Star Trek: Emergency Deep S01 E06 “On the Trail of the Unseen” Stardate: 58550.35; 21st July 2381 1020 hrs Location: Trychnos, near Cor Caroli The Return to Trychnos On yellow alert, the Norway-class USS Östergötland NCC-72227 returns to Trychnos from Gondolin Station around Cor Caroli III without Commander Morpheus Drake who is infected with an Andorian Death Fever (harmless to humans), deadly to Andorians. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Saladin Chau remains with him on Gondolin Station. In the meantime, river dolphin Cetacean Ensign Kremzeek from Delta shift has been ordered to take his place in Alfa Shift. He gladly takes the Conn station on his grav walker. They debriefed Andorian First Mate T’lath of the SS Takoyaki who confirmed that something invisible collided with them in orbit. Sensor records from the ship itself reveal debris fragment of material manufactured in the Gamma Quadrant. A detailed orbital scan reveals where the […]
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25 Years of Star Wars RPG (2014)
Every tabletop RPG blog post ever written and published on this blog. Some RPG actual play reports, some RPG thoughts, some RPG artwork.
Note: All posts herein are arrayed latest first and earliest last.
RPG Chapter in Book
Once upon a time, before the onset of the plague years, I ran a Laundry RPG campaign at work. You can read about it here. Since then, one of my players Dr. Noriha has been writing research papers about using games in language learning. She has been using our campaign notes! Along with Dr. Ina, I am also the co-author of a chapter in book entitled “Naratif Dalam ‘Gamifikasi Permainan Penglipur Lara’: Menjana Pemikiran Kreatif Dalam Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran“. Translation: “Narratives in Tabletop Role-playing Games: Generating Creativity in Teaching and Learning.” The title of the book is Wacana Ilmu dan Kemanusiaan (Knowledge & Humanity Discourse). First of all, I am grateful for the writing team for involving my activity in their research. This tracks with my own research of employing RPGs to improve speaking skills. Secondly, I will be pushing using “Permainan Penglipur Lara” as an official translation of “Tabletop […]
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STA: Where the Trychnos Currents Lead
Star Trek: Emergency Deep S01 E05 “Where the Trychnos Currents Lead” Stardate: 58542.09; 18th July 2381 0945 hrs Location: Trychnos, near Cor Caroli Last time on Emergency Deep, the Östergötland undergoes her first First Contact mission… Arrival at Trychnos Assigned to investigate the distress call of the SS Takoyaki NAR-7789 a Federation merchant starship, the USS Östergötland NCC-72227 warps to the uninhabited ocean planet of Trychnos, two light years from Cor Caroli. The Takoyaki reported a violent collision with something invisible in orbit. The collision caused them to fall into the atmosphere and into the ocean below. The Takoyaki is now underwater and needs to be rescued. Upon arrival, Lieutenant Commander Tosk the Studious detects the Takoyaki‘s emergency buoy in stable orbit and downloads information that shows the merchant ship crashing into something invisible, tearing off her port nacelle. Using sensors, they confirm the crash coordinates in the ocean and […]
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Multi-Reunion at Mando Mayhem
Sometimes, being away from old friends can be an isolating feeling. Not this past weekend though. We travelled to PJ on Gray‘s invitation (with Imeel, another GM) to run Star Wars RPG sessions at the Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club‘s event entitled Mando Mayhem. I did not know what to expect as I have never gamemastered in public for visitors before. How fun would it be? Would I need to explain the rules too much that it detracts from playing? Would there be people who would not enjoy the sessions? The four sessions I GMed have been chronicled in another blog post. Day One at Jaya One Besides the new friends I made like Imeel, Hanna, James and Syed, a whole bunch of old friends also dropped by. For the first time, I had three different circle of friends showing up and interacting with each other. There was the old […]
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EOTE: The Mando Mayhem Sessions
Here are the actual play write-ups of the four sessions I ran at the KakiTabletop booth during the Mando Mayhem event organised by Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club. You can read about the reunion of friends during the two-day event in this blog post. Session 1: “UNION TROUBLES” (Saturday 2023-05-20; Rebellion Era.) DRAMATIS PERSONAE: 41-VEX, Droid Colonist (Hanna) Lowhhrick, Wookiee Hired Gun (Imeel) Dash Pash, Human Smuggler (Jason) Story resulting from Session 1: Upon landing in Mos Eisley, Tatooine, Dash Pash, Lowhhrick & 41-VEX are apprehended by Imperial sandtroopers. Apparently, three weeks earlier a YT-1300 freighter named Millennium Falcon launched from Mos Eisley and broke through a blockade. Dash Pash’s ship Cash is also a YT-1300 but painted with shades of pink. The Cash had landed safely in Landing Bay 41. Before they could object, the Imperials threw them all in a holding cell in a security office across the […]
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STA: Behold, A First Contact
Star Trek: Emergency Deep S01 E04 “Behold, A First Contact” Stardate: 58465.9 Location: Paulson Nebula. In the Paulson Nebula, USS Östergötland NCC-72227 is immobilised by a tractor beam from a 1.2 km-long space creature. It fires a magma missile at them. On Captain Greg Ellison‘s orders, Tactical Officer Lieutenant Libby dos Santos‘ phaser shot disrupts the tractor beam, allowing them to break free. Scanning the creature, Ops Officer Lieutenant Commander Tosk the Studious finds that its tractor beam works on a higher dimension allowing to grab ships through their shields. Part Deltan, Ellison uses empathic abilities on the creature & finds that it’s confused & in great pain. It connects with Ellison telepathically, who convinces it to stand down. Meanwhile, Conn Officer Commander Morpheus Drake easily evades the magma missile. Before going in to investigate, Science Officer Lieutenant Leopold Hill aboard shuttle Hjälmaren at the nebula’s border is ordered to […]
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STA: Juggernaut in the Cloud
Star Trek: Emergency Deep S01 E03 “Juggernaut in the Cloud” Stardate: 58465.8 20th Jun 2381 1200 hrs UTC. Location: Paulson Nebula. A New Mission It has been three days since the USS Östergötland NCC-72227 was sent to the Paulson Nebula to investigate an anomalous signal detected by the SS Extropia. Admiral Kathryn Janeway – who earlier saw the launching of the vessel – has ordered Captain Greg Ellison to stand down from the investigation of the disappearance of Commander Sally Ellison, his sister who was replaced by a Romulan agent. Ellison meets with the ship’s counselor, the dolphin Temrak. After the session, Temrak is satisfied that Ellison will be able to work unimpaired by his sister’s disappearance. Hours later, they arrive at the nebula. There are intermittent electrical discharges within the cloud. Conn Officer Commander Morpheus Drake pilots the ship to where the Extropia detected the anomalous signal but […]
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STA: Taken
Star Trek: Emergency Deep S01 E02 “Taken” Previously on Star Trek Adventures: Emergency Deep. Here is the second session report from yesterday, once again in the form of a Captain’s Log written by Dan who plays the Captain Ellison. Captain’s Log, Supplemental. USS Östergötland (NCC-72227). Captain Greg Ellison in command. The biggest question is why was Sally abducted? Why wait till she boarded the USS Östergötland unless the abductor(s) were onboard. It makes sense as clearly the ship’s computer had been tampered with. As Cmdr. Drake was leading investigations in the aft torpedo, Initiated a search to search whether there were any missing crew members. Within seconds, the reassuring voice of the ship’s computer replied that all crew members were accounted for. Could it be that the abductor was still onboard? Investigation As if to answer my question, Cmdr. Drake reported that he along with Lt. dos Santos had found […]
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STA: Gravity of the Situation
Star Trek: Thine Own Self S02 E05 “Gravity of the Situation” *** Previously… With the flotilla led by the USS Ibn al-Nahfis headed towards the nearest Starbase, the USS Sienkiewicz is left to deal with the last 70 scientists, engineers and admin personnel. A huge asteroid, part of the extreme outer edge of the black hole’s accretion disc slammed onto the planet’s surface over the horizon. The shockwave devastated the planet surface, but the Away Team managed to activate the colony’s shields. Now a shield dome is protecting the city from an extreme atmospheric disruption – dangerous storm with ionized particles in the dust whipping at 200 kph around the city. Communications and transporters are useless outside the city. Stardate: 57995.9. 30th December, 2380. Starfleet Dramatis Personae Capt. Vosgal Toor, Zaranite commanding officer of the Sienkiewicz (NPC) Lt. Cmdr. Kodar Tamat, Cardassian engineering officer and mission commander (PC) Dr. Thomas […]
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STA: Deep End of the Pool
Star Trek: Emergency Deep S01 E01 “The Deep End of the Pool” Here’s a new style of Star Trek Adventures session write-up. A Captain’s Log as written by Dan who plays Captain Ellison. Dramatis Personae and GM’s synopsis is posted after the log. Beginning Captain’s Log. Stardate 58457.8 USS Östergötland (NCC-72227). Captain Greg Ellison in command. Reykjavík Experimental Shipyards, Earth The day started off, well ,normal enough, with me reporting to Admiral Kathryn Janeway at Reykjavík Experimental Shipyards, Faxaflói Bay. A very straightforward encounter, with the usual pleasantries and small talk. She was much smaller than I had imagined. As she was briefing my orders, it was hard not to miss noting that she had her left hand on her hip. Perhaps it was her way of asserting authority or just a quirk of hers. I wonder what my crew would identify me with. Also present at the briefing were […]
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Cortex Prime: Missing in the Southern Forest
Cortex Prime: Missing in the Southern Forest Yesterday, I ran another Cortex Prime session for Anya. We were in town overnight and she brought out her Cortex Prime rulebook and asked me to GM for her. Because I did not bring her Agent Walker character sheet, she played a new character. So for the first 15 minutes, we brainstormed a very simple fantasy setting… Dramatis Personae Alexandra “Alex” Purplecat – Mythical Creature Protector The Sunday Morning Crisis It was a Sunday morning at the outskirts of the village of Bluehorn in the realm of Green Home. The two suns Bee and Moth had just risen from the west. Bluehorn was one of the villages that surrounded the city of Green Tiger. The city and its surrounding region was the only place in the real safe from the deadly Mythical Creatures that roamed the land. To the north were icy wastes. […]
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STA: Black Hole Sun
Star Trek: Thine Own Self S02 E04 “Black Hole Sun” *** Previously… Stardate: 57995.5. Starfleet Dramatis Personae Lt. Cmdr. Kodar Tamat, Cardassian engineering officer and mission commander (PC) Dr. Thomas Crane, Human medical officer (PC) Lt. JG Mason Bentley, Human security officer (PC) Lt. Leahman Barclay, Human conn officer (PC) Ensign Sparik, Vulcan conn officer (NPC). Captain’s Log. Stardate: 57995.5 The USS Sienkiewicz has been assigned to the Federation colony of Khotan 34 light years from Rho Capricorni. Khotan is an M-class planet orbiting a black hole designated XG-7909, also known as Das Schwarze Auge. For some unknown reason the planet’s orbit has begun to greatly decay. It will be enveloped by the accretion disc in seven days. But even before then, there will be a lot of radiation and debris that would wipe life off the planet in a blink of an eye. A rescue fleet led by the […]
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Blade Runner RPG: Electric Dreams
Over the course of January and February I played in the Blade Runner RPG Starter Set introductory adventure, entitled Electric Dreams. So, this write-up contains spoilers for a relatively brand new published product from Free League. Spoilers beyond this point. Read with caution. Dramatic Personae Willem Novak, Human, Inspector – me Fenna 9-2..39, Replicant, Doxie – Dan Oelsen Bakker, Human, Enforcer – Ivan-β and Ivan-α as the Game Runner. PART 1 – DEAD NEXUS 9S TELL NO TALES 15th May 2037. Morning. I am Willem Novak, Blade Runner. When the Blackout fell, I was a young LAPD cop. I remember what the Replicants did. Nexus-whatevers. I was having a steaming bowl of Indomie when an LAPD spinner set down. She introduced herself as Fenna 9-2.39, a Nexus-9 Blade Runner. She tells me we’re needed back at LAPD Tower. Sorry, steaming bowl of Indomie. We enter Deputy Chief Holden‘s office. He […]
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DnD: Six Sessions in Six Classes
Once upon a time I ran five sessions of Dungeons and Dragons in five classes over the course of a week. Last month, in what purported to be a sequel long overdue thanks to the pandemic, I ran six sessions of D&D in six classes over the course of that week. It was during a Consultation Week. After all the consultations have been consulted, I had an average of 75-80 minutes to run a session. Not much time, so I used the same scenario framework for all six classes. Besides their own character names, I also allowed the students to name the region’s sovereign and their castles. Because there were many students each class, each player character is controlled by a team of more than one student. I have chosen to post text written by one player characters group from each class. As usual, please do not disparage the students […]
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A Forgotten Cthulhu Art Commission
Back in early 2014, I was commissioned by someone to create artwork for his Kickstarter project. It was a Lovecraftian Cthulhu Mythos role-playing game using the Fate system. Unfortunately, the guy who ran the Kickstarter campaign over a period of time shirked his responsibilities and left his backers hanging. Fortunately, he did pay me for the work I did before he vanished. I rarely think of this project these days, and recently I realised that I have never blogged about it. So, here is a gallery of the artwork I did for the guy in this ill-fated Kickstarter campaign. Don’t ask me for this guy’s name. You can probably search for him on the internet.
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Cortex Prime: The Walker Files
Cortex Prime: The Walker Files Today Anya played Agent Walker of the town of Meepville. I brought Cortex Prime rulebook with me to KL to read, and upon reading some of the pages, expressed a wish to play. So, I came up with something simple for her to play solo. I also created an NPC for her who might seem familiar, but wears a fake thick mustache. Dramatis Personae Anya – Agent Walker Agent Walker’s superior Agent Zero assigned her to investigate a missing school bus with schoolchildren aboard. The bus disappeared along the forest road in the woods on the side of Great West Hill. Firstly, the young agent needed a set of wheels, so she went to her parents’. Her mom, Lily, was sweeping the porch when she arrived. She asked to borrow her Lamborghini, but her mom gave a resounding NO. She wanted to explain further, but […]
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