Achievement awarded...

 

Volume one...

While it might not seem much like it we've reached the end of an era in "The Trails and Tribulations of Arcadia Justinian".  My customized Fading Suns notebook, constant companion, campaign confident and keeper of secrets is now full...after twenty-five sessions of play.  It seems like a milestone (and one I'm quite proud of, to be honest) so I thought a few reflective thoughts might be in order.

 

In my head this means we've finished "Volume One" of the campaign. That's probably been about 63 hours of play (give or take). When I started I figured I had about a year's worth (50 sessions, or thereabouts) of plot in my head and I think that may well have been an underestimate...this stuff just keeps coming and there's no end in sight.  Yes, certain story lines may reach an eventual conclusion but I can see us following these characters, and their impact on the Known Worlds, for some time to come. In large part I have a great group of players to thank for that, they have really invested their characters with personalities beyond the numbers on the page and are constantly coming at things in ways I didn't expect or suggesting ideas which dovetail with and compliment what I already have planned.  It truly has been a collective effort to get this far and to make it so much fun in the process.

 

I also think that the hiatus that we had earlier this year really benefitted the game.  I was writing myself in circles trying to manage all the pieces I had in play and the way the group had physically separated. I tried using extra secondary player characters (to essentially create a second cadre) but I don't think any of us really related to or enjoyed those characters.  We needed to follow the "heroes" of the tale not a supporting cast. Fast forwarding some plot (the events on SOE/8807 and the loss of the Galliot) allowed me to re-synchronise where we were with everyone and slightly alter the direction of the campaign. It seemed risky at the time and there was disappointment about not playing through some of that material but I think hindsight has shown it was the right decision.

 

I'm sometimes asked if things have happened as I intended and simply speaking no, they haven't, but part of that is I had little expectations or firm plans as to what would happen. There's the old adage when letting off a firework: "Light blue touch paper and stand well back" and in a way that's what I set out to do.  I presented a situation to the players (the initial "murder mystery at the tournament") and waited to see where they went with it.  They could have immediately gone on the run, hoping to prove Arcadia's innocence while ducking from pursuers, they could have dumped her like a sack of rubbish and got on with their lives....it was almost a test to see what we had here and where the players wanted to take things.  At the time I had no real idea that that meant assassination attempts, betrayals, ancient AIs, Second Republic Golems, Husks, recovery of broken star ships, trips into space, duels, psychic peasants, church inquisitors and political intrigue... But I fully expect there's that and more yet to come.

 

The title of campaign remains "The Trails and Tribulations of Arcadia Justinian" even though she's been dead since session 18 (and publically believed dead since session 13) and that remains an intentional choice on my part. The reasons are numerous but the main one is that Arcadia's impact will still be felt for some time to come. She was the trigger that brought these individuals together and her life, and death, has had direct impacts, some of which have yet to be revealed.

 

Going back to the notebook itself it now carries the moniker of "Volume I" and I have a now already in use "Volume II" (suitably customized). But there are NPC stats, unused ideas and plot lines that are in motion but yet to be revealed all still within "Volume I".  It's not about to be retired yet. However it now stands, a bit like this blog, as a testimony to what has already happened and a foundation for what is yet to come. Volume II (and III, IV, etc) look to be an exciting prospect but we wouldn't have got here without the tales documented in this simple little notebook.

Fleshing out some details of Deepcore 104

While our campaign has been set on and around the Hawkwood planet of Ravenna, much of the detail and intrigue is centred on the House Justinian controlled subterranean "Deep Core" city, designated Deep Core 104, a great urban complex set deep into the ground on the Southern Follari continent.

 

The Deep Core cities are vast urban complexes built around the edges of huge and ancient mining shafts, some of which that penetrate all the way to the planetary terraforming engines close to the world’s core.

The original cities were wonders of Second Republic architecture and innovation but over time superstition, technical ignorance and neglect has led to degradation in the systems and infrastructure.  Power is erratic, living quarters are often in states of disrepair with leaks and inadequate plumbing a constant issue, while some areas can even be prone to collapse, whole sections of floor suddenly cascading into the mines below.

 

The City is vast and not yet completely mapped, let alone fully reopened or populated, but the areas of the city currently sanctioned for use are divided into a variety of boroughs. Each is known by separate, often unique, names drawn from the unearthed signage, local lore or personal preference of the ruling noble

 

It is here that both Dame Arcadia and Sir Hemlock's family fiefs reside and when we recommence the campaign (hopefully later this week) it will be where our cadre find themselves reunited.

 

While the players have visited the city briefly I anticipate it, and it's residents will factor more significantly in the coming sessions so felt it wise to try to help flesh out the geography and politics of the area around their family fiefs.

 

I'd stress that this is only a portion of the city as a whole but it makes more sense to start with the immediate local and their neighbours.

 

Deep Core 104, looking north with the fiefs and political boundaries noted.

The city as a whole is ruled by the leading member of House Justinian on the planet, Earl Kiruda Quentin Justinian. The earl is a hardened military man and a veteran of many campaigns who has taken enforced “retirement” as one of the landed gentry very badly. It is probably fair to say that he tolerates the barons below him as a necessary indulgence; if they run their fiefs without having to involve him directly that’s fine.  He can get on with hunting, walking his hounds and what little martial practise his wife and physician will permit him. However recent events (the revelation of the "traitorous Justinian") have forced him to attend court far more than he is otherwise comfortable with as he petitions Duke Cassius for clemency on behalf of Baroness Helena, mother of Dame Arcadia.  He fears the loss of Justinian lands to the Hawkwoods and is increasingly concerned that forces within his own House see him as weakened are now conspiring to depose him.

 

Aracadia's family fief was The Midden Barony and until recently it was ruled by her mother, Baroness Helena Midden Justinian and her husband and consort General Sir Anthony Masseri Justinian. The barony was a mediocre work horse in the stables of the House but following the outing of Dame Arcadia as the would-be assassin of Planetary Duke Cassius Hawkwood the fief has been seized as a "Hawkwood Protectorate" and placed under the control of Baron Christopher Windsor Hawkwood.

 

The fact that a Hawkwood has taken residence right in the middle of Justinian lands, and the suspicion that is falling on the House as a whole has engendered a general sense of suspicion and some paranoia. Local nobles are withdrawing their military support of Austrum East (in the on going Austrum War) in order to strengthen their militia now that a Hawkwood roosts in their midst.

 

Meanwhile Baron Christopher is enjoying lording it over his new lands.  His men-at-arms (or rather those lent him by Duke Cassius) are enabling him to rule with a rod of iron.  They are frequently raiding homes and work places looking for "Arcadian sympathisers" and "Justinian Spies".  They are particularly after Beorn (one of our old PCs) as he was the bounty hunter who claimed to have killed Arcadia and handed in her body (which we obviously know to be a fake).  He is believed to currently still be on the run.

Sir Tarquin Midden Justinian, the sixteen year old eldest remaining child of Dame Helena is now a ward of Duke Cassius.  Nominally the Midden Barony belongs to him and is being ruled in his stead by the Baron as "caretaker/steward".  He was last seen in public returning to his family lands in the company of Baron Christopher and regiments of the Duke's personal guard, but is reported to be in excellent health and well engaged in the continuation of his studies. His remaining sister, Lady Stephanie Justinian, the Baroness & General's youngest child, has rarely stepped outside of her family's lands throughout the thirteen years of her young life. She remains quite reclusive but has occasionally been seen accompanying Baron Christopher at functions and on tours of his "occupied" lands.

 

The Midden Barony is surrounded by other Justinian holdings:

 

Above it sits "The Folly", ruled by Baron Turmeric Justinian. Turmeric is a member of the "non-traditionalist" Justinian faction and an open supporter of it's leader and figurehead, Princess Carolandra (as was Dame Arcadia). He steadfastly refuses to marry, arguing it depletes the House but has large harem of concubines all of whom are sworn to the Justinian House.

 

To The Midden Barony's east is "Crofter's Holt", one of Earl Kiruda's own holdings. It is stewarded by Lady Saffron Justinian, one of Earl Kiruda's knights.

 

On the other side of The Midden Barony sits "The Barony of Abalone". It's ruler, Baroness Phillipa "Peppa" Abalone Justinian is an old "grand dame". Geriatric and far past her best she steadfastly refuses to relinquish her grip on her fief.  Her one remaining child, Sir Basil Justinian, is almost as infirm as she.

 

Separated from The Barony of Abalone by 2-3km of un-reclaimed city scape is Sir Hemlock's family fief, Sector 42. This is one of the most notable boroughs of Deep Core 104, a great urban complex set deep into the ground and holding some of the most productive and varied mineral seams currently being mined in the city and it is very much a jewel in the Justinian crown. Many wonder then why its rulers seem to spend so much time away from home.

Sir Hemlock's father, Baron Tochiro Justinian, is a regal looking man, his fair hair now peppered with silver. He stands a good six feet tall and still maintains the athletic build of his youth.  Personally he is traditional and very formal in outlook; some might describe him as both cold and aloof, attributes that have gained him much support and many allies amongst the Ravennan Hawkwoods. Never a notable warrior he always saw himself more as a politician and ruler and as such spends most of his time away from his fief on “diplomatic missions” for Justinian interests. As such he leaves the running of things in the hands of his trusted retainer and bondsman, Master Alfredo Garcia. Master Alfredo was present with the Baron on a diplomatic mission to Delphi when the tragedy struck the household that robbed the Baron of his daughter and most of his household staff.  As the most senior surviving retainer at the time Alfredo stepped up and took control of the running of things and has remained so ever since. Trained by the Reeves, Alfredo was born into service in the Baron’s household and has remained so ever since. Some still gossip that he has taken advantage of his master’s frequent absences to secretly extend the fief's mine workings and line his own pockets in the process.

Baroness Emeraldas Al Malik Justinian is Hemlock's mother and the baron’s second wife, his first having died during the delivery of his first (stillborn) son Eustace (4960-4960).  The Baron remained in mourning for some years until he could be convinced to wed for the benefit of the house.  That was not to say that he did not have “companions” during that time but he seemed averse to making a formal commitment again.  For her part the current Baroness has always appeared the perfect wife for the Baron; demure, enchanting, witty and many believe that the ties to Al Malik have smoothed some previous issues that that previously faced Sector 42 when dealing with the Guilds.

The final fief of note in the immediate term is "Quentins's Retreat" set to the west of Sector 42 after another stretch of un-reclaimed city scape.  It is ruled by Baron Samuel Justinian, an academic and learned student of the humanities. He has a reputation for maintaining one of the finest and most diverse libraries on the planet.

The voyage home

Next stop, Ravenna....

Shameless plug

Some time ago now on the official FASA games Fading Suns forum we had a collective exercise whereby people could write up possible new "drama seeds" for Fading Suns.

At the end of last year we called a pause and collated the submissions as a single piece of work  I volunteered/was given the task of editing and laying out the work and with the help of a dear friend providing some original art work we put together a rather nifty looking .pdf.

Unfortunately that's when the legal wrangling started....

However the roadblocks have been removed and the booklet can now see the light of day (although slightly "demoted" as it has to be released through a fan site rather than an official channel...legal gubbins and licensing issues, go figure...) but in any case you'll find the finished document ("Tales of the Known Worlds, Vol 1") here:

Fading Suns Downloads

I'm rather proud of it - for my own work but also that of all the contributors who gave their time, talent and passion to make it what it is.  Here's to vol 2....

Ravennan Conundrums

So over the weekend, while re-reading the published details about Ravenna, I noticed a number of inconsistencies, or at least vagaries that I don't think I'd picked up before. Now while I find them interesting to ponder I thought I'd better publish my answers or explanations to them as they may have an impact on our campaign (and do require a slight ret-con to what has gone before).

All this information comes from the Imperial Surveys vol 1: Hawkwood fiefs and the Fading Suns Revised GM Guide.

The first issue comes in the name and location of the planet's capital city.  The map of the planet indicates that the capital is Suryada* on the continent of Andyra. This conflicts with the planetary information summary sidebar/box which states that the capital is named Celdor.  I'd previously ruled that off as a typo (there are one or two in FS books...) and figured Suryada was the place.  However, when re-reading things it seemed to make less sense.  first off, in the paragraph about Suryada  (FSR:GMG) we have this line:

"While the capital remains a low-tech community, some of Ravenna's cities - notably Suryada - possess more than a little advanced tech."

Which replaces the Imperial Survey: Hawkwood Fiefs line of:

"While the capital has a low technology appearance typical of any Ravenna city, it has modern aspects."

That looks like an editorial correction or amendment, but the FSR:GMG is also meant to be slightly advanced in the timeline (5002) over the Imperial Survey (4999) so possibly there was a transition of sorts underway between those times?

While the FSR:GMG sentence isn't the most explicit of paragraphs (in my opinion) it seems to indicate that the current capital city is not as advanced as Suryada, which is the most technologically advanced city on the planet. That would support the thought that another city is the capital ("Celdor"). But it also clearly states that the Royal Palace and Planetary Agora are in Suryada... In contrast though we know though that the Ravennan Planetary Cathedral is a whole continent away in the Church controlled lands of Castillo (gifted to the Urth Orthodox sect after the Fall by House Hawkwood) so the capital city need not contain these things.

But where is Celdor then? And why would the Royal Palace be elsewhere?

Reading on we find the description of the noted Planetary Duke, Cassius Airwell Hawkwood amongst the section on the Follari continent (specifically Follari South) so it's not illogical to place the capital in his continent. There are a few cities noted on the map although none compare in size to Suryada (at most 2-10 million inhabitants).  One, to the north of the continent, is adjacent to a Naval port and near two smaller cities so that seems our most likely candidate.

So we have a possible site for Celdor, but why would the Royal Palace be a whole continent away?  The reason might be in what I'm referring to as "The Dukedom Controversy" (catchy, eh?). First off we need to look at who the previous Planetary Duke was, none other than the current Emperor, Alexius Hawkwood.  Alexius was born and raised on the continent of Andyra and the people there are very proud of the reflected glory of being the birthplace of the Phoenix Emperor. However when Alexius was raised to his present station in 4993 he ceded his lands (most of Andyra) to his younger brother, Alvarex. However it appears that he didn't appoint him to be Planetary Duke. Why? Possibly because Alvarex has been one of the Emperor's most vocal opponents** and while tradition (and his own desire to distance himself from his House) might insist he passes over his lands to his brother he may not wish to give him political power. It appears, therefore, that Duke Cassius was appointed in his place. The Royal Palace mentioned may be named as such as it would have been the home of Alexius and is possibly now home to Alvarex.

With the Duke of Ravenna calling Follari South his home and dominion it therefore makes sense for his capital to be in his realm, and therefore Celdor.  However as the previous capital, having the largest planetary spaceport, the agora etc Suryada still functions as a major centre for commerce and society. Alvarex seems more concerned with military power (frequently campaigning to be put in charge of the Imperial fleet) than political gain and while not a supporter of the Emperor, Duke Cassius has supported him against Alvarex when it would benefit Ravenna to do so.  The present Planetary Duke seems to be a wise choice (typical of Alexius) as while they may not agree he obviously puts the planet first and so the Emperor can rest assured "his" world is in good hands.

So then, what's the impact for us? Well there is some moving forwards as this plays into the politics and intrigue elements I have planned, however the key issue is why did De Havilland follow Baron Christopher to Suryada when surely he would have gone to Celdor?

Simple (honest...) obviously there is a cultural "season" of events and at that point everyone who was anyone was in Suryada. It would also explain why Christopher's investiture took place in the local cathedral of St Regoe's rather than St Maximillian's (the planetary cathedral) on Castillo.  *ahem* Anyway. not a huge issue but the fact that any political focus in the game may move to Celdor(with it's lower technology level and less access direct to Guilds and star ships) may have an impact.

*Some older sourcebooks note another city, Sardonia, as Ravenna's capital.  For simplicity I'm just considering that this is another, possibly historic, name for the same city.  Perhaps from a local dialect. 
**I'm not getting into the whole Alexius and Alvarex are actually the same person or Alexius is dead and Alvarex rules in his stead theories...yes, those are a thing.

Where we currently are - Dramatis Personae (NPCs)

As it's been a while and the political nature of the game and setting can get quite convoluted I put together this aide memoir of significant NPCs.  It's based on what the players currently know going back into the game after our Hiatus.  It may not be the truth, but it's the situation from their perspective...

House Hawkwood:
Planetary Duke Cassius Hawkwood
 Staid and traditional, like most of the inhabitants of his world, the Duke is the ruler of the planet Ravenna
Baron Christopher Windsor Hawkwood
 Recently raised to the rank of Baron by Planetary Duke Cassius after helping to unearth the identity of the assailant who tried to take the Duke's life some years ago, Baron Christopher has been appointed as the steward of the Justinian lands (The Midden Barony, Deepcore 104, South Follari) that have been taken as part of the investigation into the extent of the betrayal and plot against the Duke.
Sir Bedevere Hawkwood
 Baron Christopher's younger brother. Seemingly uninterested in politics he serves his House as a part of the Hawkwood navy, commanding a Wayfarer class Explorer in patrolling the Ravenna system
Countess Cassandra Hawkwood
 The half-Justinian ruler of Austrum East. More concerned with scholarly pursuits (particularly marine biology) than the war she finds herself in. Half sister of De Havilland. Currently out of favour at court largely due to the manipulations of her step-mother (but not helped by the scandal that seemed to follow her own mother).
Count Otto Kierkagaard Hawkwood
 Ruler of Austrum West, contester of his father's Last Will & Testament, instigator of teh Austum War and oldest brother of De Havilland. Ex-soldier, accomplished military strategist and leader of men. Boorish and prone to violent rages.  Very much the stereotypical "lord of the manor"
Baron Cuthbert Mountbatten Hawkwood
 The young baron who took over the lands of his brother, Baron Cedric, after his murder at the hands of the renegade Scraver, Façade.

House Justinian:
Earl Kiruda Quentin Justinian
 The earl is a hardened military man and a veteran of many campaigns who has taken enforced “retirement” as one of the landed gentry very badly. It is probably fair to say that he tolerates the barons below him as a necessary indulgence; if they run their fiefs without having to involve him directly that’s fine.  He can get on with hunting, walking his hounds and what little martial practise his wife and physician will permit him. However recent events have forced him to attend court far more than he is otherwise comfortable with as he petitions Duke Cassius for clemency on behalf of Baroness Helena.  He fears the loss of Justinian lands to the Hawkwoods and is concerned that forces within his own House see him as weakened are now conspiring to depose him.
Baroness Helena Midden Justinian
 Mother of the "Traitor Arcadia" Baroness Helena is now a prisoner of the Hawkwoods and is rumoured to be held within the planetary capital of Suryada. How she fares remains a closely guarded secret.
General Sir Anthony Masseri Justinian
 The General (as he insists on being referred to) in contrast to his wife has recently, and quite publically, been released to "house arrest" within the capital and is rapidly gaining notoriety in social circles as an entertaining, if clownish, dinner guest (particularly amongst those looking for a little salacious gossip or intrigue - which he seems willing to provide for a good meal and plenty of attention)
Sir Tarquin Midden Justinian
 The sixteen year old is the eldest remaining child of Dame Helena and is now a ward of Duke Cassius.  Nominally the Midden Barony belongs to him and is being ruled in his stead by the Baron as "caretaker/steward".  He was last seen in public returning to his family lands in the company of Baron Christopher and regiments of the Duke's personal guard, but is reported to be in excellent health and well engaged in the continuation of his studies. 
Lady Stephanie Justinian
 The Baroness & General's youngest child, Stephanie has rarely stepped outside of her family's lands throughout the thirteen years of her young life. She remains quite reclusive but has occasionally been seen accompanying Baron Christopher at functions and on tours of his "occupied" lands.
Baron Tochiro Justinian
 Sir Hemlock's father, the Baron is a regal looking man, his fair hair now peppered with silver. He stands a good six feet tall and still maintains the athletic build of his youth.  Personally he is traditional and very formal in outlook; some might describe him as both cold and aloof, attributes that have gained him much support and many allies amongst the Ravennan Hawkwoods. Never a notable warrior he always saw himself more as a politician and ruler and as such spends most of his time away from his fief on “diplomatic missions” for Justinian interests. As such he leaves the running of things in the hands of his trusted retainer and bondsman, Master Alfredo Garcia.
Baroness Emeraldas Al Malik Justinian
 Baroness Emeraldas is Hemlock's mother and the baron’s second wife, his first having died during the delivery of his first (stillborn) son Eustace (4960-4960).  The Baron remained in mourning for some years until he could be convinced to wed for the benefit of the house.  That was not to say that he did not have “companions” during that time but he seemed averse to making a formal commitment again.  For her part the current Baroness has always appeared the perfect wife for the Baron; demure, enchanting, witty and many believe that the ties to Al Malik have smoothed some previous issues that that previously faced Sector 42 when dealing with the Guilds.
Master Alfredo Garcia
 Master Alfredo was present with the Baron on a diplomatic mission to Delphi when the tragedy struck the household that robbed the Baron of his daughter and most of his household staff.  As the most senior surviving retainer at the time Alfredo stepped up and took control of the running of things and has remained so ever since. Trained by the Reeves, Alfredo was born into service in the Baron’s household and has remained so ever since. Some still gossip that he has taken advantage of his master’s frequent absences to secretly extend the fief's mine workings and line his own pockets in the process.
Baroness Phillipa "Peppa" Abalone Justinian
 Old "grand dame" and ruler of the Deepcore 104 fief "The Barony of Abalone".  Geriatric and far past her best she steadfastly refuses to relinquish her grip on her fief.  Her one remaining child, Sir Basil Justinian is almost as infirm as she.
Baron Turmeric Justinian
 Ruler of "The Folly", the fief that sits above The Midden Barony, Turmeric is a member of the "non-traditionalist" Justinian faction and an open supporter of it's leader and figurehead, Princess Carolandra (as was Dame Arcadia). He steadfastly refuses to marry, arguing it depletes the House but has large harem of concubines all of whom are sworn to the Justinian House.
Baron Samuel Justinian
 Lord of "Quentin's Retreat", another Justinian fief within Deepcore 104, the Baron is an academic and learned student of the humanities. He has a reputation for maintaining one of the finest and most diverse libraries on the planet.
Lady Saffron Justinian
 Lady Saffron is one of Earl Kiruda's knights and is steward of the fief of "Crofters Holt", one of the Earl's own holdings within Deepcore 104 and neighbour to The Midden Barony.

Other Nobles of note:
Count Innocence Decados
 Highest ranking member of House Decados on Ravenna. Since the events of the St Gavin's day Tournament the Count has become much more visible at court.  As ever he very rarely says or does anything notable in public but the fact that the previously elusive Count is deigning to appear worries and fascinates many spectators.
Countessa Morgana Trusnikron
 Ruler of the Trusnikrons on Ravenna, the Countessa is a wild and passionate woman who does not suffer fools gladly.  She rules from her eirie high in the mountains of Follari North and remains the highest ranked and most staunch of Countess Cassandra Hawkwood's allies.  Some analysts and commentators believe that without the support of Trusnikron Urroc air-cavalry and beast masters the forces of Austrum West might already occupy portions of their neighbouring island.
Baronet Theodore Gangrel Trusnikron
 One of the guests at the St Gavin's day tournament and noted Urroc rider.  The Baronet still fosters a desire to see Sir Hasimir Fenrig Torenson paid out for his conduct and treatment of the Trusnikron's stable boy.

Non-noble characters:
Father Konrad
 An Orthodox cleric who was investigating the Husk "incident" near Deepcore 101 and seems to suspect Sir Hasimir is not blameless. He charged Lady Althea with watching the Torenson knight and reporting back to him.
Cassie
 A psychic peasant girl the Cadre encountered in Deepcore 104.  She was taken by the Church and now serves as a Penitent Psychic, seemingly under the auspice of Father Konrad.
Boss "Frisky" Wilson
 A Scraver boss in Suryada who arranged the cargo jobs for Mr Lawrence
Chief Louie
 A Charioteer trader operating out of Deepcore 101 who bought the recovered genelocks from the cadre in exchange for cash and his old starship.

"They think it's all over...."

After a prolonged hiatus the Trials and Tribulations of Dame Arcadia will soon return (without Dame Arcadia herself, obviously...).

Now we had a bit of a discussion, the players and I  as the question was should we pick up from where we left off last time (i.e. "Session #22")......Or should we jump in time...

Let me clarify that.  I was pondering the campaign and I ran over in my head the next session or three that I had planned out when we originally stopped.  It's good and exciting stuff BUT it still suffers a problem that was part of the original hiatus; the fact that half the cadre were in each of two different places.  Now we'd set it up so that players had secondary characters so everyone was involved most of the time and that was OK... but the secondary characters were obviously that.  Secondary, supporting characters.  They just weren't as fun as the main cast. So my suggestion was that we take advantage of the restart to pick up a little further in the timeline, essentially skipping forwards to the band meeting up again.

My idea was that I'd outline what the plot would have been for those 2-3 sessions and the things that *have* to happen (in other words even with random player plans/lucky dice rolls etc the stuff I narratively would have got in somehow) and then the players affected could "tweak" the narrative based on what they imagine their PC would have done until we had a reasonable consensus and a point at which we can then pick up play again. *Bang* the band are back together (or at least near by) but possibly with new/different reasons to need or work each other.

I presented that to the players and they seemed to uniformly think it was a good idea.

As an aide memoir where we left the story was (although you could just read back over the blog posts...):

Currently the Imperial Knight Anton De Havilland Hawkwood (with his entourage of Tonbei and Lady Althea) is on Ravenna heading to the Austrum Isles via Deep Core 104 with Sir Hemlock Justinian as a travelling companion.  Hemlock is returning to his family fief while De Havilland wants to see for himself the impact of Baron Christopher Hawkwood taking control of Justinian lands.

Meanwhile in space Sir Hasimir Fenrig Torenson & Mr Lawrence of the Scraver's Guild and crew (inc. Mort, Koelahng and Igor*) have made their first delivery to a monastic commune and are now heading to their second, a research base owned by the Supreme Order of Engineers.  They are due to deliver parts there, parts which appear to be for Weapons of Mass destruction (and came from the Austrum Isles).  The monks have also asked that they investigate goings on there as they have had a variety of doom laden visions involving the place and have seen strange and frequent traffic around the asteroid base.  The cadre's ship is also being tailed/escorted by a Hawkwood ship commanded by Baron Christopher's younger brother, Sir Bedevere Hawkwood, who plans to escort Hasimir back to Ravenna.

* One of our players did introduce a new PC at the end of the last session, an Al Malik Noble who was pretending to be a Muster mercenary.  He doesn't want to play the character any longer and frankly that was potentially one plot thread too many so he's been retconn'd, never happened, don't know who or what you are talking about. :)

So, what happens next?

First off in space....

Hasimir & crew arrive at the engineer's base: Facility SOE/8807.  It's an ancient Second Republic station operated by the Supreme Order of Engineers and run by one Doctor Eva. The demure (and frankly gorgeous) Doctor will warmly welcome any "away team" sent. placating the cadre with openness and a business like manner.  She will entertain her "honoured guests" (we do get so lonely out here...) and will be keen to show off how the Guild is doing all it can to reclaim the base's former research and lost tech. It is a very impressive place with some very advanced tech including a small automated manufacturing plant and lots of tech that Avestite priests would be seeking to take hammers and flamers to on sight.

They may also notice that all the willing and highly intelligent SOE guilders here have small ear implants (like a 1970's/80's over the ear hearing aid) if questioned they are explained as simple biomonitors, due to the high radiation exposure due to their location.

If their suspicions were not already raised (this all does seem rather perfect) Hasimir then scanned their host (possibly accidentally) and discovers....nothing.  No thoughts.  A void.  Nada.

At the point that they may be about to act on this information they receive a hail from Bedevere Hawkwood (from his ship in orbit).  He is enraged and demands to know why their ship is leaving and will not respond to his hails "What are you playing at, Torenson??!?".  Confusion breaks out at this point: neither Lawrence nor Hasimir can raise the ship on their squwarkers.  Dr Eva suggests using her base's far more advanced comms suite. They manage to monitor/intercept communication from the ship to Ravenna from the Muster marines indicating that they have mutinied and taken over the ship, as per a previously agreed contract, and have left Hasimir and Lawrence to their fate. Dr Eva says that doesn't matter as they can stay with her now, once she has made them more compliant, she's sure they will come in useful....at which point they will realise that any other crew they have taken with them (inc possibly Mort, Igor) have been fitted with the "hearing aid" devices and are now under Eva's influence.  Eva herself is revealed to be a very sophisticated Golem (i.e. a Blade Runner Replicant, possibly from the 2nd republic).  Things look bad for the Scraver and Noble at which point Bedevere and some of his crew arrive to help facilitate an extraction/escape.  He was just planning to speak with Hasimir but seeing the situation, being of noble and honourable blood and confronted with the technological aberration that is Eva he will help fight a running battle back to his ship and away.

Once back at his ship He will insist that they return to his brother, Christopher, as promised by Hasimir at the duel. Their ship has passed from his sensors but he has posted notice that it is to be considered a fugitive vessel in Hawkwood space.

Other things that they will have learned:

• The WMD parts came from Austrum West and Dr Eva and her staff were due to be completeing the weapons for delivery back to Ravenna.  They already have the remaining components necessary to complete the weapons.  They appear to be viral bombs, keyed to target selected DNA signatures or key markers (i.e. you could destroy a bloodline with them or indulge in a bit of ethnic cleansing). Eva is very proud of them and discusses them at length.
• SOE/8807 has no space craft of their own but reaching out beyond the station seems to be on Eva's timetable
• Sir Bedevere is keen to report Eva's existence to the Guilds, Church and Hawkwood authorities and see an end to her and her station
• It's not clear where or to whom on Ravenna the Muster mutineers were communicating with, but if they had a contract it must be filed somewhere.

Any of the secondary characters may have been in on the mutiny, may now be thralls of Dr Eva, prisoners of the mutineers or casualties....the players need to decide...We know Koehlang the Vorox was aboard the vessel when it was taken and it is unlikely he betrayed his honour, nor that he went down without a fight.

Now, back on Ravenna (and this is the more light weight section I'm afraid)....

Hemlock will be welcomed home to Sector 42, his father's fief, albeit possibly reluctantly by Master Alfredo Garcia, his father's major domo. Alfredo was present with the Baron on a diplomatic mission to Delphi when the tragedy struck the household that robbed the Baron of his daughter and most of his household staff.  As the most senior surviving retainer at the time Alfredo stepped up and took control of the running of things and has remained so ever since. Trained by the Reeves, Alfredo was born into service in the Baron’s household and has remained so ever since. Over time as Alfredo updates the "young master" in the workings of the fief Hemlock will suspect that the retainer resents his presence and the other staff will allude to Alfredo's "cushy number" coming to an end.  The books etc all seem in order though and it might be simply a case of him losing his freedom of authority.  But Hemlock still remains suspicious.

There is a general tension in Deepcore 104 that Hemlock and De Havilland both pick up on.  News will reach them of Justinian knights returning home - De Havilland's suspicions are correct in one respect at least; local nobles are withdrawing their military support of Austrum East in order to strengthen their militia now that a Hawkwood roosts in their midst.
 
Meanwhile Baron Christopher is enjoying lording it over his new lands.  His men-at-arms (or rather those lent him by the duke) are enabling him to rule with a rod of iron.  They are frequently raiding homes and work places looking for "Arcadian sympathisers" and "Justinian Spies".  They are particularly after Beorn (one of the previous members of the cadre) as he was the bounty hunter who claimed to have killed Arcadia and handed in "her" body.  He is believed to currently be evading the authorities.

It is likely that when we kick off again Hemlock is still extending hospitality to De Havilland and his entourage at his family home.  It then provides them with a base away from prying Hawkwood eyes and allow a certain freedom.

There will also be the arrival of a younger cousin of De Havilland's - an old childhood friend who is known to disappear from time to time and is seen in the family as a bit of a roguish black sheep.  De Havilland has never had a problem with him though and believes that he has a good heart but it appears he may be in some unspecified trouble and is keeping a low profile (for a noble). 

Memorable NPCs

Back in days of yore, when I was young and, in all likelihood, you were even younger (if you were even born...), the main RPG I ran was Marvel Superheroes Advanced by TSR (now Wizards of the Coast). At the time the company's house magazine was "Dragon" and while I wasn't a big D&D player I'd often fork out the cash to get it for ideas, especially if there was a Marvel related article.

One particular article, which I cut out and kept to this day was all about making memorable NPCs.  The arguement was simple - the players could potentially meet hundreds of concerned citizens, scientific experts, pushy cops etc all of which could be cookie cutter stereotypes and easily forgotten but a simple way to lift your game above the usual is it make those pieces of mobile scenery or plot vehicles memorable.  I took this to heart and try to always lift the NPCs in my games beyond mere "set dressing".  To do so I use the following as simple benchmarks:

1.Use memorable names - Stan Lee used alliteration when he named characters simply to help him remember his own creations' names, if that works for you, great! Personally I tend to use plays on words (often I'm the only one who gets the joke...) or a reference to the role the character plays or some other aspect of the character. e.g the villainous Scraver Façade is nothing if not "false faced". 
2.Give each NPC a memorable trait - it doesn't have to be much, it doesn't have to be earth shattering but just something "different" - The dock hand who constantly has a lit smoke in hand, the war vet with the filligree'd brass cyberarm, when the rest of his replacement bionics are greasy brushed steel, the Muster boss who always bows in the presence of a lady.  Don't overdo it though - just a single element can give a distinction to set the person out from the crowd but load them up with attributes and they become a parody which will detract from the overall story and flow of the game
3.Act it - I'm a GM who tends to try to give his all; I tend to run games standing up, I move about, strike poses, rub my hands together gleefully as a scrap dealer, always hold a cup or glass in my hand when I'm slurring out the drunken commands of a gin-soaked nobleman.  My players know me for my "memorable" character voices (when one of our guys first watched "The Phantom Menace" when Watto teh Toydarian first spoke he was alledgedly heard to say "That's a Ben voice!") I'm not good at impressions (my "John Peel" is abysmal) but they are memorable.  Voice conveys alot of character - it's a great shorthand for helping players get a gauge for what are otherwise just numbers and words rather than living people - the same with actions and body language. It doesn't need to be an oscar winning performnce just something that the players will remember for the next time they meet the character, or simply when they are relating the stories about the game to friends.  Now I guess that there may be some reading this who will find this the hardest advice to take on board and implement but believe me once you start the easier it becomes and the more involved you will find the players becoming. 

An immediate question might be why bother?  These are after all the supporting cast, not the heroes of our tales.  I'd suggest the reasons are threefold:
 
1.It helps the players - Bless 'em, there's a lot going on in plots and games - especially when you are sat on the player side and haven't got the advantage of seeing the "big picture" plot.  You'll probably have heard of the phrase "Putting a face to the name" - this is a way of doing that in game without having a cast of hundreds sat in your living room.  Having these memorable "tags" that the players can use to associate with NPCs will help them order the flow of events in their minds and keep abrest of what's going on, to who, where and when.
2.It helps the GM - Memorable traits are as much a shorthand and aid memoir for a GM as for players.  You have all of the Known Worlds to manage! If knowing that the arms dealer they last spoke to on Criticorum had a peg leg and clockwork parrot it's a mnemonic that will help trigger a whole bunch of other recollections about the character and what happened last time they met.
3.It makes it all a little more real - We know this is all a game. This is a fantasy setting where spaceships are sailed through an ocean of black by a motley assortment of noble knights, pious priests, money-grabbing guilders, mystics, psychics and ne'er do wells...this is by no means real.  However, in my personal experience rpgs are at their best when the players and GM have some sort of emotional investment in the game, something which is very hard to create when it is "only a game".  Having memorable NPCs can help to do that; you are adding a touch of uniqueness to these faceless characters, just a small touch of individuality.  It will add a hint of realism to the campaign and it does pay off.
To be completely honest I think that trying to apply these techniques has been the source some of the success of my own games and I'll hopefully publish a few more specifics in forthcoming posts...

The Tourney Field (a map)

I drew a map of the location of the St Gavin's Festival tourney for my own use but ended up transferring it onto a white board to use during play.

The tents shown are illustrative only, meant to give a feeling for where the encampment is rather than specifics.

The white board version has come in particularly handy when the players started to try to track suspects movements prior to and shortly after the murder.

Of notebooks and notes

I like stationary.  Always have.  I'm also compulsive and subject to Autistic spectrum behaviours.  I tell you this so that you will understand a little of both the passion and curious idiosyncrasies I have about note taking when I'm running a game.

For a start each campaign has it's own separate note book and woe betide anything get's written in the wrong book (I've copied EVERYTHING by hand into second books and thrown away the originals before...).  The same applies with what I use to write *with* - certain pens for certain books etc.

See...I told you there were idiosyncrasies.

Anyhow, starting a new Fading Suns game meant I needed a suitable note book to transcribe everything.

Oh, I should point that out as well, the book (and pens, pencils, notelets, post-its and whatever else) have to feel "right".  They have to fit with whatever mental visual aesthetic I've got  in mind for the game.  As an extension of the game they have to fit *with* the game. At least in my head. Sometimes it's an undefinable thing, I will know what is "right" and "wrong" without being able to explain it.  Thankfully as I love stationary I buy cool books and pens when I see them and keep a stash ready for use. Sometimes one leaps out straight away, sometimes none fit and I have to trawl the shops for the imaginary notebook I've conjured up in my head...

Yeah...we're moving away from idiosyncrasies into bat-sh*t crazy now, aren't we?

I'd also point out that even in this electronic and technological age I prefer to write things down.  NPC stats, maps, character doodles, background notes, plotlines, family trees, histories etc. All of it goes in the notebook. Sometimes in pencil first then ink once it's definite.  I'm old skool.

So, the Fading Suns note book.  It started as a simple purple soft touch "Not-Moleskine" notebook from a local supermarket. Functional, roughly the same size as the Revised Rulebooks, and PURPLE.  Purple is good. It also seemed reminiscent of the Phoenix Empire...so that settled it.

Then I decided it needed some annotation.  I don't often do this but for this book it seemed right - I drew the imperial Phoenix  crest on the front and (at my seven year old daughter's suggestion) the Jumpgate cross on the rear.  They've worn a little and smudged through use but I think that only adds to the effect of a "lived in" chronicle.