(Star Wars d6) #17 - Introducing Abel Norrum

Our "Heroes"

Ne'vets Aharo - an exotic animal broker, both legal and otherwise.  Looking for an easy job and an under-priced ship.
Evus - Twi'lek former mercenary, Ne'vets' armed muscle with a keen eye and a tendency to shoot first.
Tarrie - Human pilot "under contract" for the upcoming mission, whatever that is.  Brother of potential terrorist, rebel  Latorna Savvn.
Frokazza - Wookie co-pilot, mechanic, and unarmed muscle. Very distrustful.

The Big Game

Our heroes depart Leisure and Luxury 
on the Lisani, as they 
Reunite with an ally and trusted rival
Big Game Hunter Able Norrum.
Is Abel's Offer legit, 
Or is there some dark sinister 
Force at work on the surface 
of Alacazzar?

The pleasure yacht Lisani had dropped off the fellows at the Wyap Spaceport to rendevous with their associate and contact, the always-on Abel Norrum.

Norrum immediately went to town ribbing Ne'vets' associates known to him, inquiring about the the quality of the "hostesses" aboard the Lisani, and badgering Ne'vets for fuel, all in jest.

The big game hunter was happy to see friends.

Add a soft safari hat, and you have Abel Norrum

"Apparently, you guys owe me big, and I'm immediately collecting.  I was supposed to get a week long round-trip voyage on the Lisani, courtesy of Mr Lisani himself, but Abel's a good friend and I figured sending that ship as your ride would butter you up for the next part.  And you owe, dear friends, but I know you don't want to suffer dealing with a Hutt crimelord or more Jawa lend-lease.  You do this job, and a decent ship is in your immediate future. "

"Walk with me, my ship's on the other side of the spaceport."

"Who's the big furry ugly guy and the Wookie?"

"These are Tarrie and Frokazza, they're my pilots..."

Abel smiled broadened.  "Tell me what's happened to you, boys... I don't believe Ne'vets for a second..."

The group confirmed most of Ne'vets stories, they discussed business... until they made their way across and were in front of ... the Big Game.

The Big Game, Abel's extended and customized Small A-9.

"We've made a few modifications, stretched out the body, added some storage, and kept this one out of vacation villas on Aras 9,right?"

"Now where's my crew...."

The ramp to the ship came down and the group came face to face with not one, but two Pontus X-9 Valor All Terrain Vehicles, seating four, full camo, with a full 360 turret on each with heavy repeating blasters.  

"Just picked up these beauties up with my safari money, credits and clear... We're going to need them."

More amazing was that there was a cargo hold beyond the vehicles, fill to the brim with crates and supplies.  

Closing a crate of grenades was a giant, mountain of a middle-aged man, crew cut, tired eyes, and sooo many ammo pouches.

Ringel De'Astare

"Boys, meet Commander Ringel De'Astare, former mercenary commander, now my Number 2."

Traveling up a sprial staircase to the main deck, they encountered another middle-aged man with obvious combat experience, hiding in a nook, cleaning a grenade launcher.

"This is Sergeant Chandra.  He was a package deal with Ringel, but a good second mechanic"

"Sarge"

"Hey, You ever kill a man?"

Ne'vets shot back, "Only when the mood strikes me."

"That's a right and proper attitude.... We'll talk later."

Abel was distracted, "Where the bloody hell is Yast?"

An obviously not Wookie head popped down from a gun turret above deck.  

Part Orangutan, part rodent, wearing a monogoggle, crawled down to the floor.

"Heywhatsgoingon, ImYast."

Yast Rin-Blanka, Abel's Yazirian Pilot

"Yast is a damn good pilot, even if he sheds and licks himself in public.

"Readytogochief, Icanhavehermakethejumptotwominutes...."

"Don't call me chief, but yes...."

"Nicetomeetyouguys. Igetdibsonthebiggunbelowdeck."

And with that the Big Game jumped into hyperspace. Destination: Alacazzar.

GM Notes: Abel's a home-brewed NPC, whose picture is from a Megatraveller cover. Ringel and Sarge are from Challenge #25 and Yast is a long-term character posted on one of the Star Frontiers websites. Don't tempt me, I'm crazy enough to work on Drasalites, Vrusk, and Sathar!

Next: #18 - Mission to Alcazzar

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 31 - Thanks All Around

The final day of #RPGaDay2021 is upon us, and it's not a stretch to believe that the last word would be "THANK."

So let's thank my current gaming group.  

To Steve, my old college roommate. He's the guy in the group who intentionally plays "fun" disruptive characters.  Echellon, the priest of the "Oriental" god of the sea (and pigeon fancier) and Fonzie Schlepprock (a chronic liar Gnome Titan in Hackmaster that successfully kept the ruse that he was a famous general... at least to the human communities) were my favorites.  With online gaming, his characters started serious (a dragonborn priest or paladin whose only schtick was throat singing for his prayers), but as much as I think his initial concept of his Star Wars character was frivolous, things have gotten dark over the weeks of #RPGaDay2021.   Not Dark Side Point worthy, just cutthroat business dark that I don't usually see from him.  His one legendary character away from my table was  Benverho, an "asshole wizard" in a different college group.  Thanks for making  Ne'vets Aharo in Star Wars  the "bad" version of Benverho, and making my scheduled turns in the campaign direction even more delectable. 

To Jim, the "Gnome King" himself.  Thanks for heeding the call when I reached out for new players for Monday night, even though you had never actually role-played before!  Tarrie Prolek is the perfect starter character, always referring to the boss cause he's "under contract", even if he isn't.   Your musical numbers are far superior to anything else in Star Wars since Max Reebo in 1983. 

To Sean, the brother of Steve's best friend.  You got lured into playing by your brother, and even with most of the original group gone, thankfully you've stuck it out.  We give both you and your Wookie, Frokazza, a hard time because you're part of the group, and thankfully, you know that.  Congrats on the new job!

To Hoyce, another college buddy. Prior to online gaming we've rarely had the chance to game together over the 15 years.  Thanks for actually missing the online Day of Sloth IOU game, but expressing enough interest and availability to join the Star Wars game full-time.  I don't know how the partied survived before your character arrived.  Seriously, statistically-speaking they should have all been dead weeks before.  I'm far too lenient as a GM.

To Maja, my daughter.  Thanks for bailing us out when we needed an extra player to push through the "Bo'Non'as and Oopsa" side campaign.  With such crazy schedules that we barely get time to game at home, it was nice to play something, even if you were still in your bedroom down the hall. 

To Chris, one of the original guys well before me in the Monday night session.  I barely knew you dude, but thanks for the memories.

To Jeff, the Godfather of the Monday night game, and original DM of the 5e game.  Thanks for getting this thing going, and thanks for all the hours you poured into the game.  Andaras was quirky enough to keep us permanently on our toes, and we left so many storylines wide open.  We're going to have to return, whenever you get your stuff screwing up Monday nights squared away.   It's your group.  I'll keep them coming until your ready, even if you have a few new players by that point. 

 

To Balls, another college buddy that, like Steve, I've been able to play with pretty consistently over the years.   Thanks for letting it slide that this little online shin-ding was occurring, thus securing that I"m never productive at home on a Monday night.   Like Jeff, your spot at the table, real and virtual, is always guaranteed.

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 30 - Two Quick Mentions

The Penultimate Day of #RPGaDay2021 is upon us!

The single word of the day is "Mention" and this brings up to recent mentions.

One: The admission from Jim (Tarrie in my Star Wars d6 campaign) that our Monday night group was his first ever attempt at role-playing.  He's been a hardcore wargaming (historical, sci-fi, and fantasy, the whole gamut) for a long time, but he answered my call for fresh blood awhile back and has done admirably, even if Tarrie vacillates  between doing nothing, being impulsive, or just breaking out into show tunes.

Two: Another player in the Star Wars d6 group, Hoyce, made a game time decision not to attend a session early this month, due to a migraine. I have no issue with the absence, especially for the reason given, but the giving a vague recap after the session seemed appropriate:

No worries sir, feel better and next week you can deal with the fallout of Steve not being able to make that session…. Plus the repercussions of two imperial boarding parties, Tarrie sleeping with the client's wife, and a possible point blank gunfight with a local crime boss in a confined space.

You know, a normal session. dead to

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 29 - Spice Girls the RPG, Using Top Secret

Day 29 of #RPGaDay2021 and they finally drop "SYSTEM" on us... on a single word weekend no less?

 Like a bad clickbait website, let's list all the options that 8 years of #RPGaDay has given us.

First System Purchased: Red Box D&D

Favorite Game System:  AD&D 2nd Edition still get the nod, although Call of Cthulhu is closing in.

Favorite System I Never Get to Play:  Still goes to Talislanta, although it's been awhile since I played Call of Cthulhu.

Favorite System I Stopped Playing:  The list grows longer as the years pass, but GURPS still tops it.

With that out of the way, let's talk  obscure games and the Spice Girls.

Ever since we started singing "Wannabe" as a gag at Karaoke back in college, the Spice Girls have taken over a disturbed part of my soul.  I've managed to include them in some of one-off online games, involving  Kim Cattrall, and formerly introducing Pumpkin Spice into the fold.

I've used Risus, and would be happy to do so again, if the time and mood struck me.  

However, I have a bit of a death wish.  I'd like to set up the Spice Girls RPG along the guidelines of the oldest System I still own - The original Top Secret. 

This might be the level of crunch to kill the concept, but I own the boxed set, and I think it would make a great project for me to set up and run with the guys, possibly face-to-face when that is feasible.  I daresay, once the characters and backgrounds are generated, this might be my new, definitely "weird" convention game.  

Stay Tuned!

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 28 - Tarrie Prolak, Pilot Under Contract.

Day 28 of #RPGaDay2021.  We're almost to the end, and the weekend topic pops up "SOLO".

I could talk about Solo scenarios for both role-playing and wargaming, or I can talk about the poor man's Han Solo, the pilot of the Pretio, Tarrie Prolak.  

Tarrie's story seems like a lot of stories in the galaxy.  Born on Corellia, Tarrie enrolled at the Imperial Academy, but couldn't hack to through pilot school.  The story goes that he dropped out and left with the first person who would hire him to fly a ship, but the Imperial Academies rarely let students "drop out," so there must be something beyond that.

On his journeys, he met and befriended the Wookie,  Frokazza. This skinny, nervous Wookie, was nevertheless a brute in a fight, and a crack shot with his bowcaster, so the two became a piloting duo, Tarrie doing all the flying, and the Frokazza learning Astrogation and Gunnery along the way.  

Four, almost five, years ago, the pair made an open agreement with Exotic Animal Broker Ne'vets Aharo.  Since then, Tarrie has claimed he is "under contract" with the animal dealer, although he satisficed his obligation a long time ago, and either party could cancel the arrangement at a moment's notice.  

Being "Under Contract," Tarrie looks for validation from Aharo or the other crew before taking any action.  This attitude could be considered pragmatic, but it has resulted in enough hesitation over the years that it's put the crew in bigger danger more than once.  

The "Under Contract" Tarrie may also be a response to temper his own horrible impulses while on duty.  Off duty, Tarrie is known for his legendary stays in cantinas, drinking heavily, consuming most available drugs, questionable hook-ups with numerous species, and resulting in blackout scenarios where he's disappeared for days at times, resulting in fires, stolen speeders, and even participating in singing competitions and theatrical showings.  

More concerning than his antics are those of his family.  His older sister, Latorna Savvn (possibly adopted), is a well known pilot, demolitions expert, and within the last few years, a prominent member of the rebel resistance groups trying to overthrow the Empire and reinstall the Republic.  Tarrie's last encounter with his sister was just prior to a terrorist attack she executed on the planet Botajef.

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 27 - A Fraction of My Potential

 It took till Day 27 of #RPGaDay to ramble on about all the stuff I want to run.  

"FRACTION" is the primary word of the day, and there is no better used of the word to describe to the grandiose ideas I have versus the fraction of the gaming time I have to do it in.  

• Hackmaster - Burning Trogs Redux:  More an ongoing pipe dream than a full-fledged project.  As I've stated during probably every previous #RPGaDay,  if I could get 3/4 of the old Hackmaster group together for some decent online sessions, we would catch up after 17 years and finally get around to taking care of business we had left unfinished.
• Call of Cthulhu - Invictus:  If we return to CoC, I'd like to remove the crew from the 1920's for a bit and play a little bit in the Roman Empire.  
• Call of Cthulhu - 1926:  Any long-term return to Cthulhu would eventually be a return to the original group, post-Masks of Nylarathotep.  I doubt the long-term plans could be reached, but there is a comfort level with that campaign.
• Call of Cthulhu - Curse of Nevoz:  Sure, I may have thoughts of running an Attack of the Atomic Reptile Bikini Women... in 3-D game, but in reality, my 1990's Canadian College Cthulhu game is easier to run and is slightly more realistic.  Picture Gravity Falls and the X-Files in Medicine Hat.
• COVIDIOTS Internationale:   There are too many crazy pictures from the pandemic to not inspire me into a COVID satire game.    The couple sessions we ran over the past year were cathartic to the group, and I for one, would like to close the book on this chapter, with a kickass RPG finale... using Risus.
• D&D - Ghosts of Saltmarsh: I still only own the PHB and this book for 5e, but it will set up for a fun campaign in a long-forgotten corner of my campaign world
• D&D - Gulluvia 2 - Eldritch Boogaloo: The original Gulluvia filler campaign hit a low point right before Star Wars (and SW side campaigns) took off.  I'm happy to return to the peculiar barony and work towards a finale.
• D&D - Home: My Polynesian campaign has been on the back burner for over a decade so far back that I've stolen some scenarios for my Gulluvia game.  
• Top Secret - Spice World:  My Spice Girls games have been a hoot.  The surprising fact in review of the games is that they need to be crunchier, hence a percentile-look over at Top Secret
• Gamma World:  If I want the girls role-playing on a regular basis, mutant plants and animals out of the 4th Edition of the rules might be the way to go. 
• Star Frontiers - The rumored new game is coming out but I was still interested in playing it last year, after running, Crash on Volturnus, Volturnus, Planet of Mystery, and Mission to Alcazaar for my Star Wars d6 Campaign.  
• Autoduel (any system):  I went pretty crazy in the Pocket Box Games of the 80's Kickstarter from Steve Jackson Games, and part of my Gaming Bucket List is to get some Car Wars out of my system.  It doesn't even need to be GURPS, but c'mon... at least one session should be GURPS to shed the nostalgia. 

(Painting) Human Mounted Wizard in 15mm by Battle Valor Games

Yes, dear readers, your eyes do not deceive you, nor am I going through another mid-life crisis.  The 15mm in the title is correct.

Human Mounted Wizard

I pledged to Battle Valor Games' 15mm Baggage Trains, Wagons, Camps, Accessories and More! Kickstarter in the spring.  Not because I wanted to expanded into 15mm, rather a formal pledge level got you access Battle Valor's entire back catalog of figures, 15 and 25mm at a substantial discount.  A perfect time for me to get more of their Space Dwarfs and venture further out with the rest of their sci-fi line.

I figured I'd pledge a decent level and kick in the rest when the pledge manager was ready.  Of course that netted me free swag as certain stretch goals were reached, hence my new collection of figures slightly smaller than usual.  

I managed to finish up the Human Mounted Wizard with only one minor problem.  I didn't have any bases to match up with Battle Valor rule set, so a large circular base it is!

And for the last few days of August, this figure is also free to all Battle Valor Games orders of $50 or more!

PROJECT 350:  The plan was to keep Project 350 on hiatus until #RPGaDay2021 was complete.  I also didn't plan on getting any painting done for August, but here we are.  With less than a week to go for #RPGaDay, I'm at 497 (314 drafts and 183 scheduled posts) from 486 (317/169) back in July. 

Next: A few more of my 15mm spoils are almost complete, as well as a trip to Transnistria

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 26 - Renewing the Old Favorites

Day 26 of #RPGaDay2021 and this is actually the very last day the I completed.  The four prompts provided didn't initially inspire me to anything, but I think I'll take "RENEW" for a spin.  

As much as I've loved learning and playing new games, and as much as I have dozens of ideas in various stages of completion, there's so much I wish I could return to, as a player and as a game master.

1. Hackmaster - The Burning Trogs Redux - The last epic (in feel, not level) fantasy campaign I've run, I constantly write about bringing the band back together after 17 years and completing some unfinished business (specifically when A1-4 went sideways). 
2. GURPS - Humanx -  We had an awesome 5-6 session campaign, which included scenarios pulled directly from the Alien movies, and Disney's Tailspin.  I'd be happy with some more traditional scenarios, prior to the Alien scenarios.
3. GURPS - Napalm Death - My Red Dawn/Sci-Fi Apocalyptic game where all the players were 100 point teenage avatars of themselves.  
4. Call of Cthulhu - Masks of Nylarathotep - I did play in the early session of a Masks campaign with the infamous "Dr Bob."  We had just cleared out the Juju House and were about the venture to whatever the next step was, but we all bailed out on the session, and with every thing going on in Dr Bob's life, it was the straw that broke the camel's back.
5. Mordheim/Necromunda - Griffon Games Store League - Yes, these GW games are skirmish miniatures, but the store campaign embraced as much role-playing as possible.  The weekly newsletter set the tone (and special rules) for the next week's games, including character profiles for everyone from gang leaders to brand new replacement juvies.
6. RISUS - Illuminati University - GURPS- IOU is one of my favorite GURPS sourcebooks.   I've run games in the setting, with some continuity, since the mid 90's.  Every year we hosted a Day of Sloth (Sunday before Labor Day) picnic, index cards full of Risus characters appeared in the last waning hour or two.  Funnel Cake Mecha, College Bro Yoda (Bro-da?), and the infamous Snake Gandhi.    Although we haven't had picnic in the last few years, I used IOU as one of the early filler games when the D&D5e game wasn't going off.  I have enough concepts hiding in my blog drafts to run a game weekly for years, and if I was smart, I'd squeeze it in during these off sessions.

600K - Close to Free Prizes for the Author!

 Thanks to bots, a few well-loved posts, and over a decade of writing, I just realized that Gaming with the Gnomies hits 600,000 views today.  

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog more than once, and my hardcore fans (or bots) in Ukraine, Italy, and this summer, Sweden.  

The world's getting crazier and crazier, but I'm going to continue to write for the blog.  Heck, even if humanity disappears, I have over a hundred posts ready to go over the next year, with most major holidays getting a post between now and 2035.  Good times.  

Basketball is still a thing, and given the task of dropping off and picking up on a Monday night, I swung by Sword in the Stone Games in Wilkes-Barre, to peruse the shelves un-pestered.  I did write awhile back about a very unfortunate situation with someone associated with the store.  While I don't know of any criminal outcome, it appears the store owners broke away clean from him, so I might give them another visit or two before letting the kids back into the store.  

I did manage to chat up with some of the Mepacon regulars, as well as scrounge up a few items, a card shoebox and  some miscellaneous Magic cards.  

It wasn't until I left that I inquired about some games, freshly shrinkwrapped on a table by the door.  When I asked how much, I was told that they were all used games that didn't sell and they were giving them away.  

I managed snag a copy of Mutant Chronicles - Siege of the Citadel  and the 7th Edition Gamma World boxed set for a very small donation to the store (The old pay-what-you-can model meant I spent what little was in my pocket.

(Kickstarter) 28mm Fantasy Dwarves by Macrocosm

Macrocosm must have known I just cleaned up and primed their Jr Officer Space Dwarves from the last Kickstarter.  Perfect time to launch the next one, a small campaign for four 28mm Fantasy Dwarves.

A number of current Macrocosm Fantasy items are also available as add-ons.  

Don't get me wrong, I love Macrocosm's work, it's just with the currency conversion and shipping costs, I'd like to wait a few years before the average cost of a figure is ten bucks... with crowdfunding no less.  I think I'm done with overseas orders, for at least until the new year.

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 25 - Welcome to the Fray

Day 25 of #RPGaDAy and the primary prompt is "WELCOME".

One of the things most of us haven't been able to do is welcome new gamers to the table for some face-to-face gaming. 

Before the latest surge started down South and has begun to infiltrate Pennsylvania again, we were in talks of resuming face-to-face gaming.  Unfortunately the numbers just kept rising, and we needed to scratch the process.  

I've got two opportunities this Fall to welcome some folks into the fold.  

First off, I had introduced Jim "The Gnome King" to his first role-playing sessions with our Star Wars d6 game.  Trying to replace some turnover, he's asked to bring in his nephew into the fold.  

No one has objected, so we'll begin the slow process of getting him into the game.   Good news:  I have a few options to bring his character in that doesn't involve "You meet a starship pilot in a cantina."  Bad news: The handwaving that makes something like that acceptable might be a faster process.

Secondly, I've been in long-term conversations with another manager in my company.  He's not particularly interested, but his kids have shown interest multiple time in learning D&D and role-playing in general.  They, in fact, are the demographic that don't game but religiously wait for the new episode of Critical Role to come out.  As a family that's fully vaccinated,  I guess I'm going to need to find some time and drive down to Allentown and help them learn a game.  It's also a great excuse to pick up a 5e DMG and Monster Manual, thus guaranteeing the onset of 6th Edition. 

Finally, I got to welcome a new player, Ryan, to my Star Wars d6 game!  Ryan is Jim's nephew from Ohio.  He does have experience role-playing, and he enjoyed listening in on Monday night's sessions while creating a character.  Luckily, session #53 was a good one, full of laughter, negotiations, and dark times and gallows humor.  A perfect introduction to our group of misfits.

(Star Wars d6) #16 - Leisure and the Lisani

Our "Heroes"

Ne'vets Aharo - an exotic animal broker, both legal and otherwise.  Looking for an easy job and an under-priced ship.
Evus - Twi'lek former mercenary, Ne'vets' armed muscle with a keen eye and a tendency to shoot first.
Tarrie - Human pilot "under contract" for the upcoming mission, whatever that is.  Brother of potential terrorist, rebel  Latorna Savvn.
Frokazza - Wookie co-pilot, mechanic, and unarmed muscle. Very distrustful.

Downtime!

After a disastrous, yet profitable
Meeting with Tarrie Prolek's sister, 
Latorna Savvn, our heroes have 
Four Days to relax in Botajef 
Until the starship Lisani picks them up
for a rendezvous with the famed 
Big Game Hunter himself,
Abel Norrum.
What could go wrong until then?

Despite being part of the assault on Customs House 7, and possibly implicated wanton, murderous spree of terrorism and robbery perpetrated by Tarrie's older sister, Latorna Savvn, staying low in the StarHostel only worked for the first day. The nightly news was full of painful reminders of the Y-Wing pilot's antic, plus other acts throughout the galaxy

• A group of renegade Bothans have fled the Outer Core. Helped spark a number of uprisings against the will of the people.
• Imperial Public Relations Officer Captain Ammern Gav refused to comment when why the capture of some renegades has been taking so long. "We are still confirming some recent news in a number of sectors. I believe good news is coming soon."
• In an official statement, the Imperial Government has declared all worlds in the Circapous system, including Mimban, have reverted to prewar travel classifications. With this proclamation, all emergency proclamations promulgated by the recent campaign, agitated by a well-known ring of renegade Bothans, are withdrawn and life in the sector will return to normal.

Evus picked up some computer programming with some techs he befriended, 

Frokazza enjoyed his time in Botajef, except for a few seconds in a cantina he walked into, where everyone immediately stared him down the second he walked in. An old Iktochi bartender named Sterling stood up from the table he was wiping down and came over to him. After clearing up that the Wookie just wanted a drink and no trouble, Sterling requested that he sit with him, for some small talk, and to avoid a brawl. His money was good there, let's have the first one free to smooth over the rough welcome.

It was odd, but Frokazza went with it. A few drinks in and the friendly nature of the barkeep, the Wookie realized he was in the presence of royalty.

Royalty in the sport of Gladiator Walkers!

"Sterling" Zohaar was a prominent Gladiator Walker pilot. Not one of the best, but one that survived long enough to retire comfortably. It wasn't his bar, but he knew enough folks that he did a little work and kept up with the pulse of the planet, the star system, and even some seedier parts of the galaxy.

Sterling didn't leave the planet anymore, thanks to Space Rheumatism, but the friendship forged with the Wookie would be beneficial if he ever returned to this crossroads of hyperspace lanes. For now, Frokazza's naive ways of the dirty city life were tempered by the wisdom of Sterling (GM: +1 pip on Streetwise).

"Sterling" Zohaar - ex-Gladiator Walker pilot, and current part-time bartender

Ne'vets would spend each night in minor gambling dens, honing his skills and desperately trying not to become indebted to some local crime boss.

Late in the evening of the 2nd day of waiting, with the others chilling in SpaceHostel, watching holoview, Tarrie kNe'vets returned.

"How'd ya do?" Tarrie inquired.

"Alright I guess," Ne'vets retorted, "I got some dude's eye...."

He unrolled a wire from his hand that stopped at a cybernetic eye.

"Neuro-Saav Hifold Sensory Package is what he called it, but yeah, I won some guy's eye."

He ended up down 700 credits total, but kept the eye and a random blaster splitter that expanded the beam, but reduced the effectiveness of blast.  They installed that on Tarrie's blaster rifle.

Day four, the group packed up and casually walked to Terminal L-15.  Avoiding the troubles of the inbound customs house, they walked right up to a shiny metallic space yacht, The Lisani.

Descending the ramp was a well-dressed gentleman holding a datapad.  He repeatedly looked the party, then referenced the datapad, until he was well-resigned to welcome them aboard.

"Mr Aharo?  I am Nigel of the Lisani Company.  Welcome aboard.  We are to transport you to Mr Abel Norrum."

Inside, the ship was as opulent as the outside, yet Ne'vets caught something odd about the vessel.

"Is this a converted Old Republic Troop Transport?"

Nigel raised his eyebrow. "You're well versed in Old Republic ships?  We've slowly improved upon it after picking it up in auction many moons ago...  The staff is at your beck and call.  Let me show you to your rooms, and we'll take off and get you to Mr Norrum.  Dinner will be served once we make the jump to hyperspace."

At dinner, fifteen servants beyond Nigel were at their beck and call.  Nigel sat down with them at the table, in his nondescript white jumpsuit.

Three of the staff were young human females, who seemed very attentive to their needs.  Perhaps the mirrors on the cabin ceilings weren't for an odd alien trait.

Ne'vets broke the silence, "Nigel, where exactly are we going?"

"It appears that you will be traveling to Alcazzar with Mr. Norrum.  We'll be arriving at the Wyaf Spaceport to arrange your transfer."

"Does Abel work for Lisani?"

"After the last safari, he sure does.  A man of his talents, with his own ship, could become quite rich working for Mr Lisani."

The women fawned over their every word, no matter how dull the stories were.

Tarrie had an enjoyable evening with one of the escorts, named Jazmin.  He got her whole backstory out of Space Community College and some time as a promo girl for Combat Sports.   She was quite vague as to the animals procured, as well as rumors that the Wookie in Abel's crew was quite small,  could speak Galactic Common, but yet he strangely refused to take off his goggles.

Evus had no need for such women and politely pressed Nigel for information regarding his data he had procured from the Imperial recruiter.  He received access to the database to review Lisani interests on Mandalore, Myrkrr, Phindar, and San, but could find none, nor any related Imperial interests.

"Mandalore is still under direct Imperial control, Phindar is a water world of little value, Myrkrr is unsettled, except for some smuggler hideouts, and San is well beyond the Outer Rim.  Why would you want to go out there."

Frokazza kept his stomach fed at the table, and by the end of the trip, was cooking in the kitchen with the executive chef. Walu.

"Ne'vets simply entrained the other two young ladies, Rubb-e and Tabi.  Two university grads with advanced degrees, the Lisani Corporation hired them as an entertainers and hostesses after a short career as morticians.  The only other info he could pull out of them were that Abel's men were very quiet."

The trip ended with an odd question to Ne'vets, "Why doesn't Abel take off his hat, like, ever?"   Ne'vets did not have an answer.

At the end of three days, the Lisani arrived at Wyaf Spaceport.  Nigel escorted them off the ship, Frokazza with a small box of snacks.

At the bottom of a ramp was an older fellow with faded military fatigues, with shoulder length blonde hair, and a safari bush hat.

Add a soft safari hat, and you have Abel Norrum

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

"Thanks Abel!"

"No, not you Ne'vets, you twit, I was saying hi to Evus.  You're just an ugly kriff.  All of you, give Abel a hug...."

GM Notes: After non-stop travel and action, it was okay for the guys to rest up in a safe location and watch a little holoview (TV?) The news stories covered were converted from the Traveler New Service article for Challenge #25. The best part is, they could perfectly be fitted into the the current timeline perfectly. The reference to Mimban, initially tied in to the Bothan menace was a nod to the fact that two years previous, the Mimban campaign was conducted against insurgents. It's only known for the excessive use of Swamp Troopers in combat... and the high levels of theft and corruption among its officer corps. Why else wouldn't you see those guys in any later movies in the timeline?

Next #17 - Finally Introducing Abel Norrum

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 24 - Translating Randomness to Campaign Points

Day 24 of #RPGaDay2021 and "TRANSLATE"

I'm not too big on needing translators for most games.  It's been a long time since I collected French Call of Cthulhu.  Languages in Star Wars are the occasional roll to figure out Wookie and ticked-off droid. 

Translation services I haven't really needed.  Instantaneous NPC generation, on the other hand, is worth its weight in gold.  

D&D always benefitted from more random generation tables that were ever necessary.    With a little idea of what the town was like, I could whip up a host of various NPCs with chucking a small pile of dice. 

I haven't really found that groove with Star Wars yet.  So many planets, so many more races, I've honestly been alternating between Humans and Rodians, with a few Transdosians, Snaggletooths, Snivvians, and thanks to the Mandalorian, Weequay.  Worst yet, a random Star Wars race also involves me looking up specs on Wookiepedia, so it still takes up a lot of time (hence a LOT of Human NPCs).

Those complaints aside, here are the two online generators I use for gameplay.

FantasyNameGenerators.com is my go-to site.  In addition to all the classic fantasy races, it has a phenomenal cross section of real names (Ottoman, Belgian, Afrikaner? Got 'em), lots of pop culture gnerators, and a host of miscellaneous descriptions, when that you need that next healing potion to be something other than blue and glowing.

The Donjon was recommended by my friend Hoyce, and it's a little less fancy than FNG.com, but seems to be easier and quicker to use.  

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 23 - Faulty Memories, Improved Legends

Day 23 of #RPGaDay2021 tests my brain with "MEMORY".  I won't need to recall most of this topic, as I'm calling an audible and reprinting most of my #RPGaDay2020 Day 8 post from last year:

For (nine) years I've been slowly cobbling together the various campaigns in my homebrew world of Georic into a series of actual plays. Starting with my original Hackmaster game in 2001, I've popped in and out of the campaign timeline.  I've usually had some form of a player or party journal to help me reconstruct the tales. 

Two years ago I began an ambitious project to collect my high school game ('89-'92) into some coherent form, with only vague recollections, copies of the source material (modules), and absolutely no help from my fellow players. 

I wrote the Lost Dispatches of Feraso in the voice of Elsderth Millbottom, a new character, who simply had the penchant of dealing with the messes left behind from a certain Talanth Blackash and his compatriots, a drunken warrior, a stupid ranger, and a busty mage.  I reconstructed adventures, re-tallied treasure and magic items, and developed a few new plots along the way. 

I also rekindled my love for the campaign world in areas I've never revisited. 

Talanth Blackashe, still hopefully being tortured by orcs

To be honest, the high school campaign was a mess of whatever cool thing I could buy from Waldenbooks.  I started the whole thing with the Temple of Elemental Evil (not the moathouse) and when the players tired of it, I moved to FRE1 Shadowdale without blinking an eye, and the campaign continued on like that.   When high school ended, I pushed all of that to the side and focused primarily on a new dominion in the game world, the Kingdom of Croesdes. 

Revisiting those old games allowed me to correct some continuity issues, but I spent most of my time researching and interpreting the old materials and converting it to fit the eccentric Kingdom of Ras-Prythax that sits in my Euro-Fantasy world as the Holy Roman Empire.  Things are not the same, but I can fit the Viscounty of Verbobonc as a neighbor of lands that are recast versions of Arabel and Shadowdale, and they fit alongside existing domains that have touched my more modern campaign runs. 

Thirty years ago next month, I was starting my senior year of high school.  For the ensuing decade, I participated in a ton on gaming, and a could fill a tome with all the fun stories, road trips, and other disasters that came along the way.  The further I distance myself from those stories, the more things are tweaked, re-emphasized.  Sometimes they're sanitized to relay a story to the kids.  Sometimes they're edit to focus on new storylines, or omit actions that seem far more embarrassing now than they did the first thousand times the story was told.  This is how myth and legend is formed, and it makes sense that I cobbled my high school game memories together in the same manner.

GURPS - Girl Genius (Prerelease PDF Edition)

Words I totally didn't think I would be writing during #RPGaDay2021: GURPS Girl Genius Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game is now available in pdf at Warehouse 23.

I'm always amused by Phil and Kaja Foglio's Girl Genius comic, so the idea of role-playing in the world was enticing.    Having it come out for GURPS makes some sense, but it's the first time I've wanted to dust off the old editions in quite some time.  

Big Disclaimer:  This is currently only for the pdf of the PRERELEASE version of the game.  Steve Jackson Games is planning on making this a Kickstarter, so watch this space for future updates!  The best news of all, for a $30 prerelease pdf,, If the comic stretch goal on the Kickstarter is unlocked, and after any minor fixes are made to the project's master files, Steve Jackson Games will update the PDF, including PDF bookmarks, at no extra charge!

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 22 - Online Rent-A-Players Are Right Around the Corner... or Down the Hallway

Day 22 of #RPGaDay2021 and the only word provided is "SUBSTITUTE".

I was going to go on a rant about how online dice rollers are a poor substitute for real dice (especially when a hold-out blaster erroneously rolls for 542d6 damage), but I think I would prefer to cover the time my daughter bailed us out recently. 

Our Star Wars d6 online game is the dominate RPG for this year, so I may have already mentioned it once or twice.  I may have also mentioned to the side campaign I run when we're short players, Bo'Non'as and Oopsa.  

As that campaign progressed, the available players have been rotating the roles of Bon'Non'as and Oopsa.  By the sixth session, the NPC guy who carries water and plantains, Uha'ul, rose up to player character level, so with all three characters necessary for that episode, and knowing only two were showing up at gametime, I called for back-up... from ten feet down the hall.  

Knowing the my 12-year old, Maja, had the only other working laptop in the house, I quickly got her set up for Roll20 and Skype, and by 9:15, she was playing the ever-wise Oopsa in what would be the penultimate episode of the mini-campaign.

Two things I learned from that night, First, Maja's been jumping in random games here and there for the last 5 years or so.  Her style of role-playing and meta-processing is very close to my friend Jim, whose in his mid-50's and this is his first-ever role-playing game.  Second, it is rather peculiar having an online player just two doors down the hallway.  It's a different type of feedback/echo that you get in the Teams/Zoom meeting.  

Hopefully one day, when schedules clear up, we'll have another go at it, together. 

(Kickstarter) Halfling Domestic Infantry by Midlam Miniatures

 Right on the heels of their last Kickstarter, Midlam Miniatures is at it again.  This time, it's the Halfling Domestic Infantry set.

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 21 - Simplicity

It's Day 21 of #RPGaDay2021 and I'm a bit bummed that I could have used today to talk about my Challenge Challenge from Day 1, but "SIMPLICITY" is just too easy.

Last month my wife and I finally had a night out for a fancy function.  One of her co-workers was had gotten married during 2020, and it was finally time to have a large-ish outdoor reception with all the accoutrements.  There was dancing, there was drinking, there were spouses tossed into the pool.  A good time was had by all.  

Somewhere between the passable dinner and the numerous pastries driven in that morning from New York City, was a conversation between my wife's co-worker, Chris and myself.   Chris had discovered from my wife that I was a gamer, and a relatively old-school one at that, and talked my ear off on a number of topics.  

The part that interested me the most was the group of guys he was playing with online.  Their 5e game had many parallels with our Monday night game, with one notable exception: There was drinking at the virtual table.  

Not the occasional beer I've been known to quaff, but heavy college level binge drinking, which makes anything past the second hour... messy.  Even with online character sheets that can calculate most rolls, Chris acknowledged that 5e was too complicated for the drunken lushes, so he had needed to peel back the rules and advanced character (and monster) abilities and run a much more simplified game for them.  It was simple rolls, a handful of easily referenced bonuses (re: ability score), and sort of flying-by-the-seat-of-his pants GMing.

Chris was a little worried that I wouldn't approve.  All I could give him was a simple "Att-boy" and "Well done."  

Work with what you have, so if the rules need to be pare them down, then do so.  If you play with drunks, gauge the session to fit your group's condition. 

And if you do have rules lawyers, try to get them completely blitzed in the first hour, so they can't remember a thing.  Your other players will thank you, unless they're giving the Rules Lawyer a ride home. 

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 20 - Foundation

Day #20 of RPGaDay2021 has given me the toughest keyword of them all "FOUNDATION."

The trains of thought I did have were short, some were negative, and all came to abrupt ends. 

Finally, I decided to do something a wee bit different: a photo gallery of all the things that inspired me to become a gamer.

I'll post the pictures here without comment.  (Although I'll be happy to answer any questions in the comments.).

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 19 - Star Wars is All About Capitalism, Baby!

Day 19 of #RPGaDay, and the main word is "THEME."

If it hasn't been obvious from my previous posts, this past year has been dominated by my Star Wars d6 (West End Games) Campaign. 

Star Wars is always something I throw out when I give a list of suggested games I'm interested in running.  The group may have reached their saturation point with the normal 5e game we were playing, plus the BECMI D&D side campaign I was running.  Nevertheless, I offered, they unanimously accepted, and the rest is history.  

As I mentioned on Day 1, we sort of went off the rails from the traditional rebel game that WEG Star Wars focuses on: 

Me: "What are you playing."

Player #1:  "A Brash Pilot."

Me: "Good, and you?"

Player #2: "A Wookie."

Me: "Good pairing, and you?"

Player #3: "A Twi'lek male merc, can I be enslaved to another player, and trying to earn my freedom."

Me: "I'll allow it, and you, Steve?"

Player #4: "I want to be a Galactic Exotic Animal Dealer!"

Me:  "Dammit Steve!"

With the concept of a scrupulous business and his crew, it creates a new set of problems, while eliminating certain plot hooks.  Yes, they still deal with secretive transactions, and they certainly know their share of shady characters, but in between those adventures, the campaign feels a lot like a classic Traveller game. 

Traveller is the classic 70's sci-fi rpg that followed a more hard science fiction look and feel of the future than the science fantasy of Star Wars.  Faster-than-Light drives existed but jumps took weeks and multiple jumps may be necessary.  Traveller is most noted for its lifepath system of character generation, where you conducted "tours" of various professions to gain experience and improve your character, but a bad roll "mustering out" of certain professions could kill the character before your actually started play.  

One of the top activities in a non-military Traveller game is commerce.  The PCs usually have a ship, and transporting things for a profit is the easies way to make a buck.  

While thee WEG sourcebooks do cover Freighters, smugglers, and general commerce, I've rarely seen anything go in that direction, especially the extent of this group.  

Throw in the fact that I'm using Traveller scenarios and articles to flesh out the campaign, (again, see Day One)  and there's no argument if I ever wrote the actual plays into a book, the cover would be classic GDW black with the classic Traveller font.  

We are almost 45 years from it's original release, so, despite the feel and familiarity to Traveller, there's none of the heavy accounting.  I'm hand-waving a lot of expenses, and their not negotiating too hard with business transactions.   In a world where 10,000 credits can transport and old man, his ward, and their droids from Tatooine to Alderaan, OR buy a used ship, what exactly is the cost for transporting a cargo hold of Bioxin Azure Rabbits from Takodana to Tuktaar.   I'm more interested in acquistion and delivery.  A decent bureaucracy roll can gauge the paperwork to fill out and hoops to the jump through. 

We're playing in the Imperial Era (5BBY) so the Rebellion is growing (the one character's half-sister is a fame Rebel pilot and demolitions "terrorist," but the crew of the Pretio has been adherent to Imperial law, and in fact, quite helpful to their needs.  There have even been a few overt gestures that the Empire's much maligned Science Ministries (non-clone related) may be interested in future collaboration.  So long and animals aren't being abused and the price is right, they would certainly consider it.

#RPGaDay2021 - Day 18 - Write Everyday!

Day 18 of #RPGaDay2021 is already here and my target for today is "WRITE." 

It's the old adage to basic writing advice, "Write Everyday!"

As a guy in his late 40's, who has seen this massive swing of consumer electronics technology, one of my regrets is that I couldn't properly use a blog when I was younger. 

Sure, blogs are usually someone's singular focus, photography, gardening, fashion, books, you name it, there's a blog about it (and more than a few trying to monetize it, with varied success).  Most of the time these blogs refine their focus even more (sunsets, self-sustaining gardens, cottagecore, mystery novels).

I'll be honest, the initial concept of Gaming with the Gnomies followed that limited approach, just to cover the Gnome Wars game by Jim Stanton.  If I had kept that approach, I would have had 507 posts over the last 12 years.  

Instead, I have 3,746.  Why the difference?

Because by my third post on the blog, I diverted from wargaming with Gnomes to a post about my Call of Cthulhu actual plays.   Then I veered off onto cool non-gnome minis, mouslings, Risus, and a host of other different (gaming-related) topics.  

I've realized over the years that, for me, a blog is something I've always wanted.  Not the laser focus topic repository, rather a place to collect my thoughts and ideas, to tell people of all the cool stuff I found, and a much better place to steal/hide everyone else's ideas (after RPGaDay is done, I'll still have over 300 draft posts full of wargaming scenarios, paints schemes, and role-playing ideas that I'd like to do "someday."  The blog has become a source for all my hopes and dreams, all my current success, and a bastion of nostalgia.  I only wish I had started sooner, to properly record my high school D&D games (although The Lost Dispatches of Feraso is a good effort at recollecting them almost thirty years later).  I'd have an embarrassing record of all the years I played Magic, specific details of the local cons, instead of a blurred image.  Heck I'd even admit to the Skaven army I so wanted to buy but couldn't afford in the early 90's.   

But how did the Gnome Wars deviate so much?   Realizing one blog could (and should) handle everything, and by writing more and more each week.  On the first anniversary of my first post, I had 63 posts under my belt.  I've developed processes over the years to showcase different things I enjoy. Tuesdays are for actual plays, currently my Star Wars d6 campaign.  Fridays are what I painted for the week.  Around the end of the month I post my "cool picks" in Another Month of Gaming mentioning some of the cool new solicitation from Game Trade Magazine (Alliance Game Distribution).  And yes, I do mention and link a good number of Kickstarters that I either love, think are cool, or cast some derision on for how poorly thought out or organized they are. Throw in an entire month where I write something based on someone else's idea for topics, and everything else that tickles my fancy, and year-over-year I average better than a post a day.  

Regardless of whether I write up something on my lunchbreak at work, a late night painting session completing figs, or even just a few lines on one (or more) future posts, I find writing for the blog therapeutic and awakening. 

(Star Wars d6) #15 - Botajef Reunion

Our "Heroes"

Ne'vets Aharo - an exotic animal broker, both legal and otherwise
Evus - Twi'lek former mercenary, Ne'vets' armed muscle with a tendency to shoot first.
Tarrie - Human pilot "under contract" for the upcoming mission, whatever that is.
Frokazza -Wookie co-pilot, mechanic, and unarmed muscle. Very distrustful.

Free at Last!

After crash landing on a forgotten moon,

Rescued by an Imperial Destroyer, 

And the Survivor of a traumatic

Ambush of a Botajef Customs Station, 

Our Heroes desperately search for down time

But what about those searching for them?...

After the incident at Botajef Customs House 7, the group found a SpaceHostel, cleaned up, and found a buyer for two of the blaster rifles.  A little smooth talking (and the impeccable credentials Fisko had created) netted them higher resale value with the first weapons dealer they crossed path with.

It was time to find a decent cantina to wind down.

They settled into the Osana Asu Cantina, a rather upscale club compared to their usual stomping grounds.  Food was ordered, drinks flowed, and everyone toasted to their luck on even the worst of adventures, except for that time they were banned from Yavin IV.

"Yes, and that is why you're not allowed on Yavin IV or any of its moons.  Right, Tarrie?"

They looked up, and standing right behind Tarrie was a woman in her early 30's an unmarked miltary shirt with a black t-shirt underneath.

It was Latorna Savvn, Tarrie's older sister.

Latorna Savvn

Everyone  knew of Latorna, so it was only proper for Ne'vets to offer her a drink.  Latorna accepted and sat down.

They caught up quickly.  Latorna was working capital ship escort duty in her Y-Wing,

She took a quick final swig of her drink, looked at her holowatch, and bid everyone a hasty adieu.

The group regained their senses for the sudden appearance of Latorna and plotted their plans for the days until Abel arrived.  Drinking and eating non-ration food and some potential starship shopping were in order...

Tarrie exhaled slowly and felt relieved from his family reunion, "We have a chance to finally have things turn around fo...."

Boom!

An explosion rocked the interior of the cantina.  The group ducked down, but somehow they were in the right booth with just enough protection from blast.  A nick, a scrape, perhaps, but more smoke damage than anything.

They staggered out of the cantina and into the street, witnesses were running up and down the street screaming, a few braver individuals running into the building with thick gray smoke billowing out.

Perhaps Latorna's advice to stiff the cantina on the bill was perhaps a subtle hint.  She had an interest in demolitions, after all.

Confusion reigned supreme, but Evus, Evus picked up a Latorna with his laser sights, a block down the street.  The followed at quick and had made up a half-block distance, when they saw her enter a Jawa Juice, and fifteen seconds later emerge again and cross the street.

BOOM!

Ten seconds later the another explosion ripped through the Jawa Juice, possibly killing more civilians inside, and filling the streets with smoke.

They lost sight of Lortana for a moment, but as they turned the corner of a building a small plaza opened up, and there she was, tinkering with an automatic credit dispenser.   While the crowds gathered across the street, she ripped off the cover of the machines and began inserting wires.

Evus walked up and simply tried to grab her by the shoulder "What do you think you're doing."

Without pause, she turned around swinging wildly, but on point, knocking the Twi'lek out cold.

The others came to Evus' aid.  Latorna could just shrug her shoulders.

"Somebody pick him up.  Get him out of the way, I'm trying to do something here..."

The Wookie grabbed Evus.

"And you boys should get away from the front, it's going to blow."

BOOM!

The front of the machine exploded, scattering the massing crowd.  The central piece of the credit dispenser fell out of the remaining frame, still attached to some outside wires, and Lortana dragged it to her.   She packed it up in a sack, and dashed into the crowd.

Three of the group could just stare at Tarrie for an explanation.

"She's adopted."

Evus still had his sights on her and they managed to catch up after she dove into an alleyway.  They were quickly met by a blaster, and Latorna behind it.

"I'm trying to finish a job.  Here, Tarrie, take this. I'll see you guys when I see you.  Just don't do that thing you did on Yavin IV."

"I need to go.  You can follow me all you want, but you'll get us all caught."  And with that she ran off.

Inside the bag his sister handed him, Tarrie could only see credits.... about 10,000 Imperial Credits to be exact.

With alarms, sirens, and planetary security companies getting closer, the group decided to continue to pursue Latorna.   Evus' keen eye was no longer as good as it had been, but they did get to the nearest hanger terminal and found her as her old, battered Y-Wing was leaving the hanger.  Evus only caught a look from the pilot, but Ne'vets could spot the one peace of damning evidence for all her acts: the  markings on her helmet aligned her with one of the numerous rebel movements in the galaxy.

Credits in hand, the group decided to search out some starship dealers, specifically the "Small A-9" dealers.  Ships they were inquiring into started around 18,000 but newer ships more suited to their needs were closer to 80k.  Stock Small A-9s started at 120k.

Back at the their StarHostel, Abel Norrum contacted them again.  Transportation was arranged with The Lisani to pick them up at Landing Pad L-15 in four days.

They had four days to NOT get into trouble...

Next: #16 - Lesiure and the Lisani