((So I think I should post random snippets of info as we go on, rather than just writing them up on the spot. This way players can figure out how to keep their backgrounds in check.))
This handy chart, made by mercenary captain Winchell Chung for use in command schools across the stars, uses sections of a triangle in order to divide ship classes based on mass distribution.
Port Newton, Northern Ridge, Askarian | 233d/3008AD | Von Hapsburg System
Askarian Shores
Snow (Low visibility. Actions toward distant objects incur a small penalty based on distance)
Freezing Wind (-1 to all actions when exposed)
Run after him!
Search the place for his trails, try to figure out where is he.
Keep up the chase!
Hal: [4] You step out on the platform, almost slipping on the wet surface. A heated mesh beneath the catwalk keeps snow from accumulating, but the water tends to freeze on its own and create a layer of slush. Fortunately, this also means that a person's feet will depress the slush in an area and leave temporary footprints.
You safely conclude that Orion has not left his elevator yet. Deuce suspiciously hovers close to the other gate.
Deuce: [3] vs (3) You find Orion hiding in one of the corners of the elevator! You lunge at him, struggling a little bit, but you are unable to pin him anywhere. He wriggles free with the assistance of the frost, and rushes out.
Hal again: [2] vs (6) As Orion flees, you take off after him, but you feel your limbs move the other way. Against your will, you somehow shamble into the elevator, pushing Deuce over inside the cabin. You look back at Orion and see him standing there in his suit facing you, his face masked by the reflective visor coating. As you are forced to walk inside, your hand presses the button to go back up.
[1] The door shuts almost immediately and the elevator starts moving back into the installation. There doesn't seem to be a way to cancel it save for an override switch protected by key. It takes five minutes for a trip up and three to go down.
Port Newton Bar
Medium Chatter (+1 to deception, -1 to intellect)
"Finding our insertion pilot, I think. Say, does it strike you as odd to discuss subterfuge in front of the bartender and all these patrons?"
"Nah, SpaceInc is well-known for what they do. Everyone hates them, that's why we even accepted the contract. Milanese princes are equally bad. Rich bastards never swapped a cavity resonator themselves..."Adminforms technically do naturally have an affinity for paperwork and math. Some of them flat out get giddy with the mention of a stack of paperwork. Personally I find it a bit odd.
"You know what? I do too."...
The stranger from the hall awaits a response, but with no decent sign of getting one she simply walks into the conversation.
"EXCUSE ME..." she yells in Jaina's face. Then, noticing the insignia on her shoulder pad, she recognizes who she is talking to.
"By the Light! I am sorry. I got a little upset there. You're part of the Guild, right?""For the most part yes. This gentleman in the fishtank isn't, but he will be joining us on our latest endeavor. Say... you're Arial Wallace, or am I mistaken?""I am.""Perfect, we were just about to go find you! I presume you know us because of what happened in orbit, right?"Arial pauses for a moment.
"No, I do not. I know you because of what you did on my homeworld in the Corvo Crisis."She removes her helmet, revealing the 'smooth green hair' Jaina spoke of earlier.
Jaina scratches her chin.
"Ah, that was half a century ago. Your people have made great progress since then.""Indeed they have. So wait... what happened in orbit?"Jaina explains to her that her ship was hijacked by pirates. The Guild, noticing abnormal behavior, sent frigates to pursue and returned the ship to its crew, taking the pirates aboard a Habitat Ship for questioning.
"That's... quite the story. I suppose I believe you, but I'll need to talk to my crew. Why are you looking for me?""We want to send infiltrators aboard your ship. You are heading to the Ulysses Colony, correct? They'll enter the station as passengers, distance themselves from you and your crew, then break through security and disable the orbital defenses. We'll raid the megacity afterwards."The merchant captain appears undecided. On one hand, she shares the same anti-SpaceInc attitude that's prevalent among locals. On the other hand, it's definitely a risky mission.
"I'm not convinced. Is your team really capable of this?""We have some of the best infiltrators in the sector. They will be here shortly~"((Here we go! For the first mission, I'll let the players decide whether or not they are suited to an infiltration role. Remember, there is definitely a chance that combat will break out. However, if we have more than six (maybe 7) players, it makes the most sense to take the best-suited players.
I'll do a writeup on the equipment you are allowed to bring later.))
Corvo is a terran world of 9.2 Earth masses that once had a roughly earth-sized companion named Kaldwin, an ocean world similar to Askarian but located around a much warmer star. Both were tidally locked to each other in an endless dance of the stars, harboring five minor moons, each having liquid water and various forms of life ranging from simple microbes to bird-like organisms. Corvo was the only body in this system harbor an intelligent species, who called themselves Anman in their native language but are widely known as Corvans due to the dominance of humans in this region of the galaxy.
The Corvo Crisis is the name given to the catastrophe caused by a rogue asteroid slamming into Kaldwin. This happened when Corvan society was technologically similar to Victorian Terra. The result was that most of Kaldwin's life and oceans were blasted out into the surrounding moons and onto the surface. The body itself partly fragmented from the impact, causing its far side to disintegrate and become a field of iron rich asteroids which would eventually migrate out slightly and become orbitally stable. But not all of the debris stayed in orbit. Over the next hundreds of years, fragments of the world rained down on Corvo, devastating the local civilization and almost driving it back into its version of the stone age. It was the Guild that was responsible for uplifting the Corvans and teaching them how to construct shelters from the impacts. With Guild tech, the Corvans rapidly adapted their society and regard humans as their saviors, protecting them from what would otherwise have been an apocalypse.
The guild continued to blast asteroids before they hit the surface. This created a colorful ring system over time, its appearace caused by oxides in the disintegrated asteroids. The rings have taken up a symbolic meaning in the lives of modern day Corvans and serves as a reminder of the Guild's selfless efforts.
Of course, the Guild was never compensated for the outrageous expenses involved in saving an intelligent species from extinction, and due to the lack of observers many say it's a myth. Future explorers looked at the pretty rings and thought I wonder how that really formed?
Corvans themselves are humanoids, tall in space but rather short on their world due to its high gravity and their springy endoskeleton. Their bodies are flexible and can withstand impacts, but due to their complicated skeleton, they tend to develop slowly--it takes about eighty years before their body is fully grown. Due to a slow rate of reproduction, Corvans only numbered 3.3 million when first contact was made, despite the resources available to them on such a massive world. Corvans can influence the sex of their offspring, and so for a long time it has been standard in Corvan society for each mother to raise a single son and daughter for about a century before parting and living independently. Corvans live about 240 years on average, but their metabolisms are much slower and as a result they are physically much weaker than humans.
In terms of facial characteristics, Corvans are eerily similar to humans except for their very pale skin (which ranges in color from green, to white, to even shades of pink) and a lack of ears, replaced by their hair which consists of smooth, hollow filaments that contain a viscous oil. Their scalp contains sensory organs which are used to hear. As such, most Corvans have extremely long hair and rarely wear it in different styles as it negatively affects their hearing. Most animals on Corvo have this type of hearing, but lifeforms on Corvo's moons tend to have more conventional forms of hearing.
Corvan society has been deeply influenced by humans. Their traditional family and manners remain as they always were, so they tend not to fit into human social circles. However, their science, literature, language, and religion has taken major cues from that brought by humans. Their geology makes extensive use of Terran analogies even though their planet has fundamentally different plate tectonics and geographical features. Their literature makes use of archetypes and allusions common to Human writings. Their language has since become a mixture of native and human tongues, mostly English. As for religion, the Corvans practiced a religion similar to what the future Catholic Church teaches, and so church leaders and religious orders have begun to work across racial lines in order to reconcile theological differences.
Dwarf's Office
In Utter Darkness (+2 to deception, -2 to observation, -1 to offensive combat actions)
"No, no, please take your time. The Guild is paying me by the hour anyway!*"
McMarlo: The dwarf returns to his work. After some time, he raises a single brow.
"Hm, this one looks--"(1/6) The Dwarf turns toward you as he says this, clipping the edge of the pile with his elbow. The stack of papers collapses on top of you and pushes the various crates and boxes on the floor aside like a flash flood.
Ziggo: [2] While examining the loot, you hear the noise generated by the falling stack of papers. The flood of papers pushes forward the crate you're hiding behind, sandwiching you uncomfortably between the room and crate's corners.
"Well damn. Anyway, the woman you are looking for landed here two hours ago. She didn't leave."Nidoma: You notice that one of the crates in the room, though pushed back by the paper flood, hasn't slid all the way up against the wall. Perhaps something fell off the Dwarf's desk and rolled behind it, blocking the way.
Jaila calls out to the rest of the Guildmates.
'Everyone, this is Jaina speaking. We found our PoI. Return to the bar so we can count heads, unless you're doing something important. Deuce and Hal, have you caught that runner yet?'
Author
Topic: 3008 AD: The Guild Chronicles - Guild Home Base - Theorycrafting! (Read 71007 times)