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Post by Bill Roper on Dec 30, 2014 10:58:17 GMT -8
This is a thread dedicated to discussions and questions about what's happening behind the scenes. Ideas, comments, inquiries - whatever you'd like to throw out there that ISN'T for player's eyes.
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sbloyd
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WHAT! A human in a Precursor service vehicle?!
Posts: 2,762
Preferred Game Systems: Storyteller; Dresden; Mage
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Post by sbloyd on Dec 30, 2014 11:14:46 GMT -8
Hm. I think I'll have to go back and relisten to form coherent thoughts on this. A lot of the questions I had are answered by your huge data dumps here on the forums. I'm very much looking forward to seeing you work in Stu's new PC - whatever that may be. The next recorded episode is Stu-less, though, isn't it?
Which brings me to a more general GMing question: in developing the storyline for this game, did you give any thought to working in replacement characters as attrition set in?
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Post by Bill Roper on Dec 30, 2014 16:33:46 GMT -8
Episode 4 is indeed Stu-less as he couldn't make the session. It worked out fine story-wise as I made some of what happens in the session based on his character's demise.
I have a couple of hooks I can use to bring Stu's new character into the group (one of which is based on his background) and these were seeded in session 3. That being said, he and I need to talk through what will work best.
While always a real possibility, I did not anticipate character death in the game. Hence, it wasn't considered when I was developing the storyline. Fortunately, I have been given the gift of a great group of players who can (a) accept character death, and (b) get excited about what that can do to the storyline. It definitely requires some tap dancing, but Traveller puts players in the mind of their characters having lots of connections, so it isn't too odd that they would run into someone else they know in some way who could join their group. Also, in the case of this campaign, they are on assignment from the Empire, so there's always the opportunity to have someone thrust upon them, like it or not.
To me (and for the group) I think there are some upsides to Stu's character dying: Brash Xanax was one of the "shooty muscle twins," so his death actually gives Tyler's character a more defined and unique place in the group.
It shows the players that they are not immortal. This showed, "You have big guns? So do the other guys. And yes, they can kill."
They've had some great luck taking down a couple of Jedi and I think there has been a bit of a cavalier attitude building up in that regard. There is definitely more of an air of respect now for who they are running up against, which makes the stakes a bit higher, and the victories all the sweeter.
They get to see something about another character that I was only able to play out because of the death. And yes, that's a tease for Episode 4!
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sbloyd
Supporter
WHAT! A human in a Precursor service vehicle?!
Posts: 2,762
Preferred Game Systems: Storyteller; Dresden; Mage
Favorite Species of Monkey: Goddamnit, Curious George is a CHIMP not a monkey! Stop teaching my daughter improper classification!
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Post by sbloyd on Jan 22, 2015 19:41:20 GMT -8
Is there a picture of a TIE Torpedo?
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Post by Bill Roper on Jan 22, 2015 22:50:18 GMT -8
Is there a picture of a TIE Torpedo? This is what I have ready if they ever investigate them / ask to see one:
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Post by Bill Roper on Mar 2, 2015 14:49:34 GMT -8
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE LISTENED TO EPISODE 6: I have a few ideas on how they crew is going to get to the next stage of the story, but I'd love to hear what YOU think would be cool tp happen next.
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Post by lowkeyoh on Mar 2, 2015 19:49:06 GMT -8
Finishing up the Episode tonight, Bill Roper, but I had some behind the scenes questions. First: Tyler. Force sensitive? Going with the dice? Going with GM fiat? Secondly, I had a question of scope for you. When you started this campaign, how far did you envision it going? Assuming that game keeps going on forever, eventually the party is going to find Darth Ynon. Alive, dead, loyal, rebel, etc are all to be seen. Did you envision anything on the other side of that event? Is the finding of Ynon the first step in a story you have in your head, or is that an endpoint, with the understanding that you'll adapt the story to what happens as they go? Just curious how far out into the future you had your sights. Tyler is now in possession of a Lightsaber. Can a non-force user get ranks in Lightsaber through practice? I personally can't think of a reason why they wouldn't be able to use it as just a sword, and train that way. Probably can't block blaster fire. As for what I'd like to hear happen? Without specifically hearing what happens in the back half of Episode 6, I think the party is overdue for a swift, deep kick in the ribs. There's no one in the universe they hate, collectively as a party. I think they should put their faith in someone, only to get screwed over. Someone cuts off Stu's leg and arm, trashes TeeTo and steals their ship. They get sold to a Hutt. Something along those lines. And then get kicked while they're down. Because I can see the vindicating episode where they get even in the future, and that is going to be amazing. But I'm a sucker for 'revenge or the mission' party choices. Loving the AP, I'll be back with more informed opinions later.
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Post by Bill Roper on Mar 11, 2015 21:47:37 GMT -8
Tyler's Force Potential: He rolled a 7, so not Force sensitive. I'm not going to fudge the roll, but may give him some nightmares if he eats alien food to make him wonder.
In regards to the Lightsaber, a non Force user can briefly and clumsily wield a Lightsaber (Han Solo used Luke's only briefly to cut open a Tauntaun for warmth). General Grievous was not a force user, however, he was trained to use them and because of his constructed body, had borderline Jedi like reflexes. Also, in an panel or interview I saw (and now can't find) Mark Hamill told a story of how he was super upset when Episode 1 came out because everyone was jumping around like crazy with Lightsabers. Apparently Lucas had told Mark that using a Lightsaber took extreme focus of his Force powers, which is why he used 2-hands to wield it and why Darth was such a bad-ass because he only needed one.
Scope: I didn't have an "end state" in mind for the campaign, but I am going to desperately try to get one more session in before Faire season starts so we can hit a natural pause point in the story. I know what Ynon has been doing and why, and I want the party to find that out and then have to make a tough decision based on that. Ynon is about power and knowledge and he's found both the crashed ship Miranda located on Rakata. Will the players side with Ynon and his plan to take power from Vader and then the Emperor, or will they fight him for what he's found. AND if they defeat him, do they keep it, or bring it to the Emperor?
You mentioned that there's no one in the Universe that they hate. Right now they have put an Imperial Warrant out on Kir Starfall, and Lord Arapto has set a vendetta against the dual pistol wielding Nautolan. I think when (or if) they catch Starfall there's going to be some sweet justice. Of course, we haven't had a space battle yet...
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Post by lowkeyoh on Mar 12, 2015 0:21:06 GMT -8
Awesome, thanks for the response.
I'll have to look into that panel interview, that sounds really interesting.
From listening to the podcast I've gone from planning the first assignment and thinking about the million things that are going to happen after, to plan first assignment and I'll worry about the rest later. Usually by throwing in a many improvised small details as possible, I can pretend a coincidence has deeper implication or a throw away NPC actually has more importance than originally planned. Are there any NPCs or plot elements that have been improvisations, or have we mostly been seeing the result of prep? I have a feeling that the Nautolan was just a mook that is getting upgraded in the story. I'm kinda curious if Kir was planned on the rogue pilot working with the Alliance from the get go, or if that was an adaptation to the party's actions.
I commented before listening to the entirety of the episode, and hoowee does Darth Arapto have a vendetta. When I was listening to Season 14 Episode 12 when Stu, Tyler, and Tim were talking about what makes that big fight memorable, and I kept thinking about the Star Wars game. Yeah Kir is the guy who lied to them and got away, but he's not Lich or the Dragon that has caused untold stress and aggravation to the party. Yet.
Loving the AP, it makes my commute lightning fast. Thanks for running such a great game, and taking the time to share it with the community.
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Post by Bill Roper on Jun 8, 2015 10:51:05 GMT -8
We just finished Episode 7 yesterday and it was a long session. The crew did a great job of getting to the end of what I've been thinking of as Chapter One in the story arc, and there was some phenomenal role playing that went on. I am VERY interested to get all of your feedback both in the open forums on the episode once it gets posted, but I am also keen to hear where YOU think things should go next. There's definitely some tension as to who is doing what, and some great new threads have been created for the beats that can occur between here and what could be the next major story point / confrontation.
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Post by weaselcreature on Jun 16, 2015 10:40:17 GMT -8
Still can't wait to hear it, especially after Stu talked about it (with no spoilers other than Stork has done something)!
I'm wondering if the PCs have any Rivals or Enemies that might be making an appearance soon. I'd love to see some complications to their plans by a vindictive rival!
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Post by weaselcreature on Jun 19, 2015 12:42:41 GMT -8
[SPOILERS BELOW]
BUUAAHAHAHAHAHA!
And here I thought Stu's "Fucking Stork!" on the RPJ podcast was referring to the piloting roll! Nice ending!
I'm not sure how you'd really continue with Trig as a PC. He's going to be wanted by the party, so (assuming the party has a ship that's actually ready to go (even if it was, it's slower than Ynon's)) you could have some sort of chase scene PvP, but even then, if they catch Trig and he survives, unless he's got a good story up his sleeve how/why would they let him back in?
Without a chase scene (Trig gets away in Ynon's ship), it's now a solo adventure with Stork, possibly connected to the party, should they choose to hunt him down, but returning the artifact should be their #1 priority. So that wouldn't really work.
So yeah, unless Stork has something up Trig's sleeve...
As far as where to go from here? I'll repeat my above comment on wanting to see some of the characters from CharGen show up.
Assuming the artifact gets returned to the Emperor, that should be a great boon for the party, giving them lots of Imperial capital to spend, and letting the Emperor know he can count on them.
Depending on which report you want to follow, now is about the time Crix Madine starts his defection. Perhaps someone in the Empire discovers info is being sent to the Rebellion, and the party needs to track the crumbs to the source. That would lead to encounters with both Imperials and Rebels, determining what's the real lead as opposed to the false trails set by Madine (perhaps to frame a different Imperial Officer).
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Post by Bill Roper on Jun 23, 2015 11:28:37 GMT -8
FIRST: I want to say what a damned treat its been to have run this game so far with such an incredible group of players. They have taken the story places I didn't plan for it to go and I am so grateful for that. This has truly been what collaborative story-telling is about and I can't wait to see where things go from here. That said...
[SPOILERS BELOW]
MOVING FORWARD: The players and I have been discussing two directions to go for the next chapter of the Star Wars Traveller game. It makes complete sense that Trig gets away since no one but Creel was close enough to stop Trig from fleeing, and he was too weak from his wounds to lift his blaster rifle. With the head start he has, there is no way that the rest of the team could catch him. So...
1) We follow the story of Trig. Stork's stated course of action is to claim the repaired and refueled MIRANDA for his own and get the HELL off of Rakata Prime. Trig would indeed be a wanted fugitive (Creel's last words were, "Trig, you're dead!") with a bounty attached (much like Kir Starfall) so if he's going to make a go of it as a captain of his own ship, he's going to have to put a crew together of probably less than savory types. This path has the other players rolling up new characters to fill out the compliment of the MIRANDA, puts Trig in charge of a quite probably motley crew, and has them meeting folks like Kir Starfall on the OTHER side of the fence. They would also quite possibly have some active hand in the formation of the Rebel Alliance.
2) Trig Escapes and we follow the story of the rest of the characters. There is plenty of tension amongst the team right now with Lord Arapto - with the considerable contribution of two excellent blaster shots from Orella - having slain his former master now desiring the power of the Sith Holocron. Spar Stangle however is incredibly distrustful (would paranoid be too strong a word) of the Dark Lord and has taken possession of the Holocron (with full intent to deposit in the nearest star). Orellla also has Ynon's Lightsaber in her possession and, assuming they use Ynon's ship to get off planet, they are gong to be in cramped quarters (with a seriously injured Creel) until they get to wherever is their next destination. There are undoubtedly great rewards in store for them if they return the Holocron to The Emperor, and there's plenty of opportunity for Stork to roll another character that would fit into the continuing adventures of the team as they possibly help build the power of The Empire and seek to settle old scores with Kir Stratal and Trig.
IN THE EVENT that we pursue option 1, the players have made it clear they wish to return to the characters they have been playing. This makes for a pretty cool possibility of playing the "other side" for a while and then coming back to the Dark Side to do some mixed-time Tarantino-esque plot development.
TIMELINE: We are currently near the end of 3 BBY and heading into 2 BBY, so regardless of which path we follow, I see the next chapter including or culminating with the signing of the Cornelian Treaty and the formation of The Rebel Alliance. As for Crix Madine being a part of the storyline, it works in the timeline, so its a great suggestion.
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Post by weaselcreature on Jun 23, 2015 11:47:18 GMT -8
If the group is able to keep playing, option 3 (back and forth between the groups) could be a lot of fun! Otherwise, normally I would lead towards Stork rolling a new guy, as he's the lone man out who left the group, but it's great you're talking to the group about it, because maybe they'd love to a privateering game. I kind of hope they stay, though. It's been a good adventure, and the characters are starting to develop well and come into their own.
With sporadic play, it's definitely tougher to get into character mode and feel the continuity (a couple of my groups only meet once every 4-6 weeks), and getting more development out of this group would be fun.
Whatever happens, I'm enjoying listening!
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Post by lowkeyoh on Jun 25, 2015 10:27:59 GMT -8
Awesome last episode, Bill Roper Where are the other players in terms of force powers? Creel got a check for getting that one Jedi's lightsaber, and now Orella has a Sith Lords saber, Spar has the holocron, and even Trig to some extent has felt the dark side of the force. They're on a spooky ghost, dark side world in an old Sith Temple. Has anyone rolled for Force Awakening? As for the two options, as a listener I'd rather stick with Trig. I think that's going to be a more interesting story for reasons I'll get to. However as a GM and as a gamer, I think this goes back to my comment in episode one. He willingly left the scene and walked off camera, the camera doesn't follow him. Unless the other players are super excited about abandoning their characters and rolling up Trig's new friends, I'd say the story stays on the rest of the party. Stu has talked about players lacking agency or real story impact when they are dealing with superiors they can't say no to, with the specifics of any game of L5R when the players are near their Daimyo or in Eldemy when the party was in the city and had to listen to the council. I think that's going to be the same when the players report back. They'll get another job and essentially the entire game will be them doing errands for the empire. And while that's dandy because we've seen it work thusfar, it doesn't leave a lot of room for them to take charge of the story. My preferred outcome is to combine paths one and two and find a way to get the party to break from the empire. Not necessarily join the rebellion, but get kicked out and cut off. Tyler and Elspeth are probably down for not being a part of the Empire, Dave's down the path of finding his own destiny, and it would be interesting for Stu to feel betrayed by the empire. Essentially have Space Burn Notice where the party are burned for killing Ynon or destroying the Holocron, or for just trumped up false charges they party get's ejected from/hunted by the empire. I'd love a story where Spar and Orella both develop minor Sith Powers and Lord Arapto takes them to establish a new Sith Order of scholar warriors based on the Holocron outside the Rule of Two. Or the party has to become Firefly esque criminals. And then they run into Trig again and have to live life on the other side of the law. Maybe they help the rebellion because enemy of my enemy but never really join it. Maybe they join with gusto. But no matter how the story ends up, I'm super pumped to hear it.
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