חוקי הקמפיין

שיפר שאל, ואז לרגע חשבתי שאולי זה יעניין גם אתכם. אז הנה, בגלל שזה חלק מהרקע של המשחק בדיוק כמו חוקי הכדורגל בגאליה, מצורפים חוקי הקמפיין (זה טוב גם למי שלא היה בסשן הראשון, כמו עידו או תום):

1. אם שחקן לא נהנה, זה כי המנחה עושה משהו לא בסדר.
2. אין טלפתיה, אין חייזרים, אין קסם או תופעות על-טבעיות. הכול מוסבר באמצעות פיזיקה מופרכת של מדע בדיוני. אין תקשורת דרך שערים. אין תנועה מהירה מהאור שלא דרך שערים.
3. לכל דבר יש סיבה. יכול להיות שהשחקנים/דמויות לא יגלו אותה לעולם, אבל כל דבר שלא קורה בגלל איתני הטבע, קורה כי מישהו עשה אותו. אולי הסיבה לא הייתה רציונאלית, אבל זה בגלל שאנשים אינם רציונאליים.
4. כל דבר שהדמויות עושות במשחק עולה להן משהו, ויש לו השלכות. שום דבר אינו סתמי, שום דבר לא בא בחינם. זה בגלל החוק הבא:
5. הזמן של השחקן הוא הדבר הכי חשוב במשחק. אם הדמות רוצה משהו חשוב, השחקן צריך להשקיע בזה זמן. אם השחקן משקיע במשהו זמן, גם אם זה לא היה חשוב קודם לכן, זה יהפוך להיות חשוב ומשמעותי בקמפיין. לכן אין שום דבר שמורץ במיילים או בשלט רחוק.
6. יש דברים מגניבים שיקרו במשחק שלא קשורים לדמויות או למה שנראה לשחקנים כמו "העלילה", ויקרו בין אם הדמויות שם או לא. הדמויות תמיד יכולות להשפיע על כל דבר מגניב. זה בגלל החוק הבא:
7. ניתן לעשות כל דבר. ניתן לגלות כל דבר. ניתן להשיג כל דבר. הדרך לעשות זאת היא לגלות מהן הפעולות שצריך כדי לעשות, לגלות, או להשיג את הדבר הזה, ואז לעשות זאת. ככל שהדבר שרוצים לעשות, לגלות, או להשיג חשוב יותר, כך הוא ידרוש יותר השקעה מהשחקן והדמות.
8. אנשים מגיבים לדברים שאנשים אחרים עושים, גם אם זה במקום אחר ולאנשים אחרים. מוניטין נוצר בקלות, ונהרס בקלות. אנשים משקרים, ואנשים אחרים מודעים לכך. שמועות וסיפורים הם לא אותו הדבר כמו עובדות והוכחות. אנשים בוגדים באנשים אחרים, אבל לא סתם.
9. האינדיבידואל יותר חשוב מהמערכת. מעשי היחיד יותר חזקים מכוחות היסטוריים, צבאיים או כלכליים.

תרגישו חופשי להוסיף בהערות חוקים נוספים שאתם מגלים במהלך המשחק. זה יכול להיות דרך כייפית לצחוק על גרייף! (אפשר לצחוק גם על שיפר, אם רוצים)

Recap Session 18: "A Flight to Remember, Part III - Over There"

Well, well, well... it seems pup-ups isn't the only thing this series' producer has been slacking off with lately. Recaps are missing! But I guess no-one missed them much... But now we're back! And with the last installment of a three-part bonanza of episodes, detailing the memorable flight of our comrades, first to Taku Joukai to change the world, and now to Oceania, to shake it. Will they succeed? That we don't know. But they sure as hell gonna do a lot of damage finding out!

So what was so memorable about this flight anyway? Well, in Taku Joukai, our Heroes got a little more then they expected: Anansi did indeed open the key, but he also freed the Gi from whatever chains he used to have. We hope the Gi still wants to take care of his precious citizens like he did before. Meanwhile, the great nation's economy is reeling from the shock, and ships are once more going in and out this huge market. But the Gi already closed off one moon. Are we having a rerun of Plant 17? Let's hope not. A TAI's mind is a very strange place to visit... and the Gi's, being a giant bureaucracy, maybe even stranger then most.

After their little detour in Gi-land, the gang moves on to Oceania. However, things are not as easy as they'd wish. When the guns of war start thundering in far-off Elysium, even Edessa shakes a little. Ships blow up, some say accidents, others know it's terror, and when our heroes wait, they learn the Illustrious Combine, the conglomerate of obscenely wealthy merchants and traders, wants to rally the troops to defend that bastion of free flow of cash, Owl Cross. Would the gathered ships of a hundred worlds be enough to stop the huge navies of the Theocracy and their new best friends, the Cerbrians?

In Edessa, Hill pays a visit to his friendly neighborhood arms dealer, and Powell just pays. Hey, Bill, psst, Rain is the one with the endless money, ok? But I guess Powell is the good guy here, cause he indeed pays all of Hill's bills. On the other hand, that buys weapons and bombs that kill innocent people, so maybe no one is really all that "good" here. Hill also shuts Yehuda ben-Sela out of buying any more weapons, which ruffles some feathers.

Past the Edessa gate and into Cilicia, our main troupe meet the might of Cerberus, or at least that part of it that is on this side of the Nexus. They wander why, but get no answers. Meeting them before they exit this exquisite small system is Fregatten Kapitän Molotov (who, they find out later, is actually the only son of Korpsführer Gregor Molotov, commander of the Sky Force). Molotov, finding one giant robot on Libby, decides to look away, winking at young Amberly that "not all officers in Cerberus are bought and paid for". Will our heroes decide to follow this lead? Probably not. Ah, well.

Molotov letting them through, the team is in Hispania, the richest system in the Rust Belt. They sit down to eat (Powell being the good guy and paying again), dishing out the plot to whomever is in the room. The girls, being Zoë, Gale, and Saif, have a nive chat, while the boys, being Powell, Hill, Zebulon and Rain (yes; no Anansi for you!) talk shop. With dinner over, they move on, only to get cockblocked (or is it robotblocked?) at the gate again. The nice folks over at the Hispania Port Authority won't let the robot leave the system, so they leave it in Powell's capable clutches, and move on. to Lima.

Lima! Glorious Lima! Wondrous Lima! Disastrous Lima! Here, in Piranis, the big boisterous space station right next to the Lima/Hispania Wormgate, they settle down to do some serious thinking. How to get past the gate? To do that, they get in bed (not literally; for that we have the girls) with the Prosperity Group, a nice bunch of miners (yes, miners again) who agree to smuggle their ships (the Veil and Libby) past the giant Condors and into Theocracy-occupied space. Because that's how nice they are. Some adventures later, meeting with some mysterious Parthians, baked smugglers, and menacing miners, they do the job and can move on. In the meantime, they also meet Ardemos and Arsinios, and lose Yehuda to some assassins. Finally, the elusive terrorist is caught.

We leave our brave heroes, resting aboard the "Moby Dick", a giant white ship that looks like a penis, preparing themselves to their greatest channel yet: breaking into Plant 17, finding out the Big Secret, rescuing Hill's family, and maybe, just maybe, staying alive.

Will Zeb ever reunite with his beloved Robot? How about Molotov?
Did someone remember to pick-up some more PostIts?
Will Arsinios and Rain ever become friends?
And did someone remember to tell Gale they're loading the Veil, or is Rain heading for another scolding?

All this, and oh so much, much more, on the next episode of... "Owl Crossings" the show that never ends with same of number of kick-ass people it started with!

Ja mon!

Session 19

Session 19, "The Cyber House Rules", would open Saturday, december 29th. It's the last session of this year, so try to make it count. Please try to make it on time, and stay late. It seems like every session someone is leaving earlier... it's no fun. Also, we might have more guests! So, fun fun. Let me know if you have any problems with that date. I assume we won't be play at Or's so Tal, please see if we can play at your place. Also, who's turn is it to take care of the food?

I would like to start right in Testra (yes, we have a little left to fly before Oceania, finally), so if you want to do something in the day it takes to cross Lima, please let me know as soon as possible so we can make it work somehow.

As usual, any questions or mails you would like to send in-game, please also let me know (Yoni, e.g., you wanted to send something to Molotov).

See you then.

Greif. DMM.

Session 17

I've decided to break from tradition and make the episode "A Flight to Remember" a two-parter, since both killing the Gi and breaking into Plant-17 are very memorable events. Therefore next session would be "A Flight to Remember, part II - Ocean Voyage". Hope you guys would live up to my expectations and actually fly next session...

Right now the plan is to play Saturday, December 1st. In case anyone has a problem with that, please speak up quickly. Also, it's possible we will be starting later then usual. If that's the case, I would also ask to finish later then usual, say 22:00 or 23:00.

I had a blast last session. It was really one of the more enjoyable sessions I've been in. I hope you has as much fun as I did, if not more. Cheers.

DMM.

Rescheduling Session 16

Session 16, "A Flight to Remember", was not held on Saturday the 10th. Instead it's going to hold place on Saturday, the 17th. It's probably going to take place in my home in Ramat Gan.

I have one important request: please take the time and write me one thing, element, person, system, world, sport, I don't care, something in the game-world you want to know more about.

Thank you. See you all Saturday.

Recap Session 15: I Second That Emotion

Well. Wasn't that a hand-full! So packed I didn't get to see Shiffer all night...

Seemed like the Big Issues came to Owl Cross right on the heels of our hearty heroes, or maybe it's the heroes following the Big Issues. Be that as it may, the ship Tehomoth, with its unsavory cargo, was parked alongside the station, facing the Unstoppable which came bearing many gifts and words, some of which were stern and angry towards our newly-minted General.

While Zebulon was having words with his brother, trying to decide what to do and what might happen as a result of his doing, events progressed fast.

Hill decided he's going to Plant 17 no matter what, but first, some things had to change. He wrote an incendiary post in his blog, calling on all his supporters to start violent acts against the Orange Beast. Already steamed from days and weeks of poisonous propaganda on Orange Beast Watch, the younger miners, first in the OC and then elsewhere, picked up the call. Not satisfied with that, Hill also called on Sidny, his friend, to help him recruit young miners to his growing as-yet unnamed, punk gang. Violence ensued, making the usually cheerful Captain Daucus Sativus of the SSF not happy. Finally, Hill made a bargain with the miner-mistress of the station, Violet Anderson. She'll run Local 37, and he'll take her out to the Annual Miners Ball in two months. All affairs settles to his satisfaction, Hill is ready to prod some Theocracy buttocks.

While Hill was making more and more noise, Anansi and Rain did what do they best, quietly. Anansi learned more about the Key, and told Baron Samadi he'll get back to him. Rain followed up on the lead Gale gave him, and he and Anansi met Mr. Magorium, who runs Mr. Magorium's Wondrous Emporium, a toy store by day, an electronic smuggling operation by night. They found out that he indeed has electronics stolen from Gama Station, though how, they still don't know. Finally, Rain met with Zephyr, an associate from the House of Paris, to gently tell him he'll have to pick up the job some other time. Hopefully, the job would still be available.

Away from the OC, though not too far away, Powell was having a lovely time at Johanna Banecraft's ship the Midas' Touch. They spoke at length, and parted as business partners. Johanna gave Powell control of a new fund for him to play with, and made sure he can go home again. The Patrician might have allowed that, but we're still to see who's going to pay for the problems Powell caused.

And finally, we're back to our favorite General. His past seemed to have caught up with him: the angry Praetorians have come to collect their dues. Arsinios did great damage when he and his friends totalled the dock where Libby was resting, killing 20 marines and wounding 8 more. The furious Zeb promised revenge, though how is that going to be accomplished is anybody's guess. Arsinios did not come alone: apart from some of his cohorts, he also came with Ardemos, the prior head of the Praetorian Guard, and the man sworn to find Aristophanes' killer. Arsinios and Arordos exchanged threats via phone, but we're still to find what would happen there, and what Ardemos plans to do. All this raucous brought Zeb to Commander Duke Samuel's office, commander of the Station Security Forces. He wants the marines unarmed or off his station. Zeb promised they won't cause any more problems, but he asked for the commander's help with the whole no food, no heat and no light situation. Perhaps feeling discretion was the better part of valor, perhaps disapproving with his master's tactics, the commander agreed. Light, and other important utilities, were quickly restored.

At the end of the day, our brave fellows just wanted to rest their heads. But the world would simply not leave them alone: someone tried to kill Hill, and someone else cut their throat. The Rainbow Eyed Man and Saif want to take Libby out for a spin and get to Plant 17. And when boarding Tehomoth, Zeb found a familiar face among the bioroids: his own.

Who's trying to kill Hill, and why?
Will the mission to Plant 17 ever get on the way, and will it succeed?
What would Zeb do with the Fifth Legion, and what would his brother say?
Is Rain going to Omega Station, to follow Flame, to work for House Paris, or to New Orleans to help his friends?
Is Powell on the way to becoming a new shining fixture, or a shooting star heading for disaster?
And finally, what is up with all these women? Gale, Violet, Saif, the Gypsy Queen? Is this an action series or Gray's Anatomy?

All that, and more, on the next episode of..."Owl Crossings" the show with great babes, but no sex on-camera. Boohs! For Freedom! Mandy Roberts Lives!

Session 16

Session 16, "A Flight to Remember", will be held Saturday, November 10th. 3 players can currently play, so I'm assuming there's going to be a game. But, of course, I would rather it be with all of us. So let me know. Also, it seems we're having the fourth session in so many weeks. I know that for 3 of you with girlfriends it might cause problems. Let me know if you would like to lower the frequency. Personally, it makes me giddy that we play so much...

Shiffer would probably not be in the session. So I know we got used to two DMs but we'll manage.

Anyways, questions, mails you want to send, quarries and stuff, please send over. As usual.

Knowledge and Lying

בסשנים האחרונים, וגם בסשן הזה, נתקלתי כמה פעמים בצורך עז לגלגל כישורים שהיו לנו בקמפיין הקודם אבל אין לנו כאן: Sense Motive ו-Gather Information.

כרגע, השיטה לא ממש תומכת בשני הכישורים הללו, למרות שזה כנראה נובע מזה שאני לא משתמש בשיטה עד הסוף. עם זאת, שניהם משמשים לדברים שמאוד חשובים לי, ומאוד חשוב לי שתדעו לעשות. לגבי האחד יש לי פתרון חלקי אך לא שלם; לגבי השני אין לי כרגע פתרון ונראה מה צריך לעשות.

מעגלים ומשאבים
יש לכם שתי תכונות מגניבות שמשמשות להרבה דברים, מעגלים ומשאבים. חשוב להבחין מה עושה כל תכונה. מעגלים מוצא נאפסים. זה הדבר היחידי שהתכונה הזו עושה, אבל זו תכונה מאוד חזקה כי גלגול מוצלח יכול אפקטיבית להמציא איזה נאפס שאתם רוצים. זאת אומרת שאם אתם רוצים לחפש אחר נאפס שיודע כל פריט מידע שאתה צריכים, אתם יכולים תיאורטית למצוא אותו.

משאבים משיג לכם שירות או ציוד. שירות, כולל גם מציאת אינפורמציה שכרגע לא קיימת. בניגוד למעגלים, שממציא נאפסים, משאבים תלוי בכך שתכירו את הנאפס הנכון או שתהיה לכם גישה לשוק הנכון. אם אין לכם גישה למישהו שיכול לספק את השירות או למכור את הציוד, אתם לא יכולים לגלגל בכלל את תכונת המשאבים, לא משנה כמה היא גבוהה.

דוגמא:
פאוול רוצה לדעת לאן טסות המעבורות מלאות העבדים של התיאוקרטיה. זה מידע שקיים אצל כל מיני אנשים, לכן אפשר פשוט למצוא את דירוג המכשול של הנאפס המתאים, וגלגול מעגלים מוצלח יכיר לפאוול את הנאפס שיודע את התשובה.

גשם רוצה לדעת מי הם כל מבריחי האלקטרוניקה הגנובה במערכת הרקיע השמימי. אין אף אחד שיודע את המידע הזה. אבל גלגול מעגלים יכול למצוא לגשם את האויאבון "בישוף". מרגע שהוא מכיר אותו, גלגול משאבים יכול להשיג לגשם כל מיני שירותים שבישוף יכול לספק, כמו סחורה גנובה או אלימות. בין השאר, הוא גם יכול לגלגל משאבים כדי למצוא את האינפורמציה המבוקשת.

לשקר ולשים לב
בקמפיין הקודם השתמשנו בכללים מאוד פשוטים: לכל דמות יש בעצם דירוג שקר (Bluff) ותשומת לב (Sense Motive), שיכולים להגיע לדי גבוה. כאשר דירוג התשומת לב היה גבוה מדירוג השקר, פירושו של דבר שאפשר לקרוא את שפת הגוף ונימת הקול של הדובר ולשים לב לדברים כמו עצבנות, חוסר מנוחה, אמונה שלמה, שקרים, וכן הלאה. כאשר דירוג השקר היה גבוה מדירוג תשומת הלב, אז אי אפשר היה להבחין בשום דבר. זה אומר שהכישרון לא היה גלאי אמת; במקום זאת הוא נתן מידע למתבונן על מצב הרוח של הדובר, או שלא. כשלון בגלגול לא היה פירושו אמון אוטומטית בדובר, אלא רק שאי אפשר לדעת מה מסתתר מאחורי המילים שלו.

השיטה הזו לא כל כך תומכת בכל כך הרבה גלגולים מנוגדים. בנוסף, אי אפשר להתייחס לדירוג קבוע, ויהיה צריך לגלגל לכל נאפס בנפרד, בכל פעם. זה נראה לי מאוד מורכב ואני לא בטוח שזה רעיון טוב. מה שכן, בינתיים, אני ממליץ לנסות כן להשתמש במה שיש. במידה ואתם מדברים עם נאפס, ולא בטוחים אם הוא דובר אמת או לא, אפשר לנסות לגלגל כישורים מתאימים. ייתכן ותשימו לב לעיניו המרצדות מצד לצד, לליקוק שפתיים עצבני... דברים המצביעים על כך שהדובר מנסה לעבוד עליכם. או שלא. הכול יכול להיות.

Session 15

Session 15, "I Second that Emotion" would be held Saturday, November 3rd, in Or's place. Yea, we're playing in Or's place, but then we're moving house. Probably to Ramat Gan or something. Be prepared.

Still no PopUps, and again it was felt. Yoni was upset about the Patrician I think because he didn't know the Station well enough. Hopefully that would change. Also, this session emphasized the need for both a co-DM and for the players to work together more. Sure, it might postpone your personal goals, but you get more screen time and more fun. Remember, roleplaying is a social game!

See you all in a week. I had a lot of fun. Keep it up!

Recap Session 14: A Taste of Freedom

Wasn't that a fun little session? Well, more for me then for most players...

Last session, Zeb got a legion, Rain left a message, and Mandy got caught. This session, Zeb still got a legion, Rain not much else, and Many got killed.

Having a great big legion is nice, only Zeb found out it's kinda hard having guns with no ammo, pilots with no ships, and heat with no money. He spent most of the session wrestling with that, and while not looking for spare change under the sofa in Libby, talking to strange women in bars, looking for Bioroids. In the end, he didn't fine much, either money or information. He did get frustrated a lot, which isn't healthy for a guy with a legion, and got a visit from he brother. So maybe things are looking up. Or maybe just sideways.

Rain met with his girl, only his girl wasn't his girl but actually her sister. She wants to find his old flame just like he does, only she's doing a little more in the department of looking, while Rain is going more in the department of moping. They did get to the point where they trust each other, which is nice. Next session they might get to the point of breaking and entering, which is always fun on a first date.

Hill spent most of the session listening to people argue, which is just like any session really, only this time instead of Eterium or strategy, it was about air. Miners get bored up in space, so really, they can argue about anything. Finally finding an excuse to stop listening, Hill ran from the elections over at Local 37 to try and help his friends make money and find a cure for the Orange blues: sadly, not fast enough. By the end of session, Mandy Robarts was short, Hill was still on Owl Cross, and the Bad Guys have his parents.

And finally, there's Powell. This International Man of Mystery left for parts unknown and came back, richer and with a girlfriend. He's not telling anything, but he is helping, which is already a change for the better. Also, old ladies started inviting him over for tea, proving an old dog can still take Viagra. We can complain, but so far, he's the only one staying out of trouble.

Will Zeb find some ammunition, or will his soldiers resort to wrestling?
Will Hill's parents get shot, and if they do, would it be on YouTube?
Will Anansi ever get out of his room and stop watching AIporn?
Will Rain find his girl?
Will Powell lose his?
And would we ever get to meet the patrician?

All this, and more, on the next episode of... "Owl Crossings" the show with giant robots for EVERYBODY!

TEST

Test post. Please ignore.

Session 14

Next session is Session 14, "A Taste of Freedom". It was suppose to be later on, but we might play on the 27th after all. Commenting when you can play is welcome.

Channels were in session 13, but the missing PopUps are still missing. Hopefully that won't be for long.

Also, Shiffer won't be coming. Sad. But Alon might. And that's good.

Recap Session 13: Less Then Hero

well... lot's of things happen when you run two sessions parallelly. But I'll try my best to recap even the session I wasn't in (I would ask some of the people who were in it to do it for me, but no one writes in this blog but me... POL!)

Also, reading recap for session 12, I find that strangely enough, many of the questions posed were actually answered during this session... I must be getting soft.

Last session, Anansi found himself in a tight room with Fenris and the Cheshire Cat. He got away, leaving one angry burnt wolf behind. However, the Cat greatly intrigued him, so he decided to try and draw her attention. Going back to Libby, he worked on a know-bot that would try and find the Cat in the system he was in. He succeeded. Wisely deciding not to mess with the Cat herself, Anansi instead tried to break into her on-board computer. Well, through the rabithole he went, and into Wonderland he goes...

Meanwhile, over in Diadem, Zeb, Rain and Bacon got away with the key and the information, and since the giant Omega Station made its appearance, decided to go visit. Over in Omega Station, Rain met Ikari Gendo, general manager of the station and director of operations. Director Gendo told Rain he now controls AXE Corp. and that he wants Rain to find him a powerful weapon that can cause Wormgates to explode or something. The weapon, of course, if the Rainbow Key. For some reason, Rain didn't immediately hand it over to him. Very disloyal. Agreeing to take the job, the doubtful Rain and the bemused Zeb went down to the cellar, to find many interesting weapons and things, and adding to the growing fleet of this show, they took the Veil, a mid-range standard operations vessel, with Extra Special Kick™. Leaving the station, the boys decided it would be wise to leave Diadem and get to Owl-Cross as soon as possible. However, things don't always work the way they're suppose to.

Back in Wonderland, Anansi met many wondrous creatures, or programs and know-bots, and found that the Cheshire Cat is an awesome programmer that can really do wondrous things. He also met 3 witches that almost ate him, and told him Morgana went to talk to her friends. Worried, Anansi pressed on, hooking up with the Queen of the Gypsies (and maybe getting her "in the family way"...), finding Excalibur, the Invisible Sword of Light and Water, and getting his fortunes read by the Old Woman. Inside the Castle of Galaxy Adams, he finally meets the Cheshire Cat, and they decide to be friends. Three cheers for cyber-cafes!

On their way to the OC, the boys meet Job again. Apparently he's been busy. He found a shipment of Bioroids, and wanted to derail it. So they all hurried up to get to Owl Cross first. However, once there, priorities shifted. Anansi set down to try and understand the Key, and Zeb got a craving for a legion.

Before two hours passed, Rain got a little message from an old friend, Anansi got some disturbing news he was dreading, and Zeb got a little present...

Will Zeb take over Owl Cross?
Does Rain's camera really add 10 pounds?
Is Morgana in trouble? Or should we say, any more trouble?
Where is Powell?
Who won Local 37th?
And do we really care about Mandy Roberts?

All this, and more, on the next episode of... "Owl Crossings", the show that can't be replicated using Bioroid Technology!

Channels Revisited

Now that all the characters have lifepaths, it's time to talk about channels in a more specific and detailed way.

Channels are used to give characters information and tools regarding the world about them. Unlike Pop-Ups (when there are Pop-Ups) channels are in-play, which means characters can use them in-game as in-game information. For example, one of the channels of Zebulon is the Committee of Foreign Affairs, which sends regular e-mails and updates to important people abroad in the Galaxy. Unlike Pop-Ups, which are common information about the galaxy and so are pretty much cannon and all-around true, information gained from channels can be subverted, blocked, or even forged. In many ways it's like information received from NPCs in the game.

Number and Identity

Every character would have two channels, decided by me, rooted in some specific lifepath, either two different lifepaths or the same one. Of course, since you only get two, not every lifepath gives a channel.

You can ask to change you channels during the next session (session 13), and I'll change them without a problem. Every lifepath can be the source of various channels, that provide different information. For example, Hill's Astrominer lifepath gives him access to the Miners' Forums channel. He could ask to change that to Local Miners Network in a specific system, or maybe Miners on the Job, working for a specific pan-galactic company. There's very little limit on the channels you ask for.

After session 13, the channels won't be changed. You can create new channels via roleplay, and using the Resources attribute to aid you. Also, long periods of disconnection or extreme distances from your channel might cause you to lose the channel for periods of time. However, it requires something extreme to break a channel completely. For example, one of Powell's channels if his Offices. When he can't get e-mails and messages he won't get information from his channel, but unless he goes completely bankrupt, he won't break the channel.

Relationships and Affiliations, Push and Pull

Ideally, you would get new information every session, before or during the session, though if the sessions are short (a day or two) you might not.
It's important to understand the difference between channels and affiliations. Channels don't give any special bonuses when rolling Circles. They are means for an end, not a bonus, an aspect of your character that gives color and not bonuses. Furthermore, channels provide information even when you do nothing (me pushing information on you), while affiliations only provide information when you use Circles.

When pulling for information, meaning asking for something specific, you roll your Circles attribute just like in any other case. Channels allow you to ask more specific questions because you have access to specific NPCs who have the information that you might want. However, and this is important, channels always work both ways. The channels that provides you with information always receives information from you, and distributes that to its members. When asking questions, you might attract attention. When doing something important, or noisy, people would pay attention. The general rule is that the higher the obstacle, the bigger the chance your question or your activity would be noted.

You can always ask what your channel knows of you, and get a general answer from me.

Intersections and Specific NPCs

All channels have intersections: places that gather and distribute information. These are specific known locations. The further you are from your intersections, the less often you receive information. Almost all intersections would be attached to some specific NPC or NPCs. You can probably meet those people and ask for help. Like you know them, they probably can guess who you are, though you might know more about them then they of you. Some information you receive would be about specific NPCs (like what some specific Houngen did in New Orleans) and some might be general (like what "people are saying" about the Orange Beast).

The way to destroy, interrupt, or infiltrate a channel is through its intersections. Just like other people can do it to your channels, so you can do it to theirs. This is done, like everything else, via roleplay and applicable skills. Shake before use.

Hoped this was in anyway helpful. See you (those of you who are coming) on Saturday.

Greif.

Recap Session 12: The Lesser of Two Evils

Started out with a bang, ended with whispers. And bangs!

Over in the Deep South, Rain and Zeb had a lot of fun. Zeb finally found out how come the Fifth Legion deserted, and decided to infiltrate GENOM station so he could fix the situation. Rain, on the other hand, wanted in so he could shoot Static in the head and gain employment with the House of Paris, one of the five Houses of the Scales. In the meantime, they can steal the Key. Fun, fun. They met up with people from the Wedge Defense Forces, who gave them help and information, and allowed them to break into the station. There they fought many robots, before escaping: after killing Static, stealing the Rainbow Key, and downloading a heap of information from the GENOM data core. So is well on that front.

Things were going less well back on the OC. We all remember how thoroughly Powell fucked the Fifth Legion up the ass. Now he's in Ouroboros, where he sold his infamous fleet and decided against returning home, but rather to continue onwards with non other then the Wolf Brotherhood. Bobby Hill thought running a rebelious organization would be fun and game, and after spending days setting one up, got a call from the dockmaster on Plant 17 who captured Mandy Roberts, the sweet sweet girl who decided to throw her life away for Hill's ideals and ideas. Anansi managed to fight off whatever code was trying to kill him and Morgana, but lost Morgana. He looked for her, failed, before finding help from unexpected quarters: Powell supplied him with the code of whomever it was that tricked his fleet into attacking the Fifth Legion. Anansi followed the code, only to land face down inside some closed system inside Taku Joukai, with burnt Fenris, and... the Chehsire Cat.

Who is the Cheshire Cat?
Where are the Wolves going?
What will happen with GENOM, AXE, and all the other powerfull organizations in Rain's life?
What going to happen with 10,000 Herans in the OC, suddenly without of a job?
And where, in the Galaxy, is Job?

All this, and more, on the next episode of... "Owl Crossings", the show where we blow up ships, or your money back!

Session 13

Next session is session 13, "Less then Hero", which will take place on Saturday, the 20th. Until then many things will be in place, like channels! And all the missing PopUps! (Yea, Alon now has a new thing to bug me about...)

Play as gotten to be more complex, so I hope Shiffer will be there to continue running the Deep South end of things, so Yoni and Or can feel what it means to play with someone who knows the meaning of pain...

For those who might not be joining us, that's too bad...

Resources

Everyone now has the Resources attribute, which means we're going to start using it. Life will also get much harder now you don't have Powell to finance everything...

משאבים
תכונת המשאבים מתארת את הכוח והפוטנציאל המשקי של הדמות: היכולת שלה להשיג רכוש, ציוד, או שירותים שעולים משאבים רבים. תכונת המשאבים לא מייצגת כסף, אבל כמות הכסף שיש לדמות היא פונקציה של תכונת המשאבים.

שימוש במשאבים
מגלגלים את תכונת המשאבים כאשר הדמות רוצה להשיג רכוש, ציוד או שירות יוצאי דופן ביחס לסגנון החיים שלה. לכל אחד מהדברים הללו יש דירוג קושי, וגלגול המשאבים עובד כמו גלגול כישרון. דמות אחרת יכולה לעזור עם תכונת המשאבים שלה, אבל אי אפשר להשתמש ב-FoRK. ניתן לקבל קוביות כתוצאה מהצלחות במבחנים קשורים, כמו תכונות ידיעה למיניהן, תכונת עסקים, ראיית חשבון, וכן הלאה.
תכונת המשאבים מתקדמת כמו כישרון, אלא שסופרים רק הצלחות ולא כישלונות.

הצלחה בגלגול פירושה שהדמות השיגה את הדבר שניסתה להשיג. כישלון בגלגול פירושו שתכונת המשאבים יורדת בקוביות. כאשר תכונת המשאבים יורדת, אנחנו אומרים שמיסו אותה. לאחר כישלון בגלגול תכונת המשאבים יורדת במספר קוביות בהתאם לקושי הגלגול: אם הגלגול היה שגרתי, המס הוא קוביה אחת. אם הגלגול היה קשה, המס הוא 2 קוביות. אם הגלגול היה מאתגר, המס הוא פער הכישלון. אם דמות אחרת עזרה לדמות שנכשלה בגלגול, גם היא מאבדת קוביה כתוצאה ממס.
אם מתישהו תכונת המשאבים יורדת לאפס כתוצאה ממיסוי, התכונה עצמה יורדת באופן קבוע בקוביה אחת.

סגנון חיים
לכל דמות סגנון חיים הנמדד ברמת קושי. רמת הקושי מייצגת את הקושי של הדמות לתחזק את רמת החיים שלה. רמת חיים שולטת בדברים כמו כמות הכסף הזמינה לדמות, איך היא אוכלת ואיפה, היכן היא גרה, סוג הטיפול הרפואי הזמין לה, טכנולוגיה שבה היא משתמשת, וכן הלאה.
כל דמות חייבת לגלגל נגד סגנון החיים שלה פעם בחודש, כדי לייצג את התחזוק של סגנון החיים שלה. כישלון אין פירושו שהיא מאבדת את סגנון החיים שלה, אלא שנאלצה לנקוט באמצעים יוצאי דופן, כמו לדוגמא לקחת הלוואה, כדי לתחזק את סגנון החיים הזה. האמצעים יוצאי הדופן מיוצגים במיסוי על תכונת המשאבים.
שחקן יכול להחליט להוריד את סגנון החיים של דמותו. ההחלטה נעשית אחרי גלגול סגנון חיים, ומשפיעה רק על הגלגול הבא, בחודש הקרוב.
כאשר תכונת המשאבים של דמות יורדת ל-0, סגנון החיים שלה יורד בנקודה אוטומטית. דמות שסגנון החיים שלה הוא 0, גרה ברחוב.

עבודה והחזרת נקודות משאבים
הדרך היחידה להחזיר נקודות משאבים היא באמצעות עבודה. עבודה מתואמת מול המנחה, ולרוב כוללת שירותים שהדמות מבצעת בעבור כסף או טובות הנאה אחרות. עבודה מיוצגת באמצעות גלגול תכונה מסוימת שקשורה לעבודה הזו. דירוג הקושי הוא מספר הקוביות החסרות בתכונת המשאבים, +1. הצלחה פירושה שקוביה אחת חוזרת לתכונת המשאבים.

Recap Session 11: The Deep South

We had a double-feature, and everybody was happy!

Last on Owl Crossings, Powell was facing tough challanges; Zeb, Rain and Job were contemplating breathing vacuum; and Anansi got a Booty Call. Suddenyl, things got even more complicated.

Zeb, Rain and Job found themselves in the Deep South, or actually, in Diadem. Apperantly, they were first hijacked by Largo-14, and then

Recap Session 10: I, Roommate

Started out locked in one room, ended up locked in another...

Rain found himself not eating the pizza he ordered, cause Fury crashed the party. Zeb and Job found themselves wasting time, waiting for their train to come in. Powell found himself losing money, and trying to solve all his problems at once, to no avail. And Anansi and Hill, once again, were cooling their heels. But not for long.

Because Rain started the Mirror Dance, and pretty soon, everyone was dancing: who was messing with their encryption? Who was sending people to kill Rain and/or Zeb?

Rain drove around town, calling his friends and hanging up with fear, Zen and Job tried to set up a meeting where they won't die, and Powell got sick of it all and finally met Rain for lunch. They didn't eat, but they did set the record straight, figured out Ko was working for the other side, and went to figure it out. Job and Zeb but them to the punch, though, and kidnapped his daughter. Finally, they all met in Hanger 4A, where Ko was preparing Rain's ticket out of Lock: a closed box.

Meanwhile, Powell found the solution for his problems: a rich weapons-dealer from the Celestial Heaven gave him a fleet to deliver to Owl Cross, and his permission to set up a deal with Hera. So power figured he would take Libby, Anansi and Hill, and fly onwards, while the other three would catch up. It should have worked. Only, remember? Ko is working for the other side. So his ride was less then reliable. He meant for it to get to Ouroboros, but somehow, that's not where it ended up.

Powell moved on, and got to Owl Cross with his fleet, promising along the way to Eduardo Mephisto de-Silvia Bambang that he'll solve his problems with Avalon. There, he found himself and his fleet staring down the barrel of 10,000 angry guns pointed his way and one angry Heran deserting General, demanding they leave.

So, Powell is between the rock and the hard place, our three monkeys are Lost In Space, and just when you think things can't get worse, Anansi's "Only Morgana Can Page Me Here" pager goes off. Great.

Thanks

Since I had to run off at the end of last session, I didn't get a properly thank everyone for a great couple of days.

So - thanks go to:

Tal - For the very generous hospitality and of course for making the food!

Amir - For buying the food (I know I still owe you the money) and - not less important - for bringing the awesome PS3!

Eido - For joining us to help with the system/characters

Tom and Yoni - for some damn good rpg! and I do mean damn good :)

and of course, last but not least, Greif - for preparing yet another session and putting up with loads of character generation crap :)

Personally, I had a great time and I hope we can have more mega sessions soon.

Creating Names

I have started using Inspiration Pad Pro to create names for our campaign galaxy. I created files for Heran names and Delta Colony names, and I hope to add an Owl Cross file soon, and then files for all major systems: Sierra, Babylon (the Theocracy), Haven, Celestial Heaven and such.

You can use them to create contacts, if you need to.

Cheers!

Session 10

Everyone is done for the week!

Next session is episode 10 "I, Roommate" and it's scheduled for Saturday the 22nd. If everyone can make it, that's great! And if not, that's less great...

Please check if you can host the session, and see if and when you can get there. Also, since we might be spending much time together, we might have time for two sessions... So we'll bring lots of coffee and stuff.

Fun, fun!

Recap Session 9: A Fishfull of Dollars

This episode begged the question: if they planned less, would more people have died, or less?

Our Brave Bunch meets Yotem ben-Megido, finally, after many episodes where he ran after Amberley, trying to get a moment alone with him. That moment happened, but they were less alone then they thought. With the two was Job Blackburne, one giant dude, with a strange sword and an even stranger armour. Is he human? Only time will tell.

So what did we have? Anansi went hunting, found nothing, so blinded himself. Maybe his quarry would stick her head out, maybe she won't. Powell went to make lots of money, and still hasn't returned. Hill finally found the nerve to answer his buddies, and his answer was "shout it from the rooftops!", so they did. And Zeb decided that the best way to serve his interests was to indulge Rain.

And what did Rain want? Rain wants to hunt down his annoying little Clone and get him to stop bugging him, one way or another. The Shifty Ko told him the Other Rain wants to kill Amberley, so Zeb and Rain set up a trap with Zeb as bait. The fish did bite, but he didn't come alone. Maybe next time when someone tells Rain that he sold enough guns to equip an army, it would raise some flags. Anywho, battle ensued, but the commandos didn't really have a chance. On the other hand, the fish got away, and our Brave Bravados had to flee. Where did they flee to? That's right; to Kitchen Ko. Ko kouldn't be happier. He sent Zeb and the Jolly Metal Giant one way, and Rain the other. They all got to where they were going: Zeb and the JMG to the basement, and Rain right to where his brother was waiting...

Will the brothers share their pizza?
Will Yotem ever get off the ship, or is he moving in?
Will Zeb find a new friend?
And is Powell a new Millionaire, or a new pauper?

All this, and more, on the next episode of... "Owl Crossings", the show with more bang for your fish dollars!

Session 9

Session 9, "A Fishful of Dollars" would run on Thursday, 13/09/07, 12:00 at Or's place. Alon can't make it, so we're playing without him.

Or, please make sure everyone knows how much money they need to bring, and who needs to buy what for the session.

Also, those of you (Tal, Or, Alon) who started some ball rolling on something and would like to see what happens, please write me an e-mail to make sure I don't forget to bring it to next session. Those of you who stuck electro-magnetic needles in your brain for fun, please bring Aspirin for the pain.

See you then.

Your DMM.

Recap Session 8: My Three suns

Standing on the crossroads, but some decisions are made by other people...

Our brave bunch vanquished the Big Bad Wolf, but lost the Key. Now, they're wandering around Dead Station, finding mysterious lost Crystal Computers and learning that something pretty big got made pretty small, and then taken away. Where? No one knows, but at least two other visitors were at the Dead Station, maybe they know?

With the Key lost, and some pretty scary stuff happening, the guys decide to run after the Long Lost Clone, so they head out to Midway. In Lockberg, Rain picks up the trail, while Zeb and Anansi want to play with their captives. Some questions are answered, but wisdom, as usual, remains elusive.

Will Rain get his parcel back?
Will Powell lose all his money?
Are the assassins going to just keep on coming till Zeb is dead?
Will Anansi ever get rid of his head-ache?
And who's going to clean the floor?

All this, and more, on the next episode of... "Owl Crossings", the show sponsored by ""Blue Sun"!

Session 8

Next session is: "My Three Suns". We probably can't do it next Saturday, because Amir can't come. But that's not a given.

Please reply to this post. It would be easier to see all your answers in one place. Please write when, during this week until Saturday, you can play in the evening.

I would like to remind you about our "one player" rule. If one player can't come, we still play. If The only day we can play is Saturday, we might play without Amir. It sucks, but there's five of you, and at least three girlfriends that I know of.

Also, I had tons of fun. I didn't imagine it would be this much fun. Hope to see y'all soon.

DMM.

Recap Session 7: Insane in the Mainframe

A new face appears, bringing more trouble then he's worth?

Zeb gets picked up by a weird-looking kid from the Blue Planet called Anansi (cause it's coool). They almost get blown up by a big orange space ship (which curiously no one wanders about...) and get rescued themselves by the two funnest most helpful Truth Detectives the Galaxy has ever known. And a chicken.
Hill and Rain decide to go hunting for Big Dive Boys, find them, get confused a bit, but bounce back. They all rendezvous (minus Ed) around O-Sugi, to see if they can get the Key back from the Big Bad Wolf. What does the Key do? It brings about the End of the World!!! Well, at least that's what the Weird Kid thinks. But what does he know? He's walking around with a live chicken!
On O-Sugi there many a fight, fright, and flight, when the hot shots manage to kill everyone but lose the Key, and almost Anansi as well. The Key is taken by the Shepherds, but hey, at least we got Fenris! We think. Though he did die once already. Only this time he was killed by a live chicken!
Once out of the hospitel, carrying two prisoners in tow (didn't think I forgot about them, did you?) they go to the Dead Station, where they hope to find some clues to the mysteries that surround their life. They find more mysteries. And no chicken...

Will Edmund catch up with the gang?
Is Zeb a terrorist, and if so, would he agree to stop?
Does the pretty light show have any meaning?
Is the Big Bad Wolf dead?
And why, oh why, does the room still smell of roasted chicken?

All this, and more, on the next episode of... "Owl Crossings", the show that isn't a chicken!

Inspirations

New image slide show feature added to our Wiki.
Here: http://owlcrossings.wetpaint.com/page/Inspiration

I think this gallery is supposed to be shared, and ppl are supposed to be able to upload pics to it. They keyword here being 'supposed to' ;)

If you do manage to contribute images - make sure they are of a sci fi nature and of very good quality.

The weekly polls

How do I change the weekly poll?

Session 7

Session 7: "Insane in the Mainframe" will take place on Saturday, September 1st. I want to start at 10:00 and have a double feature. Alon, Yoni, please make sure you can come.

Recap Session 6: Love and Rocket

The Celestial Heaven is finally here, and so is Edmund. Also, fighting endlessly about immense wealth that no-one can get. Yet.

You got out of Cyprus, and now you're "safe" on Nippon, right? Wrong. Big strong man try to kill you and fail, leaving behind a neat trail to O-Sugi Space Station; Tall dark woman wants alone time with Hill, but Zeb is jealous so he doesn't get any. Edmund wants to party with Houngans, but ends up staying at home, sending everyone else. And now you're all in a pickle: is Zeb going to die, thus proving warning: never walk alone?

Will everyone on Testra catch religion?
Will Edmund find what he's looking for?
Is there a Rain twin, and if there is, which one is the evil one?
Do you think Zeb can play Tetris in the 'copter?

Find out, on the next episode of... "Owl Crossings". The show with the blow!

Channels

Hi. I've decided to add a new concept to the game called "channels". It would become available as soon as lifepaths would be ready.

There would be a more detailed explanation with the lifepaths but in short channels are way for the characters to receive updates, rumors and tidbits of information about areas of life that interest them. For example, the information Hill received about his Homesystem and Oceania he received through "channels": massage boards he frequents, friends that e-mails him, newsfeeds, and so on. All channels have intersections, places where the information gathers. The closer you are to such an intersection, the quicker you receive information. The OC is an example for such an intersection.

Information can be received in two ways: push and pull. Push means I hand out the information when I feel like it. Pull means you ask the channel for information. When Alon asked about Blue Sun, he was using channels.

Finally, it's important to realize that channels you use distribute information about you to other subscribers of the same channel. When you do things that aren't important (like fighting in a bar) it doesn't register. When you do things that are a little interesting (like taking a new identity in Cyprus) it might. When you do big things (like hiring a Heran Legion to defend your homeworld), it would make the rounds.

More to come. Have fun.

Session 6

Next session is on Saturday, the 18th. The session would either be in the morning or in the afternoon, depanding on when is Yoni's rehearsal. Please be available.

Also, it's important for me that we can play on September, 1st. Please check if that's ok with you.

Recap Session 5

Session 5 is behind us, and we found out Zeb was actually Arordos all along. This is what happens when you visit strange planets. You catch things...

Also, playing with just 3 players is sad; Alon, we miss you!!!

Anyway, you managed to leave Cyprus in one piece after finding out someone killed Aristophanes, but it wasn't Rain (or was it?) and that Senator Arktor wanted you off his planet. What it all means is anyone's guess. Arriving in the Celestial Heaven, you find things are brewing in far away places, and while meeting in dank corners of Nagasaki, you come face to face with tall, dark, and pretty, plus a couple of well-dressed goons. Fun.

Who is buying all those ships, and why?
Is Hill's homeworld in danger?
Would we ever meet Edmund again, and if we do, would he tell us why he left in a hurry?
Would the sushi give Zeb indigestion?

Find out, on the next episode of.... "Owl Crossings". The show with the most business opportunities since "the Apprentice".

Session 5

Session 5: "Clone of my own", would happen on August 11th, without Alon, yet again. But hopefully, it would be a longer one.

During last session, Zeb and Hill found themselves at the mercy of the Jet Black Illuminati, who were looking for something that was in their black box, and Rain and a Cyprus cop looked for them and eventually saved them from the JBI. That's when the cops arrested Rain for murder. So, you know, it was nice for him to see Eidon while he could.

Calendar!

Yes! I've found how to include my Shared Owl Cross Google Calendar as a widget in the blog page :) Check it out on the bottom of the Blog
The Google people Rule.

Anyhow - please use this calendar to find out where and when sessions take place, and - more importantly - to indicate on which days you are able to play.

Our Blog

Hi Everyone.
It seems that this site will become our campaign Blog, and I'll be you not-so-kind SysAdmin. I'm also working on a google-hosted website, but they are less compatible with web 2.0 shared content features, so I don't know what'll happen with that.

Anyways - please bookmark this page and visit it regularly. Players that will not do so will have their Artha points transfered to me.
Why me? Cause I rulez the internets!!1

I'll try to keep adding features every once in a while. The newest ones being the excellent pole on the right hand side of the page here, and also the Links list.

Session 4

Session 4: "Lesser of Two Evils", is scheduled for Monday the 16th. We'll know Sunday if Alon can play or not. We might play anyway, even if Alon can't come, but in that case it will be a shorter session becuase I don't want to do too much before Alon joins us again.

Owl Crossings

This is the First post. I think comments on this will appear on the OC page.