Games I Didn't Run: The Calmquist Chronicles Finale: the End of the Galaxy

This is the final installment of Calmquist’s one shot. I’ve gone back through and put some links up in places so you can get more insights into what he’s talking about, though he notes in his final conclusions that a lot is left off the wiki at the moment (There’s just a ton of material to consolidate and edit), so not everything is well explained without diving through the whole blog (and avoiding that is the whole point of the consolidation). Even so, I’m really impressed by how well Calmquist knows Psi-Wars. He did a pretty nuanced and detailed version of Psi-Wars that I wouldn’t dare spring on a new set of players, but they enjoyed it and the enjoyed Psi-Wars, and that says some good things to me about the quality of the setting.

It also explains why my readers seem more interested in consolidation than new material (new stuff is great, but they want a convenient way to access the old stuff first).

Note: Rosa’s player was absent.

Back to the Throne Room

The heroes were brought to the throne room with Astanya Xakkar the Dark and a few mook guards. Nathram was still loyal to the Tyrant. Raja was confused to see a Keleni Tyrant and succumbed to his charisma (the player chose to go along with it rather than opposing with a penalty). Milmeowna decided to go along with the Tyrant assuming she got paid well enough until she was ordered to take blood samples from the Princess.

Fighting Back

The Princess was able to reduce the Tyrant’s hold over the heroes, but only Milmeowna took advantage of the situation at first. Milmeowna attempted restraining or “binding” the Princess in order to give her a symbolism bonus, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Dark Communion’s hold over the desecrated room. Milmeowna grabbed Nathram’s blaster and tried firing it at the throne, but Nathram never fixed the malfunction from the previous session (Nathram’s player reminded me of this fact), so the attempt was futile.

Seeing his would be assailant fail, he decided to give Milmeowna on more chance to live as his slave. Milmeowna refused, convinced Raja to distract the mooks while she pulled the crown of the Tyrant’s head. Raja succeeded at his task but received a hit with a pain glaive for his reward. As Milmeowna approached the throne, the Dark Tyrant entered the (greater) Avatar State. Milmeowna did not succumb to his majesty and resisted his dreadful mental assault (Rule of 16 has it’s benefits).

Milmeowna managed to grab the cables connecting the “crown” to the throne and yank on them. Xakkar was stunned for a second but suffered no additional trouble. After recovering, he drew his blade and attempted to attack Milmeowna. She attempted to interpose the cords and force the Tyrant to sever them, but the plan failed due to the “blade” being a telepathic psi-sword. Milmeowna fell unconscious and had to make a death check (it did a lot of damage) but survived (for a little while). With no one left to oppose him (and this being the final session), Astanya Xakkar the Dark won the day.

The Storm Came

With the Dark Tyrant’s victory, he amassed enough troops and Alexian artifacts to challenge Emperor Valorian. I never really decided if taking the “Throne” Ship to (or at least close enough to) Styx did what he wanted. Either way, a war was waged, the Cybernetic Union was allowed to expand and the Alliance was forced to fight for real. With the major powers weakened by the war, the Anacridian Scourge was able to return with no power strong enough to stop it. Rosa’s prophesy came true.

The Retrospective

What Went Well

Overall, the (multi-session) one shot went well. The players (including the GM) had fun and all had a reasonable amount of spotlight.

There was a good amount of action that was exciting.

We got to experience some space adventure without complicating things.

We had some fun duels, an exciting chase and clever con artistry.

The players got to experience Psi-Wars and GURPS for the first time.

What Went Poorly

It went longer than I anticipated. It was good that the players were happy continuing, but it meant my planning was off.

It was disappointing that the heroes failed and the galaxy was destroyed.

I think the players may have felt powerless at the end and hesitated for a while before the final struggle. I believe that Rosa would have tried to be heroic earlier if her player was present.

There was more combat than I normally like.

Other Thoughts

Given my players’ lack of GURPS experience (and books), the scattered state of the Psi-Wars material (currently being consolidated) and the current inability to meet in person, I would have a hard time doing a longer campaign. I usually like my players to make their own characters (even if I give significant help or do most of the mechanical work).

I think Psi-Wars is certainly done enough to play and have fun, but it requires a decent amount of familiarity with GURPS.

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Games I didn't Run: The Calmquist Chronicles Part 2: the Rise of Xakkar!

A continuation of yesterday’s gripping tale!

Note: Session 2 was abbreviated and ended in a big cliffhanger, so the two sessions are reported to gether.

The Foes

Astanya Xakkar the Dark

Astanya Xakkar is Keleni Tyrant who is allegedly was originally a priest of Annara during the rule of Ozamanthim. His community was heavily oppressed and worked and abused to death – he was the only survivor. He attempted to get revenge, but he was captured and tortured. He eventually escaped and turned to Dark Communion and became a Tyrant, but Ozamanthim died before Xakkar was able to obtain his revenge. He has spent his time plotting and perfecting his mastery of his psionic powers and Dark Communion until the present day.

This story may or may not be true. He might be immortal, but he might have body swapped through the ages or might simply be insane (possibly with help from ancestral memory). In any case, he is powerful enough to override the Mithna Edict by becoming the new master (and applying the Path of the Devoted Slave) of individuals and taking slaves from lesser Tyrants.

He has captured the “Princesss” and has used her to activate a throne ship that he found in the Morass and take the ship “close enough” to Styx to become the heir of Ozamanthim (since it is a throne ship). He also plans to use her to activate other lost Alexian artifacts that will help him in his grand plot to overthrow Valorian and become the true galactic emperor.

Delia Khalli

I created Delia Khalli because Rosa executed “her brother” in the first session. Since Rosa’s action was sufficiently ignoble, I decided that she deserved an enemy.

Delia was sick of being ruled by the Mithna Edict. Astanya Xakkar promised freedom by becoming his slave (in addition to being able to issue orders to Mithanna). She took the princess to the throne ship while her brother (who doesn’t have a name because I didn’t plan for them to become important) finished taking care of business at the hideout on Sarai. Rosa executed Delia’s brother, so Delia desired revenge. Delia finally gained Dark Communion and the Path of the Devoted Slave by the time the heroes arrived.

Journey to the Throne Ship

The heroes contacted their employers (specifically the group affiliated with Jace Elegans). Raja knew that his previous fast talking would not survive scrutiny, so he decided to leave the room while the Rosa made the call. Rosa was played dumb when she was told that their pilot was not the correct pilot. In a real campaign, I would have pressed this more, but it was a one shot, so I let it slide. If they survive, there may be an arrest (especially if they don’t return with the princess).

Raja is Con Artist and not a dedicated pilot like a Smuggler, but he was an effective navigator. The 15 IQ helped. He rolled really well, and the heroes found the star chart, so he didn’t have any trouble navigating to the destination.

Thalline Filaments and Tractor Beams

The heroes exited hyperspace in an area with dense thalline filaments. Despite being a mediocre pilot, Raja avoided the filaments with a great roll. They traveled for a few hours before locating the target. Raja attempted approaching stealthily, but he had no real EW skills, so the heroes were located quite quickly. They tried to avoid the tractor beam, but they were captured fairly quickly.

The heroes decided to hide in the smuggling areas of the ship and pretend that their ship was uninhabited and was simply drifting. Three Tyrant’s troopers checked the ship but found no lifeforms. Rosa used Deep Scan (at default and in a twisted psionic area) to spy on the troopers. Milmeowna summoned a ghost who shot the troopers with their own blasters.

Milmeowna learned that the ghost was a member of the crew when the ship was disabled. The heroes tried to get more assistance and information from the ghost, but they quickly learned that the ghost was stuck in a loop. After a long debate, the heroes decided to use don the trooper armor and have Rosa as a “captive.”

Locating the Princess/Disabling the Tractor Beams

Raja’s great acting and telepathy got the heroes the location of the princess. He learned that the princess was allowed to roam mostly free but was wearing a locator beacon. Nathram volunteered to sneak off alone and “disable the tractor beams.”

Milmeowna and Raja took Rosa to the the princess with Raja doing all of the talking. It took a while, but they arrived with Rosa and the princess noticing each other rather easily (they are both blind and Awareness is an active sense). Milmeowna’s character misunderstood my description of Awareness and though the effect was the same as the locator beacon. They heroes explain the situation to the princess, and she reveals herself as Wren Alexus, heir to the Alexian Empire. She never revealed herself before because she had a weak claim, but now was the time to make it public.

Shortly after removing the beacon, Delia appeared and yelled at Rosa: “YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!” and hurled her force sword. Rosa avoided the attack. Milmeowna attempted to reason with Delia and offered to help her escape. Given the circumstances and her culture, Delia wouldn’t relent.

Encounter with Xakkar the Dark

Nathram ditched his disguise and made his way to the throne room. Assassinating his master’s enemy was a higher priority than disabling the tractor beams. That could come later. He arrived to find Xakkar the Dark sitting on the throne. Xakkar commended Nathram for making it to the throne room. He showed that he knew that Nathram was sent by his master and was being overzealous. He continued by reminding Nathram that he has never actually seen his master and offered to be Nathram’s new master and teach him the ways of Dark Communion.

Nathram initially refused the offer, but Xakkar’s Aspect and Dark Majesty had a strong effect on him. Xakkar sent his guard to deal with the intruder.

Nathram tried shooting the guard, but his first shot missed, and his second shot malfunctioned. After his gun stopped working, he tried throwing it, but the guard parried that without trouble. The guard approached slowly with a defensive grip. He kept Nathram at a distance for most of the fight and struck him with pain glaive and afflicted Nathram with a minor wound, terrible pain and max fatigue damage. Nathram used an IP to return to the fight. The guard attempted Reminder of Place, but Nathram critically succeeded his dodge causing the guard to lose his balance. Nathram defeated the guard with a all-out (double) dual-weapon attack. Two attacks hit, but the third missed (with a 17).

After Nathram defeated the guard, Xakkar told him to kill him. Nathram did it, and Xakkar offered Nathram to take the guard’s place. This time, Nathram considered the offer. He asked what the Xakkar would do to the princess. Xakkar said that he wouldn’t harm her and only needed her to activate certain “mystical artifacts.” Nathram also asked to be allowed to not harm his companion. Xakkar agreed, and Nathram to make Xakkar his new master. Xakkar performed a ritual to break Nathram’s oath to his former master while Nathram made the oath to his new master. Xakkar ordered Nathram to bring him the princess unharmed.

Escape Attempt

While Nathram was “disabling the tractor beams,” the other heroes tried to escape.

Arrival of the Tarvathim

While Milmeowna attempted to convince Delia to leave her master, Delia called the troopers to her location. Milmeowna’s attempts failed. The heroes heard marching and smelled the stench of dead flesh, and one player remarked “When did space zombies become a thing?” The players suspicions were largely correct. A half dozen Gaunt troopers appeared.

The Gaunt troopers who arrived were not terribly heavily armored (otherwise Milmeowna’s pistols would be entirely useless), but they were still incredibly tough. Delia started chanting, and Milmeowna and Wren ran (Raja’s player didn’t make it for session 3). The Gaunt troopers laid cover fire to let Delia finish her prayer (none of the characters knew anything about Communion).

Rosa vs Delia

Since Delia was insistent on killing Rosa, Rosa ran to start the attack. Delia switched to a defensive stance, and Rosa made her attack. Delia parried with TK-Grab. She released her hold and attacked with her force sword (also with TK-Grab). Rosa’s Combat Sense allowed her to defend against the attack from behind. They fought for a while, and Rosa was forced to spend an IP. Rosa finally got a lucky critical hit and finished the duel.

The Chase

The chase started with Milmeowna trying to defeat the Gaunt troopers. She defeated most of them with plasma grenades and fully unloaded, dual wielded pistols, but many more troopers appeared. Trying to fight them all would be pointless.

Milmeowna was far more dexterous than the Gaunt, but Wren (a Mystic) made the chase difficult for the heroes. Milmeowna’s Serendipity helped a lot. It caused old ventilation to fall and a missed shot to close the blast doors blocking the pursuer’s paths. Communion defended Wren with Armor of Communion, and Broken Communion defended Milmeowna with Shroud of Broken Communion.

They Betrayal

Nathram asked some troopers where the others were, and they gave him directions. When he arrived, he saw Milmeowna and Wren (and Raja in the background). He tried to convince them that Xakkar was actually a good guy and was only trying to overthrow the Empire. The truth was the Xakkar believed what he was doing was moral (Megalomania and Tyrannic morality), and he was trying to overthrow the Valorian Empire (and create his own utopia). Milmeowna was confused but got a sense that Nathram was under some sort of psionic influence (critical success on perception).

After Rosa finished her fight, she arrived and was able to confirm signs of some sort of psionic interference. Wren tried commanding Nathram with her psionic abilities, but Nathram got a critical success on his resistance. I let the player choose if it applied to breaking free from Xakkar’s influence (although he was still bound by an oath) or resisting Wren. He chose resisting the princess.

Troopers were on their way, and there was no time to lose, so Milmeowna tried to wrestle Nathram (which would have been difficult if she ever hit since Nathram was quite strong and Ranathim). Nathram tried grabbing Milmeowna and draining her energy (to subdue her with minimal injury). Their defenses were both too high, and nothing really happened.

This is where things began going comically wrong.

Rosa tripped and fell while trying to escape. Combined with the fact that the princess was a Mystic, this meant that capture would be inevitable.

Milmeowna tried running, but Nathram was faster and would catch her easily. She tried to drop a tangle grenade to catch both of them, but Nathram dodged, and she only caught herself. She tried a stun grenade which almost worked and with blaster set to stun, but she wasn’t able to hit in time.

The heroes were surrounded by troopers and captured (except for Nathram of course).

The Retrospective

What Went Well

Raja’s player was engaged with all of his con artistry.

Despite being an action heavy segment, there were opportunities for dialog and problem solving.

I gave some of the lore information before the third session started while waiting for the last player to arrive.

Despite the comical failures at the end, it was fun. Everyone laughed.

Nathram got to make some interesting and important choices. He did a great job at roleplaying his character and had fun.

What Went Poorly

We never really started on time (which is normal), and session two had to be abbreviated. That led to a little rushing.

Milmeowna’s player isn’t proficient at dialog, and she got stuck in a position where she was forced to do the talking. I like giving players the opportunity to exercise their skills, but I don’t like to make them too uncomfortable.

Session three was supposed to be the end, but crazy circumstances necessitate another one to reach a conclusion.

The reporting to base scene was unsatisfactory. It hoped Raja would have made an excuse for not reporting or something.

Ideas and Improvements for Next Sessions

The galaxy (or at least Humanity) might be doomed. I did not plan for this, and I need some time to think.

Other Thoughts

The Pain Glaive was quite effective against the Force Sword/Force Blade combination. It would have been easy for agony to end the fight against Nathram. In a fight to the death, it is basically the same as dying (it is the same for unconsciousness, so it makes sense).

I think throwing a force sword is probably a common enough trick to be worth some detail on the wiki. In Delia’s case, it was more of a trap anyway, so getting the specifics correct didn’t really matter.

I expected that Nathram might betray his master, but I didn’t anticipate that he would turn into a “he’s actually a good guy” fanatic. I also didn’t expect the rest of the party to be captured so easily (or comically).

Games I Didn't Run: Calmquist's One Shot: Part 1

I love it when people other than me run a Psi-Wars game. I hear rumors of most, whispers and questions, but sometimes, someone will straight-up tell me about a session, and when I get very lucky, they’ll post their notes so I can post them here.

This is from Backer “Calmquist,” who played as Xerxes, the Morathi pirate in the Tall Tales of the Orochi Belt. I’ve not reformatted or edited anything (though I may post links to some elements for reference, if I get time).

Without further ado:

Out of Game One Shot Background

After quite a while of not knowing anyone in the area interested in RPGs, I got the opportunity to take over DMing Storm King’s Thunder for a group. I planned a Psi-Wars one shot for December (that is when the new movie would come out), but things didn’t work out. Most of the players quit around October or November due to schedule issues, so the one shot also never happened. Recently, I got a chance to play Waterdeep Dragon Heist (still ongoing) which was great because it meant I could play. We were scheduled for every other Monday, and May 4^th was an off week, so I scheduled a one shot.

The Heroes

I created the sample characters because I was bored and because I wanted to have some representative characters available if I ever got the opportunity to host a one shot (it actually took a long time, so I created around a dozen). I actually made most of them before I knew any of the players besides Milmeowna’s. I created her partly because I knew her player liked cats.

Milmeowna Catalos: Morathi Bounty Hunter

Milmowna was born and raised a slave. After escaping her Slaver master, she became a bounty hunter. She an excellent pistolera and has the skills and gear for catching her bounty dead or alive. She has the, Luck, Serendipity and Unconscious Broken Communion (Death) trait, but she lacks the specific Morathi training to make the most of it (this is both due to points and to keep the character relatively simple for a one shot). Luck and Serendipity are the generic advantages with the Probability Alteration PM (again, this is largely to keep things simple for the player).

Milmeowna was hired by Jace Eris to retrieve the “Princess” from some Ranathim pirates.

Nathram Rahar: Ranathim Assassin

Nathram is a Khaftlin in a Cult of Satra Temos. He is greedy, on the edge and fanatical to the Cult. He is destined to be a Tyrant, but he is currently only a slave. Although he is trained in the Fell Form, he is specialized in stealth and assassination. He is wields a force sword and blade, but he is not a weapon master. He is physically the strongest character in the party by far.

He was recommended and sent by Reuben Verge with the latest intel about the “Princess’s” location. Nathram’s secret master has ordered him to gather intel about a rival. Nathram knows that if he assassinates the rival, he will gain prestige and become one step closer to being a true Tyrant.

Kihita Raelen “Raja”: Keleni Con Artist

Raja was raised outside a typical Keleni community. His parents taught him the ways of Annara, and he still believes it, but the temptations to scam the people around him with his telepathy was too much to control. After leaving home, he made his way through life one scam at a time. He wandered the galaxy and knows his way around. Raja is confident that he can lie, cheat and steal his way out any problem. He certainly has the skill for it.

Raja was not recruited for the mission. He heard rumors about the opportunity and decided to tag along. It sounded like a good scam.

Rosa Sabine: Akashic Knight

Rosa is Viscountess of Pelia (currently an entirely symbolic title). She is devoted to the Akashic Mysteries and to the Order, but she did not have the ability to peer far into the future or see visions (outside of using Dreaming Nymph). Instead, she could see short glimpses into the future (Combat Sense). Because of her devotion and skill set, she became an Akashic Knight to guard the Order and duel heretics who strayed from the Golden Path. She became a Guardian of the Mysteries. Mechanically, Rosa has Status, Beauty and Fashion Sense (and Bloodline Purity for when it matters) for a high reaction bonus. She also has Sabine Blindness.

I did a partial conversion of the Akashic Form to power ups, but I seem to have misplaced my notes. Rosa is a Student and has learned Accept Fate (“The Dead Stance”). She is also a Weapon Master.

Rosa received a disturbing vision (under the influence of Dreaming Nymph) involving a princess, a tyrant, a usurper and a burning tree. After consulting the Akashic Order, she was sent to Jace Eris to avoid the dire future the vision predicted.

(Mailanka’s Notes: I’ve since updated the Akashic Form, but it’s not yet on the Wiki. Calmquist did not have access to this during his playtest)

The Supporting Cast

Jace Eris

Jace has a minor claim in Anmārwi, but the Empire currently controls his homeland. He currently resides in Persephone. He oversees the “Princess,” Wren, and is one of the few people who knows her secret. Jace is also secretly a follower of True Communion. After learning of Wren’s capture, he hired the bounty hunter, Milmeowna Catalos, to rescue her secretly.

Reuben Verge

Reuben is Marquis of the Sanguine Stars that his ancestors “colonized.” Due to the difficulty of travel, his holdings have not been taken by the Valorian Empire, but they are in dispute from the Slaver Empire. He is attempting increased diplomacy with the Ranathim against the Slavers, but his situation is a mess. He knows of Wren’s identity and sent Nathram Rahar to Jace Eris for support in the rescue (and to forge an alliance with a particularly influential Ranathim group).

(Mailanka’s Notes: House Verge is a house created by Calmquist. I might go through and collect up various fan-houses at some point, but I don’t have information on House Verge that I can share).

TiaSabine

Tia is a shadow initiated Oracle. She been given a secret task by the Shadow Council. After hearing of Rosa’s vision, she decided to send her on a mission to Persephone to speak with Jace Eris. The Golden Path is dangerously close to being lost, and Tia believes that Rosa may be the one to save it.

Wren “Alexus”

Wren is a descendant of an illegitimate daughter of Lucius Alexus. Her origins are shrouded in secret and known to only a few (including Jace Eris and Reuben Verge). She has hidden in plain sight as an “Alexian Princess” in a holo-film series where she was “taught” proper court etiquette. Wren is also secretly a priestess of True Communion. She has been contemplating taking the name Alexus, but has been reluctant because her claim would be disputed, and claiming the title may do more harm than good for the Alliance. She was captured by an Imperial ship and quickly “rescued” by alleged Ranathim pirates. She is currently bound by a “long and loose chain.”

The Action

Introductions

Nathram Rahar

Nathram was brought to an audience with Marquis Reuben Verge. Reuben’s guards eyed Nathram suspiciously, and Reuben eyed Nathram’s collar disapprovingly and sighs. Nathram noticed that Reuben looked unlike any Human he has seen before. He is obviously human, but he looks almost Ranathim. Reuben commanded Nathram (following Nathram’s master’s orders) to accompany Reuben’s diplomatic envoy to Persephone and tell Jace Eris that the “Princess” was taken by Ranathim pirates and was last seen in Sarai.

Rosa Sabine

During one of her breaks, Rosa took her Dreaming Nymph and had a vision. She saw:

A dark king wearing a crown of fire
A princess holding a crown; her shadow wears it
The king sends his pawns who put the princess in chains
A new king rescues the princess and brings her to his fortress; his face turns to a skull
A great tree burns

Rosa succeeded her fright check but was troubled by the vision. She toldTia Sabin of her vision. Tia senther to Jace Eris.

Milmeowna Catalos

Milmeowna spoke to Jace Eris in one of his private rooms. Only a few guards were present. Jace briefed Milmeowna about a missing VIP. She was abducted by an Imperial ship. The ship was found destroyed. The target is believed to have escaped, but her whereabouts are unknown. As he spoke, a guard opened the door announcing that Rosa and Nathram had both arrived with information about the “problem.” Jace invited them in, and they exchange information. Jace invited his guests to stay for dinner while he prepare for their trip.

Kihita Raelen

Raja heard a rumor about a missing “princess” from a b-list holo film series, but the amount of concern indicated that something more was going on. He read a guard’s mind and learns that Jace Eris hired an Asrathi bounty hunter to find her. He also learned that the new Viscountess of Pelia and some shady Ranathim also came to visit Jace. After some investigation and con artistry, Raja faked his way to being the pilot the particular Nomad that the others would take to Sarai.

Sarai

The Checkpoint

The heroes made it to the security checkpoint above Sarai without trouble. Raja tried convincing the officers that the group was there for vacation. The security guards didn’t buy the lie, but they did assume that the heroes were there for the regular shady things that go on there. They could not be bothered to do a proper investigation, so they let the heroes in. It wasn’t worth the trouble.

At the space port, customs agents came to inspect the ship and cargo. Raja did have a proper manifest and everything was in order, but the the agent fabricated a discrepancy. Raja knew exactly what was going on and gave the agent the “facilitation payment” he wanted. Rosa (or her player) was shocked that an Imperial agent would be corrupt enough to ask for a bribe.

Investigation

Milmeowna used her bounty hunter skills (mostly streetwise) to locate an establishment where the pirates were likely to visit. She learned about the establishment named “Cantina” (definitely not stolen from Star Wars). The heroes raised many eyebrows when they walked in. Rosa got a very good reaction from the crowd (everyone else was pretty much neutral). Several guys decided to talk to her. She asked about pirates and interesting things that were going on. One guy told her that Cantina was not a place for someone like her and offered to look after her. After she refused, he and several others pulled blasters on them.

Nathram drew his weapon. Milmeowna quickly dispatched three of them. Rosa parried a blaster and dispatched one. Nathram did get one good kill, and the fight was basically over in an instant. It was BAD-1. They forced the thug, col, to talk. He did mention seeing some pirates escorting someone dressed like a princess. He knew the location of their base and that one of the pirates appeared to be a Mithna (strange), but he didn’t have any other information.

Conflict with Pirates

The heroes arrived near the pirate hideout and tried to sneak in, but Raja was discovered. The pirate guards came to investigate, and he distracted them with his silver tongue for long enough for Nathram to dispatch them from above with Falling Assault. After getting to the door, Nathram rigged the cameras with a loop and broke in quietly. The hideout was dark, but everyone besides Raja could see well enough (Raja didn’t want to alert anyone with his flashlight hand). The heroes made short work of the patrols and opened the door at the end of the hallway.

There was a hologram with a Keleni wearing golden robes and a crown. The pirates (a few mooks, a Mithna knight and a pain glaive guard) were kneeling, and the one who looked like the leader was reporting to his master. Raja was flabbergasted that a Keleni could be a Tyrant. The Tyrant said that the princess made it to him safely and was with him aboard the Throne Ship. After that, the figure turned around and greeted his guests. Nathram was already sneaking around to get a proper kill, but the Tyrant was knew he was around somewhere. The Tyrant mocked the heroes a little and ended the transmission.

After the Tyrant left, a fight broke out. Nathram attempted a quick assassination of the pain glaive guard, but the guard was just aware enough to avoid the attack. Nathram quickly pushed the guard back to a wall and cut the bottom of the glaive. He ended the fight shortly after that.

Milmeowna took out one mook immediately while the two others dove behind desks. She used gunslinger acrobatics to move around the room and take out the rest of the mooks.

Rosa fought against the opposing knight. The fight was close, but Rosa’s combat sense made her very defensive. Rosa finished her fight with Mirror Fate (“the Shadow Strike”) and forced the knight to surrender (breaking his oath).

Raja didn’t contribute much to the fight, but his Telereceive, Detect Lies and general communication skills proved useful during the interrogation. The heroes gained access to a star chart that gave the location of the Throne Ship. They looted the bodies (they came from D&D) and killed their prisoner (which will have consequences).

Before they could finish the interrogation, a large group of mooks arrived. Raja shot the door control to buy time. The pirates eventually broke through, and started shooting. Milmeowna used her tangler grenade and pistols to defeat several mooks, and Nathram did some slicing. Rosa took a real beating from the mooks. She took a direct hit from a plasma pistol (which didn’t make it through her duelist body suit but did cause knockback) and got punched in the face (which did a whole point of damage through her masque).

After finishing the mooks, the heroes made it back to the ship to head to the Morass to find the Throne Ship and the Princess.

The Retrospective

What Went Well

The players all enjoyed it. Rosa’s player never watched Star Wars and thought her Space Knight character was very cool. Raja’s player enjoyed playing a charismatic con artist. The characters all got a chance to do something cool and fulfill their niches.

There was a decent mix of investigation and action scenes. The duel was fun.

The players asked several lore questions (a double edged sword for a one shot) and seemed to enjoy the setting.

The players generally spent enough (but usually not too much) time planning for a one shot. They were not too reckless, but they did attempt to make good use of their time given the limitations.

What Went Poorly

It was a one shot, so we went through the scenario at a faster pace than I would normally prefer.

There was a sizable chunk of lore questions all at once. Normally, that would be great, but it was a one shot.

I forgot a few descriptions that I planned. I also didn’t make as much use of the disadvantages as I should have.

The “mini boss” fight was too easy. The other ones were meant to be over in an instant, but the main fight was supposed to be a sort of combat tutorial.

Ideas and Improvements for Next Session

Next session will be in the Throne Ship attempting a rescue and escape. There will be sneaking around and trying to locate the princess. I hope for a good stealth scene. The party may split (which would be appropriate in genre), so I will need to plan for that.

I want to put the disadvantages into play. I also want to remember my descriptions of the corrupted throne ship.

I am hoping for a multi part chase with an epic duel at the climax, but we will see what happens in real life. There will be no ship combat because I don’t want to deal with the action vehicular combat rules with new players. If they make it that far, I will probably handle it with hand waving and Communion.

Other Thoughts

The players have never played GURPS, and most of them have not played a sci-fi RPG, but everyone enjoyed the experience and had fun. Hopefully we can do it again some time.

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