We all manage to show up, more or less on time: Tim (Sir Brindal Karth de Hazat), Chris (Peter Sangaree), Nick (Brother Xavier) and April (Sister Joann). Tim explains that he was late because he was forced to purchase window washing fluid. He then does his best to compensate for this transgression by offering some to everyone else. Chris comments favorably upon the Sharpe's Rifles novels he has been reading, commenting that Richard Sharpe (the protagonist) is very much like a player character in his jealousy, sporadic rages, and overall viciousness.
This becomes the big question of the evening. There are a whole array of obvious advantages, but several equally large disadvantages. By the end of the session, the various oddities of the base Fading Suns rule system has completely convinced me that the change must be made, which is really the only strong requirement. Next session will probably be dominated by a rancorous debate on exactly how characters should be converted over to the new rules. In particular, I have a belief that the converted characters should all be based upon about 150 points, maybe with a bit extra for experience. This is a belief tremendously at odds with some players, who note that certain aspects of their characters (theurgy, high physical attributes, wealth to make the Rockefellers shudder) are extremely cheap in Fading Suns, but quite expensive in GURPS. Because this summary is largely a soapbox for my own use, I can freely point out that in GURPS there is a reason why most of these things are so expensive.
Chris has been playing Bob Lungflook for about three sessions, accumulating a total of 17 experience points. The players discuss how best to spend them. In the end, he gains Charm 4, Beast Lore 4, and Leadership 2. The value of this gain when the conversion comes around has yet to be seen.
Peter spends his time in Tuam after the manufactory burned trying to convert the Scorpion ARM into an anti-aircraft platform. He determines that the modifications will take ten Victory Dice from Mech Redemption, rolling once per day. It will take him five additional days and cost 1000 FB to get the necessary parts. The entire repair takes him eight days. The final assembly is controlled by a remote control box with a camera mount to allow sighting.
With the Scorpion work completed, he gathers up his surviving assistant and heads up to Llanfyrth to get a coffle of 25 prisoners from the Custom House for "deportation" to Fennen Marsh. He attends the session to assemble coffles and manages to specify the skills of four of the 25 prisoners. Among his coffle are individual men with Mech Redemption, Fishing, Blacksmith and Potter skills. Most of the remaining prisoners are farmers, beast-handlers, or simple craftsmen. He also picks up Brother Xavier's and Sir Brindal Karth's stipends, which have been waiting in secure storage at Prince Cassius field. The accumulated stipends amount to 600 FB for Brindal Karth and 300 FB for Brother Xavier. Peter's journey costs 120 FB in fuel and landing charges.
The modified Scorpion requires Gunnery skill to use, but Shoot-4 can be substituted. It's gatling gun inflicts a base 8 dice of damage on the Light Vehicle scale (wounds are doubled when human-scale targets are attacked). The weapon's base range is 2000m. It can only fire short or long bursts. A short burst has the modifiers of a 3-round burst, and consumes 10 rounds of ammunition. A long burst has the modifiers of a 6-round burst, and consumes 20 rounds of ammunition. The Scorpion's internal magazine holds 2000 rounds.
Peter finds that ammunition costs ¼ FB per round from an artisan community further up the coast. They can produce 500 rounds per day. Peter purchases a full load of ammunition for 500 FB.
Upon his return to Tuam, Peter gets a letter from Freeman Thorne, addressed to Sir Brindal Karth. Despite the seal, he opens the letter and discovers that Freeman Thorne is a Senior Processor-Wright of the Red Sash and the leader of a group of artisans in the Northeast Processing Apparatus Enclave in Phallebreight province. Thorne and his followers have found themselves in a political disagreement with the Green Sash elders of the NPAE, and are interested in joining Sir Brindal Karth's colony. To arrange the details, Thorne wishes to arrange an interview.
Peter reads the letter, then determines that Phallebreight is on the other end of the continent and packs it away to give to Brindal Karth. Before abandoning the issue, he writes a response to Freeman Thorne, explaining his poor-quality prose through the excuse that he is an envoy writing on behalf of Brindal Karth. Through Peter's pen, "Sir Brindal Karth" writes "I am very interested in meeting you, and want to know more about your people. I desire a personal meeting, perhaps in two months from today, in Fort Sabwran." He apologizes for having his assistant Peter Sangaree write the letter, as he was recently shot in his writing hand. Peter then arranges for the local Charioteers to send the letter on to the NPAE, and is scandalized to find that letter postage costs 2 FB, with few guarantees on the length of time it will take for the letter to reach it's destination.
As Peter flies about Lachann, the Sutter Kane and the Red Syrmfish have just about reached Tuam, the airfield is cleared for a Morgen Luftking, and three crude buildings have been built. The characters also have a simple fiber-optic voice link to the Chibren Cooperative thanks to the efforts of Groupleader Ribben and his men.
With their more obvious chores out of the way, the characters indulge in a series of activities:
Captain Halfiron shows up at the old address and is somewhat surprised to discover that it is nothing more than a burned-out shell. He asks some questions that eventually lead him to Peter's new address out in the Low City near the airport. He finds Peter at home, complaining about the fact that he no longer has electric lights, running water or a working toilet. Peter greets him, then makes a few sardonic comments about his problems, noting that he had a minor accident involving a match, four barrels of fuel, and a gang of Scravers. Halfiron does his best to appear unmoved by Peter's travails, and instead delivers the shopping list the other characters prepared for him.
Faced with the possibility of spending large quantities of Sir Brindal Karth's money, Peter surges into action. He quickly discovers that to obtain all the items the other characters want (particularly surface-to-air missiles) he needs to deal with sources all across Lachann.
He finds a missile launcher available for 2000 FB, with heat-guided missiles only 100 FB each. The launcher is tripod-mounted and hard for one man to carry alone, but breaks down into components that are easy for two to carry. He already has sources that will sell him 1000 kg of rice for 20 FB. Through them, he also obtains salt beef & salt pork in barrels for a rate of 80 FB per ton. He is shocked to discover that in the screwed-up Fading Suns economy, a live adult pig costs 4 FB, and a live chicken costs 1 crest. Noting that the characters requested fishing gear, Peter interviews his 25 prisoners until he finds one who was a fisherman. The man tells him that a 10-meter boat, propelled by oars and fully supplied with nets and lines, will cost about 50 FB. Peter buys one and warns the man that his survival in the colony will depend upon his skill in using it. The fisherman, scared by Peter's cold-blooded ultimatum, points out that he'll need several crewmen, probably as many as six. Peter tells him to start picking them out from among the prisoners.
With supplies in hand, Peter goes on a spending spree, limited only by the Sutter Kane's 200 ton capacity. A full detail of his purchases is in the table below:
|
Item |
Unit Price |
Quantity |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missile Launcher | 2000 FB | 1 | 2000 FB |
| 10 SAM's | 100 FB | 10 | 1000 FB |
| 25 Pigs | 4 FB | 25 | 100 FB |
| 200 Chickens | 1 C | 200 | 100 FB |
| Bagged Rice | 20 FB/ton | 50 tons | 1000 FB |
| Salt Pork | 80 FB/ton | 10 tons | 800 FB |
| 10-meter Fishing Boat | 50 FB | 1 boat | 50 FB |
Peter spends 30 FB per city to a Reeve to have handbills posted "everywhere a pilot is likely to look" in Paintersville, Fort Sabwran and Llanfyrth looking for two pilots. The handbills are deliberately vague, and promise that a "local landed Noble" will be in Tuam in two weeks to interview candidates for two piloting jobs.
Peter has Halfiron load up most of his purchases onto the Sutter Kane and sail for Fennen Marsh. He also gives over twenty-four of the deportees to Halfiron's care. Sutter Kane sails for Fennen Marsh in good wind, expecting to arrive within fifteen days.
Peter then prepares to fly on ahead of the ship. He is accompanied by his surviving assistant Harper, who has developed Tech 5, Gunsmith 1 and Shoot 4 during his experiences in Tuam. Peter is also accompanied by the one prisoner in the coffle who is literate (although not particularly so). To ensure that the prisoner doesn't do anything rash during the flight, he issues Harper his pistol and instructs him to shoot the prisoner if he tries anything funny. For food, Peter loads up a barrel of salt beef. Finally, mere hours before flying out, he gets his hair permed one last time.
The flight itself is fairly uneventful. Peter makes certain to depart just before dawn, to ensure that he has plenty of daylight available to try and find the Gieresport airfield. It turns out that this was a wise decision: it takes him four hours of flying up and down the Anquelline river to actually locate the airfield. His efforts are hardly helped by the fact that the other characters habitually keep the thing concealed underneath camouflage netting.
On his arrival, Peter explains to Brindal Karth that he'll need to be in Fort Sabwran in thirteen days to interview pilots and to talk to Freeman Thorne. When he hands Freeman Thorne's letter over, Brindal Karth wryly notes that the seal is broken, implying that someone has already read it. Peter then makes the rather lame suggestion that the seal on broke when it got dropped on the floor. Brindal Karth responds that he can see a screwdriver gouge in the seal edge. Peter does his best to convince Brindal Karth that one of the prisoners did it. Brindal Karth remains unconvinced.
All of the characters are unhappy to learn that the CNC Lathe was destroyed by Scravers. Brindal Karth rants and raves about it for an hour, and would have been joined by Brother Xavier save that the priest was busily sampling some of the products of his still. With the tirade done with, Sister Joann takes Peter out into the wilderness to tell him about the Chibren Cooperative.
Peter gives Brindal Karth and Xavier their stipends, and explains that the manufactory made about 7000 FB, out of about 10,000 FB possible on the contract. He also notes that when the Scravers burned the manufactory, the losses saved the group some 4000 FB in taxes. This "benefit" makes nobody particularly happy, especially Brother Xavier (who really doesn't understand the matter at all).
Now that everyone has been reunited, the characters hold an assembly to talk about how to deal with the prisoners once they arrive. Several of the characters are concerned that the prisoners may take over the colony if they get the chance. Though opinion is divided on how to respond to the problem, everyone agrees that some kind of response is needed.
The characters eventually put Brother Xavier in charge of organizing a police force, with six of the ten laborers currently in the characters' employ. He and Brindal Karth do a shockingly effective job of ferreting out the six most-promising laborers, all of them with at least Shoot 5 and Inquiry 2. Brother Xavier is gratified to note that two of them look extremely threatening. Sir Brindal Karth and Brother Xavier inform their chosen policemen that they are to be in charge of the prisoners when they eventually arrive.
The characters also decide that the prisoners will be set to building themselves a separate barracks when they arrive. This project will have to be planned by Freeman Samwise Oak, the group's carpenter, but Xavier's police will supervise the laborers. The general conclusion is that that guarding the prisoners isn't much of a big deal, but preventing them from staging a rebellion is.
To countervail the chances of rebellion, the characters issue guns to the remaining skilled laborers (the carpenter, the surveyor, and the cook). After having distributed weapons to all of their workers, they have guns remaining. They keep these in their quarters.
Finally, the characters put Bob Lungflook in charge of the entire colony during their absence. He agrees, and sketches out a plan to isolate incoming prisoners until the characters think they can trust them. He asks that the characters leave him the rocket launcher to be able to scare hostile prisoners. They are skeptical of it's threat value, but give it to him anyway.
With the issue of prisoner security dealt with, the characters turn to the question of what kind of colonists to recruit. Peter holds that they should try and recruit coastal fishermen and their families from around Tuam and the South Coast Duchy. Sister Joann instead argues that there should be some women around, possibly brought over as cooks and seamstresses. Sir Brindal Karth concurs that fishermen would be useful, but his hormones prevent him from ruling out Sister Joann's idea.
At the end of the assembly, Peter introduces the one prisoner he brought over, the one prisoner in the coffle with any measure of literacy. The man introduces himself as Yodrick. He is a weedy-looking fellow who claims that he worked as a scribe and a letter-writer. He also claims that he had a wife and two children back in Llanfyrth.
The characters inquire as to why he was sentenced to deportation. He explains that he kept records for several local tradesmen in Llanfyrth, most of them illiterate. He had accumulated huge gambling debts (he never mentions specifically how much, but the characters get the idea that he owed dozens of Firebirds to some very unsavory figures). To pay them, he resorted to stealing from his employers. He also admits to cheating on his wife.
After hearing his story, the characters are suitably impressed. Both Sir Brindal Karth and Brother Xavier emphasize that if he doesn't shape up his act here, he'll not survive long. Yodrick desolately agrees with their warning.
Within days of Peter's flight out to the Fennen Marsh, the characters all fly back to Fort Sabwran, with a stopover in Tuam. The flight costs 45 FB in landing fees, plus 25 FB in fuel on the way back. On their arrival, the characters head to the Red Crescent Inn, where Sir Brindal Karth gives the innkeep 10 FB to feed and bathe everyone in the group. Sir Brindal Karth then departs for the local Courtesans' Guild bath-house where he pays 15 FB for a bath, shave, perfume, hairdressing, manicure, and "other services." He is so impressed (and so deprived by his long experience in the wilderness) that he asks: "Do you contract?"
Peter finds that there are messages for Brindal Karth from Freeman Dennis Thorne waiting at the Red Crescent. The earliest of them is about a week old, and announces his arrival in town. He arrived in town about a week ago. Peter sends word to Freeman Thorne to meet Sir Brindal Karth for dinner that night at the Red Crescent.
The meeting with Dennis Thorne goes fairly well. He shows up to the Red Crescent inn dressed in a tremendously expensive-looking artisan's smock adorned with a brilliant red sash, and is just a little surprised to find that the characters have never heard of the NPAE and have only the barest idea of what the Enclave produces. From the way Thorne speaks, the characters quickly figure out that NPAE is like Microsoft, and that all of Thorne's followers are likely to be used to very cushy conditions. Thorne tries to impress on them the value of the device he wants to build, they don't understand.
In an effort to build some common ground, Peter asks if Thorne and his people could produce a machine to control the golem & do radar-guided firing. Thorne confidently states "no problem". However, he states that Sir Brindal Karth will have to provide him and his people with a lab if they are to do any work, and estimates that the cost will be 30,000 FB. He also tells the characters that his group consists of 100 people and 150 dependants.
The characters point out that their colony is still very young, and unable to accept Thorne and his people right away. In addition, they need some guarantee that Thorne will provide the colony with some value. The final deal is that Thorne will provide one think machine to control the war golem in twenty days, to prove his peoples' usefulness. He insists that the Gwynneth fleet buys most of their products, and would spend 30,000 FB for a machine to control a great warship like a Frigate. Thorne gives a list of equipment he needs for his laboratory to Peter, who understands most of it.
After Thorne departs, much discussion ensues. The central problem for most of the characters is that Thorne's people are useless to them, but still more valuable than anyone else the group is likely to ever see. Some of them suggest that they should allow Thorne's people to move in after a year, once we've got some kind of colony going. Even better, some of the technicians may be able to crack the Vuldroks' navigation think machines, and help in destroying the Vuldrok base. The cost of the lab Thorne and his people need is huge, but could be reduced if the Chibren Cooperative could trade some of the needed equipment. In a pinch, the Chibren could also be hired to construct the necessary lab space, especially if the settlement needs to be hidden from Vuldrok overflight.
The characters finally decide to ask Thorne to provide a couple of rugged artisans from the NPAE group who can come out with the characters, "check out the specs for the lab," and while they're there crack the Vuldrok VERTOL computers and determine the location of the main Vuldrok base. Even then, the characters hold some valid concerns that they'll end up with some kind of feeble computer nerd who panics as soon as he realizes that there are real bullets flying around. To them, the ideal would be to get the ex-Navy SEAL electronics specialist from Broken Arrow. Unfortunately, the suspect that individuals like that are going to be pretty rare in the NPAE.
With Dennis Thorne out of the way, the characters turn to the candidates who responded to Peter's handbills. They find that they have six candidates:
The characters decide to interview the three ex-Hawkwood military pilots, the Fliers' Association member, and Brian the Goat. They elect to not interview the second Muster pilot, as they don't currently foresee having any access to anti-grav craft even in the distant future.
Linus Cossett, the first former Hawkwood flier, turns out to be an extremely precise and very military person. His uniform, albeit without marks of rank or merit, is spotless. He claims that he was drummed out of the service because he was accused of stealing parts, but that he was framed. The characters don't buy his explanation, but let it drop. Scraver guy: claims he's drummed out 'cause he stole parts, but he's been framed. He says he responded to the characters' handbill because he just wants to fly planes, and the Hawkwoods won't let him anymore. He claims to have flown both normal fixed-wing aircraft and combat VERTOLs. Brindal Karth thinks his whole military manner is just a shell, and that what's underneath is much less pleasant. Xavier thinks he's loyal only to money. The two of them conclude that he'll be loyal to whoever is paying him the most, and decide to hire him. He says that the Hawkwoods were paying him 5 FB/month, but also provided free room and board. The characters offer 10 FB/month, also with free room and board. He accepts.
Ambrose Leshy, the second Hawkwood flier, is substantially less spit-and-polish than Cossett. The characters quickly learn that all of his relatives are (or were) pilots for the Hawkwoods, and that the greatest moment in his life was the day when he was given an assault VERTOL to fly. Unfortunately, he was discharged from Hawkwood military service when he showed abject cowardice: he broke and ran in the face of the Vuldrok. The characters conclude that he remains extremely loyal to the Hawkwoods, but couldn't measure up to either his or their expectations. Underneath his tough exterior, he is a broken man. The characters elect to not hire him.
Horace Redd, Hawkwood chopper pilot, is a drunk. He even shows up to the interview smelling of cheap gin. He lost his commission when he missed a drop zone on a medevac run. To this day, he doesn't really understand why the Hawkwoods kicked him out. The characters tell him that they don't have any helicopters, so he wouldn't useful to them as a pilot. However, Peter determines that he might make an okay mechanic (if a bad crew chief), provided someone was around to keep the booze away and check his work. They eventually decide to offer him a job as a technician, which he accepts at a wage of 2 FB/month.
Fergus Genne ab Marlwen is the Fliers' Association pilot. He proves to be a young, fresh-faced kid without much depth of experience. He claims that he's been flying Morgen Luftkings on dull intercity routes for almost two years, and wants something more exciting. He also claims that he's been through basic maintenance classes, and is able to work on the planes he flies. The characters recognize that they can get him cheap, and that he's got the skills they need. They hire him for 7 FB/month.
Brian the Goat is a Muster pilot with extensive experience on Stigmata. He looks a sight: a green scab crawls down one side of his face, his other cheek is cut clean through, he breathes with a frightening rasp, and he hobbles just a bit. He explains that he lost a lung in a plane crash: he was flying an articulated-airframe divebomber against the Symbiots when they shot it down. He goes on to describe how he got the green scab when a Symbiot wave overran his unit's camp. He very arrogantly claims that he's qualified to fly anything with wings. Brindal Karth listens to this, then calmly asks, "So, how long have you been a Symbiot?" The man instantly rushes up to his feet and draws a blade in offense, and Brindal Karth quickly backs down. He explains that he's still human, and that the scab, "just hurts a bit in the growin' season." Despite some concern that he might be a Symbiot, the characters decide to hire him. He claims that he was paid 20 FB/month on Stigmata, but proves willing to accept 10 FB/month, plus a 50 FB signing bonus.
Brindal Karth pays all of the group's pilots one month's pay up front.
Before the characters prepare to leave Fort Sabwran, Sir Brindal Karth writes a letter to Director Yie at the MachtArbeiterBank. He requests additional money to fund the colony. He also sends a request to find out who owns the land the Chibren Cooperative is on, and how much it would cost to buy it. He claims that his surveyor has looked over the area, and thinks there is valuable farmland upriver.
Brother Xavier buys a barrel of mint julep and labels it "lye". Costs him 20 FB.
Late the night after the characters interview the pilot candidates, the Fort Sabwran air raid siren sounds. A white-faced messenger runs up to the Red Crescent Inn to breathlessly exclaim, "There's been a zombie outbreak in the outlying villages!" Even as the man speaks, the characters can hear aircraft speeding overhead, heading out to drop the white flame upon the affected areas.
Soon enough, militia officers show up at the Inn to gather up all able-bodies fighters. Sister Joann is first out of the door, eager to slay zombies. Peter leaves a bit later, pausing to collect his flamethrower. Brother Xavier also makes special precautions, equipping himself with a half-dozen gasoline bombs.
At the town square, the characters are grouped up with Sergeant Harmon, a chunky fellow armed with a shotgun. His command also includes a half-dozen militiamen armed with pikes. They are told that the plan is to send militia parties to all the nearby villages to see if anything is wrong. The characters are assigned to start with the village of Tinglit.
The journey out to the village is quite uneventful: no zombies are in evidence, and the village itself is in fine shape. The Headman agrees that zombies are a dangerous problem, and has all the villagers bar their doors and hide. The characters move on to two other villages, and encounter similar scenes.
Around 02:00, the party heads back towards Fort Sabwran. They elect to take a shortcut that promises to reduce their walking time by at least an hour. Along the way, they encounter two groups of militiamen. One group, armed with carbines, is panicky and opens fire without bothering to figure out who they're shooting at. By the time the characters get the situation under control, one of their men has been wounded (Sister Joann uses her theurgy to heal him).
The second group of militiamen prove to be recently-converted zombies. A big fight breaks out, in the course of which the characters learn the real value of energy shields. The major effect of the battle is to convince all of the players that the rules must change, and the GURPS is the way to go.
The session ends with the characters back in Fort Sabwran, ready to fly out to Fennen Marsh. In theory, each character gains ten experience points, though next session everything will be converted to GURPS.