My Strange Stars game has lasted months now with 3 players which means if one away still doable as a few family guys have conflicts for a sat game but we have done better this year. Possibly might get a game off b4 xmas. Maybe some long-day one-offs in New Year holidays. Boxing day bachelor gathering is possible too.
Re reading Traveller New Era Vampire fleets which has some nice AI personalities I had not considered. I should probably add all the ones I've done to date into a d100 table and expand some types out like the simulated personalities. Currently, the player's ship has two AI. One the Lucky Lady an ex Beler Casino AI now ship computer. She is friendly and hospitable who appears as a rootin tootin lucky cowgirl who finds gold nuggets in space. The other ship AI is a military security model in the secret genetics lab that the ship has a block on knowing exists and can be overridden. The player space marine gun thinks its a French rock star from the 22nd century (classical music). I did roll for the gun to not fire in today's session.
So based on lots I've been reading and watching about realistic space stuff had players go from the Martian training on one of the moons of mars and were frozen for hiG millitary transport to their ship near Jupiter. They Flew on to Uranus then on to rendezvous with a long lost ship. The players have an undercrewed large salvage ship with two crane arms and two Hab rings that rotate. When they got 10 weeks closer to the target and training the detected another unknown vessel moving to the same coordinates. Crew increased acceleration for a week and got to a few astronomical units away. Was a bit dangerous for the non-G-enhanced characters (martian marines built for acceleration). No accidents and spoke to angry belters who complained their starving family needed this salvage. Then they tried to threaten with their contacts. It seems the belter salvage crew were moving at 2G and wouldn't have fuel to get far arter. As the party pilot was a belter he tried being nice and threatened them back and it went as well as possible. Party frozen leaving the marine in charge and he spent a week at 4G studying engineering and the schematics of the salvage ship model.
So they easily beat the rival ship who made vague threats about their buddies. Party contacted the wreck AI and was convinced it was in a simulation because of all the impossible things it had seen over 50 years. Poor ship was keen to end the simulation and assumed its a test for long-range missions. The party moved ship close and took a launch with the Doc and pilot while the marine in his power armour rode outside on the "runner-boards" . Did some non-auto examination of the wreck and saw a suited body fly from the wreck to their ship. Hmmm everyone went to check it out. It seemed to be hanging like a ragdoll on a ladder staple by a work pod door on the Lucky Lady. The marine shot the old damaged suit without a response then shot its hand off. Marine got a sack and claw arm from the ship and collected arm. The pilot returned to ship and got a work pod to catch body flying into space while doc flew the launch into the wrecked ships cargo bay. The rest of the part was entered by Workpod Bay into engineering. The AI seemed cheerful and hopeful of victory in the game.
Repreasurised the ship but low temps and frozen slush everywhere. Fixed heating and slush melted into exotic comet gases and were vented. Doc started to look at the body and found a mummified corpse. Found under useless suit a strange chest wound which they know meant this guy had some kind of cult implant. So as it was engineering Doc grabbed power saw for a vivisection. And the long undead being tried to claw Doc. The marine destroyed it but the AI gun almost hesitated to fire. Kept exploring and found no crew signs and the passenger g-couches with dead passengers in old broken work suits. The party mentioned nuking the place and leaving. Something twitched. Then the next room were 24 crypods all occupied and all with zero life signs. These bodies were dressed in the style of ancient Iceland, which they had found signs of before, FOund a shrine in captain's office of a shrine with half a mummified wendigo and a mess. Unlocked pursers safe and found two idols one of clay a screaming long skinny limbed creature hugging its legs and the other of a six-horned rhino made of some sort of horn.
Final room was VIP room and this wasn't so great, Six undead cult wizards, centuries old and mummified chanted for Iquatha some lept at the party one tried strange powers. The pilot and marine opened fire and badly wounded several. Three ancient Icelandic wizd lich dived at party without magnetic boots or velcro slippers. Two flew through a hatch flying dozens of meters into a wall. A third grabbed chair on the way. One hit the door next to Doc and he shot with his silent pistol. several. More bursts and more wizards exploded chanting Iquatha. A greneide after all the old wizards who turns out have poor extravehicular and zero G training were all blown to bits. The other passengers began to awake.
Doc and pilot went to grab black box and the AI core. The marine went done to the actor and did a brilliant scrambled start up sequence for a smooth ten-minute self-destruct sequence, Saw undead coming and worked faster and just made it and fled. Pilot and Doc with the data got chased into a work pod door and managed to get in a pod and smash out. Turns out decompression sucked lots of undead away from the marine who got outside and flew jetpack to safety.
Luck Lady informed them of a strange white cloud about 10km across composed of gas and ice crystals an unknown phenomena perhaps like rings of Uranus edges. Enveloped in the cloud as the ship puts in maximum acceleration. The nuke went off and the cloud seemed to react violently. The pilot thought he heard a scream. The marine didn't notice a thing. Doc passed out spasming having visions of Iquatha threatening vengeance. He awoke wary of the cold and considered must get some incendiary weapons and maybe visit Mercury. Hay didn't the party decoys get killed by some ball of fire destroying their ship?
It was a nice fun scenario.
Meanwhile, the Astronomers Guild cult has relaxed and is sure the party is dead because of the decoys. But also the party have escalated conflict with the Iquatha cult to summoning gods. The Astronomers guild wants to use lesser cults to fight for them and kill investigation teams. Party passing through Uranus to get fuel home I'm sure nothing bad will happen.
Will try and do some more detailed entries on major worlds then lots of major moons and asteroids. Possibly all major cults could get bio mod trees. Maybe top black science programs by governments and cults.
Enjoyed players doing lots of research, science roles and nice tech most sf games were blocked in games we played years ago. Happy to not worry about old books and magic.
Re reading Traveller New Era Vampire fleets which has some nice AI personalities I had not considered. I should probably add all the ones I've done to date into a d100 table and expand some types out like the simulated personalities. Currently, the player's ship has two AI. One the Lucky Lady an ex Beler Casino AI now ship computer. She is friendly and hospitable who appears as a rootin tootin lucky cowgirl who finds gold nuggets in space. The other ship AI is a military security model in the secret genetics lab that the ship has a block on knowing exists and can be overridden. The player space marine gun thinks its a French rock star from the 22nd century (classical music). I did roll for the gun to not fire in today's session.
So based on lots I've been reading and watching about realistic space stuff had players go from the Martian training on one of the moons of mars and were frozen for hiG millitary transport to their ship near Jupiter. They Flew on to Uranus then on to rendezvous with a long lost ship. The players have an undercrewed large salvage ship with two crane arms and two Hab rings that rotate. When they got 10 weeks closer to the target and training the detected another unknown vessel moving to the same coordinates. Crew increased acceleration for a week and got to a few astronomical units away. Was a bit dangerous for the non-G-enhanced characters (martian marines built for acceleration). No accidents and spoke to angry belters who complained their starving family needed this salvage. Then they tried to threaten with their contacts. It seems the belter salvage crew were moving at 2G and wouldn't have fuel to get far arter. As the party pilot was a belter he tried being nice and threatened them back and it went as well as possible. Party frozen leaving the marine in charge and he spent a week at 4G studying engineering and the schematics of the salvage ship model.
So they easily beat the rival ship who made vague threats about their buddies. Party contacted the wreck AI and was convinced it was in a simulation because of all the impossible things it had seen over 50 years. Poor ship was keen to end the simulation and assumed its a test for long-range missions. The party moved ship close and took a launch with the Doc and pilot while the marine in his power armour rode outside on the "runner-boards" . Did some non-auto examination of the wreck and saw a suited body fly from the wreck to their ship. Hmmm everyone went to check it out. It seemed to be hanging like a ragdoll on a ladder staple by a work pod door on the Lucky Lady. The marine shot the old damaged suit without a response then shot its hand off. Marine got a sack and claw arm from the ship and collected arm. The pilot returned to ship and got a work pod to catch body flying into space while doc flew the launch into the wrecked ships cargo bay. The rest of the part was entered by Workpod Bay into engineering. The AI seemed cheerful and hopeful of victory in the game.
Repreasurised the ship but low temps and frozen slush everywhere. Fixed heating and slush melted into exotic comet gases and were vented. Doc started to look at the body and found a mummified corpse. Found under useless suit a strange chest wound which they know meant this guy had some kind of cult implant. So as it was engineering Doc grabbed power saw for a vivisection. And the long undead being tried to claw Doc. The marine destroyed it but the AI gun almost hesitated to fire. Kept exploring and found no crew signs and the passenger g-couches with dead passengers in old broken work suits. The party mentioned nuking the place and leaving. Something twitched. Then the next room were 24 crypods all occupied and all with zero life signs. These bodies were dressed in the style of ancient Iceland, which they had found signs of before, FOund a shrine in captain's office of a shrine with half a mummified wendigo and a mess. Unlocked pursers safe and found two idols one of clay a screaming long skinny limbed creature hugging its legs and the other of a six-horned rhino made of some sort of horn.
Final room was VIP room and this wasn't so great, Six undead cult wizards, centuries old and mummified chanted for Iquatha some lept at the party one tried strange powers. The pilot and marine opened fire and badly wounded several. Three ancient Icelandic wizd lich dived at party without magnetic boots or velcro slippers. Two flew through a hatch flying dozens of meters into a wall. A third grabbed chair on the way. One hit the door next to Doc and he shot with his silent pistol. several. More bursts and more wizards exploded chanting Iquatha. A greneide after all the old wizards who turns out have poor extravehicular and zero G training were all blown to bits. The other passengers began to awake.
Doc and pilot went to grab black box and the AI core. The marine went done to the actor and did a brilliant scrambled start up sequence for a smooth ten-minute self-destruct sequence, Saw undead coming and worked faster and just made it and fled. Pilot and Doc with the data got chased into a work pod door and managed to get in a pod and smash out. Turns out decompression sucked lots of undead away from the marine who got outside and flew jetpack to safety.
Luck Lady informed them of a strange white cloud about 10km across composed of gas and ice crystals an unknown phenomena perhaps like rings of Uranus edges. Enveloped in the cloud as the ship puts in maximum acceleration. The nuke went off and the cloud seemed to react violently. The pilot thought he heard a scream. The marine didn't notice a thing. Doc passed out spasming having visions of Iquatha threatening vengeance. He awoke wary of the cold and considered must get some incendiary weapons and maybe visit Mercury. Hay didn't the party decoys get killed by some ball of fire destroying their ship?
It was a nice fun scenario.
Meanwhile, the Astronomers Guild cult has relaxed and is sure the party is dead because of the decoys. But also the party have escalated conflict with the Iquatha cult to summoning gods. The Astronomers guild wants to use lesser cults to fight for them and kill investigation teams. Party passing through Uranus to get fuel home I'm sure nothing bad will happen.
Will try and do some more detailed entries on major worlds then lots of major moons and asteroids. Possibly all major cults could get bio mod trees. Maybe top black science programs by governments and cults.
Enjoyed players doing lots of research, science roles and nice tech most sf games were blocked in games we played years ago. Happy to not worry about old books and magic.
