“Vortex” Update 5b.26 — Back to Earth

Fellow role-players, here are my notes for Session 5b.26 of the “Vortex” space opera campaign. Team 2 met on Monday, 16 January 2012, and is using FATE 3e Starblazer Adventures/Mindjammer, Bulldogs, Diaspora, 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?

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

-“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.]-male Southern American Terran human, space snake-oil salesman and social climber

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

-“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

>>”14 to 21 November 2194 A.D./C.E. or 0 Terran Galactic Era:” After rescuing some castaways and reneging on their deal to deliver items from the Vatican to the arachnid Nolath near Epsilon Eridani, the Terrans headed back home.

Capt. Gabriel Adams wants to get paid for the hot cargo and to keep a few souvenirs. ARTHERR recommends hiding it somewhere in deep space “for the good of all mankind.” Jasmine would prefer to return the artifacts to the United Ecumenical Movement (U.E.M.).

Richmond Garrett, who accepted the relics from fixer “Ramon Sanchez” [Josh H./N.P.C.] months ago, is initially disappointed at not being able to complete his mission. The con man is reluctant, however, to return to Earth with the items. Hector Chavez recommends inquiring with the United Earth Authority, but he is outvoted.

The crew of the Appomattox ultimately agrees to leave the containers in interstellar space, where it’s very unlikely that anyone else would find them. ARTHERR makes a note of their position.

Pilot Gabriel switches the yacht’s false registry from the “Heaven’s Gate” to the “Gabriel’s Rebellion” as it reenters the Sol system. ARTHERR suggests checking at the Vatican Museums to reveal that some items are forgeries. The Vimeco robot believes that this would increase the value of the original items and flush out potential buyers.

Onetime wrestler Jasmine sends a message to her boyfriend Darsii on Mars. Missing the comforts of home, Richmond goes to the southeastern coast of North America to look at mansions for sale. Former spy Hector goes to meet his handler Max.

As his distrust of nonhumans hardens into intolerance, Capt. Adams talks with Yiushef of Geruno, the Cestolar (badger-like alien) who attacked him in the wreck of the Razorfeather near Epsilon Eridani.

Yiushef explains that the Olvar (mammal-like arboreal alien) crew had tried to carry out its trade mission to the Gustrall (antlered, orange-furred, raptor-like warriors). He still suspects one of his fellow survivors, including Maj. Mohing Lankel, Lt. Doina Claren, and Mr. Kares Mussur, of being a saboteur. ARTHERR uses tranquilizer gas to keep them from tampering again with the ship’s systems.

At a trattoria in Rome, Gabriel meets fixer Lillian Morrissey. She confirms that a team from Systemes de Recuperation Executif Cie (SRE, or Executive Retrieval Systems Inc.) is among those looking for his crew. Central Asian despot Col. Raj, disgraced Venusian oligarch Orion Stefanov, and angry Ru’ulok (heavy-gravity reptilian alien) ship captains are among the enemies of “MarSoupAiL” (shell company Mars Soup Aid Lenders Ltd.).

Using “Dr. Garrett’s” credentials as onetime surgeon general of Venus, ARTHERR schedules an appointment with glory-seeking professor Dr. Vlad Perkovic for a private museum tour.

Capt. Adams takes Jasmine to the Martian outback. They find Darsii on the run from rival factions of the Synth Liberation Front. On the way back to Earth, Darsii asks Jasmine for help breaking out comrades from the U.E.M. chapels on Phobos.

The Appomattox picks up Richmond and goes to Rome to meet with Dr. Perkovic at the Vatican. Gabriel, Jasmine, and Richmond find the professor talking to news reporters about his recent archaeological digs. They discreetly usher him away from them to a gallery where they “just happen to notice” that certain works of art are replicas.

The grifters offer to let Dr. Perkovic take sole credit for uncovering the conspiracy in return for keeping them out of the publicity. He readily agrees and leaves to contact his agent.

To celebrate their scheme, MarSoupAiL returns to one of the estates that Richmond looked at near Atlanta. Once they verify that the owners aren’t home, the rogues invite some friends over for a house party.

Lillian tells underworld courier Gabriel that Col. Raj is looking to hire his team to retrieve family members from U.E.A. custody. Hector watches the Olvar and Cestolar prisoners before being dispatched to scan the mansion for surveillance devices.

ARTHERR helps crewmates Nero Bartholomew and Averki “Deep Dish” Dyashenko set up a toga party per Richmond’s demands. Jasmine and Darsii wander off to explore the Terran wilderness.

Capt. Adams invites Ru’ulok pirates Rabak Porset and Gorvek Beezo, who arrive with vodka fresh from their dealings with the Slavic Commonwealth. Unbeknownst to his companions, Gabriel privately trades the Olvar and Cestolar castaways in return for passcodes to the Mozarik system in Ru’ulok space. He also asks about downgrading the Appomattox‘s missiles and boosting its Transit drive to a speed of 1 parsec per Terran day.

Rabak and Gorvek order robotic henchmen to bring Yiushef, Maj. Lankel, Lt. Claren, and Mr. Mussur to their shuttle. In the meantime, some of Nero’s lady friends arrive as Richmond gets drunk and brandishes the blunderbuss he took from the Dawn’s Retreat.

Gabriel takes two of the women to his ship’s cockpit. ARTHERR scans them and confirms that they are human rather than gynoids. However, the probe droid soon identifies them as Jeanie Belveaux and Lisa Panko, members of an S.R.E. retrieval team!

Hector finds that he is being jammed from somewhere in the mansion, while Jasmine and Darsii notice the Appomattox taking off. Intoxicated Richmond jumps into a swimming pool, missing Deep Dish.

Shrugging off the effects of a gas attack, Gabriel fights off Belveaux and Panko and narrowly evades a pursuing S.R.E. craft. With help from ARTHERR, the pilot manages to land the Appomattox in the manor’s tennis courts, and he locks the two repossession agents in a cabin.

The partiers try to figure out what’s going on, and Gabriel still hopes to impress the two women for their interplanetary casino. ARTHERR finds Hector, while Deep Dish carries Richmond out of the pool. As they return from the woods, Darsii reminds Jasmine that he needs MarSoupAiL’s help on Phobos. The crew of the Appomattox gathers to plot its next moves to get paid and again avoid local authorities….

Sorry for the delayed update — I’ve been busy with work, and I just found out that I’ll have to move sooner than expected. In the meantime, I look forward to the next Pathfinder/Skype: “the Vanished Lands“ telecom fantasy game. Weather permitting, the next regular “Vortex” Team 2 session will be on Monday, Jan. 30. Be seeing you, -Gene

On the move again, 2012 edition

I haven’t been able to blog as often as I’d like lately because I’ve been unusually busy. My employer’s annual meetings went smoothly, genre television and my three gaming groups have resumed since the holidays, and Janice and I will have to move soon.

We’ve lived in Needham Heights, Massachusetts, for about nine years, longer than we’ve lived together anywhere else. Janice and I like the residential neighborhoods, nearby restaurants, and the easy access to highways. Our rent hasn’t gone up during that time, and our combined salaries aren’t enough to buy a comparable home in the area.

However, Janice’s current commute by train to work in Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass., has taken an hour and a half each way every day. We’ve also been responsible for things like mowing the lawn, shoveling snow, and various repairs. In addition, we had to move between duplexes within Needham in 2006 after our basement flooded because of development up the hill.

In the past few weeks, we’ve noticed that our townhouse’s water heater has been leaking. We contacted our landlord, who said he’d prefer to replace it when renovating the entire unit rather than fix it while we’re still here. We’ve had other problems with plumbing and heating before.

Our lease doesn’t expire until the end of April, but since we now have to move anyway because of the renovation and Janice’s commute, we decided to do it sooner rather than later. Janice and I spent the past few days looking at potential apartments to move to by the start of March.

Janice and I had the option of moving to yet another townhouse in Needham owned by the same landlord, but it was a little run down and wouldn’t help Janice’s commute. Still, it was in a familiar neighborhood and comparable in rent and space to our current place, which has three bedrooms and a full basement. It was our backup.

Janice and I considered other sites in Newton, West Roxbury, Watertown, and Arlington. We’ve applied for a place in Waltham, Mass., about equidistant from Janice’s and my jobs. We’ll likely lose some space, including our basement, which is where we’ve stored numerous boxes of files, comic books, decorations, and toys. It’s also where I’ve hosted and run role-playing sessions.

We’ll be paying quite a bit more per month, but I hope that the modern amenities and better service will be worth it. I’ll report more once our lease is signed. In the next few weeks, I’ll be busy with packing and trying to sell extra appliances, books, and furniture.

We’ll have to hire movers, because with 80+ boxes of books last time, we can’t impose on friends and family in the middle of (a delayed) winter. Thanks in advance for your good wishes!

Ode to Gatchaman

I was recently asked about classic animation, and my favorite old-school anime is Gatchaman, also known as G-Force or Battle of the Planets on U.S. television. It came before Voltron, Transformers, and the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers but influenced them all.

The 1970s “science ninja team” was partly inspired by western superheroes and featured the first “super sentai” group, establishing the archetypes of the fearless leader, annoying kid, big guy techie, spunky girl, and reckless loner. Their costumes, acrobatic maneuvers, and individual vehicles have been copied many times since then.

Gatchaman‘s “god bird Phoenix” was one of the first fictional spacecraft to allow its crew to pilot separately and then come together to transform. Plus, viewers of the bastardized American version may not be aware of the franchise‘s darker themes, including teenagers who have been genetically modified, cross-dressing villains, and a future where humanity faces self-destruction and alien invasion.

I have action figures, DVDs, reference books, and a rare die-cast Phoenix model imported from Japan! A computer-animated movie was in the works, but the studio unfortunately went under after the poor box-office returns of Astro Boy and TMNT. I still hope that Gatchaman will be revived and updated someday! (I’m also a Macross/Robotech fan.)

“Vanished Lands” Update T3.39 — Entering Alfendi

Fellow role-players, here is my update for Session T3.39 of the latest adventuring party in my “Vanished Lands” heroic fantasy campaign setting. The teleconferencing team met on Sunday, 15 January 2012, using Pathfinder, Skype, and an online dice roller.

In one ancient world, there was a region where strange majicks and demihuman races thrived. After “Holy Steel‘s” journey to the distant empire of Khemet, another motley group gathered in the northwestern “Vanished Lands” to explore a world full of perils and wonders….

After meeting in the Wisalef Forest, an unlikely band of adventurers encountered the hostile Centaur followers of Vappu Lahja and Unseelie Fey in the increasingly dangerous borderlands….

>>Telecom party Player Character roster, as of spring 2012:

-“Asish Chen Ti” [Byron V.O.]-male Tsucharim human archer (Mongol-style Ranger), escaped from the kingdom of Gokuri; owner of Akita dog Genghis and horses Onimusha and Gashmu; NGl, Age 20, Lvl. 4

-“Jovinda Halflight” [Sammy H.]-female Half-Elf (Grugach/Saganim) Cleric of Mekkil, goddess of nature; owner of horses Wyth-Amoi and Meth-Fenna; NGl, Age 23, Lvl. 4

-“Kazuo Takenaga” [Taum D’A.]-male Nezumi (Rat-kin) Monk from the Zedu kingdom in the Therud Forest; LNg, Age 20, Lvl. 4

-“Hatem Shisakli” [Josh C.]-male Suthern human Dervish (proto-Arabic Bard/Battledancer); Lvl. 4

-“Favelhorn Riftbringer” [Dexter V.H./absent]-male Mountain Dwarf Summoner; CGn, Age 51, Lvl. 1

-“Gawain Keary” [Paul J./absent]-male Saganim human Illusionist (proto-Celtic Wizard); NGc, Age 20, Lvl. 3

-“Kovar” [Beruk A./absent]-male Half-Orc/Saganim human Paladin of Mithras, god of contracts and brotherhood; LGn, Lvl. 3

-“Davven ‘Digger’ Hollysharp” [Robert A.S./absent]-male Faldine Halfling archaeologist (Tallfellow Rogue) from a pipeweed farm in Tarken; CGn, Age 45, Lvl. 3

>>”14 August 1229 B.C.E.:” After reporting to the Grove of Mekkil and the local Rangers’ Guild, the trio of travelers rested at the “Unicorn Moon” inn. The next morning, Asish, Jovinda, and Kazuo continue their exploration of the Elven city of Alfendi.

At the main market square, Asish buys fruit and wine and inquires about leatherworkers for skins he recently took from a fallen Ettin. The Ranger learns of tanners on River Street near the North Square and asks them to rework the hides into barding for horses Onimusha and Gashmu.

Jovinda asks Kazuo if he’d like to visit the arenas or temples to look for other Monks, but he declines. The Cleric also makes plans to summon a hawk companion and to help Asish with a ritual for his dog Genghis, probably outside the high city walls.

Meanwhile, after a journey of several months from the Halmed Desert far to the southwest (see the “Broken Chains“), Hatem Shisakli arrives in Alfendi, seeking enlightenment. The Dervish finds his way to the bright cathedral of Corellan Larethian, where he obtains an audience with high priest Felhis Kallen.

Tsucharim archer Asish asks various merchants about a bowyer/fletcher and is eventually referred to a Sylvan (Wood) Elf named Hasariel who has a shop near the North Park. He reunites with Jovinda and Kazuo at the temple of Corellan, where they wait in line with an impatient Elven knight to speak with Felhis. The Quelanthi (High Elf/Eladrin) high priest is speaking with a dark-skinned, robed human.

Sir Japeth talks with the Clerics of Corellan, head of the Sylvan pantheon, leaving the other visitors to wait a bit longer. Jovinda introduces herself as a priestess of Mekkil, goddess of nature, to Hatem, but Nezumi Kazuo is quiet, and Asish recalls Kovar’s usual wariness.

Felhis Kallen returns and apologizes, saying that he had urgent business with the Paladins. Jovinda repeats her warning about the spread of Vappu Lahja’s intolerant teachings and corruption of the Fey folk between the Plains of Sathendo and the Wisalef Forest. She also asks for access to the temple library.

The high priest offers to help with holy water and healing, and he asks Hatem if he might find knowledge by traveling with the group. After some consideration, Hatem agrees to go with Jovinda, Asish, and Kazuo. Sir Japeth pledges to continue smiting evil, and Jovinda gives Felhis and scribe Lejorian an old map of Ley lines and border settlements to copy.

The grateful group leaves the temple district and goes to Alfendi’s Hall of Records to search the civic library for more information that might help them against Vappu Lahja. At the front steps, an attractive Saganim/Shengtese human woman recognizes them.

Smitten Asish stammers a greeting to “Jade Xi Aschent” [Sammy/Non-Player Character], but Jovinda and Kazuo are not impressed by Digger’s onetime rival. Hatem is bemused. The tomb raider exchanges strained pleasantries and makes a dinner date with Asish back at the “Unicorn Moon,” where she also happens to be staying.

In the Hall of Records, Quelanthi librarian Celondoril helps the outlanders conduct their research. Asish looks for more maps and records of past wars. Hatem shows his new companions where he is from. “Hijiri” Jovinda asks about Druid meeting places, and she and Kazuo study dusty tomes for variants of the legend of Vappu Lahja.

The group also learns that hundreds of years ago, the junctions of the Saganim empire, the Waletku kingdom of the Elves, and the Zeda kingdom of Dwarves and Gnomes — not to mention the Orcs of Zuromm — were very different from the present boundaries. Dwarven outcasts Konar, Rollin, Nesil, and Gofdur helped early Hifalendorin (proto-Western European) humans, and their sons may still be alive.

After a few hours, the wanderers leave Celondoril to his stacks because they have meetings planned with Ranger Aldarion, Jade, and others in Alfendi….

Welcome again, Josh! I look forward to continuing this telecom team’s adventures on Jan. 29. See also my separate posts regarding multiclassing and prestige classing.

In the meantime, the “Broken Chains” — using FATE 3e Legends of Anglerre — will be meeting virtually tonight (Sunday, Jan. 22) because Sammy & Taum won’t be available. Team 1, the crew of the Blackbird and Dragonfly, will be playing in the FATE 3e “Vortex” space opera tomorrow, weather permitting. Be seeing you, -Gene

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