High Colony Sam Landry turn 1 - a 5 Parsecs from Home Campaign

Introduction

I solo play though the first campaign turn of a 5 Parsecs from Home adventure using my own combat rules.  The adventure is based in the High Colonies setting – a colonised solar system in 2228.

Background

So there I was, starting a THW Future Tales solo adventure and had run through the first few scenes. 

But Five Parsecs from Home (2^nd Edition) has been in the back of my mind for a year. Regularly looking at it and in denial I was interested. Finally at the end of October 2019 I started automating as best I could everything in Five Parsecs from Home into a spreadsheet (everything but the combat part!).  I finished this in late November.  I did not want to specifically play with the 5Parsecs combat rules. I have some (unpublished) rules I have used for some previous pulp games and (unpublished) rules I use for WW2 skirmish.  I wanted to combine these rules into something I could reuse across a number of pulp-type games I plan to play (The Department, Pulp Alley campaigns, Battlestations boardgame, possibly the original Warhammer Quest).  I realised my original pulp rules were good as a basis but not suitable for a wider scope so quickly modified them.  A work in progress, they do map directly to the character abilities in 5Parsecs and so are compatible with them.  The main difference is everything is opposed GoalSystem dice roll pools.  Each side will roll 1-5 six-sided dice and compare successes.  GoalSystem is that on each die, a 1-3 is zero successes, 4-5 one success and a 6 is two successes.

I decided to run the adventure using the newly unearthed (by me) High Colonies RPG set in the near future Solar System.  I have a blog page for details on HighColonies setting.

All the campaign turn narrative is generated by the spreadsheet, except the actual encounter.

Changes to the rules

I tried to limit the changes to the rules as much as possible but here they are:

•  Combat rules are different but are compatible with character and weapon stats.  Also, I will be playing encounters on a 2’x2’ board.
• The XP required to level up is different for each level and generally harder than the rules (this aligns to how the abilities are used in combat).
• Luck was added to the rules in version .10 but I have not included it.
• Story Points are tracked but I think I will only use them to save PCs from death.
• I added in some terrain generation rules (the encounter objective aligns to 4 terrain types that then generate a 3x3 matrix of terrain.
• I added in additional mission types from the 1^st edition for Opportunity and Quest missions.

Getting the team together

The team met through a random meeting in a bar and are best characterised as Lovable rogues.

The 6 person team:

1. Samantha Landry is a Female Scavenger with a Space station background and a motivation for Survival. Stats: Reaction 2 (body wire increased reaction), Speed 4, Combat 0, Toughness 4, Savvy 0, XP 0. Items: Body wire reflex enhancing implants.
2. Elijah Wagner is a Male Scientist with a Industrial world background and a motivation for Adventure. Stats: Reaction 1, Speed 4, Combat 0, Toughness 3, Savvy 1, XP 0.
3. Omari Crawford is a Male Working class with a War torn hell hole background and a motivation for Escape. Stats: Reaction 2, Speed 5, Combat 0, Toughness 3, Savvy 1, XP 0.
4. Cain Randolph is a Male Scoundrel with a Bureaucratic class background and a motivation for Adventure. Stats: Reaction 1, Speed 5, Combat 0, Toughness 3, Savvy 0, XP 0.
5. Santos Kirk is a Male Enforcer with a Wasteland nomads background and a motivation for Truth. Stats: Reaction 2, Speed 4, Combat 1, Toughness 3, Savvy 0, XP 0.
6. Jaylin Wang is a Female Working class with a Tech guild background and a motivation for Order. Stats: Reaction 1, Speed 4, Combat 0, Toughness 3, Savvy 2, XP 0.

Stash

Low-Tech Weapons: Shotgun, Handgun, Brutal melee weapon, Handgun, Rifle, Shotgun.

High-Tech Weapons: Hand flamer, Hand cannon, Clingfire pistol, Glare sword, Blast rifle.

Military Weapons: Blast rifle.

Gear: Dazzle grenades, Purifier, Nano-doc, Combat armour.

Gadgets: Duplicator.

Credits: 16. Patrons: 2. Rivals: 0. Not on a Quest. Clues: 2. Rumours: 0.

Campaign turn 01 – A fight with raiders

Period 1. Location: Cook. Cook is a Colony station and is at Earth-Moon L3 with a population of 1200,000 that are Wary. The government is Australia and ruled via a Multi-Party Parliament.

The team of 6 is currently Samantha Landry, Elijah Wagner, Omari Crawford, Cain Randolph, Santos Kirk, Jaylin Wang.

Credits: 16. Patrons: 2. Rivals: 0. Not on a Quest. Clues: 2. Rumours: 0.

The team decide to not travel.

Upkeep is 1 Credits.

No one in Sickbay.

Jobs

Crew available for jobs are: Samantha Landry, Elijah Wagner, Omari Crawford, Cain Randolph, Santos Kirk, Jaylin Wang.

Omari Crawford and Cain Randolph look for a patron. 2 Credits are spent to help out. Existing Patron found: Sector government.

Job on offer pays 2 Credits and have 1 turn to execute.

Samantha Landry trains and goes from 0XP to 1XP.

Elijah Wagner trains and goes from 0XP to 1XP.

Santos Kirk explores and finds an Arms dealer. 3 Credits each, in order: Shellgun, Blast rifle, Rifle, Suppression maul, Rattlegun.  Team buys the Shellgun and Blast Rifle (6 Credits).

Jaylin Wang explores and gets a few drinks. No effect.

Total spent on jobs is 8 Credits.

Assigning equipment

Samantha Landry is assigned: Clingfire pistol, Brutal melee weapon, Combat armour, Body wire reflex enhancing implants.

Elijah Wagner is assigned: Hand flamer, Glare sword.

Omari Crawford is assigned: Hand cannon.

Cain Randolph is assigned: Blast rifle.

Santos Kirk is assigned: Shellgun.

Jaylin Wang is assigned: Blast rifle.

Mission

Ok, now for the admission – I have no SF figures.  Well, OK, I have some 15mm unpainted figures that are in storage and did a quick look but cannot find.  I also have little in the way of SF terrain.  So what do I have: 20mm WW2 figures and some terrain not in storage and 20mm railway characters I plan to use for Pulp Alley and similar games.  So the raiders look just like WW2 soviets and our team look like they are waiting for a train 😊 I can suspend my disbelief as I assume the team could look like normal people but with weapons.  Imagine the weapons.  And Cook I a space colony so the terrain could be anything – just so happens to look very “Earthy”.  I thought about adding some SF bits to at least give a semblance, but did look around the house very hard as I was focussed on playing.

No quest.

Mission selected is: Patron mission.

Patron for the mission is Sector government.

Opposition is 7 Aggressive Raiders with a Morale of 2.

Boss: S-4 C-2 T-4 Rifle, Old fashioned blade, Hand gun

Lieutenant: S-4 C-2 T-3 Rifle, Old fashioned blade

Specialist: S-4 C-1 T-3 Shotgun

Raiders: S-4 C-1 T-3 Rifle

Raiders: S-4 C-1 T-3 Rifle

Raiders: S-4 C-1 T-3 Rifle

Raiders: S-4 C-1 T-3 Rifle

The opposition.

Deploy Conditions: None

Notable Sights: None

Mission Target: Patrol. Fight a normal battle and hold the field at the end.

Objective: Store.

Terrain Type: Mixed

Terrain layout (3 x 3 areas):

Open, Open, Open

Open, Crops, Crops

Park, Light woods, Light woods

Store location: 3

The team on the mission:

• Samantha Landry: R-2 S-4 C-0 T-4 Svy-0 Clingfire pistol Brutal melee weapon Armour: Combat armour.
• Elijah Wagner: R-1 S-4 C-0 T-3 Svy-1 Hand flamer Glare sword.
• Omari Crawford: R-2 S-5 C-0 T-3 Svy-1 Hand cannon.
• Cain Randolph: R-1 S-5 C-0 T-3 Svy-0 Blast rifle.
• Santos Kirk: R-2 S-4 C-1 T-3 Svy-0 Shellgun.
• Jaylin Wang: R-1 S-4 C-0 T-3 Svy-2 Blast rifle.

Our team.

The final number of enemies opposing the mission is 7.

Deploy enemies: Set up in one “blob” with 1“ between each figure.

The team seizes the initiative. Any character in your crew may either take a normal move or may fire before the game begins.

The game table with both sides deployed.

Encounter

Note: combat rules used for this encounter are here.

For seizing the initiative, Omari moves up to get into range.

Omari dashes up the side of the road.

For the Quick Phase, only one roll available to assign so give it to Omari to fire as he is a little exposed.  Omari fires at the raider to his front for no effect.

The raiders are aggressive enemies so most advance.  For Omari this is bad as three enemy converge on him.

Aggressive enemies charging forward.  Omari is a target in reach of three of them! 

Omari Vs three Raiders:   Omari does not do well and The Boss is hard to beat (especially when he rolled really well).  Omari is out of the fight.

Omari is out of the fight.  Not unexpected.

The rest of the team now get to respond, revenge for Omari!

Elijah has a hand flamer that can reach the three raiders. Pins the Boss; suppresses a raider.

Jaylin with the blast rifle:  nothing.

Cain with the blast rifle:  pins a raider.

Santos’s shellgun: suppresses a raider.

Sam then charges into melee with the Boss!

After some fire have suppressed some of them, Sam charges into melee with the Boss!

The Boss it out of the fight!  But Sam is pinned in return by one of the other raiders that managing to get in a melee hit even while suppressed.

(turn 2)

Sam, Elijah and Cain go in the Quick Phase.

Sam melees a raider that goes out of the fight

After putting the Boss down last turn, Sam manages to put another raider out of the fight.

 Elijah advances then fires his hand flamer to pins the Lieutenant.

Elijah uses his flamethrower but is obviously unfamiliar with it as it surprisingly does nothing!

Cain uses his blast rifle at raider at the back who is out of the fight!

In response to the above, a raider melees Sam for no effect.

Cian blasts a raider out of the fight!

 The Lieutenant and the Specialist charge at Elijah.

The flamer doing nothing, the two enemy that were targeted charge Elijah.

Elijah out of the fight.

Not surprisingly, Elijah is out of the fight.

The raiders have lost three members, one above morale level.  The raiders decide to retire.

The team has the field!

Post-Encounter

The mission was a success!

The team held the field at the end.

The team did not run away.

The team managed to kill the Boss.

Survival: 4 are OK.  2 are not OK

Elijah Wagner is not OK. Crippling wound Require 1d6 Credits of surgery or suffer -1 permanent reduction to highest of Speed or Toughness. 1 terms in SickBay.

Omari Crawford is not OK. Crippling wound Require 1d6 Credits of surgery or suffer -1 permanent reduction to highest of Speed or Toughness. 1 terms in SickBay.

The team did not make a new Rival.

Pay/salvage is 3 Credits plus Patron bonus of 2 Credits. Total earned is 5 Credits.

Loot! Recreational supplies. Can be sold for 1D6 Credits and crew does not require Upkeep next campaign turn.

Samantha Landry awarded 4 XP for an overall total of 5 XP for surviving and holding the field, inflicted a casualty on the enemy Boss.

Cain Randolph awarded 3 XP for an overall total of 3 XP for surviving and holding the field.

Santos Kirk awarded 3 XP for an overall total of 3 XP for surviving and holding the field.

Jaylin Wang awarded 3 XP for an overall total of 3 XP for surviving and holding the field.

The team do not spend anything shopping.

Equipment malfunction.  A random item in your stash is Destroyed - the Blast rifle.

An event occurs for Cain Randolph. He gets hurt while working on the ship. Spend 1 turn in Sick-Bay.

The Campaign turn has ended.

Verdict

I actually had the game set up for a month to play.  I was uncertain if I could handle playing with 6 unique characters.  So uncertain that I put off playing.  I did play in the end but it was a constant flip to see what characters had what.  I had a 2 page QRS that I now need to make one.  And another good idea would be a second sheet that has the characters, and opposition and weapon descriptions and chances to hit/melee already worked out.  I can do the latter easily from the spreadsheet.

Luckily 2 were knocked down, I fudged it so they were out and left with 4.  I have changed the sheet so 3-4 characters is the norm and hard to recruit after that.  Consequently enemies roll two d4 and chose the best, rather than the best of two d6.   Other than that I had fun and will continue on for a few games at least.  I may also change the combat rules as the distances are so close.  Although I do like the fact that the games are at close range shots and involve melee.  It was also a result of the enemies being aggressive so advanced.

I also need to check out Version 1.13 – I am a minor Patreon supporter and it has a lot more on the Enemy side of things that looks good.  Not sure I am ready to change the sheet yet as have only encountered one enemy so far.  Maybe later.

Searching for advanced AI - a THW Future Tales adventure

Introduction
I play through a short adventure using the Two Hour Wargames Future Tales (the SF version of Larger Than Life: Director’s Cut). I made some minor changes to the rules mostly in streamlining combat.

Background
I recently played a game using Larger Than Life: Director’s Cut due to the MeWe Solo RPG Group Event for May “Try Something New”.  That post also has a lot more background on what I am doing.  I really liked Larger than Life and so my next move was to play Future Tales that is the SF version of Larger than Life.  This is the blog post you are reading. The aim is to then tweak FUT to continue playing Classic Traveller adventures (so far I have only done the four scenarios in CT 01 Kinunir).  For the FUT Game I have set this in the Classic Traveller Spinward Marches setting as that is the setting I will be using in the next few games.

I use a spreadsheet to automate many of the steps and dice rolls. About 90% of the non-dialogue in the game report is automatically generated. I did modify some to improve readability, almost all modification was adding dialogue for context, or more often replacing generated content with dialogue. I was slack in not adding this to the other reports as dialogue is such a really critical component of play reports.

Note it took longer to modify the spreadsheet to incorporate Future Tales, mostly as I had done no travel between locales in the LTL game and so I had to put that in and fill in the tables for the NPCs.  I also had more Confrontations and in my first game I had only one at the very end so just used the existing task system.  But for FUT I had to create a decent automatic confrontation process and a Will to Fight calculation.  This took ages.  And then I got distracted by other projects before coming back to this one.  It is long but it is a full writeup of a complete Future Tales adventure.

Chapter 1 - The team find a purpose

The story begins on Regina during the daytime on June 2219 with the team in the Spaceport area of the urban region.  The team leader is Lachlan Fischer with the other members being Dustie and Courtney Bel.

Lachlan Fischer is a Human Bodyguard with a high reputation and a thoughtless personality. Attributes include Genius and Smooth. They are armed with a big laser pistol.
Dustie is a medium-sized Robot Labourer with a high reputation and a stable personality. Attributes include Shy and Smart.

Courtney Bel is a Human Trader with a low reputation, thoughtless personality and is a Crack Shot. They are armed with a laser pistol.

Regina is an Imperial planet located in the Spinward Marches and a subsector capital. It is a normal sized world with a breathable atmosphere, some water and is at an agreeable temperature. The tech level is similar to 21stC, population is average and the law level allows no weapons. The government is based on a bureaucracy with a corporate society and a rich economy based on agriculture and industry. It has fuel, repair and ship building facilities and military bases. A notable feature is its strange geology.

The team need to recover an object: an advanced artificial intelligence system.  To achieve this requires around three clues and may take up to seven scenes to complete.

They are crossing paths with Curtis Solomon, a Big Bad Human Military Villain with a high reputation. Attributes include Crack Shot and Dim. They are armed with a repeater rifle.

Chapter 2 – The dangers of travel

“Hey, Lachlan, “ Dustie called out, “all out of luck with rumours here.  Except one.  It seems someone just back from the farms has heard about some high tech software smuggling occurring.  Might be worth checking out.”

“Ok, sounds like a plan.“ Lachlan replied, and then added under his breath “we don’t have much else…”

 To continue the team need to travel to a Rural zone of Regina. The team arrive at the Rural locale via personal ground transport. The tension level is low.

“So, Dustie, “Lachlan said. “What are we looking for?”

“My contact said it is a hidden smugglers base, probably in one of the small towns.”

“Then we better get started, it will be awhile getting there.”

To get closer to completing the objective requires the team to find an object -  the location of a secret hideout. The team realise they need to travel to the settlements area to find an object.

Ahead of the challenge, it seems the team may need to overcome a lot of possible complications along the way.

While travelling between areas, the team confront someone with a grudge: Christine Guerrero, a Human female ganger. Christine tends to be thoughtless and has issue with sneezing frequently. They have met before.

“Well hello Lachlan,” the droll voice intoned.

Lachlan stared at the woman who had called him out. “Well hello to you to Christine.”

“I see you are still keeping crap company these days?”

“C’mon Christine, let it go.  It was years ago.”

“Years ago?  Yes, years ago but you were the one that walked away, not me!” and with that Christine rushes at Lachlan with murder in her eyes.  Courtney is in her way and Christine manages to violently push her to the ground.  Lachlan and Dustie briefly scuffle with Christine who realises she is outnumbered and runs away.

Courtney gets off the ground and is clutching her stomach. “You know Lachlan, you don’t really have a great taste in friends.”

While travelling between areas, the team are jumped by some Big Bad minions. They encounter four people. The leader is Remington Barker, a Human male combat officer who tends to be thoughtful, the others are exotics. It is distinctive that Remington has distinctive jewellery.

As they charge in Remington calls out to his gang “Don’t forget, just rough them up.  A lot or a little – it is up to you!” and then to the team “Remember this as your first lesson in not crossing the boss!”
The team attempt to fire as the opponents charge at them.

Lachlan fires his laser pistol and Remington goes down.

Dustie and one of the exotics, Jace, fight it out.  Dustie is not doing well and runs away clutching her arm.

Courtney also manages to fire here laser pistol at another on the exotics who also goes out of the fight.

Lachlan quick reflexes allow him to turn his laser pistol on the last of the minions but only gets off the shot at the same time the opponent – Joslyn -  manages to land a heavy blow.  Joslyn is injured and runs away.

Remington and Vincent manage to get away before the team can get to them.

“Where’s Dustie?”

“I think she went that way.”

Lachlan and Courtney hurry down the street in the direction of Dustie.

They find Dustie, but there is no time for the team to recover from injury before they are attacked by three backup minions, just in case Remington failed. They encounter three people. The leader is Brendan Madden, a Human male mercenary who tends to be disagreeable, the others are exotics. It is distinctive that Brendan has an extra slim build.

The team shoots at the rivals as they rush at the team.

Lachlan draws his laser pistol, misses and Brendan lands a good hit on Lachlan’s shoulder.  Lachlan retaliates and manages to drive Brendan away from the fight.

Dustie’s melee opposition decides that running is a better option than fighting.

Courtney fires her laser pistol at the third minion who also decides to scarper.

“Can we not do this again?” Courtney voices aloud. “Please?”

But there is not enough time for the team to recover before their next encounter.

It is late hours in the settlement's loading docks. The still darkness reflects the lack of anything going on at all. It is here a trial to contend with appears.  They encounter two people. The leader is Jackson Buckley, a Human male smuggler who tends to be stable, the others are criminals. Observe that Jackson has a veiled face. They have met before. The team are being too conspicuous and enter into discussions.

“Lachlan, what the hell are you doing?” Jackson says.

“What do you mean?” Lachlan replies.

“You come into town, you wander around – it is obvious you are looking for something.  It doesn’t help that word is on the street that you are crossing paths with Solomon.  If I was you, just try and keep a lower profile.”

Yeah, what he said,” interjects Dustie.

Jackson finishes off what he was saying, “Anyway, just thought you should know that if you need a hand just ask – I still owe you one.”

“Thanks Jackson, will keep it in mind.”

It is late hours in the Settlement's park. The lights flicker as though poorly maintained and act as a comment on the current state of society. It is here the team face an ordeal. The team have forgotten something.

“Umm, team?” Lachlan ventured.

“Yes?”

“Does anyone remember the precise directions to the secret location?  I know it was off the side street and second on the left but cannot remember what the camouflage is. Does anyone else remember?”

Silence.

“Shit.”

It is late hours in the Settlement's streets. No one is around but it is not surprising considering the lack of anything around here of note. Courtney is chewing something. At last the team are all set to undertake to find an object - secret hideout.

Despite forgetting the exact directions, they stumble upon the location of the secret hideout that gives them a clue to help recover the advanced artificial intelligence system.

The team find time to rest and recuperate.

Lachlan needs to recover and is now all fine. Dustie needs to recover and is now all fine. Courtney Bell however get worse – the blow to her stomach caused an internal rupture. At the hospital:
“How long?” Lachlan asked the doctor.

“Months, if she pulls through.”

“That bad?”

“That bad.”

With Courtney in an induced coma, Lachlan and Dustie cannot even say goodbye.

Chapter 3 – Interference

Dustie turns to Lachlan “We need to get into system space.”

“Huh?”

Dustie has been researching on the Net for the last few days.

“I think there is a clue we can only really discover in person.”

Without a work of thanks, Lachlan says “Ok, let’s go.”

The team will need to travel quite a way to reach the spaceport.

While travelling between areas, the team are confronted by the ganger GE-E, a Medium Robot male dealer. GE-E is unarmed and immediately charges at Lachlan and Dustie. Lachlan opens fire
with his big laser pistol and shoots GE-E dead.

“Umm…Lachlan, I don’t think that was a great idea.  You are not even supposed to be carrying a laser.”

“Yeah, well he had it coming.  And there is no surveillance around here – why else do you think they went for us?”

The team arrive at the HighPort area via personal spacecraft.

“So, Dustie, what are we looking for?”

“There are reports of some strange items of clothing.  But strange as in very strange.” She paused. “The clothing is of a peculiar design and also has embedded digital threads. While not obvious, I believe it is very likely not sapient designed.”

“As in designed by…say, an artificial intelligence?” queried Lachlan.

“Yes, and the clothing has only recently been released so it could be a link to what we are looking for.” Replied Dustie.

To progress towards attaining the goal requires the team to find an object -  strange clothing. 
Looking at what is required to perform the challenge, it seems the team may need to overcome a lot of possible complications along the way.

It is early hours in the HighPort's Bar.  It is here a dilemma arises. They encounter Leonidas Silva, a  neurotic Human male corporate executive. They note that Leonidas has an obvious cleanliness fetish.

They have met before.

Leonidas turns onto Lachlan “Stop following me!”

“What?”

“I said stop following me.  You never liked me, you are still out to get me for that nightlatch job.”

Lachlan did not need to feign surprise “Leo, I did not even know you were up here. I am an unrelated job.”

“Don’t call me Leo. And then why are you stalking me?”

“I am not.”

Lachlan is not convincing and a confrontation occurs. Leonidas charges at Lachlan and Lachlan pulls out his laser pistol.  Leonidas realises the futility of his actions and runs away.

It is daytime in the HighPort's apartments.  It is here a problem crops up for the team.  They encounter two people. The leader is Curtis Solomon, the Big Bad, a human male military villain, the other is Reece, an exotic.

Curtis talks as he advances on Lachlan, “Lachlan, you do not know what you are doing; stop now or face the consequences.”

Lachlan answers by firing his laser pistol at Curtis.  He misses.

Curtis grabs Lachlan and breaks his arm. Lachlan tries to retaliate but Curtis simply walks off, his point made.

Reece does not come off so well against Dustie and limps away with Curtis, blood dripping from a heavy wound.

“Come on Dustie,” Lachlan says through clenched teeth. “We should leave.”

The team failed to find the strange clothing clue.

Lachlan needs times to recover and after a few weeks is fine.

Chapter 4 – A trap

While Lachlan was recovering, they get a lead that the rural zone with the settlement with the secret hideout is also a possible place to find some secret plans that will help them find the AI.

They pack up and arrive at the Rural zone via personal spacecraft.

Prior to undertaking the challenge, it seems the team may need to overcome a fair amount of possible complications along the way.

It is evening in a Slums's Gang HQ. This place seems to have more people hanging out with nothing or do, or waiting for something to happen. It is here a dilemma arises.

They encounter June Mullins, a Human female transporter and a criminal. June has a veiled face. June interrupts the conversation that Lachlan and Dustie were having.

Lachlan manages to steer the conversation in his favour and bring June around.  Touch and go for a while as it seemed June was looking to stir up trouble.

Julie even manages to give them a tip: “Try the stadium, it may help you out.”

It is early hours in the Slums's Stadium. A crime is occurring down the street but too far way for the team to intervene.

“The quicker we are out of here the better” Dustie says.  She would have shivered if she was not a robot.

The team are searching a room when they hear a click.  The room has been locked!

“What is that smell?”

“I think we are being poisoned…”

Lachlan gets out his laser pistol and fires repeatably at the door.

“The door is reinforced – someone really wants the hidden to stay hidden!”

The door ends up being no match for the laser and Lachlan and Dustie manage to escape.

The team did not find the secret plans.

Chapter 5 – A clue at last

Lachlan and Dustie travel back to the city.  While on the plane, Dustie explains that some antique jewellery being studied at some industrial factories may hold a clue.

Getting to the factory was easier than expected.  It is late hours in the Industrial's Factory. The light and dark patterns provide an earie atmosphere.  It is here the team experience a spot of bother.

“How do we get in?” Dustie is looking at the imposing gates and high walls.

They begin to scour the walls looking for a way in.

Lachlan calls out, “Over here.”

“Look.”

Dustie peers at where Lachlan is pointing.  It is a small hole just below ground level and covered by vegetation.

“I knew there may be something like this,“ Lachlan says. “Small time thieves need to be able to get in and out with their stuff.”

“How do you know about stuff like that?”

Lachlan just grunts in reply and makes his way through the hole.

It is late hours in the Industrial's Offices. The background noise of machines floats through the air. Lachlan is mumbling quietly to themselves. At last the team are ready for the challenge to find the antique jewellery.

It does not take long. Lachlan finds the jewellery.

The team have found a clue to help recover the advanced artificial intelligence system.

Chapter 6 – Another success

The jewellery comes with some notes that indicate another secret hideout in a resort in  the rural zone.

The team arrive at the Rural area via personal ground transport. The tension level is medium.
Before attempting the challenge, it seems the team may need to overcome several possible complications along the way.

While travelling between areas, the team are challenged by payback from a romantic vendetta.  It is Ernest Jennings, a Human male thug. They cannot help but notice that Ernest has visible burn scars.
“Dustie!”

“Oh god, it is Ernest – the last person I would want to run into.”

Earnest charges at Dustie with violent intent.

Lachlan shoots at Earnest who runs away.

“Lachlan!” Dustie shouts. “we should get out of here!”

Lachlan nods assent and follows Dustie off the scene.

It is evening in the resort's park. There is a spot of quiet between the loud noises of different parties to either side. It is here potential strife emerges for the team.

The team realise they have differing motivations for continuing.

Lachlan attempts to convince Dustie while Dustie vehemently tries to convince Lachlan of why they should continue.  Neither budge from their original position.  The two of them continue but no longer as a team, just two individuals heading in the same direction.

It is daytime in the resort's stadium. Spruikers and speakers are promoting the highlight event happening later. It is here potential strife emerges for the team. They are subject to sudden darkness.
“What the-“ Lachlan starts to panic.  The darkness does not last long – probably a glitch in the lighting – but Lachlan nerves, already stretched from his argument with Dustie, are now near breaking point.

It is early hours in the resort's apartments. Tourists are everywhere; walking, gawking, buying and talking. This is the location they have been given for the secret hideout.

After much searching and the strain between the two obviously showing, Lachlan finds the hideout and gains the last clue pointing to where they can find the advanced artificial intelligence system.  But the clue also points that they only have a short amount of time to find it. There is no time for the team to recover.

Chapter 7 - The goal is within our grasp

The advanced artificial intelligence system is in the scientific area of the Space zone. The team arrive at the Space region via personal spacecraft. The tension level is high.

While travelling to the scientific area, the team confront one of the Big Bad minions. Lilly Hoffman, a tough Human female mercenary who has a disagreeable demeanour, not helped by her outlandish clothing.

Lilly does not waste time talking and let’s fly with her laser rifle.  The team shoot back with all they have.

Lilly’s laser rifle slices into Lachlan’s leg before he has a chance to fire his own pistol.  He staggers away to take cover down the corridor before collapsing to the ground with blood running heavily from the wound.

Dustie meanwhile has charged Lilly, hoping to get at her while she is focusing on Lachlan.  But Dustie has still not recovered from the previous encounter and is too slow.  Lilly turns her rifle onto Dustie and she also is wounded - he torso is shorted out and her positronic brain is about to shut down.  Dustie staggers in the same direction as Lachlan and collapses next to him.
Her work done, Lilly retires back the way she came.

By the time Lachlan and Dustie are found and subsequently healed sufficiently to do some investigation, all traces of the advanced artificial intelligence are gone.  Lachlan and Dustie have failed.

Verdict

Although this took longer than expected to run through, it was fun. Even if they did not succeed (I don’t think any of my Larger Than Life-type plays have ended in success!). Onwards to modify the sheet to run through Classic Traveller adventure 02: Research Station Gamma.

Searching for a book - A Larger than Life adventure played solo

Introduction
I play through a short adventure using the Two Hour Wargames Larger Than Life: Director’s Cut. I made some minor changes to the rules mostly in streamlining combat.

Background
Years ago, when I was looking for options to play solo RPG and purchased Larger than Life but seemed to be combat oriented, something I was not looking for.  I later bought the second edition (Director’s Cut) that streamlined all the mechanics but I was by then focused on creating my own RPG that /I could run in spreadsheet.  Fast forward to 2018 and I buy Lovecraft’s Revenge that is a Cthulhu based version on Larger than Life with simpler generator tables. I incorporated aversion of the Lovecraft’s Revenge story workflow into my own solo RPG rules and played a few games with it, the first published at this previous blog post.

I subsequently revised the spreadsheet for SF and played the four adventures in the Classic Traveller Adventure 01 Kinunir, also all blogged: Scrap Heap, Hunting Expedition, The Gash, The Lost Ship.

I started playing Classic Traveller Adventure 02 Research Station Gamma and then the MeWe Solo RPG group created an event for May to try something new.  One thing I struggled with my solo RPG was converting generic task results for the different skill-related tasks into some more meaningful.  Larger than Life has half a dozen tasks with decent different results for each one.  And I had always wanted to play Larger than Life closer to what was written.  And I had ideas on how to speed up using the spreadsheet that would be hard to retrofit into the existing one.  So I created a new spreadsheet from scratch to play Larger than Life and played my first adventure, this blog post.

Not all of Larger than Life has been implemented yet – some of the tasks I did not need are not there yet and the NPC generation for areas I did not go are not there either.  I plan to revise it to play Future Tales (the SF re-skinning of Larger than Life Director’s Cut).  And if I still like it after that, I will continue to play the Traveller Scenarios with it rather than my own.  The only real change from Larger than Life I have done each each combat is resolved as a single task roll rather than using a battle board.

Note is some of the narrative is automatically generated but I modified it slightly to improve readability.   I had aims of putting in some dialogue and some images to liven it up but ran out of time and energy.

Some useful links to reviews of Larger than Life (first edition) and Director’s Cut:
Boardgamegeek entry
Andy Slack review
Ooh Shiny Complex review (1st edition)

Chapter 1 - What's next?
The story starts in the daytime on May 2019 with the team in the suburbs of the Metropolis.  The team leader is Gene Baldwin with the other member being Castiel Good. The starting tension is low.
Gene Baldwin is a Private Eye with a high reputation. Attributes include Hard as Nails, Smooth and Brawler. Armed with a big pistol.  Castiel Good is a Business Magnate with an average reputation. Attributes include Shy and Hard as Nails. Armed with a pistol.

The team need to recover an object: a valuable book. To achieve this requires around three clues and may take up to seven scenes to complete. The book was taken by Zahra Ramsey, a Big Bad Slaver with a very high reputation. Attributes include Smooth and Athlete. Armed with a big pistol.

Chapter 2 – What diversion?
The tension level is low.  To advance towards attaining the mission needs the team to question a person of interest about a diversion.

The team must travel to the docks area to question the person. Before facing this challenge, it seems the team may need to overcome a fair amount of possible complications along the way.
During the daytime the team skip a dilemma. During the late hours the team manage to skirt another difficulty.

In the early hours in the docks' bar a predicament takes place for the team. They encounter three people. The leader is Branson Soto, a male attorney, the others are shakers. The team have met a friend in need of their assistance and start talking.

Gene has a high reputation with their attributes helping.  Branson has a low reputation. Gene ends up in small talk and nothing untoward occurs and all seems resolved.

It is in the docks storage field where at last the team are now able to brave the test to question a person of interest about a diversion.  It is Davon Snow, a male dealer. Gene has a high reputation with their attributes helping. Davon has an average reputation. Gene successfully obtains information from the person. The team have found a clue to help recover the book.

Chapter 3 – Who were the hired thugs?
The tension level is low.  To draw nearer to completing the objective involves the team to question a person of interest about some hired thugs. The team must travel to the downtown area to question the person. Preceding the execution of this challenge, it seems the team may need to overcome a lot of possible complications along the way.

During the late hours in the downtown's bar a dilemma betides the team. They encounter Devin Watts, another male dealer. The team are believed to be betrayed and have some tense discussion with Devin. Gene has a high reputation and attributes that help with the task. Devin has a low reputation. The dispute is amicably resolved.

During the early hours in the downtown's offices the team face an ordeal. They encounter three people. The leader is Zoie Silva, a female service industry worker, the others are civilians. The team are being too conspicuous and Zoie passed comments to this effect the team. Gene has a high reputation and attributes that help with the task. Zoie has a low reputation. All is OK and the team move on.

During the early hours in the downtown's loading docks a dilemma arises. The team are disturbed by loud noises. Gene attempts to resolve the task. They have a high reputation. Gene has overcome the obstacle – the loud noises were not related to their task at hand.
It is daytime in a downtown building site. Finally the team are ready to question the person of interest about hired thugs. It is Tristian Coffey, a male reporter of low reputation. Gene attempts to extract some details but after a while he determines the person has no information.

Chapter 4 – Another clue
The tension level is low.  After finding no information on the hired thugs, the objective necessitates the team to find an object: records of a visit.  The team need to travel to the high residential area to find the records.  And it seems the team may need to overcome several possible complications along the way.
During the evening in the High Residential's Park the team experience a spot of bother. The team disturbed by more loud noises but once again Gene manages to calm the team.

During the daytime the team manage to duck a few more complications.

It is late hours in the High Residential's Apartments and the team are ready to brave the test to find the records of a visit.  Gene attempts to find the object, succeeds and gains a clue to where
The team have found another clue to help recover the valuable book.

Chapter 5 - The last clue but at a cost
The tension level is medium. To get nearer to the whole purpose requires the team to find some banned information.  The team need to travel to the uptown residential area to find the information. Prior to undertaking this, it seems the team may need to overcome several possible complications along the way.

During the early hours the team avoid an issue but then while driving in the daytime in the uptown's Industrial Park a problem crops up for the team; they are caught by foul weather and crash.  Both Gene and Castiel are injured. (Rep for both now at -1 to normal.)

It is now evening in the uptown's suburbs. The team are primed to undertake finding the banned information. It is hard but Gene does it!  The team have found a clue to help recover the valuable book.

The team find time to rest and recuperate. Both Gene and Castiel need to recover but neither injuries improve much.

Chapter 6 - At last
The tension level is high.  The team have enough information to know the valuable book is in the downtown area. The team may need to overcome several possible complications along the way.
During the daytime in the Downtown's shops an issue arises for the team to confront. They encounter two people. The leader is Scarlett Stuart, a female femme, the other is Demetrius, a criminal. A shootout starts!

Scarlett has a low reputation and Gene manages to force here to leave the fight. Castiel and Demetrius exchange bullets and Castiel is down! Gene beats Demetrius to changing targets and Demetrius follows Scarlett and withdraws. Castiel is in no shape to continue and Gene goes on alone.
He encounters Zahra Ramsey, the female slaver.  Zahra wastes no time in chat and draws her gun.
Zahra has a very high reputation and Gene is still harbouring an injury.  Gene is injured and collapses.

When he eventually regains consciousness, Zahra and the book are gone.  Subsequent investigations lead nowhere. Gene and Castiel failed in their task to retrieve the valuable book.

Verdict
Loads of fun to do the spreadsheet and fun to walk through on its first outing.  I am in the process of extending it to Future Tales (mostly by extending and populating lookup tables that I already knew would be required for it – the story framework is almost the same).  I will likely give it at least one run through as Future Tales before doing some further modifications to use to run through Traveller Classic adventure scenarios (probably by adding some encounters from No Limits: Maiden Voyage and modifying the story framework to work without a Big Bad). 

Classic Traveller Adventure 01 - Kinunir. Scenario 4 The Lost Ship solo play

Introduction

I solo play the fourth scenario from the Classic Traveller Adventure 1 The Kinunir.  The team need to find and recover a lost Kinunir ship.

A page with a description of my own simple rules and story framework I use can be found at this blog page.

Note that about 90% of the narrative is generated by the spreadsheet I use to run the adventure.  It is dry but I am looking to improve it a lot.

Background
For background see the start of the play of the first Kinunir scenario.

The Adventure

Chapter 1 – Why are we here?

The team consists of two members: Elisa Stafford, Miguel Benitez. The story starts with them in the Systemspace in Shionthy. The starting tension is low. To discover what is their goal, it seems the team may need to overcome a few possible complications along the way.

Team member summary:
Elisa Stafford is a human female of tall height and is Young (< 21). They have average physical, low agility, average mind and high fortitude. Brought up in a space exploration environment and working as a Driver they have these skills: Driver Applied Science.  Their motivation is of greed; interaction is generally rude. Distinguishing features include missing digits on one hand and shows pictures of his children/relatives.

Miguel Benitez is a human male of tall height and is middle-aged (35-50). They have average physical, low agility, low mind and low fortitude. Brought up in a space exploration environment and working as a Technician they have these skills: Repair Contacts.  Their motivation is of love; interaction is generally obnoxious. Distinguishing features include outlandish clothing and yells when happy.

It is daytime and in space trouble occurs for the team. The team are subject to an Ambush occurring. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Melee, Pilot, Awareness. The difficulty level is extremely hard and so the team attempt to bypass the encounter. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute but they lack the required skill of Awareness. Elisa succeeds exceptionally.

The team then squabbles. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Melee, Interaction. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute but they lack the required skill of Interaction. The difficulty level is routine. Elisa succeeds.

Scenario description:  The team need to find and recover the lost ship.  It should take an expected two to three scenes.

Chapter 2- Finding the ship

Looking at what is required to perform the challenge to find the ship, it seems the team may need to overcome a few possible complications along the way.

The team have something disastrous happen. They need to avoid a run in with contra terrene matter. (this is from the scenario description). The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Survival, Pilot. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Physical attribute but they lack the required skill of Survival.  The difficulty level is somewhat hard. Elisa fails but not entirely. The ship is damaged but still able to move.

The team come across death of some description. They find the dead bodies of some crew floating in space. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are:  Medical, Investigation. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute but they lack the required skill of Investigation. The difficulty level is routine. Elisa succeeds but not entirely (add +1 to the complication opposition in the next challenge scene).

Coming across death was random. One of the possibilities in the scenario is to find the dead bodies of the lost ship.  So I tied them together.

The team are ready for the challenge to find the ship. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are:  Pilot, Awareness. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute but they lack the required skill of Awareness. The difficulty level is easy. Elisa succeeds but not entirely. Success! The challenge to find the ship was successful. The team are ready for the final challenge to achieve the goal.

Chapter 3 – Recover the ship

The tension level is high. The next challenge for the team to get closer to their goal is to recover the ship. Looking at what is required to perform the challenge, it seems the team may need to overcome a few possible complications along the way.

The team enter the abandoned ship. It is daytime and in the Spaceship's Eatery trouble occurs for the team. The team are being Stalked/Hunted by the rogue AI controlled appliance. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Survival, Driver, Awareness. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their low Agility attribute and their skill of Driver. The difficulty level is somewhat hard. Elisa succeeds but not entirely. One of the team will suffer; Miguel is wounded.

The team have their safety endangered. The AI is attempting to stop them. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Hostile Environment, Ranged.  Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Physical attribute but they lack the required skill of Hostile Environment. The difficulty level is somewhat hard. Elisa fails. This is the climactic scene so Elisa is heavily wounded and Miguel can now have a go at avoiding endangerment.

Miguel has the best chance of succeeding using their average Physical attribute but they lack the required skill of Hostile Environment. The difficulty level is somewhat hard. It takes a while but Miguel succeeds.

The team are ready for the challenge to recover the ship. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Melee, Applied Science.  Miguel has the best chance of succeeding using their low Agility attribute and their skill of Repair. The difficulty level is somewhat hard. Miguel succeeds at disabling the rogue AI controlling the ship.

Success! The challenge to recover the ship was successful. The team possess a Kinunir class spaceship.  We now say goodbye to this team with the completion of this last scenario.

Classic Traveller Adventure 01 - Kinunir. Scenario 3 The Gash solo play

Introduction

I solo play the third scenario from the Classic Traveller Adventure 1 The Kinunir.  The team need to liberate a senator from an Imperial Prison ship.  This is a longer adventure compared to the previous two.

A page with a description of my own simple rules and story framework I use can be found at this blog page.

Note that about 90% of the narrative is generated by the spreadsheet I use to run the adventure.  It is dry but I am looking to improve it a lot.

Background
For background see the start of the play of the first Kinunir scenario.

The Adventure

Chapter 1 What are we going to do?

The team consists of three members: Flynn Dalton, Elisa Stafford, Miguel Benitez. The story starts with them in the City on Regina. The starting tension is low.  To discover what is their goal, it seems the team will need to overcome a lot of possible complications along the way.

Team member summary:
Flynn Dalton is a human male of average height and is in his Prime (20-35). They have low physical, high agility, average mind and average fortitude. Brought up in a frozen world and working as an Investigator they have these skills: Investigation Engineering.  Their motivation is of family tradition; interaction is generally friendly. Distinguishing features include unusual eye colour and winks.

Elisa Stafford is a human female of tall height and is Young (< 21). They have average physical, low agility, average mind and high fortitude. Brought up in a space exploration environment and working as a Driver they have these skills: Driver Applied Science.  Their motivation is of greed; interaction is generally rude. Distinguishing features include missing digits on one hand and shows pictures of his children/relatives.

Miguel Benitez is a human male of tall height and is middle-aged (35-50). They have average physical, low agility, low mind and low fortitude. Brought up in a space exploration environment and working as a Technician they have these skills: Repair Contacts.  Their motivation is of love; interaction is generally obnoxious. Distinguishing features include outlandish clothing and yells when happy.

It is nighttime and in the City's Industrial Park the team run into a complication. The team encounter an occupation by people with hostile intent. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Engineering, Ranged. The encounter is four Human Scientists. Flynn has the best chance of succeeding using their low Physical attribute and their skill of Engineering. Opposing them is Jolene Logan with high Physical attribute but lacking the skill of Engineering. Flynn failed but not entirely. Flynn gets a minor wound as the team navigate their way around the Scientists in their way.

It is daytime and in the City's Industrial Park the team run into a complication. The team encounter a crime being undertaken by criminals. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Larceny. The encounter is one Human Criminal/Rogues.  Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Physical attribute but they lack the required skill of Larceny. Opposing them is Kadence Meyer with average Physical attribute and their skill of Larceny. Elisa succeeded but not entirely. Elisa manages to bypass the encounter and not get involved but anyone looking could misconstrue that that they condoned the activity (in game terms increase the difficulty of the next task).

It is daytime and in the City's Apartments the team run into a complication. The team encounter an Ally or Old Friend. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Contacts. The encounter is one Human Combat soldiers.  Miguel has the best chance of succeeding using their low Agility attribute and their skill of Contacts. Opposing them is Reagan Archer with high Agility attribute but lacking the skill of Contacts. Miguel failed but not entirely. Reagan had seen them ignore the criminal activity and so was not convinced of the team’s motives. He does not join the team.  (The “failed but not entirely will reduce the difficulty of the next task).

The team meet their patron who describes the mission: Need to get to Pixie, rescue the senator from the orbiting prison ship and escape. It is expected to take about 4 to 6 scenes.

Chapter 2 – Look for a ship

The tension level is medium. The next challenge for the team to get closer to their goal is to find a ship. The team is required to travel to Regina’s Slums to track down hiring a ship. Looking at what is required to perform the challenge, it seems the team will need to overcome a fair amount of possible complications along the way.

It is daytime and in the Spaceport's Bar the team argue and fight among themselves, becoming emotional.

The team are ready for the challenge to find a ship. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Engineering. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Physical attribute but they lack the required skill of Engineering. The difficulty level is low. Elisa fails to liaise with Engineers to find a ship for hire.

The team can do recovery. Flynn Dalton emotionally get worse and is now emotionally unbalanced. Flynn Dalton wounds get worse and is now heavily wounded.  Elisa Stafford emotionally get better and is now stable. Miguel Benitez emotionally stays the same and is still slightly emotional.
Flynn leaves the team so he can get better.

Chapter 3 – Look for a ship again

The tension level is medium. The challenge for the team to get closer to their goal is to Find a ship.

It is possible to recruit. The team recruit Danika.  Danika Barton is a human female of average height and is middle-aged (35-50). They have average physical, high agility, average mind and average fortitude. Brought up in a religious cult and working as a Scholar they have these skills: Scholar Engineering Investigation.  Their motivation is of hatred; interaction is generally quiet. Distinguishing features include hard of hearing and eats like a bird.

Looking at what is required to perform the challenge, it seems the team will need to overcome a fair amount of possible complications along the way.

It is nighttime and in the Spaceport's Shops the team run into a complication. The team are detained. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Larceny, Driver, Scholar. The encounter is three Human Mechanics. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their low Agility attribute and their skill of Driver. Opposing them is Gino Sosa with high Agility attribute but lacking the skill of Driver. Elisa succeeded but not entirely.

It is daytime and in the Spaceport's Repair yard the team run into a complication. The team realise something is missing. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Larceny, Repair, Trading. Miguel has the best chance of succeeding using their low Agility attribute and their skill of Repair. The difficulty level is high. Miguel succeeded exceptionally. (decrease difficulty by 1 for next task)

It is nighttime and in the Spaceport's Checkin the team run into a complication. The team become sick.

The team are ready for the challenge to find an item. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Pilot, Interaction. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute and their skill of Applied Science. The difficulty level is low. Elisa succeeds exceptionally.
They have a ship!

The team do not have time for recovery from emotions, sickness or wounds.

Chapter 4 – Determine how to free the senator

The tension level is medium. The next challenge for the team to get closer to their goal is to determine how to free the senator. Looking at what is required to perform the challenge, it seems the team will need to overcome a few possible complications along the way.

They are on their way to Pixie.

It is daytime and in the Ship the team run into a complication. The team are lucky, the next task will be easier.

It is daytime and in the Ship the team run into a complication. The team have forgotten something while going through the possible plans. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Medical, Scholar. Danika has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute and their skill of Scholar. The difficulty level is medium. Danika succeeded.

The team are ready for the challenge to determine the plan. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Pilot, Interaction. Danika has the best chance of succeeding using their high Agility attribute but they lack the required skill of Repair. The difficulty level is medium. Danika succeeded but not entirely.  The plan is a little shaky (increase difficulty of next challenge by 1).
The team have a chance to recover.

Danika BARTON sickness gets better and is now healthy.  Elisa Stafford sickness gets better and is now healthy.  Miguel Benitez emotionally get better and is now stable. Miguel BENITEZ sickness gets better and is now healthy.

Chapter 5 – Free the senator

The tension level is high. The next challenge for the team to get closer to their goal is to free the senator. The team is required to travel to Prison to free the senator.

Looking at what is required to perform the challenge, it seems the team will need to overcome a few possible complications along the way.

It is daytime and in the Prison's Cafeteria the team run into a complication.  The team are betrayed. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Repair, Investigation. The encounter is five Human Engineers. They have met before, when the team were in the same prison. Danika has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute and their skill of Investigation. Opposing them is Alessandro Wright with high Mind attribute but lacking the skill of Investigation.  Danika succeeded but not entirely.  Danika manages to convince the Engineers that they should not report them but just give them an hour to get away. (Increase difficulty by 1 for the next task).

It is day and in the Prison's Library the team run into a complication. The team have their survival threatened. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Survival.  The Engineers have followed them to the library and are threatening them.  Danika has the best chance of succeeding using their average Physical attribute but they lack the required skill of Survival. The difficulty level is high.  Danika failed badly.  The team are wounded and caught.

The team have no time to recover.

Chapter 6 – Back in Prison

The tension level is currently high. The next challenge for the team to get closer to their goal is to free the senator.

Looking at what is required to perform the challenge, it seems the team will need to overcome a few possible complications along the way.

It is nighttime and in the Prison's Exercise Yard the team run into a complication. The team have their survival threatened. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Survival. Danika has the best chance of succeeding using their average Physical attribute but they lack the required skill of Survival. The difficulty level is high. Danika failed badly, is heavily wounded and may not survice.  She is taken to sickbay where she will be there for a long time (if she does not die). Danika is out of the adventure.

The team are ready for the challenge to free the senator. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Pilot, Interaction. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their low Agility attribute and their skill of Driver. The difficulty level is low. Elisa succeeded and they manage to escape the prison with the senator and get on board their hired ship.

The team can do recovery. Elisa Stafford wounds stays the same and is now lightly wounded.  Miguel wounds get better and is now fine.

Chapter 7 – Escape the star system

The tension level is currently high. The next challenge for the team to get closer to their goal is to escape the star system.

Looking at what is required to perform the challenge, it seems the team will need to overcome a few possible complications along the way.

It is daytime and in Space the team run into a complication. The team are Double Crossed by some of the ship’s crew. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Survival, Contacts. The encounter is two Human Survivalists. Miguel has the best chance of succeeding using their low Agility attribute and their skill of Contacts. Opposing them is Amanda Rivas with average Agility attribute but lacking the skill of Contacts. Miguel succeeded exceptionally. (reduce challenge task difficulty by 1).  The double cross fails.

It is nighttime and the team run into a complication. The team come across a barrier in space.  It is a network of armed beacons. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Engineering, Driver, Applied Science. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute and their skill of Applied Science. The difficulty level is medium. Elisa succeeded exceptionally at hacking into the beacons’s computer control system. (Another reduction in challenge task difficulty).

The team are ready for the challenge to escape. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Pilot, Interaction. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute and their skill of Applied Science. The difficulty level is medium. Elisa succeeded exceptionally.

Success! The challenge to escape the system with the freed senator is successful.

Elisa Stafford wounds get better and is now fine.

Classic Traveller Adventure 01 - Kinunir. Scenario 2 The Hunting Expedition solo play

Introduction
I solo play the second scenario from the Classic Traveller Adventure 1 The Kinunir.  The team need to go on a hunting expedition and escape an Imperial Prison.

A page with a description of my own simple rules and story framework I use can be found at this blog page.

Note that about 90% of the narrative is generated by the spreadsheet I use to run the adventure.

Background
For background see the start of the play of the first Kinunir scenario.

The Adventure

Chapter 1: Finding a job

The team consists of 2 members: Flynn Dalton and Elisa Stafford. The story starts with them in the City. The starting tension is medium. To discover their goal, it seems the team will need to overcome up to four possible complications along the way.

Team member summary:

Flynn Dalton is a Human male of average height and is in their prime (20-35). They have low physical, high agility, average mind and average fortitude. Brought up in a frozen world and working as an Investigator they have these skills: Investigation, Engineering.  Their motivation is of family tradition; interaction is generally Friendly. Distinguishing features include Unusual eye colour and winks.

Elisa Stafford is a Human female of tall height and is young (< 21).They have average physical, low agility, average mind and high fortitude. Brought up in a space explorer and working as a Driver they have these skills: Driver, Applied Science.  Their motivation is of greed; interaction is generally rude. Distinguishing features include missing digits on one hand and shows pictures of his children/relatives.

It is daytime and in the Spaceport's Docks the team run into a complication. The team are waylaid by people or alert guards. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Stealth, Applied Science. The encounter is one Vargr Belter/Miner. They have not been met before. Flynn Dalton has the best chance of succeeding using their low Physical attribute but they lack the required skill of Stealth. Opposing them is Roukhnu with a high Physical attribute but lacking the skill of Stealth. Flynn Dalton failed but not entirely.  Flynn becomes emotionally unsettled due to the encounter.

It is nighttime and in the Spaceport's Repair yard the team run into a complication. The team are affected by hearing trouble. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Medical. Flynn Dalton has the best chance of succeeding using their high agility attribute but they lack the required skill of Medical. The difficulty level is medium. Flynn Dalton succeeded but not entirely.

The team met their patron and below is the outline of the adventure: 

• Take a noble on a hunting expedition to Knorbes.
• Look for Kraken on the northern shore in the Game Reservation
• When straying into the southern area, will be taken by Marines to Pixie and imprisoned.
• Need to escape from the Prison ship in Pixie.

It is expected to take 3 to 5 scenes.

Chapter 2 Knorbes

The next challenge for the team to get closer to their goal is to find a Kraken. The team is required to travel to a Rough area to find it.

An opportunity exists prior to travelling to buy or sell items and Flynn and Elisa each buy a knife.

Looking at what is required to perform the challenge, it seems the team will need to overcome a fair amount of possible complications along the way.

The team have been fed unhelpful rumours and the task becomes harder.

It is nighttime and in the Rough's Caves the team run into a complication. The team are betrayed. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Repair, Investigation.  They encounter four Human Spys. They have not been met before. Flynn Dalton has the best chance of succeeding using their Mind attribute of 2 and their skill of Investigation. Opposing them is Emilio English with a Mind attribute of 3 but lacking the skill of Investigation. Flynn Dalton succeeded exceptionally.   One of the guides let something slip and Flynn managed to get out of him that they were being tracked and tonight was when it was expected that enemies of the nobles were expected to attempt to kidnap him.  The tracking device was extracted from the guide and was moved to a completely different cave system.  The party were not found by the spies.

It is nighttime and in the Rough's Steep slopes the team run into a complication. The team become Emotionally distraught after the stress of the betrayal and its resolution.

It is nighttime and in the Rough's Oasis the team run into a complication. The team have their Survival Threatened. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Survival. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Physical attribute but they lack the required skill of Survival. The difficulty level is 2. Elisa failed but not entirely. Elisa is injured with a light wound.

The team are ready for the challenge to find a Kraken. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Melee.Flynn has the best chance of succeeding using their low Physical attribute but they lack the required skill of Melee. The difficulty level is 2. Flynn failed but not entirely. Failed to find a Kraken but they are closer to the southern continent and many more exist there and it is suggested to hunt on the proscribed southern continent.

The team can do recovery. Flynn Dalton emotionally gets better and is now only very emotional.  Elisa Stafford emotionally gets better and is now fine. Elisa Stafford wound gets better and is now fine. 

Chapter 3 - Capture

The tension level is currently medium. The next challenge for the team to get closer to their goal is to avoid being captured. Looking at what is required to perform the challenge, it seems the team will need to overcome a fair amount of possible complications along the way.

Before travelling to the southern continent, one of the guides expresses an interest in staying with the team after the hunting expedition is finished.  Miguel joins the team.

Miguel Benitez is a human male of tall height and is middle-aged (35-50). They have average physical, low agility, low mind and low fortitude. Brought up in a space exploration environment and working as a Technician they have these skills: Repair Contacts.  Their motivation is of love; interaction is generally obnoxious. Distinguishing features include outlandish clothing and yells when happy.

It is daytime and in the Rough's Steep slopes the team run into a complication. The team lose some Equipment/Items or notes that will make the task harder.

It is nighttime and in the Rough's cliffs the team run into a complication. The team are subject to bureaucracy. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Scholar.  A tracking beacon is stumbled across while trekking. The beacon is used to discover people illegally on the southern continent. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute but they lack the required skill of Scholar. The difficulty level is 0. Elisa succeeded but not entirely.  It is likely they have avoided immediate detection but it may be that the beacon highlights thast there are people around.

It is daytime and in the Rough's Steep slopes the team run into a complication. The team are pursued. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Survival, Driver, Awareness. The encounter is four Human Combat soldiers.  It seems the team has been discovered! Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their low Agility attribute and their skill of Driver.  Opposing them is Ellen Walters with high Agility attribute but lacking the skill of Driver. Elisa succeeded but not entirely.  The team manage to not be discovered but do not know they have left a trail.

The team are ready for the challenge to avoid capture. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Agility, Mind. The encounter with the four Human Combat soldiers.  Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute but they lack the required skill of Awareness.  Opposing them is Reyna Ho with low Mind attribute and their skill of Awareness. Elisa failed badly.  The team are captured and end up in a prison ship (a Kinunir) orbiting Pixel.

The team can do recovery. Flynn Dalton emotionally gets worse and is now slightly emotional. 

Chapter 4 Escape!

The tension level is currently high. The next challenge for the team to get closer to their goal is to escape from prison.  Looking at what is required to perform the challenge, it seems the team will need to overcome a few possible complications along the way.

It is daytime and in the Prison's Cafeteria the team receive an unexpected advantage to make the task less difficult.  The team have discovered that one of the guards may be open to assisting them escape.

It is daytime and in the Prison's Cell the team run into a complication.  The team may have forgotten something about the contact, the escape route etc. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are:  Medical, Scholar. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute but they lack the required skill of Scholar. The difficulty level is 0. Elisa succeeded and the team realise they are as ready as they ever will be.

The team are ready for the challenge to escape. The skills to improve the chances of a positive resolution are: Engineering, Applied Science. The encounter is one Vargr Hunter. Elisa has the best chance of succeeding using their average Mind attribute and their skill of Applied Science. Opposing them is Saeksdughznou with high Mind attribute but lacking the skill of Applied Science. Elisa succeeded.  This means Saeksdughznou helps them escape.

Success!

After the escape, the team can do recovery: Flynn Dalton emotionally stays the same and is now very emotional.