Blake's ship

If you haven't read the latest Firefly RPG Core rulebook preview on the MWP site you really should.

It's here: http://www.margaretweis.com/index.php/blog/entry/firefly-find-a-ship-preview
Go on - go and read it and come back, I'll wait.







Done?

Good isn't it? Anyhow the fact that it mentions a Salvage vessel got me thinking and it struck me that I never published on the blog the stats for Blake, the ne'er do well salvage captain that the crew met and fought in their first excursion into the Black, nor had I posted his ship; the "Gum San" (Gold Mountain). So lets rectify that (at least in part) now.

The Gum San is a Scorpio Class salvage vessel, a fan created ship detailed in the "Cortex Shipyards" fan-written supplement for the original Serenity rpg.  You can find copies of it floating about on the web if you look and Blake and his crew were creations of mine for that game that I never got around to using.

The ship is a civilian commercial vessel so other that the large claw like frames that extend from the bow, bristling with cutting gear and grapples to hold potential salvage. The class has no weaponry but Blake is nothing if not creative.  He has acquired two "Hull Crawlers" (also creations from the Cortex Shipyards); one person, magnetic tracked vacuum capable tanks, designed to cling to the hulls of stations or ships.  When there's trouble these two roll out of the ship's cargo bay and down the extended "arms", blazing away as necessary with missiles and their small scale cannon. When not needed they are hidden amongst the scrap and parts stored in the holds.

However the ship is old, cantankerous and not the best maintained vessel in space, and it's starting to show.

Gum San (Gold Mountain)
ENGINES d6 HULL d6 SYSTEMS d8

SCORPIO CLASS SALVAGE VESSEL d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.

BEEN AROUND THE 'VERSE d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Don't make 'em like that: Step back the difficulty die when Fixing. Step up any Complications that result.

SMUGGLERS DELIGHT d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Covert: When making a Sneak roll with the ship the pilot may spend 1 Plot Point to reroll.

SIGNATURE ASSETS:
Salvage Cutting Gear d6
Hull Crawlers d8

Episode (session) #7 - May contain Shooting Fish (Echoes of War) spoilers

(Sorry updates have been a bit....absent of late - will try to do better (consider wrist slapped)...there are two sessions to catch up on and a number of interesting rules discussions we had in game, NPCs to write up.....better get on with it hadn't I?)

Well our crew had won the race, and the day perhaps?

They helped the Cavendish crew out of the water and then Floris went to collect the prize (with the crew backing him up) - but no one expected the Mayor to give up easy.

The local band struck up a tune as they climbed the podium and the crew were taken a little by surprise when the Mayor smiled and presented them with their chest full of winnings. But his true colours were shown as he pulled Floris close and hissed "Spend it gorram quick..."

Our heroic crew hightailed it back to the Orphanage and presented the Shepherd with the winnings; the children were all over the crew, dying to learn of their daring deeds and heroism. The crew were a bit worried about resting on their laurels though and got the paperwork they needed from the shepherd and went straight back into town to get the debt paid and the orphanage signed over to Rust.

They found the Mayor "holding court" and drinking himself into a stupor in the tavern.  He and Floris traded words but what could he do in front of much of the town? The money changed hands, deeds were signed and more verbal threats levelled (giving Floris a Complication) but no blood was shed. The crew returned to the orphanage and set up a series of watches...they still didn't trust the Mayor...

Come morning some of the children were the first to spot the dust of the Mayor's Air Cav and a posse of riders heading up the hill from the town. The crew dove into action - Floris went to confront the mayor face to face, Judah took up a sniper position in the orphanage while Bean, Dr Norris, Leo and Shepherd Rust herded the children into the relative safety of the Bei Xiang.

Floris tried to talk the mayor down but "negotiations" soon became hostile.

Now it's been a while since we played this session and LOTS happened in the battle so things get hazy from this point (they ain't too clear before it either) but the main things were:

• Floris got stuck in fightin' hand to hand with the Purple Gang and eventually Lake himself
• Judah was swiftly (and unfortunately) taken out when the Purple Gang "up'd the stakes" on his roll to taken some of them out.
• Bean realised some of the children were still playing out in the grounds and had been cut off from the ship by the Purple Gang horsemen. She headed back to rescue them and brought them back to the ship
• Leo used a bunch of devices and mechanical wonders that he controlled from his workshop in the ship (e.g. Drones and smoke bombs - all Assets created on the fly) to take out a bunch of the Purple Gang
• Dr Norris had Shepherd Rust call in the local Alliance Feds, advising them that the children were under attack
• Floris whupped the enraged and bitter mayor bringing him to his knees as the authorities arrived. Lake was bound under law and taken away, cursing Rust, Floris and the crew as he went. 

The Orphanage was saved, the crew made a small profit from the remainder of the race winnings (half of which Floris convinced the crew to give Shepherd Rust for the children and the running of the Orphanage) and the crew had found a new ally and port of call in Rust. All in all not a bad few days work.

Bean writes....

"I remember some things very clearly, but large swathes are missing. If I look back, it feels like nothing is there, like something should be. It's like walking down a familiar staircase in the dark, where you know each step, which ones creak, where to swing silently round the smooth metal bannister, only to find one missing, your feet straying into empty space where a step should be. I can see that staircase now, can smell it, damp sandstone and great wooden slabs of stairs, worn down, spiralling down, the bannister metal but now smooth from all the hands. I know halfway up was a window without glass in it, a tiny crippled rowan tree growing in a crack in the sill where enough damp blew in. I know the doors off the stairs looked old outside, great wooden things, but really steel once they were open, with the smell of cloves and something sharp under it, weirdly discordant when mingling with the smell of the stairs.

 

I said I remembered this clearly. I remember the sound of reed slippers on the steps, and upper levels with rooms, rooms that had windows. I remember a regular, hollow sound like tubes of wood knocking, accompanied by the flow of water. I know there were stepping stones and a bridge and a platform, and long hours of practice. 

I don't know what I would have practiced.  

I said I remembered. 

But I've never been there."

The Mysterious Mr Cole

When the crew boarded the wreck of the doomed Helse Bergen they found only one survivor: the enigmatic and, they soon discovered, obviously very lethal Eli Cole.  Or at least that's what he told them he was called...

We may soon find out a bit more about the cargo and fate of the Helse Bergen and exactly what part Mr Cole had to play in it all...

"Eli Cole"

Attributes
MENTAL d8 PHYSICAL d8 SOCIAL d8

Skills (all others at d4)
Fight (Swords) d10
Focus d6
Influence (Intimidate) d8
Know (Alliance Protocols) d8
Move d6
Notice d6
Shoot d6
Sneak d8
Trick (Undercover) d8

Distinctions:
EX-ALLIANCE AGENT d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.

MYSTERIOUS PAST d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Cortex Spectre: Whenever anyone uses an information based Asset against you, spend 1 PP to turn it into a No Data Found Complication of the same die rating.
Ghosts of Yesterday: Create a d8 Complication relating to your history to step up your Fight, Know, or Sneak for a scene. This Complication cannot be stepped back by spending PPs to activate Opportunities.

WU DANG STYLE d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.

Signature Assets:
Jian (Sword) d8

The Bean

Even she's not sure of her birth name but her friends in the slums of Beaumonde called her Bean.......

She was named by the nuns who originally fed her when she was on the streets - but she was too little to remember that name. In any case by the time she'd hit adolescence she'd left them, some might say that her spirits were a little bit too wild (to say the lest), but she made up for that lack of education by picking up one on the road....

She survived by using facilities like soup kitchens and taking advantage of all the not-too-many-strings attached education she could get her hands on (she doesn't like being bored and her gifts of observation have partly evolved from that - after all, while you are looking for something, memorising something or watching people, you won't be bored.)

I t's not clear when or how she came to the attention of the Alliance authorities, but she did, possibly on the basis of some medical testing in the course of her early life which was eventually flagged and fed back.  Of course there was no easy capture, because she was of no fixed abode. A number of good and bad things happened during those early years - but she was picked up for experimentation by the time she was 14 or so and had done all sorts of interesting legal and illegal things before then. She learned, and was treated, and learned some more, and showed more potential, which lead to further experimentation. Eventually, she got out and wound up with Floris by the time the rest of the crew had met them....he may have been the one to get her out, but for now they are both very tight lipped on the subject....

She is versatile, quick, streetwise, now extremely well trained and talented, but there are some things which are likely to set her off. Surprising or unsolicited touch is one of them.

Attributes:
Mental d10
Physical d8
Social d6

Skills (all others d4):
Fight d6
Fix d6
Focus d6
Influence (Seduction) d8
Know (Tactics) d8
Move (Acrobatics) d8
Notice (Intuition) d12
Operate (Ship systems) d6
Sneak (Hiding) d8

Distinctions:
READER d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Secrets, Secrets: When you are in the presence of someone who is trying to keep a secret, spend 1 PP to discover the secret with a Mental + Know Action. If your Action fails, create or step up a Paranoid Complication.

MYSTERIOUS PAST d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.

GOVERNMENT EXPERIMENT d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Meddled With: Spend 1 PP to step up your Mental Attribute for the scene. Step down your Social Attribute for both this scene and the next one.

No signature Assets.

The Doctor will see you now....

Due to illness at home we won't be having a game this week so the finale of "Shooting Fish" will be delayed.

In the meantime though here's a little look at our ship's doctor, Dr Wai Norris....

In a ship of lost souls, outcasts and people with secrets Dr Norris is currently one of our most enigmatic yet open characters. What the players currently know is that he was a very well paid and highly competent and respected plastic surgeon in the Core Worlds. But he doesn't head coreward anymore....

What is clear is that the Doctor is not the most moral of individuals and is more than happy to take whatever means necessary to turn a profit or come out on top.

He and Judah have developed a distinct rivalry, from acerbic put downs to open practical jokes.  They both take extreme pride in their images and seem devoted to being considered the more stylish, urbane, cultured or gentlemanly member of the crew. Who knows how far that will go or how extreme their antagonism may become. 

Floris has charged the Doctor with "Bean" (the Reader's) welfare and he regularly medicates her through the use of doped sweeties and candy. This has led Bean to become a little dependent on Norris and she often accompanies him on jobs. An unprincipled, deceitful yet very competent doctor with a "pet" telepath....I'm sure this can only end well......  

Attributes:
MENTAL d8 PHYSICAL d6 SOCIAL d10

Skills: (all others at d4)
Influence (Persuasion) d12
Know (Medicine) d10
Operate d10
Survive d6
Treat (Surgery) d12
Trick d10

Distinctions:

SHIP’S DOCTOR d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.

SMOOTH TALKER d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Gift of Gab: Spend 1 PP to double your Influence die for your next roll

UNPRINCIPLED 8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Looking Out For Number One: Reroll all dice in a roll. On the reroll, all dice that roll 1s or 2s are considered Complications.

Signature Assets:
Doctor's Bag d8
Personal "collection" d6

Episode (session) #6 - May contain Shooting Fish (Echoes of War) spoilers

We were heading towards the big race, the crew had entered, the boat was finished but due to the time line I'd established earlier in the story there was still a day to go. So I started the game by going around the table so each player could explain how their character was using the day. We then picked on a few bits to play out.

Leo spent his time playing with the kids at the orphanage, Floris took the dogs and Emery to scope out the race course (and built a d6 Plan ASSET off it) while the Doctor and Bean headed over to the Canterbury farm.

At the farm they met Theo Canterbury and were able to verify that he and his crew were only in the race for payback against the mayor - if the crew stay out of the firing line then the Browncoats will have no beef with them...but that does mean that our crew may need to keep the Mayor safe; a dead mayor ain't going to be able to sign the Orphanage back to the Shepherd.

The day of the race dawns.

Floris will "captain" the boat (in retrospect the players wished he'd taken one of his dogs for the potential Mutley gags....) and man the net gun, Emery will be there to lend a hand, Judah will drive (with a helpful d12 ASSET from Floris' "Lead the Crew" Trigger), and Leo will be on board to handle emergency repairs.  Leo turns up looking like Top Gear's "The Stig" having spent 1PP to create a "d6 Pit Crew Fire Suit" ASSET.  Meanwhile Bean and the Doctor head into the crowd to try to root out and immobilise any Purple Gang members they can find (I decided that they were dealing with a 5d8 "mob" of purple gangers scattered throughout the spectators).

And they're off!

(I'd drawn out the race track on one on my white boards and used thin "post-it" notes with sketches of the different boats on as markers in the race.)

There was lots going on so you'll forgive me for not recalling all the details but in summary:

• Bean and the Doctor were extremely effective in seducing, incapacitating or otherwise inconveniencing the Purple Gang, removing the effectiveness of the entire gang before the race end
• The Red Tide (the Red Saloon boat) was the first team taken out - feeling the wrath of the Cleetus family for stealin' Mee-Maw's scatter gun and sinking on the 2nd leg of the race
• Our crew led from the start and made great use of ASSETS (from Floris' leadership, the plans they'd made, Bean pilfering opponents' plans from their minds and the Net gun Leo had built) to stay there for the rest of the race. The Warhorse (Mayor) and Gravedigger (The Canterbury's) followed with Mee-Maw's Throne (The Cleetus Clan) trailing behind taking pot shots at the closest enemy boats. 
• The Net gun was used to great effect to pile Obscured Vision COMPLICATIONs onto the Warhorse, while the Gravedigger eventually sank under combined fire from the Cleetus Family and the Mayor.
• The Orphanage boat wasn't without problems but the various COMPLICATIONs earnt (mostly from 1's rolled by Judah's Drivin' and Floris' Shootin') were very quickly repaired by Leo's exceptional skills.
• With the Gravedigger sank at the platform stage, Judah then took his action to gun the engines to create a huge wake COMPLICATION to disorientate the Warhorse, with the Obscured Vision COMPLICATION already on the boat (and the positive narrative effect) I deemed it took the Mayor's boat out, leaving him spinning and stranded in the middle of the water while the crew zoomed easily down the final straight and over the finish line.

The big race sequence is the sort of thing I'm never comfortable running as a GM.  All the GMC action feels like it moves the focus away from the players a bit and after all it's *their* story. That said I never want to just "decide" what happens to non-player characters in that situation for fear of not appearing fair to the players so I made sure that I resolved the other crews' actions openly before the other players and let the "dice land where they will"

All that said I think things seemed to play out in a very heroic and exciting fashion and kudos to the MWP designers for the way they'd put the mechanics together for running the race.  The players seemed to really enjoy it and it supported the actions of those on the shore as well as in the boat.

So, the race is over and our heroes have won...but the adventure's not ended yet...

Episode (session) #5 - May contain Shooting Fish (Echoes of War) spoilers

One of my two whiteboards in use...this one was used to track the notable places in the town of Endurance, which onesthe crew had visited and what they knew they could be used for/obtain there.

(This session became a great example of Complications and Assets being used to steer the plot....)

We pick up where we left off with Dr Norris and Bean trying to source wood for the repairs to the orphanage boat.  After what the Shepherd has told them about places in town they head to the Bilderbeck Timber Mill and end up in conversation with the owner, Mister Bilderbeck himself.  When he learns that they are off-worlders with access to a ship he tells them of his lost son and how he wants to get into contact with his young love.  Dr Norris agrees (after a few out of character jokes about how he always seems to meet "Quest givers"....) and they arrange to have the wood they need delivered to the orphanage.

Meanwhile Captain Floris tries to sign up for the race.  The mayor and his flunkies take him through the rules and reams of paper work only to then "realise" that the sign up deadline had passed.  What a shame. Floris stays sat where he his and begins to try to find a loop hole in the rules (failing to annoy the Mayor in the process) and in the end mayor just leaves him to it, chuckling to himself.

With the arrival of the wood, along with Leo demonstrating his exceptional skills, the Orphanage Boat is repaired with ample time to spare.  However Leo had previously picked up a "Hammered Thumb" Complication which by now (due to more "1s") had worsened to a D10...even though he'd attempted treating it himself he really ought to get it looked at... 

The Doctor often uses doped sweets & jelly beans to subdue Bean and after the Timber Mill scene he'd picked up a "Running out of Candies" Complication so he pops into the local candy store. He notices the store owner's (Lissette Abel) scars and figures (MENTAL+KNOW (Medicine)) that she's a war vet.  It comes out in converstaion that she is part of the Canterbury crew and that they have a serious beef with the Mayor. She suggests that the Doctor visit the Canterbury farm if she wants to know more.  However the Doctor figures on another method and has Bean "read" Lisette from outside the store and she discovers the truth of the Mayor's war record, albeit in very symbolic images and terms. 

Judah is still snooping around undercover and winds up in the Red Saloon.  He gets the low down on the bar's entry into the race and sees them for what they are "...some good ol' boys just lookin' fer a gud time...".

The crew head back to the orphanage to compare notes and discuss plans.  The Doctor treats Leo's thumb and I decide that they use a another Beat in doing so (still only about halfway through their available Beats...)   

The crew decide that they need to embarrass the Mayor into letting them into the race, in public.  A fall back option would be convincing another crew to let them join and win on their behalf but of the crews encountered either they don't want to win (Canterbury's) or won't want to share the winnings (Red Saloon).  So they come up with a plan...

Most of the crew head off into town that evening but Leo (and Turk) stay to waterproof the boat.  As ever Leo's efficiency has the job done in no time at all so he calls in the orphanage children to apply a second, colorful coat of paint.  He gives them free reign to decorate as they wish and builds a "Kids paint job ASSET" off it (in the hope of swinging sympathy from the crowds and/or distracting the other crews).

The remaining crew (along with the Captain's "Assets" of his cousin Emmery (the pilot) and his pack of dogs) head to the Ocean View Tavern to face off with the mayor. Dr Norris gives Judah some dope (ASSET) that he (still working undercover) palms into the drink a waitress is taking to the Mayor. Floris then confronts the mayor and questions his bravery, the cumulative effect riles him up and he takes a swing - BAR FIGHT!  The crew lay in to the Purple gang while Floris defends himself against the Mayor.  The mayor keeps losing gang members (in part to avoid being Taken Out) but the crew have them licked and so, in fury, he shouts out "I'll see you on the water!".  They are in the race (fade to black....). A great scene and fantasic way to end the session.

Captain Floris - an artist's impression..

You may know by now that I like to keep things in game and on the blog both varied and interesting so this post is something a bit different.  Here's a sketch of our forthright and tempestuous Captain, Floris (as drawn by his player).

We had a marvellous 5th session last night so a synopsis post will follow over the next few days.

Next week the crew will be taking part in the race that acts as the culmination of "Shooting Fish"  should be memorable if nothing else ;)

Episode (session) #4 - May contain Echoes of War spoilers

For a bit of variety I thought I'd ask the players to write up some of their character's thoughts about the last session we played. Here's some musings from Captain Floris and "Bean"...

"We were having tea with Shepherd Rust when the children ran in, saying that the Mayor was coming.  We talked quickly of ploys and obfuscations, Judah, Norris and I, but it was the Shepherd’s words that decided my action later.  I went outside with the dogs.  Judah stayed out of sight, for reasons of a plan he had devised, a fine one.

The mayor had come in on a grav APC, with outriders on horseback.  On getting out, he accosted one of the orphans, a girl, fourteen perhaps.  He favoured her, saying she should come to him in a few years’ time, that she could work in whatever would be built when he snatched the orphanage away.  His intentions seemed lewd.  She wasn’t so many years younger than Bean.

We spoke.  He’d heard of us, and seen our fine ship.  I told him that we would be in the race.  I told him that we aimed to beat him.  He didn’t seem to take us seriously, which is as well for what ploys we might use, but I am sure he used sly words to insult us without having the courage to say it plainly.  I cannot let this slight go.  We will beat or sink him.  I will hurt him.

I did not turn my gaze from him until the grav APC had vanished from sight.  The dogs didn’t either."

"Leo and I went back to the yard today. He's a monkey. In my head, I call him that. But peanuts won't do for him. He's a grease monkey, he wants wrenches. And bolts. Cogs and pistons. I can see him clambering around in a huge machine. nnnggggnnn-fuuuh, nnnngggn-fuuuh, nnnggggnnn-fuuuh, all those valves releasing, hissing, pounding, a difference engine. He could make it go. If it could be driven, he could make it go, but not like oxen. He could clamber all over, reading the engine with his feet and his fingers and his nose and his eyes. I want an armour of brass with one of those goldfish bowl helmets, pistons walking me, plates keeping me inside. I run out all the time. My mind runs out and I get lost. The lady at the scrapyard could tell, kept telling me to be careful. But she thought I was odd. I feel odd. I'm only all there some of the time. I want to know where I go. Then the glow washes down from the crown of my head, always clockwise, like a spiral. It connects to the eye, the one I opened. Then down my throat, my heart, my navel, my womb. Womb. I like the word womb. Then it washes me away, flushes out my spine, though my tailbone. The monkey doesn't know. But the Doctor does. We spoke. He doesn't want to get noticed. Am I his project? Me getting noticed might be him noticed. He gives me the sweets. None of them cheat me. He would if he needed to. For himself that is. He only ever stops me, he never makes me do something. That's the difference. I'm afraid. If something connects, I might connnect. I might be a beacon, or a sluice, or a tesseract. Sometimes, I feel the pulse of the universe and it whispers. Sweetly or threateningly or incomprehensibly, but it always whispers. I'm learning to hear, to listen, to understand. There is too much of it."

The crew are doing really well at the moment.  They've managed to salvage most of the parts they need (except wood) to fix the boat in the first two "Beats" and Leo's stellar rolls (he is an excellent mechanic) have meant that the boat's engines are all fixed up and purring like kittens.  He's even had time to construct a sort of net launching gun to fix to the hull (a D6 Asset).

Meanwhile Judah has gone undercover in the town and is busy trying to get intelligence on the mayor and the other competitors...

Episode (Session) #3 - May contain Echoes of War spoilers

Floris & Eli saw off Blake and his compatriots but the survivors made a run for their ship. Floris gave chase but lost them, increasing the severity of his earlier MUSCLE STRAIN Complication in the process.

Meanwhile on the Bei Xiang Judah musters the crew to fly in a shuttle over to Blake's ship and try to take control of it. They leave Bean and Tuck on board with instructions not to touch anything but as they go Dr Norris slips back and gives them the keys to Judah's wardrobe.

The shuttle heads to the Scorpio Salvage craft but they are soon hailed by "Crazy Frog" Gillespie, the pilot. Unfortunately it seems that the Doctor's "distraction" stopped Tuck from jamming the Salvager's sensors...

Judah, Crazy Frog and Dr Norris exchange words; the doctor and Judah trying to convince (SOCIAL+INFLUENCE) Gillespie to let them dock so that they can negotiate in person while their adversary is busy threatening them (Salvager d6+Difficulty d8). The Crazy Frog eventually cuts comms and it appears that the salvage vessel is leaving (Blake having returned).

On the Helse Bergen Floris climbs outside to see Blake's Ship departing however he fails (MENTAL+NOTICE) to detect a shudder in the bowels of the wreck.

The shuttle docks with the wreck and the crew board.  Leo taps into the ship's Cortex records and downloads the logs and manifest (MENTAL+OPERATE+Cortex Speciality+Custom Cortex Terminal Signature Asset) but is getting a bit spooked "out in the field" and gains a "Gettin' scary" Complication.

The crew go to secure the cargo but find that the hull has been breached by multiple explosions and the cargo is ruined. Floris curses Blake for the pettiness of spoiling what he couldn't have. But every cloud has a silver lining; the Helse Bergen itself might be worth the trip and directed by Leo (rolling MENTAL+FIX+SALVAGER+Tool Belt Signature Asset) they have soon loaded the Bei Xiang's hold with very saleable ship parts and components. Further activity is halted by the detection of an Alliance ASREV in the near vicinity and so the crew high tail it out of there. Eli accepts an offer of transport to a nearby world in thanks for his help with Blake and Co.

There's a fair amount of interaction on the ship and the crew are largely in high spirits after a reasonably successful job so we let that play out with some scenes between the captain and his cousin & pilot, Judah having to restore his wardrobe, Floris discussing how to offload the parts with Leo and the Doctor having fun at various crew member's expense.

Eventually their reverie is interrupted with a Wave from a nearby planet, Newhall.  The message is full of static but it appears that it is a Shepherd who allegedly knows Floris' father.  He needs help and was overjoyed to detect Floris' father's ship nearby.  He wants to call in a favour and provides the crew with landing coordinates.

Floris figures that Newhall is pretty much en route back to Beylix and as good a place as any to try to off load some of these parts so they set course to the Shepherd's location.

Thus we began the Echoes of War Episode; "Shooing Fish"

The Bei Xiang touches down on Newhall and Eli bids the captain farewell. Floris, Judah and the Doctor head to the Shepherd's orphanage while Leo takes Bean and a selection of sellable parts into the near by town of Endurance.

The Captain's party encounter a group of orphans who come out to meet them and eventually get directions to where Shepherd Rust may be found.  He comes brings them into the orphanage refectory and offers refreshments while he explains the problems he is having with the local mayor, Buzzard Lake.  The only hope to pay off the orphanage’s debts will be to enter the mayor's boat race and win the prize money. A sizeable purse that should also serve to recompense the crew for their trouble.  Floris agrees to help.

Meanwhile in the town Leo has been able to befriend an abrupt and obstructive shop owner & mechanic by impressing him with his mechanical knowledge.  He is able to get a fair price for some of the parts and has made a potentially useful contact...

Episode (session) #2

So when we left our crew they were on their way off the planet Beylix to try to secure themselves some illegal salvage....

I let the travel in the Black play out for a while, running some roleplay scenes between the crew to help the players solidify how they were playing their characters and how they related to each other.  In no particular order:

• We saw how the pilot, Captain Floris' cousin; Emery, doesn't seem to think much of Floris abilities as a businessman or captain.  She seems a lot more "worldly" and Rim-savvy than her cousin and obviously holds a torch for Judah, the Companion & first mate.
• Bean (doped up on the Doctor's tranqs) spent most of the session swinging from the rafters in the cargo bay, teasing the Captain (She could see his "bald patch" from up there) and playing something that became known as "The pickle game" with Leo (repeatedly saying the word pickle which Leo repeated and she would tell him whether he got it wrong or right - the rules seem to be completely indeterminate).
• Judah detected a smell aboard which was intruding into his cabin and accused Turk - it turned out however that it was the captain's dogs.
• Turk/Tuc/Tock was found stealing biscuits at night by Emery. She managed to get a look at the notebook he was scribbling in but it all appeared to be gibberish.

The Bei Xiang approached the wreck and the crew could see that it was a derelict bulk cargo transport registered as the "Helse Bergen".  Leo started scans of the wreck (MENTAL+OPERATE+Salvager Distinction+the Ship's SYSTEMS+his Cortex Terminal Signature Asset vs a Difficulty of d8 + DERELICT SHIP d8) and was interrupted by Turk/Tuc/Tock "fiddling" - he attached some sort of home made device to the scanner which provided reams of data - far too much for Leo's poor little terminal (rolling a 1 earnt him a DATA OVERLOAD d6 Complication). Eventually between Leo and Tuck/Turk they figured out that the ship was powered down and could see huge holes in the hull.  The Captain decided to take a party over to investigate in a shuttle. Leo volunteered to stay behind and "Bean-sit" while Emery flew the shuttle.

Dr Norris disappeared quickly to get the suits ready, giving Judah's best (& most flamboyant) suit to Turk/Tock.  The Companion was not amused and the rivalry between the doctor and first mate was further reinforced.

Floris: "What sort of man would have a spacesuit with lapels?"
Judah: "What sort of man wouldn't?"

So they docked with the Helse Bergen and began to explore.  With the power out Floris had to make a number of (PHYSICAL+LABOUR vs DERELICT SHIP d8+Difficulty die) rolls to wrench open doors and clear wreckage to get them through. They found numerous bodies, all torn, cut and savaged.  The doctor examined them (MENTAL+KNOWLEDGE+ Medicine Speciality) and was able to determine that although most may have died from decompression they were certainly attacked by one or more vicious blades.  Even though the characters don't believe in such spacer tales I think the players were suspecting Reavers.... ;)

It was then that they discovered the only survivor.  Hiding away, surviving by replacing his air canisters for those on the unused space suits was a man who introduced himself as Eli Cole. He wore a slick combat spec. space suit and wore a Jian sword on his back.  Judah interrogated him and learnt that he was a merc hired by the crew and that one of them had gone crazy aboard the ship, killing and wounding his crew mates and scuttling the ship. Eli could see were things were heading and hid rather than face off against an obvious psychopath.  Judah checked him out (SOCIAL+NOTICE+Registered Companion vs Eli's SOCIAL+TRICK+Undercover speciality (more on who Eli is in a future post...)) and discerned he was telling the truth, although it might not have been the whole truth.

With Cole directing them the crew continue to search the ship and find the only modular cargo ay with anything in; a series of sealed freight canisters.  Roughly 8 tons of unmarked but undamaged cargo.

At that point Leo, back on the ship, gets hailed.  Another ship had snuck up on them (Leo had been failing NOTICE+SYSTEMS rolls, Complicated as he still was.  Each time he cleared a Complication he seemed to get another - I ruled it was a reoccurring headache...). The ship was a Scorpio class Salvage vessel and the captain, Blake, alleged that he'd been sent by the Helse Bergen's owner to recover their ship. Leo patches him through to Floris and the salvage ship levels it's guns (mounted on two "Hull crawlers" - little mobile tanks with magnetic tracks that are manoeuvring along it's outer hull) at the Bei Xiang.  Floris "agrees" to Blake's demands and the crew leave the Helse Bergen.  Well most do...Cole and Floris remain hidden aboard....(Cole spends a Plot Point to create an Explosives d6 Asset)

Judah gets Emery to move the Bei Xiang away from the Helse Bergen as Blake and his crew board the wreck.

The salvagers head straight for the untouched cargo and spot Eli (failed a PHYSICAL+STEALTH roll vs Blake's MENTAL+NOTICE+PIRATE 4D6 for his accompanying crew) who spins them a tale about Floris' crew abandoning him there, while Floris attacks from behind!

Combat ensues.  Over two rounds of combat, between Floris and Cole they manage to Take Out three of the salvagers as Blake sacrifices them instead of being Taken Out himself, but both the captain and mercenary are now sporting Complications.  Meanwhile Judah has had Emery turn the ship around and is heading to dock with the Scorpio!

We should find out what happens next later this week....

Defining relationships

Howdee,

I may have mentioned before that I think relationships between the characters are key to the feel of gaming in the 'Verse - it's how the nine "crew" reklate to each other, and to Serenity that defines the show, to my mind. Therefore as I planned to start our crew off as a "going concern" - even if some of the crew are greener than others I figured that it was important that everyone identfied what their character's relationship is with each of the other crew.

Essentially I planned to do a "lift and shift" from the ol' Serenity RPG supplement "The Big Damn Hero Handbook" (great supplement btw...) but while that book uses this concept of defining "Relationship Traits" as a basis for an ongoing game mechanic for managing relationships, and their changes and intensities, I was only concerned that we define our starting points - essentially capturing a little of "what has gone before".

Each character would define their Relationship for each other crew character and then one additional important relationship for an inanimate object or important supporting character (i.e the ship, a piece of gear or an NPC/GMC). Each Relationship is written as a single sentence.
Here are a few points to remember:

• Crew characters do not need to share the same relationships with each other. One character might have “I’m madly in love with him” and the other has “I don’t know she exists.”
• The Relationship is JUST the most important or interesting aspect of how you deal with the other character, it’s not supposed to encompass every last little detail.
• The Relationship is changable and emotive, so don’t select something like, “Zoe is Wash's wife.” While that may be true, this fact is not as important as the way Wash interacts with Zoe and what he thinks about her. It’s extremely important to develop these cooperatively with the other players - and thus while I got the players to think up their initial ideas alone we shared them all as a group and some made sadjustments after hearing what the others had to say.

As mentioned, a Relationship like this is expressed as a sentence mentioning both people and summarizing how one (the owner of the Relationship) feels about the other. Keep it to one sentence, though it can be a complicated sentence if you want it to be. For example, some of Kaylee’s Relationships might be:

 

• Inara is Kaylee’s surrogate sister.
• Kaylee has a huge crush on Simon but is intimidated by his intelligence.
• Kaylee hurts when Serenity hurts.

 

Be careful when composing compound sentences; if someone is using the conjunction “and,” you might be wrapping up multiple Relationship aspects rather than explaining a single complicated one.

There is no defnitive list of Relationships. The best Relationships are those that can cut both ways, and all Relationships should be subject to change. Here’s a few examples. These relationships belong to the Mechanic character, Leo:

• Leo enjoys the company of Doctor Norris
• Leo considers Captain Floris a good friend
• Leo is often finds Bean annoying
• Leo doesn't enjoy being around Judah
• Leo takes pride in working on the Bei Xiang's engines

Hopefully you all get the idea.  It was useful for us as it gave us a start point - these people knew each other, and while there's work to be done to examine those relationships, how they were formed and how they will change it allowed us to have a head start at how they all relate to one another (and immediately defined a rivalry between Judah & the Doctor...but more on that as it develops)

The White Elephant soundtrack

I asked the players for suggestions for signature music tracks for their characters and the game as a whole (working the "TV show angle" a little) and was inundated with great suggestions.  To that end I've started to compile a Spotify playlist of the tracks (where available).  Take a listen here:

Tales of the White Elephant

Tramp Freighter

The presence of our "pet-tramp"; Tuck/Truck/Tock/Tug/Tuc/Trog/whatever-his-name onboard the ship was a little bit of a shock to the players but there was a method in my madness. I explained it to the players thus;
 

I pictured that the crew found him one day, tucked away in a makeshift den, when they were out in the Black, days from a port, but then what do they do with him?

I'm sure that the Captain possibly flew into a temper - especially as the first indication there was something amiss may have been that his dogs acted strangely. Then again it was probably around the time that the bitch had her puppies so Floris might have initially dismissed any peculiar behaviours as that....

But the crew found him.....what then? I can't imagine anyone on the crew callous enough to space him - regardless of the captain's rage (I imagine Judah was a placating voice at that point). Bean could tell he was no threat and they soon found that he'd escape from anywhere they locked him in. Caught on the hop Dr Norris probably didn't want to risk wasting sedatives on him (especially considering how fickle and unpredictable Bean is) - plus Tuck smells - who wants to get close enough to administer drugs? (and tranq darts might not get through all the layers of rags and assorted clothes). So the crew were probably forced to leave him alone until they reached their destination.

Once in port they probably sent him packing (may be with a coin or too pressed into his hand - after all in a way they'd sort of become fond of this odd interloper) and carried on with business. Then after lift off they'd find he'd be back ("The cat came back, the very next day...."). This possibly happened a couple more times until they just gave in. He seems harmless, he's occasionally helpful (Leo finds some stuff fixed or modified (especially around the ship's sensors)) when he hasn't tounched them and the Captain's dogs seem to love him.

We may play out the discovery of him as a flashback at some point but for now, that's the way of things.

Episode (session) #1

It's now a week since we began our new Firefly campaign. Most of the first game session was spent introducing the characters and the ship, finishing character generation off, talking through the layout of the ship and as we decided that the characters were an existing crew with a  bit of history we did a "relationships" exercise to define what these people think of each other at the minute (I'll cover that in detail in another blog post).

The regular crew we have is:

Floris - the shp's captain, hailing from the Core worlds and of noble birth.  See the "O captain, my captain!" post (http://whiteelephanttales.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/o-captain-my-captain.html) for more details.

Judah - the 1st mate but also a Registered Companion, the social assistant/advisor to the captain. He tempers Floris' violent tempers and outbursts and is trying to civilise the captain. More details in a future post...

Dr Norris - A cosmetic surgeon from the Core - now hiding out on the Rim for reasons undisclosed. Clever, ascerbic, very unprincipled and worthy of a full post in the near future....

Bean - A reader, rescued by Floris when he left the Core. She appears to have companion training but Judah doesn't have a record of her in the Registry.... more to come on her too

Leo - Ship's mechanic, check out a bit more about him on the "Holdin' it all together" post (http://whiteelephanttales.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/holdin-it-all-together.html).

A very social focussed crew to be honest - but due to the layout of the Bei Xiang and the Companion's insistance that he has a seperate room on the ship for his wardrobe, they don't have much passenger space (two berths), but we'll see how that pans out.

After all that we managed to get about 30-45 mins of actual play in.

The crew had arrived on Beylix, the 'verse's dumping ground. The planet is mostly waste and salvage tips with a few scattered farmsteads.  Floris and I had previously agreed that due to his love of critters and beasts he would take livestock jobs where possible so the crew had just finished a delivery of cattle to a farm and were pondering what to do next.

I also introduced the crew to "Tuck" (or Tog, Tug, Tock, Turk no one is quite sure of what he originally mumbled when they asked his name) a tramp who they picked up at some point in their travels and lives in a den he's made for himself, tucked away under the stairwell between the Infirmary and passenger dorms. He appears harmless and seems to be a bit of a savant, randomly fixing or "adjusting" parts of the ship...

Leo comes back from a run for parts to one of the salvage yards with news of a possible job. The Salvor needs a ship for a run out into the Black but his own vessel is out of action The job is apparently urgent and the repairs to his own vessel will take too long so he's looking to out source. The Captain, Bean and Leo head to see the guy and find out more about it.

The salvage yard was owned & run by "Toestep & Son" and there they met Alphonse and his son Howerd (I make NO apologies...  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steptoe_and_Son). Hercules, their Bernard class Salvage & Rescue vessel, is out of action and a client has provided the co-ordinates for a potentially profitable piece of salvage. As this is unsanctioned and unlicensed salvage it is highly illegal and so they need to get it fast before the Alliance or United Reclaimation get it.

Toestep snr. is a "dirty ol' man" and negotiations break down quickly (Our captain's SOCIAL + Influence letting him down a little but our crew just didn't like the guy...so that made for some great roleplay) so Bean just lifts the coordinates from his mind (Paying 1 Plot Point to use her Secrets, Secrets Trigger to roll MENTAL + Know to read the details from his mind) and they return to the ship (but with Bean suffering from acute Paranoia as a side effect of brain skimming (she succeeded but rolled a "1" and gained a d6 Complication). After a brief discussion with the crew Floris decides that they will go after the salvage themselves and they lift off into the Black....

I wanna play...

It occurs to me that I rattle on like this with posts telling you all about our game when you might be asking how you can set up your own...

Well wait no longer dear reader....check out the Gaming in the 'Verse: Firefly Gen Con 2013 digital copy (available here:)

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/114257

Then check out http://www.margaretweis.com/ for news of future releases and developments.

Holdin' it all together...

Today's character focus is none other than our Ship's Mechanic, Leo Valdez.  Created and played by my 12 year old son Leo is a cross between the Percy Jackson character of the same name and a certain Firefly mechanic by the name of Kaylee...

His background's a little sketchy at present but I'm told he hailed from Beylix, the waste tip of the Core and treasure trove of the Rim, and learnt his skills hanging around the scrap yards and scrounging for bits and pieces.  He's always tinkering with *something* and has a knack at finding, or modifiying the parts needed to keep the Bei Xiang running in the Black.

MENTAL d10 PHYSICAL d6 SOCIAL d8

Fix (Engines) d12
Focus d6
Influence d6
Know (Engines) d8
Move d8
Operate (Cortex) d10
Survive d6
Treat d6
Trick d6

SALVAGER d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: Turn one of your Assets into a Complication of the same die rating to gain 1 PP.

SHIP’S MECHANIC d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.

SWEET & CHEERFUL d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Straight-Shooter: Gain 1 PP when you openly tell the truth even though it might be to your greater benefit to lie or conceal it.

SIGNATURE ASSETS:
Toolbelt d8
Modified Cortex terminal d6

All I ask is a tall ship, and a star to sail her by...

So we have our captain, what about his ship?

While the ship is associated with the crew as a whole, in our case it is most closely connected to our captain. Therefore the player and I worked together to lay the groundwork of what the ship was, where it came from and how it came to be in the captain's possession.

That said, an early suggestion from my son (who plays our Ship's Mechanic) was that the ship itself ought to be a Firefly class. I could immediately understand the rationale: it's familiar to everyone who's seen some of the show or the movie, it's a prolific ship within the setting, multiple "standard" versions have been documented and it's stated that they are easily customisable, plus I have all the stats from the Firefly RPG Gen Con exclusive and the poster size floor plans from the Serenity RPG. That said I also wanted to make sure that this was our own ship and not just Serenity with a different crew. It had to be unique.

Therefore we came up with the concept that this ship was, for all intents and purposes an ol' Firely but Flori's father had a hobby of renovating old starships (using high quality newtech components hidden behind the original bulkheads) so it became a bit of a mismatch leading the player of our Doctor to suggest it was a "White Elephant" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant) and so it was christened the Bei Xiang (and hence the name of this blog...).

From the basics that we'd worked out we then took it to the group and everyone suggested which Distinction Triggers and Signature Assets we should have. Taking one suggestion from each player (except or Reader who wanted to leave it to the others) we ended up with our ship - which had become a little bit of everyone:

Bei Xiang  "The White Elephant"
ENGINES d10 HULL d8 SYSTEMS d6

FIREFLY CLASS TRANSPORT d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Connected Operations: When rolling to fix a ship’s Complication, you may step up the difficulty die to fix two Complications at once. Step up any Complication that results from this roll.

STOLEN d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.

EXPERIMENTAL d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Experimental Settings: When using a ship’s Signature Asset, you may step up or double that die. Step up any Complications that arise from that roll.

SIGNATURE ASSETS:
Medsuite d8
Pimp'd out thrust booster d8

O captain, my captain!

Well we've had our first session now, which was mostly finishing character generation and talking through how these people met, formed a crew and the ship they find themselves in. I figured that it might be best to introduce some of these folks and where best to start than with our captain....

Floris van Roozemond comes from a wealthy family, powerful in the alliance: effectively nobility.  He had a troubled upbringing but found pleasure in open spaces; he went riding; he played and hunted with hounds.  He became closer to them than to people.

One day he flew off in his father's old restored & rennovated Firefly. Perhaps his father wants him and/or the ship back, or perhaps, he just lets Floris go with it.

He had the noble bearing and enough money to pull a crew together, but more on that in future posts. 

But the truth of all this will probably be discovered during the game...

Attributes:
MENTAL d8 PHYSICAL d10 SOCIAL d6

Skills:
Fight d12
Fly d6
Focus d8
Influence d12
Labor d6
Move (Evasive) d12
Survive d6
Throw d6

Distinctions:
ANIMAL LOVER d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.

SHIP’S CAPTAIN d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Lead the Crew: When one of your crew directly follows one of your orders, spend 1 PP and give that Crewmember an Asset equal to your Influence die rating.

TEMPER d8
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Anger Issues: Gain 1 PP when you make a bad decision on account of the chip on your shoulder or your short fuse gets you in trouble.

Signature Assets:
Hounds & their puppies d8
Ship's pilot (a distant cousin & possible romantic interest) d8

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 personally 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 two contacts that the crew will be meeting for their first story will be Alphonse & Howerd Toestep - a pair of father & son salvagers directly based on the UK comedy characters "Steptoe & son".  
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 crime 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 pirate.  My players know me for my "memorable" character voices (when one of our guys first watched "The Phantom Menace" he was alledgedly heard to say "That's a Ben voice!" when Watto first spoke) 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 know 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 a whole 'verse to run! If knowing that the arms dealer they last spoke in Persephone 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 a little more real - We know this is all a game. This is a fantasy setting where spaceships filled with gravity drives and atmosphere capable shuttlecraft are sailed through an ocean of black by a motley assortment of gunslingers, shepherds, bermuda shirt wearing pilots, 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 ahave a few specifics in forthcoming posts...
*Yes kids, there was a time before scanning and digital media...

Gettin' started

Welcome, settle yourself down and let Uncle Ben tell you a little tale...
 
For a variety of reasons, I was ending my current game (Trinity rpg, in case you were interested White Wolf, now Onyx path's sci-fi game).   I'd thoroughly enjoyed it and it was very much a  "vanity game" that our playing group had indulged me on. That said I think we all agreed that we managed to create some memorable characters and an interesting story.

But, on to pastures new - and "into the black" ;)

The new Firefly RPG from Margaret Weis Productions is *very* shiny and benefits from using a version of the Cortex+ system (which the Marvel Heroic RPG is also based on and we played A LOT until our daliance with Trinity...).  The system dovetails nicely with the way I GM and the way our group plays, and I think it captures the feeling of the setting far better than it's predecessor (the Serenity RPG - also from MWP) did.

 

Plus, I have all the materials for the old "Cortex Classic" Serenity RPG which are complementary to, if not directly compatible with the new game (conversion rules to follow, we are told). Now I've been a fan of The Firefly 'verse for a number of years (since the "Big Damn Movie") and I think that the setting holds HUGE potential for an ongoing game (especially considering the additional essays and material that's been written since, the comics, background notes etc etc) and so it's time to gather a crew and head off on into the Black...