Actual Play – Good bad, bad good decisions (9/7/2017)

GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: Jory Bowers, Andi Carrison, and Sean Nittner
System: Scum & Villainy

Note: I fell way behind on my AP reports so these are written many moons later based off my notes. The accuracy will likely vary greatly! Also, this is just transcribed from my notes. Things may be out of order!

  • Notable quote from last game. “Wow, fish people can whistle.”
  • Aya is on Aketi laying low, a jungle planet.

 Starddancer on Air

More Stardancer

Yes, we would love to but work schedules have made us put Stardancer on pause. We’re excited to see the fate of Laren, Bhaz, and Faye!

 

Actual Play – Exploration of the Ur Temple (8/10/2017)

GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: Jory Bowers, Andi Carrison, and Sean Nittner
System: Scum & Villainy

Note: I fell way behind on my AP reports so these are written many moons later based off my notes. The accuracy will likely vary greatly! Also, this is just transcribed from my notes. Things may be out of order!

We explored the temple Vendara on the 5th Moon of Nightfall in the Brekk system!

  • Faye and Lauren argued over which of their coats would be used to detect the time decay field!
  • Lauren used his amulet and prayers to illuminate the fields of bad time.
  • Faye dashed ahead to place handholds and pitons to make the passage easier for everyone else to pass, and infuriated Bhaz and Lauren in the process, but Bar-Hazuk had to be left behind
  • We entered a room with a giant stone growing up out of a out a well if light, covered in rings that showed different places and times.
  • Faye and Lauren had a tense argument about Faye’s propensity to dash into danger.
  • Bhaz tracked down the path to up to the ring that took us where we needed to go and we climbed, precariously, up to it.
  • We walked across a giant chasm with a huge ur-bot that was making all kinds of creepy stone objects.
  • We found dead bodies (killed by something that bit them) and after looting them decided to go the other way.
  • We entered a room full of giant statues that would strike at those passing through. We threw rocks and then Faye ran through and make two statues attack each other. She made it through but again infuriated her crew and had another passionate discussion with Lauren about what it means to be a crew!
  • We cut to folks on the crew playing Go Fish: Carrie and Zied Gunnz!
  • We crossed through a room with lasers… and belly crawled under it.
  • We found the final room with an alien that had a crown on it and was defended by 15 ur-bots (now inactive) on a mountain of skulls. The xeno was protecting another cube!
  • Lauren took the crown off and was filled with rage. Rather than shunting them into the ur-bots (which would have sent them into a murderous rage), he quelled his anger by remembering good times with the crew.
  • We recovered the crown (and the cube, which Faye rode out through of the portals) and made our way back to the ship!

Scum and Villainy on Air

Actual Play – Negotiations at Blasterpoint (7/27/2017)

GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: Jory Bowers, Andi Carrison, and Sean Nittner
System: Scum & Villainy

Note: I fell way behind on my AP reports so these are written many moons later based off my notes. The accuracy will likely vary greatly! Also, this is just transcribed from my notes. Things may be out of order!

  • Victor Bax and the Janus Syndicate met us on board the Stardancer, having occupied the ship and taking Carrie as a hostage. Initially they had guns pointed at us but Faye smoothed things over by assuring Bax we were happy to do a job for an old friend.
  • Lauren convinced them to let her go, using the lie that she was his wife!
  • The Job: Recover the drive (or drive schematics) of a ship in the Brekk system, currently protected by a Legion blockade! Only a ship with a cloaking device could get past them!
  • We agreed to the job, but spun a yarn that we had to do a job for the pirates first (when in fact we were finishing a job for Conclave-01).
  • Bax left one of his crew on the ship to watch us. A cyber’ed up guy name Zyeed (sp?) Gunnz.
  • Bhaz and Bar-Hazuk had a conversation about Dayou, the core they recovered from the Dragon’s Maw.
  • Lauren was challenged by Boyan “why are you here?” and Lauren told him about this noble that he investigated and it ruined his life, and he thought the best way to regain anything of what he had before was with this crew.
  • We had some fierce crew negotiations with all of us cramped up in a stall in the bathroom.  We decided to do the Conclave job first and decided not to install the AI core in our ship.
  • Faye gushed at Carrie about her feelings about Lauren, and Carrie could care less. She had been kidnapped and forced on this ship. “I have a job. I have a life. I have a cat!”
  • Bhaz and Boyan did some Way fighting training.

The Score

  • We arrived on the Fifth Moon of nightfall with very strange Ur and Way resonance that caused normal tech to break down.
  • We jumped off the Stardancer on old archaic combustion engine ATVs and zoomed towards the temple but first had to evade it the strange guardians, massive stone loops that snapped open and slammed the ground before them. (The worlds biggest snap bracelet). Faye tapped into “The Box” to find a path around it, and almost got herself killed in the process.
  • Bhaz and Boyan used the Way to find an entrance to the temple.
  • Lauren showed his first sign of using his faith to protect him as we entered.
  • We entered a strange room where time shifted oddly and red fluid flowed perpetually from an unknown source. Boyan threw a piece of fruit and in mid air, it desiccated as though it has been rotting for 100 years.

Stardancer on Air

Actual Play – Broken Hearts of Amarath (7/13/2017)

GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: Jory Bowers, Andi Carrison, and Sean Nittner
System: Scum & Villainy

Note: I fell way behind on my AP reports so these are written many moons later based off my notes. The accuracy will likely vary greatly! Also, this is just transcribed from my notes. Things may be out of order!

  • Landed on planet Amarath (space Hawaii)
  • Met Carrie (an ex-lover) of Lauren’s showed up.
  • Faye got jealous and stormed off
  • Baz made sure the Sun Eaters were gone and then went after Faye.
  • Faye and Baz drank, went to a mendicant temple, and finally talked about what was eating her up (not knowing what was really going on with her and Laren
  • Laren tried to patch things up with Carrie, which didn’t go well at all, and then went to indulge his vices in the red light district (which also didn’t work out too well). Many tears.
  • At the temple, we found out about the Mendicants (while hot tubbing), learned about their religion, and met the Memmish mystic Boyan.
  • Faye went and hung out with some rowdy pirates and when Lauren arrived to talk, she turned the tables and blew him off.
  • Baz had a heart to heart with Aya about what killing other people does to you.
  • When we finally returned to the ship we found it had already been boarded by the Janus Syndicate, lead by Victor Bax (Faye’s old boss), who had taken up shop in the Stardancer.
  • The greeted us with grin and guns! “Looks like you’ve taken care of my pretty little beaut! You’re going to do a job for me!”

Scum and Villainy on Air

Actual Play – Escape from the Raven’s Jewel (6/29/2017)

GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: Jory Bowers, Andi Carrison, and Sean Nittner
System: Scum & Villainy

We’re back just a week later (since we’d have to skip a session) for more Stardancer goodness.

Aboard the Raven’s Jewel, in Samara Yarr’s brig, the Stardancers and the Suneaters hatched a plan to escape. Doing so would including:

  • Putting aside the fact that Laren killed Felix, at least until we got back to the Stardancer.
  • Using Faye’s stash of Aketi Emerald to drug the crew of the Raven’s Jewel (Bar-Hazûk, acting as a servant ur-bot slipped it into the pirates’ food)
  • Picking the locks and getting out of the cell, only to have the Red Wolf show up and catch Bar-Hazûk, throwing him in the brig and melting the lock shut!
  • Sneaking through the Raven’s Jewel and breaking into the armory where we all suited up. Including Faye, in an actual suite of power armor! From there we split up:
    • Laren and Bhaz went back to the brig with a laser axe and cut through the bars to free Bar-Hazûk.
    • The Suneaters went below decks to disable the engine so the Raven’s Jewel couldn’t chase use.
    • Faye, in a suit of power armor, exited the ship through an airlock, but she was chased by the Red Wolf herself! Outside they had a thrilling chase of Faye trying to cut the cables that grappled the ships together. There were rocket thrustsers and heavy blasters and power saws!
  • On the way back into the ship, Bhaz and Laren confronted a group of pirates and we got to see her whoop some serious ass.
  • The Suneaters, from the gunnery shot the last remaining grappling cables, because…
  • Faye evaded Samara, but only by getting them both caught in the engine flames, destroying Faye’s suit and leaving her exposed to space! Bhaz, still in a suit leaped out of the airlock to save her, but she was badly Space Frozen [Level 2 Harm].

On our way back, we finally had to talk about Felix. Though it did not come to blows (it was close), Ricarra, Yojor N’Kaz, and the rest of the Suneaters were not willing to forgive easily. Faye pointed out that we did rescue them, and that we could tell the Hegemony about then, but we wouldn’t, and that we’d do a job for them in the future. None of these things add up to a life, but nothing does, not even taking another one, so Ricarra begrudgingly accepted.

Stardancers on Air

What Rocked

That was some of the most space fantasy action I’ve ever seen. Including from games of Star Wars, Battlelords of the 23rd Century, Traveller, and Gamma World! Laser axes, power armor, witty quips. This episode had it all!

I enjoyed having Faye really suffer as she watched her stash disappear, and worse, the embarrassment of having to admit that she had it in the first place.

Bhaz opened up such a giant can of whoop ass! And Laren got stressed out [Trauma: Soft] to support her!

In the final negotiation with Ricarra we agreed to do a job with her, but on our terms, requiring a resistance roll from Faye, which stressed her out [Trauma: Reckless].

What could have improved

Gotta think of a better name for Harm than Space Frozen. Other than that, this game was top notch!

Actual Play – Into the Brig of Samarra Yarr (6/22/2017)

GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: Jory Bowers, Andi Carrison, and Sean Nittner
System: Scum & Villainy

In which the Stardancers damage the central core of a powerful ur-bot (on accident), fight off drilling drones, acquire another strange black box, shoot poor Felix, impersonate pirates, and wind up in the bring of Zamara Yar, the Red Wolf. There was much trauma to be had. (SO MUCH TRAUMA).

What Rocked

As we noted at the start of Episode 7, after this session (which as really tense) we spent half an hour off screen talking about the game and expressing what was tough about it. We went from frustrated by understanding to really, really, excited about the next session. These are some of the finest humans I’ve gamed with and I’m so, so glad I get to spend my evenings romping through space with them.

What could have improved

Our rolls. Hah! It did really seem like we had three jobs all under lock and key. Deliver the plants to Amerath, help Conclave 01 recover the pre-cursor artifacts, and rescue the Suneaters to boot. Then it all fell to pieces.  But as we saw from the next session, this just set us up to stage and awesome escape!

Scum and Villainy on Air

Actual Play – Here be Dragons (6/8/2017)

GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: Jory Bowers, Andi Carrison, and Sean Nittner
System: Scum & Villainy

In which attempt to work three jobs in one go, evade pirates, sail through fire, respond to a distress signal, and hear the roar of the Old Dragon! This session was so good, you just need to see it!

Skum and Villainy on Air

What Rocked

We ended on a cliffhanger “Organics! Get me out of here!”

We flew through dark hyperspace lanes, like offloading but in a spaceship

Faye blew through everything she had to appear competent in front of her crew.

We were chased by pirates!

We answered a distress signal!

We heard the dragon roar!

We broke into an ancient ship with commandos!

We got leverage on a Tier IV faction!

We met an deranged Ur-Bot!

We did it with friends!

We learned more

We did all the things that make Scum and Villainy so good!

What could have improved

Just wait till Episode 6, in which it all falls apart!

Actual Play – Perhaps you wish to put your thumbs on things (5/18/2017)

GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: Jory Bowers, Andi Carrison, and Sean Nittner
System: Scum & Villainy

What do you do with them?

Which one, David or Burden, the Ponydog? Both!

Bhaz brought Burden on board into the cargo hold. He seemed to like us, and she told the previous owner she’d take good care of him.

Faye rushed David, the clone, into a seat and like a flight attendant helped him strap in. He was very obedient until she was about to leave and then he reached out and grabbed her wrist “Zero, where are you taking me?” Faye looked perplexed, then smeared the sigil made of makeup on her head away, and told him, “That’s not me. I’m a person” (which she instantly felt terrible about). She pointed to Bhaz and Burden “Where talking you away. She’ll tell you about it” and then fled to find a place to hide on the ship.

Bhaz watched Faye be very uncomfortable but at least not super rude. She tried to make David comfortable, where as Laren was annoyed that she wasn’t treating David like cargo. Bhaz persisted in being gracious to our clearly harmless guest. In the galley he fell right into motion, assembling a meal and food with expert precision. Bhaz told him he didn’t have to do that and he stopped, as though he had been caught doing something wrong. Laren entered, annoyed that Bhaz was still talking to him and then way more annoyed that David used Laren’s pâté. He took the sandwiches angrily and stalked off.

Hate eating sandwiches, Laren went and found Faye, who was getting high on Emerald Dreams in the engine room, which she tried feebly to hide. Lauren asked if she was okay and Faye, struggling to remain cogent, dodged his questions.

Flashing back to the galley, once left alone David resumed making food, and finally fed himself once the others were are done.

Three awkward days of travel

“So you’d never believe this, but I didn’t actually get all the details of this job before accepting it.”  – Faye. And thus a discussion about what to do with someone who might or might not want to be here.

And then we had the discussion about what David is. Is a clone a person? “They are people-ish”. We disagreed on some fundamentals but agreed to go forward with the job, there was nothing else to do. It was a good conversation I can’t encapsulate here, you should watch it!

We decided to pick what to do with David when we arrived. But what if we can’t make up our mind when it happens? Faye picks. Nobody (besides Faye) likes this plan. So it comes to this, rock-paper-scissors… which we threw mutual annihilation.

Faye’s final position “I think we should wing it.” “That sounds like a terrible plan, but I think we have to go with it.” – Bhaz.

On our way there, Faye, when she wasn’t inebriated, did sneak up on David to see what he was doing, and she’d find him twisting wires into little figures…of Burden.

Lauren gradually warmed up to Burden. Leaning into him when nobody was looking.

Bhaz kept trying to make David feel comfortable, but he resisted most of her attempts at conversation. Finally he asked Bhaz a questions “Why does Zero stay with you?” “We call her Faye. She stays because she wants to. Because we’re a team.” The answer confused him however and he went back to his blank expression.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Oh, wait. The other thing.

When we arrived at the stated location, we saw a massive black frigate, Sah’hiir in make. A powerful group of Xeno merchants, known for their ansible network (or FTL communications systems). In the TV show version of the show we all knew it was called the Void Key.

When we entered, Lauren leading the way, we noticed the ship was warmer than we were used to and had some strange smells in the air. We were lead to a Sah’hiir, an 8′ tall entity, clad in black robes and their face covered with a nearly featureless golden mask that still revealed metal feathers from behind it. When we approached, one of the many attendants greeted us “right on time, I assume you have the goods.” Laren knew the correct forms and bowed appropriately, which Faye tried to follow but failed, and did it too late.

Laren also accepted their generosity and was happy to drink of the Sah’hiir wine and we sat pleasantly, though Faye declined “no thanks, I don’t drink.”

The small talk person was full of things like fine wine and comments on recent events. Another was there to tell us that the warn temperature was just the temperature we were going to deal with. Another was there to tell us that what they did with David was not our concern.

Faye, very high on Green Emerald, and very against this entire endeavor, made the meeting very awkward by interrupting and asking rude questions, all of which put extra pressure on Laren to keep the deal in one peace. There was 8 credit on the line here!

We agreed to walk back to the ship together (Faye made up a lie about all of them needing to enter the ship together, thumbprints that had to come from living thumbs and all), along with the individual that had been shutting down Faye, and they tried to interrogate him about what David would do. He answered some of the questions and inferred that clones who weren’t imprinted didn’t have the artificially shortened lifespan, and that he enjoyed his job, and that David would have a similar job, that he was “chosen”. It still wasn’t enough though to win Faye over into believing she wasn’t selling David into slavery.

As the conversation got really awkward, the Sah’hiir speaker said “oh look, your ship, perhaps you wish to put your thumbs on things.”

Are we okay with this?

Inside we had some discussions about the value of eight credits vs. human trafficking. We came to an impasse where Faye didn’t want to finish the job, and then when pushed to the edge about whose fault it was that we took the job without knowing what we were in for, blamed Laren.

Bhaz tried valiantly to keep them from fighting with each other, but the shit was on now! Faye then kept goading Laren “You should have known better. You knew the Sah’hiir bow, you knew what we were in for!” Laren stood up straight and got in Faye’s face. “This is not my fault. I don’t take jobs that I don’t know about just to fund my drug habit! You’ve been useless this entire trip!” As be berated her, he backed Faye into the wall and got very close to her. Faye tried to poke Laren in the trust and blame him again but Laren grabbed her writs to stop her “this is not my fault!”

Cutting away, Bhaz entered the galley where she found David cleaning up. She told him why he was here, or what the Sah’hiir were paying us to bring him to do. David thought on it for some time and then put his hand on her shoulder “It will be okay.” As they walked out the camera lingered on a plate with one each of our favorite sandwiches and a letter that said “Thank you”.

When Bhaz returned to the hold Faye was yelling at the top of her lungs “You only care about your nice things, and your space caviar, and how pretty you are, and your fancy shirts than make your shoulders look even broader, and all your fancy stuff!” Laren caught her other wrist (she was trying to poke at him with that hand too) and became very loud himself “I don’t only care about fancy things.” He looked intensely at her as though was going to say something he did care about, but instead blushed, and then drop her wrists, and turns away.

Bhaz walked right on past with David. They are having their feelings. I’m busy. She handed David over to the Sah’hiir speaker and Faye said she would go with the speaker and David to “collect they money for the cargo!”

We get paid

As we walked through the Sah’hiir ship, Faye whispered to David to ask her about why he called her Zero. “That is your designation.” Faye asked more about what that meant, and if it meant one of them had some kind of status or authority over the other. He then turned and for the first time we saw real human emotion on his face (concern in this case). “We do not impose upon each other.”

She agreed and then asked if you wanted to do this. He responded with a question of his own. “Why do you do what you do?” She persisted though and asked again (mostly because she didn’t have a good answer for him) and he said he didn’t know what he wanted, but this seemed good enough. As they entered he said “They called me brother, perhaps this can be my family”.

As we entered the Sah’hiir stood up (strangely, albeit) and seemed excited. Money was pressed into Faye’s hands and they asked her to leave promptly. It was going to get weird in there!

Payoff

Cred: 8
Heat: 6 (Iota system)
Entanglement: to be found in downtime

Downtime in the Iota System

Twin Stars of Iiota burning brightly we landed on Indri, the industrial world of the Iota system covered in acid rain and otherwise toxic atmosphere. People moved around in gas masks. This was Faye’s kind of place. “Welcome to the orange sky of Indri!”

Upkeep: 1 Cred (paid… no more messing around with this)

Burden had to be locked up to allow the maintenance to be done and our crew quarters to be installed.

We did downtime actions!

  • Faye indulged her vice (retroactively, all the time she spent on the ship high)
  • Laren satisfied himself with the professional ladies of space (Indulge vice as well). Laren usually feel he has to adhere to different rules of propriety, and with all the tension he had with Faye, he needed a release.
  • Bhaz indulged her vice (pleasure) as well, by spending time with dock workers who related to her and made her feel at home and welcome (with a working persons background). She went to a dive bar called the Jump Drive, filled with smoke and music and people gambling pennies. Bhaz was drinking, smoking, and cavorting. There were plenty of Cobalt folks here making union talk along the lines of “damn those Malklaiths.”

We flashed back to the ship and saw Burden perk his ears up and outside we saw another ship docking, the same ship that has been after us the whole time.

  • Faye talked to dock workers trying to find a job and when she heard a new ship came in from the Rin system, and asked her friend Ora, an info broker, about helping to cover her tracks. [Lay Low]. She also tried to convince Ora to help her find out about the Malklaith ship. To which she laughed…very, very hard. Finally Faye agreed that she would investigate the Black and Green ship herself, but any chance that Ora had a job for her [using the I Know a Guy move to get a job]. Sure, there was some plant matter that needs to get to Amaranth before it dies and Amaranth is on the other side of the Iota suns. Normally an easy job but right now the suns are burning bright! While Ora and Faye were out, Faye was contacted by Ur-Bot who gave her an encoded message from Conclave-01
  • Laren found Bhaz and Burden playing with each other, and saw how agile her parkour moves were, and asked if she could teach him how to do that [Prowess Training]. They bonded over running around and wrestling.
  • Bhaz took that same energy and applied it to her fellows in the Cobalt Syndicate, training them and doing it without the same mirth that she had with Laren. [Indulging Vice]

Faye wasn’t content to learn all of the nothing that Ora had to offer, and so she did the very sensible thing, and skulked onto their ship! And in there she found that they had EXTENSIVE information about the crew including the genetic sequencing data Faye inadvertently left on Lithios. And she also found Kor! [Desperate skulk. Bad outcome].

Meanwhile in the Badlands

Faye had passed on the missive from Conclave-01 so Laren and Bhaz were out in the badlands, filled with abandoned factories and the rusted metal carcasses of ships. Out there, they met BarHazuk, a very large ur-bot who’s body had become patchwork over the ages of having to repair himself. He greeted them with a happy metal grinding sound “Human Friend! How is that fine little ship that we fixed up for you? And Laren, have you been practicing your growing things?” [BarHazuk is fascinated with gardening].

In awkward but adorable ur-bot fashion BarHazuk said “where are my manners?” and invited them inside where he told Bhaz and Laren about a ship that entered the Rin system recently that carries a concerning number of ur-bots on it. There is a rumor of an object (pre-cursor artifact?) that would allow someone to directly control a large number of ur-bots and he suspects that since they all match that model number, this person is seeing out this object.

The Prime has sensed this and his fear is great. This object should be left along, but if they are going to wake it, it would be best if we woke it instead.  If you can find it and retrieve it for us, well that would be good. It’s dangerous and time sensitive, but the ur-bots have no way to get it themselves. They couldn’t offer credits but they would offer us parts for our ship (maybe a six cred ship part!)

Run for your life

Faye saw Kor and ran in terror, but she could not lose him. The she ducked around a corner and tried to topple boxes on him, but he cut right through them. Then she pretended to surrender and when he put his guard down fired her blaster at him, but he deflected the bolts with his blade. Then she tried to run again but he caught her. Then she tried to break free from him but he held her fast.

And when there was really nothing else she could do, Laren, Bhaz, and BarHazuk showed up, fired some blaster bolts of their own and which freed her from his grasp, and then they all ran back to the ship and flew like the wind out of off of Indri and away the from the Malklaith ship. Thank you good engines. Thank you cloaking device. Thank you ship hull and factory buildings for not caring to much about that last coat of paint we just scraped off!

Scum and Villainy on Air

What Rocked

As Laren was making one of his only emotional connections with Faye and she’s too embarrassed to accept, so they both say “Oh, I should probably go -” and break away uncomfortably. It was pretty amazing.

The moral quandary of what to do with David was a wonderful one. I’m so glad we took the time in game to have it.

Chester and Phyllis Atherton! The best of all aliases.

Bhaz and Laren exercising together in a friendly fashion and then Bhaz becoming very stern about training the members of the Cobalt Syndicate to fight. Similar training, very different Bhaz.

Kor is indeed a terrifying villain. He’s stronger, got more resources, has power over the Way. He creates all the dread that Darth, er, that a powerful Mystic should! Barely getting off world at the end was great.

BarHazuk. I mean c’mon, who doesn’t love a friendly robot? “Humans!” Also, re-watching the video I think it’s hilarious that Stras present Bar as this slow moving, cane using ur-bot who we then immediately were like “lets go run away from things together!” I feel like it’s as if Jyn met Saw Gerrera on Jedha and immediately said “c’mon uncle Saw, lets get booking!”

What could be improved

I think I fought a bit too hard to be free. When Kor caught Faye (or maybe when he caught her for the umteenth time) instead of running I wish I had just gone into his custody and had a good quip to go with it. The flight was cool, but a break out scene would have been cool to. Then again… (/spoilers)

Actual Play – David (5/4/2017)

GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: Jory Bowers, Andi Carrison, and Sean Nittner
System: Scum & Villainy

We arrived on Lithios, impersonated clone buyers (Faye and Lauren posing as a married couple looking for a domestic servant), wandered the halls (Bhaz impressing the half-tiger people guards), found our mark (an un-imprinted clone named David), and snatched him just before his sigil could be placed (Lauren now impersonating a progenitor and Faye placing the mark on her forehead that she had seen in a nightmare to impersonate a Yaru clone).

We fled the compound (Faye accidentally using her thumbprint to get through a door, thus leaving behind her genetic code), sailed across the ice on a sled pulled by a giant PonyDog (which we decided to keep and name Burden) and narrowly escaped the Yaru security.

There was so much more however, which you can find on:

Standancer on Air

What Rocked

Stras, Andi, Jory… and all the words that came out of their mouths. Really, this show was that good.

Faye returns home and it totally freaks her out.

Lauren’s story about Matthew (“How could you?”)… and how awkward the scientist was after that!

Salteens and soda water.

Bhaz out-aplha-ing the tiger people clones.

Escaping with a thermal detonator!

Making off with a giant PonyDog.

The inevitable moral dilemna to follow.

Stras’ awesome art:

Lithios (Surface)
Lithios (Underground station)

What could have improved

I didn’t decide that Lithios was Faye’s home until a little ways into the mission. I think would have played her differently if I had committed early.  A good reminder to be less precious. Jump on something, see how it works. If you don’t like it, try something different next time!

 

 

Actual Play – Oasis 64 (4/20/2017)

GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: Jory Bowers, Andi Carrison, and Sean Nittner
System: Scum & Villainy

After fleeing House Malclaith, the station officials, the Ashen Knives, and some other unknown faction with our cargo under guise of cloaking device, the Stardancer crew was happy to dock at the oasis to recoup, recover, and get our bearings (not to mention another job). We also learned the name of our new friend, Kor, the personal bodyguard of Ritam al’Malklaith, and a consummate bad ass.

Payoff

Cred: Donut – Nada – Nothin’ but an ole box.
Heat: 2 (in the Rin System)
Entanglements: Ship Trouble (Engines strained, -1)
Faction Changes: Ashen Knives -1, Cult of the Seekers +1 (folks who sent us to do the job)
Upkeep: Not paid, but nothing went wrong (Fortune Roll. Result: 1-3. Phew!)

Not sleeping well

The scene opened with Faye’s nightmare. Running down the halls of the Stardancer, pursued by the relentless Kor, cutting through any barriers she put in his path. Faye’s nightmare ended as she hid in a cramped bathroom and looked into the mirror. There she saw a red sigil forming on her forehead. She reached for it and then woke, falling out of the pilots chair she had fallen asleep in. Woken by the proximity alarms indicating that we were coming out of Hyperwave.

We transitioned out of Hyperspace back into real time through the giant Hyperspace ring and then fired our ships thrustsers to dock at Oasis 64.

On the comms, Lauren called over, announcing that dinner was ready!

Downtime

We landed on Oasis 64 but before docking, Lauren had a surprise for us. Wearing an apron, he  presented an array of glistening roasted meats, sauteed vegetables, and other provincial delights. Faye enjoyed the food…avidly. Lauren helped her with a bit of etiquette. That napkin was by her plate for a reason. Bhaz practiced defensive eating. She first secured her food (she did grow with seven siblings) and then ate it slowly.

After the meal we discussed plans for docking. We’d pay for the ship to get fixed up… or not. “We just ate our ship repair? Is that right Lauren? What are you doing?” “I just thought we could all have a nice meal together…” and the fight between Lauren and Bhaz broke out! [Indulge vice: Home cooking. Bhaz overindulged and started a fight. +1 Stress for all of us]. She threw a platter of food and Lauren and stomped off.

Once on the station we saw it was a buzz with activity. Vendors hawking wares, shrines to the Church of the Stellar Flame surrounded by people  with dockers loading ships into bays, and holo H&N News blasting through the air:

  • The Vorron ambassador has entered the Rin system and house Malklaith hopes to open negotiations with them soon. There was image of them shaking hands with Ritam al’Malklaith:
  • Strikes continue with the Cobalt syndicate.
  • A guild shipment was hit by pirates and the Legion is positioning their battleships to address the issue.
  • It is fire season in Iota… recommend that you don’t fly between the stars.
  • The Holt gate appears to be unstable. Deliveries may delayed by several hours.

Faye set off to check her messages…and find out if she could get us a paying job. Firing finger guns the whole way.

Lauren was keenly aware of the Vorron ambassador’s visit but decided she’d first reach out to contacts who might be able to tell her more about the box! She didn’t have an mystic friends, but he did know Church of the Stellar Flame people that might help…her old friend the ex-heretic Theron, the right hand to Elana (also an ex-heretic who converted, and the current leader of the Church in the sector). An old friend, a good one at that! [Acquire asset. Result: Crew Quality +1. One Space Church Mystic]. Theron, blessed in the light, offered to look at the pre-cursor artifact for his old friend… and some atrocious fish eggs as well.

Lauren then went to the “showers” and found some space sex workers and used his charm and good looks (and some luxury items!) in place of cred. [Indulge Vice]. They rented a hourly motel coffin pod…but it had a mattress!

Bhaz checked her comms and found there were a couple of messages. One from Aya that said “Call me.” We flashed back to a younger Bhaz learning martial forms from Aya, and being smitten with her along the way. While Bhaz was admiring her, that’s when Aya would flip her on the ground beat her in another match. The others were photos from the family posing in front of a new engine. She spent some pocket change to print these out so they could be pinned up later! She enjoyed the family pictures for a good long while… thought about Aya for a while and decided to close her session and go back to the Stardancer to practice some of those martial forms [Train: Prowess]

Down an dark rusted chrome ally a courier whispered a password through a door and then was admitted into a smoke den, where they dropped off a message that changed hands several times until it came to Faye, who was busy cheating at cards with her friend Jax, the ship mechanic. [Acquire Asset. Result: Crew Quality]. He comes out sooner than she would have expected and said the damage wasn’t as bad as he thought it might by [Fortune roll made by Stras to have him actually repair the ship]

On her cracked and way outdated data pad, Faye pulled up the job and found it. We flashed to Faye speaking on the comms with Citani to ask for the job. But first… Citani wanted to know what we should tell the person who gave us our last job (to deliver the box) and Faye asked her to lie. “Tell them you haven’t been able to get a hold of us… now tell me about this new job!” A client who needs an extraction from the ice planet Lithios!

Faye then went drinking with Jax…her drink of choice being a Startini. She spend the night socializing [Train: Resolve].

Bhaz reached out to Aya (who picked up instantly!) to find out just how bad things were with her. Aya was peeved about being put in a lurch, but she did say she though that Bhaz’ new crew looked good on her. Aya told her that this only a missed opportunity, not a responsibility, but still, she was in trouble for failing. “Do you even know what you are carrying? Some big players moved really fast and really hard to get that thing.” And nobody was really sure exactly what it was. Our pictures were posted in the star port, which means the Janus syndicate saw them…who are probably now looking for us as well. [Gather information]

Bhaz then practiced moving through the crowd of people and attuning to the energy of the people around her [Train: Resolve].

We got a job…or lets go to Space Church

Let’s go to Lithios and pull someone off planet. Easy money.

Or, we could go talk to Lauren’s friend and find out more about the box… let’s go find out more about the box. To Space Church we go!

And thus we found out that Faye’s father was a preacher who said something that was out of line with Church doctrine and disappeared for a week because of it. When he came back, he would never talk about it but he changed his sermons.

Bhaz knew that the Ashen Knives use artifacts to get an advantage on their jobs and when one of them used an artifact that was causing major disruption, Battlesister Diana (all clad in her exoskeletal armor) came after them to seize the artifact with violent effect.

But that wasn’t going to stop us. We set off…

…and just as we did a Malklaith ship arrived. Three people stepped out and began asking questions about our ship. When the dock master was reluctant to be forthcoming with ship records, he suddenly was unable to move, as blood began running from his nose. The system cop that was with Kor, walked over to the panel and said “Drat, I think we just missed them.”

When dropped out of Hyperwave, we arrived incredibly close to the star (we were all blinded in the cockpit) and then docked on the giant battle cruiser that was parked there, The Way of Light. In his chambers was say Laren meditating covered in a pure ray of light. His star medallion of the Church now visibly hanging around his neck.

When we docked we were met by Theron, who of course was branded by the “kiss of light”, and he warmly greeted all of us. He offered us food and time to lounge, but Faye, who was super uncomfortable, pushed them to get the point… and tell us what this artifact was! (Faye making no friends here).

In Theron’s chamber he performed ablutions before attuning to the star and then focusing his energy on the box we began to see the star map appear on the box and the light of a star in his eyes. While he attuned to it, Faye approached the box and studied it herself, becoming fascinated with the cube [Risky Study. Devils Bargain: Obsessed with the cube: The Voice of the Box 2/6. Full Success]. What they both discovered (though Faye discovered it better, hah!) was that it’s a star map…and what Faye realized is that it’s a treasure map!

While this was going on Bhaz was studying him. [Attune. Bad outcome]. Bhaz realized that he was not attuning to the way but to the light within the star. She couldn’t learn more though, because it was so alien to her.

Fancy Theron brought over his fancy safe to put the box in…I guess our lunchbox wasn’t good enough. 😛

Lauren thanked Theron profusely and they got all chummy again as we walked to our dock, Bhaz carrying the safe because it was heavy.

On her way out Theron tried to give Faye a word of warning “Stay away of temptation.” Faye tried to convince Theron that he had completely cowed her into fearing the faith, which he believed but also thought he should keep an eye on her lest she slip in the future [Risky Sway. Partial Success]

As we parted Lauren passed off a small gift to Theron. As we took off and he opened the box, it was red velvet coated and included a handmade cupcake inside [Luxury item!]

Stardancer on Air

What Rocked

Lauren taking our one cred and spending it on food without asking anyone! So good.

Bhaz’s family. Oh my goodness, so adorable. Also, her pining for Aya…. loved it so much.

“Faye flounders in such a exquisite and sparkly way, it’s fantastic.” – Kind words from Andi

Our complicated relationships with people are so good. I just love that we all have such strong feelings about our contacts, friends and the factions we’re connected with. Space jail!

“He’s with the Church!”  … “And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” I love that Lauren and Faye are so at odds about the Church of the Stellar Flame.

Bhaz thanking the ur-bot who cleaned up after us. So good.

Our little metal lunchbox for the treasure map cube!

So fun being so jealous in the most petty ways.

I love this crew!

What could have improved

I totally didn’t catch that Stras said that Lithios had a Yaru installation on it. So Faye’s reaction to the job wasn’t quite what I would have liked, but hey, I pass it off as Faye wasn’t paying enough attention either!

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