I hope this means the back is feeling better!
Also: Tuba player! I can totally see Robert lugging around a massive tuba.
I've probably asked this before, but have you read the Dresden files? Wizard for hire in Chicago. So good. The tuba reminds me of Butters.
OOC: I'm reading the Dresden Files, into book 6 right now, pretty 'decent' books. :)
I'm not sure I met 'Butters' yet.
BTW, I think we've squeezed a lot of the RP in this scene. I think I'll leave it as background and move the story along.
Are we all Ok with a VR session of starship combat?
Questions?
Game on!
I hope this means the back is feeling better!
"I wasn't dead!" Sigirijus complained, then sighed. The big Vesk's nictating membrane flicked closed. They opened a few moments later when Robert mentioned the Tuba.
"It's possible" he conceded "That I managed to cross from a world - a timeline - different to this one. Worldwalker is... an ancient terminology. Mythological. It is said that there are those who become unmoored from one world. Who walk around a vehicle and vanish. Who appear out of nowhere."
He sighs dejectedly and absently patted Kip. "There's a legend about an ancestor of mine, said to have been killed nine times. When I proved fortunate on the battlefield, they applied the name to me. Perhaps, somehow..." 'Nine Lives' trails off, unsure where to go from here.
Turn 005 - VR Starship Combat Training
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, above par
, Infernex Unshakable
Action 2:
Kamiya spent a lot of time on the bridge for the next few days. She still felt like she needed to pinch herself to remind her that she wasn't dreaming. She was actually the pilot of a starship.
When she wasn't on the bridge, she was familiarizing herself with the rest of the ship. She claimed a bunk in the crew's quarters and spent some time there reading. She had downloaded some books and other info on her personal comm before leaving the Station so she was able to study. The two main things she focused on was info about where they were going as well as an engineering textbook. She knew that engineering was more of a hands-on discipline but she wanted to familiarize herself with the theories as well.
Action 3:
When Sig started herding them into the VR suite, Kamiya felt her skin tingle with excitement. She was going to be able to pilot the s%&# out of the ship without risking Honu's safety. She sprawled in one of the comfy chairs and relaxed for a few moments while the others took their positions. She then pulled her legs up so that she was sitting cross-legged in her chair. She grabbed one of the specialized helmets and pulled it onto her head. Immediately she was transported onto Honu's bridge. "Whoa" She pulled the helmet off and she was back in the VR suite. She did this repeated motion a couple times, "Now that is a trip. Very cool."
She put her helmet back on and then reached for the controls. They felt solid to her touch and she smiled in anticipation of what was to come. "Your pilot is ready, Captain."
[dice=Culture]1d20+5
OOC: Kamiya's thinks they are outclassed and will be blown to pieces. Does she want to experience that happening to Honu?
The science officer scanning reveals info about the enemy ship so I don't want to give too much away. However, you know that these ships can take a punch.
------
Whereas Burning Nail-class vessels (Pact Worlds 156) are the Hellknights’ favored light fighters for pitched battles, the Unshakable’s design is specialized for smaller bounty-hunting operations, surgical strikes in dangerous territory, and solo scouting missions to identify new threats. With substantial armor for such a small ship, the Unshakable is able to close distance rapidly and assault even light freighters—a signature tactic. Standard operating procedure for such missions involves the Hellknight pilot then boarding their prey to subdue the crew singlehandedly.
---------
Action 1
"Bear...I mean Robert played a tuba?! That's so cool!" Kip had no idea what a tuba was but it sounded like a bit tub, and she could just imagine Beardo sitting in one, banging on the edge with sticks, like a drum. "What was different about me?!"
Action 2
Kip was fascinated with the Captain's concept of World Walking. She pestered him constantly about his "other" life, trying to find differences. He might not be "their" captain, but he was close enough. After all, he seemed to share most of their memories, and the little changes didn't seem to mean much.
Though, Kip did put herself into a fit of hysteria when she finally looked up what a tuba was.
The little ysoki spent the rest of time puttering around the ship, making sure everything was in good working order. She also spent as much time as she could chatting with the others. Everybody's history was just so interesting!
Action 3
Kip found the special helmet that they'd needed to order for her. Grateful not to have her ears smushed by the round helmets the others used, she pulled hers on and found herself staring at her staion on the bridge. She'd used the VR equipment in the "before times" (how she tended to think about her old crew), so wasn't as excited as TortAce was.
Butterflies in her tummy, she said, "Okay, ready. I think."
Action 4
Kip jumped in her seat, even though she'd been expecting the alarm. Heart racing, she jabbed her finger at the sensor pad, trying to get a read on the enemy ship.
OOC: Actually the DC for the computer scan is 17 and you incurred a -2 penalty for scanning beyong the mid-range (10 hexes) so you learn the first tier of information as follows (answers in parenthesis):
Living crew complement (1) and
ship classification (interceptor), size (tiny), speed (12), and maneuverability (perfect).
Questions?
Game on!
OOC: Ideally, we should have the pilot move (or not move) before having the gunner actions. The engineer actions can be anywhere (probably better before the piloting action but not necessary), same as the captain actions.
Let's tackle the rules and what makes sense for a PBP together so don't be shy to post stuff that we need to adjust later, especially in this VR fight. :)
Questions?
Game on!
Sigirijus felt better as he saw the others respond. 'Good drill. Nothing better for morale. Should have thought of this earlier.' "Good. Everyone in?" This was rhetorical. The default Captain interface was a mess of displays, but Vesk tactical doctrine required the captain to see only an onverview of the ship - all the rest were the crew. This was considered one of the hardest parts of becoming a captain - giving up on doing anything directly, and learning to put your life - and more importantly your reputation - in the hands of others.
Action 4:
Kamiya was excited until she saw what airship was chosen as their opponent. "Dang, we are seriously outclassed people." Her antennae drooped a bit, "I don't want our ship blown to bits, even virtually."
The pilot looked at Sig expectantly, "I hope you have a good plan, Captain. What do we want to try? Fancy tricks? Outrun? Shoot at them? Play chicken?"
Thyx was looking more and more useful these days. His mechanical stutter was gone and he was moving more easily about the ship. Early on Kip had pegged the android as a gunny and the old captain said that he was probably a combat model so Kip had decided to give him a tour of the gunner’s station. It started out roughly. Thyx kept reaching for the wrong controls, his hands instinctively reaching out but in the wrong directions. As weak as his sense of himself was this station seemed anti-intuitive. It was like when he first came aboard ship and kept finding himself in the wrong room, like he had the ship layout remembered but he had remembered it wrong.
His favourite part of the ship, though, quickly became the dorsal turret. Once, when the crew lost track of him someone had finally checked the gun seat and he was sitting there in a million-lightyear stare. He seemed turned-off, absent-minded, or perhaps faulty with his gaze locked in the general direction of a brilliantly colourful enormous gas cloud.
He also took it upon himself to do a preventative maintenance session of the everyone's side arms. Laying out everyone’s weapons on the crew lounge table, he disassembled them one-by-one, cleaned and oiled them, then reassembled them carefully. As he did he mindlessly parroted the new captain. There was something about his voice – its’ depth, his investment. Thyx copied it trying to find some of the same … but he was terrible at it. ”There is a legend about an ancestor of mine …”, he tried to get his voice lower and add a tiny background rasp, “There is a legend about an ancestor of mine…”. His impression sounded empty of the pathos that Sijirijus had and a tone more akin to a child’s puppet frog voice than the Vesk’s.
Thyx entered the VR suite late. Of all the ship this was the only room he hadn’t gone in (with the exception of the few private quarters he didn’t accidentally wander into early on). He watched as Kip worked the room with trepidation then hop into her station. He glanced at Kamiya as she excitedly worked invisible controls. Then he went to the back corner of the room and found a log-in port, pulled the 5pin end and pressed it into his neck input. As he thought about the special password that Robert had given him - VRs9are/prts - the room fell away and he was at the gunner’s station aboard the bridge. His stomach felt strange, weak, and his mind was a little foggy. The direct input made every colour seem slightly more vibrant than his normal sight.
Thyx powered up the forward gun and started the warm-up procedure for the dorsal, should it be needed. He kept it on hold as he awaited orders.
"First of all, we need to know what we face." Sigirijus answered Kamiya "Then we can make a plan. We need to decide whether we can run, or whether we'll have to fight. If we have to fight, then we try to work out how best to score on the foe. So, first: intelligence."
"We're all depending on you Kip! You can do it!" Sigirijus meant well, but putting his massive, clawed hand on the already nervous Ysoki's shoulder was a bad choice.
Action 1
"Bear...I mean Robert played a tuba?! That's so cool!" Kip had no idea what a tuba was but it sounded like a bit tub, and she could just imagine Beardo sitting in one, banging on the edge with sticks, like a drum. "What was different about me?!"
Nine Lives looked up, and committed a tactical blunder "Huh? I don't know. You look the same... we'd have to talk about your history versus what I knew of my Kip."
Sigirijus spent time 'being captain'. He refamiliarised himself with the ship and its procedures, spent time with the crewmembers, and ensured all was in good order.
Like all good captains, he had kept a log, but there were few differences - at least up until the fateful day they pulled Thyx out of the Void. Minor events had happened differently, but there seemed no rhyme or reason. Long conversation with Kip only pulled up a few, small differences as well.
Sigirijus hadn't talked much about his childhood with the others. Hadn't talked much about it with anyone really. "Look, Kip. There might be something... but you need to keep it to yourself. It's supposed to be a secret."
At a loss for what to do, he found himself turning to Robert for answers. "You're... the closest thing we have to an expert in transdimensional traversal. Have you heard of this before?"
After racking his mind "The legends say it is easier to 'see' between worlds than pull something through, and easier to pull something through than travel. Does that help?"
OOC:
@Kamiya: I understand. You're a pilot that needs direction. I'll address how I see starship combat in PBPs happening in a separate post later today.
@Robert: Get well soon!
@Thyx: Please assign bunks and make the starship your home. You can do that OOC or IC (I always prefer IC). :)
@Thyx: I'm sure firing the turret gun can be done from both locations, either the turret itself or the bridge. The same thing could apply for firing the forward gun (done from either location). The turret would also have open comm to the bridge so you could communicate easily as well. It's up to you (and your captain?) where your 'gunner's station' is.
Questions?
Game on!
At a loss for what to do, he found himself turning to Robert for answers. "You're... the closest thing we have to an expert in transdimensional traversal. Have you heard of this before?"
After racking his mind "The legends say it is easier to 'see' between worlds than pull something through, and easier to pull something through than travel. Does that help?"
The technomancer gave Sig a dirty look. "Perhaps your Robert was - sure, mathematics are my thing, but can't say I'm expert in that stuff. I mean, sure, brane cosmology is interesting as heck... you know, metaphysical objects that generalize the notion of a point particle to a higher dimensional plane taken from supergravity theory and shotgun-married to a concept of the three-dimensional universe being restricted to a single layer inside the bulk..." Robert's voice faded into muttering as he raked his brain and digitalized memory arrays for relevant information, finding what he had falling short of what he really needed.
"I mean, sure, in loop quantum cosmology there exists a concept of bridges forming between branes as branches contract and expand, touching upon one another..."
Action 4
"First of all, we need to know what we face."[/b] Sigirijus answered Kamiya "Then we can make a plan. We need to decide whether we can run, or whether we'll have to fight. If we have to fight, then we try to work out how best to score on the foe. So, first: intelligence."
"Your call, boss-man-thing," Robert grunted, as he began shutting down non-essential systems to channel the energy to where it was more need. "Run or fight, just say the word."
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STARSHIP COMBAT
Round 1
This assumes combat is initiated by the enemy so I give the PCs the starting position of the starships with the enemy already having made his ‘move’.
I need from the PCs:
• science officer proposed actions and roll
• engineer proposed actions and roll
• captain proposed actions and roll
• pilot proposed action and roll
• gunner proposed action and roll
• piloting roll for next round
If there’s any doubt as to whether the proposed action was successful or could be done then assume it was done and successful. I realize that these actions will influence each other (i.e., the pilot move will affect the range of sensors, weapons, etc. and also which guns can be used). Certain actions by the science officer or engineer can affect the gunnery check, etc. However, let’s RP it out and I will then capture and apply bonuses/penalties.
I will then act for the enemy starship and convey results, etc. I will also roll the piloting check and, if you win (meaning you act after I act), I will also move the enemy starship and we’re back at Round 1.
If the enemy wins the piloting roll then I will ask you to move and act as in Round 1 but you won’t know where the enemy starship will be which could affect which guns you can target it with or which part of the ship is being targeted. For example, you move first and happen to be on my aft by say 2 hexes, the enemy could do a ‘turn in place’ and face you and you are now targeting its forward quadrant.
Right now, I need:
• engineer proposed actions and roll
• pilot proposed action and roll
• gunner proposed action and roll
• piloting roll for next round
Questions?
Game on!
PS: Maybe it's the geek in me but I really enjoy the starship combat rules. They are right in my sweetspot of not being too complex but also allowing for options. :)
Action 4:
Kamiya's fingers moved gracefully over her controls. "Alright, more information. I'll keep Honu steady until told otherwise. Unless you want me to throw in some zigs and zags. Or more to the point...may I throw in some zigs and zags for fun?"
Kamiya frowned as Honu didn't respond like she expected it to. "Sorry, Captain. Still working the bugs out. I guess it's good to figure those things out now rather than when they try to light us up."
OOC: Ok, I will make assumptions and rolls where needed and move us to the second round of starship combat sometime today.
Questions?
Game on!
Thyx watched the choppy glowing green targeting sensor as he switched over to the turret. It took valuable seconds to get it turned around and trained on the front quarter of the following ship. He went to punch the fire button but instead hit the swivel lock, had to reset the gun, and fire. A single long beam shot out of the light laser cannon and passed far off of the enemies starboard. It didn't even have to maneuver. Thyx looked up from his controls to see if anyone was glaring after that miserable display.
OOC: Blackmoon has two guns but the other one is front facing so you need to maneuver the ship to use it.
Questions?
Game on!
Hearing the concern in Kamiya's voice, Kip realized that they needed more information. Fingers flying over the console, she tried to get the scanners to tell her more information about their enemy. However, the other ship remained an impenetrable wall to her. "Sorry, captain, I can't get any more information yet. I'll keep trying."
Action 2:
Kamiya released the breath she was holding when she saw the shot on the radar, "They've fired on us, Captain! Permission to turn the ship around so that we can use the gyrolaser. Or do we want to make like a tortoise and run?"
You can still 'evade'. It's not like ships come to a complete stop and then fire, the ships are always moving.
If you go first and decide to evade then you make your check (results according to roll) and then move/turn (if you wish).
I will then move my ship. Once both moves are done we get on with gunnery but you get +2 to your AC.
Questions?
Game on!
OOC: Blackmoon has two guns but the other one is front facing so you need to maneuver the ship to use it.
OOC: Blackmoon has two guns but the other one is front facing so you need to maneuver the ship to use it.
OOC: yes, the turret can fire in any arc. You can also 'fire at will' both guns at the stated penalty or there could be a back-up gunner (captain?).
The rules are linked in the Campaign Info tab.
Questions?
Game on!
"Looks like a tough customer," Robert grunted as he kept on building a small stockpile of energy resources for when they were needed.
OOC: I'll move this along today and try to keep it moving once per day since it sounds like it's not too interesting from a player perspective.
Questions?
Game on!
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, miss
, yes
, hit
, lost roll so goes first
, yes
"Direct hit!" Kip cried in alarm, as the Blackmoon rocked under enemy fire. "Forward shields are down. Here, let me balance this...nope, this way, yes, here we go. Which way are you approaching, Kamiya? I'll pump up the shields."
Thyx called out, "What is the strategy ... ah, Captain. Both guns are short range - it might be helpful to close the distance." As the ship yawed and turned he tried to keep the turret trained on the enemy. When Kamiya got them into position he let another shot fly. The sensors were giving a clean read but the android's aim lacked more than a little focus.
"And here's a boost for the other sections," Robert grunted, filling in the gaps from energy diverted from the pool he had been building after Kip fortified the failing forward shields.
"Magnusson. Do exactly what you're doing, try not to fall asleep and do not try to replace your job with a shell script[i]." Sigirijus sighed "If you're bored, then use Kip's data and give us a technical assessment. Where is our ship better than their ship. More firpower? Faster? Maneuverability? If we're outclassed in every way, start working on how we're going to fake our own death."
He focussed on Kamiya "Opunui. Use your instincts to keep us alive, unless I've given an order. Piloting doesn't have time to wait for orders. Just telegraph what you're doing so others can account for it. For the record the one place I [I]don't want them is our aft. It's surprising how far we can twist that gyrolaser round if he have to, but if they're behind us we'll shoot our own bits off."
"Kip. You're our eyes. Scan for weaknesses, try to see what they're doing and keep an eye on the sky. A common tactic is to herd a 'prey-ship' into an ambush behind an asteroid or something. Don't move too far from the gyrolaser controls though - if we need a second gunner, you're up."
"Thyx. Continue to fire as you can. If we can line something up, we can try to set up a targetted shot, but our best bet is More Firepower. If we look annoying enough, sometimes things'll back off. You've got primary control of both guns, but hand off they gyrolaser to Kip if you need to focus."
The captain narrowed the com channel to Thyx. "I know you're worried about making a good impression. Calm down. Take your time. Line up the shots."
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
I'm assuming Kamiya just moves closer and the Infernex just holds his position
, fail
Mindful of the captain's orders, Kip scanned the enemy ship, trying to determine its defenses. The Infernex had a sophisticated jamming program, but she was able to modulate the sensors and break through the jammer for a vital few seconds. "Ha! Gotcha!"
[dice=pilot check]1d20+9+1
The 'turn in place' is considered a stunt so that would be your entire move this turn.
Although... since I'm turning in place, you could try a 'back off' stunt and then you're on my tail... just trying to help out here...
Questions?
Game on!
[dice=computers]1d20+7
Mindful of the captain's orders, Kip scanned the enemy ship, trying to determine its defenses. The Infernex had a sophisticated jamming program, but she was able to modulate the sensors and break through the jammer for a vital few seconds. "Ha! Gotcha!"
Info in parenthesis...
2. Defenses: AC (19), TL (18), total and current Hull Points (30 of 30), total and current Shield Points in each quadrant (15 in each), and core PCU value (100).
Questions?
Game on!
[dice=pilot check]1d20+9+1
The 'turn in place' is considered a stunt so that would be your entire move this turn.
Although... since I'm turning in place, you could try a 'back off' stunt and then you're on my tail... just trying to help out here...
Questions?
Game on!
Yes, we're yellow. We're facing away from the bad guys (South). (Right now our ships are butt to butt). So if we back up, we'll be on the north side of them on the map, facing them (still facing south). So we'd be either facing their butt if we go first, or their bridge if they turn first.
The Vesk gaped "Back up!" he yelled to Kamiya.
"Robert. Full power to the guns." He turned to Thyx "All right. Show me why you're worth a berth, bolt bucket. Double cannon on their Aft. Fire at Will!"
[occ]+4 to roll for Thyx[/ooc]
"Right," Robert grunted, fingers dancing on the console keys as he diverted power from secondary systems to the ship's weapons instead. "Done, use it or lose it, I can keep this up for only so long before the conduits start crashing."