Pirates of Drinax - GMs thread

[Old School]

Never really thought of the bazaar as a supply market, although there is no reason why it can't be. I would expect Rachando could source most routine items the players are looking for, although it might be pricey for an unusual request. Weapons and Armor Oleb probably isn't parting with, so off to Theeve we go for those. With free starships at their disposal, sourcing equipment doesn't seem like it would really be a problem. But if you're on the floating palace and need something, Rachando would certainly be the man to see.

 

[paltrysum]

My players have asked if they could get all manner of nasty TL-14+ weaponry at Rachando's Bazaar and my answer is generally no. To get high-tech paramilitary stuff they need to get to Theev or Tobia and after stealing the Treasure Ship, Tobia is a bad idea. 8)

When they request non-military, small tech, the Bazaar is a viable source. The descriptions of the Floating City make it sound horribly crowded; therefore I don't see it being the kind of place to get large-scale items.

 

[Old School]

My group, who are travelling back to Drinax, have asked about acquiring pocket nukes. I don't know why. I've responded that even on Theeve, they aren't the kind of thing you can just place an order for. Not saying they are impossible to get, but almost.

 

[paltrysum]

My group, who are travelling back to Drinax, have asked about acquiring pocket nukes. I don't know why. I've responded that even on Theeve, they aren't the kind of thing you can just place an order for. Not saying they are impossible to get, but almost.

Er,...just run 'em through "Treasure of Sindal."

 

[Old School]

My group, who are travelling back to Drinax, have asked about acquiring pocket nukes. I don't know why. I've responded that even on Theeve, they aren't the kind of thing you can just place an order for. Not saying they are impossible to get, but almost.

Er,...just run 'em through "Treasure of Sindal."

They’ll get their shot at the planet busters soon enough. But the emphasis was on pocket nukes. I’m guessing they want to be discrete about whatever mass destruction is on their mind. An odd request while in between adventures.

 

[Old School]

Psionics. . .

One of the travellers in my group rolled an "unusual event" on the life events table (Drinax book 2, page 4) during character creation. I disallowed the psionic test, because I didn't want psionics. I've never used them. Now I'm reconsidering. It was during her last term, so she'd likely be a weak telepath. She had one "connection" free skill left at that point, so I'm assuming she would have used that to get a psionic skill from 0 to 1 if I had let her be psionic. Basically an untrained natural psion who discovered her skills later in life.

By my thoughts, in a "diplomacy" campaign, (maybe in any campaign), even Telepath 1 is too powerful. Reading surface thoughts and projecting emotions are incredible powers if used well. And if she gets ahold of some psi drugs and can feasibly use Suggestion? I know some people think they are great, but they’ve always struck me as game breaking powers.

I probably won’t have a better scenario to test psionics than this limited case. But its a long campaign and I’m loath to give soemone the power and then take it away if I dont like it.

 

[paltrysum]

I have a psion in my campaign. I did it because I wanted to see what it’s like as part of the story. My advice is don’t do it. Psions imbalance things and make it difficult to run your adventures.

 

[Old School]

Thanks for that advice. The traveller in question is named Willow, and is their Drinaxian noble representative. She’s essentially their chief diplomat. She can already charm and persuade her way through life. Letting her read minds and manipulate emotions? Too easy.

I’m prepping to spring three adventures on them at once to split up the team. One will be Treasure of Sindal. Re-read it last night. Man, you can come away from that adventure with 14 new ships if you dominate everyone who gets in your way.

There’s a powerful psion in that adventure who offers to switch alliegence to the travellers. So a bunch of non-psionic characters are just going to welcome into their group a psion who was trying to kill them moments ago? Persecution of psions makes sense when you think about it from that point of view.

 

[ochd]

Psions imbalance things and make it difficult to run your adventures.

In what way? The use of telepathy can reveal information you want to keep hidden, and can also give away people hiding in ambush. But in the latter case, a neural activity scanner can do the same thing. I haven't found it to be too problematic so far.

Dan.

 

[paltrysum]

Psions imbalance things and make it difficult to run your adventures.

In what way? The use of telepathy can reveal information you want to keep hidden, and can also give away people hiding in ambush. But in the latter case, a neural activity scanner can do the same thing. I haven't found it to be too problematic so far.

Dan.

Well, there is the fact that a telepath or clairvoyant can know things ahead of time, kind of skewing the surprise factor and suspense. Sure, it can also add to the excitement, but part of the fun is not knowing until things happen. Psions take this away if they use their abilities frequently. The other problem I have is that the Psion sort of becomes the focal point for too many things which takes away from others' contributions. I'm sure this can vary from campaign to campaign and probably depends a lot on the players' personalities, but this has been my experience. For example, the marine no longer needs to don his vacc suit, scout the area, and make a Recon roll if the psion has already ferreted out the opposition with Telepathy and/or Clairvoyance. This repeats itself over the course of the campaign and reduces the teamwork aspect.

Sure, a NAS can also do similar things, but not everyone has a NAS handy all the time. But if you have a psion in your campaign, he is available all the time.

We manage it in our campaign and the psion is fun to have around in some ways, but at times he can end up being the dominant character just by virtue of his abilities. I find that a more egalitarian player mix makes things more fun.

 

[Pyromancer]

I'm curious how people are using Rachando's Bizarre, from a PC supply standpoint?

It's not totally clear from the book whether the bizarre should act as an open market for the Travellers, and if so, what is the availability of items considering the high TL of Drinax along with their lack of basic items. The text indicates Drinax begrudgingly parts with high TL items to Rachando in exchange for basic items. Does that mean that these high TL items wouldn't be available to the Travellers, or is it up to Rachando's discretion? The area of the bizarre on the map of the Floating Palace is pretty huge, implying a vast array of markets, vendors, and items available.

I'm just curious how others are using the bizarre as a resource (independent of how Rachando figures in your plot)

In my campaign, Rachando sells basic items, building materials, toilet paper, textiles, and so on. And why would the players go to Rachando for high TL items in the first place, when there's the Scholar's Tower and Oleb's box-room right next to it, with better, rarer and higher TL stuff in it?

As a sidenote: In my campaign, the whole reason the bazaar works is that Oleb did a financial reform a few years back, pegging the exchange rate of the local currency (the "Drinax Crown") to the Imperial Credit, and the bank of Drinax guaranteeing it. So the Drinax locals can pay Rachando with their own money, and Rachando can exchange the Crowns for Credits at the bank. The bank in turn gets those credits by selling high-value items to foreigners (which happen to be Rachando most of the time).

 

[Baldo]

I have a psion in my campaign. I did it because I wanted to see what it’s like as part of the story. My advice is don’t do it. Psions imbalance things and make it difficult to run your adventures.

I find your lack of faith disturbing :twisted: . You already have psionics in your game, adding more psions just makes things interesting. And Pirates of Drinax does have psionics (the Prey Quirk #46 -page 19-, the chamax in the Borite chapter, the secret masters of Marduk -page 140; "Use the Force, Dai!" :lol: -, Ogleby, etc. etc.).
Develop this theme MORE fully. Let's take your current campaign:

Asim will become a livestock-supply stopover for ihatei on their way to Marduk. (...) The ihatei's best bet is Marduk.

You know, the planet Marduk has abyssal sea gods, strange fauna, exotic natives, a secret society and lots of other mysteries. It would be MUCH more interesting if the ihatei invasion got routed somehow, even after initial success. When your players start hearing the strange rumors and the wild stories (ghosts, monsters, hallucinations, and other assorted craziness) about this disaster, and go to Marduk themselves (an Aslan Patron mission, or maybe because they're just curious) in search of the truth, give them some interesting revelation. Maybe the Ancients implanted the spark of psionic abilities and sentience in the local fauna, accidentally activated when Marduk was nuclear-and-bio-bombed in the Sindalian civil war. And a secret order of Jed... err psionic masters (headquartered in the Ancient base) protects the natives from the psi-evolved fauna and from other dangers (a ihatei invasion, for example). The players can fight these guys for their Ancient gadgets*, or ally with them for psionic training and Marduk as Haven (why Marduk is listed as Neutral even if the Law level is 6? Clearly, there is some hidden influence... ).

In conclusion, I think psions do NOT disrupt the game, but open MORE possibilities instead.

*) A PSIONIC Ancient gadget could efficaciously link the Drinaxians with th Navy characters in The Game of Sun and Shadow too. On Marduk, the players obtain half of a mysterious MacGuffin from the secret masters ("This black medallion actives the Ultimate Ancient Machine, but its golden power source was stolen by a Sit... err renegade of our order. Please find what has gone lost!" Patron mission). The lost half is owned by a descendant of the original thief, Ogleby (he got his psi powers from the MacGuffin), and currently hidden somewhere in his stateroom on the Eurisko. When Krond and Ogleby go visit king Oleb in the Floating Palace (page 163), the Navy characters start searching Ogleby's room for some reason (anything can prove Ogleby killed the Old Woman, maybe -page 162-), and discover the golden MacGuffin, acccidentally activating it and, for an instant, linking their minds with those of the Drinaxians below in a psionic gestalt.
In this way, both groups intimely discover/know of their counterparts, and can start planning for their futures.

 

[paltrysum]

Great suggestions, Baldo. I have been considering the incorporation of "Gods of Marduk" in some way, shape, or form. I love the mysterious alien nature of that adventure.

As for our psion, we do certainly incorporate his abilities into the story and the players enjoy it so I have no intention of changing that. It does open more possibilities as you say, but it represents a bit of a Pandora's box. Once you have it in your campaign, you can't really put it back into the box. It also reduces the threat/value of Dai and Ogleby when they appear. I would love for Dai to have a greater effect on the story when we do "Treasure of Sindal" (next on the docket, by the way, unless "Gods of Marduk" or my own "Makergod" manage to insert themselves) but the presence of psionics in one of their own resulted in an interesting development: my players all wear psi shields most of the time. Knowing that their associate is a psion made them exceedingly aware that psionics exist in the Traveller universe and inspired an appropriate level of paranoia.

They purchased them at Pax Rulin long ago and still use them most of the time. It resulted in the Chamax being only a minor threat and will have a similar effect when Dai and Ogleby appear. I couldn't deny that an Imperial Naval Base, ever paranoid about the threat of psionics, would have those available, especially to former naval and marine players. Had we started our campaign in the Void I might have simply said such tech was not available, but on some level, Traveller is a game of interesting gadgets, weapons, and toys. Oppressive refs who keep all the toys in the box are denying players access to things that make the game fun.

So the long and the short of it is that yes, psionics make things more interesting, but all things being equal, I wouldn't recommend having a player with them unless she/he randomly managed to obtain them.

 

[AndrewW]

As for our psion, we do certainly incorporate his abilities into the story and the players enjoy it so I have no intention of changing that. It does open more possibilities as you say, but it represents a bit of a Pandora's box. Once you have it in your campaign, you can't really put it back into the box.

The psion could suffer mental trauma that makes their abilities unavailable.

 

[Old School]

So I had to consult the CSC to see what a neural shield was. I assume you mean the neural sheath on p.18. I think it's kind of a cop out on the game designer's part that psi abilities can be shielded by undergarments. I think it should be a straight up tin foil hat, with the SOC penalty that comes with. Your crew could be known as Jim and the Tin Hat Pirates. That's a better than average name for someone's band, I think. Or there could be an incident caused by a grav truck driver being blinded by the reflection off one of their hats. Lots of possibilities lost due to the existence of psi-proof underwear.

On a darker note, I'm thinking that instead of Ogleby killing The Old Woman with a psychic assault, he should compel one of the travelers to do it instead. :twisted:

 

[paltrysum]

On a darker note, I'm thinking that instead of Ogleby killing The Old Woman with a psychic assault, he should compel one of the travelers to do it instead. :twisted:

Old School, you are one wicked ref! And I like it! :evil:

 

[Old School]

WWOD? What would Ogleby do?

 

[paltrysum]

We have moved on from "Ihatei!" to the sandbox. Our trusty group of corsairs has jumped to Asim where they met Cleon Hardy, Asimen ambassador, and Lady Telwax, the Drinaxi Star Guard officer and governor of the planet. Hardy clarified his role as the civilian leader of the system.

The players spent most of the session interacting with these two NPCs, informing them that the ihatei are inbound enroute to the Oghma Cluster. Telwax and Hardy expressed concern that the ihatei might decide that Asim makes a better terminus for their voyage, but the players assured them that the Aslan have decided en masse to go to Marduk and Borite. The "culture" of this ihatei band was one that is spoiling for a fight and the players managed to create a narrative in which they shall have honor and blood from doing battle with the Oghman raiders. Asim presents little in the way of potential conflict other than the speed bump that a platoon of Star Guard presents to a force of thousands of Aslan. The players expressed their confidence that the vast majority of ihatei will merely pass through Asim enroute to the glory of battle.

The players want to increase their standing with Asim and chose to solicit Hardy for how they might accomplish that. Hardy thought long and hard about it and told them that the thing Asim needs most is more people. They have a beautiful, Earthlike garden world that is ripe for exploitation and simply do not have the population to do it. If the players can create an immigration path from elsewhere in the Void to Asim, the planet can achieve its potential and become a valued member of a renewed Kingdom of Drinax. So the players have a new project to work on: Obtaining willing immigrants from another nearby system. Their early thinking on the subject involves getting immigrants from Clarke. The players got Prince Harrick to go to Clarke to entertain their desire to have them as their Supreme Psychopomp. Having increased their standing on Clarke to 'Haven,' the players believe that should Hardy build a temple for the death-worshipping religion of Clarke, they might light the spark of emigration to their agricultural world.

Just when things appeared to be settled and the players prepared to depart for either Tyokh or Marduk (an ongoing debate within the group about where to go next), a Foundation terrorist group launched an assault on Asim Downport. The assault included renovated TL-6 battle tanks who came rolling in from a river valley into range of the starport. A Star Guard squad was quickly dispatched, several of whom were killed by complex chemical charges and snipers using APDS ammunition. It turns out the tanks were remotely operated from the tree line and the Foundation had laid a clever trap for the overconfident Star Guard. The terrorists were eventually rebuffed, but most escaped into the surrounding forests and mountains. A few snipers were killed and it was discovered that they were operating with TL10-12 equipment, far above the level they were known to have. Much of the gear was revealed to be of Aslan make and the players suspect a heretofore unknown ihatei group.

The players spent some time in the community adjacent to the starport and discovered that most of the Asimen are not sympathetic to the Foundation. Most view them as dead enders and would rather not side with a revolutionary movement to overthrow Drinax. By and large the Asimen are resigned to their occupation by Drinax and would prefer to move forward, becoming a valued member of a renascent kingdom, instead of moving backward to the duplicity and manipulations of the Foundation. The players were more eager than ever to help Hardy and Telwax to get Asim started on its journey to becoming a more important part of the kingdom.

The excitement was far from over as the players departed in the Ghost of Sindal (Harrier) and Wellspring (Vulture-class salvage hauler). As they reached low orbit they encountered the Arshad and the Hero who had finally tracked them down for a definitive showdown. The space battle was intense with the Ghost dodging and weaving, avoiding most of the particle and missile attacks of the two ships. The Wellspring was not so lucky and was perforated in the battle but managed to limp to ground by its conclusion. The Ghost wrecked the Arshad with its particle beams, irradiating the crew and killing most of them including Commander Jagad (of "Treasure Ship" fame) whose days came to a fiery and conclusive end when the Arshad crash-landed on the surface of Asim. The Hero retreated and began to make its way toward jump point. When we left off, the Ghost was in hot pursuit. Our intrepid pirates want revenge for the damage to the Wellspring and of course are eager to obtain a Broadsword-class mercenary cruiser as a prize ship.

 

[Old School]

Thank you posting this and rescuing me from the debates raging elsewhere. Great stuff.

beautiful, earthlike garden world

There’s a “brown is beautiful” joke in there somewhere, but we should probably avoid it.

I can’t believe they killed Commander Jagad. Outrage! If my travellers met yours they’d put them down like the mangy, rabid dogs they are! I think I posted a link to the blog earlier, but one guy has a campaign in which the Pirates sunk the Treasure Ship in the swamps on Sink, with Capt. Torsa still on board. And your crew better catch the Hero and eliminate those witnesses. Just remember, boys and girls: two hits to the jump drive, not three. Of course, if your Hero isn’t radiation shielded, this may be an easy conquest.

How did Harrick respond to the offer to be chief psychopomp? It seems easy enough to get him to make the trip, diplomacy and all that, but how does a reasonably sane man respond to that offer? I suppose I shouldn’t make that assumption about your Harrick, although he seems a decent enough fellow.

Was there any consideration of trying to board the Arshad before it crashed? A Gazelle would make a damn fine pirate ship.

 

[paltrysum]

Yes, the overwhelming brown-ness of Asim was...something to get used to.

My players have indeed become rabid dogs. Well, perhaps not as rabid as they could be, but their ire gets stoked up when someone comes after them, justified or not. Taking the Treasure Ship made them an enemy of the Imperium, and while their standing had fallen into the mid -20s at one point, the "per month without incident" rule eventually enabled their perfidy to be forgotten by the Imperium at large. But Jagad didn't forget. She spent all her markers to get command of the Arshad so she could go on a pirate-hunting mission. Jagad's fall was dramatic. The Wellspring had retreated back into Asim's atmosphere and the damaged Arshad followed her in so when her crew was killed by repeated PA radiation doses from the Ghost, they died and the close escort crashed hard.

The Hero is indeed radiation shielded but they haven't figured that out yet. I'm sure they'll get the picture soon. You don't make a living out of hunting pirates without radiation shielding. If the pirate ships in "Treasure of Sindal" are any indication, particle accelerators are all too common. The Hero would have gone out of business a long time ago without it. The Hero actually wants the Ghost to chase them toward jump point because unbeknownst to the players, one of its modular cutters is on the ground. With the Star Guard in disarray after the terrorist attack, Captain Ygrant deployed two squads of soldiers to disable Asim Down's two missile batteries so they would not be able to aid the players during the space battle. Those crafty mercs! She wants to recover that cutter and the only way they can get clear of the planet is if the Ghost gets some distance from Asim.

Harrick does not wish to be the High Psychopomp of Clarke, but he sees the necessity of securing them as an ally. Again unbeknownst to the players, Harrick has transformed the narrative so that he is a "kingmaker" of psychopomps and shall pick from the litter who serves as the supreme pontiff of their morbid religion. Harrick then intends to return to Asim where his agricultural science and terraforming projects await him. I neglected to mention that in their conversations with the Asimen, the players discovered that the people have a favorable impression of Harrick who has provided scientific assistance to the farmers of Asim, enabling them to enjoy greater crop yields.

They wanted to capture the Arshad, but once it pursued them into the atmosphere, its crash landing was guaranteed. They're hoping to take the Hero, but they're going to have a hard time with the PA radiation effectively nullified by the radiation shielding.

P.S. I didn't realize there was drama in the other threads. I guess I saw a little of it with Sigtrigg's argument that T5 and Agent of the Imperium must be taken into account when discussing wafer jacks, etc.