Session 23

Session 23: "Obsoletely Fabulous" will be held, All Mighty God willing, Saturday, March first. If you have any problem with this date please let me know.

Also, please send me five things you want to do next session. This isn't hard, or time-consuming, and is very helpful for me and my horde of GMs.

Thank you.

Recap Session 22b: "War is the H-Word - Dogs of War"

Non-stop action, non-stop talking, non-stop... happenings? This session was so busy, that some of things that happened in it never got on screen! Sheesh. No matter; at least we had as many GMs as players. GM Unemployment is a bitch, and we're doing what we can to fight it.

Anywho, onwards and upwards we go, with the second part of our two-part epic "War is the H-Word!"

While War is indeed the H-word, and some other one-letter-words as well (like the F-Word, or the B-Word), it was somewhat absent from this episode as the Theocracy maintained cease fire with Elysium, and Hera in fact did not fire a single shot all episode. Others, however, were not as benign. Cerberus continues to raze fields and steal calories to deal with the Embargo, while the worlds of Oceania are burning... But all this is the background for other, exciting things. Things which are, unfortunately, secret things, that each player chose to keep to himself, and not share with others... Hill went away, supposedly to Owl Cross, but then sent out cryptic messages. Zebulon went away, supposedly to Elysium and then Eden, and wasn't heard from since. Powell simply went away. Rain and Anansi went away, came back, lost the key, fixed their ship, and then? The viewers at home know, but the players on the couch? Not so much.

Maybe someday, when all this is over we can share funny tales of games of chess, little girls called Jasmine, and waking Derek Bacon... but until then we shall keep the peace. For War, as we know, is the H-Word.

Join us next session, as we may or may not battle the Theocracy, may or may not celebrate Rome Day, may or may not save Hera, and Rain may or may not have a girlfriend. Or two.

All this, and oh so much more (though you might not hear of it!) on the next episode of..."Owl Crossings"! Shoosh....

Session 22b

Session 22a "War is the H-Word: the Sting" is behind us, now it's time for:
Session 22b "War is the H-Word: Dogs of War".

Yes, I'm that corny.

Saturday, the 16th, 11:00 AM at either Tal's or Or's place, please let us know which. Alon won't be there, so I heartily advise you all to avail yourselves of his wisdom before the session. There might also be more gamemasters then players, I ask you to bear with me.

As usual, any special requests or notes should be sent ASAP to yours truly. Furthermore, please send me 5 things, and 5 things only, you want your character to do this session. Not character goals, not jokes, just 5 things you want to get to. You probably won't, but it's nice to know.

Cheers, and see you all Saturday.
Greif.

Recap Session 22a: "War is the H-Word - The Sting"

If this session is ever serialized, then it would be... odd. I don't recall any show on television that tried to show, at the same time, events unfolding over a period of two days, and a scene taking just 15 minutes. But we did. And I hope we did good.

Last time, on the Show with the Blow, Anansi and Rain realized they were in a pickle. They got to them, and they were getting closer. The big and slow whale in which the Veil was stored, along with Flame's slowly reconstructing body (hot, yet still somewhat broken) was hovering in space above planet Mauritius, and our quick boys wanted to bail. They, however, had other plans. A "logic-bomb" hit the Whale's computers, paralyzing it, and as Anansi turned to get out of the pilot's cabin, the Shepherds hit them hard.

What followed was too quick for the eye, and perhaps for the brain. To recap just the highlights, Omega Station sent some ships to help the Shepherds, Anansi was curiously left breathing, Rain bruised Allan pretty badly, and Neil stole the Key. In the end, Omega lost a ship (the Tusker), and our boys lost the Key. Rain was laughing this off as a "moral victory", but the audience remains unconvinced. And so are some of the heroes. After this, Rain and Anansi took the Veil, now with its own R2D2-type-thing, flew to Tortuga to rest, regroup, and make sure nothing like this ever happens again. Applaudable, if a tad late.

While these 15 minutes of drawn-out action were going on, Powell proceeded in his dealings in Lima before moving on to Owl Cross, doing his part to keep the fight going. Hill left Zeb and Job behind and decided to find his own way to Owl Cross, deeming it too risky too try to go through Oceania-Testra-Lima again. Prudent. At last. The network of terror built around Hill is crumbling facing the onslaught of "Reaping the Whirlwind", so something must be done, but it's unclear what. Meanwhile, Hill was sure to not let the level of death and carnage drop, issuing another explosive statement (pun intended and apologized for) calling all opponents of the Theocracy to express their anger with violence. Another victory for the "good guys".

Meanwhile, in the world at large, the ceasefire was expended and prolonged, talks were initiated in Elysium, troops moved from Dragon and Edessa, New Orleans and Hong Kong are is in flames, and a great big party is planned in a week, to celebrate "Rome Day", among other things. Is this good news? Not for our heroes, that's for sure. Because someone, someone not very nice, is writing demands in blood, clamoring for the key. Because people in bone-white ships took that same Key away from the Shepherds in Hispania, a place that would soon crawl with thousands of ships from a hundred different worlds. Because Simeon Amberley is headed for Elysium and isn't planning on being polite. And because next session is also called "War is the H-word". Bring your rolled-up newspapers, boys, you're going to need them.

Patch 2.0.1: "Flag of a Thousand Suns"

Flag of a Thousand Suns
The Theocracy's nefarious plan is revealed in all its glory, as the Players finally realize this War was in the making for almost a decade.
Now the Theocracy's armies are marching towards domination, and the Players must summon all their abilities, cunning, and allies, if they are to have a chance to win.

Eden
This patch introduces the new world Eden, with new Flight Path, new quests, and a new faction associated with it. It also introduces Herculium, and additional Plans and Schematics that take advantage of this new metal.

Black Sygma
Secrets of Plant-17 revealed! With the installation of the Black Sygma circuit, the Players would be able to locate Black Wormgates, and through them reach new zones and possible new systems. This introduces new Flight Paths and new Flight Masters, in anticipation of greater travel to and from Eden. The Black Sygma and Black Wormgates are available only to Players who purchased and installed this Expansion.

General

• The information received from Channels has been expended and should be clearer.
• Information from the "Galactic News Services" will now be available to all Players. This is a new option found in the Player Information menu, and Players can turn it off. Players who had the "Galactic News Services" as a Unique Channel would be able to choose a new channel without cost for respec'ing.
• Introduced a new faction, the Imperium. Players can now gain reputation and favors with this faction.
• Joined the two factions, GENOM CORPORATION and OMEGA SECRET STATION into one faction, Corporations of Evil. All Players' reputation with this faction has been defaulted to Hostile.
• Removed Allies and Allied NPCs.
• Introduces the new "Diplomacy Scale" which rates NPCs as Hostile, Unfriendly, Friendly and Helpful. NPCs would no longer Aid Attack automatically or use abilities and spells without being prompted. The Attitude of some NPCs would change according to Players' actions and their reputations with various factions.
• Players now receive a buff to Spirit and Good Will when eating Real Food. This effect persists through death.
• All failed rolls would now cause problems to the Players, in addition to not achieving the desired effect. This can be negated by the use of Fate Artha.
• Due to the higher cost of rolls in terms of Artha, the number of Artha points gained in a session would be increased. Players should notice an increase in their ability to roll more and better dice.

PvP

• Players can now target each other, attack each other, and use their spells and abilities, without first enabling PvP Mode or putting up the PvP Flag. This removed a bug where Super-Assassin Players could not kill members of their own Party, even when they wanted to.

Super Assassin

• Super Assassins now always roll in combat situations.
• The number of FoRKs available per roll has been greatly reduced.
• The Combat Mechanics were changed, greatly reducing the effect of Agility and allowing for greater flexibility in gear.
• New Combat Mechanics introduces "Actions Per Combat Pulse", which increased the effect of Shade on Combat. This increases the difference in combat between Super Assassins and other Players in combat situations. This also removed the previous "Kill Instantly" ability enjoyed by some Super Assassins.
• Since the number of attacks per Combat Pulse increased in the new system, the damage of various weapons and abilities was lowered, to maintain DPS.
• The ability of Super Assassins to survive when facing multiple enemies or when falling into traps has been reduced. This is meant to increase the incentive to find Friendly and/or helpful NPCs.

Hackers

• The Houngan talent tree has been normalized, and is now appropriate to the Systembreaker and Hacking Wizard talent trees.
• Hackers now always roll in hacking situations.
• The number of RoRKs available per roll has been greatly reduces.
• Fixed a bug where the Rainbow Key sometimes generated instant success. Instead Rainbow Key would provide access to rolls and bonus dice, like other Items.
• All systems and servers now have a System Rating, replacing the previous rating system. System Rating ranges from 1 to 10 and determines, among other things, the ability to TAIs to be hosted on the system.
• Fixed a bug that allowed Hackers to perform actions on servers and systems with lower rating then required by the ability or spell.
• The ability of Hackers to project their abilities and spells has been greatly reduced.

Generals

• Generals can now summon minions, just like NPCs who belong to the Villain or Mysterious and Cool classes. These minions are designated with the " <General's Minion>" tag underneath their name.
• Some of the Generals' ability to create Rage and draw Aggro changed from specific talents to trainable abilities. All Generals can now train "Rabble Rouser" and "Cry Havoc" with their side's General Trainer.
• Under the new Combat Mechanics, Generals no longer receive bonus to combat from Military Training as they did previously. This was done so General Players won't be confused and try to engage in combat.

Terrorists

• All Terrorists can now train the "Demagogue" ability. The range and duration of the "Demagogue" ability has been greatly increased.
• The range and effect of the Terrorist's "Act of Terror" has been normalized to the new factions.
• Enemy factions and Hostile NPCs now try to kill or capture the Terrorist.
• Introduced "Safe Houses" to replace the previous Allied NPCs and Allied Zones, which allowed the Terrorist to hide.
• Introduced the "Go Underground" ability in the Master Mind talent tree. This is similar to the Super Assassin's "Melt in Background" ability. Terrorists who choose the new "Improved Demagogue" ability in the Charismatic Leader talent tree can longer be affected by "Hide in Shadows".

Traders

• The War is costly, and traders are effected most of all. Traders would now be forced to roll "Cost of Living" every week to maintain appearances.
• Traders who maintain a fleet of ships, fund a secret terror organization, and cater to the whims of needy Players, would be forced to suffer for it.
• Due to the volatile nature of the Food Embargo, the War, and various clandestine deals, which are second nature to all Traders, Players might notice some fluctuation in their Resources level.
• The ability of Traders to project their Resources attribute and the abilities dependent on it has been greatly reduced.

Quests

• Players can now abandon quests that no longer interest them or give them any benefits.
• Introduced a new quest hub in Elysium system, linked to the new planet Eden.
  

User Interface

• Players can enable a "Friendly Reminder" option in the Interface menu. This enables Tooltips when targeting NPCs, Systems and Planets, and Items.
• Added the new "Point of Interest" feature. Players would now notice yellow exclamation points next to NPCs, Places, and Items. They provide Players with reminders to information already received from previously finished quests and active Channels. This feature can be turned off in the Interface menu.

World Environment

• Players would receive more information regarding systems they go into. Players should notice better flow of information into and out of systems.
• NPCs can now move between systems if they want to.
• TAIs would be visible to all players.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed bug where some information was too subtle or obscure.
• Fixed a bug when the Rainbow Key was not sparkling as MacGuffins are supposed to.
• All Minions of Galaxy Adams would now display " <Galaxy Adams Minion> " under their name. This fixes a bug where Players and NPCs attempted to target Minions with abilities and spells that don't work on them.
• Fixed the tooltip on several NPCs, Places, and Items to include more information. Tooltip should now display appropriate faction affiliation and Place of Origins names. Also changed several NPC names, such as Niv ben-Lilith to Tzeffa.
• Fixed a bug in the Rainbow-Eyed Man's tooltip. He now doesn't have one.

Session 22

Session 22, "War is the H-Word" was meant for Saturday, the 9th. But I have to work. I will be making calls and trying to find a suitable time for all, or maybe somewhere in the middle of the week.

Before you ask - I know you got split up, but I'm not running two shorter sessions, one for Tal and Yoni, and the other for Or and Amir. Doesn't work out well.

I got a very nice list from Yoni about what he wants to do, but I want to ask this from all of you: please send me a list of five things you want to do next session. Just five things you want to do, they don't have to be in any particular order, or the only things you want to do. But please send the list.

Thank you. See you soon.

Greif.

Recap Sessions 21: "Anthology of Interest, I and II"

This was a snoozer or a dozer, depeding on where you were. Monumental things happened while our Heroes waited in the proverbial Dentist's Office for their appointment. All this to prove that sometimes, when you're not looking, the Galaxy can shake...

Last time, On "Owl Crossings", our Heroes emeged from Plant-17 bloodied but victorious. Hill's parents are probably dead, but the Black Sygma box is on the table, and the pictures and videos depicting the Theocracy's terrible crimes are available for all to see. Sure, in this Hyper-Modern world, videos can be forged, but the best and the brightest have been testing them for hours and found nothing. Probably because they're genuine...

The team that brought Light into Dark Places breaks apart: Tide returns to AXE, and the Galaxy Adams crew flies away. All oblivious to the one true cost of this excursion: that Robert Hill, that stalwart Freedom Fighter, is in prison. Yes, boys and girls, Niv ben-Lillith is actually Tzefa, the insidious mastermind behind many of the Theocracy's hidden agenda in the bad years that passed. With Hill in his clutches, what would he do?

Not much, it seemed. Our Boys in Beige have been scouring the system, searching for ways to Free Willey... ah, Hill, and called every favor, real or imaginary, they could conjure. During this, Hill had to suffer the Rainbow-Eyed Man's company, and be subjected to sophisticated measures of interrogation meant to find out something, though we're not sure what. He was told to be careful, and we can only hope he was. Eventually, though, REM was sick of waiting. He told Hill they were leaving, and indeed they were. Hill was taken behind the chemical shed and shot, only to found, restful and ok, inside a wooden coffin, expertly delivered to our crew aboard the Libby, by Milton and Bubbah (remember them? Seems like getting people out of tight spots is their job...).

Reunited and joyous, our crew splits once more (cause it works so well every time they do). Rain and Anansi stay behind. Hill, Zeb, and Job leave for Achaea. Edmund leaves for home. He's a working man, after all, and someone still needs to bring home the bacon. While they're doing that, let's also recap the happenings around our little corner of the Galaxy: the Theocracy stayed put in Elysium and Arcadia, gave pause to their plans, and sat down to talk with the exile government of Elysium, while the Cerberus horde is razing Elysium fields to the ground to feed their homes. Riots and unrest popped up all over Oceania when the Theocracy's depravity was exhibited for all to see, and the Orange Giant stirs. And the two great fleets assembled to stop the Theocracy finally started moving, one heading for war, the other for a short vacation in Hispania.

So now we know the Galaxy is breaking apart, let's return to our heroes. What did they do during all this? Hill has been causing problems for everyone, calling more and more people to join his banner, while his organization is under siege by Theocracy forces. Zeb has been corresponding with his family, home, and "allies" in the WDF, crying havoc. Rain has been trying to keep his new girlfriend alive, working on faith alone. Anansi is setting up the virtual UN. and Powell? He's been making money. But we know nothing good can last that long...

And what next?
Galactic war is almost upon us, when even Sierra and Taku Joukai are forced to censure the Orange Beast; is the war winding down, or are everyone just taking a breath getting ready to explode?
Black Sygma showed us what the Theocracy was after - what's behind the Black Wormgate in the shadow of the "Arm of the Lord" buttress?
Is the Theocracy invading Eden, and will they arm themselves and Cerberus with Herculium? Will there be any chance of stopping them then?
Can the Key really locate new gates? And is the third face of the Key blowing them up?
Who compromised the Oxygen Tap, and will the Cousins rebound from the treason, of is this the end of the Armed Resistance?
And finally, remembering that Achaea has some of the finest olives and grapes in the Galaxy, what is that smell coming from the kitchen?

Most of this (though probably just that last one) in the next episode of... "Owl Crossings"!

See you soon.