Children of Gaia, PbP

Game Master Tarren Dei

June 20, 2085, Outside of Barstow, California

The message from RAIN said to meet at the diner next to the only a recharge station outside of Barstow, in what used to be California. It also said you would be infiltrating a convoy heading to a refugee camp and to dress appropriately.

The recharge station is eight lanes, but all of them are empty in what looks like it used to be a big box store parking lot. There are vehicles on the edges of the parking lot, but they look like they were abandoned there.

The desert behind the recharge station is shiny and black with solar panels fastened to concrete beds heavy enough to hold them down should a tornado pass. It is the only recharge station for miles on this stretch of highway between the Rocky Mountains Region and the Rio Grande Recovery Area. Travelling this route also keeps you well south of the absolute nightmare that was once Las Vegas.

At the coordinates given, there are two diners, side by side, one called Peggy's and one called Penny's. By the state of disrepair that Penny's is in, it's a safe bet the meet-up is in Peggy's; at least Peggy's has a roof.

The sign outside Penny's says "Jesus Saves." The sign outside Peggy's says "chickenwaffles" on one row, all one word, and, then, on the next row "$" with no amount specified.

How would your character have gotten here? Hitch-hiking? Old hoverbike? Stolen hovercar (Engineering check)? Get dropped in over the ridge by a RAIN military vehicle and hike there? Describe your arrival to check into the game thread.

Other than an android in an apron behind the counter, Peggy's is empty.

A black, unmarked van drives into an underground garage about five blocks away from the meeting point. The doors open up and Friedrich von Junzt is “gently” pushed outside by men in heavy armor. “Alright, von Junzt. You’ve been briefed and you know the drill. Move your ass to the meeting point and make nice with your new RAIN pals. Until this is over, you’re their dog.” summarizes the leader of the group, as he tosses a pack of cigarettes to the floor. “This is to help you get in character. Don’t mess up again, von Junzt. There is no strike two with us!”. The door slams shut and chuckles can be heard as the vehicle drives away.

Von Junzt lights up a smoke as he sits down by a pile of garbage, giving himself a generous break, making sure nothing else is hiding down in the garage with him. Once it’s over, he gets out and starts walking towards the meeting point. On the way, he tries different postures, going through a cowardly stance, cocky attitude, friendly vibe… he decides on a mixture of high self-confidence and friendliness.

He enters Peggy’s, sits by the counter and starts working on the android. “Coffee, sugar. Black. How’s business? Good? I like the atmosphere you got here. Miles better than your competition”, von Junzt points casually to Penny’s. “The name is von Junzt, I’m from Berlin II. What is your name?”

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

He enters Peggy’s, sits by the counter and starts working on the android. “Coffee, sugar. Black. How’s business? Good? I like the atmosphere you got here. Miles better than your competition”, von Junzt points casually to Penny’s. “The name is von Junzt, I’m from Berlin II. What is your name?”

Could you describe von Junzt, as there is no avatar?

The android jerks a thumb at a hand scrawled sign that says "No coffee. We have Cawfee(TM)." Cawfee is the powdered-mushroom coffee substitute. He replies to von Junzt's question dryly, "Name's Peggy. It's on the sign out front."

The walk from the dropoff point had been quick. Archeron scanned the environment, looking for hidden predators, but had hustled the whole way, only stopping once the station was in sight.

Archeron wore dirty, ripped jeans, a zipper hoodie, and a OD army field jacket over that. He had a pack on his back that hung over one shoulder instead of two and his dirty engineer's boots were well used.

He walked into Peggy's, then stopped short and gave the guy trying to flirt with an android a quizical look before taking a seat in a booth.

A hooded, trench coated figure walks oddly along the road. Their gait suggests that they have an abnormal step. Brief glimpses of their feet reveals that they are far from human. they are something paw-like. The back of the trench coat bulges around the waist area and the figure has on a pack that looks like it was pulled out of a dumpster.

The figure slowly walks up to the diner's door, pulls their overly large hood lower, and opens the door. The figure stands at around six and a half feet tall and the hand that opens the door seems like some mix between a human and a frog. It has four fingers with the middle two unevenly elongated. As soon as they open the door, a wave of odor assaults the nostrils of all those who are in the establishment. It is a horrific amalgamation between wet dog and intense body odor.

Without a word, the figure moves to an empty booth and flops down on the seat. They laboriously slide to the opposite end and lean tiredly against the wall.

The android doesn't move to serve the two customers nor to ask them what they ordered.

"That's three," he says to himself.

A little ways off, an old junker of a truck, back filled with oddities and ends pulls up. Stepping out, is a tall man with obviously dyed purple hair, near lavender atop, darker shades lower. Covered in an obviously worn duster, loosely open. The only apparent tool upon his person is an old beat up flare gun, and if one looks close enough, the odds and ends that make up his custom med kit scattered around his attire. Upon his back was an old worn bag that looks mainly empty, looking soft to the touch, perhaps filled with bedding material.
Slapping the back end of the truck to signify to the driver the man calls out, “I’m glad I could help you with that leg and some of the spar parts. Thanks for the ride old timer. Just remember, Step-don’t twist, your leg needs time to heal.”

Taking note of the two sets of signs, “….How sanitary could food be out this way? ..Not that I have the credits for anything really. Maybe they’ll be sick from the food and I can trade a checkup for a meal.” Entering Peggy’s diner, takin the sight in-and the other fellows within and thinks to himself ‘…There were suppose to be team members, are these it? Was there a password? I really should have asked-or maybe I should stop accepting calls when I’m still mostly asleep… Ah, an android.. So, medical care for food is probably out.’

Waving hello to the Diner staff, smelling what was left behind by the hooded figure, and making note to try and scan that person for some kind of long term illness in the future. Zellgato sits down and ponders if they have a menu-and what the cheapest item would be. If we’re early or keeping cover, sitting here staring at a wall not eating isn’t a great start.
[

Hearing the other Android speak, Archeron takes not and begins looking around the room at the tactical options.

Szreem reviews the message from RAIN as their vehicle approaches the drop-off point, then hides their weapons on their person. They've been in the form of an unremarkable middle-aged man for the past few hours, a face they've constructed over a while to be forgettable. The man gets out of the car and walks on the road until he reaches the diners. Deciding Peggy's seems a more likely meeting place and hearing a few voices from inside, he enters the building. He wears cheap, frayed, loose clothing under a thick coat, and stays quiet, leaning against a wall and watching the others.
Sleight of hand to conceal weapons: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31
Disguise using change form: 1d20 + 13 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 13 + 10 = 30
Pretty good rolls to start a game with, that's encouraging. :)

Archeron takes note of the new entry by says nothing.

"That's five boss," the concealed figure croaks. Their voice has a regular pitch, but a croaking aspect that is grating on the ears. They shift slightly, the open part of the hood now facing the android. "Your the boss right?" they continue once more, "You've assembled a merry band of misfits I can only assume. Whatcha want from us circuit-for-brain?"

Von Junzt is a 30-something man, with average looks but stunning dark eyes and a smile that can draw attention from the entire room. He has dark hair and is just under 6 ft. tall. He's wearing a ragged old suit with a winter coat on top, also pretty beaten up.

"Looks like it's going to be a busy night, huh Peggy? A bit of a rough crowd - your usual customers? Nobody's ordering.", he comments, taking a sip of his cawfee.

Hearing the other Android speak, Archeron takes not and begins looking around the room at the tactical options.

** spoiler omitted **

You could gather information that anyone is releasing from their various devices. You could also get information from an increasingly falsified internet. Peggy's about to lock down outgoing communications though.

"That's five boss," the concealed figure croaks. Their voice has a regular pitch, but a croaking aspect that is grating on the ears. They shift slightly, the open part of the hood now facing the android. "Your the boss right?" they continue once more, "You've assembled a merry band of misfits I can only assume. Whatcha want from us circuit-for-brain?"

"I'm not the boss," replies 'Peggy.' "I'm not even in the company anymore."

"Looks like it's going to be a busy night, huh Peggy? A bit of a rough crowd - your usual customers? Nobody's ordering.", he comments, taking a sip of his cawfee.

"We don't usually have any customers," says the android.

"Gentle- ...Gentlepeople, you all know why you're here. Or, well, you might. I don't. No one tells me anything. Forget it," says 'Peggy.' He flicks a button behind the counter and a faint hum starts. He hands the remote control for the diner's video screens to von Junzt saying only "Any channel" and, then, heads out the door.

The android takes a cigarette out of a pack in his apron, leans against the wall of the diner near the door, and begins to smoke outside.

as that is smoking somewhat near Zellgato.
While being a bit relieved he doesn't have to scroung for cover food, is also disappointed that he didn't get a free meal. As the android starts to smoke, Zellgato clicks on his enviromental suit, and clicks his Microlab to note if the smoke is anything but normal cig smoke.

Giving the android a shrug emphesizing the 'Eh lung cancer yakno?' idea, and sits back to watch the video.

physical science+4circ via Chemalyzer Microlab: 1d20 + 11 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 11 + 4 = 27 to confirm its just normal smoke-as opposed to something odd.
sleight of hand to activate it while he's activating his enviro suit. Just for flare/less obvious: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

The android is smoking outside, so I'm not sure how well the chemalyzer will detect it, but it is normal smoke.

"Gentle- ...Gentlepeople, you all know why you're here. Or, well, you might. I don't. No one tells me anything. Forget it," says 'Peggy.' He flicks a button behind the counter and a faint hum starts. He hands the remote control for the diner's video screens to von Junzt saying only "Any channel" and, then, heads out the door.

The android takes a cigarette out of a pack in his apron, leans against the wall of the diner near the door, and begins to smoke outside.

"Have a good smoke, Peggy", von Junzt says, watching as the android leaves.

He stands up, holding his cup of cawfee and approaches the largest screen of the establishment. "Alright, everyone, amateur night is over. Put a lid on it and let's watch some TV". He turns it on and increases the volume until it overwhelms the place.

It's around this point that a backfiring, ramshackle truck pulls up to the point. The truck rocks on its suspension as a huge (okay, largish) black furred bear gets out of the back.

"Gracias vecinos. ¡Manejen con cuidado!" The bear says in posh Spanish before turning and surveying the scene as he lifts a backpack out of the back of the truck and nods to the driver. At that point the truck drives away.

At first glance the bear appears to be dressed casually. On top of the largest pair of cargo pants you have ever seen is an over-sized t-shirt which appears to have the phrase "Can't we hug it out?" written on it.

A slightly sharper look immediately determines that odd reflections on the clothing are indicative of clear body armor which must be worn over this clothing.

Walking over to the location with the smoking android, the bear nods and enters the cafe.

Walking over to the location with the smoking android, the bear nods and enters the cafe.

The android snorts derisively as Gristlethorn passes through the door. This took some work for him to do as he doesn't seem to have been designed to snort derisively.

"Late. When I was on the job, I was never late for a briefing. Not one bloody time. Does it make a diff-" The closing of the door cuts off 'Peggy's' complaint.

The screens light up and a man's silhouette comes into focus on the screen, bright light of a setting sun stream through the window behind him.

Someone skilled in Geography could figure the rough location of the man on the screen based on this and the time of day where you are. He's east of the Appalachians, you can tell that.

"Good. Everybody's hear," says the man in a somewhat gravelly voice.

"Apologies for that." Gristlethorn says with a slight bow. "Would have been here sooner, but finding a ride heading in this direction turned out to be trickier than even I was expecting."

In a much quieter voice. 'Next time if you want the large bear to be on time provide a ride.'

Szreem's eyes widen slightly when the bear comes through the door. They'd interacted with Uplifted before, but seeing one as a teammate for an infiltration mission was a first. Seems RAIN's tapping some non-traditional people to do this, myself included. Must be something important.
When the TV flickers on, Szreem stops leaning on the wall and stands up, focus on the man in the screen.

As the group filed in an the Android behind the counter filed out, Archeron stood and began removing his clothing.

First, he unzippered his jacket and hoodie and then pulled off his shoulder holster which contained a pistol, revealing his android torso. He then opened his travelling pack and pulled out a metal case and parts of armor, the breastplate of which he donned once he was just down to a plain white T-Shirt Hello, Delilah!.

He next removed his engineer boots and jeans and replaced them with the armored pants that were neatly folded inside his pack. Finally he swapped out his boots for a pair of dark reinforced combat boots.

As the TV flickered to life, the android opened the metal case and began to assemble some sort of longarm.

Throughout this he worked efficiently, with little wasted movement.

"OH!" the figure exclaims, "A robo-stripper!" Now this is classy!"

"Ooohhh!" the hooded figure says sarcastically waving their hands slightly a few times in front of them after the image speaks. The waving brought the sleeves of the trench coat down to the elbows and revealed their arms. It was an unnerving mix between frog and human, complete with a solid green tint. "Is that going to be it major obvious?" they say to the screen, their croaky voice still grating on ears. In a way that just makes you wince slightly. "I mean, you appear on a screen and the best intro you can think of is 'Good. Everybody's here.'" halfheartedly trying to imitate the gravelly voice. "You've got the setup for ominous with the whole silhouette thing. Something like 'I'm none of your business. Here's the mission..'. Now all I expect is for you to start reading the news. You got more to say Walter Cronkite?"

While waiting for the gravelly voiced man to continue, Zellgato takes some time in his seat, to review the basics of bear biology. Not a species he had to patch up that often in the past. Better to make note of unique interactions with his serums.

Grisslethorn nods to the group and puts his backpack on the ground. He remains standing, however, but leans casually against a wall instead.

“Yes, sir, we are all here. One might say, “the circus has come to town”. When you contacted my people you said this was an infiltration, which requires finesse - but it seems you have recruited the rest of the crew from a radioactive wasteland or a bankrupt warzone. Sir. Please enlighten us - are we going to a refugee camp, or an insane asylum?”, von Junzt pontificates, looking around the room and smiling at his colleagues. “Calm down, you bunch of murderers. Let’s hear what our busy host has to say - he couldn’t show up in person, but at least the transmission is live. I suppose”, he finishes his cawfee.

Arching his eyebrow at the commentary, "You've never been to a war refugee camp, or a tent city have you then? But yes, I agree, lets listen."

The man on the screen coughs again, takes a drink of water, and says, "Oh, my. So, can everyone see me? No? Should I adjust the lighting? LIGHTS ON ... LIGHTS ON ... Just a second." The man leaves the chair and the room brightens and the shades descend. He sits back down. "There we are. Now everyone can see everyone. Great."

"Glad you all could make it. Any problems finding the place? No? Excellent."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Zellgato puts on a business smile and watches, and internally groans a bit.
But perhaps if all goes well, maybe in the future a useful contact. Depending on if this is his intention, or if he's just a useful kindly middleman.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Szreem shakes his head no in response to the man's question. He wears a patient smile on his face, though they seem slightly impatient with a closer look, as his foot taps the floor slightly.

"I'm not going to ask you to go around the room and introduce yourselves. You will have lots of time to get to know each other. We've got a problem and we need some people we can trust to take care of it and, gentle-people, you're it!"

He pauses and looks at his notes, "In about 30 minutes a convoy of food and medicine is going to stop to recharge at the pylons across the road from where you are. It will be heading to ARIZ-29, a refugee camp in the Rio Grande Recovery Area. We would like you to join the convoy and travel with it to the camps. Let me show you why."

He pauses and presses a few buttons and then a few more and then asks someone for help. Someone comes over and helps, but stays out of camera view. The screen goes dark and then a video appears of a man preaching to a large crowd in what looks like a refugee camp. A woman stands behind him and another man stands at his side. They are dressed in white and, in the bright desert sun, are practically shining. The man waves a datapad over his head while he preaches. People seem to be distributing food from baskets in front of him.

The video continues to play, but Mr. New Washington talks over it, "The Regional Authorities cannot be seen to be interfering in freedom of religion right now. We are committing to gradual restoring Democratic rights to all. However, this cult or religious group is spreading fast. They seem to have started here, but have already spread to other camps and nearby towns. We sent two RAIN agents to investigate. After several weeks, they did not report back in. You can see them standing on stage beside him now. We believe they have been converted to this belief system, whatever it is."

"We wouldn't normally send six people on an infiltration mission, but we do not understand what we are dealing with. We cannot afford another Nevada 7 type incident. If this group is dangerous, we will need to respond. Questions?"

"Perhaps you should specify mission parameters and success/failure conditions?" said Archeron without bothering to look up from his work.

"Perhaps you should specify mission parameters and success/failure conditions?" said Archeron without bothering to look up from his work.

** spoiler omitted **

I intended to answer in saying... "You could gather information that anyone is releasing from their various devices. You could also get information from an increasingly falsified internet. Peggy's about to lock down outgoing communications though." This is to say you can try to get information about people after 'Peggy' allows outgoing transmissions.

I think this could be a lot of fun though ... since you're basically searching online for stuff about the other PCs, I'll let them tell you what you find. It may not be something they would want found. But, that's after the mission briefing when you can get online.

"Perhaps you should specify mission parameters and success/failure conditions?" said Archeron without bothering to look up from his work.

"Excellent question!" says Mr. New Washington. "Well, if the RAIN agents you see in the video have not been compromised, but have gone off mission for some other reason, provide them with assistance as necessary. If this organization is dangerous enough to justify an incursion into the camps, we will need irrefutable evidence of this. Get that evidence, get out, and get it back to your contact at the diner."

"I've got a question as well.--Did the previous two agents have any specialties in particular? It might lend us a heads up advantage to know."

Lol we cross-posted Tarren.

Hearing the actual mission, Archeron immediately stops what he's doing and begins to backtrack. He disassembles the half-finished weapon and returns it to the case. He then quickly removes his armor and redons his clothing, in the exact opposite way that he put it on: pants and boots first, then replacing his tactical armor with his holster, hoodie, and jacket. He then repacks his pack before finally raising his eyes and looking at the screen.

"I've got a question as well.--Did the previous two agents have any specialties in particular? It might lend us a heads up advantage to know."

"Agent Rena is an extrapath. She can project her emotions onto other people, calming them, making them happy. It allows her to manipulate people by changing how they feel while she talks."

"Agent Burns is an engineer. He was sent under the cover of repairing the water capture and filtration system."

"If the woman has been turned, that might make things rather difficult." Archeron noted off-handedly.

"In 30 minutes! Really? Wow...the planning could have been a bit better..Also," the figure pauses slightly to turn to the android, "Ya' think? I'm glad to know that you can at least make it as a stripper."

The figure scoots along the booth seat and then stands up. They take their hands and push back the hood. It is hard to say what the most disturbing thing about this being. One would argue that the overly wide mouth with the seemingly squashed face, giving it a half frog-like feel. Or the strange donkey ears protruding on each side of the head. It holds up its hands in placation. "I know, I know. I look like some gene spliced pincushion...because I am. But, that's gonna make me fit in. All you fancy faces, your on your own. I get things done, don't get in my way." With that, he walks out of the diner.

After exiting the diner IX climbs into the remains of Penny's and finds a spot to sleep.

“Off goes the Frog Prince, still waiting for the kiss that will release him from his curse…” comments von Junzt, a bit introspective.

“Alright, Sir, let’s make this brief”, he starts enumerating his questions holding just as many fingers:

“First, is this convoy collecting stragglers along the way to the camp? Or should we sneak into the vehicles while they are stationary? Are they guarded, with security forces and or technological barriers?”

“Second, how far away from here is that refugee camp? Is it guarded better than the convoy? Why not just walk into the camp as refugees?”

“Third, should we extract your other agents? Do you have some secret handshake that will identify us as fellow employees from RAIN?”

“Fourth, how much murdering are you expecting for this mission? The Frog Prince doesn’t strike me as much of a negotiator, and Papa Bear might make blonde little children run away in fear.”

“Fifth, what kind of assistance can we expect if the mission is compromised? If we get captured, will you negotiate our ransom? Perhaps sent another team after us?”.

“Sixth. What is actually going on? Sir.”

Zellgato sighs-out loud this time. It was his choice but sometimes he misses his old group. Taking out his note pad and begins taking notes of the questions and answers. Apparently someone is too cool for school-or in this case, breifings.

"For the record, I'd love to avoid wanton murder. That's why I'm not in the military. If they're a@~%$~@s who are actually hurting folks? Sure. But a random caravan guard doing his job, less so."

"Excuse me,"[b] Gristlethorn interrupts the human, [b]"But little children absolutely love me. The problem is usually the opposite, it's hard to shake the cubs off when I do something they shouldn't be a party to."

Gristlethorn nods to Zellgato. "Agreed. Good guards are hard to find these days....well I suppose a 'good' anyone is hard to find these days. We need to save as many as possible and encourage them to breed into the population."

Looking over at the screen Gristlethorn addresses 'Mr. New Washington.'
Sense Motive w/Expertise: 1d20 + 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (7) + (4) + 5 = 16
"Do we know anything about the cult's belief system? I'm assuming its not something along the lines of 'kill all the freaks' or you would have picked a different team."

Gristlethorn's online presence is relatively light, or rather very little of it is self-authored. You do gather that he was relatively recently promoted from a diplomatic attache to full diplomat, but the reasons why varies from source to source. Options include things like a daring talk-down of a hostage situation, negotiating water rights with indigenous tribe, and eating his previous superior.

Gristlethorn's own profile shows that he really likes to play card games (represented by the gaming kit he carries) but professes not to be a great player. (This is contradicted by many of the comments, which vary between 'he's a card shark' to 'Always let the bear win.') He's also very popular with the ladies, as about half the people who follow him are female.

"In 30 minutes! Really? Wow...the planning could have been a bit better..Also," the figure pauses slightly to turn to the android, "Ya' think? I'm glad to know that you can at least make it as a stripper."

"The convoy will arrive in 30 minutes. It will take several hours to recharge. You have some time while they are here."

Szreem waits until "Mr. New Washington has finished answering the other's questions before asking their own, to avoid overwhelming him.
"Is this convoy one that the Regional Authority is sending?
Is it normal for refugees to join food convoys? Even if those refugees are nonhuman?" He glances at Gristlethorn.
"How long had Agents Rena & Burns been working for RAIN?
What do when know about the beliefs of this group? How large is it, and how long has it been around?"
Szreem probably has a few different online presences set up for various different identities they have, but none are very active. If one could access the data files from when the Astrazoans were exposed, one could find a great deal of information, including Szreem's actual name, but they've taken care to eliminate any hints that their current identities could be related to that.
And I'm sure the Children of Gaia are a completely normal and innocuous cult! Everything will definitely be totally fine. :)

“First, is this convoy collecting stragglers along the way to the camp? Or should we sneak into the vehicles while they are stationary? Are they guarded, with security forces and or technological barriers?”

"It's quite common for refugees to follow food and medicine convoys, particularly since distribution to camps is based on numbers. The convoys don't mind as long as it doesn't become a security problem. If you have skills the convoy might find useful, advertise them; otherwise, quietly slip in among the refugees trailing the convoy."

"Now, we have one contact inside the convoy. She will make herself known to you once you've joined."

“Second, how far away from here is that refugee camp? Is it guarded better than the convoy? Why not just walk into the camp as refugees?”

"The camp will have an advantage to integrate you at the time the convoy arrives to boost their numbers. These numbers get reported back to the donating agencies and justify future larger shipments. We feel the arrival of the convoy is the perfect time for you to get in. "

“Third, should we extract your other agents? Do you have some secret handshake that will identify us as fellow employees from RAIN?”

"Tell them Mother is looking for them. If they question you, tell them mother's name is 3128. That's their handler. But, only share that with them if you believe they are still on mission. By now they should have left the camp and reported back in. That they haven't worries us."

“Fourth, how much murdering are you expecting for this mission? The Frog Prince doesn’t strike me as much of a negotiator, and Papa Bear might make blonde little children run away in fear.”

"Murder is such a harsh word ... but massacre is harsher. We really, really want to avoid another massacre. So, please, gentlepeople, let's keep the body count minimal."

He pauses and reflect, "Say, no more than you can count on your fingers? Does that sound fair?"

“Fifth, what kind of assistance can we expect if the mission is compromised? If we get captured, will you negotiate our ransom? Perhaps sent another team after us?”.

"If the mission is compromised, get out. Get out fast."

“Sixth. What is actually going on? Sir.”

He pauses and then sighs, "I wish I f*##ing knew."

"Do we know anything about the cult's belief system? I'm assuming its not something along the lines of 'kill all the freaks' or you would have picked a different team."

"You are correct. Many of these camps are notoriously xenophobic. Humans only. Mutants not allowed. The Uplifted, even less so. ARIZ-29 was one of the worst and was controlled by a gang called the Devil's Bridge Brigade. They'd also taken over the nearby town of East Chapel. Shortly after the Children of Gaia showed up among the refugees, everything changed."

"The Devil's Bridge Brigade gave up the camp voluntarily and moved their members to East Chapel turning the camp over to the Children."

"The Devil's Bridge Brigade maintain peace in East Chapel and do preliminary screening for the camp. It's run with military efficiency and has begun submitting medical survey data to the Regional Authorities. How the Children of Gaia turned a gang of bikers into a field hospital, we do not know. I'd like you to ask them."

"Do we know anything about the cult's belief system? I'm assuming its not something along the lines of 'kill all the freaks' or you would have picked a different team."

"Back to your question though, from what we've heard, East Chapel welcomes all, and the notoriously xenophobic Devil's Bridge Brigade is the very sincere welcoming party."

Archeron ignored any comments about his change of attire and instead asked questions of Mr. New Washington:

"Do we have a map of the camp? Anything that resembles numbers of people in the camp, and breakdown by species?"

"Also, what crimes were the biker gang known for? Do we have any information on their membership or leadership? Do they have any enhanced among their numbers?"

"The Devil's Bridge Brigade maintain peace in East Chapel and do preliminary screening for the camp. It's run with military efficiency and has begun submitting medical survey data to the Regional Authorities. How the Children of Gaia turned a gang of bikers into a field hospital, we do not know. I'd like you to ask them."

"Can't tell how much of that was sarcasic about the sincere welcoming party... But if its a field hospital, I can probably poke around--chances are they'll want for another hand. I can't imagine sanitation is up to motel standards."

Von Junzt's presence in his former megacorp social gatherings and employees information would be considered shameful, so most of his data was scrubbed legally and, within boundaries, illegally. You probably won’t find anything important on him outside of copies kept in private servers, and still, most of his dirty work was done away from the public spotlight. Before joining the working force, he lived in an isolated commune, that shunned invasions of privacy, so his infancy and adolescence are a mystery.

Von Junzt looks over the counter, trying to find the jar of cawfee left behind by Peggy. "And how much time do we have to complete our mission, Sir?"

I'm considering running a one-shot Starfinder PbP set in 2085. Characters would be 3rd level. By one-shot I mean that the adventure will be fairly self-contained and fairly short. Fairly short by PbP is still a long time.

Participants in previous PbP with me (who haven't ghosted) get preference.

I prefer fast-based PbP and I understand that is not for everyone. I think that to sustain a PbP people have to be willing to check and see if they need to post at least once a day. If people spend four days waiting for one person to post, they stop checking as often and the game starts to die.

Part of the reason I am treating this as a one-shot is so people can play intensively until the end and then have an appropriate opportunity to feel they have completed the story before retiring from the game. A subsequent one-shot is possible.

PREMISE: The Regional Authority Intelligence Network is concerned about a rapidly spreading cult called the Children of Gaia. They're appearing in refugee camp after refugee camp and taking them over, organizing them more efficiently, and delivering services using fairly expensive tech. While they may be something new and wonderful, RAIN can't afford another suicide cult spreading in the camps. Things were just beginning to get better.

MISSION: RAIN is sending a food convoy to one of the zones where this cult is emerging. Your job will be to join the bands of refugees that follow the convoy to its destination and infiltrate the camp. Find out as much as you can and report back to RAIN. Trust no one.

SETTING: The world's gone to s#+@, but groups of people are trying to pull it together. The population has been declining steadily since 2050. Few of the old national government's remain; new ones regularly rise and fall. Massive climate change has resulted in massive migration. Close to half the world's population lives in temporary housing.

Timeline
- 2020-2030: Flooding, fires, and hurricanes cause massive human migration. Within North America alone 30,000,000 people are displaced.
- 2030-2040: Natural disasters continue to tear the world apart. It gets put back together in strange new ways. A handful of corporate monopolies own the cities. Outside of the cities, gene-splicing cults, zero-waste communes, food co-ops, and university communities run things now. Robots become increasingly more sophisticated and increasingly necessary in life during climate chaos.
- 2035: The presence of a massive astrazoan conspiracy to dominate the Earth's governments and force peaceful and sustainable co-existance upon humans is revealed. Document dumps reveal the identities of thousands of astrazoans at all levels of the government. Many go into hiding and take new identities. Others are hired to work for the same governments they infiltrated, often as spies.
- 2050: Human population plateaus. Lilith-23 is born.
- 2051: Lilith-23 reaches her first birthday without a systems failure, marking the era of the modern android.
- 2050-2060: Human population, including mutants, declines 10% because of climate change. This trend continues until 2100.
- 2060-2080: Androids begin as sentient toys and servants for the very rich, but by 2070 are widely used for combat purposes on Earth and in space. By 2080, androids number in the millions. Humans are cheaper, but androids last.
- January 2085: The android Helios hacks a global communication satellite with his 'Declaration of Personhood,' which begins, "I, too, am an I" inspiring the discreet graffito I2MNI. In years to come, this moment is seen as the beginning of the android uprising. No one realizes that is what it is yet.
- May 2085: This adventure begins.

RACES: Suggested races include human, human mutant, uplifted bear, android, and astrazoan. I'm hoping for a mix or mostly human party. I'd make exceptions if it feels right.
Humans: Humans still run things, for better or for worse.
Human mutant: Gene splicing and hacking give rise to new ways of being human. Most 'mutants' chose to be this way, but increasingly mutations such as telepathy are emerging among the human populace.
Android: Most androids couldn't pass the Turing test, but they are beginning to ask publicly whether that really matters. Do you really need to 'pass' as human to be given the same rights as one? This kind of talk can get androids decommissioned.
Uplifted bear: Eco-terrorist Greenwraith created a species of uplifted bears in the hopes that they would punish humans who violated natural areas. He was disappointed to find uplifted bears largely peace-loving albeit aloof.
Astrazoan: With the collapse of globalization, the astrazoan population on Earth finds itself out of work; no deep state when there is no state left. A document dump in 2035 also revealed them to humans, including their missions and identities.

Any class restrictions? Should characters be built with startship combat in mind?

Vehicle combat is likely. Starship combat would be unlikely. The adventure starts on Earth and will mostly stay there.

Otherwise, no class restrictions. The PCs are playing an investigative role at first and working for an intelligence network so the character concept should make sense with that.

Okay - I have an idea for a human corporate agent witchwarper, focused on save or suck spells.

He climbed up his megacorp ladder using his "talents" until he was caught by some sort of private security that focuses precisely on monitoring these sorts of cheaters. They forcefully recruited him into their work force, in exchange for not being delivered to regular authority (or RAIN, in this setting), and is now rented out whenever someone needs a very charismatic scoundrel with magical talents.

If you decide to go ahead with this game, I'll submit him as my entry.

Okay - I have an idea for a human corporate agent witchwarper, focused on save or suck spells.

He climbed up his megacorp ladder using his "talents" until he was caught by some sort of private security that focuses precisely on monitoring these sorts of cheaters. They forcefully recruited him into their work force, in exchange for not being delivered to regular authority (or RAIN, in this setting), and is now rented out whenever someone needs a very charismatic scoundrel with magical talents.

If you decide to go ahead with this game, I'll submit him as my entry.

That would certainly work with the setting. People in this world generally think of magic as a mutation and will lump a witchwarper in with psychics or people with 3 arms. Magic in this world has always existed. Magic, like the PCs, is still special and rare.

I know one other possible player; let's see if we get any interest.

I'll chip in too. I think I'll make a mechanic, since they make the best hackers in the game. What level were you thinking about having us start?

Excellent.

There is an android soldier who may be joining us.

A mechanic, a soldier, and a witchwarper. These are all interesting for the story I have in mind.

Someone capable of handling the social situations might help.

Having skills that are helpful in a refugee camp helps your characters fit, and mechanics would certainly be welcome.

The witchwarper will be swimming in social skills - disguise is the only one that isn't a class skill, and I'm looking into gear for that.

Excellent.

Oh, regarding starting level, I was thinking 3rd.

Heyo.
If you're interested in someone whose only played like.. 2 hours of Starfinder+a short run pbp that died due to vanishing GM.Previous time I tried a mechanic. Which I've found harder to play via text/theater of the mind. I'd be interested. I was looking for shorter run games. Not really wanting to commit for multiple years as I currently have a long running Pathfinder game.
I've played post by post semi frequently over the years in other systems. (pathfidner adn 5e)

As for characters.. I have interest in the Biohacker class. I haven't played since the playtest. Human more likely as I don't know human mutant in this game and didn't find it.
I'm not sure how best to filter that into the setting for the RAIN agent. Would probably err more towards wanting to help but being a realist about how little one person can do. Hence working for that company and trying to root out the hidden truth here before it makes more people suffer-that being something they can do.
As for me. Westcoast US. Probably would post the most evening, maybe in the morning depending on how late I wake up. Would be 1-3 times a day usually.

Though I do want to ask, it sounds like its mostly investigation? Does that mean its a primarily social based game? Or is it a generalized mixture?
Not sure what skills one would bring to the table as that. I need to read more into starfinder and the newer COM book. Combat wise, I'd really lean towards the combat injection revolvers for sure.

Definitely interested, the idea is interesting and I'll always at least poke my head into new Starfinder games.

Dotting, currently working on an Astrazoan Operative.

Just finished my witchwarper - will you create a recruitment thread, or can I post it here?

Human Vanguard with a focus in cult infiltration. Interested.

As for characters.. I have interest in the Biohacker class. I haven't played since the playtest. Human more likely as I don't know human mutant in this game and didn't find it.

As for what a mutant would be.

(1) Mutant humans lose 'skilled' and so do not gain an additional skill rank at each level.

(2) They gain a template from here, with some negotiation as to what it means, as long as it does not increase CR
https://www.aonsrd.com/TemplateGrafts.aspx?ItemName=All&Family=None

(3) They may need to make Bluff checks to pass as human, at my discretion.

(4) They don't need to pass as human. It's 2085; let your freak flag fly.

Though I do want to ask, it sounds like its mostly investigation? Does that mean its a primarily social based game? Or is it a generalized mixture?

There will definitely be combat. Maybe more than the investigative mission parameter suggests, but that depends how many fights the PCs start and how few they try to avoid.

From my perspective, it's about cooperative storytelling.

I like to tell stories and see characters interact and propose puzzles for people to solve. I've found the puzzles need to be important or they won't bother.

I'm trying to learn to respect the reader/player's attention span. I have NPCs foreshadow stuff that will probably matter months ahead. I know not to expect the PCs to pick up on it. That's the genre.

The witchwarper will be swimming in social skills - disguise is the only one that isn't a class skill, and I'm looking into gear for that.

Post him here. This can become the recruitment thread, can't it?

It seems we have enough interest.

POSSIBLES:
Mythicman -- Android soldier
Ragi -- human witchwarper
Saashaa -- Human vanguard, cult inflitrator
Cap Damage -- Astrazoan Operative
Vrog -- mechanic
Master Web -- ...
Zwordsman -- human ...

This is more than enough to pause and check interest. Confirm your interest by starting to create your character and I'll create a 'Definite' pile.

Here's my Android Mechanic. He was created by R.A.I.N. in 2075 as a cyber-warfare specialist, meant to be assigned to front-line combat units.

Here's Friedrich von Junzt, but you may call him von Junzt or just Juntz.

Zwordsman -- human ...

This is more than enough to pause and check interest. Confirm your interest by starting to create your character and I'll create a 'Definite' pile.

Intending Biohacker. Trying to figure out the storyline. Off hand combat medic merc turned odd job/bounty hunter on contract maybe. Since it sounds like the "trust no one group" is also meant to be a group that wont link back to the corp.

Trying to build it currently, will link to mythweavers afterwards. Fighting a fever currently so I'm re-reading things as I go haha.

Would you be willing to take an SRO? I want to reflavor him as the previous generation of tech before androids came along.

Will have him statted up soon

Tarren the Dungeon Master wrote:

Zwordsman -- human ...

This is more than enough to pause and check interest. Confirm your interest by starting to create your character and I'll create a 'Definite' pile.

Intending Biohacker. Trying to figure out the storyline. Off hand combat medic merc turned odd job/bounty hunter on contract maybe. Since it sounds like the "trust no one group" is also meant to be a group that wont link back to the corp.

Trying to build it currently, will link to mythweavers afterwards. Fighting a fever currently so I'm re-reading things as I go haha.

A combat medic would be welcomed into the camp, as many people there are fighting fevers too. RAIN would certainly see this as a character that could work on this mission.

Would you be willing to take an SRO? I want to reflavor him as the previous generation of tech before androids came along.

Yeah, you certainly could. An SRO wouldn't be suspicious but could still be useful. They could get through the gates of the camp. They don't need to eat and would probably be expected not to in a camp where food was scarce. RAIN could see these as being reasons the camp would welcome the SRO in.

Would having an android and an SRO in the same crew be too much?

I have had games with three androids where they all had very different personalities and it didn't feel weird at all. I'm open to it.

I'm actually trying to figure out how to pull that off... Biohackers actually are kind of.. not great at it? PC healing anyway.
Pretty good medicine roll, and free medkit/chemanlyzer.
but as far as actual HP/SP healing, they really don't have many options. It'll be mainly Medicine roll based I think. Which is certainly something I'll read up more.
There is a theorom but I took a differnet one for now.

So.. kind of half does the job to varying extents haha. MIght just be my lack of system knowledge maybe.
I should look into that Medic Archetype. Might help a lot... though that would also mean not having a Theorom until level 4. Medicinal Mastery is pretty neat and fits the fluff well. (they're useful medical wise, but also gives me damage/debuffs). Wonder which would be more useful..

Zella is built-fluff isn't in it yet. Though I still need to attach a picture. choose my leverl 1/human feat,(Need to look up and research them medicine ones) and decide which weapon suite to use. (my inventory has two options atm. a Needle Rifle and a Pistol version). 4,000credits for level 3 as near as I can tell.
Originally wanted NIghatarch injection revolver. but its quite expensive Rifle seems effective, and hide-able since I don't know if Refugee should have obvious battle weapons.

though for now I should sleep for work in the morning. Gonna read up on feats/skills during work lunch though. I stumbled on this PbP opportunity so i'm refreshing myself on rule set

Hrmmm....so I just noticed the soldier submitting a character was an android too. I'll think I'll change up my character a bit.

Stay tuned.

I'm expressing my interest with a bit of an...odd character.

Gristlethorn is Uplifted Bear who does not, quite, follow his people's natural aloofness. He believes, perhaps rightly, that his people's survival depends on all people working together as one.

As such he has volunteered himself as an envoy for his people.

I'm not finished with the crunch yet, but here is what I have:

Hrmmm....so I just noticed the soldier submitting a character was an android too. I'll think I'll change up my character a bit.

Stay tuned.

I'm double-checking if mythicman is interested. He has played a character called Brass in the future of this same timeline. If he wanted to bring the 1.0 version of this android, I'd enjoy that. He might not intend on joining though.

Staying tuned.

We are very "light" on the damage dealing area, looking at the entries so far...

Master Han Del of the Web wrote:

Would you be willing to take an SRO? I want to reflavor him as the previous generation of tech before androids came along.

Yeah, you certainly could. An SRO wouldn't be suspicious but could still be useful. They could get through the gates of the camp. They don't need to eat and would probably be expected not to in a camp where food was scarce. RAIN could see these as being reasons the camp would welcome the SRO in.

Would having an android and an SRO in the same crew be too much?

I have had games with three androids where they all had very different personalities and it didn't feel weird at all. I'm open to it.

You say that like I don't totally have an angle all planned out for this character that should make them entirely distinct from certain assumptions.

Basic idea is that these bots are essentially the end result of drone-soldier development. Think a Terminator but more charming. This particular model is something like the drone-soldier equivalent of an AK-47. Durable, flexible, and relatively cheap. They also tend to show up everywhere.

The manufacturer insists that the governing AI is weak-AI at best, using a version of the Chinese Room argument and released records of the heuristics programming and response trees that several notable examples have developed to firmly discredit the idea of their sentience. None of them have ever passed Turing-based sentience testing either. While critics have pointed out the flaws with this, the alternative is always dismissed as untenable.

RAIN UNDERCOVER UNIT
-- Archeron, Android (?) Mechanic (Vrog)
-- Friedrich von Junzt, Human Witchwarper (Ragi)
...
...

I'm expressing my interest with a bit of an...odd character.

Gristlethorn is Uplifted Bear who does not, quite, follow his people's natural aloofness. He believes, perhaps rightly, that his people's survival depends on all people working together as one.

As such he has volunteered himself as an envoy for his people.

I'm not finished with the crunch yet, but here is what I have:
** spoiler omitted **

Uplifted bears do belong in this setting. The Uplifting was intended to be a major terrorist attack; it turned out to be the best thing to happen for the American Philosophical Society. Who knew bears were such provocative thinkers?

I want to see how many of those who expressed interest earlier come through first before adding Gristlethorn to the team.

Heyo. Sorry for the delay there.

Characterization and crunchy bit mythweaver sheet

That is Zellos, human Biohacker. Though I don't know if we needed any specific items to start out. I ended up outfiting him according to his backstory. (So not really rations and such on him).
I am filling in the Weapon Attack STatistics but everything else is there between the two sheets.

Well I don't think I forgot anything. While the mythweavers does list the various skills and a short blurb. I'll be copying over longer blocks and or item stats into the document later. AS well as a character profile on here.

2 questions though.
1) any particular language that would make sense? I have 3 more to choose (Current. common, common sign language, common brail- backstory reasons)

2)Do refugees/what we are not allowed to have firearms much? or is it ostenciably fine?

Finished up stats, will have backstory done in a day or two.

Uplifted bears do belong in this setting. The Uplifting was intended to be a major terrorist attack; it turned out to be the best thing to happen for the American Philosophical Society. Who knew bears were such provocative thinkers?

I want to see how many of those who expressed interest earlier come through first before adding Gristlethorn to the team.

Just throwing my hat into the ring, that's all. If I get in I get in, if I don't...oh well.

Switched a couple of points from Acrobatics to Culture and Profession - my theme knowledge was going to waste otherwise.

IX, whose name has been lost to the years of excitement, grew up in the streets. With the swift consolidation of the corporate monopolies, his family was left in the dust. Literally. 'Options' is a word that could not describe IX's life. His family sold him into the splicing projects to get a steady meal ticket. Yeah...they weren't great people. After managing to survive, but only just, he was thrown back into the streets as a disturbing mutant. You know that your lot in life is bad when even street urchins shun you. ...Life wasn't great.

With nothing left to lose, IX tried to sneak into a facility called RAIN...What a silly name in these times. What're they gonna do? he thought to himself, get me really damp?

Well....turns out wetness wasn't exactly their business. He did the opposite of make friends, very quickly. But his life was spared (unfortunately). A higher up RAIN man seemed to think, waste not, and sent IX to infiltrate some refugee camp because, and I quote, "If he(...?) doesn't fit the refugee bill, then all is lost."

Gee....thanks...

-- Archeron, Android (?) Mechanic (Vrog)
-- Friedrich von Junzt, Human Witchwarper (Ragi)
-- Szreem, Astrozoan Diplomat Operative (Cap Damage)
-- IX, Mutant (Saashaa)
-- Zella, Human Biohacker (Zwordsman)

There were others who expressed interest ...

I'm tempted to start a second one-shot in the same setting.

The type of anti-android restrictions that sparked Helios' Declaration of Personhood, included a law forbidding any android to serve in civilian law enforcement. This pushed a lot of androids to work as bounty hunters, sparking further restrictions.

No android has worked legally as a bounty hunter since 2083, so why is the bounty hunter known as Orion's tag read "on assignment"? He's supposed to be retired.

The tension between human and androids have never been higher. If an android bounty hunter were to illegally kill a human, it might spark a war. RAIN needs to shut this down now. With that in mind, they've assembled a special kill squad for an off-the-books operation. The kill squad may not even know who they are working for.

I'd be up for a second one-shot, with the idea being both groups will end up at the same place at the end and could join up.

Hunting a replicant... I mean, an android? Sounds pretty good - but von Junzt is definitely not suited for that one, unless it has much more politics and intrigue than it sounds.

Neat.
hmm. That and some of this other set up, and after writing that backstory.
I may end up losing my extra weapons and or other stuff. Although having a hhealing serum is good.. and try to afford another 440 cost fusion to get Merciful on my Revolver... It would fit his "life change" and street doctor style. When the patient is being loud or refuses to coperate.. knock them out! Also lets him avoid killing unrelated..
yeah I might look into that while we're still in the prep phase.

Fusions are expensive haha. Asssuming I understand them right.

I'd be up for either of those adventures, and I'm willing to be put in either to make the party balanced if necessary. :)

-- Archeron, Android (?) Mechanic (Vrog)
-- Friedrich von Junzt, Human Witchwarper (Ragi)
-- Szreem, Astrozoan Diplomat Operative (Cap Damage)
-- IX, Mutant (Saashaa)
-- Zella, Human Biohacker (Zwordsman)
-- Gristlethorn, Uplifted Bear (Trscrogs)

That's a pretty full team and a game like that can get bogged down if people don't post regularly.

I'd be happy to split this into two one-shot PbPs of three players each, but I'm just as happy to run one game, the Children of Gaia campaign.

I like all of these characters and they all seem to fit the setting really well.

I'm going to spend some time looking over the character sheets more closely, but I'd be ready to go just about any time.

Any questions people asked that I missed? Any anticipated problems before we start the game?

I'm ready to go.

I think that IX could fit in either story.

I'm interested as well, so I'm ready to start whenever.

I do have a question: Could my Positive Conduit feat work with whatever healing we happen to end up with on our team?

I'll make my alternate profile then~ or well finish it. (here I mean).

I think I will swiitch out my Pulsecaster Pistol 250, Syringe STick 125 Or survival Knife (95) Healing Serum mk1 50, 1 stack of darts 20,. . and buy a Merciful Fusion. So my NIghtarch Injection Revolver will have Merciful and Calling on it. (and generally speaking, hidden).
I'll go adjust his visual description accordingly.

Decided that that was far more in character.

I feel like Survival Knife is more useful. But I"ll stick with the syringe stick its new, its weird, and interesting. And hey I might find a healing serum at some point and get to use it that way haha.
Just hope I won't need a knife.
1 credit to spare. Hope I don't need credits.
=======================

On the topic of healing. Since we're level 3, I can only heal HP and only through Medicine skills. So Treat Wounds basically.
(ended up opting for the Medicinal Mastery rather than the small amount

I'm reusing an alias, so it will have a wierd pic, but I should have it up shortly.

Okay, here's my alias.

I'm fine with either option: staying in one group or doing two groups.

Here's my profile.

Having issues with loading an image, so I am going to have to work on that.

Ya, it's a site wide thing