was really struck by how clever Kero's player was in suggesting that the native spores on the planet (which suppress electronics) could be the key to stopping the nanovirus--it makes perfect sense, but I hadn't planned any such solution at all!
The latter half of the session featured a lot of strategic planning. This is something I really wanted to see happen since it's one of the things that distinguish a military-themed campaign from the usual "bunch of adventurers stumbling into trouble" sort of campaign. I think it went pretty well, though it did reveal that some players couldn't separate the in-character disagreement from out-of-character disagreement, and that some players didn't have a lot of patience for planning. Still, as we'll see in a couple of sessions, their plan went off like gangbusters . . .
Next Recap
Friday, November 4, 2016
Mynock Squadron Recap # 15 [RPG]
On the planet Sellia, three members of Mynock Squadron find themselves in desperate straits! Trapped in uncoupled segments of a spacecraft, Waric, Tazo-Rhi, Keth, and New Republic Intelligent Agent Marrass plummet through the atmosphere. In seconds, the segments will crash into the surface of the planet and crush all inside. Unless they discover a way to save themselves . . .
[4.7.16 Continued]
Inside the falling segments, Keth desperately tries to revive his unconscious allies. His skill with a medpac leaves much to be desired, however, and they fail to stir. Marrass shouts that Mercre must have electronically overridden the emergency repulsor compensators, and that there should be a manual bypass somewhere. Searching quickly, the two find an access panel hidden behind a painting. Inside, three levers are stuck in the "up" position through some sort of adhesive--Mercre had been planning this escape maneuver for some time! Keth puts all of his weight into trying to wrench the levers free, but to no avail. Marrass, however, despite her slight build, is filled with adrenaline and has no difficulty in breaking the bonds of the adhesive and moving each lever to the "down" position. The emergency repulsor compensators kick in, the segment starts to slow, and a safe landing ensues.
Keth and Marrass see the shuttle the Mynocks arrived in parked nearby, and decide to drag Waric and Tazo-Rhi to it. The two then exhaust the shuttle's supply of medpacs and Waric and Tazo-Rhi begin to stir. The group quickly make the decision to lift off and set hyperspace coordinates for their temporary home, the New Republic battlecruiser Flourishing.
[4.7.17]
The journey through hyperspace continues. A subdued air reigns in the shuttle, as those inside ponder their failure. Marrass vows to track down Mercre, but admits she still doesn't know the source of the strange phenomena that affected them.
[4.7.18]
The shuttle drops out of hyperspace near the Flourishing. After a safe landing in the hangar bay, the Mynocks are immediately ordered via comm to Briefing Room # 2. Although Keth was unharmed in the firefight aboard the Guiding Heart, Waric and Tazo-Rhi remain bruised and singed despite receiving some emergency medical attention. When the three of them arrive at the briefing room, they notice that the red light above of the door is lit, indicating that a session is in progress. However, the door has clearly malfunctioned, as it hasn't closed all of the way and a voice can be heard coming from inside. The three Mynocks overhear the distinct accent of Lt. Tuvolo:
"I'm just sayin' Major, I don't think they're ready! Even Alpha's gonna be hard pressed, not to mention Beta and stars forbid Gamma! Ya know their background as well as I do--one em's gotta habbit a runnin' when things get bad, the other's not all there, and don't even make me bring up the third's psyche profile!"
The voice goes silent for a moment, and indecipherable murmuring can be heard before Tuvolo continues:
"Yeah yeah, I now they've got a few weeks while the new shielding goes on, and I know they done good on Nal Hutta--but this is sumptin' completely different!"
Another pause, and then:
"Yes, sir. No sir, I'm not suggesting we disobey the Provisional Council. Well, with your permission I better comm-off--Gamma's gonna be comin' to get briefed on a S&R."
When Tuvolo admits the three Mynocks, he is obviously angry over their failure to secure the Guiding Heart. However, he says there's no time for a full debriefing because an emergency is underway: a new recruit to Mynock Squadron and a pilot from Beta Flight have not turned up on schedule, and the emergency hypercomm beacon has been activated from their vessel. The coordinates have been traced to a jungle planet called Haruun Kal. Tuvolo says he hasn't had time to scour the data on the planet, but that there's some sort of spore in the air that can render electronics inert after several hours. Gamma Flight is ordered to travel to Haruun Kal in three Y-Wings to retrieve the two downed pilots.
As Warrant Officer Kero is still at a conference on immunology, Ensign Waric is again the commanding officer of Gamma Flight. He salutes smartly and orders Keth and Tazo-Rhi to proceed directly to the hangar. The three make quick time and are soon strapped in their respective cockpits and entering hyperspace for Haruun Kal. The journey lasts just a few hours before the three vessels emerge into realspace and pick up the emergency beacon's signal. Finding a place to land is difficult in the dense jungle, but the Y-Wings are able to set down a few hundred meters away from the beacon's coordinates.
When the three pilots emerge into the hot, humid air, Waric takes one look at the dense undergrowth and vegetation and then begins to act erratically! He shouts something about "meatbags" and "servos" and charges into the jungle in the direction of the beacon's signal. Tazo-Rhi comments to Keth on Waric's strange behaviour, but both of them follow.
Meanwhile, a short distance away, Private Max Cindarion is in trouble! A brown-haired human with amber eyes, Max had been journeying to the Flourishing with Beta Flight's Trill Dunerunner when their vessel suffered sudden mechanical failure and was pulled into Haruun Kal's orbit. Both survived the crash landing, but there was no choice but to wait for rescue. Establishing a temporary campsite on a small hill, Trill ordered Max to stay put while she went in search of food and water. Hours later, however, Trill had not returned--and now Max was hearing the howling of strange creatures at the base of the hill!
Max tries to climb a tree, but falters on the slippery bark. Seconds later, massive fanged feline creatures appear: jungle nexu! Max decides to run for it, and sprints between the two nexu, but one of the creatures is fast and rakes the pilot's back with sharp claws before taking a bite out of his ankle. Suddenly Waric appears in the area. One of the nexu tries to rip out his abdomen, but the pilot's partially cybernetic flesh keeps it at bay. With one nexu on Waric and the other on Max, the arrival of Keth and Tazo-Rhi is timely. Keth blasts the nexu on Max and then ducks back into concealment behind a tree. The wounded creature cringes and flees.
Waric, however, is not so lucky. His opponent gets past his guard and bites into his crotch, severing arteries and felling the soldier instantly. The nexu then leaps for Keth, but accurate blasts from he and Tazo-Rhi kill the beast. Tazo-Rhi succeeds in staunching Waric's bleeding, but he is clearly badly hurt. With the three conscious victors being of equal rank, Tazo-Rhi asks who is going to be in charge. No answer is forthcoming.
Max volunteers that Trill Dunerunner is probably dead, and that they should carry Waric back to the rescue vessels and depart because this jungle planet is obviously too perilous to remain in for long, especially given the fact that all they have is their service sidearms. Tazo-Rhi observes that there is some logic to his words, but that, were she in a similar position, she would hope her fellow Squadron members would at least try to find her. Keth insists on trying to pick up Trill's trail after Waric is safely deposited in the cockpit of a Y-Wing.
Although the dense undergrowth might normally make tracking an individual through the jungle difficult, the Zabrak reveals a surprising proficiency in the art and leads his Squadron mates to an area where a dark hole leads into a low mound covered in vegetation. The darkness is impenetrable, but from the entrance Keth hears a strange groaning. Climbing in on his hands and knees, he feels around and discover a roughly-humanoid shape covered in a sticky covering. He begins to pull it out.
Meanwhile, just inside the entrance, Max suddenly sees a shape silhouetted against the grey sky: a winged creature that is at least a couple of meters long and that looks like a giant insect. Max fires at the creature and the blast tears through one of its membranous wings. A giant tongue lashes out from it, however, wraps around Max's blaster, and slams it against the cave wall until it shatters! The creature then flies forward and lands on Max, burning his flesh through some sort of acid emanated from its limbs. Tazo-Rhi joins the fight, as a weaponless Max bolts for the outside, but she is quickly overcome. Fortunately, Keth has appeared on scene and throws his sidearm to Max--the pilot catches it and somersaults underneath the creature, firing bolt after bolt into its vulnerable abdomen! It falls to the side, dead.
Tazo-Rhi is stabilized, and the cocooned Trill is cut free but barely conscious. The walk back to the Y-Wings is a long and arduous one for Keth and Max, as the jungle heat and the effort of dragging Tazo-Rhi and Trill combines to wear them down. Still, they do make it back safely and decide that everyone should rest in the safety of the Y-Wings for the night.
[4.7.19]
The next morning, Tazo-Rhi has recovered enough to be able to fly. Waric and Trill are still unconscious, however. With Keth, Tazo-Rhi, and Max in the cockpits and Waric and Trill in the turrets, an attempt is made to lift-off. But ill fortune strikes in the form of Haruun Kal's spores: Tazo-Rhi's Y-Wing won't start.
Trapped on a foreboding jungle planet full of hostile creatures, how will the Mynocks escape?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Director's Commentary (November 4, 2016)
I was back at the helm this session, resolving the cliff-hangar from the previous guest-directed session and telling a one-shot of my own. The big news this session was the arrival of a new player! When we finally accepted that the person who played Stavros was not coming book, I put a call out on the Internet and found a player all the way over in England. That meant we had gamers on three continents--its pretty cool to live in an era like this, as I can still remember the days
that if you couldn't find a group in your own town, you were pretty much screwed.
I foreshadowed a major storyline for the future with the PCs overhearing Tuvalo's conversation, but for this session I really wanted to tell a story that would be accessible and have clear goals but also be a fun way to introduce a new PC, so I went with a military-themed classic: the Search & Rescue. I couldn't think of any more forbidding place to crash than on Haruun Kal, the jungle planet described so evocatively in the novel Shatterpoint. I loved it when I was able to integrate something from the novels into the campaign, as it made the whole thing seem so much more "real".
The session went fantastically. There was some exciting, cinematic combat, and the new player did a great job in enthusiastically describing his character's actions. As a director, it's always a little nerve-wracking to welcome a perfect stranger into your game, but I have always had great luck--so many of the gamers I've met and friends I've made have come from a forum post launched into the darkness. The session even ended on a natural cliffhangar, and really couldn't have gone better.
Next Recap
[4.7.16 Continued]
Inside the falling segments, Keth desperately tries to revive his unconscious allies. His skill with a medpac leaves much to be desired, however, and they fail to stir. Marrass shouts that Mercre must have electronically overridden the emergency repulsor compensators, and that there should be a manual bypass somewhere. Searching quickly, the two find an access panel hidden behind a painting. Inside, three levers are stuck in the "up" position through some sort of adhesive--Mercre had been planning this escape maneuver for some time! Keth puts all of his weight into trying to wrench the levers free, but to no avail. Marrass, however, despite her slight build, is filled with adrenaline and has no difficulty in breaking the bonds of the adhesive and moving each lever to the "down" position. The emergency repulsor compensators kick in, the segment starts to slow, and a safe landing ensues.
Keth and Marrass see the shuttle the Mynocks arrived in parked nearby, and decide to drag Waric and Tazo-Rhi to it. The two then exhaust the shuttle's supply of medpacs and Waric and Tazo-Rhi begin to stir. The group quickly make the decision to lift off and set hyperspace coordinates for their temporary home, the New Republic battlecruiser Flourishing.
[4.7.17]
The journey through hyperspace continues. A subdued air reigns in the shuttle, as those inside ponder their failure. Marrass vows to track down Mercre, but admits she still doesn't know the source of the strange phenomena that affected them.
[4.7.18]
The shuttle drops out of hyperspace near the Flourishing. After a safe landing in the hangar bay, the Mynocks are immediately ordered via comm to Briefing Room # 2. Although Keth was unharmed in the firefight aboard the Guiding Heart, Waric and Tazo-Rhi remain bruised and singed despite receiving some emergency medical attention. When the three of them arrive at the briefing room, they notice that the red light above of the door is lit, indicating that a session is in progress. However, the door has clearly malfunctioned, as it hasn't closed all of the way and a voice can be heard coming from inside. The three Mynocks overhear the distinct accent of Lt. Tuvolo:
"I'm just sayin' Major, I don't think they're ready! Even Alpha's gonna be hard pressed, not to mention Beta and stars forbid Gamma! Ya know their background as well as I do--one em's gotta habbit a runnin' when things get bad, the other's not all there, and don't even make me bring up the third's psyche profile!"
The voice goes silent for a moment, and indecipherable murmuring can be heard before Tuvolo continues:
"Yeah yeah, I now they've got a few weeks while the new shielding goes on, and I know they done good on Nal Hutta--but this is sumptin' completely different!"
Another pause, and then:
"Yes, sir. No sir, I'm not suggesting we disobey the Provisional Council. Well, with your permission I better comm-off--Gamma's gonna be comin' to get briefed on a S&R."
When Tuvolo admits the three Mynocks, he is obviously angry over their failure to secure the Guiding Heart. However, he says there's no time for a full debriefing because an emergency is underway: a new recruit to Mynock Squadron and a pilot from Beta Flight have not turned up on schedule, and the emergency hypercomm beacon has been activated from their vessel. The coordinates have been traced to a jungle planet called Haruun Kal. Tuvolo says he hasn't had time to scour the data on the planet, but that there's some sort of spore in the air that can render electronics inert after several hours. Gamma Flight is ordered to travel to Haruun Kal in three Y-Wings to retrieve the two downed pilots.
As Warrant Officer Kero is still at a conference on immunology, Ensign Waric is again the commanding officer of Gamma Flight. He salutes smartly and orders Keth and Tazo-Rhi to proceed directly to the hangar. The three make quick time and are soon strapped in their respective cockpits and entering hyperspace for Haruun Kal. The journey lasts just a few hours before the three vessels emerge into realspace and pick up the emergency beacon's signal. Finding a place to land is difficult in the dense jungle, but the Y-Wings are able to set down a few hundred meters away from the beacon's coordinates.
When the three pilots emerge into the hot, humid air, Waric takes one look at the dense undergrowth and vegetation and then begins to act erratically! He shouts something about "meatbags" and "servos" and charges into the jungle in the direction of the beacon's signal. Tazo-Rhi comments to Keth on Waric's strange behaviour, but both of them follow.
Meanwhile, a short distance away, Private Max Cindarion is in trouble! A brown-haired human with amber eyes, Max had been journeying to the Flourishing with Beta Flight's Trill Dunerunner when their vessel suffered sudden mechanical failure and was pulled into Haruun Kal's orbit. Both survived the crash landing, but there was no choice but to wait for rescue. Establishing a temporary campsite on a small hill, Trill ordered Max to stay put while she went in search of food and water. Hours later, however, Trill had not returned--and now Max was hearing the howling of strange creatures at the base of the hill!
Max tries to climb a tree, but falters on the slippery bark. Seconds later, massive fanged feline creatures appear: jungle nexu! Max decides to run for it, and sprints between the two nexu, but one of the creatures is fast and rakes the pilot's back with sharp claws before taking a bite out of his ankle. Suddenly Waric appears in the area. One of the nexu tries to rip out his abdomen, but the pilot's partially cybernetic flesh keeps it at bay. With one nexu on Waric and the other on Max, the arrival of Keth and Tazo-Rhi is timely. Keth blasts the nexu on Max and then ducks back into concealment behind a tree. The wounded creature cringes and flees.
Waric, however, is not so lucky. His opponent gets past his guard and bites into his crotch, severing arteries and felling the soldier instantly. The nexu then leaps for Keth, but accurate blasts from he and Tazo-Rhi kill the beast. Tazo-Rhi succeeds in staunching Waric's bleeding, but he is clearly badly hurt. With the three conscious victors being of equal rank, Tazo-Rhi asks who is going to be in charge. No answer is forthcoming.
Max volunteers that Trill Dunerunner is probably dead, and that they should carry Waric back to the rescue vessels and depart because this jungle planet is obviously too perilous to remain in for long, especially given the fact that all they have is their service sidearms. Tazo-Rhi observes that there is some logic to his words, but that, were she in a similar position, she would hope her fellow Squadron members would at least try to find her. Keth insists on trying to pick up Trill's trail after Waric is safely deposited in the cockpit of a Y-Wing.
Although the dense undergrowth might normally make tracking an individual through the jungle difficult, the Zabrak reveals a surprising proficiency in the art and leads his Squadron mates to an area where a dark hole leads into a low mound covered in vegetation. The darkness is impenetrable, but from the entrance Keth hears a strange groaning. Climbing in on his hands and knees, he feels around and discover a roughly-humanoid shape covered in a sticky covering. He begins to pull it out.
Meanwhile, just inside the entrance, Max suddenly sees a shape silhouetted against the grey sky: a winged creature that is at least a couple of meters long and that looks like a giant insect. Max fires at the creature and the blast tears through one of its membranous wings. A giant tongue lashes out from it, however, wraps around Max's blaster, and slams it against the cave wall until it shatters! The creature then flies forward and lands on Max, burning his flesh through some sort of acid emanated from its limbs. Tazo-Rhi joins the fight, as a weaponless Max bolts for the outside, but she is quickly overcome. Fortunately, Keth has appeared on scene and throws his sidearm to Max--the pilot catches it and somersaults underneath the creature, firing bolt after bolt into its vulnerable abdomen! It falls to the side, dead.
Tazo-Rhi is stabilized, and the cocooned Trill is cut free but barely conscious. The walk back to the Y-Wings is a long and arduous one for Keth and Max, as the jungle heat and the effort of dragging Tazo-Rhi and Trill combines to wear them down. Still, they do make it back safely and decide that everyone should rest in the safety of the Y-Wings for the night.
[4.7.19]
The next morning, Tazo-Rhi has recovered enough to be able to fly. Waric and Trill are still unconscious, however. With Keth, Tazo-Rhi, and Max in the cockpits and Waric and Trill in the turrets, an attempt is made to lift-off. But ill fortune strikes in the form of Haruun Kal's spores: Tazo-Rhi's Y-Wing won't start.
Trapped on a foreboding jungle planet full of hostile creatures, how will the Mynocks escape?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Director's Commentary (November 4, 2016)
I was back at the helm this session, resolving the cliff-hangar from the previous guest-directed session and telling a one-shot of my own. The big news this session was the arrival of a new player! When we finally accepted that the person who played Stavros was not coming book, I put a call out on the Internet and found a player all the way over in England. That meant we had gamers on three continents--its pretty cool to live in an era like this, as I can still remember the days
 |
| Max Cindarion, intergalactic swashbuckler! |
I foreshadowed a major storyline for the future with the PCs overhearing Tuvalo's conversation, but for this session I really wanted to tell a story that would be accessible and have clear goals but also be a fun way to introduce a new PC, so I went with a military-themed classic: the Search & Rescue. I couldn't think of any more forbidding place to crash than on Haruun Kal, the jungle planet described so evocatively in the novel Shatterpoint. I loved it when I was able to integrate something from the novels into the campaign, as it made the whole thing seem so much more "real".
The session went fantastically. There was some exciting, cinematic combat, and the new player did a great job in enthusiastically describing his character's actions. As a director, it's always a little nerve-wracking to welcome a perfect stranger into your game, but I have always had great luck--so many of the gamers I've met and friends I've made have come from a forum post launched into the darkness. The session even ended on a natural cliffhangar, and really couldn't have gone better.
Next Recap
Friday, October 28, 2016
Mynock Squadron Recap # 14 [RPG]
[4.7.16 ABY]
After a successful return from Nal Hutta, Gamma Flight spends the next two weeks on routine missions: escorting freighters, patrolling vulnerable systems, reconnaissance, etc. With Torga remaining in cryogenic stasis, Stavros away on a med-ship for an undisclosed illness, and Kero away at a conference on immunology, Gamma Flight is operating far short of its normal compliment of pilots. Replacements will no doubt be transferring into Mynock Squadron in the near future.
For Ensign Waric Vigil, Private Keth DeSoult, and Private Tazo-Rhi, however, duty calls. Lt. Tuvolo explains during a briefing that Gamma Flight's next mission should be "a real gimme." He explains that the New Republic is trying to demonstrate its stability and value as an ally and tourist destination for independent systems that remain reluctant to join so soon after throwing off the dominance of the Empire. To that end, the New Republic Ministry of Commerce has begun buying and recommissioning older ships as cruise and entertainment vessels to lure investors. Tuvolo explains, however, that one such ship, The Guiding Heart, has a history of strange problems and that the Ministry of Commerce has requested expert military assistance to make sure it is safe and spaceworthy.
The three Mynocks are ferried to the surface of the planet Sellia. There, in a grassy field, they meet their liaison with the Ministry of Commerce, a New Republic Intelligence agent who is on secondment. The agent, an Iktotchi woman named Marress, explains that The Guiding Heart was built almost two decades ago, but the night before its maiden voyage, the builder (Frick Tunbuk) and his family were brutally murdered by unknown assailant(s). Ever since, Marress says, anyone who has bought The Guiding Heart and tried to put it in service has abandoned it within days due to strange malfunctions, unexplainable phenomena, and emotional distress. Gamma Flight's task, then, is to prove that the vessel is safe for operation.
After a comm signal from Marress, a long starship with segmented compartments appears on the horizon and lands nearby. A pilot emerges and introduces himself as Harod Mercre, a former business partner of Frick and executor of his estate. Mercre gives Marress and the Mynocks a brief tour of the vessel. The interior is beautiful and luxurious, with only the most exquisite materials used in construction. Dining rooms, a library, and multiple guest suites obviously make the vessel ideal for long interstellar voyages. A couple of the rooms are decorated with antique weapons and droids from the Clone Wars, which were just ending as the ship was built. Mercre also explains where the body of each member of the Tunbuk family was found.
After the tour, Tazo-Rhi calmly explains to all present her theory, which is pure speculation, that Mercre has secretly installed equipment in the ship to scare off owners by making them believe it is "haunted." Mercre is quite affronted, and Waric is forced to remind Tazo-Rhi that humans find such statements quite offensive. Mercre returns to the cockpit and Marress begins meditating in one of the chambers in the hopes that, as an Ikotchi, her telepathic abilities will allow her to communicate with any spiritual manifestations of the Force that may be present. The three Mynocks start a room by room troubleshooting search. Tazo-Rhi and Keth begin in the vessel's control room; they bicker over the correct setting for the temperature and moisture controls. Waric, meanwhile, decides to examine the antique droids; he's able to pull up data from one of the droid's visual processors and sees footage of a woman covered in blood and pleading for help on the same date the Tunbuk family were murdered. But when Waric goes to review the footage, it has disappeared!
Seemingly unprompted, Tazo-Rhi suddenly grabs Keth roughly and accuses him of conspiring with the other Mynocks to make her look bad in front of Tuvolo. She says that although she barely made it into the squadron, as least she made it on her own as opposed to Keth who only made it because he fell into the right crowd of friends who worked together. Keth, for his part, thinks he sees Tazo-Rhi with a knife and tries to knock it away. The two struggle until Waric arrives and orders them to stand down. Waric removes the blaster packs from their weapons and tells them to focus on the mission. Tazo-Rhi suddenly seems to realize how she's been acting and apologizes profusely to Keth.
Realizing that his subordinates are somehow being psychologically affected, Waric heads to the cockpit and orders Mercre to land the ship. Meanwhile, Tazo-Rhi and Keth hear a strange noise coming from the vessel's aft section and split up to investigate. Tazo-Rhi hallucinates that Frick Tunbuk is in the corridor, and that someone is shooting at him. Keth, for his part, hallucinates that someone is strangling him. Keth stumbles out into the corridor only to collide with Waric, who has also suffered some strange phenomena. The ship lands, and Mercre and Marress join the Mynocks to talk about what to do next.
After Tazo-Rhi explains what she saw, she catches Mercre in a lie about his whereabouts on the night of the murders and accuses Mercre of having been in love with Frick Tunbuk's wife. Instead of denying it, Mercre takes a small control device out of his pocket and activates it. Suddenly, the antique droids spring into action and begin attacking! Mercre sprints out of the room and shuts doors behind him, heading for the cockpit.
A firefight breaks out in the dining room, but there's a major complication: the Mynocks don't have power packs in their sidearms because Waric seized them! Tazo-Rhi leaps into a refresher for cover as the droids open fire, while Keth tries to dive under a table but stumbles and crashes into it! Waric throws blaster packs to them and then tries to reprogram a B-2 battle droid that is actively trying to kill him! The Mynocks hear the sound of the engines firing up, and realize that Mercre has reached the cockpit and is taking the ship up.
Tazo-Rhi and Keth try to blast their way out of the room so that someone can reach the cockpit and seize Mercre's remote control, but they only make it to an adjoining room before Tazo-Rhi takes a bolt in the chest and barely manages to crawl behind a bar before collapsing. With Keth and Marress pinned down, all hopes rest on Waric, but just as he's about to succeed in reprogramming one of the droids to assist him, a blaster bolt slams into him and knocks him to death's door. The ship begins to accelerate, faster and faster, and then suddenly, instead of feeling the pressure of climbing upward, the Mynocks find themselves having the sensation of falling. Mercre has uncoupled the aft segments of the vessel and left everyone to plummet to their deaths!
The droids automatically deactivate as they fall outside the range of Mercre's control signal, but now only seconds remain until Gamma Flight's existence comes to a smashing conclusion!
-----------------------------------------
Director's Commentary (October 28, 2016)
Another guest session, this one directed by the player who normally ran Kero. The fun of guest sessions is that you can get very off-beat, unusual stories, and this fit the bill. It was fun to see Mynock Squadron get a mission very different than the military combat ones they had experienced to date.
The effects the hauntings had on the characters was really fun. I played Tazo-Rhi, and when suddenly directed to play her angry to point of violence, it felt great to say something that the character thought was true: that she deserved to be in Mynock Squadron far more than Keth. Sometimes, secrets/revelations like that don't come out unless the characters get a push.
The firefight was a damn tough one! But it was also quite exciting, starting as it did without two of the PCs having power packs for their blasters. I think we took quite more of a beating than the guest director expected, which in turn made the fantastic cliff-hangar that much more exciting.
Next Recap
After a successful return from Nal Hutta, Gamma Flight spends the next two weeks on routine missions: escorting freighters, patrolling vulnerable systems, reconnaissance, etc. With Torga remaining in cryogenic stasis, Stavros away on a med-ship for an undisclosed illness, and Kero away at a conference on immunology, Gamma Flight is operating far short of its normal compliment of pilots. Replacements will no doubt be transferring into Mynock Squadron in the near future.
For Ensign Waric Vigil, Private Keth DeSoult, and Private Tazo-Rhi, however, duty calls. Lt. Tuvolo explains during a briefing that Gamma Flight's next mission should be "a real gimme." He explains that the New Republic is trying to demonstrate its stability and value as an ally and tourist destination for independent systems that remain reluctant to join so soon after throwing off the dominance of the Empire. To that end, the New Republic Ministry of Commerce has begun buying and recommissioning older ships as cruise and entertainment vessels to lure investors. Tuvolo explains, however, that one such ship, The Guiding Heart, has a history of strange problems and that the Ministry of Commerce has requested expert military assistance to make sure it is safe and spaceworthy.
The three Mynocks are ferried to the surface of the planet Sellia. There, in a grassy field, they meet their liaison with the Ministry of Commerce, a New Republic Intelligence agent who is on secondment. The agent, an Iktotchi woman named Marress, explains that The Guiding Heart was built almost two decades ago, but the night before its maiden voyage, the builder (Frick Tunbuk) and his family were brutally murdered by unknown assailant(s). Ever since, Marress says, anyone who has bought The Guiding Heart and tried to put it in service has abandoned it within days due to strange malfunctions, unexplainable phenomena, and emotional distress. Gamma Flight's task, then, is to prove that the vessel is safe for operation.
After a comm signal from Marress, a long starship with segmented compartments appears on the horizon and lands nearby. A pilot emerges and introduces himself as Harod Mercre, a former business partner of Frick and executor of his estate. Mercre gives Marress and the Mynocks a brief tour of the vessel. The interior is beautiful and luxurious, with only the most exquisite materials used in construction. Dining rooms, a library, and multiple guest suites obviously make the vessel ideal for long interstellar voyages. A couple of the rooms are decorated with antique weapons and droids from the Clone Wars, which were just ending as the ship was built. Mercre also explains where the body of each member of the Tunbuk family was found.
After the tour, Tazo-Rhi calmly explains to all present her theory, which is pure speculation, that Mercre has secretly installed equipment in the ship to scare off owners by making them believe it is "haunted." Mercre is quite affronted, and Waric is forced to remind Tazo-Rhi that humans find such statements quite offensive. Mercre returns to the cockpit and Marress begins meditating in one of the chambers in the hopes that, as an Ikotchi, her telepathic abilities will allow her to communicate with any spiritual manifestations of the Force that may be present. The three Mynocks start a room by room troubleshooting search. Tazo-Rhi and Keth begin in the vessel's control room; they bicker over the correct setting for the temperature and moisture controls. Waric, meanwhile, decides to examine the antique droids; he's able to pull up data from one of the droid's visual processors and sees footage of a woman covered in blood and pleading for help on the same date the Tunbuk family were murdered. But when Waric goes to review the footage, it has disappeared!
Seemingly unprompted, Tazo-Rhi suddenly grabs Keth roughly and accuses him of conspiring with the other Mynocks to make her look bad in front of Tuvolo. She says that although she barely made it into the squadron, as least she made it on her own as opposed to Keth who only made it because he fell into the right crowd of friends who worked together. Keth, for his part, thinks he sees Tazo-Rhi with a knife and tries to knock it away. The two struggle until Waric arrives and orders them to stand down. Waric removes the blaster packs from their weapons and tells them to focus on the mission. Tazo-Rhi suddenly seems to realize how she's been acting and apologizes profusely to Keth.
Realizing that his subordinates are somehow being psychologically affected, Waric heads to the cockpit and orders Mercre to land the ship. Meanwhile, Tazo-Rhi and Keth hear a strange noise coming from the vessel's aft section and split up to investigate. Tazo-Rhi hallucinates that Frick Tunbuk is in the corridor, and that someone is shooting at him. Keth, for his part, hallucinates that someone is strangling him. Keth stumbles out into the corridor only to collide with Waric, who has also suffered some strange phenomena. The ship lands, and Mercre and Marress join the Mynocks to talk about what to do next.
After Tazo-Rhi explains what she saw, she catches Mercre in a lie about his whereabouts on the night of the murders and accuses Mercre of having been in love with Frick Tunbuk's wife. Instead of denying it, Mercre takes a small control device out of his pocket and activates it. Suddenly, the antique droids spring into action and begin attacking! Mercre sprints out of the room and shuts doors behind him, heading for the cockpit.
A firefight breaks out in the dining room, but there's a major complication: the Mynocks don't have power packs in their sidearms because Waric seized them! Tazo-Rhi leaps into a refresher for cover as the droids open fire, while Keth tries to dive under a table but stumbles and crashes into it! Waric throws blaster packs to them and then tries to reprogram a B-2 battle droid that is actively trying to kill him! The Mynocks hear the sound of the engines firing up, and realize that Mercre has reached the cockpit and is taking the ship up.
Tazo-Rhi and Keth try to blast their way out of the room so that someone can reach the cockpit and seize Mercre's remote control, but they only make it to an adjoining room before Tazo-Rhi takes a bolt in the chest and barely manages to crawl behind a bar before collapsing. With Keth and Marress pinned down, all hopes rest on Waric, but just as he's about to succeed in reprogramming one of the droids to assist him, a blaster bolt slams into him and knocks him to death's door. The ship begins to accelerate, faster and faster, and then suddenly, instead of feeling the pressure of climbing upward, the Mynocks find themselves having the sensation of falling. Mercre has uncoupled the aft segments of the vessel and left everyone to plummet to their deaths!
The droids automatically deactivate as they fall outside the range of Mercre's control signal, but now only seconds remain until Gamma Flight's existence comes to a smashing conclusion!
-----------------------------------------
Director's Commentary (October 28, 2016)
Another guest session, this one directed by the player who normally ran Kero. The fun of guest sessions is that you can get very off-beat, unusual stories, and this fit the bill. It was fun to see Mynock Squadron get a mission very different than the military combat ones they had experienced to date.
The effects the hauntings had on the characters was really fun. I played Tazo-Rhi, and when suddenly directed to play her angry to point of violence, it felt great to say something that the character thought was true: that she deserved to be in Mynock Squadron far more than Keth. Sometimes, secrets/revelations like that don't come out unless the characters get a push.
The firefight was a damn tough one! But it was also quite exciting, starting as it did without two of the PCs having power packs for their blasters. I think we took quite more of a beating than the guest director expected, which in turn made the fantastic cliff-hangar that much more exciting.
Next Recap
Friday, October 21, 2016
Mynock Squadron Recap # 13 [RPG]
[4.7.1 ABY]
The remainder of the trip to Nal Hutta proves uneventful. Zutton lands his vessel near Zorba the Hutt's Winter Palace and the members of Mynock Squadron's Gamma Flight, disguised as smugglers, are permitted entry. Inside, they are met with a scene of debauchery. Zorba is hosting a reception for Moff Rann and his crew, complete with potent intoxicants, live music, and enslaved dancers. The Mynocks decide to split up to gather information. Tazo-Rhi announces to everyone she meets that she is a smuggler, and then lurks conspicuously near a table of Rann's crew to overhear their conversation. She discerns they are grumbling about their current mission "protecting slimeballs" and "dirty aliens." Keth trails an intoxicated officer who is winding his way through the crowd, and when the officer drops a datapad, Keth swoops in and skilfully retrieves it before anyone notices. Kero, meanwhile, really gets into her role by challenging some of Rann's crew to a drinking game; she doesn't get much in the way of useful intelligence, but no one in attendance would ever think she were a New Republic spy!
Zorba the Hutt announces that in the morning, a swoop race will be held in honour of his guests. The winning racer and their crew will have the run of the Winter Palace's Pleasure Dome, a reward that gets everyone's attention. After the announcement, Tazo-Rhi finds herself in conversation with one of the dancers, a woman named M'Ghan. Perhaps sensing that Tazo-Rhi is not really who she says she is, M'Ghan confides that she has long been enslaved by Zorba and wishes to escape; she says there are tunnels under the Palace that lead to nearby swampland. Tazo-Rhi says she might be interested in smuggling M'Ghan to safety in return for the information. Elsewhere, in a darkened corner, Keth examines the datapad he recovered. He finds it full of useful information, including blueprints of the Imperial Wing of the Palace.
The Mynocks assemble in Zutton's room, and after searching for surveillance devices, discuss what to do next. Keth points out that the blueprints of the Imperial Wing point to a hidden room that could be a vault or archive. With the information that M'Ghan gave to Tazo-Rhi, the group work out that one of the exits of the underground tunnels is the trash chute in the kitchen of the Imperial Wing. The group decide on a plan to infiltrate the Imperial Wing, but a crucial first step is gaining access to the Pleasure Dome to fulfil Tazo-Rhi's commitment to M'Ghan. To do that, they'll first need to win the next day's swoop race.
[4.7.2 ABY]
Using a swoop provided by Zorba the Hutt, the Mynocks enter themselves as a team in the race. Keth will serve as pilot, Tazo-Rhi as mechanic, and Kero as spotter. The first loop sees Keth eek out a narrow lead over his closest competitor, a being named Jax. At a pit stop, Kero proclaims that she could do a better job and decides to pilot the swoop herself. Jax closes the lead early in the second loop, and then the two race neck-and-neck through the precarious track. Both racers push their swoops to maximum speed, and end up crossing the finish line at the same time! Zorba the Hutt, feeling generous, allows both teams access to the Pleasure Dome.
The success allows the Mynocks to put their plan into operation. As they head towards the Pleasure Dome, a massive Imperial Star Destroyer looms overhead and suddenly starts to open fire on the Palace! With debris raining down from the sky, the Mynocks rush into the Pleasure Dome, only to witness Imperials fighting Imperials! The Mynocks find M'Ghan and a young girl, her sister, cowering in a corner. M'Ghan leads everyone to a courtyard and into a secret tunnel, as TIEs buzz the palace. As they crawl through the tunnel, they can hear Moff Rann announce on a loudspeaker that all of his personnel should assemble in the courtyard at attention to welcome Grand Moff Artis Kain. The tunnel emerges in a swamp, and Zutton agrees to take M'Ghan and her sister to his ship.
Following M'Ghan's directions, the Mynocks then return to the tunnels and take another branch. The tunnels wind for hundreds of meters, and the pilots have to tread carefully to avoid some of the savage animals who live within. In time, they reach the mound of garbage that lays at the bottom of a shaft ascending elsewhere: the bottom of the Imperial's trash chute. A wounded nashtah with a broken collar growls at the pilots as they approach, but Tazo-Rhi orders it to stand down and it obeys. Ascension guns allows the group to ascend the narrow shaft and emerge in the kitchens. Using access codes earlier gained from the Imperial datapad, Kero is able to slice into the area's security systems to show looped activity in the corridors. With Keth taking the lead, the group carefully time the duration between patrols to navigate the corridors and gain entry to the hidden room.
Inside, they see shelves of flimsies, data crystals, and even oddly-shaped objects that turn out to be ancient holocrons. Keth takes the holocrons while Tazo-Rhi shovels everything else into her satchel. Kero slices into the firewalled computer terminal and discovers the disposition of the Pentastar Alignment's fleet. She also discovers the reason for the earlier bombardment: a disagreement between Rann and Kain! Rann wanted to maintain an alliance with the Hutts, but has obviously had to give in to Kain's superior firepower. Having obtained everything they came for, the Mynocks carefully return to the kitchens, again bypassing patrols, and slide down the trash chute. The nashtah is still there, and, seeing Tazo-Rhi as its master, follows the group out of the tunnels.
When they reach Zutton, they find him at the mercy of a Mandalorian! The Mandalorian lets him go, however, saying he owed a debt to his ancestor. With everyone on board, the freighter lifts off and heads towards orbit. An uncoded, wide-spectrum broadcast comes through the comm: Moff Rann has been "stood down", and in his role is the newly-made Moff Bellis. The Mynocks are relieved to reach the safety of hyperspace and escape the reach of Grand Moff Kain, at least for now.
When they rendezvous with Waric, he tells them that the imprisoned space pirates tried to escape, and that he had no choice but to vent atmosphere and have them sucked out into space. Tazo-Rhi does not doubt him.
Having successfully obtained key information on the Pentastar Allignment, Gamma Flight heads back to base having had its first unqualified success.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Director's Commentary (October 21, 2016)
This was the conclusion of the guest adventure run by the player who normally operates Waric. There was a lot happening in this session, so much so that, as a player, I mainly had to just focus on the task at hand and review my notes later to understand the full context. I enjoyed playing Tazo-Rhi because her limitations as an undercover operative were so obvious. Sometimes gamers try to make "perfect" characters that are good at everything, but it's a lot more fun to consciously play characters with obvious weaknesses and even emphasize those weaknesses to help with the story-telling.
Next Recap
The remainder of the trip to Nal Hutta proves uneventful. Zutton lands his vessel near Zorba the Hutt's Winter Palace and the members of Mynock Squadron's Gamma Flight, disguised as smugglers, are permitted entry. Inside, they are met with a scene of debauchery. Zorba is hosting a reception for Moff Rann and his crew, complete with potent intoxicants, live music, and enslaved dancers. The Mynocks decide to split up to gather information. Tazo-Rhi announces to everyone she meets that she is a smuggler, and then lurks conspicuously near a table of Rann's crew to overhear their conversation. She discerns they are grumbling about their current mission "protecting slimeballs" and "dirty aliens." Keth trails an intoxicated officer who is winding his way through the crowd, and when the officer drops a datapad, Keth swoops in and skilfully retrieves it before anyone notices. Kero, meanwhile, really gets into her role by challenging some of Rann's crew to a drinking game; she doesn't get much in the way of useful intelligence, but no one in attendance would ever think she were a New Republic spy!
Zorba the Hutt announces that in the morning, a swoop race will be held in honour of his guests. The winning racer and their crew will have the run of the Winter Palace's Pleasure Dome, a reward that gets everyone's attention. After the announcement, Tazo-Rhi finds herself in conversation with one of the dancers, a woman named M'Ghan. Perhaps sensing that Tazo-Rhi is not really who she says she is, M'Ghan confides that she has long been enslaved by Zorba and wishes to escape; she says there are tunnels under the Palace that lead to nearby swampland. Tazo-Rhi says she might be interested in smuggling M'Ghan to safety in return for the information. Elsewhere, in a darkened corner, Keth examines the datapad he recovered. He finds it full of useful information, including blueprints of the Imperial Wing of the Palace.
The Mynocks assemble in Zutton's room, and after searching for surveillance devices, discuss what to do next. Keth points out that the blueprints of the Imperial Wing point to a hidden room that could be a vault or archive. With the information that M'Ghan gave to Tazo-Rhi, the group work out that one of the exits of the underground tunnels is the trash chute in the kitchen of the Imperial Wing. The group decide on a plan to infiltrate the Imperial Wing, but a crucial first step is gaining access to the Pleasure Dome to fulfil Tazo-Rhi's commitment to M'Ghan. To do that, they'll first need to win the next day's swoop race.
[4.7.2 ABY]
Using a swoop provided by Zorba the Hutt, the Mynocks enter themselves as a team in the race. Keth will serve as pilot, Tazo-Rhi as mechanic, and Kero as spotter. The first loop sees Keth eek out a narrow lead over his closest competitor, a being named Jax. At a pit stop, Kero proclaims that she could do a better job and decides to pilot the swoop herself. Jax closes the lead early in the second loop, and then the two race neck-and-neck through the precarious track. Both racers push their swoops to maximum speed, and end up crossing the finish line at the same time! Zorba the Hutt, feeling generous, allows both teams access to the Pleasure Dome.
The success allows the Mynocks to put their plan into operation. As they head towards the Pleasure Dome, a massive Imperial Star Destroyer looms overhead and suddenly starts to open fire on the Palace! With debris raining down from the sky, the Mynocks rush into the Pleasure Dome, only to witness Imperials fighting Imperials! The Mynocks find M'Ghan and a young girl, her sister, cowering in a corner. M'Ghan leads everyone to a courtyard and into a secret tunnel, as TIEs buzz the palace. As they crawl through the tunnel, they can hear Moff Rann announce on a loudspeaker that all of his personnel should assemble in the courtyard at attention to welcome Grand Moff Artis Kain. The tunnel emerges in a swamp, and Zutton agrees to take M'Ghan and her sister to his ship.
Following M'Ghan's directions, the Mynocks then return to the tunnels and take another branch. The tunnels wind for hundreds of meters, and the pilots have to tread carefully to avoid some of the savage animals who live within. In time, they reach the mound of garbage that lays at the bottom of a shaft ascending elsewhere: the bottom of the Imperial's trash chute. A wounded nashtah with a broken collar growls at the pilots as they approach, but Tazo-Rhi orders it to stand down and it obeys. Ascension guns allows the group to ascend the narrow shaft and emerge in the kitchens. Using access codes earlier gained from the Imperial datapad, Kero is able to slice into the area's security systems to show looped activity in the corridors. With Keth taking the lead, the group carefully time the duration between patrols to navigate the corridors and gain entry to the hidden room.
Inside, they see shelves of flimsies, data crystals, and even oddly-shaped objects that turn out to be ancient holocrons. Keth takes the holocrons while Tazo-Rhi shovels everything else into her satchel. Kero slices into the firewalled computer terminal and discovers the disposition of the Pentastar Alignment's fleet. She also discovers the reason for the earlier bombardment: a disagreement between Rann and Kain! Rann wanted to maintain an alliance with the Hutts, but has obviously had to give in to Kain's superior firepower. Having obtained everything they came for, the Mynocks carefully return to the kitchens, again bypassing patrols, and slide down the trash chute. The nashtah is still there, and, seeing Tazo-Rhi as its master, follows the group out of the tunnels.
When they reach Zutton, they find him at the mercy of a Mandalorian! The Mandalorian lets him go, however, saying he owed a debt to his ancestor. With everyone on board, the freighter lifts off and heads towards orbit. An uncoded, wide-spectrum broadcast comes through the comm: Moff Rann has been "stood down", and in his role is the newly-made Moff Bellis. The Mynocks are relieved to reach the safety of hyperspace and escape the reach of Grand Moff Kain, at least for now.
When they rendezvous with Waric, he tells them that the imprisoned space pirates tried to escape, and that he had no choice but to vent atmosphere and have them sucked out into space. Tazo-Rhi does not doubt him.
Having successfully obtained key information on the Pentastar Allignment, Gamma Flight heads back to base having had its first unqualified success.
 |
| Tazo-Rhi |
Director's Commentary (October 21, 2016)
This was the conclusion of the guest adventure run by the player who normally operates Waric. There was a lot happening in this session, so much so that, as a player, I mainly had to just focus on the task at hand and review my notes later to understand the full context. I enjoyed playing Tazo-Rhi because her limitations as an undercover operative were so obvious. Sometimes gamers try to make "perfect" characters that are good at everything, but it's a lot more fun to consciously play characters with obvious weaknesses and even emphasize those weaknesses to help with the story-telling.
Next Recap
Monday, October 17, 2016
Video Jack (Epic [Marvel] 1987) [COMICS]
Video Jack was an interesting, short-lived series written created by Cary Bates and Keith Giffen for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint in 1987. The general concept of the series is that the titular hero has to escape from a variety of alternate universes based on different TV show genres in order to get back to his own reality. Keith Giffen's artwork follows a strict 12-panel grid layout gives the series an interesting aesthetic but that, to my untrained eye, is frankly ugly. The series has never been collected in trade paperback format, so you'll have to collect it the hard way if you're interested. Here's an issue-by-issue recap:In Issue # 1, we're introduced to the series' two main characters: a slacker named Jack and his best friend, who has a dark side, named Damon. Essentially what happens is that Damon has an Uncle Zach who plans to cast a spell to transform reality into something out of It's a Wonderful Life; but the uncle gets murdered and Jack is watching TV in the conjuring room when the spell takes effect, meaning that every time someone switches the channel on a certain remote control, reality shifts! The story is a bit hard to follow in this first issue, but it is nice to read a real story that's not an excuse for fistfights.
In Issue # 2, Jack steps out of the uncle's house to realize that his clothes have instantly changed into a costume, his hometown is surrounded by a wall of static, his dog (Kojak) can talk, and he's trapped in a weird punk rock music video! A girl Jack has a crush on, Doreen, is the leader of a resistance group against an oppressive dictatorship, and she wants Jack to help her group overthrow the dictator; but the dictator is Damon! The way Giffen draws Damon, with his face always in total shadow except for his bright white teeth, is a fantastic way to convey malevolence.
Issue # 3 starts with a funny, and very snarky, editorial by Archie Goodwin about Bates & Giffen's lateness. One can see from the cover dates that a book that was supposed to be bimonthly had a five month gap between Issues # 2 and # 3. Not healthy for sales for a weird book just trying to get off the ground! There's a really funny (and cogent) recap of Issues # 1 and 2 featuring Archie Goodwin as Mr. Rogers and Jack and Damon as muppets. The storyline progresses with Jack at first disbelieving that Damon could be an evil dictator, but then changing his mind when he sees his "friend" murder two of Doreen's fellow rebels. Fortunately, Kojak sneaks into Damon's HQ and presses the "off" button on the magical remote control, returning everyone to reality. The murdered rebels are still dead, however; they've just died of different causes, thus making the point that what happens in the alternate video reality has very real implications. Damon has had enough of the whole business, but Jack is intensely curious about how the remote works and starts pushing buttons; first he gets a cartoon land, then a 1950s B&W TV show where's he thrown in jail!
We find out in Issue # 4 that Jack has unwittingly fallen into a version of the town of Mayberry from The Andy Griffith Show, but one in which everyone's dark sides are at the forefront: Otis the Drunk, for example, is an evil serial killer! Otis kills Barney and Andy, but Jack and Damon manage to escape. Poor Floyd the Barber gets chainsawed (hilarious, admit it!). Fortunately, Jack, Damon, and Kojak escape Evil Mayberry and into another TV-genre reality: Alien! There's a fun fight against the alien queen, before another shift to a sit-com. Kojak theorizes (he's a smart dog!) that Damon's evil is bleeding into and infecting every world they enter. The issue ends with a surprise twist: Damon's evil Uncle Zach is somehow still around and has the remote control back!Jack awakens to find himself a captive aboard a pirate ship in an old swashbuckling movie in Issue # 5; and Damon is the pirate captain! But Doreen is the pirate queen of her own ship, and leads a boarding party to rescue Jack! Jack and Damon spar with cutlasses, until Uncle Zach (whom I think is a zombie or something) arrives on his own ship and changes the channel on the remote, sending everyone to a Dallas-style evening soap opera. In this reality, Damon has done a hostile takeover of Jack's company, and kidnapped him to boot. But then there's another weird shift into something involving artificial intelligence and clone henchmen. Frankly confusing, but you've just got to go along for the ride. Damon wrestles the remote control back from (un)dead Uncle Zach; Damon has a doomsday device, but then he's interrupted by a new player in the game: "Pop" Culture!(?). Are you lost yet?
The series comes to a satisfying conclusion in Issue # 6. "Pop" Culture is something akin to an evil game show host, and he forces Jack to compete with Damon in order to save Doreen's life. What follows is a series of two-page long encounters, each drawn by a different artist and taking place in a different TV show genre: there's everything from Star Trek to I Love Lucy, and guest artists include Walt Simonson, Jim Starlin, and Bill Wray. Suffice it to say, Jack wins the contest and uses the remote to restore reality back to normal (mostly).
All in all, I can appreciate what Bates & Giffen were trying to do with Video Jack; they had a fun concept that allowed them to tell stories that varied dramatically depending on what genre the remote control sent the characters to. At the same time, six issues was probably a good duration for the series, and much longer would have gotten repetitive. The characters and setting didn't have enough depth to force the reader to demand more. I imagine sales on this weren't particularly high, given its somewhat opaque nature and delays in coming out, but it was an interesting experiment that at least told a complete story.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
The Buffy Comic Project: "Dawn and Hoopy the Bear"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 55
(Dark Horse, Volume 1, 1998-2003)
Creators: Paul Lee (story & art)
Setting: Between Movie & Season 1
T.V./Movie Character Appearances: Dawn, Joyce, Hank
Major Original Characters: Matthew (demon summoner); Hoopy the Bear (demon bear)
Summary: A demon summoner named Matthew makes a pact with a mysterious monstrous figure: Matthew will receive great power if he arranges for the Slayer to be destroyed by delivering her a stuffed bear that is actually a d'jinn that will fulfill her unconscious desires before turning on her. Matthew gets instructions on where the Slayer lives but, never having seen Buffy, is confused and gives the bear to her little sister instead! Dawn, who is chafing at home because Joyce and Hank keep a close eye on her since Buffy ran away, is quite pleased with the gift. She takes the bear, which she names Hoopy, with her to school. A bully picks on Dawn, and (unbeknownst to her) Hoopy transforms into a real bear and attacks the boy after school! That night, Hoopy transforms into a bear again and sneaks out of the house to retrieve a new doll that Dawn wants. When Matthew learns of his mistake in giving the djinn bear to the wrong Summers daughter, he wrenches it out of Dawn's hands and runs off. But as he rests in an alleyway, Hoopy transforms again and attacks him! Dawn finds Hoopy in stuffed animal form only to be attacked by a gang of vampires before being rescued by Hoopy. When Dawn returns home, she gets in trouble for being out and is grounded. Since she's mad at her parents, Hoopy transforms again and attacks them! But Dawn doesn't really want them to be hurt, so Hoopy starts fighting himself and then runs away. Hank and Joyce think a bear attacked them, but only Dawn knows the truth.
Review
This was a fantastic issue, and kudos have to go out to writer/artist Paul Lee. The story is short, simple, and sweet, and far better than one might expect of a tale featuring a pre-teen Dawn of all characters. The background context (Joyce and Hank being overprotective and tense because of Buffy running away) is perfect for a story about Dawn and the power of wish-fulfillment. The artwork is uniformly excellent. The ending is bittersweet. Just an excellent all-around comic, and probably one of the most memorable of the run.Notes
* The usual interior front-cover design is replaced by the title written in crayon; a nice way to set the tone for the story.
* There's an ad for a video game called Freelancer; it sounds awesome, but Wikipedia indicates it didn't live up to the promises.
* The reason Dawn gets mistaken for the Slayer is quite clever; she's amped up after defeating a video game monster and is blabbing about it to the demon-summoning "delivery man."
Next Issue
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)