Old School
Mongoose
Pretty sure that graphic above from the kickstarter shows a vessel that is 642 meters, rather than the listed 742 meters
Deepnight Revelation - GMs Thread
- Thread starter Tea Rex
- Start date
QuinZ33 said:
My players also invested in psionic shielding before the start of the mission, but they had other reasons. Some of them possess basic psionic abilities and wanted to hide this fact from the crew. As psionic shielding is TL12 (Core rulebook p. 203) they did not have to try too hard to get the blue prints of this technology even as its availability might be restricted in the imperium.
Furthermore, they are currently researching the PSI skill I termed "psychography" - the ability to store messages and memories psionically in certain materials as the Ancients have done in the artefacts they left behind. The idea that a skill must exist was inspired before the DNR campaign by one entry in the table for spacecraft quirks (core rulebook p. 164) "Vessel contains disturbing psionic echoes." One side project is to test which metals and alloys work best for storing psionic messages. As a side result they found that certain exotic alloys are also very efficient in blocking PSI. This might help them in the future...
Old School
Mongoose
shammond42 said:
A dton is about 14 cubic meters. So 75,000 dtons is ~1,050,000 cubic meters. At 742 meters long and 12 meters high, average width comes out to 118 meters. At 45 meters high, the ship would only average 31 meters in width, which obviously isn't the case from the deckplans.
A ship 742 meters long, with average height of 45 meters, and average width of say 100 meters, is a little over 3X the displacement of a Amara class cruiser.
The 45 meters height makes the ship look better in profile, but a75,000 ton ship using those deckplans is only going to be 12 meters high, and look kinda ridiculous. a shorter ship with more decks would look much better.
Edit: I just realized that I already shared my xeno-linguist, Dr. Tandeka, with you. Sorry, but she is really one of my favorites currently. 
As another important character of my crew I want to introduce you to Prof. Peshkir, expert on history of the Ancients.
Prof. Dr. Degan Peshkir (age 113, apparent age 56)
Prof. Peshkir is THE expert on the history of the Ancients in the Spinward Marches. This is due on the one hand to his insatiable enthusiasm for everything to do with the Ancients, and on the other hand to his ripe old age of 113 years, which he has spent mainly on researching their history. He comes from an old, wealthy family, which enabled him to devote himself entirely to his passion and, on the other hand, made it possible for him to take anagethics comparatively early. His very one-sided interest and his way of looking down on his counterpart ("But my young friend, what kind of twisted views are these?! Hahaha!") make dealing with him a challenge.
At the venerable University of Rhylanor, he holds the chair of practical history of the Ancients. When he's not lecturing, he's travelling from one Ancient excavation site to the next, advising the military and giving smart advice (He's annoying, but competent.). He was happy to sign up for the Deepnight Revelation mission, as it involves nothing less than tracking down an age-old message from the Ancients. To do this, he tries to elicit further details from the message carved into the stone tablet. To this end, he has persuaded two of his most promising young scientists to fly with him: Dr Joslin Pendergast (28) and Dr Dukar Miller (26). The real reason for choosing his collaborators, however, was that both are sensitive and receptive to the stone's pseudo-psionic messaging. The stone tablet was recovered from the world DK-B1 ALPHA and is kept in a strictly access-protected room.
As another important character of my crew I want to introduce you to Prof. Peshkir, expert on history of the Ancients.
Prof. Dr. Degan Peshkir (age 113, apparent age 56)
Prof. Peshkir is THE expert on the history of the Ancients in the Spinward Marches. This is due on the one hand to his insatiable enthusiasm for everything to do with the Ancients, and on the other hand to his ripe old age of 113 years, which he has spent mainly on researching their history. He comes from an old, wealthy family, which enabled him to devote himself entirely to his passion and, on the other hand, made it possible for him to take anagethics comparatively early. His very one-sided interest and his way of looking down on his counterpart ("But my young friend, what kind of twisted views are these?! Hahaha!") make dealing with him a challenge.
At the venerable University of Rhylanor, he holds the chair of practical history of the Ancients. When he's not lecturing, he's travelling from one Ancient excavation site to the next, advising the military and giving smart advice (He's annoying, but competent.). He was happy to sign up for the Deepnight Revelation mission, as it involves nothing less than tracking down an age-old message from the Ancients. To do this, he tries to elicit further details from the message carved into the stone tablet. To this end, he has persuaded two of his most promising young scientists to fly with him: Dr Joslin Pendergast (28) and Dr Dukar Miller (26). The real reason for choosing his collaborators, however, was that both are sensitive and receptive to the stone's pseudo-psionic messaging. The stone tablet was recovered from the world DK-B1 ALPHA and is kept in a strictly access-protected room.
shammond42
Banded Mongoose
Got a list of things a mile long that I should be doing, but I did this instead.
d66 Crew Member Quirks
Roll Trait
11 - Is always talking about home and the people they left behind
12 - Not on the mission team, but thinks they know more about every science than the on-board experts
13 - Insatiable curiosity about locked doors and secured systems
14 - Avoids wearing uniform whenever possible
15 - Knows everybodys' birthdays and other special dates. Makes a point to celebrate the little things in little ways
16 - Seems to always be "working" in a department other than their own (by working we mean talking)
21 - Does not like to delegate or give up tasks to others -- they're the only one who can do it right
22 - Refuses to ride in the transport system because it moves through the fuel tankage
23 - Closet Xenophobe, will always argue against helping/trusting alien species
24 - Turns everything into a contest and really likes to win
25 - Operates a clandestine still in the science lab
26 - Spends too much time at the clandestine still in the science lab
31 - Will smuggle a cute, but not as safe as it looks, pet aboard during a resupply stop
32 - Can't work on any piece of equipment without making it "better"
33 - Tries to leave some bit of graffitti behind at every planetary stop
34 - Over the course of the voyage comes to decide that the entity is just a creature and that it has a right to exist
35 - Comes to hate the entity and will be very zealous in their effort to destroy it
36 - Develops depression from isolation, focuses on everybody elses' mental health rather than their own
41 - Routinely seeks transfers to other departments/assignments because of personality conflicts with team members
42 - Frequently helps others out by doing their work. Means well but is easily taken adantage of
43 - Very sure of themself, even when they shouldn't be
44 - Hilarious, always ready with a joke to lighten the mood
45 - Always gets Right, Left, Port and Starboard confused
46 - Believes the captian is more competent and should take control from the mission commander
51 - Natural leader who many in the crew look up to, absolutely does not want to be an officer or in charge
52 - Officer micromanages the people under their command
53 - Frequently gets angry about being micromanaged by their superior officer
54 - Not aggressive, but really wants to see one of the big nukes go off
55 - Always points out the least likely explanation for the current situation followed by "Nah, that would be ridiculous"
56 - Becomes obsessed with the Leviathians, going to nearly any length to study them. Will go even further to try to save one
61 - Excels in mimicing the sounds of other people's voices, even aliens. Usually does it for a laugh. Usually
62 - Sees the expedition as a chance to start over after a series of tragic life choices. Gives it their all.
63 - Always makes voice notes to themself, but never needs to refer back to their notes
64 - Frequently has trouble sleeping, often found wandering the ship at odd hours, volunteers for late duties
65 - A close friend of one of the first crew members lost. Creates a memorial to fallen crew that ends up in the museum
66 - Always chewing on somthing, a toothpick, straw, their glasses
d66 Crew Member Quirks
Roll Trait
11 - Is always talking about home and the people they left behind
12 - Not on the mission team, but thinks they know more about every science than the on-board experts
13 - Insatiable curiosity about locked doors and secured systems
14 - Avoids wearing uniform whenever possible
15 - Knows everybodys' birthdays and other special dates. Makes a point to celebrate the little things in little ways
16 - Seems to always be "working" in a department other than their own (by working we mean talking)
21 - Does not like to delegate or give up tasks to others -- they're the only one who can do it right
22 - Refuses to ride in the transport system because it moves through the fuel tankage
23 - Closet Xenophobe, will always argue against helping/trusting alien species
24 - Turns everything into a contest and really likes to win
25 - Operates a clandestine still in the science lab
26 - Spends too much time at the clandestine still in the science lab
31 - Will smuggle a cute, but not as safe as it looks, pet aboard during a resupply stop
32 - Can't work on any piece of equipment without making it "better"
33 - Tries to leave some bit of graffitti behind at every planetary stop
34 - Over the course of the voyage comes to decide that the entity is just a creature and that it has a right to exist
35 - Comes to hate the entity and will be very zealous in their effort to destroy it
36 - Develops depression from isolation, focuses on everybody elses' mental health rather than their own
41 - Routinely seeks transfers to other departments/assignments because of personality conflicts with team members
42 - Frequently helps others out by doing their work. Means well but is easily taken adantage of
43 - Very sure of themself, even when they shouldn't be
44 - Hilarious, always ready with a joke to lighten the mood
45 - Always gets Right, Left, Port and Starboard confused
46 - Believes the captian is more competent and should take control from the mission commander
51 - Natural leader who many in the crew look up to, absolutely does not want to be an officer or in charge
52 - Officer micromanages the people under their command
53 - Frequently gets angry about being micromanaged by their superior officer
54 - Not aggressive, but really wants to see one of the big nukes go off
55 - Always points out the least likely explanation for the current situation followed by "Nah, that would be ridiculous"
56 - Becomes obsessed with the Leviathians, going to nearly any length to study them. Will go even further to try to save one
61 - Excels in mimicing the sounds of other people's voices, even aliens. Usually does it for a laugh. Usually
62 - Sees the expedition as a chance to start over after a series of tragic life choices. Gives it their all.
63 - Always makes voice notes to themself, but never needs to refer back to their notes
64 - Frequently has trouble sleeping, often found wandering the ship at odd hours, volunteers for late duties
65 - A close friend of one of the first crew members lost. Creates a memorial to fallen crew that ends up in the museum
66 - Always chewing on somthing, a toothpick, straw, their glasses
shammond42 said:
This list is really great and extremely helpful. I actually wanted to reply with one of my own, but didn't get that far. I haven't given up yet, but it might take a little longe before it's ready.
So at this point I just express my appreciation and thank you for sharing the list.
Ursus Maior
Banded Mongoose
This is gold for me as a referee, thanks!
shammond42
Banded Mongoose
Thanks for the positive feedback, everybody. Here's another one...
d66 Odd Things Brought Along by Crew Members
Roll Weird Thing
11 - Collection of classic holo-vids
12 - Stuffed animal
13 - A potted plant (may eventually grow quite large)
14 - Planetary flag or banner
15 - Audio recording of ambient noise form home to help them sleep
16 - Minor historical artifact
21 - Cocktail Dress and Matching Shoes
22 - Knit hat you'd have to be really brave to wear
23 - Leather jacket
24 - Fuzzy slippers
25 - Academic robes
26 - Humorous entertainer outfit (think clown or mime)
31 - Personal antique firearm
32 - Heirloom knife
33 - Illegal Anti-agathics
34 - Illegal Psi Drugs
35 - Inappropriate holo-vids
36 - Data hacking or illicit recording device
41 - Dried tea from home Planet
42 - Expensive bottle of liquor
43 - Spices/seasonings (maybe combine w/ the potted plant)
44 - Case of candy bars
45 - A recipe book that turns out to be strangely difficul to adapt
46 - Jar of strange pickled vegatables that look totally revolting
51 - Old paper copy of "Moby Dick"
52 - Game (RPG, Board, Video)
53 - Piece of sports equipment (could end up being used as a weapon)
54 - Musical Instrument (maybe a few people get together an form a band)
55 - Oil Paints, Brushes and an Easel
56 - Leather working tools to use on xenohides
61 - Pictures of their kids who were left behind
62 - Religious text
63 - A collection of letters to be opened periodically during the journey
64 - Vial of ashes from a deceased realtive who wanted to travel far from home
65 - Digital diary going back to childhood
66 - 30th, 40th or 50th birthday present sent along to be opened on the day
d66 Odd Things Brought Along by Crew Members
Roll Weird Thing
11 - Collection of classic holo-vids
12 - Stuffed animal
13 - A potted plant (may eventually grow quite large)
14 - Planetary flag or banner
15 - Audio recording of ambient noise form home to help them sleep
16 - Minor historical artifact
21 - Cocktail Dress and Matching Shoes
22 - Knit hat you'd have to be really brave to wear
23 - Leather jacket
24 - Fuzzy slippers
25 - Academic robes
26 - Humorous entertainer outfit (think clown or mime)
31 - Personal antique firearm
32 - Heirloom knife
33 - Illegal Anti-agathics
34 - Illegal Psi Drugs
35 - Inappropriate holo-vids
36 - Data hacking or illicit recording device
41 - Dried tea from home Planet
42 - Expensive bottle of liquor
43 - Spices/seasonings (maybe combine w/ the potted plant)
44 - Case of candy bars
45 - A recipe book that turns out to be strangely difficul to adapt
46 - Jar of strange pickled vegatables that look totally revolting
51 - Old paper copy of "Moby Dick"
52 - Game (RPG, Board, Video)
53 - Piece of sports equipment (could end up being used as a weapon)
54 - Musical Instrument (maybe a few people get together an form a band)
55 - Oil Paints, Brushes and an Easel
56 - Leather working tools to use on xenohides
61 - Pictures of their kids who were left behind
62 - Religious text
63 - A collection of letters to be opened periodically during the journey
64 - Vial of ashes from a deceased realtive who wanted to travel far from home
65 - Digital diary going back to childhood
66 - 30th, 40th or 50th birthday present sent along to be opened on the day
The formal policy toward them would depend a bit on the ground rules that the PCs have laid out and have to adapt to the necessities of the mission. Confiscation can be expected... unless this would cause political issues within the ship. It might be deemed better to keep them locked up "just in case" rather than destroying them, though. You never know when they might turn out to be useful/necessary, and alien civilizations may not have the same hang-ups, in which case they'd serve as a trade good.
Why the person has them is also a consideration. Something that might normally be illegal could turn out to have special authorization (known or unknown to anyone in the chain of command). It isn't difficult to imagine an expert in some scientific field who is getting on in years being authorized to use anti-aging drugs that are forbidden to the general population. One would expect this to be noted in their file for the benefit of command and medical staff, though.
Psi-drugs present the same problem. Some elements of the story involve people having psi-induced experiences. Depending on the setup, this may even be a mission expectation. It isn't difficult to imagine that psi-drugs might be authorized to assist in that - or that some people might bring psi-drugs on board to help them with that without authorization... but letting them keep and use the things for that purpose could actually help the mission, so is it really a good idea to take them away? And then there's the possibility (given the nature of the mission, even the probability) that there are one or two (or more) actual psions on board, possibly in an official capacity. (The Imperium does maintain a couple of institutes for security/research purposes, even as it decries psionics in public. They know that this "entity" has psionic abilities, so it makes sense...)
Why the person has them is also a consideration. Something that might normally be illegal could turn out to have special authorization (known or unknown to anyone in the chain of command). It isn't difficult to imagine an expert in some scientific field who is getting on in years being authorized to use anti-aging drugs that are forbidden to the general population. One would expect this to be noted in their file for the benefit of command and medical staff, though.
Psi-drugs present the same problem. Some elements of the story involve people having psi-induced experiences. Depending on the setup, this may even be a mission expectation. It isn't difficult to imagine that psi-drugs might be authorized to assist in that - or that some people might bring psi-drugs on board to help them with that without authorization... but letting them keep and use the things for that purpose could actually help the mission, so is it really a good idea to take them away? And then there's the possibility (given the nature of the mission, even the probability) that there are one or two (or more) actual psions on board, possibly in an official capacity. (The Imperium does maintain a couple of institutes for security/research purposes, even as it decries psionics in public. They know that this "entity" has psionic abilities, so it makes sense...)
shammond42
Banded Mongoose
I've been trying to decide if the ship would have a supply of anti-agathics on board. You want a pretty experienced command crew (if it isn't the PCs) which might make them a little old to take on a 20-year voyage. It is also possible that somebody on the science or medical teams could make some out of materials found along the way.
shammond42 said:
It's interesting that you're thinking about this, because I was thinking about exactly the same thing. But for our campaign I didn't really have a choice, because the characters were already quite old at the beginning of the journey and two of them were already using anagathics. So I had to give the characters, and thus the crew, the opportunity to get hold of the drugs in sufficient quantities:
A few years before departure, a race of aliens (unscrupulous traders) developed a new kind of anagathics for humans. These can be produced in comparatively large quantities and are much cheaper than anything available until then. The aliens hold a monopoly on the production of this substance. In order to have enough of the substance with them on the long journey, the organizers of the expedition had to make an agreement with the aliens. The Travellers don't know exactly what the deal is, but the aliens have been granted an area on board as an extraterretorial area where they live secluded from the rest of the crew and produce the drugs in absolute secrecy. Of course, the aliens have their own agenda that they try to implement and by being the only ones who can produce the life-extending drug, they can get away with a lot. For me as the referee, there are a lot of opportunities to annoy the players.
With great ambition, the Travellers try to make their own anagathics on board or to find out the production method for the substance. I assume that the moment the players succeed, they will throw out their very annoying and selfish "guests". No matter if there is a contract or not.
The fact that Travellers and crew had access to anagathics from the start was already used as an incentive during the recruitment of the crew. Another offer was that there was the option for loved ones back home to be frozen in one of the Empire's top institutions for the duration of the expedition. This would at least give the families a chance to resume their life together after the expedition.
So, however you want to solve this issue on board of your ship, I would opt to give the Travellers easy access to anagathics. This gets rid of the aging problem and on the other hand gives you another lots of possibilities for complications, drama and adventure.
Garran said:
I was also thinking along this line and as my players are very interested in psionics I spiced things up and added the "Anti-PSI Corps" to the crew, lead by Major Decker. The major reports directly to the highest ranking imperial officer on board and has otherwise great freedom of action. So, welcome the anti-PSI Corps, my NPCs of the day
Most of the information is top secret and the Travellers might not even be informed about the real reason for the presence of this strange group, at least they will not have any background information.
The group and it's background has great potential for conflict, clashes of competencies, drama and debates about ethics.
Major Thomasht Decker and his anti-PSI team.
The Empire harbours a deep mistrust of people with psionic talents, bordering on paranoia. People with psionic talents are persecuted and discriminated against, possibly worse. The fact that the Zhodani live in the immediate vicinity of the Empire, who regard PSI as an essential foundation of their society and who have frequently clashed with the Empire in warlike skirmishes, exacerbates this antipathy considerably. Officially, all schools for the discovery and promotion of PSI talent have been closed, but the military as well as Imperial Intelligence continue to research PSI with the main goal of better understanding the "enemy" and taking appropriate defensive measures.
A breakthrough in this research occurred several decades ago, when someone was found by chance whose psionic ability made it difficult or impossible for others to use PSI. Systematic searches for other people with this talent began, but without success. Apparently, this talent manifests itself only very rarely. Nature was then given a helping hand by launching a veritable breeding programme supported by genetic engineering methods in order to obtain sufficient numbers of suitable recruits. The result was the Anti-PSI Corps, whose core personnel is literally a family.
Since it is to be expected that psi-gifted entities will be encountered on the voyage, the Empire decided to send its best anti-PSI team along on the voyage to investigate their usefulness in a prolonged field test:
Major Decker is a military leader, psychological counsellor and involved scientist all rolled into one. His three protégés are young women who, according to their personnel files, are 24 (Lieutenant Astra Ispitan), 23 (Lieutenant Aella Ispitan) and 20 (Lieutenant Arbella Ispitan) years old. That they are closely related can be seen from their resemblance. It is not known why the talent manifested itself only in female probands.
Psionics feel uncomfortable in the presence of the three sisters. By concentrating, the three can stop any use of PSI in the immediate vicinity, causing the PSI user discomfort or even a severe headache. If they concentrate their powers, they can also cause harm to a PSI gifted person.
Unfortunately, the anti-PSI talent is coupled with mental instability, which can manifest itself in many ways (mood swings, outbursts of anger, inferiority complexes, severe depression). Several promising candidates have already been lost to suicide, and it is Decker's job to provide psychological support to his protégés. One reason for the emotional instability is that although Decker's protégés are physically young women, the oldest of them was born only eleven years ago. The ageing process has been artificially accelerated. The young women thus lack a real childhood and real life experience.
In secret, Decker has brought some embryos and an artificial womb onto the ship so that replacements can be brought in if necessary.
I'm currently running Deepnight Legacy, which is nearing completion, so I am thinking ahead to the scene in which the Travellers are offered positions aboard the DNR. I'm struggling, however, to figure out how the mission planners have connected the entity with the destination of terminus point.
As I understand it, the mission planners know about the entity from Deepnight Endeavour (and possibly some other incidents here and there). I haven't read that adventure too closely, but I don't think there is any mention of terminus point in it. So, the connection between terminus point and the entity only comes to light when Deepnight Legacy is played out. And the connection (as far as the planners would be concerned) is pretty circumstantial.
The mission must have been planned for several years before the Travellers landed on DK-B1 Alpha, so where did they get the idea that the strange radio signals have something to do with the entity? The carvings site give the location and a sense of threat, but nothing to do with the entity.
Does the referee need to fill in that data themselves, or am I missing something?
Thanks,
Dan.
As I understand it, the mission planners know about the entity from Deepnight Endeavour (and possibly some other incidents here and there). I haven't read that adventure too closely, but I don't think there is any mention of terminus point in it. So, the connection between terminus point and the entity only comes to light when Deepnight Legacy is played out. And the connection (as far as the planners would be concerned) is pretty circumstantial.
The mission must have been planned for several years before the Travellers landed on DK-B1 Alpha, so where did they get the idea that the strange radio signals have something to do with the entity? The carvings site give the location and a sense of threat, but nothing to do with the entity.
Does the referee need to fill in that data themselves, or am I missing something?
Thanks,
Dan.
shammond42
Banded Mongoose
ochd said:
The location comes from telepathic impressions from the carvings on DK-B1 Alpha. Page 7 of Deepnight Legacy has the info you need.
Similar threads
