Traveller - Extended Starport Codes Again

Pretty sure I keep coming back to this every once in a while. But heck if I can find the post where I was messing with this. And there is an interesting discussion on COTI about the existing base codes. Got me to thinking yet again about something that should be useful fluff but also have some game mechanics associated with it. Not that I actually use any of these house-rules I play with when I actually run games: mostly use things at the plot requirements and I make up what I need before the session. Random things are handy for sparking ideas. 

Anyway, I can see have an extended port description. Something along the lines of ABCDE-F where:

• A = main starport (same as the UWP, unless it is ONLY a high port)
• B = port staff size: 0 = 0-9, 1 = 10-99, etc. (same as the population code)
• C = high port (A to X for none)
• D = trader information:
• A = multiple brokerages available, up to broker 4. Extra cargo roll per week allowed
• B = brokerages available, up to Broker 2
• C = broker available, up to Broker 1
• D = no brokerages available
• E = minimal cargos, reduce available cargo rolls
• E = Embassy population: 0 = 0-9, 1 = 10-99, etc. 
• F = port TL level (may not be the same as the UWP

This presumes that the starport population is distinct from the planetary population. And of course, it would not be Traveller without having a bunch of rolls to randomly fill out the info. With DMs based on other UWP info. 

Port Staffing Levels

2d6 x planetary population code x starport code modifier x importance^2 where if importance <= 0, make it 1:

• A = 100
• B = 25
• C = 10
• D = 1
• E = 0.1

Importance is not Classic Traveller, but a T5 affection. See this Wiki entry for that info. Interestingly the starport itself is part of the calculation for world importance. Regina, for instance, has an importance of 4, whereas Beck's world, a few parsecs away, is -3.

A world population of 7 on a port A world has a range (49...84) * 100 * (1..4) ^2 for 4900...134,000 employees. Honestly, rather than a random roll base the port population based on the system and trade routes around it. Gives a place for all those starport authority people to be emplyed at. Maybe we could redo the population code to be more granular, but I like using existing codes.

A class C port on a population 2 world of little importance (2..12) * 2 * 10 * 1 for a range of 40 to 240 port authority staffers. 

A class D port on a high population world of A and no importance is (2..12) * 10 * 1 * 1 for 20..120 people. 

A class E port on a high pop world of A would be (1..12) * 0.1 * 1 * 1 for 0.1 to 1.2 people. So, 0 to maybe 3 people if you round up. 

I think the numbers sort of work.

High Port

Normally the high port will be the same as the downport, and somewhere in the rules it does indicate that A ports almost always will have a high port, B probably will, and C is hit or miss. Some systems may ONLY have a high port, in which case the code may look more like X2Axxx-A for no downport, 10-99 employees at the class A high port for this TL A system. In MTU, I generally don't let 5000+ ton ships land on planets, but it all depends on the planet. A small planet with no atmosphere won't have the same gravitational stress. Military ships designed for planetary landings are of course an exception. A high port is better for those larger ships. 

Trader Classification

I'd fall back on the GURPS Far Trader book for a much better explanation (a great resource if you have it. While I don't like GURPS as a role playing system, though I've never played so that is not really a fair assessment, the books, at least for Traveller, are really great. Another interesting conversation on COTI on those books as well). 

While I don't have a formular per se, I think the start port type, importance and population will have an effect on the classification. I.e., an A port with a high native population and is important would be a A: lots of brokerages available, lots of cargos available. Are there pricing differences per broker? Maybe if you use the same one on multiple visits. Something to keep in mind: contacts are always important. A system with a low population and a cleared off section of bedrock for a port may not have much in the way of anything, and it would be harder to find cargos and no broker will be there as there is no profit to be had. Which makes me wonder about Petria...

Embassy

Per the rules, ports in the Imperium are technically part of the Imperium. Most worlds (with T5) will have some sort of nobility from knight on up on the planet. They actually get land fiefs, the size depending on a few things. But in the port itself there will be an embassy. The population code is probably too wide, but again, I like standard codes. A 0 may be no embassy staff present, and a 2 is almost a thousand staffers could be working there. I'd base this on a number of factors that really can't be part of a random roll. Such as:

• closer to a border probably has a higher staff count
• worlds well within the border and completely Imperial for centuries would have a minimal staff
• the larger a population, the larger the staff to handle any inquiries and whatnot.

The embassy is also going to have a Marine garrison. This is not part of the embassy population code, but figure a minimum of a squad (aka fire team), and up to company. Found this handy site for the US Marines and how the units break down. Having no military experience, I feel I am always just guessing at things. But in brief:

• Fire team = 3 marines lead by a corporal
• Squad (or section) = 3 teams lead by a sergeant (9 Marines)
• Platoon = 3 squads let by a lieutenant (27 Marines)
• Company = 3 or more platoons led by a captain (243 Marines)

And of course, Marines will have their toys and by armed to TL-15. 

Port Tech Level

Always contentious (per LBB2, any class A port can do yearly maintenance on any ship), I feel that the TL of a port does not always reflect the TL of the system. It will generally, though not always, be higher than local TL based on the port code. A vague house rule:

• A minimum TL A (decent jump and grav technology)
• B minimum TL 9 (early jump & grav)
• C..X will be the TL of the system unless the plot requires something different

Note that A & B ports do import higher-tech supporting equipment so that they can maintain higher-tech ships as necessary. The parts may not always be available (cue adventure time) depending on the world importance, trade levels and proximity to higher-tech industrial systems. 

I've also embraced the whole maker thing, essentially advanced 3D printers. While not at the replicator stage of things, an A port will have the raw materials and templates to create most parts needed on hand, a B port may or may not have all it needs, and good luck with the C or D ports. This allows lower-tech systems to maintain higher-tech systems. I also assume that the Port Authority moves its engineers around, so that those that learn to maintain high tech stuff get moved to lower tech worlds to share that information and skillset. 

There is an interesting conversation on COTI about lower TL ships in higher TL settings, and some, err, strongly help opinions. As it is a game, I feel what works in your game universe is what works. There is 1 poster there that is quite adamant about how he thinks things should work and contrary opinions are "using logic to come to the wrong conclusions". It is an imaginary game with imaginary conceits, keep it yours and do what you think works best for your games. Almost got into an argument with my group about something similar, and I just get tired of everyone complaining about everything and making fun of things they don't like. It is really, taking a step back, the kettle calling the pot black in a lot of these arguments. Back to logic and drawing the wrong conclusion. Anyway....

January's Character Challenge

I'll probably do this again this year, and I'll cheat again and have a few pre-made ones for those days I have too much going on to generate a character (Monday's are really tough as I get up, go to the gym, work and then have my Monday game night. No time for much of anything else). I'll try to do at least half Traveller, but as always a few other systems that I have will get used as well. I may even bring out Jungle Girl and her two dinosaur friends. I don't think I've posted her stats anywhere. And the Crimsom Skies character is ready to go. We're playing a supers game starting this week, so there will be a supers character probably Tuesday or late Monday night as that will be session 0.

As a reminder, I have my bibliography of Traveller careers in this post. I probably need to update that as I did get the Cepheus Deluxe book and need to add those careers to the list.

If anyone one has a specific Traveller character career they'd like me to roll up, please let me know. I will also be doing characters for:

• The Fantasy Trip
• Blackest of Deaths (yet to actually play this game)
• Delve
• Apex
• Microlite D20 games (for the supers game coming up shortly, and will probably post Athagio, the centaur I played, on one of those days I've run out of time)
• Brass Rings (we had a few good sessions for that and I may need an NPC at some point assuming we get back to that one)
• some of the zine RPGs I picked up in ZineQuest 3. Need to hold back this year - as enticing as a lot of those things are, I am just not using them. And while digital hoarding takes no physical space, it does take mental and emotional space!

Year in Review

Not going to do that. Though I am happy that somehow, I picked up 3 more followers this year. 19 people following me - woot! My influence is felt...nowhere. Not sure that that really means honestly: I follow a number of blogs but apparently do not have the RSS or something set up as new posts don't seem to show up anywhere that I can find. But it has been, erm, a year. Just like the year before pretty much. Working from home (and will be for the foreseeable future), getting way too many minis to paint or even store. and not having enough time to play games. I hope everyone has had a good year, and that this coming year will be full of fun and good times. And hopefully for me, less anger and arguing. I get tired of myself sometimes.

Traveller Solo: Landing on Mont (277-1106)

 The trip from jump point to Mont was pretty boring: Mont is not a well-visited system. While I tried the comms, there was nothing until we were almost in orbit. 

"This is Mont Downport. Please state your reason for visit." The voice was not exactly unfriendly, but there was a harsh accent of sorts I could not place.

"This is the No Refunds requesting permission to land. Free trader with two passengers for Mont. Cargo to be delivered per contract." I responded as well. There was no computer beep asking for the manifest or anything. Guess we were really at a sort of frontier system. 

"Permission to land, No Refunds. There is a single pad outside Chutaco ready for your ship." And then the signal was killed. Looking at the 3D globe of Mont, I could see the port was near the southern pole, at least according to the map we had in the database. "Captain," I called on the comms, "permission to land was granted. At the only apparent landing pad. I don't get any transponder or locational pings on comms."

"Don't worry, Malik. The map is accurate. Prepare our passengers for landing in less than an hour" the captain responded. I did as told, and watched the feeds as we de-orbited and made a spiraling approach to the south pole of Mont. Looking at the world real-time, the atmosphere seemed foggy or steamy as we approached the planet. I knew from the library it had a very thin atmosphere, and most of the world was a steam bath. The poles were a bit cooler, and as we made our final approach, I saw some mountains snaking off into the distance. We skimmed over waters of a bright blue and then settled on what looked to be cracked bedrock. Panning the cameras, I could see what appeared to be a large set of doors set into the mountainside, and a wide path leading from where we were parked to those massive doors. 

"No Refunds is settled down" I radioed the port. It took a few moments, and then that same harsh voice responded, "Welcome to Mont. Outer doors are unlocked, and we have a truck ready to transport cargo." I thought of the cargo we had, and groaned to myself. Ewo looked over at me and smiled. "Yes, this will be a lot slower than on a modern port. We'll be here a bit. After we get the passengers and cargo unloaded to this yeaoo kei, we'll see if Petria is worth the passenger fees we did not charge him." I was unsure what yeaoo kei meant exactly, but figured it was not a flattering term from how she said it.

The truck did rumble out to us. Not sure what powered it but it generated a lot of smoke or steam as it approached our main cargo hatch. We sealed the bay from the rest of the ship, I donned a vacc suit as we did not have any environmental suits, and directed the cargo transfer. My visor would steam over quite often. The workers from the port wore bulky respirators and loose-fitting clothes that sealed at the wrists and ankles. In the end, it was almost 2 days to get the cargos unloaded, and half a day with Ewo handling the legalities of the destroyed aromatics. The mountain entrance was the first of many heavy doors. The cargo warehouses were just large caves, barely smoothed out, to either side of the passage about 2 doors in. There were more cargo caves further in if they required more atmosphere. Inside the caves, each airlock increased the air pressure and reduced the temperature. The 4th lock in was a shirt-sleeves environment. There was condensation on the walls as well, though by the 5th lock most of the condensation was almost all gone. 

Seemed everyone here spoke with that harsh accent and tended to abbreviate things a good deal. Ewo told me it was because they were from Helfom. Usually over time most accents tend to disappear with travel, but I suppose that Mont did not get a lot of visitors, nor did the people often leave.

Apparently, we made a good impression on the people helping off-load the cargo. We got invited to a tour of Chutaco with a bunch of them. Once inside the final lock, the main cavern was easily 200 meters wide and almost as deep. There were branching tunnels, some large enough to fly a small ship through, others just a few meters wide and high. Buildings were built into the walls and reached bac into the bedrock. Stairs were everywhere, as were an amazing number of plants. Every you went there were plants. Ceilings and roofs had full spectrum lighting, and I was told the plants helped with the air and moisture content. Some of the more industrial sections of the city had huge steel pipes that led to the surface, giant fans circulating air. There was also a constant sound of fans and air moving, though it could barely be felt. The place smelled like a rainforest between the humidity and the plants. I did not notice many animals such as pets or wildlife. I found that several caverns had small herds of food animals. There was also a cavern set up as a beach, complete with sand and something that looked almost like palm trees. The water was pretty balmy, almost too warm for me.

 One of the most peculiar things though that there seemed to be a lot of heavy doors, very similar to airlock doors. I asked Mari, one of the people showing us about, why those doors were so prevalent. 

"History. We come from Helfom, and safeguards against vacuum are how you survive. Mont's air is a bit more than vacuum, but our greats and grandparents added the safeguards. One of the main jobs here is maintaining the doors and seals. Some of the minerals you transported are used for smoothing the seals, some for the air systems. Most of what you delivered we need for survival. The aromatics, though, were to make some things more bearable. We use those in the herd warrens a lot."

For a city of over 7000 individuals, there were a lot of warrens and some really interesting art, mostly abstract things that looked vaguely like circuits or some sort of geometric designs. And due to differing mineral compositions, the buildings were all various shades and colors, though often hard to see behind all the plants. Some of the caverns it seemed you could barely see the other side, and the ceilings stretched high above. Others were a lot smaller, and small shops were tucked away in odd places at times. I know my legs got sore from the walking: the surfaces were usually rock. 

The captain had moved the No Refunds to the nearby ocean, and they were refueling the ship. We found Petria and got him started checking for buyers. He managed to bring in Cr33,600 for the polymers, and a pretty amazing MCr1.125 for the machine parts - they were definitely needed here. Finally coming out well ahead. We're also getting his services for purchase, and then we're even. But he was well worth the cost of the trip.

We spent the next day rounding up supplies for the ship. There was not a lot available, and we'd be eating ship stores more than fresh food in the jump ahead. 

Tried to get a bit of the feel of Mont: large caverns with buildings built into the walls, plants everywhere. It is not a claustrophobic set of caverns - some are quite huge. Probably need more fluff, but as it is just me....

Next session: actually buying the cargo. And some work to look at systems nearby to see what we can buy low & sell high. Though we've used up half the week already. My guess is cargo loading will be equally slow as they have to use TL7 trucks and equipment: no grav trucks or sleds to aid in getting the cargo in. And I rolled decently for the polymers, and then really well for the advanced machine parts. Finally showing a decent profit! The group taking us about was one of the world encounters and gives me a +1 on finding cargo. Think I'll use that to allow me to add 1 to the d66 roll for cargo if I want to.

I neglected to do much on the approach to Mont: there is little traffic here, and the tech level, while it does have radio and early computers, does not have much in the way of automation. Not sure a single landing pad is enough but as there is little traffic, it may suffice. Of course, one bare spot is as good as another I supposed. Perhaps there will be a ship next to us when we're ready to launch.

And messing with maps and a scale image of the No Refunds on the single pad for Mont downport. Squares are 10' or so. Took a bit to cut out that ship image, but now I can use that in future map projects. 

And did the captain just get water to process for fuel? Or are there more nefarious things going on that he did not want me to know about? Of course, I am playing all the characters in theory, but really, I'm trying to tell the story, such as it is, from Malik's viewpoint. Perhaps I'll try a change of pace & run from another character next session.

Traveller Solo: In Jump To Mont

An expanded version of our in-jump report. Actually started this before re-reading previous posts, so it is sort of a retcon. But the next episode will be on Mont.

Laying in the jump plot and re-running some simulations through the jump computer, the captain was talking with our 3rd officer Dietgard to finalize jump. On his mark I dimmed the lights, and made the announcement over the internal comms: "We're prepping for jump. If all passengers would please stay in their cabins, we'll be transitioning shortly". Of course, there really is not much of a transition, and the light dimming was an ancient custom we just followed. The No Refunds has plenty of power, more than she really needed. Not that I asked the crew much about that: for a cargo ship we seemed a bit over-powered. Of course, there are places where that can come in handy, as we were at the edges of the Imperium and in the League of Planets. 

Being an Imperial citizen, the League was, while not quote demonized, set up as a place of questionable people. And, in reading a lot of the League literature, the Imperium is drawn up as this vast, impersonal and often cruel empire. The truth I think lies in the middle for both. And honestly, the people are no different no matter where you go. Having been around a lot more than most people, and being a reporter, I've seen the good side as well as the bad side of sophonts. And sometimes I wondered how the No Refund managed to keep ahead. A spaceship is expensive.

And with those thoughts, I closed up the external comms array boards and went to check on the two cargo bays. While I never felt the shift into jump space, sometimes cargo did shift about for some reason. Gremlins I've heard. I think it is more the holds getting packed badly. 

We have the two passengers this trip, the somewhat stuffy scholar Tea Kensi, and our hopeful broker Petria Klytria. I spent a fair amount of time working on the First Meal. While Scholar Keni seemed, ambivalent, about the meal, Petria seemed to really enjoy it, and was in quite the talkative mood.

"When I get to Mont, hope there is food as good a this, Mr. Catillion." He refused to call me by my first name. "Though I doubt it - along with a lack of brokerages, there is a lack of good foods. I've a good feeling food imports may be an excellent source of credits. To the good life!", as he raised his glass. The scholar merely raised her eyebrows at him. I am sure that was a human expression she must have picked up from somewhere.

After cleaning up, the passengers were back in their cabins, watching vids or whatever it is passengers do. I went back to my bunk, and started writing up more of our progress and stories. I had originally signed on to broaden my universe, so to speak. To write a story of the stars. So far it has mostly been manning the comms when in-system, and accompanying Ewo on her cargo trips. 

The next day while I was on shift, an alarm went off in the forward cargo bay. The emergency systems reported some sort of explosion. Checking my sensors, it was not on the insidients where I had placed some extra sensors, Instead, some of the exotic aromatics had apparently combused, and there was a small chemical fire. The automatics were not handling the blaze well, though so far it was limited to the single cargo container (rolled this random event for an in-jump issue, then rolled a 3 on my first attempt at fixing things) Worried that we could lose the entire cargo, I quickly brought in the captain and engineers. We depressurized the bay in short order, and the fire was out. 

After repressurizing the bay and inspecting the cargo, the aromatics looked to be a total loss. And despite a complete decompression, there was a most peculiar smell in the bay. But the container had managed to contain the fire, and nothing else was damaged other than some external smoke damage. The forward bay was equally undamaged: it takes a pretty severe fire to damage hull plating. The captain had me start researching the insurance issues on bulk cargos. (and in checking, there is a brief mention of insurance in GURPS: Far Trader, and nothing I could find in T5. And I know Classic does not have anything on it. There have been several discussions on insurance over on COTI I believe in the past, but I'm too lazy to dig those up. And besides, we're in a different political environment than the Imperium, so as this is MTU guess I can make up my own insurance mechanics. And not sure that goes in the same sentence as role playing games. Guess the old "accountants in space" meme may still apply to Traveller if you want it to!)

According to the League legal system, the shippers are responsible for ship-board mishaps and damages occurred thereof. For cargo that is damaged as a result of the cargo itself, transit fees are still paid and insurance, if applied for the shipment, will cover those costs. Legally, then, we had to prove that the cargo itself managed to self-combust and destroy itself. I dug through the sensor logs and could not find anything that would have set off the fire. The atmosphere and gravity logs showed no disruptions, and the bay was set to a lower temperature than the rest of the ship. Ewo reviewed my findings, added a bunch of legalize to it, and we hoped that would cover us from having to pay for 10 tons of now destroyed aromatics. 

We came out of jump about an hour or so earlier than optimum time and saw off in the distance Mont spinning slowly a few hours away. And now to find that class E port - no transponder or radio guidance.

Next post will see some planetary adventure or action. I really miss being able to play Traveller - my current group has just finished the game where I played a Centaur. We had some interesting post-play discussion on the game as it was the first time this guy had run a game for us. I learned a few things as well. Our next game is a supers game, though a bit low-level in terms of powers, but he wants us to start at level 4 or so. We'll have some experience under our belts. Next is a Star Trek game, then back to another supers game, continuing one we played a year or two back (Space Cat!). Then I may run a game but they are not really into Traveller, and it may be a Fantasy Trip game unless I can convince them to play. Either way I'll be doing screen sharing: if TFT then a hex map for when battles are taking place, if Traveller, then appropriate Traveller art and more

Merry Christmas Eve 2021

 Merry Christmas Eve to anyone reading this! And everyone who is not reading this. Have a little bit too much time on my hands as my child, who is 21 so I suppose not a child, is at his girlfriend's place, and my wife is at her mother's place. Just me and the cats for a while.

I've added some filters to GIMP, specifically one that has clouds in it. Just so I can add clouds to my maps (and these clouds are a lot nicer than the ones in Dungeonfog, so I may end up exporting those maps, and adding clouds and possibly other affects in GIMP. And me not an artist at all!)

This was originally generated in Fractal Terrains, then I added a grid in that software for the water using a hex grid with transparency I created a while ago, then exported that as a PNG and opened in GIMP. Added a very light cloud layer (you can just see it on the lower right quadrant; think I need to add more clouds next time), then mapped that to a sphere. Kinda like how it turned out! Not any world in particularly - I was just playing with all the software. One of these days I'll have the time & interesting overlap enough to practice a lot more and get better. I'd really like to get a lot better with Campaign Cartographer as there is a lot of power in that software as well.

What was really cool was that the projection from Fractal Terrains also adjusted the grid layer: the hexes were stretched to match the Mercator projection I was using. That is some powerfully interesting software!

Anyway, off to watch some sappy Christmas movie, and I hope everyone one has a wonderful holiday!

Windemere - Silver Pirate Inn

 Run by the half-elf pirate Nohemi Wirididae, the Silver Pirate is a relatively small tavern and inn facing the main square, on the main east-west road through Windemere. The inn has several rooms for rent upstairs, as well as a fairly large barn with stables for patrons. There is an old calliope against one wall, with one of the ex-pirates playing mostly sea ditties in an off-tune way. Inside, there are tales to be told of the Rainy City and Wex's Drift as well as of days plying the savage ocean currents. Occasionally one will hear rumors of Amazons, but the other Elves will quickly make a sign and change the topic of conversation. Many of the regulars here are from the Ocean and talk of the coastal cities they have been through, and the joys of the living in the salt air. When asked why they are here now, they look to the owner, Nomehi Wirididae, tending the bar. The half Elf has a scar across her face that disappears down her neck and she will scowl as the conversation quiets for a moment. The crew of her ship will stick by her, but she was banished from the open water to live her life near the desert sands by a curse. And then she took over Windemere Crossing almost a year ago. The tavern offers great drinks as well as some sea faring favorites. The near constant flow of merchants and caravans keeps her kegs full and spirits from across the world. While not as fine a wine selection as the Sarap Evi in Ceawla (see this post), there are some fine drinks and foods available. There is also a strange bird, a cacklemaw, that is kept behind the bar and fed the scraps. It is quite fat and unable to fly.

Playing with Dungeonfog which has some nice capabilities. And poking around, there are a fair number of asset packs that contain all sorts of interesting art. While I can make battle map style & size maps with Campaign Cartographer, this is a more paint-style editor, so it makes it easier at the expense of a lot more control. It is fun to mess with. Added a dirt trail to the outhouses (1 square rooms, and yes, there are toilet seats in the art. Hey - alcohol is always just rented!)

I've also thrown in references to a few other Kickstarter products I've backed. Figure the pirates would know about the sea places. Though I neglected the Flotsam Fair which is also in the sea. I keep trying to make a more living world but have yet to really get good at it other than in my head. Eventually I'll get to use all, or at least most, of the stuff I am getting. And in the meantime, I do enjoy reading them as they do spark off ideas. In fact, going through a book of rumors & it had some things I can toss out there. And the Phylactory has a fun adventure in volume 1 (and yes, I have all the ones they have made so far in print). And as I think I noted in this post, I have been using a few of the random books to have interesting random things. One of the players says he actually likes it when I open the book & have them roll for me to see what happens. It does make it "living" in the sense that I don't control the entire world. 

And hopefully I'll have time to continue the voyage of the No Refund this weekend. My Traveller posts tend to be the ones that are read the most, and this did start as a purely Traveller blog. And even though blogs are free, I just don't feel I need to have that much of a focus on just one thing.

Mini Interlude

 Decided to go ahead & get the 1/1000 scale lab ship. It was both more expensive and larger than I thought. But I figured, hey, Christmas. May as well get myself something (as most of the rest of my money is going to home repairs - yay septic systems!)

It was from Shapeways (search for Traveller RPG - there are quite a few out there, including the Scout & Marava class trader I already had. Also in 1/1000 scale). Of course, I have a LOT of space ship minis so really need to get back to face to face or something to use all these things. As a matter of fact, backing the I-have-no-idea-how-many-I've-backed Ryan Wolf's latest Kickstarter for another ship & poster that I may never use, but will still enjoy nonetheless. And who knows - perhaps I could use a huge passenger liner or stealth ship! (Stealth in space is an interesting concept with some very heated arguments at times!)

I've also painted a couple more minis, but not really all that happy. Good enough for playing, and that's good enough for me at the moment. I am getting better when I take my time. Even added a bit of moss to that stone wall. 

And we've a short-run game going one while the anthropomorphic game is on a temporary hold (work interfered with gaming - the nerve!) Playing a microlite version of Crimson Skies. Oddly we all decided to play women in 1935, part of the Banshee Squad. We had a really fun first night, and our next session will be a bit more sneaky. Fortunately there are "jink" points and I used them all to recover from some pretty horrible rolls while attempting some aeronautical feats. But we truimphed. I'll see about posting my character at some point (possibly save her up for January's character challenge if that happens this year. I think it was January!) But she is based on this picture though in-game she is about 20 years older. This was her in her prime:

Like a lot of my characters, rolled a die and came up even for female. She has an interesting background that has sort of already played out a bit in the 1st session when she threw an ice cube at a rather menacing Russian. Who, being 1935 and male, did not want to start a fight with a woman. 

Fantasy Trip: Continuing the earlier game

 Work schedules can be rough: my Sunday group, in which we play The Fantasy Trip, alternates every few weeks as to who is running the game. For a new GM, he is doing really well and we've had some great adventures. Even more fun, it is all taking place in an expanded shared world.

Unfortunately, he has been working way too much as of late, so we're switching back for a bit to me running a game. Which is great as I've finished (with a thud honestly) running the Apex game. Sadly, only one son will show up, so the role playing will be all that more challenging.

I had started an adventure to bring in a new character as the werewolf is now a zombie werewolf being ridden by the Goblin mage, the Runt. I'll just rework that, but I had a plan with props and everything. I spent a couple hours Saturday doing some prep work: re-reading where we left off, figuring out a possible adventure, and then digging through the minis to find some that will work as well as spark some ideas. I found a good map and printed that out, as well as hand-making a different map on a large sheet of crinkled shipping paper. Then used a wax seal to seal that up: this will be something they find in the building.

I created a character around a mini I have (and did not paint anywhere near the image below). A grump bee-keeping Druid who lives in the southern Kalor desert, just a bit north of Windemere. He goes to town with his honey to trade and pick up any other supplies he may need, but generally keeps to the ruins several miles north of my little trade town.

Printed out a Dyson map with three levels on some tabloid paper, made some notes in the margin, and used the 2 volumes of Delve magazine for some random things. The map is keyed as D1/4 for Delve 1, page 4. I'll roll the stuff up when they get there. I'll be doing some random monster rolls though I did pick up a few I did want to have in there. Gathered up the minis and put them in a box, prepared some pouches with the treasures to find, and have some general hand-written notes. I may bring some additional random books and decks to the table just because I have them and really want to use the things I get.

I'll also be bringing back the sister of one of their early foes: Tressa Mountainsunder, sister to Vakkekara Mountainsunder. She was a magic user that used eyes to spy on things as well as portals. Unfortunately, they managed to kill her off before she could escape through a Gate. It was planned to flesh her out more and make her a long-running thorn in the adventurers lives. But there are more gates around, including one in the current adventure. The idea was that the new character was going to have fallen through a gate by accident and Eriznock wants whoever is inside that ruin, disturbing his bees, out of there. In fact, I'll have him give the adventurers a couple of healing potions and whatever non-gold treasures they find to find the place. He is a Dwarf, and still loves his gold. Just that he now has his bees make their own liquid gold: honey. Yeah, I see what I did there!

Finally, I am bribing them to show up and made some sweet potato rolls. Very similar to Cinnabons but with sweet potatoes. I did mess this batch up a bit: forgot the tablespoon of oil in the dough and forgot to add the pecans to the filling. I just stuffed the rolls with pecans and will hope for the best. The father really looks forward to playing, as do I. 

Post game recap: well, things took an unexpected turn. They both seemed to like the random aspect of exploring a bit. Unfortunately, the 1st encounter turned out to be a desert lion! Oddly I had a lion mini already on the table as it was a stand-in for the Lamia. And I used the lion card from the Decks of Destiny so had the stats all ready and everything. The lion attacked their guide, who did manage to get one bow shot off before getting swatted by the creature! It almost killed her despite her leathers but fortunately I only rolled a bit below average for 2D of damage. The rest of the party, with the exception of Nova moved in to attack. As The Runt and his zombie steed/werewolf actually did more damage, the lion turned on them the next turn, and did manage to finally kill poor Agaric. Who was already dead from the last game, but the Runt has this zombie ring he found...

After finishing off the lion, I was asked if they could make a zombie from the lion. I now realize that this zombie ring needs to have some limitations. I decided that they needed to be sentient to become a zombie. I may have to do some additional adjustments so that the next foe they kill does not become a zombie!

There was a fountain in the corner. Using the Delve book, it was an illusion of entrails in the glowing water, and the 1st bladed weapon would become a +1. The Runt stuck his finger in, nothing happens. The Goblin Mage, not deterred, jumps into the fountain. He does have a pair of kitchen knives, so the 1st one is now a +1 kitchen knife. Finding his blade is now sharper than ever, he shares that with our rogue, Crut. Who has managed to lose not 1 but 2 magical blades due to critical fails! He quickly stirred his blade in the pool. No affect: it was only the 1st bladed weapon. 

Meanwhile, Nova had done her physicking for Sonji (who does have a backstory), and they are off exploring more of the building. The next room they explore I roll a humanoid and a beast: beast was a snake, humanoid a wizard. I used the Decks of Destiny wizard cards (hey, twice in 1 game using those decks!) and have a player randomly pick a card. He turned out to be a 40 point wizard. The snake, Sam, is now a familiar. He was preparing to summon a Myrmidon but I had a positive reaction roll to the party as well as the group tried to talk their way out. A bit of discussion (and a hoarse throat from me as I tried to do a deeper Dwarf Wizard sort of voice) and the wizard and snake (the snake watching Crut very, very carefully) left. 

They climbed up the stairs to a small watch tower, all of 10x10 feet or so. Putting 4 minis in that space is interesting. All that was there was a lantern. I had the players roll the dice from the Delve book, so they now have a lantern that has a 80' radius lighting effect, as well as being able to detect traps once per week. And it is pumpkin shaped. They also saw the Dwarf wizard stomping off across the dunes, upset that he could not delve with the group as he wanted all the gold. The snake was still watching Crut, coiled on the wizard's shoulder. 

The next room was an L-shaped room back on the main floor. Rolled nuisance creatures - 6 scorpions. Now normally these are literally just nuisance creatures: both Crut & the Runt have magical armor that protects more than the creatures can pierce. Yet I still roll all the attacks, and just before I roll the one for Crut, I said the only way they can get hurt is if I roll triple damage. So of course, I roll 3 1's. Triple damage. And I roll high for that damage, which even taking off his armor almost kills poor Crut. And he is one of the longest lasting characters in this game (or several games now). Fortunately, that was the only critical roll I made, so they did kill off the scorpions, Nova healed 3 of the damage points, and using the healing honey from Eriznock, he got a couple more points. So now half the party is already damaged a bit! I will have to throw in some healing potions in the remaining rooms perhaps!

Anyway, I'll be poking around more of my random stuff and put in more interesting stuff. Just glad I am using some of the way-too-much-stuff I keep getting more of. And even used some of the minis! and of course, there are still more minis on the way (200+ from Blacklist Games assuming they don't go bankrupt and the minis, now in Quartermaster's warehouses, don't get sold off elsewhere to pay off debts! and also the Nord minis, and some interesting SF ones are in the mail now, and fun Centaurs...and I did order more paints so there is no excuse to not be painting more!)

Hailing from the desert Aster Clan, Sonji grew up in the Kalor Desert, learning the ins and outs of living in the desert. Her clan wiped out by a roving ogre raiding party, she moved to Windmere. Knowing little else, she offered her services as a guide through the desert. Eventually she joined the Guild of Feathered Guards, giving part of her fees for guild membership, but also getting a place to stay when in Windmere. She usually takes groups along the Trail of Lost hopes that winds through the desert, passing through Ceawla on the way to the Elemental City of Athukthad. She is taciturn, does not talk about her past, but is quick to defend her charges. She can also shoot her bow twice per combat round with astounding accuracy. Between the high DX and the missile weapon skill, she only misses on critical fails for targets in range.