Actual Play - 15th Game - 11 Aug 15

Arianwyn/Deep Space/Hallu (0519 -)  Date:  545-021

When last we played (with a minor hand wave to swap crew) Zaccheus, Gildas, D’Arcy, Capt Neo, Tiernan, Gwayne, Vladimir, Dionysius, and the aliens Fil and Ga’a’atak had attempted to return to Alwuud to investigate the mysterious behavior of Dionysius during his amnesiac period.  Instead, the Arianwyn had misjumped 17 parsecs, and was stranded without fuel in deep space, where they’ve been for two weeks.  Capt Neo and Ga’a’atak both went into low berths to conserve resources, and Fil had locked himself in his cabin and hadn’t been seen since the misjump.

At the beginning of their third week, Vladimir asked about the alien Fil, and decided to rouse him from his cabin.  He knocked and was surprised as the door opened immediately!  Fil ran past him, through the forward lounge, where most of the team was, and onto the bridge.  As everyone crowded in, they saw that Fil had apparently lost 20% of his body mass… he was emaciated and looked exhausted.

"My friends," he said to them, "I have to talk to you before it is too late!"

Suddenly, the ship’s radio came to life with a loud crackle, as Fil collapsed to the ground.  A voice from the radio called out, "Hello!  Hello?  This is Shar-Captain Naneb Bata of the Pilgrim’s Journey.  Please identify yourself!”

Struggling to his feet, Fil managed to whisper, “Don’t answer him…” before collapsing again, this time out cold.  As Fil hit the floor the second time, the proximity sensors screamed to life, and the formerly empty star field display showed a ship that dwarfed their 400 ton craft… a ship easily displacing 10,000 tons, approximately 2 kilometers overhead!  A second screen showed the view below the ship, where they saw a flat plane extending in all directions, and blocking out half the sky, with a horizon more than 17,000 km away!  In addition, the ship’s logs suddenly showed they’d been near the “object” the entire two weeks, and had recorded hundreds of proximity warnings.

As they discussed their situation, they again heard Shar-Captain Bata identifying himself and his ship, and asking them to do the same.  Zaccheus used his life detection capability on the ship above them, and learned there were more than 10,000 humans aboard.  Vladimir, admitting he knew nothing of Zaccheus’ psionic powers, suggested that maybe Fil had been battling the Shar-Captain psionically or hiding them from him to protect them ever since they’d arrived, and that might account for his weakened condition.

 A third time the Shar-Captain hailed them, before moving his ship forward 10 kilometers and landing on the surface.  At this point, Gildas and Tiernan decided to check on Fil.  They were able to wake him, and asked what was going on.  In a weak voice, he answered them.

“I had hoped to hide this place from you forever, to protect you.  Its people once knew it as Kazar, and it is known to my people as SanKazar Yanno Kazarisan; in your language, “Kazar, the place of our shame and our failure.”  With that Fil passed out again.

Confused, but concerned about Fil’s health, and hoping to protect him from further psionic attack, they put him into cold sleep in a low berth.  They decided to wake up Capt Neo at the same time, and pulled him from his low berth capsule.

Vladimir, D’Arcy and Gwayne took the ship’s launch, and drifted down toward the surface slowly, so as not to alert the other ship.  They headed in the opposite direction, searching for anything on the surface.  After travelling 10 kilometers, they headed back, having seen no markings or structures anywhere on the seemingly metallic surface.  While they were investigating, Zaccheus again used his life detection ability, but this time focused on the surface below.  He alternately detected no intelligent life at all, and millions of beings, and all numbers in between, in a constantly and randomly changing count.

Three hours after landing, the Pilgrim’s Journey suddenly lifted off the surface, and flew back into position above the Arianwyn.  He hailed them twice more, and receiving no reply, flew directly upward, away from the surface, and then jumped out of system.

Vladimir, D’Arcy and Gwayne took the launch forward to the landing site of the Pilgrim’s Journey, where they found a 30 meter wide depression in the surface.  They landed on the depression as the other ship had done, but nothing happened.  Looking outside, they noticed a second, smaller depression nearby, so they donned their helmets and went out to investigate.  They found themselves under the influence of a standard gravity field, thus making movement simple.

The second depression turned out to be 4 meters across.  D’Arcy walked over to it, and jumped into it… and it irised open, swallowing her!  Gwayne followed immediately.  Vladimir drew his weapons, and jumped in, prepared to fight.

Each fell in darkness, then suddenly flipped over, only to find themselves standing on a circle on the floor of a comfortable looking waiting room containing a long table, chairs, and on one wall, two large black display screens standing side-by-side, each 1.5 meters wide and 2.5 meters tall.

Their suits indicated a breathable atmosphere, so they took off their helmets, and Vladimir decided to investigate the displays.  Neither seemed to have power, but when he put his palm on the middle of the left panel, it lit up, showing a room similar to the one they were in, containing a single man.  Vladimir jumped back, then waved to him, and the man responded, “I can hear you.  Greetings, and welcome, I am Chief Engineer Tamar Horne.   You do not look like pilgrims… so what can I do for you?”

Suddenly, the right panel lit up as well, also showing a similar room, and containing another being… one almost, but not quite human, with much larger eyes, and much smaller ears, but otherwise appearing normal.  “My name is Nahdool Tanquar!  I am The Philosopher.  Welcome.  I see that you are not pilgrims, but invite you none-the-less to join us in Nirvana.  But first, why not bring the rest of your team?”

“We’re the only ones onboard,” said Vladimir, referring to the launch.

The Engineer responded, “I’ve been analyzing your ship for the past two weeks and The Philosopher was NOT referring to your launch!”

Vladimir tried to hail the Arianwyn, but was unsuccessful.  “You can’t reach your companions from this room, I’m sure The Engineer could explain why… but it’s not important.  Go back to your ship, and bring the rest of your team, so I may invite you all to join us in Nirvana!

“Actually, you would be much better off going back to your ship, and leaving here.  His “Nirvana” is not a place for you!”

“All we need,” said Vladimir, “is help refueling, and then we can go.  Can you help?”

“Yes, but bring your companions first,” responded The Philosopher.

With that, Vladimir, D’Arcy and Gwayne put their helmets back on, stepped onto the circles on the floor, and immediately fell downward, flipped and found themselves on the surface next to the launch.

At Vladimir’s call, Zaccheus brought the Arianwyn forward, and landed near the launch.  Zaccheus, Capt Neo, Gildas, and Tiernan joined the other three, and all went inside, leaving Dionysius, Fil and Ga’a’atak in cold sleep aboard the Arianwyn.

Back inside, The Philosopher again asked them to join him in Nirvana, explaining they could have everything they’d ever wanted.  The Engineer tried to dissuade them, saying Nirvana was simply a trap, and no one had ever returned from it.  During several hours of conversation, they learned or figured out the following:

• The surface they’d landed on was the outer shell of a Dyson sphere created by The Philosopher’s people in the distant past

• The Philosopher’s people had called themselves the Kazari, and they were no friends of Fil’s people, the Melashravishim.  The Melashravishim had come to Kazar near the start of the building of the sphere, and promised great things… but soon were working to convince them against building the sphere.  The Melashravishim stayed for centuries, until the sphere was complete, then vanished

• The Philosopher’s job is to welcome pilgrims from other worlds, and invite them to enter into the Nirvana they’d created, much like the pilgrims delivered by Shar-Captain Bata and The Pilgrim’s Journey

• The Engineer was actually a human from the home galaxy, and had been born on Regina

• His “anteroom” was somehow keeping him alive, and had for the centuries since so many people had been ripped across space to this galaxy

• He had been Chief Engineer on a battleship in a fleet attempting to locate Regina when they came upon The Sphere.  All his people had eventually accepted The Philosopher’s offer and entered Nirvana.  He had vowed to stay behind and try to warn people of the danger, because although The Philosopher said they were free to return, none had ever done so

The party finally decided they could not, as a group, accept the Philosopher’s offer, so he asked them to take a gift back to their King as a show of friendship.  They agreed, and he produced an orb 60 cm in diameter, that glinted and sparkled like a fire opal.  Tiernan accepted it, and promised to take it to Oer’King Ossian.  The Philosopher also offered to give them fuel and supplies to make it to the pilgrim’s star system, Sanlo.

The Engineer, on the other hand, offered to trade a 300 ton gazelle class close escort ship named Fast Eland for their 400 ton merchant ship, if only they would leave behind the Philosopher’s Orb and promise never to return.  The party tried to convince Zaccheus to accept this offer, both because it was capable of jump-5 rather than just jump-1, and because it was fully armed.  After much argument, he declined, because he didn’t want to lose the cargo capacity.  Instead, he asked to have the engines on the Arianwyn replaced with better ones, and the originals put into the cargo bay for transport back to Arden, and The Engineer agreed, saying it would take a month to make the swap.

While this was going on, Capt Neo continued his conversation with The Philosopher, asking if he’d be able to get a dreadnought if he entered Nirvana.  The Engineer again warned him it was a trap, but The Philosopher simply said, “Anything you want can be yours.”

As The Engineer began work on the Arianwyn, Capt Neo stepped into The Philosopher’s anteroom, and said, “OK, I’m here, can I have my dreadnought now?”  The Philosopher laughed, and said, “You haven’t entered Nirvana yet… that is through the next door.”

Capt Neo opened the next door, only to find stairs leading downward.  He started down, and found himself on a great stairway seemingly hanging in a sunny blue sky.  Looking up and behind him, he saw it led up to the doorway.. while downward, far far below, was the ground.  He walked down for hours, into the heart of a beautiful white city.  The first person he met was a woman, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen!  “Where can I get a dreadnought,” he asked her, to which she merely smiled and said, “I have no idea what that is!”  When he asked about a ship, she pointed him across the city.  Following her directions, he came to a harbor, where beautiful wooden boats, some with sails, some without, were moored at the docks.  He spotted a man on one, and called out to him.  “I’m looking for a dreadnought, but a woman sent me here…”

“You speak like a pilgrim, but you are not dressed as one.  What is it you seek?”

“I was told I could have anything I wanted, and I want a dreadnought.  Where do I find one?”

“I do not know the term.”

“A ship.  A ship that can take me to other worlds!”

“Ah, then I can help you!  I am the captain of this fine vessel, and I regularly take cargo and passengers to other worlds in it!”

“You don’t understand,” said Capt Neo, “I don’t mean other islands in the ocean, I mean other worlds altogether!”

“But that is what I mean, as well!  We sail out and then enter the fog, and after a week, we return to the sea and sail to port on another world!”

Frustrated, Capt Neo said, “Never mind,” and left to find the stairway.  He climbed for what felt like 12 hours before finally reaching the door in the sky… and upon passing through it, found himself back in The Philosopher’s anteroom alone.  Stepping back into the waiting room, he found nobody there, either, so he donned his helmet, and went back to the surface.  He’d been gone two weeks, and his team had given up on him.  Vladimir looked at The Philosopher, and exclaimed, “You said no one ever came back!  You can’t say THAT anymore!”  The Philosopher conceded.

When the modifications to the ship had been completed, the original engines loaded aboard the Arianwyn, and the ship refueled, Zaccheus and the team bid both The Engineer and The Philosopher farewell.  Tiernan again promised to give the Orb to Oer’King Ossian, and they departed for home.

Their route, accomplished without encounter, and without mechanical problems, took them from Kazar, to Damiano, and then to Tekmiti, Hakan, Sniila, Ohanzee, Mitsuko and to Arden in turn, utilizing their upgraded Jump-3 engines.  In each system, they stayed near the gas giant long enough to refuel, then continued their journey homeward.

During their first jump, from Kazar to Damiano, they tried to study the Orb, finding it beautiful and mesmerizing, and just a bit unsettling.  They left it alone after that, but on their final jump, from Mitsuko to Arden, decided to jettison it from the Arianwyn 3 days into the jump.

Upon returning to Arden, Zaccheus turned the Arianwyn over to the Starport, and asked to have the newer drives removed for study, and the original reinstalled.  The team was told this would take 60 days.

A week after their return, Zaccheus was interviewed by the Ardeni Kingdoms Information Service.

(Game Calendar:  545-021 to 545-114).

Actual Play - 12th Game - 3 May 13

Allshire/People's Democratic Republic of Allshire/Gruvek/Kapu (2126 E978978-9) Date:  544-073

This week we were back up to 10 players:  Zaccheus, Blaine, Dionisius, Tiernan, D'Arcy, Capt Neo, Maddoc, Gwayne, Chidi and Cinnia (via Skype).

(In order to get everyone together again) O'er King Ossian asked Maddoc, Gwayne, Chidi and Cinnia to take the Amuar (Peacemaker) to Gruvek to assist with the diplomatic mission.  On the morning the rest of the party was supposed to meet with the League of Nations on Gruvek, Prime Minister Victoria Taylor, of Allshire, notified them another ship had arrived.  They made contact, then postponed the meeting in order to bring the new arrivals down from orbit.

Chidi, Blaine and Gwayne opted to remain on the Amuar (Peacemaker) in orbit, and Maddoc chose to stay outside talking to soldiers on the base.  The rest of the party entered the auditorium to make their case for joining the Ardeni Kingdoms.

They were surprised to note that only half of the national delegations were human!  Twelve were Vek and five were mixed.  The Vek delegates appeared to be crystalline-scaled lizard men!  After being introduced to the delegates by Prime Minister Taylor, Tiernan led off with a speech about the Kingdoms, trade policy and the non-interference aspects of the agreement.  D'Arcy, Capt Neo, Zaccheus and Cinnia chimed in with additional information, and took questions from the delegates, some of whom were openly hostile to them.  Shortly after the group was accused of spying, Dionysius teleported out of the room, which caused an uproar!  Blaine sat quietly, then walked out himself.  Capt Neo stood up and passed out copies of the Trade Accords to all the delegations, and the party gave them time to read over them.  The delegate from The Federated States of Kree asked about purchasing weapons, then argued that if the group helped their enemies even without military aid, it would allow them to devote more time to their military, thus endangering Kree.  He stood up in a huff, ripped the Accords in two, and his delegation walked out.  On the way past the party, though, he dropped a note on their table.

Seventeen delegations signed the Accords, and delivered them to the group.  Thirteen delegations walked out vowing not to sign, and the other five said they had more questions.  After further discussions of representation at the O'ersmeet, currency linkage and the non-interference clause, three more delegations signed, and 2 more decided not to.  The 20 delegations who'd signed then asked about trade goods and  everyone decided to conduct trade the next day.

The party returned to their rooms and, after reading the note, met again on the Arianwyn.  The note from the Kree delegation asked them to contact him via radio at a specified frequency at 2330.  The party made contact, with Tiernan talking for them.  The Kree representative told them they would sign the agreement if they could get weapons, but Tiernan said they couldn't do that.  They spoke for several minutes and the subject was brought up several more times before the radio contact dropped.  The players realized they might have been set up, and asked to listen to the recording of their radio call... but they hadn't recorded it.  (Zaccheus then said that from now on, ALL radios on the ships would be recorded at all times!)

A little while later, they were contacted again by the Kree representative, who asked again if they were willing to trade in arms.  When they balked, he played back a recording of Tiernan saying, "We will ... offer you weapons."  Tiernan tried flattery, admitting Kree had pulled one over on them, but still refused to sell weapons, and the Kree representative hung up again.  The party immediately drafted a dispatch to each of the tweny signers explaining what had happened, and delivered them to the barracks where each delegation was staying.  Tiernan arranged a quick meeting with Prime Minister Taylor, who told him this was standard for Kree... they always played whatever games they could to get ahead.  She told him it would not affect any of the signers, but might affect the other nations.

In the morning, the party brought their trade goods, and ended up selling all the spices (from both Arden and Cevdoo) and textiles they had on-hand.  They then purchased a large load of high tech computer parts from a company from the Commonwealth of Lub.

During all this trading, Dionysius found soldiers on the base who needed to do some digging, and volunteered to help.  Meanwhile, Maddoc, through one of the soldiers, recruited 7 young men from outside of the base to join his "army" and see the stars.

As the trading finished up, Tiernan said the party would remain until the end of the week if anyone else needed to speak to them.  Maddoc asked his contact to find a trainer who would go with them, and he met with a retired Sergeant Major who asked about the job.  He said he could pull together a team if he could have 3 more weeks.  The group waited the three weeks, and Maddoc's "training team" arrived, each wearing jack armor and carrying a pistol.  They were led by a Major, and he agreed they would set up a military training school on Alwuud if Maddoc supplied cash, weapons, recruits and local govt support.

The party then jumped to Cevdoo, where they met with Abinadab.  He was disappointed they had no goods for him, but agreed they could bring in outside help to upgrade the starport on Cevdoo, as long as trade continued to flow through him.  The party continued on to Alwuud, where Maddoc met with King (and Clanchief of Clan Pryce) Baird, who agreed to host the military training facility.  He then dismissed Maddoc and spoke directly to the Major.

Jumping on to Tralnor, the party met with the Council, and asked if they could bring in Leventis Labs to help upgrade the starport.  The Council asked about the starport on Arden, and when they learned it was only a class E, told the party to take a hike, since they already had a class B!  The party then went home to Arden, and sold the computer parts to Leventis Labs at a huge profit.  Maddoc asked to go to Alpha Base, so the party flew out to see the O'er King.  Maddoc met with him to discuss setting up a draft, and the O'er King lectured him on the their government form, reminding him that the free people of the Ardeni Kingdoms would not put up with such a usupation of power, and he wouldn't even consider it!

The party returned to Arden, and we stopped for the night.

(Game Calendar:  544-073 to 544-157).

Actual Play - 11th Game - 26 Apr 13

Star City/Arden/Kapu (2227 EA766C2-6) Date:  543-218

This week was our smallest group of players for Star Clans.  We had a new member, M, join us, and he created a Kearnayan Army Col named Deka, who was serving as a crewman on the Amuar (Peacemaker).  We also had D'Arcy, Blaine, Zaccheus, Tiernan, Capt Neo and Dionysius (he changed his spelling).  After our previous game, they gave Capt Diallo the OK to practice skimming the gas giant for refueling, then party spent a month and a half hanging about Star City.

As this session began, they regrouped and discussed their next move.  They decided to continue trying to expand the scope of the Ardeni Kingdoms, via diplomacy, trade and colonization.  Since the group was smaller, and they wanted to carry cargo, they left the Amuar at Arden, and opted to use the Arianwyn exclusively for now.

After loading up on trade goods (liquor and spices) they jumped to Tralnor then Libmon and on to Mitsuko.  At Mitsuko, they won over the Supreme Leader with the promise that once a year, they'd return with more liquor and spices in exchange for arms and more prisoners.  They agreed there would be no other visits and no other visitors.  After the Supreme Leader signed the agreement, they collected 11 political prisoners, telling him they'd drop them off on an empty planet like the others, and immediately made the trip back to Arden.  The "prisoners" were hired right away by Leventis Labs.

Next, they spoke to the chief of Clan Pryce about emigrating to Libmon.  He liked the idea, but asked to be taken to Alpha Base to discuss it with O'er King Ossian.  The two reached a quick agreement, with the Chief of Clan Pryce being elevated to King.  Upon their return to Arden, the group spent a few months ferrying all 400+ members of Clan Pryce to their new home on Libmon.

Returning to Arden, they loaded up again on liquor, and headed off to Cevdoo.  As they landed, the ship was approached by five merchants in palinquins.  One of the five happened to be Abinadab, who they'd traded with their first time to Cevdoo.  He shooed the other merchants away and invited the group to a feast in his tent.  They were able to convince him to sign the trade accords without too much effort, simply having to agree that all trade with Cevdoo would be through him, and that they'd show up every two months, to give him time to sell out what they'd brought earlier.

Back at Arden, they went to Alpha Base to ask O'er King Ossian to focus on upgrading the starport on Arden.  He agreed it was an important goal for the Kingdoms.  He asked them to take the armor they'd bought at Mitsuko to the Front, where Ardeni warriors were engaged in a stand-off with the Uruki.  After doing so, they returned to Star City where they met with the head of Leventis Labs.  Their goal was to have him open a lab on Libmon, but he declined, saying he'd do so as soon as he knew King Baird (formerly Chief Baird of Clan Pryce) wanted them there.

Finally, they decided to try Gruvek again.  They journeyed to Gruvek via Abequa, where they stopped to meet with King Baloq and Queen Delphi (formerly of their party).  They discussed having Leventis Labs open a subsidiary there and the King agreed, writing out a warrant for delivery to the Lab.  Before they left, Queen Delphi showed the party her children, two fifteen month-olds, a boy named Jean, and a girl named Channelle.

They jumped on to Gruvek.  The last time they visited Gruvek, their ship had been shot at by ground based laser defenses, so they were more cautious.  As soon as they arrived in the Gruvek system, they began hailing.  Their first contact asked who they were, and didn't believe they were from another system, finally signing off rather than talk to people who were clearly trying to con him.  The second contact they made was with an astronomer at a mountaintop observatory.  He didn't believe them at first either, but when he trained the telescope on the ship in orbit, he invited them to land.  He arranged a meeting with his nation's Prime Minister.  They flew the ship to the capital, landing on the lawn outside of the parliament building, where the Prime Minister met them and invited them inside.  They discussed the civil war the planet was having, and she told them there was no such thing... not one of the 35 nations was having a civil war.  Over tea, she explained there had been a long war, but there was an uneasy truce right now, and they asked if there was a transnational group they could speak to.  She left them to confer with the King, and returned later in the day, quickly signing the trade accords, and agreeing to call a meeting of the League of Nations.  They were moved to a military base and hung out for ten days, during which they were caught by camera crews outside the base perimeter and broadcast internationally.  On the morning of their tenth day on the base, the Prime Minister arrived early and told them to prepare to meet with the representatives at the League of Nations.

We ended play for the night with them preparing to meet the League.


(Game Calendar:  543-218 to 544-072)

Actual Play - 10th Game - 1 Mar 13

The Hub/Kearnay/Zaynu (2118 BA69747-A) Date:  542-342

Our cast this game included Chidi, Capt Neo, D'Arcy, Tiernan, Zaccheus, Gildas, Dionysus, Maddoc, Gwayne and Cinnia (via Skype).  Blaine, Lykaios,  and Alec (in cold sleep) were also on board the ship but not represented by players.

The party hung around at The Hub for two more weeks while both Capt Neo and Kojo looked for crew for the Amuar.  Their new crew consisted of 8 Khorred, 5 Vargr and 40 humans.  Fueling up once again, they began their journey back to Arden, taking both Ga'a'atak and Fil with them.  This time, they stopped only to refuel, and didn't make contact in any of the systems they traversed.  The Arianwyn traveled to Sesmiti, then on to Amitola-3, while the Amuar jumped straight to Amitola-3 and waited for them.  After that, they stayed together, jumping on to Mosi, Ryen, Paronu, Rynah, Khdor, Artemis, Prubrea and Abequa in turn before reaching Arden 110 days later.

On Arden, they learned that King Ossian had been elected O'er King of the Ardeni Kingdoms and moved to Alpha Base, and Kyler of Clan Gower had taken over leadership of the Northernmost Kingdom on Arden.  They also learned that three of the Kingdoms of the Great Central Plain had sued for peace, while the rest were still in a state of war.

The party stayed in Star City for three days before flying out to Alpha Base to meet with the O'er King.  While there, they passed on the astrographic data from The Hub at Kearnay, and Ossian welcomed them home.  When he learned they had failed on their initial diplomatic mission to Tralnor, he asked them to go back and try again.  The round trip to visit Ossian took them 5 days.  Back at Arden, Maddoc learned that his Clan (Pryce) was part of one of the Kingdoms that had sued for peace; and he took a few days to recruit 10 Clan warriors in order to form "The Crimson Blade," a group he hoped would help them colonize Libmon.  The party then jumped back to Tralnor.

They spent just over six weeks on Tralnor, finally gaining the Council of Seven's agreement to join the Ardeni Kingdoms.  Returning to Arden once again, we ended the game for the night.

(Unfortunately, I don't recall the details of the Tralnor negotiations... but I know there were some amusing events:  a drinking match with one of the Council, and some weapons-play at the request of another.  Players?  Help me out in the comments!)

A few days later, while the party was relaxing on Arden, they received a call from Capt Diallo, the leader of the crew they'd hired at Kearnay.

She asked, “I have piloted the Amuar, excuse me, the Peacemaker for more than three months now, and have had time to review the ship’s library data.  The technical data about the ship says that it is semi-streamlined, capable of refueling via skimming of gas giants, AND is capable of landing on planet with an atmosphere rating of 0 or 1.  I would like your permission to leave orbit and head to the closest gas giant to practice refueling until you need the ship again.”

The party (via e-mail, since this took place between games) agreed to let her do so.

(Game Calendar:  542-342 to 543-165)

Actual Play - 9th Game - 17 Feb 13

The Arianwyn/Hyperspace Date: 542-121

Our cast this week included one new player, but two new characters:  A Kearnayan pirate named Chidi, and Capt Neo, MD, a retired doctor who'd spent time in the navy and the army, then as a pirate before becoming a doctor.  Returning were D'Arcy, Tiernan, Lairgnen, Zaccheus, Gildas, Dionysus, and Cinnia (via Skype).  Blaine, Lykaios, Maddoc, Gwayne and Alec (in cold sleep) were also on board the ship but not represented by players.

The Arianwyn remained in hyperspace a total of twelve days, finally dropping out into normal space on 542-125.  Immediately, the crew pulled up the ship's maps to determine their location.  They assumed remaining in hyperspace almost two weeks would have moved them the equivalent of a jump-2, so began calling up planetary profiles of the worlds in Kapu subsector that might have been targets.  Luckily, they had emerged in the vicinity of a star system.  A quick scan showed it had six gas giants and 4 asteroid belts, and they used that information to rule out all of the systems they thought they might have arrived in.

Looking over the ship, they noticed three of their low berths were in use.  Tiernan cycled the first, and a short while later, Gildas, whom they'd thought left behind on Arden, emerged unscathed.  A second berth held Blaine, who they also woke up, and the third, Alec, who remained in cold sleep.  Gildas explained that Ardeni medics had wanted to test out some drugs they believed would make cold sleep safer, so the three of them had volunteered as test subjects.  That they were on board was supposed to have been announced as the party left Arden, but the message was misplaced and never passed on.

As they gave up on identifying the star system from their ship's data, they noticed a small craft just a hundred meters from the Arianwyn.  Zaccheus immediately turned on ship's radio to hail them, only to hear cussing and a thickly accented voice tell them he'd been trying to reach them for an hour!  As they explained they were from another star system, he introduced himself as Kojo, and offered to be their agent to The Hub, "the center of all trade in the universe!"  After some discussion, they agreed, and talked him down from 25% to an 18% commission.  They asked about getting an updated star map, and Kojo explained that the Trade Accords required astrographic data to be shared freely, so he sent them data files to update their ship's library.  He then had them follow his ship to the Starbrite, a moving station built into a rocky asteroid that serves as an R&R destination for weary belters, a refueling and resupply station, and a low-cost way to travel around the entire system.

Kojo took them to a nightclub on the Starbrite, where he bought them drinks while they listened to the jazz stylings of Ga'a'atak, a Khorred musician.  

When Ga'a'atak's first performance was over, he back-flipped off the stage, and jaunted away through the crowd to get a drink.  A friend of Kojo's, Capt "Doc" Neo, joined them for drinks.  As the party continued to converse with Kojo, they noticed the room contained not only humans and Khorred, but seated in a dark corner was a tall figure in silvery-grey robes, listening to a loud, overly drunk belter telling stories.  Doc told the party the figure was a Mel, a solitary race that claimed to have been here literally forever.  Thinking he might be like The Watcher from Arden, they approached, and both Tiernan and Gildas noticed they were being studied psionically.  Suddenly the being stood to his full three meter height, bowed to them and said, "My apologies... I did not mean to read your thoughts... that is considered very rude among my people!"  He waved them over, and the old belter suddenly found himself leaving to make room.  He introduced himself as Filistofisarasticallius, "but you may call me 'Fil,'" and he told them he wanted to hear their story.  He bought several rounds of drinks, as the party told him about Arden and Abequa, and their mission to establish both trade and diplomatic relations.  He pointed out, apologetically, that between their story and their appearance, they didn't seem to come from a world that could have produced a starship.  They explained a little about Plan Alpha, and, when asked, explained their form of government.  He told them if they desired, he could show them the location of an abandoned starship from the time humans first arrived in this galaxy.  They were eager to learn more, but decided they needed to continue to The Hub, to sell off some trade goods, and have the Arianwyn looked over at the shipyard.  They told him they'd return.  Before they left, Chidi arrived to talk to Doc, who seemed a little nervous about him.  Chidi and Doc both joined the party.

The next day, Kojo led them as they flew to The Hub, the combination Shipyard and Free Trade zone orbiting the main planet, Kearnay.  He introduced them to Azabop, the Bwap (Newt) currently serving as portmaster.  Azabop scheduled The Arianwyn in the earliest slot avaialable, 6 weeks hence, for two weeks of maintenance.  After the overhaul, they were told several issues with the jump controls were discovered and corrected but the jump drives themselves were left alone since they seemed to be in working condition.

Travelling back to the Starbrite, the party picked up Fil.  Ga'a'atak asked if he could join them, and the party enthusiastically agreed.  After Cinnia gave Ga'a'atak, Chidi and Doc a quick tour, the Khorred went to the forward lounge and began playing his music.  Fil went with Zaccheus to the bridge, and explained they had to jump one parsec to a place without a star system.  He assured them that even without a gas giant, fuel would be available, so they made the jump.

A week later, they came out in deep space.  Sensors detected the ship Fil had promised and three of the party used the launch from The Arianwyn to fly over to her.  The E-Deck Cargo Bay was open to space, and all systems powered down. 

Gildas was able to locate a terminal, power up the ship, and repressurize the Cargo Bay.  He determined there was enough fuel to get The Arianwyn back to Kearnay, but not enough for the Amuar to go anywhere, so they transferred fuel and headed back.  At The Hub, Azabop approached them to ask whether they had the authority to sign the Trade Accords on behalf of their homeworlds.  After discussing their mission amongst themselves, they agreed they did.  D'Arcy signed for Abequa, and Tiernan signed for Arden and the Ardeni Kingdoms as an interstellar organization.  This had the immediate affect of linking their currencies, so that 1 KearnayanCr = 1 AbequanCr = 1 ArdeniCr = 1 (AK)Cr.  Next, they purchased L-Hyd tanks, filling their excess cargo capacity so they could be reused.  They made three trips back to the Amuar in order to give her enough fuel to jump back to Kearnay, and then Gildas managed to jump her back.  The main power plant went off-line as they arrived at the Kearnay system, and Gildas powered down all but the maneuver drives in order to get back to The Hub.  It turned out all of the Amuar's boats:  a shuttle, a pinnace, two lifeboats and an air/raft were all missing... presumably taken when the crew abandoned the ship.  The party scheduled a maintenance check, again with a six week delay, and had the ship repaired.  They had to sell more of their trade goods in order to be able to afford the shipyard fees, but managed to pull it off.  


Meanwhile, back on Tralnor, Lairgnen was transported to the mines for his 15 years hard labor.  During his first month in the mines, he learned that escape would not be easy... the prisoners stayed below, the guards above, and the only way to be fed was to load the daily quota of ore onto a tiny elevator that hauled ore up and food down.  No ore, no food.  He quietly began gathering a group of prisoners to figure out an escape, and found two almost immediately who wanted to know his plan so they could help.  During his second month, he added a third prisoner to his "crew," and they began trying to mine more than their quote each day so they could use the extra in their escape attempt.  Poor nutrition, lots of dust and physical exhaustion led Lairgnen to come down with something during his third month; only a kind guard's lowering medicine for him kept him alive.  In his fourth and fifth months in the mines, he continued to keep extra ore, as did the rest of his crew.  In the sixth month of Lairgnen's imprisonment, about the time the rest of the party was bringing the Amuar back to the Kearnay system, he approached another prisoner about joining the escape plan.  This prisoner, however, took an immediate dislike to him, and punched him in the face.  Lairgnen fought back, but six months in the mines had taken their toll, and Lairgnen lost the fight, and his life.


(Game Calendar:  542-121 to 542-328)

Actual Play - 8th Game - 20 Jan 13

Star City/Arden/Kapu (2227 EA766C2-5) Date:  542-050

Our cast this week included four new player characters:  A Gnomish Aredeni scientist named Dionysius, a pilot from Abequa named D'Arcy, an Uruki barbarian refugee named Maddoc, and an Uruki prisoner of war named Gwayne.  Returning were Tiernan, Lykaios, Lairgnen, Zaccheus and Cinnia (via Skype).

Five months ago, the party returned from their successful trading mission.  After extensive debriefings with both their own clan leaders and with the Ardeni Information Service, they hung around Star City, ignoring the war, and generally being idle.  High King Ossian finally summoned them and offered them a new mission:  travel to either Libmon or Tralnor, or both, and negotiate treaties to bring them into the Ardeni Kingdoms.  He also introduced them to D'Arcy, recently arrived from Abequa; Dionysius, a lab scientist who survived an explosive accident only because he teleported out of the lab at the last second; and Maddoc, a refugee from the Great Central Plain.

They were given 5000 cr to purchase any personal gear they needed, and then decided to look for colonists for Libmon.  They put out word and waited two weeks with no luck.  The zek of Clan Gower suggested checking with the Uruki prisoners, as many were changing their allegiance.

They drove from Star City to the POW camp in the Grey Hills, where they spoke to several prisoners, including Gwayne.  The prisoners would not believe that space flight was possible, since the Reformed Church on the Great Central Plain said such beliefs were blasphemy.  Zaccheus drove back to Star City with D'Arcy, and the two of them flew the launch and an air raft back to the POW camp.  From there, they took the four Uruki prisoners (five, counting Gwayne) back to Star City and then to their ship, which they named "The Arianwyn."  Berthing the Uruki in staterooms, they took off, and jumped to Abequa.  During the weeklong trip, they spoke to the prisoners and tried to determine their course of action for Libmon and Tralnor.  At Abequa, the walked off the ship to speak to the portmaster, but the prisoners again denied they'd travelled in space!  On the trip back to Arden they found the prisoners didn't know how to work the view ports in their staterooms, so they hadn't seen anything outside the ship from the time they embarked on Arden to when the disembarked on Abequa!  They remedied the situation, and soon convinced the Uruki that space travel was real.  As they reached Arden, the Uruki asked to be let off the ship at the Uruki tent city on the Great Central Plain.  

Once there, the Uruki dispersed into the crowd, to speak to their own clans, while the party flew back to Star City to wait for a message from the Uruki about colonizing Libmon.  The zek of Clan Gower met them to find out what they'd accomplished, and after hearing they'd flown the ships to the Great Central Plain, exploded with anger!  "High King Ossian forbade using air or space craft in the war effort, and he's very likely to be angry that you flew there.  Get refueled, and leave immediately for Tralnor... if you're successful, and take a little bit of time, maybe he'll be cool down before you return."  The party did just that.

After a week in hyperspace, they arrived at Tralnor.  At the spaceport, they asked to speak to the members of the Council of Seven, but were rebuffed.  They sold another load of farm equipment, earning still more credit on their account.  After a week on Tralnor, they were escorted out of the spaceport, to a large government building, where they were put up on fancy apartments and provided a sumptuous meal and fine liquors.  As usual, the party kept Lairgnen tied up and gagged on the ship to prevent him from doing any harm.  Maddoc, Tiernan and Dionysius took turns guarding him, while the rest stayed in the apartments.  After four days living there, they were finally visited by Dragomir, one of the Council of Seven.  D'Arcy, Cinnia and Zaccheus became the primary negotiators.  They spoke at length, with Dragomir finally departing, but promising he believed an alliance would be a good thing.  Two days later, they were visited by Rurik, another Councilman.  He listened to their idea, and asked many of the same questions Dragomir had asked.

Seeing half the party sloppy drunk, Rurik said, "Your people do not handle alcohol very well..."

D'Arcy replied, "You're right.  The Ardeni aren't so good at it.  We Abequans, on the other hand, are much better at it!"

Rurik immediately left the room, and returned with a large bottle of vodka and two small water glasses.  Filling each, he handed one to D'Arcy, raised his own, and said, "To your Abequan High King!"  Downing his vodka, he slammed his glass onto the table.  D'Arcy matched him, so he poured a second.  "To the Ardeni High King!"  D'Arcy made the next toast, "To the Tralnorian Council of Seven!" and slammed her glass down hard enough to shatter it.  Rurik immediately left, returning with a new glass... four more quick toasts, with the last by Rurik, "To a successful alliance!"  Rurik departed soon after, in high spirits (pun intended), promising his support.  Cinnia helped D'Arcy back to the ship and made sure she survived a painful night recovering from minor alcohol poisoning.

Two more days passed, and they were visited by a third Councilman, Kasimir, who told them they had really won Rurik over... but he'd be tougher.  Again they were grilled with the same questions and finally, Kasimir, too, offered his support for an alliance.

Back on the ship, they agreed to free Lairgnen.  Unfortunately, as soon as most of the party had left for the government quarters, he convinced Dionysius to come with him while he drove the last of the harvesters from the ship's cargo hold out of the starport and into town.  He crashed once in the starport, but made it out into the city, where he tried to run over people in the street.  Local police arrived, armed with shotguns, and Dionysius was shot and knocked out.  Lairgnen surrendered, and both were taken to the police station.

Kasimir returned to discuss the problem, and the party, in an effort to prove the Ardeni policy of non-interference in local affair, told Kasimir they wanted the Council to handle the crime as they saw fit.  He left, and the party was left alone for the next twelve days.  They were visited next by Miriana, a Councilwoman who came directly from court to say the prisoners had been sentenced to 15 years hard labor in the mines.  She recommended they head home to Arden for now, and come back in several months after the incident was behind them all.  They agreed, and thanked her and the entire Council.

Back on the ship, Zaccheus prepared to depart.  Unbeknownst to the party, Dionysius successfully teleported himself from his prison cell, to his stateroom, where he hid.  Immediately after jumping into hyperspace, Zaccheus noticed the ships engines sounded different than ever before.  Dionysius made his appearance, and the party discussed whether spacing him in hyperspace would be safe for them or the ship...

Meanwhile, back on Tralnor, Lairgnen alerted the guards that Dionysius had escaped with the help of the rest of the party.  The guards ignored his statement, so he tried again.  They clubbed him, knocking him out, and dragged him off to serve his sentence in the mines.

On the ship, the week in hyperspace went by quickly.  As the party prepared to leave hyperspace at Arden, nothing happened... the ship didn't drop out of hyperspace.  Zaccheus realized then the ship had misjumped... and we ended play with the party on board a ship stuck in hyperspace!

(Game Calendar:  542-050 to 542-120)

Actual Play - 7th Game - 26 Aug 12

Our cast this week included Tiernan, Gildas, Zaccheus, Lykaios, and Cinnia (via Skype!).

The party had spent the last three weeks hanging out near the starport on Arden, trying to decide what to do next.  In the end they decided to follow-up on their "Colonize Libmon" idea.  They flew to Libmon, and used the launch to locate and land at the ruins of a low grade starport.  Looking around, they noticed a small castle about 2 km from the landing zone, and decided to take some sample trade goods (fruit and liquor) and walk to it.  As they approached, they found themselves stumbling through low, vegetation-choked ruins... foundations mostly, and none higher than knee-height.  Near the castle, they realized they were being watched from a second story window, but the person ducked out of site before the party could get a good look.  At the castle, their knocks were ignored, and they ended up smashing through two large wooden doors to gain entry.  They encountered armed guards but could not understand the language, and after a long frustrating interaction, left a box of fruit and retreated to the launch.

Giving up on Libmon, they jumped to the Peassi system, where they were excited to find an excellent quality starport.  Remembering their problems at Gruvek, they wisely hailed the planet and requested permission to land.  They were rebuffed at first, being told "We've kept our end of the bargain, why have you returned?"  After landing, their only interaction was with The Leader, who explained his ancestors had been given a choice between a planet buster bomb or the destruction of their space launch capability.  They chose the latter, and had ruled the planet for centuries.  He willingly sold them a shipment of body pistols.  In return, they paid with several tons of spice, and agreed to take some violent criminals off-planet for him.  He explained he was a humane sort, and didn't necessarily want them harmed, but they were criminals who had to go.  The party agreed to the deal, mainly because they wanted the cargo of body pistols.  As the cargo was loaed, 9 prisoners were put into the ship's low berths, and 22 more were placed in locked staterooms, bound and gagged.  As they prepared to leave, The Leader said, "Oh, one more thing, we haven't used the name Peassi in 1200 years... this system is called Mitsuko"

In jump space on the way back to Libmon, they freed one of the prisoners to discuss Libmon.  He asked if they might all be freed, and allowed to meet and discuss their situation. They realized fairly quickly the prisoners were not violent criminals, but rather political prisoners The Leader wanted to be rid of.   The party accepted his promise not to attempt anything, and left the prisoners to talk.  The prisoners asked what was going to happen to them and the party described Libmon and asked if they wanted to found a colony.  Instead, the prisoners proposed they go to Arden and teach, since it was clear Arden was less technologically advanced than Mitsuki.  The party agreed this seemed a good idea.

After refueling in the Libmon system, the party jumped to Tralnor, refueled and jumped home to Arden.  While refueling at the gas giant before landing on Arden, they explained situation with the prisoners to King Ossian.  Upon landing, medics came aboard to wake the low berth prisoners, and in spite of their best efforts, one of the nine died.  The prisoners were then split up and taken away, and play ended.

Game Calendar:  541-218 to 541-269

Here's the player's current map of Kapu Subsector (generated at www.travellermap.com, a great site for Traveller mapping!):

The Ardeni Kingdoms currently control Arden, and the green jump route (hard to see in the jumble) shows that a permanent trade route has been established between Arden and Abequa.  Gruvek has been designated a Red Zone, and Peassi renamed Mitsuko.  Most systems' names begin with "x." meaning anything they know about those systems is centuries out of date.

Actual Play - 6th Game - 4 Aug 12

Our cast for this game included Lairgnen, Tiernan, Gildas, Cinnia, Delphi and Zaccheus.

The characters waited 8 days for their clans to provide trade goods and load the starship.  Their first trip took them to Abequa-36, where they spent a day surveying the system and refueling at the gas giant.  Reaching the main planet, they left their ship in orbit and used the ship's launch to land with a small sample of their trade goods, a pattern they followed on subsequent trips.  Their first encounter was with a local merchant named Baloq, who immediately offered to buy their goods and sell them others.  He offered to act as broker for them, and because they had no common currency, he told them he could act as their accountant as well.  They remained for a week before heading back to Arden.  Baloq requested passage, in order to conduct trade negotiations with the Ardeni.

After dropping Baloq at Arden, they decided to make a long voyage, visiting the Tralnor, Libmon, Cevdoo, and Gruvek systems before hitting Abequa-36 again, and completing the circuit back at Arden.  They were successful trading at Tralnor, and promised other Ardeni merchant ships would soon be there to establish trade relations.  At Libmon, they spotted no evidence of civilization, but while exploring with the launch, they located several bands of stone age primitives.  They decided this would be an easy world to colonize, but didn't bother contacting any of the locals before heading on.  At Cevdoo they were also successful, and again promised other merchants would be there soon.

At Gruvek, they found a world at war.  Low tech nations filled with ancient stone ruins butted up against high tech nations with skyscrapers.  The night side of the planet was mostly lit, but huge dark patches provided evidence of the devestation of war.  While surveying the planet, one of the high tech areas fired on their launch with ground-based laser defenses, and they decided to leave the Gruvek system for another time.  

Upon their return to Abequa-36, they found the second Ardeni merchant vessel offloading goods, and met again with Baloq.  Finally back at Arden, they discussed briefly a trip to begin colonizing Libmon before ending play for the day.

(Game Calendar:  541-121 to 541-196)

Actual Play - 5th Game - 27 Jul 12

I let my players know there would be in-game benefits if anyone wanted to write up the details of the adventure... Player S.H. rose to the challenge, writing in character as Cinnia of Clan Gower... Thanks!

            Well, our adventures resumed after Gildas and Lykaios returned to the Valley, and Delphi rejoined our group.  That left Zaccheus, Lairgnen, Tiernan, Delphi, and I, Cinnia, at our scouting encampment.  The leader, Dimitrius of Clan Savakis, announced that he was tired of us and the prisoners just sitting around and eating their food.  Unsure of what else to do, we decided to build a pit to store our prisoners in - we wanted them alive so they would be good for prisoner exchanges if any of our people were captured.  To save ourselves from the intense work, we had the prisoners dig their own pit.  We, however, built the spiked wooden fence the keep them from escaping because we believed it would not be good to let them be in the proximity of sharp pointy objects.

            Apparently, spending more than two weeks on that wasn’t what Dimitrius wanted us to do either, so using Dephi’s clairvoyance, we located another small scouting party of Uruki.  By the time we reached them, a two and four person group had joined, so we successfully ambushed the party of six.  In our first volley, we brought down four of the Uruki.  The remaining two fled, but we shot them down as well.  All of them were alive, but unfortunately, while we were binding them so they couldn’t escape, two succumbed to their injuries.  We took the prisoners and the deceased and returned to the camp.  None of our group sustained injuries.

            Finally, Dimitrius was pleased.  He even gave us the good news that while we were away, four of our initial captives had sworn allegiance to the Ardeni.  We stayed at camp to recoup for a bit and then found another group of Uruki to ambush.  This was a party of eight.  Although we had more difficulties with this group - Delphi and Lairgnen sustained injuries and Tiernan was knocked unconscious - our mission was successful.  Lairgnen, however, killed one of the already unconscious prisoners.  Delphi, after using her medical abilities to assist herself and Tienan, saved all but one of the prisoners from their severe injuries.  Zaccheus telepathically requested for mules to be sent to carry the wounded and deceased because not enough had regained consciousness so we could move them by ourselves.

            Our return was once again praised.  Dimitrius informed us that other of our scouting parties had not met as much success as our group.  Also, he told us that four more of the Uruki prisoners had changed sides.  Well, now, we had four dead Uruki in our camp, and we had to deal with them, so we left for the Uruki encampment to return their dead.  Zaccheus led our group carrying the white flag.

            As we entered the camp, a path was cleared for us to their leader’s tent.  He told us to leave the bodies there.  Then, he offered us food and shelter for the night.  The food was good.  Once in our accommodations, their leader came to see us.  For the sake of a peaceful stay, we bound and gagged Lairgnen.  Although the leader questioned this, we must have provided a suitable explanation.  The leader’s name was Dylan, advisor to the Uruki High King.  He believed that the king had ordered war because of the Ardeni’s lack of honor and was surprised to see that we were honorable enough to return their dead.  Our actions had pleased him and he offered to speak with his king to see if they could rethink the war.  I will admit now, I wish we hadn’t just hidden the first Uruki we killed in the bushes, but it’s a little late too retrieve him now.

            After a generous breakfast from the Uruki, we returned to our camp and reported the events to Dimitrius.  He then told us that we should return to Ossian.  We did and he called a meeting with our clan chiefs and us.  He informed us that we had brought great honor to our clans and inquired whether we wished to resume fighting Uruki, or if we wished to investigate the threat from space.  Believing that we had done as much as possible for the war, we chose to investigate space.  But first, we wished to improve or skills for our journey.  After a month of training, Lairgnen, Zaccheus, and Tiernan came away with new skills.  Delphi and I were not as fortunate.  I guess I am not meant to learn the mysteries of the Vacc-Suit.  I hope no crisis will occur that will require it.  We wrapped up our time picking what to bring on our ship to trade - our clan chiefs will pay for the goods we choose to bring.  Most likely, our credits will not work on other planets.  Until next time - Cinnia.

Actual Play - 4th Game: To War! (17 Jul 12)

Cinnia, Tiernan, Lairgnen, Lykaios, Gildas and Zaccheus were called to meet with King Ossian to give him their decision on their next move.  After much discussion, they agreed to do battle with the Uruki.  Although they asked, King Ossian would not spare them one of the new-found spacecraft for the war effort.  Instead, he gave them each authority to requisition 1000 credits worth of whatever they needed and then sent them to the Borderlands.

Using one of the newly refitted motorized carts, they drove the length of the Valley and through the Grey Hills in two and a half days.  The Commander of the Watch was briefing them on the situation, when a runner returned with news that the Uruki had finally sent patrols out of the Great Central Plain.

The group decided to head out right away to intercept one of the patrols.  After hiking almost three hours into the Borderlands, they surprised a patrol carrying the banner of Uruki clan Probyn.  Lairgnen sprinted forward, sword in hand, while the others opened fire with rifle, shotgun, revolver and longbow!  Tiernan learned, to his chagrin, that having no skill with a rifle means you're not likely to hit with it, while Gildas found out that a revolver isn't as useful as a shotgun in a group combat situation.

The battle was over in less than a minute, when the last standing Uruki threw down his bow and surrendered.  Lairgnen, still sprinting forward to melee, dropped his sword and tackled the survivor, who hit his head on the ground and passed out.

They quickly stripped the arms and armor from the Uruki, and found that 8 were still alive, but unconscious.  They bound them all, and when the first awoke, Lairgnen attempted to interrogate him.  Although successful, he learned nothing of value.  As the rest of the prisoners regained conciousness, they blindfolded them, roped them together, and began the hike back to the Grey Hills.  They returned to camp by that evening, with 8 prisoners, an Uruki battle flag, and extra longbows, clubs and daggers.

They rested a few days to heal at the camp in the Grey Hills.

Actual Play - 3rd Game (1 Apr 12)

Between our last game and this one, the characters have stayed in the town with the library.  Twenty-three days have passed, and the characters spent the majority of the time training with their weapons, while they awaited further orders from King Ossian or Clanchief Artemis.  During this time, rudimentary radios, batteries and solar panels have been constructed by the townsfolk, who continue to hone their skills.  Much of what has been produced so far have been produced by hand, and finely crafted with wooden cases and containers.  Metal is in short supply, so is used sparingly only when it is completely necessary.


As the party prepares to go speak to the Librarian, the Radio they found near the third impact site crackles to life.


"Hello?  Hello?"


When they respond, First Contact asks,  "I’m detecting many transmitters on the surface, where did you get them?"


They explained that they've made them, and are working develop other technologies as well.  First Contact continues to milk them for information, and they go to the Library to learn more.  It is only there the Librarian reminds them they were told by Ossian and Artemis not to give it any more infomration.


While they're discussing it, Delphi receives a telepathic message from Clanchief Artemis, "Tell the Librarian to implement Plan Alpha."  Upon hearing this, the Librarian excuses himself and disappears into the back.  Upon his return 10 minutes later, he hands the party a large stack of plans, and, as before, says to take them to the silversmith.  When they return to the library to ask about Plan Alpha, he tells them it is their plan to rebuild their spacefaring civilization either when it is safe to do so, or necessary due to some threat.  He then sends a runner with a radio to their capital city, to spread the news about Plan Alpha.


Zaccheus, Dara, Cinnia, Gildas, Delphi, Tiernan, Blaine and Lykaios are taken into the basement of the library, while Lairgnen and Alec return to the Inn.  In the library, the party is led to a small room with chairs facing a blank wall.  They spend the next three weeks there, ten hours a day, watching ancient videos on space travel, learning the rudiments of piloting a spacecraft and how to use a vacc suit.  After their training is complete, they're sent to the capital, where they find a large wooden building with it's roof torn off.  Sitting in a now-exposed basement is a preserved 50-ton cutter!  They party is told they are to fly it to the outer asteroid belt and locate Alpha Base, drop off 5 scientists whose job will be to bring the base back up to full capability, and return to Arden with cargo from the base for Plan Alpha.  They manage to take off successfully, and the trip to the belt takes 15 days.  


At the outer belt, they transmit special codes to hail Alpha Base, and manage to locate it.  Alpha base is a huge asteroid, hollowed out and turned into a space station.  They land on the surface, and locate an airlock large enough for the cutter.  Zaccheus manages to fly the ship into the airlock, and then into the station, where they find 49 additional cutters berthed!  The next morning, the party checks additional cutters, and after finding five that work, begin the journey back to Arden.  Zaccheus, Dara, Gildas, Delphi and Cinnia each take one cutter for journey, which only takes 4 days, as the cutters are in much better shape and are capable of sustained 4g acceleration rather than just 1g.  Upon landing on Arden, Cinnia manages to damage the drives of her cutter; but the party is welcomed back as heroes anyway.  


For three days, they party and rest, and then are sent back to Alpha Base in a single cutter to resupply it with food and five more scientists.  At Alpha Base the newer crew of scientists tells them they are to just take the one cutter, and head to the inner asteroid belt in order to locate a trio of subsidized merchant vessels that are hidden there.  They make the inner belt in three days, and manage to find the merchant vessels almost immediately.  Zaccheus manages to land the cutter in the cargo deck of one of the merchant vessels, and they secure it in place.  Zaccheus then manages to fly the merchant vessel back to Arden and land it successfully, where they are again hailed as heroes!  On the ship, the party was able to call up a subsector map; and when they show it to the Librarian for assistance in reading it, he tells them the ship's computer must be malfunctioning, and the data clearly mixes maps from various eras!  It shows both the First Survey and Second Survey borders, but only pre-First Survey data about the systems shown.


Right after visiting with the Librarian, Tiernan is handed a radio.  King Ossian now has a radio as well, and he tells the party the Highsmeet has ended, and ended badly.  Rather than being welcomed back into Uruki society, the Kingdoms of the Valley of Arden have again been banished; in fact, the Uruki of the Great Central Plain have vowed to conquer them instead.  Per custom, Ossian and the rest were allowed to leave the Highsmeet peacefully, but the Uruki of the Plain are already massing for war.  Ossian believes a pacification campaign may well be necessary.  The party is instructed to return home; and after picking up Lairgnen and Alec, are given a wagon, now modified with an electric motor, to drive back to the Valley.  All ten return to the Valley to rest and prepare for whatever comes next!

Actual Play - Second Game (9 Mar 12)

After camping out for the night, the party spent several hours in the morning hunting and relaxing.  Prior to their departure from the Valley, they were joined by Dara, Blaine and Delphi, bringing the party to ten!


Dara is a female Uruki noble from the Valley of Arden.  UPP:  B5B86C/3, Streetwise-1, Leader-1, Bribery-1, Military Crossbow-1; has Clairvoyance and Telekinesis, level 3, Age 30.  Her grandsire is wed to the youngest sister of Tevin, Chieftain of Clan Wyghmore.


Blaine is a male Uruki from the Great Central Plain.  UPP:  A6A986, Bribery-2, Carousing-1, Revolver-1, Streetwise-1, Age 26.  Another recently exiled family, they too were adopted into clan Ludlow by Madden, the Chieftain when they reached the Valley of Arden.


Delphi is a famale Gnome rogue from the Valley of Arden.  UPP:  A987A2/6, Brawling-1, Medical-1, Broadsword-1, Jack-o-Trades-1; has Teleportation, Awareness and Clairvoyance, level 6.  Her family serves under Artemis, Chieftain of Clan Maragos.


After introductions were made, the party set off into the Grey Hills.  The road gradually narrowed, becoming a meter wide path winding up into the hills and then mountains.   About 20 km south on the path, the party came to a split, with a small open place for camping.  One branch of the trail went south, the other due west, toward the Grey Hills. 


The party camped for the night.  In the morning, using psionics, they attempted to determine which route to take... extending their awareness in both directions.  They decided to go south.  


The path sloped up steeply, to a small peak, and from the top, the party was able to see several burned areas about a day’s travel south.  Continuing south, the party stopped once, where Zaccheus decided it was more important to get to the Highsmeet, and he left he party to head back north.  The rest of the party continued on, and by mid-afternoon, could smell smoke.  A few hours later, they reached the first impact site, finding a roughly circular patch a kilometer in diameter, centered on the path.  While the party cautiously approached the center of the burn, Lairgnen noticed The Watcher on the opposite side, standing just inside the line of felled, burned trees.  He attempted to get to him, but The Watcher turned, and headed into to trees.  Lairgnen was unable to locate him. 


In the center of the burn, the party found a deep depression with scorched earth.  Using their psionics, they attempted to determine what was there.  After much effort, they found a rocky meteorite about half a meter in diameter, weighing about 75 kgs.  Not sure what to make of it, they continued south toward the next burn site.


Two km further south, they found the second site about about a third of a kilometer east of the trail.  The terrain was rockier here, and in the central depression of the site, they found a 7 kg lump of almsot pure iron.  Tiernan brought the lump with him, and they continued to the third site.


The third site was less than 2 kilometers further south.  It was a much larger burn area, almost 3 km in diameter, and the central pit held some sort of metallic wreckage!  The party was unable to determine much about it, as it was twisted and bent, but the part exposed above ground was about 4 meters long, by 3 meters wide and 3 meters high.  


They found padded chairs inside, but nothing to indicate anyone had been in them when it crashed.  Looking around for tracks, in case someone had been inside, they found a small box with three buttons on it, sitting upside down just beyond the central pit.  After fiddling with the buttons, they were surprised to hear a voice, asking a question in an alien language!  Further experimentation allowed them to figure out that one of the buttons was a "push-to-talk" button, and after speaking into the box, the voice responded in their language!


The team asked several questions of the voice, and were told he was a space traveller with a warning for them.  He identified himself only as First Contact, and explained that the Red Zone Beacon in orbit had been turned off, and that therefore the protection afforded by it no longer existed.  Of course, the party had no idea what any of this meant, so they sent word to King Ossian via psionics and asked for instructions.  Word came back, via Zaccheus, who had now reached the split in the trail, that the King would send a team of porters to retrieve everything, and they were to head to the Highsmeet right away.


The party camped for the night, then headed north in the morning.  After meeting up with Zaccheus, they spent several days trekking west to the site of the Highsmeet, and arrived with 3 days to spare.  On the way, they contacted Ossian again, and were told he and his clan chiefs, and the other Kings would all come to the Highsmeet without waiting for their report.  


They met up with several Uruki at the site early to set up for the Highsmeet, and were brushed off.  They hung around until the Royal Contingent from Arden arrived in 5 horse-drawn wagons.  At that point, they showed the radio to King Ossian and the Chiefs, and demonstrated it by talking to First Contact.  Ossian immediately cut them off, and instructed them not to pass any more information to First Contact.  At this point, Artemis revealed to Ossian and the party that while the Gnomes had given up industrial technology when they arrived on planet, they had retained the knowledge of high technology, preserved in Gnomish libraries.  The Royal Contingent then conferred while the party waited outside.  


Changing their plans, the Royal Contingent directed the party to leave the Highsmeet, and look for the Gnome Library.  They were given only the information that it was south and east of the impact site.  Artemis wrote a scroll and embossed it with her seal and instructed them to show it publicly in every Gnome village they passed until they found the Library.  The scroll essentially said that with the Beacon down, it was time to start using technology again.  The team was given a wagon and 2 horses, and began their journey.


Travelling faster now, it took them three days to get back to the impact sites, and just a few kilometers beyond, the path formed a "T"; one path went NE, the other SW.  The team turned NE and travelled.  The only problem they ran into was when the path dipped between two cliffs, forming a gully, and sheep blocked their way.  After passing it, they continued, and found a village, where the mayor had a scribe copy the scroll for distribution away from the main path.  The group passed through 11 more villages in the next two days; staying in the last overnight.  In the morning, they were told the library was only half a day away, and just after lunch they arrived in the largest village they’d seen yet.  

Lairgnen spoke to a passerby and was directed to the correct building.  At the library, a small, nondescript building, they found an elderly man seated behind a counter.  He asked their business and they showed him the scroll.  After they described their mission, he excused himself, and disappeared through a door.  He was gone for ten minutes, and returned with plans for a simple radio.  He handed them the plans, and directed them to the silversmith, with the order to begin building.  He asked what the party felt should be built next, and as they began brainstorming other items to ask about, the librarian told them to go to an inn, and come back in the morning with a specific list of requirements.

Actual Play, First Game!

Today was our first Star Clans game!  We had seven players to start, all from the Northernmost Kingdom, ruled by King Ossian, Chieftain of Clan Denby.  Here’s our current cast of characters:

Lykaios is a female Gnome barbarian from the Valley of Arden.   UPP: 877AB6/6, Broadsword-4, Leader-1, Brawling-1; has Telepathy level 6, Age 26.  Her family serves under Artemis, Chieftain of Clan Maragos.

Alec is a male Gnome rogue from the Valley of Arden.  UPP:  B9CAA3/6, Longbow Cbt-1, Streetwise-1; has Telepathy, Clairvoyance and Awareness, level 6, age 18.  His family serves under Artemis, Chieftain of Clan Maragos.

Zaccheus is a male Gnome scientist from the Valley of Arden.  UPP:  673EA8/A, has Telepathy and Telekinesis, level A, age 22.  His family serves under Artemis, Chieftain of Clan Maragos.

Cinnia is a female Uruki noble from the Valley of Arden.  UPP:  9A686C/C, Gambling-1, Sporting Crossbow Cbt-1, Leader-2, Admin-1, Broadsword-1; has Telekinesis level 12, Age 26.  Her grandsire is a first cousin to Kyler, Chieftain of Clan Gower.

Gildas is a male Uruki rogue from the Valley of Arden.  UPP:  738796/6, Jack-of-all-Trades-2, Leader-1, Medical-1, Broadsword-1, Streetwise-1; has Telepathy and Awareness, level 6, age 26.  His family serves under Kyler, Chieftain of Clan Gower.

Tiernan is a male Uruk noble from the Valley of Arden.  UPP:  78658E/4, Admin-1, Longbow Cbt-1, Streetwise-1, Medical-1, Carousing-1, Leader-1; has Awareness, Telepathy, and a special talent, all level 4; age 26.  His grandsire is the youngest brother (of 5) of Tevin, Chieftain of Clan Wyghmore.

Lairgnen is a male Uruk from the Great Central Plain.  UPP:  8888A2, Interrogation-1, Broadsword-2, age 18.  His family was exiled recently, and made their way to the Valley of Arden, where Madden, Chieftain of Clan Ludlow took them in.

Character creation ended up taking 2.5 of our three hours allotted.  During the last half hour, we began actual play.

During the Northernmost Kingdom’s Kingsmeet, the characters were summoned to the table of King Ossian.  Once they were all seated at his table, he spoke:

“Each of you has been recommended by your Clan and by your Family, as having the potential to accomplish a mission of great importance not only to our Kingdom, but to the other Kingdoms of the Valley as well.  As you know, shortly after the Reformation in Uruk a century ago, Tristan, Chieftain of Clan Denby was banished for blasphemy.  He and the entire Clan went into exile, moving to the Borderlands.  His youngest son, Condon, led us to this Valley, and sued for peace with the Gnomes already living here.  Together, we have grown and prospered during our banishment, and it is time to reunite our Kingdoms with the High King in Uruk.  The Highsmeet, held every 20 years at the shore where planetfall took place, begins in two weeks.  We have not attended since our banishment, though we’ve kept an eye on it each time.  Your task, then, is to travel southwest, and leave the Valley.  You will head west through the Grey Hills, and make an appearance at the Highsmeet, where you will request an audience with the High King.  Tradition dictates he must hear you; and you will use the opportunity to open talks for reunification.  Should he agree, you will let us know immediately, and I and the Clan Chiefs will depart for the Highsmeet ourselves.  I recommend you outfit yourselves tonight; and leave first thing in the morning.”

He then granted them 2000 credits each to outfit themselves, and dismissed them.  As the party visited the weapon smiths and other craftsmen, gathering the supplies they needed, night fell.  The characters noticed an unusual abundance of shooting stars, an auspicious sign, before turning in for the night.

They were roused early by messengers from the King.  “You are summoned back to the King’s tent immediately, for additional instructions before you depart!  Make haste!”

When they’d reassembled at the King’s Table, Ossian again came in and sat at the head, and began without preamble:  “Last night, you probably noticed the shooting stars… I’ve received reports that several crashed into the Grey Hills, due south of the end of the Valley.  Since you’re already heading that way, and you should have the time, I want you to attempt to find the impact sites before you head west to the Highsmeet.  Should you find anything of import, you will let us know right away!”  With that, Ossian stood, and left the tent.

The party then gathered their supplies, and began their trek southwest along the main road running the length of Valley.  Their trip was uneventful, and they passed through the other two Kingdoms without incident.  Midway through the fifth day of their journey, they reached the end of the Valley.  The road sloped up into the mountains, narrowing to the meter-wide path that led to the Grey Hills.