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PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?
Humanity is gone, having achieved Singularity and sundered the very laws of physics.
Their children, the Archons, tailor-made new species in the pursuit of the perfect organism.
Their rejected child, the X’ion, created horrors to erase the Archons from the galaxy.
They succeeded and then left, abandoning all survivors.
Now its up to you to pick up the pieces and forge some sort of future for you all.


This is a CYOA game set in the Fragged Empire RPG setting. You’ll be playing the leader of a mercenary group working to establish a new colony amidst old dangers and new threats.


Welcome to Haven System
The home system of the Kaltorans, Haven has found itself the center of activity as the various species that survived the Great War attempt to rebuild. The Kaltorans have emerged from their deep-ocean vault-cities, the Corp have settled the gas giant Alabaster and turned it into an interstellar rest-stop, the Legion have come to earn much needed credits and practice their warcrafts, and the Nephilim seek to survive X’ion’s abandonment.
The last few years have been a rough-and-tumble Wild West-esque scene, as the various power groups have carved out market shares and territories. But now, rumors are swirling that the various powers-that-be of Haven are close to reaching an agreement that would codify the various territorial claims that currently exist, and set down rules for claiming new lands and outposts. So this of course has set off a frenzy of activity, everyone and their Legion Hound getting claims in before there are shudder… rules involved. Now Alabaster, Lilith, Eden, and Kadash all have ‘large’ populations that wouldn’t really welcome newcomers. And Gehenna is a molten hell-world that’s best left to the mining conglomerates to fight over. Which leaves Mishpacha…

Mishpacha, or The Deadly Green Jewel of Haven System
Mishpacha, like Gehenna, is a world that is unclaimed by the various powers of Haven System. Instead its become a refuge for hermits and outlaws, as well as those seeking profit or a second chance. From space, its a paradise, green continents on blue waters. But it suffered greatly from the Last War, mutagenic bombardments altering the native flora and fauna into deadly forms. Additionally it has the second highest Nephilim population outside of Eden, all dangerously feral (at least according to the Eden Brood). Less common but perhaps even more dangerous are the hibernating Mechanoid warforms that litter the planet, just waiting for someone to disturb their slumber.
Despite these dangers, Mishpacha offers a great variety of riches, from the raw materials necessary for space-faring civilizations to the relics of pre-War technology. And you’ve set out to claim some of it for yourself. It won’t be easy, but then again what is nowadays?

Choice #1: Sponsor
Now, founding colonies is an expensive undertaking. You’ll need at least one ship, and having some institutional muscle behind you can help if you get into a bind. There are several organizations that have put out contracts for mercenary groups to do the heavy lifting involved in establishing colonies for them. Of course these organization will expect some return on their investments, and may very well get you dragged into higher-level drama. So, who are you working for?

A: Breakly’s Consumer Goods, Entertainment Division (The Corporation)
A mid-sized Corp business trying to get a strangle-hold on the newly-established holodrama market, BCC has provided a refit cargo hauler and a slew of multi-function drones. They plan to film your exploits and use the footage to recreate the ‘Reality TeeVee’ genre.

B: Auxilia Settlement Division (The Legion)
While the Legion has settled the ice-world of Lilith, Command is leary about putting its eggs in one basket. Monetary and tactical support has been set aside for the establishment of a forward operating base, as well as a heavy assault frigate. They do request that you take the Legion’s cold-adapted physiology into account when decided on sites.

C: The Resupply Collective (The Kaltorans)
Collecting the materials needed to feed their burgeoning population as well as reclaiming the vault-cities lost to chaos is the primary focus of the Kaltoran people. Several clans have pooled resources to hire you, and can provide a deep-space explorer for your use. The precarious nature of the Kaltoran re-emergence into space means that they may need to claim extra goods from your colony to make up for shortfalls elsewhere.

D: Eden Brood Public Relations (The Nephilim)
As the creatures that the X’ion used to wage its war against the Archons, the Nephilim know that they are not well liked (Corporation aside). The Devwi-Ich of the Eden Brood has taken the findings of her best social scientists and created EBPR to go forth and make a new ‘civilian’ face of the Brood. She has gestated a fresh research bioship with a new neural pattern. They also request that you refrain from unnecessary violence or other forms of negative publicity.

E: Wildcaters (No Sponsor)
Having outsider backing can be useful, but you don’t think its worth the headache. You and your crew have scrimped and saved and called in all the favors you have so you can do this yourselves. You’ve managed to get a hunk of junk spaceworthy, but you’re still going to have to cut some deals when it comes to populating your settlements.


Choice #2: Side Mission
Nothing is ever straightforward, and despite having (or eschewing) contracts with your sponsor, another group has enough leverage on you and your crew that you’ve agreed to assist them while building your colony:

A: Breaking Bad ...in Space (Corporation)
The Viacor Draz cartel has taken serious losses of territory and supply at the hands of its competitors. Unfortunately, they’ve got their hooks into you so you get to help them recover.

B: The Imperius Rex (The Legion)
The Imperius Rex was one of the largest Legion Dreadnoughts, thought lost in battle. But faint transponder signals have been detected in Mishpachan space, so hopefully it can still be salvaged.

C: Reclaiming the Past (Kaltoran)
Fragmented genetic memories show a large Archon city existed on Mishpacha, a key facility in Haven System. A large cache of Archon technology would help deal with almost all of the woes the Kaltoran people face.

D: For the Brood (The Nephilim)
The feral Nephilim of Mishpacha are a vast resource for the Eden Brood, and they must be brought under the Devwi-Ich’s command. Hopefully without the other species noticing...


********
Chapter One: Arrival
Chapter Two:Home on the Range
Chapter Three: The Wild, Wild, Northeast
Chapter Four: The Burdens of Leadership
Chapter Five: Situation Normal, Al-
Chapter Six: The New Normal

Our Current Holdings

PoultryGeist fucked around with this message at 00:15 on Feb 18, 2019

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PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?
You and Your Crew, the Not-So-Gentle Ladies
You’ve hand-picked your crew from the best you’ve seen in Haven System since your arrival. You’ve got a bit of a reputation for being rough-and-tumble, but professional.

TenSixths, Mysterious Captain (Palantor)
Supposedly, you were Human once. Your digital mind stored within the vast Palantor Network. But Something happened and you find yourself diminished, most of your you-ness cut away so that the remainder can fit into this robotic shell. But sometimes, when deep in thought, you swear that you can feel the rest of the Yous out there. Still speaking to you somehow.
Good At: Electronics, Leadership, Ship Command
Bad At:Personal Combat, Culture
Traits:Neural Implant, Hacker

Cody Johns, Guerilla Marketer (Corporation)
A social prodigy, Cody has been behind five of the top ten viral marketing hits on Alabaster 1. On the fast-track to the C-suite, her ambitions were derailed when an advert for a small-time arms dealer was ruled to have damaged Body Count Conglomerate’s brand. Wiped out financially by the fines, Cody has been making ends meet as your sweet-talker and drone jockey.
Good At: Conversation, Tactical Weapons, Ship Command
Bad At:Survival, Physical
Trait: Charming

Hydra Aurelius, Heavy Metal Grandma (Legion)
Hydra has done her duty for her people, bearing three children and contributing to the upbringing of eight grandchildren. Now that the youngest has taken their Aptitudes, she wants to enjoy her retirement with some mercenary work.
Good At: Heavy Weapons, Leadership, Ship Guns
Bad At: Movement, Mechanics
Trait:Massive

Jadzi Swagger, Psionic Mechanic (Kaltoran)
All Kaltorans can access the memories of their ancestors to one degree or another. But at a young age, Jadzi figured out that she could also see the memories of others, even non-Kaltorans. Psionic ability is poorly understood in general, and Jadzi has traveled across Haven system looking for the key to help focus her abilities.
Good At: Mechanics, Small Arms, Ship Engineering
Bad At: Focus, Astronomy
Trait:Psionic

Kruze, Xenomorphic Medic (Nephilim)
A highly-respected genetic scientist with the Eden Brood, Kruze felt stifled by the neo-feudal nature of life in Necronus. Plus, its easier to find new subjects when traveling outside the Brood. As amoral as she is, it would reflect poorly on her abilities if she didn’t keep her companions healthy, so your organic crew is in good hands. Claws. Pointy-grippy-manipulator-thingies.
Good At: Bio-tech, Medicine, Exotic Weapons
Bad At:Ship Command, Culture
Trait: Surgeon

Your Ships
:rip: The Jenni

Foregone Conculsion

Good At: Combat
Bad At: Science, Being Inconspicuous
(28/26 Influence)
Hull 4 Pow 3 Perks: Escape Pods, Shuttle Bay, Armoury, Brig
Eng 4 CPU 4 Traits: Destroyer, Fractal Shields
Cre 2 Sen 2 Weapons: Explosive Missiles, Synth Steel Combat Fighters, Beam Laser
Cargo 10 Defence 12
Weapon Slot 4 Armor 3
Resupply 8 Shields 22
Build: Archon
You may make 1 free System Roll each Turn at +0 (no Strong Hits) , While you have shields you may move through extremely hot locations (eg: outer layer of a sun) for an hour.
-2 Quick Fix Repair Rolls, NPCs will easily remember your spacecraft..

Kaijuberg
Farms: 3/4
Mines: 3/3
Industry: 2/2
Prosperity: 1/1
Security: 2/2
Order: 1/1
Cargo Space: 4
Wealth: 1
Workforce: 3
Soldiers: 2
Population: Kaltoran (0)
Comm Array, Large Reactor, Freighter Port
Total Influence Cost: 24/35
It will produce the following Production Goods per cycle:
7 Food, 1 Organisms, 7 Ore, 2 Energy, 5 Machinery, 0 Tech

The Workshop
Farms: 0/1
Mines: 1/2
Industry: 3/4
Prosperity: 1/3
Security: 2/3
Order: 1/4
Cargo Space: 2
Wealth: 3
Workforce: 4
Soldiers: 3
Population: Palantor (0)
Comm Array
Total Influence Cost: 11/35
0 Food, 0 Organisms, 2 Ore, 0 Energy, 6 Machinery, 2 Tech



Influence: 35 (28 ship, 24 Kaijuberg, 11 The Workshop)
Spare Time Points: 12
14 Food, 2 Organisms, 16 Ore, 4 Energy, 16 Machinery, 2 Tech.
Trade Boxes: 10 Weapons
Positronic Cores: 10

PoultryGeist fucked around with this message at 01:31 on Nov 26, 2018

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?
Influence
Fragged Empire doesn’t track discrete amounts of money, it is abstracted into Resources/Spare Time Units and Influence. Resources isn’t used in the rules variation I’m using for this, and I’ll cover Spare Time Units in a bit. But Influence is what determines the fanciness of your spaceship and awesomeness of your outpost/colony. The rationale is that maintaining a starship and settlement requires specialized knowledge and facilities in addition to cash, and you need a certain amount of standing in society to obtain or arrange for those.

You gain Influence by basically doing favors for people. You can do jobs for pay, but if you do something in a ‘I’ll scratch your back, and you’ll scratch mine’ manner that’ll increase your Influence.

You don’t spend Influence, but allocate amounts from the pool. In this variant its basically a double pool, one for Ships, and one for Settlements.

You and your crew currently have 16 Influence from character creation. Your ship is 14 Influence, leaving 2 remaining for other ships (Ships all cost 10+ Influence). You still have 16 Influence in your Settlement Pool, which you can spend once you figure out where you want to start.


Spare Time Points
So in Fragged Empire, it is acknowledged that you’ll generally be able to buy/build/perform something you need to have or have done. The limiting resource is time. So you have a number of Spare Time Points that you can use in downtime to do things in the background. Unlike Influence you do spend STP, but it slowly recharges and you can also gain them through minor looting. We currently have 15/16 STP, Jadzi used one to convince the Kaltorans to give us some of their survey data.

Fairly soon, provided we survive this attack, the game mode will open up a bit as we get into the meat of colony building. I will be putting up minor tasks that use STP up for votes, and will also be taking suggestions on possible uses.

Outposts

Like characters and spaceships, outposts are designed around 6 Attributes plus Traits that modify circumstances narratively and mechanically. Traits are divided up by the Attributes they apply to, and generally you can only have one Trait for each Attribute. Outposts also have Populations, which are like Character Species or Ship Builds, modifiers of the baseline.

When a possible Outpost is being created, the GM assigns max values for the Attributes (avg 12 total), and possible traits that have special requirements. These are based on the environment, location, and condition of the area the Outpost will be. The players then assign Influence to the Outpost to get Attribute values and Traits (Traits may have STP or other costs).

Attributes
The first three Attributes determine what Goods you produce in excess. The second set of three are used to make some derived stats of the Outpost.
Farms:
The amount of organic material your Outpost can produce, based on the arable land available. Farms produce (Farmsx2) Food and (Farms-2) Organisms
Mines:
The amount of minerals and power being produced at your Outpost, based on ore and energy sources available. Mines produce (Minesx2) Ore and (Mines-2) Energy
Industry:
The amount of organic and inorganic machinery being built at your Outpost, based on how suitable the area is for heavy industry/large factories. Industry produces (Industryx2) Machinery and (Industry-2) Tech
Prosperity: The wealth and well-being of the people living in your Outpost, based on the distance to other Outposts or trade routes.
Security: The safety of your Outpost. (ie: guards, towers, secure roads, etc…), based on how easy it is to defend, and the closeness of military aid.
Order: The efficiency of your Outpost, based on how easy life is here and how compelling of a place it is to live.

Derived Stats
Cargo Space: The baseline amount of secure storage space at your Outpost. (Prosperityx2)
Wealth: The taxable population living at your Outpost. (Prosperity+Order)
Workforce: The number of trained workers willing to work for you. (Security+Order)
Soldiers: The quantity of trained soldiers at your Outpost. (Security+Prosperity)

Goods
Your Outpost will generally be self-sufficient, barring extraordinary circumstances. The Goods produced (called Production Trade Boxes/Goods in the FE: Hacked pdf) are excess, and can be sold or used to improve the Outpost through paying for Traits or buildings (these have specific costs I’ll go into later). Specific trade possibilities are:
Food: 4 Food Trade Boxes may be exchanged for +1 Influence.
Organisms: 2 Organisms may be exchanged for 1 Food or a Flesh Rejuvenator.
Energy: 2 Energy may be exchanged for 1 free Commission Roll.
Tech: 2 Tech may be exchanged for 1 Food, Ore or Machinery.

Commissions
Outposts will generally operate on their own without needing you to micromanage things. But there are times when you need assistance from the people of our Outpost, which is when you Commission something from them. You may Commission an Outpost 4 times per cycle, and you must be in contact with said Outpost. You must spend a STP and possibly a Good, and its made easier by a higher Workforce Stat. The general Commissions are:
Tax: May be successfully performed once per Cycle per Outpost. Gain Valuable Trade Boxes = Wealth -2
Work: : Farms, Mines or Industry produces Trade Goods again. Costs 1 Food.
Deploy: Gain additional Combat units, will detail in Mass Combat
Develop: Cost 1 of each Type of Production Trade Good. Increase any Outpost Attribute Maximum by 1.
Transport: Move 8 Trade Goods from this Outpost or move 4 Trade Goods to this Outpost.

Populations
The various species of Haven System generally don’t get along enough to live together with out special research. Therefore you have to pick a single population for you Outpost.
House Rule: Since you are unaligned explorers, you will have to pay for your Population like it was a Trait (2 Influence). There will be chances to make inroads with folks and remove this penalty.

Corporation
Benefits +1 max, Industry, Prosperity or Order. You produce +1 Energy per session.
Drawbacks Deploy Commissions costs you +1 Valuable Trade Box. You produce -2 Food per session.
Kaltoran
Benefits +1 max, Farms and Mines. You produce +1 Food, Ore and Machinery (minimum of 1) per session. Deploy Commissions costs you -1 of each Production Trade Good Type.
Drawbacks -1 max, Prosperity and Order. Mass Combat Dice from Deploy Commission gain
random Mass Combat Types (normally you choose).
Nephilim
Benefits +2 max Security. +1 Soldiers. Organisms may be used in place of, and functions like, all other Goods.
Drawbacks -1 max Prosperity.
Legion
Benefits +2 Soldiers. Deploy Commissions do not require you to use a STP.
Drawbacks (This Outpost is underpowered). This costs +5 Influence if it is located in a non-cold environment. +10 if in a hot environment. You produce -2 Food, Ore and Machinery per session.
Mixed (Requires X amounts of Research)
Benefits You gain the Benefits and Disadvantages of X other Populations. You may select Traits that require these Populations.
Drawbacks -X max Security & Order.
Twi-Far
Benefits Your Outpost can relocate when you perform a Transport Commission: when you do, you may Retro any amount of your Attribute Points (to reflect your new environment).
Drawbacks Your starting Attribute maximum total equals 10 (normally around 12) and is not based on your environment. Deploy Commissions costs you +1 Energy. -1 Soldiers

A Outpost Example: Eastern Waistra Plateau
So that’s alot of words, let’s run through the example. A its been discovered, the EWP is an area with good defensive and industrial possibilities, but poor crop and trade possibilities. Distributing 12 points, I say the max values for an Outpost on the EWP is:
Farms: 1
Mines: 2
Industry: 3
Prosperity: 1
Security: 4
Order: 1
And the possible special area Traits are: Natural Defenses, Ancient Labs.

The Influence cost of each Attribute increases the higher it is, equal to its value plus all previous values, ie: 3 Farms would cost 6 (3+2+1) Influence. So given we have 20 Influence and have to pay 2 for our Population, we could do the following:

Farms: 1/1(1)
Mines: 1/1 (1)
Industry: 3/4 (6)
Prosperity: 1/1 (1)
Security: 2/3 (3)
Order: 1 (1)
Population: Corp (2)
Total Influence Cost: 15

This leaves us 5 Influence to pay for the Traits once we’ll produced the required Goods to develop them. The Corp Pop increases our Industry and Energy production, but it also means we’d have to pay them extra to get them to help with Commissions.


Explored Areas
Eastern Waistra Plateau
Farms: 1
Mines: 2
Industry: 3
Prosperity: 1
Security: 4
Order: 1
Special area Traits: Natural Defenses, Ancient Labs.

Human Facility
Farms: 3
Mines: 2
Industry: 2
Prosperity: 1
Security: 2
Order: 2
Special area Traits: Large Reactor, Ancient Labs, Unknown Plot Stuff.

Wreckage of Orbital Shipyard
Farms: 1
Mines: 3
Industry: 3
Prosperity: 2
Security: 1
Order: 2
Special area Traits: Exotic Foods, Ancient Labs,

PoultryGeist fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Jun 5, 2018

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?
History
Almost 15,000 years ago, Humanity achieved a technological Singularity. Their technology was unmatched, and they were even able to shatter reality. These dimensional rifts were called Ley Lines, and the energy that leaked out of them enabled the Jump Drives to break the c barrier. Humanity spread across the galaxy, terraforming most of the worlds they came across. For 10,000 years, Humanity was ascendant. But slowly their population dwindled, and they approached extinction.

Unable to stop their own decline, Humanity created the Archons to inherit their works. But the Archons rejected most of the technology of their parents, focusing instead on mastering genetic engineering. They created countless new species and seeded them across the galaxy. 200 years ago, they thought they had succeeded in creating the perfect organism, the X’ion. Twelve X’ion were created before the Archons decided that they had erred and the X’ion were flawed, and needed to be destroyed. One X’ion escaped the slaughter, fleeing to the Rim in a stolen ship.

A hundred years later the X’ion returned, at the head of a vast bio-engineered army. These Nephilim laid waste to the Archons and their creations, despite the Archons best efforts to defeat them. Once the last Archon was dead, the X’ion abandoned his army and left known space. A century after, several species that survived have begun to re-explore space.


Haven System
Haven was the home system of the Kaltorans, one of the Archons’ favorite creations. Their homeworld was the garden world of Eden, and most of the other worlds housed retreats and monasteries popular with the deeply spiritual people.

All of the planets of Haven were terraformed by Humanity, making them habitable despite many not being within the traditional ‘Goldilocks Zone’. However the ecosystems of many of the worlds were damaged during the War, in ways that have yet to be recovered from.


Species
The Corporation

The Corporates (originally the Vargarti) were an early creation of the Archons. As they seemed to have no genetic gifts or interesting abilities, they were deemed a failure and confined to a backwater continent on a more well-regarded species’ planet. They languished on this Varsphere for several thousand years, until the Great X’ion War.

The Vargarti had been so forgotten that when Nephilim warfleets bombarded Varsphere, the bio-toxins were not designed to target them at all. While the planet was still wrecked and infested with great Nephilim warbeasts, for the first time the Vargarti were in control of their own fate. Several warlords discovered an ancient cache of Human knowledge, allowing them to bootstrap their people into the space age. It also introduced them to the great Human philosophy called Capitalism. This Capitalism spoke to the Vargarti, and most embraced its teachings. This bulk of the Vargarti renamed themselves The Corporation and took to the stars.

Aided by Human maps, they discovered Haven System and the fuel-rich gas giant they named Alabaster. They made contact with the Legion, offering them money in exchange for mercenary services. Their wide-band radio signals also drew the attention of the Nephilim, Kaltorans, and Mechanoids, ushering in the current age of rediscovery.

The Kaltoran

The Kaltorans were one of the favored creations of the Archons, who were fascinated by the so-called ‘genetic memories’ exhibited by their new child species. The Kaltorans were seeded across the entirety of Haven System, one of the wonders of Human terraforming. They developed a deeply spiritual culture, monasteries and retreats scattered across the system. Most of their base needs were seen to by the Archon’s great machines, they sought knowledge and skill for its own sake.

As a favorite of the Archons, the Kaltorans earned a special hatred from X’ion and it oversaw their destruction personally. They were pushed back from planet after planet, station after station. They lost their homeworld of Eden, a precious few making it to the holy world of Kadash. Here the Kaltorans hurriedly constructed great domed cities under the oceans and evacuated to them. Millions fought a holding action against the Nephilim, all dying as the bombardment destroyed the polar ice caps. The oceans of Kadash merged into one great sea, perpetually wracked by storms.

Unfortunately, the hastily constructed domes started to fail. Nearly a full third of the cities have gone Dark, lost to civilization. Food and power shortages caused massive unrest in the surviving cities, many Kaltorans having to do unspeakable things to survive. And then, after nearly a century, the few surviving surface stations began to pick up radio signals.

The Kaltorans hastily repaired a few old ship and left Kadash to find a Haven System dominated by the Corporation. Old monastery-stations and holy places turned into rest stops and extraction facilities. They have expanded out into space rapidly in the last handful of years, driven by the need to obtain supplies and materials needed to reclaim the Dark Cities. They constantly come into conflict with the Corporation, as both sides refuse to acknowledge either’s claim to Haven territory and are quite happy to pursue violent negotiations.


The Legion

The Legion were created by the Archons to be warriors, thick reptilian hide combined with redundant organs and genetic imprinting for military service. They were grown by the thousand in maturation vats, handed weapons and armor within minutes of ‘birth’. But the Legion were unable to stop X’ion and its Nephilim, and now that the Archons are gone they face a new challenge: creating a stable society from scratch.

Their thick armored skin and large size make it difficult for them to regulate their body heat, forcing them to settle on ice-worlds. The Legion of Habrixis Sector found such a world, named Cerberus on ancient maps. Here they settled, and attempted to transition to civilian life. It was difficult, and they ended up scratching out a subsistence life ruled over by a repurposed military tribunal. And then the Corporation found them.

The Corporation had discovered that space was a dangerous place, and offered money and supplies in return for bodyguards and mercenaries. The ruling Casila Curia refused, not wanted to split the loyalties of the Legion with these newcomers. But thousands of Legion decided that they’d rather earn money fighting for others than barely getting by as a farmer or mechanic. These Legion were labeled Exsilia (exiles) by the Casila Curia, and forbidden from returning home.

But it was too late. Word was out, and the Casila faced a rebellion if they didn’t do anything. So they created the Auxilia, a clearing-house of mercenaries based on the ice-world of Lillith in Haven System. The Casila takes a percentage of the pay and any Legion-compatible salvage found, but many find it a better way to support their families. And if any Exsilia are encountered are given the Choice: rejoin society as an Auxilia member, or never be able to return home or use Legion facilities again.

PoultryGeist fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Apr 23, 2018

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

A palantor plucked from a chunk of the network that happened to maybe house a hundred squirrels in a digital bag? That sounds a good a premise as any.

I feel like there's already a reality tv angle being played up in another thread, but trying to be a branch of the PR arm of a civilized minority of the same people as the vast teeming hordes of horrifying biotech monstrosities rampaging across the galaxy is a new angle. Also this may mean Full Metal Grandma has to get creative about her problem solving if violence is strongly discouraged.

1.D for Devwi-Ich's Face of Friendly Co-Operation time

For the side gig, searching for Archon ruins sounds like a decent enough job that doesn't involve drug cartels.

2.C, Cartography for Kaltorans

Bendigeidfran
Dec 17, 2013

Wait a minute...
I'm gonna vote for 1. A as our sponsor. Lower downside risk; if everything goes right then everything goes right, if everything going horrifically wrong it makes for much better viewing material.

Going off that, 2. D sounds like an excellent side-mission. Everyone loves a creature feature!

Crazycryodude
Aug 15, 2015

Lets get our X tons of Duranium back!

....Is that still a valid thing to jingoistically blow out of proportion?


E
D


We're a lovable band of misfits giving the finger to The Man and going to make our own future. Plus, having bosses and following orders sucks. So instead let's be the boss and give the orders and make everyone else miserable. Also, horrifying bioweapons are fun and good and I'm sure absolutely nothing can go wrong while loving about with them.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Crazycryodude posted:

We're a lovable band of misfits giving the finger to The Man and going to make our own future. Plus, having bosses and following orders sucks. So instead let's be the boss and give the orders and make everyone else miserable.

Gotta say, you get the frontier spirit cryo

Azhais
Feb 5, 2007
Switchblade Switcharoo
1E2C

No Gods, no Masters. Some of that tech could help out our colonies too.

Helical Nightmares
Apr 30, 2009
1 E
2 D


All that lovely lovely biomass.

DivineCoffeeBinge
Mar 3, 2011

Spider-Man's Amazing Construction Company
1A 2C - "The colony is trying to reclaim the technology of the Archons... but will their research be stymied by interpersonal drama? Find out on tonight's episode of The Wild Frontier, brought to you by Breakly’s Consumer Goods!"

EDIT: a game where "the tank fires at you" is treated with exactly the same dramatic heft as "what do you mean you've been sleeping with him?!?" is irresistible to me, c'mon people

DivineCoffeeBinge fucked around with this message at 08:25 on Apr 7, 2018

super sweet best pal
Nov 18, 2009

1E 2C :bandwagon:

Quorum
Sep 24, 2014

REMIND ME AGAIN HOW THE LITTLE HORSE-SHAPED ONES MOVE?
1A 2C, I'm very on board with LAST TIME, ON SPACE RACE...

Rockopolis
Dec 21, 2012

I MAKE FUN OF QUEER STORYGAMES BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO WITH MY LIFE THAN MAKE OTHER PEOPLE CRY

I can't understand these kinds of games, and not getting it bugs me almost as much as me being weird
EB
Think of the glory!

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?
So far it looks like 1E/2C is in the lead, but not by much. In the interest of getting the meat of things moving, I'm going to close voting tomorrow(4/8) morningish and update later in the day.

sheep-dodger
Feb 21, 2013

Gonna throw in a vote for DD
The public outreach organization for the brood is just a front to grab more biomass??? I'm shocked!

Nothingtoseehere
Nov 11, 2010


1A/2C

What is a reality TV company going to do when our sudden but inevitable betrayal occurs?

Crazycryodude
Aug 15, 2015

Lets get our X tons of Duranium back!

....Is that still a valid thing to jingoistically blow out of proportion?


DivineCoffeeBinge posted:

EDIT: a game where "the tank fires at you" is treated with exactly the same dramatic heft as "what do you mean you've been sleeping with him?!?" is irresistible to me, c'mon people

Reality TV is bad and I hate it so :shrug:

NinjaPete
Nov 14, 2004

Hail to the speaker,
Hail to the knower,
Joy to him who has understood,
Delight to those who have listened.

- Hávamál
E
B

JesterOfAmerica
Sep 11, 2015
1. C
2. D

Shogeton
Apr 26, 2007

"Little by little the old world crumbled, and not once did the king imagine that some of the pieces might fall on him"

1E, 2D

If we were okay with taking orders, well, we could have just accepted the rules. But getting in with the Nephilim might be good, since we're gonna have to deal with all that fauna down there.

malbogio
Jan 19, 2015

E
D

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?
The first vote is closed, the winners are 1E/2D: You and your crew are wildcatters that have gotten roped into reintegrating the Feral Nephilim back into the Eden Brood. Update will be later today, for now I’d like to introduce you to your ship:


You have affectionately named it The Jenni, though your crew not-so-affectionately calls it The Shitbox. But it keeps the icy void of space on the outside (mostly), and has a functional Jump Engine (technically). At least it has potential, once you have the means to finish refitting it.
The Jenni
Good At: ???
Bad At: Long Voyages, Ship Power
Trait: Hunk of Junk

PoultryGeist fucked around with this message at 14:02 on Apr 8, 2018

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?
Chapter One: Arrival
The Jenni crosses back into realspace with a bone-rattling shudder, your wormhole closing mere meters behind you. But you’ve made it, a stunning panorama of Mishpacha and its three moons lay beyond the viewport. With a beep, Jadzi’s cheerfully concerned face is projected from your stations holorig.
“Heyya Cap, we made it! Buut, we’ve just switched over to the emergency reserves, so we’ve got about another 6-ish hours of fuel left. Good thing it won’t take nearly that long to dock at Bastion High, ya?”

At your thought, the ship’s cameras seek out your destination:

The Corp-operated Bastion High, the sole operational space station in Mishpachan space. Sitting in geosynchronous orbit above the relatively-safe Reclaimed Zone and the settlement of Bastion, High is the optimal resupply point for those which don’t want to dive directly into the electromagnetic soup of Mishpacha’s atmosphere. Which is why you had your surveying equipment and other supplies shipped here instead of trying to cram them into Jenni’s tiny hold.

“Might have a problem with that Captain. I can’t seem to raise anyone. And we’re definitely within DataStream range, which means we should be up to our tits in ED ads but I’m getting nothing.”
“Point of fact, neither the Captain or I are mammalian. And while Legion are quasi-mammalian, their lactation architecture-“
“Yes, thank you Kruze. Is the Genocrat’s special cargo situated?”
“Yes Captain. The field emitter has been adapted to the ship’s power systems and is ready for use on any Feral Nephilim we encounter.”

The rest of the crew wasn’t super enthusiastic about this little side project. But they understood that when one of the most powerful members of the Brood tells you that you’re working for them, you at least pretend to obey. But ethics and geopolitics can wait, first you need to get yourself settled. Behind you, you hear Granny muttering to herself at the Fire Control station.

“Think I might know what’s up sir. Take a look.”

She flicks a few stills to your holorig. The Command Bridge, with fresh energy scoring on its armor. The docking arms, all empty except for one. That vessel, an intra-system shuttle, its docking ring twisted and battle-damaged.

“Come in when the target's mostly empty, get the command crew ducking, and then a quick dock-override. Legion tactics, but sloppy. Toddlers would be cleaner than this. Pirates I’d say, maybe an Exsilla or two.”

As if on cue, the bridge speakers crackle as a radio transmission comes in from Bastion High. The voice is deep, the Legion accent to his Corp obvious.

“ATTENTION VE- wait, where the ship? *off-mic mumbles* What, they came in that? Huh, respect. ATTENTION VESSEL. BASTION HIGH IS UNDERGOING A CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT. DOCK ELSEWHERE.”

The transmission cuts off, obviously they're not a fan of small talk.

“That’s a small ship, there can’t be many of them. And they can’t really use the shuttle against us while its docked.”
“Ehh, do we really want to ram right into pirates as soon as we get here? Bastion's right below us, and I know a guy that can probably get us new gear on the cheap.”

Decisions, decisions….

A: gently caress Pirates! CHAARGE!
You’re not going to take gruff from pirate scum before you even get started. Time to lay down the law.

B: My Supplies! CHAARGE!
That equipment took entirely too much time and money to gather, you’re not going to leave it for someone to plunder.

C: Let’s Think About This For a Moment
Charging straight in might not be the best. Let’s move off like we’re leaving, but stop outside of sensor range and come up with a better plan.

D: Bastion High is For Losers
Let’s head down-well and just land at Bastion. Use Cody’s contacts to resupply the best we can and get on with what we’re actually here for.

===
Let me know if the crew-pics make things more or less readable/enjoyable, I can always write out the conversations if that works better

Crazycryodude
Aug 15, 2015

Lets get our X tons of Duranium back!

....Is that still a valid thing to jingoistically blow out of proportion?


B

Those fuckers took our poo poo!

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

I love that "piece of poo poo" is shorthand for a star citizen ship pic


B

Nothingtoseehere
Nov 11, 2010


B

longer we wait, more time they have to figure out station systems/ aim their guns.

Also, one band of pirates already attacking the station is a great excuse for us to loot the hell out of it

Nothingtoseehere fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Apr 8, 2018

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?

Xarbala posted:

I love that "piece of poo poo" is shorthand for a star citizen ship pic

I was originally GISing for ships that were the right size and not super famous. But I will admit the fact that it came from a Star Citizen article made me laugh, and it seemed fitting

Azhais
Feb 5, 2007
Switchblade Switcharoo
B

We must rescue our supplies from the Tribbles

sheep-dodger
Feb 21, 2013

Would it be possible to hold outside sensor range and send a boarding party in a kind of craft/voidsuit that is too small to be detected? Or is sensor range too large for that to work /are we missing any craft that would work like that?

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?

sheep-dodger posted:

Would it be possible to hold outside sensor range and send a boarding party in a kind of craft/voidsuit that is too small to be detected? Or is sensor range too large for that to work /are we missing any craft that would work like that?

The Jenni is too small to have a shuttle of its own. While you and the crew don't have fancy EVA gear, voidsuits do have basic thrusters built in. So floating a boarding party over is possible but rather tricky.

sheep-dodger
Feb 21, 2013

PoultryGeist posted:

The Jenni is too small to have a shuttle of its own. While you and the crew don't have fancy EVA gear, voidsuits do have basic thrusters built in. So floating a boarding party over is possible but rather tricky.

Alright, gonna throw in a doomed vote for that as C then!

malbogio
Jan 19, 2015

B. Our opposition appears sloppy and unprepared. Looks like Hydra’s going to get a chance to stretch her muscles.

mcclay
Jul 8, 2013

Oh dear oh gosh oh darn
Soiled Meat
A

JesterOfAmerica
Sep 11, 2015
B

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

B. Keep the pics and conversation, it works nicely.

Helical Nightmares
Apr 30, 2009
B

Not Alex
Oct 9, 2012

Cut loose before the god eaters show up.
B

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Gonna add another unnecessary B

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DivineCoffeeBinge
Mar 3, 2011

Spider-Man's Amazing Construction Company

Crazycryodude posted:

B

Those fuckers took our poo poo!

Seconding this.

our poo poo!

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