DMDM's Last Fleet (Inactive)

Game Master Douglas Muir 406

Note that your Relationship with Deigon means you can join the drinking and mark off 1 Pressure. However, that would mean doing some serious drinking at your own bar. Is that something Sasha would do?

I Think all NPC relationships have to start at +0?

I Think all NPC relationships have to start at +0?

You might be right! Do you have a rulebook page?

Note that your Relationship with Deigon means you can join the drinking and mark off 1 Pressure. However, that would mean doing some serious drinking at your own bar. Is that something Sasha would do?

Not normaly, but tonight is not normal for her.

I Think all NPC relationships have to start at +0?

OOp, I missed that! Thank you for spotting.

I'm pretty sure I saw it somewhere because I was going to give the XO +1 with Hannah, but couldn't when I saw it. I don't have a page number though. Probably somewhere in character creation.

I had a RL gaming group pre-covid and we used to give out stupid awards during the game. I can't rmember most of them, but "first PC to get a nemesis" was defintly one of them. I wasn't expecting to get it so quick this time round though!

@DMDM - I had in mind that Stuggs is around - she wouldn't pass up an oportunity like this, the cat's away so the mice can play - which is why I had Sasha tell Bodie that *he's* the one in charge of the till. But maybe she's off somewhere instead? That really would be bad luck.

Hey, it doesn't seem that bad. She just wants to stroll through Cerberus' engineering stores. She's the Second Engineer on the flagship, so that's totally reasonable! And squadron leaders have access, can't go filing a request every time you need a spare part. Okay, normally she'd go through Cerberus' own engineers, but... something something red tape, and the Chief Engineer here is kind of an ass? Sure, that makes sense.

gdDAMMIT Gunny

@DMDM - I had in mind that Stuggs is around - she wouldn't pass up an oportunity like this, the cat's away so the mice can play - which is why I had Sasha tell Bodie that *he's* the one in charge of the till. But maybe she's off somewhere instead? That really would be bad luck.

My thought was, if Bodie is left firmly in charge, Stuggs would sulk off. Crooked card game, lower-deck FWB, visit her son, pick one.

gdDAMMIT Gunny

Hi ho, hi ho.

My thought was, if Bodie is left firmly in charge, Stuggs would sulk off. Crooked card game, lower-deck FWB, visit her son, pick one.

Fair. I'l do something nice for her later.

1) Hm! Personal Touch is actually pretty powerful -- it lets you use Smooth to melt away Pressure. That by itself is NBD, but Personal Touch has *no penalty for failure*. That's very unusual for a Move, and it means you can more or less spam it.

So, in this particular case, since it's early days I'll allow it; you can go ahead and roll. But going forward, it'll require something a bit more than just arranging a long hot shower.

In Apocolypse World, if a move doesn't say what happens on a 6 then the default is jsut "on a miss, be prepared for the worst" and the DM makes something bad happen. I think that *has* to be teh same here - all dice rolls need a fail option, or you might as well be playing D&D.

Do you want to make Personal Touch need what BitD calls a "setup move" in order to make it work? Like, maybe Sasha has to Pull Strings to get something special for people, or Reach Out to make them feel special?

Adn I've just noticed that the only moves that give you XP have *nothing* to do with fighting! This is defintly space opera, not an action movie :)

So Reach Out is on page 103. Rolling an 8 means:

-- Either you or Thea remove 1 Pressure; you decide who. (This assumes that Thea "responds positively", which I assume she will.)

@Thea - i'll let you remove 1 pressure, you'll probably need it more than me for your action moves.

In Apocolypse World, if a move doesn't say what happens on a 6 then the default is jsut "on a miss, be prepared for the worst" and the DM makes something bad happen. I think that *has* to be teh same here - all dice rolls need a fail option, or you might as well be playing D&D.

I think that makes a lot of sense.

Adn I've just noticed that the only moves that give you XP have *nothing* to do with fighting! This is defintly space opera, not an action movie!

Ding ding ding!

I guess I'll just delay on posting for a bit until Thea wraps up her current stuff. I sort of posted myself into a corner.

I guess I'll just delay on posting for a bit until Thea wraps up her current stuff. I sort of posted myself into a corner.

Sorry about that...apparently Thea is also 'that friend,' you know the one that always runs a half hour late to just about everything.

On a side note, just so folks know, I'm US Pacific Daylight Time, so will definitely be posting a bit behind those in Europe.

No worries.

Yeah I'm Pacific time zone too.

I guess I'll just delay on posting for a bit until Thea wraps up her current stuff. I sort of posted myself into a corner.

You don't have to stay on the bar. You can time-skip -- frame another scene as a flashback, type of thing.

Note that reducing Stress isn't the only way to spend downtime. Is there information you want to acquire? A long-term project you'd like to get started? (This game doesn't have formal rules for that, like BitD does, but it's pretty flexible.)

So Thea would certainly still be interested in following through on the Improved Turbo theme. How do you want to work things like that? Hannah (or an NPC since Thea doesn't have Tinkerer or Engineer) make an Engineering roll maybe with Thea rolling a Support (she can do additional grunt work and such). A success starts a clock with the first quarter filled and the rest we fill using other moves. For example, Seek Out (for parts), Pull Strings (use of another engineering facility), Cover Up (keep it hidden from Command for the time being). At the end, the (hopefully) successful project gives a pilot a +1 for related Engage in Battle or Shake Off moves? With maybe the option of another Move or clock to equip a full squad?

I'm assuming for more complex projects (retro fit a whole ship with better life support systems to save on water/air attrition) it might be a longer clock and thus more potential complications along the way.

I watn to royally frakk with Foster, make her sorry she got in Sasha's business. I have ideas - many, fun twisted ideas - on how to do that, but first she has to learn Foster was even there.

Oops, I guess poor Gunny ended up in the middle of something he realy has no clue about.

Hannah (or an NPC since Thea doesn't have Tinkerer or Engineer) make an Engineering roll maybe with Thea rolling a Support (she can do additional grunt work and such). A success starts a clock with the first quarter filled and the rest we fill using other moves. For example, Seek Out (for parts), Pull Strings (use of another engineering facility), Cover Up (keep it hidden from Command for the time being). At the end, the (hopefully) successful project gives a pilot a +1 for related Engage in Battle or Shake Off moves? With maybe the option of another Move or clock to equip a full squad?

Something like that, yes. Multiple Moves, probably spread out over several downtimes.

I watn to royally frakk with Foster, make her sorry she got in Sasha's business. I have ideas - many, fun twisted ideas - on how to do that, but first she has to learn Foster was even there.

Yup.

Bad news, all. DM messaged me earlier today to make sure I was still around. I said yes, but I was way behind on all the reading about relationships in this thread, lore in this thread and the PDF, and finally two days' worth of Gameplay posts. I was still chugging along, but it's a bit overwhelming for me.

Shortly after I replied, I got a new project dropped on my plate at work. In fact, I have to go out of town this weekend, so I need to get ready for that and get my family squared away. I think, all things considered, I'm just going to cut myself loose and drop out of this game before Oscar gets anything started I won't be able to finish.

If this were a system I was more familiar with (like PF), I wouldn't have the issue of not being able to keep up. In fact, this game seems far more involved than the other two PbtA games I've played on these forums. I'm not sure if it's the game or the group, but I was looking forward to it and hope you all have fun.

DM, I dotted and deleted in the Gameplay thread yesterday. Oscar appears in the Characters tab. If you could move him to inactive, I'd appreciate it.

DM: A couple of things. First, given the RP so far, the slow fleshing out of her NPC squad, and where Thea as a character seems to be going, I'm thinking taking Squad Leader from the Virgo playbook makes way more sense than Solo Mission. Since I haven't actually rolled anything yet, nor gained any XP, are you okay with that change?

Second, just to clarify my thoughts on Thea's visions/hallucinations, at the moment I'm just thinking of these as simple internal manifestations of her stress and pressure. As pressure goes up, everything gets worse from an RP perspective. Seems like they could be a good reason for some of the Breaking Point actions once she tops out. This would also mean the help she's received really does pull her back from the edge for the moment since Thea's pressure has dropped back down to 1.

I'm open to making the condition be something more over time, actual messages from the Tenebrium or more severe jump sickness, Corvax infiltration/infection, actual mental collapse, poisoning by some Faction she's crossed, whatever fits within the fiction and whatever bad die rolls she ends up making. It doesn't have to go that way, but it's an option.

Oscar, sorry to see you go, but totally understand having to focus time and energy elsewhere.

@Oscar - I'm sorry to hear that, it sucks when RL gets in teh way of fun! I hope it all works out for you and maybe I'll see you around on this forum at some point in future

I'm using this as a Reach Out move, but it looks like the DM_DM will be rolling because it's an NPC?

In Apocolypse games the DM - like Einstein's god - doesn't roll dice. They jsut tell you what happens.

I see some great gampleay posts, I'm in the lab all day so I won't have a chance to post proprly until this eveining (UK time).

Bad news, all. DM messaged me earlier today to make sure I was still around. I said yes, but I was way behind on all the reading about relationships in this thread, lore in this thread and the PDF, and finally two days' worth of Gameplay posts. I was still chugging along, but it's a bit overwhelming for me.

No worries, man. Life happens. Work and family come first, always. See you in another game!

Sory to see you go Oscar, but fully understand the situation. Being new to the game myself, it's a solid learning curve. In addition to that, our current group seems well written, which ends up being a bit of reading. That can be a commitment of time if you're jumping into it from the beginning. That said, I can say I have enjoyed what has been narrated so fare.

Sorry to see you go Oscar. PbP's are long affairs though so maybe sometime in the future we'll see you back when it works better.

Just to double check if I've understood Reaching Out correctly...

The character who uses the move doesn't roll, the target of the move does. So whether the target is an NPC (Commander Benjamin) or a character (Thea) success or failure is based on the roll of the target. Is that right?

Oh, I also found this regarding starting relationships. Some of them do get a +1. From page 85:

Once you’ve answered your Relationship questions, everyone who has either answered one of your questions or had their answered by you gets a level one Relationship with you. Multiple questions doesn’t mean a higher-level Relationship.

DM: A couple of things. First, given the RP so far, the slow fleshing out of her NPC squad, and where Thea as a character seems to be going, I'm thinking taking Squad Leader from the Virgo playbook makes way more sense than Solo Mission. Since I haven't actually rolled anything yet, nor gained any XP, are you okay with that change?

Squadron Leader is pretty nice, but it's situational. So, sure, no problem with the change.

Second, just to clarify my thoughts on Thea's visions/hallucinations, at the moment I'm just thinking of these as simple internal manifestations of her stress and pressure. As pressure goes up, everything gets worse from an RP perspective. Seems like they could be a good reason for some of the Breaking Point actions once she tops out. This would also mean the help she's received really does pull her back from the edge for the moment since Thea's pressure has dropped back down to 1.

This makes perfect sense.

I'm open to making the condition be something more over time, actual messages from the Tenebrium or more severe jump sickness, Corvax infiltration/infection, actual mental collapse, poisoning by some Faction she's crossed, whatever fits within the fiction and whatever bad die rolls she ends up making. It doesn't have to go that way, but it's an option.

Someone once said that "the rule in the Army is, Never Volunteer. The rule in gaming is, Don't Give The DM Ideas."

Thea 'Firefly' Gillis wrote:

I'm open to making the condition be something more over time, actual messages from the Tenebrium or more severe jump sickness, Corvax infiltration/infection, actual mental collapse, poisoning by some Faction she's crossed, whatever fits within the fiction and whatever bad die rolls she ends up making. It doesn't have to go that way, but it's an option.

Someone once said that "the rule in the Army is, Never Volunteer. The rule in gaming is, Don't Give The DM Ideas."

Ha! Yes, I know that, but being a DM much of the last 40 years, I just can't help but think like one even with my own characters.

Just to double check if I've understood Reaching Out correctly...

The character who uses the move doesn't roll, the target of the move does. So whether the target is an NPC (Commander Benjamin) or a character (Thea) success or failure is based on the roll of the target. Is that right?

Hannah, I don't think you have that right. As the one making the Move, you are the one who rolls. It doesn't matter if it is an NPC or PC, you still roll. At least that is my interpretation. If I've got that wrong, then apologies if it seems like Thea has been blowing off your Reach Out attempt.

DM: I guess if I'm interpreting that wrong let me know, because then I might need to roll something.

I'm not sure how the Reach out move works on NPCs - do they get pressure? Otherwise you'll just always choose to reduce the pressure for yourself, no? Have I missed something?

I'm not sure how the Reach out move works on NPCs - do they get pressure? Otherwise you'll just always choose to reduce the pressure for yourself, no? Have I missed something?

NPCs don't get Pressure, so yes you'll always choose to reduce the Pressure for yourself.

-- By the way: if you're ever thinking you might want to leave the campaign -- family, work, time constraints, decided it's not your thing, whatever?

Obviously you can drop any time. But -- the game also literally includes a self-destruct mode. If you want your PC to go out with a bang, just do moves and eat Pressure until you've ticked all your Pressure boxes and hit a Breaking Point. Then we just agree on a Breaking Point action that either kills your PC or anyway removes them permanently from play.

Obviously this is optional, and people can just step down in the normal manner. But if you want to depart the game in a storm of drama or a blaze of glory, the game literally has that as a Move.

Thea 'Firefly' Gillis wrote:

Sometime after her talk with Sasha...

[snip scene]

Okay! Making a hard apology absolutely counts as Reaching Out. +1 XP and -1 Pressure and +1 Relationship with Moran.

(Also, you guys have been rolling darn well -- I don't think anyone has missed a hit yet.)

Moran is your creation and I don't have a clear idea of him as an NPC yet. Do you want to give his response, or shall we just say he's surprised but pleased, and thinks better of you?

I think we can just say he is surprised but pleased. And given the success, he'd go ahead and give her permission to work on the experimental thruster. With the clear stipulations it is on her time and if the Chief grants her clearance to use a section of the hanger deck.

Just to check, is our current mission now finding a new source of fuel? I saw that Sasha is exploring one avenue. I can't see Thea able to Support that effort much at this point since she's got zero ties to the criminal element. Do we want to work multiple angles such as Thea using a scout craft to scan various potential systems identified by Command and Science Branch as potential natural sources of Flerovium? Basically it would be a Seek Out move? Or maybe she's initially assigned (as part of her light duty requirements) to help the science team peruse the astronomical databases for any good potential systems within a jump or two to search?

If we don't want to have multiple threads, then I'll probably just try to push the new thrusters project forward. In this case it would either be a Seek Out to round up initial parts or Pull Strings to ask for the Chief's okay. Hrrmmmm...if she's spending time in Engineering and the part's stores, maybe she could notice Foster poking around and be able to Interfere in some way if she had a legit reason to, which she doesn't right now. (Other than why would another ship's chief be poking through their stores.)

I would think at teh very least Thea would mention it to Sasha, even if it's jsut in passing

@DMDM - I'm fine with it being a Gus Fring type, Sasha doesn't have time for the "burn it all down" types or the people who are too short sihghted to see the long term gain. The fact he's a psycho isn't a deal breaker from her POV. Unles you're time skiping though I think the meeting room is her sickbay - she's still recovering from her injuries.

@DM_DM: We're going with Hannah being a civilian then? That's what the XO said in his post. I'd started posting figuring her to be an Ensign specialist in the military but I'm fine with either one.

Actually it might be a good thing to have one character who is a civilian?

I would think at teh very least Thea would mention it to Sasha, even if it's jsut in passing

That's a given, assuming Thea actually spots Foster which I will leave up to DMDM.

@DM_DM: We're going with Hannah being a civilian then? That's what the XO said in his post. I'd started posting figuring her to be an Ensign specialist in the military but I'm fine with either one.

Actually it might be a good thing to have one character who is a civilian?

Either way works for me. I have Thea interacting with you as an Ensign, but maybe it was just an odd temp rank "security clearance" type thing until your official status gets settled. Something you needed just to come on board as part of a civvie repair crew or something.

It's a miltary ship, so maybe Hannah needs an acting rank in order to sort what sort of pay (ha) and bunk - or other benefits - she gets? She's probably been told not to get funny and try to give orders to us actual soldiers :)

It's a miltary ship, so maybe Hannah needs an acting rank in order to sort what sort of pay (ha) and bunk - or other benefits - she gets? She's probably been told not to get funny and try to give orders to us actual soldiers :)

I think no actual rank -- civilians can work with soldiers. Soldiers may be detailed to you, or simply told to allow you to do certain things and not bother you.

I would think at teh very least Thea would mention it to Sasha, even if it's jsut in passing

I'm less sure -- though she might run into her poking around Engineering, sure.

(Hm: does this game have a "check to see if a random thing happens" roll?)

@DMDM - I'm fine with it being a Gus Fring type, Sasha doesn't have time for the "burn it all down" types or the people who are too short sihghted to see the long term gain. The fact he's a psycho isn't a deal breaker from her POV. Unles you're time skiping though I think the meeting room is her sickbay - she's still recovering from her injuries.

1) Gus wasn't a psycho. He was very, very sane. Just evil.

(Tangent: I saw an interview with Giancarlo Esposito where he was asked to give D&D alignments to some of the characters he's played. Esposito -- who has played some of the most terrifying badasses on TV -- turns out to be a very cheerful bubbly guy who says things like "Oh gosh" and "awwww". Anyway: he absolutely cast Gus Fring as Neutral Evil, and I absolutely agree.)

2) Normally you go to see Mr. Luca, not the other way around. But if you're really injured? He might stop by. He's not a monster.

Okay, he is actually a monster, but not that particular kind of monster.

3) Now I'm thinking I might do a time skip. Watch this space.

Now that I'm starting to get a feel for how the game works, I'm wondering if the Getting to Know All About You move is actually useful. It doesn't seem to do anything more than the basic social moves do. It might even be more limited since its wording tends to imply it can only be used at a first meeting with someone the character doesn't know.

If that's so, the question possibilities are really weird ones to be asking someone who's essentially a stranger. I can't think how a character would be asking them right off the bat without it ringing false as any kind of natural sounding conversation.

If it's alright I think I'd like to switch it to something that might see more use. Any of the ones below might be better.

1. Explorer (Playbook) Only usable in a new place, but knowing dangers and resources seems more in line with Hannah as a scientist.

2. In the Neighborhood (Playbook) Popping up in odd places at odd times could be beneficial, but mostly this one has comic potential by playing into Hannah as an odd duck.

3. Investigator (Role) We had one but lost him. Mostly to make Hannah more flexible when nothing needs to be fixed. Also dovetails with her as a curious scientist.

Now that I'm starting to get a feel for how the game works, I'm wondering if the Getting to Know All About You move is actually useful. It doesn't seem to do anything more than the basic social moves do. It might even be more limited since its wording tends to imply it can only be used at a first meeting with someone the character doesn't know.

If that's so, the question possibilities are really weird ones to be asking someone who's essentially a stranger. I can't think how a character would be asking them right off the bat without it ringing false as any kind of natural sounding conversation.

Overall this seems to be a well designed and playtested game, but that doesn't mean everything about it is balanced and perfect. There are some Moves that look pretty powerful and/or abusable, and some others that seem niche or awkward.

1. Explorer (Playbook) Only usable in a new place, but knowing dangers and resources seems more in line with Hannah as a scientist.

2. In the Neighborhood (Playbook) Popping up in odd places at odd times could be beneficial, but mostly this one has comic potential by playing into Hannah as an odd duck.

3. Investigator (Role) We had one but lost him. Mostly to make Hannah more flexible when nothing needs to be fixed. Also dovetails with her as a curious scientist.

No problem with any of these. In the next arc, Explorer and Investigator are more likely to be useful.

Okay so the "action" arc will involve the Cerberus traveling to the hidden refinery of a billionaire prepper, based on information from the Nexus that there is Juice there. We can assume that this collaborates with information that the Fleet already had, but that the info from the Nexus, plus desperation, has pushed them over the edge to actually sending an expedition there.

You know some of the issues already, viz., everything is really radioactive. This puts a Doom Clock on the action and also means that if you roll badly, something probably breaks.

We can work out questions about the scenario over here. You can ask me stuff;. I may also throw out some questions for your (totally optional) consideration. "What is the name of the prepper billionaire and what is problematic about them" seems like a good start.

Also, feel free to retcon or flashback any scenes or loose ends from the last arc.

1. Explorer (Playbook) Only usable in a new place, but knowing dangers and resources seems more in line with Hannah as a scientist.

2. In the Neighborhood (Playbook) Popping up in odd places at odd times could be beneficial, but mostly this one has comic potential by playing into Hannah as an odd duck.

3. Investigator (Role) We had one but lost him. Mostly to make Hannah more flexible when nothing needs to be fixed. Also dovetails with her as a curious scientist.

No problem with any of these. In the next arc, Explorer and Investigator are more likely to be useful.

Alright Thanks! I've taken Explorer since I know it is one I'd be taking at some point.

Yeah, Getting to Know All About You does have some power, on a 10+ it gets the user -1 pressure and the person asked the questions -2 pressure if they answer. But the conditions for use mean only one use ever per person and very soon after meeting them. Since NPCs don't accumulate pressure that would mean 3 uses for it total barring new characters entering the game.

And like I said, the questions are weirdly invasive to be asking people who are more or less strangers: Hi, I'm Hannah Wessell. Nice to meet you. What do you need forgiveness for?"

That's overly literal of course but after thinking on it for a while, it's hard to see how the questions could be softened much while still remaining within the spirit of the options for questions.

I could see it working in a couple of cases. Maybe it would be good for an interrogator. It also might be good for a military officer for talking to those under their command (see any of the 'good' officer one-on-one pep talks with a soldier in any war movie). Some power differential making the user considerably more powerful than the person questioned would normalize the conversational exchanges.

And like I said, the questions are weirdly invasive to be asking people who are more or less strangers: Hi, I'm Hannah Wessell. Nice to meet you. What do you need forgiveness for?"

Lol but I do know people like that - in science the joke is not so much if you're on teh spectrum but *how far*

Haha, it's true. I have a few tippy-toes over onto the spectrum myself. I'm in the social sciences and sometimes joke it's because I need to explicitly learn social rules most people learn implicitly.

But to your point, you're on target. Getting to Know All About You is almost a template for a particular way to fail at establishing a relationship with someone.

Without grinding through a bunch of Conversation Analysis and Socio-Linguistics stuff, it fails to take into account conversational goals and micro-rules regarding relative social positioning between conversants. The neutral, verbal exchange of information is considered to be the whole of the conversation, which is one reason why people on the autism spectrum can be unsuccessful in social interactions.

I mentioned interrogators and officers as examples before because there is a pre-established power differential present. If the conversants are presumed approximate equals without significant prior knowledge of each other, and groundwork previously laid, the possible kinds of questions given will probably be interpreted as power plays intended to force the person asked into a a weaker position viv-a-vis the asker.

Oh, the other obvious question to answer: "As Cerberus approaches the refinery, what is my character doing?"

So, the prepped, let's call him - it's almost certainly a him - Courcy de Vries because why not. When the Corax first appeared he was convinced they were hostile and started building a place away from everywhere to survive/ressit when they attacked. He had no evidence but of course turned out to be right, so now he's a complete "they called me mad! Mad!!!" type. Problematic because *extreme* paranoid and also now convinced that all his other loony beliefs are true because of course he is. I'm happy to leave whatever those loony beliefs are to the DM or anyone else who want to add something.

Is he also maybe a relative of someone?

I'm not sure what Sasha would be doing - I don't think I have enough to go on. The obvious answer is to ask what she's been ordered to do?

Does the XO agree to give Hannah blueprints for the Cerberus?

So, the prepped, let's call him - it's almost certainly a him - Courcy de Vries because why not. When the Corax first appeared he was convinced they were hostile and started building a place away from everywhere to survive/ressit when they attacked. He had no evidence but of course turned out to be right, so now he's a complete "they called me mad! Mad!!!" type. Problematic because *extreme* paranoid and also now convinced that all his other loony beliefs are true because of course he is. I'm happy to leave whatever those loony beliefs are to the DM or anyone else who want to add something.

All life was created by benevolent ancient aliens. The Corax are their enemies. The Celestials could crush them but they have gone away. We need to attract their attention so they will come back and save us.

I'm not sure what Sasha would be doing - I don't think I have enough to go on. The obvious answer is to ask what she's been ordered to do?

You're the quartermaster, so you're always busy, but you get to move around.

Note that this is a time skip, so your injuries have probably improved. Likely not enough to be completely healed, mind.

Does the XO agree to give Hannah blueprints for the Cerberus?

The bits that are relevant, sure.