Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Gazetteer of the Ptolemy Sector
![]() |
| The Ptolemy Sector Alliance of Independent Systems - Green Aquila Union - Blue Skorpios Empire - Red |
Almagest - 0609
Apotelesmatika - 0509
Aquila - 0501
Arachne - 0300
Argo - 0605
Atlas - 0303
Belinski - 0606
Cicada - 0201
Corvus - 0604
Dubyago - 0506
Geographia - 0109
Harmonics - 0508
Locust - 0101
Novikov - 0105
Optics - 0608
Patton - 0602
Pershing - 0500
Ridgway - 0502
Schwarzkopf - 0601
Skorpios - 0607
Smirnova - 0307
Talus - 0003
Almagest (0609) - Located in the Skorpios Cluster, Almagest is a dusty, dry planet - the result of a terraforming project interrupted by the Scream. Over a third of a billion humans live in high tech cities around the polar seas, chaffing under the oppressive might of the Skorpios Empire. The populace is forced to produce weapons and spacecraft for the imperial war machine, though a violent rebellion has been active for a generation. The system itself is full of debris, making meteor and comet strikes common, especially along the uninhabited equatorial wastes.
Apotelesmatika (0509) - Apotelesmatika is a small, hot planet with a thin atmosphere in the Skorpios Cluster. Its rocky surface is coated with a dark blue lichen, native but genetically modified to break up the rocks into soil and add nitrogen to the atmosphere as the beginnings of a terraforming project that was never completed. Two hundred thousand humans live in underground cities, maintaining the machines that keep them alive and shunning outsiders. It is a client state of the Skorpios Empire, but Apotelesmatika keeps from having a large Skorpios presence by voluntarily manufacturing high tech extrauterine fetal incubation systems.
Aquila (0501) - Located at the heart of the Aquila Cluster, Aquila is a rich, vibrant garden world colonized by Neo-Gaels soon after it's discovery. Due to the independent spirit of the Neo-Gaels, Aquila suffered very little during the Scream and Silence, laying down solid industrial and banking infrastructure that allowed it to grow into a planet of billions and emerge into the Ptolemy sector as a major economic and military power. An an independent world, it has a larger gross domestic product than any other system in the sector, though recently, its allies are few and far between.
Arachne (0300) - Homeworld of the Klakker species in Melampus Cluster. The planet is filled with the ruins of giant mound shapes cities crafted before the Klakker war with the Terran Mandate. Now the Klakkers live in pre-industrial hives scattered across the world, worshipping their ancestors as gods. A world government exists, on paper, and it swears its allegiance to the Aquila Union, as a proxy for the Terran Mandate. Unscrupulous industrialists from Aquila operate factories on Arachne, acquiring workers from hives in exchange for pheromones that please the regional queens, though the Aquilan government tries to prevent the more egregious sapient rights violations.
Argo (0605) - Argo is a bright green ringed gas giant in the Skorpios Cluster. The area's one hundred thousand inhabitants live on various moons and asteroids in orbit around the gas giant. Due to the abundance of easily-had resources, the Terran Mandate built the Argo Yards quickly after the planet's discovery. After the Scream, the population became insular as they fought of various scavenger fleet that tried to strip the Yards bare. When the Ptolemy Sector began to recover from the Silence, Argo supplied the ships for the recovery, but it became the first battleground between Aquila and Skorpios when hostilities broke out.
Atlas (0303) - The Atlas system is in the Ptolemy Wilds. The planet is hot and humid, and plagued by hurricanes that peel off from the equator and move towards the poles. The equatorial areas are void of multicellular life, but swamp biomes begin around the 45th parallel. Atlas is, however, rich in various petrochemicals. Five major colonization attempts before the Scream failed, and the few lingering colonists died out during the Silence. Currently, the planet is inhabited by a misogynist religious group called The Truth Of Man, who have been mining there for three clone generations, and the group joined the Alliance of Independent States ten years ago.
Belinski (0606) - Belinski, in the Skorpios Sector, is a glacial planet, with melting near the equator, revealing rich forests and farmland tended by pre-industrial human societies. The planet's populous sank into barbarity after the Scream, dismantling or destroying almost all high tech except the sky-cities. Ten gigantic gravatic sky-liners, holding 10,000 inhabitants apiece, sail the glacial valleys, occasionally fighting with one another, but more often raiding the 130 million primitive ground dwellers for food and supplies. The Skorpios Empire claims control over Belinski, demanding raw materials from the sky cities on pain of death.
Cicada (0201) - Cicada, in the Melampus Cluster, was the Klakker's first interstellar colony. While a garden world, there is no plant life below 1000 meters of elevation due to nanitic defoliants deposited by the human military 'enthusiasts' during the Human-Klakker War. Most continents are covered in various slimes, oozes, and animals that are not targeted by the uncontrollable nanites. Thirteen thousand humans live on plateaus in the northern hemisphere, administrating Klakker 'reservations.' The southern hemisphere is wracked with earthquakes and volcanoes caused by cracked continental plates due heavy wartime bombardment.
Corvus (0604) - Located on the edge of the Skorpios Cluster, Corvus is a garden world that was once the capital of the Ptolemy Sector. Most of the infrastructure was destroyed in civil war after the Scream, and only a stone age population was left by the end of the Silence. As the population began to recover, Skorpios and Aquila forces began to war over the planet, bombarding every potential military site, which included most of the planet. Currently, the population is made up or 30 million humans, most of whom avoid any technology, instead putting all of their trust into the near-feral psychics known as the Witches of Corvus.
Dubyago (0506) - Nestled in the Skorpios Cluster, Dubyago is large terrestrial planet with a sulfuric acid atmosphere. A psionics research facility was founded there early in the Empire's expansion, with the hopes of discovering why the Skorpios did not develop psychic abilities. A handful of psychics were eventually bred, and the facility became the headquarters for the Committee for State Security. While a popular subject of rumors, little is known about Dubyago, except that the head of the CSS is referred to as the Eye of Providence, and that the Eye and the Scientist-Emperor of Skorpios have political differences from time to time.
Geographia (0109) - Once a beautiful garden World, Geographica suffered a nuclear civil war shortly after the Scream, turning the planet into a hot desert wasteland with a thick, soupy atmosphere. A quarter of a billion people live scattered under the surface, understanding little of the automated technology that produces clean air, food, and water to keep them alive. Geographica was the last world re-discovered, mainly as it was so far from any other in the Ptolemy Wilds. Skorpios claimed the system originally, but could not protected it from Alliance warlords who wished to scavenge the place for weaponry and wealth.
Harmonics (0508) - A planet populated by Cambrian style microorganisms, Harmonics was chosen as the site of the Library of Ptolemy, a Preceptor Archive designed to house the totality of human knowledge to prevent its loss should society in the Void collapse and be cut off from the rest of the galaxy. When the Scream happened, the Preceptors waited hundreds of years for the day that the Silence would break. That day came when the Skorpios Empire arrived, learned what they could from the Library, decided the knowledge contained therin was offense to the Scientist-Emperor, bombarded the site from orbit, then turned the area into a giant strip mine to extract what resources they could from the planet's crust.
Locust (0101) - This planet has a elliptical four year orbit around primary star, sending it into winter for a three quarters of its cycle. Glaciers scrape the non-equatorial regions to a rich pulp. Locust was the second colony settled by the Klakkers, and saw only light combat during the war with the Terran Mandate. A human colony took hold afterwards, which now counts it's inhabitants at half a billion. Klakkers remain isolated in primitive ghettos, but they are allowed to work in that various heavy industries around the planet. Locust is a member of the Aquila Union, and several military bases are maintained in orbit and on the surface.
Novikov (0105) - Novikov is a small, dry world with a breathable atmosphere and rich mineral deposits. Native microorganisms proved very hazardous to several waves of early colonists, destroying their reproductive systems and leaving the planet uninhabited during the Silence. Unaffiliated miners and traders came to the planet later and developed treatments against the bacteria. Novokov served as a bustling free trade world until it was fought over by the Skorpois Empire and Aquila, when most of the population was driven away. Now the system is held by warlords who mine the place with roughly thirty thousand slaves.
Optics (0608) - A flat, wet planet covered mainly by swamps and rain forests, Optics was once a resort planet that failed to maintain much civilization, or population, during the Scream. The Skorpios Empire once used it as a gulag for political prisoners and research subjects from it's client states, but within the last few decades began to sterilize the population to prevent sexual reproduction. Instead, huge areas of land are now being terra-sculpted to create alternative 'summer' housing for the political elite of Skorpios, to be tended to by a hundred thousand mind-controlled humans specially bred for loyalty and obedience.
Patton (0602) - Patton is a planet with a thick, foggy atmosphere, wracked with frequent EMP bursts from its core. When Aquilan scouts re-discovered the planet, they found huge deposits of rare elements useful in high tech manufacturing. Colonists arrived in droves, and today the planet has over a quarter of a billion settlers. The biggest problem is that the frequent EMP bursts fry high tech devices, forcing the settlers to rely on primitive, but stable, technologies for survival. Patton has changed hands several times during the wars between Aquila and Skorpios, leaving parts of the planet scarred with craters.
Pershing (0500) - Before the Scream, a cult of xenophobic technophiles colonized the mineral-rich, but toxic planet of Pershing, altering their DNA to survive and isolate themselves from the rest of humanity. During the Silence, the Pershingite culture changed and grew, instead romanticizing their lost neighbors. When Aquilan scouts arrived at Pershing, the natives eagerly peace treaties, trade deals, and other pacts - eventually joining the Union. The sight of the alien looking Pershingites does have a tendency to freak out standard Aquilan humans, but the loyalties of the Pershingites have never been in question.
Ridgway (0502) - Ridgway is a patchwork quilt of highly radioactive deserts and primitive sustenance farms that barely get by due to the invasive, inedible native flora. Sword wielding psychic warlords have been in control since the nuclear wars hundreds of years ago brought the planet back to the iron age. The half a million inhabitants of Ridgway live under a a Aquilan governor, whose main job is to keep the planet's military bases secure and to provide aid and technology for the inhabitants, but few of the psychic warlords are really interested in doing anything constructive.
Schwarzkopf (0601) - Schwarzkopf is dominated by a hot Jupiter surrounded by multiple asteroid belts. The original colonists were miners who were forced to stay after the scream and build elaborate habitats from hollowed out asteroids. Now, the half a million inhabitants of the system mine the gas giant for it's rare and heavy gases, descending into the thick, stormy soup in shielded collection/refinery ships to earn their fortunes. Their ship building techniques are superb. Schwarzkopf is part of the Aquila Union, and provide the navy with some of the best pilots in the sector.
Skorpios (0607) - Skorpios is a swampy, mucky place, overwhelmed by hazardous fungi. During the Silence, the inhabitants merged their DNA with the native fungus in an effort to survive, and found that the transformation made them stronger, if a bit insane. Now standard reproduction is impossible, and the government maintains high tech extrauterine fetal incubation systems to grow the populace. With nearly two billion inhabitants, there are several castes, each genetically modified to provide different services to the Empire. They worship science, or rather, a twisted philosophy of technological might making right, which has led them to be the most powerful system in the Prolemy Sector.
Smirnova (0307) - Once a beautiful garden planet, Smirnova came through the Silence relatively unscathed, supporting a billion people when the Skorpios scouts arrived. Rather than wage a conventional war, Skorpios decided to spray an augmented fungal agent into the upper atmosphere, killing almost the populations and laying waste to the biosphere. Then the planet was stripped of it technology and wealth, everything being brought back to Skorpios that could. The survivors were rounded up and forced to work in slave labor camps. Over the survivors have died off in droves, leaving only ten thousand left when Skorpios abandoned the place.
Talus (0003) - Only a small population lived on this garden world when the Scream hit. When scouts investigated the system hundreds of years later, they found no one left. People form all over the sector came to settle Talus, which promised a chance for all citizens to start over in a truly democratic and peaceful environment. It was all that, but Talus also became a haven for pirates, crooks, and other interstellar criminals. Eventually, the government became so saturated with corruption that the old regime was overthrown and a new political movement, the Alliance of Independent Systems, took control and separated from the Aquila Union.
Okay, I'm glad I dumped that all onto paper. It was taking up so much space I couldn't remember how to make coffee. :) Enjoy.
- Ark
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thanksgiving Apocalypse
I had a wonderful Thanksgiving today. The Seussian City I sketched on the way to the farm, however, did not. It's kinda hard to draw a straight line in a truck bouncing on gravel roads.
- Ark
- Ark
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Player Portraits: Kaye
Kaye is the man behind the infamous, and incompetent, wizard Torvalds. He complained vociferously about the double chin in the picture I drew of him, but like his fake name Kaye, the picture isn't the real him - it's a caricature. Well, at least that's what I told him. This is actually, exactly what he looks like - sketch lines included. :) The grin on his face? That's the grin that Kaye gets when his character is contemplating genetically building acid dripping xenomorphs that will get out of control and eat the rest of the party. On accident. Of course.
- Ark
- Ark
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Desmond Connors
The Boy's write up of his Stars Without Number character:
Recruit Archive Desmond Connors
Occupation: Military assassin
Height: '5"6
Weight: 150 lbs
Age: 26
Eye color: steely grey
Hair color: Dirty Blonde
I.Q: 143
Bench: 351 lbs
Background: Desmond Connors was born 3175 in the small town of Autumn Springs. At age 5 the Skorpios attacked the countryside he lived in.
He and a few of his quicker friends escaped the fray. They left the area and hunted and gathered for several years before making their way to the big cities.
While there Connors left the group and went to a stealth class. During this harsh time in Connors' life, he made a living as a petty thief, Then quickly realized it was not a "worth-while" career. At age 18 Connors was drafted into the military, and the recruit trainers quickly learned of his skill. He was put in a special unit for stealth ops and climbed the ranks to Petty Officer First Class. Then 7 years after being drafted, he volunteered for the Reprive expedition, where a new adventure awaits him.....
The Boy can draw too. That's Desmond up there fading away with help from a camo-suit. :)
- Ark
Recruit Archive Desmond Connors
Occupation: Military assassin
Height: '5"6
Weight: 150 lbs
Age: 26
Eye color: steely grey
Hair color: Dirty Blonde
I.Q: 143
Bench: 351 lbs
Background: Desmond Connors was born 3175 in the small town of Autumn Springs. At age 5 the Skorpios attacked the countryside he lived in.
He and a few of his quicker friends escaped the fray. They left the area and hunted and gathered for several years before making their way to the big cities.
While there Connors left the group and went to a stealth class. During this harsh time in Connors' life, he made a living as a petty thief, Then quickly realized it was not a "worth-while" career. At age 18 Connors was drafted into the military, and the recruit trainers quickly learned of his skill. He was put in a special unit for stealth ops and climbed the ranks to Petty Officer First Class. Then 7 years after being drafted, he volunteered for the Reprive expedition, where a new adventure awaits him.....
The Boy can draw too. That's Desmond up there fading away with help from a camo-suit. :)
- Ark
Saturday, November 17, 2012
SWN NPC Profile: Admiral Beringer
Kaye wanted to know some things about the commander in charge of the Void Expeditionary Force in the Redshirt Stars Without Number game. That would be Admiral Beringer. He looks and talks just like General Beringer in the movie Wargames. Well, as so far as I can imitate Barry Corbin, of course.
McAllen Beringer was born in 3143 CE and raised on the wild island continent of Garuda on Aquila, where his father was a park ranger at the Ganymede National Wildlife Preserve. He grew up learning to ride horses and the Momma-Long-Legs, a native pack animal, while acting as a tour guide through the region's varied biomes. He was very involved in helping his father to enforce the park's anti-poaching regulations, tracking and capturing several illegal hunters during his summer months off from school. He moved to the Aerie, the capital of Aquila Prime, during his last year of high school, and joined the Reserve Officers Training Corp. After graduation he joined the Aquila Space Navy and went to the Naval Academy on Eagle Eye Station, in orbit above Aquila.
Beringer developed an aptitude for recognizing patterns in data and entered the Communications Corp. He was assigned to the AUS Hummingbird, a patrol boat in the Ptolemy Wilds that monitored activity in the Atlas system. He participated in several anti-pirate actions, until the Hummingbird was appropriated by the Naval Intelligence Division for espionage purposes. The boat did rim dives into the Skorpios held Novikov and Smirnova systems.
This led to the Novikov Incident of 3164, in which two Skorpios patrol boats detected and fired upon the Hummingbird. The Aquila ship was crippled, but as the Hummingbird was being boarded, the crew killed the Skorpios marines and boarded the enemy ship instead. Lt. Beringer successfully took over the Skorpios patrol boat's computers, destroyed the Hummingbird with the boat's weapons, and helped the pilot jump the boat safely to Atlas before the other patrol craft could react. The three survivors were given commendations and Beringer was permanently assigned to the Naval Intelligence Division.
Beringer was then assigned to the Grendel, a free merchant ship secretly owned by the Aquila Navy. The Grendel plied the spaceways along the Skorpios Cluster, collecting data on ship movements, the construction of the battle station Joseph Stalin around Skorpios held Corvus, and the Skorpios invasion of the Apotelesmatika system. The latter part of his tour involved running guns to the Almagest rebellion.
He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on his second tour and took control of the Grendel, continuing to gather intelligence data deep within the Skorpios Empire. Most of that time was spent setting up a covert base on Smirnova and creating the Smirnova-Harmonics-Almagest Railroad, helping refugees from the war to escape, and sending munitions and supplies to the front. His last official action as an undercover intelligence officer was the sabotage and destruction of the battle station Joseph Stalin around Corvus, which was the first act of the Annihilation War. The Grendel was destroyed in the escape attempt, and Beringer spent a year on the surface of Corvus, fleeing from Skorpios patrols and radioing troop emplacement data until he could be extracted after the Aquila fleet secured the system. During his stay, he helped to organize the Witches of Corvus, an indigenous psychic contingent, against Skorpios troops, and they used their powers to help drive the Skorpios away from the planet.
He was then promoted to Commander and put in charge of the Brimstone, a Frigate class warship that was used for long distance intelligence gathering in the Agro system. Beringer helped lay the groundwork for the Argo Invasion three years later, and then repeated the job six years later with the invasion of Belinski in 3180. After the front was stabilized, he was promoted to Captain and forcibly assigned a desk job by the Naval Intelligence Division. Beringer disliked the sedentary life, but did his job as ordered.
With a peace treaty signed in 3182, he worked quietly for Naval Intelligence Division, organizing the intelligence networks. Over the years, he noticed patterns of movement within the Skorpios Empire and the wilds that disturbed him. He wrote many reports on what was called the 'System Independence' movement within the Wilds, but his warnings were ignored. He predicted the formation of the Alliance of Independent States five years before it happened. But the people of Aquila were tired of war, the Navy lost funding, and complacency set in.
The Peace Movement on Aquila grew so strong that Belinski,
then Argo, and finally Corvus were handed back to the Skorpios Empire. Commodore Beringer had predicted that failure
in judgment as well. He worked hard to create
intelligence network throughout the three systems that would survive the
hand-over. Beringer decided to lay low
during the Wild Systems independence movement and fallout. A number of military leaders resigned as
Aquila lost the five additional systems in the bloodless coup known as the Alliance
of Independent systems.
McAllen Beringer was born in 3143 CE and raised on the wild island continent of Garuda on Aquila, where his father was a park ranger at the Ganymede National Wildlife Preserve. He grew up learning to ride horses and the Momma-Long-Legs, a native pack animal, while acting as a tour guide through the region's varied biomes. He was very involved in helping his father to enforce the park's anti-poaching regulations, tracking and capturing several illegal hunters during his summer months off from school. He moved to the Aerie, the capital of Aquila Prime, during his last year of high school, and joined the Reserve Officers Training Corp. After graduation he joined the Aquila Space Navy and went to the Naval Academy on Eagle Eye Station, in orbit above Aquila.
Beringer developed an aptitude for recognizing patterns in data and entered the Communications Corp. He was assigned to the AUS Hummingbird, a patrol boat in the Ptolemy Wilds that monitored activity in the Atlas system. He participated in several anti-pirate actions, until the Hummingbird was appropriated by the Naval Intelligence Division for espionage purposes. The boat did rim dives into the Skorpios held Novikov and Smirnova systems.
This led to the Novikov Incident of 3164, in which two Skorpios patrol boats detected and fired upon the Hummingbird. The Aquila ship was crippled, but as the Hummingbird was being boarded, the crew killed the Skorpios marines and boarded the enemy ship instead. Lt. Beringer successfully took over the Skorpios patrol boat's computers, destroyed the Hummingbird with the boat's weapons, and helped the pilot jump the boat safely to Atlas before the other patrol craft could react. The three survivors were given commendations and Beringer was permanently assigned to the Naval Intelligence Division.
Beringer was then assigned to the Grendel, a free merchant ship secretly owned by the Aquila Navy. The Grendel plied the spaceways along the Skorpios Cluster, collecting data on ship movements, the construction of the battle station Joseph Stalin around Skorpios held Corvus, and the Skorpios invasion of the Apotelesmatika system. The latter part of his tour involved running guns to the Almagest rebellion.
He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on his second tour and took control of the Grendel, continuing to gather intelligence data deep within the Skorpios Empire. Most of that time was spent setting up a covert base on Smirnova and creating the Smirnova-Harmonics-Almagest Railroad, helping refugees from the war to escape, and sending munitions and supplies to the front. His last official action as an undercover intelligence officer was the sabotage and destruction of the battle station Joseph Stalin around Corvus, which was the first act of the Annihilation War. The Grendel was destroyed in the escape attempt, and Beringer spent a year on the surface of Corvus, fleeing from Skorpios patrols and radioing troop emplacement data until he could be extracted after the Aquila fleet secured the system. During his stay, he helped to organize the Witches of Corvus, an indigenous psychic contingent, against Skorpios troops, and they used their powers to help drive the Skorpios away from the planet.
He was then promoted to Commander and put in charge of the Brimstone, a Frigate class warship that was used for long distance intelligence gathering in the Agro system. Beringer helped lay the groundwork for the Argo Invasion three years later, and then repeated the job six years later with the invasion of Belinski in 3180. After the front was stabilized, he was promoted to Captain and forcibly assigned a desk job by the Naval Intelligence Division. Beringer disliked the sedentary life, but did his job as ordered.
With a peace treaty signed in 3182, he worked quietly for Naval Intelligence Division, organizing the intelligence networks. Over the years, he noticed patterns of movement within the Skorpios Empire and the wilds that disturbed him. He wrote many reports on what was called the 'System Independence' movement within the Wilds, but his warnings were ignored. He predicted the formation of the Alliance of Independent States five years before it happened. But the people of Aquila were tired of war, the Navy lost funding, and complacency set in.
The Peace Movement on Aquila grew so strong that Belinski,
then Argo, and finally Corvus were handed back to the Skorpios Empire. Commodore Beringer had predicted that failure
in judgment as well. He worked hard to create
intelligence network throughout the three systems that would survive the
hand-over. Beringer decided to lay low
during the Wild Systems independence movement and fallout. A number of military leaders resigned as
Aquila lost the five additional systems in the bloodless coup known as the Alliance
of Independent systems.
In 3197, the Muldoon-Shaw administration was voted into power on Aquila. One of President General Muldoon's first acts was to promote Beringer, the man who had predicted the loss of eight systems, to Admiral and put him in charge of the newly formed Special Projects Division. The intent of the Special Projects Division was to, at a minimum, rebalance the strategic power in the Ptomemy sector in favor of Aquila, and ultimately, to complete regime change in the Skorpios Empire.
While marooned on Corvus, Beringer had heard tales of undiscovered caches of military hardware, but could never get any of the top brass interested in the rumors. With his new authority, he sent covert operatives to Corvus and discovered the rumored bunkers deep underground. The only problem was that there was no way to covertly reach the bunkers and extract the goodies inside.
Reluctantly, President General Muldoon ordered a full strike on Corvus, at the request of Beringer. Caught by surprise, the Skorpios Empire fled to protect the new shipyards at Argos. With Corvus secured, Beringer and his people located the bunkers and extracted the pretech weaponry. Regretfully, there wasn't much, but there were enough remaining components to construct a jump-4 spacecraft. Thus began the Void Expeditionary Force - which officially began when Perimeter Station Nine was destroyed and the AUS Reprieve escaped to Three Sisters.
Admiral Berenger has focused the Special Projects Division on extracting lost technology from the Void sectors. Once Beachhead Base was established in the Three Sisters system, and additional jump-4 transportation secured, Beringer moved his operations into the Void itself. He understands that Skorpios has military superiority, better intelligence networks, and more wealth. Much of the government, and even the military, does not understand how dire the situation is. Beringer has the weight of the union on his shoulders.
- Ark
Thursday, November 15, 2012
SWN Faction Turns: February 3200
I'll add them in the future when it feels right.
Meanwhile, on February 2nd, the Redshirts game started with the Skorpios Empire attacking a secret Aquilan base in an attempt to steal or destroy the high tech spacecraft Reprieve. The pretech research base, and the attacking fleet, are not really represented in the faction game itself, though they would be powerful assets. I'm not going to worry about it. I'll just say that the fleet and the base destroyed one another and that was that. Accounting is easy when you close your eyes and wave your hands about.
So now, on with the faction game for February, 3200 CE.
Initiative is still using a d4, creating this order of play - the Almagest Rebellion, the Skorpios Empire, the Aquila Union, and the Alliance of Independent Systems.
Almagest Rebellion - The rebellion took a complete trouncing in January, and has little desire to do anything but hide and lick their wounds. Regretfully, they don't have the resources to hide everyone. The faction earns 2 FacCreds this turn, and with the 2 they squirreled away last turn, they have a total of 4. It takes 3 FacCreds to purchase Stealth, and since they have two assets on the ground, one will have to remain exposed.
The rebellion uses the Buy Asset action and decides to spend the FacCreds and stealth their damaged Vanguard Cadre on Almagest. This leaves their band of Zealots visible, with only one hit point remaining,
NEWS BLURB - On Almagest, the Talus Red Cross - and independent humanitarian group from the Alliance of Independent Systems - reported on February 5th that there was an influx of homeless children seeking shelter at the aide camps in the capital. PXL News believes that these refugees may be remnants of indigent families that were driven out of the sewers during a violent purge last month. The Sister Sally Saracen of the Talus Red Cross is asking for donation all across the sector due to this tragic turn of events. Imperial Skorpios officials refused to comment on the story.
Skorpios Empire - I think I'm going to change the Tag of the Skorpios Empire from Imperialists to Eugenics Cult. That just fits a lot better with their modus operandi. I should have stuck with it, as it had been my first, instinctual choice. Oh well. So, the empire is feeling plucky since their victories on Almagest and the landing of the stealthed assets on Corvus last month and their hefty bank balance this month of ten FacCreds. They unleash the dogs of war by selecting the Attack action this turn.
Their first military action is to use the stealthed Treachery asset to attack Corvus. The treachery asset attacks with Cunning vs. Cunning, but does not do damage. Instead, on a successful attack, it destroys itself, gives the user 5 additional FacCreds, and changes the ownership of the defending asset to the attacker. The target is the union's Postech Infantry on Corvus.
The results of the combat are 10+7 vs. 4+4 - thus the empire wins. The Treachery asset disappears, the empire's bank balance goes to 15 FacCreds, and the empire now owns the infantry. That is a pretty devastating turn of events for the Aquila Union, who is only left with the Tripwire Cell and the Base of Influence left on Corvus.
Continuing with it's attack, Skorpios turns it's eye on Almagest. The Zealots are in view, so the Impeiral Posttech Infantry attacks. (In actuality, the infantry asset attacks the rebellions 'presence' on Almagest, and Almast chooses to defend with the Zealots rather than taking a direct hit to their Base of Influence and end up loosing the hit pints of the very faction itself. A slight difference in working, but an important one.)
The results of combat are 6+8 vs. 1+3. Yeah. The empire wins overwhelmingly. A d8 produces 6 points of damage, leaving them at a -5 and destroyed. The rebels' Zealot asset is removed from play.
These events really inspire two separate news blurbs:
NEWS BLURB #1 - DATELINE CORVUS, FEBRUARY 9, 3200. Residents fled in horror from the capital in the early morning hours as the sounds of fierce fighting erupted from the military base inside of town. When the dust had settled, the top brass, including General Wallace McKenzie, lay dead in a bloody coup. Witnesses report soldiers' eye glowing yellow and shooting anything in sight. Since then, the base has been sealed off and communications blacked out. "This yellow glow from the eyes and erratic behavior smacks of fungal mind control," Chief Research Scientist Fenrus Lucifer of BioTonics Labs on Aquila said in an interview. "As we know, Skorpios is home to various fungi that are compatible with human DNA. It's possible that the Empire has whipped up some sort of elixir that creates . . . fungal zombie armies. I know that sounds a bit odd - but worse things have happened. I have suggested to President General Muldoon that we inoculate our entire military force with a new anti-fungal vaccine we have just developed called Defungicin X-12. BioTonics will be happy to provide the medicine at a reduced rate, of course."
NEWS BLURB #2 - The Talus Red Cross on Almagest is reporting that Skorpios Shock Troops launched a series of blistering assaults on refugee camps between the 12th and 13th of February. Troops appeared to be targeting homeless children, and were killing them on sight. Sister Sally Saracen of the Talus Red Cross denounced the attacks, describing them as unwarranted, shameful, and horrific. Video smuggled out of Skorpios controlled space showed disturbing images of children wired with belts of high explosives hurling themselves at Skorpios Troops, then igniting into bright, orange fireballs. The Skorpios Government denies any of the events took place and reports that all is calm on Almagest and that production in the rifle factories of Almagest is up sharply.
Aquila Union - This month, the union earns 5 FacCreds. It is still in Peaceable Kingdom mode, so Aquila needs to avoid launching attacks on any other factions to gain experience points from the goal. That doesn't stop it from getting it's war machine moving by choosing the Use Asset Ability.
On Aquila, the Postech industry asset is called to action. The d6 roll results in a 4, indicating that an additional FacCred is earned. The Venture Capital asset activates, and using the Postech Industry asset as leverage, rolls a d8 for a 6, indicating that another 2 FacCreds are earned, bringing the faction's bank account up to 8 FacCreds.
On Ridgway, Aquila sends its Blockade Runners to the Patton system for 2 FacCreds, with the intention of transporting the Postech Infantry asset located there to Corvus so that they can help defend the capital.
NEWS BLURB - PXL Financial News Update for February 20th, 3200. Stocks rose for a third straight day today as investors dismissed conflicting reports from Corvus. "We at MacBeth Trading are very bullish," said CEO Allister MacBeth. "I whole-heartedly recommend buying into stocks from Yamato Shipyard Industries, the Maximum Defense Company, the LaserStar Weapons Combine, and BioTonics Amalgamated, home of BioTonics Labs. This week's orders are up tremendously. The recent downturn due to that Corvus hogwash is just that - hogwash. Government sources tell me that it's a minor issue. Assets are being put into play to deal with the situation, and they'll have things straightened out shortly with a minimum of fuss. Yes, we are bullish on the future."
Alliance of Independent Systems - The Alliance again gains 4 FacCreds and decides to pump it's wealth into building a Base of Influence on Cicada by using the Expand Influence action. Aquila tries to counter this move, and both factions roll off. Since the Alliance is using a Surveyor crew, they get an additional roll. So, it's d10 plus Cunning vs. d10 plus Cunning. Aquila gets a 10 on the die, plus it's 4 for a 14. The alliance rolls a 2, plus the 6 cunning, resulting in only an 8. However, their reroll is an 9, giving them a 15 and a new base on Cicada with 8 hit points. Aquila does not get to fight back.
NEWS BLURB - On February 25th, Harry Freedonia announced the creation of the School of Native Unity on Cicada. "The Inland Relation Office is a serious threat to the well-being of the native Klakker community on Cicada," Mr. Freedonia said at a press conference. "Governor Vidalia would get the peaceful race hooked on F-3000c like a common drug pusher. What's next? Offering the Klakkers blankets smeared with oozing small pox sores? We reject this intolerable treatment and are building schools in the jungle to help educate the Klakkers about their unalienable right to free speech, to free assembly, and the right to bear arms for the defense of their well-being. Klakkers are people too, you know?"
So that is February in the Factions game. During that month, the players explored the Three Sister's system, discovered the Ark, destroyed the Shibboleth, unleashed GAIA the AI, followed the Ark to the Ukraine system, discovered that a lost Skorpios warship found it's way there 50 years ago and had taken over the planet, stole a Lost Skorpios patrol boat, escaped back to Three Sisters, and were in the process of hollowing out an asteroid to create Beachhead Base for the Aquila Navy to use as a privateer base to launch raids of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Reprieve travelled to Schwarzkopf to alert the brass back home and resupply, leaving the PCs busy mining out an asteroid and installing toilets.
- Ark
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)










