It’s late morning, closing in on lunchtime and the temperature is already in the 80s. It’s going to be a hot one today, and rain clouds are gathering for another downpour. Expect torrential rain in 20 minute increments or so a couple of times a day.
An Anticlimactic Ending (But That's Good)
Thanks to the good work of Deezy, Sierra, Kuikku, Norona, and Conrad, the admin building in town is saved from Lexi Brass’ assortment of explosive devices. It is clear that the resentment between Brass and Ford runs deep, and that there is more to this story than the team knows.
Outside, Sierra sees Brass out of the corner of her eye! She may not be able to catch the woman herself, but it’s not like there is any dearth of people looking for her. Sierra calls out and, just as Brass is about to hop on her hovercycle, the long-haired human the team met when Deezy was accused (and with whom Kuikku sparred only earlier in the day) appears seemingly out of nowhere and punches the fleeing woman.
Lexi Brass goes down in a heap, and the man looks up at Sierra and smiles. “She’ll be out for a while, I think.”
Things Go Bump in the Swamp
Jareb, Toshiro, White Castle and Jameson find a number of interesting facts… some of which would likely have better been left unfound. Those who examine the scene of the crime find plenty of signs of struggle, along with a mix of wolf prints and bare footprints. Ma’arlys has said that the killing blow was caused by some kind of modern weapon, but the site of the attack certainly looks more like an animal attack.
Those who visit the morgue to observe the body find it disturbingly empty . . . and empty of the orderly who was supposed to be on staff.
With a bit of searching (it’s a small place, after all), the orderly can be found, his throat ripped out and his body shoved into a closet. A footprint here or there leads toward the forest, but they have mostly been washed away by the morning’s rainstorm.
Built Ford Tough
When the team re-groups at its facility, it finds Ford, Catherine, Harsion, Jacques (the long-haired human male), and a blonde woman you don’t recognize waiting for you.
“So, as a token of appreciation, and because the Market always pays its debts, there is a cache of material we keep at a drop outside of town. There’s nothing too exciting in there, but it does contain some basic arms and ammunition, and quite a few components that Harsion here tells me can be very useful in making techno-wizard devices and in souping up other gear. That’s a little outside my wheelhouse, but I take him at his word, and you are welcome to use whatever you find there.”
Ford gives it some thought, before continuing, “Peter of Wright, the cyber-knight that you heard about… he was a friend. We’re not exactly sure what happened to him, but you can bet that if he didn’t come back from the Jungle Castle, it wasn’t likely to be something low-key. If you want any advice, take or leave it, but I would approach this thing cautiously and then use overwhelming force once you get there. Don’t dick around with whatever’s out there, or you won’t be making your way back, either.”
“Now, I know that you all know more about Lincoln’s death, and it frustrates me to no end that you’re keeping something like that a secret; he was a good kid, and I don’t know exactly what Lexi promised him, but I suspect it has to do with Sierra. Maybe you didn’t kill him, but I think you know who did. We’ll keep Lexi in town for a day or two while we wrap some things up, and then we’ll be taking her with us. She’ll face Market justice for what she tried to pull here today, but as long as you don’t kill her, you’re welcome to question her if you like before then.”
With that, Ford and his team leave you to decide what you’d like to do next.
Interludes and Building Stuff
Okay, you have some options, and you may take any or all of them:
- Roll Out: Roll on two Hero’s Journey tables of your choice (and you may roll a d20 twice and then assign the results to the tables of your choice if you prefer to roll that way) OR roll once on the Fortune and Glory table. If you pick the Hero’s Journey option, you may trade your two rolls for a specific selection, just as if you were doing it at character generation. You may also spend EP to affect these rolls, if that's your thing.
- Interlude: Post an interlude (3 paragraphs minimum) describing your character’s actions that led to your roll results.
- Hindrances: If you include a narration of one of one or more of your hindrances in your interlude and how it might impact you on your journey towards the Jungle Castle (or otherwise, if you have a good idea), you may have a bonus Benny. Fair warning: no whining later if I decide to use the material you give me against your character on the trail. That’s what the Benny is for.
- Building: Head over to the workshop forum (here is the link) and get building! The mechanically-minded characters in the group can make use of the materials cache Ford mentioned to build new devices or upgrade old ones. We aren’t going to worry much about the time required to make things (we’re playing a little fast and loose with the downtime), but you do have some parameters:
- Post build rolls for everything you make.
- You can modify existing gear your character already owns or start something from scratch.
- This is all in-character, so everything should have at least some narration (though it need not be much). For an example of how this was done in another game, see this thread: The 1st SET Workshop.
- You have up to 1.5 million credits worth of whatever materials you need for this, so take advantage. Once you foray out of town, this cache will be considered cleaned out, so it’s use it or lose it. Be sure to include the cost of your item in your post.
- If one of you keeps track of the amount of credits spent and the amount you have left, you can have a bonus Benny for doing the accounting work.
If you have any questions, please reach out before posting. Remember, you are in a hot, wet swamp: there are bugs and oppressive humidity and, even in town, dangers. Make sure you are hitting on those themes, or how your character is dealing with them, in your posts.