[d20 Future] 22nd Century: Solar Odyssey to Hell. [The game]

[Turanil]

Game: d20 Modern + d20 Future.
Campaign Setting: Transhuman Space.
Adventure: This is a one shot adventure (equivalent to a 2 or 3 evening gaming session around the table) for 8th level characters (a starship crew of up to 12 PCs).
Internet connection: I intend to add maps and pictures, so you better have a high-speed Internet connection to play that game. (In any case though, it's generally much better to have a high-speed connection to connect on Enworld…)

Playing the Game:

1) Rolling the Dice: Important dice rolls are handled with the: Online Dice Roller. It sends the result of the die roll to emails (so to your email and mine <dominique.crouzet@libertysurf.fr>). When an attack must be resolved, just send at the same time your attack roll and the damage done (if the attack misses, the damage is not inflicted). I will do likewise. Dice rolls which are not that important are handled in taking 10 or 20 and usually succeed, unless you have a low skill rank in which case a skill check could be required.

2) Rate of Posting: Once a day is perfect. You can post more just to speak with the other PCs, or you can post less, and so be in a more passive mode. In fact, as this is a starship crew, when players do post infrequently, I will just consider that their characters are busy doing some maintenance, watch, or else on the starship, while the more active posters' PCs are on the real action. In any case, I will check the thread every day, and intervene when I feel it's appropriate. Note that if I have to create a large map, it could take some time before I can post it (but I will say so). Note that if a player is too late to answer, I will consider he was hesitating, was busy doing something else, or what not, so will skip his turn.

3) Typical "Gaming Turn": When a scene is introduced, players reply or don't reply. Depending on circumstances (how many players actually post, etc.) I wait for one or two days before responding. Those who didn't post anything are in a passive mode but are still there. In a combat situation such PCs didn't do anything for whatever reason you may think of. However, the opponents can still harm them. Suppose a player doesn't post for a full week that happens to describe a fight: his PC could die. Of course, players can tell they won't be able to play for some time, and tell their PCs are elsewhere (in the starship for example) securely waiting.

4) Combat: Combat will probably have to be simplified. Careful placement of miniatures on a square grid is impossible, and we don't want to spend a full week for just one combat. Fortunately, use of ranged weapons should greatly helps here. In combat situations players will determine marching order, and possible cover, then combat will be resolved through initiative and attack rolls. Attacks of opportunity and similar stuff will be dropped, except in obvious circumstances.


This thread is only for playing, in-character posts using the accounts created for the PCs. For out-of-character ("ooc") discussions, please use the Talking the Talk forum: here. I will ask the moderator that he removes any post that is not by the relevant player account. If you need to contact me: dominique.crouzet@libertysurf.fr


I hope we will have a fun game. Thanks.

 

[Turanil]

Earth & Solar System in the 22nd Century

For campaign setting we use Transhuman Space, with but a few minor modifications (France, UK, or Germany are not independent nations, but states of Europe). Lets briefly describe the Solar system in 2108. [Excerpts from the Transhuman Space book]

By the end of the 21st century, humanity is in the process of achieving two major endeavors. The first is to transform from a single, evolved species to a multitude of artificial races. The second is the settlement of the vast reaches of the solar system. Away from the prying eyes of Earth, space-going transnationals develop technologies that governments fear to investigate but cannot ignore, while bizarre posthuman cultures bloom like exotic flowers. It is a time of wealth and adventure, of transformation and terror. It is the age of Transhuman Space.

The Earth of the 22nd century is not a post nuclear world, or one that was devastated by pollution. The mass of humanity shares in the fruits of progress, while technological advances have neither choked in regulations nor devoured their creators. Resources are not running out, and fewer people spend their lives suffering the privations of sickness or hunger than in the 20th century. Still, the world of 2108 is no utopia. Far too many of Earth's species became extinct and global warming has begun. Access to space has opened up new resources and opportunities, but created conflicts over who will use them and for what. Wearable or implanted computers, augmented reality, virtual telepresence, and artificial intelligence have given everyone their own set of personal aids and banished concepts such as "office" and "school". Meanwhile, privacy is very difficult on a crowded Earth where every glance from a passer-by means being scanned by digital video and profiled by inquisitive data-mining software. Then, while in the richest parts of the world people can afford longevity and genetic enhancements, in the less fortunate regions computer implants and infomorphs monitor and control the citizens.

Humanity: In 2001, cloning a human was a scandal, sex change operations were still controversial, and for many people the idea of prenatal genetic engineering to prevent disease in children was a blasphemy. One century later, hundreds of modified human germlines and dozens of parahuman species exist. There are engineered beasts with the knowledge of good and evil, not to mention voices and opposable thumbs. One may clone a dead spouse, grow a dog that talks, or arrange for his child to be born with a strong tendency toward beauty, mental stability, and mathematical aptitude. Then, there are offworld "black clinics" where one could have build a custom bioroid sex-toy, or give birth to a baby dragon. On Earth, the tide of public opinion about the more extreme genetic engineering ebbs and flows between revulsion, indignation, fascination, and tolerance.

Technological Level: Robotic and computer technology have reached high levels of development. Droids and robots of all sorts are equipped with AI Artificial Intelligence and can often perform as well as humans. The latter live in Augmented Reality, where computers and networks continually provide individuals with almost any requested information (unless it is restricted info), wherever they may be, except far away in space. It often takes the form of a virtual overlay of data display and digital mapping on either glasses or lenses, and sometimes directly reaches to the brain through the use of implanted chips. Nanotechnology is also everywhere, with swarms of microscopic robots performing various functions, are overseen by pinhead-sized microcomputers running simple programs modeled on insect behavior patterns. Space travel is also well developed. Spaceships use fusion drives (using helium-3 extracted from Luna or gas-mined on Saturn), and can reach Mars in a matter of days/weeks or Jupiter in a matter of weeks/months. What doesn't exist yet, and is not seen to be developed in the near future, is Faster Than Light travel and artificial gravity / anti-gravity.

Earth's Nations: The political map of 2108 is not dissimilar to that of 2001. The nation-state remains the basic political unit, and there is no world government. Most governments are representative democracies, though sometimes in name only. Five major nations / regional alliances dominate Earth: China, USA, Europe, the Pacific Rim Alliance, and the Transpacific Socialist Alliance. China is in fact the most powerful single nation-state on the planet. It has the world's largest economy, one of the largest populations (1.48 billion), and a mature fourth wave technology (i.e.: Tech level 6) that boasts some of the world's finest genetic engineers. China possesses a large colony on Mars and smaller colonies elsewhere in the system. USA and Europe come second, but are wealthy fifth wave technology societies (i.e.: Tech level 7).

Colonization of Space: Humanity has begun the colonization of the Solar System. First, there are 400 manned space stations of all sizes orbiting Earth, the greatest of which is China's Taiko Station spaceport (picture above), in high Earth orbit. It has a transient population of 30,000 and is a first stop for many would-be Mars travelers. Then, there are bases on Mercury, Venus, Luna (Earth's moon), Jupiter's and Saturn's moons, as well as on several asteroids of the Main Belt. Mars is being terraformed, having now a denser atmosphere, water, plus a specific biosphere engineered to help further terraform the planet. Mars has a population of 2.5 millions of people. The largest political entity is China's Mars Province, universally known by its nickname "Rust china." The second largest colony is the United States' Martian Commonwealth, with a status similar to that of Puerto Rico at the end of the 20th century. The two are longtime rivals, with some tensions. Some Americans are jealous of China's superior position on Mars; some Chinese fear the United States plot to weaken Rust China. Each side has sizable military garrisons, and espionage is common. Then, other smaller colonies dot Mars.

Aliens: In 2108, Humanity still has to make first contact with extra-terrestrial intelligent species. Despite rumors and urban legends, no aliens have been encountered yet.

 

[Turanil]

The Crew:

Major John Tobermory. Spaceship Captain.
Lieutnant Jay Purr. Pilot.
Corporal Brendan Radley. Marine.
Corporal Kecia Tavernier. Marine, Genemod Division.
Agent Vincent Collins. SIA Special Operative.
Dr. Conrad Hart. Field Scientist.
Dr. Caine Freerover. Chief Medical Officer and Robotics/Cybernetics Engineer.
Dr. Christopher Lambert. Xenobiologist.
Liam forbes. Spacehand.
HAR-Vee. Starship's Technician droid.

Note: if you see some typos or errors in your character's name or title, tell me (here) or by email, and I will fix it.

(Lurkers: Sorry, but please don't ask for joining as back-up characters. With a crew of 10, even if some players abandon the game there will still be enough PCs remaining to continue the adventure.)

 

[Turanil]

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

All of you have been summoned in the office of a director of the SIA (the US Space Intelligence Agency that operates outside Earth's atmosphere the same way the CIA operates outside the US territory). You are all trusted agents of the SIA, and today are to be assigned a secret mission.

So, you are all comfortably sitting in the spacious office of General Robert Henwalis, the director of the Covert Military Operations branch of the SIA. This is in fact rather unusual to be summoned to the general's office to get an assignment; this must be really important… Anyway, the man stares at you for a moment then declares:

- "Gentlemen, you can guess you are all here because we have a problem. However, before telling you anything, I want to make something clear: This is a serious problem!"

General Henwalis pauses briefly, then continues:

- "Three anti-hydrogen bombs have been stolen, and nobody knows who stole them nor where they are! A mission of ours was to study the effects of exploding anti-matter bombs into the Jovian atmosphere. The military spaceship ISS Colorado, a corvette, was holding the bombs; it was escorted by the ISS Sheridan. The two vessels reached Jupiter… then, at some point, the crews of both ships were dead. This happened all of a sudden, and simultaneously. The last info we got from the computers of both ships is confused, and only added to the mystery rather than telling us what happened. That is, some sort of "energy discharges" slew the crews in less than two minutes and disabled the starships' computers. Then, without control the ships crashed into Jupiter, never to be seen again."

- "Anyway, we have reasons to suspect that the three antimatter bombs were stolen. Had the bombs remained aboard, they would most probably have exploded when the spaceships crashed into Jupiter. If such an explosion had occurred, the telescopes and satellites that observe Jupiter would have noticed it. On the other hand, why attack these two vessels if it wasn't to steal the bombs? All the details are in the document uploaded in your starship's computer. To make it short, we had some investigations done. They essentially led to the Martian Triads, and especially to Ashira_29 a station orbiting Earth. However, our investigations on Ashira_29 were discovered and we couldn't get any really useful info, just reinforce our suspicion of theft."

Upon hearing that three antimatter bombs were stolen, some of you shudder at the thought of them being in the hands of terrorists. But you don't have time to think further about it, as General Henwalis goes on:

- "We are going to have some proceedings with the Ashira_29 proprietors, whom we still don't know who they are exactly. Unfortunately it will take months of judicial disputes, and we don't have the time. Hence the reason for you to be here today. You are to go on a covert mission of investigation, recovery, and punishment against the perpetrators of this act of war."

- "As such, you now officially belong to Sarteck Inc., a private company renown for its opportunistic and innovative business ventures. In fact, most of them are failures, but some have been highly profitable. Their last success enabled them to acquire a spaceship, and they are now to use it to pursue another high risks commercial endeavor. Sarteck would not divulge his business ideas to anyone, but is known to have weird projects, many of which eventually reveal to be totally ineffective. This should provide a good cover to go anyplace and do many things without drawing much suspicion. Of course, you have already understood that Sarteck Inc. does in fact belong to the SIA…"

General Henwalis grins, then pursues:

- "The Telarion is but a second hand spaceship, yet was secretly refitted with the latest of technology. Outwardly it doesn't look impressive, yet the Telarion has some fine equipment and weaponry despite its old "fourth wave" aspect. This ship is 470 feet long, and its cargo bays now hold a shuttle and a starfighter, along a couple of space probes. You have also been provided with armors and personal weapons, usual space equipment, plus life support for a full year. The fact is, you are going to be on your own for the most part. You have license to do everything is needed to recover these bombs, but you are nonetheless expected to remain discreet. As usual, the SIA doesn't know you… You should contact me only when it is of utmost importance, because you cannot even trust coded communications."

- "Gentlemen, I expect you to depart tomorrow. Any questions?"

 

[Caine Freerover]

"Yes General, I have some questions."

"First, how long ago were the bombs stolen?"

"Second, I notice that this crew has a great deal of expertise in exotic science. I am already
passingly familiar with the work of Dr. Hart and Dr. Lambert, if only through the in-house
research journals, and I have great respect for their work. Do you fear that we'll be going
up against unknown technologies, or that the bombs will be used for some purpose other
than terrorism?"

 

[HAR-Vee]

HAR-Vee's secondary processor fires up and begins assembling a spare part list for requisition prior to disembark. Inparticular he'll focus on equipment used to detect anti-matter weaponry. Also, items used to shield humans from the effects and treatments.

In a few seconds he establishes communication contact methods with the new crew (network ID's, communication frequencies, mailing addresses, whatever). Next he generates encryption keys for each and stores them in association with each crew member. (no game impact other than to say all communications with the crew will be encrypted when possible).

 

[Kecia Tavernier]

Well, that explains why the USMC lent me to the SIA, though Kecia, as she listened to the briefing. The mission seemed straightforward enough. She'd be the muscle, no doubt, as well as the infiltration and demolitions expert, most likely. "I have no questions, sir." she stated.

 

[Turanil]

General Henwalis looks at you and answers:

- "The two starships were attacked seven days ago. All we know is that the starships' crews were attacked and killed suddenly, and by some unknown weapons that otherwise didn't damaged the starships. The info that was sent by the computers shortly before blackout seem to imply strange discharges of energy, some kind of weird plasma."

- "We immediately sent Vigrix-B5, a satellite of ours that orbits Jupiter, to investigate the place. Unfortunately the satellite detected nothing. Here on Earth we began to investigate the infosphere, and our agents and infomorphs* have been trying to analyze terabytes of data of all sorts to infer some hypothesis and get clues. All of this led us to vaguely suspect the Martian Triads, and also led us to the orbital station Ashira_29. The latter is an old station rented to some dubious nanotech start-up companies and what not. However, our infomorphs investigators were discovered before we could learn anything of value."

- "So, what happens is that some unknown technology could have been used to attack the starships and steal the bombs. For that reason only, having some scientists in the team could help, although we can only guess. Then, as the Ashira_29 station is often rented to tech start-up companies, it could be interesting to have scientists to make your business venture cover more credible if you had to investigate among laboratories and tech companies. Nonetheless, we can't know what you will discover and where your investigations will led you to. Maybe no scientist will be necessary in the course of your mission. However, you will be alone in deep space, and couldn't get a scientist if you needed one. Better to have some with you, the mission won't cost much more because of that anyway."


HAR-Vee will get the requested spare parts (that is, things he could use to make equipment related to antimatter, be it to manipulate it or shield from it).


--------------------------------------------------------------
* infomorph = "digital intelligence", an intelligent software.

 

[Conrad Hart]

Conrad shifts uneasily in his chair, still surprised that he is sitting in the director of the SIA's office. He has had extensive experience with peace officers of all types, but has never done anything involved with intelligence. After playing with his pen for a second he speaks up:

Uh, is any data regarding these energy bursts available? It would be immensely helpful to have a solid starting point to work from in deciphering what these discharges were. Also, if these thieves are capable of attacks of this sort, why would they need to steal these bombs?

 

[Liam Forbes]

"Sir could I get specs on the ship, and how the upgrades were mounted on the ship? I'd like to head off any trouble that may occur in that area."