Last night, I ran Modiphius’ Dune RPG for the first time, as a one-shot, using the Wormsign quickstart scenario as an adventure template. To The Deep Desert Location: City of Arrakeen, Planet Arrakis.Time: 2 weeks before the official Atreides arrival, year 10,191 AG. “Given the right lever, you can move a planet.” A retinue of Atreides House Agents with Servant Hassan Diago (Razzman), Junior Mentat Sharah Fell (Ivan), Swordmaster Apprentice Marcus Syn (Doug) and Former Spice Smuggler Corbin Bralik (Ivan) are sent by Swordmaster Duncan Idaho to check on a reported smuggler encampment 150 km south of the city of Arrakeen. The party, packed uncomfortably into a thopter, flies towards a freak weather event that conjures sudden, violent dust devils. With Sharah’s encyclopaedic knowledge of Arrakis’ weather, Marcus is able to evade one of the lethal sand tornados. After 30 seconds, the dust devil disappears. Marcus looks out for more, […]
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Mini-Six at the workplace
Actual play reports of at most two continuing RPG sessions. But most likely, a report of a single, stand alone game. Some of these are sessions that belonged in longer campaigns in which I did not participate as a regular player.
STA: Rescue at Anansi Aleph III
Star Trek Adventures One-shot: “Rescue at Anansi Aleph III” Yesterday, young Anya plays Commander Jewel Mochizuki, XO of the Walker-class USS Bangkok. Several more days of Ramadhan to go, and she just saw the Star Trek: Lower Decks episode “I Have No Bones, Yet I Must Scream”. So, she asked if I could run a Star Trek Adventures session. I would ask Irfan to join but he was napping. The Mission Begins It is July 2260. Captain Adilia Morales is sent by Starfleet Command to investigate an SOS from the missing Saladin-class USS Neptune in the Anansi Aleph system. Captain Morales assigns Cmdr Mochizuki to the rescue ops. Upon dropping out of warp, Science Officer Lt Amanda Heisenberg scans nearby gas giant Anansi Aleph III detecting a ship in its upper atmosphere. Helmsman Lt. Cmdr. Simone Tsang plots a course there. An electrical storm under the Neptune disables scanning, comms […]
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Alien RPG: Hope’s Last Day Part 1
It was a Saturday morning and we had just completed a walk along the canal near the house. I asked Irfan if we could try out the Alien RPG. So I grabbed my gear and set things up… Dramatis Personae Dr. Westerlund, Xenobotanist (Irfan) Dr. Westerlund is a botanist assigned to Hadley’s Hope, the colony on the moon Acheron, which orbits the gas giant Calpamos. His task is to monitor the Botany Stations at various locations on Acheron, which might some day One dreary morning, he receives an alert from Botany Station 2 in Demeter Valley 30 km away. As per security procedure, Deputy Marshall von Oy accompanies him, driving out in an NR-9 ATV. Botany Station 2 The uneventful drive to Demeter Valley takes 30 minutes over shadowy skies and black soil. Meanwhile a Company shuttle arrives from off-world with a Weyland-Yutani senior officer; von Oy monitors the arrival […]
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Quest RPG at UniMAP
It is now the semester break and with help from my colleagues, I was able to organise a Tabletop Roleplaying Game Training Workshop (Bengkel Latihan Permainan Penglipur Lara) at the office. Usually I had to both organise and run the game, which means more time for game prep. Thankfully, this time I was joined by our guest GM from Penang, Ahmad Danial A. Ghafar. One day, Danial searched for application of RPGs in education in Malaysia and came across my MAHSA University talk. He reached out and I discovered he has the same aspirations to use RPGs as a tool for teaching and learning. So, I invited him to run a game for our workshop. We had five participants, Farah, Mastura, Mimi, Hasmizan and Faizal. The first two have played in games I GMed before, but the rest were new to the game. Danial decided on using Quest, the RPG […]
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Work Excursion to Melaka
Previously… I was invited by the English Department of Pay Fong Middle School in Melaka to run RPGs and give a talk during their English Week programme. With my RPG gear in tow and Ain and Irfan as my support team, I was ready to for the events in the next few days on behalf of UniMAP. Day One: Year Zero Mini (2023-07-27) Because we were due be at the school after lunch, it allowed us time to recuperate from the drive the previous day. The storefronts along the beachfront road were closed except for one Indian Muslim restaurant, so we had lunch there. After Zuhur/Asar jama’ prayers, we headed there to meet with my contact there, the English teacher Kelvin. Thankfully, school traffic was not as jammed as the previous day. We easily found a parking spot. Then we went to the school’s language lab, where I ran Year […]
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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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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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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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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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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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Year Zero Engine: Guardians of Magic
I was not able to do it last year, but I thought I would run a tabletop RPG for my Theatre Arts students this year. Last Saturday, I invited them all to Discord and I gave them a briefing on how to play the game. For this online session I chose Free League’s Year Zero Engine as my system of choice. This is because I can scale it down enough for them to practice their role-playing. Here is a video recording of the session. It took almost 1.5 hours of actual play time, but I edited out the long pauses, duplicate instructions and action declarations, as well as all my ummmms and uhhhhhs. I edited it down to just under 40 minutes of video. Episode 1 IT’S A DOG EAT DOG WORLD Dramatis Personae Willy Wesley from London Zane from Asgardia Constantine from Moscow Sebastian from Austria Alice from Dubai […]
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