Tarren Dei's page

For discussions between players not characters

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.

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.

A discussion thread to discuss things ...

They said to wear your costume, but none of the people you met in the last 50 minutes were wearing a costume. If anyone thought you looked silly signing non-disclosure agreements in your costume, they didn't say it. Everyone was very professional. They didn't seem like the lab techs and scientists you may have met from Boston Theoretical. They were much more serious than that.

The last paper you signed, if you read it correctly, threatened a trip the Guantanamo Bay facility with its power dampening technology, if you breathed a word about what you are about to see. It explained that the series of experiments you just agreed to were being observed by the Pentagon and that the Pentagon had the right to terminate the experiment at any time.

After all that build-up, they walk you into a large room with one wall lined with monitors. The sign on the door says "Observation Deck."

There are other people in costumes too.

What do these costumed superheroes see when they look at you?
Whose name did you give them as your next of kin?
In one sentence, how did you get roped into this gig? Did they appeal to your sense of patriotism? Threaten to deport you? Offer you a paying job? Promise you'd get paid in exposure? Offer to take care of your cats? What would it take for Boston Theoretical to get you to agree to participate in a dangerous and secretive experiment?

You have powers. Maybe you were built in a lab or created in a gene splicer. Maybe you were born on another planet. Maybe you're just a very exceptional human being. The year is 2219 and you're not an ordinary human.

Whatever it is that makes you super, Boston Theoretical wants to talk to you. As far as you can tell, Boston Theoretical doesn't exist. If you hadn't just received an old-fashioned handwritten letter in the mail asking you to fly to Boston "at your earliest convenience" for an opportunity of "world-changing significance," you would never have heard of them.

Also in the envelope was an airplane ticket (first-class with flexible dates) and a map to Boston Theoretical. The letter said to "pack light."

I'm looking to start a fast-paced play-by-post that sends some superheroes built using Starfinder rules on some transdimensional adventures. Boston Theoretical wouldn't feel out of place in the worlds of Planetary or Global Frequency or Stormwatch. There are some very dangerous people in the world and they are becoming more dangerous all the time. Luckily, this is also a world with superheroes. You're one of them.

Characters would be built using Starfinder rules; 3rd level to start. Any race, any class, any theme. You are a superhero, and your character concept should include an explanation of how you came to be one. My preference would be for the majority of the heroes to be humans, or at least, from Earth, as that's where the game is starting.

My preference is always for a fast-paced game.

Any interest?

This is the discussion thread for the Magician's Table Discussion.

Chapter 1: Witches of the Coast

Are there enough people interest in a modern magical setting and the Bloodlines and Black Magic rules to get a PbP going?

I'm thinking about running a game, maybe set in fictional small town Maine in the 80s. A bit of a mystery-horror game with a dash of super hero.

Feel free to discuss the game and stuff here.

The DATE is May 13, 2219 at 13:00

It is Thursday.

The screen nearest you displayed the following memo.

Temporal Anomaly Recognition & Observation Team requires your expertise. TAROT is authorized to select and require transfer of any and all necessary personnel from law enforcement, military, and state-funded universities who have specific areas of expertise as required for specific missions. Prisoners may also be remanded into TAROT custody.

Prepare for immediate transportation. Allow two-way communication and wait for further instructions.

You've heard of TAROT. Most of the people living in the North American Regional Alliance have. TAROT was first proposed when time travel was still a hypothetical possibility. Once enough eccentric billionaires had succeeded at time travel, the question of whether or not it should be allowed became moot. TAROT was established to 'police' the timeline.

For the most part, policing the timeline has meant maintaining a time machine--one of seven known to exist--and hoping no one takes one of the other six out for a joyride. The integrity of the timeline is constantly compared to a backup copy maintained on an extratemporal server.

What were you doing at 13:00 on a typical weekday when you received this memo? Drop everything, enable two-way communication on a screen, and prepare to get yourself to the nearest exit.

This is an interest check for a time travel / time-hopping PbP adventure using Starfinder rules--think Travellers, Timeless, or, if the PCs really mess up, 12 Monkeys. The adventure I have planned starts off with a trip back in time to investigate a blip in the timeline, circa 1968. The PCs are sent back to find out who is manipulating the timeline and why.

I tried to get something going once, but it didn't seem to get off the ground. You can check it out here if interested. Perhaps it's not the kind of thing people want in a PbP, but I envision a game combining role-playing and combat. I'm really thinking of something that is story and character driven. I know where I want the story to go at first, but once things get rolling, the story will adapt to the PCs.

I prefer a pace of game in which players check the thread daily. I'm open to suggestions on how to make the game more interesting. I aim to work with each of the characters.

Characters:
Perhaps it is best to stick with human or androids or others that could 'pass' on Earth historically.
PCs could be historians, soldiers, tech-wizards, pilots, mechanics, and spies.
The PCs could be any alignment, but their histories must be such that a gov't agency would trust them with a time machine (perhaps unwisely?).

Interest? Thoughts?

Use this thread to talk to each other or to yell at me.

It is early morning and you are on the stretch of road that runs between Olfden and Falcon’s Hollow. The Darkmoon Wood is to the north of the river and in the distance still. You've heard that it used to come right up to the river's north bank, but it's been cut back miles from the Foam River after years of logging. The southern river bank is dotted with outcroppings of trees too small to attract a lumberjack’s axe.

It’s promising to be a clear day with deep blue skies, perhaps even a good day, cool, but sunny. A breeze, but not too chill.

The road you’re on passes Falcon’s Hollow from points north. It crosses the Foam River, and, then, runs south-southwest for about twenty miles, and, then straight south to Olfden, for another 30 miles or so. It skirts the Arthfell Forest, which remains to the west of the road.

You’re a mile south of the River Foam now, and, that means, a mile from the river crossing to Falcon’s Hollow. If Falcon's Hollow is your destination, you're almost there.

If you are travelling north from Olfden, you probably slept along the way somewhere along the way, probably near the Arthfell, or rode all night if you came directly from Olfden. Stories are told about the old druids of the Arthfell forest, so you may not have slept under the branches of the Arthfell. The stories probably aren’t true, but the forest is generally left alone anyway. It lacks Darkwood trees, which means the Lumber Consortium has little interest in it. The Darkmoon Woods are to the north and that's where the Lumber Consortium's interests lie.

If you are travelling south, you could have been coming from Falcon’s Hollow, or you may have passed Falcon’s Hollow on the way, coming from Isger, Druma, the Five King Mountains, or Kyonin. If you are travelling south, You would have just crossed the river in the last hour.

I'm looking to run a PbP and was thinking of a visit to Darkmoon Vale. I'd be looking for players who would try to post once a day, so that we could build up enough of a pace to keep everyone interested.

4-6 players, first level, High Fantasy point buy.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/basics-ability-scores/ability-scores/

Any interest? Any questions?

Welcome to the discussion thread for Agents of TAROT.

DATE 2219 13 05 13:00

The screen nearest you displayed the following memo.

Temporal Anomaly Recognition & Observation Team requires your expertise. TAROT is authorized to select and require transfer of any and all necessary personnel from law enforcement, military, and state-funded universities who have specific areas of expertise as required for specific missions. Permit two-way communication and wait for further instructions.

You've heard of TAROT. Most of the people living in the North American Regional Alliance have. It was supposed to be secret. It's hard to keep an entire government agency with twenty full-time researchers dedicated to policing the timeline secret.

For the most part, policing the timeline has meant maintaining a time machine--one of seven known to exist--and hoping no one takes one of the other six out for a joyride. The integrity of the timeline is constantly compared to a backup copy maintained on an extratemporal server.

Maybe you understand why this is necessary, but most people thought it was a waste. Time travel was possible and it had been done, but it consumes a massive amount of energy. The six other time machines in the world were under lock and key.

What were you doing at 13:00 on a typical weekday when you received this memo?

ALERT TO ALL AGENCIES

The Temporal Anomaly Recognition & Observation Team requires agents for an away mission, destination 1968.

TAROT is authorized to select and require the transfer of any and all necessary personnel from law enforcement, military, and state-funded universities who have some or all of the following qualifications:

* Human;
* Chronosphere piloting certification;
* TAMPER (Timestream Awareness Maintenance & Perpetuation) Certification Level 3;
* Ability to speak 20th Century American English or equivalent;
* No fear of time travel.

This is a temporary and probationary assignment. Candidates for permanent positions must be able to pass the highest levels of security clearance including interviews with all future descendants should they choose to reproduce.

DATE 2219 13 05

Hi, I've sent a couple emails (first one August 30) and wanted to check that you got them. My binding was one of those that was messed up.

I sent a photo.

Could you acknowledge that you have received my query?

In a fight, who do you think would win- a crocodile or midsized shark?

I'm going to be in Kitchener-Waterloo end of this month. Anyone have open PFS games going on there?

Stat that Sheeple!

Thanks for getting this up!

I love the cover artwork for this one.

My money is on Big Bird.

I'll be in Fredericton at the end of May. Any gamers there who are running or could host a game on May 29th, 30th, or 31st in the evenings?

Thank you, Vic, for getting this up.

Paizonians are a pretty creative bunch. Any suggestions for games that can be played using Game Mastery cards (besides the obvious use in RPG games, of course).

Blade Runner was set in 2019. My car gets no lift, none at all. I'm looking for more.

I'm particularly thinking of using this as activity for teaching in the ESL class. I figure it could be a creative and interesting task that would require students to work in groups and discuss. They could later present their ideas to the class. Also, they could play their games.

Anyone know of a good primer on card game and/or board game design?

What are the best card and board games for teaching English as a Second Language?
-- the game should have lots of opportunities to use language;
-- routine and repetitive expressions are great but so is creative language use;
-- the game should not be too violent or likely to get too many parents upset;
-- word games are easy to sell to teachers but they really only reinforce vocabulary knowledge (still, I'd like to hear your ideas here too).

I think so.

Anyone know good heraldry software. I have a description of my family crest and would like to put it together.

Anyone know an online retailer who sells Pathfinder goodies and takes Paypal?

Give stats to creatures, people, traps, etc. from the news.

Stat that bowel eating swamp eel.

I'm looking to get a Pathfinder Society game in while I'm in Montreal on
29 May or May 30 2010. Any ideas?

I'm white.

1. Pawn@C2 to C4 ...

Is there a shortage of wii consoles in other places? I went to every store in town today and none of them had a wii. I checked at some online Canadian retailers and couldn't find any there. Anyone know anything?

Last year, having the chance to compete in RPG Superstar was a great thrill. Being able to get honest and straightforward feedback on my ideas from professionals made it well worth the effort I put in. Your dedication to this contest was reward enough.

This year, I can't wait to watch how the contest unfolds. I hope that both those who are selected and those who aren't appreciate the time and energy you put in and remember that you do this out of a love for the industry and out of a desire to encourage new writers to sharpen their pencils and their skills.

Any comments on the summoner class so far?

In Casmaron, in far off Vudra,
Near bright-lit Obari's shores,
Rajah Kasoong Kar sat sated,
Victor of one hundred wars.

His worshippers were many.
His enemies were but few.
Of the contenders for his throne,
All but one he slew.

To that one, his brother Thasir Kar,
The Rajah bequeathed a vassal state
But in Thasir's corrupted heart
Gratitude soon turned to hate.

In the heart of the conqueror's city
Thasir Kar much gold did pour
To distract the triumphant sibling
While Thasir prepared for war.

Knowing his brother's appetites
And hunger for gold and gore,
Thasir built a mighty skirmish ring
Where the gambling crowds would roar.

Still now, in these rings do battle
Beasts summoned from other planes.
Two arcanists enter, summon allies,
And skirmish until only one remains.

Days long past, when that one
Was the wicked sibling Thasir Kar,
He taught the trusting Rajah
How dangerous eidolons are.

I'm planning to organize a summoner vs. summoner arena battle called something along the lines of "Skirmish Rings of Vudra". Each player brings one summoner and one Eidolon to the skirmish ring. Contests will be one on one. Summoners cannot directly attack each other but can attack each other indirectly through their eidolon or summoned creatures. Summoners can attack their opponents eidolon or summoned creatures. Battle ends when one summoner dies or one eidolon is defeated. Summoners and Eidolon begin the battle in their rings but may move from their rings to the arena floor if they wish.

This will be first come (fully statted summoner and eidolon) first serve.

Any interest?

Well, the playtest is coming for Cavalier, Oracle, Summoner, Witch, Alchemist and Inquisitor. What criteria will you be using when you evaluate them? What do you want to be able to seem them do?

1. Grumpy: You are seldom in a good mood and frequently express your disgruntlement to others. You gain a +2 bonus to Will saves to resist mind-affecting spells ... unless they are cast by Smurfette or Gargamel dressed as Smurfette.

Aaaah! There's zombies on my doorstep. What should I do?

Prepare to post pics of possibly petrifying pumpkins, please!

Seriously.

So, my son's homework assignment was to ask me about a courageous person that he could introduce to his class. I thought about talking about Rosa Parks or Canadian Terry Fox or Ghandhi. I decided on Mother Jones because my son is quite anti-socialist and I wanted to challenge him a bit.

Who would you have picked? Who do you think of as particularly courageous?

I've got some money to spend on books related to using comic books, fantasy literature, and games in the classroom. Any suggestions?