OOC Thread

[Wired*Nun]

The usual OOC thread.

Visitors welcome, wipe your feet and no cursin' in English mor'n PG-13.



Admin gods - please turn off the "autocorrect" function in the title blocks, I can't write "OOC" without it coming out "Ooc."

[itches]

I'll poke around and see if I can find a switch.

[BigRedRod]

Surely that is something on your end, Wired?

Edit: Oh, wow, you're right. That doesn't make any sense, something must have changed somewhere.

We'll take this to the admin cave and sort it out.

[Tashalar]

Admin cave... sounds like a fire, meat roasted on a stick, lots of scratching in... places, and communication via "Agha... Ugh... Buggh", something like that. :roll:

[Fulmen]

Hmmm... I was imaging something more along the lines of neat gadgets and maybe a batmobile or two.

[BigRedRod]

I used to call it the treehouse, but then the secret forum for LoL became the treehouse. The official title is "The Black Box", but we don't use that.

And it's more like Tracey Island. The moral here is that this is an OOC thread for a game I don't play in, so I should go and sort this problem rather than spreading secrets about the magical lives of Team Admin.

[LeeCHeSSS]

This does not need to be fixed/changed. Let me explain:

You're using a title which consists of only capital letters. This triggers the "Prevent shouting in threadtitles" feature.
Should you have used "OOC Thread" as the title, no changing would've occured.

[Wired*Nun]

Surely that is something on your end, Wired?

Edit: Oh, wow, you're right. That doesn't make any sense, something must have changed somewhere.

We'll take this to the admin cave and sort it out.

Always blame the whistleblower...grumble grumble...

[Wired*Nun]

This does not need to be fixed/changed. Let me explain:

You're using a title which consists of only capital letters. This triggers the "Prevent shouting in threadtitles" feature.
Should you have used "OOC Thread" as the title, no changing would've occured.

Damn, this is more like a government all the time. :disa.ed: "Let me explain why this if for your own good." Sigh.

[LeeCHeSSS]

I'm sorry you feel that way, because I try my best to keep this site a happy place especially for you ;)

[Tashalar]

... and you know what he could do to you if you wouldn't do that...

*points at 'what do you do for a living threa't'*

[Wired*Nun]

I hope that means "thread". No threats here.

[Tashalar]

Not here. There. :roll:

No, seriously, we had quite some fun with that exact typo in my RL gaming group (which is now sadly restricted to mostly PbP gaming). Hilarious, really.

No threats anywhere. Just silliness. :nod:

[TreyKincaide]

Okay, I'm going to put a shout out here. There was a Serenity game here previously that tanked before it really got off the ground with me, Wired, Lyn, Left Handed Bandit, Lando the Archmagi, and more in it.

In the game I played a character named Earl Henry a lovable runaway slave with a string of bad luck. I bring this up, because I'd like to revive him for this game. Unfortunately, like a dumbass, I forgot to back up my character creation thread and so Earl is currently lost to the sands of time and inactive forum deletion.

Does anyone remember the name of the GM and the forum? Does anyone know if it's possible for admins to retrieve deleted character information? Or is Earl going to drown in the depths of obscurity forever?

[BigRedRod]

You give me a DM and I should be able to find it.

[itches]

Removed for player privacy. Thanks for the help. - WN

Admin Edit: Gasp! I've been edited!

[Wired*Nun]

By the way, start with Greenhorn-level (42-point) characters. That doesn't need to imply anything really other than the number of points you have to spend. Grizzled old coots welcome to apply.

[TreyKincaide]

Woot! Thanks guys! *Offers up a virgin sacrifice!*

[LynMars]

I'm debating Agnes (and unlike some people, I keep backups), the grumpy old pilot lady, or a totally different character. Haven't decided yet. Vague idea of other peoples' concepts may or may not help, depending on how Wired's running this. Like, are you going for a typical ship-crew scenario or something else?

[Fulmen]

I've got pilot covered.

[Wired*Nun]

I think as I have not done enough of the "typical" Serenity, we'd start with the standard ship/crew/cast of rogues and misfits. I was thinking about supplying an NPC captain at the very start with the intention of killing him/her off pretty quick and leaving the PCs in control, but LHB will probably want to design the ship with input.

So ATM we have one pilot (nothing says you can't have two) and a gentle giant if Trey goes with Earl. Some roles you might want to think about: medic, swindler/hustler, covert/cat burglar, shepherd/guru/mystic/monk, companion or wannabee, mechanic, martial artist, gunfighter, merc, scientist, hacker, merchant, come up with some more.

[itches]

Driod, jedi, gambler, big-hairy-alien.

[Wired*Nun]

(Gambler?)

We could always have a crossover game...

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Okay, so David Zhan is out of the picture, since we have a pair of pilots already. Let me see what I can come up with for a medic; I have a couple ideas. :)

[Left-Handed Bandit]

And, yes, I would love to put a ship together, if we decide we want to do something other than a Firefly transport (which I would be more than willing to fly in, since none of my games...neither the aborted online games nor my local one...were in Fireflies).

Anyway, I guess the first question is, do we want to run a Firefly, or go with a custom design?

[Fulmen]

I say we go with a custom design. That will allow us to have a stronger connection with the ship.

[LynMars]

Or we could customize a Firefly a little bit if necessary, with the added benefit of people being familiar with the design. I've played in a game with a Firefly ship before, and felt no real disconnect from the vessel that was our home. Also, it is a really well designed boat for a small crew to begin with.

There are also other decent designs in the book to play with.

Either way's good with me, though I'm more a layout and quirks person than the technical bits. However, I'm starting to get some ideas for a mechanic type so I'm going to try rereading and looking over that stuff a bit more so I can at least fake what little techno-babble there is.

[Wired*Nun]

I can definitely see KayLyn in the engine room...

You guys work it out, I'm ready to start storytelling, that's what I do best.

[Fulmen]

Customizing the Firefly may be the best option. I'm not sure how long making (and agreeing on) a custom ship would take, but I would like to start playing pretty soon.

[Fulmen]

I've been looking over the ship creation rules and they don't look too bad, except for adding weapon and armor looks a bit complicated. Wired, could you give us a ship price limit incase we end up building our own from scratch?

[Left-Handed Bandit]

For starting money, do we use what is in the book, or do we go with the corrected values that were posted to the Cortex website (Greenhorn 100 Cr., Veteran 250 Cr., BDH 600 Cr.)?

Also, what is the timeframe of the game? Is it before or after the Miranda broadcast?

[Wired*Nun]

We'll go with the book values. However, everyone will either have to buy shares in the ship or be paying steeply for important stuff. Like air to breathe. Or be an employee. So, the cash will get sucked up to start. If you really want to have money, you'll have to take the Moneyed Individual asset.

The timeframe will be shortly before the broadcast, with the intent that the prelude(s) or preliminaries will end with the broadcast - which is going to throw a bunch of things into chaos.

Captain Hiram Price is beyond crusty - he's old, decrepit, alcoholic, and cranky as an arthritic mule. But his eyes are clear and he can shoot straight and fast, and he's still been able to face down younger, tougher men with sheer determination.

Price started with (pick a ship name), and for a while, had two other ships in his small shipping company - Tiger Snow and Picayune. But Hiram was too ornery to follow Alliance rules and too honest to do the things necessary after the Browncoats lost and the Alliance started squeezing all the small corporations. He sold the other two ships, and breaks even or so running cargo around the Rim, mostly.

Please design a ship for Captain Price. Start with 5000CR, plus whatever the PCs want to kick in. Anyone that contributes money from their starting allowance will have a proportional share in the ship, and will share in the profits of any actions. Anyone that wants to be on salary will get room and board and pay - but won't be an owner. Obviously, when the Captain dies - he could kick off any day now - how much they own may have some effect on how things go.

How's that so far?

[Wired*Nun]

Umm, sorry, the ship will have the trait "Seen better days" (minor).

If it seems you don;t have enough money to make a viable ship, let me know. However, it's not going to be a warship, rather, a tramp freighter that someday might be somethnig greater - or be sold for something better.

[Wired*Nun]

I'm also ready to start individual preludes if an when anyone wants to.They can be public or private, but I prefer public. These will lead up to each PC's presence on the ship. Just let me know.

[Candleman]

Ooh ooh, pick me! I've been trying to get my IRL friends to get a Serenity game running for a while, and I've got the Rulebook (somewhere) and a Character Sheet (also somewhere...) all planned out.
I was thinking a bitter, former Alliance mechanic/technician who lost the use of his left arm during a boarding action in the War. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other in terms of the Independents, and he's got a charming Scottish accent :P

I'd love to join you, although I may take a few days to dig out all the pertinent information. I really like the character; I even completed one of THC's Character Questionnaires for him! I just can't seem to figure out a good name, though.

[Wired*Nun]

Your private thread is up. Post the concept please.

[Fulmen]

I'm ready for my prelude to begin. I'm gonna tinker around a bit with a ship design. 5,000 CR doesn't make for much of anything special though (but I guess "Seen Better Days" helps with that a bit).

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Hit me up in PM, Fulmen. I'm pretty decent with ship design and I'd like to help.

[Fulmen]

Sure thing. I went ahead and sent you what I have so far.

[Wired*Nun]

Presumably it will be 5000 plus shares, which could make it 6-8000 or more if anyone takes Moneyed. There are other ways to get money as well, if you play your prelude right.

I kinda need a ship name for the preludes, though. Fairly soon. Or, I'll name her myself and meybe you can rename her later.

[Wired*Nun]

So we have a pilot, a doctor/shepherd, a mechanic, and muscle. Waiting on LynMars's cocept, and she says she may have a buddy that will play.

[LynMars]

I mentioned my concept earlier in private thread, which was also an ex-military mechanic with some old war wounds. >.> If Candleman's really set on his concept though, I still have plenty of room to fiddle around with. Overlap some I don't mind, but that's getting a bit close for a small party.

[Candleman]

Whoa, that's almost uncanny how close that is. Great minds think alike, as they say.

[LynMars]

Hehe, yeah. I can also switch over to a gunslinger type, which was the other concept I was toying with. Will require some fiddling. Getting there.

[Wired*Nun]

Sorry, it didn't occur to me to bring out your initial concept, forgot you hadn't made it public. That being said, there's nothing wrong with having two wounded veterans - especially if Lyn's is a Browncoat. That could get fun. It looks like almost everyone except the pilot has some form of violence in his/her background. So, a gunslinger isn't some form of necessity.

If you're concerned about filling in concept slots, though, there are no real rogues, covert types or criminals as far as you know...no crazy people, nobody on the run from Hands of Blue, no Companions or high-class types slumming.

[LynMars]

Yeah, I'm just not good with quite that much overlap. While I'm sure the two characters would be different enough in other ways, it feels like there'd also be a lot of stepping on each others toes which is never good for a small party, I've found.

I am leaning a bit toward a face type, as I don't know if Abe's going to have the time to finish up a concept and come play or not. We shall see.

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Fulmen --

Got it, thanks. I'm mulling some stuff over in my brainpan and I'll put some stuff to paper tomorrow.

I spent only 100 Cr. of the 750 Cr. greenhorns receive via the book, so I have 650 Cr. to contribute to the share (we could use those to partially fund the infirmary... :) )

[Wired*Nun]

My wife Beth is interested in playing. Tentatively, she will be playing the as-yet-unnamed wife of Hiram Price, resident of the as-yet-unnamed ship, who will be left attached to said ship after his death. She will have an aboard-ship garden where she grows fresh food and flowers, for consumption and sometimes sale any place where such things are pricey. She will be a passable cook and grumpy housemother to passengers and crew. That's about as far as we've gotten so far. She will be resurrecting her account or making a new one, since she hasn't been on here in a while.

[TreyKincaide]

That's awesome!

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Very cool, WN. :)

Since he mentioned some stuff for the "housemother," we should probably get a list together of gear items we want to include on the ship. Some of that gear could be included in the "original configuration" of the ship and, thus, subject to the Seen Better Days Trait.

Here's what I have in mind so far:
Standard Short-Range Shuttle: 480 Cr. each (original)
Modular Operating Theater (Infirmary): 346 Cr. (original)
MedComp: 312 Cr. (original)
1 month Std. Medical Supplies: 46 Cr. (new)
1 month Emerg. Medical Supplies: 110 Cr. (new)
Garden Bunk: 18 Cr. (new)

Does anyone else have things for their wish list? Perhaps having the mechanic's tools paid for by the ship?

Also, how many "crew" berths do we want? I'm assuming at least 6 (captain + wife, pilot, ops/comms, mechanic, medic, and cargomaster) -- 1 double berth and 5 single berths. One of those would be eaten up by the garden bunk.

How many passenger berths? (I'm assuming we'll go with 2nd class berths and that the passengers would eat with the crew.) My first thought would be 1 double berth and 2 single berths.

Remember that gear (including passenger berths) that take up volume count against cargo volume, and we only have 250 tons of available space. (Note that "tons" here is meant as "displacement tons" of volume.)

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Oh, does anyone else want to contribute to the ship? Fulmen and I can make it work with the 5,000 Cr. available, but we wouldn't mind a little extra help. :)

[Fulmen]

I think 8 crew berths may be better than 6, that way we have extra space if we get more crew members. I'd say at 10 tons a piece.

That sounds good for passenger berths, and definitely second class.

I'll look over the gear again in a bit to see whatelse we could add in, but don't worry about covering mechanic's tools in the cost. I had plenty of cash left over to buy one with my own money.

What about a go cart or small speeder or something? Could come in handy and we should be able to afford it.

[LynMars]

Don't forget vacuum suits in those lists of necessary ship gear. Dunno how many people are going to buy their own, or if they'll assume it comes with the ship. I'll try and set money aside for a share as well.

[Wired*Nun]

When designing the ship, please provide something like a 20x20' bay for her garden, but only pay for the basic space and tonnage. Lights and garden equipment will come from her own money. It will be a sancrosact place, I'm expectin' - enter at your peril.

[Wired*Nun]

Since Hiram took on passengers as well as cargo regular, I'd say at least 8-10 total cabins. Each crewmember would have one, and the remaining ones could be set up usable as singles, doubles or, in a pinch, family. The captain's cabin could be a custom, formed from two standard cabins or something like that. This was their home for thirty years or so.

Not sure how much space/tons this will use up, but I don't see Hiram running around bulk cargo but rather midgrade and specialties.

[Wired*Nun]

There will be a number of freebies that you might find on the ship, especially if they're logical and you make your roll. For example, Hiram's suit ain't gonna be of much use to him in the Great Beyond. And who knows what you might find in hidden compartments or just stuffed behind the waste processor...

[LynMars]

I've got 400 credits to contribute after estimating some extra things my char will have. And now I got to post in the public thread so y'all can meet her.

[Wired*Nun]

I'm gonna need a ship name and type pretty soon.

[Candleman]

Dang. At the rate we are moving, I feel pretty bad about not having my info. I never should have lent out my book and sheet...

I'll try to get it back today. If it turns out for some reason I can't, then I will just buy another copy of the book and crank out another sheet. I've got a $50 giftcard for Barnes and Noble, anyway.

[Wired*Nun]

We can start playing without the stats, as long as I have the gist. It's preludes right now anyway. Just let me know what you want to do.

[Left-Handed Bandit]

If we go with 1 double crew berth (captain and wife), 6 single crew berths, 2 passenger suites (double rooms) and 1 single passenger cabin, would that work for everyone?

The captain's cabin would be 15'x10'x8' and the rest of the crew cabins 8'x10'x8'. If we go with 30/15 tons respectively, that would leave us with 69.9 tons for the common areas (6,960 cu. ft., or 870 sq. ft. of deck space).

I figure a fresher is 4'x8' (shower and space to dry off and dress), so two of those would take up 64 sq. ft. The kitchen could be about 200 sq. ft. and the dining area (big table) would be about 325 sq. ft.

We could say that the original crew lounge was converted into Mrs. Price's hydroponic garden. I see the lounge as octagonal, with about 7-1/2 feet on a side (about 18'4" across...for about a 281 sq. ft. area, which takes up the rest of the common area).

The two 16-ton passenger suites and one 8-ton cabin will take up a total of 40 tons of cargo space, leaving us with 210 tons before the other gear is calculated. We can use the crew cabins as guides for the size of the passenger cabins, which provides a passenger lounge of 10'x12' adjacent to the berths (as part of the overall 40 tons of cargo space used).

Do we want 1 or 2 standard short range shuttles (20 tons each from cargo)? The Infirmary will take up an additional 16 tons of volume.

If we want a mule or two, we can get one small wheeled quarter ton) and one large wheeled (half ton), or we can make the large one a hover mule (1 ton).

And yes, we don't want to forget vacc suits (67 Cr. each). One for each crew position, or just one for each of the PCs and NPC crew?

[Left-Handed Bandit]

How about Price's Folly? We can call her an Aphid-class light mid-bulk transport.

[Fulmen]

Price's Folly works for me.

1 Short Range Shuttle should be fine.

Let's go with 1 hover mule.

Everything else looks good to me.

[Wired*Nun]

I don't much like colors for spoken words. I reserve them for certain special situations e.g., telepathy.

I'm going to have to argue against officially calling the ship "Price's Folly." It's not something he would name his ship. But, all is not lost!

The official name of the ship is "La Folies," The Leaves (makes more sense in French.). This morphed colloqially into "the Folly" after Hiram's startup went bust, and now it's just "Folly" to him and "Price's Folly" to anyone that looks with contempt on an old, drunken ship captain.

[Wired*Nun]

Also, I think I'll give you her garden bay for free - add it somewhere but don't pay for it in the price of the ship. It could even be a module added to the ship. That will give us a crew lounge and dining room back.

Is this a Firefly or what?

[Fulmen]

This ship is a slightly smaller transport than a firefly is. Strenth d4 vs. a Firefly Str d6. I'll stop with the colored quotes. I'm in another game where the GM wants them all colored so I just went with what I have been using.

[Left-Handed Bandit]

La Folies -- I like it, W*N! Very nice! :)

And, switch to grayscale script, aye... ;)

No, the design is one that Fulmen and I are collaborating on. That's why I offered her being of the Aphid-class. She's only about 1,000 tons (about the best we could afford), speed 4, but agile and tough for a ship her age.

Okay, so the garden was built in an old void space that originally housed communications equipment, thus drawing from neither La Folies' cargo nor crew volume allocations.

The crew's common areas include two freshers, a 12.5'x16' galley, a 13'x25' dining room and an octagonal lounge that is 7.5' on each side (about 18'4" across).

The passenger dorms have no full-sized fresher, so passengers use the crew freshers for showers. Of course, each berth (crew and passenger alike) has a stow-away toilet and sink.

And, we'll have one shuttle and one large, 1-ton hover mule. That will leave 173 tons available for cargo space (or more gear). I propose that we leave at least 150 tons dedicated to cargo if we find more gear to install.

[Wired*Nun]

The ship also has a small, 2-person (4 in a pinch, 6 if they all pile on one another) internal combustion mule, taking any fuel from cooking grease to alcohol. It can carry a few hundred pounds of supplies or tow a small trailer. It's very much like a John Deere gator. A dedicated stowaway system locks it vertically into one of the cargo bay walls, kind of like a Murphy Bed.

[Wired*Nun]

Everyone starts with 6 plot points at prelude, but I'm not going to reload them in the time between the prelude and the today-start. So, you can use them, or maybe earn some, but that's what you will be starting with then.

Since I'm just as new to the mechanics of the game as anyone else, please feel free to remind me OOC, publically or privately, when you think you should have earned plot points for something.

[Wired*Nun]

I fiddled with Greta's timeline a bit.

[Wired*Nun]

Do you have a reference for the Aphid class? Maybe I'm blonde, but I couldn't find it in the book.

[Candleman]

Well, I got myself the rulebook and I'm getting Arthur set up now. I'll see how much I can invest in a few minutes.

Oh, and when you said you didn't include the Mechanic's tools, does that mean I should buy it myself? Otherwise, I am done and have 550 cr to 'invest' with.

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Oh, you won't find a reference. I made the class name up. :) Complete custom build.

[Fulmen]

Candleman, I bought Mechanic's Tools with my own cash. But I share :)

[Candleman]

Okey doke. In that case, I'm finished with my character, and that's another 550 cr to add to the money pit-- er, I mean Folly.

[Wired*Nun]

Everyone please post your ship contributions into the ship section.

[samirah]

Hi everybody! I'm Mrs. Wired. Or Mrs. GM. Or Mrs. Dave. I'm new to online roleplaying so I'm feeling a little intimidated right now. :?

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Welcome aboard, Mrs. W*N. :) And, no need to be intimidated; online RPing is just like table top RPing, except that it moves much sloooooower... ;)

[Wired*Nun]

She hasn't done too much of that, either, and that a while back. She will be playing Yusheng Price, also known as the Old Lady, or other things when she's cranky. But I'm happy and proud that she's giving it a try.

*sound of applause*

[Left-Handed Bandit]

*Applause*

[samirah]

*blushes :∙

[Wired*Nun]

Whenever you guys get floor plans and a settled set of specs, please post in the ship section.

[Wired*Nun]

Off to lunch

[Wired*Nun]

Greta's going to have to be parked for a bit, until the rest get installed on the ship. Right now, for you metagamers, the prelude timeline is Arthur on the way to Beaumonde, Sam and Will at Beaumonde, to Regina to pick up Earl, then to Persephone to pick up Greta.

So Arthur's prelude will jump to a common prelude thread, on the day of the lift from Beaumonde, where Sam and Will will meet Arthur Miller and Yusheng Price, do some sketchy crew integration, then pick up Earl on a little semi-licit trip to Regina, then a couple weeks of cargo hauling until Greta comes aboard. At that point we can be considered to be playing, I guess, but I don'tplan any huge plot developments until the Miranda broadcast. More like laying groundwork.

[LynMars]

Y'all better keep up the posting pace! :evil:

I need to do homework anyway, so this is probably a good thing. :paranoid: I'll just read all you guys' threads!

[Wired*Nun]

Yusheng, Arthur, Sam and Will can start in the main prelude thread now.

[Wired*Nun]

Sorry, fixed my post. Had "Sam" in there when it should have been "Arthur."

[Wired*Nun]

Darq, you thinkin' about joinin' in? Gonna need a captain soon...

[Candleman]

I hope I am not being to heavy-handed on the accent thing... A friend of mine did an Australian accent in text once, and you could barely read it.

[Wired*Nun]

The next couple of RL days are for you four to get acquainted, do whatever RP you want. By Monday at the latest I'll fast-forward to Earl, then after that, to Greta.

[Wired*Nun]

Jump on in there with a few posts, then we'll go forward a few weeks to Greta. Figure on Wednesday morning to the the fast-forward.

[Wired*Nun]

It's now Wednesday morning, as promised, fast-forward to come.

[Wired*Nun]

Please introduce Greta to the crew and vice-versa. Tomorrow morning, unless that's too fast for anyone, we'll start the adventuring.

[Candleman]

Oh, quick question which may have been covered already... How are the plot points going to work? I am just going by the book here, but it seems like plot points are something that are most likely going to be handled differently per GM.

[Wired*Nun]

Everyone starts with 6. They will be readjusted per "adventure" whatever tha means - no more than 12, no less than 6 at the start of the new adventure. It will be kind of like an episode of Firefly - related situations resulting in some form of resolution, usually taking place on or about one world or location.

As far as when/how to use them, it will be how the book says unless something comes up I don't like. I've never run a Serenity/Coretex game before, so I don't know what pitfalls may be waiting in the mechanics. However, I'm always on the players side, and no one is going to die due to sheer luck - you'll have to supply some stupidity as well.

And, we'll start the adventuring tomorrow or over the weekend, things have been a bit hectic here at work.

[Candleman]

Ok, sure. That makes sense.

[Wired*Nun]

Oh, and please everyone post here when you are ready to make the jump. I would also like to see everyone have a certain amount of resolution to the current scene in their posts, e.g.,

Arthur finishes his meal, making pleasant conversation while trying to avoid thinking about women. Then he takes a cold shower and goes back to mistress Folly and her engines, until something exciting happens.

Something like that.

[TreyKincaide]

Thunderbirds are go!

[Fulmen]

I'm ready whenever.

[Candleman]

I am cool with fastforwarding.

[LynMars]

Good to go here!

[Left-Handed Bandit]

I'm ready, too. :)

Hey, Lyn, where in KS, if I may ask? (Old KCMO native here.)

[LynMars]

Manhattan, attending KSU. Talk to Trey, though, he's actually the KC native himself, even if he is currently in Topeka. ;)

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Coolness. My dad is a KSU alum. Nice to see someone from the ol' homestead. :) (You, too, Trey.)

[Wired*Nun]

If anyone hasn't posted what they own in GM comms, please do so.

[Wired*Nun]

I think it won't hurt anything to continue with the main prelude even at the same time that we move on to the main adventure thread. If there's nothing for you to post in it, don't worry, but it may provide more background on a couple of things that will help down the road.

[LynMars]

Trey escaped here a couple years back and now goes to Washburn Law.

I'm slogging through English and Education degrees, living in the Ed. building this year when I'm not at work. I still get to visit the English building sometimes!

This semester scares me, as I'm going to class full time, working part time (darn MGIB ran out, what I get for not getting my ACF kicker *grumble*), and most of my work this semester will be projects and presentations and some short papers (which don't worry me, it's that other stuff...).

[Wired*Nun]

I must have been unclear? Feel free to post in both threads, realizing that they are around a month apart in time.

[Wired*Nun]

Disclaimer: This isn't aimed at anyone in particular, but I'd rather get it up front than later when it might seem to be:

I think I'm going to try to keep action going more in this game than others I've run, as I expect this to be more of a snappy adventure than an epic drama game. This is especially true as we will need to stick to timelines and plotlines more, and we have up to 6 players in the same scene.

So, I'm going to use a 2-day principle, where if anyone hasn't posted in 2 days, and the action is waiting on them, I may automove them. I'll do it as little as possible and make minimum and safe decisions, but I'm establishing this principle in advance to hopefully avoid any hard feelings.

It also just so happens that Lyn let me know she's quite busy at the moment. So, she gets to be the guinea pig this time. Hopefully she won't mind too much.

[LynMars]

Just so long as you remember to change my chips and fill my water bottle every so often.

Like I said, once the "Aahh! School!" effect has worn off some and I get down this class/work thing, I'll be fine. Right now, I'm just beat and stressing over some stuff and dunno that a long weekend (where I had to work anyway) actually helped, even if I did hang out with Trey for much of it.

[Candleman]

Yeah, I'm just lucky school hasn't hit me yet. I start the 22nd, so I may not be up all the time then.

For now I will keep posting whenever I can.

[TreyKincaide]

Law school has ground me into paste once again. Mmmm paste

[Wired*Nun]

Sure would be nice to see some ship floor plans.

[Wired*Nun]

We just had our van stolen, spent a couple hours starting at 3am doing policey things. They recovered it right away, some off-duty cops noticed it being used to boost some motorcycles and chased the guys down. Aaaaanyway....

Probably be a short day at work, not sure about posting.

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Glad to hear you recovered it quickly. I'm sure we can wait a bit for some posts while you deal with vastly more important stuff. :)

[Candleman]

Yeah, it's good you got it back. I can wait :)

[Wired*Nun]

:smiling: :] :KO: :KO: :x :smiling: Flooooor plannnns....wooohooo...:evolved:

(random clicked smileys)

[Wired*Nun]

I'll be posting more, just had to pause in my writing. Post or wait as you all will.

[Wired*Nun]

Need a post from Will in the main thread to talk to Yusheng, or I'm going to overrun timelines.

[Wired*Nun]

I just created a separate thread for Will and Yushen's conversation, when you can get to it.

[Candleman]

So this is where we buy the shares in the ship IC, right? I don't want to be wrong and go making up a random number :P

[Wired*Nun]

Yes, this is where you offer the money we've already accounted for in the ship build.

[Candleman]

Okey doke. I am going to eat lunch now, but afterward I'll have a nice long post for you all.

[Candleman]

Excuse me if I don't post as often; I just got Spore :nod:

[Wired*Nun]

Spore is...?

[Wired*Nun]

Nevermind, I googled it. Sounds dangerous to your free time.

[LynMars]

Nifty game where you can evolve a critter of your own and see how well it survives, from 1 cell organism to intelligent empire. It looked pretty in the video demo I saw way back, been highly anticipated since.

[Wired*Nun]

I'm experimenting with the dice roller - it's limited and doesn't always "take" it seems, but I'll try to use it to show the rolls. I have to edit around it though a lot because to get the roll, I must post the thread. So, make sure you wait for editings if things don't seem to make sense.

[LynMars]

If you edit a post with a roll in it, it generally tends to negate the roller, to prevent cheating. It may work a little differently for GMs with mod control over threads. Also, if one rolls the mouse tooltip over the blue-underlined number generated by the roll, it should show what the dice roll to get that result was.

[Wired*Nun]

Yes, I got all that. I can edit around a rolled number but I can't edit a roll into the post, which means I may have to do multiple posts whereas before I would have done one. Or, may have to have a separate dice thread...

[Wired*Nun]

originally posted by LHB:

OOC: One of the benefits of just running this game for over a year, I became pretty familiar with the system. http://www.online-roleplaying.com/forums/images/smilies/smiley%20-%20happy.gif

According to the rules as written, Highly Educated gives Will a +2 skill step

Talented does the same thing, but Will's talent is in Surgery, not Pathology, so he wouldn't get the bonus there.


So, the roll should instead be d12+d2 [INT] + d8 [Medicine/Pathology].

I'm not concerned about changing the results here, but I figured I'd give you a hand trying to figure the system out. http://www.online-roleplaying.com/forums/images/smilies/smiley%20-%20happy.gif
bonus (emphasis mine) to his INT for knowledge-based checks. The step bonus means the die moves up two steps, from Will's d10 to a d12+d2 (rather than d10+2).

[Wired*Nun]

Thanks. I moved this post because it was entirely OOC.

[LynMars]

I'd say go with a separate dice thread; it's a common enough method on other games on this forum. Otherwise the main story threads will get cluttered. Links back and forth to the specific posts can be made easily enough.

[Wired*Nun]

Ouch! Hiram/GM's face is red. Lol. Work that one out IC if you can, otherwise I can always retro.

[TreyKincaide]

Ack. I missed your post samirah! >.<

[samirah]

LOL. I figured everyone missed it because it was at the bottom of the page. So... I decided to have fun w/the situation and use it to show some more of Yusheng's personality.

[samirah]

Left-Handed Bandit, make sure you see the final edit on my last post, I had to change something.

[Wired*Nun]

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Back to the adventuring!

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Folks, my grandfather passed away Sunday, and I haven't had much desire to really post anything. I ask for a couple more days to get over my funk (he and I were very close and I'm not going to be able to fly back home in time for the funeral) and I'll be back in character.

[samirah]

I'm really sorry to hear about your loss. It's very hard to lose someone. We'll keep you in our prayers.

[Wired*Nun]

I understand. You have my condolences. Real life is always more important, no matter that we joke otherwise. Take all the time you need.

[Wired*Nun]

Almost everyone has been strangely silent...I'm going to assume that'e because no one has anything to say, and move forward.

[Wired*Nun]

OK, it seems as if we've just had the third semi-major misunderstanding between Hiram and his crew. Clearly, this is mostly my problem/issue, as I'm running Hiram and, even within the context of the story, the leader is responsible for ensuring his orders are clear and unequivocal. So, for this, I apologize.

I was probably concentrating on Hiram's personality, the jargon and the dialect too much. So, to fix this problem, I'm going to have to tone down the dialect and/or do some OOC inserts to clarify his meanings. For example,

[Hiram's intent is for the crew to...]

The only problem is, that I don't always know when I'm being unclear. Some things seems crystal to me but not to others. So please, ask if something seems off.


On the flip side - please try to do your best to parse out what he says, and if you can't - ask me. I don't bite.

Not hard anyway.

[Wired*Nun]

OOC: Will is going to use his knowledge to determine another way around using a roofer against one of the passengers.


Frankly, the all-knowing GM can't think of anything...anyone got ideas for the doc to potentially discover with an IC action?

[TreyKincaide]

No clue.

[Candleman]

Hmm, maybe Arthur could help the doctor pipe in some vaporized sedatives into the passenger's cabins...

:D

[Wired*Nun]

I'm in training all week. Don't know when I'll get to posting, unless I feel like it after work.

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Knocking both passengers out was one idea, but it was originally based on my misconception that Hiram was looking for first strike opportunity (erasing their short-term memory even if neither passenger was a plant by one of the antagonists).

It's still plausible...knocking them out so that neither passenger is a threat until well after they're off the ship, but, then, that doesn't solve Hiram's problem of wanting to remove certain details from an "agent's" mind.

Will would be less disturbed by the idea of giving them what amounts to a sleep aid to render them functionally useless for the remainder of the trip...or, at least, the last 12 hours or so. He's trying to follow, at least, the first tenet of his oath: "First, do no harm." :)

[Candleman]

Well, from an IC standpoint, I don't think it's too much of a stretch for him to put some kind of heavy sleep aid in their food, but if you want to go with the other option, you know where Arthur will be for the whole trip :P

[Wired*Nun]

I'll promise to get at least one decent post in over the weekend. Phase I Government Acquisition and Contracting was mind-numbing. More like Inquisition was the joke.

[Wired*Nun]

Sorry about broken promises. Sigh. Posting today.

[Candleman]

Is anyone watching DeNiro? If not, I could add in something about Arthur being worried about that. To me, it seemed like he was alone in the cargo bay, and if Arthur's listening in on the comms, he wouldn't like that.

[Wired*Nun]

No one seems to be watching DeNiro right now, though Arthur wouldn't know that specifically.

Also, why is Earl calling the dog "ma'am"?

[TreyKincaide]

Because Earl was posting during class. That's why. Fixed it.

[Wired*Nun]

I figured it was something like that.

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Folks, I must apologize for my continued absence. It has become clear that I've been unable to recover my enthusiasm for this game since my recent personal drama and I just feel completely lost with the game and the character.

I think that it probably best I bow out of the game at this point, rather than continuing to being an anchor on the overall group; again, I sincerely apologize, because I really liked the game and was looking forward to playing Serenity after running it for nearly a year.

Wired, thanks for including me and for your patience with me over these last six weeks.

[Wired*Nun]

Sorry to hear your loss is affecting you so strongly, but frankly, that's the way things should be, in some sense. Grief is natural and I for one hope and pray you proceed through it as you should. Sometimes that means our lives are reordered and parts of it, like this game, slide away. C'est la Vie. So I certainly understand.

In an effort to make lemons into lemonade, I'll play Will as an NPC for as long as seems natural. Hiram's going to be gone soon, as I don't want to be the GM running the show as Captain. I hope for a player-driven game. So, I can play the ship's conscience with Will, while recusing myself from directing the ship's operations. That is, if LHB doesn't mind.

Then, if things ever change, LHB can come back and pick up where he left off.

[Wired*Nun]

I'm going to wait for Lyn's post before making another.

[Wired*Nun]

Sorry, my post 2 above wasn't phrased well, I edited it.

[Left-Handed Bandit]

Wired, I don't mind at all. Thanks for your understanding.

[Wired*Nun]

I need to go home and look at the book before we go farther in this fight scene.

[Fulmen]

Combat! woohoo!

[Candleman]

Whoa, dang! I knew something was up with that "actor"...

[Wired*Nun]

Sorry I didn't get to it last night. Weekend can't come soon enough...

[Wired*Nun]

Hope everyone had a happy or at least uneventful Halloween/Samhain/All-Saints Day/Generic Weekend.

[Wired*Nun]

Earl let DeNiro go by him already, so Earl is closest to the catwalk and railing. He'd pretty much have to grab the guy and push/carry him to do that. Please revise the post to say whether he will try to grapple, and if successful, what he wants to do.

[TreyKincaide]

Done.

[Candleman]

I'm going to pause for a bit and let the others post before I keep going. I don't want to make this a one-man show.

[Wired*Nun]

I agree.

[Wired*Nun]

By the way, "ladder" is just ship talk for a stairway.

[Fulmen]

What is Sam's position relative to DeNiro and the Infirmary door?

[Wired*Nun]

Sam is on the crew deck. Hiram and Yusheng are half-way down, on the ladder landing. Arthur is a little lower on the steps.

As I read the ship plans the infirmary door opens onto the passenger deck, which is level with the catwalk overlooking the cargo bay.

So Sam would either have to go down the ladder past Hiram, Yusheng and Arthur, or down the other ladder into the cargo bay, then across the catwalk and into the passenger deck from the cargo bay.

[Wired*Nun]

I'll have to look at the rules carefully this evening for all this scary gunfire.

[Wired*Nun]

Sorry I didn't get to the rules last night, I'll try to get to it today.

[Wired*Nun]

As far as I can tell from the rules:

If a PC shoots at a target that is unaware, the GM assigns a difficulty number to hit. Then, the difference between the roll of skill+attribute+ modifiers, and the difficulty number, is the base damage to the target. Then add a damage roll for the weapon. Modifiers might include aiming or traits or called shots or suchlike.

If the target is aware, he can choose to dodge or not dodge. Dodging might be the only action, or one of the actions, that he/she takes that turn. Taking one action results in no modifiers. Taking one more action (two, that is) results in a minus-1 step (2 points, e.g., d8 to d6) decrease in the effective applied skill for both actions. So, if Arthur just shoots he will shoot at d6 + d8 and his defense number will be a base number I determine. If he just dodges he will roll Agility + Athletics for the defense number.


Acording to the rules, it seems you have to accept that result. So, if the base difficulty was 7 but you chose to dodge and roll a 5, you screwed yourself.


So, I'm going to mod this rule as follows: The defense number can never be lowered below the base number just by genuine dodging. Obviously if you do something else to get make yourself an easier target, this rule would not apply.


So: If he exceeds the base difficulty by dodging, that will become the new difficulty

If he shoots and dodges he will shoot at d6 + d6 (which is d8 minus 1 step) and he will dodge at A+A minus 1 step.


Mostly it appears that in shorthand terms, the closer you are to the ranged weapon, the more profitable it will be to dodge e.g., if the difficulty to hit you is 3 because you're close, dodging will probably get you a better number, but if you are a difficulty 11 to hit because of range and cover, dodging isn't likely to be useful.


In light of all this, Candleman feel free to edit Arthur's IC post any way you like and delete/repost the OOC die roll post if necessary. Also, think about plot points.

In fact, I'd like to remind everyone about plot points, if you want to make something a lot more likely. For example, you can use a plot point to roll an extra die in attempting something before the fact. If you wait until after the fact, you have to spend 1 plot point per pip rolled. E.g., if Arthur spends a plot point to improve his Shotgun skill he gets an extra D8 before the roll. However, if he misses the roll by 3 and wants to hit anyway, he has to spend 3 plot points (1 per pip).

It's too late now but for example Earl could have spent a plot point in the hit roll against Genning, which incidentally increases base damage. That might have ended Genning's threat right there.

Plot points are the main advantage PCs have over NPCs, since NPCs don't have them (unless the GM fudges). So, use them! Everyone starts with 6 each chapter.

[Candleman]

I edited my post, changing it from a regular attack to an All-Out Attack. I'll redo the dice rolls to reflect this, and I'll also use up a plot point to try to get rid of this guy.

[Wired*Nun]

Need a post for Arthur from Candleman before we can move on.

[Wired*Nun]

Don't take all that last post as absolute given - e.g., if Arthur or Sam intends to encourage DeNiro to die on the operating table or something, I can always edit. Almost like time travel!

[Wired*Nun]

Need posts from...well, anybody! Anyone that's conscious....mostly Sam and Arthur...

[Wired*Nun]

I'd like to take a poll of the players - I'm getting out of the captain biz, I'll happily play Will as an NPC (good role for the conscience of the ship anyway) - would you guys rather sort out a new captain among yourselves (does anyone seem themselves in that role - Beth doesn't want Yusheng to be captain, though she will still be majority owner of the ship) or do you want to recruit another player for that role specifically?

[TreyKincaide]

I'm open for whatever. Earl's a follower; not a leader.

[Fulmen]

I don't really see Sam as the captain type.

[Wired*Nun]

Captain Falsafi? Captain Miller? Captain Committee?

[Fulmen]

Captain Committee may work.

[Candleman]

I'd say either Captain Committee, or we could try recruiting for that role. Arthur's much too angry and impulsive to be a good captain.

[Wired*Nun]

Captain Committee may work.

That was a joke...an oxymoron if there ever was one:x-eyed: . But if you want to have lots of tragic adventures, give it a try :evil: .

[Fulmen]

I say we recruit then. Though tragic adventures may work too!

[Wired*Nun]

I'll wait for Lyn to weigh in (hey, maybe she wants it?) before doing any recruiting.

[LynMars]

I am much more of a support character/player than a leader. Greta has the force of personality to do it, no doubt, and if recruiting doesn't work out we could give it a go. But I'd rather see if we could find someone willing to take on the job first.

[Wired*Nun]

Roger dodger.

Any lurkers who are following the game, feel free to apply here.

I'll make a post in the players wanted forum.

[itches]

Well define 'follow' ...

[Fulmen]

Sounds like itches just nominated himself.

[Wired*Nun]

Define it for yourself...do yer wanna be the cap'n, matey?

[Wired*Nun]

Also still waiting for posts from Fulmen and Candleman

[itches]

I'm just pointing out, there are lots of private threads in here that I have access to.:worry:

[LynMars]

Not that such an honorable admin like yourself would metagame, oh noez....

[itches]

I didn't know about any future possible openings when I may have looked at them in the past!

[Fulmen]

Maybe if you bang your head on the table really hard you will forget it all.

[Wired*Nun]

There's not much that's secret in this game.

[Wired*Nun]

Would be nice to get posts for Sam and Arthur. I've been talking with Beth about Yusheng but she's feeling stymied. Part of that is holdiays and familiy visits and so on. I may end up writing Yusheng's post under her screenname with her approval just to bridge us past.

I am also issuing a deus ex machina alert. No one has expressed serious interest in becoming Captain except for a nibble from Trey. He as a player is up to it, I know, but Earl isn't currently designed for that role. I'm going to discuss with him how we might swing it, though. I have a couple of ideas. If and when they manifest themselves, please don't hesitate to discuss, ask or object, they might be unusual. But the story will go on.

[Wired*Nun]

I ran across this site http://fireflyseriesrp.proboards104.com/index.cgi and posted a sorta recruitment message. Don't want to get anyone riled about poaching players, but maybe some enthusiastic player from there will be interested in picking up the gauntlet and be the new Captain of the Folly.

[Fulmen]

Would be nice to get posts for Sam and Arthur.

I've currently got the last post in the thread. I've been waiting a few days for a response to it.

[Wired*Nun]

Strangely, I couldn't see that until I actually went to the thread. Must have been a glitch in the forum.

[Wired*Nun]

Okay, I think we'll still need postings for Yusheng one way or another. I'll talk to Beth and get to it soon.

[Wired*Nun]

I posted under her screen name with her approval. On we go.

[itches]

want to get anyone riled about poaching players

Yes poaching is bad ... but if someone just happens to follow you over let us know and we'll avoid getting them stuck in the moderation que.

[Wired*Nun]

What's a moderation queue?

[LynMars]

The screening new logins are getting to make sure they aren't spambots and are actual people who will post something hopefully meaningful.

[itches]

In the last several hundred registrations, I think there may have been one or two real people.

[Wired*Nun]

Wow.

"That's despicable." - Daffy Duck

[itches]

I know. Rest assured I deleted the real people and gave ths spambots the key to the forum.

[Wired*Nun]

"Wait. Strike that. Reverse it." - Willy Wonka

[Wired*Nun]

Waiting on posts for Greta, Yusheng. Optional posts from Arthur, Earl. I'll move forward tomorrow.

[Wired*Nun]

I've talked it over with Trey and he's agreed to run two characters; that is, Earl and the new Captain. This is something pretty common in tabletop RP, I thought of it here as a solution to the lack of captain, since no new player responded to my invitation.

[Fulmen]

Works for me.

[Wired*Nun]

We're on a cruise til the 20th. I thought we'd have better internet here but it's spotty and expensive. So I probably won't be posting until the 21st.

[Candleman]

That's really unfortunate, since I'm going on vacation on the 20th and I won't be back until the 5th... I know I will have internet access, but I can't say how good it will be.

[Wired*Nun]

I'm back. Will post soon.

[Wired*Nun]

Merry Christmas...any posts coming from anyone?

[Wired*Nun]

I'm going to presume the holidays have pverwhelmed everyone, but I would like to see posts for Greta, Sam and Arthur if possible before we move on. Or at least one or two of them....

[David]

Hi, I was just wondering if you have room for another player. I see that you have filled the need for a new captain. I have a few ideas if you have the space.

[Wired*Nun]

Far as I'm concerned we have room. I will set up a private thread to discuss what you want to do.

[Fulmen]

Sorry, Holidays had me busy. I should be checking in fairly regularly from now on out though.

[Wired*Nun]

In case you guys missed it at the end of the last page, I posted for everyone. Go back to the last page.

[TreyKincaide]

Been sick the last couple of days and too foggy headed to post. I should have something up tomorrow.

[Candleman]

Oh, yeah, I completely missed that post. I'll post as soon as I can.

[Wired*Nun]

I guess Greta is the ship's ambassador and tour guide now, for sure! Both of the new arrivals vying for her attention...

[LynMars]

Apparently o.O

I shall try to post this evening when I am fully home from work :D

[samirah]

I edited my post to add a response to Sam, so make sure you read it.

[Wired*Nun]

I posted my game style and philosophy thread, which I should have done earlier. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, please read it thoroughly. I want to emphasize the part about writing forward with your posts. David has done this with his last posts - covering the next two basic possibilities for his character. That's good PBP RPing IMO. The more proactive you are with your character, the better this thing will go.

[Wired*Nun]

Feel free to keep posting, folks. Does someone need GM input?

[TreyKincaide]

Waiting from a reply from Yu.

[Wired*Nun]

Yes, O wife of mine...:yum:

[samirah]

Sorry! I've been doing research on HVAC systems and trying to make arrangements to go to my Mom's 75th birthday. I tend to get wrapped up in what I'm doing and forget about everything else! :-P

[Wired*Nun]

I'm moving the story forward now, sorry if it seems sketchy. We'll pick up RP in the meeting.

[Wired*Nun]

I'll wait until tomorrow for everyone to post then we'll start the meeting as if everyone is there.

[Wired*Nun]

It occurred to me that we had left Hiram's remains behind, lol. I made an edit.

[Wired*Nun]

By the way if you ever see me edit your posts, it's nearly always just to fix a typo. I like to clean up all the writing as I notice things.

[Candleman]

I'm sorry about the absence, my internet was down over the weekend and it took many hours of phone calls and a technician visit to repair it.

[Wired*Nun]

Everyone will need to put in their two cents before we can move on...

[TreyKincaide]

We also could go examine the cargo container Hiram and Sam noted. Abigail doesn't know about that IC, so I thought I'd say something OOC since that happened awhile ago.

[Fulmen]

Thanks, I had COMPLETELY forgotten about that. I was really interested in it as well.

[Wired*Nun]

Truthfully, the last thing Beth or I want to do is keep monetary accounts for the game. So I am going to keep it very general, just like it would be on an episode of Firefly - we're fat, we're ok, we're getting short, we're broke. Right now, we're OK for the next month or so of expenses. As a rule of thumb, doing a standard cargo and passenger run every two weeks should keep things balanced, but that leaves nothing for when Things Don't Go Smooth. Doing a job a week, or special jobs that we RP through, will be needed to build up a surplus.

[Wired*Nun]

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Monday was a holiday for most people, including us. I spent it sickish and at home. Just the way to spend a holiday.

I'm going to move things along a bit, since I didn't see too much action. There will be plenty of time on the way to tie up loose ends and RP discussions of whatever.

[Wired*Nun]

Greta and Yusheng can take another step in Piloting. If anyone else has any nominations for any skills or abilities that you think your PC should increase in due to play, please let me know. I'll give out some experience for general play sometime soon, have to look at the book to remind myself of the systems involved.

[LynMars]

So just go ahead and alter the stats in our GM comms threads?

[Wired*Nun]

Sure thing! Take those freebies when your can get 'em.

[Wired*Nun]

There are several possibilities for resolving this situation, but you the players will have to at least try to brainstorm some solutions before I give you hints.

Well, here's one hint - crashing Folly into the spinning cargo container might be a bad idea.

[Fulmen]

Just to clarify, I wasn't suggesting thrusting the ship into the container. I was suggesting thrusting away from it at letting the force of the thrust counteract the spin

[Wired*Nun]

Ah. I see now. Use the thruster exhaust pointed at the container to slow down the spin. Like a blast of pressurized air.

I had visions of mangled metal...maybe you want to post a clarification as some of the PCs apparently misunderstood as well.