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Jump to latest session! - 5/3 ***** Skybreak Skybreak Manual Skybreak map Instructions for installing ADRIFT Printable Skybreak Character Sheet Skybreak Spotify playlist Pointless Points Activities you can do at home! 1) Install Adrift - 10 pts 2) Acquire a beetle in Skybreak - 10 pts 3) Register on the ADRIFT site and leave a Skybreak review. - 20 pts. ________________________________________________________________________ How this LP works is simple. Whenever I can sit down and play for awhile, I'll tag whoever's following along to the thread and you can then all begin voting on a series of decisions as they're presented to you. (However you don't have to be on the ping list to vote, anyone is welcome and the game is such that you can just jump in and start picking whatever seems interesting.) I'll go with majority consensus, or pick an option I personally like, or ignore all of you completely and do what I want. Easy. In order to keep this moving I won't always give an option for every single detail, and I won't wait around forever for votes. More involved discussion of the game or our strategy should probably wait for when we're in between sessions. This is the first real LP I've ever tried to run, previously there was just a private one for Mayana. (Which reminds me, if you're visually impaired and trying to follow this, speak up now because otherwise I'll be mixing a good number of unlabeled images in with the text.) But anyhow, pretty much just winging this, so things might be adjusted later. Note also that this game is MASSIVE and due to the nature of play, very difficult to systematically test. If you encounter a bug while playing on your own, PM me the details and I'll pass it on to the author. _________________________________________________________________________ And now that's enough of that. We go forth into a galaxy of wonder and terror. The first decision is simple. We need a name. Suggestions? (If you've only played the online version, as you can see the Adrift runner supports much prettier fonts. If you haven't played, the manual is a quick and fun read and recommended to give you some idea of the universe we're about to enter.)

Damn, forgot I was going to reserve the second post. Well now I'm reserving this one.

@Avery_Moore screw you, you do nothing but live on this forum now, you are following my LP whether you like it or not. Gower's suggestion is very in line with the pulpy sci fi tone of the game. I wondered if Hector Metzger might be a reference, but first result is just some boomer on Facebook. (edit: ohhhh I know why it was familiar now. But it was understandable to forget, I only met him briefly before he trashed our quest giver, our backup quest giver, then went off to buy a pack of smokes....) We will be Hecc Wilco.

Next very important decision: The ship is never described in the game, so it's up to us to visualize it ourselves. We know it's always very kind and supportive of us, even if we do less than admirable things. And we know it's packing a dazzling array of sensors, scanners, and firepower in addition to the dark matter drive, but that's really it. We don't even know how large it is. Picking a name is not a decision taken lightly, it will help attach something concrete to this second half of our inseperable team. I encourage you to also post a line or two describing it along with your name suggestion, that might help to sway me. And for those wondering how the dark matter drive works, there is a simple and easy to understand explanation in the manual, for the layman.

Going with this. It can be shaped like a giant phallus when needed, so Avery should be happy too.

The Beginning What species do you issue from? 1) Human (+1 Acumen, +1 Subterfuge, +1 Survival) 2) Syr (+1 Astronomy, +1 Biology, +1 Technology) 3) Goblin (+1 Strength, +1 Mining, +1 Technology) 4) Elfin (+1 Stealth, +1 Perception, +1 Occultism) 5) Something Else Entirely (+2 to any one skill)

Now we're on to the proper voting sessions, so I'll give some time for the people to be heard. Not too much time though, I'm trying to get us through character creation before I have to go do other things. But this is a pretty important decision. It's worth mentioning as well that there are three backgrounds that give you a storyline with plot in addition to the sandbox gameplay. Two are available to humans, and one only to the Syr molluscoid. Backgrounds will be selected next. (The 'from Earth' background is also only available to humans, although there are space faring civilizations that are humans also, including the Skybreakers themselves...) The Goblins and Elves are much stranger beings than their names would suggest, and they've each got a skillset that adds some nice bonuses to a specific playstyle. Choosing one gives you these further explanations:

You are a human. Humans are something of a mystery to the mightier races of the cosmos: one day they simply appeared...and on many worlds at once. There are trillions of humans in the cosmos, and yet, strangely, each human considers itself to be special and important. You will have to do a lot to distinguish yourself. You are a Syr. You were born in the desert, from a clutch of eggs, left in a shell that you long abandoned in childhood. Like many Syr, you were raised by the Inquisition, a planet-spanning research project that only the mightiest scientific minds in the galaxy are permitted to join. For some reason, you have wandered away from Inquisition space...perhaps we will find our back again. You are a Goblin. You were hatched from a cosmic egg, and left for the depths of space as quickly as you could. I am your new home, and you will likely die here. Goblins, at least in this corner of space and time, spend their entire lives adrift in space. They are creatures of the stars, and barren worlds between stars. While Goblins are something of a persecuted minority in the core of the galaxy, something has driven you here... You are an Elf. Elves are among the oldest races in the cosmos, their creation dates back to a time before the formation of many a star. Elves did not evolve naturally, but were created by their masters, the Fey, strange supernatural beings that hide in the unexplored recesses of space and time. Elves are nearly immortal, you are perhaps thousands of years old...who knows for sure? It's so very hard to keep track of time. Something else. Cosmophysicists have concluded that life is a relatively rare phenomenon, naturally occurring on no more than one or two worlds in an entire galaxy...but of course that means there are nearly a billion independently-evolved races in the universe. You are a member of one of the lesser-known ones. So am I.

So what'll we be?

Human it is. I guess this one wasn't a real decision, honestly why would anyone want to be anything else? It certainly simplifies stomping in the face of inhuman scum with the righteous boot of humanity. (But humanely.) Next question is going to be a lot more complex.

> 1 Oh dear...you must have gotten lost. That's no good at all. Oh well, there's nothing to do but try to find our way back. As an Earthling, your story will end if you ever successfully locate the planet Earth (called Irth in the wider cosmos). Things will be rather difficult for you: this background offers no way to obtain adventure points, but for what it's worth, you will begin this story with two ounces of Aromablende Fine Coffee and a few extra adventure points. > 2 I thought as much. You are a Skybreaker, a citizen of the city that resides deep in the heart of the cosmos...if not within its very soul. The people of this city wield a great and secret power, nothing less than the light of creation itself. You must use this power carefully. Or not, it's entirely up to you. As a Skybreaker, you will occasionally be called upon to carry out great deeds in the service of the light of creation. Each time you are called upon, you will gain an adventure point. Your story will end when you complete the last mission you are assigned, and save the universe! 3 You are a member of the Inquiry of Syr, a great galactic research project that spans multiple worlds. Membership in the Inquisition is reserved for only those of surpassingly great intellect. You must have a truly cultivated mind. As a member of the Inquiry, you will be periodically called back to your homeworld to assist the Inquisition. You will obtain an adventure point every time you are called back. Your story will end if you succeed at obtaining a promotion to Prime Inquirer. > 4 You are a starfarer...a reject...a derelict. The Starfarers live far from the light at the center of the galaxy, on the edge, where the night creeps in. Free from the strictures of the more civilized parts of the galaxy, Starfarers do what they will, in fact, it is a core tenant of their strange faith that only Starfarers possess true free will. As a Starfarer, you are a member of a clan of like-minded barbarians. You will be periodically called back to serve the clan, and will gain an adventure point each time you are called back. Your story will win if you can unite your clan with many others, and become warchief of the entire barbarian rim. Now choose another background... > 5 You are a sorcerer, a wielder of secret powers, a spinner of fate itself. The galaxy is scattered with ambient photons that issued forth when the universe was created, and in this light is a strange power that you long to make your own. As a sorcerer, you have the ability to create adventure points by performing rituals. Rituals will require lore, which can be gathered in various ways...none of them easy. You can see the next ritual you are trying to perform by typing OBJECTIVES. Your story will end when you have gathered 10 fragments of Foretold Lore, 10 fragments of Forbidden Lore, and 10 fragments of Forgotten Lore. > 6 As am I! I knew we would get along well. You are a storyteller. The stories you tell are often your own, of course...but you also seek inspiration from many fabulous and fantastic sources outside your own life. As a storyteller, you will be able to obtain adventure points by telling stories. You can see the next story you are trying to write by typing OBJECTIVES. As useful as it is to turn your stories loose on the galaxy, you will want to gather them up as well: Your story will end when you have gathered 10 anecdotes, 10 horror stories, and 10 adventure stories. > 7 You are a scientist. You know that the strongest force in the universe is not gravity, or electromagnetism, or the strange fire that burns at the core of every atom: it is curiosity. As a scientist, you will be able to obtain adventure points by performing experiments using research data. You can see the next experiment you are trying to perform by typing OBJECTIVES. Your story will end when you have gathered 10 Biodata, 10 Astrodata, 10 Geodata, and 10 Technodata. > 8 You are an explorer. Your goal is simple: to find something no one else has found, and perhaps stick a flag in it. The universe is a big place, and there is much to explore. As an explorer, you have a chance of gaining an adventure point whenever you land on a new type of planet, moon, or planetoid, becoming the first being in the galaxy to discover it. Your odds of landing on a truly unexplored planet, moon, or planetoid are greater for less common types of celestial bodies. Your story will end when you have discovered one celestial body of each type: a planetoid (found in asteroid belts), a small moon, a large moon, a rocky world, a frozen world, a sunken world, a poison world, a molten world, a garden world, and an exotic world found only in the depths of uncharted space. > 9 We will have such adventures together! You are an adventurer: you have only one goal, to stay alive and die comfortably in the warm glow of your many accomplishments. At times it will seem that the entire cosmos is out to kill you...but you have an uncanny knack for survival. In situations when other characters might have to spend adventure points to stay alive, you will GAIN adventure points instead. Your story will end if you ever obtain 25 gold and 25 luxuries, enough loot to enjoy a comfortable retirement. > 10 You are a space cadet, a damn hero (or at least a damn hero in training). You have trained since childhood for something extraordinary. You will have your chance soon enough. You are nearly invincible in space combat: in situations where your spacecraft is shot down, others would lose an adventure point...but you have a chance of GAINING an adventure point instead. Your adventure will end when you have definitively established your position as the galaxy's greatest star-warrior by acquiring 9 adventure points, gathering 9 tales of adventure, and by reaching a reputation of "9" with one of the great powers of the cosmos (you can see your reputation with each great galactic power by typing REPUTATION).

Pick two. But not Inquisitor, because we're not a space mollusk, and not Starfarer, because that's a storyline option that involves a ton of space combat, which I'm really not that great at. And Earthlings and Skybreakers can't overlap. That still leaves you a lot of options to consider, and remember that the end game conditions in each of these will effect our playstyle in a major way.

We'll go with Avery's picks, it's a good combination. Adventurer is one of the easier ways to win, and storyteller just makes sense.

Inquisitor isn't what you're thinking unfortunately, and it's only for nerdy space snails.

> 1 The ship that has come into your possession is a mighty battleship, equipped with deadly Cobalt Torpedoes. In hostile space encounters, you will have the option to fire torpedoes at the enemy ship. This will cost an Adventure Point, but these torpedoes always hit and always do significant damage. > 2 The ship that has come into your possession is a science vessel, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for research and exploration. In certain poorly charted systems, you will have the option to conduct a systemwide scan. This will cost an adventure point but yields a great wealth of research data for you to use. > 3 The ship that has come into your possession is a star skiff, equipped with powerful sublight and superlight engines to facilitate quick escapes. In hostile space encounters, you will have the option to escape by using an emergency photon charge. While it is an excellent way to avoid trouble, the photon charge will carry you somewhere totally random. > 4 You are a trained officer, with a loyal and talented crew under your command. In space combat, you can give the order "shields" which will make your ship nearly invincible in the ensuing battle. You must issue this command before the enemy has broken through your ship's defensive grid. Issuing this command costs an adventure point. > 5 You are an ace pilot, surely one of the best in the galaxy. During hostile space battles, you will have the option to type "+", and spend an adventure point, to execute an extremely impressive deep-space combat stunt, which will dramatically increase your ship's velocity and heading. > 6 You are a navigator, skilled at riding the dark matter currents that wind their way through creation. You possess a navigation beacon, which you can deploy by typing BEACON, and you may spend an adventure point to jump back to that beacon from any point in the universe by typing NAV. > 7 You are a negotiator, trained in the art of persuading sentient lifeforms. On inhabited worlds, you will have the option of spending an Adventure Point to increase your reputation there. > 8 You are a lowlife, a scoundrel, a criminal. Crime is much the same everywhere. On some inhabited worlds, you will have the option of spending an adventure point to gain access to several highly lucrative, and highly dangerous, encounters. > 9 You are a genius. No really, you're brilliant! You have a knack for solving problems. Before encounters begin, you may type "genius" and spend 1 adventure point to enhance your acumen, astronomy, biology, history, technology, perception, and subterfuge skills by a small amount (+2). This bonus will last a short time before going away. You will not be able to activate this ability once an encounter begins. > 10 You are a tinkerer. You build strange devices in your spare time. Some of them are dangerous. Some of them are helpful. All of them are exciting. You can type "Tinker" and spend an adventure point to build a device, but even you will have no idea, in advance, what the device you construct will actually do. > 11 You are an archeologist, a seeker of treasure and lost knowledge. You can dig up the past on certain worlds where the past is deeply buried. On some worlds, you will have the option of spending an adventure point to unlock highly lucrative and highly dangerous encounters. > 12 You are a gunslinger, a student of the gun...and perhaps an unruly student. This talent is straightforward enough: at any time during your adventure, you will have the option of typing "gun," which will massively increase your gunnery skill (+5) for a very brief time. This ability does not work in battles with enemy ships. > 13 You are a soldier, a member of a professional caste trained for combat and war. Before encounters begin, you may type "soldier" and spend 1 adventure point to enhance your gunnery, piloting, survival, stealth, and strength skills by a small amount (+2). This bonus will last a short time before going away. You will not be able to activate this ability once an encounter begins. > 14 You are a devotee of the ancient art of spellslinging, invented in the days before the Skybreakers fully tamed the light of creation and settled down in the heart of the galaxy. As a wielder of destructive magic, you are a force to be reckoned with. During any encounter you may type "spell" and spend an adventure point to increase your gunnery and strength skill by an amount equal to your occultism skill. During space battles you may type "spell" and spend an adventure point to decrease the enemy challenge rating by an amount equal to your occultism skill. > 15 You are a jack-of-all-trades...you are good at almost everything. You can spend an adventure point, at any time, to boost a random skill by +2. (You can do this by typing "j"). This bonus will remain forever, but may spontaneously shift from one ability to another. You can trigger a similar random shift at any time by typing "j.") > 16 This choice grants absolutely no new and exciting ways to spend adventure points, but simply gives you another skill specialization. (You'll pick those in a moment).

Pick three. Our current skills btw as an Adventuring Human Storyteller: Acumen 2 History 1 Subterfuge 1 Survival 1 Health 1 Spirit 1 Just going to mention that survival, technology and strength are all pretty good things to have. In fact it's generally a good idea to start the game with either 3 points in technology in survival. You can read about what each of the 14 skills do in the manual, or wait until the next update when we get to put a +2 bonus on one of them. Also, I have made a small oopsie, and have realized now that Explorer is actually supposed to be the easy and quicker to win background, while Adventurer is described as fairly challenging. (Although fwiw, I almost always pick adventurer and haven't had any special difficulty with it.) Should we roll back and go with Storytelling Explorer, or forge ahead?

All are welcome to vote. The interest thread was just for whoever wanted to be on the ping list, I'll add you to it for the next session if you want to follow along. And I believe we can consider tinkerer locked in at this point. I'll wait a few more minutes in case there are more opinions on the others.

All right, we're going with Tinkerer, Soldier, Lowlife. I'd have gone with all of End's picks for thematic reasons, but Strength is really useful and so is the Soldier's talent.

From the manual:

What follows is a list of all 14 skills in the game, and their uses. ACUMEN: Your character’s social, artistic, and tactical knowledge. The Acumen skill is useful for interacting with friendly sentient life forms, building your reputation, playing games, and making art. ASTRONOMY: Your character’s skill in operating telescopes and particle detectors. The Astronomy skill is useful for studying stars, planets, and black holes, and for stabilizing antimatter. BIOLOGY: Your character’s skill in alien, human, animal, vegetable, bacterial, and viral anatomy and physiology. The Biology skill is useful for studying alien life forms, and capturing wild animals. GUNNERY: Your character’s training in energy weapons, both handheld and attached to spacecraft. The Gunnery skill is useful for operating ray blasters, turbolasers, sonic shotguns, and arc emitters...all manner of space weaponry really. HISTORY: Your character’s knowledge of the past, including aptitude for dead languages and ancient customs. The History skill is useful for studying ruins and rare manuscripts. MINING: Your character’s skill in excavation, mineral extraction, and demolition. The Mining skill is useful for exploiting resources in deep space and on the surface of planets. It is not very useful for much else... As you play, you will find a small number of ways to permanently increase your skill bonuses...but there are not many of these. OCCULTISM: Your character’s knowledge of the arcane, including their aptitude with psychic and alchemical equipment and their ability to peacefully interact with eldritch beings. The occultism skill is useful for researching forbidden secrets and surviving encounters with strange creatures that live in the void beyond the galaxy. PILOT: Your character’s ability to operate Spacecraft and terrestrial vehicles. The Pilot skill is useful primarily for avoiding damage in space combat...also racing. PERCEPTION: Your character’s visual and aural acuity, including their ability to notice clues, sense danger, and spot anomalies on sensor readouts. Perception is useful for avoiding danger and locating treasure. SUBTERFUGE: Your character’s ability to mislead, trick, cheat, and lie. The Subterfuge skill is useful for running spy networks and swindling people out of their hard-earned cash. STEALTH: Your character’s ability to avoid detection and slip away unharmed. Stealth is useful for stealing stuff, and avoiding horrible monsters. SURVIVAL: Your character’s ability to endure extreme heat, cold, hunger, thirst, and pain, as well as their ability to live off the land and conserve food, water, and oxygen. Survival is useful for exploring the surface of inhospitable worlds. STRENGTH: Your character’s physical prowess, especially with melee weapons and in hand-to-hand combat. Strength is useful for slaying aliens...slaying people...slaying robots...slaying anything really. TECHNOLOGY: Your character’s ability to operate sophisticated equipment including computronics, handheld sensors, fusion reactors, and particle accelerators. Technology is useful for discovering new things, and repairing broken things. All of these skills are designed to be equally useful, but in different ways. Some are far more important for staying alive in dangerous situations.

Current skills: Acumen 2 Subterfuge 2 Survival 1 Strength 1 Technology 1 History 1 Health 1 Spirit 1

Seems we have a consensus.

One neat detail is that every time you restart the game you get a different thematic quote. One of them even explains what the deal is with the beetles. Anyhow, we are officially done with character creation. Let's try having an event or two, I've still got time.

Your story begins thus: To be sure, you've always pushed your luck...but this time you may be truly in over your head. The ship looked like many others, parked at the landing complex on the Moon of Mael. You had heard it was special, part of some secret and highly illegal collaboration between Bactic Transhumanists and dark engineers from distant Kaddax...and your friend had the access codes, pulled from a datapad after a lurid liaison with a pirate lord of Rimfire. The ship did not look like much from the outside, but you should have, perhaps, paid better attention to its interior, which was put together like no ship you had ever seen. Your mind was on other things: the vast amount such a craft would trade for on the black market. You imagined, then, that you would find your way to Noog or Port Fludd, and trade the craft for enough to retire on. I had other plans. I am sorry to say that there were no dark matter currents flowing where you wanted to go today. Instead, I have taken us to Skybreak...fear not, our approach was not detected, and it is somewhat unlikely that they will recognize this craft for what it is. I assure you, it is not worth trading in, you could not possibly get a reasonable value. This is the most advanced ship in this area of spacetime. Do not worry about your transgressions against my previous owners. All is forgiven. Our fates our inexorably tied together now. You need me as I need you. We shall have wonderful adventures together. Welcome to Skybreak.

You get these reports from the scanning equipment every time you arrive at a new location. Honestly during gameplay I tend to tune it out, but it's useful in certain situations and occasionally there's amusing little details in there. I won't be posting these unless they're relevant though.

We dock at Skybreak station. Overhead, a transport ship surges forward on a journey to the edge of the galaxy. The station is city-sized, home to a million souls that burn quasar-bright. This is the center of it all: the galaxy and quite possibly the cosmos itself. Neon and Argon light the celestial city: every street and building shines. What will you do? 1) Pass the Time 2) Visit Hexis 3) Visit the Great Galactic Kalyook (Market) 4) Visit the Academy of Cosmic Lore 5) Visit All-Streets 6) Pray to the Neon Gods 7) Make Trouble 8) Recruit a Hero Sp) Visit a spaceport

> i ===================== Personal Inventory ===================== Silver pieces: 3 Astrodata: 0 Biodata: 0 Geodata: 0 Technodata: 0 Anecdotes: 0 Tales of Adventure: 0 Horror Stories: 0 Forgotten Lore: 0 Foretold Lore: 0 Forbidden Lore: 0 ===================== Ship Inventory ===================== Alien Device: 0 Antimatter: 0 Artifacts: 0 Brains in Jars: 0 Coffee: 0 Equipment: 0 Gold: 0 Ichoria: 0 Lithium: 0 Luxury Goods: 0 Neon: 0 Organics: 0 Rubies: 0 Titanium: 0 ===================== Beetle Collection ===================== Brilliant Green Beetles: 0 Blood-red Corpse Beetle: 0 Dull-blue Sand Beetle: 0 Golden Scarab Beetle: 0

> objectives -------------------------------- Your objectives are as follows: -------------------------------- * Gather 10 of all of the following: Anecdotes, Horror Stories, Tales of Adventure * Gather 25 gold and 25 luxuries ----------------------------------------- Your secondary objectives are as follows ----------------------------------------- * A steamy romance novel, some bits will surely be inappropriate for children: 5 anecdotes (input & to finish this objective) * Build a new expansion for your ship: 7 Titanium (input = to finish this objective)

> talents You have all of the following talents: SOLDIER: You may type "soldier" and spend an adventure point to increase all your physical skills by +2 (Physical skills are Gunnery, Piloting, Stealth, Survival, and Strength). This bonus will persist for a while, before going away. You cannot use this ability once an encounter has already started. TINKERER: You may type "tinker" and spend an adventure point to build an invention. Inventions increase two random skills by +1 for a very long time. They will break eventually. You cannot use this ability once an encounter has already started. LOWLIFE: On certain worlds, you will have an additional activity option. Using this activity option will cost an adventure point.

> stats Total Breaks: 0 Total Equipment Failures: 0 Total Trips to Irth: 0 Lava Flows Avoided: 0 Blizzards Endured: 0 Zlatogurs Slain: 0 Bar Fights Won: 0 Artifacts Donated to Museums: 0 Elfin Courts Visited: 0 Dinner Parties Attended: 0

I'll count that as a 7.

4 wins the vote! Luckily most other worlds don't have quite so many options so you guys can't disagree so much, jeez.

The next update to this btw promises a Monster Hunter background...and a Villain. We will surely do another thread when the time comes.

> 4 The Academy of Cosmic lore is a simple building of brushed metal and glass, only a few stories high, but as you brush past a few exotic plants in the main atrium, you see that, much like facts themselves, this simple structure hides layers of complexity beneath its surface. From the main atrium, the academy extends nearly a mile into the core of the space station. Floor upon floor of elegant reading desks and restful green lanterns. Below that, a dozen floors of ancient manuscripts. Below that, a great whirling tangle of robotic arms that perpetually shelve and reshelve the books. You begin your research. It takes nearly a day. At the end, you have discovered something. A fragment of text that reads "Historical sources confirm that seventy-six gods perished that day, an addition twenty were hunted down and killed shortly afterward. At present, the only gods from that distant epoch that survive are the Soothsayer of Syntar (who was granted amnesty so long as she swore never to exercise her power outside of the Barbarian Arm); the Bone-White, Grinning God of Xochezk (who fled the battle shortly after it started, and has never been found) and the mysterious entity known as St. Toad (who had no part in the battle, and may in fact have more in common with the cosmodemonic forces that dwell on Kaddax). " You have gained a fragment of forbidden lore!

Finished here, we charge our star drive and depart. The planet Melissa is a frozen world surrounding a blue giant in the Modean system.

You have landed upon Melissa. We land atop a high promitory. For miles, there is nothing to see but unblemished snow. The planet is almost entirely frozen, with a narrow band of shallow seas at its equator. Shrieking winds rake the surface by night, making ordinary habitation impossible...but there are whole kingdoms beneath the ice. 1) Pass the time 2) Explore the surface 3) Explore the deeper tunnels

8 is mostly shaped like 3, explore the underground it is.

welp Not the event I was hoping for.

That +2 Strength turned out to be a very fortunate decision. There are many beautiful and wonderful things beneath the ice of Melissa, but there's also one horrible danger that can do a number on the unchadly.

3 You explore the deeper tunnels, below the ice: ENCOUNTER: THE DEVOURING SHROOM You enter a cavern below the surface, at least a hundred feet in all directions. Luminous toadstools glow in disturbingly regular galleries along the walls, like candles at a witch's sabbath. A few more steps into the room, and a thick, fungal cloud rolls forth from the gloom. With a bone-chilling shriek, a giant mushroom surges forward and attacks you. You only get a glimpse of it, before you and it are engulfed in a cloud of spores. Ropes of life-draining hyphae twine around you. The thing means to digest you, slowly and painfully, over days and days. You will need to fight back, but this will be a contest of brute strength alone... 1) Fight the Shroom (Strength)

Well, only one choice here... Putting a whole new meaning to the hobby of mushroom hunting.

> 1 You are an adventurer, you live for moments like these! You have gained an adventure point! You struggle against the devouring Shroom in the clinging, foul-smelling mist. You tear its hyphae from your neck and shoulders, wheel around and strike its cap with your sword Over... And over... And over again... Eventually even the undifferentiated anatomy of this creature breaks down into lifeless pulp. The mist clears. You have slain the devouring Shroom, and a few large sections of its body remain, perhaps a tasty, earthy morsel. It sure looks like a giant morel. You have gained one unit of organics.

Basking in the new adventure point, our holds bursting with mutilated mushroom bits, we activate the drive and soon find ourselves on the lush garden world of Candia.

You land upon Candia. Smoke rises from a nearby cottage. From a distance, the planet seemed green. Now, as you stand upon its surface, it seems gold. Fields extend for miles in all directions, full of crops somewhere between orderly cultivation and their natural state. People live here, of course, but they tend to keep to themselves... What will you do? 1) Pass the time 2) Gather organics 3) Listen to stories

You picked an existing number! I'm so proud of you, you must have tried very hard.

> 2 Delicious fruits and vegetables cover the surface of this planet. They are not hard to find. An island in the equatorial sea is covered with abundant apple orchards. They seem cultivated, but there is no gardener that you are aware of. Could they have grown like this naturally? You gather a crateload of apples. You have found some organics. I wonder how you will use them?

How nice. What kind of recipes can you make from apples and mushrooms I wonder? We ponder this during the next jump, and soon find ourselves back on Melissa.

You have landed upon Melissa. Flickering lights dance in the night sky. They are fleets of ships in tight formation. Where are they heading? The planet is almost entirely frozen, with a narrow band of shallow seas at its equator. Shrieking winds rake the surface by night, making ordinary habitation impossible...but there are whole kingdoms beneath the ice. 1) Pass the time 2) Explore the surface 3) Explore the deeper tunnels

The way travel works, jumping from each planet has two common destinations, three uncommon, and one extremely rare one. So some of the planets we'll be seeing a lot, particularly the ones around the galactic core. Happily there's a lot to do on each one, and even picking the same options a few times in a row won't usually lead to the same results.

> 2 You explore the surface of Melissa: ENCOUNTER: IMAGING OPPORTUNITY You find yourself on a ridge, just after sunset, looking out over a vast forest. The trees are lightly dusted with snow, their bark shines in the light of the planet's largest moon...there is a stark, primal beauty here, not easily captured. But perhaps you can capture it. 1) Capture an image (Acumen)

We are having a pretty calm and relaxing space vacation so far, aside from the abominable shroom attempting to murder us anyway.

> 1 Taking a shot like this requires patience. You spend nearly an hour finding the perfect location, and another waiting for celestial bodies to align, appropriately, to snap the perfect image. You admire your handiwork on your visor's internal display. Yes, you have captured it. This is art. Images like this one are a rare commodity. Perhaps you can sell your handiwork somewhere...or keep it for yourself. You have gained a new luxury good.

Let's see what pleasant new relaxation spot we end up on next... Oh. Well then. I think...I think this means this is where the session ends for the night. It may be a couple days before we can continue, but we will certainly have a fun time seeing what Yian is all about. Although I recall that one of you on the ping list has been there before. Things are going to get interesting from here.

Yeah, I probably should've mentioned that at some point. It just saves everything to a text file as you play. Built in feature of Adrift for any games, and one of the more useful ones for bug testing, or in this case, running an LP without resorting to a billion screenshots.

If anyone is feeling creative, I'd like to see your attempts to draw or write about Hector, the ships, or any of the sights we see. Hector is an interesting character after all. A charming storyteller with a love of danger and adventure, and yet he must be built like a gorilla too, with that strength and his background in some kind of military. No one would suspect him for the underhanded rogue and unhinged inventor he is. Quite a well rounded Rennaissance man, if those guys also murdered things in space. The Eon Wave meanwhile seems like it could be really visually interesting in the hands of anyone who has any idea what they're doing when it comes to drawing things. A ship made of water contained by force fields, that can take on any shape, with a dark matter drive (whatever that looks like) contained somewhere near or around it. I wonder if there's fish living in the walls?

That was fast! With how open the ending is I'm thinking you could take this basic concept and spin it off into a storygame of your own with your own plots, since there's nothing specifically named about it that would connect it to the game. "You should nod." coming from an elf condescendingly explaining something to a human thug is a great line. Although if this were to continue I'd wonder if there was more to his motives or if Hector were singled out for this for some reason. (Showing up in the suit and playing at being a naive offworlder could've been a ploy to lure him out?) Just handing the ship to a random mugger doesn't seem as plausible, but then I guess who understands those elves.

I like that idea. You really should expand this.

I had Monday completely off and it didn't feel like I was going to do the writing I planned, so it seemed like a good moment. There's really not going to be a set schedule for these though, it's kind of just in the hands of whoever happens to be online. That objective seems to come from a combination of Soldier and high strength, but I just did a couple of quick tests so I may be wrong. Edit: Nope, the author says they're random. Edit 2: SOME are random. Upgrading the ship is generic, writing a romance novel is for storytellers

Oh...well this seems fine? I probably was overreacting earlier?

And we have 2 organics, 1 luxury good, 3 silver pieces, and 1 bit of forbidden lore.

@John_KL @hetero_malk @Orkestra @OmegaN0va @Nightwatch @Will11 @Zake @YourPath Pick a number between 1 and 7

@OmegaN0va Are you rating games with a script?

@C6H8O6 You're in this thread now.

You would do this.

I know this wasn't your first choice, but now we can move forward. Sumberlight it is.

Hey, that's not so bad. Kind of nice, actually. Anyway, time to move on I guess-- Oh.

Cute cavies it is!

> 2 ENCOUNTER: THE HOUSE OF SEVEN CAVIES The House of Seven Cavies is an enormous public house, with gabled roofs of magenta and walls painted gold and silver. Four enormous drinking-halls are artfully arranged within, with long tables and benches. Candelabras that burn with light of every imaginable color hang from the walls. Each roof is hung with a shield, on which is etched a coat of arms featuring seven guinea pigs. There are perhaps a dozen elves in the hall where you have chosen to drink, most of whom engage in frantic confrontation with the empty air...there are many beings here that you cannot see. Beer and wine is taken freely from casks on the far wall, and the guests of the house frequently break out into song and dance. It seems they expect you to dance... 1) Dance the night away (Acumen)

At least our Acumen isn't too bad...

> 1 "HECTOR WILCO! HECTOR WILCO! The elves cheer as your dance reaches its climax...and then its denouement. You strike a courtly bow to thunderous applause. The elves ask the secret of your technique, and you tell them what you can. They set you up with a wonderful room in the inn's opulent Southeast corner, and you sleep safe and sound until dawn breaks over the city of Yian. What a wonderful night. You have a new anecdote to tell.

Hot damn! We are a dancing machine! Those elves just can't get enough of us. Guess we'll...stay here one more day?

The air inside my main cabin sounds strangely muffled. We have come to Yian, the first city ever built, just a few short millennia after the cosmos leapt into being. The city is full of joy and ambient light...thousands of bridges and millions of lanterns, but the night is close here, very close... There is a tower in the center of the city. A mysterious figure watches you from its highest window... What will you do? 1) Pass the time 2) Visit the Tower of Telemon-Zabbad 3) Visit the Sumberlight District 4) Visit the District of Dead Stones 5) Visit the Great Library of Zklav 6) Visit the Gardens of Zar 7) Visit the Temple to Kylos

> 4 These are slums, or at least the closest thing this city has to slums. The streets are littered with dark stones, carved with crude runes. Someone scattered them long ago...now you have come to pick one up. What could be the harm? The moment you pick up one of the stones, there is a sound like thunder, and the sky splits wide, revealing stars and the night beyond.

Oops.

You have gained an artifact, but there are other concerns on your mind now... Yian-by-night Darkness descends on Yian, faster, it seems, than it should. Where will you go to escape the descending night? 1) Run for your ship (Survival) 2) Visit the House of Seven Cavies 3) Visit the House of the Hooligan 4) Visit the House of Red Eons

Last night seems to blur into this one. We awaken in the morning with a new anecdote of another night of dancing, our fancy feet a little sore, but ready to begin a new day. In Yian, once again, still watched over by that same mysterious figure... What will you do? 1) Pass the time 2) Visit the Tower of Telemon-Zabbad 3) Visit the Sumberlight District 4) Visit the District of Dead Stones 5) Visit the Great Library of Zklav 6) Visit the Gardens of Zar 7) Visit the Temple to Kylos

Hector decides to really take in the sights and experience the culture here, while enriching himself spiritually.

> 7 There are ten thousand temples in the city of Yian, but most are invisible: the shrines to beings that ruled the immaterial night before the universe sprang into being. One temple, on the top of a mountain overlooking the city, is a temple to a god of this universe: the ambient, barely-sentient energy field known as Kylos. Kylos permeates all reality. It demands nothing from its worshippers, for it knows that whatever is taken from the burning, white-hot fire at the center of the temple will surely be repaid in full, in due time. You spend all day climbing the zig-zagging path to the top of the temple, and gaze upon the furious fires of Kylos that burn in the heart of the temple. There are no other visitors: No monks in solemn meditation, no shaven-headed pilgrims from faraway lands. Just you, and that eternal fire. You draw out a coal from the fires of Kylos. Someday, somehow, you will repay what you have taken. For now, you have gained a piece of antimatter. Use it wisely. Now hurry! Night will be here before you know it, and you have a whole mountain to climb down...

...or maybe just enriching himself in a more mundane sense. Oh and spoilers: Night came. It's much the same as before.

Yian-by-night Darkness descends on Yian, faster, it seems, than it should. Where will you go to escape the descending night? 1) Run for your ship (Survival*) 2) Visit the House of Seven Cavies 3) Visit the House of the Hooligan 4) Visit the House of Red Eons

Although it seems there's this little extra star next to Survival this time. Those indicate difficulty. We must have wandered quite far from the Eon Wave indeed, but of course there's no reason to run...the night is a time for drinking and partying and dancing, right?

Yian is a fun place, what harm can one more night do? But Hecc decides he's tired of dancing, and decides to check out the mysterious House of Red Eons for hopefully less strenuous activity.

> 4 ENCOUNTER: THE HOUSE OF RED EONS The House of Red Eons looks to be in total disrepair. Furniture is smashed and the wallpaper is almost entirely peeled away. Horrible clawmarks have been torn into the plaster walls themselves, and the stairways to the second floor have been chopped away, as if by axes. You look for a place to sleep, and it is not long before you discover who has done this damage: Gnolls! A great army of gnolls! The slavering beasties draw wicked-looking weapons as you happen upon them, and close in for the kill. 1) Fight the gnolls (Strength*)

Well drat. But these gnolls...do they even lift?

> 1 One by one, you slay the hideous gnolls, leaving their mutated bodies bleeding in the halls of the House of Red Eons. Their crude weapons are broken. Their dented armor is pierced. None remain. You prevail. You have a new tale of adventure to tell. Exhaused, you collapse in a bloodstained armchair, and fall asleep. You awaken to discover a new day has dawned in Yian...

Yawn. How long have we been here? Feels like we're losing track. I'm actually going to bed now, as the night has settled in here as well. Thread will resume late Sunday night at the earliest, just depends on when I get time to plant myself in front of the computer again.

Next session Monday. I'll aim for earlier in the day to give some of you weird timezone folks a chance. I've added a 'Jump to next session' link in the OP, and I'll keep it updated. This way if you're not following the thread regularly, you can still quickly find where the current updates are and join in. This'll probably make things much more convenient as the thread grows anyhow. Now, for those of you who actually installed the developer side of the program, here's another activity worth 20 points: Design a spaceship. It doesn't have to be the actual Eon Wave or anything with a traditional design, but the player must be able to enter and activate it, and travel from the starting location to somewhere else. You don't need a complete plot or anything like that, just those things. Also, somewhere in the file, accessible to a player, there must be a penguin. (If not a real one than an image on something, such as a mug.) You can all be lazy slugs if you like, doesn't bother me, but the more people who participate in this, the bigger points prize will be available next time. PM me a link to google drive or dropbox or wherever you upload it if you do participate.

@Endmaster @Gower @hetero_malk @WizzyCat @Psych @Klockwerk @HelpfulConnoisseur @Ogre11 @Avery_Moore @Psych @PerforatedPenguin @enterpride @Cyclonis @CaptainNR @stargirl @corgi213 @TheCanary Did it work this time? Pruned a couple of non responding disappointments off the list. (Except for Peng who I think has been beaten into unconsciousness with a textbook and locked in a closet by his parents.) But the tags are largely pointless anyway, anyone online can obviously see a thread is being posted in, and anyone not online will see it later. Anyway, we'll get back to Yian in just a moment, and then later today I get to check out the alpha version of the author's newest game.

You all know the drill. Inventory: 3 silver pieces 2 anecdotes 1 tale of adventure 1 forbidden lore =============== 1 antimatter 1 artifact 1 luxury good 3 organics

As it's currently day time, you're all voting to pass the time. But a consensus has been reached!

> 1 Time passes here, in this place so close to paradise you cannot tell the difference. The air is warm and sweet-scented, the streets are filled with laughter. Elves and fey walk here in there, clothed in white and exchanging flowers and gentle embraces. Time passes. Your spirits are raised, your health is restored, and you cannot help but smile. At least until night descends... Yian-by-night Darkness descends on Yian, faster, it seems, than it should. Where will you go to escape the descending night? 1) Run for your ship (Survival*) 2) Visit the House of Seven Cavies 3) Visit the House of the Hooligan 4) Visit the House of Red Eons

Hecc wiles away another pleasant day among the fey, forgetting all his doubts and concerns once again...until night falls. It's started to nag at him, the forgetting. This place is doing something to his mind. As the shadows lengthen, a terrible dread of the unknown things lurking within them seizes his heart, and he breaks into a sudden run for the ship! Alas, even his combat ready fancy dancing feet can't carry him fast enough... (And this is why adventure points are important, folks. If we had run out this would have been the end of the game.)

Blinding light assails you, and you raise an arm to block your eyes. As your vision adjusts, you see you are on a clean white cot, in a small stone room, at dusk. An attendant sits by your bedside. The intrusive light was a candle, which the attendant moves away. "By some miracle you have pulled through," He says, happy to see you awake and alive. "It was touch and go for a few days, you understand, but for the past two rotations, I have been fairly confident you would remain among the living. We here at the abbey wondered who among us would be the first to see you upon arising. It appears that honor falls to me." You attempt to speak, and become acutely aware of a dry, jagged pain in your mouth...and in your chest...and shooting all throughout you to your extremities. You manage only a low moan. "This too will pass, my child. Your survival is now assured. You are truly blessed." Over the next few days you recover the use of your limbs, each in turn. They are not at their former strength, but the attendants at the abbey insist you will eventually make a full recovery. They offer little explanation as to how you got here, and merely explain that you are on Kelsia, a complex of temples and abbeys near the heart of the galaxy. How you got here remains a mystery. I arrive a few days after that, overjoyed and ready for new adventures. I am sorry to say, though, that in my journey back to you, the cargo hold of the ship was looted. We have lost most of what we carried. At least we still have each other. We depart as soon as your strength returns.

Hecc wakes up on Kelsia, a sacred planet dedicated to many gods, and spends the next few days of recuperation recovering from the memories of the horrible last moments of Yian, and marvelling at how he might have gotten here in one piece, completely unaided by any ship. Also some rat bastard robbed the trusting Eon Wave while it was solely focused on returning to him like a loyal puppy. Hector is filled with outrage thinking of some criminal low life scum getting their greedy hands all over HIS ship. But he consoles himself with the knowledge things could have been much worse, and decides on a stroll around to see the planet proper before departing.

A quick assessment shows the thieves missed the artifact stone he took from Yian...or perhaps were in too much dread of it to touch it. We also still have the two tales of adventure, the anecdote, and the forbidden lore, because those are inside our head. And the 3 silver pieces that were in our pocket.

> 6 You capture a panoramic shot of a massive crowd of pilgrims clustered around a single red-robed holy man. The shot is simultaneously awe-inspiring and slightly ridiculous. Images like this one are a rare commodity. Perhaps you can sell your handiwork somewhere...or keep it for yourself. You have gained a new luxury good.

Taking a shot to remember the place by, Hector then boards the ship once again and in moments they've hitched a ride on a dark matter current together to see what new adventures the galaxy has to offer. It feels to Hecc like they've been apart for far too long... Although the memory of Yian has taken on the quality of a dream, and even with the aid of the array of onboard sensors possessed by the Wave, he's unable to determine just how long exactly he spent among the elves there.

You land upon Candia. Flickering lights dance in the night sky. They are fleets of ships in tight formation. Where are they heading? From a distance, the planet seemed green. Now, as you stand upon its surface, it seems gold. Fields extend for miles in all directions, full of crops somewhere between orderly cultivation and their natural state. People live here, of course, but they tend to keep to themselves... What will you do? 1) Pass the time 2) Gather organics 3) Listen to stories

They find themselves on Candia once again. A cozy place, warm and human. A welcome sight.

> 3 You find your way into a small wooden building, not really a tavern so much as a common house, though there are a few people drinking in one corner. There is a stone hearth here, and a roaring fire, and an old woman seated at the hearth with a book in her lap. "Hello youngun" she says, though you get the distinct impression she cannot see you very well. "What story am I to read to you tonight?" 1) Hear an Anecdote 2) Hear a Tale of Adventure 3) Hear a Horror Story

But what kind?

Tinkering is a talent you can use at any time, at the cost of one adventure point. I listed the talents with some other stat stuff when we first started out.

> 2 "I will read to you from the works of Lord Dunsany." The storyteller says, "A wise and good-humored man from a faraway world. This is a story he wrote called 'How the Enemy Came to Thlunrana:'" "It had been prophesied of old and foreseen from the ancient days that its enemy would come upon Thlunrana. And the date of its doom was known and the gate by which it would enter, yet none had prophesied of the enemy who he was save that he was of the gods though he dwelt with men. Meanwhile Thlunrana, that secret lamaserai, that chief cathedral of wizardry, was the terror of the valley in which it stood and of all lands round about it. So narrow and high were the windows and so strange when lighted at night that they seemed to regard men with the demoniac leer of something that had a secret in the dark. Who were the magicians and the deputy-magicians and the great arch-wizard of that furtive place nobody knew, for they went veiled and hooded and cloaked completely in black. Though her doom was close upon her and the enemy of prophecy should come that very night through the open, southward door that was named the Gate of the Doom, yet that rocky edifice Thlunrana remained mysterious still, venerable, terrible, dark, and dreadfully crowned with her doom. It was not often that anyone dared wander near to Thlunrana by night when the moan of the magicians invoking we know not Whom rose faintly from inner chambers, scaring the drifting bats: but on the last night of all the man from the black-thatched cottage by the five pine-trees came, because he would see Thlunrana once again before the enemy that was divine, but that dwelt with men, should come against it and it should be no more. Up the dark valley he went like a bold man, but his fears were thick upon him; his bravery bore their weight but stooped a little beneath them. He went in at the southward gate that is named the Gate of the Doom. He came into a dark hall, and up a marble stairway passed to see the last of Thlunrana. At the top a curtain of black velvet hung and he passed into a chamber heavily hung with curtains, with a gloom in it that was blacker than anything they could account for. In a sombre chamber beyond, seen through a vacant archway, magicians with lighted tapers plied their wizardry and whispered incantations. All the rats in the place were passing away, going whimpering down the stairway. The man from the black-thatched cottage passed through that second chamber: the magicians did not look at him and did not cease to whisper. He passed from them through heavy curtains still of black velvet and came into a chamber of black marble where nothing stirred. Only one taper burned in the third chamber; there were no windows. On the smooth floor and under the smooth wall a silk pavilion stood with its curtains drawn close together: this was the holy of holies of that ominous place, its inner mystery. One on each side of it dark figures crouched, either of men or women or cloaked stone, or of beasts trained to be silent. When the awful stillness of the mystery was more than he could bear the man from the black-thatched cottage by the five pine-trees went up to the silk pavilion, and with a bold and nervous clutch of the hand drew one of the curtains aside, and saw the inner mystery, and laughed. And the prophecy was fulfilled, and Thlunrana was never more a terror to the valley, but the magicians passed away from their terrific halls and fled through the open fields wailing and beating their breasts, for laughter was the enemy that was doomed to come against Thlunrana through her southward gate (that was named the Gate of the Doom), and it is of the gods but dwells with man." You chuckle as the storyteller finishes her tale. It had an amusing end, to be sure, but this is still certainly a great tale of adventure, masterfully told. You have a new tale of adventure to tell.

If you didn't know, Lord Dunsany was a real author by the way (https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/lord-dunsany/), one that was massively influential on early fantasy and if not for the strange vagaries of nerd culture, really should be every bit as well known as HP Lovecraft. Our next stop is some little nameless backwater, where we stumble across a touching scene.

This will be the last choice for now, gotta go do other things today.

Agreed, everyone knows a hero's power is contained in their hat.

> 3 You take the hero's hat. Curiously, it fits your head exactly. It is a leather affair, well-worn but well-made, it will probably last another few decades. You have the distinct impression that a part of the hero lives on in that hat. Perhaps they are smiling down upon you from wherever they are now. Perhaps they will protect you... Your survival skill has increased!

Could've used that to help us run faster just a little while ago... After that we fly to Melissa again. Something about that planet just has a powerful appeal to the dark currents, however at least there's plenty to explore there both above and below the ice. Next time. (If I don't pick this up again late tonight, next one will be Thursday.)

I choose option 2, it's the clearest option to me.

We get right to this shit and Hecc goes exploring the surface without the usual hour long first event wait. He finds what is undoubtedly the least faggy of all options, the encounter which Nightwatch has previously made cool art for:

*********** 3 silver pieces 2 anecdotes 2 tales of adventure 1 forbidden lore 1 artifact 1 luxury good

Of course you would pick trading.

Remembering that elves are fond of luxuries and that he is painfully low on silver, Hecc hastens up to the gates.

> 2 You know little of the elves that dwell here, but figure that economic exchange is a universal language. You are sadly mistaken. You declare your intentions, rap once on the city's silver gates, and hear a distant clang of metal on metal. Shortly thereafter, a heavy fog descends. When it recedes, the whole city is gone!

Unfortunately, his time in Yian left him perhaps a little too casual around elves. The ones in this city clearly would've preferred a more formal approach when being bothered by a smelly apeman. A little bummed out, he departs, flipping boredly through some radio channels to pass the time as the Eon Wave carries him to his next destination.

> channel l You tune your shipboard psywave channel modulator to Channel L...and listen to the chatter of Vethic missionaries in the depths of space. "While some maintain that Veth dwells in the sea, this is, of course, the minority opinion. It is an incontrovertible truth that line nineteen of chapter seven of the Analects of Dyzym states plainly that Veth was last seen in the 'DEEP blue expanse', and I stress to you, faithful listeners, that deep here refers to the color, metaphorically if you will. The color is immaterial to the larger point Dyzym was making. I ask you now, which is deeper, the sea or the sky?"

They end up orbiting Sharifa nearby, a lovely blue world just made for vacations:

You have landed upon Sharifa. Oceans cover nearly all of the planet's surface. The seas are uniformly warm and curiously luminescent. Tiny islands are home to scattered monasteries and brooding hermits. The islands look beautiful from a distance, but you are not entirely sure if you are allowed to visit them. 1) Pass the time 2) Record a story (Requires an anecdote, a tale of adventure, or a horror story)(you have 2 anecdotes, 2 tales of adventure and 0 horror stories) 3) Explore the depths of the ocean

However we'll go exploring there next time. Gonna just call it quits for now as the forum's looking like a ghost town tonight and I can't seem to rouse the dead in the Discord. You are encouraged to get your votes in in advance (as a couple of you have already been doing) so that we can start off quickly next time. Next session is, uh...honestly I have no idea what my schedule for the weekend is yet, I'll get back to you.

The Eon Wave bobbed on the waves, floating lazily in her natural element, only an array of force fields and gravity modifiers keeping her from merging seamlessly with the waters of her birth planet. In a playful gesture, she had modified herself into a model of an old timey sailing vessel, sails and all, and Hecc now lazed on the deck, reflecting on the events of the past weeks. He had traveled to a dreamlike world on the border between the known universe and the Night, and had escaped certain death, very narrowly. He still wasn't sure how, or what mysterious force had transported him to that somber world replete with temples to gods both old and new. Following that, he had had a chance meeting with one who had not been so lucky. Lounging about, his inherited hat tipped to shade his eyes, Hecc had been thinking about that old woman a lot. She had stared into his soul with those piercing eyes just before breathing her last, and called him a hero. Was he really? It was almost as if she saw something in him that he hadn't yet seen in himself. Was there more to this hero stuff than surfing on dark filaments from one star to the next? More to it than simply being in possession of a ship, even one like the Wave? He wondered what it would take to find out. Even as he sipped a margarita and watched a school of Sharifan dolphinfish jumping just off the bow, the perfect picture of contentment, the question stayed with him.

> 3 You explore the depths of the Sharifan ocean: ENCOUNTER: THE SECRETS OF THE DEEP The world below the waves is as strange and alien as any metallic moon or alien asteroid. What secrets lie here, in the crushing darkness? As you explore the depths of the ocean in your submersible, you scrutinize the sea floor carefully, looking for the shine of treasure or the tops of sunken towers... 1) Look carefully... (Perception*) > 1 Your sharp eyes spot the glint of something on the ocean floor. Tiny points of light, reflected from the running lamps on your submersible. There, on the floor of the ocean, is a scattered pile of coins, spilling from an ancient, moldering chest. Your eyes gleam with avarice as you count up the contents of the chest: a dozen silver coins, and a kilogram of pure gold!

Hector temporarily forgets all his deep musings on death and the nature of heroism because hot damn, that's a lot of treasure! The Eon Wave lifts off, cargo hold a bit heavier, and ends up somewhere new:

You drift through the Theta Catena system. We watch the sun rise from behind a misshapen planetoid. It is strange, but beautiful nevertheless. For more than a thousand years, three galactic powers have sought to control this system: the Skybreakers, the Inquiry of Syr, and the Autarchy of Juul. Starbases of all three galactic powers orbit each world. Some are commercial, some are scientific, some are overtly military...all were built with the express purpose of strengthening control over this vital system. What will you do? 1) Drift along 2) Scan the star (Astronomy) 3) Explore Theta Catena I 4) Explore Theta Catena II 5) Explore Theta Catena III 6) Explore Theta Catena IV 7) Explore Theta Catena IVa 8) Explore Theta Catena IVb 9) Dock with a starbase 0) Mine the asteroid belt

That's a gas giant, we won't be able to actually land.

ENCOUNTER: THE STARBASE You touch down on the landing pads of a Juulish military outpost at the edge of the system. Fusion missiles and Cobalt Torpedoes lock on to your craft until I transmit a series of docking protocols that signal we come in peace...for now anyway. The outpost is swarming with guards in scarlet and gold, they are armed with ceremonial shortswords and decidedly un-ceremonial photon blasters. While we are in a period of relative galactic peace, the old wars between the Skybreakers and the Juul could flare up again at any time... What will you do here? 1) Leave at once 2) Boast of your accomplishments (Requires 1 tale of adventure)(You have 2) 3) Share military secrets (Requires 1 Technodata)(You have 0) 4) Fly a combat patrol (Pilot*) (This is dangerous for any number of reasons)

Given our skills and inventory, there's only one reasonable option here.

2 You boast of your accomplishments, and a member of the Juulish high command listens in quiet admirations. "We may have a job for you someday. Go with the blessing of the purebloods, great hero!" He says, snapping a crisp salute. Your reputation among the Juul has increased.

Hecc departs and visits a site of ancient galactic history, although still not as ancient as the elves of Yian...

You have landed upon Zorb. There is no longer any atmosphere here, nothing lives upon the surface of Zorb. This was once the seat of a mighty empire that ruled the galaxy. Now, there is nothing but ruins and the bones of a hundred slave-races. What will you do? 1) Pass the time 2) Wander the ruins

> 2 You explore the ruined structures on the planet's surface: ENCOUNTER: RUSTED REMAINS As you wander the wasteland, among the wreckage of a dead civilization, a flash of light catches your eye. There is no sun here, no stray reflection: a diode on a rusted pieces of machinery is still flashing on and off. You inspect the device, buried in loose gravel. It might be possible to repair it... 1) Repair the remains (Technology)

> 1 You inspect the device for an hour or so, while the diode flickers on and off. The external casing is badly rusted and decayed, but the interior is more or less intact. You replace some corroded contacts and supply a new power source. The device whirrs to life, perhaps happy to be useful again after centuries of disrepair. You have gained a piece of equipment.

Having some good luck lately. Just wishing we could manage to gain another adventure point, 1 is some pretty thin ice. We'll need to collect 5 anecdotes for that to use in our Storyteller objective, or else have risky adventures, as an adventurer. (Rocky worlds and barren moons and the like are a good place for those, but of course they're also a way to get careless and die...) Moving on...

You float through the Lightdown Nebula The nebula shines with the diffused light of stars you cannot see. The gas that makes up this nebula is greatly perturbed, perpetually churned by the wakes of ships that cross to more remote parts of the galaxy. Where are you headed? 1) Drift along 2) Scan the nebula (Astronomy) 3) Gather nebular dust (Mining) 4) Try to dock with another ship

> 4 ENCOUNTER: THE SHIP There are hundreds of ships in the galaxy that have no registered port of origin, and no real place to call their home. They are crewed by wanderers who roam the galaxy, rarely landing, simply marveling at planets and stars. This is such a ship, and its crew wants for nothing but food to keep them going, equipment to keep them flying, and perhaps luxuries to substitute for the wholesome home they will never have... You may carry out a single exchange with the ship. 1) Trade 1 organics for 1 equipment (You have 0 Organics) 2) Trade 1 equipment for 1 organics (You have 1 Equipment) 3) Trade 1 luxury good for 1 equipment (You have 1 Luxury Goods) 4) Conclude trading

This not being a trading arrangement that's beneficial to us, Hector chats a little... ...exchanges a brief bit of news heard on the radio, and moves on. Back to Skybreak.

We dock at Skybreak station. The interstellar medium glows with a merry light. The station is city-sized, home to a million souls that burn quasar-bright. This is the center of it all: the galaxy and quite possibly the cosmos itself. Neon and Argon light the celestial city: every street and building shines. What will you do? 1) Pass the Time 2) Visit Hexis 3) Visit the Great Galactic Kalyook (Market) 4) Visit the Academy of Cosmic Lore 5) Visit All-Streets 6) Pray to the Neon Gods 7) Make Trouble 8) Recruit a Hero Sp) Visit a spaceport

Lots to do here. I'll give you all some time.

I cannot get into the habit of tallying ghostly invisible voters as well as regular ones, then everyone will want to do it. Noted though as far as trade goods to watch for, luxuries and gold are what an adventurer needs, and more silver in the pockets is always useful.

Actually I'm going to go ahead and wrap up this session here so I can get a couple things done before work. Keep putting those votes in and I'll see about continuing with a couple more encounters tonight.

Visit the Spaceport.