tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78470793470219571482024-02-06T22:36:11.580-08:00Roll First, Think LaterThe blog of a man who is "a treasure" -- the cursed Aztec variety that reveals everyone else in the party for the monsters they really are.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-12629447344312377152020-08-22T10:44:00.000-07:002020-08-22T10:44:02.552-07:00Rogue Trader, Season 3: The Ties that Bound Us, Part 2: Descent<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
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It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. Protein shake advocate. The last of his line, and currently searching for the one thing that obscene wealth cannot easily procure, nor his now prodigious strength wrest from the world by force: Love.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-biologist, chymist, and practicing genetor, and most definitely the heart of the command staff. The Lord-Captain's wingwoman in his ongoing romantic forays.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius Wash</b> - A sector-renowned pilot of anything with wheels, wings, or a gellar field, and peerless swordsman. Often seen approaching the speed of sound, by virtue of his jetpack, but soon may be heralded by bombardment from a multi-melta. Recently diagnosed with crippling brain degeneration.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - Rarely heard or seen, but his presence certainly felt, our Spymaster and reigning king of Human Resources and Administration. By him, every command given by the Lord-Captain is magnified.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Unsurpassed willpower and a surprising visual acuity for someone with no eyes. Three time recipient of the Death's Door award. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and quickly becoming a household name with regards to treachery, deceit, and a lack of moral character. Also your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
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<br /><div><div>During the flight to Descent:</div><div><br /></div><div>- Wash had a talk with the Magos; during the fight with Piety (his ex), Magos said that she didn't deserve Wash. Wash grew up on the death world Haddrak (no relation to Hadarak Fel) -- a planet of poisonous things, and things evolved to eat them. (The Haddrack Constrictor is the only creature in the galaxy that can eat the Catachanian Horned Toad whole.) He was not the "ball of sunshine" he is today. When he got off the planet, Piety showed him the joys of life, and he still loves her; so he would appreciate it if we didn't trash his dead wife.</div><div><br /></div><div>- The Lord-Captain got a grim prognosis. His doctor, Grizzly Kevin, advised that a diet was necessary, and forbade the consumption of amasec. As a result, he was on five tequilas at any given time during the piloting process. This explains a lot of things.</div><div><br /></div><div>- I've been going on hunting expeditions, with a servitor-horse. My quarry is... obvious. To prevent his escape, I've asked Sebastian to implement face-checks on any exit points from the ship, and have taken to wearing a death mask; I've started with a cast of a digital homogenization of all Kevins. I hope to expand the collection.</div><div><br /></div><div>- Wash has accosted me during one of my hunting expeditions; given that half his brainpower is outsourced to that device he's hooked up to, he actually doesn't detect as brightly as he once did on my mind radar. More to the point, he wants to know how posession works, and if it's possible to de-possess someone. Doesn't take a I confirm that removing a possessor is possible, but (incorrectly) that once de-possessed, a victim would probably be on the priority list. Depossession could be done by any psyker with a number of circles, incense, and sacrifices. I'd be willing to YOLO it as-is.</div><div><br /></div><div>- I also followed up on what I found in Wash's mind; I've also accosted the Magos in her work, and offered psychic training to the Magos.</div><div><br /></div><div>- On her side of things, the Magos has been getting messages from the Orders Famulous regarding her picks of matchmaking for the Lord-Captain; alas, all rejections, and templated rejections at that.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In the present, we're staring at the silvered, machined skull face of Skekris.</div><div><br /></div><div>We talk to Skekris through gritted teeth. He actually needs us to investigate an archaelogical dig; frankly, of the three candidates who were suitable for the role, we (the Lord Captain) was the easiest to blackmail and coerce into service.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord-Captain puts Skekris on hold for a hot moment. He has a raging murderboner right now, but I suggest we turn it into an Espionageboner, frame him for trading in xenos artefacts and.... other crimes which will land him in hot water with the Lathes. He takes it on board, and resumes the call.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord-Captain is willing to comply, on two conditions:</div><div><br /></div><div>- Mechanical upgrades for a member of the crew; specifically, Wash. We want to fix his neural decay.</div><div>- (Copies of) Hohenheim's stolen memories.</div><div><br /></div><div>Skekris is unwilling to make promises at this particular juncture, but he'll think about it. The memories were not stolen outright, merely copied, but can be re-provided. Wash's decay can't be halted, but can be slowed with a superior neural processor.</div><div><br /></div><div>Skekris ultimately agrees; we will need to meet with him at a Lathe world to fulfil the additional agreements. He sends us the coordinates, which surprisingly match one of Wash's old flight routes and we head on down to the planet.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the way down, we catch plenty of scenery; Descent isn't so bad; it's like Scintilla, except carved from stone, instead of rock-crete. Plenty of alpine forests. We head towards a huge mesa with a small settlement atop it; Wash easily sticks the landing at the spaceport, and we exit. Everything is in remarkably good condition for a planet that vanished into the warp two decades ago. The air is bracing, but fresh.</div><div><br /></div><div>We're met by Skitarii guards not far from the landing page; their guns have actual wood finish, which I don't really understand the choice of -- for a sect obsessed with the superiority of machines and steel, it's a peculiar that they should furnish their guns with the flesh of a tree.</div><div><br /></div><div>We enter the ATC building, and sitting next to a table, we meet a magos with a metal skull-like face. Skekris, in the flesh. Steel. Whatever. With six more skitarii backup dancers. We all restrain ourselves from immediate and dangerous violence. Skekris bluntly calculates the chances of hostility at 87%.</div><div><br /></div><div>Skekris gets to the point; Descent has only recently (I.e. within the last 3 months) returned to realspace; as the only known living denizen of Descent, Wash is being asked (told) to provide navigational assistance.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash agrees, but first he needs to "petinkle". Skekris begrudgingly gives us an hour to make ready before we set out to a dig site.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash wants to step out; the Lord-Captain accompanies him. I decide to remain in the room with Skekris, and polish my shotgun.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash, obviously pursuing a personal matter, heads for the town hall with the Lord-Captain and one of the Magos' servo-skulls in tow. He nudges the door open with his melta gun, and enters. It's dark inside, being early morning, but nothing that the Magos' servo skull can't fix.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's... stuff on the walls. Nails, scraps of things. On the floor, bloodstains and ivory bones. Pentacles scratched into the floor. A massacre happened, years ago. The hall is at stark odds with the world outside, and the only part about this that bothers Wash is the contrast. His curiosity slaked, he makes his way back.</div><div><br /></div><div>I idly telepathically scan the skitarii while I wait; it's kinda like watching paint dry, there really isn't a lot going on in there, but there's a slight distraction on the periphery. Skekris is basically a closed book, I can't see much, if any, neural activity going on. He must be exceptionally mechanical.</div><div><br /></div><div>After the others check out a bookstore on the way back, and cucking a warp demon, we're ready, and we head off. To kill time, the Lord-Captain gives Skekris a book about mechanical drills; the third page has a penis drawn on it, and the Lord-Captain manages to derive enjoyment from the act, even if Skekris appears to no-sell the childlike jab. It's an act that leads me to a bit of a realization; as much as I hunger for vengeance, it feels a bit hollow if the one I'm taking vengeance on has the emotional range of a literal vegetable, and can't actually feel distressed about the reversal of fortune. I might actually have no chance but to... Emperor preserve me, forgive him.</div><div><br /></div><div> It's a bit of a walk to the coordinates of the supposed archeotech, but we're escorted by the Skitarii, who kind of loom over us. For those of us from a forge world, it's a somewhat comforting presence. Wash leads the way easily, with the confidence that comes from having lived here; even if the streets are now deserted. We haven't seen a single dead body.</div><div><br /></div><div>Skekris, of all people, strikes up conversation with Wash en route -- Wash is "missing an implant". The implant that the Magos extracted. This gets all our attention -- we've long suspected that Skekris was responsible, and that the electronics that the Magos extracted from his skull were some sort of dark machination.</div><div><br /></div><div>Skekris is surprisingly informative; the implant reinforced engrams, and prevented neural decay. I pointedly ask what engrams needed reinforcing to start with. He ignores it, but I think I can guess. The question is why Skekris wanted memories of this planet and his pre-Hohenheim history repressed.</div><div><br /></div><div>We reach the mine; it's deserted, same as as everything else, and feels somewhat surreal. There's still no bodies around, it's like everyone just decided to... go away.</div><div><br /></div><div>As we enter, I don't detect any daemons with a mental ping, but as it starts to break the surface of the ground in front of us, I do spot a four-fingered claw as it punches up through the ground from below; Wash knows what it is, it's a Behemoth; an apex-predator, burrowing Xenos native to Descent. It's a fight!</div><div><br /></div><div>As one of the few not surprised by the Behemoth, I step up and give it two barrels; it all bounces off the hard chitin armor. In response, the Behemoth goes for Wash, and slashes him viciously; his power armor takes the brunt of it, but it definitely hits flesh. I would have been offended if I had considered it possible to be insulted by a mindless animal.</div><div><br /></div><div>Skekris remains calm, and without removing his hands from his robes, sends bolter rounds over Wash's shoulder from his own shoulder-mounted bolter, and into the Behemoth, carving a neat hole in its' shell.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash, now no longer surprised, acts; forgoing the bother of retreating to make use of his multi-melta, he instead decently lacerates the Behemoth with skill. I try again with the shotgun, but despite a splendid shot on the beast, I cannot get through that chitin -- the shotgun was a good investment in general, it's simply that my tactics are lacking. I drop the shotgun and prepare a krak grenade.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Magos opens up on the Behemoth with all of her (considerable) firepower, and sinks a good hole in the carapace with her plasma cannon. The Behemoth responds by getting angry, a worrying prospect.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Skitarii do something approaching their job, and pepper it with las to minimum effect. Skekris is more useful, and puts more bolter rounds into the creature and it flinches; the Lord-Captain finally gathers himself, draws his axes, and steps up to the plate; his opening swing is singular, but punishing; he almost takes a leg off the beast right then and there.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's my turn again; I send a prayer to the Lord of Terra, "Kobe", and yeet my grenade into the hole in the Behemoth's shell; it goes off, and leaves the beast decidedly worse for wear. He's easy prey for the Lord-Captain, who just... walks through the Behemoth with a twirl, axes spinning, and emerges from the other side of the roughly divided monster, covered in gore. His hat, an old terran Yankees "snapback" is spotless. He wipes himself off with a towel and suggests we move on.</div><div><br /></div><div>We find an elevator; we board it, and ride it down into the depths. It's a long elevator ride. Skekris, again more chatty than I expected him to be, watches the Magos do her thing with Wash's wounds, and comments that her talents may be of use in the Legio Cybernetica. The Lord-Captain laments that he's surrounded by traitors. While I deserve all the flak I get over it, I cannot say the same of the rest of the command crew.</div><div><br /></div><div>The elevator comes to a halt. There's digging equipment all over, covered in a fine layer of dust due to disuse. The magos and I spot the first body we've seen on this planet; it's lying in the shadows next to some of the digging equipment. He's dessicated. His clothes are tattered, and indicate he was shanked to death. His namebadge reads: Antonio. He died reaching for the elevator, whatever caught him got him from behind.</div><div><br /></div><div>As we advance into the tunnels, the temperature drops; the tunnel gets rougher, and there's more abandoned equipment. A large excavator is occupying much of the tunnel, making access difficult. On the other side of it, there's a foreboding thing that everyone is likely interested in; a vault door.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord-Captain knocks on the door; it echoes, but nobody answers. He looks at the Magos, who gives him a look as she uses the handle to open the door all the way.</div><div><br /></div><div>Inside, it's a large cavern; at the center-rear of the vault is a large dais, with a carved human-like hand holding a gigantic crystal. There are piles of rubble around the vault, no shortage of loose stones. Towards the rear, there is a ladder sticking out of a pile of rubble.</div><div><br /></div><div>I cast a few pebbles ahead of us, in case there's another invisible field. They skip across the floor, unimpeded, and I'm satisfied that it's safe to enter.</div><div><br /></div><div>The crystal reminds everyone else of a crystal spire on the planet next to Verloren, which I never got to actually see, having been otherwise occupied at the time; I'm especially keen on it when I learn that it shows visions of the past; it warrants research, and ill-advised investigation techniques that scholars frown upon.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord-Captain checks out the pots in the back. He finds vinegary... substance. I want to check out the crystal. Surprisingly, Skekris also wants to look at it; he moves a little faster, and I start power-walking to catch up. The bastard starts levitating with magnets and I'm forced to move at an indignified jog to keep pace.</div><div><br /></div><div>We both get to the crystal. I see flashes of something, but it won't let me look at it properly. In the hand that holds it, there's a socket that's roughly fist-sized and spherical. Like that metal sphere that we found earlier.</div><div><br /></div><div>I ask everyone else about it; Wash has the feeling that something daemonic would happen if we socketed it in; I propose we prepare for a quick exit and save such a dangerous action for last, once we've acquired everything of value.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, the Magos is exploring the ladder in the rubble; it leads down to something metal and green; close examination reveals a manufacturing mark; a two-headed aquila holding thunderbolts. The Lord-Captain comes over, and upon discovery of the hatch, begins frenziedly excavating rubble around it. The Magos finds a manual release, and the hatch makes a hissing sound as it opens.</div><div><br /></div><div>Skekris turns at the sound, and I realize they found something good; I try to distract Skekris by turning back to the crystal and shouting "what's that?" He bites, and is de-distracted, hopefully buying time for everyone else to identify what they found, and should the Lord-Captain see fit, keep it for himself -- not so much out of greed, but out of his intense academic interest in archaeotech; between the amasec, bloodlust and his other improprieties, it's very easy to forget that the Lord-Captain Van Hohenheim is actually quite the scholar. Almost exclusively in a rarified field, but a scholar nonetheless.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord-Captain rips the hatch open and jumps in; it's a cockpit with a command throne. Conclusion: It's a Knight Titan. Erections are obtained all around.</div><div><br /></div><div>As he emerges, wild-eyed and frenzied with excitement, Skekris finally notices the socket in the stone hand; a mechadendrite extends, and the end flows like mercury into a metal sphere fit for the socket. I'm torn between stopping him violently and not getting murdered by his Skitarii when he plugs in; the crystal floats up, and I allow myself to be pulled in it.</div><div><br /></div><div>I gaze into the crystal, and it swirls, until I'm engulfed in a sea of stars; I see Descent, this chamber. There's less corpses in it this time, though. I see a group of people standing on the dais, one of them takes a crystalline sphere out of the socket that Skekris just plugged into.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then, one of them tries to hide it, and the violence begins; someone escapes out the door, and it closes. I suspect it's obvious what happened to Antonio a few minutes later. I feel the tug of another will, pulling the mirror's focus; I zoom out and focus on the town; a crash in the distance, I see people going from house to house, dragged into the town hall. Regular mayhem.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amidst it all, I see a familiar man -- Wash; a glimpse of him with a woman. But he's younger, a different man. He still has his own jawbone. That, too, passes and I'm torn away from Descent.</div><div><br /></div><div>It pulls further and further away; I see The Maw, the focus moves through the clouds around it, and then coreward, to a sector of space I've never gone to. It focuses on one place, and then the stars move. A supernova billows, forming a star. And then I see... the point. Not a silver ship, a vessel cruising into view, The Fortune's Favor, the van Hohenheim dynasty's grand ship, with which I am intimately familiar. A Young Van Hohenheim stands on the bridge, arms crossed, and cocky. The ship is attacked by lancers. I see death, destruction, and silver; a silver ship that bombards the Fortune's Favor, before it vanishes, jumping back into the Maw.</div><div><br /></div><div>The vision zooms out a bit, just enough for me to identify where it might be. And there, I'm clearly meant to take my leave. But I remain. The silver ship is of interest; it's human marque, but sleek and refined, instead of ornate and baroque. Golden Age shit. I follow it, and it re-emerges; I see it in dilated time - it lingers for years, slightly coreward of The Maw. It attacks ships that happen to cross a particular area of space, some sort of sentinel.</div><div><br /></div><div>I return to the present. I look at Magos, and the unreadable skull-face of his looks back at me.</div><div><br /></div><div>"What did you see?" I ask.</div><div><br /></div><div>"What did you see?" Skekris asks.</div><div><br /></div><div>"A man I betrayed. You?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"What I was looking for."</div><div><br /></div><div>Irritated at losing the joust, I ask the Lord-Captain if he remembers being attacked by a silver ship long ago. He's baffled about how I know about that, and I start to show him the vision telepathically.</div><div><br /></div><div>But before we get too into it, Wash hears a voice. Piety. He refuses to turn around, to be the victim of a cruel "made you look".</div><div><br /></div><div>But Skekris, thankfully, is both able to see her, and ignorant of any ongoing mind games; he hails her, and demands she identify herself. This means it's not just Wash, and she's really here -- I snap the Lord-Captain out of it, and we prepare for a fight.</div><div><br /></div><div>I take up position next to Wash, and he mutters a plan to me -- he wants me to send him into her mind. He wants his wife back. I nod, and say I'll try.</div><div><br /></div><div>The opening notes of this ballad are pretty tame; the Skitarii open fire, but Piety just walks around everything. Skekris finally withdraws his hands from his robes, to reveal a gun; he fires, and Piety waltzes around it just the same, but unlike the Skitarii, it turns the adamantium vault door a ruddy red with heat. That is one hot gun.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord Captain, behind Skekris, begrudgingly admits that for the time being, they are allies. He commands the Magos to fire up the Titan. She quickly figures out how, but they need a pilot; it's a pitch-up between willpower and technical expertise in piloting things, but she ultimately calls Wash. Torn between his wife, and the call of duty, he answers duty, and sprints up the rubble to the ladder.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's my turn. For the first time in a great many years, I sit down and take a meditative stance like I'm actually supposed to, and apply my unfettered, but still controlled power to Piety to try and make contact. But she's like evil smoke, I just can't get anything out of it; I can't even see what Piety used to be. I spend my turn wrestling with it, trying to find a way in.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, a skitarii makes a bold attempt to try and engage Piety in melee combat with a shock baton; she takes his arm off at the wrist, and punches a hand straight through it's chest, killing it instantly.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then she casts her gaze towards the Lord-Captain, and he's subject to a haze of compulsion; to turn and kill everyone around him. In his hands, his axes feel like they agree, growing warm. But the Lord-Captain is resolute; he shakes it off, and denies the bidding of Piety. But then another voice echoes from the void, calling him to crush, maim and kill his choice of targets. This is much more agreeable to the Lord-Captain, and he freely descends into bloodlust, and with only the slightest regard for Skekris, charges straight in to engage Piety; she evades his axes, but he promises that he's "coming for your hammies".</div><div><br /></div><div>The Magos, having slathered the cockpit of the Titan with sacred unguents and prepared it for operation, emerges briefly to lob shots in the direction of Piety without hitting her employer; she manages to land a glancing hit; and it is glancing, barely grazing her shoulder. While this would be enough to incapacitate most mortals, behind what is a very thin layer of skin is nothing but solid purple meat; there is definitely nothing human about Piety now.</div><div><br /></div><div>I focus my powers further. I ask the smoke what it would take to give Piety back to Wash; long story short, it's not on the cards, for any price. And I really do mean any -- I'd trade a future favor with horrors of the warp if it'd bring back the woman Wash loved. But rather, she is extremely confident and insists that she will take Wash instead. I speak not with a woman, nor a single entity, but an extension of a greater power. She is the Warp. I see that there's truly nothing left of her, and resign myself to a solution of violence; not the first, but for the first time in a very long time,</div><div><br /></div><div>And then, the unthinkable happens; the manipulator is manipulated; flow is reversed, and I find myself incensed with fury. I telepathically inform Piety that "I'll show her the fucking warp", hang up, and begin cranking power to attack my nearest hated enemy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash, realizing that I'm not sending him in, descends into the Titan, and jacks in with his MIU. The world vanishes, and he beholds an island in the darkness; a red carpet, flanked by a score of knights; at the end, a wooden throne.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then a voice rings forth:</div><div><br /></div><div>"Tell us, these things three: Have you served your leige, despite danger to yourself? Have you acted in honor, despite the cost to yourself? Have you fought for humanity, and will do so until your death?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash, without deceit, answers in the affirmative. Barring his fondness for responding to verbal jousting with the fool's response, he is easily the most honorable among us, narrowly beating the Magos who loses points for non-consensual surgery and a materialistic approach to the components that make up a human corpse.</div><div><br /></div><div>The blades barring his way are lifted, and clear the path to the throne; a man sits the throne, clad in silver armor. As Wash gets closer, it transforms into a flight marshal's uniform.</div><div><br /></div><div>The stranger stands to face Wash, asking who he is, getting a simple answer:</div><div><br /></div><div>"I am Wash."</div><div><br /></div><div>The Flight Marshal explains. "This Knight does not have long. We are the last of House Engels."</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash answers: "Then it shall end in glory."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Kneel."</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash does so, and the Flight Marshal speaks: "Archaius Wash, you will carry our torch into the dark. Rise, Sir Archaius Wash."</div><div><br /></div><div>The knights salute, and the world falls away.</div><div><br /></div><div>The ground trembles, and rubble falls away as the Knight Titan stands tall once more; an awesome sight, and certainly not one expected here, in this vault below the earth of a planet long since removed from reality. The Magos clings to the top of the mech by virtue of her electromagnets, and gets an impressive view of the battlefield. Wash looks down upon Piety and the Lord-Captain, and carefully knocks the Captain away.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash is at the helm and he's running hot -- a parting gift from the machine spirit of the Titan, it's done something to repair the damage to his brain, and for the first time in a while, he's refreshingly clear-headed.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Piety, I'm sorry; you have to go."</div><div><br /></div><div>The Titan brings it's Reaper chainsword down, and misses Piety just barely, separating her and the Lord-Captain. But the gauntlet, such as it is, is thrown down.</div><div><br /></div><div>Skekris is basically drooling coolant from his Vox grille; he commands the Skitarii to eliminate the entity, and secure the Titan.</div><div><br /></div><div>Piety's skin ripples, and tears as she emerges and expands, growing to an improbable height, a gigantic purple daemon; she's not nearly as tall as the titan, but for someone who was human sized a moment ago, shes now an order of magnitude larger.</div><div><br /></div><div>Riding atop the mech, the Magos "unleashes bullet hell" upon Piety, doing some damage, but Piety's still going strong. Considering that the Magos can and has turned several men to mince within seconds of engagement, and that was prior to her mounting a plasma cannon on her back, it illustrates how inhuman daemons really are.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord-Captain makes good on his promise, and finally faced with a target that he can really go to town on, he cuts loose, a whirring dervish of chainaxes, decimating Piety's hamstring, down to the bone.</div><div><br /></div><div>Skekris opens fire again; this time, thanks to the increased size of the target, his gun strikes true, and rips a line up Piety's leg, explosions following it. The Magos identifies the weapon; it's a literal classic "martian ray gun". Archaeotech in of itself, the Mechanicus certainly likes to keep the "good stuff" in reserve.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash, no longer needing to worry about stepping on the Lord-Captain or smiting him accidentally, brandishes the Knight Titan's Reaper chainblade, and smites Piety good and proper for a ludicrous amount of damage; Piety can shrug off a lot, as it turns out, but a chainsaw taller than she is is extremely hard to ignore.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then it's my turn. Thanks to chance alignment and a more pressing threat, nobody's noticed that my nearest hated enemy isn't Piety, but Skekris. While he's immune to my psychic manipulation attempts, he is not immune to more base threats like telekinesis. My wrath manifests, and the stone around us begins to weep blood from the seams; the carvings on the walls, reliefs of people, weep blood, and flexing maximum power, I reach out and seize what little flesh Skekris has left -- his brain. He clutches his skull and collapses; it's hard to tell if the blood's coming from his mask or what orifices remain behind it. It's not immediately lethal, but he's down. Unfortunately, the miracle of violence that was a *minimum strength* Psi-rating 9 telekinetic crush is also an incredibly swift action; I've still got plenty of time to sling a krak grenade underneath him, and Skekris is transformed; he's no longer so much Skekris as he becomes Skekwas.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Skitarii suddenly lurch to a halt, their master lost, and things seem like they take a drastic turn for the worse.</div><div><br /></div><div>Piety turns to the one who has hurt her the most so far -- Lord-Captain Van Hohenheim. Her talons slice a glittering arc through the air, and the Lord-Captain's leg sails off in an arc; we all watch as our leader falls to the ground, blood spraying to cover six metres of the ground around him.</div><div><br /></div><div>She turns her gaze on the Titan's cameras, the unspoken message clear.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Magos spares a moment to assume control of the Skitarii before unloading her guns on Piety in a furious rage over the defeat of the Lord-Captain.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the cockpit of the Titan, Wash takes a deep breath. "Goodbye, Piety."</div><div><br /></div><div>He inverts the chainsaw, and drives it vertically down into Piety, slicing her in two; her purple flesh splits and dissolves, fading back into the warp from whence we came, screaming the whole way.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's victory, but at what price? We rush to the Lord-Captain's side, and the Magos does what she does best, stabilizing the mortally wounded man; he's lost a lot of blood, but the Magos is willing to bet that he'll make it. I message the ship and call for a medevac, ASAP.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord-Captain blearily mumbles that he wants Skekris to know that he forgives him. I nod, and say I'll pass it on, looking to what's left of Skekris.</div><div><br /></div><div>But before I can go finish off what little is left of him, and scavenge whatever surviving loot there might be off his corpse, Wash stops me, holding me at Titan-Gunpoint; I just killed a loyal servant of the Imperium, and for what purpose? The easy (and true) answer is that I literally didn't mean to -- I was compelled. But this is mind-taking country, not skull-jacking country; Winter York compels other people, not the other way around. And so I simply shrug. An opportune moment.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash, through the vox, challenges my allegience and loyalty -- to whom do I swear fealty? I'm not sure where he's going with it, but I point at the Lord-Captain. Wash sighs -- something higher?</div><div><br /></div><div>Confused, I point up at him instead. He indicates the symbol of the aquila -- the Imperium. I immediately point back at the Lord-Captain, and remain pointing at him no matter what Wash says.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, since I've been relieved of basically any role requiring trust, the Magos spares a moment to check the rapidly fading life signals from Skekris, who somehow hasn't died. I guess the Mechanicus makes 'em robust.</div><div><br /></div><div>The mask of Skekris falls aside, and the Magos recognizes who died. Magos Calederoth, whom she had previously seen around and about the Lathes. Someone who was in charge of interrogating Wash after an incident at the Lathes.</div><div><br /></div><div>But also a man who had been in the same room as Skekris. A body double, or a puppet. Of course he wouldn't come down here to somewhere we could kill him, in the actual, personal, flesh.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before we can start talking philosophy, the ground starts shaking. The ground feels immaterial. We realize that the planet is returning to the warp.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Magos calls for the Skitarii to grab not-Skekris and the Lord-Captain. I grab anything that is dropped and could be loot, and we bail out asap.</div><div><br /></div><div>We are hailed by Sebastian as we approach the surface; the Mechanicus are bailing out of the system, having got what they wanted. That's fine, we just need out asap.</div><div><br /></div><div>The medevac I called for arrives, and gives us a lift to the gun cutter so that we can recover that as well; we barely take off before the planet fades away, and our ships leave a rapidly vanishing gravity well, seven skitarii richer and carrying the fallen bodies of our Lord-Captain and a doppelganger with us.</div><div><br /></div><div>Skekris has not only remained a step ahead of us, we don't even know what he's after. Where I hoped to plant ammunition against him, I may have inadvertantly given him even more ammunition against me.</div><div><br /></div><div>At least he'll have to get in line behind a whole lot of other people if he wants me dead for the treachery which is quickly becoming my trademark.</div></div>Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-15771405674515020432020-08-08T05:54:00.001-07:002020-08-22T10:44:47.453-07:00Rogue Trader Season 3: The Ties That Bound Us, Part 1: Incursion<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. Protein shake advocate. The last of his line, and currently searching for the one thing that obscene wealth cannot easily procure, nor his now prodigious strength wrest from the world by force: Love.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-biologist, chymist, and practicing genetor, and most definitely the heart of the command staff. The Lord-Captain's wingwoman in his ongoing romantic forays.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A sector-renowned pilot of anything with wheels, wings, or a gellar field, and peerless swordsman. Often seen approaching the speed of sound, by virtue of his jetpack, but soon may be heralded by bombardment from a multi-melta.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - Rarely heard or seen, but his presence certainly felt, our Spymaster and reigning king of Human Resources and Administration. By him, every command given by the Lord-Captain is magnified.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Unsurpassed willpower and aspiring champion of markswomanship, despite the obvious handicap of being blind. Three time recipient of the Death's Door award. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, more machine than woman at this point, and endowed with wings. Also your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br /><div><div><div>Wash awakens in the sickbay, alone. He's fully dressed, and his weapons are not far away. The lighting is a ruddy red, emergency lighting. Power's out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash makes to leave, and spots a bolted-shut casket, labelled "Magos' Genetic Experiments, Do Not Open". Wash strongly considers opening it, but his concience finally convinces him to leave it be, and exit the bay.</div><div><br /></div><div>More red lights means no power; he wants to go check out the Genitorium. The rail car isn't running, so it's a walk.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, in the Enginarium, the rest of the command crew comes to; the engines are silent, and the place is abandoned. I conclude that things are bad, but not so bad -- the engine is here, and I'm not exploding like the explosive canary I would be if I were naked in the warp, so it's not totally FUBAR.</div><div><br /></div><div>I scan for minds; I have a range of 1km, out of the ship's total 1.5km length, and I'm picking up exactly four souls, and they're all familiar. One is me. One is very close to me, and surprisingly strong, one of them is weakly psychic and also very close. I'll figure that out later. For now, we need to regroup with the fourth mind, heading for the Generatorium.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, Wash is walking along; he's passing through habs. He feels inclined to check one out; it opens easy enough, and it's... spartan, but there. He moves onto the Generatorium, and makes his way in. It's quite deserted.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the drive-core room, he sees a bundle of red robes and metal. It sure is magos-heavy. He drags it out, and from the namebadge, it's Nox.</div><div><br /></div><div>As he's sorting through the body, and failing to salvage a flashlight, we finally get there, after having climbed up way too many flights of stairs. We catch each other up, and I finally bother to check for the Gellar Field; I cannot hear it, and I start whispering to talk.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Magos checks Nox's body; he got fucked up. Something with claws that could slice steel.</div><div><br /></div><div>We manage to reboot the generator, bringing it up from 10% to... more. We can't crank it any higher, there's problems. But we're able to bring more things online, like the Gellar Field.</div><div><br /></div><div>We take the lift up to the field generator; it's... scuffed. Whatever happened to Nox, happened to the walls of this elevator.</div><div><br /></div><div>The chPiety is as deserted as the rest of the ship. As we're looking for the ignition rune, something emerges from hiding.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's androgynous, and moves sinuously; it has one boob, and not center-aligned. It's horrifying. The magos, the Lord-Captain, and I are stricken by fear; I get 2 insanity points and pass out. The magos gets four, and starts vomiting uncontrollably. The Lord-Captain manages to pass out in a dignified way.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash, unfazed by the Daemon, gives the Daemonette "the business" with his multi-melta. (At which point, our DM realizes that he never should have let him have it.)</div><div><br /></div><div>We come to and stop vomiting respectively, slightly hot from the backwash of the Melta. The Gellar Fields are back up, and things might just be okay now.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then we took the tram up to the command deck; as we hit the last rail junction, we come to a halt; the line's been shredded up ahead.</div><div><br /></div><div>We get off the tram and take the stairs; we reach the observation deck, and find a horripilating sight; dozens of Kevins, slain where they stood; all of them in clusters, obviously defensive wounds as they covered someone's escape. Leading all the way to Sebastian's room.</div><div><br /></div><div>We enter his room. Or, at least, we try to -- we anticipated traps after the last time someone tried to enter his room and ransack his things without permission. It's quite the trap; his chPietys are entirely gone, and we just step into hard vacuum.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fortunately, those of us who don't need to breathe (Wash, thanks to the power armor, and Abigail, who is more machine than woman) have the reflexes to catch those of us who do, and pull us back in the door and reseal it.</div><div><br /></div><div>We circle up to the next floor, the meeting room, and it's glass floor; Sebastian's quarters are totally gone. A big giant silver chain hangs limply in space; it's got a gigantic silver fish hook on it, and from it hangs the iced-over body of Sebastian.</div><div><br /></div><div>The bridge. We need to get to the bridge.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's more of the same when we get there; dead Kevins, all in defense. Wash vaguely knows all of them. Wash leans over a terminal and rattles some keys. To no effect.</div><div><br /></div><div>We hear the metallic ping of something being flicked up and down. A coin, from the upper deck of the bridge. We hustle up there, and who we see sitting in the command throne is a woman, reclining in a slinky dress. The coin-like sound is coming from a ring that she's flicking.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Hey hun," she says, looking at Wash.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash knows who this is, but is extremely skeptical that she is who she is. Judging by the talk, she's his ex-wife, Piety. I barely keep up with the check-and-response, but it's clear she shakes out. Which is disturbing, since the read I'm also getting is that she, and Wash's entire home planet, Descent, was obliterated.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I thought I had skeletons in my closet.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash asks us to step out of the command deck for five minutes. Piety insists that we do not. I insist that we will. It feels like an alien psyche knocks into mine, and I'm knocked back a step.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash makes a counteroffer; if she gives him five minutes alone with her, he'll kill us himself.</div><div><br /></div><div>We tentatively roll with it; the Magos stays behind, but me and the Lord-Captain step out for a moment.</div><div><br /></div><div>And Wash attempts a sacrifice play by blowing out the void-glass of the bridge, and venting atmos. Piety does not like it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord-Captain demands that I undo the breaking of the glass; I gladly comply, and stretch my now impressive Psy Rating VI to Psy Rating IX (Effective Willpower: 120), trying to grab all the glass and pull it back into the window. Unfortunately, fortune is not with me, and it feels like my telekinesis hits a mirror, giving me backlash for 12 damage.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord-Captain calls for a voidsuit.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, Piety transforms; no longer human, an outright daemon. Wash can barely fend her off as they exchange banter and roll through Wash's more recent past.</div><div><br /></div><div>"A space marine? How gauche." - Piety</div><div><br /></div><div>"I'm pretty sure he's ambidextrous." - Wash</div><div><br /></div><div>The Magos, not having much success with riddling Piety with the now considerable amount of firepower she has bolted to her, faces the true power of a daemon of the warp, who ignores all her metal and armor, and slices her clean in half with a wicked talon for a fingernail.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord-Captain is suited up by now; I grab an Oz tank and let him into the bridge, closing the door after him because I can't wear a voidsuit anymore.</div><div><br /></div><div>I try to hijack the Magos' upper torso with Dominate... but as we incidentally discussed earlier, the Magos is entirely immune to the effects of psychic control. So I settle for telekinetically gripping Piety for 20 damage; it's a godlike manifestation of my power, but I, too, underestimate the strength of a Daemon in it's element -- unnatural strength and agility. Even eleven degrees of success can't hold it down.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then the toll of the fight hits me back, and straight out of time. (4 insanity)</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, the Lord-Captain concieves his master plan; he sits the Command Throne, and the ship springs to life at his word.</div><div><br /></div><div>Piety screeches as she stretches to infinity, and laments how nearly total her control over Wash was as she's torn away.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Once we're all back in the Real, we all regroup on Wash, who is now in a concious state.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Magos gives it to Wash straight. He's got brain damage. And not just any brain damage; neural decay. If we'd let it go on any further, the decay would eventually take basically everything. A horrible way to go. But, since the Magos got de-rezzed first, she had time to perform some surgery on Wash; she's patched some of the damage with a MIU and a neural compensator.</div><div><br /></div><div>In short... well, it's not a fix. But it'll buy Wash time that he really doesn't have.</div><div><br /></div><div>As we contemplate Wash's immediate future, we get signal -- a transmission from the Mechanicus.</div><div><br /></div><div>Long story short: our presence is demanded ASAP, and the Mechanicus are calling in the Lord Captain's marker, threatening to have his Warrant revoked.</div><div><br /></div><div>Coordinates are attached and decoded, but Wash already knows where they point to - Descent. Wash's homeworld.</div><div><br /></div><div>The journey takes us about a month of real-time, as we pass by Port Wander. With Wash out of action, it falls to the Captain to pilot his ship. Poor Wash feels the ship groaning as it hits what can only be described as a "sick drift" through an asteroid field; the crew are wailing in despair, and our resident death cult is hyping things up for "The End".</div><div><br /></div><div>And so the Absolute Ambition emerges back into realspace backwards, but intact. Waiting for us over the planet is the Monitor-class Mechanicus ship, Thule's Last Theorem. Named for Magos Paracelsius Thule, a controversial figure in the Explorator fleets, and depending on who you ask, absolutely bug-fuck insane.</div><div><br /></div><div>The ship hails us, and the owner comes on screen. Skull-faced. Arch-Magos Skekris.</div><div><br /></div><div>That Asshole.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next up: Descent.</div><div><br /></div></div></div>Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-3119741994344914182020-08-01T08:00:00.000-07:002020-08-11T05:51:15.966-07:00Rogue Trader, Season 3: Coming in from the Cold (Epilogue)<p> <i>Rumors of my death have been... greatly exaggerated.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p>The Lord-Captain, freshly cleaned twice and back in his usual finery, is interrupted by a warning about Wash's hospitalization. As he rushes to the medicae bay to see what's going on, he learns the depth of Wash's brain problems. He tries to summon Sebastian and Winter, but only gets static from Winter. Sebastian knows why; an explosion near the barracks.</p><p>He makes haste to the barracks, along with Abigail, and sees the results of our fight; a large scorch mark where the grenade went off, and no small amount of blood splattered everywhere. The dent in the bulkhead. And me in the middle of the scorch-mark, unconcious. But for all intents and purposes, perfectly healthy.</p><p>The next thing I know, the Lord-Captain has slapped me awake. I sit up, and I'm... whole. In my pocket is a paper note that crinkles. I pull it out, and it's a neatly folded paper that just reads:</p><p></p><p></p><blockquote>You owe me.<br />-Niall</blockquote><p></p><p>I curse him, and crush it in my fist. I put out an APB on him via Sebastian. Dead, not alive.</p><p>The Lord-Captain notices the locked barracks, and demands them to stop being closed, despite my recommendations otherwise. They open up, and the room inside is quite red. A train of murder-servitors sheepishly roll past him and out of the door, covered in gore and not meeting his eye. The Lord-Captain gives me a look.</p><p>I said I was tying up loose ends. I had it under control. Except for Niall.</p><p>The Lord-Captain informs me my revenge hunt can wait. Wash has brain problems, and my talents for getting inside people's heads are needed. We can talk about this at a later time.</p><p>I'm taken to the medicae bay where I see Wash on the bed. I put my hands around his head, and linking the Lord Captain and Abigail to me, dive in.</p><p>What dreams of madness await us inside the head of Archaius Wash?</p>Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-91903808264779956962020-08-01T06:06:00.000-07:002020-08-11T05:50:44.527-07:00Rogue Trader Season 3: Coming in from the Cold, Part 2: The Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. Protein shake advocate. The last of his line, and currently searching for the one thing that obscene wealth cannot easily procure, nor his now prodigious strength wrest from the world by force: Love.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-biologist, chymist, and practicing genetor, and most definitely the heart of the command staff. The Lord-Captain's wingwoman in his ongoing romantic forays.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A sector-renowned pilot of anything with wheels, wings, or a gellar field, and peerless swordsman. Often seen approaching the speed of sound, by virtue of his jetpack, but soon may be heralded by bombardment from a multi-melta.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - Rarely heard or seen, but his presence certainly felt, our Spymaster and reigning king of Human Resources and Administration. By him, every command given by the Lord-Captain is magnified.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Unsurpassed willpower and aspiring champion of markswomanship, despite the obvious handicap of being blind. Three time recipient of the Death's Door award. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, more machine than woman at this point, and endowed with wings. Also your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br /><div><div>We're on-planet, walking down into the dig site; a chamber was uncovered in the depth, and it warrants looking at.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's not shallow; walls have been uncovered. The place is oddly geometric, lots of perfectly symmetrical surfaces, angles and straight lines.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nial says that the Lord-Captain has not been introduced to him yet, and asks if we know; I say yes, and that he sent us in his stead, it does not require his personal attention.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash tells him he's a "shooter man", concealing his role as pilot, and thanks to the power armor, his identity.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's a command tent set up just inside the dig; several ex-guardsmen are lounging about in Casque livery. Niall enters and gets a standing salute from all of them.</div><div><br /></div><div>He introduces us to:</div><div><br /></div><div>Sergeant Ostia</div><div>Comms specialist Adrick</div><div>Kurtis (demolitions) and Nicolai (heavy weapons)</div><div>Reaver and Kelsig</div><div>Medicae Rolf</div><div>Grenadier Furlogh</div><div><br /></div><div>We're introduced in turn; I'm introduced as an ex-Casque member to some tittering.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kurt is doing his usual thing, turning a small hole into a large hole, and he found a concealed chamber. We talk a bit, try not to laugh as the Lord-Captain's fitted with a suspensor rig to haul a cargo crate, and we head on in. The Casque are sweeping ahead of us and bringing up the rear.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the end of the corridor, we reach a large, circular chamber. It's got a hole in the wall, which leads to a pitch-black, 98m drop. The Magos goes first, using her maglev to descend gently and report it's depth. She lands in a tunnel, which has a small river flowing through it; we head up to the source, and find something peculiar.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a literal wall of still water. The river is trickling out from the bottom of the wall. The Magos experimentally tries to poke the water with her axe, but it's extremely hard to even approach it, and progress eventually slows to a vibrating halt. I flick a shotgun shell at it, and it slows to a crawl, eventually coming to a dead halt in midair.</div><div><br /></div><div>We check out the other end of the underground river; it ends in a waterfall off the edge of a cliff.</div><div><br /></div><div>I propose that everyone wait up on the ropes or in the chamber above before we go trying to bust the forcefield. Just me, Kurt, the Magos and Wash go back to the forcefield.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kurt tries to probe me for more information about me and Nial; I don't really feed him any information.</div><div><br /></div><div>I try touching the shotgun shell with my hand; I meet the same resistance the Magos did, and I feel the vibrations in my hand. I try to pull it out, and it's extremely hard, it feels like my joints are extending. I use my telekinesis to hold my hand together as I pull it out.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's Wash's turn to try and get through; he starts melting a channel through the rock around the forcefield with his melta gun. He's blasting away with no thought to ammo efficiency. As he melts away, I hear a distant cracking sound. I ask Wash if he heard it; he didn't, he couldn't hear a damn thing over his multi-melta. I replay the sound for him via telepathy.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Cave in!" he shouts. We all bail out ASAP.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not long after we get up the way we came in, a torrent of water rushes past; it quickly abates, becoming a trickle. We head back to the source to see what it's like.</div><div><br /></div><div>The channel that Wash was melting away is filled with rubble as the rock gave way and let the water all flow out. This means we can consequently get into the chamber beyond.</div><div><br /></div><div>The mysterious forcefield is still there, holding a chunk of water just like the shotgun shell; closest to the invisible wall, the water is perfectly still, and further away, it's like it's melting, trying to flow in strange ways. We cordon it off; last thing we need is someone walking face-first into it, they'll probably rip their eyeballs out trying to free themselves.</div><div><br /></div><div>The chamber itself is vast and tall, with a number of statues of weird, bird-like lizard people. In the middle of the room is a raised platform; small statues on little platforms flank the approach to a sarcophagus.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash is extremely distrustful of the statues and remains on guard to destroy them if they make a move.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the central platform, we investigate the plinths; Niall knocks on them, getting solid sounds. "Kevin" Van Hohenheim knocks on the plinths on the other side, and finds a hollow one; he smashes it open with his bare fists, possibly breaking them in the process. Inside, he finds unguarded treasure -- a Macuahuitl, stone knives, a glass eye with a strange pattern, and a small, silver sphere with fine engravings on it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, at the sarcophagus, the crew prepares to crack it open. With impeccable care, the Magos lifts the lid off the sarcophagus; inside is a mummy, accompanied by a tasteful scattering of gems. And in it's hands, clutched to it's chest, is something small and weirdly crystalline.</div><div><br /></div><div>Niall is extremely interested in it, and tries to get it out without damaging the mummy; I use my telekinesis to do it, and pull out a small vial, containing three grains of what looks like large sand. Niall is extremely interested in it, and when I give it to him, he secrets it away in a secure pouch on his person. I ask why it's so important to him and what it is; it's a "planet's ransom", but he doesn't want to specify what it is, simply insisting that it's 'freedom' for the Casque. I telepathically knock on Wash's mind and show him a picture of the vial.</div><div><br /></div><div>All of a sudden, he's at home, in his bedroom. He's not wearing armor. He's not jacked anymore. He's back on Descent.</div><div><br /></div><div>He can smell breakfast cooking. He goes out to the kitchen, and sees a familiar figure, she's cooking grox bacon. She turns around, and Wash's last day on Descent flashes through his mind, before all of a sudden, he's back in the cave.</div><div><br /></div><div>He mumbles something about bacon. I ask him "what bacon". Wash gets his shit together and demands to know what it is that I just showed him. I don't know. He wants to destroy it, and so I refuse to tell him where it is.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash immediately turns around, and after getting a clue from the Magos, confronts Niall, lifting him up by his armor and intimidating him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Niall's not shaken, but he is eventually convinced to tell us what it is. These xenos had incredible control over the flow of time. The grains in the vial are literal moments of time. Worth a fortune to the right buyer on Malfi, and presumably not the first vial the team's found.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash is appeased by the explanation, and lets Niall go, and everyone calms down. I propose that if the vial's so important, we should wrap this op up and get moving ASAP; we can always come back later for the prefabs and other stuff that needed removing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Everyone agrees, and over the day, we start hauling what we can off the planet within the day, to depart tomorrow morning. I radio Sebastian to prepare a barracks for the Casque and their men, and I telepathically ask the Magos to ready some murder servitors near the room. It's time for a Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Casque's command tent is host to a small party and a toast; to the Casque's newfound freedom, Niall's unwavering leadership. The subject of my past as one of the founding members of the Casque is bought up. The precipitous mission where everyone else died. The Lathes is mentioned; I suggest we don't talk about it since there's an associate of the Lathes here in this very tent, and successfully quash reminicsing about the past. Niall grits his teeth when he thinks of who might have betrayed them; the pilot and/or the skull-faced magos who orchestrated the op. He curses that the rest of the Casque got made into servitors. I promise him that the current Casque will not share the same fate; they shall be free.</div><div><br /></div><div>We wrap it up for the day. I inform Niall that there's fixings and supplies for a further party for his men on the ship, in the barracks; I joke about putting it on his tab, since he'll be, in the near future, very wealthy.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Wash, for his part, has not been feeling so well; he didn't even fly the gun cutter up to the ship himself. Turns out that since the statues in the temple, he's been having some sort of neurological problem, a headache that's only been getting worse.</div><div><br /></div><div>As Abigail goes to put some censers and holy oils around his bed to try and help him get better, she discovers Wash on the floor, unmoving and immobile, the silver orb we got from the ruins not far from his limp hand. His vital signs are strong, but his brainwaves are fading fast. (<i>"A fool and his brainwaves are easily parted."</i> - DM) She immediately calls for a medicae team to help him to the medical deck.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, my betrayal is coming to fruition. I lure Niall back out of the barracks, later at night. I ask if he's holding onto the vial personally, to which he confirms. I give the signal to Sebastian to lock the doors of the barracks for the Murder Servitors' entrance, and attempt to Compel him to "give it to me."</div><div><br /></div><div>It fails, and Niall doesn't realize he just avoided getting compelled, insisting that he holds onto it as he realizes I'm not entirely on his side, but for reasons of potential profit and greed. I brandish my shotgun. I'm not asking.</div><div><br /></div><div>He refuses me again, and I shoot at his legs. Somewhere in between me pulling the trigger and him getting kneecapped, he vanishes, leaving only a floor full of buckshot.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hear the sound of a bolt pistol being chambered, and hold my hands up, throwing the gun away.</div><div><br /></div><div>Niall doesn't understand my betrayal. He's a loose end, I say. Niall doesn't have much to say to that, except regret that it came to this.</div><div><br /></div><div>While we were talking, I was taking aim, and charging up a full-power telekinetic bolt; it's accompanied by daemonic whispers of uncomfortable truths and secrets; Winter hears a whisper on the wind: "He looked up to you." Inside the barracks, men began to scream as they're exposed to the whispers too. Or maybe the murder servitors finally entered the room.</div><div><br /></div><div>Niall, for his part, maintained his composure, and dodged the bolt just barely; it smashes a massive dent in the bulkhead. I make a sleight of hand check and spin around, drawing my Wick-pattern slug pistol.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a moment's difference, but I'm faster. I hit him neatly in the chest, but he stays standing thanks to his flak armor. In hindsight, a grave mistake -- I should have just sprayed him until he was meat, never mind the expense of the amputator rounds.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not so lucky; he fans the hammer and his bolt pistol punches a solid hole in my gut, and left arm; the damage is catastrophic and it's blown clean off by his bolt pistol. What's left of it falls to the ground... and lets go of the grenade I primed behind my back.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's a moment of clarity, and then it goes off, and we're both engulfed in shrapnel and fire.</div><div><br /></div><div>The thing about almost dying not just once, but three times, is that you gain a feel for it; you can tell if this is "the one" or not. Well, short on the Emperor's favor, and tragically outgunned, I'd flirted with death several times previous, but this time, it was time to commit to the relationship.</div><div><br /></div><div>My only regret was that I couldn't avoid destroying the valuable vial of time-sand in my quest for destruction.</div></div>Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-19807068134501598202020-07-11T04:11:00.003-07:002020-07-11T04:16:29.524-07:00Rogue Trader Season 3: Coming in from the Cold, Part 1<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. Protein shake advocate. The last of his line, and currently searching for the one thing that obscene wealth cannot easily procure, nor his now prodigious strength wrest from the world by force: Love.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-biologist, chymist, and practicing genetor, and most definitely the heart of the command staff. The Lord-Captain's wingwoman in his ongoing romantic forays.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A sector-renowned pilot of anything with wheels, wings, or a gellar field, and peerless swordsman. Often seen approaching the speed of sound, by virtue of his jetpack, but soon may be heralded by bombardment from a multi-melta.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - Rarely heard or seen, but his presence certainly felt, our Spymaster and reigning king of Human Resources and Administration. By him, every command given by the Lord-Captain is magnified.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Unsurpassed willpower and aspiring champion of markswomanship, despite the obvious handicap of being blind. Three time recipient of the Death's Door award. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, more machine than woman at this point, and endowed with wings. Also your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br /><div>It's been a long time. Three years since the Dread Pearl.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our settlement, Verloren, has grown; cities have sprung into existence, and the Lord-Captain's personal residence, Meridian Prime, has been established; it's been extensively furnished, including a round table with a slightly more prominent seat, and statues of the Lord-Captain are prominent and (somewhat) tasteful; among them, a statue of him in a thoughtful pose, a statue of him wrestling an oncoming Ork that bears a strong resemblence to Hadarak Fel (spitting sound), and a statue of him holding the world aloft, supported in turn by statues of us.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our (the Lord-Captain's) wealth has expanded; we made full use of the bounty provided by the Dread Pearl, which has swelled the dynasty coffers, and almost as importantly, Hadarak Fel (spits) has not been heard of since -- with any luck, he didn't make it out, but knowing that weasel, he certainly did.</div><div><br /></div><div>In terms of health, the Lord-Captain has never been better; now accustomed to his new muscles, which have been evened out by judicious use of premier vat-grown muscle, his strength is rapidly approaching the realm of legend, putting him on a truly galactic stage; by contrast, the Lord-Captain's personal life is... not quite falling apart, as that implies there is something to be salvaged, but there is definitely something left to be desired. As fantastic company the command crew is, dating options are exceptionally thin on the ground, and being the last of his line in a profession which carries no small amount of personal risk makes for some tremendous dynastic pressure to produce an heir.</div><div><br /></div><div>To this end, the Magos, working her own family's prominent connections, is playing Wingwoman, helping to arrange suitable suitors:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWn8YRDpCRnmlSn4xL7D1CoLy5lvW-op4w34kfhKspqk4NfSvAltmB13_jAL9mea3adFb9n44-gqn8kaTY-9EdckLFkGAisQdCSQra5-P0ib-pWQGV560lUvSEMefVaKLTnYVhi_Q4TdI/s1280/107641293_758910681580618_2307746726174899256_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWn8YRDpCRnmlSn4xL7D1CoLy5lvW-op4w34kfhKspqk4NfSvAltmB13_jAL9mea3adFb9n44-gqn8kaTY-9EdckLFkGAisQdCSQra5-P0ib-pWQGV560lUvSEMefVaKLTnYVhi_Q4TdI/w625-h351/107641293_758910681580618_2307746726174899256_n.png" width="625" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>This is a quest not helped by the Lord-Captain's reputation as the "Mad Captain", so it's an uphill battle.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sebastian, ever diligent, has ensured the day-to-day function of the dynasty, and in his spare time, focused his Verloren-based efforts inwards. Thanks to him, what areas of Verloren are civilized are heavily bugged and monitored, generating a steady stream of intel for a man with his thumb gently-but-firmly on the pulse of a new settlement, and a new genatorium means power supplies going forward will be ample, and bountiful enough for something anti-orbital. In case of an emergency, of course.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the Magos' spare time, when she hasn't been meddling in the Lord-Captain's love life, or performing any one of the countless surgeries on myself, she's been working on isolating the genetic sequence that has rendered our Lord-Captain so... <i>vascular</i>. She's succeeded, but the development process was a bit hit-and-miss, and initial experimentation has resulted in a small squad of Kevins who have set up a full gym in the prow, pumping iron 24/7 and spotting each other. </div><div><br /></div><div>Wash, having made an excellent name for himself during the Dread Pearl Incident, has also made leaps and bounds; his skill and reputation as a pilot has given him the pull to establish a team of crack interceptor pilots, forming the first Verloren air force. When he's not out-flying his trainees, he's beeb working on personal improvement; he's made excellent use of the Hohenheim Gym, and has seen similarly remarkable gains. He also made significant material gains; his latest acquisition has been a multi-melta, the logistics of which he's still figuring out how he'll commit to.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And then there's me -- by the Will of the Emperor, I survived our encounter with the Eldar on the Dread Pearl. While I certainly lost the battle, I have made a very strong argument that I won the overall war with the space elves; after all, I'm still here, I can stand under my own power, and I can boast about it. Meanwhile, brave sir Eldar <i>bravely</i> ran away, only escaping Wash's relentless pursuit thanks to his backup dancers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Survival has come at a cost of some of what humanity I still possess -- once again at death's door, I've received extensive skin grafts, new skeletal prosthesii, and a lot of physiotherapy. But in the time where I wasn't in surgery or recuperating, I've been brushing up on some of the fundamentals; and in so doing, have sharpened my skills.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBf2PgmbJ_NlANftJOhxxoKT9eIOq3XVrvb08HHQwOUnhveUBA_CqJSiqLkoyN3Y4ABccMc2PwGe23LBEbHn8eMrc4YREO_iCmWcUAtIYVIPS6bitIGwq5NfnB-e_6b8RWK86p4f6czM/s943/107569356_711436196346262_2860891331822426680_n.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="943" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBf2PgmbJ_NlANftJOhxxoKT9eIOq3XVrvb08HHQwOUnhveUBA_CqJSiqLkoyN3Y4ABccMc2PwGe23LBEbHn8eMrc4YREO_iCmWcUAtIYVIPS6bitIGwq5NfnB-e_6b8RWK86p4f6czM/w500-h443/107569356_711436196346262_2860891331822426680_n.png" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rendition of the physiotherapy process, as provided by the Magos herself.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>In anticipation of a full return to combat power, I've procured a twin-linked pump shotgun; sixteen shells, ten kilos, and enough firepower to eviscerate any xeno at close range, until I need to reload which will take me a good half minute. My diminished condition means that I cannot make proper use of it, but close proximity and the extra buckshot should make up the difference until I get my gunplay back together.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But in the meantime, we have business to attend to. As the ship's radio, I get a transmission; it's for me. An old friend wants to catch up, and he's calling in a debt owed. But I change it, and now it's a different message, for the Lord-Captain. A 44 Quintillion Throne, 298 year old debt at Space PF Changs'. All to get the ship to the planet where I need to have a chat with someone from my past, who dared to bring up old debts.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifp4PrKcygx9_4c5WeJSBmdsYW__-Ml6uHjsflmeIssA44ic7h1sdNf9T3tK_AbGta0dEQfv3dF5EVfasi2pILLrd3o-fjnPkK4ETWjhoZTFK-uEypezvBj4aghMYrc2-I-zV3wIMQehQ/s1023/hohenheim+invoice.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="707" height="976" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifp4PrKcygx9_4c5WeJSBmdsYW__-Ml6uHjsflmeIssA44ic7h1sdNf9T3tK_AbGta0dEQfv3dF5EVfasi2pILLrd3o-fjnPkK4ETWjhoZTFK-uEypezvBj4aghMYrc2-I-zV3wIMQehQ/w674-h976/hohenheim+invoice.jpg" width="674" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The faked message. The debt is accurately calculated, and even the Administratum would sit up and take notice of such a number. A debt this large could leverage <i>anything</i>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It turns out to be my ex-CO, Lieutenant Nial of a mercenary outfit named the 13th Casque (formerly Sergeant in the 589th Scintillian Fusiliers, in which we served together), who has been caught up in the cold trade -- while running security for a client with a xenos dig site out in the expanse, he realized that the Inquisition might have the Casque's ships marked. He wants us to help transport artifacts out of a dig site, with the reward being the dig site.</div><div><br /></div><div>I agree to convey the mission to the Lord-Captain, and warn Nial to keep his damn mouth shut. He agrees, and parts ways for now, awaiting my signal. I catch up with the crew, who have resolved the fictitious debt issue, and are seated at a table in PF Changs; the air is decidedly frosty, and I present him with the job -- we're going to the dig site to clean up evidence of the Casque's involvement, taking away the last shipment of artifacts which they cannot move themselves without being spotted, and cannot otherwise profitably dispose of them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Out of character, it was noticed that the terms of the agreement which Nial provided, and the terms which I relayed to the Lord-Captain, are very much different, and will almost certainly cause strife. It was a genuine accident on my part, but one that I will not only commit to, but make full use of.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Lord-Captain is displeased with my deception in bringing the whole crew to Malfi, and questions my loyalties, but grudgingly accepts that there might be profit in the matter, and so my execution is stayed, pending the results of the business venture.</div><div><br /></div><div>He gives me a day to get my shit together, and after I pick up Nial, we head out. I put Nial in third-class. He sounds like he expected more from a former subordinate who owed him her life. I remind him that he's the one who's trying to dredge up my past. He's lucky he's not dead.</div><div><br /></div><div>We spend 25 days in the warp; and 109 days in real-time. We arrive at the destination; it's not on any naval charts. They only knew it was there because an Admech beacon reactivated around 4 years ago. The Lord-Captain is still pissed with me, and pointedly waits for me to start calling the shots; with him disguised as a (very vascular) standard Kevin, a few regular Kevins, and Nial, we head down to the surface with the gun cutter.</div><div><br /></div><div>We find the dig site with Nial's guidance; there's not much left, just a few miners left, Casques on sentry duty, and a few prefabs in the process of being dismantled. Here, Nial changes; he stands up straighter, and gets into his element as an officer; this is his turf.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's more Casques here than I thought -- he didn't just rebuild the outfit, he's strengthened it. When the time inevitably comes for me to throw him under the bus, I'm going to need to put in some work to make sure he doesn't drag me with him.</div>Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-52655459342550084012020-07-10T22:14:00.002-07:002020-07-11T04:36:30.696-07:00Rogue Trader, Season 3: You Can(not) Profit<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MWCoDpwvWo0" width="320" youtube-src-id="MWCoDpwvWo0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"I need to tell you something. Please listen, and try *not* to panic. You've been recovering from the Dread Pearl incident for... quite some time. Yes, yes, I know -- you want to know how long. I'm afraid it's been... three years."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's the Imperial year 40,296 -- three years after the Dread Pearl incident.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lord-Captain van Hohenheim has returned, wealthier still, to Verloren. From here he has commanded people to manage the expansion of his colony world and most importantly his own personal estate on the planet's surface, Meridian Falls.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">His research into the silver ship that took his family and his flagship continues, throwing up the occasional old voidfarer's tale about phantom vessels along the borders of the Calixis sector.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Being the last of his line has been on the Lord-Captain's mind lately, and he has taken steps to remedy this by making inquiries about potential bachelorettes in noble Calixis families. This has met with several complications - tales of the "Mad Captain van Hohenheim" are apparently rife within the Orders Famulous in charge of making these matches. Additionally, and much more disturbingly, the Magos has somehow caught wind of this and for what are surely her own abnormal reasons has embarked on her own endeavour to provide the Lord Captain with a suitable partner.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Winter York emerged from the Dread Pearl Affair in a sorry state - this is not particularly abnormal for her, but the unplanned and premature detonation of several grenades on her bandolier confined her bed and then wheelchair rest for the better part of 18 months.<div><br /></div><div>Having lost her arm, leg, and most of her skin to the explosion, Winter has gently led through the rehabilitation process by the caring* touch of the Magos, who replaced the missing limbs with chromed, skeletal bionics, and the skin with vat-grown replacement tissue. Her time confined to the wheelchair has given her time to read, reflect, and develop her telepathy and telekinesis skills to new and even more dangerous heights.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Why were we born? Just to suffer? Every night, I can feel my leg... And my arm, even my fingers... The dynamite body I've lost... The boobs I've lost... won't stop hurting... It's like they're all still there. You see it too, don't you? I'm going to make them give back my good looks!"</i></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Season three is just beginning. The Emperor's favor will see us through these times of strife, and I'm running out of credit with the Big E.</div><div><br /></div><div>Part I: Coming In From The Cold</div><div>Part II: The Ties That Bound Us</div><div>Part III: Proditum Memorae</div><div>Part IV: For Those Who Went Before</div><div>Part V: Reckoning</div>Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-49106548107285332532019-08-10T05:58:00.000-07:002019-08-10T08:25:25.533-07:00Inquisition Team 13: The Origin<i><b>The Inquisition of Karnath:</b> In the years following the war, the power of the Inquisition was readily tapped with the power of Gold. The King has seen fit to change this, and the Inqusition is now short of reliable inquisitors.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Inquisitorial Team Thirteen is:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Cage</b> - Tall, imposing, and denser than the dark alloy the warforged is made of. Has trouble opening doors unassisted. Best classified as a monk. Your narrator!</i><br />
<i><b>Lars Ceny</b> - An elven rogue drawn to the Inquisition by the lure of mostly-legal gold.</i><br />
<i><b>Severn</b> - A walking enigma of a wizard; arguably the most normal member of the team.</i><br />
<br />
<div>
<hr />
<div>
We are Karrnathian Inquisitors. Or so we'd like to say; we were actually just assistants to one. Unfortunately, we picked a bad time to be employed in the Karnathian Inquisition -- while bribery was rampant, we didn't get to taste any of it. However, being too new to possibly be worth bribing, we also escaped the mass purge that followed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Lars Ceny, Cage and Severn -- a team now known as Group 13 -- were summoned by Superior Glockta. Glockta is a war veteran, who was a prisoner of war and looks it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
DM: "He walks with a limp."</div>
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Severn: "A limp what?"</div>
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We're tasked with investigating who or what has been killing the King's Men in the town of Bastion. We need to go out, find him, get a testimony and witness, and </div>
<div>
Bring it back to Glockta. Our contact is Brother Longstep.</div>
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We're given 20 G for expenses.</div>
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<div>
We travel out to Bastion at the break of dawn, and arrive around noon. After orientating ourselves, we start looking for Brother Longstep. We start with the inn. It's certified by the dragonmarked houses, so at least it's something. It's staffed by two halflings, Brian and his wife, who are happy to point us to Brother Longstep (In the "big house"), and rent us two inn rooms for 1 S each.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We knock on the door, and are greeted by the quietest, and slowest old man ever. He's glad to let us in and (eventually) introduce us to Longstep. We're introduced to a squat, fat halfling who is spittling fat and goose as he eats with one greasy hand, and dictates something to his assistant gnome.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
He introduces himself. He offers a greasy handshake, which Lars gladly, and firmly, takes. Lars licks his hand afterwards, which elicits a reflexive heave from myself, despite not having a stomach. He wants to know who we are, exactly, and why we're here. We announce that we're the inquisition, and he's pleased we came so quick -- it's only been 3 days. We get his account of things -- peasants have been dying, and while one or two could simply be attributed to them forgetting they need to eat, three is too much, and four is absolutely unacceptable, it cuts into taxes too much.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Ella Gnomey, his aide, has more specific information, a list of who died, where they lived and their families, and more information. The victims were all found in the woods, which are known to be somewhat unsafe, given the lack of town guards, and they were otherwise perfectly healthy, if a little worse for wear due to being left outside. I acquire a copy of the list.</div>
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Some of the corpses have been taken to the nearby Garrison Ford for recycling in necromancy, but the others were too decayed to be of use and so were just buried.</div>
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<div>
We start with Karl. Outside his house, there is a pig. Lars thinks it bears a resemblance to an orc; if he is, he easily resists my questioning:</div>
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<br /></div>
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"Are you an orc?"</div>
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*oinks*</div>
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With inconclusive results, we add him to the list of suspects. If all else fails, we can nominate him as the culprit, only for him to fling himself into a fire on the way back.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
We talk to Karl's family; he was a good lad, he ate his vegetables, did the fields. He was young and full of energy. He was likable, and could have had his pick of wives, but was waiting for The One. In short, he had no enemies; he simply walked out one night, and never came back. He begins to tear up, and I comfort him with a rythmic pat on the shoulder. Pat. Pat.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We head back to the inn for the night and grab drinks; another two silver for drinks. The innkeep asks after Longstep; we inform that he's probably not hungry. Brian remarks that nobody's seen Longstep for a while, but he has a juicy rumor for us -- after Longstep's wife died, he seems to have gotten a little woman-crazy, and was seen with a female wizard. Hot like a fireball with legs that went all the way up, here and gone two days later. Longstep didn't talk about it, and hasn't been seen much since. The innkeep loves his wife, but just between him and us, wouldn't mind getting that hot wizard's address. I promises to deliver if at all possible, and this earns me a drink on the house. Which I drink.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The inn begins to empty as people go to bed. We are now in "Prime Sneaking Hours", and Lars sneaks out to go loiter around Longstep's house. Aside from a desire to to break in, nothing of note, so we go to bed; I am sharing a room with Lars, but at Lars' insistence, have to stand in the corner and face the wall.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As I stand in my corner, I hear rattling and movement from Servern's room. I go to investigate, and tell him he should be sleeping. I find him at the window, with an incredibly attractive woman on the other side... the bat wings and horns on the succubus probably help her stay afloat outside our second-floor window. She sees me, and vanishes as I reach out a hand:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Wait. I need to know your address."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The succubus wanted Servern to go outside. Probably a bad idea. I remind him to remain pure of thought.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The next morning, nobody has been succed. We need to find the Succubus' summoner; we contemplate luring the succubus with bait comprised of Lars and a copper dreadful or other erotic literature concocted by myself, to defeat it directly; but us attempting to fight the actual succubus head-on will go poorly, as we have no non-magical weapons.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Lars has a hunch -- Ella Gnomey might be our suspect. We go pay her another visit. The butler's showing us in, and Servern detects magic as we go; there is a *shitload* of magical items, including a painting, and a table with abjuration on it. Even the Butler is magical.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We get Ella alone, and inquire about Brother Longstride's new squeeze. That's a weird one; Longstride's ex-wife died a couple of months ago, a wizard named Jerad showed up, and after he left, the new girlfriend showed up. Coincidentally, the Butler, despite being old, is not old, but new -- he has only been here for a month or so.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We ask her to show us around the victims' houses. She loudly proclaims that she cannot, but she will show us on the map the best way to get to each of the houses. In the marks she leaves on the map, Lars realizes she's slipped us a message on our map: Check The Basement.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We head back to the inn and outline our theories: Ella is innocent, the magic she's surrounded by is natural to her dragon mark. But the butler... he's surrounded by a thick old illusion spell. He's either responsible, or knows something.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Night falls, and we set out to Longstride's mansion basement.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We descend, and find lights on in the basement. We all peek around the corner. There's a circle there, with a man split open in the middle; his guts are everywhere, but we sure as hell see that heart still pumping. He's not young, rather old; could be the "old" butler.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Whoever he is, we're pretty sure there's nobody home. His life sustains the magic circle; killing him will probably break the circle, and free the succubus to do whatever she pleases.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We're in agreement of ending the battery's life. I reveal my true function; a poisoner with a built-in poisoning kit, I puff poison over him to do the job, and Lars physically breaks the circle.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Almost instantly, we hear breaking glass above, and the sound of a fat halfling being succ'd to death. We sneak upstairs and take a peek. The succubus is hunched over Longstride and is literally sucking him dry. Her horns are definitely longer than when we last saw them, and Longstride is looking a little withered.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She finishes the job, rips his head off and not noticing us, jumps out the window. There is a potential problem in having a succubus on the loose in general, but she'll probably go home rather than hang around and terrorize the town. Either way, out of scope for our team, and so Not Our Problem.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We go find Ella Gnomey; she's curled up on her bed, stricken with terror, but we manage to convince her everything's okay. Turns out she didn't actually know much, just that she wasn't to go into the basement. This is fine -- according to paperwork we fill out, she is a credible witness who saw everything. We recommend that she continues to stay out, as well as out of the Lord's chambers, and hire a good cleaning team.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Severn and Lars also designate most of the magical items in the house for recovery; they need to be scanned for "Demonic taint".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Some days later, we're back at home, and we finish our report. We have Exceeded Expectations on this case, pleasing an unknown number of superiors, and our reward is a promotion; there is one Inquisitor position officially available, and if anyone asks, two of us are mere adepts, but we will be collectively appointed this position.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We are now collectively Inquisitor Thirteen. How unexpected.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Addendum: According to out-of-game knowledge, the succubus was indeed under specific orders; don't harm Longstride, and obey his every order. However, he had no malicious intent; he simply did not specify any orders regarding the citizenry, nor did he connect their deaths with his succubus, so she was free to feed on the men of the village at will. In short, a bunch of people died because a fat, thirsty thot of a halfling wanted a demon girlfriend.</i></div>
Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-53462965951596396242019-05-04T08:15:00.000-07:002019-08-10T08:16:37.133-07:00Legend of the Five Rings, Episode 2<i><b>Legend of the Five Rings:</b> Set in a location which is startingly similar to feudal Japan, a bunch of weebs play at samurai.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Legend of the Five Rings<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Ken</b> - Mantis Clan face and master of words. A ladies man trying to save himself for one particular woman; the duality of man embodied.</i><br />
<i><b>Togashi Chiho</b> - Dragon clan monk of the Togashi order; filled with Wisdom. Required to check her fists in as lethal weapons.</i><br />
<i><b>Mirumoto Same</b> - Dragon clan duellist; according to him, the best in the land, the trouble is not killing everyone in his way. A distant relative of the Jade throne, and also your narrator!</i><br />
<i><b>Yogo Asuka</b> - Scorpion Clan Shugenja.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
Before we all arrived: Yogo Asuka of the Scorpion Clan was seconded to the Crab Shugenja, Suzune. The Crag Shugenja are uncommonly forthcoming with their mystic skills -- all the better to arm people with knowledge to fight yoma, we suppose.<br />
<br />
She was witness to the arrival of the Mantis delegation and the Dragon delegation, and sized us up.<br />
<br />
She's awoken in the early morning by Suzune; there's been an incident. The murder.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Crane are flipping out, slinging accusations, and calling for the Mantis delegation to just commit seppuku (if those gaijin even know how)<br />
<br />
Asuka calms them down, informing that it's unbecoming to sling accusations before any testimony is laid. They accept this chastisment gracefully.<br />
<br />
Ken leans into Nogomi, reckons it's time to leave and do a headcount of the crew. Nozomi announces the Mantis to be blameless, and that they will retire.<br />
<br />
As they're about to go, there are footsteps; Shingen and his yojimbo arrive, heavy of tread as they are large in stature. He's livid, and asks Ken if the Mantis did it, to which Ken (eventually) directly says no.<br />
<br />
Shingen calls us all to the conference hall immediately.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We all traipse back into the dining room; no food this time, just business. It's 7am.<br />
<br />
In short, it's not good for the Mantis clan so far; it all seems to be against them. Ken admits the blade used looks like a mantis blade, certainly.<br />
<br />
Crane Daidoji's assistant, Doji, testifies -- in the early morning, two hours prior, he saw someone in Mantis robes vanish around a corner.<br />
<br />
Ken challenges this; was he sure he saw someone in Mantis colors, at that hour of the morning?<br />
<br />
I think about the murder scene; I was looking for blood splatter, but on second thought, there wasn't that much, and the whole scene was odd.<br />
<br />
The aide explains it with his lantern, but Ken continues to cast doubt on it; he insults the aide, offering him spectacles. Everyone tries to conceal their humor.<br />
<br />
I want to tell Ken that I believe he didn't kill Daidoji, but there was no need to prove it by killing a man right here and now.<br />
<br />
For context, while Mantis and Dragon both wear green and yellow / gold, Mantis is primarily green with gold trim, and Dragon is primarily yellow with green trim.<br />
<br />
The aide continues to be insulted, and demands a duel to satisfy his honor. Asuka tries to calm him down, but to no avail.<br />
<br />
Ken lacks a daisho, but accepts anyway, opting to duel with just a wakizashi.<br />
<br />
The Cranes ask Crab Shingen permission to use the courtyard for the duel, and he agrees; we all traipse back out.<br />
<br />
I comment that Daidoji's not even cold yet, and here we are, spilling even more blood. It's too early for this shit.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Asuka slips away with Shizune to go examine Daidoji's corpse.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, everyone's prepping for the duel.<br />
<br />
Kakita moves first with a lightning fast strike; Ken's almost caught by it, and drops his wakizashi, only to pull a flaming katana out of thin air and slashes at Kakita with it.<br />
<br />
The Mantis delegation's seen this party trick before, but everyone else sure hasn't.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the stress of summoning it has left Ken off-balance, and Kakita has his opening. He darts past Ken, and whirls; a thin slice glides up across Ken's chest.<br />
<br />
A single drop of Ken's blood pools at the tip of Kakita's blade and falls to the ground; he is the winner.<br />
<br />
I begrudgingly applaud his victory. Show-off.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
At the murder scene, Shizune breaks taboos and rolls Daidoji's corpse over; there's an amateurish cut on the neck, likely the cause of the bleeding... and the wound on the back hardly bled at all. Odds are good the knife was planted post-mortem.<br />
<br />
Also, the blood's super dry -- certainly not just two hours old, probably from after dinner the night before. So there's definitely a setup somewhere.<br />
<br />
They go find the guard on duty at the gate last night, and Asuka inquires as to who he might have seen last night.<br />
<br />
The guard obviously saw Daidoji and Doji come in. A few aides, but otherwise nobody of note.<br />
<br />
There is the servant's door, but... only servants would use it!<br />
<br />
Asuka sees fit to question the servants; with some difficulty, between all the kowtowing, but they claim they've not seen anyone, at least. Nor did they hear any signs of a struggle.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
After the duel, an apology has been meted out. Ken asks if I'd have won the duel; I declare that I would have. But on a related note, is the Mantis clan missing anyone?<br />
<br />
Ken confirms that they are indeed missing one man -- he is not a dishonorable assassin, however. I counter -- he may have been mugged for his clothes and weapon, and framed.<br />
<br />
Shingen calls us back to the conference hall, but I'd really rather not. I ask my lord for leave to go investigate the missing Mantis Man.<br />
<br />
In the hall, Shizune and Asuka report their findings. This clears anyone who has external witnesses after dinner, which would be Ken, Chiho and I.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the same is not the same of anyone else in the Mantis clan. Ken is to return to their lodgings with the rest of them, and report to the hall again in half an hour to team up with us.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Mantis clan returns to their lodgings, and find a very sheepish Daigo wearing a kimono that's clearly not his. He can explain everything. His room was ransacked, his robes and knife were stolen.<br />
<br />
Ken asks what exactly he was doing last night. Or rather, who. Daigo whispers his answer.<br />
<br />
Yasuke Shingen's daughter.<br />
<br />
<br />
He regroups, and gives us the short version -- the missing man has been found, and definitely didn't commit the murder, although his things were stolen.<br />
<br />
Asuka wants to question Kakita. I hail a nearby servant, and ask him where "the effeminate man with a sword" is. Kakita was walking out of the castle a few minutes ago, so we go track down Kakita -- Kakita Isamu.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We question his whereabouts; he didn't see or do much, simply noted that a missive had been delivered to Daidoji prior, and he retired to his room next to Daidoji's. He's not a deep sleeper, and a warrior to boot; I'd expect that even here in Rokugan, a fight on the other side of the wall would be noted. So there definitely wasn't a fight.<br />
<br />
Asuka and Kakita speculate as to the content of the missive; matters of commerce, he didn't really note it.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the list of suspects is getting narrower; someone whom Daidoji was familiar with, and so didn't struggle against them. Sounds like Doji to me, but character testimony says he's 100% loyal, so we need a bit more than a wild guess.<br />
<br />
I vote to search Doji's room. It's not exactly honorable, but to borrow more wisdom from Togashi-Dono: "If a Bear shits in the woods, and nobody is around to see it, did it happen?"<br />
<br />
<br />
Doji's room is on the other side of Daidoji's room, and we head there.<br />
<br />
I knock gently on the wooden frame of the door. "Excuse me, housekeeping des~"<br />
<br />
There's no response, so we head on in.<br />
<br />
Asuka searches for secret compartments; she doesn't find any, but she does find a bloodstain by the futon. We look at it further, and find the pillow is thicker than usual -- it contains a bloodstained green-and-gold robe!<br />
<br />
<br />
We convene and sort out the chain of events. After the show at dinner, Daidoji returned to his room to prepare a letter. But Doji saw that, and felt that the Crane shouldn't compromise; so he left, and stole from poor Mantis Daigo to acquire a mantis robe and knife; he approached Daidoji, and killed him with a cut to the neck. The murder committed, he planted the knife, and stowed the robes in his own room for future use to park the bus.<br />
<br />
It's unlikely he was set up -- whoever hid the robe did so in his pillow, but if Doji ever went to sleep, he'd notice it immediately.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We take the evidence to Shingen; everyone else lays out the story, with Shizune backing them up; meanwhile, I fetch Doji, on the pretense that we need him to visually identify the culprit. I bring him to the room, accompanied by Kakita, and show him a mirror with the bloodied green and gold robe. He demands to know the meaning of this.<br />
<br />
Shingen informs him that the truth is out -- he should confess. But he continues to deny it, demanding to leave. I ask permission to cut him down if he runs, and am granted it.<br />
<br />
We further pressure him to confess, but he resists. Ken-san needles him, and he breaks down -- "I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN AWAY WITH IT IF YOU HADN'T FOUND-"<br />
<br />
Kakita can't believe what he's hearing. Shingen tells the Crane to get out by sundown, and stay gone. Doji tries to run, and I let him... but Kakita doesn't, and takes his head.<br />
<br />
Kakita falls to his knees, and begs forgiveness and permission to kill himself. Shingen denies his request and tells him to get the fuck out.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
At dinner, we celebrate the new trade deal. Our lords get sealed letters during dinner; they all look at us and tuck the folded letters away. Mysterious.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
After dinner, our respective lords inform us that we've been summoned; we're lead to a shrine. Only we are to continue; our lords remain at the threshold.<br />
<br />
We advance further; in the main building is a lantern, and we see the silhouette of someone reclining.<br />
<br />
Our guide, Miho, carefully slides the door open. Inside, garbed in huge, sumptuous and lavish robes, embroidered with Chrysanthemums and bamboo shoots... one of the three royal families, the Seppun! I hit the deck, as does Togashi. Asuka's still figuring it out, and I pull Ken down quickly.<br />
<br />
She bids us to rise, addressing me as "Cousin".<br />
<br />
"I am Seppun Yumiko. And I have a job for you."Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-27644726914558604742019-04-20T08:05:00.000-07:002019-08-10T08:15:05.543-07:00Legend of the Five Rings, Episode 1<i><b>Legend of the Five Rings:</b> Set in a location which is startingly similar to feudal Japan, a bunch of weebs play at samurai.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Legend of the Five Rings<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Ken</b> - Mantis Clan face and master of words. A ladies man trying to save himself for one particular woman; the duality of man embodied.</i><br />
<i><b>Togashi Chiho</b> - Dragon clan monk of the Togashi order; filled with Wisdom. Required to check her fists in as lethal weapons.</i><br />
<i><b>Mirumoto Same</b> - Dragon clan duellist; according to him, the best in the land, the trouble is not killing everyone in his way. A distant relative of the Jade throne, and also your narrator!</i><br />
<i><b>Yogo Asuka</b> - Scorpion Clan Shugenja.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
The sun rises once again on Rokugan, and our journey begins.<br />
<br />
<br />
Arashi no Seifuku (Kura) "Ken" has been sailing down to the Estate; his captain was similarly invited to the Black Crane Estates. The ship's making it's way up the river when Ken decides to banter with the navigator, Daigo. Captain Nogomi, AKA "The Typhoon" tells them to knock it off, and gets Ken up to the bow for a talk. She talks about Lord Yasuke having given in to some of their more... diplomatic... overtures. She reckons it's a matter of jade, which is weird because Crab gets first dibs on jade, so what could the problem be? Probably pricing -- Crane's jacked up prices, so there's room for undercutting.<br />
<br />
Mind on business, Ken wants to know if Yasuke's got any daughters -- he's got one, just about to come of age. People who have his ear are few and far between, mostly related to his bodyguard, who is a large man, as Crab Clanners are wont to be. The matter of money -- Mantis has room to undercut the Crane by ~30%, but obviously undercutting as little as possible is preferred. Competition is Daidoji Eisaku, a little man of nasty words once a fan goes up.<br />
<br />
When the ship docks, they're boarded by an unusual sight -- Crab Shugenja, who scan the ship and it's crew. Once they're satisfied, everyone disembarks. Nogomi rounds up the delegation, and leads them in -- at the gate, they are again checked with jade. There's a one-armed shugenja, an older lady, who seems to be accompanied by a young Scorpion clan shugenja, who is doing her best to not stand out -- a tough ask since she's the only one not wearing face paint.<br />
<br />
The one-armed shugenja is Suzune -- she's in charge of security around here. She welcomes the delegation, and guides them in; the castle itself radiates a sense of aesthetic function; it looks good, but it's also clearly used by people, and not just a decorative building. She invites them to get comfortable, before dinner, where business will be conducted.<br />
<br />
The Scorpion accompanying her was Yogo, who is apprenticing under her.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Meanwhile the Dragons have taken a boat down from the City of Lies, after travelling there by foot. Yasuke Shingen has invited us (me and Togashi Chiho) down from the Dragon Lands to the Black Crane Estates, in the Crab Lands. He is, as far as we know, held in high regard and is an Important Person. In our care is Agasha Renzo, Dragon Clan Diplomat and second son of the lord Agasha, who is very young, and very chatty.<br />
<br />
Lord Togashi himself sent Chiho down, which is unusual -- it's rare for one to leave the monastery, and yet here's a monk, and part of the security delegation, no less.<br />
<br />
Kaiyo is wearing functional and tidy, but clearly-patchworked robes. He's carrying three swords -- the standard daisho at the hip in Dragon colors, and one katana across his back; the one across the back clearly sees much less use, and is in a black scabbard with a very light green hilt.<br />
<br />
Chiho gets to talking with Renzo, and learns that he's not actually much of a shugenja. Indeed, he is not one at all; he's never heard the "call of the Kami", despite his father's legendary proficiency. So this delegation is an important deal for him, a sign that his family places faith in him.<br />
<br />
"Some men are skilled with a sword over words, and some... uh, don't." - Chihiro Wisdom #42<br />
<br />
Renzo and Chiho get to gossiping about Same, speculating about him. He's quite probably an insult to Renzo's father of some sort.<br />
<br />
<br />
Meanwhile I'm trying not to hurl, I get seasick easily.<br />
<br />
Several months prior, I and Suzaku-San were summoned before Lord Mirumoto. We're in full kowtow, and I'm sweating for fear of the reason why.<br />
<br />
I've recently passed genpuku, and in fantastic fashion. I had unfortuantely wagered on coming third.<br />
<br />
Mirumoto asks if I can engage in honorable combat. I say "As much as combat can be honorable." He gives me a look. "I mean, yes, Mirumoto-Sama."<br />
<br />
It irritates Mirumoto, but he's been tasked to send a samurai to escort Agasha-san's son. He's loath to send a well-regarded one after the last Topaz Championship. So he's got me in mind.<br />
<br />
Sensei assents to sending me. I agree also, and escape the room with relief; I was sure he'd find out about the gambling.<br />
<br />
I'm given a pony (the runtiest kind) and sent on my way with no delay.<br />
<br />
In the present, the trip passes with little incident; Renzo gets to know me a little better, and suggests there could be a spot in the next Topaz Championship for a job well done. I aim to please. I reveal that I'm more materially-minded, than spiritually; that's a concern for other samurai to worry about.<br />
<br />
Renzo advises us to be polite; we're here to make a deal with the Crab, and it could be very profitable. We're greeted by shugenja at the dock; on our way up to the castle, I spot a few places that might be gambling dens.<br />
<br />
We're greeted at the gate by security, as usual, and tested again with jade. I try not to look at the missing arm.<br />
<br />
As we're shown to the room, the Security Shugenja informs me about the missing arm; lost to something on the other side of the wall, and paid for in full, "you can still see the jade from the wall today".<br />
<br />
Like the Mantis, we've got some time before dinner, to which I am permitted to wear my full daisho. I stash the third sword in my room, though, and do my job, keeping an eye on Renzo while we wait.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We're fetched for dinner by servants. The Yasuke family's in full force.<br />
<br />
Sitting at the head of the table is a large guy, and the guy next to him is even larger still. The head is introduced as Yasuke Shingen-Sama, Damiyo of the Yasuke family. We bow (deeply) and take our seats.<br />
<br />
Following us is the Mantis Clan delegation:<br />
<br />
- A real tough-looking lady; scars, muscles, and the whole nine yards.<br />
- Some skeevy-looking crab guy<br />
- The most handsome man I've ever seen.<br />
<br />
We begin dinner, and business, just the two of us; the handsome Mantis asks where the Crane are. Yasuke-dono says that the Crane don't really need to be a part of this particular talk.<br />
<br />
The business is indeed about Jade -- Crab needs it, and by imperial mandate, they get it. They pay the Dragon clan with no questions, and the price is fair, but there is the matter of transport, and until now, that's been Crane Clan business. But of late, the price has not been right, and so they are open to other overtures... like the Mantis clan's.<br />
<br />
Mantis lays out their plan. It looks like a 25% savings on whatever the Mantis is doing.<br />
<br />
<br />
We're interrupted by a thousand and one apologies; he's Crane clan, and his master has incredibly urgent business. Yasuke gives them permission to enter, and an incredibly angry little man storms in, followed by a samurai bodyguard. The angry little man, Daidoji Azka is, somewhat understandably, upset at being cut out. He says he's got half a mind to challenge to a duel, and that gets the attention of the bodyguards in the world.<br />
<br />
Mantis asks Chihiro for some wisdom in this trying time.<br />
<br />
"Wisdom is easy. You simply think of something unwise to say, and then don't say it." - Chihiro Wisdom #43<br />
<br />
After blustering, Crane declares that he'll be back tomorrow with a counteroffer that'll blow the Mantis out of the water, and storms off.<br />
<br />
It's reasonably clear that the Crane and the Mantis are being pitted against each other.<br />
<br />
<br />
After dinner, we have baths, and strategize a little. Renzo expects the Crane to make the first overture, but it's actually Mantis, and they want to see Chihiro first? Renzo tasks me to watch over her.<br />
<br />
It's Ken-san, and he'd like to take us out for tea. We get to a nice upper-mid class joint, and after some tea, he lays out the plan. He wants Chihiro to pick a fight with the Crane, and trigger a duel; I would champion it, and win, ideally rendering the Crane duelist out of action and stopping them from initiating another duel with the Mantis.<br />
<br />
In exchange, we'd get better deals on food shipments if the deal goes through.<br />
<br />
We thank him for the offer, and say we'll think about it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We go back to Renzo, and he kiboshes the plan -- it has no real benefit for us despite the risk.<br />
<br />
The next morning, we're woken up suddenly, someone Crane has been killed, and we need to see it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Crane Clan ambassador has been slain, and the murder weapon looks like a tanto, done in green and gold.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-50750443907140584292019-01-01T07:40:00.000-08:002019-08-10T08:00:56.008-07:00Necessary Evil (2017-2018)I was in charge of running a campaign of Necessary Evil for the group, with the gang eventually becoming:<br />
<br />
<b>Marshal Lawless</b> - Old western hero turned undead, turned supervillain. <i>(Featured: Episode 0)</i><br />
<b>Warhead</b> - A hulking, butt-ugly mountain of a man who glows faintly. Occasionally mutters to himself about lizard people and a hollow earth. <i>(Featured: Full Season)</i><br />
<b>Wattlad</b> - A young, cocky brit with a confident swagger. And electrical powers. Notorious bleach huffer and dealer, thief of kids tricycles, and unfortunately the butt of a lot of jokes <i>(Featured: Full Season)</i><br />
<b>Artemis</b> - A mercenary for hire with god-awful luck, a phobia of wet footwear, a deep and abiding love for birds, and a jetpack. <i>(Featured: Full Season; the mercenary formerly known as Roux)</i><br />
<b>Torment</b> - Missing an arm, but otherwise pretty normal -- almost like an accountant. Also really into the slap and tickle. He eventually regained his arm with the help of The Futurist. <i>(Featured: Full Season)</i><br />
<b>The Futurist</b> - An atlantean mad scientist with a wife and child, Evany. <i>(Featured: Episode 1-12; retired to explore Atlantis with his daughter.)</i><br />
<b>Spedro</b> - The world's fastest latino actor; under the impression that he was in heroic company.. <i>(Featured: Episode 12-14)</i><br />
<b>Triton</b> - An atlantean with a monkey tail. <i>(Guest Star: Episode 3)</i><br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<br />
For those unfamiliar, Necessary Evil is a Savage Worlds campaign where supervillains (or unpopular heroes) are the last line of resistance against alien invaders named the V'Sori.<br />
<br />
Necesssary Evil began airing in early October 2017, and ended in 2018. A full list of episodes for Season One of Necessary Evil:<br />
<br />
00: A Necessary Team<br />
01: Jail Break<br />
02: The Underground Irregulars<br />
03: Captain Clone's Legacy (Two-part special)<br />
04: A Necessary Christmas Special<br />
05: A Necessary Radiant Quest<br />
06: The First Family<br />
07: The Hanged Man<br />
08: Crossbreeds<br />
09: Blood Money<br />
10: Raiders of the Lost Temple<br />
11: Turncoat<br />
12: Daddy, I Shrunk the Villains (Alternate name: In The Garden of Dr. Devolution)<br />
13: Omega Strikes Back<br />
14: A Necessary Showdown<br />
14, pt 2: Necessary Heroes<br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
Highlights that I managed to record:<br />
<br />
"His nipples look like Spurdo"<br />
<br />
"I'm fine. My syphilis isn't acting up today." - Warhead, 2017<br />
<br />
"Oh baby, a tumor" - Wattlad<br />
<br />
Between episodes one and two, the team was:<br />
<br />
- Warhead has been aggressively and actively maintaining a 500m proximity to hospitals<br />
- The Futurist has been looking afer his family<br />
- Wattlad has been selling the "drugs" obtained from the prison camp (bleach)<br />
- Artemis has been aggressively dabbing on top of rooftops<br />
- Torment has been cashing in on the dole for having only one arm, and driving his Reliant Robin<br />
<br />
The team also decided on a name at this time: The Best That Could Be Expected Given The Circumstances (Team TBTCBEGTC) -- or Team Buckets.<br />
<br />
In the labs of Colonel Clone, they encountered clones of:<br />
<br />
Triton<br />
Wattlad<br />
The Speedster -- world renowned actor Bukkake Splish'n'Splash, AKA Mr Dart.<br />
The Stretch -- World renowned actor Jeff Goldblum, AKA The Rubber.<br />
Warhead<br />
<br />
They also had to fight approximately twenty seven assorted clones, all defective and special in their own ways, including:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Naked martial-arts master Captain Clone</li>
<li>4 90's Leisure Suit Captain Clones</li>
<li>Jeff Goldblum in a sentai pose</li>
<li>Four captain clones in womens' bikinis. (Luckily, their mutation is a perpetual mosaic over their groins, making this adventure safe for a Christian manga.)</li>
<li>Four Captain Clones painted to look like the wall</li>
<li>Captain Clone stuck to the ceiling</li>
<li>Four Captain Clones in stars-and-stripes spandex, driving Mazingolfer Z.</li>
</ul>
<div>
They also found a clone of Torment from before he lost his arm, or as he knew himself, Dr Egon Payne. And unlike the others, he was not an evil clone. Alas, he was killed as he tried to leave the lab by a homeless man -- it seems fate will not permit two to live.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Warhead's signature move for the episode was the Cancer Dropkick -- proof of his evil villainy, he stole this move from Captain Cancer, who is certainly not him by another name.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Synopsis: Necessary Evil: A Necessary Christmas</div>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>It's Christmas in Star City, and there's a certain something missing... supervillains all throughout the world, in this holiday season, feel a sense of loss.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>Normally, everyone would be competing at the black market to buy laser death rays to shoot down Santa, or stealing uranium for very small ICBMs disguised as chrismas trees in an exciting, but ultimately futile attempt to ruin Christmas for everyone... but at the end of the day, there's not really any challenge or fun in it if there's no heroes to oppose you, is there?</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>Sure, there's the V'Sori, but they care more about the fact that you've got a WMD, rather than that you're going to ruin a holiday for millions -- it's just not the same. And with no Alpha Force, or Champion, it seems like those dastardly plots of yesteryear will never make a return...</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>Or will they? Dr. Destruction thinks it's time to send the world a message, that the V'Sori haven't won. And the best way to do that is to have a traditional Megalomaniacal Holiday Scheme, and show those alien bastards that they're so inferior, they don't rate the top of the priority list, even now.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>For this purpose, somewhere in Star City, another Omega cell will carry out a traditional Holiday Scheme. And on this, the night before Christmas, it will be up to Team Bucket to become The Champion and the Alpha Force, and ruin it in the nick of time.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>What's that in the air? Smells like... Christmas.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This episode guest-starred Gorilla Nod, half-gorilla, half-scorpion mutant mastermind, and his revolver-toting Chimpanzee henchmen. Team Buckets adopted the following roles:<br />
<br />
Warhead as The Champion -- 'nuff said.<br />
Wattlad as Giant -- Like Cyclops, but taller, and has goggles instead of a visor<br />
Triton as Lionsgate -- He could climb things, and was reasonably fast.<br />
Torment as Halcyon -- With the power of violent flashbacks to yesteryear<br />
The Futurist as Night-Man -- All allegations of rape are unfounded and without evidence. Known for his trademark gadget collection, the "Swell Belt".<br />
Artemis as Fidel Casto -- "God Bless Cuba, Even Though God is a Captialist Construct, I love Communism"<br />
<br />
Dr Destruction was a little disappointed that nobody wanted to be The Aquarian.<br />
<br />
Wattlad: "I think when he put on the mask, he stopped being the Futurist, and became something else."<br />
<br />
Futurist: "Where is-" *clears throat* "WHERE IS THE BANANA"<br />
<br />
It's noted that at this time, Warhead gave Gorilla Nod cancer. This was not part of the script.<br />
<br />
<br />
Synopsis: A Necessary Radiant Quest<br />
<br />
There's a settlement in danger, and it needs Team Buckets' help. And by Settlement, I mean the First Bank of Star City, and the danger is that they have too much money.<br />
<br />
This episode guest-starred The Futurist's daughter, Evany, and an excessive amount of Friendship delivered in .357 caliber.<br />
<br />
This episode also guest-starred Al Capone; this would be the last time that Al Capone would be seen as the world remembered him. Some time after this, he would discover Japan and anime culture, becoming Neko Al Capone. (<i>Nya, see?</i>)<br />
<br />
<br />
The First Family guest-starred Michael Wilson as the President of the Great United States of America.<br />
<br />
"You could tie a grenade to a pidgeon!"<br />
"It'll be like Jihad, but for birds"<br />
<br />
A biography was planned by Michael Wilson: "From Lounge Suites to Metal Wolf: One Man's Rise to the Presidency"<br />
<br />
<br />
The team further descended into villainy by counterfeiting IMI's Desert Eagles; Artemis acquired dual Desert Pidgeons.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Sardine: An E-list supervillain with the powers of smelling rather bad and Wedging.<br />
<br />
<br />
Willy the Fish proved to be like the father that none of Team Buckets ever had; alas, he sacrificed himself so that they could escape the ambush. This lit a furious fire in the hearts of the team, who could not move on until they had taken revenge.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Incredible Sulk, a man capable of throwing great tantrums at the drop of a hat<br />
<br />
Parallax, the man who was in two, equidistant, never-converging points at once.<br />
<br />
The party discussed rogues galleries:<br />
<br />
Warhead was Villain of the Week, and has personally had his ass beat by the Champion before.<br />
Wattlad has bumped heads with The Man, Charles Worthington, the Super-Gentleman Spy.<br />
Torment was responsible for killing The Pope. All of them. Even Pontif3x, the Cyberpope.<br />
<br />
<br />
Jeremiah, The Amish Avenger. "I've never seen a man do so much with a two-by-four."<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
In Daddy, I Shrunk the Villains:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The method of insertion after being shrunk was an incredibly fat, greasy pidgeon named Wide Tony</li>
<li>Dr. Devolution's buried lab was guarded by terrifyingly large ants; ants whose sole job was to devour and accumulate trace elements of gold, which they yielded after death, and grew in size when the party unshrank themselves; it yielded an unexpected ten million dollars, a hundredth of which was surprisingly used to start a soup kitchen.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Necessary Showdown guest starred:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
Solid Clone - One of the last "Sons of Captain Clone".</div>
<div>
<div>
Neko Al Capone</div>
<div>
Gorilla Nod & the Comrade Chimps (formerly the Revolver Chimpalots) - Nod went into remission just in time to throw down. The chimps are still looking for Fidel Castro.</div>
</div>
<div>
Power Armor President Michael Wilson</div>
<div>
Wide Tony the Pidgeon - Somehow still larger than everyone else, despite Team Buckets no longer being shrunk.</div>
<div>
Warhead's Tank - looted back in Episode 0, and kept in storage for some three years.</div>
<div>
Liquid Clone</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And finally, the team received help in their fight against the Cyber-Overmind from someone wearing what looks like Dr Destruction's power armor in pink. As the overmind fell, the power-armored individual reveals themselves to be... Pink Pony Princess, AKA Eveny, the Futurist's daughter? She was sent back in time from 12 years in the future, because the world has descended into chaos thanks to a power vaccum; without Dr Destruction, The Champion, any of the Alpha Team, or even the V'sori, what's left of Omega, as well as new "heroes" and "villains" have emerged to take Earth for their own.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The team walked into the V'Sori sunset to find a space ship.</div>
Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-29940047543578820812018-11-17T06:49:00.000-08:002019-08-10T07:01:54.241-07:00Kevins of the Wild 2: Adventures in WarplandThe Kevins are once more gathered together -- with the exception of Psy and Fixy kevin -- in the ship's cathedral, following the adventure to the Dread Pearl.<br />
<br />
Bishop Kevin is presiding, and leads the crew in a eulogy for Wheely Kevin. The casket is empty save for a chair and a pair of pants.<br />
<br />
He allows us a moment of silence before shouting "NEXT!" and the next casket is dragged in.<br />
<br />
57 services later, Leftenant Kevin takes the team aside to give the good news: The Kevins have this thing called "Shore Leave", now. Also, after months of extensive testing ("Kevins within Kevins within Kevins, within Kevins. Affirm." "Affirm." "What's it like to be paid?" "Unknown.") I, Fixy Kevin, am finally out of the brig.<br />
<br />
Shore Leave appears to have been granted en masse -- the dock is filled with Kevins, and the pubs creak collectively in fear. The locals flow out, and the Kevins flow in.<br />
<br />
As promised, Lieutenant Kevin buys us the first round, and toasts Wheely Kevin. Whom I knew from Technical College. I put him in the wheelchair during the exam for my degree, sure, but I liked to think we were close.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Our clique (Me, Healy Kevin, Smarty Kevin, and Grizzly Kevin) are talking about intoxicating substances (Amasec, that water from Vaporious) when Sleazy Kevin takes this opportunity to show up to peddle his shitty cocaine.<br />
<br />
"Heck off, sleazy kevin, we don't want your crap cocaine around here," Healy Kevin says.<br />
<br />
"Nah, this is new stuff," he promises. He presents some interesting-looking lho sticks. "These are better than any obscura."<br />
<br />
Grizzled Kevin wants to buy the drugs, but he's got no money, so he distracts Sleazy Kevin and then punches him clean out. He steals every drug he's got, and starts handing out the fancy sticks, a green, crystalline substance wrapped in gold foil.<br />
<br />
Not strong enough to resist peer pressure, I light up first. And I hear screaming for a moment before I black out.<br />
<br />
<br />
I wake up with everyone else in a place that definitely isn't the bar. We're sprawled on the floor in the middle of a forest -- everything is ridiculously green, and the trees are dense.<br />
<br />
The sky overhead is a brused color. We're definitely not on Footfall.<br />
<br />
Fighty Kevin asks Grizzled Kevin to climb a tree. But he doesn't climb trees, he pushes them over. And to prove it, he does so, with a splintering of wood. And a squelch sound?<br />
<br />
We check it out carefully. I approach with staff in hand. It's a swamp. Or a mire.<br />
<br />
As we're peering at it through bloodshot eyes, something long and thin picks me, Healy and Fighty Kevin up off the ground!<br />
<br />
Grizzly Kevin slaps the vines, dealing some damage.<br />
<br />
Smarty Kevin tries to negotiate with the vines. He promises them women later for freedom now, but nothing. It seems like these are harder to buy than the Incel board.<br />
<br />
Healy Kevin tries to wriggle free. She doesn't.<br />
<br />
I apply leverage to the vines with my staff, and I free myself, readying my lasgun.<br />
<br />
Fighty Kevin gets out, and pulls out his monospear.<br />
<br />
The vines react; the one that has Healy Kevin strangles. The one that had me shoots a cloud of spores at me from a flower. It misses, but another one gets Fighty Kevin good, and breathing is hard.<br />
<br />
Grizzly Kevin keeps working at the vines holding Healy Kevin.<br />
<br />
Slighted by the vines, Smarty Kevin opens fire on the vines -- it's like High Scholum all over again. The vines recoil in pain.<br />
<br />
Healy Kevin frees themselves, and draws their flamer.<br />
<br />
I land a shot on the vines as well, getting a scream from the plant.<br />
<br />
Fighty Kevin, struggling to breathe, nonetheless manages to plunge his spear into the heart of the plant and kills it.<br />
<br />
The plants spray more spores at Healy Kevin. Grizzly Kevin slaps them around some more.<br />
<br />
Healy Kevin, now free and armed, burns their flower monster.<br />
<br />
Fighty Kevin stabs mine and finishes it off.<br />
<br />
As combat ends, Healy Kevin administers antidote to themselves and Fighty Kevin.<br />
<br />
As we examine the plants (smell like meat, and look like rotting flesh), there's the sound of walking feet. And as we watch, the forest seems to move to part for a figure.<br />
<br />
A feminine figure, rather pointy and to some of the party, familiar -- she looks a lot like the statue salvaged from the Dread Pearl?<br />
<br />
We introduce ourselves. Her name is Isha. She has a husband, "Very Busy Man".<br />
<br />
She greets us warmly, and apologizes for not reaching us sooner. She invites us to "come along", and we do so, taking advantage of her ability to part the forest.<br />
<br />
We eventually reach a small cottage; the outside appears to be dripping slime, but it looks to be in good condition, a thatched cottage with chairs outside and a kettle on a fire. Isha takes a seat and invites us to do the same.<br />
<br />
She recaps how we got here. She knows where Footfall is, mentioning some of "her people" who occasionally speak to her from there. The way she speaks of it, we're nowhere near the Halo stars, it sounds like.<br />
<br />
We are in the Garden -- here, she and her husband grow flowers. She grows the brighter colors, in contrast to her husband's preferred blues and blacks.<br />
<br />
Then the ground shakes as immense footsteps approach. Trees don't part for this one. He swims into view -- an immense, bloated creature wearing a hat and tie, a greater daemon of Nurgle, guts hanging out and corpulent.<br />
<br />
He shrinks down to a more reasonable size, and Isha plants a small kiss on his cheek. We politely introduce ourselves to this monstrous, but clearly pleasant creature with a very jolly voice, "Very Busy Man". He corrects me on the name -- Nurgle. But most people call him Grandfather or Pappy.<br />
<br />
We speak with him. Long story short, we are indeed in the warp. And we are in so much danger. But he's nice enough. He saw Psy Kevin, he passed through briefly. Nurgle sent him on, although he's not sure what happened after that. A darn shame. He's willing to send us along after him, if needed.<br />
<br />
We snap a commemorative photo for Aquilagram. We all take a point of insanity... and tag @WinterYork. We'll have to wait until we get Astropath signal to upload it, though.<br />
<br />
Nurgle has some opinions of the other gods.<br />
Khorne is nice enough, provide you catch him on a nice day. The problem is, he hasn't had a nice day in about 12 billion years.<br />
Slaanesh... best not to go there. But Healy Kevin can just... do whatever.<br />
<br />
Anyway. Nurgle makes a door appear out of some trees.<br />
<br />
Before we leave, Nurgle has a letter for us. It's addressed to Hadarak Fel... If we get the chance, we should say hi to the Eldar for Isha.<br />
<br />
He gives us a gold tooth for the trouble, and bids us farewell.<br />
<br />
<br />
I open the door, and I'm no longer in the Garden. Ashen fields surround us. "God damnit," Smarty Kevin says. "We're in New Jersey."<br />
<br />
Ahead of us, we can see a figure sitting in the ashes. As we get closer, we realize he's huge. Huger than Grizzled Kevin, even. Clearly a space marine, his armor is ashen white and his pauldrons blue.<br />
<br />
He greets us with a slow, heavy voice. He tells us that we are... here. Very helpful. Here is not a safe place for mortals to be wandering. He speaks slow and ponderously, devoid of emotion.<br />
<br />
He will guide us out. He brushes ashes off the ground, and picks up two very familiar chain axes... remarkable craftsmanship. Made for unification.<br />
<br />
I ask him what his name is. Akaios, he thinks. It's been a while. He turns to the horizon, and starts walking -- slowly -- so we can follow. He suspects we're not from his time. I mention we're from M41, and he confirms he's from M30.<br />
<br />
He's depressed as hell. He needs to leave, but he can't; he and his brothers are damned. It's a very somber walk.<br />
<br />
As we walk, we approach structures, mountains and citadels in the distance. There's another figure in the distance, hunched and without power armor. We're being watched.<br />
<br />
Healy Kevin waves and bids it hello, and all we get back is a laugh. A laugh I've heard before. A laugh I don't like one bit.<br />
<br />
It's my Ex. A bloodletter. I ask to borrow one of Akaios' axes. He agrees, and gives me a now-familiar axe -- Wrack.<br />
<br />
Grizzly Kevin puts his hand on my shoulder, and passes me a literal fistful of leaves. I chow down and suddenly, I feel like a bear. I bellow a challenge at this bear-like bloodletter, and challenge it to a fight.<br />
<br />
I proceed to have the coolest duel of my life, burying the borrowed chainaxe in it just as it punches me out cold.<br />
<br />
I find myself adrift in a sea of stars.<br />
<br />
"Dude! Dude! Wake up!" I open my eyes with an unsticking feeling to see a flaming skull leering over me. I'm sitting in the sidecar of what appears to be a daemonically posessed motorcycle. A space marine with a flaming skull for a head drives it.<br />
<br />
I took bear leaves, and apparently I know how to fucking party. Doomrider is his name, and Astral Projecting is apparently what I'm doing. He'd be glad to give me a ride back to my physical body.<br />
<br />
"Wake up!"<br />
<br />
I open my eyes again. For a moment there, I was cool. Then they avert their eyes from mine again. I'm surrounded by the other Kevins and Akaios. I sit up, and for a moment, I see Doomrider, before he vanishes into a portal.<br />
<br />
I confirm that I won the fight, and return the axe to Akaios. To my surprise, he returns the axe to me, and Ruin to Healy Kevin.<br />
<br />
He dusts off the ground to reveal skulls -- 88 of them. He asks us to remember him, remember the War Hounds as what they were, and not what they became. I tell him I only see a loyal War Hound, and I'll never forget Akaios of the War Hounds.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We rematerialize in a realm of purple, gold, and silk. Soft music flows. There's a large bed, silk drapes on the walls, mood lighting and incense in the air... and an ork? The ork is confused, unarmed, and just wants a fight.<br />
<br />
A tantalizing voice calls from beyond a series of veils. "The Ork, I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting visitors."<br />
<br />
It's Healy-Kevin's time-share god.<br />
<br />
Slaanesh materializes a bag of cocaine for Grizzly Kevin, and he buries his face in it, becoming Polar Kevin for a time.<br />
<br />
We stay and chat for a while, but it's eventually time to go. The exit door leads to a long corridor.<br />
<br />
There are two doors -- one with a symbol like a meteor, and one labelled in Gothic, "Armageddon". The ork wants a fight, so I guess we'll head out through Armageddon?<br />
<br />
The Ork smells the air that blows through, and is thrilled. He smells a fight. He's going to take it, and make great the name Gazgul Mad Urak Thrakka.<br />
<br />
Whoops. Oh well, we make an exit through the other door.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We find ourselves in a mirror maze. Healy-Kevin seems to have a knack for navigating it, though, so we follow his lead.<br />
<br />
We find ourselves in a central, eight-pointed star at the center of the maze. And sitting on a glass bench in the middle, with no pants and no wheelchair... Wheely Kevin.<br />
<br />
He's not who he used to be. But he still has that same shit-eating grin, and I Remember why I didn't feel that sorry about putting him in the chair to start with.<br />
<br />
We talk a while. But talk runs thin, and we want out. Or we never wanted out. Or we've always wanted out. And the way out is through the Blue Horrors that are now surrounding us.<br />
<br />
Only holy weapons or a psyker will save us here, and we have none. But we do have bear leaves.<br />
<br />
"Well, are you going to eat the bear leaves or not? For the Emperor."<br />
<br />
Standing atop the walls of the Infinite Maze, dressed in a long cloak, carrying a bolt pistol, a makeshift staff, and a ridiculously wide hat -- Psy Kevin. He jumps down, and with a strike of his staff, keeps the blue horrors at bay.<br />
<br />
We chow down on the bear leaves, and...<br />
<br />
<br />
We come to, and catch up with psy-kevin. It's been... a while. He's seen a lot.<br />
<br />
But for now, two errands.<br />
<br />
First, we return to the ashen wasteland. Istvaan V. We find a cave, and inside, white helmets stacked neatly; we leave the power axes there to be found some millenia later, and eventually, pass into the hands of our captain, and all is right with the world.<br />
<br />
The next errand is a stop at Groks' Pizza, we're on a pizza run, apparently -- although with warp travel and time being optional, not on any particular schedule.<br />
<br />
We find ourselves in a smoky room, the smoke in 9 primary colors. We catch a lungful of plaid on the way in.<br />
<br />
"Pizza's still warm," Psy-Kevin announces.<br />
<br />
The smoke parts to reveal quite an array of players. The Deceiver. The Eldar Laughing God. Tzzentch. And the Emperor himself. It's a strange game, Paradox Poker, and the stakes are... odd.<br />
<br />
The Emperor thanks us for the delivery, and decides to grant us each a boon.<br />
<br />
Grizzly Kevin asks for and gets gold-laced cocaine.<br />
Smarty Kevin asks for and gets forgiveness for Akaios of the War Hounds.<br />
I ask for and get an STC.<br />
Healy Kevin asks for and gets freedom from Slaanesh.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Emperor opens a door, and there's a gold surfboard. He takes us back to Footfall... the long way around. As we pull up outside the bar, I have one last question, hopefully a freebie.<br />
<br />
"Are we before or after we left?"<br />
"Yes."<br />
"Poorly worded question. That's my fault, I accept it."<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-81933207919389539472018-11-10T06:44:00.000-08:002019-08-10T06:47:57.860-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew Strikes It Big<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
We make planetfall as fast as possible, and land with more vim and vigor than we ought to.<br />
<br />
The natives greet us warmly, again, but they have another in their midst, bearing news of the Creator; dressed in green, she descended from the heavens.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain convinces them to let me see in their mind who it was. I recognize her immediately.<br />
<br />
"Sun-Lee!"<br />
<br />
We try to convince everyone to get on our boat. People are getting more and more distressed. They can't fathom what's going on.<br />
<br />
A lance battery strikes on the horizon. The shockwave hits a few seconds later, and everyone freaks. Wash spins up the engines.<br />
<br />
A second lance hits a structure; the oceans part, and we see a giant, eldritch creature.<br />
<br />
It is, as expected, the Eldar. They're back, and they'd rather seal this place to the Warp again than let it fall to us. They have resummoned the storm. "Quit this place now, or die here!"<br />
<br />
All over the planet, thousands of heavy steps resound.<br />
<br />
We vox the rest of our Alliance.<br />
<br />
"There's a giant Eldar on the planet. Do you want to help me kill it? This is my planet. I already peed on it."<br />
<br />
The others would love to, but they're busy getting out of dodge.<br />
<br />
Near us, we hear footsteps, and two Wraithguards stomp out of the forest.<br />
<br />
One of them opens fire on the tribals -- one is clipped, and vanishes in a puff of ozone. He reappears a moment later... inside a tree. Ew.<br />
<br />
The Magos boards the cutter.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain steps forth, brandishes his axes, and his cape billowing in the growing storm, shouts "To me!" at the Wraithguards.<br />
<br />
I grudgingly board the cutter for now.<br />
<br />
Wash takes off, and shreds one of the Wraithguards to pieces with the autoguns.<br />
<br />
I focus my powers, and reach out to MIND CRUSH the Eldar Witch in their little circle. I land it, and give them a nasty surprise, although all electronics short out for a moment, and we plunge out of the sky for a moment. As I do, the Wraithguards hitch a little.<br />
<br />
The Magos wipes out the other.<br />
<br />
More Wraithguard emerge from the forest; the Lord-Captain parries a punch for one, and his axes cut deep gouges into them. His axe cuts deep into the neck of one, and there's a sickening crack, and the Lord-Captain feels immensely satisfied.<br />
<br />
I unbuckle myself, cast aside my robes, and reveal the Priest King outfit. I bail out of the cutter, and take wing towards the circle.<br />
<br />
Overhead, I see the cutter whoosh past, pull up over the circle, and out the back falls the Magos, going for a divebomb.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain continues to bully the Wraithguard with his axes, carving them up and giving hope to the tribals.<br />
<br />
The Magos closes in, but before she can goomba stomp the Farseer, the Farseer looks up, and without even trying, stops her falling. Then throws the Magos into the ground. Hard. It looks like it hurts. Her servo-skulls catch the impact from three different angles.<br />
<br />
More Wraithguards emerge from the water; Wash strafing runs the ones coming out of the water.<br />
<br />
I finally get to the dais, and point at the Farseer. We approach each other menacingly, and I try to crush their head again. I do some damage, and we hear unsettling truths.<br />
<br />
The Farseer lashes back, and I feel my head haemmorage. And all my grenades go off, catching both of us cleanly. We're both thrown clean off the tower; the Farseer into the forest, and myself to the beach.<br />
<br />
Wash gives chase to the Farseer to confirm the kill -- but finds two eldar snipers trying to escape with her body, and one more blocking his path. They flee at superhuman speeds; still not fast enough to escape Wash, but they manage to avoid his blade long enough to escape through a webway portal.<br />
<br />
With the storm closing in, we call it quits; we're short on vengeance, and I've had my face blasted clean off, but we're burdened with wealth, and we've all survived our Adventure, etching our names into the history of the galaxy.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-8261884268019874182018-11-03T06:37:00.000-07:002019-08-10T06:49:00.159-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew Goes Fishing<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
The Lord-Captain commands the crew to go fetch the gemstones out of the water. He proclaims that they will be "Handsomely Rewarded".<br />
<br />
Not very convincing, but the Lord-Captain doubles-down -- after we cash this in, they'll have enough to buy a transport shuttle. (Between them? He doesn't specify.) This wins them over, and the last one into the water has to clean the Lord-Captain's bathroom.<br />
<br />
While they work, I take wing, and aside from a chance to properly stretch my wings, I do wonder about what lies further out; the deeper the water, the bigger the gemstones seem to be. But back on shore, further down the shore from our position, I can see wooden tents and huts of a ramshackle nature. I immediately phone it in.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain dispatches Wash and the Scots to go check it out; Wash arrives to find it deserted, but there's a firepit which has seen use in the last week or so, and definite signs of life in the past.<br />
<br />
Whoever or whatever it is, they were cutting down trees; and most importantly, they were using some sort of metal edge on the axe -- unusual for this planet of nature and wraithbone. Humanoid footprints in the sand, and more than one kind.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain sends us into the forest to go look for whoever lives here.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain also takes the time to plant his flag with the Hohenheim family crest: Two mastiffs flanking a single throne gelt, and an all-seeing eye in the center.<br />
<br />
As I'm circling the forest, I realize I might have lost someone. I get the Scots to sound off - One through Four sound off, then Six. We've lost Five. I tell Six, the closest, to go find him, and group with him. I pop a flare.<br />
<br />
We find Scot #5, he's definitely dead. A hole in the head does that. He died at a temple of pale stone. There are more statues here, some sort of xenos eldar.<br />
<br />
The rest of the command crew shows up, following the flare. The magos does a proper post-mortem. Died with his hand on his radio, facing the temple. Whatever it was, it left a jagged hole -- no sniper's bullet.<br />
<br />
I inch closer to the temple, and take a peek inside. Ruined chambers, three of them. Most have alcoves and statues on pedestals. In one of the rooms, we see six statues, and two empty plinths.<br />
<br />
Wash tries to cut the weapon off one of the statues, and has a real hard time of it -- even with the power field on his sword, it's just bouncing off.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain is concerned about where the statues went -- there's clear marks where they would stand, but no tracks of them departing the statue.<br />
<br />
Plasma doesn't fare much better against the statues.<br />
<br />
I ping for life to do another headcount. I don't get much, in here. Wash radios for a headcount.<br />
<br />
This time, Nine isnt' responding. He never made it to Rendezvous. I take half the remaining scots to go look for what I assume is his going to be his body.<br />
<br />
Wash checks the next chamber out. Four statues, four empty. One of the empty spaces was occupied by a statue, now broken. No secret doors, though. The last chamber has just one statue, and seven empty pedestals.<br />
<br />
Hidden on / in one of the plinths is some sort of strange hollow tube. He can't ascertain it's function, and he doesn't have a mouth to blow it with, so he puts it... into his jetpack's exhaust. It doesn't play off any notes.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain and the Magos arrive just in time to see Wash roast his hand.<br />
<br />
The three keep blowing it and inserting fingers into it, but aren't making much progress. The Lord-Captain throws it to the Scots to figure out.<br />
<br />
"Nah, nah, you're doing it wrong"<br />
"You gotta work the shaft"<br />
"Use your lips! More tongue!"<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain decides to slap all the statues. It oddly just makes him sad and depressed.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, we find Scot 9, on the beach. This time, he was killed from behind. I radio it in, and we regroup at the temple.<br />
<br />
The trip is uneventful, but we phone in to see where the Kevins are at. They're all accounted for, except Wheelchair Kevin, who turned out to not be nearly as buoyant as expected.<br />
<br />
As I return, I learn of the "flute" and want to give it a go. I get an impression off the flute: "Intruders". All the other wraithbone I've touched today -- the sword, and now the statues, just make me sad.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain wants to go hunt Eldar. I psychically scan for life at increased range, and... I find a super-strong psyker, and they're right in the middle of our group. We should make for the ship with all haste.<br />
<br />
On our way to the ship, I check again for psykers. All birds and animals for half a kilometer run. The psyker's power has now been greatly diminished, but he still appears to be hiding amongst us!<br />
<br />
We get back to the ship, and take off to scan for Eldar using the Auspex. Nothing inland, but we pick up a sail. The boat is crewed by two tanned humans. One of them dives into the ocean the moment we get near. The Lord-Captain has Wash bring the cutter in close, and he jumps out.<br />
<br />
He sticks the landing, but the canoe immediately capsizes under his size and weight. It turns out swimming is not his forte, especially when he's bedecked in finery, and carrying two chain axes. He winds up ducking the one fisherman left as they try to right the canoe.<br />
<br />
We throw down a line and pull them both up. The fisherman is terrified; he seems to respond to Low Gothic, but he doesn't quite speak it. The Captain skips the foreplay and has me dig into his mind.<br />
<br />
His name is Gavin. Not insane. Excellent physical condition. Terrified as all-get-out.<br />
<br />
No corruption. Understandably confused. He lives on the island his buddy is swimming to. He has been unfaithful with his fishing buddy's wife. Dude.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain wants us to go after the other fisherman. As we get close, we see the tribe emerging to meet us. Wash lands the gun cutter in a friendly manner.<br />
<br />
We're approached by inhabitants of the village; they call themselves The Santarchs, they believe this place to be their Paradise, and they believe this is their reward for a life of hardship; should they perish, they simply reincarnate. The leader claims to be 300 years old in his current incarnation.<br />
<br />
This knowledge comes from their writings -- an incredibly-battered book named the Sola Fidae. It predates the Imperial Creed, and makes no mention of the Emperor -- analogous to the old ideology of Bhuddism.<br />
<br />
We get a vox -- the other Rogue Traders are making their way through the warp. We warn the others.<br />
<br />
"We can't very well fit the entire planet into our holds."<br />
"Not with that attitude, you can't."<br />
<br />
They seem to be content with splitting the bounty of the planet further. We get what we've got so far to our ship.<br />
<br />
Fel hails us to banter. He insults me and says no amount of Rejuvenat can fix me. I'm wounded.<br />
<br />
We race back down to the surface. Aside from looting as much as we can, we're going to save that village.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
In orbit:<br />
<br />
Raider: Chains of Dusk (Feckward)<br />
Transport: Grace of Sopho (Charlabelle)<br />
Transport: The Danse Macabre (LeFrancois)<br />
Frigate: Fel Hand<br />
Frigate: The Absolute Ambition<br />
Lt. Cruiser: Hammer of Truth (Scourge)<br />
Lt. Cruiser: The Nihontu (Sun Lee) + 3 Raider Escorts<br />
Cruiser: The Ordained Destiny (Blitz)<br />
Cruiser: The Colossus (Bastille)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Plan: Grab as much gems as we can, save the village and take them aboard. While Fel is sending down multiple landers, send the Scots to hijack one. We empty out the gems and replace the cargo with murder servitors, and fly it up to infiltrate the Fel Hand.<br />
<br />
Once in, we scuttle or cripple the ship, steal one of the shipments of gems returned, and take the lander to our ship.<br />
<br />
If not destroyed, we declare beef with Fel (like anyone didn't know we had it) and destroy him, stranding him on the planet.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-1056922843580104652018-10-27T06:36:00.000-07:002019-08-10T06:37:20.538-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew Experiences Wash's Wild Ride<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
We're on our way to the Dread Pearl. It takes a couple of weeks, there's a lotta chop in the warp.<br />
<br />
On the way, I get my second cybereye installed; I now have two eyes lensed with eldar gemstones, one red and one blue.<br />
<br />
The Navigator buzzes us directly. There's a Warp Storm right where the planet should be. We can't get close enough for subluminal speeds, so we're parking up just one jump away.<br />
<br />
I check our voicemail. One message for the Magos, and four for the Lord Captain.<br />
<br />
Lady Sun-Lee sends a flowery response of supicion, but acceptance.<br />
<br />
Blitz would like a drink, and is glad to meet us there.<br />
<br />
So would LeFrancois, but we never really invited him for a drink, so...<br />
<br />
Charlabelle sends a missive similar to Lady Sun-Lee's, but far more informal.<br />
<br />
It's a party!<br />
<br />
<br />
Through the front Vistaports of the ship, we can see the warp storm, and deep inside, the Dread Pearl, our deeply-sought prize. At the center, a path of calm appears! I sense the warp storm will sufficiently abate within the day for us to actually make an approach.<br />
<br />
The Magos and the Lord-Captain both try the Augers; looking for knife-eared fucks, but we pick up long-range contact, ships arriving. I detect psykers, our guests have arrived. They accept the invite and make for us with all due haste. (Like, actual haste.)<br />
<br />
Before they arrive, I do question the Lord-Captain's goal in inviting them. A four-way alliance over what results from the Pearl might be the only way out, if we misjudged Sun-Lee's strength.<br />
<br />
Sun-Lee arrives, on the condition that she can bring ~15 Armsmen. LeFrancois shows up on his lonesome. Charlabelle shows up with birdlike mercenary bodygyards - Kroot, and five of them. Blitz has a plus-one.<br />
<br />
They're escorted to the dining room where we're waiting for them. They get drinks, satisfy themselves it's not poisoned, and we make introductions. Wash and LeFrancois get less respect than the rest of us.<br />
<br />
Sun-Lee gets to it. A gambler, a charter captain, and a broke bitch. This is the company the Lord-Captain keeps?<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain tries his charm and botches it. Sun-Lee remains unconvinced and threatens to walk.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain warns that she walks, and she'll not just fight xenos from the front, but every other rogue trader from behind. A five-way split stands to benefit even Sun-Lee. Slightly more than a fifth for most of us.<br />
<br />
LeFrancois objects, but is made to sit the fuck down.<br />
<br />
Charlabelle is in, as is Blitz.<br />
<br />
Sun-Lee wants to think about it.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, we gamble against Blitz for a bit. He's cleaning us out, his luck is extradordinary. And I am certain he is not using psychic powers to cheat.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Wash goes up to the bridge to check the Auspex out of paranoia. New contacts, here any moment now. Time's up for Lady Sun-Lee. Time to shit or get out of the alliance.<br />
<br />
She's in. The warp storm has abated enough for an extremely risque passage.<br />
<br />
We'll take the chance. All are escorted back to their ships; they're going to follow us in.<br />
<br />
I look at the storm. I see dozens of twisted faces, some human, some xenos, and all writhing in pain.<br />
<br />
A lot of things have been said of Wash in the last few years. Many of them conflicting. But sometimes, he seems to reveal his true self -- he is truly one of the greatest pilots in the imperium, and he takes us straight into the warp storm. The ship bucks, rocks, and feels like it's tearing itself apart. I see and hear voices. People are praying like fuck.<br />
<br />
Wash is doing this all manually. Analog. No MIU. My knuckles are white as I hold onto the guardrail.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain makes a rousing speech.<br />
<br />
Wash: "If you look out the port viewports, you will see the God-Emperor protecting us. If you look out the starboard viewports, you will see the God-Emperor protecting us."<br />
<br />
The Magos gets a hard PING on the auspex; a ship is headed straight for us. Wash hauls the wheel around, and we just barely scrape past it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We make it through, and emerge into the eye of the storm. The bridge is dead silent as we recover from what we've just done. We get Vox from Blitz.<br />
<br />
Blitz: "I've never seen anything like that before in my life. And I've seen some shit."<br />
Hohenheim: "I, too, am also at half-mast."<br />
<br />
Outside the storm, our unallied rivals arrive, and begin fighting each other. Time to make hay while the getting is good.<br />
<br />
We gear up for landing on the Dread Pearl, an Eldar "Maiden" world. I load up with a shot of spook / geist.<br />
<br />
<br />
Getting closer, the planet is everything you could want in a planet. I psychically scan for eldar. I get the faintest of echoes, tainted by an underlying bitterness, but otherwise nothing.<br />
<br />
<br />
We touch down with the Scots -- the other five landers spread out and scout. As we touch down, we feel a sense of peace as we step onto the pure sand of the new planet. The sky is brilliant and azure, and the air truly fresh.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain steps on something hard and sharp -- a brilliant orange gem. Worth a lot to nobles. Wash confirms it's of Eldar construction. I can tell it's weakly psychic, a lot like the gemstones in my cybereyes.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain finds some sort eldar rune / psy-focus and tosses it to me. Some sort of charm. I pocket it.<br />
<br />
<br />
We check out the forest beyond the beach. Strange white cubes. Definitely crafted, not natural.<br />
<br />
Something moves, and I spot it; I snatch for it with my TK, but get nothing but air.<br />
<br />
The Scots fan out to look for it, but find some sort of overgrown structure in a clearing. A statue. An eldar female, or a very beautiful eldar man.<br />
<br />
I still feel at unease. Something is here.<br />
<br />
I search for it.<br />
<br />
I find it wedged into the vegetation at the foot of the statue. I pick it up, and hold it up. Everyone sees a sword, much like<br />
<br />
I see a fantastic blade, with the edge that is blurry and indistinct. I feel a connection with the world around me, and a deep sorrow. This is a Witchblade. (Best craftsmanship power sword, penetration 0)<br />
<br />
Wash throws a fruit at me. I try to slice it, but I whiff.<br />
<br />
I expand my area of awareness with the sword. I can sense something nearby, like it's been following us while I was looking for the sword. The Lord-Captain doubles back, circling around, and finds it -- a small, blue, cat-like creature. He Disney Princesses the fuck out of it, pets it, and puts it on his shoulder without any problems.<br />
<br />
The captain returns to us -- he has now made a friend.<br />
<br />
"Captain, you need to see this, on the beach"<br />
<br />
We hasten to the beach. We find gemstones, in the deeper part of the shallows. Hundreds, thousands.<br />
<br />
"Captain, we're going to be rich!" a Kevin reports.<br />
<br />
"Yes, I am."Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-35334158317587277592018-10-13T06:32:00.000-07:002019-08-10T06:34:41.534-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew Takes A Side<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
We head down to the planet to meet with the winning landship, the Indestructible.<br />
<br />
We touch down in one of the front hangars, amidst a flurry of dust gliders also returning from patrols. Wing hardpoints seem to be empty, but they still have a few bombs and such.<br />
<br />
We can feel a low rumble similar to that of a starship as we step onto the deck. We're met by a passel of dusty, grubby engineers, who salute us.<br />
<br />
They're to escort us to the Elder Tactician, and they make a brisk pace; the landship is of similar scale to our ship. But much dustier, and devoid of Kevins.<br />
<br />
We arrive at the Elder's quarters, and it's well-appointed for a planet like this. Three fairly old men are waiting for us. We're free to take a seat, and do so.<br />
<br />
None of them are Greaves, which is surprising. They introduce themselves. Praeston Mero, Magnus<br />
<br />
We are asked, and confirm, that we are merchants. The Lord-Captain confirms this, and expresses interest in the Macrocannons.<br />
<br />
They'd like to talk more, but they can't actually make or give us any due to a scarcity of resources. The last time they made one was 75 years ago, easily.<br />
<br />
But before we get to business, drinks! We bought a choice of amasec, or the... water from the desert planet.<br />
<br />
They wave a metal wand over the water and it shows green, so they're happy to drink -- but are curious as to why we aren't partaking. We clarify that we bought it along just as an option, the Lord-Captain is... well, alcoholic. He's not been sober as long as I've known him, 6 years. They accept this and move on.<br />
<br />
Long story short, they're agreeable to our offers of materials and transit off this blasted hellhole, although they cannot guarantee a copy of the gun or landship schematics. They need time to talk it over.<br />
<br />
We stop by the Engine Order to see how tight-lipped they are. As it turns out, extremely so. It's like dealing with particularly taciturn Adeptus Mechanicus, gear iconography and all. They don't give us an inch and tell us to go away.<br />
<br />
We consider what color robes astropaths usually wear. Apparently a common portrayal is green, but it doesn't really bring out my eyes, so I wear beige / tan.<br />
<br />
DM: "Your what?"<br />
Me: "My eyes."<br />
DM: "Your what?"<br />
*remembers I have no organic eyes*<br />
<br />
We retreat to our gun cutter for a bit.<br />
<br />
We flag down a mechanic. He's okay with taking us to the Gun Masters. He's a little patronizing to the Magos when he describes what macrocannons are -- we might not be familiar with them, as our ship is relatively small.<br />
<br />
Wash: "She might need a diagram. Do you have any crayons?"<br />
Mechanic: "We melted them down to extend the corpse starch a long time ago..."<br />
Me: "Ah, the US Marine MRE diet."<br />
<br />
"What are those floating things? They look like... skulls."<br />
"They're servo skulls. They're skulls that... servo."<br />
<br />
We arrive at the gun battery, and meet Bador Hovik. We make small talk before I casually drop the codeword mid-conversation. He invites us to step into his office.<br />
<br />
We're made an offer. A decomissioned macrocannon now, in exchange for full control of the ship. A coup for a gun.<br />
<br />
We go to have a think on it, and meet up with the Elder Tacticians one last time to get their take. Graves is now present, and he and the Lord-Captain talk shop.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain offers four things: Transport off the planet. Resources. Technology. Aid from above. Of them, Graves bites on the resources and tech.<br />
<br />
In return, they're willing to make us macrocannons -- can't do it fast, but they'll do it.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain makes the call and accepts the deal with the Elders. Now that we're committed, we dob in Bador and hand over a (redacted) version of the data we pulled from the dead admech as proof of his collaboration.<br />
<br />
"Gentlemen... We got another one."<br />
<br />
We throw in a Speaky Kevin, and for our trouble, get the decomissioned macrocannon. It's taped to the underside of our gun cutter.<br />
<br />
The contract is signed, and we snap a pict of the event. There's a party and celebration as we ship down a goodwill shipment of food and water.<br />
<br />
On the way out, Wash accidentally dragged the cannon along the ground of the hangar.<br />
<br />
We successfully established trade relations with Zaith -- time to go claim the Dread Pearl. We make some phonecalls.<br />
<br />
We contact Lady Sun-Lee, and cordially invite her to join us at the Dread Pearl, awaiting her RSVP.<br />
<br />
We holla at Blitz, and invite him to drinks and the Dread Pearl.<br />
<br />
We also invite Charlabelle and Francois, although we doubt they're going to accept.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-87977809600317345052018-09-29T06:26:00.000-07:002019-08-10T06:31:17.992-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew plays Battleships<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
We recap our competition for the pearl.<br />
<br />
Jean LeFrancois -- Charter Captain who thinks he's people. How adorable. Not just a little vain. Pilots a transport.<br />
Hadarak Fel -- Seasoned explorer, a cunning trader, world exploiter, and absolute asshole. A fop.<br />
Madam Charlabelle -- Fairly young Rogue Trader, inheritor of a dynasty on hard times, House Armalan. Keeps up appearances, though. Carries a weird, alien-looking tube on her forearm, a Harlequin's Kiss. Pilots a transport.<br />
Jeremiah Blitz -- A scoundrel, gambler. Rumor says he won his Warrant of Trade in a game of chance from a Sector Lord. Rocking a cruiser.<br />
Lord Admiral Bastille -- Infamous in the Imperial Navy. House Bastille is old as balls. Wasn't the oldest, but due to a freak accident, suddenly skyrocketed up his family dynasty to inheritance. Cruiser class ship.<br />
Lady Sun Lee -- House Ma'kao, holdings all over the show. She provides food to Scintilla. Legendary duelist, and doesn't think too highly of us by now. Cruiser.<br />
Janko Scourge -- Psychopath. Slave trader. Egotistical. Ship of unknown marque.<br />
Crawkin Feckward -- Another slaver. Very solid rumors that he's involved in the cold trade.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We head to Zaith! It takes a few weeks.<br />
<br />
We get there, and it looks like shit. A dead-ass looking world. Auspex shows no life, and a wee bit of radiation. Looks like we just missed the party.<br />
<br />
Our destination lies at the bottom of a ravine -- it would have been underwater, until the ocean boiled away.<br />
<br />
We prepare for the trip -- we bring rope this time, and voidsuits. Whatever air is left, it's probably preferable to not breathe.<br />
<br />
As we get closer, we notice two huge ships. The size of ours, easily, but landbound, travelling across the wastes. Marques from the Dark Age of Technology, they've got macrocannons and are void-shielded. Developed around the same time as titan legions, way back.<br />
<br />
They are heading straight towards each other, and seem to be spoiling for a fight -- not right next to where we're going, but kind of close for comfort. I hail them psychically with no response.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain hails by vox. The Indestructible responds first. Senior Tactician Graves speaking.<br />
<br />
Wash has me prepare the ship to fire on one of these land cruisers.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain establishes that the Indestructible is indeed spoiling for a fight, and wants no help from off-worlders. There's about half an hour until they fight. The problem is that where they will be shooting is roughly where we wanna be. And they're using macrocannons.<br />
<br />
We don't have time for a leisurely explore -- only one of us (me) needs to see it. I grab a servo skull to record everything (Aquilagram celebrity, Winter York!) and jump out at low altitude to fly into the ravine.<br />
<br />
We're immediately warned to stay away from the shuttle -- it's the subject of their fight. Wash backs off with the gun cutter, but they don't call us out on me jumping out, so I guess I don't matter to them, or they couldn't see me. I get down there.<br />
<br />
"It's dark down here," I remark, being blind.<br />
<br />
Gliding along at mid-height, I spot the Nexus easily. Looks just like the rest. I scan it with practiced ease.<br />
<br />
We get another transmission from the Indestructible. They're getting close to range. He's not inclined to shoot us, but he can't say the same of the Bulwark.<br />
<br />
The shuttle is suspected to contain a member of the Mechanicus, whom the Indestructible had exiled on pain of death -- and he had supposedly departed properly.<br />
<br />
The Indestructible wants the shuttle itself, and any information of use in it. And if that Mechanicus is alive, he'd better not be.<br />
<br />
I tear the damaged bulkhead door open, and inside is trashed. Everything's wrecked, and has been on fire. Bits of tech everywhere, slag and flesh that used to be servitors.<br />
<br />
The tech priest is dead, long-since gone. His hand is welded to the side of his head. I frisk him, and find a strange chip in his head. The Magos identifies it as a Data Arc, and Important. The rest of him is toast, and trash.<br />
<br />
I burst out of the shuttle just as the two landcruisers are starting to pull up and broadside, giving each other the business and deploying ground troops to take the Shuttle. Wash brings the cutter down low so I can get in.<br />
<br />
As we start to pull away, we tickle the Bulwark with our macrocannons, and knock out it's shields. The Indestructible is gobsmacked, and appreciates our assistance. We're invited onboard, but the Lord-Captain thinks it might be a cool idea for the Magos to hang back on this one, seeing as they disagreed so violently with her colleague.<br />
<br />
If she's going to hang back, she wants full video coverage. I agree.<br />
<br />
"Cinematography is my passion," I declare.<br />
<br />
We scan the data arc before we do anything else. The Tech Priest (anonymous) was to travel via Light of Truth to Zaith.<br />
<br />
Bador Hovik was their contact, X2V, and the Gun Masters. Was not to contact with Elder Tacticians. Trade of certain tech for their Macrocannons was their objective, but under no circumstances are Melta weapons to be introduced, or they'll certainly trash the Macrocannons.<br />
<br />
The Mechanicus was part of a rebel element, not working in sync with the Mechanicus as a collective.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-68377300592926643222018-08-25T06:23:00.000-07:002019-08-10T06:26:18.810-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew Gets Bored of Vaporius<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
After 129 days, by ship's clock (1 month for us) we arrive at our destination -- a vast, shimmering, ring of wraithbone, far larger than our ship. The space within shimmers gently. I feel that the skeins of fate are twisted and woven through the center of the superstructure.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain doesn't hesitate to order the ship through the middle. As we get closer, I feel my wraithbone sword resonating slightly, like a speaker with power but no sound.<br />
<br />
As we pass through, reality seems to snap somehow, and we're suddenly somewhere else. As we passed through, for a moment, Wash saw something massive on auspex.<br />
<br />
We're looking at a colossal ship's graveyard, far larger than anything we've ever seen, forming a ring around a singularity. A cloud of dead ships that could contain not just one, but hundreds of space hulks. The Lord-Captain orders battle stations, and we approach cautiously.<br />
<br />
Vox channels are dead static, save for barely perceptible whispering. I can't hear anything in particular psychically, just residues of those skeins of fate leading to a nexus of some sort. Auspex, after a knock, can detect an eldar structure in the ring, on a much shallower orbit. It shows up surprisingly clearly. Distressingly so, given all the debris in the way. As we approach, the temperature seems to drop, frost spidering across the voidglass on the bridge.<br />
<br />
Sebastian knows what this is -- the procession of the damned, Kronus expanse myth. Many have looked for it, and a good amount never returned.<br />
<br />
Scanning the nearest vessels, the causes of destruction are varied, and almost impossible to make out -- crashing into each other has torn them to shreds. But before that, they might not have taken any structural damage...<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain orders Wash to shoot the black hole. We don't really see where it goes, but the captain is satisfied.<br />
<br />
We take the time to tell Ke'van about the black hole, and why we're here. He understands the pursuit of profit by merchants.<br />
<br />
Wash takes the helm to guide us through the debris field, and we take only the slightest of strikes to our voidshields, avoiding any real impacts. It takes us two days, but we do get clear of the cloud.<br />
<br />
As we do, we start picking up movement amongst the debris on auspex. Terrifyingly close, as far as space warfare goes, too. They don't respond to vox hails on all frequencies, nor psychic commands to halt. I tell Wash to start shooting while they're not too close for macrocannons. He blows some away, but some still make it through the voidshields, moving slowly enough, and split up like a cluster missile of an attempted boarding party.<br />
<br />
We get a blurry pict of someone or something in what looks like modified voidsuits. If they're STC-pattern, they're a pattern nobody knows.<br />
<br />
I stay on the bridge to coordinate (also because I can't go spacewalking) while everyone else goes and prepares to space-walk. The lord-captain kits up in a voidsuit, magboots, and space-hat to clean up the boarders personally.<br />
<br />
As they prepare, we lose our main auspex antenna. The Captain is accompanied by a score of his best Kevins. The Magos prepares to join him, and brings her third-best enginseer, Techpriest Almarax along.<br />
<br />
"Brainless husks don't have a place in space."<br />
"And yet, here you are, with your command crew."<br />
<br />
Wash is making for the gun cutter; he gets the tech team's 4IC Callius.<br />
<br />
The hull party finally makes eye contact with the boarders; indeed, they're humanoids, and their space suits are anonymous, black voids all that are visible in the voidsuit visors, and armor made of scavenged bulkhead plates. The Lord-Captain screeches, and with terrifying zero-G expertise, cartwheels forward with two chainaxes to start butchering the invaders.<br />
<br />
Between this, and Wash's air support with the cutter, the invaders are decimated. One less-immediate death reveals the suit is... empty.<br />
<br />
As we get closer to the nexus, we're hailed on vox by desperate souls. Descendants of deck crew for Wrath Umboldts, they claim to be, around 35 in number. They've survived by scavenging since then. The Lord-Captain gives them permission, and an ancient, battered cargo-lighter approaches.<br />
<br />
What emerges are voidborn with their hands in the air; they're carrying a diverse variety of wargear. The lord-captain orders them quarantined while they get a medical checkup, and a hot meal and a cot.<br />
<br />
We speak with them and educate them as best as we can. They would like to serve until Footfall, the land of their ancestors, which we agree to, although if they want to remain with the ship afterwards, we won't say no. They are now the Scots. They're keen to get shot of this place, before the Hollow Men return, or the Carrion, other survivors of Wrath, show up.<br />
<br />
We get closer to the nexus, it looks like a giant, multi-level wraithbone gazebo, worn and chipped but still strong. We get close, and I have to suit up to go to it -- I borrow the Magos' old voidsuit, designed for a hunchback, and go check it out.<br />
<br />
I take point, and reach the main platform first. I get a fantastic view of the black hole, and the debris rings. There are even planets here, but so close to the event horizon. I grab mental and physical picts of the star map. We take a poll on it, and decide not to explore.<br />
<br />
To destroy the Dread Gazebo, we decide to put the thrusters from the Scots' cargo lighter on it, and boost it into the black hole.<br />
<br />
As we set to depart, we get auspex. There's like, six raider ships -- shitty ones -- pursuing us. The Carrion. And there's a much larger ship below us. Rogue Trader Lady Sun Lee.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain banters with her and offers her a deal -- the map data for getting hte raiders off our back. She declines, and so we wish her luck in catching the Dread Gazebo.<br />
<br />
With shields set to max and Wash's skills, we boost through the rings in a scant 6 hours. We exit via the gate, and leave it alone.<br />
<br />
We survived the Procession of the Damned.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-52861307285907872152018-08-11T06:21:00.000-07:002019-08-10T06:23:03.355-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew Solves a Water Shortage<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
We recap a few things we hadn't really considered about our crew:<br />
<br />
Van Hohenheim is actually of Japanese descent. Still don't know what his first name is.<br />
<br />
Wash is both bald and caucasian.<br />
<br />
Winter is 40. Van hohenheim is 38. The Magus is 35. Wash is a decrepit 48.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
After our failure to summon water, we decide to make ourselves scarce, with our missionary friends.<br />
<br />
We head towards one of the turquioise seas to check it out. Unlike regular water, it stays vivid as we get close.<br />
<br />
I pop a squat next to the shore to see if it's just the sand colorizing the water. Hard to tell with a blue-lensed cybereye. I suspect it's the source of the water, but psychic probes turn up zero activity whatsoever. I taste something acidic in the air.<br />
<br />
The magos analyzes it, and finds it's unbelievably toxic and acidic. Bad for flesh. Okay for metal.<br />
<br />
I congratulate the lord-captain on finding a new chemical weapon.<br />
<br />
With the turquoise pools of no use, we call it a day, return the missionaries to their hab in the desert, and take Ansai's body up to the ship, which is currently doing a deep auspex of the moon. There, the Magos was, for once, in her element, completing the autopsy with amazing precision.<br />
<br />
The autopsy doesn't turn up anything super-interesting, but comparing Ansai's gene map turns up key similarities to mine, as well as the rest of the astropaths -- he was a psyker!<br />
<br />
The scan of the moon finishes -- it's absolutely useless. A big, solid rock.<br />
<br />
New plan: Pretend we're entirely new, and go to a new city to suck up to a new priest king, and learn how he does the water thing as subtly as possible.<br />
<br />
The initial arrival goes down okay; people look at us oddly as expected. The city is similar to the first one in layout. The temple here is shorter and squatter, and so are the buildings around it.<br />
<br />
The priest king is similar in structure, fat and rotund. Dabir is his name, and he seems a jolly sort.<br />
<br />
We speak, and the lord-captain comes to terms on a deal; somehow, he sells Dabir Ansai's city. His son, Tahir, will be installed as a ruler of the city, and we get barrels of water.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain proposes to show someone that Dabir trusts around the Imperium so that they might learn more about what lies beyond. He gives us one of his aides, Ke'van, to show him the galaxy until we return to finish our deal and give Dabir more cities.<br />
<br />
<br />
In the meantime, we head on to our next target.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-39634722695491947322018-07-21T06:14:00.000-07:002019-08-10T06:17:17.040-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew Finds Religion<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
We're excused from the presence of the Priest King -- and not discreetly followed by the guards. Looks like we have some nannies.<br />
<br />
Our intel on the missionaries tells us they have a place out in the desert. With that in mind, we head back to the gun cutter -- but we're parked out in the desert, and we've not really communicated this to the guards, and they watch us march off into the desert with mild confusion.<br />
<br />
It takes a few passes, but we eventually find the shoddily-built, but very well camoflauged stone buildings, and touch down outside them in the gun cutter. We're greeted by a small group of men in dirty ministorum robes -- we introduce ourselves, and the leader of the group is Andreas.<br />
<br />
We catch up on the situation; turns out that none of the Priest Kings are particularly agreeable to the light of the Emperor. Ansai was actually their pick to be most agreeable, and they sent the late Brother Consas to try and convince him.<br />
<br />
We invite Andreas into the guncutter for a refreshment of water (that stuff the Captain cuts his whiskey with) and catch up.<br />
<br />
There's eight priest-kings on the planet -- Andreas confesses that truthfully, they weren't even supposed to come here -- they actually meant to go to Winterscale's realm, but a warp storm's knocked them considerably off course. They don't want to leave, though -- their arrival here was clearly the work of the Emperor, and it's up to them to save them. We agree that it's probably the Emperor's will that we showed up, too.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain has a plan -- show off the power of the emperor, and demand that Ansai capitulate.<br />
<br />
For guidance, we are lent the services of one of his few remaining Ministorum, and one of the natives, Abid.<br />
<br />
Andreas excuses himself to return to the flock, and we set our plan into motion.<br />
<br />
We return to the city, doing a low pass of the city to get people's attention. We march the two missionaries out at "gunpoint" (smoke grenade loaded launcher) to try and draw forth Ansai. Wash remains in the gun cutter to man the laser designator, and holds position above the city plaza.<br />
<br />
As we wait for the crowd to gather, we mull over the Priest-Kings. Priest-Queen Winter. I like the sound of that.<br />
<br />
Abid speaks up: "You are of the priest caste? You can call forth the water?"<br />
<br />
We decide we should look into that before killing Ansai.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain orates, proclaiming the power of the Emperor. Ansai takes the bait, emerging from the temple, livid. We invite him to watch as we obliterate the temple on the mountain. Wash targets the mountain.<br />
<br />
A lance of red fire streaks down, and there's a gap before a distant explosion. The crowd begins to scream. And in an impressive show of power, he silences them with a mere wave of his hand.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain motions for me to do my thing; I reach out to Ansai's mind and start picking through it. I quickly confirm that he is, in fact, livid. I'm not subtle about it, and he quickly identifes me as being inside his head. He motions for everyone to attack.<br />
<br />
And that means everyone, bodyguards and civilians alike. They rush us as a swarm. The lord-captain makes a bee-line for Ansai, and Wash, displaying impressive gun control, obliterates only the bodyguards standing between Ansai and the Captain.<br />
<br />
I keep digging into his mind. Distinct fears that he's going to actually die, of all things.<br />
<br />
I see his memory of him calling forth the water; he stands at the font, and holding his arms aloft, chants to the spirits of the planet for water, as the first men once did.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain makes mincemeat of anything that gets in his way. Including one of Ansai's legs.<br />
<br />
Despite the pain, and ongoing conversation with Ansai, he actually has enough going on to boot me out of his head!<br />
<br />
Still, too little, too late -- the Lord-Captain headbutts Ansai unconcious.<br />
<br />
The moment we KO Ansai, everyone suddenly stops moving, like puppets with cut strings.<br />
<br />
The fight is over. We drag Ansai to a high position, and declare that he's been defeated by the might of the Emperor, and leave the Ecclesiarchy to preach to the crowd.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, we staunch Ansai's bleeding. I try again and pick up where I left off. Pivotal moment of his life: Outworlders came down and ruined his perfect life. But no matter how much I dig, I'm just getting more of the same -- if he's running a con, he doesn't know it.<br />
<br />
I send for more priest robes, and go check out the well outside. I try and imitate what I saw in his memories, doing the gestures and chants. Nothing happens. Or at least, I don't feel it.<br />
<br />
I grab some breathing gear, and decide to go down the well. There's not a lot to say, it's a well, and there's no clearly mechanical means by which the water is being pumped in. I can't climb out on my own though, so it takes a bit of help from the Magos to get me out.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It's 2am, and as we're snoozing in the Gun Cutter, Wash wakes up with a sudden sense of dread.<br />
<br />
He wakes me up, and gets me to check for psychic energy. I've got nothing, but Wash sensing something has me worried. I shuffle outside in my sleeping shirt ("Psykers do it") and slippers.<br />
<br />
The Magos wakes up with the commotion, but can't feel anything out of place.<br />
<br />
We wake up the Lord-Captain with an open bottle of amasec, slowly moving it out of his reach so he has to wake up to get it. Wearing his catachanian quail slippers, he shuffles about.<br />
<br />
We go outside, and there's nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing on auspex. Everyone seems to be where they should, psychically.<br />
<br />
Wash stumbles outside, and looks up at the moon, which looks normal to us. But his face is filled with terror, and he collapses.<br />
<br />
I fondle his neck to wake him up, and ask if he's okay.<br />
<br />
<br />
Wash: "Lord-Captain, any particular objections to blowing up the moon?"<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain has no particular objections, and goes back to bed.<br />
<br />
<br />
Morning comes. The Lord-Captain is up at the brink of dawn on reflex, as usual, and so am I, wearing my priest robes again. I approach the well, and try again one more time to summon the water.<br />
<br />
Nothing. There is no water.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-62166622230472156412018-06-23T06:04:00.000-07:002019-08-10T06:13:40.739-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew promotes Adventure Tourism<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
In the absence of a qualified Arch-Millitant, it's established the ship's lead marine is Texas Kevin, a kevin with a long drawl, an Imperium belt buckle, and twin belasco duelling pistols.<br />
<br />
We recap where we actually are. In our haste, we've travelled clean across the Kronus Expanse, to the galactic northwest, out by the Heathen Stars -- we've covered Footfall to Zayth, and gone a little further beyond.<br />
<br />
The rest of the command crew had a vision when we entered the temple; the pearl was split, scattered across the segmentum. The shards are located on:<br />
<br />
Processional of the Damned, not far from Magaros.<br />
Zayth, in the galactic north<br />
Vaporius, just north of the Heathen Stars<br />
One in deep space<br />
Dross, a planet yet unlocated on our map.<br />
Sabrine, a planet yet unlocated.<br />
<br />
<br />
We plot a course to Vaporius, which should be a feudal world, according to our records. The journey takes several weeks. In this time, I've had the jewel-encrusted eye installed. I now see the world tinted blue through it. With that, and my red eye, I am now perfectly prepared for cutting-edge 3d video.<br />
<br />
When we arrive, we find the planet a wasteland, according to the lord-captain and the ship's auspex. Using my special eyes, I can see the planet seems to fair glow with the aftermath of some serious psychic power; most of it focused on a mountain range -- apparently one of the tallest on the planet. Conditions are expected to be cold and unfavorable. I prepare a scarf. The Magos prepares her fur-lined outer robe.<br />
<br />
We board a guncutter, and descend. As we get closer, the planet is more of the same; deep plunging valleys, windswept hills... not a lot of green. We're sticking as close to the terrain as we can safely manage when we're rising, and spot a small plateau; there sits a temple, and the Magos declares it to be exactly what we're looking for.<br />
<br />
Wash looks for a landing place; he finds a plateau about five klicks out, but it's going to be a hell of a landing. He sticks it. There's barely three meters' clearance. I unclench my hands from my armrests and congratulate Wash on the touchdown.<br />
<br />
At this point, we realize we didn't really come prepared for mountainclimbing. It's going to be a challenge to get up the mountain.<br />
<br />
As it turns out, the weak link in a hiking expedition is the Lord-Captain, seeing as the rest of us can glide or outright fly. And so, between us, we manage to get the Lord-Captain up to the temple with our peerless teamwork and camaderie, covering the five kilometers in just a few hours.<br />
<br />
On our way, we see some of the local wildlife. Huge, 3-10m tall animate piles of rock, they look like. The Lord-Captain is surprisingly knowledgeable about these sort of things, and believes they're not natural, artificially made or introduced.<br />
<br />
Everyone's thoughts turn to money. Wash believes they'd fetch an okay price for a live one. The Magos certainly knows the order biologis would be interested in it. The Lord-Captain tries to smoke one, but his plasma pistol misfires and he drops it. Luckily, not off the entire side of the cliff.<br />
<br />
We continue to the temple. Up close, it's not actually that large, just a few metres across, framing an impressive view of the landscape beyond. Through it, we can see something glittering in the sunlight. A city, made of glass? On the ground, scuffed markings and lines, not dissimilar to the markings on the temple on the fake pearl. Again, it looks like a map.<br />
<br />
But it seems like there's something more to it, although nobody can quite make heads or tails of it. I take about ten minutes trying to figure it out, but no dice.<br />
<br />
The party lingers, trying to figure out this map. If only we had a navigator here... I take another ten minutes, and still nothing, but I'm getting close.<br />
<br />
Then I get it. I feel like I've just found a piece of a puzzle. I can see some stars and planets, and their fate -- moving through time, rather than space.<br />
<br />
Endowed with knowledge, we decide to move on to the glass city.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
As we get close, it's definitely an exotic city -- copper and glass stretching high, in the middle of the desert. Apparently human in origin, according to the Lord-Captain; he made a long lecture about divergence from the building memes of the golden age.<br />
<br />
We park in the outskirts and clamp our guncutter, before heading into the city. And amazingly, people. For the most part, tanned, hairless people in robes. But people nonetheless. Could the city have somehow cancelled our auspex readings? Whatever it is, they are suprisingly nonchalant and aren't paying nearly as much attention to us as we expected.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain makes contact with them; they speak heavily-accented high gothic, and seem agreeable. We learn that the city is run by those called "Priest-Kings", and we're suggested to speak with them.<br />
<br />
Wash reminds us that he can't understand high gothic. The Magos apologizes, but then keeps on talking high gothic.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, until we see the Priest Kings, we're going to hang out at a restaraunt. On our way, though, we're intercepted by men in unadorned, but hooded, blue robes. They bow deeply, and with a flourish. They're from the Priest King, and he'd like to speak with us.<br />
<br />
<br />
We head deeper into the city. Straight streets, like spokes on a wheel. As we get closer to the center, we see there's a large structure in the middle -- like an oversized well. The crowd is thick, but they part like water for our guides in robes.<br />
<br />
We arrive at a plaza, and inside the largest building, a reception area. Our guides leave us be, for a moment, and leave us to appreciate the ambience for a bit. The building is cunningly wrought from glass and copper, surfaces furnished with silks, tapestries, and rugs. An extremely neo-middle eastern environment. Technology appears to be rather primitive, the extent of exposed weapons mere swords.<br />
<br />
Psychically, there's something here, and it's everywhere. I'm swimming in it, a subtle energy. Different from the stuff on the mountain. There's something nearby that stands out, a candle to my fire, but that's not the source.<br />
<br />
The tapestries tell the typical stories -- caravans, military victories, prominent leaders.<br />
<br />
We're collected by an orderly, and guided to an audience chamber. At the door, we're met by a woman in a beaded robe who offers us drinks, which we gratefully accept. The instant the water hits our lips, we're overwhelmed by a sensation of purity and clarity -- it energizes and revitalizes us, and it feels like we're finally able to think clearly.<br />
<br />
I psychically check it; it feels like it might be the source of the energy all around us.<br />
<br />
The priest king, his robes beaded and red, is a slight man, and he greets us warmly. Priest King Ansai welcomes us to Lah'undun. He asks us what brings us here.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain says we're here for a relic -- the dread pearl. He claims the Emperor has sent us, rather than divulging that we're in this for personal profit, at best.<br />
<br />
"The emperor?" he asks.<br />
<br />
"The God Emperor of Mankind." "Rest he on his eternal throne," I add.<br />
<br />
We're approached from behind by several large men. They're not hostile, but not friendly, either. Ansai tells them to "bring him out".<br />
<br />
We wait for a minute or two, and are turned around to see a restrained man being guided to them roughly. His garb marks him as a member of the Ecclesiarchy.<br />
<br />
We're asked if we recognize him. Which we honestly don't.<br />
<br />
The priest king informed us that he, and his cohorts, tried to turn the populace against the Priest Kings, speaking of the one true ruler. He is not a happy chappy about this, and demands that we leave, or die.<br />
<br />
I attempt to ascertain if they worship anyone at all -- going for the argument that we are simply worshipping two sides of the same coin. They don't worship anyone. So they're <i>that</i> kind of priest-kings.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain decides to give diplomacy another try in the face of the ultimatium, but we prepare to shoot our way out.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain's flowery words are heard, at least. To summarize: We're from the same belief, but not here for the same purpose. We're asked to prove it. Kill the missionary.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain immediately, with no hesitation or deliberation, smokes him in the face with a plasma pistol.<br />
<br />
Ansai laughs. We will find the other missionaries. We will render them unto ash and atoms, as well as those they have converted. And when they are no more, we will have the assistance we seek.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-18638557700901754652018-06-09T12:13:00.000-07:002018-06-13T12:15:45.003-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew ruins a Ceremony<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
We disembark from the gun cutter, and return to our ship to prepare for battle stations.<br />
<br />
Wash gets an update on what the Eldar are doing. Turns out they're heading in-system to the one habitable planet. They're ignoring us. The Lord-Captain orders us to intercept, but as I predict, there's no way we're catching those filthy xenos in a stern chase, and they quickly leave our auger range.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain wants to slingshot around the planet and use that momentum to ram the eldar ship...? The bridge crew is unsure how to respond to this, and spend the time instead looking at the planet in question; a small, verdant planet; small icecaps, tundra, dotted with seas, and gentle belts of water vapor. A pleasant-enough looking place.<br />
<br />
At the very least, the captain is confident that when they park up, we can just shoot them out of orbit. And he knows they'll stay in orbit because they can't take an eldar craft down to the surface, and he knows that because the Imperium can't. That's solid logic.<br />
<br />
We get a bit closer as we discuss the issue, although it's slow going, and rescan for the ship. No ship, but we're picking up wraithbone, the remnants of buildings in approximately 100 sq.km of space. We put the ship into orbit.<br />
<br />
Before we get too into this, I posit that we might not actually have found the dread pearl, but Wash thinks otherwise, seeing as these Eldar were harassing us when we left, and that makes quite a coincidence.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain isn't so keen on going down to this filthy xeno planet. Counterargument - if we claim it, it's not a filthy xeno planet anymore. We'll have to come back to it later if this planet's any good.<br />
<br />
We're getting nothing on augers; psychically, I'm getting nothing but background noise, so could be literally anything. The Lord-Captain muses about melting the icecaps to turn the green planet blue while we keep pinging.<br />
<br />
We give up, and go down to the planet, leaving instructions behind to hail us ASAP if anything ship-like shows up on auspex. Weather was clear when we went in, but chop rapidly sets in, and clouds begin phasing in and out, weather all over the show. Wash wrangles the controls well enough, though, and sets us down without killing us, around 20km out from the biggest readings. Bit of repair work needed, but only about an hours' work. Only carved a furrow in the dirt a kilometer long. We exit.<br />
<br />
We're in a verdant fern forest, teeming with insect life and strange calls. There's a buzzing sound. It gets louder, deeper... from the other side of the gun cutter. Then there's a massive thunk as some gigantic, aquila lander-sized insect like a giant hornet, and stabs it with his stinger. It seems like it's looking for food.<br />
<br />
"That's not food," the Lord-Captain says condescendingly. It hears him, and he points at the Magos. "Do better!"<br />
<br />
Wash lets two absolutely sizzling shots with his plasma pistol off at the wasp, but all he does is piss it off. It surges towards him and tries to get him good.<br />
<br />
Then the Magos cuts loose with her plasma cannon and melts a crater in the shell of the wasp. Then I follow up with an absolutely stunning krak grenade shot straight into it for gross damage. I've made a Friend today.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain revs up his axes, and goes for the stinger. He digs in, but it pulls away from him. The Wasp would try to kill me, but the Lord-Captain is closer. It grazes him, and doesn't poison him (The Lord-Captain has amasec for blood) but it does grapple him.<br />
<br />
The Magos blasts it with the plasma cannon, and I focus my mind, whipping up winds around me as I declare "Let my Lord-Captain go!" and try to crush the wasp with my mind.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain is struggling, but having no luck against the barb. Wash tries to free him.<br />
<br />
The Magos passes her cannon to her mechadendrite, and draws her bolter. The bolter bounces off. My next grenade digs in a little, but is definitely less spectacular.<br />
<br />
The lord-captain is still doing what he can. Wash is feinting and trying to cut him free, still.<br />
<br />
The Magos runs for the gun-cutter -- there's turrets she could be commandeering! I give the wasp another stinger of a grenade, and it stumbles.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain frees himself from the stinger, against all odds, and tears himself free! Wash still can't seem to penetrate it's thick hide.<br />
<br />
The Magos opens up with the twin-linked heavy bolters from the turret, heavy rounds bouncing off the shell and penetrating indiscriminately. The monster sways, and topples over, finally slain.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain would like a nap, being skewered by a wasp has worn him out.The Magos wants the head of the wasp as a trophy. The Lord-Captain says no, it stinks. I propose that we leave it outside until it's time to go, and then duct-tape it to the roof-rack on the way out.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
For now, we need to find that broken city of wraithbone. The Magos sends out servo skulls, and finds some rubble; I take to the air, and looking in that direction, I can see ruins. Wash figures out a path, and we start walking.<br />
<br />
It's twenty kilometers, a bit of a walk. But eventually, we start finding intact bits of building, and find a clearing. A large temple rises from the earth, and partway up the gargantuan structure is a platform, ringed with wraithbone structures. A deep feeling of insignificance overwhelms us.<br />
<br />
The vox goes off. Ships have been jumping into the system over the last hour. It looks like we beat everyone else here. We make the plan; the ambition will fly away from the planet for a day, then return, passing by the planet to pick us up and then escape. The gun cutter is to wait, camoflagued, until we're done with the temple, or until the two days is up, to rendez-vous with the ship.<br />
<br />
As we step through the gate of the temple, there's a rumbling, and we feel something wash over us; a gale of psychic energy, vibrating our bones. The Lord-Captain and Wash black out. The Magos and I remain awake. Above us, the platform begins to shimmer and sparkle with power. Ghostly forms appear, six eldar warlocks. As one, they raise their hands, and the energies spiral up into the sky. The temple shakes, shifts. Something is dreadfully wrong.<br />
<br />
We must stop them.<br />
<br />
Wash boosts halfway up to the platform, which is 20m above. Magos Abigail clambers her way up the wall, as does the Lord-Captain. I fly up to the platform, seeing the six humanoids standing atop it. Wearing strange helmets, they're phasing in and out, and with them, the platform itself flickers, awash with witchfire.<br />
<br />
We all climb and fly up. Abigail takes a shot, and her bolter round vanishes the moment it hits the fire. The plasma shot from our Lord-Captain fares much the same.<br />
<br />
Hovering in the air, I focus all my power, and try to play pool with the enemy wizards. I blink, and everything changes. The Magos is suddenly on the ground, bleeding out, and there's dead eldar everywhere. What the fuck happened?<br />
<br />
The surviving eldar spray shuriken pistols at Wash and miss. Wash charges to join the Lord-Captain in finishing off an eldar that already looks like he's taken the wrong end of a chain axe vertically. The Lord-Captain finishes him off, and charges to engage another warlock, bloodlust in his eyes.<br />
<br />
I have learned nothing, and push my power to crush an eldar skull. Unfortunately, power rubberbands back into me, and knocks me out of the sky, to land on my head. I'm out cold, and the rest of the fight is nothing but a distant haze.<br />
<br />
The fight ends in our favor, and we regroup. The Magos' body is registering a very faint pulse. Above her body, a servo skull bears printout of a transcript of her last words:<br />
<br />
+++ I want one of those sweet ass witchblades +++<br />
<br />
The temple is stable once more, no longer phasing in and out. The top of the tower is covered with what looks like a star map -- rendered unreadable by damage in the past, but unmistakably related somehow to other planets in the Kronus Expanse.<br />
<br />
We call the guncutter, and load the Magos on, to the distraught of the Enginseer. Once we're all done, we render the tower destroyed and unreadable. Eat shit, Fel.<br />
<br />
We make sure to take a human-sized chunk of wraithbone as cargo, and make our way to the far side of the planet to camp out until the Ambition is ready to make it's return. We see a couple of lighters touch down over the next day or so. One spirals out of the air and eats shit.<br />
<br />
At the appointed time, we return to orbit, and catch the Ambition as it does a fly-by, and get out.<br />
<br />
As we leave, LeFrancois hails us -- "Leaving so soon?"<br />
<br />
I lie and say between the Eldar that harassed us on the way in and everyone else being in our way, it ain't worth it. It's a loss. I'm an abysmal liar, but he seems to accept it, and suggests we'll have to renegotiate the next time we meet. And then he hangs up on me. Dick.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain places a call to our old friend Jeremiah Blitz, and kindly forewarns him of the inclement weather, unreasonable wildlife, and trashed tower. In exchange, we just want him to take any opportunity to mess with Fel whenever possible, and distrust LeFrancois. The Lord-Captain shows off his sketch of Blitz, which is competent, and bids him good luck as we peace out.<br />
<br />
We have a remarkable race ahead of us, and potential for considerable profit.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Magos claims one of the 5 salvaged witchblades for her own; as do I. I claim one of the 8 shiny gems they were holding for my new cybereye to bling it out.<br />
<br />
There are 5 helmets, 4 robes and 1 shredded robe; one helmet goes on the Magos' servo skull.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain takes a full set of robe, helmet, shuriken pistol and witchblade for his trophy room.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-19423283962358269252018-06-02T12:17:00.000-07:002018-06-13T12:19:37.761-07:00Shit Our DM Says: GDPR Edition<blockquote class="tr_bq">
As you approach the planet where you expected the Dread Pearl to be, an astropathic message comes through with high-grade encryption.<br />It's decoded and passed up the chain of astropaths to Winter, who opens it...<br />++We've updated our Privacy Policy!++</blockquote>
Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-83286343617616691282018-05-12T12:10:00.000-07:002018-06-13T12:13:08.701-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew settles a Union Dispute<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
We're travelling through the warp and making what seems to be good time.<br />
<br />
<br />
We take the time to review our management policies, and recap our actual positions on the ship and how we manage it.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain is the Rogue Trader. 'Nuff said. Discipline is enforced through the Chain of Kevins.<br />
<br />
Wash, technically "Master of the Guns", reports that the lance and macrocannon crews are getting along well since the whole Space Juliet episode.<br />
<br />
I am technically the ship's radio.<br />
<br />
(Head) Magos Abigail runs weekly meetings with her Tech Priests for status updates. But Enginseer Nox is absent this week. She asks where he is, and one of her tech priests shifts uncomfortably.<br />
<br />
He's been in the plasma conduits all week, apparently. Literally has not been seen since last week's meeting. Abigail heads to the stern of the ship to go take a closer look. And finds that the bulkheads to the area are all sealed... and none of her priests would have any particular call to do so.<br />
<br />
None of the command staff know anything about it; I can't feel anything particularly weird going on in there, but someone's cut all the cameras. Aside from that, and the bulkhead being manually locked, there's nothing going on systems-wise.<br />
<br />
The team gathers at the bulkhead, save for myself; as I can no longer wear my power armor or a voidsuit, I'd rather not be killed by a lack of air. I support the team from one airlock away.<br />
<br />
The Magos knocks on the bulkhead with a mechadendrite, to no effect. She's considering hacking it, but before she does, she sends a servo skull through the air vents.<br />
<br />
The place seems deserted. Further exploration reveals graffiti of a benign ("Crooker was here") and personally hurtful ("Fuck the lord-captain") nature.<br />
<br />
There are bodies. A man wearing rank. A Crew-Chief Kevin, according to Wash. A dab hand with a chainsword, too, so the fact that he was cut to death and no longer has his chainsword is telling.<br />
<br />
The Magos cracks the door open, and I rejoin the party; I'll put on a breathing mask if I have to.<br />
<br />
We find the bodies. Only dead a few hours, very fresh. Wounds on the back and front of the Crew Chief Kevin. Small arms wounds to the back, and a wicked chain weapon slash across his chest. The other bodies surrounding him were uniformed, direct underlings. Loyal to the end.<br />
<br />
A vox unit's been tossed on top of the Kevin's body. The Lord-Captain does his best Adama impression and speaks into it. "This is your commander!"<br />
<br />
It crackles. A voice issues forth. "Ah. Yeh. We were wondering when we'd get this call. Did you like the gift we left you?"<br />
<br />
We did not.<br />
<br />
They don't care. We're going to listen anyway because we have one of our tech priests. This is a mutiny -- I disagree, they haven't really come for the command bridge, it's more an insurrection -- and they want to go back to Footfall immediately. There's "laws of the void", and this far out of the Imperium... there's lots of them, and they feel poorly about being mistreated. The Lord-Captain puts him on hold for a hot minute.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain polls us for our thoughts. Nox, while individually not worth such an effort on his own, is part of the Mechanicus, who supported the Van Hohenheim Warrant of Trade, so we really can't abandon him.<br />
<br />
We demand to speak with Nox to ensure he is, in fact, still alive. He is, and he technalinguas with the Magos to authenticate; I suggest she asks Nox where he is, and he manages to tell us before they tell him to speak Gothic. I inquire as to his vitality, and he is alive, so I lie and say we're turning this boat around.<br />
<br />
In reality, we're going to gas them with CO and raid to secure Nox. Wash has the bridge crew pull a 360 to make it seem like we're acceding to their request. The Lord Captain has us do better. The magos begins piping the CO, and I scout a path with my powers.<br />
<br />
We're ready, we throw the switch on a sealed bulkhead, and gas the fuckers.<br />
<br />
We breach and go in. We pass the radio that the Lord Captain cast aside, and he picks it up again. "I'm coming for you, Suzy."<br />
<br />
As we move in, we start spotting people, clawing at their throats, gasping. I taunt them. The Captain disposes of them.<br />
<br />
There's one guy with enough strength to start aiming at us. Wash boosts forward and knocks the gun out of his hand. On the next deck, a man with a power sword tries to come at the Captain; I Compel him to drop it, and he stops an inch from the Captain. I then punch him in the face.<br />
<br />
There's two more with gasmasks and swords; The Magos takes a shot with her new big plasma, and misses, but as they turn around from watching it shoot between them, the Lord-Captain is already there, looming large and aiming for ankle with his chainaxes.<br />
<br />
He walks on.<br />
<br />
A red blur races up the stairs towards him; he punches for throat, and feels metal. Enginseer Nox has managed to make his escape amongst the gas. He thanks us and tells us there's about eight, but only a few who have masks.<br />
<br />
We approach the ringleader and his last stand. The Lord Captain displays supreme reflexes and dodges a shotgun blast from around the corner. He mercifully gives them one last chance to surrender. They decline, and seal their fates. They did it to themselves.<br />
<br />
Wash boosts in and engages the ringleader at the very rear, twenty metres away. The Lord-Captain engages the monosworders at the front. I compel two of the four shotgunners to shoot their allies, although only one of them can actually hit his target. The ringleader swipes at Wash, and the Lord-Captain is assailed by two guys with swords, and none of them can actually hit their target.<br />
<br />
The surviving shotgunners are reloading or taking a shot at the Lord-Captain and miss; he declares that the next person to shoot his ship will be murdered harder.<br />
<br />
The Magos uses her ferric lure to snatch a shotgun and crush it with her mechadendrite. It looks badass.<br />
<br />
Wash's sword bites deep into the ringleader's thigh, but doesn't kill him. He holds on for a hot moment.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain butchers his opponents; there is so much blood, anyone wanting to run in the area needs to pass an agility check or eat ass.<br />
<br />
I make the last two armed shotgunners engage in a contest of who can shoot the other first. They're awful and can't actually hit each other. Why did we hire these people?<br />
<br />
The unarmed shotgunner loses his shit and tries to run. He slips on the blood and eats shit, freaking out in fear.<br />
<br />
Abigail steals another shotgun and crushes it.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain advances on the last shotgunner, and asks him where Suzy is. His boss. He fear fully points to the ringleader and says "Crooker's right there!"<br />
<br />
I make him shoot his last sensate friend as a reward. He does it, and drops to his knees, staring at his hands.<br />
<br />
There's no standing opposition left.<br />
<br />
<br />
*****<br />
<br />
<br />
We get servitors and Kevins in to arrest the lot. There's about thirty mutineers. We give a short speech about how if they have problems, they should use their WORDS. We clarify where we're going. If they're afraid of the darkness, remember: the light of the emperor shines wherever we are. If they forget, we are forced to do things like this.<br />
<br />
We summarily execute them cleanly, and flush Crooker out the airlock mid-warp in a clown outfit, and discipline reigns supreme.<br />
<br />
The Magos bumps reports up to twice weekly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We near the end of our voyage to the dread pearl. Spirits are higher, and we're filled with a sense of excitement. We gather on the ship for the exit, and prepare battlestations.<br />
<br />
We emerge, and the view isn't quite right. We're supposed to see a warpstorm. A pearl. We see calm space, and a small star system. We're in the right place, but.... no dread pearl?<br />
<br />
Wash hits the augers. It's a star system with a small, insignificant yellow star. A planet with unlivable atmos. And ships travelling in a ragged convoy towards the warp out point. We hail them, and they don't quite respond conventionally. Stryxis, they call themselves, and they want to parlay. We agree, and they want us to join them on their ship; they'll send a shuttle. Everyone agrees to go.<br />
<br />
The pilot of their shuttle is covered in all sorts of tribal trinkets, little bones. He bows to us and welcomes us in, but says nothing.<br />
<br />
The ship's condition is poor when we arrive; lights are dim and flickering. What we can see, the ship is made from mismatched materials, and covered in all sorts of fetishes and trinkets. The floor is covered in litter, and it stinks.<br />
<br />
A strixis emerges from the darkness, wearing a long cloak and hood. All we can see is is a snout, a lot like a dog snout, but hairless. We get the sensation of eyes, watching us, and it speaks in accented Gothic, wishing to actually aid us, and speak to our leader.<br />
<br />
The Lord Captain responds, introduces himself. The Stryxis is wanting to trade; they'll take any sort of valuable. The Lord-Captain gives up a hip flask, and it's accepted. Wash wants a pulse pistol in exchange, but we're far from the "blue ones" , so no dice. But they do have a fine weapon from the "hated ones", and go fetch it.<br />
<br />
Information-wise, the planet has been here a while. Nothing else is here, and it's covered in things which do not walk on two legs. Hated ones.<br />
<br />
They come back, it's a shuriken pistol.<br />
<br />
We haggle our charms for various things.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain's charm is a monocle. He's contemplating swapping it for muscle grafts, but declines.<br />
<br />
I swap the first coin I ever earned for a new, average-quality cybereye, with a zoom function.<br />
<br />
Wash swaps his charm for a flechette cannon. He tries his rebreather for a recoil glove, but they don't have any.<br />
<br />
As we're finishing our trades, a siren goes off, and the Stryxis react with fear. We get vox; contact at extreme range. I feel for familiar minds... and it's the eldar we were fighting on the way out here.<br />
<br />Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-37119986824943120522018-04-28T12:10:00.000-07:002018-06-13T12:10:43.114-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew finds an Opportunity<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind. Questionable epicurean delights have left him unreasonably muscled.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull. Ever since doing warp-eel shots, she seems more insightful somehow.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack. We are all amazed by his apparently-infinite agility, and his recent ability to just shrug off pain.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler, even when he's on autopilot.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches, and freshly endowed with wings, somehow. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
The next morning, the command staff is feeling the night before.<br />
<br />
Wash's morning self-flagellation isn't tickling like it used to. The Lord-Captain's exercise regime of lifting amasec bottles has paid off, but perhaps too fast -- he has trouble getting through doorways, and aside from my hangover, my back appears to be sprouting bone spurs.<br />
<br />
I book an appointment with the Magos. Yep, it's unnatural. She bandages it for me, and gives me some medical amasec and space panadol. I ask if I should lay of the Kriegian grox milk.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain, by contrast, decides to go for a third-party doctor; the Magos tries stalking him with a servo skull, and fails miserably. The Captain finds a good doctor, and after accepting a complimentary pair of fist-sized grox tranquilizers, diagnoses him with unusual hormone imbalance or really good, but poorly installed, vat grown muscle. There's not really much he can do about it, except recommend a more even install of muscle on a planet with the appropriate facilities.<br />
<br />
Wash also pays the Magos a visit; she diganoses it as successfully surpassing the weakness of the flesh. She tries to put him on the table<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We make our way to the Foretelling; as we get closer to the place, architecture worsens, stone structures in poor condition, and there's precious few people around, not even the usual scum.<br />
<br />
I feel ill at ease. We must be close.<br />
<br />
We're met by LeFrancois at "The Cell", a crumbling stone structure with a barred opening; it gets a wide berth from the few other people around.<br />
<br />
We hear eerie voices that come from all around us. Ahead of us, the air is punctuated by occasional screams.<br />
<br />
There are two guards; once their quilted armor was white, but time and stains have made them worse for the wear. Each one carries a staff with a copper orb, cables linking it to a pouch on their belts. They wordlessly welcome us and lead us in; the walls are lined with stained padding like their armor.<br />
<br />
The place feels a lot like an abandoned asylum.<br />
<br />
We cross one last threshold, and the guards close the gate behind us, not accompanying us any further. We're plunged into darkness, and the air feels moist. We don't balk, and the light returns, flickering and staccato. We see seven witches, as well as the other auction winners, and they speak as one, bidding us welcome.<br />
<br />
"Many have heard the call, but how few shall reach the destination?"<br />
<br />
They focus their power, and the temperature drops once more. They profess to be beyond even the Emperor himself. Dread fills us. Someone vomits, and we're all snatched away into a void of pain. I try to resist, but<br />
<br />
The vision comes to us.<br />
<br />
We are adrift on a sea of roiling energy. The raw stuff of nightmares swirls all around. Screaming voices, seven streams of voices, speaking as one, directly to our souls. A cipher forms in our mind, a time and place. An oval gemstone, glittering against the velvet of space, and we are compelled to take it. We must own it.<br />
<br />
We return to reality, awakening with a start. I feel an opp<br />
<br />
The vision clarifies. The gemstone isn't a gem, it's a planet, wrapped in a warp stone. And we feel like we just need to look at a star chart to know where it is.<br />
<br />
Before they fall silent, the witches have one last word of advice for us: "It's not a gem, it's a pearl; a pretty, dread pearl."<br />
<br />
As we digest the information, there's several snaps of energy and ozone; several witnesses vanish, including Fel, which ruins our plans to put him six feet deep and eliminate some competion.<br />
<br />
LeFrancois, dabbing at his mouth with an embroidered kerchief, makes eye contact with us and legs it. Along with most of the others. Everyone's in quite a hurry to depart.<br />
<br />
We've got quite the star chart waiting for us on our ship, so we make haste to it. As we're making our way up to the bridge, the ship begins to rock; something is shooting us! Auspex tells us it's the guns on the docking arm.<br />
<br />
We get a transmission; the big goon who tried to mug us is there. He gives us Hadarak Fel's regards. Wash blasts two of the turrets shooting us, and they stop, fearful for their lives.<br />
<br />
The damage is done, however; they tickled our engines, which isn't scuttling us, but is going to slow us down until we fix them in a couple of days.<br />
<br />
As we make our way out to the jump point, the Navigator sits us down to chart a path with us; he begins to describe how he views the warp.<br />
<br />
The Navigator shows us his view of the warp; not unlike a hedge maze, with the beacon of the Astronomicon<br />
<br />
We're watched the whole way; eyes in the hedges, belonging to awful, awful things. The Navigator is trying his best, but he's lost.<br />
<br />
More and more eyes are closing in on us, like sharks in the water. We need more time. I plan to buy it, channelling more power to try and draw attention from the Navigator. Wash begins to pray feverishly. The Magos prays to the Omnisiah.<br />
<br />
With the Lord Captain's encouragement to Do Better, the Navigator gets what he needs, and we drop out of the vision and back onto the table.<br />
<br />
Alarms are going off when we return; we've got contact about a hundred thousand klicks out. It's an Imperial ship, belonging to a trader or free captain... shooting at what appears to be nothing. The Lord-Captain wants to join in. We prepare for battle stations, and hail the ship doing the shooting to assist.<br />
<br />
It's the Captain who bid the mummified remains of the priest-king. He's extremely jaunty, and goes by the name Jeremiah Blitz. He can't tell what it is he's actually shooting at; he suspects it's Eldar. He won't ask for help, but if we're giving it, he'll take it, particularly as the Lord-Captain is doing it >For Free. Blitz likes this, and calls him a good bastard.<br />
<br />
We properly engage the ghost ship; the Magos tries to ping it on auspex; the ship sort of shows, flickering in and out. The Lord-Captain takes the helm, and brings us closer; we get a visual on it, it's some sort of translucent ship. Wash opens up on it, scoring a firm hit. The ship flickers, and sure enough, an eldar ship swims into view. It doesn't respond to a vox hail. Which was expected, in hindsight.<br />
<br />
Blitz opens up on it, too, and scores a direct hit. It rocks, and flickers firmly back into view, before going ghosty again. Parts of it glow, burning craters in the enemy vessel.<br />
<br />
It turns it's attentions to us. It fires what look like little suns across our shields; they don't get past, but the shields take a hammering.<br />
<br />
This time, I reach out to it psychically. I'm slapped psychically for the trouble, taking a wound. The Magos calibrates the macrocannons, the Lord-Captain rallies the gunnery crews, and Wash cuts loose with an absolutely blistering shot clean through the eldar ship, ripping a hole straight off the top of the ship. The laser makes contact, and shakes the ship hard; it disengages, and tries to fuck off, leaving nothing but wreckage behind, which we scavenge.<br />
<br />
Blitz hails us again, and congratulates us; if we weren't rivals and in a race, he'd stop to have a drink with us. We wish him well anyway, and toast to a fair fight.<br />
<br />
The material we got from the ship is mysterious; it seems porous, but is actually rather smooth. On contact, I briefly hear alien singing.<br />
<br />
We reach the jump point, and punch it into the void at full speed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It's sixty days to our destination. To pass the time:<br />
<br />
- I discover that Wings growing in. It's an interesting morning, and thereafter, I spend a lot of time on the flight deck, eating bulkhead.<br />
<br />
- We now have a franchise branch of MagosDonalds onboard.<br />
<br />
- The Magos works on "Reading the bolts". I suggest making them out of that hull material we pulled off the eldar ship. It seems to work: The Magos asks: "Where in the world is Skekris?", and she gets a vision of an asteroid, bristling with weapons; and inside it, a facility. The Magos Skekris. An operating room.<br />
<br />
Wash has intense feelings of Deja Vu when I share those images with everyone. And the Lord-Captain has an unshakable sense of dread.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7847079347021957148.post-22504006270917114502018-04-14T11:56:00.000-07:002018-06-13T12:02:30.799-07:00It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse: The Crew Attends an Auction<i><b>Rogue Trader:</b> A quest for profit in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. But dying in mediocrity and misery is for poor people and losers, and a Rogue Trader's retinue is anything but.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse<i> is bought to you by:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Lord-Captain van Hohenheim</b> - Rogue Trader. Hero. The last of his line. Possibly insane, although a holiday has done much to soothe his agitated mind.</i><br />
<i><b>Magos Abigail von Thannhausen</b> - A Magos Explorator-Chymist who possibly takes too much pleasure in the craft of Servitors. Accompanied by her servo-skull.</i><br />
<i><b>Archaius "Boosto" Wash</b> - A gunnery sergeant with a now less-irritating artificial voicebox and a jetpack.</i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian LaMarck</b> - A seneschal with a silver tongue. Spymaster and king of Human Resources. One hell of a butler.</i><br />
<i><b>Winter York</b> - Astropath Transcendant. Monstrous willpower. Notorious advocate of psychic power pissing matches. Your glorious narrator and remembrancer.</i><br />
<hr />
<br />
The crew begins Season 2 of Fear and Loathing in the Kronus Expanse -- It's Always Heretical in the Kronus Expanse.<br />
<br />
Last season, the crew of the Absolute Ambition established a a religion-orientated colony in the Kronus Expanse, on Magaros.<br />
<br />
In our downtime, we've had the chance to relax, and the Lord Captain's madness has had a chance to subside somewhat. <i>Somewhat</i>.<br />
<br />
It has come to light that the most stable warp routes around Magaros are a touch choppy and unstable; most pilots are unwilling to fly them, but Jean LeFrancois and other associated free captains have been willing to do so in exchange for a handsome reward. LeFrancois has bought out the lanes, making arrangements with other free captains, but he is doing the bulk of the work.<br />
<br />
Orbus Dray has been accompanying LeFrancois as a senior officer / supervisor for the last four months or so.<br />
<br />
One night at dinner, as we finish the sixth course, Sebastian stands up and gets our attention. He is sad to be the bearer of bad news; while things are stable and the colony is breaking even, if we don't do some actual work, we risk running out of amasec within the next 18-24 months, and having to cancel the seventh course as soon as 3 months away.<br />
<br />
I throw my fork on the table in anger.<br />
<br />
Wash proposes that we kill two rocs with one bolter -- we settle our beef with Skekris (Spit on the ground) and take his stuff, satisfying our dual lust for revenge and money / Catachanian quail.<br />
<br />
As a more immediate measure, the Lord-Captain wants to send kevins to pick up the xeno batteries we withheld from the Mechanicus and leak them to the Cold Trade for cash.<br />
<br />
As we contemplate this, I receive a message from Orbus Drey, encrypted using cyphers which I relay to the crew; there is an event promising great fortune in Footfall that we might be particularly interested in -- the "Foretelling".<br />
<br />
That sounds like it's up our alley, and a good way to get back into the swing of things, as it were. The Lord-Captain decides we depart in three days; in the meantime, the Kevins are to begin drills at 5am. The Magos and Winter are unsure how useful drills are, they're good for making holes in things, but of debatable use in space.<br />
<br />
Preparations for the journey begin. The Lord-Captain wants to send our old friend Captain Fel a message and bait him into coming to the Foretelling so that we can make fun of him and/or kill him while we're there, but now isn't the time. So he will settle for taking the xenobatteries.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We return to Footfall successfully, after a few weeks' travel. Sebastian gives us a refresher course on Footfall, it's an irregular mass of towers and gantries, hanging in the void, growing erratically and without planning. As such, it has changed ever so slightly while we've been away.<br />
<br />
The settlement is led by an individual nominated by champions of Footfall's interests named the Leige; the Leige is usually subservient to any rogue trader, and even the most inexperienced captain would theoretically be higher on the pecking order, but in practice this can be hard to enforce, and a slow-to-learn captain can find themselves between a rock and a hard place in a dark alley.<br />
<br />
What we don't expect on the way in is a macro-sized statue of the God Emperor; it's a massive thing, assembled from various materials.<br />
<br />
On arrival, we look up LeFrancois and Dray -- they're situated a few bays down the Longshore, where we've docked. We walk past a number of crates when a large, heavy-set man steps out, and gets in our face, casually blocking the way.<br />
<br />
He and the lord captain exchange some banter before I just tell him to <b>Move.</b> It works, and he scampers away, declaring that we'll get ours.<br />
<br />
We eventually find an incredibly extravagantly-decorated ship -- there's no mistaking it as LeFrancois' ship, the Fleur de Lis -- LeFrancois and Dray emerge to greet us. LeFrancois is looking exceptionally well, his powdered wig bigger and more powdered than ever before.<br />
<br />
He greets us warmly, and Dray briefs us on the Foretelling.<br />
<br />
It's an uncommon event, but has happened before; the last time it happened, it revealed a new warp route out by Winterscale's realm. The Lord Captain asks me about it; it's not my field of expertise, but it's possible to predict the future. But such a thing requires power, and for a large-scale predction, a disgusting amount is needed. Even I can feel it welling up in the warp around us, coming in hard and fast.<br />
<br />
As I finish educating the team, we're approached by a servo-skull; it projects the image of a man with extensive and elaborate augments and a chromed deathmask with disturbingly organic eyes; he introduces himself as Tanthus Moros, and cordially invites us to a dinner function later on.<br />
<br />
This sounds like a good opportunity to expand our business connections, if it's not a trap. I suggest the Lord Captain bring a sample of our Ghostfire Lilies, possibly worn in the lapel, to get the attention of the Leige's benefactors.<br />
<br />
We dress in matching white tuxedos, with the exception of the Magos who settles for her best robes with gold gear-trim. We wear our Dinner Hats. I wear a fascinator and my bodyglove under my tuxedo.<br />
<br />
The location is a gathering of extremely well-dressed people -- although they're not quite wearing the outfits right; they're affecting nobility.<br />
<br />
At the end of the hall, we see a palanquin surrounded by scantily-clad women, likely concubines. We're making our way towards it when we spot a familiar face in the crowd: Fel. That asshole. He hasn't noticed us.<br />
<br />
We confer. We could launch a surprise attack on his ship, a suicide option, or we could kill him here and now. The Lord-Captain opts to publicly humiliate him and ruin his night, before killing him opportunistically if we have a chance after dinner.<br />
<br />
The Lord Captain opens up on Fel at range, increasing in volume as he gets closer, and draws the attention of the crowd; Fel can do nothing but stand there and take it; he declares he has better things to do after being roasted, and leaves. The crowd gathers around and the Captain socializes.<br />
<br />
The Magos presses on towards the palanquin, and meets the Leige. She is quite taken with his extensive augmentations, and speaks with him.<br />
<br />
After a while, he calls for the food to be brought out. Servants bring out platters of food that are... strange. Like the guests, these are imitations of haute cuisine. The Lord-Captain wants quail, so I go looking for some.<br />
<br />
And extremely weird. At least, as far as I can tell -- surely nobility doesn't eat dishes this strange. So weird, people are attentively watching and cheering anyone who can keep it down. Obviously, this is some sort of hazing challenge. I report that there is no quail.<br />
<br />
I'll rise to the challenge -- I pick a platter of... "Jerazol brain fluke, braised in ork spinal fluid", and tuck in. It's tough to keep down, but it feels like an hour of hallucinations rammed into a very few seconds. I've had the warp in my head, but this is something else. I feel my mind has been opened to new wisdoms.<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain picks a platter of "deep warp eel of unknown origin with Egarian mummy extract", and spoons it down. It seems to have a positive effect on him, and he seems to grow in stature, growing larger. (He's gained the hulk mutation)<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain eggs Wash into trying the eel -- they have a blender so he can drink it through his grille. I decide to join in, and make it a shots challenge. We down them and empty our glasses.<br />
<br />
Wash seems to stop noticing when people brush into him. (He no longer feels pain.) Me, I feel just fine, although my back is itching like mad and I'm regularly looking for pillars to casually scratch my back against. (Growing wings, eventually to have Flier trait @ Agility Bonus x2)<br />
<br />
Everyone is well impressed by this, and it seems like their tongues waggle more freely around us. We use this opportunity to learn more about the Foretelling.<br />
<br />
Word has it that the Foretelling is invite only -- and to get it, you have to bid at an auction. Top ten bids get in, everyone else goes. Auction's at the Obsidian Emporial, tonight.<br />
<br />
We need to get a move on. We say our goodbyes to the Leige, and part ways for the evening. My back is driving me nuts, and the Lord-Captain's suit seems to have shrunk on him.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Obsidian Emporial is, by day, a prominent shopping center. We arrive just in time, meeting Sebastian there with a change of clothes for the Lord-Captain, which don't seem to be faring much better than his tux.<br />
<br />
As we enter, we pass through an arch of black stone. The doors themselves seem to be made of adamantium hull plate, flanked by two Ogryns. They give us a once-over as they enter; small arms and explosives seem to be okay, but the Magos' power axe gets sideways looks.<br />
<br />
The hall is lit by hovering servo skulls, each carrying a wax-dripping candle. The hall is packed, with rich, poor, and the Fel alike. Everyone's attention is focused on the podium at the front, where a hunched, decrepit creature stands; his face distended and more bovine than human, and his skull lined with sockets. He is the Intercessor.<br />
<br />
Cables extend down from the ceiling and pick him up by his skull, placing him into the podium, where he rolls up his sleeves to reveal mechanical arms; he bangs a gavel and the auction begins.<br />
<br />
Near us, a man bids ten thousand thrones. The crowd goes silent. The Intercessor declines, and the man is removed. We get one bid each, it seems.<br />
<br />
The crowd begins to thin itself out. And suddenly, Hadarak Fel stands up. And bids a goddamn moon. It's accepted.<br />
<br />
A man named Jeremiah Blitz stands up, and bids the mummified remains of a preist. A daemonette's toenail is bid, and also accepted. A cask of centuries-old drink.<br />
<br />
We confer; the common element of the winning bids seems to be time. It's either going to be our spare Warrant, or...<br />
<br />
The Lord-Captain stands up. "The coordinates for the Righteous Path."<br />
<br />
There's a tense moment in the air; the Intercessor regards us carefully, and after a moment, raises his gavel, striking it once against the podium.<br />
<br />
It's accepted.<br />
<br />
<br />
The auction concludes with the tenth successful bid, and we receive the details of our invitation: Midnight, tomorrow.Wisconsin Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504150761022892006noreply@blogger.com0