Commentary thread for that “Describe your game in five words” thread.
- Thread starter darjr
- Start date
Bagpuss
Legend
"I elected to commit genocide."
Spoiler for a Star Trek Adventures scenario involving Neural Parasites
Spoiler for a Star Trek Adventures scenario involving Neural Parasites
So at the end of the adventure you come across the queen of the of a brood on neural parasites, who offers to take over the Romulan race and make a peace treaty with the Federation in return for sparing her. Everyone controlled by the parasites had generally shown no indication that anything of the hosts mind remains behind. So if I accepted the deal the Romulan race would be effectively wiped out.
I was 1st officer on the away team and the players were discussing, if we should kill the queen which would kill all her brood as they were all linked, because it would condemn this species to death. Or we should incarcerate her and look for a way to modify the race to become more like the trill (which they were already researching).
It seemed from my perspective, you either wipe out the Romulans, this parasite, or genetically modify them (effectively playing god with the species anyway). My character had the Hate's Romulans trait so was very tempted to agree (although some free Romulans had helped us earlier). Accepted all the evidence pointed to this species not being remotely trustworthy, even though they were "just looking for a new home" so there was no telling they would stop there. Also containing them would be very difficult, while the queen was still alive her brood could keep recruiting as there was no telling how many were already active in the Romulan Empire or the Federation.
So in the end I told the crew present that this decision rest on me as the commanding officer present and if anyone wants to make a complaint in their log to high command they should feel free. Set my phaser to deadly and shot her.
Setting of a chain reaction killing her brood and any people (mainly Romulans) infected by her brood of neural parasites.
I was 1st officer on the away team and the players were discussing, if we should kill the queen which would kill all her brood as they were all linked, because it would condemn this species to death. Or we should incarcerate her and look for a way to modify the race to become more like the trill (which they were already researching).
It seemed from my perspective, you either wipe out the Romulans, this parasite, or genetically modify them (effectively playing god with the species anyway). My character had the Hate's Romulans trait so was very tempted to agree (although some free Romulans had helped us earlier). Accepted all the evidence pointed to this species not being remotely trustworthy, even though they were "just looking for a new home" so there was no telling they would stop there. Also containing them would be very difficult, while the queen was still alive her brood could keep recruiting as there was no telling how many were already active in the Romulan Empire or the Federation.
So in the end I told the crew present that this decision rest on me as the commanding officer present and if anyone wants to make a complaint in their log to high command they should feel free. Set my phaser to deadly and shot her.
Setting of a chain reaction killing her brood and any people (mainly Romulans) infected by her brood of neural parasites.
Last edited:
Celebrim
Legend
Finished Adventure #9 in the "Tales of the Dogfish" campaign (finally) Thought I'd collect all the 5 word summaries of the sessions in one place.
Adventure #1: The Job
Session #1: Canyon chase of Kobok pirates.
Session #2: Lurrians welcome predators for study.
Session #3: He's outside. Must rent Ton-Tons.
Session #4: The Mighty Ono goes down.
Session #5: Lurrian gene master transforms acquisition.
Session #6: Pirate attack! Plans go awry!
Session #7: Zero-G maneuvers; Rescue hostages.
Session #8: Passenger plants bomb. Dead Jawa.
Session #9: Everything falling apart. Sell snubfighter.
Session #10: Meet with snivvian information broker.
Session #11: Drag races and blaster ambushes.
Session #12: Planning assault on slave compound.
Session #13: Plan implemented. They rescue Varlo.
Session #14: Everyone gets boarded some time.
Session #15: Illegal bank deposit. Guildmaster angry!
Adventure #2: The Runaway
Session #16: COMPNOR job on glare world.
Session #17: Human intel. Booze brand matters.
Session #18: Biker assassin in foil jungle.
Session #19: Swamp people are tough people.
Session #20: We have to rescue kid.
Session #21: Tie Fighters are our friends.
Adventure #3: Labor Relations
Session #21: Inquisitor would like a word.
Session #22: Contracted to reacquire stolen freighter.
Session #23: Baron is a terrible person.
Session #24: Disgruntled employees and shady contractors.
Session #25: Search sectors of dust cloud
Session #26: Big fight in asteroid field.
Session #27: Nope, no way. We're leaving.
Mini Adventure: The Decker Job
Session #28: Illegal slicer at spice rave.
Session #29: Our Hunters shoot up everything.
Mini Adventure: Domestic Dispute
Session #30: Sort of like the Amish
Session #31: But also kung fu masters
Adventure #4: Cold Hearted
Session #32: Droid firefight at plasticrete factory
Session #33: Droid firefight on subway car
Session #34: Suicide drones on a houseboat
Session #35: Looking around for Dr. Fist
Session #36: Rented van sacrificed for mission.
Session #37: Gun down villain on rooftop.
Adventure #5: Plague of Lies
Session #38: Bounty hunting is complicated profession.
Session #39: Pretend investigation hides real one.
Session #40: Dragons scarier than Tie Fighters
Session #41: Don't dance with an AT-ST
Session #42: Huff the Fish goes down.
Adventure #6: Slaves of the Sith Lord
Session #43: Took work as local marshals
Session #44: Investigation proceeds slowly - skunk fern
Session #45: Meticulous investigation bears some fruit.
Session #46: Found the old wraith city.
Session #47: Collected Bounty on AWOL Scouts.
Adventure #7: A Corrupted Flesh
Session #48: Hunting a politically connected cyberneticist
Session #49: Investigating crimes finds everyone crooked.
Session #50: Hunters struggle searching vast ecumenopolis
Session #51: We talk about fight club
Session #52: Turbo lift weights provide breakthrough
Session #53: Found the corrupt truck driver
Session #54: Warehouse fight with corrupt gendarmes.
Session #55: Hunters invaded the cyberneticist's hideout.
Session #56: Dropped Dr. Raptis into sludge.
Adventure #8: Planets of the Smugglers
Session #57: Chasing Pirates in Galactic Fringe
Session #58: Bar hopping across the galaxy
Session #59: Night of reoccurring NPCs.
Session #60: Disable and board pirate starship
Session #61: Killed Pirate; Talked to Separatist
Session #62: Hunters meet with Separatist Admiral
Adventure #9: Wings of Terror
Session #63: Terrorists attack Anti-Grav Night Club
Session #64: Planning to protect the Prefect
Session #65: Flubbed investigation; accidentally warned terrorist
Session #66: Rebuilding after burning their leads
Session #67: Ion torpedoed a fertilizer truck
Session #68: Hunters stop a bank heist
Session #69: Ministry for Redesign gets excuses
Session #70: Protect Moff from farm machinery
Session #71: Mouse droid bomb; children die
Session #72: Hunters watch televised pod races
Session #73: "He died in the war."
Session #74: Firefight during the fireworks display
Adventure #10: The Princess of the Vasts (coming soon)
Adventure #1: The Job
Session #1: Canyon chase of Kobok pirates.
Session #2: Lurrians welcome predators for study.
Session #3: He's outside. Must rent Ton-Tons.
Session #4: The Mighty Ono goes down.
Session #5: Lurrian gene master transforms acquisition.
Session #6: Pirate attack! Plans go awry!
Session #7: Zero-G maneuvers; Rescue hostages.
Session #8: Passenger plants bomb. Dead Jawa.
Session #9: Everything falling apart. Sell snubfighter.
Session #10: Meet with snivvian information broker.
Session #11: Drag races and blaster ambushes.
Session #12: Planning assault on slave compound.
Session #13: Plan implemented. They rescue Varlo.
Session #14: Everyone gets boarded some time.
Session #15: Illegal bank deposit. Guildmaster angry!
Adventure #2: The Runaway
Session #16: COMPNOR job on glare world.
Session #17: Human intel. Booze brand matters.
Session #18: Biker assassin in foil jungle.
Session #19: Swamp people are tough people.
Session #20: We have to rescue kid.
Session #21: Tie Fighters are our friends.
Adventure #3: Labor Relations
Session #21: Inquisitor would like a word.
Session #22: Contracted to reacquire stolen freighter.
Session #23: Baron is a terrible person.
Session #24: Disgruntled employees and shady contractors.
Session #25: Search sectors of dust cloud
Session #26: Big fight in asteroid field.
Session #27: Nope, no way. We're leaving.
Mini Adventure: The Decker Job
Session #28: Illegal slicer at spice rave.
Session #29: Our Hunters shoot up everything.
Mini Adventure: Domestic Dispute
Session #30: Sort of like the Amish
Session #31: But also kung fu masters
Adventure #4: Cold Hearted
Session #32: Droid firefight at plasticrete factory
Session #33: Droid firefight on subway car
Session #34: Suicide drones on a houseboat
Session #35: Looking around for Dr. Fist
Session #36: Rented van sacrificed for mission.
Session #37: Gun down villain on rooftop.
Adventure #5: Plague of Lies
Session #38: Bounty hunting is complicated profession.
Session #39: Pretend investigation hides real one.
Session #40: Dragons scarier than Tie Fighters
Session #41: Don't dance with an AT-ST
Session #42: Huff the Fish goes down.
Adventure #6: Slaves of the Sith Lord
Session #43: Took work as local marshals
Session #44: Investigation proceeds slowly - skunk fern
Session #45: Meticulous investigation bears some fruit.
Session #46: Found the old wraith city.
Session #47: Collected Bounty on AWOL Scouts.
Adventure #7: A Corrupted Flesh
Session #48: Hunting a politically connected cyberneticist
Session #49: Investigating crimes finds everyone crooked.
Session #50: Hunters struggle searching vast ecumenopolis
Session #51: We talk about fight club
Session #52: Turbo lift weights provide breakthrough
Session #53: Found the corrupt truck driver
Session #54: Warehouse fight with corrupt gendarmes.
Session #55: Hunters invaded the cyberneticist's hideout.
Session #56: Dropped Dr. Raptis into sludge.
Adventure #8: Planets of the Smugglers
Session #57: Chasing Pirates in Galactic Fringe
Session #58: Bar hopping across the galaxy
Session #59: Night of reoccurring NPCs.
Session #60: Disable and board pirate starship
Session #61: Killed Pirate; Talked to Separatist
Session #62: Hunters meet with Separatist Admiral
Adventure #9: Wings of Terror
Session #63: Terrorists attack Anti-Grav Night Club
Session #64: Planning to protect the Prefect
Session #65: Flubbed investigation; accidentally warned terrorist
Session #66: Rebuilding after burning their leads
Session #67: Ion torpedoed a fertilizer truck
Session #68: Hunters stop a bank heist
Session #69: Ministry for Redesign gets excuses
Session #70: Protect Moff from farm machinery
Session #71: Mouse droid bomb; children die
Session #72: Hunters watch televised pod races
Session #73: "He died in the war."
Session #74: Firefight during the fireworks display
Adventure #10: The Princess of the Vasts (coming soon)
Commentary for post #5093.
We only had about 45m or so for a prologue today. As I mentioned in post #52 of the “How do you like to start a campaign” thread, I rolled on the Seekers table and got:
That’s not super exciting, but I can make it work. I read the entry then asked the first question: What were your plans?
They responded that they had come to Battenberg looking for Ancient ruins. Battenberg is a village just east of an outpost responsible for monitoring the border between the Amity Protectorate and the Neutral Territories. The land beyond the outpost is strange, looking like it’s dying. While the PCs were discussing their plans, a disheveled man burst into the tavern looking for help. He had been on a supply run to the outpost when it was attacked by monsters. There were many more oozes, cait siths, and dreadmoths than usual. They seemed to be coming from the direction of the outpost.
(What sudden obstacle bars your way? Monsters, clearly.)
The PCs responded to the man with a very important question: Do you know if there are any Ancient ruins nearby? The man was kind of baffled by the question. All he could say is that the people in the Outpost would know, and he could introduce the PCs if they helped him out. The party agreed and set out. Lorenzo pondered what he knew about cait siths and dreadmoths. The player rolled 【INS + INS】to make an open check. He did poorly for the cait siths but rolled well enough to know that dreadmoths are vulnerable to fire, which is great because he knew the Flare spell.
As the party set out, I cut away to a site with indicators of Ancient ruins. Water nearby rippled as a large, armored shark leapt out of it and started eating the monsters nearby as it flew around. (This was the first Villain introduced, since bosses should be Villains.) I showed the players its picture in the book, and they were like: holy crap!
(Did your enemies finally make a move? Maybe. We’ll have to see.)
I cut back to the players as they arrived at the remains of the supply run. There were bodies on the ground. The cait siths were playing with the head of one of the corpses. A dreadmoth was eating the food and then moved on to start eating the clothing supplies. The PCs were expecting more monsters (but I didn’t want to go too hard in their first because I’m still developing a feeling for how the system works in combat), so they were happy to attack. They won initiative and got to go first.
Knowing that the dreadmoth was vulnerable to fire, Lorenzo went first and blasted it with Flare. His damage before doubling was 31, which doubled to 62 fire damage due to its vulnerability. This was more than enough to kill it in one shot. One of the cait siths took notice. Its eyes started pulsing back and forth from red to blue as it tried to cast Heat Control on Lorenzo. Fortunately, it failed its magic check; but Bez was still able to learn the spell from it, which is how chimerists learn their magic. Curious, I asked him: Who taught you the art of Chimerism? He replied that it runs in the family, which has interesting implications for the royal family. Gan moved up to engage the cait sith that tried to cast a spell, smacking it good with his iron hammer. The round ended with the other cait sith trying to meow a blast of fire at Lorenzo, which Gan intercepted to Protect him; then Bez tried to Encourage Gan (which healed him and buffed his Might attribute).
The next round went by quickly. When we established goals at the start, I indicated that the dreadmoth was like to fight to the death, but the cait siths weren’t going to stay. The PCs just wanted to drive them off. The round started with Gan continuing to beat on the cait sith in front of him. When they got the chance, both of them took off. That ended the conflict with the PCs having gotten what they wanted. They spent a few moments burying the dead. I asked Gan: What do you think of religion? Are you part of a specific cult, church or institution? He replied that elves are usually naturalistic and animists, which is what he is too.
Our time was up, so we stopped there. Since the prologue is just part of an actual session, we’ll do XP and advancement at the end of the next one.
We only had about 45m or so for a prologue today. As I mentioned in post #52 of the “How do you like to start a campaign” thread, I rolled on the Seekers table and got:
Late at night in a warm tavern, you are all discussing your next move — but someone approaches you with reports of a terrible event!
That’s not super exciting, but I can make it work. I read the entry then asked the first question: What were your plans?
They responded that they had come to Battenberg looking for Ancient ruins. Battenberg is a village just east of an outpost responsible for monitoring the border between the Amity Protectorate and the Neutral Territories. The land beyond the outpost is strange, looking like it’s dying. While the PCs were discussing their plans, a disheveled man burst into the tavern looking for help. He had been on a supply run to the outpost when it was attacked by monsters. There were many more oozes, cait siths, and dreadmoths than usual. They seemed to be coming from the direction of the outpost.
(What sudden obstacle bars your way? Monsters, clearly.)
The PCs responded to the man with a very important question: Do you know if there are any Ancient ruins nearby? The man was kind of baffled by the question. All he could say is that the people in the Outpost would know, and he could introduce the PCs if they helped him out. The party agreed and set out. Lorenzo pondered what he knew about cait siths and dreadmoths. The player rolled 【INS + INS】to make an open check. He did poorly for the cait siths but rolled well enough to know that dreadmoths are vulnerable to fire, which is great because he knew the Flare spell.
As the party set out, I cut away to a site with indicators of Ancient ruins. Water nearby rippled as a large, armored shark leapt out of it and started eating the monsters nearby as it flew around. (This was the first Villain introduced, since bosses should be Villains.) I showed the players its picture in the book, and they were like: holy crap!
(Did your enemies finally make a move? Maybe. We’ll have to see.)
I cut back to the players as they arrived at the remains of the supply run. There were bodies on the ground. The cait siths were playing with the head of one of the corpses. A dreadmoth was eating the food and then moved on to start eating the clothing supplies. The PCs were expecting more monsters (but I didn’t want to go too hard in their first because I’m still developing a feeling for how the system works in combat), so they were happy to attack. They won initiative and got to go first.
Knowing that the dreadmoth was vulnerable to fire, Lorenzo went first and blasted it with Flare. His damage before doubling was 31, which doubled to 62 fire damage due to its vulnerability. This was more than enough to kill it in one shot. One of the cait siths took notice. Its eyes started pulsing back and forth from red to blue as it tried to cast Heat Control on Lorenzo. Fortunately, it failed its magic check; but Bez was still able to learn the spell from it, which is how chimerists learn their magic. Curious, I asked him: Who taught you the art of Chimerism? He replied that it runs in the family, which has interesting implications for the royal family. Gan moved up to engage the cait sith that tried to cast a spell, smacking it good with his iron hammer. The round ended with the other cait sith trying to meow a blast of fire at Lorenzo, which Gan intercepted to Protect him; then Bez tried to Encourage Gan (which healed him and buffed his Might attribute).
The next round went by quickly. When we established goals at the start, I indicated that the dreadmoth was like to fight to the death, but the cait siths weren’t going to stay. The PCs just wanted to drive them off. The round started with Gan continuing to beat on the cait sith in front of him. When they got the chance, both of them took off. That ended the conflict with the PCs having gotten what they wanted. They spent a few moments burying the dead. I asked Gan: What do you think of religion? Are you part of a specific cult, church or institution? He replied that elves are usually naturalistic and animists, which is what he is too.
Our time was up, so we stopped there. Since the prologue is just part of an actual session, we’ll do XP and advancement at the end of the next one.
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