“Vortex” Update 5a.31: Nobody touches Aughest-vor!

Fellow role-players, here are Josh’s and my notes for Session 5a.31 of the “Vortex” space opera campaign. Team 1 met on Monday, 23 April 2012, and has used FATE 3e Starblazer Adventures/Mindjammer, Bulldogs, and Limitless Horizons.

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 on their way to the interstellar crossroads of Oasis Station….

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

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

-“Tela” [Sara F.]-female Tharian (winged gargoyle-like alien) escapee from the Encegulans; engineer with boyfriend Kedar

-“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 cyborg 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; psi interested in First Contacts

-“Tariq Asrad Saladin” [Beruk A./absent]-male Terran “near-human,” seeker of enlightenment and investigator met aboard the Ma’ari ship Cyan Horizon

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

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

>>”From the journal of Agent Prometheus, 1 to 8 December 2194 A.D./C.E. or 0 Terran Galactic Era:” After scouting deep space, we and our alien passengers successfully used a Precursor jump gate to travel from Oasis Station to Epsilon Eridani, cutting several weeks off of normal Transit (faster-than-light) travel time.

Syzygy told Hannah Nydari [Sara/N.P.C.] that he would take her to fellow representatives of the Kharvamid Alliance in the Sol system. The robed Olvar (mammal-like arboreal alien) planned to report on the murder of her fellow agents.

Dr. Bucket asked Tela for astronomy and other technical data to share with the United Earth Authority (U.E.A.). The Tharian engineer complied and told her boyfriend Kedar about the wonders of Earth’s biosphere.

I didn’t expect Black Box Security Co. to approve of the removal of my cyberware, so I prepared recordings in case I’m killed. Tariq Asrad Saladin tuned into a news burst from Terra and its colonies, finding increasing conflict along regional, racial, ideological, and megacorp lines. Ru’ulok (heavy-gravity, reptilian alien) plans for FTL drives had also been distributed.

Aughest-vor… communicated with the Shaka Zulu battle group in solar polar orbit and set a course for his home, Lemuria, in Earth orbit. The hotshot pilot traversed the Sol system in record time, surprising local authorities aboard the U.E.V. Ilokar. Aughest also found that the Jovian/Cestolar mining operation at Tyche, of which we own shares, has been very profitable.

Lt. Kevin Reese sent an initial report to Col. Shan Gray at Port Lowell in the Mars Confederacy. Meshi Chabo, a Laransan (telepathic humanoid) pilgrim, was unable to cheer up the Interplanetary Patrol officer after he discreetly inquired about his sister-in-law Jennifer, who was living with Nick Cheney. Kevin believed that Cheney murdered his wife Heather at Namor-Asperagen.

Scoop Chang edited recordings of Aughest-vor‘s exploits, carefully removing his own participation in skirmishes on the Cyan Horizon and in Oasis Station. The journalist was excited to share news of numerous First Contacts between humans and extraterrestrials.

The welcoming party at Lemuria’s space dock included camera robots, armored guards, and Aughest’s hated cousin Raine Ushu, an executive at Vimeco with a claim on Tyche. Syzygy and Tela looked for the first available shuttle to the planet’s surface, while Tariq and I hung back in the shadows. Scoop had Eyebot EVE play his “highlight reel” and record Aughest-vor’s triumphant return and verbal sparring with his kinsman.

Kevin then escorted Hannah, Meshi, and Plorb [Beruk/N.P.C.] to a lounge, where they eventually met representatives from the U.E.A. and the Kharvamid Alliance. Aquarian (amphibious humanoid) emissary Plorb again asked for aid relocating refugees from the Zarkonian Armada.

Capt. Wu Hanbei [Brian/N.P.C.], the tough commander of the U.E.V. Babieca, listened to Lt. Reese’s praise of our civilian shipmates and warning about the Zurmiz Krott/Harbinger of the Order of Submission (madness-inducing Zarkonian probe). Trinoid xenologist Sudoku compared notes with Syzygy, who was cautiously optimistic about humanity’s potential.

Tela gave Lt. Deepfisher, a Saturnian Delphine (“Uplifted” dolphin) astrogator, a quick tour of the Blackbird. Sgt. Ling Bao, an I.P. mecha driver, said that U.E.A. high command would likely want to follow up on our group’s reports, but 24 hours of shore leave was acceptable. Plorb, Hannah, and Meshi disembarked for further debriefing and to dine with their new human allies in the U.E.A. capital of Rio de Janeiro.

Even though Guanabara Bay was polluted, Syzygy enjoyed swimming under an open sky with Plorb and Sizzlezorm [David I.S./N.P.C.]. Three-armed Sizzlezorm again reassigned the poor biologist, this time to stay with us, his Terran companions, even as we continue scouting. Syzygy was just getting ready to say goodbye to Earth’s oceans and adopt out his pet cat Mr. Sniffles.

Tela enjoyed climbing and gliding with Kedar in the remnants of the Amazon jungle. Scoop insisted on coming with me as I prepared to report to Black Box, even though Kevin recommended that I wait for the organization to look for Agent Prometheus. I later got a call to meet in Rio, not far from where we had first met at the “beanstalk.”

Lt. Reese and Tariq went to Armstrong City in the Lunar Free State, where they met with Adm. Hunter. The U.E.A. officer (in a new uniform partly inspired by Aughest’s designs) offered Kevin command of a task force of 12 ships. The admiral also offered Tariq an intelligence position with Homeworld Security.

Now that humanity was just beginning to expand to the stars, the threat of the approaching Zarkonian Armada was of prime concern to Adm. Hunter. Lt. Reese and Tariq asked whether the Blackbird and its crew could be part of their task force and for time to consider their offers.

Meanwhile, Aughest-vor inquired about another solar-sail regatta, this time near Mercury. The onetime dilettante also pulled a “cousin Oliver,” outmaneuvering Raine and using some of our profits from Tyche to set up a new company of his own. Aughest then went with Tariq to meet reporter Monica Harper at a bar in Rio.

As it turned out, Tela and Kedar were also going to Restaurant Martello, a Carnivale-themed establishment in a former cathedral. Afraid of another public relations disaster, Kevin called Scoop and me for backup.

Aughest-vor was pleasantly surprised to find Ms. Harper in a slinky gown, but Tariq was wary as usual. The interviewer “accidentally” scratched Aughest with her long fingernails, and he soon succumbed to an apparent poison attack.

Feisty Tela protectively yelled, “Nobody touches Aughest-vor!” and slammed cyborg Monica with an ice bucket. Syzygy monitored communications, and Tariq tried to divert local security. I realized with horror that Harper was an assassin from Black Box or Terra Prime!

Scoop kept recording the fracas, and Kevin and I shot some waiters who were in cahoots with Harper. Tariq disarmed another with his collapsible staff. Tela fired her electromagnetic pulse gun. We took the Tiger Hawk Sandstorm to rush Aughest back to Syzygy for treatment while Lt. Reese filed police reports.

We eventually regrouped at the Blackbird in Earth orbit. Syzygy, Kevin, and Aughest told us about potential assignments for exploration, security, and trade, respectively. Tela, Kedar, and Scoop expressed interest in staying together as a crew, while Tariq was worried about fragmenting Terran politics, and I still had to deal with my obviously former handlers at Black Box. We’re not sure of our next moves, but the sky’s the limit…

Thanks again, Josh, for your notes! I hope that everyone enjoyed our final “Vortex” session for now. Thanks also to Brian for hosting! With both space opera teams now on hiatus, I look forward to participating in various other games for the summer.

On Sunday nights, we’re in the middle Josh’s “Spelljammer: the Show Must Go On” space fantasy miniseries (using FATE 3e Legends of Anglerre and Google+/Tabletop Forge). The telecom group will eventually return to my long-running “Vanished Lands” campaign (which has used Pathfinder, Skype, and an online dice roller).

On Mondays, Jason‘s homebrew “Glassworks” superheroes (using Marvel Heroic Roleplaying) are off to a strong start in Team 1’s time slot. Rich has offered to run the “Way of the Wicked” adventure path for Pathfinder, and Bruce is planning a “Conan” sword-and-sorcery scenario, also using Pathfinder. I look forward to trying them all out! -Gene

Game changes

A few weeks ago, between Free Comic Book Day and seeing The Avengers, Janice and I went to Lanes & Games in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for fellow blogger and former co-worker Ken G.‘s annual Cinco de Mayo party.

Ken G.'s party at Lanes & Games — Cinco de Mayo 2012

We met other IDG/CW alumni Michele L.D. and Bob R. and their respective spouses Paul D. and Sheila K.R. Just a month before, I had dinner with Ken, Michele, and Bob at the Met Bar & Grill in the Natick Mall for “The Escapists” book club. We discussed Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize winner, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which we mostly enjoyed. As a longtime comic book fan and onetime New Yorker, I found the novel very evocative.

We played a few rounds of billiards/pool as munchies and Ken’s other friends arrived, including a few I remembered from previous shindigs. None of the friends I’ve introduced Ken to made it. We then tried candlepin bowling, which both Bob and Ken were good at. I lobbed gutter ball after gutter ball (I’m not as bad with regular bowling or its Wii equivalent). Janice’s game improved significantly, though.

I did slightly better with air hockey, which I won a tournament in back in the early 1990s in Queens, New York. Overall, we had a good time, and it was nice to have an excuse to socialize. I get along well with most of my current co-workers, but the copy desk crew had a decade for its chemistry to develop.

In other games, my role-playing groups are in transition. On Monday nights, I have been running my “Vortex” space opera for two face-to-face teams of about six people each, using FATE 3e Starblazer Adventures/Mindjammer and Bulldogs. I haven’t heard from Team 2 (the grifters on the Appomattox) since my recent move from Needham to Waltham, Mass. I know those guys are busy with other things, including Greg D.C.’s FATE 3e Dresden Files modern supernatural game.

“Vortex” Team 1 (the explorers aboard the Blackbird, for which I owe an update) has chosen to take a break for Jason E.R.‘s “Glassworks” superhero miniseries. The fictional city of Hamilton, Delaware, is the same setting that Jason ran with his DarkPages noir one-shot, but we’ll be using the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying system.

So far, these Cortex-based rules have gotten mixed reviews (I do like the Leverage adaptation). Marvel Heroic Roleplaying‘s dice-pool mechanic reminds some of us of the “FASERIP” Marvel Super Heroes, and its Power Points are similar to FATE, but the core book’s organization could be better. A good alternative might be D20/OGL Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Ed./DC Adventures or Icons. I trust that Jason will come up with interesting scenarios for our street-level vigilantes.

On the weeks when Jason isn’t running, we’re looking at various ideas, including Bruce K.’s Pathfinder: “Conan” and Rich C.G.’s fantasy and horror proposals. Brian W. has graciously offered to host the Monday games. I don’t mind the break from Game Mastering, but I’m sure I’ll want to be back behind the screen soon enough.

On Sunday nights, my “Vanished Lands: the Uncommon Companions” fantasy campaign (using Pathfinder, Skype, and an online dice roller) is again on hiatus because of scheduling conflicts for half of that teleconferencing group. So in the meantime, Josh C. has been running his “Spelljammer: the Show Must Go On” space fantasy miniseries (using FATE 3e Legends of Anglerre and Google+/Tabletop Forge).

Last for now, but not least, my historical weapons class at Guard Up! in Burlington, Mass., has continued to be interesting. Each Wednesday night, I and about 10 other students spend half an hour practicing our moves with wooden or resin weapons and half an hour sparring with foam ones. It’s good exercise.

Our instructor, Karl, has shown us the basics of the quarterstaff, longsword, and warhammer. We’re currently learning about the naginata (a Japanese pole arm) and will eventually get to the great sword and fencing.

Our continuing mission…

As some of you may know from my report of this past weekend’s successful steampunk festival, I collect costumes, among other things. As a longtime “Trekker/Trekkie,” I already have the boots, phaser pistol, and gold command tunics for the classic 1960s television series. In addition, I recently ordered a shirt and jacket in the style of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine/Nemesis uniforms. The space opera garb arrived from China less than two weeks after I ordered it.

Star Trek garb — These are the voyages....

The materials and stitching are good, especially for the gray yoke. I’ll have to be careful with the small zippers. I may eventually replace the red mock turtleneck with one of a heavier material and use my metal rank pips and comm badge pin rather than the plastic ones that were Velcroed or sewn on. The jacket’s sleeves are a bit short, and the cuffs are a bit wide, but that’s because of my personal proportions and can be altered by a tailor (paging Elim Garak).

This costume resembles my image for “Capt. Tzu Tien Lung,” the commander of the U.S.S. Tempest in a homebrew GURPS 3e Space game that Steve M.R. ran in Virginia back in the mid-1990s. Although J.J. Abrams has rebooted the movie franchise and is working on a sequel, as the Star Trek Online MMO and some tabletop campaigns have shown, many fans are interested in continuing the universe of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

While I don’t have a Blu-Ray player, I am curious about the latest remastered episodes of Star Trek. I also hope that we can recover and build on real-world human spaceflight capabilities. Live long and prosper!

Watch City Festival 2012

On Saturday, 12 May 2012, Janice and I met Thomas K.Y. & Kai-Yin H. at the Waltham Common for the third annual Watch City Festival. Before exploring the steampunk fair, we walked to Carl’s for a filling steak sub lunch. (I’ve also recently eaten with co-workers at nearby Baan Thai and Bombay Mahal.)

Customized vintage vehicle — At the Watch City Festival 2012

We enjoyed perusing the tents and shops of the farmer’s market and assorted vendors, watching some performances, and seeing fellow steampunk fans in costume. We also went to the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation and associated galleries and workshops.

Janice and I went to last year’s International Steampunk City, and we were glad to see strong attendance, including many young people. We didn’t get to any of the panel discussions, but I did get to chat with some authors and artists in a variety of media.

The weather was warm and pleasant, so even though I’ve been fighting a cold and allergies, it was good to be outside after another week of rain. I admire the energy of steampunk enthusiasts, who are more open to creative experimentation than fans of other subgenres. Janice and I later walked up Waltham’s Moody Street, where we stopped by some bookstores and got ice cream at Lizzie’s.

Blast from the past: What is steampunk?

In preparation for this coming weekend’s third annual Watch City Festival, here’s a look back at a post that didn’t get transferred from my previous blogs. Janice and I enjoyed last year’s International Steampunk City in downtown Waltham, Massachusetts, and we plan to check out this year’s events with friends.

It is a period of incredible progress and terrible destruction. Communications and transportation grow ever faster, but they also hasten the spread of wars and disease. Old tribal rivalries and nascent social consciousness challenge vast aristocratic and mercantile empires, and urbanization and industrialization make life easier for millions but condemn millions more to seemingly inescapable poverty. The arts blossom as alliances tighten and harden, leading to what many believe will be a “war to end all wars.” It is the Victorian era, the setting for most steampunk.

MVS-Whitby-3-Wallpaper800 — Gears and gadgets

Steampunk is a style of speculative fiction that has been growing in popularity in the past few years. It has literary roots, readily incorporates elements of other subgenres, and is well-represented across media.

–Steampunk is alternate history. Much steampunk starts with the premise of “What if everything that authors Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about was true?” From a North America where the Union didn’t win, to humans hunting dinosaurs (and vice versa), to trips through the ether to a verdant Mars, steampunk combines their wildest dreams.

Examples: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, graphic novels by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill; Deadlands (role-playing game)

-Steampunk is romance. The novel, classical and revived folk music (the opera, waltz, and polka), Pre-Raphaelite and Impressionist painting, and modern theater all took shape during the 18th and 19th centuries. The swashbuckling stories of Walter Scott and Alexandre Dumas reflect this era as much as the ones they were set in, as does the “noble savage” described by James Fenimore Cooper or Rudyard Kipling. International cuisine, celebrity fashion, and travel for pleasure (and the first amusement parks) are all things we now take for granted that started during that period.

Examples: Diamond Age, novel by Neal Stephenson; Castle Falkenstein and Lady Blackbird (RPGs)

-Steampunk is science fiction. Just as its sibling cyberpunk examines the relationship of humanity with technology (specifically cybernetics, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology), steampunk looks at how the Industrial Revolution reshaped the world. The railroad and the telegraph are only the beginning, with anachronistic conveniences such as personal computers, televisions, and jet packs weighed down by clockwork gears, levers, and dials. Real-world advances in engineering are exaggerated for dramatic effect. Getting there is half the fun, with dirigibles the signature conveyance of the genre.

Examples: The Difference Engine, a novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling; Etherscope (RPG)

-Steampunk is fantasy. Like its sibling gothic horror — another product of this era — steampunk often includes elements of the supernatural, just as spiritualism (the forerunner of the modern New Age movement), religious revivals, and utopian experiments were part of the real-world reaction to scientific advancement. Edgar Allen Poe, Lord Dunsanay, L. Frank Baum, and Lewis Carroll inspired J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and other seminal fantasy authors. Lost civilizations still seemed possible.

Examples: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, anime by Hayao Miyazaki; D20 Ravenloft: Masque of the Red Death (RPG)

-Steampunk is socially conscious. Labor unions, waves of migration, the long struggle for civil rights including women’s sufferage, and the polemics of Charles Dickens and Karl Marx are parts of the wrenching social change underlying steampunk. Unlike the real world, where racism and sexism were at their peak, people of color and women are often found among steampunk‘s protagonists.

Examples: Girl Genius, graphic novels by Phil Foglio et al.; Victoriana (RPG)

-Steampunk is idealistic. Like its cousins space opera, pulp cliffhangers, and comic book superheroes, steampunk roots for the little guy to become the big hero. The American West is full of legends and antiheroes. It’s all about attitude. Anyone can put on a pair of goggles, a bowler hat, and suspenders and attend a steampunk convention. Anyone can be a mad scientist, brave archaeologist, laconic gunslinger, or alluring spy. It’s a century and a half ago as many authors and we wish it could have been.

Examples: The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (television show); Space 1889 (RPG)

-Steampunk is multimedia. In the actual 19th century, wide literacy made possible the rise of newspapers and “penny dreadfuls,” the forerunners of pulps, current mass-market paperbacks, and online fan fiction. Steampunk has taken advantage of modern media, as demonstrated by numerous Web sites, games, sculptures, and graphic novels.

Examples: Rasputina (musical band); Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (video game); GURPS Steampunk (RPG)

-Steampunk is punk. Like cyberpunk, which looks at the disenfranchised in dystopian near futures, steampunk celebrates individualism and defiance of the established order. The 1960s weren’t the first or last time a bohemian counterculture was fueled by artistic license, sexual experimentation, and drug addiction. The chaotic mashup of genres, a loose approach to history and science, and an emphasis on fun have attracted numerous fans. Many goth enthusiasts have also embraced the retro styles of steampunk. The apparent contradictions or ambivalence reflected in the idealist/punk or fantasy/science fiction strains are just fine in this genre.

Examples: Wild, Wild West (TV show), D&D4e Eberron (RPG)

-Steampunk is (pre)apocalyptic. The steampunk era roughly coincides with the growth of the U.S. after the Louisiana Purchase to the outbreak of World War I. The so-called Manifest Destiny, the growth of democracy, and the “Gilded Age” would all come to a close as Europe’s dynasties and colonial domination came crashing down after Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination. War machines loom on the horizon.

Just as we today look back at the Cold War or the 1990s with a nostalgia born of post-9/11 fears of terrorism, recession, and ecological catastrophe (floods, epidemics, earthquakes; with the attendant resurgence of zombies and other horror monsters), so too does steampunk look back at the 1800s through rosy lenses. In the 20th century, steampunk gives way to the pulps, noir, and dieselpunk. Who knows what else the 21st century will bring?

Examples: Sherlock Holmes (2009 Guy Ritchie/Robert Downey Jr. films); Forgotten Futures (RPG)

Note: This post originally ran on the “Vanished Lands” Yahoo/eGroup Web club in preparation for the Boston-area group‘s return to my “Gaslight Grimoire” steampunk/fantasy campaign.