Are we done planning?
Is their any final decision on Arana's airlock approach?
If so, I would like to put up the start of the battle before I leave for my trip this Sunday.
Please post when your ready and I will carry on.
I believe we just needed....
"GM, I'm wondering what the quickest/easiest way to get to the reactor would be, especially in relation to other targets (like, an idea of what it's close to, what's on the way to it from the main hangar where we probably want to land, etc.)
Knowledge (tactics): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26"
" And I'd like to see about explosives to threaten their reactor. Do we have any?" The trooper looks at his CO, prepared to do whatever else it takes to requisition appropriate explosives.
Demolitions: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17
Profession (soldier): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
Checks to determine what explosives are needed and draft up the proper requisitions.EDIT: Also want to note that once Shanosuke answers my question above, I have something of a plan in mind.
to finalise our plans.
Actually, Karval, I got answers to those via PM and included that information in my final plan. I think the only thing we need to decide on is whether or not to try a space assault via airlocks.
I personally think it's risky. It'd have to be a small group, and presumably we'd want at least one PC with them. They'd need to move clandestinely, otherwise they'd be almost guaranteed to get massacred. And we'd need to time their attack to synch up with an inside one, unless we're trying to go for total surprise (which I don't think would work once we start a full-scale assault).
As interesting an idea as it is, I'm just not sure it's worth the risks. We're splitting up the group as is with my plan; I'm not sure we want to split it any more.
I think we should also decide who's going where. As I said, I'll head the group going to the Medical Center and Reactor. Zaleos I believe is staying back to support? Which leaves Karval, Darius, and Arana.
Cool, sorry I didn't realise. :)
Yep, the external/exterior assault could be very risky.
I would have to agree with Janitor on the external assault idea. Not sure if it is worth the risk, especially if there are DarkSiders aboard, as Zaelos fears. My recommendation is to hold a team in reserve, and if things go south we can try it. If things are that desperate then yeah the risk would be justified.
Zaelos is staying aboard the command ship, as he can use his noble class abilities to assist the others with their die rolls. (Although I am certain Zaelos is going to run into something as well, he he.)
This imperial faction does not have the dark Malaki. That was Night's manipulation. The dark sider who was once on the ship was long gone when you guys had arrived. While it is possible there could be a dark sider on board, it is unlikely.
I just want you guys to remove the dark malaki from the tactics. They just aren't a factor in all this.
Darius would volunteer to lead the external team, if needed. But, he would follow whatever orders were given.
Okay I need you guys to wrap up planning soon. I am getting bored and impatient and I do mean things to players when that happens. So, Here is what I am seeing.
Arana got a higher score on Tactics for assaulting the command deck but Janitor rejected the idea.
Darius was volunteering to lead the spacewalk assault on the command deck but was ignoredand put on the environmental systems which no body legitimately knows the strategic value of.
Zaleos is staying to command the destroyer which is a smart move. Always good to have some eyes in the sky.
Janitor is assaulting the reactor
Karval has placed himself in the team moving to take the command deck.
Aranna is set to go after the environmental systems
And Taggard has not been assigned.
Once you have confirmation from Arana and a place for Taggard to go I will start this thing.
Well my suggestion wasn't ignoring Darius. Just as Arana asked we don't know if we even have protective suits for space. If we can access the command centre easily from outside, if we can co-ordinate it with a internal assault & if the suits can survive even small arms fire.
I was trying to take some sort of charge, but if we want to discuss the merits of an exterior assault? And if Darius wants to take it. Personally I'm apprehensive of splitting up so much, last time Nichos died :(
But if Darius wants to co-ordinate the attack with Karval then Arana can liaise with Taggard for the Environmental assault?
I'm not overtly rejecting Arana's plan--I just think there are a lot of risks involved that don't seem to counterbalance the possible benefits of it. I'm also leery of splitting up the party too much, and I'm assuming that we'd want a PC leading that group. As for rolls, I don't like to metagame--I didn't even take her rolls into consideration.
A space assault could be neat, but it's also extremely risky. One or two bad rolls and you could be totally done for... and there's no "Get over there and revive him" in space. Very little room for error.
Taggard should go with the Command Center team in my mind. There isn't a huge chance of there being many Darksiders on board, but if there are one or two he could be instrumental in combating that. He's also presumably the best commander of the Malakai forces, which will be nice in what's probably going to be the biggest fight on the station.
And of course, we all need to have our comlinks on the same channel.
Taggard, Zaleos, and Arana can in fact confirm there are no Darksiders on board.
Splitting the party will incease chances of success overall.
Keeping the party contained will increase the assaults difficulty.
I cannot explain how but it has to do with player control
Sorry if I seemed pushy and irritable. Just anxious to get this battle started.
How about then Taggard go with Arana, since him and Karval are nominally the 2 Commanders of the boarders. Then Darius takes some troops on the risky pincer movement with Karval?
Arana will have some reinforcement in Taggards' ability, Karval can come and help Darius if he gets into trouble?
As a player, I'm fine with the exterior risk and it would be something my character would be willing to do.
The character sees himself as the new low ranking guy and is not going to push any specific approach but will follow instructions given. If someone asks if anyone is willing to lead the exterior assault, knowing the danger, he would agree to do it...assuming we had all the appropriate tools and equipment.
The exterior attack appeals to Arana's own experience being a guerrilla fighter on Dathomir, but having the other viewpoints explained, she gets that the risk may be too great. She's ok with taking on the environmental systems... if Taggard is there, so much the better, she'd learn from him.
And Shanosuke, don't apologize. Feel free to give us a zap with the cattle prod anytime you need to :)
About the transmission, I'll just play this as the character didn't think through sending the radio transmission. As the player, I wouldn't have had the character send it if I had known it had the potential to give away his position but I didn't know that so I'm just going to run with it since it has been seen by others.
As you all are probably able to tell, a lot of this battle depends solely on the PCs leadership. Even if you aren't normally the leader type, it is going to be part of big battles like this one.
In this battle, splitting the party means success. The more you divy up, the better groups will do. Groups without a PC will suffer greatly.
For example. There are no PCs leading the pilots. The pilots as a result will perform poorly. A major drawback. The space battle will benefit from the hanger being held as will the rest of the boarding team but if the hanger falls back into enemy hands, both will suffer.
There are many paths I will offer you all and it will be up to you, to at least try and predict MY logic, and make the right choices. This battle can be lost even without player deaths.
I will continue to put subtle hints and signs as to possible ideas on how to gain an advantage and what to avoid. It is not metagaming if you can read into "hunches" and use knowledge your character might not have as a passing fancy.
there is another example I will enlighten you all of later when it has passed.
There is also room for player creativity. Arana came up with a clever tactic that will immensely aid her teams progression. Do not feel limited to the demands of the initial scenario, I have in no way thought of everything and you all could very well come up with something good.
With that said, we have a lot of battle to go and if you want to win this, then now you know what to look for.
Darius please check your PM. I sent you a message and I'd like you to post before I get home from work
Sorry, I didn't have the opportunity to review and post until just now.
You guys are doing AMAZING with posting frequency. When I got up this morning I hadn't expected to be able to post right away. Good work everyone. This is by far the best PBP group I have ever had.
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Pretty much one of the best campaigns I've had the pleasure to participate in . Great story you've got created Shanosuke, can't wait to see how it goes from here :)
Shanosuke, is there a spoiler for Zaelos in your last post?
........yeah......but where is it? What happened? Ugh. I'll post it again. There really wasn't anything you could do though.
In the short time I've been a part of this campaign, this has been a very engaging and exciting game the play.
The suspense is killing me... :)
I know, I am waiting to see if Zaleos has anything to say. He can't physically do anything but he has a comm. I'll wait till later this evening but I will have to move us along then. This is too good to suddenly slow down now.
Hey, just want to let everyone know that I'm going to be away until Saturday--off to intern at a summer camp for the week. Please GMPC me as needed! In combat, Janitor's just mostly going to stay in/move between cover and fire at the enemy with his carbine, not hesitating to gun-club them as needed.
So, I'll be away from sometime on Thursday to Monday. I'm going to a music festival - there's little chance of me having internet access. Sorry for leaving at such a crucial time - but feel free to GMPC me too.
Karval are you back yet?
Yep, had a great time. Thanks for asking and sorry to hold up proceedings.
Cool, welcome back, glad you have fun. This game is rocking.
So, as far as new character concepts in case we get blow'd up go...
What do people think? It seems that the party could use a scoundrel-type character, and/or a new technician. But I'm up for anything. Right now I have no real strong plans.
Sorry guys, I've been a bit tied up. I'll try to read through and post something by tomorrow night. Don't worry about waiting for me if we need to move forward. I'll fill in the gaps in my post.
Theoretically, Darius can... He is not trained in his force use so I am trying to play it as spontaneous. He unwittingly uses the force when something really matters to him or in times of stress when it can aid him, as opposed to a planned effort to push people. As a character, he would have no problem trying to manipulate them. I just don't think I can role play him using the ability in a situation he doesn't feel strongly about until he has some training in it.
Karval, this cracks me up. I was going to take the reverse position. That they were our property as spoils of war and if they wanted them they should buy them from us...
I was getting ready to post a question asking the empire and Chiss' position on slavery.
Apologies.... but actually feel free to cut in with that position. As Darius' a Soldier he'll know more about that stuff. Karval's turning into a bit of a bleeding heart liberal.
:P
Hmmm, Darius shouldn't have been able to use Friendship, only force using classes can assign ranks to it and its a trained only skill....so, the Admiral's attitude should not have been affected by his attempt :) That is if Shanosuke is willing to retcon ;D
I thought the three I have ranks in are the only 3 that you can use without being in a force class.
I'm new to the system. If I'm doing something wrong, let me know.
So long as you are Force Sensitive, you should be able to use those 3 skills.
Ah I see, yeah you're right, if you have force sensitivity, you can use those three skills. However, friendship is listed as Trained only. Wonder if this is a typo? Most force sensitives wouldn't have had any training.
I think we need a ruling here , Shanosuke.
Yeah, I could see why it'd be Trained only since it's actively modifying behaviour.
Of course, whether training has to be actively sought out and taught - or whether by being force sensitive you can train others through repetition of the skill and innate charisma is upto Shanosuke.
I took that as you have to have ranks in it. Some of it could be from an inherent skill... When the PC was created, the GM gave me a limit on ranks I could put in those skills. I assume that was from a lack of formal training.
Cool. Learn something new everyday :)
I just wanted to let you all know we are about halfway through Saga one.
After Bakura there will be three more major battles before we complete this saga. At the end of every saga their will be a time jump and you will have an opportunity to learn the force.
You aren't required to learn the force if you are happy with your positions and classes but you will at least be asked to do so.
I just wanted to say you guys are excellent posters and have done a great job of keeping this moving. It is highly likely we will reach saga two soon.
Between each saga will be a few years of down time where your characters will write out a short story of what they have been doing in that time. Then the following saga will pick up later.
Saga four is a unique one as it is 35 years into future from this point. Your characters will either be wise, old, and powerful force masters, or you will pick up the game as your children or some new recruits.
I actually believe that if we keep this pace up, we will reach that point one day soon. Keep up the good work, you guys are great.
Retcon what I said previously. I made a mistake in character creation. He has no ranks in any force based skills... No attempts were made to use the force.
Looks like we may have succeeded. :)
Saga four is a unique one as it is 35 years into future from this point. Your characters will either be wise, old, and powerful force masters, or you will pick up the game as your children or some new recruits.
Firstly, I'd like to say that this is an awesome idea. Secondly, I'm putting out right now that Janitor will probably be replaced when we get to this stage (assuming he's still alive by then). I'm not certain of how long clones can live, but I'd imagine by then he'd be up there.
I just wanted to let you all know we are about halfway through Saga one.
After Bakura there will be three more major battles before we complete this saga. At the end of every saga their will be a time jump and you will have an opportunity to learn the force.
You aren't required to learn the force if you are happy with your positions and classes but you will at least be asked to do so.
I just wanted to say you guys are excellent posters and have done a great job of keeping this moving. It is highly likely we will reach saga two soon.
Between each saga will be a few years of down time where your characters will write out a short story of what they have been doing in that time. Then the following saga will pick up later.
Saga four is a unique one as it is 35 years into future from this point. Your characters will either be wise, old, and powerful force masters, or you will pick up the game as your children or some new recruits.
I actually believe that if we keep this pace up, we will reach that point one day soon. Keep up the good work, you guys are great.
I was excited before by the future of this campaign...even more so now.
NOTE: This message has been copied and pasted to all groups.
Sorry I have had issues with posting over last night and today.
I suffered an Asthma attack the other day and I have been worn out since.
I haven't been up for posting all day. I hope to be better and back to normal posting tomorrow. Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely Shanosuke.
Wow, so sorry. Hope you're feeling better and thanks for letting us know.
I'll try to get more posts up, but over the last week I've had two face-to-face games reach conclusions (1 quite disappointingly) which has held up my posting.
That's more than ok , Shanosuke.
My wife has asthma as well, so I know only too well how it can know you down.
Take care of yourself and we'll be here.
Stay healthy. That is the priority.