We returned to the The Jägermeister Adventure this week and, once again, there were no technical difficulties either with Roll20 or the recording process for tabletoprecorder.com. However, Andy playing Graham's character did confuse the AI somewhat. The session length was once again around two hours.
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 (Paul) - 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.
This was the session where it was all coming to a head. The characters had been hot on the tail of Edric Voss but had just been missing him. I'd worked through Plan B and was ready to let them catch him if they played their cards right, which was quiet a deviation from the core plot as the scenario is written as it assumes that Voss remains in charge of the nefarious conspiracy that underpins the campaign.
That said, I hadn't imagined that the players would be quite so direct. So we ended up with a gunfight in a starship bay. For once, they managed to avoid the downside of the sage advice to never bring a snub pistol to a starship laser fight, but more by luck than happenstance.
Plan B, ultimately, was more simple. The bounty for Voss was for the return of him and the information that he stole. They only managed to secure half the prize this time.
This was also the first session that we played a player down. We'd discussed the August and September period and realised that with holidays it was unlikely that we'd get a full roster, so we unanimously agreed that we would carry on if there was only one player missing. Graham couldn't make this session as he was only holiday.
The Tabletop Recorder AI got confused when Andy said: Okay. So normally I am Gilbert Chang, ship's engineer. But for this session, I will be Saul Emzer, bounty hunter. Yes. The only one who's actually got a legitimate license to do this stuff.
This rolled through to the summary as:
Moderate: In a vivid and strategic session, the crew, under the calculated leadership of Gilbert Chang who was assuming the identity of Saul Emser, delved into a tense operation in the cluttered space lanes and bustling ports of Bay.
Detailed: In the heart of their galactic adventures, the crew found themselves engaged in a strategic conversation, marking plans while attempting to remain incognito. Gilbert Chang, usually the ship's engineer, would this session assume the role of Saul Emser, a licensed bounty hunter. As they prepared for their operation in Bay, they delved into the logistics of refueling their ship and discussed their approach towards a clandestinely positioned bounty.
At the moment, I'm still finding more benefit from having the capability to process a transcript (but I could already do that directly with Audio Hijack itself) than I am from the summaries. The tone and summaries still aren't where I'd like them to be. As usual, I'll do a nutshell summary at the end.
As they prepared for their operation in Bay I, the team delved into the logistics of refueling their ship and discussed their approach towards a clandestinely positioned bounty. The debate bounced between tactics, with the group opting for a low-profile strategy inside their assigned boundary, contemplating a direct line to their destination. They planned to leave Gilbert with the ship for necessary preparations, while others embarked on the mission. Critically, although they had enough fuel to fly, they needed to take on water and crack it into hydrogen fuel to be able to make an interstellar jump.
Summary of the Session (lightly edited AI synthesis of the transcript).
The team had established the Edric Voss was likely aboard or about to board the Hirondelle, a Free Trader which had moved its departure to Minerva through to that very night. Their previous legwork had established that it was unlikely that Voss and his crew were actually going to Minerva. Valkos was a more likely target as they felt that Voss wanted to collect something from a facility there, located somewhere near the ruined city of Naggeth.
Equipping themselves was crucial, as they intended to be ready if the situation escalated into combat. The team parsed through the technicalities of the spaceport layout and the facilities available for their mission near Bay I. They considered the drop points from the air/raft, especially focusing on nearby tree cover ideal for their hideout.
The discussion then turned towards the ship's capabilities, emphasizing their necessity to refuel at Valkos using unrefined fuel from a risky source if they had to pursue Voss there. As Valkos was a Red Zone and interdicted following Nuclear, Chemical and Biological exchanges, they'd prefer not to have to go there. In fact, it was illegal to visit the planet.
Discussion continued over the weaponry suitable for their mission, considering the local law levels which restricted weapon types. Saul Emzer was equipped with an array of guns from stunner to military-grade weapons, hidden beneath his trench coat for quick access in emergencies. The crew also talked about their roles during the operation, highlighting who would be the best at flying the air raft and who would provide backup.
As they moved on to the execution phase of their plan, they found themselves navigating challenges with their air/raft, struggling to remain stealth while encountering failed rolls that risked their covert status. The crew's dynamic was tested as they coordinated their efforts to align with their mission objectives, ensuring they were all equipped and ready for whatever awaited them at bay. Ultimately, the team positioned themselves strategically, ready to strike or adapt depending on how the situation unfolded, emphasising the importance of preparedness, cooperation, and timing in the unforgiving expanses of space. In this segment of their spacefaring journey, the crew faced a conflict fuelled by quick decisions and tactical manoeuvres.
Their immediate focus was on a risky operation to capture Voss, as they engaged in a shootout and attempted to manoeuvre their air/raft to avoid starship gun laser turret fire. Saul Emzer, and his team chose to distract and disorient their enemies with gunfire, not expecting much as their foes were experienced ex-military who knew how to find cover. In the heat of this skirmish, they planned to drive their air raft close enough to ram Voss and bring him aboard.
Saul, trusting his reactions, tried to implement this plan despite potential consequences to the ship. As Saul managed to approach Voss, he and the crew attempted to subdue him by utilizing stunners — although Saul juggled with the idea of a more lethal approach using a snub pistol if necessary.
Confidently, they planned to drag Voss onto the air/raft and escape, considering potential retaliatory fire from the turret and the ship’s crew who were wearing armour. During this fray, Gilbert or "Gil" contacting additional help to apprehend Voss, playing off the chaos as part of their operation. Aoife Scarlock, another Bounty Hunter, had arrived in the Headhunter, and she was misdirected to pursue the Hirondelle as it lifted, telling her that Voss was onboard. The starships exchanged fire as they climbed into the sky.
The team’s effort culminated in a messy but successful extraction, with the Port Authorities closing in on the Bay as they escaped with Voss in the air/raft which had been peppered with automatic fire. Fortunately, the ship's laser had missed it, and instead shot some of the defenders. The spectacular blast had alerted the emergency services that something was going on.
The crew discussed and strategised their next moves, considering the implications of their actions and the necessity to deal with injuries and potential repercussions. Ultimately, they pondered the financial and logistical aspects of their mission.
They contemplated the bounty and how to secure it, discussing whether to deposit Voss in cryogenic sleep in a low berth or place him in a brig, and how to ensure their own safety and operational integrity post-mission. Ultimately they decided that he was too slippery a character and freezing him made more sense.
We left our heroes in their port bay, contemplating whether they needed to pursue the Hirondelle as it probably had the information that they needed onboard, and also scheming about how to play the innocent with Scarlock, should she return empty-handed. Perhaps they could be away before they had that confrontation.
In summary: The crew had established that Voss had likely assembled a squad of Valkosi Souther Veterans, with the intent to carry out some kind of revenge act, by retrieving something located on Valkos close to the city of Naggeth. It looked like they planned to ship out tonight on the trader Hirondelle, which had a recorded destination of Minerva, but had brought departure forward a few days.
They decided that Gil would prepare and fuel the ship (which would take quite some time as they needed to process the fuel that was available), while the rest of the team went to grab Voss. Although they planned to use stunners (which were legal on the world), they did have the gun box in the air/raft that had more lethal options. They planned a sneak extraction.
As they approached in the falling darkness, they managed to spot Voss on the bay, so made in impulsive decision to land the air/raft between him and the Hirondelle - which was clearly planning to lift - and to grab him. They landed, and immediately got into a firefight with several veterans who were armed with SMGs. Fortunately, the structure of the air/raft protected them enough to avoid serious harm.
Voss was stunned and down (but moving) and Pen and Saul dived out of the air/raft to grab him. As they did this, the ship turret started to power up and a man and a woman on the starship in armour started to threaten the team with Voss. Arturo opened up with Saul's ACR, across the inside of the air/raft and the enemy ducked into cover. Voss told them to leave him, and to carry out the plan, they knew what to do. The woman agreed. The beam laser turret fired, narrowly missing the air/raft but hitting the veteran grouping.
The Hirondelle lifted, leaving Voss in the crew's hands, and they evacuated the area quickly and stealthily because the emergency services were arriving outside the bay. Somehow they weren't seen. Meanwhile, Gil vectored the Headhunter with the rival bounty hunter Aoife Scarlock onboard after the Hirondelle saying Voss had taken most of their team out and was on board the ship. A ship-to-ship engagement followed.
Onboard the ship, injuries (Arturo) were resolved and a decision was taken to freeze Voss in the low berth. They realised they only had half the bounty, but that was still 50% better than before. They needed the information which was probably aboard the Hirondelle. Decisions were needed. What do they say to Scarlock when she comes back and finds out the Jägermeister crew are alive? Do they pursue to Valkos? And what do they say to the Bulari Down authorities if they come knocking?
30 July 2025
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