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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I never leave home without Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments From the Rim
All the tabletop RPG actual play report write-ups on my blog over the years, from Star Wars RPG to Call of Cthulhu to Eclipse Phase to Night’s Black Agents to BareBones Fantasy to Doctor Who to The Laundry RPG. More to come in the future!
Note: All posts herein are arrayed latest first and earliest last.
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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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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AOR: The Intelligent Tree Whisperers
AGE OF REBELLION The Intelligent Tree Whisperers It was mid-semester break. Although the students are on a week-long break, we teachers still have work to do. So we set up a Tabletop RPG Workshop for any teacher to join, stretch their imagination and communication skills and have a bit of fun. So I ran an Age of Rebellion roleplaying game session for my colleagues using the Beginner Box material. Dramatis Personae Fal – a Human ace pilot who once lived on Ryloth in the same city as Oskara. (Nana) Lorick – a Wookiee hired gun, whose family was taken to be science experiments and slaves to build Imperial cities. (Shih Min) Oskara – a green-skinned Twi’lek bounty hunter, whose home city on Ryloth was bombed by the Empire. (Farah) Pashten – a Human smuggler, who was rebelling against cruel Imperial taxes. (Faten) Reyhana – a Mon Calamari engineer, whose people […]
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SWD6: Voyage of the Magma-3, Part 1
Once upon a time, I ran a Star Wars D6 campaign for cadet pilots at Perth Aerodrome while I was studying to be a greasemonkey. The year was 1992. The party created a custom freighter they named the Magma-3. In fact, a lot of details about this campaign has been lost from my memory. However, I have retained some notes and photos of our shenanigans from that time. Before I lose more details to the ravages of time like tears in the rain, I should transfer as much information I have from my notes to this blog post as capsule write-ups of each session. Caveat: I do not recall most of the NPCs, locations and situations in these sessions. Heck, I can barely remember the players’ names. Star Wars D6 Voyage of the Magma-3 In any case, here are the first four session. Episode 1 The Mining Cauldron Earl Metolkian […]
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STA: Three’s a Crowd
Star Trek: Thine Own Self S2 E03 Three’s A Crowd *** Stardate: 57930.2 – Sat Dec 06 2380 10:50:16 UTC Starfleet Dramatis Personae Lt. Cmdr. Kodar Tamat, Cardassian engineering officer and mission commander Dr. Thomas Crane, Human medical officer (NPC) Lt. Leahman Barclay, Human conn officer (Semi-temporary NPC) Ensign Sparik, Vulcan conn officer (NPC). Previously on Star Trek Thine Own Self… Into the Mushroom Caves Kodar Tamat, Leahmann Barclay, Thomas Crane and Sparik rush into the mushroom forest in the enormous, presumably the Kom-Rhanok towards the central stone pillar of the enormous subterranean cavern. Presumably they would be able to contact the USS Sienkiewicz. – which is in orbit – from that stone pillar. Thankfully, their hand phasers still work. However their tricorders are limited to a range of 50 metres and the jamming field is still preventing them from calling their starship. Light patches from bio-luminescent moss give the space […]
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Alien RPG: The Mei Mei Scenario
And so it came to pass Irfan and I tried a short, simple Alien RPG scenario for the first time when we were at Pasir Mas. Alien RPG: The Mei Mei Scenario Dramatis Personae Irfan plays Dr. Karmo the medic Anya – perhaps the youngest Alien RPG player in the world – plays Mei Mei the kid Mei Mei was alone, exploring the many dark corridors of the transport ship USCSS Anning Black. That was when she spotted seething dark mass in the shadows of the far side of the corridor. It was one of the alien creatures that had been let loose aboard the ship while most of the passengers were still in hypersleep. It began to creep towards the horrified little girl. She remembered the laser pointer in her pocket and how it used to distract cats. Then, Mei Mei pointed it to the wall beside the alien while […]
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STA: Breaking Out
Star Trek: Thine Own Self S02 E02 Breaking Out *** Stardate: 57930.0 – Sat Dec 06 2380 0931 UTC Starfleet Dramatis Personae Lt. Cmdr. Kodar Tamat, Cardassian First Officer and mission commander Lt. Leahman Barclay, Human conn officer Dr. Thomas Crane, Human medical officer Non-Player Characters Ensign Sparik, Vulcan conn officer – shuttle pilot Lt. Annete Metaxis, Human bridge conn officer – B shift Dr. Marjukka Suuronen, Human chief medical officer Dr. Arnaaluk, Human medical officer Chief Inés Ortega, Human transporter chief Captain Vosgal Toor, Zaranite commanding officer of the USS Sienkiewicz Last time on Star Trek Adventures: Thine Own Self Captain’s Log. Stardate 57319.68. The USS Sienkiewicz has been dispatched to the New Kamchatka colony. With us is Mr. Lionel Morikawa, a Federation diplomat who will be mediating a dispute between the Federation colony base and the native species of the planet, the Zrasu. Although the mission is predicted to be a uneventful, my […]
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STA: Spirited Away
Star Trek: Thine Own Self S02 E01 Spirited Away *** Stardate: 57929.9 – Dec 06 2380 0851 UTC Starfleet Dramatis Personae Lt. Cmdr. Kodar Tamat, Cardassian First Officer and mission commander Lt. Leahman Barclay, Human conn officer Non-Player Characters Ensign Sparik, Vulcan conn officer – shuttle pilot Lt. Annete Metaxis, Human bridge conn officer – B shift Chief Inés Ortega, Human transporter chief Captain Vosgal Toor, Zaranite commanding officer of the USS Sienkiewicz Lionel Morikawa, Human diplomat Several months has passed since the mission to the Melpomene Sector. The 2381 new year is just around the corner. The Saber-class USS Sienkiewicz’s mission is to escort the Federation diplomat Lionel Morikawa to Porticullis III. There, he would mediate a dispute between the New Kamchatka colony and the local Zrasu species, who has developed a slow version of the warp drive that could only reach warp 1.5. Presently, the bridge crew is Lt. Annette Metaxis […]
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VTR: The Atlanta Requiem
Coincidentally, Anne Rice passed away earlier today on the first day of my playing Vampire the Requiem. It was an online session and we played as the young upstarts of Atlanta, known as Slaughterhouse Five. Who is Jackie Long? I played Jackie Long, a Nosferatu, and part of the Slaughterhouse Five. Jackie wore a mop of silver wig to cover his hideous visage. Sure he’s a Nosferatu, but that did not stop him from going out partying all night. An unabashed clubber and raver, he spent his nights also selling pills to humans. Sometimes, he drank from them. Who is the Slaughterhouse Five? The Slaughterhouse Five were a coterie of vampires of different lineages. They were young and despite being drinkers of human blood, idealistic. Why did they need to follow the whims and fancies of the Prince of Atlanta? No one voted for the Prince to lead the vampires […]
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STA: Theatre of the Mind
Star Trek: Thine Own Self S1 E08 Theatre of the Mind *** Stardate: 57669.9 – Tue Sep 02 2380 0435 UTC Starfleet Dramatis Personae Lt. Kodar Tamat, Cardassian engineering officer and mission commander Lt. Cmdr. Jora Mungar, Trill conn officer Lt. Leahman Barclay, Human conn officer (Semi-temporary NPC) Lt. J.G. Simon Cañete, Human security officer (Temporary NPC) Lt. Miral, Denobulan science officer (Temporary NPC) Non-Player Characters Ensign Sparik, Vulcan conn officer – shuttle pilot Lt. Shathir Yunus, Andorian bridge conn officer – A shift Ensign Khalid Coufax, Human bridge operations officer – A shift Lt. Annete Metaxis, Human bridge conn officer – B shift Lt. Aaditri Fuentes, Human bridge operations officer – B shift Ensign Chirapa Ortega, Human engineering officer – warp theory specialist Lt. Gavin Nakano, Human engineering officer – EPS specialist En. Serafina Dell, Human engineering officer – impulse engine specialist En. Humairah Sufian, Human engineering officer – […]
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STA: Plato’s Cave, Part 2
Star Trek: Thine Own Self S1 E07 Plato’s Cave, Part 2 *** Stardate: 57669.8 – Sep 02 2380 0338 UTC Starfleet Dramatis Personae Lt. Kodar Tamat, Cardassian engineering officer and mission commander Lt. Leahman Barclay, Human conn officer Lt. J.G. Simon Cañete, Human security officer (Temporary NPC) Lt. Cmdr. Jora Mungar, Trill conn officer (Temporary NPC) Ensign Sparik, Vulcan conn officer (NPC) Last time on Star Trek Adventures: Thine Own Self… While looking for the missing New Orleans-class USS Nairobi in the Melpomene Sector near the Typhon Expanse, the Saber-class USS Sienkiewicz (NCC-88034) dispatched an away team on the Danube-class runabout USS Moonstar. During their away mission on Delta Melpomene V, they encountered time crystals. They showed them a possible future where the Sienkiewicz was in flames, the captain appeared dead and an old Einstein-class starship was attacking them. Soon they rescued Lt. Cmdr. Mungar whose repair crew & runabout USS Segura […]
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Doom Agents: A Beautiful Summer’s Day
There was an official event at work today where I ran a tabletop RPG session for some colleagues online. It was an opportunity to show them how could RPGs work in the field of education. I thought for some time about the campaign and setting to play, then decided on the setting I keep running for my students, Doom Agents. Also, instead of Mini Six or Freeform Universal, I opted for Year Zero Mini as the gaming system to use. Last time on Doom Agents, there were two recorded instances of a rescue mission in the Endau-Rompin rainforest where a team recovered one of two missing nuclear warheads. Another team in on the trail of the second warhead… Dramatis Personae In alphabetical order Alice Abdullah, Malaysian spy – Farah Anastasia, Russian medic – Arina Jason, American sniper – Hafiz Jessica Yoo, Korean driver – Najihah Koko, Thai soldier – Hafifa […]
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Doom Agents: The Endau Rompin Rescue (Instance B)
It’s the final week of the semester and I was able to run a game session each for two different classes. This was the second of the two. Click here for the first class. Freeform Universal: Doom Agents (PPIPT5) It is two years after the Brazilian mission. 10th June 2019: Another Doom Agent team is sent to the Endau-Rompin National Park for ANOTHER rescue mission. This time it is the kidnapped daughter of a diplomat. The team of five arrived in Malaysia and set out for their mission immediately. Dramatis Personae In alphabetical order (played by student group names in quotation marks): Captain Kelvin, Soldier – “5Avengers” Dr. Bob, Medic – “Rulebreakers” Jeffrey, Sharpshooter – “Team Alpha” Jet, Thief – “North Team” Sancorn, Enforcer – “Amigos” The Mission Begins It is raining heavily in the thick jungle. Sancorn drives the team in a Toyota Hilux towards the GPS coordinates where […]
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Doom Agents: The Endau Rompin Rescue (Instance A)
It’s the final week of the semester and I was able to run a game session each for two different classes. This was the first of the two. Click here for the second class. Freeform Universal: Doom Agents (IKOM3) What happened to the last Doom Agents team that left on the Brazilian mission. What happened to them, we might never know. However on 10th June 2019, another team was sent to the Endau-Rompin National Park to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a diplomat. The team of seven arrived in Malaysia and set out for their mission immediately. Dramatis Personae In alphabetical order (played byStudent group names in quotation marks): Bevis, Enforcer – “No Boundaries” Black Widow, Medic – “Titans” Captain Price, Soldier – “Team UVW201” Heister, Thief – “Cool Dudes” Jerung, Sharpshooter – “One Hit Wonder” Magnificent, Driver – “Queen Bees” Roye, Technician – “Magellanic Cloud” Watch the video belowto […]
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