Classic Traveller Session Report #3 - Shady Deals Under the Dome

Read Session #2 and Session #1 if you would like. Jones, Hernandez and Pavlov head to Below Zero to collect their bounty from Barger Vas, the VCL boss. Vas asks the PC's to think of the widows and orphans fund he will have to dip into to make good on the bounty and would the PC's have a heart? Maybe let this one go for free. When the PC's don't seem inclined he gives over a credit cube with 3,500. This will get split three ways cause these were the only PC's who made the session. I wonder if the other three players attended how would the bounty have sat? Vas wanted to know what went down in OH-RiF (Omni-Horron Research Facility). The piece of tech which shut the plant down, he was very interested in that. He said if the PC's could get something like that he could pay very well. Matter of fact any advanced Omni or Horron tech the PC's could get a hold of would be of significant interested to the VCL. The colonists are the future of Skalvil Vas assures the players and they will want to be on the right side of history.

Chief Benzen contacts Jones on his com unit. He wants them back up in the VTOL and find the watercraft which fled the scene with the remaining terrorists on board. They take off once again from the security tower rooftop hanger. After three hours combing the shores of the Skalvil Sea they locate the boat. It has been driven up on a rocky beach. Touching down the PC's give the boat a search where they find 5 bodies below decks. They all had their hands bound and were each shot in the back of the head. DNA scan reveals the victims to be citizens of Vanders, all have criminal records. Three have warrants for their arrest, but nothing that Omni Security-Vanders would spend any time or resources on. Pavlov recognizes their gang tattoos. They are Binary Dogs, a juiced combat gang operating out of Banter Concourse. Tracks from a six wheel ATV lead off into the defile. The frequent acid rain storms erase the tracks back into the stained Skalvil mud. Bring the bodies and the watercraft back says Chief Benzen. Omni Security wharf PS238. At the wharf the PC's get the boat identified as a cargo hauler belonging to Halo Shipping. One of many nondescript tugs used to move goods in and around the Skalvil Sea for outer dome colonists.

Chief thinks it's a good idea to pay the Binary Dogs a visit. Find out why five of their crew were found dead on a boat used by unknown terrorists. Club Synapse is where they can be found. A high end nightclub on the fifth floor of a seven story high rise. Under the violet red and neon blue of the Vanders various pedways the PC's arrive at the club. Unlike the Below Zero with union loyalists checking anyone coming in Club Synapse is a hopping, bustling scene of sweaty dancers and loud music. Pavlov spots some Binary Dogs at the bar. The PC's say they got ID's on five of their members recently deceased. They want to find out who did the deed. Maybe they should talk. The sophisticated, well dressed one tells them to wait. The other gang member in his chrome glasses and nylon track suit rattles his bling and sneers at the group. The flexing and cold staring continue between Jones and track suit until Mr. Sophisticated returns and tells the PC's to follow him. They leave the pulsing club floor and enter a flourescent white bathed hallway. After passing a couple of doors they enter an unused banquet hall. The only light is soft incandescent over a large black glossy table. Another well dressed man sits at the desk, his eyes giving off a green glow. Not just juiced, this gang banger is cyber enhanced. Three other track suit wearing Dogs stand off to the side in the gloom. Sophisticated goes around the table, whispers in his boss' ear and stands behind his chair. The PC's quickly pick up on the fact I start mentioning the thick concrete pillars interspersed through the otherwise empty, darkened room. When the referee starts detailing types of cover which may be available it is kind of an obvious tell trouble is just around the corner.

The PC's start in with their pitch. They know some of their boys have been whacked and they want to know who was behind it. Surely they could share some information and get to the bottom of it. Shiny Eyes gets pretty hot about Omni cops come asking questions. He pays good money to stay out of trouble with Omni Security. He's feeling he's got a laundry list of troubles he now needs to get sorted and he is going to get started with the PC's. The juiced Binary thugs make their move against the PC's. Fortunately for the PC's the gang members are all armed with melee weapons. Boosted as they are the Binary Dogs have a hard time absorbing auto pistol fire. Pavlov takes serious damage from throwing blades hurled from Shiny Eyes even after he lights him up with his pistol. As he and his lieutenant Sophisticated make a run for it steely-eyed Hernandez manages to take Shiny Eyes down. As Pavlov slumps over the table bleeding from the neck and chest Jones shoots down two of the gang bangers before they can close on him with electro-chucks and mono-filament whips. Hernandez isn't so lucky and takes some rapid slice and dice from a Binary Dog howling in a drug drenched freny. Jones puts him down with a few more shots while another gang member uses the pillars for cover scrambling into the dark. Jones and Hernandez make sure the wounded Binary Dogs never see the light of day with some additional shots. They scoop up Pavlov and a plastic bag on the table and stumble around for the nearest exit. Quickly finding a stairwell they make it outside and down to street level.

Chief contacts them asking what's going on. Wants to know if they got any answers or was their a dust up. He lets slip some details about Shiny Eyes. How does he know Shiny Eyes has a thick accent? Why is he so concerned whether he is dead or not? Chief tells them they better come in quick. He seems unconcerned that Pavlov and Hernandez are wounded. Instead of sending them straight to Medical he wants to see them in debriefing. Gives the key codes for a debriefing room on the fourth floor of the Omni security tower. The PC's have played way to many role playing games to know some shady shit is going down and put some pieces together. The fact that the plastic bag contains a small box with the Omni Sun logo just fuels their paranoia. The box contains seeds like the type supposed to be produced out at OH-RiF. The PC's figure Chief Benzen is taking Binary Dog money and for whatever reason things went south out at OH-RiF. Who was supposed to get rid of who maybe not so clear but the PC's have no plans currently to return to the Omni security tower. Instead they opt for a seedy hotel cube, The Flesh, and take a room on the second floor. With street access they feel a bit secure being able to watch their exits while they figure what to do next.

Audio is Catching On

Podcasts, Anchor, using Dropbox to share audio files, streamed recordings of actual online game sessions; the manner in which one can share their gaming activities with those not part of your game seems to be on the rise. 

With copious copies and impressions of any given game session being recorded makes the idea of new audio theater seems so much more possible. Whether or not it is a medium which is passe or unneeded, I am particularly aware of my attraction to radio theater as a child. In fact, whether it was a narration or just a song, hearing something on the radio, especially late at night, had an escapist, imaginative thrill that print or video missed. 

I think it has something to do with "theater of the mind", the ability to fill in blanks while a narrative unfolds creates an interactive experience only, well, a table top role playing game being the other can deliver. I've looked at some of the session reports generated by myself and my players over the last two years from actual play and I wonder how to make the content as interesting to consume as it is to play. Editing and writing it out in prose feels laborious and I'm just not into it. I've tried. But writing good fiction is tough, a slog and for me a chore. 

But making the text into an audio story seems much more interesting. I have satellite radio in my truck and I can listen to classic radio broadcasts from a time before television. While the medium is fine the stories are dated and just kind of suck. With today's online tools it would be real simple to do better, as long as you had a good script. Collaboration would be key, as well as changing narrative voice and focus. If you have ever listened to Firesign Theater you may get the jist of what I am thinking. I just need more time to pursue all this cool stuff. Dam day job. And I love game prep so I'm going to work on some of that right now instead of doing some heavy editing and rewrite. 

Dreams within dreams I suppose. 

[EDIT] Here is one of my players taking a stab at and Audio Session Report. Straight up awesome, give it a listen.

The Vanishing Tower is starting a Podcast!

Jason Hobbs peaked my interest on doing a gaming podcast with his use of the Anchor app. Not only did the app sound real easy to use, the podcast software provided a straight forward method for listener interaction and participation. 

I don't think I have the time to arrange a structured show complete with guests like Jason does on Hobbs & Friends of the OSR but I can blather away while I drive around in my truck like he does for Random Screed, his axillary podcast he has created using Anchor. The "Leave a Message" feature on Anchor is what really made me feel like this would be a worthwhile endeavor. Listeners can leave a message which can easily be added into a future podcast. 

I know I really enjoy listening to gaming podcasts while I work and my day job gives me ample time to burn through many. Hopefully I can add to the available content with some of my experiences with table top role playing and the online tools which have so far made my gaming experience possible.

Anthropomorphic USR Rides Again! Session Report #4

This session brought two PC's out of Capital City and away from the shores of Lake Eerie to the hot desert country of southern New Mexico. One of the PC's was new to this “side” game I run when the regular session of Clockwork & Cthulhu is running light of players for the scheduled game. He was a bit skeptical of playing a homemade furry animal and other strangeness game, but threw himself in with gusto. Since Anthropomorphic USR runs on the (U)nbelievably (S)imple (R)oleplaying chassis he had a character made up in around five minutes or less. So Bob the Platypus joined Gorilla Dave and the agents of CHROME in their attempt to get to the bottom of the PC's kidnapping from the zoo, their genesis into enhanced beings, and who is behind all this madness. CHROME, understandably, finds secret underground genetic labs complete with nuclear reactor rather dubious. Not to mention posing unacceptable safety concerns for the two million plus inhabitants of Capital City!

I used the PC's Specialisms as jumping off points for starting the session. Bob chose Detective +2 Wits as one of his Specialisms so he was put to work pouring over the data CHROME had gathered from the destroyed lab and the zoo's security cameras and computer logs. The result of this research revealed the zoo's security system was hacked from an IP address in Moriarty, New Mexico. This happened to be the last known whereabouts of Cybermind, a notorious criminal computer hack. If Special Agent Scott Roger Scott could tie Cybermind to the zoo kidnapping he would be able to do what the FBI failed to, bring this international bad guy down!

The PC's were outfitted in the latest CHROME livery, stretchy combat suits which provided +2 Damage Resistance. Bob armed himself with a short katana and an auto pistol while Dave stuck with his robot-head helmet and acidic poo-flinging powers. S.A. Scott was in charge per usual and assigned four other agents to round out the squad. They boarded a chartered jet out of Capital City airport and flew down to Albuquerque. Bob and Dave wanted to approach the target at night, so after the sun set they rolled out of town in a nondescript van provided by the Albuquerque field office. Their ultimate destination being the abandoned amusement park and ghost town of Snake Gulch.

I started making my USR hacks in an attempt to leverage my existing setting books while at the same time doing away with crunchy rule sets. For Anthropomorphic USR I am digging through my old Champions material I purchased in the early two thowws, more for nostalgia than anything. Some of you may recognize Snake Gulch as from Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth. Coupled with the Millennium City source book you would think I would have all I need to run some fantastic Supers action. They both retailed for $24.99, but scored them each for $10.00. The game store in my parent's town was going out of business so everything in the place was slashed. Both books are rather nice to look at. Glossy cover, fine production values and each one over a hundred pages long.

I had to really dig through these Hero published books with a highlighter to find useful text. Text which would invoke the feel of four colored comics. There wasn't much to highlight actually. Many maps of locations, stats of the major NPC's to be met along the way. The usual long and pointless backstories of the villains, snore. This is the adventure, the city book, well maybe more useful. It gives me a street map. What? There is organized crime in the city? Street gangs? I never would have thought!

I have to say the DIY OSR products being produced over the last six or more years have really shined a light on the poor utility of standard RPG products that are usually on offer. Once you use Vornheim, the Complete City Kit in like every game you run the pages of useless information in your usual city guide can just make you angry. I recently used AugmentedReality, The Holistic City Kit For Cyberpunk Games, majorly influenced by Vornheim, (at PWYW it way punches above its weight) to prep for my next Classic Traveller session. It took me seconds with random rolls on a few tables and I had an adventure outline, all hooky, which could sustain open, sandbox play as well as providing enough color to breath life into my game environment. It seems a game like Champions, which Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth and Millennium City were written for rests on the thick, crunchy combat rules. No need for imaginative content because the game will grind to a halt as soon as combat starts. It's what I remember back in high school and it is what I experienced again at GenCon last year. Which misses out on a lot of what supers role playing has to offer. So I guess on my list of RPG projects to complete now I must add Supers City Kit and Supers Secret Hideout Kit to give poor GM's like myself a chance out there. A chance to do what we do best; take some interesting game elements and run fast with your players, letting them move the action and drive the story. Once you strip the stats from Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth you are left with a predictable railroad led by bread crumbs to standard set pieces. Ugh.

There is actually one interesting bit. The opening gambit is set at an old west theme park. I got rid of the original Viper staff and replaced the characters with automatons. Old and unused the PC's came at the place at night and started poking around. Bob headed straight to the Sheriff's office. After listening to the automaton brag about the good old days running with Wyatt Earp and the like Bob liberated the robotic sheriff of his badge, hat, boots and six shooter. A three foot platypus with spurs a jingling now hit the streets of Snake Gulch, bad ass Ape and several CHROME agents in tow, determined to sniff out the bad guys!

They eventually entered the saloon where they found tracks into the cellar. Here the automatonic poker players activated, started accusing each other of cheating, and one stood drawing his smoke wagons squaring off with the PC's. The novelty of the situation quickly wore off when the robot started squeezing off live rounds. After taking out the stiff limbed robot it did not take long for the PC's to find the secret cellar entrance to a more modern part of the theme park. With different use of their Specialisms and reacting off of their die rolls they eventually penetrated secure doors and found what could only be described as a complex computer lab plus living quarters. Surely this was Cybermind's secret hideout. But where was he? 

The PC's did subdue a man in army fatigues, horribly disfigured, green skin, frothing mouth filled with fangs, the usual. He was able to draw blood on Bob the Platypus. Hopefully he isn't infectious. A difficult hand to hand struggle ended with gorilla Dave dropping the bed on top of the disfigured army guy. The ID scan done by the CHROME agents came up empty. Was this Cybermind? Has he been so transformed the ID scan cannot recognize him? Two of the CHROME agents carried out the unconscious stranger while the rest of the squad penetrated further. Here the PC's encountered the central computer room, in alert, plus all the wires in the room, from the computers, lights, generators, bound into a central form crackling with electricity. It forms facial features and speaks! “My specimens, my children you have returned!”

Now your average Champions combat, let's see, with two agents, two heroes and a big bad could take like an hour to run. We had six minutes left in the session. Instead of counting hexes, tracking endurance and stun the PC's could concentrate on how to take out their unknown adversary. The strange creature could make multiple attacks, striking out with various electrical cords. One of the CHROME agents was fried to death before Bob the Platypus, still wearing a cowboy hat and badge, was able to cut the main power cable. Gorilla Dave soaked damage from electric cord creature so it took a coordinated team effort to take down the creature. Here the session ended and began my game design deliberations.

There is a few things to tweak and/or modify with my rules set. That is to be expected. The big takeaway, for me, is to stop looking at adventure and game books for game and adventure material. Unless they are being done with this OSR spirit, of trying to facilitate the GM at the table in real time, the shit is useless. Today's session got more mileage out of the PC's leveraging small bits of color than anything else out of these once expensive game books. For source material I need to go to source material! Much like I did with USR Sword & Sorcery the best bet for good gaming “stuff” is go read the actual comics which got me excited in supers to begin with. That and making stuff up myself, Nuff said!