It looks like level 1 harm/damage is healed automatically by the Reward step though?
7. Every Pilot removes any Level 1 Harm they have, and every Vehicle removes any
Level 1 Damage it has.
Oh hey, you're right! I was going off what I heard on the podcast by the creator but that must've been old rules. You are correct, clear all level 1 harm/damage for free.
So, 33 is going to visit the previous prison physician.
Cause she sure can't trust the family doctor now.
She's going to take Holdout along for support.
(Assisting is free and provides +1d to the actual Recover rolls I believe; the below roll is the Fortune roll for the Ally creation)
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Alright, I did an audit of all of Mentalist's actions (I did a lot of Gaining Stress To Resist Stuff mostly), and I'm going to put my 2 Pilot XP into Resolve. Halfway to a skill-up!
Since we're getting clearing Lv. 1 Harm for free, I'll change my actions to Collect (really worried about our liquidity right now), Cut Loose, and then depending on that result maybe Cut Loose again?
The only caveat is the Train action, which you can only take once per XP track per downtime.
It should be noted that we have the upgrade that will give you 2XP if you Train Insight, as opposed to the normal 1, so that's worth thinking about.
@discrider
(A 1-3 shows that they don't want to see you, but could be convinced to help. Any roll less than a 6 incurs Consequences as appropriate to the Position, which might be related to your past with the Ally, the Ally's current situation, or something unrelated to the Ally. Add the ally to your Connections sheet with a short description instead of Beliefs.)
(is Stitcher his name, nickname?)
Stitcher works out of the infirmary in the prison, a run-down, gritty sort of place, always lacking supplies, rarely cleaned, but he's known for doing right by his patients as best he can with what he's got. "Miss...Jade?" He says, looking over some paperwork, purposely ignoring her. There's an edge to his voice. "Someone's sent you to me instead of the other way around? What a surprise. Unfortunately, I really don't have time to see you or your friend right now." He gestures with his clipboard.
Why doesn't he want to see you? What happened last time? How are you going to change his mind?
@Nips
Collect: Pressure locals to provide your squad with Supply Points. Choose a Region to Collect from, and roll dice equal to its Wealth rating. Gain an amount of Supply Points equal to the highest die rolled, and if a crit is rolled take 9 Supply Points instead. However, those supplies aren't meant for you. If any of the dice come up as a 1, gain the Supply Points, but then immediately roll an Entanglement on the table determined by your Relationship with the Factionn that controls that Region. If a Faction does not control the Region, use your Status with the squad that has the strongest presence in the Region. After the first Collect during Downtime each subsequent Collect takes a cumulative -1d (min 0) as likely targets begin to take precautions. This can be supplemented by trading Supply Points at a rate of 1 Personnel spent to gain 1 Materiel (or 1 Materiel for 1 Personnel) representing forcibly setting market prices on locals. You can also spend 1 Personnel to take an extra Collect activity.
Stitcher's not his real name of course.
It's what all the inmates call him.
Probably got some boring name like 'Jones'.
Kiku sighs,
"Look, I know you'd like to see the back of me, but I don't have any other doc I can go to."
She rolls up her sleeve to where a purple blotch has spread from her scar.
"Last one I had messed me up."
"I know that the one who runs this place would rather have you cast me to the wolves, what with my help in advertising your work all over her grunts.
But looking at this place", she gestures at the bare cupboards and dilapidated furniture, "I figure I can make it worth your time.
So what's it going to take?"
Stitcher taps on the counter with his clipboard, before scanning the place.
"I shouldn't even be talking to you", he complains, before standing up and sucking
air through his teeth.
"But if I were looking for something, I could really use this place cleaned up.
Don't want to keep creating more work for myself with guests going out with more ailments than they came in with."
Kiku looks around.
There's a solid week's cleaning in here.
"Sure. Whatever. I need this doc."
She lies down on the cleanest bed she can find, before motioning to Thomas.
"Keep eyes on him for me will you?"
She turns back to the doc.
"It's not that I don't trust you doc but..", she pauses, "no, it's that. Don't want any happy accidents and we already talked about the last doc"
(Pay the man the personnel, and what am I rolling here for his Medic level?)
@Xagar
Enhance: When you spend time improving your vehicle, add 1 mark to the vehicle Enhance track. If you have the Testing Facility squad upgrade, mark 2 instead. When the track fills, add a new Quirk to your vehicle OR add a point to a vehicle action. You can also spend 1 Materiel to take an extra Enhance activity.
Train: When you spend time bettering yourself, mark 1 attribute XP or 1 playbook XP. If you have the right squad training upgrade, mark 2 XP instead. You can only train each XP track once per downtime. You can also spend 1 Personnel to take an extra Train activity. so if you Train Insight, you'd get 2 ticks instead of 1.
Just so everyone remembers, you have 3 downtime actions. Don't forget about Long-term projects or working towards your drive clocks.
I'll take an Enhance action, a Train (Resolve) action, and a Fix action for the Rip in the Crayfish's armor (taking 2 Stress).
Geth, roll 2d6l1 for repair without proper tools or expertise
EDIT: Forgot I didn't need to roll dice here since level 1 harm is auto removed.
---
There's an establishing shot of the FOB, late at night. The camera moves past a weathered sign with a googly-eyed elephant painted on it, settling on a nondescript warehouse, harsh light spilling out of a crack under in the large main door. Sparks reflect off of Tom's sunglasses as he sets a hand welder down on the arm of the Crayfish with a heavy CLUNK, and he exhales a heavy sigh.
He looks over the work of the last several hours, heavy metallic armor plating welded solidly onto the inner sides of the state-of-the-art Dark Skies Security crystalline armor. Ugly as hell, but it'll hold, he thinks. He steps down a ladder with the welder, taking another two pills from his backpack and downing them with the rest of the water in the accompanying bottle.
The lights shut off from inside the hangar, and Tom steps out, starting back towards the squad's quarters. Thought I'd be ready for this, but this place is so...empty. The gang was more warm and inviting than this. He tries to stop the thoughts, but a face fills his mind, a smiling young girl in profile, looking out a massive bay window down on a shining planet below. Robin, he thinks to himself, I haven't forgotten. Soon enough this job will put me where I can find out who gave the order.
---
Some time later, Tom is at the nearby coffee shop again, flipping through a stack of official-looking three-ring binders from the Democracy, trying to get a sense of their policies and procedures so he knows how they work. A tablet beside the binders holds a more modern manual, dense paragraphs of technical information with the signature black ring DSS logo.
So spend a Personnel to upgrade the healing result to a full clock (and an extra).
Stitcher ignores Kiku as she removes her arm from her top for examination.
You don't stay a prison medic without getting accustomed to some bluster.
He draws his breath as the ugly black welt reveals itself.
And then chuckles.
'Didn't take you for a group act Kiku. But this isn't even the worst ink I've seen this week.'
He reaches for a scalpel before carefully chipping off a flake of skin.
He drops the affected skin into an analysis pouch, before squinting at the changing mixture.
'Got some sort of metal. Probably some sort of additive too. Rat poison or the like.'
'Now if anyone asks,' turning to address Tom as well, 'this hurt more than it did. Don't want to cause trouble by saying I let you off easy'.
'But truthfully,', he says, brandishing the steel wool, 'this is going to be quite uncomfortable'.
---
'There.'
Stitcher finishes bandaging the arm.
'You want to rest the arm for a bit. It's going to be sore until that area heals over. She'll want to take some of these as well', he throws Tom an unmarked orange tube of pills.
'Binding agent. Help clean up any of the stuff that's still floating around in her system.'
Kiku slowly stands up, wincing as the bandage pulls taut.
'Thanks doc.'
Stitcher doesn't drop his guarded expression as he guides them out the door, 'Just make sure to have someone over tomorrow to fix up my place, you hear?'
"Here's the latest from Tray Averston and Samantha Bean at The Quill, the Democracy's, and Humanity's, most unbiased and important news organization. The Quill is, as always, mightier than the sword."
A male and female anchor, both attractive in fairly conventional ways. Tray looks into the camera.
"More information about the incident in Hulinton..." A grainy video shows the explosion and collapse of the communications tower. "The Church isn't making any public statements at this time, but signs point to an attack by the Jovangellion Empire. The Empire has already put out a statement declining any involvement in the incident, but that isn't convincing many who see a growing situation between the Church and the Empire. There are also reports of Jovangellion AWV's in the area at the time of the incident and audio recordings that seem to imply their involvement. However, one of our sources has reported a Church member themselves may have been involved, now being held by the Church of Earth Found. We have also found out the Church's communications were overwhelmed with metal music by a local DJ, perhaps indicating involvement from one of the Independent Izya groups. More on this story as it develops..."
The feed cuts out-
A message comes to Rick, from Drake, informing you to gather the squad for a briefing in 0800 the next day.
Cut Loose: Pilots Cuts Loose to remove Stress from their Stress track. Pick another pilot, and describe how the two of you spend time dealing with the pressure. Roll dice equal to the number of Ticks in your Connection Clock with the pilot joining you, heal Stress equal to the highest die result, then add another Tick to the Connection Clock and a new belief about that pilot. The accompanying pilot does not increase their Connection Clock, nor do they add dice to the Cut Loose roll for participating.
If the Connection Clock fills, ask the target pilot for a truth about one belief youhave about them. Reset the Clock to 1 Tick as you see them in a new light. You both take 1 XP, which can go into either the pilot’s attribute or playbook XP track.
When you Cut Loose and heal more Stress than you have, you overindulge. When you overindulge, you’ve behaved poorly and made choices you’ll likely regret. Choose one way you overindulged from the following:
Attract Trouble (roll an additional entanglement using the table and dice from the
end of the previous mission).
Brag (take -2 Trust with your patron Faction).
AWOL (your pilot vanishes for a few weeks. Play a different pilot until this one
returns from their “vacation.” When your pilot returns, they’ve also healed all their
Harm).
Impropriety (Make an ass out of yourself in front of the pilot that joined you—reset
your Connection Clock with them to 0. If your Connection is already 0, take the
level 1 Harm: Alone).
Whether you overindulge or not, you can decide to Cut Loose and let your pilot skip the next mission. If you do, play a different squad member for that mission. This might be a new squaddie, a friend, or an already familiar NPC.
Cohorts cannot be the accompanying “pilot.” Cohorts or other pilots can be present in the scene (so as long as they’re not the focus), but they do not provide additional dice.
You can spend 1 Personnel for +1d to the Cut Loose roll, or increase the result by one. You can also spend 1 Personnel to take an extra Cut Loose activity.
If you have Scars and don’t take Cut Loose as an activity during downtime, you suffer 1 Stress per Scar.
Sounds like Kiku or Rick got the letter? Feel free to narrate that unless you'd like me to. For you both, describe how the two of you spend time dealing with the pressure. If you want to use the same activity for both Cut Loose actions(Kiku's and Rick's), thats fine, or we can use two different activities.
A little more about the abandoned amusement park that is your FOB. This area used to have a good sized town, mainly based on tourism the park brought in. Antique-stores, farmer's markets, inns and hotels. But as the War made its way to Izya, people stopped coming. The park closed down, stores and hotels closed. Most people left and it basically became a ghost town. There's still a dive bar, a raggedy gas-station, handfuls of squatters here and there trying to hide out from the War. It doesn't have much military value so the Factions leave it alone for the most part.
Kiku storms into the cafe, and scours the place before pulling Tom aside.
'Hey. Can we bounce out of here?', she vents, looking at the stack of papers, 'Unless you're, busy?'
She tilts her head as she idly flicks through the stack.
'I'm sure we can find something more entertaining to do.'
----
A short time later, Tom finds himself squashed in a rusty cart at the top of the abandoned rollercoaster track.
Kiku unzips her bag and presses a drink into his hand, whilst digging out some sandwiches.
Tom tentatively tests the cart whilst feeling rather exposed.
'It's not going anywhere', Kiku laughs, popping open her drink.
'Only got the hill lift working, and the cart wheels and track are so busted you'd need to be hanging vertical before they'd slide anywhere.'
She takes a sip.
'When we want to get down, I can just reverse the motor from here. It ain't much, but the view'
From up here, the base is laid out like a map. The 360 degree vista stretches out across the surrounding ruins and off to the far hills.
Kiku's smile fades as she pulls a letter out.
'They've taken my dad's work.', she states bluntly, sliding the letter to Tom.
'Said that the factory would be better suited under the government's control.
He's been left in charge for now, but he's not getting paid what he was for running the place.
And he's not going to get it back once it's all over and he can stop making toys for the war.'
She chugs the rest of her drink.
'My dad never wanted to make war machines..'
Her voice trails off as she closes her eyes.
Just lucky to be up here than still stuck in a cell.
Minion roll 1d6 for blowing off steam
Then need to think of another belief about Tom.
And third action would probably be a long term project? (Spent one action healing + 1 personnel to bump that to 5 on the clock, Spent one Cutting Loose)
Probably look at getting either the Resolve training facility, or building things for my Drive (Public Works for Drive, Refit Station or Scrapyard/Tool Quality to enable it with my Mech).
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
edited October 2020
[Going to try and catch up in one+ big post(s)]
Rick looks over the books, and sees the near-future shortfalls on a ledger as she does some resource forecasting.
"Hrm." The amateur accountant drums her fingers across the makeshift desk. Might be time to drum up some side business, she thinks to herself.
(A few days later)
Mentalist sits on the hood of a beater rental vehicle, a digital list of names pulled up on a datapad. Deep in the ERC Commercial District, she crosses off the last name on the list, the rest having already been struck.
As it turns out, even the Corps have "deserters". She waves to an ERC Reclamation Squad as they lead that last name on the list away in shackles, another poor bloody salaryman that was hiding out from debts long called in.
Her datapad blurts a delightful beep, quickly followed by a second. The first is notification of an invoice, paid. Good pay, too. The second...
She quickly scans the message, slams her datapad into a rucksack, and quickly jumps into the rental to speed away.
Mentalist was never particularly neat, and tended to leave things strewn about whatever space she claimed. She also never was much for privacy; anything worth hiding, she hid. The rest? Life was too short to spend the energy.
It is only a little curious, then, that you happen to find an unlocked and unencrypted datapad laying near the edge of her desk.
Chris,
The local Empire thugs have been sniffing around Pop's place again. Nothing irreparable, only broke a light fixture this time. I know you're doing your best to settle his debts dirtside, but I don't know how much time Pops has. We either need to work a plan to get him off the colony, or settle with these local goons for good. I'm doing my best, but we need you to come through soon.
I know it's a lot to ask. I know you're doing your best.
Lots of love, sis.
-Madrigal
[Second Action: Cut Loose with 33]
Geth, roll 1d6 for Cut Loose with 33
"Listen, I know it's not exactly our top priority, but we really need to do something about our outfits." 33's eye roll is palpable, but she relents as Mentalist drags her out of the park in a beat-up rental truck.
Half an hour later, Mentalist has a colorful shawl in each hand. She holds one up near 33, then the other. "This one's better for a low-key lurking situation, but this other one matches your eyes so much better!" Mentalist can barely hold back a girlish squeal, and it's clear to any observer that 33 is doing her best to suffer through the assault of fashion being thrown at her.
An hour later, the pair are driving back to the base, a bag of new clothes in the trunk.
[I do actually want my last Downtime Action to be another Cut Loose, but I need clarification from @Cheeseliker about how it needs to work RE: that Entanglement.]
Kiku crashes back into her bunk, weighed down by the absurd amount of clothes stuffed in the dufflebag.
Opening her closet, she eyes the empty space before slamming the bag home, resting on its end.
'Didn't think I'd actually fill this..', she muses.
She didn't have the opportunity to carry many of her personal effects over from her residence, having come planetside straight from being released.
Aside those in her mech.
Kiku breathes deeply, redoing her hair before closing the closet.
And then smiles.
'I guess if we're all doing make-overs..'
She smooths a map of the park over her beside table, scanning the park with her fingers.
There's the haunted house, but that's not much if you're starting out. Have to actually be able to hit the targets.
Her fingers stop on the house of mirrors.
Time to get to work.
Kiku is spending her third action as a long term project to turn a house of mirrors into a Resolve training facility/dojo.
Unsure what she'd need to get that to work @Cheeseliker
On top of the coaster, Tom looks out over the rust, drink in one hand and letter in the other.
After a long pause, he speaks, sun reflecting off his sunglasses. "Up there," he motions with his chin towards the sky, "they don't have all this space. You're so much closer to everyone, to the people that matter. Down in all this...you can just get lost." He waves the letter. "You really think the war's going to end?" Tom shakes his head. "Best you're gonna get is to make it out alive. The rich are all the same, y'know. The Democracy is almost as bad as those ERI bastards."
His hand grips the letter involuntarily as he mentions the Corporatocracy. He turns to look at Kiku. "Make sure you know what's really important. Hold on to your family, keep them close," his voice becomes quiet, "before they're gone." He hands the letter back to Kiku, unread. "But if it looks dangerous, you let me know. We both know you need someone to watch your back."
---
In between missions, Tom will mention to the squad that their vehicles aren't well suited for straight-up fights, and they'll need to come up with a formation or strategy for any vehicle combat to mitigate it. Only Kiku's Raider is really equipped for Battle, while Mentalist's Hidden Agenda is specialized in Destroy, and Tom's Crayfish is best at Bombarding or other more technical strategies.
+2
Options
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
edited October 2020
(Going to use that as an opportunity to Cut Loose with Tom)
Mentalist flags down Tom a couple hours after he mentions the need to coordinate their vehicle tactics. She leads him to a tall, colorful circus tent that hides her vehicle within.
The scene is a mess. Mentalist has used a cherry picker and front-loader to all but dismantle The Hidden Agenda, and weapons and spare parts are arranged in rows in every direction.
"So I know what you said, and it got me thinking. I'm not the greatest on the stick, but I do know how to bash my Agenda's damaging bits into the vital parts of another vehicle. What do you suggest would be a good loadout for that?"
The two of them spend the next while reorganizing and loading up Mentalist's ride for the next job. It turns out to be more work than fun, at least more than Mentalist was expecting.
(Looks like you guys have 5 supply points left. You can keep it all, but you need to designate whether it's Personnel or Material. It feels like you tend to spend more Personnel so maybe 3/2 split, Personnel/Material?
Then, we just need Discrider's long-term project post+roll, and I'll give you the briefing for the next mission.
(Just a reminder, playing fast and loose with time here, so disc, feel free to post your long-term project action and roll after this)
0800:
You sit in the remnants of a “Funhouse” attraction, the glitzy painted-cartoons on the front faded and chipped, leaving misshapen clowns and animals off-putting. Inside, you had to make your way through cramped hallways, past openings holding mechanical contraptions long-since broken down, into a small room with four movie-theater-like chairs facing a large screen.
The screen shows static for a moment before clarifying, showing Drake standing, facing you. He appears to be projecting from his office.
“Crown, congratulations on completion of your first mission. It was a rousing success despite some setbacks. One more step towards claiming Earth for the DFS, I applaud your efforts.”
He crosses his arms behind his back. “Your next target is The Nor. We have intel they are transporting a package from Journey City to their occupied territory. We want that package.” His visage disappears, showing a map of Izya, focusing on the area from Journey City to Might. “In two days time, the package will arrive via The Tower in Journey City. The Hatchetman will transport the package south to Might. Our intel indicates only light security, The Nor are planning on secrecy and speed. Too bad for them.”
The map zooms in on The Broken Bank, the south section of Journey City below the river. “You can either hit them here, it’s a no mans land of rubble and wreckage, close to the city, but far from Nor Territory.” The map moves farther south, showing a road. “Or further south along the road. Whatever you choose, do not let the package reach Might or we will have lost our chance.”
The screen resolves back to showing Drake. “Another squad will be joining you. The 3rd Public Connections Corps. They will provide back-up as well as documentation of the mission. At the moment, they are holed up in a bunker in The Broken Bank.”
The camera zooms in on Drake’s face, looking very serious. “Should any other squads intervene, you are to engage with them until they retreat or are destroyed. We have high hopes for you, Crown. Don’t let the DFS down.”
The screen cuts out as the briefing ends.
Employer: Unknown
Target: The Hatchetmen
Objective: Retrieve the Package
Rules of Engagement:
-No threatening or employing force against civilians.
-No firing upon or presenting as clearly marked medical transport or facility.
-If engaged by another squad, continue engagement until enemy is defeated (retreats, surrenders or is destroyed)
Complications (that you know about):
-If package reaches Might, mission is failed
Kiku leads Rick through the mirror maze.
'And here we are!', she says, glowing.
Rick looks around at the construction equipment laid down in the middle of the building.
'I thought we could turn this into something more useful. Like maybe a beauty parlour? Just have to knock a few of these down.'
Kiku turns to Rick.
She has raised an eyebrow so incredulous it looks like it's trying to leave her face entirely.
'Well, I thought it would be a surprise then.', Kiku rejoins.
'Now here's one for me,', Kiku picks up a sledge, before offering another to Rick, 'and one for you?'
The Mentalist shakes her head and refuses the hammer.
'I think I'll just direct you away from anything important.', she chuckles.
Kiku pouts, but focuses on the task at hand.
It was worth a shot, and she can get her in shape soon enough.
After the briefing, the first thing Tom says is "So the mission is to steal the package, but it's more important to keep it from reaching the target, huh?" He scratches the stubble on his chin. "We'll need to go to that bunker first. Hard to plan anything without knowing about the package; we don't know its size or weight, or if it's a vehicle, or even a person." He thinks for a few more minutes, and says "Might want to see what we can dig up on The Hatchetmen, too."
"Sounds like the package might be easily ambushed in the rubble-field", Kiku muses.
"If I can just get the drop onto the carrier, I should be able to make off with the package right quick.
We should check the field and further south to find the best place to ambush."
(I'd also like to spend a Personnel to bump that Long-term Project Clock to 5 ticks. Then I should be able to complete the facility next down time no matter what.
I'm also not sure whether that other player that was interested in this game is still interested @Cheeseliker ? I couldn't find the relevant thread.)
(they said they could only play for a month so with as slow as we are going right now, it didn't seem like it would work out. The Crown will remain a 3-some for now.)
Things you could do:
-Meet with the other squad
-Gather info about the package, its security, the route, or anything else you can think of.
-Ask allies for intel/help
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
(I was going back and forth between those first two options in my head ready, so since Mentalist is a talker, how about I do a Meet&Greet with the 3PCC?)
(Sounds good.
Was thinking Tom would be great at scouting the route.
And Kiku can ... shout at the other squad?
Was thinking perhaps she could see if she could see how she could utilise the dead mechs in the wasteland with interface/engineer.
Possibly turn them into distractions or sensors.
And figure out how to disguise her Mech so it can just drop into the package and make off with it.)
Posts
7. Every Pilot removes any Level 1 Harm they have, and every Vehicle removes any
Level 1 Damage it has.
I guess two+ Recovers can clear level 2 Harms entirely then but..
Cause she sure can't trust the family doctor now.
She's going to take Holdout along for support.
(Assisting is free and provides +1d to the actual Recover rolls I believe; the below roll is the Fortune roll for the Ally creation)
Minion roll 1d6 for Stitcher
Since we're getting clearing Lv. 1 Harm for free, I'll change my actions to Collect (really worried about our liquidity right now), Cut Loose, and then depending on that result maybe Cut Loose again?
Can you Cut Loose twice in one downtime?
I really need to pick up the book...
I can't see any limitation on the downtime actions in the free rules.
Just if you roll too much healed Stress, you go on a bender and bad things happen.
It should be noted that we have the upgrade that will give you 2XP if you Train Insight, as opposed to the normal 1, so that's worth thinking about.
---
Tom will agree to help Kiku, taking it as a matter of course.
(A 1-3 shows that they don't want to see you, but could be convinced to help. Any roll less than a 6 incurs Consequences as appropriate to the Position, which might be related to your past with the Ally, the Ally's current situation, or something unrelated to the Ally. Add the ally to your Connections sheet with a short description instead of Beliefs.)
(is Stitcher his name, nickname?)
Stitcher works out of the infirmary in the prison, a run-down, gritty sort of place, always lacking supplies, rarely cleaned, but he's known for doing right by his patients as best he can with what he's got. "Miss...Jade?" He says, looking over some paperwork, purposely ignoring her. There's an edge to his voice. "Someone's sent you to me instead of the other way around? What a surprise. Unfortunately, I really don't have time to see you or your friend right now." He gestures with his clipboard.
Why doesn't he want to see you? What happened last time? How are you going to change his mind?
@Nips
https://austin-ramsay.itch.io/beamsaber -There's a quickstart guide here, not sure how much info it has.
Collect: Pressure locals to provide your squad with Supply Points. Choose a Region to Collect from, and roll dice equal to its Wealth rating. Gain an amount of Supply Points equal to the highest die rolled, and if a crit is rolled take 9 Supply Points instead. However, those supplies aren't meant for you. If any of the dice come up as a 1, gain the Supply Points, but then immediately roll an Entanglement on the table determined by your Relationship with the Factionn that controls that Region. If a Faction does not control the Region, use your Status with the squad that has the strongest presence in the Region. After the first Collect during Downtime each subsequent Collect takes a cumulative -1d (min 0) as likely targets begin to take precautions. This can be supplemented by trading Supply Points at a rate of 1 Personnel spent to gain 1 Materiel (or 1 Materiel for 1 Personnel) representing forcibly setting market prices on locals. You can also spend 1 Personnel to take an extra Collect activity.
Regions:
The Might Area(Norrish), Wealth 2
Eastern Izya Peninsula(DFS), Wealth 4
Hulinton(Church), Wealth 2
Fort Jovenal(Empire), Wealth 2
Journey City(independent), Wealth 3
ERC Commercial District(Corporatocracy), Wealth 4
So Mentalist, which region will you Collect from?
Also, who will you hang out with during Cut Loose?
@Xagar let me know if you need more info about those downtime actions if you don't have the book.
"Nice to see you too, Stitcher".
Stitcher's not his real name of course.
It's what all the inmates call him.
Probably got some boring name like 'Jones'.
Kiku sighs,
"Look, I know you'd like to see the back of me, but I don't have any other doc I can go to."
She rolls up her sleeve to where a purple blotch has spread from her scar.
"Last one I had messed me up."
"I know that the one who runs this place would rather have you cast me to the wolves, what with my help in advertising your work all over her grunts.
But looking at this place", she gestures at the bare cupboards and dilapidated furniture, "I figure I can make it worth your time.
So what's it going to take?"
Stitcher taps on the counter with his clipboard, before scanning the place.
"I shouldn't even be talking to you", he complains, before standing up and sucking
air through his teeth.
"But if I were looking for something, I could really use this place cleaned up.
Don't want to keep creating more work for myself with guests going out with more ailments than they came in with."
Kiku looks around.
There's a solid week's cleaning in here.
"Sure. Whatever. I need this doc."
She lies down on the cleanest bed she can find, before motioning to Thomas.
"Keep eyes on him for me will you?"
She turns back to the doc.
"It's not that I don't trust you doc but..", she pauses, "no, it's that. Don't want any happy accidents and we already talked about the last doc"
(Pay the man the personnel, and what am I rolling here for his Medic level?)
@Nips go right ahead and roll.
@Xagar What's Thomas going to do?
Enhance: When you spend time improving your vehicle, add 1 mark to the vehicle Enhance track. If you have the Testing Facility squad upgrade, mark 2 instead. When the track fills, add a new Quirk to your vehicle OR add a point to a vehicle action. You can also spend 1 Materiel to take an extra Enhance activity.
Train: When you spend time bettering yourself, mark 1 attribute XP or 1 playbook XP. If you have the right squad training upgrade, mark 2 XP instead. You can only train each XP track once per downtime. You can also spend 1 Personnel to take an extra Train activity. so if you Train Insight, you'd get 2 ticks instead of 1.
Just so everyone remembers, you have 3 downtime actions. Don't forget about Long-term projects or working towards your drive clocks.
Geth, roll 4d6 for Squeeze The ERC (Collect)
...aaaaand that's an entanglement.
Geth, roll 2d6l1 for repair without proper tools or expertise
EDIT: Forgot I didn't need to roll dice here since level 1 harm is auto removed.
---
There's an establishing shot of the FOB, late at night. The camera moves past a weathered sign with a googly-eyed elephant painted on it, settling on a nondescript warehouse, harsh light spilling out of a crack under in the large main door. Sparks reflect off of Tom's sunglasses as he sets a hand welder down on the arm of the Crayfish with a heavy CLUNK, and he exhales a heavy sigh.
He looks over the work of the last several hours, heavy metallic armor plating welded solidly onto the inner sides of the state-of-the-art Dark Skies Security crystalline armor. Ugly as hell, but it'll hold, he thinks. He steps down a ladder with the welder, taking another two pills from his backpack and downing them with the rest of the water in the accompanying bottle.
The lights shut off from inside the hangar, and Tom steps out, starting back towards the squad's quarters. Thought I'd be ready for this, but this place is so...empty. The gang was more warm and inviting than this. He tries to stop the thoughts, but a face fills his mind, a smiling young girl in profile, looking out a massive bay window down on a shining planet below. Robin, he thinks to himself, I haven't forgotten. Soon enough this job will put me where I can find out who gave the order.
---
Some time later, Tom is at the nearby coffee shop again, flipping through a stack of official-looking three-ring binders from the Democracy, trying to get a sense of their policies and procedures so he knows how they work. A tablet beside the binders holds a more modern manual, dense paragraphs of technical information with the signature black ring DSS logo.
Stitcher ignores Kiku as she removes her arm from her top for examination.
You don't stay a prison medic without getting accustomed to some bluster.
He draws his breath as the ugly black welt reveals itself.
And then chuckles.
'Didn't take you for a group act Kiku. But this isn't even the worst ink I've seen this week.'
He reaches for a scalpel before carefully chipping off a flake of skin.
He drops the affected skin into an analysis pouch, before squinting at the changing mixture.
'Got some sort of metal. Probably some sort of additive too. Rat poison or the like.'
'Now if anyone asks,' turning to address Tom as well, 'this hurt more than it did. Don't want to cause trouble by saying I let you off easy'.
'But truthfully,', he says, brandishing the steel wool, 'this is going to be quite uncomfortable'.
---
'There.'
Stitcher finishes bandaging the arm.
'You want to rest the arm for a bit. It's going to be sore until that area heals over. She'll want to take some of these as well', he throws Tom an unmarked orange tube of pills.
'Binding agent. Help clean up any of the stuff that's still floating around in her system.'
Kiku slowly stands up, wincing as the bandage pulls taut.
'Thanks doc.'
Stitcher doesn't drop his guarded expression as he guides them out the door, 'Just make sure to have someone over tomorrow to fix up my place, you hear?'
"Here's the latest from Tray Averston and Samantha Bean at The Quill, the Democracy's, and Humanity's, most unbiased and important news organization. The Quill is, as always, mightier than the sword."
A male and female anchor, both attractive in fairly conventional ways. Tray looks into the camera.
"More information about the incident in Hulinton..." A grainy video shows the explosion and collapse of the communications tower. "The Church isn't making any public statements at this time, but signs point to an attack by the Jovangellion Empire. The Empire has already put out a statement declining any involvement in the incident, but that isn't convincing many who see a growing situation between the Church and the Empire. There are also reports of Jovangellion AWV's in the area at the time of the incident and audio recordings that seem to imply their involvement. However, one of our sources has reported a Church member themselves may have been involved, now being held by the Church of Earth Found. We have also found out the Church's communications were overwhelmed with metal music by a local DJ, perhaps indicating involvement from one of the Independent Izya groups. More on this story as it develops..."
The feed cuts out-
A message comes to Rick, from Drake, informing you to gather the squad for a briefing in 0800 the next day.
@Nips 1/3 downtime actions used,
You can Cut Loose multiple times.
Cut Loose: Pilots Cuts Loose to remove Stress from their Stress track. Pick another pilot, and describe how the two of you spend time dealing with the pressure. Roll dice equal to the number of Ticks in your Connection Clock with the pilot joining you, heal Stress equal to the highest die result, then add another Tick to the Connection Clock and a new belief about that pilot. The accompanying pilot does not increase their Connection Clock, nor do they add dice to the Cut Loose roll for participating.
If the Connection Clock fills, ask the target pilot for a truth about one belief youhave about them. Reset the Clock to 1 Tick as you see them in a new light. You both take 1 XP, which can go into either the pilot’s attribute or playbook XP track.
When you Cut Loose and heal more Stress than you have, you overindulge. When you overindulge, you’ve behaved poorly and made choices you’ll likely regret. Choose one way you overindulged from the following:
Attract Trouble (roll an additional entanglement using the table and dice from the
end of the previous mission).
Brag (take -2 Trust with your patron Faction).
AWOL (your pilot vanishes for a few weeks. Play a different pilot until this one
returns from their “vacation.” When your pilot returns, they’ve also healed all their
Harm).
Impropriety (Make an ass out of yourself in front of the pilot that joined you—reset
your Connection Clock with them to 0. If your Connection is already 0, take the
level 1 Harm: Alone).
Whether you overindulge or not, you can decide to Cut Loose and let your pilot skip the next mission. If you do, play a different squad member for that mission. This might be a new squaddie, a friend, or an already familiar NPC.
Cohorts cannot be the accompanying “pilot.” Cohorts or other pilots can be present in the scene (so as long as they’re not the focus), but they do not provide additional dice.
You can spend 1 Personnel for +1d to the Cut Loose roll, or increase the result by one. You can also spend 1 Personnel to take an extra Cut Loose activity.
If you have Scars and don’t take Cut Loose as an activity during downtime, you suffer 1 Stress per Scar.
@discrider 2/3 downtime actions used.
Sounds like Kiku or Rick got the letter? Feel free to narrate that unless you'd like me to. For you both, describe how the two of you spend time dealing with the pressure. If you want to use the same activity for both Cut Loose actions(Kiku's and Rick's), thats fine, or we can use two different activities.
A little more about the abandoned amusement park that is your FOB. This area used to have a good sized town, mainly based on tourism the park brought in. Antique-stores, farmer's markets, inns and hotels. But as the War made its way to Izya, people stopped coming. The park closed down, stores and hotels closed. Most people left and it basically became a ghost town. There's still a dive bar, a raggedy gas-station, handfuls of squatters here and there trying to hide out from the War. It doesn't have much military value so the Factions leave it alone for the most part.
'Hey. Can we bounce out of here?', she vents, looking at the stack of papers, 'Unless you're, busy?'
She tilts her head as she idly flicks through the stack.
'I'm sure we can find something more entertaining to do.'
----
A short time later, Tom finds himself squashed in a rusty cart at the top of the abandoned rollercoaster track.
Kiku unzips her bag and presses a drink into his hand, whilst digging out some sandwiches.
Tom tentatively tests the cart whilst feeling rather exposed.
'It's not going anywhere', Kiku laughs, popping open her drink.
'Only got the hill lift working, and the cart wheels and track are so busted you'd need to be hanging vertical before they'd slide anywhere.'
She takes a sip.
'When we want to get down, I can just reverse the motor from here. It ain't much, but the view'
From up here, the base is laid out like a map. The 360 degree vista stretches out across the surrounding ruins and off to the far hills.
Kiku's smile fades as she pulls a letter out.
'They've taken my dad's work.', she states bluntly, sliding the letter to Tom.
'Said that the factory would be better suited under the government's control.
He's been left in charge for now, but he's not getting paid what he was for running the place.
And he's not going to get it back once it's all over and he can stop making toys for the war.'
She chugs the rest of her drink.
'My dad never wanted to make war machines..'
Her voice trails off as she closes her eyes.
Just lucky to be up here than still stuck in a cell.
Minion roll 1d6 for blowing off steam
Then need to think of another belief about Tom.
And third action would probably be a long term project? (Spent one action healing + 1 personnel to bump that to 5 on the clock, Spent one Cutting Loose)
Probably look at getting either the Resolve training facility, or building things for my Drive (Public Works for Drive, Refit Station or Scrapyard/Tool Quality to enable it with my Mech).
Rick looks over the books, and sees the near-future shortfalls on a ledger as she does some resource forecasting.
"Hrm." The amateur accountant drums her fingers across the makeshift desk. Might be time to drum up some side business, she thinks to herself.
(A few days later)
Mentalist sits on the hood of a beater rental vehicle, a digital list of names pulled up on a datapad. Deep in the ERC Commercial District, she crosses off the last name on the list, the rest having already been struck.
As it turns out, even the Corps have "deserters". She waves to an ERC Reclamation Squad as they lead that last name on the list away in shackles, another poor bloody salaryman that was hiding out from debts long called in.
Her datapad blurts a delightful beep, quickly followed by a second. The first is notification of an invoice, paid. Good pay, too. The second...
She quickly scans the message, slams her datapad into a rucksack, and quickly jumps into the rental to speed away.
Mentalist was never particularly neat, and tended to leave things strewn about whatever space she claimed. She also never was much for privacy; anything worth hiding, she hid. The rest? Life was too short to spend the energy.
It is only a little curious, then, that you happen to find an unlocked and unencrypted datapad laying near the edge of her desk.
Chris,
The local Empire thugs have been sniffing around Pop's place again. Nothing irreparable, only broke a light fixture this time. I know you're doing your best to settle his debts dirtside, but I don't know how much time Pops has. We either need to work a plan to get him off the colony, or settle with these local goons for good. I'm doing my best, but we need you to come through soon.
I know it's a lot to ask. I know you're doing your best.
Lots of love, sis.
-Madrigal
[Second Action: Cut Loose with 33]
Geth, roll 1d6 for Cut Loose with 33
"Listen, I know it's not exactly our top priority, but we really need to do something about our outfits." 33's eye roll is palpable, but she relents as Mentalist drags her out of the park in a beat-up rental truck.
Half an hour later, Mentalist has a colorful shawl in each hand. She holds one up near 33, then the other. "This one's better for a low-key lurking situation, but this other one matches your eyes so much better!" Mentalist can barely hold back a girlish squeal, and it's clear to any observer that 33 is doing her best to suffer through the assault of fashion being thrown at her.
An hour later, the pair are driving back to the base, a bag of new clothes in the trunk.
[I do actually want my last Downtime Action to be another Cut Loose, but I need clarification from @Cheeseliker about how it needs to work RE: that Entanglement.]
Opening her closet, she eyes the empty space before slamming the bag home, resting on its end.
'Didn't think I'd actually fill this..', she muses.
She didn't have the opportunity to carry many of her personal effects over from her residence, having come planetside straight from being released.
Aside those in her mech.
Kiku breathes deeply, redoing her hair before closing the closet.
And then smiles.
'I guess if we're all doing make-overs..'
She smooths a map of the park over her beside table, scanning the park with her fingers.
There's the haunted house, but that's not much if you're starting out. Have to actually be able to hit the targets.
Her fingers stop on the house of mirrors.
Time to get to work.
Kiku is spending her third action as a long term project to turn a house of mirrors into a Resolve training facility/dojo.
Unsure what she'd need to get that to work @Cheeseliker
Just for ideas on beliefs about Tom.
After a long pause, he speaks, sun reflecting off his sunglasses. "Up there," he motions with his chin towards the sky, "they don't have all this space. You're so much closer to everyone, to the people that matter. Down in all this...you can just get lost." He waves the letter. "You really think the war's going to end?" Tom shakes his head. "Best you're gonna get is to make it out alive. The rich are all the same, y'know. The Democracy is almost as bad as those ERI bastards."
His hand grips the letter involuntarily as he mentions the Corporatocracy. He turns to look at Kiku. "Make sure you know what's really important. Hold on to your family, keep them close," his voice becomes quiet, "before they're gone." He hands the letter back to Kiku, unread. "But if it looks dangerous, you let me know. We both know you need someone to watch your back."
---
In between missions, Tom will mention to the squad that their vehicles aren't well suited for straight-up fights, and they'll need to come up with a formation or strategy for any vehicle combat to mitigate it. Only Kiku's Raider is really equipped for Battle, while Mentalist's Hidden Agenda is specialized in Destroy, and Tom's Crayfish is best at Bombarding or other more technical strategies.
Mentalist flags down Tom a couple hours after he mentions the need to coordinate their vehicle tactics. She leads him to a tall, colorful circus tent that hides her vehicle within.
The scene is a mess. Mentalist has used a cherry picker and front-loader to all but dismantle The Hidden Agenda, and weapons and spare parts are arranged in rows in every direction.
"So I know what you said, and it got me thinking. I'm not the greatest on the stick, but I do know how to bash my Agenda's damaging bits into the vital parts of another vehicle. What do you suggest would be a good loadout for that?"
The two of them spend the next while reorganizing and loading up Mentalist's ride for the next job. It turns out to be more work than fun, at least more than Mentalist was expecting.
Geth, roll 1d6 for Cut Loose with Tom
Then, we just need Discrider's long-term project post+roll, and I'll give you the briefing for the next mission.
0800:
You sit in the remnants of a “Funhouse” attraction, the glitzy painted-cartoons on the front faded and chipped, leaving misshapen clowns and animals off-putting. Inside, you had to make your way through cramped hallways, past openings holding mechanical contraptions long-since broken down, into a small room with four movie-theater-like chairs facing a large screen.
The screen shows static for a moment before clarifying, showing Drake standing, facing you. He appears to be projecting from his office.
“Crown, congratulations on completion of your first mission. It was a rousing success despite some setbacks. One more step towards claiming Earth for the DFS, I applaud your efforts.”
He crosses his arms behind his back. “Your next target is The Nor. We have intel they are transporting a package from Journey City to their occupied territory. We want that package.” His visage disappears, showing a map of Izya, focusing on the area from Journey City to Might. “In two days time, the package will arrive via The Tower in Journey City. The Hatchetman will transport the package south to Might. Our intel indicates only light security, The Nor are planning on secrecy and speed. Too bad for them.”
The map zooms in on The Broken Bank, the south section of Journey City below the river. “You can either hit them here, it’s a no mans land of rubble and wreckage, close to the city, but far from Nor Territory.” The map moves farther south, showing a road. “Or further south along the road. Whatever you choose, do not let the package reach Might or we will have lost our chance.”
The screen resolves back to showing Drake. “Another squad will be joining you. The 3rd Public Connections Corps. They will provide back-up as well as documentation of the mission. At the moment, they are holed up in a bunker in The Broken Bank.”
The camera zooms in on Drake’s face, looking very serious. “Should any other squads intervene, you are to engage with them until they retreat or are destroyed. We have high hopes for you, Crown. Don’t let the DFS down.”
The screen cuts out as the briefing ends.
Employer: Unknown
Target: The Hatchetmen
Objective: Retrieve the Package
Rules of Engagement:
-No threatening or employing force against civilians.
-No firing upon or presenting as clearly marked medical transport or facility.
-If engaged by another squad, continue engagement until enemy is defeated (retreats, surrenders or is destroyed)
Complications (that you know about):
-If package reaches Might, mission is failed
'And here we are!', she says, glowing.
Rick looks around at the construction equipment laid down in the middle of the building.
'I thought we could turn this into something more useful. Like maybe a beauty parlour? Just have to knock a few of these down.'
Kiku turns to Rick.
She has raised an eyebrow so incredulous it looks like it's trying to leave her face entirely.
'Well, I thought it would be a surprise then.', Kiku rejoins.
'Now here's one for me,', Kiku picks up a sledge, before offering another to Rick, 'and one for you?'
The Mentalist shakes her head and refuses the hammer.
'I think I'll just direct you away from anything important.', she chuckles.
Kiku pouts, but focuses on the task at hand.
It was worth a shot, and she can get her in shape soon enough.
Geth roll 2d6k1
"If I can just get the drop onto the carrier, I should be able to make off with the package right quick.
We should check the field and further south to find the best place to ambush."
(I'd also like to spend a Personnel to bump that Long-term Project Clock to 5 ticks. Then I should be able to complete the facility next down time no matter what.
I'm also not sure whether that other player that was interested in this game is still interested @Cheeseliker ? I couldn't find the relevant thread.)
-Meet with the other squad
-Gather info about the package, its security, the route, or anything else you can think of.
-Ask allies for intel/help
Was thinking Tom would be great at scouting the route.
And Kiku can ... shout at the other squad?
Was thinking perhaps she could see if she could see how she could utilise the dead mechs in the wasteland with interface/engineer.
Possibly turn them into distractions or sensors.
And figure out how to disguise her Mech so it can just drop into the package and make off with it.)