Bullets, Lies, and Open Skies

Game Master Eben al'Jol

A Firefly-esque dark fantasy steampunk game using Pathfinder variant rules.

Roll20

Credit: This game was inspired by (and will be shamelessly stealing content and story) from Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding.

Reference & Rule Docs


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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

Congrats! Welcome to the world, future gamer!


Elsie:
19/19, 18 AC Touch 14 FF 15, FS +5, RS +6, WS +2, Perception +5 (+7 adjacent to Ambrose)

Congrats! We're definitely still in.


Health:16 | Strain:0 | Injury:0

Woot! You're naming her Justine, right?

I'm in... but work is beating my ass right now.


I didn't specifically not name her Justine.

... if that takes the sting away, any.

I'll watch this space as I get a feel for when I can launch us back into the current scene. Hopefully the other players will trickle back to check in.


I'm still here. ;)

Congratulations!


Ambrose's pack wrote:
Congrats! We're definitely still in.

is this a 'we' as in Ambrose and his dogs? Or as in both Bauers bros?


Human Cavalier (Huntmaster) 3
stats:
HP: (28/28) AC 20 (FF 18, Touch 12) FS +6, RS +4, WS +4 (+2 vs fear and compulsion), Initiative: +2 Perception: +8 (+10 adjacent to Elsie)

That was Ambrose and the dogs, but DB is likely in too. He probably didn't see the update. Ill let him know.


Congrats! And still in. :)


Okay, so all we haven't heard from is Lekku. I'll reach out to him offline to see if he's still around/interested, though my guess is that he is.

I stil don't have a ton of time, but if you guys can put up with a slow-ish posting rate from me, I'm eager to get this thing rolling again.


Health: 7/17 | Strain: 10 | Injury: 0

Yeah, I'm still here. I'll make sure I'm checking the thread again, moving forward.


You've all been more than patient. I'm working towards an update. Possibly today, more likely some time this weekend.

I really appreciate your patience, folks. I hope we can get this thing moving again now that life is (slowly) returning to normal for me ... but bear with me. I still have a 2 week old at home.


Just bumping to see if I can catch everyone's attention. :)


Human Cavalier (Huntmaster) 3
stats:
HP: (28/28) AC 20 (FF 18, Touch 12) FS +6, RS +4, WS +4 (+2 vs fear and compulsion), Initiative: +2 Perception: +8 (+10 adjacent to Elsie)

Attention caught!


So I stil have a pilot? Good deal. ;D


Health:16 | Strain:0 | Injury:0

zzzzzzzzz... *snork* huh what?

:P


Mmmm ... unfortunately it looks like our Doc has been inexplicably pulverized while asleep.

... smart-ass. ;-)


Health: 7/17 | Strain: 10 | Injury: 0

Pip pip, and all that.


Is my show back on this weekend?

"take my love... take my land... "


Hey! it's the entire viewing audience! Good to see you.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

Yep, still here!


Health:16 | Strain:0 | Injury:0

Wha!? Who let the goblin in here?!


That's the thing about goblins ... they're impossible to keep out.


hp: 31/31 | Strain: 0 | Injury: 0

Here and ready to crack some skulls


So, my wife started bleeding after the birth ... which is why we have no update. Sleep has been rare, and I'm not exactly running on all cylinders. I hope you'll believe me when i say i'm as (or more) frustrated than you guys as it pertains to this game.

I remain hopeful, and I'd still like to get an update in soon. I hope you'll hang on a little longer. I promise this isn't some horrible test to see how long you guys are willing to stick around or anything.


Health:16 | Strain:0 | Injury:0

Yikes! Sorry to hear about your wife. I hope everything works out well.


Health: 7/17 | Strain: 10 | Injury: 0

Dotting.


Health:16 | Strain:0 | Injury:0

I'm going to be on vacation for about 10 days starting on Tuesday (7th). I'll try to post but I may not have the opportunity regularly. Feel free to bot me as needed.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

*loiters*


Health:16 | Strain:0 | Injury:0

*saunters past the loitering figure*


Health: 7/17 | Strain: 10 | Injury: 0

*Calls the authorities about suspicious characters who are loitering and sauntering about.*


Princess Bride wrote:

Inigo Montoya: You are ready then?

Man in Black: Whether I am or not, you've been more than fair.

You guys have been real chums to hang on so long … I hope I don’t kill you too quickly. :D


A few things.

First, I'm going to try to keep the Campaign Info tab updated with notable npc's and locations. Hopefully it can be a resource for you guys as the game progresses.

Second, the stats of the two ships are spoilered on that same tab. Given that it looks like you may just squeak out of this situations with your skins intact, I'd love for you guys to at least tentatively review your ships and the ship combat rules as it pertains to your character. You don't have to spend a ton of time, but I'd like you passingly familiar with how things should work.

Third, (not that the fight's over) but nice tag-team on those trullkin. Those guys were pretty tough ... then again, gatling gun.


Health:16 | Strain:0 | Injury:0

:) Fighting fair is a form of insanity... and I'm very very sane.

"Just like a trullkin... bringing a gun to a cannon fight."


hp: 31/31 | Strain: 0 | Injury: 0

Gah! Somebody do something! :)


Sorry, busy weekend. I'm going to try to update this afternoon.


Slow day on the boards.

Sovereign Court

Male Half Elf Gunslinger"Musket Master" lvl 8/ Inquisitor lvl 2

Dotting. To keep an eye on the Show


Health:16 | Strain:0 | Injury:0

Sorry, Eben. I though you were asking me to roll for holding in place/swinging to aim the gun as my move action and my landing would be this round. I was kind of thinking of trying to pull a Watchman and lay down cover fire, try to hover across from the wall opening, and open the door so the kids can jump in. I'm good with leaving things as is - with me smashing his rose bushes. If you'd rather stick with that then I'll just roll for covering fire.


Buuuuu.... that's no good. I'd rather you take the actions you'd prefer, especially when I'm in the middle of trying to kill your characters we're in combat. Let's retcon if necessary to take the actions you intended.

My notes in the spoiler were just to give you an idea of what your actions could be.

Everyone, moving forward, give me a heads-up if you're proactively posting ahead of NPC's and stuff.

Stormy, let me know what you'd prefer, either in here or in the game thread. Then go ahead and post your round 5 actions as well.


Archer Christifori wrote:
Dotting. To keep an eye on the Show

Shiny! Viewers!


I want to take a turn but I had class late today and couldn't get on roll20. I'm planning on posting after the kids are in bed.


Yup. Everyone should be up in round 5.

... and the possible retcon based on Stormy's feedback. Given that he's still out, if we don't hear from him by morning, I'll adjudicate his rd 4 based on what I think his intent was, and we'll move forward. It shouldn't hold you guys up, though, as you won't be able to get aboard the Kestrel this round one way or the other (unless someone can surprise me with something).


... or he posted while I was typing that.


I know dbauers has been busy lately, but for the sake of proactivity, if he's unable to post by tonight, either I or someone can pick his actions. (Boarding the Kestrel seems smart)


So here's what I'm thinking for the areas of the ship. Let me know what I'm missing.

Bridge: 2 seats. Pilot and co-pilot. Main forward gun (4d10) is controlled from Pilot’s seat. Bridge is small and narrow, big enough for 2 additional people to cram in behind pilot/co-pilot seats.

Forward gunner position: a quick drop from just behind the navigator’s seat on the bridge, this houses a secondary, swiveling nose gun (4d10). Getting in and out is a move action.

The Roost: top-side gunning and observation area. Accessible via ladder behind the bridge. Houses the biggest gun on the ship (7d10), which affords a surprising range of motion.

Galley: small area that acts as a common room and main run between the Cargo Bay and the forward sections. Has small, long table with swivel-seats. Kitchen area with heating range powered by the engines below.

Crew quarters: Ten small, individual crew quarters are packed and stacked into the front third of the ship underneath the Bridge. There are two levels, 4 up and 6 down, all accessible via a ladder, each with a hatch cover for privacy. They each have a wall-mounted bunk, a wall-mounted desk and swivel-chair, a combo closet/cabinet for personal effects, a small sink, a privy, and just enough walk space to get in and out. Six of them have portholes. The two at the front are substantially larger than the others, having originally been one single lower observation area that was converted by the crew a few months ago (in an effort to create some passenger rooms so they could make more money).

Engine Room: dominates the lower/mid section of ship. Incredibly cramped and heavily shielded in all directions.

Ballast Tanks: ballast tanks run the length of the ship, but the largest, main ballast tanks are on her flanks and mid-back.

Cargo Bay: dominates middle/back of ship; right behind/above engine room. Commonly houses the Bingo, repair gear, extra supplies, a few storage lockers (weapons, medical, etc) and any cargo that’s being carried. One corner has a community shower.

Dorsal Rear section: above/behind cargo bay. Accessible via ladders on both sides of main cargo bay door. Contains secondary cargo, power and aerum relay station, and some smuggling compartments.

Gilly-runs: The ship (both internal and external) is rabbit-warrened with little crawl spaces. It’s a comfortable (if snug) fit for Gilly to move through them (which she can do at full speed without squeezing), but medium creatures are forced to squeeze to move in/through them. Gilly has modified a number of them to work as secondary smuggler’s compartments. Externally, these gilly-runs take the form of lanes of basically ladder-rungs bolted onto the hull, giving an adrenaline-junky idiot Gizmo external access to vital parts of the ship while in-flight. She even usually uses a harness while climbing around in this manner.


Health: 7/17 | Strain: 10 | Injury: 0

Additional details Eben and I worked out offline:

Tow Cable: Attached via swivel mount to the starboard wall of the cargo bay, at the loading ramp. When the ramp is up, can be fired through an access port (murderhole). A similar mount and port are located in mirror positions to port.
 
 
          ~~~ Additional thoughts ~~~
Given the description of the distance from the cargo bay to the bridge, someone is going to have to burn at least one round getting close enough to shout to Doc. We should be able to shout info to each other, 'telephone' style (Me > Tiny > Gilly > Ambrose > Doc), in a single round. I'm sure this would be common practice with the crew by now, so I hope this won't be considered table-talk.


HP: 15/15 | Strain: 0 | Injury: 0 | Current AC: 16, Armor 2

re: the Gilly-runs

Gilly says EEEEE, you DO love her, big voice in the sky!


Gotta be some bennies to being a halfling mechanic on one of the few halfling-engineered aerships in the Realms, right? Glad you like it.


Callum Rhen wrote:

~~~ Additional thoughts ~~~

Given the description of the distance from the cargo bay to the bridge, someone is going to have to burn at least one round getting close enough to shout to Doc. We should be able to shout info to each other, 'telephone' style (Me > Tiny > Gilly > Ambrose > Doc), in a single round. I'm sure this would be common practice with the crew by now, so I hope this won't be considered table-talk.

I've been thinking about this, too. What you guys do in this immediate situation is up to you, but I'm thinking a ship even of this size would likely have a rudimentary communication tool for getting simple messages quickly from bridge to engine room and cargo bay. Given the tech level of the world, I don't really like the idea of an actual speaker system (even a rudimentary one with speaking horns and wires running from place to place). But I figure there could be something like you see on old WWII ships and subs. The pilot and co-pilot can both reach a big handle that has a half-dozen or dozen settings, labelled "Speed", "Engines Stop", and a handful of other 'messages' that could need to be delivered from bridge to engine room or cargo bay. Each setting has a corresponding colored light. When the pilot or co-pilot needs to send that message to the crew they slide the handle into the corresponding position, and the corresponding light is activated in bridge, engine room, and cargo bay. When no message needs to be sent, the lever is slid back to the default spot. And maybe there's even a similar handle in engineering which can quickly communicate back to the pilot if there are engine problems, though I'm guessing he and the co-pilot have any number of gauges an readouts to help him monitor that from the bridge.

Some ideas:

Bridge comms handle settings:
• Default (all the way down)
• Speed (push engines for more speed)
• Engines Stop (Cut engine output)
• What else?

Any other communication on-ship has to be done by someone running to within yelling range and ... well ... yelling. I also figure—given the proximity—you can effectively shout from the bridge to the Roost without having to abandon your post.

Love to hear everyone's thoughts. Is this needlessly complicated?


Health: 7/17 | Strain: 10 | Injury: 0

Two cans on a string? Kidding aside, I think some early ships IRL had the system you describe for communicating between bridge and engines, with the addition of piping that could carry sound. If you are looking for a period solution, I think this works, but if you prefer it without, that's cool. I assume any enemy we come across will have a similar handicap.

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