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[Game On] 3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars PBP
INeedNoSalt
with blood on my teethRegistered User regular
with blood on my teethRegistered User regular
3:16 CARNAGE AMONGST THE STARS
...
"Tired of life? Join the Expeditionary Force and see the Cosmos."
...
"Tired of life? Join the Expeditionary Force and see the Cosmos."
...
"See where your tour of duty in the 3:16th Expeditionary Force takes you and your friends. Join in Terra's plan to kill every living thing in the Universe to protect the home world."
Thus reads the rear cover of 3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars, and it is very thorough.
3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars follows a squad of space troopers in the elite 3:16th unit of the Expeditionary Force; the 16th brigade of the 3rd Army. They are soldiers who left the perfect paradise of their home world Terra, where crime and violence are forgotten ideas, where people live forever and disease is a myth, to kill bugs. Lots and lots of bugs.
In fact, they left Terra to kill everything in the Universe -- the only way to ensure the enduring prosperity of Terra.
The theme and flavor of 3:16 is very reminiscent of media like the classic Aliens or Starship Troopers, as well as other games like Warhammer 40k, with a heavy emphasis on military interaction and hierarchy as well as a strong focus on killing lots of bugs.
...
Who wants to give this a shot?
Who wants to give this a shot?
I'm looking to run a game of 3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars here (obviously) and I need some players. Four is ideal; I won't take more than that. I'll leave recruitment up for a few days (or not, depending on how fast interest comes in) and then I'll play favorites. I'll give preference to people who own the book (or are willing to buy it), but it's not mandatory (the game's very simple.)
If you're interested, say so, and post a character sheet, using this template:
Name:
Reputation:
Rank:
Fighting Ability:
Non-Fighting Ability:
Total Kills:
Kills This Mission:
Strengths
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Weaknesses
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Hatred for Home
Kits, Medals, and Notes
Reputation:
Rank:
Fighting Ability:
Non-Fighting Ability:
Total Kills:
Kills This Mission:
Strengths
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Weaknesses
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Hatred for Home
Kits, Medals, and Notes
Character creation is easy, if you're unfamiliar with the system:
Come up with a name. Just one name. A nickname, a surname, a Christian name -- whatever, but you only got one name. Make it a good one.
Describe your reputation. This should be a word or short phrase that describes the sort of person your character is.
Choose your Fighting Ability and Non-Fighting Ability. They have to add up to 10. They can't be lower than 2.
Roll Xd10, where X is your Fighting Ability, and add the results up. This is your starting Total Kills. It describes how many life forms you have killed since becoming a member of the 3:16th.
Rank comes in after I've selected our players. Whoever has the highest NFA is in charge; they're the Sergeant. Whoever has the highest FA is second; they're the Corporal. Everyone else is a trooper.
Gear is defined by your rank, so leave it alone. Also, don't touch your Flashbacks.
Describe your reputation. This should be a word or short phrase that describes the sort of person your character is.
Choose your Fighting Ability and Non-Fighting Ability. They have to add up to 10. They can't be lower than 2.
Roll Xd10, where X is your Fighting Ability, and add the results up. This is your starting Total Kills. It describes how many life forms you have killed since becoming a member of the 3:16th.
Rank comes in after I've selected our players. Whoever has the highest NFA is in charge; they're the Sergeant. Whoever has the highest FA is second; they're the Corporal. Everyone else is a trooper.
Gear is defined by your rank, so leave it alone. Also, don't touch your Flashbacks.
...
"So, how do we play it?" I asked. "Simple," said the Sarge, and then he trailed off. That was it. "Simple."
"So, how do we play it?" I asked. "Simple," said the Sarge, and then he trailed off. That was it. "Simple."
Almost everything in the game comes down to rolling 1d10 against you relevant ability, NFA or FA. Rolling high but not too high is generally the order of the day, as the order of events (as in combat) occur based on successful rolls from highest to lowest.
Combat is very abstracted. It's cool. It's very narrative. We'll go into that when it comes up, if anyone is unfamiliar with the system.
One of the most important mechanics in the game is the Flashback, which come up when the dice go one way and you need them to go another. You step in, say, "But my character remembers..." or something like that, describe a past event relevant to the situation, and then take narrative control of the scene; in the case of a Strength flashback, you win; with a Weakness flashback, you lose (but you lose on your own terms.)
Very cool stuff, and we will get into it more when the game gets going.
Who's in?
Sergeant Loki, played by Fiaryn
Corporal Bruno, played by mightyspacepope
Trucido, played by IAmUnaware
[url=http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showpost.php?p=11982000&postcount=15[/url]Jace[/url], played by Pirate Viper
INeedNoSalt on
0
Posts
They are just "Fighting Ability" and "Non-Fighting Ability." They are that broad, and they're rated from 2 to 9 (and have to add up to 10 at character creation.)
Anytime you're fighting, you use Fighting Ability. Any time you're doing anything else (including killing things in manners not involving fighting) you use NFA.
The system's really simple, and conflict resolution comes down to trying to remove the threat's Threat Tokens before they kill you. Usually, that means you'll be 'fighting' a small handful of Tokens that represent potentially hundreds of aliens.
It is, how do you, say, "Indy."
Edit number like five: If you want to be specialized in, say, a specific kind of weapon -- after every mission, whatever weapon it is you're using, you become better with it. So although everyone has the same generic Fighting Ability skill, you might be better, say, with a slug-thrower rifle at Long Range and someone else might be best with a sidearm at close range.
That could be you.
Here is the official website which is kind of a mess for 3:16: http://gregorhutton.com/boxninja/threesixteen/index.html
Here is where you can buy the PDF for $10: https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16652&cat=0&page=1
You can also buy the PDF + Hardcopy for $25, and it's a pretty book, so it's worth it.
Here is data that should've been in the OP but it wasn't because I forgot it:
4 players!
Play-By-Post, right here!
Invisiblecastle.com rolls our dice!
If you're reading the thread, you have to play.
Not strict posting requirements -- 3-4 posts a week is good, and the encounters aren't too mechanically involved so they should still move at a reasonable pace.
Each 'session' of this game covers a single Planet and the efforts to kill all life on that planet. Sessions will be fairly quick, consisting of 4 encounters or so.
In other words, I'll play your game, you rogue.
I'll get a character up sometime later.
Reputation: Angry, angry man
Rank: Trooper
Order 1: Kill as many lifeforms as you can.
Fighting Ability: 7
Non-Fighting Ability: 3
Total Kills: 7d10=53
Kills This Mission:
Strengths
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Weaknesses
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Hatred for Home
Kits, Medals, and Notes
Weapons: Slug rifle, grenades, hand-to-hand combat training
Gear: MandelBrite armor, knife, hydration tablets, TRMs, medipack, backpack, combat drugs, flares, an unused field manual.
Though I might actually go for more of an officer build since I doubt anyone else will
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Reputation: Cunning stim-pack fiend
Rank: Sergeant
Order 3: Follow directives issued by the Officers.
Order 4: Protect your squad of Troopers.
Fighting Ability: 4
Non-Fighting Ability: 6
Total Kills: 4d10=30
Kills This Mission:
Strengths
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Weaknesses
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Hatred for Home
Kits, Medals, and Notes
Weapons: Slug Rifle, sidearm, hand-to-hand
Other Gear is: MadelBrite Armor, knife, hydration tablets, TRMs, medipack, backpack, combat drugs, flares, radio, and a well-used field manual.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
NFA is a good call for someone who uses vehicles, because NFA is what you roll to get promoted, and you need a few promotions to get qualified to use vehicles (and the more intense explosives.)
316 kill space bugs erry day
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Reputation: Jovial Trooper
Rank:
Order 1: Kill as many lifeforms as you can.
Fighting Ability: 6
Non-Fighting Ability: 4
Total Kills: 37
Kills This Mission:
Strengths
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Weaknesses
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Hatred for Home
Kits, Medals, and Notes
Weapons/Equipment. Slug Rifle, grenades, hand-to-hand. MandelBrite Armor, knife, hydration tablets, TRMs, medipack, backpack, combat drugs, flares, and an unused field manual.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Tentatively closing recruitment now, and hoping to see mightyspacepope's character.
Name: Bruno
Reputation: Once fist-fought a bear
Rank: Corporal
Order 2: Maximize the kill ratio (bugs per trooper.)
Fighting Ability: 8
Non-Fighting Ability: 2
Total Kills: 8d10=39
Kills This Mission:
Strengths
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Weaknesses
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Hatred for Home
Kits, Medals, and Notes
Weapons/Equipment:
Heavy MG, grenades, hand-to-hand
MandelBrite Armor, knife, hydration tablets, TRMs, medipac, backpack, combat drugs, flares, mitt/ball, entrenching tools, holo-show, and a tatty field manual.
Loki, you have the following Responsibilities:
Order 3: Follow directives issued by the Officers.
Order 4: Protect your squad of Troopers.
Your weapons are: Slug Rifle OR Heavy MG, sidearm, hand-to-hand
Your Other Gear is: MadelBrite Armor, knife, hydration tablets, TRMs, medipack, backpack, combat drugs, flares, radio, and a well-used field manual. Also, whatever other Trooper Shit you want.
You can use an E-Vac once per planet -- takes y'all off the planet and ends the encounter.
Our Corporal is Bruno.
Bruno, you have the following responsibility:
Order 2: Maximize the kill ratio (bugs per trooper.)
Your weapons are: E-Cannon OR Heavy MG, grenades, hand-to-hand.
Your other gear: MandelBrite Armor, knife, hydration tablets, TRMs, medipac, backpack, combat drugs, flares, mitt/ball, and a tatty field manual. Also whatever Trooper Shit you want.
Jace and Trucido, you are Troopers.
Jace and Trucido, you have the following responsibility:
Order 1: Kill as many lifeforms as you can.
Your weapons are: Energy Rifle OR Slug Rifle, grenades, hand-to-hand.
Your other gear is: MandelBrite Armor, knife, hydration tablets, TRMs, medipack, backpack, combat drugs, flares, and an unused field manual. Also whatever other Trooper Shit you want.
So disappointed.
Also Energy Rifles sound fancy.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
The first couple of planets will probably be randomly generated. We'll probably also start with me framing the scenes and encounters, but the game takes a "Yes, and..." approach to narration, so I'm hoping you'll all get comfortable, into the groove, and start to take part in that eventually.
Edit: What a terrible ToTP
Here's something with more zazz
http://1d4chan.org/images/f/fa/1206768954856.jpg
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Not that we'll need them in our peace loving mission of diplomacy.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Energy rifles are neat and all, but they can't compare to the satisfying crack of the rifle going off or the meaty THUNK of the slug hitting its target right between the eyes.
That's the sound of diplomacy, my friends.
Straight from the book.
Bruno, that is not standard issue MandelBrite armor!
Also, combat is fairly abstract has been said; combat range is just 'close, near, far'; if you people want to get some little tokens up for your characters (say 64x64) we'll use those on the range map, or otherwise I'll use generic markers or just note ranges in text.
0615, in the mess hall of the STARSHIP CURIE
"Orders are here," Lieutenant Brown declared, stepping into the mess hall.
Early morning -- breakfast time. Not the kind of time anyone wants to see an officer, really, especially not one bearing orders.
The CURIE had been in orbit around Cezanne for a week now, though along with several other ships in the 3:16th. It was an abnormally long wait, but it had been peaceful. Those more senior soldiers knew this meant the bugs below weren't up to the task of making the effort to shoot them down.
"We launch at oh-eight-hundred," the Lieutenant said. "The brains in the NOBEL decided they've got this place sussed, all figured out." He hit the lightswitch on the wall, and the room went dark. There were some groans. Someone spilt their milk. The mess represented a number of squads, and the Sergeant of each reported to Lieutenant Brown. A display along the far wall of the mess lit up, displaying a cityscape in reds and oranges with charts to match.
"As you can see," Lieutenant Brown said, pointing to the map, "Ground level on Cezanne is deadly radioactive. Your MandelBrite suits are being calibrated this moment to handle it -- and you better hope they hold, because if your hull integrity fails, likely as not you will melt down there." He looked around to some apathetic faces.
He pointed to a building in particular, now. "We are moving in on this city," he said. "The intelligence on the NOBEL says they expect some underground facility accessible through several routes beneath the government centers of the city, as they have identified them. We'll be dropping in here," he said, and indicated a plaza in front of a large building on the map, "And proceeding through a number of buildings simultaneously, to avoid any opportunity for any bugs to escape."
"Questions?"
Slumped over in a supremely un-energetic position, the lethargic Sergeant Loki stops methodically shovelling rations into his mouth long enough to query "Do we have an estimate on what kind of numbers we'll be facing Sir? Are we talking a fly swatting operation or a..." he pauses here to stifle a yawn "...a genuine infestation?"
Also it looks pretty.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
He was sitting near the door and heard it clearly over the din of the mess: a clicking sound outside, getting louder... boot heels getting closer. From the heaviness of the steps, they sounded like nice boots too. Officer boots. Trucido dropped his utensil on his plate noisily and growled to himself. While we're eating. God damn brass. Still, though, his anger was tinged with anticipation.
He listened to the prebrief with a certain lack of interest. Details, details, brains figure they know it all, ship out time, something about melting. Whatever. Every mission was the same, as far as he was concerned. Hit the weird-looking soil, kill the weird-looking monsters. Anything not wearing MandelBrite dies. Sometimes you have to kill something wearing MandelBrite too. Every mission was the same, and each one was the best goddamn day of his life.
Trucido lived in a sort of detached haze most of the time, carrying out his daily shipboard duties without much interest or care but well enough not to get chewed out. It was mechanical. He hated most of it, but he viewed it as a fee to be paid, and he figured it wasn't too steep. He would have done a hell of a lot worse to get down into combat. Down there he was a whole different man, and he was the master of the universe as far as the bugs were concerned.
The LT barked "Questions?" Trucido remained silent but he thought to himself: Yeah, why the fuck aren't we leaving right NOW?
Jace listened as the LT explained the details, not really taking anything in. His mind was already on the mission, trying to figure out how he would react to any number of situations. He shook himself out of the daydreams in time to hear the SGT's question and looked at the LT expectantly.
Lieutenant Brown turned his attention to the small pad he held in hand -- a small computer, the same device he used to call up the displays.
After a few moments, he shrugged.
"Need to know," he said. "And I guess we don't need to know. Report says they're not prepared to firebomb the surface until these bunkers are cleared out. Nothing about expected resistance."
He turned his attention away from Sergeant Loki for a moment. "Sergeant Lush? I'll be dropping with your squad. Keep it in mind."
"Anything else, troopers? Make it quick."
"Of course, Sir" Loki responds with a slow forming smile, reassuring his superior officer as he reclined in his chair. Surprises can be fun I suppose...a little bit of tension to spice the high of death he mused to himself as they awaited any further questions for Lt. Shiny Boots. Hopefully our officer friend won't be too much of a killjoy.
Abandoning his reverie, Loki cast a glance about the room for the Corporal. He fully expected some manner of boisterous outburst.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Bruno continued to spoon mouthfuls of oatmeal into his mouth as the LT spoke. He listened as he ate, noting the important details.
When the LT was done speaking and seemed ready to dismiss them, he speared a piece of sausage with his fork and held it in front of him, pointing across the table at Jace. "Woo, baby, woo! I hope you're ready for some action, Jace. You kill the bugs, you get the love, baby. That's how you get some hair on that bird chest and sit at the big boys' table."
The fact that Jace was. indeed, sitting at the same table as Bruno was inconsequential.
"That's how you get to pack the heavy metal, baby!"
He held his other fist out, ready to receive a fist bump from the other trooper.
Jace stared at Bruno in mild amusement, not bothering to point out that he was at the same table, that he and Bruno sat together for practically every meal. He instead responded with an enthusiastic fist bump of his own. "Hey Bruno, I'll bet next weeks rifle cleaning detail that I kill more bugs than you."
Lieutenant Brown
With nothing else to be said, the Lieutenant nodded and the lights in the mess lit back up. The image on the wall faded. "Enjoy your breakfast, soldiers." What he didn't say: "It might well be your last."
He trotted out of the mess. Breakfast resumed.
0825, aboard Dropship 003
The dropship shook violently as it penetrated the atmosphere of Cezanne, and though each of the troopers was strapped tightly into place, they shook, too.
Sergeant Loki's squad was in this ship, as well as four others -- twenty soldiers total. The five Sergeants sat nearest the rear hatch. They would be the first onto the ground.
A woman's voice spoke over the intercom -- their pilot.
"Prepare to drop in ... sixty seconds ... "