So, this part is going to be very sketchy. For more information on the characters, the setting, the worlds, and and the factions, check out the Galactic Playtest section of RandomWiki — Denver Playtest Two.
Players involved were Tim, Chris, Dave, Jay, and Randy.
Tim came up with Nils Belinar, Captain of the civilian cruise ship Isabel’s Dream. On the face of things, Nils (and most of the crew) are just folks that are doing this job until they find something better, or get enough money to go into business for themselves. In actuality, most of the crew are ‘true believers’ who use the harmless-looking cruise ship to prepare for the coming of the Scourge.
Crewmembers include:
* Reverend Ray, ship’s priest and head of security, who is a professional rival of the Captains — doesn’t think he’s Hardcore enough.
* Brad Janette, student and assistant purser — one of the crew who isn’t ‘in’ on the hidden agenda.
* Katya, physical fitness leader and mistress of crew discipline, who secretly pines for the Captain.
* Shandar Belina, Nils’s brother and head of shipboard entertainment/lead electronics technician
We didn’t nail down Tim’s first quest, or anything about it (at least I can’t find notes on it), but Tim’s “Scourge Hint” is that they can read minds — he comes from a long line of ‘be prepared’ fanatics who have schooled him to protect his thoughts… whatever that means.
Chris introduced Argon Slash, Captain of the junkpile ship known as Legion. Argon scours the Remnants looking for lost Republic tech that he can somehow integrate into his ship.
Argon, being kind of a nut himself, attracted nutty characters:
* Jake, crew shootist, loose cannon, and Argon’s fifth cousin.
* “Pockets” Mulvey, the ship’s pilot
* Margo Gray, planetside recon (and survivalist nut)
* Sonja Bellingham, negotiator (and Argon’s ex-wife)
His first quest involves finding some tech to diagnose a new Artifact he found and figure out what it does. He’s headed for “The Drift” to accomplish this — a huge unregulated ‘space station’ composed of hundred of derelict spaceships, connected tenuously together. No cliffhanger as yet.
His “Scourge Hint” is that they have very advanced technology.
Dave revived Allysande Daen, Captain of The Hart of Darkness, a corvette-class decommissioned military craft. This is sort of what I think of as a ‘classic’ Galactic character — the Navy captain who resigned her post after a family member (Dad) sends her a frantic and/or mysterious communication from parts unknown.
The crew:
* Smoke, zen engineer — Yin to Daen’s Yang.
* Nestor Wynn, representative of the private consortium who’s funding the Captain’s new career in the private sector.
* Bosley, her personal aide
* Master Chief Barkin, ball-buster
Her first quest deals with finding out where her Dad was last seen and where he was going — she’s heading to talk to an old friend of her Dad’s to find out (I think — notes are illegible here).
Dave’s “Scourge Hint” is “a burning revenge.”
Jay came up with “SenEx” Neil Lymon, representative to the Concordant Board, Captain of the Veracity, and currently running for Concordant Syndic.
His crew:
* Lawrence Lymon, pilot and Neil’s older brother
* Michael, press secretary
* Sister Bridget, nun/head of security and source of romantic tension
* Clark Lymon, pain in the ass son who needs to be kept out of the public eye for awhile
His Quest:
In a move that’s half strong leadership and half publicity stunt, Lymon is taking his ship deep into the Remnants to the Bermuda-triangle-like “Core”, which is a source of terror for the Alien clans and rumored to be the home of the Scourge, or the origin of the Republic, or both.
His goal: debunk the Scourge Myth and prove that military spending can be redirected elsewhere when he is elected Syndic.
(Later that evening, he’ll be eating crow in a nice orange glaze.)
Jay’s “Scourge Hint” is one of the recurring myths about the Scourge — they they exist entirely along straight lines in what is largely a curved Universe, making them incomprehensible at some level.
Captain Swann, of the Smuggling Ship of Many Names, played by Randy
Swann was found in a survival pod (I missed how she got there) by an Alien clan who, unexpectedly, returned her to the nearest human settlement, unharmed.
Ever since then, she’s had some kind of … compulsion … in the back of her mind… like a blinking alarm light. “The Scourge Are Coming.”
Her Crew
* Tomas Dupre, latin lothario pilot
* The drunken Dr. Sanjay Rahan
* Spence, ‘the kid’ and math wiz — possibly Swann’s nephew, or just unofficially adopted
* Ben Venger, hard-nosed black market appraiser
Her quest involves a very personal desire to find out what happened to her during her cryosleep that left her with this weird Scourge compulsion and the recurring dreams she has.
Her Scourge Hint (which wins the contest for Most Creepy): “They love us.”
Finally, there’s me… all I contributed at the point was my own Scourge Hint.
I chose “Seizures.”
First session is Thanksgiving weekend.
Her first quest deals with finding out where her Dad was last seen and where he was going — she’s heading to talk to an old friend of her Dad’s to find out (I think — notes are illegible here).
I believe it was Dad’s XO, the last man known to have seen him alive … and who is right now locked away in an asylum …
(and insert cover mission here, as insisted upon by Nestor)
Dave revived Allysande Daen, Captain of The Hart of Darkness, a corvette-class decommissioned military craft. This is sort of what I think of as a ‘classic’ Galactic character — the Navy captain who resigned her post after a family member (Dad) sends her a frantic and/or mysterious communication from parts unknown.
It’s interesting how, between a year-plus interval and a system revamp, how “different” Alysande actually is from Amanda. As a write-up, anyway; I suspect they’ll play much the same, though.
Yes, probably unfair to say ‘revived’ — I think we have a much clearer sense of her situation than we did last time, and her personality is clearer as well, and different.
And of course, odd as it seems, the crew around her changes her — I suppose the way a portrait looks different depending on the background — or depending on the type of media you use to create it.