To Live And Die In Castrobancla

alex_greene

alex_greene

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I'm working on something to be submitted through TAS. A sandboxy little setting your guys can play in - and which can, and will, play with you, like a tiger cub that's not learned restraint when it bites.

An example of the sorts of places your Travellers can end up in (these are a heavily edited highlight) ...

Voitila
Welcome to Voitila District, otherwise called "Paradise" by everyone but the residents, for whom it is anything but ...

Encounters
- The Travellers get powderpuffed by a crowd of up to 3D Pelacur staff.

Powderpuffed!
The Travellers are regaled by a colourful, noisy parade of revellers who swarm them with light and gaiety.
During the encounter, several handsful of colourful powders are thrown over the Travellers in gaudy clouds of colour.
This powder is actually a potent contact hypnotic. It affects the Travellers within 2D minutes ...
Symptoms are euphoria (INT and EDU-based checks suffer a Bane), disorientation (initiative is 2) and weakness (attack rolls suffer a Bane).
Continued exposure (dosed for more than 1 combat round) leads, 1D minutes after initial symptoms, to unconsciousness which lasts for 2D x 5 minutes.

Welcome to Castrobancla, ladies and gentlemen. Coming soon.
 
alex_greene said:
Welcome to Castrobancla, ladies and gentlemen. Coming soon.
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If it ends with little damage, hang over and maybe your boots missing, it could be quite fun. Maybe the travelers awaken in a temporary shelter ran by the city for the "celebrants" who always pass out on the street. The city fines each a small amount to pay for the shelter and the volunteers who gather up those who have passed out during the celebration. Interesting local flavor and fun. Maybe an introduction to a larger adventure opportunity as well, great.

But if this is just another "screw the players move" that ends with them having everything stolen then I will pass on buying or using it.
 
-Daniel- said:
But if this is just another "screw the players move" that ends with them having everything stolen then I will pass on buying or using it.
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Yeah, if an adventure starts with "and you wake up with everything stolen" or "you wake up and have to pay a fine" then that's going to do nothing but create ill-will from the players. Players prefer control over their characters, not to be run over by a GM railroad.
 
fusor said:
Because who doesn't love getting drugged with no saving throw!
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Careful! You're not allowed to bring up any criticism against the almighty! Everyone gets a participation trophy, evidently. /sarcasm
 
One of my players is ex British Navy. He has stories that begin with "I woke up and did not know where I was, or what I had done during the previous 12 -24 hours. His fellow officers (and in one painful career moment, his Captain) were happy to inform him. So it does happen.
 
PsiTraveller said:
One of my players is ex British Navy. He has stories that begin with "I woke up and did not know where I was, or what I had done during the previous 12 -24 hours. His fellow officers (and in one painful career moment, his Captain) were happy to inform him. So it does happen.
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Please do not confuse someone drinking themselves into oblivion and someone slipped a Mickey Finn so the GM can erase the character's equipment/magic/best tech list. :roll:

It has become an RPG trope to have the whole party robbed blind, be in jail, or worse so they don't have the nice tools they have earned up to that point. It is lazy GM work to fall back on that trope. Now if a specific character says he has drank himself stupid, well then he or she deserves to find themselves robbed blind don't they. But it was a player choice.

Just my opinion of course, but there it is. :mrgreen:
 
Good point Daniel, although in some cases he was not the only person drinking.

I don't mind tropes if used and acknowledged, sometimes with a grin. I've done it.

"Okay, a man in black comes to your table with a job offer. I'd be more subtle but the last time I tried to role play the meeting you ended up ignoring the adventure and wandered around refusing to speak with anyone but your own group."

The waking up trope actually happened to a Barbarians of Lemuria character I was playing. The fun of the scenario was that the GM asked the players to come up with a reason why someone would want us knocked out and in a gladiator pit. We had to look at our characters to figure out what we might have done to merit the actions against us. The GM took our answers and created a storyline to tie everyone together so we had a common enemy. It was really well done. (Aided in part by the generous number of Flaws our characters had taken during character generation.)

Yes it can be cliche, and probably should not happen all the time, but sometimes a fresh coat of paint can make an old trope fun. If it gets you into a fun scenario, go with it and play!
 
alex_greene said:
Powderpuffed!
The Travellers are regaled by a colourful, noisy parade of revellers who swarm them with light and gaiety.
During the encounter, several handsful of colourful powders are thrown over the Travellers in gaudy clouds of colour.
This powder is actually a potent contact hypnotic. It affects the Travellers within 2D minutes ...
Symptoms are euphoria (INT and EDU-based checks suffer a Bane), disorientation (initiative is 2) and weakness (attack rolls suffer a Bane).
Continued exposure (dosed for more than 1 combat round) leads, 1D minutes after initial symptoms, to unconsciousness which lasts for 2D x 5 minutes.
Click to expand...
I would have no problem with this, provided the characters had the opportunity to learn about this custom, for example by looking into their ship's library program or by asking the starport staff about potential local dangers.
 
PsiTraveller said:
Yes it can be cliche, and probably should not happen all the time, but sometimes a fresh coat of paint can make an old trope fun. If it gets you into a fun scenario, go with it and play!
Click to expand...
Fair enough. To reject all tropes is also a mistake as some can be quite fun. Good Point. :mrgreen:
 
Also coming with the book will be an adventure scenario, The Secret Of The Settlers. That's all I am going to say about this part of the book ...
 
Next hint: The Pelacur, an alien race.

A species that looks kind of human, except for weird long fingers with an extra knuckle. Willowy, graceful. Same kind of mixture of skin colours as humans. No head hair. And they're all telepathic, able to read and transmit emotions freely. In fact, they communicate more through emotion than through words, if they can help it. And they worship pleasure, as I have said. Pleasure is a sign from God, to them. Natural Telempathy. The mechanic is different to the stats for Telempathy from the 2e Core Rulebook. I'm leaving that out here.
Characteristics, skills ... again, some differences.
Other aliens have a work ethic. These people have a play ethic.

They are a playable species.

Pelacur Tea Ceremony: The Pelacur frequently enjoy a ritual process involving the consumption of tea. What is generally not known is that Pelacur tea is derived from a native plant which induces elevated oxytocin levels in consumers. It is illegal outside of Pelacur enclaves. This skews contested Broker, Diplomat and Persuade rolls in favour of the Pelacur, who gains a Boon in such negotiations whereas the unprepared consumer frequently suffers a Bane on their part.
 
Further detail on the Pelacur.

Their necks are thinner than human, with vocal chords placed higher up. This alters their vocal range compared to humans.

Pelacur throats have five pairs of faint ridges in front, visible only under the right lighting conditions, like rows of vestigial gill slits.

Pelacur eyes are larger than humans', with sclera, irises and pupils, the same as humans. Iris colours range from violet to deep blue, pale blue and cream. The eyes make them appear inhumanly alluring to human observers.

Pelacur fingers and toes have an extra knuckle. They have 36 teeth. They're omnivores.
 
Ok Alex, you have my attention. Clearly I am going to have to buy this so I can satiate my curiosity. :mrgreen:
 
Notable Landmarks
The Duchess of Furiban Gardens (Furiban Ward)
There is a human woman, “The Duchess,” who lives in a beautiful palace with a garden renowned for the fragrances of its plants. Each day, she sits in the shade in a different corner of the garden, reading and drinking lemon juice.
The “Duchess” is a former resident of Apetown, plucked from a life of poverty by the estate's true owner, a Pelacur heiress, and put in the gardens simply so that the human's natural scents can complement the fragrances of the plants surrounding her.
She is only hired for her aroma.
The life of the “Duchess” is strictly controlled and monitored. Certain foods which can alter her body chemistry, and thus her aroma, are forbidden; and during times of great hormonal fluctuations, she is not permitted out of the house.
The “Duchess” is not permitted romantic liaisons, because the hormonal alterations caused by pregnancy would be catastrophic.
It is rumoured that there have been many “Duchesses” in the past, and that the estate's owner has grown tired of each of them in turn.
The rumour also mentions that nobody has ever seen a former “Duchess,” and points out the wood chipper round the back.
 
As of writing this article, Castrobancla is almost ready for general release. Just two pages to write up, then a spellcheck, editing, tweaking of column text and it could go up by this weekend.

As it stands, it can be used as a setting in practically any Desert world, or any Garden or Rich world with some sort of desert region. I've only put it on a non-mainworld planet called Amarja for convenience; Amarja can be sited in virtually any star system you like, even ones where the mainworld is Poor, Non-Industrial and so on.

This will be my first release through the TAS community project. There will be an announcement once it goes live.
 
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