Tag name：rpg

D&D Session 5

The party proceeds further into the cave I take the left turning as it is dimly lit, the cave system seems to have numerous twists, turns & back tracks as we continue to explore deeper.

A female elf in a cave complex with some friendly wolves

Silanne with the wolves

I see Tharbin & Bluebell up ahead. Silanne continues to look after the wolves we found and helps to calm and feed them whilst slackening off their chains to make it easier for them to move around and reach the food and to lie down, meanwhile Bluebell joins us and casts Longstrider on Tremen, As Tharbin approaches a largish cavern he crouches to have a peek around the corner, and finds he is close to a Goblin to the west but the east appears to be clear, Cromagon shoots at the goblin standing on the bridge spotted by Tarqual earlier, dropping it. Tremen then moves into the western passage that Tharbin took but is immediately shooed away as he is carrying a lantern fouling up Tharbin's Dark Vision. We all hear the wolves that Silanne is with, calling out and get several responses from deeper into the cave, but she is making friends with them and keeping them relatively calm. I for the time being hold position just in case something attempts to sneak up on us. Bluebell moves into the cave system to back us up and heads into the western passage to help Tharbin, but before she does this she casts Goodberries and hands them out with instructions on how to use them. Silanne them signals Fiorana to pass on a message to whole team to Please not kill any wolves you encounter. Fiorana reminds me that the Wolves we encountered at the entrance are part of a bigger pack and are friendly to our needs.

Tremen moves further into the caves to the east passed the prone goblin on the bridge which has been bitten by another wolf that has appeared ahead of us and I move up to the rest of the group heading east. Silanne leaves more food for the wolves and rejoins the team in searching the caves. As we proceed further we encounter more goblins and begin to attack successfully taking most of them down in various ways and we also find that wolves are helping us. Bluebell moves in near Tharbin and casts Ice Knife and kills one Goblin and damages another. Tharbin also kills a Goblin and relays to those that can hear him that he has found a possible human prisoner and seven potential enemies, two of whom are now down, there is also a passageway possibly leading east to the bridge.

A large muscular goblin holding a male male prisoner

The begining of the negotiation

Fiorana manages to find a Goblin to target but struggles to take it down. As the fights continue, a wolf charges past Tharbin and almost bites the head of the next Goblin killing it. Crom is heard off in the distance, as Fiorana is heard shouting for assistance. As the clash and clangs of combat are heard, Tharbin narrowly misses getting hit. A large Goblin finally takes a hold of the human and demands that Tharbin stops fighting or he will kill the human, Tharbin is reluctant but the Goblin say Kill Klarg, let us go, we let him go pointing to the human. We stay here till job done, Tharbin agrees so they let the human go but Tharbin demands that he be fed, cleaned up and healed before we return, the Goblin agrees. So the four of them (Tharbin, Bluebell, Silanne and Tarqual) all back out of the room. I move up to the northeast tunnel and come up against a makeshift dam with water trickling out. I notice some wooden wedges placed in the dam, clearly key to holding the dam in place. Crom is head shouting some profanities at Klark. The rest of the party cross the bridge to join the up with those who encountered Klarg and his crew of Goblins, Cromagon took a bad hit from Klarg almost killing him but he made a last ditch effort and succeds with a killing blow, the rest of the Goblins drop their weapons and run away. Crom is heard shouting a warning Is there anybody who wants to be introduced to Skull Splitter, as he dispatches another goblin with his great axe. After the this the party reassembles & Trem tends to Crom's wounds.

Silanne tends to the wolf who came to our aid & takes the rest of the wolves back to the main area with the restrained wolves, and we find a lot of equipment everywhere and a small cage with a monkey in it.

Cyberpunk Session 14

Following on from the events of the previous session, Spooky informs Tremen that even with her best efforts she could only get a few more details. SHe was able to reconnect to the Hilton's security system and ascertained the following:

Mr. Smith - a well dressed gentleman with a non-descript

The computer claims this is an image of Mr. Smith but who can know if it actually captured a proper image...

Room 205 was in the name of a Mr. Smith
An attempt to find security footage of this Mr. Smith shows a man walking from the lobby to the room
There is no indication that he left through the front door
From the security cameras the room is empty and looks unused, the only unusual aspect is the open window to the balcony
Whenever Tremen tries to look at the face of Mr. Smith his eyes are always drawn away from it as if Tremen's body was trying to reject seeing it

Just as Spooky finishes showing Tremen the security footage there is a scream from the main room of the Warehouse - it is at this point when (as prevously recorded) Nameraka's arm slipped onto the black mirror. He immediately collapses and his left arm is missing as if sliced off by a very sharp knife. There is a pool of rust coloured melted ice on the floor between him and the black mirror.

Wakiya and Tharbin go to assist Nameraka (Tharbin leaving the small office) with Tharbin managing to stabilise Nameraka to at least the point where Nameraka isn't going to die. It's apparent that Nameraka's arm has been subjected to extreme cold (at least as cold as dry ice or, more likely, liquid nitrogen levels of extreme cold).

Tremen concludes that the Hilton needs to visit as soon as possible and he and Spooky borrow a car from the forensics team and head straight there.

The suspicious tanker truck

Just as Spooky finishes showing Trem

Meanwhile outside Shadow continues examines the trucks. One of them is a tanker and tapping the side of the tanker with a metal pole discovers that lower portion of the tanker does not contain same as the top half of the tanker. Opening the hatches at the top reveals that the top half is indeed fuel. Careful examination of the pipes and valves of the bottom of the tanker reveals that one of the valves is connected to the bottom half of the tanker. With the help of Ricky this vale is cranked open with some difficulty. Once open a viscous liquid comes out, splashing them both.

Tremen and Spooky arrive at the Hilton and, with the help of the manager check out the contents of Room 205. It's just a normal hotel room, but there is a slight scuff mark on the railing of the balcony. The balcony looks out over a park (so there won't be any CCTV that will get a good view of the balcony). Checking the adjacent rooms (particularly those above and below) doesn't reveal anything else unusual and even checking the AV landing pad on the roof only reveals that the only flights were the normal airport shuttle runs.

The rest of the team, after getting Nameraka rushed to hospital maneuver the mirror back into its crate and then the crate into our van.

We all then head back to base¹ where we notice Lady Kitsune's department of the crate. One of her associates (who probably has a full body prosthetic) examines it. He is seen (by Shadow) to slap a piece of paper on the crate, but when his hand lifts from the spot there is no such piece of paper.

Tremen makes an in-person report to Lady Kitsune's department.

Two days later

Nameraka rejoins us - his arm has been replaced with a cybernetic arm and hand.

Research has revealed the following:

The substance in the tanker is blood, but not human nor of any known animal
The ash of the Zombie is just the pulped remains of a human and does not have the remains of any cyberware
The adversion effect of the footage of Mr. Smith applies to any member of team (i.e. none of us can concentrate on his face. Interestingly this effect applies even to the still images from the security footage). However we do all agree on his clothing and general appearance

One of Lady Kitsune's associates delivers a manila envelope containing real paper and explains that Lady Kitsune wants us to investigate. The paper gives us an address of a farm and notes that by tracing the tanker movements via street cameras etc. this farm was the most recently (if 20 days ago) location which the tanker visited.

Cows in the foreground with farm buildings in the middle distance and rolling hills in the background

Suspiciously mutant cows at Inagawa Kokusai Farm

The farm, Inagawa Kokusai Farm, is a beef cattle ranch run by AI and owned by the agri-business CoAg.

We head out to the farm. From the road we see nothing unusual and it is obviously run by an AI. We are let in. There are two main building and several grain silos. The buildings are a bunkhouse (used by maintenance personnel and the evidence is that it was last used 10-15 days ago) and a machine room holding equipment and supplies for repairs.

A crumbling set of steps leading uphill a dark forest. A Torii gate straddles the path

The Torii gate straddling the crumbling path

Nameraka climbs one of the silo and spots a set of steps heading up into the woods behind the farm. We all head up these crumbling, but recently used, steps which lead to a Torii.

Footnotes

This includes getting the tanker back to base ↩

Traveller Session 10

A map of the signal site. The party started in an open space at the bottom of the map. The map has a river running north to south. A building both looking modern and ancient is at the top right of the map. The rest of the map is covered in trees. The overall look is dark red due to the perpetual twilight of this location

The site of the radio jamming

184-1105: Reminder: Cyndariel (and Kimbley) are back on the Vagabonds Hope, everybody else is at the landing site of the Launch. The heavy radio interference is overwhelming so there is no radio communication between the Launch and/or characters and/or (in particular) the Vagabonds Hope.

We start heading towards the ruins with our lights on as it is permanently twilight due to planet being tidally locked. Masuyo finds a strange door, the building looks ancient, very high tech but ancient none the less. I approach a window and I see nothing unusual, the room is fairly empty but there are some cubicle like objects in the corners of the room around 50-100 cm tall. The door is closed with no obvious opening mechanism, Masuyo readies her weapon gives the door a push and surprisingly it opens, (strange for something this high tech???).

Chase hears something coming from the south, there is a bear in the tree close to him, (Dream?). to my left is a river not too deep and relatively swift flow from north to south, Junebug moves closer to the window and confirms that aside from the strange items -which are 75cm tall- it is empty, she opens the window and hears an electrical hum which she lets me know about. The bear quickly approaches Chase and attacks knocking him out. Tharbin takes a shot at the bear and misses but it does distract the bear from Chase. Hearing the shot Junebug moves into position and also takes a shot at the bear and scores a minor hit causing a small amount of damage but the bear is still moving. I ready my autopistol and take a shot if nothing else to cause confusion and distract the bear more knowing my pistol won't do much if any damage due to the armoured hide, I do score a hit but as expected it only causes minor damage but I do make a hasty retreat and leave the guys with the hunting rifles to their work. Tharbin and Junebug continue shooting at the bear with the tranquilliser darts whilst continually moving to avoid taking too much damage although the bear is very focused on Junebug, Tharbin misses most of his shots but Junebug is successful in all of hers she takes a small amount of damage from the bear but her armour takes most of the punishment and finally it collapses due to the tranquilliser. Tharbin shouts for me to head back to the launch to get the restraints we brought for the bear and Chase after receiving some emergency first aid from Masuyo and has regained consciousness returns very slowly and carefully to the Launch to recuperate until he can get back to Cyndariel on the "Hope". After collecting the restraints I head back and see Chase making his way gingerly back to the Launch, I give a pat on the shoulder gently as he passes and a smile as I carry on my way.

A winged creature mainly in white but with black bat-like wings. Its eyes and mouth are red. The creature looks smooth, even mechanical rather than organic

A Sentinel of the signal site

As I am making progress with my task Masuyo and Junebug make their way into the ruins to explore, Masuyo is in the lead and she enters a room to find what appear to be bones lying on the floor, upon closer inspection they are in fact cybernetic parts, these are of similar technology to the wall high tech and antiquated. The size is overall taller than standard humanoid at around 7 feet tall. Whilst they are exploring Tharbin and I restrain the bear and drag it back to the Launch. Masuyo and Junebug continue their exploration and find more doors which are extremely sensitive to physical touch, even after all this time the doors work very well. There are strange lights inside the are some form of construct like old fashioned torches, no fire, but they give off a faint light, in the room there is a filing cabinet like object with no obvious doors or drawers or opening of any sort, upon closer examination it reminds Masuyo of the white box we have aboard the "Hope". She eventually finds the room Junebug and I saw through the window and hears the strange hum but disregards the rooms as there is no signs of danger or anything else of interest, as she moves further into the ruins she finds a hole of some kind in the floor but there is no way back up so she leaves this for now and continues to the door instead. in this room there appears to be two of the cybernetic beings, complete and apparently standing as sentinels, they are not moving, at this point she calls off further exploration and retreats to the entrance to wait for Tharbin and I to return to the ruins. We arrive back to find both Junebug and Masuyo waiting for us, "Problem?" I ask, Masuyo fill us in on what they have found so far and motions us to follow and we head back to the room she discovered, here Junebug takes the lead and throws a small pebble from her pocket into the room, no reaction from the "Sentinels", this time she throws her dagger into the room it causes a small mark on the floor and there is a slight twitch from one of the "Sentinels", she relays this information back to us and we all hear "Language identified, why are you here?". Junebug tells the "voice why we are here and asks about the comms blackout, The "Voice" explains that they have initiated a quarantine due to contraband being present, can you identify the contraband for us? "Yes", elaborate please, "It is a foreign probe and it is not permitted to go any further". Junebug asks permission to collect her knife from inside the room which is granted.

Meanwhile back at the Star port there is a commotion coming from outside which disturbs Cyndariel and i seems to be coming from the ship next to ours, so she goes to the window to have a look and an angry mob is heading straight for the "Hope". Banging comes from the door with a loud demand to OPEN UP, having no other choice and being somewhat flustered she lets them in and asks "How can I help you gentlemen?" The Captain of the other ships starts shouting demands for compensation for lost fuel and a collapsed jump bubble. Cyndariel stumbles through an explanation that she is only the medic on board and has no authority to authorise something like this, but lets him know that he can talk to Earl (the Captain?) when he gets back from his expedition, this mollifies the other Captain somewhat for the time being.

Back at the ruins Masuyo continues to have a conversation with the "Voice" asking if the comms jamming is coming from this facility and if so can it be turned off, the answer to both is "Yes, but only if we leave the probe here". We start to record everything, and I whisper to Tharbin to leave his bug here while he returns to the "Hope" with the Launch, Chase and Earl to retrieve the contraband (white box). "Where do we have to deliver it?" "The pit" is the response, the hole Masuyo found we assume. She explains that we will have to return to our ship for retrieval and are informed that this is acceptable.

Masuyo asks permission to enter the room form which the "Voice is issuing" and gets a somewhat surprised affirmative, Junebug stays on guard for us as Masuyo continues her conversation with the "Voice" I go off to investigate the cybernetic parts that are strewn around.

Masuyo discovers that the "Voice" wants to quarantine the contraband and has made a request for assistance to investigate the probe, but it will take a while for this assistance to arrive (at least two weeks). Can the comms for our party and ship only be unjammed to help us expedite the process of retrieving the probe and delivering it faster? "Not possible". Knowing that we have to report on everything that has occurred here Masuyo is concerned for the welfare of the facility and the "Voice" and asks if it can defend itself? response "You will not leave until contraband has been examined"

P.S I hope you all don't mind but I have taken to shortening the name of our ship to the "Hope" to save me a bit of time, and don't all great ships deserve a nickname.

Cyberpunk Session 13

A smartly dressed zombie with a green glowing chest

The green thing.

The voice doesn't seem to be coming from any loudspeakers (partially because no loudspeakers are visible). We continue to check out the warehouse with Tremen and Wakiya in the back office (which is full of stuff that's basically junk).

However as spooky moves towards the office she spots of tthe corpses of the previously downed hostile. However two things strike her as odd: (1) The corpse is standing up and looking at Spooky and (2) its cyberware is glowing green!

Meanwhile Tharbin examines the three prisoners to ascertain their status - which is: Alive, not bleeding but not in good condition. Tharbin tends to them providing reassurance and ensuring that a paramedic team is its way to assist these victims.

The green glowing thing now giggles and spits a green acid blob/dart at Spooky hitting her and causing her status to change to Seriously Wounded. Hearing Spooky yell Ricky moves towards Spooky and sees the green glowing human near Spooky. Spooky pops a shot at the green thing and misses (at which it giggles again).

Nameraka, Shadow, Tharbin and Wakiya move toward the sounds of trouble - Spooky takes the opportunity to bravely run away, but not before taking a second pop shot, this time succeeding in hitting. In response the green thing just stands there, turns a little and spits at Ricky. Tharbin takes a pot shot and misses.

Tremen, seeing Wakia moving to assist in the fight and wanting to ensure that there's no surprises remaining in the small office complex that Wakiya and Tremen were checking out opens the one remaining unopened door in that part of the warehouse. Behind the door is ... a smaller office - in better condition¹ with a running desktop computer.

The team (including Tremen) converge on the green thing start to concentrate fire on it. Tharbin is the next to gain a hit. He notices that its skin seems to be acting similar to combat armour (despite not being obviously anything other than skin). His next shot also hits and causes actual damage. Wakiya also scores a hit.

Now that the thing is concentrating on Ricky, Spooky takes the time to try to recognise the green thing's cyberwear, but doesn't succeed.

More shots pour into the green thing until Shadow gets into a position where he can see the green thing. He takes a single pot shot at it mortally wounding it with that single shot. The body collapses to the floor and the glow disappears. The body then disintegrates into a pile of mush. What appeared to be cyberwear now just looks like bones. Realising that it's beyond what he can quickly examine Tharbin calls back to Section 9 for a forensics team.

Following this excitement we resume (again) our exploration of the warehouse. Nameraka discovers a locked crate suspiciously just the right size to hold a coffin.

Back in the small inner office Tremen examines the desk while calling for Spooky to examine the computer. In the desk are a set of outbound delivery notes. However these have been completed in a simplistic, even childish way - not even a slapdash delivery driver would find these notes useful.

The ambulance for the victims arrives and the paramedics are escorted in by Shadow and Ricky and Tremen assist the paramedics.

This makes room for Spooky and Tharbin to enter the small inner office. The screen of the computer shows a small red dot and as soon as Spooky touches the computer it shut downs. As the shutdown was triggered remotely Spooky is able to quickly jack in (with Tharbin as backup) and follow the ghost line of the connection. It is immediately apparent to Spooky that she needs all her defences but shes traces the ghost line to the Night City Hilton's security gate. This she easily bypasses and tracks the ghost line to Room 205 before the ghost line disappears and Spooky is attacked by the logo of Neuf mères. Her defences hold and, as the connection is broken, she hears a giggle.

Wakiya's investigates some more crates double checking the finding of wallets, purses and watches (both men's and women's watches).

Ricky helps the paramedics with the three victims. As a result he learns that the victims would, most likely, have died in a couple of days without our intervention.

Outside Shadow spots that only two of the parked trucks have been used recently. A red truck and yellow one as it happens².

Spooky picks the lock on the large crate found by Nameraka. Within it is a layer of packing about 5cm deep. Under that is a wooden shipping crate. The crate looks relatively old (not decrepit just old). Wakiya and Nameraka start to maneuver the wooden crate out of its outer container while Spooky watches on. As this is going on Tharbin and Tremen are assisting the forensics team which arrived shortly after thge paramedic team. Ricky is returning back to the warehouse as the paramedics depart and Shadow is investigating the most recently used trucks.

Using crowbars Wakiya and Nameraka attempt to remove the top of the wooden box. Unfortunately Nameraka fumbles on his side of the box and his left hand and arm slip inside of the box. His hand and arm hit something very cold and as Nameraka withdraws his arm it is covered in rime and ice. He falls to the ground in agony.

Inside the wooden crate is what would be a large full length mirror if it wasn't for the fact that the surface is black not reflective....

Footnotes

Note that it's still a mess though. ↩
This matches the childish writings on the delivery notes that Tremen found earlier ↩

D&D Session 4

Some debate about the plan¹ to burn down The Sleeping Giant inn is pursued and the party takes note of Silanne's wise guidance of being cautious, until we have more information. The talk is upsetting to hear from the party, any innocent life lost is not something that I could align myself to. I am relieved the party have seen sense.

The party assembles for breakfast next morning, Tremen receives a person who pulls up with the cart outside the inn, it appears to be loaded with some provisions. Tharbin eyes the keg of ale on the cart and ensures it is secured for the trip, some raised eyebrows from the party are ignored by Tharbin.

After a short time preparing, the party head back down to the trail before heading up the path to the north.

Some time later we spot Silanne who signals to us, Tremen directs the cart to a spot on level ground. Silanne then heads off to scout further up the path as we make camp, waiting for information before proceeding into possible danger.

A female halfing rogue examing a body on the path.

Fiorana cautiously examines a body on the path

A small cave entrance with a small stream leading from it

The cave entrance (or, at least, one intepretation of it)

Silanne appears a short time later and signals the party to proceed in formation, and follow him. Fiorana examines a body on the path wearing a red cloak. The wounds don't appear normal, poison is ruled out, magic is suspected by Fiorana. The party than continues down the path in formation. An hour later Silanne pauses and examines the ground, then is seen advancing more cautiously, we assume some tracks have been spotted. The party eventually arrive at a stream that is exiting a cave. Silanne lets loose with a bolt towards the right bank of the river, we hear a roar, the rest of the party move up the river to cross to the other bank, quickly some goblins are engaged & dispatched. Tharbin, Silanne & Fiorana enter the cave, some wolves snarling are heard somewhere inside. Silanne moves ahead towards the wolves, a short moment later some whimpering is heard and the snarling dissipates.

Tharbin proceeds further into the cave and takes a turn to the left - a possible fork up ahead on the path, I proceed up to the right and spot a goblin patrolling a bridge fording the stream.

Footnotes

DJV: Tremen is completely unaware of this plan and its discussion ↩

Traveller Session 9

A seriously overweaponed streamlined fighter in orbit over Flammarion. It would appear that the designer is seriously worried about this vehicle being chased.

Vessel spotted over Flammarion. Probably some noble's overengineered streamlined fighter (it certainly doesn't look all that practical!)

GM⇒Fiorana

176-1105, (Preparations to depart): I have been given a post-refit report on the Vagabonds Hope. While the navy didn't have time to do much with the decor they did renew all the engineering electronics and computer systems (including the military sensor package). These *should* all be in tip-top condition but the report does warn me that the Vagabonds Hope's first flight after refit should be treated as a shake-down cruise to identify any remaining (or new) problems.

GM⇒Chase

Extra information gleaned from the drinks shared with the Naval grunts on Flammarion, they were surprised that their training regimen has remained the same for the past several years, despite the slow and steady increase in sightings of both Zhodani and Sword World vessels in local group of non aligned systems.

Masuyo graciously purchases me an auto-pistol as I only have my static blade, Cyndariel buys some psionic inhibiting drug for the crew and is testing it in her Lab to see if it can be replicated, Junebug and Tharbin both purchase a hunting rifle each so we can hunt the bears on Debarre. The bears are armoured and we want to try and capture one alive

We prepare to depart after loading the mails and cargo for Debarre, we successfully take off, and Tharbin successfully plots our jump co-ordinates for when we reach 100 diameters to perform the jump. I ask Junebug to give me some lessons in using my new my new auto-pistol, she agrees and we set up a practice range in the common area.

Six days into the Jump and I am carrying out a routine check on our power systems, all is fine except for a marginally higher than normal reading, but as we are on our shake-down cruise this may be the new normal for our renewed systems. I decide to monitor it just to be sure.

GM⇒Chase

In your dream you’re desperately trying to fiddle with the sensor controls – the results are all off the scale. Insight the sensor readings upon entering the Debarre System align with the dream scenario.

An armoured two ton bear on a path in a forest

A Debarrean Bear

GM⇒Earl

In your dream tonight you're in a forest, feeling worried – Is that a bear? Or worse?

Both Chase and Earl tell us they have experienced strange dreams again and I exclaim "Is this another one of your prophetic dreams?"

We plan to land and take some time away from the ship and the damn white box!

Our last day in Jump is uneventful and proceeding normally until...

The sensors (civilian) are overwhelmed with an unusually high amount of static, comms are out and we cannot contact any other ships in the system nor the Star port. The guys in the cockpit try and use the new military sensors to try and pick the origin of the sensory overload, Tharbin finally succeeds in getting the location, it is coming from an island to the north of the Star port. There are a couple of other ships in the system and at the Star port according to our sensors, one of the ships at 100 diameters out is currently stationary, we have also established that this does not appear to a normal type of static. We decide to go ahead and make for the Star port and land in an empty bay, Tharbin and Masuyo prepare to disembark and talk to Star port officials to find out what the hell is going on, the rest stay aboard for the time being.

There is a Star port official waiting impatiently outside our ship and he does not appear to be happy by our sudden appearance, "What the hell is going on?" Masuyo explains what happened as we exited our Jump in system and asks if there is a problem from the surface, "I was hoping you could tell us, it only happened when you guys showed up."... "We thought it was you that was causing it and would ask you turn it off but you seem to be as in the dark as us." They both then explain that we have managed to locate the source of the static and he seems very surprised, we can't get any signals out or in all of our comms are currently jammed, our sensors cant pick anything up because they are not working, everything is offline for the moment. Masuyo and Tharbin threaten to leave with the intended mails and cargo for the planet as they are not happy with the Star port officials attitude, "NO, no that won't be necessary," as his demeanour changes to a more friendly one, he explains that it has been some time since they have had any mail or fresh cargo delivered (we get paid 60,000 credits). As the signal is new and not natural, but only seems to have started literally seconds after we entered the system it may have something to do with the white box aboard our ship??? They ask after the stationary ship we passed on the way in and it is a Safari class ship of hunters who are on their way out of system on the way to Iderate after hunting bears planet side.

Tharbin and Masuyo offer to investigate the strange signal in return the Star port will refuel our ship as payment, it is agreed but the official persists in stating that the island is just that a forested and uninhabited (except for the wildlife) island why would any kind of signal be coming from it? Earl heads down to prepare the launch for the trip.

We all get ready to depart after a sharing of the conversation and the plan of action, we equip armour and weapons as well as our breathing masks and any other relevant equipment needed, for me this is my Laptop and toolkit, We fly north toward the island and fly around a couple of times to take readings and take note of any visual anomalies. We find a suitable landing site in the south west corner of the island. Our flyover reveal some kind of ruin and only helps to confirm that this is location of the strange signal. We set the ship down at the chosen landing site.

Cyberpunk Session 12

Three members of the team entering the warehouse

Three members of the team enter the office part of the warehouse (they'd like to think they're entering cautiously, but you can judge for yourself....)

Exploring the location of the warehouse we cautiously move into its surrounding courtyard. As we approach the loading bays at the back of the warehouse we become quickly aware of hostiles (gunshots are quite effective at that kind of notification). Shadowdancer get a hit on one of the hostiles, apparently downing him (this hostile had earlier shot at Tremen). Meanwhile Spooky has spotted a set of wires leading into the building and is able to ascertain that the data connection is not being used for significant amounts of data traffic (i.e., no major uploads or downloads are in progress).

Tremen enters the warehouse (via a door next to the set of wires and, for his trouble has to duck behind a forklift truck as several shots are sent in his direction. Shadowdancer, still outside the loading bays, continues exchanging fire with more hostiles, downing one of the hostiles, but getting badly wounded in the process. Tharbin gets to Shadowdancer (while still under fire) and performs first aid on Shadowdancer and enabling Shadowdancer to sort out the one remaining hostile amongst the trucks and vehicles in the loading bays. Nameraka assists in this part of the firefight (although Shadowdancer was concerned that Nameraka's help could be seen as being limited to acting as Mobile Cover!)

Ricky and Wakiya also move into the Warehouse and also come under fire, but from a different hostile than the one firing on Tremen.

Outside a final hostile is engaged by Nameraka and Shadowdancer, this hostile seems to be a somewhat different to the others that been encountered so far. Nameraka successfully wounds this new hostile.

Inside the Warehouse, Ricky and Wakiya deal with their hostile while Tremen's hostile moves off deeper into the Warehouse after being wounded.

The different hostile engaged by Nameraka and Shadowdancer moves into the Warehouse, but is brought down soon after (the hostile is not only followed by Nameraka and Shadowdancer, but is also engaged by Rikcy and Wakiya).

At this point, the warehouse is mostly secured (the hostile wounded by Tremen seems to have scarpered), so we can begin a (still cautious) investigation of it.

The warehouse seems to be a packing operation of some kind (there are workstations along side a conveyor belt leading to a some kind of packing station). It does look like what you would expect for that kind of commercial operation.

Ricky reports the discovery of a box about the size of a suit case tucked away in a corner that contains valuables. These include watches, jewellery, and several wallets none of which have any money but one does contain an ID card (someone was careless when emptying it). The card belongs to an Amanda Orwell, it states that she was a purchasing manager for Neuf mères.

Tharbin finds a door secured with an electronic lock and calls over Spooky to open it. Inside is a small room with three people. They are barely alive. Some food and an overflowing bucket are also in the room.

As we continue checking the people, the offices, the crates (one of which has a collection of firearms), a deep resonating voice (more felt than heard) says:

That won't do. That won't do at all. Prey should know what it is, although more quick bodies for the fire is always a bonus.

Traveller Session 8

Four ships spotted after the Vagabond's Hope emerges from jump

GM⇒Chase

160-1105 (Day before emergence from Jump at Flammarion): Looking back at the expedition to the Vigilant Star, you're impressed with how well you managed the station-keeping with the wreck. Yes there was a cable connecting the launch to Vigilant Star, but you also know how easy it would have been for that cable to snap. Could it have been 'too easy' or are you being paranoid?

GM⇒Fiorana

160-1105 (Day before emergence from Jump at Flammarion): You're beginning to find that despite the decrepit feel of the Vagabond's Hope (the corner of all the desks have dints and dents, a few of the doors have a tendency to jam and gurgling of the fuel refiner is disconcerting to name just a few) you're finding that the underlying build is doing extremely well for a forty year old vessel. The flight controls are now working smoothly and the Jump Drive seems to working perfectly (much to the relief of your paranoia).

This is all to the good as it means that you've almost been able to ignore the feelings you had when exploring the Vigilant Star - looking back you find yourself thinking about how 'disconnected' from the universe you felt and you wonder about that white box that you (and the others) recovered from the cargo hold.

GM⇒Earl

160-1105 (Day before emergence from Jump at Flammarion): You're worried about the re-emergence of Captain Kaelin Vexar - he disappeared about five years ago just as you were beginning to gather evidence about him. You do know he knows about those research efforts (you have half a suspicion those are what caused him to decide to disappear) so if he's back and he discovers where you are that could be very bad news indeed.

Your dreams have also become more vivid and easier to recall. One of those seems to be of the Vagabond's Hope emerging from jump and encountering a group of vessels near the jump. The gaggle of other vessels seems to be stationary and the Vagabond's Hope just sweeps on by....

160 - 1105 (Day before emergence from Jump at Flammarion): Some of the crew have been experiencing some strange and vivid dreams and are all behaving somewhat irritably and strangely, is it due to the strange crate we found aboard the star? Are the problems being caused by psionic means? Does the crate contain a Zodani? Masuyo asks Cyndariel to run some tests for any anomalies or abnormalities in our brain chemistry. The tests prove negative for Earl and Cyndariel, I however am showing some slightly elevated levels of cortisone and adrenaline, which may be the cause of mine and other crew members abnormal behaviour. She asks that these test be carried out at regular intervals until we emerge from Jump.

Masuyo sends a message ahead to request a meeting with Casarii and also sends a quick request for information on the strange crystal we have and also decides to have a closer look at it, and does some research for more information, but there is not much available. She comes up with the idea to try and shine a light through it onto a bulkhead to see if there is anything inside it or if there are crystal formations or anything else. She sets it up on a box with a bright light set up to shine through it, turning off the room, her best guess is that there is no liquid inside, if there is it is full to the brim and would be transparent. The crystals themselves are not well defined, not sharp as may be expected.

Cyndariels second round of tests continue to show elevated chemical levels in myself a several others from the group that boarded the Vigilant Star, but this may be a false positive due to the stress of regular and multiple tests, the levels have not risen and appear to be the same, as a baseline and for a control Cyndariel tests Masuyo as a comparison and she shows much lower levels than the rest of us. The final test before emerging from Jump shows the same results, no increase but also no significant reduction either.

The next day we emerge from Jump and see several Far Trader ships, tightly grouped, they appear to be doing something but it is unknown what this may be. Earl informs us that this scenario exactly matches his dream. I head down to the engine room to try and coax a little more power out of the engine as requested by Masuyo, Chase carefully manoeuvres us around the group of ships as a precaution - as we pass the Far trader ships we get a quick message from them "Just remember there was nothing to see here..." Masuyo replies with a "Fine."

We get a message form the Scout Service "Message sent to Casarii, head to High Port" and they will let us know when Casarii responds. A couple of hours later we get another message requesting we change our destination to the Naval Base and Casarii is waiting for us. Once we land we get everything powered down and invite Casarii aboard for a quick tour after a quick debrief. After the tour we let him know what happened at 567-908 - We inform Casarii and the Navy of the encrypted crystal we have we tell them how to find us to retrieve it, we also tell Casarii of the container we found and where we are keeping it, but that none of us want to go near it again. We also point out all of the oddities and abnormalities experienced in regards to the item, Masuyo asks if there is a geologist aboard the station that can have a look at the crystal for us, and is informed that there is indeed someone who can help so Casarii sets up a meeting for her. We hand over copies of the salvage data to Casarii and we are each paid 1,000 credits. He lets us know that he has booked rooms for us all at the Advantage Hotel for the two weeks it will take for the ship refit.

View of a hotel lobby with desks to the left and right and a set of lift doors opposite the viewpoint

The lobby of the Advantage Hotel as visualized by the marketing department (the reality is a little more worn and grubby - buit not too far from this image)

We all head out and check into the hotel some of us head down to the bar for food and drinks, we spot a group of people who are for all intents and purposes NUTS, full of conspiracy theories on the Ancients and various other subjects. They are on their way to Karin for a conference on it. Cyndariel and I have heard about the Ancients, I zone out while they continue with their loud and boisterous discussions. After I have had enough of the craziness I head back to room for some sleep, Cyn decides to stay a while longer listening some more, and the craziness just continues.

Chase is out wandering around the station, Flammarion is a company planet Ling Standard Products (LSP), mostly mining, there is talk that they may be closing down on Flammarion. Chase runs a quick background check on them. Chase then happens upon a bar that appears to be for Navy personnel, so he enters (in his Scout uniform) and they bar goes quiet, he heads to the bar and asks for a pint of ale and starts chatting with the barman, the whole bar seem to be listening in on their chat. "So what do folks do around here?" two burly guys approach and Earl (who is accompanying Chase) asks "What can I do for you?" Most of the bar is now standing at this point obviously ready for trouble, and Earl asks for a non alcoholic beverage, Chase discreetly steps to the side and moves subtly away from Earl and as he (Earl) sits down a punch is thrown but misses as the target had moved. Earl manages to knock the puncher out but this only aggravates his friends so he makes a hasty retreat out the door and heads back to the hotel. Chase in the meantime has moved back to the bar and buys a round of drinks for the guys in the bar. He kind of sticks out as a Scout with his uniform on and he doesn’t really fit in the squaddies bar, he does notice that there are no Officers present, finding out for the boys that security is more lax here that in other Naval bars. These guys have only been here between 0 - 18 months and are based out of Glisten - Mora, they are not funded within the Spinward Marches, Regina gets all the funding apparently, but this is the quieter end of the Marches. They pass some banter back and forth and Chase buys a final round before leaving.

A translucent cyan-coloured complete geode

A polished Denuli Crystal

The next morning after a peaceful night, Masuyo meets with the Geologist, showing the crystal and explaining where and how it was acquired, she also explains the oddities she found with it, the Geologist has a closer look and informs Masuyo that it is indeed a rare find and want to conduct some further research on it asking for permission to hold on to it for while whilst she does this. Masuyo agrees and gives her the information on our hotel and how long we will be staying, asking for the results to be sent as soon as possible. She then heads to the Brokers Hall with the details of the of the goods we have, here she is offered a tidy sum of 3,600 credits for it all which we add to the ships funds. A nice payday for a little bit of work.

Cyn visits the Med bay to get a second opinion on the brain chem tests, a check up was performed and confirmation of match to baseline is confirmed, leading to the conclusion that the box was responsible for the imbalance and strange behaviour.

The Navy sends a message thanking us for the encrypted crystal, as for the box the response was WHAT BOX?

The results from the geologist tell us that it is a Denuli Crystal, very few have ever been found, they first appeared around 600 years ago and the actual location of them is still unknown. The estimated value of it is 10,000 credits. Some scientific studies have been carried out on them. All of this information has been provided on letterheaded paper to help with authentication, crystal returned as well. Masuyo heads back to the Brokers Hall to see if she can generate any interest in the crystal, she is informed that this item is not common in the Imperium, more interest from the far side of the Imperium and a higher price may be fetched, In the Core we could potentially get hundreds of thousands for it, There are some people more locally situated interested in it and we are offered 8,000 credits.

Casarii notifies us that the ship has been fully refitted, re supplied and refuelled (1 months worth), lockers have been restocked and a new air raft has been loaded, we have one double turret and an extra hard point but no weapons.

Casarii tells us that the white box we picked up is ours due to the salvage, was destined for Andor and he would like us to take it to Karin Naval base, and to keep an eye out for Zodani activity. We ask where headquarters for the 208 Imperial fleet is as it may be more prudent to take it there rather than anywhere else, and they are based at Iderati, we discuss the possibility of taking it there and loosely plan to Jump to Debarre and then Iderati. Would there be a benefit to us for taking the box to Iderati? Should we just take it there and ask them what to do with the damn box.

D&D Session 3

Bashers secures 7 rooms at a reasonable price for the party - 1GP per night at the Stonehill inn.

Silanne & Tremen head to the townhall and report the possible deaths of the dwarf and his protector at the hands of some goblins, that we adequately hunted down and dispatched.

A single storey building with a peaked roof. The building stretches back some way,

A potential view of the Sleeping Giant Inn

Fiorana approaches the Sleeping Giant (tavern) which suspiciously looks empty and others seem to be wary of. The hairs on the back of her neck tingle, so she decides to scout the perimeter, noticing prying eyes on her movements. A little careful questioning leads to some information about a gang called Redbrands that owns the tavern and are disliked by the locals.

The dwarf that I meet in the miners exchange, after exchanging greetings we begin a discussion. He seems upset at the news about the dwarf missing possibly killed by the goblins, he mentions they think somebody called spider may be controlling the goblins, after I mention that they seemed to be a little organised. I inquire about the mine and where the dwarfs brothers might be, to which he mentions they will be at the secret mine at echo cave. I relay this to Tremen whom I meet on my way back to the inn.

The party assembles in the inn, Basher & Fiorana decide to check out the Sleeping Giant. As they head out a commotion is heard outside. A cart is seen heading into town escorted by locals, full of goblins. The towns folk are cheering. After a short time they head off and discreetly gain entry into the Sleeping Giant. A little bit of snooping around discloses some rooms and a crowd downstairs in the cellar. Basher returns to the party and informs us that Fiorana is hidden inside the tavern and listening to the crowd. Some time passes and no sign of her return yet

A view of a room. There is a window on the left wall and two doors with small barred windows on the wall opposite the viewpoint. There is a desk against the right hand wall.

Interior view of the Townmaster's Hall (entrance hall)

Tremen the Tremolous engages with the locals who brought in the goblins, and discovers that they were caught slightly north of the funeral pyre he set. The locals discloses that the goblins muttered something about a dwarf and human been captured but were separated. The 4 captured goblins are escorted to the cells at the town hall, and returns to the inn. Fioranne returns some time later to the inn around 9.30 and passes on what she overheard.

A short time later a messenger arrives and asks for the party, we are told we are wanted at the town hall as the town clerk wishes to hire us, to rescue the dwarf & human mentioned by the goblins. Tremen heads off to negotiate our fees, & 20GP per person is agreed. He then heads off to question the goblins about the location of the cave, which they disclose as the north of the funeral fire (the hidden goblin path discovered by Silanne). One of the goblin warns him about the water, and a big goblin with stick, which Tremen believes is a lookout.

Our ranger is absent, but is mostly likely doing a sweep of the village perimeter. The party don't worry as Silanne is experienced and very good at not been spotted

Cyberpunk Session 11

After a short break (of a few weeks in length) we all reconvene and are joined by Nameraka who has been on a long undercover operation. The short break has been very quiet - we've been getting on with paperwork and our investigation has continued but with no active events. Specifically we've been:

Tremen: Doing background research on the South American Mercenary Company and the South African publishing company (Both of whom are about 18 months old)
Ricky: Heads to the streets looking for rumours and hints about unusual activity (but is met with either spun yarns or with looks of perplexed looks)
Shadowdancer: Heads to the bars in a similar fashion to Ricky (if inside rather than outside in the rain and is met with similar wild tales or strange looks)
Spooky Witch: Scans the dark web and the real web for hits on anything related to the events in Cyberpunk Session 10 (She finds that Over the past couple of weeks several observatories around the world have reported that 5 stars that where thought to be stable and years before their time to go nova have disappeared. This unknown stellar phenomena has not been seen before and the scientific community are a buzz for it's implications. and The spree of murders attributed to Sgt. Masher have continued, the total is up to 27 and it is believed are there more as the homeless, immigrant and transient population cannot be fully accounted for.
Tharbin: Gives our american colleagues a nudge about progress on their research (and is relieved to learn that, while they can't add anything at present, that the investigation is proceeding).
Wakiya: Checks the Weirdo magazines but reports that she can't find anything directly relevant at this point

Ricky and Shadowdancer return to the office (Shadowdancer a little worse for wear) in the late afternoon and our conversation (which is just going around in around in circles) is interrupted by two burly gentleman enter the office and insist (in no uncertain terms) we accompany them. After Tremen checks their ID we comply. They take us to the elevators and, after the doors close, we are surprised (some less os that others) when the elevator goes sideways instead of up or down. When the elevator stops its right wall slides away to reveal a new lobby and we are led to a well-appointed office. (On the way Ricky and Tremen overhear part of a conversation: Perrrfect now we have some new blood and at least one member of our group is convinced they can smell food cooking behind a closed door - it smells good).

The office has a picture window showing a view of Sakura trees (bearing in mind our offices are up in a standard office block this is a liitle unusual but perhaps it's simply a generated picture though the image does look extremely realistic). We are greeted by a Smartly dressed woman in a Kimono. She is Lady Kitsune and says that Daisuke¹ has given me permission to move your squad over to my part of Section 9. She further explains that, while we may find her information unbelievable the daylight world isn't all that there is and that the the secret world of Yoki, Oni and the like is very real, the Illuminati, Templars, and Dragons to name but a few are all part of this Himitsu no sekai. She tells us that, for now, we should continue our investigation into the activities of Neuf mères in Japan and while we are to have access to this part of the building it has no cell, net or direct lines so any information must be handed over in person and that we may see things in this part of the building that are not normal.

A decrepid warehouse, viewed from the outside. It is dark and raining

CCTV view of the warehouse

She then tell us that the maid of Sato² has been found - more accurately her body has been found. She was killed with a single shot. The shot was from a gun believed to be a Pool gun³. The autopsy suggests she was killed in a different location and then taken to the location where the body was found.

She also tells us about a Warehouse where she believes that the gang using the gun uses and tells us that She wants the warehouse raided Now, no warrant, no notice.....

The Warehouse is in a rundown part of town. On the southeast corner of the warehouse is the entrance to a parking lot and a set of offices.

After a very short planning session we head to the warehouse and start the raid....

Footnotes

The first name of our old boss ↩
See Cyberpunk Session 6 ↩
One used in several unrelated killings and believed to used by different killers who use the gun as and when needed ↩