Traveller: Research and Rescue [Part 3]

The following are GameDoc's session notes for the last session of our exploration of the ziggurats...

** Welcome, Traveller... **

After stuffing another shootout with the strange humanoid soldiers, the Travellers continue their exploration of the alien ruin and discover one last survivor of the previous scientific exposition, a man named Aldred Giles.

Giles tells them that they were ambushed while unloading their equipment. Half the team were killed. He and the research assistant that the Travellers previously encountered were held here while the other survivors were taken away (where he doesn’t know). 

Giles and his colleague were made to attempt to sort out the dormant computer banks but all they managed to to was turn the power on by randomly pushing buttons. He really has no idea how anything works. At some point, they did “something” that caused the lights to go out for a moment. The Travellers deduce it was the gravitic pulse that downed their transport. 

He was also able to deduce that his captors were some sort of organic automaton with only rudimentary intelligence. They could only seem to operate within a narrow range of operating parameters.

This looks like a good spot to leave.

Using the Artefact Module, Hernando learns that this facility is powered by tapping the planet core but that the exact science behind this is unclear. It served as a defense station for the now long-extinct civilization that one inhabited the planet.

Having explored the ruins and discovered the fate of the missing research team, the Travellers decide its time to head home. Giles directs them to a working lift that emerges at the top of the second ziggurat, directly across from the one they entered through. Unfortunately, the plaza between them is patrolled by more of the automatons. 

Protip:  Always know where the proverbial back door is.

J.C., having repaired their vehicle, slowly circles around through the forest and hovers at the back of the ziggurat. But with an injured Giles in tow, they Travellers aren’t able to be stealth enough to avoid notice. Amadeus drops a pair of frag greases on the advancing automatons to cover their escape and they all safely board the transport.

Back in the city of Serson, the Kingfisher is within a few days of full repair. Baroness Edda is grateful for the return of the surviving researcher and curious to know the nature of the automatons who assaulted the expedition. Hernando performs a study on the creatures DNA only to make a horrific discovery - it’s genetic code has been derived from human DNA. Once again, the Travellers are confronted with a type of unknown, advanced science.

More questions remain: If their enemies are barely-intelligent automatons, who created them and sent them to the ruins? What were they after? Where did the human DNA come from? Who will ultimately control the gravitic alien tech?

Of course I can provide credentials.

Meanwhile, J.C. remains highly suspicious of the Baroness and wants to steer clear of getting drawn back into the politics of the nobility. When the Kingfisher is repaired, he and Riley are determined to head back to space.

Evolving Our Campaigns

Inspirobot knows what must be done...

So, 2020 has brought with it this whole big mess.  

I don't really want to get into it, you already know what it is.  Anyways, I haven't had an on-table game THIS ENTIRE TIME.  I'm a good boy.  

I gave up the idea of actually completing any of the wargaming campaigns that were currently in-progress or set to begin.  I had been thinking for some time about what the 'appropriate' number of games was for any specific campaign - and I think it's time we evolved our mindsets about what constitutes a wargames campaign and what we want to get out of one.

For the old club, this was easy.  As many games as you could physically play with that large a group of people was the appropriate number of games for that campaign.  This led to some truly epic campaigns, some of you may remember.  We kind of carried that mindset forward into the era of Iron Seer, but the hard stop earlier this year has put some things into perspective.  What this really means is that the big change we're enacting now is exactly the opposite of the ideas I had when we started - meaning more campaigns with fewer games in each.

I want to start campaigns up again, but it's going to have to be very different to accommodate what we need to call 'modern existence'.  For one thing, my area is in the middle of a 'flare-up' and lockdowns are rolling past like the cascade of doom it is.  Quarantines and self-quarantines are the order of the day.  I had already consigned the year as 'lost' even though I already declared 2019 my 'lost' year.  To be fair, I accomplished a lot more hobbywise this year than last but what-hoo.

So what's in the toolbox?  Let's put something on the menu.  I'm hangry for some wargaming.

Well, I've talked about Game Masters for wargames for some time now, and I think it's time I started running these campaigns more oriented toward that mentality.  Let us forgo the pretentions of tournaments and such - it's a pain to keep up with that anyway.

Instead of narrative-framed 'leagues' with lots of players and timed in months, I'm going to devise smaller campaigns focusing on smaller groups of players.  Instead of 'winners' in the campaign, they will operate more like RPG's in the narrative.  That is, it will worry about what faction wins, much like our team campaigns.  It will matter which player wins what, and who's the Op-For at the time (usually I'm sure this will be me).  I'm sure there will be some accolades in there to call out specific honors for each campaign.  Maybe we'll start a Hall of Honors on the site.

Anyway, look for campaigns to overlap.  We'll be keeping track of these in the Campaigner.  Generally any game will be open to anyone who wants to play.  I'll generally want to do a spotlight for games that I've recently introduced, but it's time to revisit some of the old ones nice and proper as well.

Howl of Oblivion - The Bandit Plague [Part 3]

** Howl of Oblivion Campaign Page **

Hanasib Ibn-Xers joins the party at the next dawn along with Doctro, a traveling foreign mage living among the Tevarsi.  He is warned of dire consequences for any treachery he may be planning, but seems sincere in his desire to repent.  Hanasib tells the party about the trail at the base of Mt. Vesir, and the party sets out.

The party loses the trail on the first day, but early the next morning they are quickly back on the right path.  The bandits are encamped much the same as before, and the party quickly ingratiates itself to the warband using Hanasib's connections.  Though Tep El-Bakir left early in the morning heading west for Yecha, they learn of this group's intent to rove near the nomad bands and attract more warriors, linking up with other small bands at predetermined points throughout the Tevarsi / Zyrjan lands. 

There are Tevarsi among the small number of brigands, but they are too drunk and stupid to realize the Amir's advisors aren't actually joining the revolution.  It isn't until late that night that things get tense when Tevarsi who AREN'T that drunk and stupid arrive and accuse the party of being lapdogs of the Amir, and enemy to those present.

The party diffuses the situation, but everything remains tense.  As more and more powerful warriors arrive, the warband's views on the player characters could take a quick turn for the worse.  The party waits until later the next night, stealing horses from the brigands and making a break for it...

...BUT, Doctro doesn't go with the plan, putting Khaine in danger as he doubled back to the encampment to 'rescue' the mage.  Dodging flying handaxes and whooshing sling bullets, Khaine is forced to withdraw when Doctro actively avoids his attempt at extrication.  The party is forced to leave Doctro with the warband, who quickly take him into custody.  Though he talked fast and managed to keep his head, his position is left precarious as the warband puts him under guard and prepare to take him to the next rendezvous to be handed over to another bandit leader - if he manages to keep his head that long...

Not far from the warband camp, the party notices strange humanoids standing near the rocks on the trail, but ignore them.  The following night, the party is headed towards Yecha and is attacked by monstrous gnolls who simply hiss the word "Tevarsi!" before attacking.  Killing two of the monsters and causing another to flee into the night, the party makes a shocking discovery...