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Into the Void Ref’s Notes Session 36

So, we have finished the Chamax Sessions in our Classic Traveller campaign. I used the Double Adventure /the Chamax Plague/Horde as source material, and the group actually discovered the Chamax origin planet and dealt with bugs on the surface and an alien escape ship in orbit around the planet.

This adventure actually took seven play sessions to do. Most of them were 2-hour sessions, so that is understandable.

I made a real effort to have potential skill use in this adventure beyond just bug killing. In particular, allowing PCs to add their Jack of All Trades modifier to rolls when I felt it appropriate. For example, when their background would indicate some kind of intuition in the area. As I have gone on and on about in person and online for years, most Traveller skills are BIG. They often encompass multiple implied sub-skills or entire professions. Players need to be able to use them. I’m doing what I can as Ref to nudge the players into thinking bigger with regard to their skills.

We are taking next week off, which will give me a breather and time to work on the next steps of the campaign. I want to do a better job describing things to increase “immersion” and I want to find some good non-AI imagery on the web to use during the sessions.

The players discussed a couple of items of unfinished business at the end of last night’s session, so we may go those directions depending on what they decide.

I love this campaign.

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ITV Session 36: Chamax Understood

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SAFCO is still in the alien disk ship, on the Computer deck. They investigate the equipment. The storage media they found appear to be eight optical disks, each 8 inches in diameter and about 1/4″ thick. Each is a different color, and each has writing. Lucky examines them using his Electronics-3 skill. The disks and the associate equipment, like the rest of the ship, appear to be of a lower tech level than even low Imperial standard. The team looks over the deck. They see nothing that appears to be ship controls.

Lucky asks Caliban, who has experience with first encounters with alien races, to look at the optical disks. Caliban, who is also knowledgeable about document filing systems and such, needs and 11+ to make sense of the alien system. He is allowed to use the following modifiers. Admin-4, Liason-1, JOT-1. He succeeds with the roll.

Caliban assumes that if there is an order to the disks, it likely starts with either the left or right side. Few aliens would start in the middle or have some other odd way of doing things. He looks over the writing on the disks, and decides that the disks, if there is an order to them, go right to left in their holder. Lucky notes that it would be easy to remove the container and take the disks.

Another bug comes up the ramp to the computer deck. A fight ensues. Damn! These bugs are tough! The team peppers the thing with bullets as it chaotically attacks! The bug misses its attempts to bite team members. Caliban detaches his radio, turns it to what he thinks is a bug frequency, and throws it down the hall, trying to get the bug to chase it. The bug still continues attacking. Finally, Roger gets a good shot and pops the things acid sack, killing it. Caliban retrieves his radio.

The team decides to decend the ramp to the Engineering deck. They have no bug encounters on the way.

On the Engineering deck they see lots of low tech equipment, as well as a strange bank of devices that give the impression of being something like temperature controls.

Caliban uses his tablet to broadcast what they are seeing to Barney on the Rambler-II, who is Eng-3. Barney sees a small fusion reactor. He sees no evidence of a Jump drive. He estimates this ship could do no more than .6% lightspeed. It would take over 400 years to cover one parsec. He thinks the weird equipment looks
like some kind of temperature device.

Together the team thinks this ship is totally automated — a hibernation ship. No controls. No food prep. No facilities. Only the computer deck seems to have work stations or any expectation of interaction with a sophont.

They decide to return to the Rambler-II. Lucky and Caliban return to the computer deck to get the disks, while Flint and Roger stabilize the tumbling disk ship and see about bringing over a fresh vacc suit for Lucky.

On the computer deck, Lucky loads disk one, succeeds in a Comp-1 roll, and views an explanatory video, showing that the bugs originated on this planet, Chamax, as did the crustacean aliens. The bugs natural predator was intentionally eliminated and the bugs went wild, eating all organic matter on land. The aliens built disk ships and sent them out at sublight speed to try to colonize other worlds. This ship, apparently, was invaded by bugs as it lifted off. They ate the colonists, damaged internal systems, and the ship failed to leave orbit. They see a short depiction of the bug life cycle.

Back on board the Rambler-II, SAFCO and Caliban begin discussions of next steps, realizing the danger of the bugs should they invade other worlds.

End of session
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Elapsed time: 414 game days

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Into the Void Ref’s Notes Session 35

When we started this series of Chamax games I had no idea we’d now be 6 sessions into them and still going strong.

If you are familiar with the Classic Traveller Double adventures Horde and the Chamax Plague, you know I am using them as source material, but his is it’s own adventure cobbled together with elements of that book.

It’s going well. The frequent 2-hour play sessions are working out nicely.

I love Traveller.

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ITV Session 35: More Bugs

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SAFCO and Caliban Tisk continue exploring the alien disk ship.

They have patched Lucky’s vacc suit with a quick-patch, but there is still a large hole being burned into it, quickly, by the bug’s acid.

Roger uses his blade to cut out the section of vacc suit affected — about an 8″ diameter spot. Lucky’s suit takes another 11 points of damage before he can get it cut out. It requires two quick patches and an 8+ roll by Caliban (aided by Jack of All Trades-1) to get the two patches to work correctly. The discarded fabric burns away, leaving a burned mark on the metal floor of the ship.

The team decides to try to find the central column of the ship, as shown in the video they were shown, to ascend to what looked like a bridge/computer room. They proceed, with Flint taking the point. As he moves through the halls another bug attacks him. He and Roger fight it. Simultaneously another bug attacks Caliban and Lucky. They manage to kill both bugs.

They reach the central column, and find a spiral ramp leading up and down, as well as a hatch into what turns out to be a column going through the vehicle, with a weird non-human ladder and lots of wires and conduits. They go up the ramp, and are attacked by another bug.

This bug gives them a lot of trouble. It bites Lucky and Roger, but Flint is able to pry it off both of them before it spits acid. Both of them get their vacc suits damaged again, and there is only one quick patch left. They shoot it many times, but fail to hit the acid sac and kill it. The ships power again fluctuates. Gravity goes away. Flint has left the hatch in that level’s central column open. Caliban situates himself to quickly slam the hatch shut. Flint uses his Zero-G combat skill to go flying at the bug, which is now flopping around wildly in the air. He has a crowbar with him. He makes a DX roll, and is able to hit the bug like a ball into the hatch, which Caliban slams shut and locks.

WHEW!

Now they have two damaged vacc suits and only one patch. The atmosphere in the ship is like that of the planet, however, which means it is breathable, and it is above freezing.

They continue up, and find what appears to be a “computer room.” Alien tech devices and monitors, etc. Ships power fluctuates again and the gravity comes back, but the lights to out. They are once again using their suits’ helmet lamps. Lucky makes an electronics roll and recognizes what appears to be data disks in a storage compartment. He considers taking the entire storage container, but the group decides that Barney is need on-board, since he has computer skill and may be able to figure out how to read them.

The session ends as the team discusses how to proceed. They need Barney and a spare vacc suit, and the alien ship is still tumbling with the SAFCO mining pod still attached.

End of Session:
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Elapsed time: 413 game days

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Into the Void Ref’s Notes Session 34

This adventure is taking way more session than I expected! That’s fine. We’re only playing for two hours at a time, and we usually spend about 10 minutes catching up before we play. I’m enjoying these sessions a lot, and I hope the players are too. It is great to not feel like we are rushing through an adventure “just to get it done.”

One challenge I had in last night’s session was keeping the one character who stayed on the ship (to make sure someone was there at the ready) engaged. William is a great player. He often is the one who goes up to the balcony to keep an eye on things, lags behind to make sure no one is following them, etc. Sometimes, as in these last few sessions, it means his character, Barney, isn’t  in the middle of the action.

However, over the last seven years of playing Traveller he understands how to keep his character busy, and find productive things to do, in this case supporting the away team. I can’t believe we’ve been playing this campaign for over seven years now, but we have, and all the guys are seasoned Traveller players. Well, Todd is new, but he’s an experienced gamer and it’s like he’s been with us the whole time.

I had a good time with last night’s session. I made a random table to determine how the alien ship they are on might malfunction. Gravity going in and out, information videos suddenly playing, lights on and off, maneuvering/attitude thrusters suddenly firing. It was also fun to have the PCs in vac suits – an added level of danger, as well as some zero-g antics.

When I review my own performance as Ref after these games, I continue to be dissatisfied with the descriptions I give of things. Like the interior of the ship. I feel like I’m paying a lot of attention to the big things in a session, but could spend more time thinking of atmospheric details. I will work on that.

Going on vacation for a week. More Traveller after that.

 

 

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ITV Session 34: Zero Gravity

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Aboard alien disc ship
Continuing from previous game

SAFCO and Caliban Tisk continue to explore the alien craft. Barney and Fardt are aboard the Rambler-II. Lucky explores one of the outer hallways.

As they explore the ship, they find more hibernating fur balls.  Roger kills one that is blocking his way.

The temperature in the ship has risen to -40 C.

The ship contains many curving corridors, which lead to chambers with what look like sleeping couches for some kind of alien physique.

The power and systems in the ship “hiccup”. On board the Rambler-II, Barney uses the sensors and can read the power fluctuations. In the alien ship, artificial gravity goes out. The team and the fur balls are now in zero-g.

Barney uses sensors to study the alien ship, determining that the engineering section is on the bulging section on the presumed “bottom”.

The boarding party uses Vacc Suit and Zero-G Combat skills to maneuver around the ship.  There’s another hiccup. Lights go out and the ship seems to move. Barney sees a couple of maneuvering thrusters on the disk ship fire, and the ship begins to tumble again, this time with the mining pod attached to it. The cargo door is now flipping around. Inside the alien ship, the boarding party is now relying on the headlamps from their vac suits for light, as the ship very slowly tumbles. The fur balls are bouncing around.

Caliban checks his suit readouts. Interior temp of the ship is approaching 0 C.

There’s another power fluctuation. Around the ship, panels slide open on the walls, revealing video screens. A recording begins to play. The face of a crustacean-like alien appears and speaks in an alien language. An animation starts as he speaks, depicting their ship landing on an idyllic planet. Crab-like aliens exit the ship. The do not look like the bugs. It shows equipment compartments opening on the outside of the ship, crab-beings setting up camps, and one alien going up a central shaft in the ship to a compartment on top and accessing a computer.

SAFCO discusses what they think has happened on this ship. The mystery continues.

The ship has warmed above freezing now. Two fur balls unfold into bugs. They are all in zero-g. The bugs try to get to the humans to attack but fail. Various gunshots fail to kill the bugs.

On board the Rambler-II, Fardt manages a lucky shot with the pulse lasers and fries the alien ship’s maneuvering thrusters.

There’s another power fluctuation. Gravity comes back on. The bugs and humans land back on the floor. Many shots fail to damage the bugs. Finally, Caliban manages a great and lucky shot, and one bug explodes in a burst of acid and dies.

The other bug leaps on Lucky and bites him, then continues grasping him. Lucky is still up. Flint shoots it in the back but it doesn’t die. He then realized that was a bad move – the acid would have gotten on Lucky.  More shots. Lucky pries himself free, but not before it spits some acid on him. Flint blasts the bug and kills it.

Caliban quickly patches the Lucky’s vac suit, but it still has acid on it that continues eating through it. The ship continues to tumble.

End of Session.
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Elapsed time: 413 game days

 

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Into the Void Ref’s Notes Session 33

A few notes.

Playing approximately once a week, online, for two hours, seems to be working out. It seems easier for the whole group to find two hours and not have to travel at all than to find travel time, then two hours or more, then more travel time. And it’s easier than finding three or four hours for online play. We’re having a good time with it, and it feels like the campaign is regaining its momentum.

In last night’s game I had decided that each time I went through the entire party, asking them what they are doing and then having them do it, would equal 10 minutes in the game, and that each of those 10 minutes would raise the interior temperature of the alien ship by 10 degrees C. The team, however, was very cautious. The time scale ended up not making any sense. I stuck to it, but it was obvious that it was all out of sync with what was actually happening. I told my players that obviously I had messed it up, but we were sticking with it rather than me retconning the session. What I should have done was either make each time through the lineup 5 minutes, or just dropped the time period all together and tied each full trip through the rotation to a temperature raise, and then GM’ed it .

Lesson learned.

As I wrote up last night’s game, I realized that as a GM, writing up the sessions in this way might be my best GM practice. It is a great tool for remembering what happened, obviously, but also keeps us kind of enthusiastic about the campaign. It is cool to look back and see all the stuff the team has done.

I have been physically kind of exhausted lately. Allergies are bad this time of year, and work has been busy. Last night I was not sure I was ready in terms of prep or just physically, but we played and my players gave me the energy to do a good job. Good players make the game.

 

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ITV Session 33: Fur Balls

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SAFCO and Caliban Tisk still in orbit of planet Chamax.

Lucky, Flint, and Caliban, in vacc suits, are standing inside the alien disk ship, just inside the cargo door. Atmosphere is still escaping that ship. Roger uses the mining pods claws to grab the edge of that door, as he has noticed the escaping air is thrusting the ship away slightly. He exits the pod and joins the others. Barney and Fardt remain about the ramble, Barney at the pilots seat and Fardt in the bottom turret.

Lucky closes the door of the disk ship. As it closes, the ships interior lights activate. They notices the sound of “a ship returning to life” as the vessel’s systems come back online. Their vacc suits indicate the temperature inside is -100 C.

Looking ahead, there is a central ramp that leads up. On either side is a ramp that leads down apparently to a lower deck. Just inside there is a 1 meter by 1 meter hatch on the walls of each of the side ramps.

Looking down the left down ramp, no lit up, Lucky sees about 10 meters away one of the meter-diameter fur balls they found on the planet that are apparently hibernating creatures.

Going up the central ramp, Roger gets to the end and finds a curving corridor to the left and right. Down to the right he sees a fur ball.

The fur balls are not moving. Lucky uses binoculars to look at his. There are no apparent eyes or other sensory organs focused on him. It is just a fur ball.

Rogers check his suit. They have been in the ship a while now, and it is warming as the systems come back online. Up to -90 C now.

Lucky looks at the square hatch in the right side ramp walls It is 1×1 meter square. He makes and Engineering roll. He recognizes that it is a fairly low-tech hatch. A simple mechanical latch. He estimates based on that they are dealing with a lower than Imperial average tech level.

Caliban and Flint are on the left side ramp. They open that hatch. Caliban stoops and looks through. He sees a curving corridor, and about 10 meters in is another fur all.

Flint advocated simply kicking the frozen/hibernation fur balls into space. Caliban, experienced in alien first contact, thinks they may be dealing with an intelligent species. He further mentions to SAFCO that if they can make a positive first contact they might be able to benefit financially from any contracts they can make with them. He asks Barney, aboard the Rambler-II, to broadcast some of the strange radio signals they found on the planet.

Barney moves to the communications panel and does just that, and notices that the alien ship is now broadcasting radio signals. He records them and send them through the ships computer (makes COMP roll) and successfully analyzes them. They match similar patterns of what might be S-O-S or “Hailing Frequencies Open” or “We are here” kinds of simple signals. Caliban records them.

The alien ship continues to warm. Flint suggests they reopen the cargo door to cool the ship back down. He is concerned about waking up the creatures.

Caliban uses his radio, up close, to broadcast the alien signals right at the fur ball in front of him. He’s not listening to the other’s conversation. Flint re-tethers himself to Lucky and braces himself against the small square portal opening. Lucky moves to the cargo door control and uses his Elec-3 skill to try to use the alien controls to only raise the door a little bit to bleed off some of the warming atmosphere.

Caliban sees his fur ball beginning to quiver. He is determined for a successful first contact.

He manages to raise it only 1 meter, but that’s a lot. The air begins whooshing out. Flint easily braces himself and is not sucked out. Lucky misses his roll and is sucked out into space, tethered to Flint. On the upper deck, a fur ball is sucked past Roger, who makes a DEX save to avoid it smashing into him. He then fails his STR save and is blown down the corridors. He tumbles past the dangling Lucky.

Lucky makes a DEX save and manages to grab Roger by the ankle as he tumble by.

Inside, Flint manages to partially shut his small square hatch. The fur ball smashes into his back, as does Caliban. Using his great strength (he makes a STR save) Flint pulls Lucky and Roger back into the ship. Lucky shuts the cargo door. The lights and life support are still on.

In the side corridor, the fur ball begins to unfold into an adult Chamax. It attacks Flint but misses. He hits it twice with his sword, but it doesn’t die. Caliban fires with his auto pistol but misses. Lucky spots the thing through the hatch and shoots it with his auto rifle. He penetrates the creatures  body and ruptures its acid sack. No one is at Close range. The beast erupts in acid, and dies.

The team is still aboard the alien ship, which continues to warm…

End of session
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Elapsed time: 413 game days

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Into the Void Ref’s Notes Session 31 and 32

I have been running a modified version of the classic Traveller adventure “the Chamax Horde” for the last few sessions. I say “modified”, which means I used a lot of the structure of the adventures but made it fit into our campaign a bit better. This is the second time in the history of our campaign that I’ve used someone else’s adventure, the first being the Energy Leech adventure which came from Michael Brown’s 1-page adventure Energy Transfer.

It has taken a long time to do this particular adventure due simply to not playing very often. It’s hard for players to remember important details which might help them if you wait too long between sessions.

Now that we are playing online again that may change. Last night I proposed weekly or bi-weekly sessions, Tuesday nights from 7pm – 9pm. For in-person games I always feel like two hours is not enough. Everyone has made time to go to the game location, and then you only play for two hours? That doesn’t seem right. But playing online it feels different. No one has to travel. It is more convenient. And spending two hours a week online for the campaign is not too massive a time requirement. I think it may work. We’re going to try it. Everyone wants to play more. I’d like to as well. And it is easier to prep for two-hour sessions. It’s also easier to keep the Referee-Mind sharp and on-task for shorter sessions. I think that will benefit everyone.

Last night’s game was another zero combat session. Lots of exploration, planning, problem solving. I was very happy with the way all the players were active and engaged. I didn’t have to “find stuff” for each character to do. They just got in there and made it all happen. Before the game I asked them to all review the previous few sessions for important loose ends and details. One player in particular really took that seriously and was on-point with it. I have great players, and I appreciate it!

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ITV Session 32: Chamax Revisited

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SAFCO is in orbit of Planet Chamax, having narrowly escaped the aggressive hordes of crustacean-like creatures on the planet’s surface. They have rescued Caliban Tisk from a rocky island in the middle of a large lake.

On the bridge of the Rambler-II they discuss options. Caliban, who wrote his original crew’s contract with InStarSpec, has told them that whoever completes the survey of the planet will get paid. SAFCO seems up for doing this. Roger is in favor of getting back to Mylor and reporting on the events on Desolis, including the black energy leeching substance and the plans of Doctor Falke.

The team completes the survey, most of which Caliban had on his hand computer.

Lucky brings up the idea of returning do the air space above the ruins on Chamax and using the drone to further investigate the huge dome. They vote. Barney isn’t super happy about the idea, but they decide to attempt it, to gather more information.

Caliban inquires about SAFCO’s insurance situation. Is the ship insured? Etc.

Roger pilots the ship back down. Flint and Lucky take the air raft down and hover about 50 feet above the dome. Lucky sends the drone down. There are still a few of the creatures below, wandering aimlessly around the ruins. Using the drone, and broadcasting the video and sensor feed back to the ship, Lucky discovers that the dome is hollow, but there are 8′ diameter holes in the ground inside the dome, in no particular pattern. Taking the drone lower they see more of the organic furry balls on the ground in the dome.

As the team observes things, they discuss the apparent sensitivity of the creatures to radio signals. They notice after a few minutes of drone use that the furry balls begin to “quiver.” On board the Rambler-II Roger and Barney scan radio frequencies with the scanners. They identify the telemetry/control signals for the drone as well as other non-random signals. Analog signals.

Barney attempts to use the computer to find any patterns or info in those mysterious signals, but is unable.

As the observation continues, finally the furry balls in the dome become more agitated and begin to unfold, revealing themselves to actually be the creatures. They are awakening. Seeing nothing else of interest in the dome, and having had enough of the creatures, Flint signals to the Rambler-II for pickup. The ship returns and retrieves the air raft, Flint, and Lucky, and returns to orbit.

Back in the ship, Caliban saves recordings from the sensors to his tablet. The team decides that perhaps their hacker back on Mylor, Tahm Slykk, might have better luck decoding the signals.

They leave orbit.

As they are leaving Chamax, Lucky monitors the sensor for any potential trouble. Pirates or whatever. He makes a great Comp roll, and discovers a large metal object in very high orbit of the planet.

They investigate, and and find a flat, disk-like ship slowing tumbling but in a stable orbit. As Roger brings the Rambler closer, they see an inactive drive unit on bottom, and a 10′ high 30′ wide cargo door along flat circumference, but otherwise no features. Sensor detect that it does have power. They see ice on the surface.They use the sensors,  which indicate the ship’s surface is cold. Colder than one would expect for a metal object in space.

Caliban begins filling out salvage forms on his hand-computer.

SAFCO comes up with a plan. There is no docking ring. There is nothing on this strange ship for the docking clamp to grab. Flint, Lucky, and Caliban suit up in vacc suits. Barney takes control of the Rambler, Roger having established excellent station-keeping with the other ship. They need to stop it’s tumble. Roger takes the mining pod out. Roger is able to use his massive pilot skill to use the pod’s grabbing arms and thrusters to halt the tumble of the other ship, then returns to the cargo bay.  The three in vacc suits hold on to the outside of the pod, hitching a ride over to the cargo door of the other ship. Caliban has suggested they tether to each other, as he is new to vacc suit use.  Roger gets them close.

On board the Rambler-II, Barney gets the auto-turret ready in case of trouble, and Fardt goes to the other turret (he has no gunnery skill!).

Lucky, then Flint, then Caliban move over to the other ship, to the 3 foot deep ledge where the cargo door is recessed into the vessel.

Lucky finds a control panel on the side of the entryway. It’s a alien panel, but he makes a HUGE electronics roll and successfully opens it.

A massive blast of air comes out. Each must roll STR or less on 2d6 to manage to grab the edge of the door grooves or be blown out. Lucky and Flint make their rolls. Caliban fails and it blasted off the ledge. Flint is next on the tether, and is able to make another STF roll and yanks Caliban back to the ledge without being pulled out himself.

From the bridge of the Rambler-II and the turret, Barney and Fardt witness this, as does Roger from the mining pod.

Everyone also sees one of the furry balls ejected from the alien ship and go flying into space.

End of session.
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Elapsed time: 413 game days