“Vortex” Update 5a.22 — Transit-space dungeon

Iconic "Pathfinder" characters — "Pathfinder" iconics

Fellow role-players, here are Josh’s and my notes for Session 5a.22 of the “Vortex” space opera campaign. Team 1 met on Monday, 10 October 2011, and is using FATE 3e Starblazer Adventures/Mindjammer, Bulldogs, Diaspora, and Limitless Horizons. (We also used Legends of Anglerre.)

In one future, humanity has begun to colonize the Sol system, but ecological degradation and internecine conflicts persist. Open and official First Contact with Galactic societies, themselves at war, threaten Terra’s very survival. Will heroes rise to the challenges?

Two aliens and their human allies encountered xenophobes and megacorporate intrigues on and around Earth. After visiting factionalized Mars and acquiring a starship, they continued their mission of diplomacy and exploration to Titan, Tyche, and Alpha Centauri. From Van Maanen’s Star, the Olvar scout ship evaded a trap at Cetus Eridani and met priestesses and miners at Beta Canum Venaticorum before resuming its journey toward Oasis Station….

>>FATE 3e “Vortex” Team 1 (5a), crew of the Blackbird:

-“Syzygy” [Brian W./absent]-Trinoid (trilateral amphibious alien) xenologist with an organic laboratory and a pet cat named “Mr. Sniffles”

-“Tela” [Sara F.]-female Tharian (winged reptilian humanoid alien) escapee from the Encegulans, engineer

-“Chris McKee/Agent Prometheus” [Josh C.]-male Terran cyborg human sniper working for eugenicists at Black Box Security Co.

-“Aughest-vor…” [Jason E.R.]-male human from the Lemuria orbital city, onetime dilettante, solar-sail racer, pilot

-“Lt. Kevin Reese” [Bruce K.]-male Terran human, burned-out officer and explorer in the Interplanetary Patrol

-“Scoop Chang” [Rich C.G.]-male Jovian “near-human,” interstellar reporter kidnapped by the Olvar; interested in First Contacts

-“Gombo Shisel” [Rich L./absent]-male Mongolian/Martian human, former horse rancher and wilderness survival expert

-“Dr. Bucket” [Non-Player Character]-United Earth Authority astromech robot assigned to the Blackbird

>>”15 to 21 October 2194 A.D./C.E. or 0 Terran Galactic Era:” After finding a Ru’ulok (heavy gravity reptilian alien) mining operation hidden beneath temples near Beta Canum Venaticorum, the Blackbird resumed its voyage to Oasis Station, about 40 parsecs from the Sol system. As the experimental Olvar (arboreal mammal-like alien) scout ship entered Transit (faster-than-light travel), its crew experienced a shared dream for the first time!

>From the notes of Chris McKee/Agent Prometheus: We had an unusual encounter while operating the REM drive that I feel should be recorded. The Blackbird‘s FTL has caused hallucinations in our human and extraterrestrial crew. We believe this is the result of the biomechanical ship’s engines interfering with our normal sleep patterns.

This time in Transit space, we had a shared vision of being trapped in a fantasy dungeon, complete with ancient or medieval trappings. Syzygy wore an archaic Trinoid “dry suit,” and Tela had bandoliers of burglary tools. As the party sniper, I missed my laser rifle because the crossbow I found myself carrying was imprecise at best.

Aughest-vor… was garbed as a swashbuckler, with high boots, a hat with a wide brim and a feather, and a rapier. Lt. Kevin Reese had the chain armor, surcoat, shield, and hand-and-a-half sword of a knight. We heard a sound down the stone corridor, and as in the old holovids or even older games and stories, we drew our weapons.

A human stepped into our torchlight, and he spoke the same language as us! Scoop Chang claimed to be a Jovian journalist who had hitched a ride with some Olvar into interstellar space ahead of most Terrans. He was familiar with late-22^nd century technology, if a bit out of date on news from the Sol system, let alone our current circumstances.

Scoop was dressed as a wandering minstrel, complete with a lute slung over his shoulder. Aughest and he apparently knew of each other, and there was no love lost between the onetime playboy and the tabloid reporter. However, we had more pressing concerns.

Partway along the rough-hewn passage was a pool of water. It was too wide for even glider Tela to jump across, and we weren’t sure how deep it was, so I waded in. Amphibious Syzygy happily joined me, and the Trinoid was soon completely submerged. Then the rats came!

The large rodents bit me, and Kevin pulled me back to shore with a rope. Aughest-vor… stabbed a few of the swarm of a dozen or more, and I fired off some quarrels. Scoop didn’t seem too impressed by our tactics or lack thereof, but he then slung Mental Bolts and modified his skin to become an armored hide.

Syzygy somehow summoned his pet “Mr. Sniffles,” who appeared as a saber-toothed lynx! The cat also began biting the rats back, as our xenologist sensed something else in the water and made his way to the far side.

Tela found a flask of oil, which she spread on the water’s surface and ignited, driving off most of the survivors. Mr. Chang attended to my wounds. The rest of our team crossed, and at a fork in the tunnels, we descended toward fresh air rather than immediately ascend.

We found a dining hall with rotting food and flipped-over benches. Even in this dream world, most of us were hungry enough to take our chances. As Lt. Reese and I recalled, the chow in our mess back on Mars wasn’t any worse!

Tela found a concealed panel, which led to a comedy of errors as Aughest-vor… and our companions stood on a platform that rotated them into and out of the hall. Beyond the secret door, Kevin, Tela, and I discovered a crypt, complete with a vivisection table that strangely reminded me of my Black Box Security cybernetic operations.

Four small, rotting humanoids crawled out of their alcoves and attacked. Engineer Tela worked to stop the panel, and psionicist Scoop splattered one Goblin with Mind Blast. I got the satisfaction of nailing another nasty in the head with a crossbow bolt, and Sir Kevin slashed one with his sword, but his shield was splintered.

Xenologist Syzygy belched digestive juices at one Undead, blinding it (I didn’t know he could do that). Pilot Aughest proved himself better with a rapier than a laser pistol, beheading the last Goblin. We searched the bodies, finding only rags and some silver coins.

However, in one alcove, we found another small humanoid tied up in rags. Gomer — or “Metalheadrumblestripquickseekerflyselfonesunfollowshelpspiderwrench…” — identified himself as a Cog Gnome and a servant of the kidnapped Lady Lyta Oiseau. Since he was obviously the avatar of Dr. Bucket, the Blackbird‘s astromech droid, Scoop was somebody else, maybe even who he said he was.

Aughest-vor… observed that we needed to play along with the scenario and rescue the princess to get out of the dream reality. Even though we were in a world without gunpowder, something exploded in the dining hall behind us! Syzygy was the first to spot a tall alien trying to get through the rotating panel.

It walked on multiple crablike legs, had a cylindrical thorax or torso covered in dark chitin, and two tentacular arms (unlike Syzygy’s three). The monster had a boxlike head with large, lidless, glassy eyes on either side of two pincer-filled mouths. We didn’t recognize it, but we knew we wanted to get away.

Fortunately, Tela and Gomer found a carved face on the far wall. It asked us a riddle: “Follow your heart’s desire, but achieve nothing else, or pursue the group’s wishes, and lose but one.” What I really wanted was a rifle with a full clip, but we agreed to head to the tower where Lady Lyta was supposedly being held.

After a flash of light, we realized that we had been teleported to some forest! Unfortunately, Gomer didn’t make it through, fulfilling the prophecy. The little guy had warned us of an Ogre holding Lady Lyta, which we assumed was a metaphor for our living ship needing help.

There was no sign of the dungeon or creatures we had just encountered. Down the wooded slope was a small village, where Kevin and I suggested we get supplies (and wenches). But once we saw the dark tower up the hill, we knew where we had to go.

After sneaking through the trees, we saw two humanoid guards with simian features and builds, greenish skin, and armor. They were Orcs, or as we knew them, Ru’ulok. At least one more walked the parapet.

Brave Tela climbed a tree while we debated what to do next, and she glided to the tower and began quietly climbing. Aughest-vor… and Scoop walked up to the door, arguing as they approached. They distracted and attacked the two Orcs, making short work of them — with help from those of us at range.

On the side of the tower, a guard leaned out a window and accosted Tela, so I shot him. I snagged some extra quarrels and knives. The Tharian then pulled him out the window and climbed in. Aughest, Kevin, and Scoop ran in through the front door and climbed several sets of stairs, slaying an Orc on the way.

I rappelled up the tower and joined Tela, and we then hauled Trinoid Syzygy up. In the stairway, Scoop heard the Ogre say telepathically, “Who dares enter my tower?” We met outside an empty chamber, where Syzygy distributed “potions of courage.”

The Ogre taunted stolid Sir Kevin and threatened to rip him in half. Aughest nimbly backed away from the beast. Tela threw blades, but to no avail. Syzygy had little room to maneuver on the stairs, and I had to take time to reload my crossbow.

With Scoop’s help, we shrugged off the shaman’s attempts to Dominate us, but Lt. Reese got hit by its magical shillelagh. Aughest danced around with his rapier, distracting the Ogre, as Tela looked for a way to get to a chandelier.

Thanks to Syzygy’s potion, Kevin held firm, landing blows with his sword. Scoop unleashed more Mental Blasts, and I made the killing shot, to the Ogre’s groin. Not my proudest moment, but it got the job done.

I took a curious eye amulet from the Ogre’s neck, and we found Lady Lyta Oiseau locked in the next room. She was a slender Quelanthi (Seelie Fey/High Elf/Eladrin) in elegant robes. We still didn’t wake up, so we asked the manifestation of the Olvar ship Blackbird what she needed us to do.

“Just let me see the sky and stars,” she said. So we took her out to the top of the tower that had been her prison, and numerous birds rose from the trees, disturbed by something large. A huge dragon emerged, and we readied for another fight. The odds didn’t seem to favor us this time, but we held our fire.

Lady Lyta placed her hands on the flapping dragon’s muzzle, and she said, “You will now find rest.” We woke up, relieved to be back aboard our starship. I immediately did a security sweep and found Scoop, the actual Jovian journalist, sitting in Gombo Shisel’s old cabin! How he got there we still don’t understand.

Aughest-vor… wasn’t thrilled to see Scoop’s “EYEbot,” or hovering camera. The retro hipster had outfitted the news drone to look like an old flash camera. I volunteered to eject Scoop, his camera, and for good measure, Dr. Bucket into the vacuum of space, but I was again outvoted.

Since Mr. Chang has medical and psi skills (for which I have my own ideas) and is interested in First Contact between Terrans and aliens, we’ll keep him aboard for now. I’ll be keeping an eye on Scoop, yet another civilian who could endanger our mission.

Syzygy checked the Olvar Star League database, finding that Beta Canum Venaticorum had likely been the site of genetic experimentation on Terran life forms by the Encegulans, slug-like slavers from whom Tela had escaped. The scientist also found that the tall being we had seen in the shared dream was a Zarkonian, whose armada threatened the Aquarians.

Tela verified that the Blackbird was in working order, and she believed that we would have fewer problems with the REM drive in the future. Aughest-vor… set course for BD-04-123, the next star on the way to Oasis Station likely to have planets inhabitable by humans.

Kevin set about getting Scoop familiar with our ship’s operations, and I hope we can maintain editorial control over his newscasts back to Earth…

I hope that all of you enjoyed this session, which was more of a throwback to the fun chaos of early editions of Dungeons & Dragons than typical of our current space opera campaign. Thanks again to everyone who brought munchies and beverages!

Brian, thanks again for picking up dinner at Pronti Bistro, from which I hope to order again sometime. Sara, I look forward to seeing you at Team 2’s game today, and Josh, thanks for offering to run and host a Fortune’s Fool one-shot in the weekend before Halloween.

Jason, thanks for showing us your cool “Barsoom” minis, and I’ll take a look at your latest Fvlminata notes. Bruce, it was good to see you last week, and welcome, Rich! Stay in touch, -Gene

Early fall 2011 travels

As I’ve already mentioned, I’ve been busy during the past few weeks shepherding some big projects to completion at work. I’ve also been fighting a recurring sinus infection, no doubt aggravated by seasonal allergies and fatigue from travel.

In the last weekend of September, Janice and I flew down to Virginia to see my family. We were originally scheduled to attend Nathaniel L.’s bar mitzvah in Brooklyn, New York, but since an ailing uncle of mine was visiting from Belgium, my folks took priority.

We joined my parents and uncle for lunch at Café Indigo before checking into the Courtyard by Marriott at Battlefield Park in Manassas. We stopped by Game Parlor in Chantilly before a hearty dinner at Cracker Barrel.

On Saturday, 24 September 2011, my brother and his family joined us for the Rappahannock County Farm Tour. My nieces enjoyed the hay ride, got to saddle up for the first time on a horse rather than a pony, and watched in awe of a beekeeper using smoke but no protective gear. We had lunch at Belle Meade Farm, listened to some music at the Link, and had dinner back at my parents’ home.

That Sunday, we attended mass at the Church of the Nativity, where Lili had been baptized, before another big meal at Peter & Kelly’s. Janice and I returned our rental car without incident, but we were held up at Dulles Airport because of a temporary security lockdown.

Despite predictions of rain, Janice and I enjoyed the Needham Harvest Fair on Saturday, 1 October 2011. The highlight of the annual festival is the “Souper Bowl,” in which local establishments compete. The weather was even nicer this past weekend, but we decided against the long drive to the King Richard’s Faire, instead visiting local Halloween shops.

On a more serious note, I hope that my uncle and my brother-in-law Gary feel better soon. Although I won’t be attending my 25^th anniversary high school reunion this coming weekend, Janice and I will be going to a bed and breakfast in Providence, Rhode Island, in the coming weeks. After that, we’ll see what’s in store for Halloween and Thanksgiving!

Autumn 2011 genre TV, Part 1

Campfire by Matt Rhodes — Campfire tales

Now that we’re a few weeks into the new television season, here’s my look at the latest crop of genre programs. As a disclaimer, note that I tend to watch science fiction, fantasy, superheroes, and suspense over mainstream dramas, reality shows, and situation comedies. That’s not to say that I don’t like humor, romance, or competitions, but I prefer them in smaller doses compared with speculative fiction.

Many of my friends have stopped watching multiple series as they’re broadcast, instead preferring to watch a full season at a time via Netflix. For now, I still like variety and timeliness more than delving in depth into one show at a time, but I do think that video on demand will become more prevalent. I hope that niche shows like the ones I enjoy will continue to be made, even if genre TV shows already have a high cancellation rate.

This year, I’ll group shows by night of the week rather than subgenre. As always, I welcome your reactions and recommendations!

On Sunday nights, I’ve been running my “Vanished Lands” fantasy campaign, using Pathfinder, Skype, and an online dice roller. The eight role-players across the U.S. have had difficulty achieving quorum lately, but I hope that our gaming group will eventually get back to a regular schedule.

This past summer, I enjoyed the do-gooder capers on TNT’s Leverage and the British sleuths on Masterpiece: Mystery, and I look forward to the eventual return of Sherlock on PBS/BBC America. While many of my peers will be watching football or Fox’s animated comedies, I’ll probably record ABC’s Once Upon a Time, which is part of a wave of modern supernatural shows inspired by fairy tales.

Showtime’s Homeland is a strong Manchurian Candidate-style thriller with a strong cast, including Damian Lewis, Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, and Morena Baccarin. I’m not sure I’ll continue watching Homeland, but it does a good job of keeping viewers guessing whether Lewis’ returning prisoner of war has been turned traitor or if Danes’ intelligence analyst is merely paranoid.

On Mondays, I’m hosting and running the “Vortex” homebrew space opera, using FATE 3e Starblazer Adventures and Bulldogs (as well as any science fiction RPG I can borrow ideas from). Two teams of about six role-players each meet for our face-to-face sessions on alternating weeks, not including dates we’ve had to skip for holidays or travel.

SyFy’s Alphas has managed to succeed where Heroes, The Cape, and No Ordinary Family stumbled — showing a dysfunctional family of metahuman vigilantes in a semi-realistic setting. It has more in common with the better X-Men adaptations than with the more campy The Cape or even Smallville. Although Alphas is low-budget and low-key, I look forward to its return next year.

Speaking of SyFy, Warehouse 13 (which is apparently in the same universe as Eureka and Alphas, thanks to Lindsay Wagner’s crossovers) was still fun, even as it spent more time exploring characters and intrigue than MacGuffins.

Other genre veterans can be found on Castle, which mixes police procedural, fanboy homages and parodies, and the occasional romance. Firefly/Serenity‘s Nathan Fillion and The Spirit‘s Stana Katic solve often bizarre crimes in New York City.

J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg got a lot of attention for Terra Nova, their postapocalyptic family drama with computer-generated dinosaurs. However, I found the first few episodes to be predictable and contrived, owing as much to Earth 2 as to James Cameron’s Avatar. I’d prefer less focus on annoying teenagers and random encounters with dinosaurs and more gradual buildup of time-travel mysteries and the larger world.

Coming soon: Tuesdays on the telly and more travel!

“Vortex” Update 5b.21 — Duct tales

Fellow role-players, here are my notes for Session 5b.21 of the “Vortex” space opera campaign. Team 2 met on Monday, 3 October 2011, and is using FATE 3e Starblazer Adventures/Mindjammer, Bulldogs, Diaspora, and Limitless Horizons.

A band of grifters and near-humans retrieved dangerous samples from a battlefield north of Karachi and the Ghanki undersea station. It stole starship engines from a lunar base and an orbital city and was involved in medical disasters in the Venusian colonies. After finding a dimensionally displaced derelict, the team made inquiries into its cargo amid religious turmoil on Titan….

>>FATE 3e “Vortex” Team 2 (5b), crew of the Appomattox:

-“Gabriel Adams” [Paul J.]-male North American Terran near-human with telepathy, courier and pilot

-“Hector Chavez” [Beruk A.]-male Latin American Terran human, “burned” operative and communications expert

-“ARTHERR” [Greg D.C.]-Advanced Resonance Theoretical Heuristic Exploration and Research Robot created by megacorp Vimeco

-“Jasmine” [Sara F.] female Martian Felinoid (Synth, “Uplifted” tiger), former professional pit fighter

-“Mr. Richmond Garrett” [Dave S.C./absent]-male Southern American Terran human, space snake-oil salesman and social climber

-“Dr. Dieter Klein” [Rich L./absent]-male European Terran human, semi-retired physician, altruist and thrill seeker

-“Nero Bartholomew” [Non-Player Character]-male Terran human, former owner of the “Fortune’s Fool,” ship’s cook

-“Averki ‘Deep Dish’ Dyashenko” [N.P.C.]-male reptilian Synth (genetically engineered humanoid), onetime Venusian miner

>>”15 to 18 October 2194 A.D./C.E. or 0 Terran Galactic Era:” The crew of the Appomattox delays its mysterious mission to bring Vatican artifacts to Epsilon Eridani. Instead, the group continues its investigation into the murder of fundamentalist preacher Hugh Doyle at Eclipse Station near Saturn.

Hector Chavez hacks into the space station‘s security to review surveillance recordings. The onetime spy traces the movements of smuggler Adrian Valentin, who bought a generator from the Mukhtadi brothers that could have been used to kill Doyle.

Valentin, who also contacted Doyle with increasing frequency before his death, brought the generator to a docking bay. However, construction there interfered with the cameras. ARTHERR checks personnel files of the work crews and finds that chief Ignatz Maroni and several “Synth” (synthetic humanoid) laborers were on duty.

Jasmine brings a box of coffee to a construction site, where she meets rude Maroni, as well as Felinoid (“Uplifted” panther) Rosario Tamuz and Ursoid (“Uplifted” bear) Prini Vonchadry. Rosario [N.P.C./Greg] recognizes the former wrestler, who was banned from the ring after inadvertently killing a competitor. She and taciturn Prini [N.P.C./Beruk] invite Jasmine to join them for drinks after the strenuous job.

Capt. Gabriel Adams continues trying to persuade gynoids Tanya and Galia to help him conduct a heist of the Lucky Garden Casino. Rather than face angry medics or preachers again, Mr. Richmond Garrett stays aboard the Appomattox, attended by Nero Bartholomew and Averki “Deep Dish” Dyashenko.

Comparing notes aboard their yacht, ARTHERR reminds Hector that Archbishop Javier Fuentes had asked them to investigate the crime on behalf of the United Ecumenical Movement, which Doyle was no fan of. The investigators also learn that the itinerant preacher had offended local gambler Rev. Winston Jones by trying to have his followers take over Eclipse Station’s chapel.

Apparently, Doyle had orchestrated similar moves on other colonies in the outer Sol system. Using a Bible cipher, the spewer of fire-and-brimstone speeches directed his faithful to crowd out “the sinners and those lesser than Man” — referring to Synths, including artificial intelligences/robots and “Uplifted” animals.

Hector and ARTHERR view footage from after Valentin left the docking bay and before Doyle’s death. They see the smuggler enter the Ringtown Diner, where he talks with Louise Reinhagen, the widow of an Oromax megacorp executive killed in the Hephaestus Stadium disaster near Venus.

By reading their lips, ARTHERR is able to reconstruct some of the conversation between Doyle’s former supporters. Just as magnate Esteban Bakafret had helped provide the preacher transportation, so had Reinhagen given him financial support. The robot confirms suspicions of a blackmail plot leading to Doyle’s murder, but more evidence is needed.

Rosario and Prini take Jasmine through increasingly cluttered back corridors of the station in orbit around Titan. The tiger-woman is surprised to find a squatters’ camp, where the Synths can relax away from overseer eyes. Chim (“Uplifted” chimpanzee) mechanic Faisal Batar smokes another cigar.

Rosario asks Jasmine about her wrestling career and says that she wishes she had killed intolerant Doyle. Prini grunts in agreement. When Jasmine mentions the ritualistic aspects of the slaying, Rosario expounds on a theory that a Synth worshipping “dark gods” is responsible.

Prini observes that Melita Veturia, a Canid (“Uplifted” canine) supporter of the Synth Liberation Front on Mars and another suspect, wouldn’t mind eliminating a hatemonger, but disembowelment and pentagrams aren’t her style.

Jasmine manages to refrain from drinking more alcohol from the makeshift still. Rosario recalls seeing an “Uplifted” octopus with a cargo lifter around the time that Valentin passed through the docking bay. Jasmine excuses herself to return to her ship, as Prini talks about her encounter with the infamous pit fighter on various social media.

With Jasmine’s information, Hector runs another video search and finds footage of the Octopoid leaving an access tunnel between the docking bay and the site of Doyle’s murder. The away team goes to the Jeffries tube, and ARTHERR wheels himself in, scraping the white medical paint off one side.

The exploration droid finds a wider area in the passage where the octo-assassin could have assembled the field generator and battery used to restrain Doyle. Shortly thereafter, however, ARTHERR triggers a laser mesh that wily Hector crawls in to help disable. Burly Jasmine holds a rope, and Gabriel arrives to assist.

Undaunted, ARTHERR continues forward and is ejected as the duct swivels and shoots him out of Eclipse Station! He uses maneuvering thrusters to re-enter, as acrobatic Gabriel easily hangs on and Hector retrieves the industrial laser emitters.

Gabriel easily evades another trap — saw blades spiraling down the tube. The burglar loses part of one of Richmond’s fancy jackets. ARTHERR slides along the blade and is undamaged, and Hector and Jasmine go to meet them back at the crime scene.

They conclude that after Valentin procured the equipment and gave the order, the Octopoid could have suspended itself from the ceiling and used the generator to trap Doyle, who had been lured to the back passage somehow. Now that the means and possible motives have been established, the investigators want to confirm all the responsible parties.

After some debate, the team decides to question Ms. Reinhagen. Gabriel pilots the Appomattox down to the moon’s surface, while Hector calls with a blackmail counteroffer. The burned op tells Reinhagen that he knows she met with Valentin and talked about Doyle’s death before it happened. The wealthy widow initially denies everything.

Capt. Adams talks his way past an android butler and into a luxurious dome in New Syria. The psionic detective talks with Reinhagen, who says that Valentin was blackmailing her (not Doyle, as originally supposed) for an improper relationship with the preacher. She had threatened to go public with her support of Doyle and his teachings, somehow provoking Valentin to order the hit.

Jasmine returns to the Lucky Garden Casino to talk with Erta Garza, a Delphine (“Uplifted” dolphin) astrogator she had previously invited to join the Appomattox‘s crew. Not only does Erta know an Octopoid in Eclipse Station, but she also introduces Jasmine to him!

Kolidari, co-owner of the casino, relaxes in a pool/hot tub with the Delphine and curious Felinoid. (Using a voder, Kolidari sounds like archaic-era actor Sean Connery.) He brushes off any implications about Doyle and says that Jasmine should come and work for him rather than the other way around.

Even Gabriel’s underworld experience is of limited help as he tries to untangle the web of smuggling, illicit affairs, religious factions, and Synth activism around Doyle’s murder. He and Richmond’s plan to rob the casino is made more complicated by Kolidari‘s involvement.

Jasmine and Hector are less interested in a potential heist than in getting in touch with people back on Mars and Earth. ARTHERR reminds them that whatever they do, it will have to be done quickly, because the leaked Ru’ulok (heavy gravity reptilian alien) faster-than-light plans will soon allow the authorities and others to reach them in a matter of days….

Dave, I’m sorry that you missed our latest game. Paul and Beruk, remember to let me know about your availability for the Pathfinder/Skype: “the Vanished Lands” telecom fantasy game this coming Sunday. I met with Brian and Bruce’s friend Rich G., who’ll be joining us at next Monday’s “Vortex” Team 1 session. Have a good week, -Gene

Role-playing roundup: Science fiction, fall 2011 edition

My favorite author — Favorite author Isaac Asimov

Continuing my look at recent role-playing supplements such as The One Ring, I’ve managed to squeeze in reading some sourcebooks in between work, travel, and running games. Fantasy may be the primary genre in which I’ve played — and superheroes, steampunk, and time/dimension travel have yielded many memorable characters — but science fiction is still my first literary love.

As I’ve mentioned before in describing my “Vortex” game, my sandbox setting is largely inspired by classic space opera such as the novels of Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and David Brin. It’s no surprise, then, that I liked the PDFs of Star Frontiers Remastered, StarCluster 3, and Stars Without Number so much that I ordered hardcopies. Stars Without Number is about to get a revised printing from Mongoose, publisher of the latest incarnation of Traveller.

The detailed “future history” of games such as Stellar Horizons and Ashen Stars is similar to that of “Vortex.” (I took a class on the topic back in college.) In these settings, humanity has colonized the Sol system and beyond but faces new threats such as alien horrors, as well as old ones like infighting. I like the political and technical extrapolations of Stellar Horizons and the idea of Player Characters as interplanetary troubleshooters in Ashen Stars.

At the same time, I’ve incorporated elements of more recent cyberpunk and transhumanist fiction in my campaigns. I’ve already used ideas from Panopticon, a supplement for the excellent Eclipse Phase, in recent sessions. I also still regularly refer to GURPS Terradyne, Blue Planet, and Jovian Chronicles for megacorporations, genetically engineered species, and descriptions of colonial life, respectively.

Speaking of mixing genres, the fantasy/cyberpunk Shadowrun has endured even as fashions have changed in the past few decades. I played and ran the game briefly in college. The Fourth Edition and the 20^th Anniversary Edition — even though Shadowrun has been around for longer than that — are slick and straightforward, with solid rules (point-buy character creation, dice pools using D6s). I would have preferred more thorough location and faction descriptions rather than “flavor-text” fiction, but that was the style of games from the late 1980s and most of the ’90s.

Similar to Ashen Stars in time period is Chthonian Stars/Void, which has a strong horror bent. I haven’t yet gotten it, and Cubicle 7 did reply to my query about supplements for Starblazer Adventures/Mindjammer and Legends of Anglerre. They’re delayed, but I look forward to eventually using them for “Vortex.” I’m also enjoying the lean FATE version of Bulldogs in the meantime.

After grabbing nearly every star map published for RPGs in the past 30 years, I recently ordered the excellent poster maps from Project Rho Productions. I’ll eventually need every human-habitable system within 100 parsecs, but this is a great start!