Setting Overview: Darkwatch

Darkwatch is the combination of two Setting Ideas; Forsaken and Deepwatch.

The core of Darkwatch is still the original idea for Forsaken, except I've decided to make subterranean elements a stronger part of the setting. Also envisioning Darkwatch to play as a reverse resistance campaign; the player characters are part of the occupation forces attempting to root out the resistance cells of the enemy forces still lurking in the city.

Welcome to the Darkwatch

As I said above, I view Darkwatch based games and campaigns to be the reverse of the typical resistance campaign. Though the city has been liberated, it is far from secure as enemy forces still lurk in the shadows. The player characters are part of a group called the Darkwatch, effectively the city watch and military garrison. Their job is to basically protect the city as it starts to rebuild and to secure it by hunting down the enemy remnants still within the city.

Also going with the idea that the war against the dark forces is still ongoing, so the characters will have to deal with sabotage and trouble from soldiers going to and from the 'front'. It could be as mundane as guarding a grain warehouse or as exciting as chasing across rooftops after an enemy spy. In addition to the military angle, the characters will be expected to deal with crime to help promote law and order in the city. From time to time they could also have to deal with deserters hiding out in the city or be sent to deal with bandits in the countryside surrounding the city.

The ultimate goal of a Darkwatch campaign would to be fully reclaim and secure parts of the city, whole campaign arcs could be set in a single district. There is the possibility of the characters finding treasure amidst the ruined buildings and tunnels of the city.

Frozen Skies Session 5: "Trust me, I'm a drunk!"

After a break off over a month, the crew of the airship Waylander are back flying the Frozen Skies!

For one reason or another, the entire group hasn't been able to get together over the past month. One session got cancelled and the following ended up being a Savage 40K one-shot, but the whole crew is back in Alyeska. The group seemed to be happy getting back into the swing of things, though one of the players has ended up changing characters (more on that in a bit). This week, though slow to begin with, was a fun session.

Departures

After a quick recap, we picked up from where we left off with the crew still in the pirate haven of Broken Spires. Upon receiving the 'Love Interest' Adventure Card, Tag's player immediately plays it and asks that its the leader of the Banshees; Captain Natasha 'Tash' Rogan.

Cue another meeting with the female sky pirate, who states that she looks forwards to working with Tag in the future. Tash also gives the crew one of her planes, which gets put to good use later on. Whilst this meeting (and the logistics of putting the new plane on the airship) takes place, George heads into town followed by Alex. Before the game George's player had expressed that they wished to change characters, so George was effectively leaving the crew. Alex decided to follow, then waited until George entered a dark alley and straight up murdered him before looting his corpse.

Upon returning to the airship, Alex told Tag that he'd found George dead in an alley. Despite Tag's suspicions, Alex managed to bluff it that he had nothing to do with George's untimely demise. With a new plane, but a crewmember down, the crew of the Waylander departed Broken Spires and Tag managed to pilot them through the maze of twisting canyons without mishap.

A Brew o' Trouble

Following their departure from Broken Spires, the crew picked a spot in the wilderness to put down for the night. Whether from brain damage or to help with the pain of his injuries, Herbert got hold of some liquor and ended up getting blind stinking drunk. Both Alex and Tag were still injured from the gunfight with the poachers, Tag in particular wasn't very happy as he was the worst injured. But Herbert's state of intoxication wouldn't be known until the airship came under attack by Cloudhaunts.

With their respective characters out of action, Herbert's and George's players took over some of the Extras that made up the rest of the airship's crew and manned the two planes. George's player used the siren of the Banshee's plane to keep the Cloudhaunts Shaken whilst Herbert's player used his plane's propeller to deal with a few of the critters after they'd attached themselves to the Waylander's gasbag. Sebastian and Alex manned the two top turrets, whilst the rest of the Extras manned the 50-cal MGs that Tag had fitted. Tag used the airship's klaxon to scare the Cloudhaunts off of the airship, making them easy prey for the two planes.

The critters managed to grapple onto the Banshee plane and did enough damage to inflict a wound on the aircraft, though they failed to do the same to the Blackforge Marauder flown by Herbert's player. The creatures only managed to cling onto the Banshee plane for a single before they got thrown off, some of them got shot and killed by the Marauder, the remainder were finished off by Alex in the airship's turret.

With the threat dealt with, Tag went and sought out Herbert for an awesome bit of role-play; Herbert got chewed out by Tag for being drunk as Herbert was the crew's only medic and some of the crew were wounded. Herbert then got confined to his quarters with a load of coffee to sober up, Tag then went to his own cabin to rest. Some time later Herbert went to the airship's infirmary, then attempted to use the Scavenger Edge to find a bottle of alcohol. I ruled that he would only find it if a roll of six came up on a d6...which it did.

Herbert also had the Big Mouth Hindrance, so we went with him shouting out "Yes! Booze!" and alerted the rest of the crew. Alex, by this point, had sneaked up behind Herbert and knocked him out for six hours before having the medic dragged back to his cabin. Tag was furious when he found out and went to have words with the medic, threatened to kick him out of the crew but still gave the doctor one final chance in another bit of brilliant role-playing.

An Egg In Hand

The crew returned to Taran's Bluffs and informed the camp foreman Mosley that they were only able to recover three of the Dragonhawk eggs (truthfully it was four...). Mosley admitted that he didn't see how many the poachers had stolen, but was hopeful that the eggs would help make the Windryders cease their attacks on the camp. The eggs were loaded onto some trucks, the crew invited along, and the convoy traveled a handful of miles into the surrounding forest.

The convoy came to a halt when a group of figures were spotted in the trees, though Tag got a high enough Notice roll to spot a pair of Dragonhawks. Mosley had all the engines killed and instructed everyone to keep their hands where they could be seen. A female Windryder stepped forward (Tag's player wished he'd kept the Love Interest card) and introduced herself as Narine before asking why they were there.

Tag said about the eggs and the canvas cover pulled off each one, causing some excited chatter amongst the Windryders. Narine ordered a couple of her people to go check the eggs, once satisfied she thanked the crew. She also offered them payment in the forming of tipping them off about the location of a crashed plane, though she called it a "metal bird with broken wings".

After handing back to the airship, the crew set off once more towards Bowerstead Post but flew over the location Narine had told them about. Again it was Tag who got the best Notice roll and spotted a big, four-engine aircraft under the trees. They set down their airship and went over to the crashed aircraft, finding it to be a military transport plane that seemed to have been there for quite some time. Inside the wreck they found crates filled with Ancient Terran devices, which they were in the process of loading onto the Waylander when we had to end the game due to time.

Thoughts

As I said earlier, it seemed to be a good game and fun was had by all.

Alex's actions could potentially cause the crew issues when they return to Broken Spires, but thats in the future. George's player was OK with what happened to George as he was going to be bringing a new character in. There is still the consequences of the group's earlier actions which will come into play very soon, but I'm kinda going with the idea of the players rope to hang themselves with when it comes to their character's actions.

On the subject of consequences, as I understand it the crew will be selling the location of the glimmer rock cave they came across to a mining company. This is good as it'll set up some plot for later on in the campaign, plus other stuff is starting to fit into place.

Going forwards, I'd like to start incorporating some of the ideas and advice from the Up to Four Players guys. I like their take on the Chase rules for Savage Worlds and theres a couple of more general RP ideas that I like to try out.

Forsaken Space: Wreck Generator

This week we're continuing with revisiting the other settings in the works from Utherwald Press. Taking the spotlight this time round is Forsaken Space; scavengers braving haunted wrecks in a SciFi Horror setting.

To help kickstart your ForSpace games, heres a wreck generator.

Spaceship Wreck Generator Table

You'll require use of the Savage Worlds SciFi Companion, the table uses the different ship sizes found in that book.

To use this table, first draw a card from an action deck and compare the result.

Clubs - Alien
Diamonds - Civilian
Hearts - Military
Spades - Science

1 - Small
2-4 - Medium
5-6 - Large
7-8 - Huge
9 - Giant
10 - Gargantuan
Jack - Behemoth
Queen - Levitation
King - World Killer

Black Joker - Sentient, the vessel is alive in some fashion either through an advanced AI or is a bioship. Draw another card.

Red Joker - Hazard, the vessel contains a major hazard such as a radiation leak or had its crew killed via a virus, etc. Draw another card.

Cold War Skirmishes: Flashpoint Belize

Continuing on with taking a look at other settings and products that Utherwald has in the works. This week it is the turn of Cold War Skirmishes and we'll be taking a look at a potential conflict that almost erupted in Central America during the early 1970s. As ever the post will feature a overview of the military situation, offer adventure ideas and suggested NPC stats.

A Latin American Oddity

Unlike most of Latin America, the area that became Belize (known as British Honduras 1862-1973) did not fall under Spanish control. This was partially due to the decentralized society of the Mayans, who inhabited the area, and its lack of resources. There was some attempt at Spanish settlement, but English pirates proved to have greater success. Spain did attempt, a number of occasions, to expel the British settlers but grudgingly allowed them to remain after suffering an embarrassing defeat in the Battle of St. George's Cay.

The 19th Century saw pressure from the United States, under the Monroe Doctrine, for Britain to relinquish its holdings in Central America. Though whilst Britain did yield in some areas, it produced in 1854 a formal constitution for what became the Colony of British Honduras in 1862. There remain a strong American reluctance over the existence of the British colony, one that would last well into the 20th Century.

Unfriendly Neighbours

From 1821 the neighboring country of Guatemala has claimed part or the entirely of what is now Belize. This territorial dispute saw frequent flare-up of tensions, passions and tensions do run high in Central America as was proven by the 1969 Football War between El Salvador and Honduras. A treaty was signed in 1859 where Guatemala agreed to recognize British Honduras in return for Britain to build a road connecting the two. The dispute was then largely forgotten until the 1930s when Guatemala started claiming that the 1859 treaty was invalid because Britain had failed to uphold its end of the deal by not building the road.

In 1948 Guatemala threatened to invade and forcibly annex the territory, Britain responded by deploying two companies of troops. But the invasion threat never materialized, though Britain decided to permanently station troops in the colony. Guatemala would periodically mass troops on the border, but nothing further would develop. 1958 saw pro-Guatemalan Belize Liberation Army fighters cross the border, plant the Guatemalan flag and exchange fire with British troops before being arrested.

Attempts were made in the 1960s to negotiate an agreement, the US was asked to mediate and President Lyndon Johnson drafted a treaty that would give Guatemala effective control over the territory. British Honduras responded with riots. Talks would continue on and off as tensions flared and Guatemala threatened to invade, particularly as British Honduras made move towards independence. 1975 saw Britain, in response to the massing of Guatemalan troops on the border once again, deployed a large number of troops supported by artillery and fast jets which defused tensions. Guatemala suffered from troops desertions at this time in addition to an earthquake which put paid to its attempts to annex the territory.

Opposing Forces

The British

Britain typically kept a company of troops in British Honduras, though this would be reinforced with additional forces during times of tension. Additionally, a pair of frigates would be on station in the Caribbean as part of the Royal Navy's West Indies Station. The carrier HMS Ark Royal would be deployed in 1972 to deter Guatemalan aggression and a flight of Harrier Jump Jets would later be established. Whilst the British forces were a well-trained, equipped (for the early '70s) and professional force, they only maintained a small garrison and it took time for reinforcements to cross the Atlantic.

Equipment

L1A1 SLR
Sterling SMG
Bren 7.62mm
General Purpose Machine Gun
81mm mortar
Wombat Anti-tank
Harrier Jump Jet

The British also had access to F-4 Phantoms and Blackburn Buccaneers from HMS Ark Royal in the early 1970s. Though their only viable weapon against Guatemalan aircraft was 2-inch unguided rockets.

The Guatemalans

Guatemala had an army that was well trained by Latin American standards, its elite troops were even trained by the US military, but alot of its equipment dated from WW2. The Guatemalan military did enjoy support from both the CIA and US Military Assistance Programme.

Equipment

The Guatemalan Army used virtually the same infantry weapons as the US Army did in Vietnam, though its a little unclear on precise vehicles used. The M8 Greyhound armoured car and M113 APC are confirmed to have been in Guatemalan service (and still are), there was supposedly tanks and the best fit I can find is the M3 Stuart. Walker Bulldog light tanks were given to Guatemala in the early '80s.

Air assets included the Huey, P-51 Mustangs and Lockheed T-33s.

Adventure Ideas

If actual war had broken out, most battles would probably be squad or platoon sized skirmishes with perhaps one or two company level battles. The British, to begin with, would be at a disadvantage with having to wait on reinforcements which could be held up if the US denied use of its airspace for troop transport flights (which it did). The Guatemalans enjoyed greater mobility and potentially, if things went far enough, widespread support in the Americas. There probably would've been pressure from the US to end the fighting, but its difficult to say who's side the US would've backed as the US would've had to chose between allies.

Local British commanders, given lack of resources, planned to harass Guatemalan forces in hopes of buying time for reinforcements to arrive. Though if the sole international airport fell, the British would've resorted to guerrilla warfare in the jungles of Belize. There would be plenty of scope for squad level actions which would probably have been the mainstay of the conflict.

For the Weird Wars aspect, the region is riddled with Mayan ruins amidst the thick jungles with unknown creatures lurking among them. This potentially could see both British and Guatemalan patrols battling each other as they are in turn stalked by unseen sinister foes. Another angle could be British desperation in the form of trying to enlist the aid of an army of undead pirates to fight the Guatemalans.

Stats

The Experienced Soldier stats in Savage Worlds Deluxe would be a good basis for both British and Guatemalan soldiers as both were roughly equal in training and professionalism. Though due to the British Army's focus on marksmanship, it is recommended that British soldiers have the Marksman Edge.

The Gwentshire Chronicles: Ald Jack

With Frozen Skies out I can relax a little and turn my attention to other setting ideas, something that I intend to do every so often. This time its the turn of the Gwentshire Chronicles, chiefly a look at another of the key characters in the setting; Ald Jack

A Hound of Blackest Night

Common in English folklore are so-called black dogs, regarded as demonic entities by some and benign beings by others. One of the more well-known of the black dogs is Black Shuck, which roams the East of England and is said to have inspired the Sherlock Holmes story ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’.  Shuck, as he is sometimes known, is said to protect souls as much as he causes them harm.

Needless to say, Gwentshire was going to have its own black dog in the form of Ald Jack.

When I originally pitched the setting idea, he was going to be called ‘Grim Jack’. But the Old English word for ‘old’ seems a better fit and helps define Gwentshire’s relationship with the hound. Jack is agnostic, a little like the legendary Black Shuck, in that he’s just as likely to be a foe for the characters as he is an ally. He’s also just as likely to ignore the characters and purpose his own agenda.

Just like the Mist-Bound, the origins of Ald Jack are uncertain. It is believed that he has been around since Pre-Roman times, archaeological evidence found throughout Gwentshire would seem to support this. Surviving historical texts held in the archives of the Gwentford Shire Hall include a number of references to Ald Jack over the centuries and at least one brewery has used his name for a beverage.

To use Ald Jack, use the stats for a Hellhound from the Horror Companion. Add the Champion Edge and Tracking d6.

Brokers of Secrets

This particular post was going to be another installment of the Frozen Skies campaign I'm running. However, half the group wasn't able to make and so the session got cancelled. Hopefully in two weeks time it'll be the next bit of the campaign.

In the meantime, I've had to think of a different topic for this week's post...

Brokers of Secrets

As has frequently been stated before, Alyeska is home to a wide range of individuals from different backgrounds and of different professions. Among these there are a handful of secretive persons known as Brokers of Secrets.

These independent individuals make it their business to know any and all information of value, if they worked for a country they would be called spymasters. They collect information and then sell that information to the highest bidder, preferring to remain neutral by accepting coin from those willing to pay. They'll sell critical information to a client, though at the same time they'll happy sellout that client if the client's enemies pay well enough.

The Brokers are the source of high profile jobs, so they tend to be selective with whom they do business with. Though typical Brokers charge a fair amount for their fee, which functions a sort of passive filtering by discouraging bandits and ruffians. Occasionally they do contract so-called 'small fry' for jobs on behalf of clients, normally jobs that require effective nobodies to complete.

Brokers are often regarded as eccentrics, though they are wise enough to surround themselves with bodyguards. They amass a fortune, thus allowing them to fund a small army of bodyguards and maintain their own private compound. To further aid in defending their persons they acquire a few tricks and gadgets only known to them.

Rogue's Gallery: The Tundra Wolves

There are many sky pirate outfits in Alyeska, ranging from little more than bandits with a couple of planes through to successful gangs with their own airships. A group known as the Banshees have already been covered and have even made an appearance in the Frozen Skies campaign that I'm currently running. Another gang that has featured in the campaign and have only been mentioned previously; The Tundra Wolves

Honour Among Cutthroats

At first glance the Tundra Wolves seem like just another gang of sky pirates, though closer inspection reveal some surprising facts.

Firstly they are the only known all-Sodkan sky pirate that exist in Alyeska; its members having come from either Sodkan families who'd settled in Alyeska prior to the Great Darmonican War or fled their homeland when the Holy Sodkan Empire collapsed. This Sodkans-only policy sets them apart from the other gangs, almost to the point of making them outsiders. But the Wolves' leader, Andrei Skirov, wouldn't have it any other way.

Thanks to their association with Petro Broklaw, the Wolves utilize a range of weird science gizmos which gives them an edge over other sky pirates. These gizmos help the gang sneak up on and then rob airships, something which the Wolves have specialized in doing. Among the gizmos that Broklaw is said to given the Wolves are darklight goggles, targeting scopes for their planes with unparalleled range and a device rumoured to be called a 'transdislocator'.

The Wolves exclusively target airships known to be carrying valuable cargo such as gold bullion or Ancient artefacts. Unusually they give some of their profits to the various downtrodden Sodkan communities in Alyeska, something that further steps them apart from other gangs and makes them also folk heroes.

Stats

Use the Sky Pirate stats from Frozen Skies, but change Smarts to d6 and then add the Weird Science skill at d6. Additionally, they also have the Loyal Hindrance.

Andrei Skirov has Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d8. He also has Fighting d8, Piloting d8, Shooting d8 and Weird Science d8 as well as the Ace, Command and Command Presence Edges.

The Tundra Wulves are equipped similarly to Sky Pirates, but they have darksight goggles and transdislocator harnesses (teleport). Andrei also has a glimmer gun.

Frozen Skies Session 4: Unexpected Allies And Likely Foes

Go Forth With Session Four!

A full house again as Tag's player joined us after having to miss the last session, thus enabling much advancement and development of plot. These past couple of sessions have proven that great flexibility as a GM is required as what I had planned to happen and what ended up happening because of circumstance were two different things. Though managed to get things pretty close to being back on track in this last session, so feeling a little bit of a sense of achievement with that.

Meanwhile...

Last session saw most of the crew fall down a hole and enjoy an adventure of their own, Tag (mainly because his player wasn't there) didn't fall down the hole and so the start of the session was going through what he got up to. Seeing that he wasn't able to help the others, Tag opted to go and hire a new crew. He visited one of the nearby taverns, after spotting the female sky pirates from earlier enter it, and he spoke to the bartender about where to look for a new crew. Bartender informed him that most folk tended to gravitate towards one of the big established outfits, though there are still plenty of loners down by the air-docks who could be convinced to join.

Tag headed back to where the Waylander was berthed, found a crate to stand on and started a showman routine to attract potential recruits. Though he didn't have the Persuasion skill and thus had to roll it unskilled, I let him have a +2 bonus as he role-played his recruitment pitch. I then said a success on the roll would give him two new recruits and each raise would give him another recruit; he managed to get a couple of raises on the roll and so gained four new recruits. He got the new recruits billeted away on the airship and then set about drawing up plans for tackling the poachers.

One of the female sky pirates from earlier was spotted loitering around outside the airship, so Tag went over and spoke to her. The sky pirate informed Tag that her 'boss' would like very much to speak to him and asked him to follow her back to their own airship. Enroute, the sky pirate pointed out the skyship the crew had spotted when they first arrived in Broken Spires. She then pointed out an airship near to it as belonging to her outfit, then said that the skyship belonged to one of the local crime lords who've dubbed themselves 'Sky Captains'. She also told Tag that the Sky Captains were not people to be messed with and it was generally a good idea to steer clear of them.

Eventually Tag was led to the Banshees' own airship, the Raven, and taken aboard. Among the things Tag noticed were; a hanger fitted with 12 fighters that seemed to have some sort of box underneath their noses, the airship seemed to be maintained to near enough military standards and the crew appeared to be well disciplined in addition to wearing roughly the same basic uniform. He was finally taken to the quarters of the Banshees' leader who identified herself as 'Captain Rogan'. Having introduced herself, Captain Rogan said she'd heard about the misfortune of Tag's crew and that she had a proposition for Tag; She would help Tag in exchange for an undisclosed favour to be called in at a later date.

But first she wanted to know why Tag and his crew were in Broken Spires to begin with, which Tag told her was to do with a gang of poachers led by a certain Travis Perkins. Rogan admitted that she was aware of the gang, that they were independent and that she was more than happy to help take the poachers down. With support from the Banshees agreed, Tag was escorted out but he took the opportunity to take in as much details as he could about the Banshees' airship. Tag then did a recce on the poachers' compound and began hatching a plan.

An Unexpected Rescue

Out in the wilderness, the rest of the gang spotted a pair of aircraft that turned out to belong to the Banshees. The pilots informed the gang that they'd been ordered to look for them, this was part of the 'help' that Rogan offered. The gang were given a lift back to Broken Spires, though cramped and uncomfortable which required Vigor roll to avoid a level of Fatigue from Bumps and Bruises.

Tag and the gang were reunited, though the meeting was tinged with a pinch of awkwardness as Tag was prepping the new crew for the upcoming attack on the compound. Tag quickly filled them in on the plan, though it was clear that Herbert had a head injury (from the previous session) and so had to sit this one out (his player played one of the new NPC crewmembers).

The Raid

The first part of the attack on the poacher's compound was the Banshees' airship conducting a bombing run against three of the four guardtowers of the compound. The first tower was damaged and its occupants killed, the second tower was completely obliterated whilst the third tower was largely unaffected as the bombs went wide and hit the building Sebastian and a crewman were sniping from. Sebastian and the crewman sniped the fourth guard tower, managing to down one of the two guys within it and resulted in a drawn-out sniper duel for the rest of the battle.

The rest of the gang commandeered a truck and crash their way in through the gates of the compound, George manned a heavy machine gun fitted to the back of the truck and mowed down everyone in the courtyard. The others dismount and take cover by the trucks parked in the compound, all took potshots as Tag's other crew and a squad of the Banshees charged in behind the gang. George raked the loading bay of the sole building within the compound, gradually counting for a good number of the poachers. Tag's other crew supported the gang as they moved up to the center of the loading bay, the Banshees flanked round to either end of the building. Alex attempted an Intimidation roll which seemed to have marginal effects.

By this point Alex had taken a wound (guts on the Injury Table), plus Sebastian and his crewman companion were in a sniper duel with the survivors of the third tower. It was the Banshees who stormed the building and mowed down the surviving poachers, thus allowing for the gang to move in and help secure the building. When he entered the building, Tag called out for Travis to show himself and got a hail of bullets as a reply which did two wounds (again, guts result on the table). Tag then ordered everyone to open fire on Travis, it was the crewman controlled by Herbert's player who managed the 'killing blow' by acing his damage roll and brought the poacher low.

Travis managed to pass a Vigor and though he took an injury to the guts, it was only temporary. Tag ordered the crew to load what they could onto the trucks, which included five dragonhawk eggs. Travis' fate was to be brought before Captain Rogan who had him thrown into the brig to stew until she decides what to do with him.

The crew of the Waylander then made preparations to leave Broken Spires, though they were already forming plans to sell one of the eggs....

Thoughts

As I said earlier, things happened differently to what I had planned. Ultimately things got back onto track and the adventure is pretty close to being wrapped up as planned.

I had expected the group to seek to sell some of the eggs, especially when they learnt the value of the eggs on the black market. It looks like they'll try to sell at least one of the eggs and hand the others to the windryders. Least it seems that they'll get some interaction with the windryders.

Tag's player wishes to acquire a bigger airship and go more independent (they're currently working for a logging company), though the legality of his and the groups' future adventures remain to be seen. They do have a job from Ardan Gowan waiting for them.

Challenge Accepted

Recently Utherwald Press reached over a 100 likes on Facebook.

To celebrate this achievement I offered to either an adventure, location, item or NPC based upon a one or two word prompt. I was expecting some interesting responses and I wasn't disappointed, though they were surprising all the same. So...

Organic Spacecraft

An interesting one, though not all that surprising given who posted it (you know who you are!).

Spacecraft automatically means we're looking at the SciFi Companion for this one. Decided to build it like a normal spaceship to begin with, though picking stuff that would make sense. Then to better reflect its organic nature, added in some special rules.

Drokzi Hive Ship

Gargantuan Starship: Size 24, Acc/TS 25/20, Climb -2, Toughness 67(25), Crew 3000
Notes: Artificial Intelligence, Armour x6, Electromagnetic Shielding, Garage/Hanger x6, Sensor Suite (Planetary), Torpedo Tubes x8, Targeting System
Weapons: Heavy Torpedo x112
Special Abilities
*Living Ship: Instead of a Repair roll to fix or 'heal' wounds, the ship uses the Healing skill to do so. It is assumed to have d6 for the purpose of this roll.
*Sentient Vehicle: See SciFi Companion p.92
*Regeneration: The ship can make a natural Healing roll once per day.

Cargo Cults

This was the other response, a particularly curious one. I have to admit that this one cause a bit of head scratching until I hit upon the idea of a religious order devoted to the safe transportation of goods.

The Conveyors of the Way, or simply the Conveyors, is an organisation that traces its origins back to the wars that once ravaged the lands that now form the Artian Confederation. The many wars waged between Tyland and the Holy Sodkan Empire saw trade disrupted within the Artian states and many towns and villages left upon the brink of starvation. Many concerned church leaders branded together and got tact approval from the commanders of the warring armies to run convoys through to the affected villages, though it still left the problem of bandits and highwaymen. A call went out to the faithful who processed skill at arms and they were taken on as effectively caravan guards, though they proved themselves more than capable fending off ruffians and seeing that the convoys got through.

The Conveyors have evolved a bit since then, attracting former soldiers and specializing in safeguarding certain goods. Though whilst there are certain factions they won't work and certain goods that they won't escort, the Conveyors do only ask for a modest fee. Once they've been charged with escorting a cargo, a Conveyor will guard it with religious devotion until it reaches its destination. There have been many stories of Conveyors giving their very lives to ensure the safety of the cargo that they were charged with protecting.

Conveyor

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice d8, Repair d6, Shooting d6, Taunt d6
Charisma: -2; Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 8 (3)
Hindrances: Code of Honor, Loyal, Vow (Minor)
Edges: Alertness, Block, Combat Reflexes, Counterattack, Dodge, First Strike, Quick, Quick Draw, Steady Hands, Two-Fisted
Gear: Revolver (12/24/48, 2d6, RoF 1, Revolver), sword (Str+d6), plate corselet

Frozen Skies Session Three: Beneath The Spires

Session the Third in the ongoing Frozen Skies campaign, one of the players wasn't able to make and I didn't want to run what I had planned without them. So put a few options to the rest of the group and it was decided to do a side adventure instead...well ended up being more of a mis-adventure.

Don't suppose I've ever seen so many failed rolls in a single game session.

Watch Yer Step...

We joined our intrepid heroes where we left them, leaving a tavern after attempting to start a fight between two rival sky pirates. Tag had made the crew leave the tavern and nodded a greeting to the leader of the Banshees sky pirate gang. The crew had gone on ahead with Tag trailing a short distance behind them, though this was where ill fortune struck the crew. Broken Spires is a town built on many different levels and on the side of a mountain, it is the sort of town that would give Health & Safety a heart attack. Many of the 'roads' are just wooden walkways maintained to the standard of what the townsfolk can be bothered with (which isn't much).

Crack.

The crew (bar Tag) had very little warning before the wooden planks gave way beneath them and dropped them a good 40 feet into an underground cavern. I allow everyone to make Agility rolls, though only Sebastian made a successful roll. Alex and George failed their Agility roll but also had a high enough Toughness to avoid taking any damage, Herbert took enough damage to end up Shaken. All four ended up with a level of Fatigue from Bumps and Bruises, meaning for most of the session they all had a -1 penalty on their trait rolls from this level of Fatigue.

After dusting themselves down, they discovered that they had no rope and that three passages led out of the cavern they'd ended up in. They decided to try and make their way out on foot, reasoning that somewhere there had to be an exit. They chose the left most passage and set off, managing to find a leg bone which they turned into a torch with a strap of cloth and some alcohol. After travelling for some time Alex was lucky enough to spy (just passed his Notice roll) an abrupt end to their path in the form of a ledge. Alex managed to stop the others from walking off this ledge, particularly since it was a large cavern of uncertain depth. They did find a normal ledge that led round the edge of the cavern, so with the lack of better ideas they pushed onwards.

Partway along this narrow ledge, Sebastian and Herbert ended up dislodging some rocks which fell into the cavern and the echoes of their fall reverberated round the cavern. These echoes were answered by the screeches of some strange creature. A couple of rounds passed with failed Notice rolls on both sides before the creatures, as it turned out to be a pair of Cloudhaunts, finally made an attack. One Cloudhaunt angled in on Alex, who had First Strike and whipped up his cane gun to shoot the critter in the face. The now dead Cloudhaunt's momentum meant it carried into Alex and squished him against the wall of the cavern. The second Cloudhaunt fell to Herbert's shotgun.

With both creatures dealt with, the crew pressed on once more and headed into another tunnel. Sebastian found some tracks in the dirt from rats, but thankfully no more critters put in an appearance. Eventually they came to another ledge, this time a cavern filled with glimmer rock crystals and a stream running through the middle of it. There was also a crevice in the cavern's ceiling which let in sunlight. Alex went full-on Spiderman and scaled the rockface up to the crevice and then out onto a snow covered landscape. The others, being considerably less skilled at climbing, opted to follow the underground stream in hopes of reaching the surface by a different route.

Up on the surface, Alex followed roughly the path of the underground stream and crossed over a ridge and discovered a small valley that contained a small lake. He also spotted a waterfall, which the others soon came across by following the stream. The waterfall fell from a small opening in a cliff and dropped down at least 10 feet into the lake, making it a little tricky for the others to get down. Sebastian went first, failed his Climbing roll but just managed to pass his Agility roll. Up next was George who also failed his Climbing roll, though he ended up Acing his Agility roll. Last was Herbert who, lacking the Climbing skill, decided to jump and just did an Agility roll which he managed to succeed with. The trio landed in the lake and I asked them to make Vigor rolls which they all failed, each gained a level of Fatigue due to the freezing temperature.

Luckily there was a small cave and some trees nearby, so they were able to find some shelter and get a fire going. They settled down for the night and took it in turns doing watches, Sebastian took the third watch and spotted a large figure approaching the cave before proceeding to rouse the others. They soon were able to spot that the figure was a large, muscular man wearing a bear skin cloak. The man saw the crew at the mouth of the cave and then started pounding across the snow towards them, Herbert got a shot off with his shotgun which seemed to have no effect upon the man. However, the man barrelled into Herbert and only managed to push him back a few feet in the snow.

Alex attempted to outflank the man, but was spotted and so quickly decided to hang back. George tried getting round the back of the man and stabbing him in the head, but failed miserably. Sebastian got a shot off with his rifle, but didn't seem to do much in the way of damage (the man manage to pass a Soak roll).

Second round saw both the man and Sebastian getting Jokers, a simple d6 roll-off saw Sebastian going first who got a head shot off and did another wound. Since we're using the Gritty Damage Setting Rule, I rolled on the injury table and rolled Blind but that didn't effect the man that much. The man, in turn, pummelled Herbert and left him with a Brain Damage result from the injury table. Alex moved behind the man and fired his cane gun at point blank range into the small of the man's back, Acing both the Shooting and damage rolls. Even after his high Toughness of 11 was taken off, the man still received four wounds from Alex's attack. By this point, much like the rest of the group, I had no bennies left and so couldn't do a Soak roll.

With the giant of a man defeated, the gang were still stuck in the middle of nowhere presumably not far from Broken Spires...

Thoughts

What was suppose to be a improvised adventure, clubbed together at the last minute, seemed to go down as a big hit. Though bad dice rolling for everyone meant that bennies got burned through at an almost scary pace.

I'll need to speak to Tag's player to see what he would've gotten up to, but I have a couple of ideas there. Hoping to give him the chance to earn some XP before the next session so that he stays about even with the rest of the group.