Traveller - The Jägermeister Adventure - Ep 2 - Hunting around Star Town! (Spoilers, AI)

Last night we had the second play session of the Jägermeister Adventure, a short bounty hunter campaign for Traveller from Moon Toad Publishing. I was away with work, but planned to run from my hotel room. Unfortunately, there were complications.

Characters.

Saul Emzer (Graham) - the only professional bounty hunter in the group, a guild member well aware of his own shortcomings. Saul knows his aptitude is the down and dirty part of the missions. He isn't the brains, and he certainly can't fly a ship, but when the trouble goes down, he's a man of action, and of stealth when needed. Saul has brought the rest of the team together to support him and fill out the skill gaps. He doesn't like to think of himself as the leader, but he's the one with the official guild membership. He's made some big scores in the past.

Gibert Chang (Andy) - hailing from the Meriden system's Harmony habitat, the home of an obscure religious sect, Gilbert sought freedom by joining the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service. He grew up with good understanding of space construction and has supplemented this with a wide range of technical skills, becoming a professional spacer. He describes himself as the potential getaway driver, but is officially the ship's engineer,  and he comes with a broad (but not deep) range of experience and a well-used but cared for vacuum suit called Nadia.

Arturo "Lucky" Javed - Lucky's life has been a lot of ups and downs, probably more of the latter than the former. He aspired to be an intelligent agent but was kicked out of that career early on following a serious injury. He then took to a life of petty crime, struggling to make do and stay out of trouble. Eventually, a role came up on a Merchant vessel, but he kept his hand in with the underworld to try and make some money on the side. He knows Gil of old following a job that went sideways. Lucky is the one who is likely to make contact with any criminal elements that the group may need to deal with.

Pen Gata (Neil) - has spent his life in space, with a broad range of spacer skills that means he's the pilot and astrogator. Once again, he's a broad specialist rather than a deep expert. (The character was built with package generation so has a less developed life path).

The Jägermeister - a 100dT Jump-2 streamlined courier capable of 6G thrust, the ship is also their home and Assured Courier's GmbH's main asset. The crew mostly live aboard, as it's a lot more pleasant than the desert world of Ikeran where they're officially based (and have a rented office). The ship is usually located in one of the downport's long-term parkways. She's armed with a single triple turret with beam lasers and a missile rack. 

Session notes.

I was well prepared for the session, having read both of the first two episodes in the campaign and made sure the assets were set up on Roll20. I'd planned to run for perhaps two and a half hours, but we ended up only playing for a single hour thanks to the ropey internet at the hotel. 

Unfortunately, I was booked into a different hotel than usual, and the end result was that the connection kept on dropping out, which is not a good thing. Everyone was there, but I felt like I was mostly absent. We managed to play enough to close out the remaining threads in the first part of the campaign, but I called a close when I realised it probably wasn't going to get any better. We switched to Discord midway through, which meant I had to splice two recordings together for the session for Tabletop Audio. Unfortunately, Discord didn't solve the problem.

Some great roleplaying and analysis from the players, a lot of which I missed.

Next section is from Tabletop Recorder. The tech issues mean that it mostly lost track of names for the characters and the summary is written from the perspective of the group. However, it's a pretty fair summary of what went on.

Summary of the Session (lightly edited AI synthesis of the transcript).

In the fervor of their second session, our intrepid adventurers delved deeper into the complex quandary surrounding Edric Voss, a scheming fugitive whose plots led them on a chase across the galaxy. The Grand Library of Kahn, wronged by Voss's theft, employed the party to track him down, leading them to the bustling hubs of Ikeran in the mysterious byways of Star Town.

The clues were convoluted, with Voss's movements cryptic, picking up various items – potentially as decoys or essential to his unknown endeavors. A suspect was marked to have assisted Voss, inciting desires of revenge and legality among the party, though concrete actions on this front were still pending. Utilizing advanced disguise drugs, Voss had manipulated his appearance, complicating the pursuit further. Only through skilled medical analysis, provided by the expedition's resourceful medic (Pen), the group ascertained the nature of these cosmetic subterfuges, though their results remained uncertain and impermanent.

Amidst technical surveillance strategizing and considering various pathways, the team contemplated the implications of Voss's choices of transport—was it the liner he arrived on - The Angel of Kahn - or the Free Trader he'd bought the ticket for that he planned to exit with. Debates unfolded on whether to intercept the fugitive at his alleged hotel hideout or at the spaceport, musing over the potentiality of him misleading them with false leads. What they did know was that the liner was leaving that evening, and the Free Trader in two days time.

Finesse and strategy filled their planning, considering the interactions with legal authorities, the use of deception or coercion with the liner's captain, and even the extreme measure of a bomb threat to delay departures. The risk of confronting an altered Voss and the implications of his potential destinations – possibly hinting at his allegiances or intentions – peppered their discourse.

Real-time decisions took on urgency as their quarry's departure loomed imminent. The crew struggled against time and bureaucracy, wrestling with the options of false alarms to delay the liner, negotiating under pretenses of greater security, and deciding on the lawful path to follow depending on intergalactic jurisdictions and ethical margins.

Each step offered a myriad of possibilities, with the stakes high and the pathways muddled with legalese and the pressure of fleeting time. In the end, the resolution remained uncertain, their moves shaping future encounters and potentially steering the fate of the pursuit. With cautious optimism and a readiness to adapt, the party closed another chapter of their galactic odyssey, ready to face the unfolding cosmos with resilience and keen wit.

In a bustling session filled with strategic manoeuvring and technical huddles, our valiant adventurers continue their relentless pursuit of the elusive Edric Voss. The party, divided in their tasks, finds themselves entangled in a mix of virtual and physical hurdles.

As the session recommenced after changing to Discord, the Referee sets the scene with Pen, a diligent member of the crew, racing on an e-scooter along the starport as the massive liner, The Angel of Kahn, soars into the boundless skies, leaving a sonic boom in its wake. The rest of the team, stationed around the town,  decides to scrutinize a hotel where Voss was suspected to have stayed. 

As they consider their approach to uncovering Voss's room, they contemplate whether to sneak in or acquire permission. Opting for legitimacy, they approach the hotel’s reception, leveraging their semi-official status. Information about Voss's stay remains elusive, and further conversation reveals that Voss skillfully booked the room under a different identity, complicating their search.

Upon convincing the nervous hotel clerk and obtaining a key card inadvertently dropped, the group makes their way stealthily to the suspected room. They discover telltale signs of rapid and strategic use of the space - a used disguise kit and hair dye in the sink, but no personal belongings indicating a hasty exit. The window lock unscrewed suggests Voss might have slipped out unnoticed.

Determined, the adventurers comb through the room but find no additional evidence of Voss’s whereabouts or intentions. The discovery that the window had been tampered to allow an inconspicuous escape aligns with their theory that Voss has potentially shifted his disguise and location. Their investigation at the hotel concludes with suspicions but no concrete results about Voss’s current whereabouts.

The session transitions to discussing the necessity of tailing Voss’s next anticipated move, possibly involving heading towards Bulari, the Angel of Kahn's next stop, before he can further obfuscate his trail. The realization dawns that these minor clues pile up to a broader picture of a cunning adversary continually staying a few steps ahead.

Ending due to uncertain connectivity and plans to regroup, the players coordinate their next meeting, hopeful that refreshed strategies and improved logistics will aid them in their galactic chase in the next session. The adventure’s complexity thickens, woven with the threads of urgency and the elusive nature of their quarry, leaving our heroes poised on the brink of pivotal decisions. 

Fortunately, Pen has prepared the Jägermeister for fight, and they plan to race and try to get ahead of the Angel of Kahn.

18 June 2025