TGW - DW, Lady Blackbird, Possessed Priests, Products, and More

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This past weekend was very eventful, from the Doctor Who season premiere to playing a third DW session and trying out Lady Blackbird for the first time. 

PbPs are blooming on GotEXP, I got some fun artwork done, and I have some new products that I'm pretty excited for. 

Time for This Geek's Week!

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APs, Hangout Games

Dungeon World

Several days ago, I posted the AP for Session 1 of the DW campaign, Into the Desert, that I'm playing in over G+ Hangouts. I also created a pretty cool map with a lot of blanks, as is customary with DW.

We met even earlier on Sunday, due to scheduling conflicts, but we still had our usual, three hour session that went really well.

Our group spent most of the session fighting rogue, female bandits, posing as followers of Zawa, in a different part of the cave where we fought the giant scorpions. Yaygo immediately ran off and refused to join the fight due to his moral quandaries over invading someone else's home, especially when we promised not to unsheathe our weapons. Elohïr got on his case about it, because we had no choice but to defend ourselves. The rogues attacked us! Elohïr and Lux killed a portion of them and chased the rest out of the cave and into a sandstorm. Elohïr and Lux caved the place in and everyone met back in the bandits' hideout, where Valerius had converted some remaining heretics to see the light of Zawa. The unconscious woman, who Valerius healed last session, came to and displayed strange, magical powers. Objects levitated around her, she tried affecting Valerius with a calming spell, and she then turned invisible and ran off. We found a locked, treasure chest that was trapped, so Valerius had the converted heretics open it. Inside, we found 100 coins and a map with a new landmark, one of the last, living trees in the southland called Spirit Wood. It's cursed with poisonous fungi that drives elves feral and turns them into savage, mindless beasts. Finally, we left the cave to chase down the rogues' leader, Minerva, and the rest of the bandits who we suspected would steal the gold collected from the Harvesters. We braced the sandstorm, reached the Harvesters, and finished the session in a final battle between Yaygo, Elohïr, Lux, and the remaining bandits. Minerva tried to escape, but we called her out to come fight us, and the session ended on a cliffhanger with her about to attack.

Overall, it was a great session. The fight scene didn't feel as smooth as our battle with the scorpions, perhaps because there was a bit more confusion in terms of positioning and who was attacking who, but we had some interesting scenes. I felt there were a few, minor hiccups that could have played out better, but that didn't take away from the overall fun of the game. After all, I believe GMs and players learn more with each, new session they play.

The AP for last week's session is almost done and will be up soon, and I'll get the one for the third session up as well before the next game.


Lady Blackbird

The usual, Torchbearer game I play later in the afternoon on Sundays was cancelled again due to one player not being able to make it. It's been three or four weeks since our group played, and I was set on playing anything, so I suggested playing Lady Blackbird instead. I never played the game before, and +Lloyd Gyan loves running it, so we were fortunate enough to have him run it with some of us once again. 

Immediate reaction - I freaking love this game!

I played with +John Evans, from the Torchbearer game, and one other player who had never played Lady Blackbird before, and we had a really great time playing a one shot that lasted almost four hours.

We had Naomi Bishop, Kale Arkam, and Snargle, leaving Lady Blackbird and Cyrus Vance as NPCs. Highlights included: a violent escape from the brig; disguising ourselves in Imperial uniforms and bluffing our way through the Hand of Sorrow; distracting officers and knocking out Captain Hollas to rescue Lady Blackbird and Cyrus after hearing morse code and deciphering that they've been recognized; trading a pistol with topaz, gold inlay, and a sapphire laser sight for fuel on Haven in a noir scene, where Snargle also set a dinner date with Janet Heelum, Goblin P.I.; Kale reacquainting with his brother, Tobias the Serpent, in the seedy underground in search of an antidote for Cyrus and Lady Blackbird; Naomi, Lady Blackbird, and Cyrus being captured by Xavier Firefly, Naomi's old slave master, and Naomi unable to punch through him after he spontaneously combusted like the Human Torch; Kale, Snarge, and Tobias finding the pirate king, Uriah Flint to storm Xavier's pit-fighting arena to find their captures friends; and a final stand-off between Xavier and his guards while escaping the arena and getting Uriah Flint to quickly marry Lady Blackbird.

The ending was a bit rushed, since some of us ran out of time, but overall, it was an immensely fun game and proved twenty times easier than any PbtA (Play by the Apocalypse) game I've played. The rolling mechanics are similar to Mouse Guard and Torchbearer (roll d6s with 4, 5, and 6 being successful) but still unique in that traits and tags add to the dice pool, and you can add dice from a personal pool that only replenishes after a Refresh scene in between major parts of the game. Total successes are compared to a difficulty score. If you succeed, your action goes as planned. If you fail, you get any dice back that you pulled from your personal pool plus one more and a potential condition. There's no HP to track, and you can't really die in this game, since you can get rid of one condition during a Refresh scene (including the dead condition). Earning XP by hitting Keys is an extremely easy and straightforward process. The GM really doesn't plan anything; they just ask a whole bunch of questions and run with the players' answers while providing obstacles and setting difficulties for actions. Finally, the steam-fantasy setting provides plenty of flexibility. Our game had some high-tech, steampunk flavor, noir scenes, fantasy magic, and a gladiatorial arena reminiscent of Ancient Rome.

Even though this was a one-shot, I'm hungry for more and would be down to play this game again in a heartbeat. I'm also fairly confident I can run it after just one session, so I brought it up again on GotEXP. I wanted to run it almost a year ago as a PbP, but nothing came of it. Now that I've played it, I'm bringing it up again. Two players have expressed interest so far, so if you're looking for a Lady Blackbird PbP, look for the Game Creation/Recruitment threads on GotEXP!

www.gotexp.com

GotEXP and PbPs

226 SoY 3443 (Adventures on Dungeon Planet)

The PCs are preparing for the arrival of Jaxx and his crew. B-T, the beat-boxing roboBard, and Rosalina, the alien Mutant, ran into some Grenba Orko (Emerald Orc) priests of Pu'scha, Herald of Omens, that were possessed by an excommunicated priest of the Arena who's allegedly traveling with Jaxx.

Ni'blu, the gnome mechanic, gave Howard, the Engine of Destruction (factory designation Droid Mall Inc. Limited Edition Killbot 4000 Heavy Weaponized Reinforced Self-Repairing Liquidation Droid XLE), more information on a Gobloid in Jaxx's crew equipped with an arachnoid, cybernetic system.

Finally, a new player joined the game who'll be playing Lerin, a human Psion. He sees the Grenba Orkos priests as heretics and has been targeting them all around Earth-3. I'm about to introduce Lerin to the game, and we're still waiting on another, PC to join in named Jimbo, the human Earthling.


The Caverns of Baal-Harrir (Dungeon World / Number Appearing)

Down in the sewers, while en route to the kobolds, an undead husk thing named Trolthep the Immortal asked Nok to give back the dagger that Skitch, the Ratkin Mastermind, stole in exchange for a favor. Chief Nok didn't understand Trolthep and chose to take him out so that Trolthep didn't alert the kobolds they were coming. Nok and Klopp, the Hobgoblin Barbarian, killed Trolthep and the party continued further into the sewers, where they're now on flatter ground and making camp before finally storming the kobolds' lair.


Aetheron (Dungeon World)

This game is starting to see action again, but we're still on two different scenes. There's a flashback, where everyone is helping ZoR, the Ettin Wizard, take control of a manticore they shrunk down to the size of a dog via a ritual. There's also the present scene, where the party is investigating the basement of a high-end tavern after discovering spider eggs and seeing a premonition (thanks to the Druid), where an NPC hireling in their party is actually a werespider and leading a horde of giant spiders to infest and destroy the floating city.


Grim City of Dis (Grim World / Dark Heart of the Dreamer)

I'm not involved in this game anymore, but I haven't seen any in-game action since the August hiatus. I'll have to catch myself up with what's happening, and if there's any development this week, I'll write about it next Monday.

Sagas of Mahr-En (Dungeon World)

I still haven't pulled this game out of it's hiatus, but I'm really going to try this week. Out of the four players, only 2 (maybe 3) are active enough to want to keep going. This game is in the middle of a long quest to imprison a cursed, bone wand beneath a temple dungeon, so that a great, demon god and his progeny don't get their hands on it. It's currently on Session 4.

If you want to join in the fun, leave a comment, send me a message on G+, or sign up on GotEXP and check out the Sagas of Mahr-En (SoME) threads.


Lady Blackbird / Tears of a Machine / Undying (Game Creation/Recruitment)

These games haven't started yet, but their GMs are trying to generate interest and look for players who are interested.

I proposed running either Lady Blackbird or Tears of a Machine via PbP if at least three players are interested. Max number for either game is five. If you're interested, comment, send me a message on G+, or sign up on GotEXP visit the Game Creation/Recruitment  threads.

Also, another player/MC, Dean, is trying to recruit players for Undying, a PbtA vampire hack. Here's the link the thread if you're interested.

Artwork and The Prophet on DriveThruRPG

I didn't get as much artwork done as I wanted to this week, but as I mentioned above, I started working on a pretty cool map for the live, DW game, Into the Desert.

For the DW campaign, Into the Desert

You might not be able to zoom in and see the names, so either check out the AP I posted for Session 1 of the game or click here to see the map directly.


Aside from that, remember the cover art commission I did a little while back? The DW playbook, The Prophet, by +Damian Jankowski is finally up on DriveThruRPG, so check it out! It's an awesome playbook that lets your character manipulate fate and use it to your advantage with plenty of room for customization, whether you want to play a psychic detective, a seer, fortune-teller, or more of a prophetic, cult leader.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/134193/Dungeon-World-Playbook--The-Prophet?

"The Prophet" title text not included here.

Finally, I forgot to mention that the ViewScream game I'd scheduled for this past Friday didn't go down again. Unfortunately, two of the players couldn't make it, so I'll try to host another game this week. I did create some cool, custom overlays in Photoshop, though, to upload to the Hangouts using the toolbox. +Robert Ruthven helped me test them out in the Hangout, while we were trying to recruit last minute players. Check it out!

Background filter from an image found on Google.
Text, Bridge bar, and recording dot by me.

Rewards, New Products, and Indiegogo

First off, I received a set of dice compliments of Silver Gryphon Games for their July Creativity Contest, so that was an awesome start to the week. I requested blue dice, and they even threw in an extra d6! If you're reading this, thank you very much!

I also purchased a few products this week thanks to some prize money I won for the Mystical Map Competition in the Library of Gaming Maps G+ community. Of course, the real thanks goes to +Gremlin Legions for holding the contest and being truly awesome!

One of the first products I picked up on DriveThruRPG is a mixtape-inspired anthology of short games called Indie Mixtape: Volume 1, where proceeds are going to help several members and game designers of the indie gaming community facing medical problems or challenges that are putting a strain on their resources. 

I haven't checked the games out yet, but there are some awesome names I recognize in there (including +Gremlin Legions), and it's for a good cause.

Some other game designers I recognize (and am excited to see their game) are: +Eric Nieudan, +Jason Morningstar, and +J. Walton. I'm really excited to check out all the games and become familiar with some other designers too.

One of the recipients of the proceeds includes +Jackson Tegu, who I mentioned created the short game, Fall of Electricity: the Grunge Era, which you can receive with the album (feature band member and game designer, +Ross Cowman) by preordering it on the band's website: http://fallofelectricity.bandcamp.com/ 


Other purchases included: Unframed: The Art of Improvisation for Game Masters from Engine Publishing and the Machine Age for Ferguson [BUNDLE] from Machine Age Productions (featuring Amaranthine: Romance, Vendetta, Forever; Farewell to Fear: A Progressive Post-Fantasy RPG Regular; Flatpack: Fix the Future; Maschine Zeit Regular; and Apotheosis Drive X - Fate-Powered Mecha RPG SD MIX Regular). After running Tears of a Machine, I'm especially excited to read Apotheosis Drive X. I know two players from the Tears group who have it, so many we'll end up giving that a try, who knows?

Finally, I also purchased a hardcopy of Johnstone Metzger's new Monster Manual for DW, Terrors of the Ancient World, featuring monsters created by Johnstone for his Patreon and illustrations by Nathan Jones. As a Patreon supporter, I got a great discount on the book and only need to pay for printing and shipping. I'm a huge fan of Johnstone's work and I'm doubly excited for this new book. Johnstone is also the author of the pulp, sci-fi spinoff of Dungeon World, Adventures on Dungeon Planet, and he's written a plethora of fascinating adventures for DW.

Heck, I was all set to run Knives in the Dark this past Sunday, if our Lady Blackbird game didn't go through!

I highly recommend checking out Johnstone's website, Red Box Vancouver's Blog and his other products on DriveThruRPG.


OH! There's one last promotion I almost forgot about! +James Raggi and +Rafael Chandler have created a badass-looking adventure for Lamentations of the Flame Princess. It's a 64-page, hardcover adventure called No Salvation for Witches and it's Pay-What-You-Want. That's right. Pay-What-You-Want with shipping cost not included.

The Indiegogo campaign has only 10 hours left, so if you're looking for a crazy, R-rated adventure to scare your players with, this might be just what you're looking for!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/no-salvation-for-witches-a-pay-what-you-want-book/x/8506290

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Phew! I had a lot more to write about than I thought I did! 

I'd include some thoughts on the new, Doctor Who episode as well, but I might have to save that for another post. In short, I really enjoyed the season premiere and was generally happy with Peter Capaldi's performance as the new Doctor. I'm excited for the second episode this Saturday and may wait until then before posting a review of the season thus far.

Finally, in non-gaming related news, my youngest cat, Trinity, turned a year old a few days ago! I'm not a parent, but as a pet-owner, I see my cats as kind of/sort of like children perpetually stuck between two and three years old. Anyway, I've uploaded a total of 375 pictures of her I've taken over they year, from when she was 2 weeks old to just a few days ago.

If you like cats or just want to brighten your day with a whole bunch of irresistible adorableness, you can check out the album here:

https://plus.google.com/photos/116245899164381280330/albums/6050903517590516337?authkey=COfys9u2_fW5IA

With that said, I'm out. Keep gaming and keep having fun! Until next time!

AP (DW) - Into the Desert - First Session

Two weeks ago, I was invited to join a new, DW campaign on G+ Hangouts. As with the start of any new DW campaign, we spent a good amount of time coming up with characters, bonds, backstories, and answering questions to help flesh out the setting before diving into the action.

Cast

Elohïr the Elven Fighter

Yaygo the Elven Winter Mage

Valerius the Human Priest of Zawa

Lux the Human Paladin of Zawa

Elohïr is roughly 534 years old. The elves of the land are practically immortal and hardly ever die of old age. 134 years ago, Elohïr was exiled from his hometown, the elven city of Orod Eska, in the Ice Teeth Mountains. He was married to an elvish woman named Falathil, and, unbeknownst to the other adventurers, he was exiled for slaying the man who murdered her in cold blood. More so, he was exiled for the state of mind he was in when committing the crime, despite his reasoning behind it. As such, his signature weapon, a rapier named Windswhisper (short for the full, elvish name which translates to Voice That Winds Whisper When Death Steps Out of the Shadows), glows blue so long as Elohïr feels vengeance in his heart. He worships the Stars and returns to the city, in secret*, every decade.

*Side note: I'm not a hundred percent correct on this, so correct me if I'm wrong +Kaillan Reukers. 

Yaygo was also exiled from Orod Eska, for reasons unknown to us, and made a new home at the highest peak of the Ice Teeth Mountains, where an eternal winter blankets the rocks in frost and snow. There, he practiced his magic undisturbed and came to embody Winter and her mysteries. One day, he spotted Elohïr returning to Orod Eska and followed him. That's how the elves first met.

Valerius has been on a quest to locate all nine shrines of Zawa, Queen of the Inferno and Goddess of Fire and Passion. He met Elohïr and Yaygo whilst searching for the eighth shrine in the Ice Teeth Mountains. As It turns out, the main mountain was once a volcano in ages past, when the shrine was first built, but it had remained dormant for a long time, as Eternal Winter crept over it. 

After meeting the elves, Valerius brought them to the eighth shrine which was guarded by a Wendigo, ice spirit. With Valerius protecting him, Yaygo extracted the spirit to form an ice golem which has travelled with him ever since. Valerius was impressed by Elohïr's strength and vigor during the battle and could sense the simmering passion that enraged the elf. The Priest believes Zawa brought Elohïr into his life and strongly feels Elohïr could be converted to see the true light given his passion. Elohïr believes Valerius couldn't defeat the Wendigo without his help but was satisfied with the Priest's performance and followed him out of pure optimism and respect, like a moth drawn to a flame. To this day, Elohïr pretends it wasn't a big deal, but, in truth, it was. Thus, Elohïr has sworn to protect Valerius. 

Lux met all three on a merchant ship traveling across the great ocean to the port town of Zawpho. He was a crazed stowaway who had abandoned his ideals, betrayed his order, and forsake the god he once idolized. An event occurred that scarred him so terribly, that he has no recollection of whom he served or what his life was like before accepting Zawa and pledging his life and sword to serving her.

While it was Valerius that shook Lux from his insanity and converted him into a follower of Zawa, Elohïr was actually the first party member to find Lux in a storage area down on the orlop. Lux, in his mad state, spat in Elohïr's face and tried to attack, but Elohïr held him down and nearly killed him. In the end, Elohïr spared Lux's life and handed him off to Valerius. After calming down and speaking with the Priest, Lux dreamt of Zawa and received a divine message from her to passionately serve her, fight for her, and convert any nonbelievers to see her true light. The divine message manifested itself into a physical mark on his chest. Right over his heart was a scar depicting a circle with nine tails spreading out from it - the sigil of Zawa.


The following recollections are told from Lux's point of view.

Prologue

Valerius had visited eight shrines of Zawa and knew the last shrine was located in a vast desert on the other side of the world, a place of eternal summer. Thus, the merchant ship took Elohïr, Yaygo, Lux, and him to the closest port city of Zawpho. There, Yaygo's wintery magic caused a disturbance which provoked a horde of giant, scorpion-men to invade from the south.

This was our party's first adventure prior to the start of the first session, and after we helped defend the city, Valerius found a map off one of the dead scorpion-men which revealed exactly they came from. It was our destination all along, the ninth and last shrine of Zawa. It seemed they had taken it over, but that wouldn't last for long.

Session I

The Outpost

We left Zawpho with enough supplies to last us a decent amount of time, and it helped that not all of us needed them. I was fiercely determined to find the last shrine of Zawa and purge it of the scorpoids infesting its halls. I truly believed Zawa blessed me, for I no longer felt hungry, thirsty, or tired for sleep. I also felt a great deal more loquacious with a voice that could transcend any language. All that was required of me was piety and observing the daily, sacrificial rituals which Valerius still had much to teach me about. Nothing was going to stop me. Nothing was going to stop us. 

We traveled through the night, when the sun star didn't beat down on us quite as harsh, and we soon came upon an outpost occupied by two guards. They introduced themselves as Jedino and Ronven and said we weren't the first ones to recently pass through. Valerius stepped forward to introduce us and asked if they had any supplies for followers of Zawa who were on an important quest, but Jedino suddenly got in Valerius's face and trapped him in a closet! 

"What is the meaning of this?" I said, "That is a Priest of Zawa, and he has done nothing wrong! In the name of the Queen of the Inferno, I demand you release him immediately!"

Jedino apologized and released him right away, but our eyes turned to Ronven who snatched up a crossbow. Yaygo snapped his slightly blue fingers and froze Ronven's arms in a sheen frost. 

Valerius took the time to investigate, and I, likewise, searched for tracks. I asked Yaygo to help me, but he asked, "At what price?" Although I wanted his help freely, I told him I would quit badgering him about forsaking the Stars to see Zawa's light, and he accepted that as payment. On the other side of the outpost, further south, I found boot tracks belonging to four or five humans. The constant, chilling wind swirling around Yaygo ruined the tracks, and I couldn't glean anymore from them. I immediately regretted asking the Mage for help.

Elohïr remained with Ronven. Truth be told, I don't know what the Fighter said to him to make him run. All I could hear was Jedino yelling, "That was a bad idea," and Ronven running toward me and Yaygo. I stuck out my longsword, low to the ground, blunt side facing his knees, and Ronven tripped. Elohïr slew Jedino, and I knew, then and there, that there was something off about them. They must have tried to pull something on Elohïr. 

I pinned Ronven down with my boot and held my blade to his throat. Elohïr approached and gave me a curious nod. It turns out the guards were just bandits, merely posing. They didn't have many supplies, but Ronven hinted at the fact that they stashed some water away. Valerius wanted to know where, but the bandit wouldn't talk, so I pressed the tip of my sword deeper into his neck. The Priest spoke a divine word to call forth Zawa and have her ignite the passion within me. His hair suddenly burned with an ethereal fire, and the hair underneath my helmet combusted as well. My eyes were lit like flickering flames, and I looked down at Ronven and demanded he tell me where the rest of the water was. He asked me to spare his life, or he wouldn't tell me, so I agreed.

"Under the floorboards of the outpost!" he cried out.

Valerius went to look and found the water. Elohïr looked at me, but my seething gaze was directed at Ronven. As soon as Valerius confirmed what he'd found, I drove the longsword into the bandit's neck, killing him. Yaygo just stood there, watching. Elohïr gave me another curious nod, although there was a strange, underlying show of respect. 

Valerius took this opportunity to instruct me on how to properly sacrifice a body for Zawa. He told me to move the body quickly, before the decaying process set in. Meanwhile, he prepared a bonfire, and as we burned Ronven's body, I listened closely to his words and prayed with him.

When we finished, I suggested searching Jedino's body, where we found another map of the area. This one, however, had an X marked for gold in a spot that wasn't denoted on the other map we had. Elohïr explained that the bandits posing as guards were with the other group of bandits that had passed, and with a spot marked for gold, we were sure to find them there.

Once our supplies were secured, we decided to take a detour and embarked on a perilous journey through the desert. 


The Harvesters and the Volcanic Cave

It's been three days since we left Zawpho. We've mainly traveled at night, for it's a lot safer than enduring the sun star's brutal heat. Valerius helped conserve our rations, while Elohïr took point and brought word of any threats. Fortunately, there were none. Yaygo was our trailblazer, but he set us astray, and it took far longer to reach the marked spot on the map than we'd hoped. 

It was daytime, when we noticed sand clouds, twenty humans high, swirling over the dunes. They scintillated with tiny, gold particles, and there was a small group of people with giant nets trying to capture the valuable dust. We knew them to be Harvesters. It was a lucrative, but dangerous, profession in the south lands of Eternal Summer. The winds could change momentum at a moment's notice, and breathing in the particles could cut your lungs and lacerate the organs.

We weren't too far from a cave we'd just recently made camp in, when we spotted the Harvesters. There were five of them altogether. Two were armed, standing guard, while three held up an enormous net and worked. There seemed to be no sign of the bandits, so we took it upon ourselves to go down and offer up our services to protect them. 

Valerius candidly approached them, and we followed. "Good day," he said, "We mean you no harm." He proceeded to alert them of bandits in the area.

"Hmph, nothing new," one of the armed Harvesters replied, and they mentioned two hooligans had already passed through. 

Elohïr told them they had been dispatched and sounded smug about it, as though he was taking all the credit. 

Valerius offered the Harvesters protection from the other bandits in exchange for letting us camp out in their tent, but they refused our offer and said they didn't need protecting. 

There was another cave nearby, higher up, on a mountain. I suggested we take the high ground and camp out there. It would give us a better vantage spot, and we wouldn't be encroaching on the Harvesters. Valerius and the others agreed. The Harvesters had no problem with us camping nearby. As we left, Elohïr scoffed, "They'd be grateful to have us in their tents."

When we reached the cave, we weren't prepared to make camp just yet without first exploring our immediate surroundings. Yaygo found a giant crack and thoroughly inspected it for anything peculiar. He found nesting signs of a burrowing creature, like a scorpion or something similar, and scratches on the rock that were definitely made by scorpions. He also felt cold air coming from inside.

Valerius gazed at the texture of the rocks and immediately recognized them to be the same, volcanic stone as the mountain which contained the eighth shrine of Zawa. He drew upon his knowledge and remembered that the volcanic magma condensed into a cooler state, called Blackbond, which then hardened into a stronger material and could be applied to tools, weapons, and armor to strengthen them. 

We knew the cave wasn't the safest place to camp, but we unanimously decided to slip through the crack and take our chances. 

Valerius was the only one who slept. Elves do not require sleep; they meditate instead. Since I didn't need to sleep or meditate, I offered to take watch.

Prior to their meditation, I overheard the elves talking amongst each other. Elohïr referred to the bandits we met as barbarians and filth. I saw true hatred in his eyes, when he referred to them as, "Pathetic humans," and learned just how deep Elohïr's resentment toward humans stretched. Of course, I didn't know why. I thought perhaps all elves shared the same sentiment, but Yaygo was quick to disagree. He didn't think all humans were filth. That left me wondering about Elohïr's past and Yaygo's. In fact, I realized I still didn't really know much about any of my new companions, but I was eager to learn, for I felt a bond with them that I hadn't felt with anyone in a long time. I couldn't even remember much about my past. My head was clouded with amnesia, and they were the only ones I truly remember meeting. 

I felt Yaygo's misguided behavior with his wintery magic endangered his very soul, but I made a promise I wouldn't try to convert him. I respected the beliefs of Elohïr, and I felt he was starting to respect me, but I hoped he would one day see the true way of Zawa. Valerius stood by me in battle, and I knew I could trust him completely. He was a brave soul, and there was still much I had to learn from him.

* * *

At some point, Yaygo woke up, and we had a brief, private conversation. He asked me if I could communicate with Zawa which, I confess, caught me off guard. He asked me if Valerius and I were similar in that regard. I told him the truth. I recalled that day on the ship when we all first met. Valerius opened the doors for me, but I stepped through and saw the light. Zawa came and spoke to me in a dream. She left her mark on my chest, which Yaygo had not yet seen, so I showed him. I told the Winter Mage that Zawa spoke to me but that I could not communicate back - not the way Valerius could. I hoped to learn all I could from the Priest so that I could do in service to her. Yaygo listened intently and told me he wanted to help me learn to commune with her. I truly didn't know why the Mage suddenly wanted to help me, but I honestly felt closer to him. I felt I could trust him.

I felt I could trust all my companions.

Several hours after Yaygo withdrew into his meditation again, my ears perked up, and I heard strange sounds of rattling and cracking all around me. I looked around and immediately noticed the rocks surrounding us were chipping apart and hatching. Tiny, black pincers pushed through, and I quickly realized they weren't rocks. Segmented legs, chelicerae, and heads the size of fists broke through. Two, large eyes and three pairs of smaller eyes scanned every direction, and there were dozens of them. I quickly drew my sword and grabbed my shield before waking Valerius. 

We knew the cave wasn't the safest place to camp, but we never realized we'd fallen asleep in a nest of giant scorpion eggs until then.

END OF SESSION

TGW - DW, PbP Revival, New Commission, Maps, and Other Things

Captain's log, Monday, August 18th, 2014. 

Not much in terms of live gaming this week, though I played another session of DW with an epic battle (details ahead). GotEXP is seeing a PbP revival with some games, I got some new, freelance work, and only five days remain until the new, season premiere of Doctor Who! Coincidentally, it's the date of my mother's birthday, and my cat, Trinity, turns a year old. Pretty exciting stuff, at least the Doctor Who news. :P

Anyway, here's This Geek's Week.

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APs, Hangouts, and Live Gaming

Dungeon World

I mentioned last week that I started playing in a live, Hangouts campaign on Sundays, but I didn't go into too much detail. I started writing an AP, but it's not finished yet, so I'll summarize what has happened so far. We have four PCs in a world that's divided by a great ocean, with one side of the world permanently in winter, while the other side is forever in summer. 

The PCs are: Elohïr, the Elven Fighter; Yaygo, the Elven Winter Mage; Valerius, the Human Priest of Zawa; and my character, Lux, the Human Paladin of Zawa. Elohïr and Yaygo are both exiles from their homeland and met Valerius prior to meeting Lux on a ship. Valerius was on a quest to visit all nine Shrines of Zawa, and the eighth happened to be located at the top of the mountain where the elves were from. They all set sail for the desert, where the last shrine is located, and found me on a ship. I was a crazed Paladin who lost his sanity after abandoning his ideals and old god but found them anew when Valerius showed him the path of Zawa, Queen of the Inferno and Goddess of Fire and Passion. We landed in the port city of Zawfo and fought scorpion humanoids who attacked after Yaygo's, wintery magic caused a disturbance that rose them. We discovered they had come from the last shrine of Zawa and had infested it. They had a map to the shrine which we took to begin out quest.

That's all backstory.

In our first session, we came upon an outpost with two, fake guards that turned out to be bandits named Jedino and Ronven. We found out they were with a group looking to amass riches from desert workers harvesting gold from the sand clouds. After the bandits tried to pull over on us, we took care of them the only way an evil elf, a Winter Mage, and two followers of Zawa would, and went on a perilous journey to seek out the harvesters to protect them. Turns out they didn't want our help, so we hid in a nearby cave to make camp so that we could ambush the bandits if they tried to attack the harvesters, but we found ourselves surrounded by hatching, giant scorpion eggs we thought were rocks.

In our second session, this past Sunday, we had an epic battle against the giant scorpion babies and its mother. Elohïr pulled some incredible, acrobatic maneuvers and sword attacks. Yaygo summoned his ice golem to help while ignoring danger and attacking the scorpions directly with a survival knife. Valerius kept chanting divine words and invocating rituals to bless, heal, and protect us. Lux tried to command the giant scorpion to stand down with a voice that transcends language and got his arm cut off. Later, Valerius invoked a ritual and sacrificed Lux's arm, so that Zawa gave him a new one with leathery, scorpion like skin, and tattoos of her mark running up the veins and ending in crooked fingers. 

We then explored the cave, which turned out to be in a dormant volcano, and found a pit of black liquid called Blackbond that hardens weapons and armor for a single use. We applied it to our gear, took some with us, and went back to finish making camp, after Elohïr and Yaygo discovered a fake wall of stone. Some of us leveled. 

We awoke and broke through the wall to find a tunnel, where a young boy saw us and ran away. We followed and met a woman who claimed to be a follower of Zawa. Lux presented himself, Valerius, and the elves, and she only let us come with her due to Valerius being a Priest. Deeper inside, we found a den of women (alleged followers of Zawa), and one woman on the verge of death. Valerius helped save her, but we soon discovered that the markings of Zawa tattooed on them were crude imitations and that they were the bandits we were seeking to ambush.

Now they've drawn their weapons on us, and we'll see how this plays out next Sunday. This is a rushed summary, and I really hope to post all the details in a proper, double feature AP this week.


Tears of a Machine

Earlier today, I posted the AP for Tales of the Arx Jericho, Season 1, Episode 12. In all honesty, I probably won't get Episode 13 up this week, but I'll try to get it up before the end of August or within the first week of September. 

I also started jotting down some great ideas for Season 2, which I'll most likely run after the new year. 


Primetime Adventures

In the meantime, Robert is still set on running Primetime Adventures for a few months with the Tears group. We've settled on BetaForce for our show, so now we just need to get together to create characters, figure out our setting, and hopefully start playing regularly again soon.


ViewScream

I scheduled a game to play last Friday with Robert, Mike, and my friend, Dean, who hasn't tried it yet. Unfortunately, we had to reschedule to this week, so hopefully it'll go down on Friday as planned. We're going to play The Culler Out of Space scenario, and we'll all have different roles, so that should be fun! I'm playing Bridge, Robert's playing Engineering, Mike's Weapons, and Dean is Medical. If we end up playing, I'll be sure to post another AP with spoilers.


Torchbearer

Unfortunately, there wasn't a game on Sunday again. I thought we'd have to wait two more weeks to play, but it turns out I'm not going out of town this Sunday, so hopefully our game will continue with the sixth session of Ruins of Aldornia. Man, I really need to catch up on APs for that. I simply have too many to write!

GotEXP and PbP Revival

A lot of PbP games on GotEXP have been dormant throughout August, but I'm happy to report there's finally some new activity!

The Caverns of Baal-Harrir (Dungeon World / Number Appearing)

I mentioned this game in the premiere of This Geek's Week. It's a Dungeon World game that's in its fourth session, or chapter, since this is play-by-post.

The PCs are: Chief Nok, the Orc Fighter and Chief (compendium class); Hauk, the Orc Cleric of Bish'gu Urg Der (God of the Red Pain); Klopp, the Hobgoblin Barbarian; Brudda, the Ogre Mage; and Skitch, the Ratkin Mastermind. There's also Grik, the Orc Thief in the party, but that player has been MIA, so I don't know if Grik will continue as a PC or a Hireling.

After Nok defeated the corrupt Orc chief in session 3 and took over to rule his tribe, there was an attack from a dragon that shook the caves. Chief Nok and his new, Inner Circle are currently venturing to the home of the hostile kobolds, who are allegedly paying fealty to this dragon using the Orcs' gold that the old, corrupt chief gave away to them (and which Nok and the other PCs retrieved).

We've been traveling through sewers filled with poisonous gas, and we've met an undead husk-thing named Trolthep, the Immortal. Skitch stole his dagger, and he's promising Nok a favor in return for getting the dagger back, but Nok doesn't care. The Chief says his famous words, "Nok charge!" and continues leading the others foward.


226 - Story of the Year 3443 (Adventures on Dungeon Planet)

I summarized the game in the first report of This Geek's Week, which I linked above. I went ahead and re-read all of session/chapter 2 and reworked the adventure front. I edited the dangers and grim portents to make more sense and used the monster creation guide in the book to stat Jaxx and his crew, a gang of Grenba Orkos* cyborgs. 

The hardest part was reworking the cybernetic implants I borrowed from Jeff Becker's Alterkine Player's Handbook, a D20 Future supplement, and turning them into monster moves. The amount of implants in the book was overwhelming, so I rolled dice to determine which ones Jaxx and his crew got. I may have overdid it, as each foe has about 10-11 implants, though some are grouped together and not all of them provide mechanical bonuses. Plus, Jaxx and his crew are implant addicts and over 50% cyborg, so it makes sense. 

I'd post the monster stats, but I don't want to spoil anything for the players, in case they're reading. There are more surprises that I want to share, but that'll ruin things, so I'll wait until they come up in-game before posting them on the blog.

One spoiler I will share is that there's a new PC joining the game, an Earthling, who's about to appear in-game, so that should fun! 

*Grenba Orkos, or Emerald Orcs, are a race of space orcs living on Earth-3.

Artwork, New Commission, Map Contest

I haven't been doing a great job keeping up with #dailycreative this month, though it seems others haven't been keeping up much as well. Some are on vacation, some went to GenCon, others are busy I'm sure. I've been sketching a lot of reference drawings in my sketchbook, and I just didn't bother to scan them yet. Otherwise, I have some illustrated, comic book panels I'm working on for Tears of a Machine, Tales of the Arx Jericho, which you can see at the bottom of the latest AP. 

The Prophet DW playbook will be up on DriveThruRPG soon, according to Damian, and he even gave me a sneak peak. It looks really great, and the cover art I drew for it really goes well with it. :) I can't wait to playtest The Prophet!

On that note, Damian's hired me again to create cover art for another DW playbook, The Artist. It's an interesting concept, which Damian is still reworking, and I have a great illustration in mind for it which will have a completely different style than The Prophet. 

This is unrelated to games, but I also got some freelance, animation work for the Red Cross, so I'll be returning to After Effects and messing around with motion graphics and compositing pretty soon.

Finally, +Gremlin Legions in the Library of Gaming Maps G+ community announced that my map won the Mythical Map Competition! It was a really fun project, and I want to thank everyone again who voted for it and +Gremlin Legions for hosting the competition.

Here it is, in case you can't access the link. It's titled, Adventures on Dungeon Planet: Crash on Earth-3 and the Mystical Gate to the Moon.

I actually based the illustration on the first Adventures on Dungeon Planet, PbP game I ran on GotEXP called 226 - Story of the Year 3436. The PCs crash-landed on Earth-3, ran into three tribes of six-armed apes, fought assassin vines, fought a giant basilisk, entered the Crystal Caverns, made camp in the six-armed ape Wizard's chamber, continued through and ran into an ethereal, carnivorous moleman, found the mystical gate to the moon, were transported to the moon with an azure desert, fought huge, white and purple wurms, found a pyramid that was a spaceship, got ambushed by Felidae and Felinae Moreau (Egyptian-like, futuristic cat warriors), saw a mystical coutal in the sky which disappeared inside the pyramid, and ended up at the bottom, inverse of the pyramid, below an inner pyramid housing the Cats of Saturn, and died in a TPK in a giant, pit of a prison, while the Cats of Saturn escaped.

That's a summary in a nutshell. Crazy, right?

Now, in 226 - Story of the Year 3443, the Cats of Saturn have taken over the lower half of the main continent of Earth-3.

I didn't actually intend for the PCs to end up on the moon with all that silliness, but that's what happened. Yay for Adventures on Dungeon Planet!

Kickstarter Rewards

Last week, I mentioned how I got a shirt in the mail from the Kickstarter, Fall of Electricity: the Grunge Era. This week, I got a message from Ross Cowman, one of the band members who helped organize the Kickstarter, and a link to the album, the Grunge Era. 

I really enjoyed listening to it. There are no lyrics, so it works great as ambient, background noise, but I actually payed attention the first time I listened. I can really tell each song has a story behind it even without reading the song title. Some of them sound really similar, but there are enough differences to tell them apart. If you're not a fan of grunge, you probably won't enjoy it, but I really liked what I heard. It's grunge, but a lot of the songs sound futuristic or spacey and somewhat like video game music. It's mostly upbeat with a lot of electric guitar sounds, and I found it especially invigorating to listen to while illustrating. Sitting outside on my deck with the speakers on full, sometimes it would get too loud, but that wasn't a huge issue. 

I'm glad I supported Ross with this project. He writes cool games and plays good music, what more can I say?

---

Now I've started playing the first song on the album, Infinite Sadness, as I bid you farewell until next week. Ironically, the song doesn't really sound sad at all.

Tapatalk on my phone is going off, telling me I should get to some PbP posts, so I'll do that and update you with more gaming stories, good news, art projects, and more next time.

If you've read this far, I thank you and commend you. Take care and keep gaming!

AP (ToaM) - Tales of the Arx Jericho - Season 1, Episode 12: The Battle of Jericho, Part I

​Previously

The new school term began, but Rick, Serena, and Opsie missed the first day of classes due to their Prophet training.

Sarah went to meet her brother, Allen, who was arriving, but got ambushed by CRC scientists who took her to the underground, Cloistered Research Council facility to receive an injection of AmBrO51A serum from Rick's father, Rafe Hunter. 

Jason found a strange, unmarked envelope in his dorms that said, "Find the real source. Trace it back. Not all is what it seems." After hacking the surveillance cameras, he discovered it was Dr. Johnson who delivered the envelope.

Jason and Strudel embarked to find Sarah and found Allen as well as the Linc Sarah dropped. The three of them snuck into the CRC facility.

After Sarah refused the serum, Dr. Hunter let her go only to sound the alarms, as the military initiated a lockdown of the Arx Jericho. Rick went through a guided, meditation trial with Serena and Opsie, while being berated by Dr. Johnson, until the alarms sounded. Opsie ran away. Billy appeared and drew a gun on Dr. Johnson, suspecting him of foul play. Dr. Johnson disarmed Billy and told Rick and Serena to stay put, as he left. Rick, Serena, and Billy looked for a way out. Sarah saw Jason, Strudel, and Allen up in the vents and turned in surprise to meet AK-47, who had disguised herself as a scientist. Opsie soon found them too.

She led everyone ran back to Rick, Serena, and Billy, but the power went out. The pilots worked together to free Rick, and AK-47 led them back through the facility, where they ran into Dr. Johnson. All seven of the pilots followed AK and Dr. J to Rafe's laboratory and a secret door that led down to an even deeper, underground hangar.

Excerpt from the end of Episode 11:

They come to a high security door, which Jason sets to work on unlocking, fashioning a device to open it despite the lack of power. On the other side of the door is a huge hangar - like a deep pit with walkways spiralling downwards - containing some deconstructed aquatic Mayzor locusts, chemistry sets of AmBro51A and other serums, giant tanks containing test subjects from the captured Wormwood, previously unseen prototype locusts and a crashed satellite. On the walls are paintings and tapestries depicting a human woman wearing armour of glowing white porcelain, pale skin and silver hair. At the bottom of the hangar they see a figure. At first it looks like a CRC scientist, but its form shifts to that of Rafe Hunter - dark hair, similar features to Rick, tall, syringe in hand. He's just standing in the middle of the hangar, unmoving, and as they reach the bottom his form changes again. He still looks like Rafe, but he's wearing white porcelain armor, his skin is much paler and his hair is silver. He gives them a wicked smile and laughs lightly. 

"Who the hell are you?" Rick breathes, shocked at his 'father's' appearance.'Rafe' cracks his neck, "Don't you recognise me, son? Daughter? It's me. I'm your father."He has the Wormwood flash drive in his hand, and his laugh continues to echo in the chamber as Rick whispers, "But you're...you're a..."He uses the old word for the Mayzor, before they fled attacks by radical religious groups on Earth, "...Legulus." 

Holographic screens project the words 'Operation Blue Moon', designs of the Prophet-class SAInts, references to something called 'the General', and AK 47 and Dr Johnson are looking very worried as the figure gloats, "You're too late." 

Sarah says, "A gun sure would be handy right about now." 

And Dr Johnson remembers the gun at his back, drawing it on 'Rafe', who just laughs at him, "Bullets can't stop the General."Dr Johnson looks at AK 47, who nods, and he sighs, firing the gun. The bullet goes straight through 'Rafe' and he shimmers, revealing him to be a hologram. 

Suddenly the power comes back on, and they hear the words 'SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED' over the intercom just seconds before a Mayzor raid alarm sounds...

---

Cast

In order of appearance: Name, Age (Character Type)

PCs

Rick Hunter, 15 (PC)

Sarah Werner, 15 (PC)

Jason Reyes, 14 (PC)

NPCs

RC (Relationship Character), SC (Supporting Character), E (Extra)

Dr. Donald 'Scary Face' Johnson, 54 (SC)

Rafe Hunter / The General, ?? (SC)

Serena Hunter, 15 (RC)

Opsie Wessel, 15 (RC)

Captain Anastasia 'AK-47' Kasherov, 47 (RC)

Alex 'Strudel' Struder, 12 (RC)

Billy Henderson, 17 (RC)

Allen Werner, 18 (E)

Joanne Kleinn, 14 (RC)

Commander Toshi Yamasuka, 52 (E)

Commander McGarry, 65 (E)

Miguel Rodriguez, 11 (E)

Leo 'Raspberry' Hayes, 12 (RC)

Laurie Bach, 14 (SC)

Kazuhiro Masaki, 16 (E)

Ryoko, 12 (E)
Bala & Lieke (aka the Twins), 13 (E)
Stephanie Yuzuki, 13 (SC)
Dr. Elizabeth Harris, 37 (SC)

Actual Play

Tuesday, September 2nd 2031

15:18

8 Minutes and Counting

"EIGHT MINUTES UNTIL SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE IS EXECUTED," the droning, female voice of the computer blares.  It's alluring taunt makes the prospect of becoming engulfed in a sea of flames and going down with the ship seem endearing. 

Never before have Rick, Sarah, and Jason felt so scared, despite everything they've went through the past year. Nothing has ever come close to the sudden, tangible danger they currently face: not the Chicago Catastrophe or facing Belial; not the shared nightmares and prophetic dreams of the interface tests; not New Alamo or battling Thammuz and Beelzebub; not the disturbing news surrounding Dr. Johnson and the Mayzor; not even the naval assault on the Bahamas last month or Enki storming in across the ocean like a bastardized amalgam of Triton and his father. All those times, the pilots were away from home, secured inside their sensory deprivation buckets¹, or both. Now, the pilots feel like naked rats trapped in a cage. They don't have their SAInts to hide inside, and time is against them. If they don't do something in the next eight minutes, everything they've worked so hard to protect will be eradicated. All their efforts will have been for nought. 

Is this what it has all come down to? Have the Mayzor really won? Are they using Dr. Johnson, or has Rafe Hunter, the General, or whoever he is, been calling the shots the whole time? How long has the CRC been under infiltration? Has their agenda always been to serve the Mayzor? Why destroy the facility now? Are the Mayzor not interested in Operation Blue Moon anymore? Do they have everything they need? Are they willing to sacrifice the Prophets? Why does the military have the Arx Jericho on lockdown, and what is happening outside? Are alarms going off because of an attack happening elsewhere, or is the base being targeted much like the Arx Galilee was prior to New Alamo? All these questions and more fill everyone's mind like locusts, but there's no time to dwell. Mayzor alarms are going off. The military still has the place on lockdown. Something bad is happening outside, and the pilots and officers of the Preservation Forces must act faster than ever before. 

"Rick, Serena, Opsie!" Dr. Johnson yells, "Follow me! We must get you into the Prophets." Rick agrees. He may not fully be ready to pilot the Super SAInt, but that doesn't matter. They have less than eight minutes left, and everything's at stake. Rick, Serena, and Opsie follow Dr. Johnson without hesitation, while AK-47 and the rest of the pilots turn to Jason.

"Right then," Jason says. It's no coincidence that he's singled out by Dr. Scary Face after being called out for infliltrating his files. With Rick the main, Prophet pilot and Sarah the new team leader of Alpha Company, Jason remains invaluable as the reigning, technological genius of both Alpha Company and, perhaps, the entire US Preservation Forces.  If anyone can stop the perilous, self-destruct sequence, it's fourteen-year-old Jason Reyes or the, "Hack King," according to Strudel. With Sarah and Strudel by his side, Jason successfully hacks the CRC's network and terminates the countdown. Unfortunately, a failsafe program triggers a security countermeasure and reawakens a group of dormant, Mayzor Swarm hidden deep within the General's hangar. 

Sarah, Jason, Strudel, Billy, Allen, and AK-47 hear the echoing, metal tang of robotic arthropods scurrying in the shadows. They move up the grated catwalk quietly, but hastily, before the Swarm can ensnare them with their razor sharp appendages and piercing maxillae.

A Dangerous Escape

Rick, Serena, Opsie, and Dr. Johnson are almost to the Prophet hangar, when they notice oncoming CRC scientists fleeing to escape the facility. Dr. Johnson may have clout with them, but who knows what side they're really on? Having Rick and the girls present would certainly raise suspicions, and they don't want to take any chances. It's better to play it safe, so they sidestep into a perpendicular hallway to hide.

Meanwhile, Sarah, Jason, and the others feel the same way. They carefully meander back to the main corridors and debate on where to go next. AK-47 thinks they should simply take the main exit, but Sarah and Jason are highly suspicious of the masked scientists and convince her to circumvent them by taking one of the ventilation shafts. Jason asks Billy how he got into the facility, but he gives him a useless, lackluster response. Jason is forced to lead the others back to the hall, where he first ran into Sarah and AK after sneaking into the facility.

They peer around the corner and see three CRC scientists standing below the open shaft with their backs turned. A crazy idea sparks in Jason's mind to bum-rush the scientists and use them to jump up into the vent, but a more sensible plan emerges to subvert them by having AK-47 don her mask and order them away using Jason as a prop. The plan works, and the scientists flee now that the escaped prisoner is in custody. Sarah, Jason, AK, and the rest of the pilots climb into the vents and escape.

Having reached the Prophet hangar undetected, Rick and Dr. Johnson help Serena and Opsie suit up into their Super SAInts and exit out of the side of the Arx, leaving Rick to be suited last. 

Merged Companies and Sequestered Teammates

Sarah and Jason's group discreetly avoid the military, as they double time to the Operations Headquarters. Deafening sounds of explosions resonate, and machine gunfire and energy beams blanket the sky in blinding bursts. Robbies and tanks target hostile Mayzor, while foot soldiers escort civilians to safety and maintain the lockdown. A colony of ant-like Swarm almost grab hold of Billy with jagged mandibles, but the adrenaline kicks in, and the pilots flee to their escape.

They're met by Joanne, who's already suited up and climbing into the bucket to be hoisted into her SAInt. As the suspension gel fills the sensory deprivation tank, Sarah, Jason, Strudel, and Billy change into their Launch Suits to undergo the same process. AK-47 tasks Allen with piloting one of the Robbies, while she joins the Preservation Forces commander in the Operations Control Room. 

By the time the SAInts are ready for deployment, Rick, Serena, and Opsie are already outside the CRC facility and skating up the side of the Arx by way of their Prophets' anti-gravity thrusters.

With Commander Yamasuka arguing with USM Commander McGarry² over the military's lockdown and blatant disregard for protocol, Captain Kasherov briefs the pilots on their primary objectives over the MetaTron. Intel reveals thirty-five Locusts, possibly more, aiding hordes of Swarm all across the Arx. The others pilots are secluded and trapped in various locations, and ensuring their freedom is pivotal so that they can return to their SAInts and help fight off the invasion. 

Half of Alpha and Bravo Company group up. Sarah, Jason, and Strudel reunite with Billy and embark with Joanne for the first time in their piloting careers. The set out to the male dormitory, east of the Wormwood that crashed in the central garden, while Rick leads Serena and Opsie toward the cafeteria on the opposite side.

Miguel and Raspberry have hidden themselves inside the dorm, and the front entrance is sealed shut. Military personnel are combatting the Swarm, while two, metallic beetles, the size of tanks, are prying the double doors open with their steel claws and keen pincers. Team Sarah and Jason take the high ground and position themselves atop the female dorm, across the way, at High Ballistics (HB) range. Jason aims his EZK-L Particle Beam at one of the Brawlers and fires. Sarah launches a barrage of Tiamat missiles at the other Brawler and the surrounding Swarm. All three targets are eliminated in succeeding explosions, and AK-47 gives the order to extract Miguel and Raspberry which Billy takes care of.

Meanwhile, Rick, Serena, and Opsie engage one of the two Archers firing at the cafeteria's front entrance. These Locusts resemble oversized, armor-plated earwigs with large cerci that fire dual, high-powered energy beams at HB. Armed with a pair of 'Arc Swords at Close Quarters (CQ) range, Rick cuts off the Archer's rear forceps, Serena impales its body with her LaNSe Detonating Spear, and Opsie decapitates it. The explosive lodged inside its abdomen explodes and incinerates the rest of it. 

Over the MetaTron, Rick calmly says, "Enemy unit down."

The trio proceeds to engage the forty-foot long, twenty-foot high scorpions, known as Soldiers, armed with energy weapons in their tails. Two of them stay in Threat Range of the cafeteria doors and fire energy lasers at FA range. Laurie, Kazuhiro, and Ryoko are stuck inside with a majority of their classmates, and the Locusts have almost blasted a hole big enough for the Swarm to slip through. Rick sheaths one of his swords and uses the other to jab through the scorpion's abdomen while grabbing its tail with his now-free hand. He swings the Soldier around and collides it with the other before releasing his grasp. Serena and Opsie don't even have a chance to make their attack, as both Locusts explode on impact. 

"Two more enemies down," Rick says in a cold tone.

Back at the dorms, Sarah and Jason hear the buzzing of wings and look up to see a strange, new, aerial Locust they'd never seen before. Recognizing it as a Chopper unit from the blueprints in the General's hangar, it's shaped like a giant, chrome dragonfly with extendable, razor sharp jaws and a long, curved tail that repeatedly fires lasers down at the breached entrance to the male dorm. 

"I got this," Sarah tells Jason over the MetaTron, "You reload."

Jason takes cover and reloads his EZK-L, while Sarah opens fire at FA with her RDav Combat Rifle, or "Giant Killer." Her armor piercing shells shred through the Chopper's compound eyes and wings. It's upper half explodes in mid-air, and it's tail crashes into the ground, taking out whatever Swarm are still left after the Tiamat attack. 

Miguel and Raspberry finally get their chance to escape, but US military troops start surrounding them. Sarah tries to reason with them over a loudspeaker. She plays to their sensible nature, telling them there's more pressing danger than two, measly, teenage pilots. Jason reloads his rifle and gives the military a look. Seeing the SAInts looming over them, they quickly back off, and Miguel and Raspberry rush over to HQ to suit up and board their SAInts.

The Swarm surrounding the cafeteria start slithering through the main entrance, while the remaining Archer blasts a larger hole for the rest to scuttle in. Rick takes cover and reaches inside to squash the chrome centipedes while holding his other hand out to block the Archer's lasers with his concentrated, electromagnetic, defense screen. A rippling corona absorbs the blasts, and Opsie's Sam-L Shield adds extra protection. Meanwhile, Serena hits several more, metallic vermin out of the park like golf balls.

Team Sarah and Jason rush to the simulation building, under AK-47's advice, to help free the Twins, Bala and Lieke. A pair of Locusts attack the building from opposite sides. A Soldier on the left side fires a series of plasma rays at FA, while the Brawler on the right rips chunks of building away with its massive pincers. The pilots waste no time. Sarah engages the Brawler at FA range, while Jason hangs back and shoots another, explosive, particle beam at the Soldier from HB. It's biomechanical brain bursts apart on impact, and its body gets engulfed in the explosion.  Several Swarm are also taken out. Strudel cheers. Sarah lays into the Brawler with her Giant Killer and destroys it, while Jason, Strudel, and Billy move up to crush the rest of the Swarm. 

Joanne hangs back the whole time and looks across the way at Rick, Serena, and Opsie, feeling useless. "I'm going to go help Rick and the others out," she says over the MetaTron.

"Are you kidding me?" Jason responds, as Joanne starts taking off. 

"Yeah, don't split up," Sarah says bluntly, trying to convince Joanne to listen.

"Pretty sure the Super SAInts can take care of themselves," Jason adds, "They can fly."

Joanne stops momentarily but doesn't seem entirely convinced, until Strudel says, "Joanne, don't go all Billy on us!" That seems to do the trick. Joanne clearly isn't happy with the three of them, but she sticks around.

Sarah spots her brother inside one of the Robbies closest to them and orders him to fetch Bala and Lieke now that the simulation building is clear. Under Jason's advice, Sarah also sends a telepathic message to AK-47, asking her to direct Allen back to HQ so that the Twins can board the Mendicant.

Back at the cafeteria, Rick changes distance to get into FA range of the Archer, dodging its lasers. He aims several, precise shots at its power core and hits. The Locust self-detonates, and the students begin pouring out of the building, including Kazuhiro, Laurie, and Ryoko. Rick, Serena, and Opsie move across to Dr. Harris's office, leaving the military to escort the teenagers. 

Sarah, Strudel, Billy, and Joanne move across to the classrooms, where Stephanie is held up at and surrounded by two Soldiers, a horde of Swarm, and the military. "Target, fire," Jason says, as he stays by the simulation building and snipes one of the Soldiers. His particle beam shoots through the giant scorpion's tail and out the back of its head. As it explodes, Sarah engages the other Soldier at FA and immediately starts firing off her Giant Killer. The bullets hit, and she destroys the Locust before it can tear a big enough hole through the building for the Swarm to get in. They disperse. Some head to Dr. Harris's office, while others grab hold of military personnel and retreat to the Wormwood.

Suddenly, a Chopper shows up out of nowhere and begins firing lasers at the roof. Jason moves forward to take cover and reload his rifle, while Sarah says, "Shoo fly, don't bother me," and aims up while pulling the trigger. The Chopper explodes in mid-air, and chunks of metal debris crash onto the roof like hail. Strudel rushes forward to pry it off and free Stephanie, but Sarah appeals to his better judgement and warns him that he'll scare her more. Strudel agrees and opens the classroom building's front doors with his giant fingers and calls out to her. She runs out, and Strudel scoops her up into a hidden compartment within his SAInt, not trusting the military.

Prophets Take Flight Amidst Static Infiltration

Dr. Harris is stuck inside her office building which is under attack by two Brawlers at CQ, an Archer at HB, and two Bombers circling above at HB. The Bombers, like the Choppers, are aerial Locusts that are completely new and alien to the pilots. Shaped like giant, metal moths the size of stealth planes, they spiral in circles while firing deadly, concentrated beams of plasma energy down on their targets.  The ones over Dr. Harris's office aren't firing theirs just yet; they're suspiciously looming above.

Rick, Serena, and Opsie engage the Archer and fly up behind it. Rick menacingly draws his 'Arc Sword, stabs it through the back, and slices upward to split it in half. He then switches to his Levic Pistol and fires at both Brawlers with his team's assistance. The Locusts puncture a small hole through the building before they're destroyed.

Near the classrooms, Sarah and Jason's team turns back to target the Wormwood at the behest of AK-47, however a multitude of telepathic voices begins to overwhelm them, and the pilots grow fearful for a moment. It's a clear sign of MetaTron static⁴, the likes of which they experienced in New Alamo.

Rick is especially worried and tests his communication channels with Serena and Opsie. They're aware of the static, but the Prophets' telepathic link operates on a whole different level, and their conversations are crystal clear. 

"It's happening again, Rick," Serena says, "What do we do?"

"Don't worry about it," Rick responds, "We got through it last time, and we'll get through it this time too."

"Alright, I trust you," Serena replies nervously. Opsie is less worried and does her best to help calm Serena down.

Strudel and Joanne exhibit strange behavior, as they reply to private commands over the network, "Wait, what was that, Commander? The Robbies are turning? They're what? Frenzying? Wait, but-"

"Strudel, who are you talking to?" Jason asks.

"Commander Yamasuka is ordering us to come back to HQ and eliminate the frenzying Robbies," Strudel responds.

"I thought Robbies were just robots," Jason asks quizzically, "How can they be frenzying?"

"We don't know," Joanne and Strudel reply simultaneously, "The Commander says they're attacking civilians and military!"

Sarah and Jason look over across the Arx but don't see anything happening. They do see Raspberry and Miguel in their SAInts, leaving the hangar. They're both online.

"I think we should be watchful for them, but we shouldn't start shooting at every one," Sarah warns, "Especially since my brother's in one of them."

"But, but, these orders are coming straight from the Commander," Strudel protests.

"We can't trust the MetaTron right now," Sarah replies, "I believe the chain of command is the bayonet at the end of my gun. Seriously, though, I'm not hearing the orders and neither is Jason." Jason agrees.

While Strudel hesitates, wondering what to do, Joanne remains suspiciously silent. All of a sudden, she raises her L-XIV Ultima Rocket Launcher at Strudel and aims for the hidden compartment where Stephanie is located. 

Jason quickly raises his gun at her, but Sarah takes a more decisive action and rushes forward to restrain Joanne's SAInt.

"All pilots, be on high alert. We have frenzying SAInts," Commander Yamasuka's voice cuts through the static interference. She sounds far too calm given the situation, as though it isn't really her over the MetaTron.

Fragments of Joanne's voice breaks through the static, yelling, "It's not me! Can't control it!" Sarah curses under her breath.

"Joanne! What happened?" Rick yells through the MetaTron.

Sarah struggles to restrain Joanne, and Billy begrudgingly runs forward to help. Jason lowers his gun and follows suit. At the same time, Strudel points his Levic Flechette shotgun³, or "Stone Thrower," at Joanne, his arms shaking to resist. There's too much static on the MetaTron for the pilots to hear what's going on, but Sarah, Jason, and Billy successfully wrestle Joanne's arms up, and an explosive rocket shoots into the sky. Strudel lowers his gun and starts running to HQ. Joanne's SAInt, losing control, tries to break away.

"One of these days," Sarah says over the MetaTron, as the static dies down momentarily.

"Right to the moon," Jason replies.

"Yeah, right to the moon, so we can take them out," Sarah says.

To the west, the Bombers rain down their destructive, energy beams, blasting holes through the roof of Dr. Harris's office building. Rick and the others take cover to destroy the rest of the Swarm first. He tells Opsie to rescue Dr. Harris, while he and Serena and take on the two Bombers.

"I have your back, Rick," Serena says, and the siblings soar up to the sky, each one maneuvering to opposite sides of the Bombers to flank them. With both of Rick's 'Arc Swords drawn and Serena's LaNSe, the pilots zoom past one another and slice through both Bombers simultaneously. Their wings are rendered useless, and their energy weapons are cut off in the ensuing explosion which blazes like fireworks for all the other pilots to see.

Rick immediately turns and flies fast toward Joanne and the others.


Mayzor Hack In

AK-47's voice attempts to cut through the static as she says, "Struder, Hayes, Rodriguez, what are you all doing? Stop it! That's an order!" 

Rick hears what's happening and tries to communicate with the rogue SAInts himself, "Strudel, Raspberry, Miguel, what the hell are you doing?"

The MetaTron static grows louder and then dies down again. The Commander's calm voice comes through, paired with strange, maniacal giggling, "Hehehe, nah-uh, they're not going to listen to you! Not anymore, not anymore! Hehehe." She continues to give the rogue SAInts orders to attack the Robbies and military. She also commands them to target the Arx Jericho's weapon turrets which she claims have been hacked into and are targeting the rest of the ship.

The pilots of the frenzying SAInts attempt to send telepathic messages through the static, which is growing again, "We can't control this! Help!" Joanne is trying to communicate as well. 

"Joanne!" Rick calls out to her.

Meanwhile, AK-47's voice seems worried, and a voice that belongs to the real Commander calls out, "No! I didn't say that! Don't listen-" but the static is overwhelming. 

As Rick nears Sarah and Jason, he hears Dr. Johnson hailing him on a private channel.

To be concluded.

Source: http://www.freesound.org/data/displays/58/58410_215874_spec_L.jpg
I take no credit for this image.

End of Episode 12

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Director Commentary

Here is the YouTube video of the Hangouts on Air recording,

¹ Bucket is the nickname given to the sensory deprivation tanks that contains the pilot when boarded inside their SAInt.

² Commander McGarry is a new extra I added to the game for this episode. I totally didn't steal the name after watching the West Wing in its entirety, nope!

³ In-game, we decided Strudel had two SMGs, but they weren't listed as weapons in the book, and I didn't feel like coming up with a name, so I changed it to a Levic Flechette for the AP write up.

⁴ Just to reiterate, MetaTron static doesn't sound like actual static, but as a bunch of telepathic voices interfering with regular communication. When a lot of them are talking, it may very well be called static.

I started drawing some original, comic book-style illustrations to include for this write-up, but they're a WIP at the moment. I'll go ahead and share what I have anyway, and I'll paste them inside the AP when they're finished. This is the scene where Sarah and Jason first fire at the two Locust Brawlers surrounding the male dormitory: