[Aftermath!] GURPS Operation Morpheus, Session 8, Cut Scenes

Tuesday Night Sessions - GURPS Aftermath! Operation Morpheus session 8

Session Eight: "And God Said . . ." World Party (June 6, 2104)

Close up a puddle of blood, panning back, the PCs can see Amanda Hayes, a body (about the size of John Ritter) draped over her knees with a knife in his back. On Amanda's hands and face can be seen marks, like blisters or sores. Panning farther out, a corridor is seen. Rich Johnson is slumped against the wall and Miles Dayton is bare-chested and screaming incoherently. His body is covered with blisters or sores, similar to Amanda. It is obvious that Miles is completely insane. He proceeds to butcher Rich, taking him apart with a knife and his bare hands. On Mile's wrist is a watch, timed to 1 minute ago.

The Mystery Man: The same room is empty and the man is not there. Open on the desk is a book, not "Poisons for Professionals." Instead it is the Bible, open to Revelations.

The Russians: In the evening, the Rat Creatures attack the Red Star Commune. Bypassing their defenses, the Rat Creatures kill and burn in an orgy of blood and death. Though the Russians fight back, with automatic weapons and knives and even their bare hands, they are overwhelmed and the results of this slaughter is the complete bloody and violent death of each of these people.

The Sign: Close up view of a small nuclear symbol on what seems to be a curved surface. The view pulls out, to show a Russian Nuke. A hand, with a familiar wrist watch (Mile's), closes the case the Nuke is in. The date/time on the watch is from April 2104.

The Computer System: In a darkened room, a large mainframe computer is working away. On many monitors around the room are images flashing too fast for the human eye. On one monitor is a view of the University defense perimeter. The focus is on a Caretaker Robot patrolling the defense perimeter.

County of La Parouse, Duchy of Sydney: One night, the Rat Creatures come and kill everyone they can. La Parouse Castle falls after a short and violent struggle. No quarter is given. All the defenders are killed. The few survivors, mostly serfs, flee from the destruction.

[My Collection] L is for Licensed Products: The Stargate SG-1 RPG and The Farscape RPG

Stargate SG-1 is a television program about people who travel to other worlds through wormholes disguised as large ring gates and Farscape is a television program about people who travel to other worlds through wormholes disguised as large sentient ships. Both shows had compelling casts, excellent special effects, awesome villains that kept coming back to plague the heroes and good writing. No wonder I liked watching them.

And both were obvious choices for RPGs. And Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) got to publish both of them: the Stargate SG-1 RPG and the Farscape RPG.

Since I love both shows and like AEG enough to give it a try, I collected both games along with the four supplements for SG-1 (Fantastic Frontiers: Stargate Season 1, Friends and Foes: Stargate Season 2, First Steps: Unexplored Worlds, and Living Gods: Stargate System Lords). And I haven't been disappointed.

But I don't do reviews, so if you are interested, RPG.net has two SG-1 reviews (1, 2) but none for the supplements and two Farscape reviews (3, 4).

[D20] K is for Knightly Orders

 

There are two major Knightly Orders, the Order of St. Nobian and St. Uriens and the Order of the Ash, in the Ashford Valley. 

The Order of St. Nobian and St. Uriens is an ancient, and former holy, order of knights. Originally an order of priests, they evolved over the years from a monastic order to a secular one, shedding the priests for knights. In the process, they retained two influences from their saintly patrons - Travel (from St. Uriens) and Healing (from St. Nobian). The majority of the knights travel around the Ashford Valley, righting wrongs, acting as judges and healers, and defending the weak against incursions of Bugbears and other humanoids, as well as from bandits and thieves. The Order has a chapter house in each town, usually a two-story building with stables below and simple accommodations above. Since the knights are abroad most of the time, the houses are cared for by trusted servants or retired knights. The current headmaster is Sir Albert.

The Order of the Ash was formed on the bank of the River Ash, at the ford where Ashford town proper was built. The current rulers of the valley are all members of the Order and so are their household knights. Every five years, the knights gather at Ashford town to renew their oaths of allegiance and have a tourney, with jousting and a festival. At that time, the Lord of Ashford Valley, Sir Raphel, grants knighthood on deserving squires. The Order of the Ash has had problems in the past of some knights going bad, or in the parlance of the order "taking a dip in the Soot," which has caused the order some uncomfortable moments. The last knight who went rogue was Sir Pauli and he disappeared in the Rolling Hils a decade ago, after being pursued by Sir Hoel. No sign has been seen of that evil knight but treasure-seekers still search for his bones (and the loot he stole).

Both orders cooperate together (mostly) and are excellent goals for PCs to attain - perhaps as a result of the defeat of the Necromancer? Perhaps.

[D20] J is for Jail

While the four main towns in the Ashford Valley have dungeons (usually in the castle of the lord of the town), the smaller communities usually have lock-up. Most turn out to be root cellars or a covered pit. A few, however, are actual jail structures, with small cells, locking doors and a guard.

There are a lot of different adventures that can revolve around a jail, especially a country jail - escape, rescue, even guard duty. In the more insular communities, like the hill-folk, getting jailed is par for the course for "damn ferriners." If that won't lead to some sort of conflict, I don't know what would.

[D20] I is for Indentured Servants

The peoples of the Ashford Valley are free-born men and women. They are a proud people, well versed in their history and well-knowing of their rights as free men. Slavery is a repugnant concept and very illegal in the Valley. In fact, slaves are granted automatic freedom when they enter the valley (often to the chagrin of their owners). On the whole, slavers and those who espouse that philosophy are in the minority.

But indentured servitude, however, does occur in the valley, though rarely. The terms of indenture are spelled out very carefully in any contract, usually limiting the service to 5 years, whether or not the full value owed is recouped. In no way can any indenture be passed on to any children. Repeat servitude, while even rarer, is not disallowed but a new contract must be written.

The indenture contract must be drawn up by the courts (at a fee usually added to the total value of the contract). The contract includes the length of servitude, the type of work to be done, the rights and responsibilities of both the servant and the master, how the servant will be housed and fed and trained, and the legal ramifications of breaking the contract (which usually involves jail for the servant).

An interesting adventure could involve getting a friend out of a contract or stopping abuse of a mute indentured servant or a conflict between a servant and his master over his master's daughter (they're in love and Pappa doesn't like it).

[D20] H is for Holy Sword

The Sword of Carolus is an ancient holy sword, forged even before the Ashford Valley was ever settled by humans. It is the first Bugbear Longsword that was consecrated to Angwish the Just. Some histories say that the sword was forged by the god Lamiel the Crafty, but that is often disputed*  by later history.

Over 250 years ago, a young knight of Clifton named Carolus received the ancient weapon from a mysterious stranger, which historians surmise was either Lucky Tor or even the lesser deity, St. Nobian. When he gripped the blade, he was imbued with a bright light and a religious zeal to guard and protect the Valley from danger. Over the next 20 years, he fought in many battles against Bugbears and bandits, keeping the land safe and fulfilling many quests. When a rumor of a dragon in the hills above Tradetown reached Carolus, he sought it out and disappeared into history.

The sword, however, resurfaced in the hands of a bandit chieftain a decade later, who turned to the side of Law, hunting down his former fellows, until, he, too, disappeared. Over the next 200 years, the sword has come and gone, usually vanishing for a dozen years or more after it's bearer takes on a foe more worthy than the holder. Many tales surround the sword, from only the pure may wield it, to the swordsman becomes infused with goodness, no matter their previous position.

The Sword of Carolus is a +1 Holy Longsword (1d8+2**). It can only be wielded by a Lawful person and acts as a Helm of Opposite Alignment for any who attempt to use it that are not originally Lawful. As a holy artifact of the Ashford Valley, the sword is priceless and very recognizable.

*One old story describes how the Bugbears, then a tribe of humans, convinced Lamiel to teach them swordcrafting and for many years were beloved by the god until they embraced Azrael the Evil One. They were cursed to becoming monsters but still retained their sword-making skills.

** The Bugbear Longsword does 1d8+1 damage and the +1 Holy feature adds to have it do 1d8+2 damage total.

[D20] G is for Games

The people of the Ashford Valley are industrious and serious. However, when it comes to games and play, they are just as serious about fun as they are about work.

Three common Ashford Valley games involve dice, coins and playing cards.

The dice game is called Odd-Even. In the game, a dealer puts 2 standard 6-sided dice into a cup, shakes it up and upends it on the table, with the final dice roll covered by the cup and hidden from the players. The player then bid, either against each other or against the dealer (if played in a gambling den), whether the dice roll is even or odd. After the bets are placed, the dealer reveals the roll and the winners take the bids.

The coin game is called The Emperor's Face. A player will hide a number of coins under his hand (or a box or plate), and the other players have to guess something about the coins - like the number present, or whether more heads or tails face-up, or type of coin, or even markings on the coin. Bets are made with the guess, success means the bet is doubled, failure means the bet is lost. Many players collect unusual coins or create them to add unusual features. This can be done with pretty much anything, including stones, dice and bones.

The playing card game is called Ivy. Each player bets an amount before the cards are dealt. Then each one gets five cards. If the value of the cards totals 49 or higher, or 11 or lower, then they cry out "Ivy!" and win double the amount bid. If no one gets Ivy, then the game devolves around the table with the players trying to form sets of three or four cards, of the same value or the same suit. These sets can be anywhere on the table. Each round, the players draw new cards. The first player who gets rid of all his cards cries "Ivy!" and wins.

[Aftermath!] GURPS Operation Morpheus, Session 7, Part 2

Session Seven: Part 2: "Life Will Go On" (June 6, 2104)

Important People: James (S), Bill (X), Bob (E), Alexis (C)

Important NPCs: Robbie the PolRob, Nasdaq the Robot, Miles Dayton, Rich Johnson, Amanda Hayes, John Ritter, Captain Adele Droblas, RAA Captain and SUR Commander, Lt. Mike Garrison, Uni Militia, Corporal Jones, and various other Uni Survivors.

After this big push to get supplies, the Groups are given free reign again to search on their own. With Group A going off to Electrical Engineering, Group B decides to tackle the Biochemistry & Microbiology Building.

Arming and securing supplies, James, Bill, Bob, Alexi, and the robots drive to Biochemistry in full bio-hazard gear and check out the building. Before entering, Bob insists on checking out the roof for the air system. If the air system is compromised, then the whole building may be contaminated with unknown diseases.

Climbing to the roof, the Group encounters two "Caretaker" robots, which they had seen at a distance. These monster robots challenge the Group and when Bob flashes his Gold/1 Military Key Card, they stand down and continue their surveillence.

Bob determines that the air system is ok from this end and figures that any bio-labs would be in underground bunkers. The Group enters the building and checks out the lobby map, looking for Dr. William Smithson. They find his office and explore it, but find nothing of interest, even his computer is just for paperwork. Any work that he did of a sensitive nature is probably on his lab computer. They figure out that there are five separate elevators to the bunkers below, and enter the central elevator.

The door opens and a group of SecRobs challenges them, calling for proper identification as well as the appropriate military key code or they will open fire. The Group closes the elevator door and retreats to the surface. This is the first time that a SecRob has asked for a specific military key code. Alexis asks Nasdaq if he knows the key code. Nasdaq explains that each building has separate control over their own SecRobs, that's what the program she is installing on each computer system is doing - linking the building computers to the UDC. But there are also robots that have been given security codes from their old (and long dead) human supervisors, security codes that are (probably) no records of, especially in the chaotic last days of the Ruin.

Abandoning the central elevator for the time being, the Group tries another elevator and enters a bunker level. They proceed to search the bunker level, and find several occupation rooms, some for military personnel, but most for science personnel. They manage to enter a vault foyer that has three vaults. They find nothing in the first vault. In the second are several refrigerators that contain a serum that could halt aging for a short time (5 years) with about 6-8 applications. In the final vault, there are two SecRobs, who ask them for valid identification and the appropriate security key code. The Group retreats again, not able to give the key code.

Puzzling over what to do about these SecRobs, they look at their clue again (Bob's note "Dr. W. J. Smithson, Plague Research, Breakthru?, Biochemistry, 3 PolRobs") and Alexis breaks into the building computer system.

End of Session Seven.

[My Collection] F is for FantasyCraft!

I'm a fan of D20. I hope that's obvious by now. So, even though I had a bad experience playing a demo game of FantasyCraft at GenCon 2008 (the GM was too railroady and the choices of PCs was very much an attempt to highlight the races and not really to show the system's goals), I still had to pick it up. I found it for a good price on ebay and got it a few weeks later in good shape. It's a nice book and all contained. A wide variety of races and classes, a bunch of other features for PCs, too. All very interesting.

So far, no reviews on RPG.net but a couple of "sell me on" threads that I found useful (1, 2). I'd like to play it again but not sure if I'd want to run it. Well ... maybe I'll run it. I'd definitely use it for my Ashford Valley campaign, as some of the features would work really well.

[D20] E is for Evil

The Ashford Valley has plenty of evil - the Necromancer, tribes of Bugbears in the forests, thieves in Sooton and bandits on the roads, even the Morlocks under the ground. But they aren't the only ones. There are deeper evils, more subtle evils in the Valley.

The Scions of Azrael are one such deeper evil. They are a cult who worship the demon-prince Azrael but their purview isn't death and destruction, it is corruption and temptation.

Only a few of the Scions, maybe a half-dozen or perhaps a few more than that, reside in the valley and they often hold positions of power and influence. Their ranks include rich merchants, skilled craftsmen, brave knights and even a holy cleric.

The holy cleric is Insidias, the High Priest to Angwish in Ashford town. He became corrupted a number of years ago and has so far been able to conceal his treachery. The other priests have no clue that he is evil as he uses his influence, with them as well as with others, very subtly. When he encounters an individual that may be of use to the Scions, he carefully grooms them, slowly leading them to corruption.

One young priest named Verum, however, has discovered his secret, quite accidentally. The priest is confused and has been trying to justify what he witnessed to convince himself that High Priest Insidias is not evil. Verum, however, has been receiving prophetic dreams from Angwish, warning him of the danger, that he is in as well as the Church. Insidias has learned of his liability and is formulating a plan to either kill, corrupt or discredit Verum. Can the PCs help? Or will the Scions of Azrael win?

[D20] D is for the Diocese of the Elven Woods

(A Paladin in Citadel had two posts (1, 2) on the Chapel of St. Michael d'Aiguilhe in Le Puy-en-Velay in France. It was so cool, I decided to steal it for my Ashford Valley setting).

In the center of the Ashford Valley, between the rivers Ash and Soot, sits the Elven Woods. This mysterious forest has been the home to elves for centuries, even before the humans settled the valley. When the valley was first settled over 300 years ago, the human leaders made a pact with the elves not to disturb their forest. The elves agreed that the humans wouldn't be filled with arrows and their settlements burned. In that way, the tradition of leaving the Elven Woods alone became a constant.

But very little is known of the Elven Woods or the elves that live there. Many areas around the valley have elves that aren't of that tribe and, while the elves of the Elven Wood are friendly, most other valley elves believe those elves are a bit ... odd and insular. Perhaps if they knew the truth, they'd feel differently.

A long time ago, some elves, fleeing a dragon or some other evil, stumbled upon the valley, which they called Vantumba (the fair, deep valley), and made it their home. The Elven Woods (Taurë) were larger then and they found plenty to keep them occupied. A mysterious basalt rock formation, standing 269 feet tall, was discovered in the wood. A twisting path of 268 rough stone steps lead to the top to a platform 187 feet across, where an ancient stone table, ringed by several Runestones, sat.

This stone needle intrigued them and they realized that the table bound some unknown demon or evil. Calling the basalt formation Barad'Craban (the Tower of the Crows) and the table Andofuin (Gate of Darkness) and unwilling to leave it to it's own devices, they cast many protection, binding and guarding spells. They set a guard on it and waited.

For years, they waited and watched, adding to the spells as they decayed in time, preventing anyone from approaching Barad'Craban, not sure of what they were guarding. Then humans started entering the valley. Keeping this danger secret was easy - the surrounding forest had shrunk in the intervening centuries but the trees had grown taller (amazingly, all the trees close to Barad'Craban refused to grow higher than six or so feet, despite repeated attempts to cultivate them by the elves), obscuring the tower.

When the humans and the elves of the wood interacted, it was at the borders of the Elven Woods, far from the tower and table. And so Barad'Craban was undisturbed.

Nearly 250 years ago, a party of monks appeared at the edge of the Elven Woods. These monks were Nobianites, followers of St. Nobian, a minor deity of protection and healing. Their leader, Prior Robert, had received a vision from his god, telling him to gather what followers he could and go to the Ashford Valley. At the border of the Elven Woods, the Prior met with the elven leaders. Long they spoke and unknown what was said, but for the first time in centuries, humans were allowed to enter the Taurë and approach the Barad'Craban.

The monks built a chapel and belltower on top of the basalt formation and took over guarding of the stone table. The Runestones were incorporated into the chapel to St. Nobian and over the years, as the monks aged and died, other clerics came through the wood, inspired by their god, to serve at the chapel.

The elves continued to guard the surrounding forest and provided the monks with needed sustenance. Several times a year, elvish sorcerers and monks would gather, the elves to cast spells of protection and the monks to bless the chapel. For the next two and a half centuries, the Chapel of St. Nobian thrived and the monks stayed true to their calling.

Every now and then, in Ashford Town proper and around the Elven Woods, a series of bells could be heard ringing. The priests and leity of the valley recognized the tunes as belonging to St. Nobian but no one could discover where they were coming from - not even the regular Nobianites. It just became another mystery of the valley.

Recently, a tragedy has struck. The feared day had come. A hidden doorway opened, into the depths of the Barad'Craban. The guardian monks have all been killed. And something evil is inhabiting the Chapel. The elves of the Elven Woods are frightened. All their preparations, as well as the prayers of the holy monks, has come to naught - who will enter this chapel, descend into the Tower of Crows and free the Diocese of the Elven Woods from this evil?

[D20] C is for Coin of the Dead

The Coin of the Dead is a magical coin that assures the dead a free path to paradise, no matter their sin. Looking like a common copper coin, the faces have the benevolent visage of Lamiel the Crafty on one side and a menaced goat surrounded by snakes on the other.

The coins appear at odd times and few recognize them for what they are, often spending them for trivial things. If one if found and recognized, however, it can command high value because it will wash clean any crime in the afterlife.

To be effective, the coin must be placed either in the mouth or on the left eye (Lamiel side up) on a corpse and the body must be buried in hallowed earth for three days without being disturbed. According to legend, if those requirements are met, the spirit of the dead will fool the guardians at the gates of paradise, thereby gaining entrance into those hallowed halls. Thereafter, the coin disappears.

If, however, the coin is removed during those three days, the spirit is recognized and (often) treated worse by the guardians. Some legends state that the coin becomes tainted with the failure and subsequent use leads to eternal damnation (another variation of the legend mentions that undead are created by interruptions to the ceremony). Even with that, the value of the coin is still worth enough that most graves are guarded for the three days to prevent theft.

[D20] B is for Bugbear Longsword

In the Ashford Valley, a Bugbear Longsword is a prized possession. Even though they are made by monsters, the swords are excellent - dealing 1d8+1 damage. Few owners, however, know the history of their particular blade.

Once upon a time, a primitive tribe of humans made a deal with the god Lamiel the Crafty. They would learn his craft of making in exchange for worship and servitude. Lamiel entrusted them with many secrets and over the years, the worship became less and the servitude became less as well. When they desired knowledge, Lamiel gave it willingly.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last. The humans delved deeply in knowledge, too deep, past Lamiel's understanding or even morality. And they discovered a new "god," Azrael, a demon-prince. And Azrael taunted them and tempted them, well past their morality and their trickery. Soon they were snared and bit-by-bit, Lamiel's teachings fell on deaf ears and the tribe turned away from him. They became twisted and evil, losing all the fine and widespread knowledge and only retaining the sword-making skill that Lamiel gave them. Thereafter, other tribes of men called them Bugbears.

The only pure thing from Lamiel that remains in Bugbears is sword-making. And few histories that have this knowledge also note that it is said the god Lamiel the Crafty smiles on Bugbears, as he did their forefathers, but only when they craft the finest sword.

[D20] A is for A to Z Blogging Challenge

This month, I'll be doing the April A to Z Blogging Challenge.  And I'll be continuing my D20 notes for my Ashford Valley setting from last December. I know it's kinda a cheat taking the A to be today, but that's the way I roll. Tune in tomorrow.