VENGER CON Aftermath (convention report, part 3)

 

Ok, here's part one, part two, and my latest video.  All in an effort to get you up to speed on VENGER CON II: Electric Boogaloo.  

Alrighty, the meat of this blog post will be my 2nd Cha'alt game and a little about the final session of VENGER CON... Alpha Blue.

We started with 4 players - Imur a droid warrior (an old assassination-droid with the serial numbers filed off), Gabriel a human cleric (and worshiper of the King in Yellow), Frank Beezlebub a demon sorcerer with made an ill-fated pact with a demon and was sentenced to Cha'alt as a punishment, the droid thief ST-K1 who goes by "The Saint" and keeps killing folks wielding scimitars without the proper license and registration... and halfway through, we picked-up a 5th player who played Black Destro, a human warrior.

This is the session that ventured deep down into Cremza'amirikza'am.  It's why I brought the magenta lamp - the lamp that never got used because I plum forgot about it!  Oh well, next year.  On the plus side, I did remember to bring my travel drum.  It was only for one encounter (could have used it more, I suppose), but it lent a certain amount of je ne sais quoi to the session.

I know I've said this elsewhere, but if I'm running a session primarily set in a certain location, I usually don't begin there.  I start the PCs in another place and let them arrive at the place they'll be exploring after 15% - 25% of mucking about in a tavern or wandering the desert or on a starship.  In this case, the PCs were locked behind laser bars on a starship headed for Cha'alt.  Cha'alt was listed as a Federation penal planet, and the PCs were prisoners.  In several hours, they'd be starting their new life on Cha'alt.

Of course, ST-K1 was familiar with the planet... as was an NPC I cooked up named Za'av - green skin, former gladiator with a badass weapon that would be too difficult to describe with mere words (it was named Ka'arl).

The PCs became acquainted (also an important step in my games), got to Cha'alt, but no one was around - all the crew had vanished.  They re-acquired their stuff, took as much info as they could from the ship's computer, and walked out into the desert.  Getting a bird's eye view, the demon sorcerer noticed a stone temple that had seen better days.  They walked to it.

Inside was a ball of yellow light that could speak directly into their minds, and a stone spiral stairway leading down to Cremza'amirikza'am.  In my best Thundarr villain voice, I instructed them that Iva'ak-Na'az, the great and powerful, wished them to travel down into the under-realm and bring back the Lokna'ar!

Gabriel believed this was a direct message from the King in Yellow and gladly obeyed.  The rest either felt like there was something to be gained, or that it was at least a starting point in their adventuring career.

I used the Vanessa and her banana-men servants as the opening - once they got past the black robed Kort'thalis worshipers flaying the back flesh from a humanoid corpse with none other than a crystal-rimmed jaccard - a thief's tool of inestimable value that was slumming it in the hands of depraved cultists.

From that moment on, ST-K1 used the crystal-rimmed jaccard as a "whip-missile" like from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, the weapon employed by the blue guy.  Why the fuck not?

Wanting to help Vanessa and find the Lokna'ar, the PCs ventured forth, exploring the first level of Cremza'amirikza'am.  They encountered more cultists, androids, replicants, and a tentacled clown-worm before discovering a secret cave leading to a subway tunnel with active subway!  The PCs decided to get on board and see where it took them.  After climbing aboard, they realized it was a 2-day journey to someplace they didn't know.

After a random encounter of a unicorn murdering an NPC passenger, the subway car was attacked by a warlord wearing black serpentine armor and his minions.  They jumped on top of the subway car and laser-sworded a circle in the ceiling to jump down.  Several were shot with blasters and assorted weapons by the PCs before getting into melee range.  It was a good battle.

Hours later, the subway slowed down in front of The Black Pyramid of Cha'alt and the PCs decided that's where the mettle of real adventurers are probably tested, jumped out, and headed for their fate.

We had a lot of fun, and many jokes were made... my favorite memorable line was the following, "This timeline is from a damaged prophecy."

I did get a chance to use the moon dice, and realized that it didn't provide the punch that I wanted.  The way I approached the mechanics, it emphasized something slightly different than what I was after.  I was reminded that in game design, you should make your design fulfill a variety of purposes.  However, at the end of the day, decide which has the highest need and go about fulfilling that first and foremost.  

With the moon dice, I wanted it to serve many masters, but in the end, I mostly wanted a way for the PCs to attempt epic, legendary actions that would normally be out of their reach.

Since the convention, I redesigned the moon dice, mechanically speaking, in order to meet that highest design goal.  Thanks to my speedy layout guy, I already have an updated PDF for Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 Revised.

So, the last session was Alpha Blue.  As I stated in my latest (as of this writing) video, character creation just sort of fell into place.  I saw it from a different angle, and that objective perspective made it clear how to proceed.

Here's what I did... 

• Everyone roll either on the scoundrel or respectable career table (just one time per PC).
• Then choose if you want to be an alien, robot, mutant, or human (other)... which means rolling on the d4 table allowing you to have psionic powers, zedi abilities, etc.
• Finish all your rolling on the other tables as seems reasonable (outfit, gun, backstory, name, etc.)
• If you rolled on the respectable career table, your combat dice pool is a 2d6.  If you're a scoundrel, roll 3d6.

The PCs were Dreego the human medic (who owes a bounty hunter named Ma'altag - hey, I was still in a Cha'alt mood, and was toying with directing the PCs to that desert planet), Razwand a cyborg con-man, Azroy a human psionicist, Feyd Akhbar a human interior designer and rich nobleman, and Satara the Lovecraftian alien assassin who was more female than male.

The shared background of the penis-headed alien who groomed two of the PCs on the same ship made for a good starting place.

They were all aboard Feyd Akhbar's ship on their way to Alpha Blue when they came upon a seemingly dead vessel but still full of lifeforms.  Force-docking onto the S.S. Love Ship, they boarded it.  All the passengers were comfortably sleeping.  Azroy reached out in his mind to discover that most were having erotic dreams featuring a small green alien with a bulbous head.

The small green alien, eventually located in the cargo hold, was using his own psionic powers to control the sleepers' dreams and collect some blue juice filling a cannister sitting next to the alien.  

After finding out the details and realizing this was a potential gold mine with no one to stop them, they shot the alien, stole the blue juice (along with various valuables belonging to the passengers), and went back to their ship.  Now, they had something to sell on Alpha Blue.

After arrival, they went to a Mos Eisley cantina style bar where deals usually went down. There was some space hanky-panky in the champaign room to start things off.

It was then that I decided, as the GM (or Bold Dungeon Space Master) that I decided to fly too close to the sun.  There was a guy tailing the PCs and he had a boss.  The PCs found someone who had a boss that might want to buy the blue juice.  And there was the bounty hunter who wanted the money owed to him - plus interest.  And who knows, maybe another guy, as well?!?

I got lost in all the guys with bosses, deals being made, names, appointments, and just everything.  Luckily, the PCs had taken notes and got me sorted out.

There was some high-level grifting, wheeling and dealing, and a white-knuckle shoot-out back at the cantina.  The scenario only lasted about 3 hours, but it was the tail-end of the convention, and we came to a satisfying conclusion.  Time to pack it all up, say goodbyes, and drive home.

It was a great time, while still leaving room for improvement.  If you want to mark your calendars, the official dates agreed upon by my wife and several of the attendees I talked to over the weekend are Friday, July 19th - Sunday, July 21st.

Unfortunately, those dates don't work for the hotel (which is weird, because even during our convention the day-of there were room vacancies), so I'm going to shop around for another venue.  I'll keep you posted.

That's it!  Thanks for going on this journey with me, even if it's just reading the post-con report blog posts.  I appreciate your support.

VS

p.s. I did sell a number of books, including the magnificent and gorgeous Cha'alt hardcovers that are still on sale!  Ordering details here!

Alpha Blue session report: Don't Take Candy From Spacers

A few sessions have transpired since the last time I blogged about my weekly Alpha Blue campaign on Roll20.

So, this is going to be a quick and dirty, bullet-point wrap-up of everything that's transpired thus far...

• The PCs, Katya and Miles Artemis, found themselves back on Alpha Blue.  They wandered into a melee combat arena and decided to pass on the guy selling his hot nuts in favor of sitting down and watching a man get beaten by some alien thing with tentacles.
• Miles was not content to merely watch - there was money being offered to the man who could hold his own versus the best melee combatant in the galaxy - Syresh Vos!
• A series of lucky rolls, plus the crafty use of his telepathy gave Miles the upper hand.  He knocked Syresh Vos out.  He won a bunch of credits and a sexy, green-skinned arena girl named Kiwi congratulated Miles by fellating him in front of the entire crowd.
• While all that was going on, Katya was talking to a black-robed human who wanted both the PCs to come with him to see Grabba the butt - the reason was not revealed.
• On the way out of the arena, a drunk spacer thought it would be a good idea to challenge the exhausted Miles to a laser duel.  Drunk guy got his trigger-hand blasted.
• The PCs met up with the mysterious employee of Grabba the butt, a human named Fructis New Zaelyn. Miles and Katya were passengers on Fructis' ship as he took them to Grabba's pleasure palace on the desert planet P'oon.
  
• When questioned, Fructis New Zaelyn told Miles and Ace VanHendrix, a zedi technician, (this was the start of the next session - lost Katya's player and gained Ricky's) and Fructis told them that Grabba the butt had a long-standing feud with Syresh Vos.
• Just before reaching planetary orbit, a droid enters the cockpit and offers everyone a drink.  Miles takes a can of Purple Prizm, opens it, and it fizzes all over his space khakis.  A beautiful, blue-skinned female takes Miles' pants so they can be washed.  
• Upon landing on P'oon, some revolutionary forces attack the ship with lasers.  Fructis gets out with the intention of fighting them off, then realizes there's, like, a dozen of them.  He uses his jetback to get the fuck out of there, leaving the PCs on their own.
• Miles and Ace surrender rather than face a dozen armed rebels.  The desert revolutionaries take the PCs to their base and offer them a deal - give this blue-colored elixir to Grabba and be free or refuse and die.
• Obviously, they agree to present Grabba the butt with the elixir. Miles still doesn't have any pants on.
  
• A pale, tentacled humanoid comes to the door when Miles and Ace knock on the pleasure palace door.  He shows them to Grabba's secretary who then takes them to Grabba's main audience chamber where a full-scale feast is going on.
• Grabba the butt is pleased with the PCs.  They made Syresh Vos look the fool and seem capable of handling some illicit jobs that Grabba needs done.  Miles still isn't wearing any pants.
• Ace pretends to take a swig from the elixir and then offers it to Grabba.  Cliffhanger!
• New session with Ace VanHendrix, Katya is back, and total Alpha Blue noob Badger who is playing an evangelical robot who can't pass up vice.  The robot's name is Reverend Screw-Loose, but that seems like a lot of work, so I called him Mr. Robot for most of the session.
• Ace rolled decent in trying to convince Grabba that it was perfectly safe to drink the elixir, so Grabba gave it to his royal taster before taking a drink himself.
• Suddenly, the entire complex shook with the force of an earthquake - someone was shooting their laser cannons at Grabba's pleasure palace.  Luckily the defensive shields diminished the blast.
• Syresh Vos came down in an attack ship, attempting to take out his crime lord rival.  It wasn't long before Vos and several of his underlings were inside the palace shooting people and looking for Grabba.
• One of the PCs looked outside the window to see if there was a way out, but all they could see was a sarlacc moat encircling the entire palace.
• There was a massive laser-fight between team Vos and team Grabba, since both had similar forces.  The PCs were in the middle - Mr. Robot hid, Ace was determined to take out Grabba, and Katya was shooting at Vos.  It was a glorious clusterfuck!
• Grabba made his escape in a secret starship at the back of his pleasure palace.  The PCs jumped into the back of that ship just before the door closed.
  
• There were two guards and no sign of Grabba (he was moved to a safer section of the ship).  
• From a window, everyone watched as Grabba's palace went up in a huge explosion!
• Then a couple of sexy alien girls came in and Ace decided to take out the guards single-handed.  He killed one and the second guard got him, knocking him unconscious and bleeding out.  That last guard was about to throw Ace's body out of the airlock when Mr. Robot intervened - throwing the guard out and saving Ace from certain death.  
• Katya, being a medic, patched Ace up while Mr. Robot charmed the alien women.
• The strange women took Mr. Robot to their cabin, offered him a seat on their translucent blue beanbags, and then asked if he wanted to have sex... but that's where we had to end the session.

These bullet-points get the job done of telling the story, but they leave out all the little details like Mr. Robot flirting with Katya and various side-jokes.  Oh well, for the full effect, you've really got to be there - and therein lies the entire point of roleplaying.  It's a personal, deep, intimate kind of game with layers and subtly that board, card, and computer games just can't match.

Before I go, just want to remind everyone that Guarding Galaxy XXX was just released.  This FREE scenario will introduce gamers to my sleazy scifi RPG Alpha Blue.  Just read all the stellar reviews... oh wait, there aren't any.  Hey, review that shit, hoss!  Much obliged.  ;)

VS

Alpha Blue Campaign Manager

Remember when I was talking about keeping track of all those scifi references?

This here is a sheet of incredibly fancy paper that you can print out and take notes on.

Collect data regarding your campaign's name, key locations, prominent NPCs, influences and details... all that fun stuff!

It's FREE, so go ahead and download it from DriveThruRPG / RPGNow.

The "Alpha Blue Campaign Manager" will also be included in the upcoming scenario High Stakes Q'uay Q'uar, but now's your chance to get it early.

Have a good week,

VS

Alpha Blue session report - First Time's Free

I do love the chance to run Alpha Blue, and a virtual 60 minute game (that invariably lasts 90 minutes) with a couple of enthusiastic players is just what the space doctor ordered.

In Alpha Blue, all that cheesy awesome sci-fi from the 60's to the 80's (no reason why you can't go all the way to 2017, though) is alive and well - a melting pot of TV shows, films, literature, RPGs, video games, and even cosplay photos on the internet.

I only had one player, who goes by Niven81, but he more than held his own.

First, we went through character creation...

Name: Akier

Species: Human

Gender: Male (straight and likes women in uniform and red-heads)

Profession: Bounty Hunter (just under the Federation's radar)

Something Special: Noble (rich, connected, and has some nifty gadgets)

Prior Experiences: Akier's native dome was bombarded by heavy artillery as ooze marauders attacked, but thanks to his animal cunning, he managed to survive the Kur-gash incursion.

Attire: Outre (weird space pajamas) in sky blue, magenta, and tan hues made out of alligator with elbow patches.

Weapon: Vorpal chainsword
______

The Adventure: First Time's Free

GM:  You've been living on Alpha Blue several weeks.  Not many individuals could afford that (except prostitutes and successful high-stakes gamblers), but you can.  Wealth has its privileges.

Moments ago, a little red light on your communicator blipped.  It only does that when someone is searching the Alpha Blue computer registry for your name, specifically.  Even though you've been keeping a fairly low profile, someone has found you.  But you have no idea who they are or what they want.

Akier:  Well, being that I'm wealthy, I am sitting at a private table entertaining one of the contractors of this fine establishment with grand tales of my adventurers over some rather cheap scotch.

"Then I used his own grav-booster to propel him and me - hanging onto his third leg - through the glass ceiling and into the vacuum of space..."

GM:  The contractor seems impressed.  You casually look around, seeing that more and more lifeforms have filtered into the club.  It must be happy hour.  Your private table gives you a good view of the establishment.  There are plenty of humans, aliens, working girls, spacers, and even a few robots.

Akier:  I take a sip of my scotch, looking at all the newcomers and keeping my eyes open for any that might pique my discerning interests... especially redheads.

GM:  You see one or two pretty redheads among the crowd.  Just as you're considering making some kind of move, a female alien approaches your table.  There's a laser velvet rope barring her way.  The alien whispers something to one of the club's bouncers and he deactivates the laser, allowing her to pass.

She stands in front of your table, waiting to see your reaction.

Akier:  I cock an eyebrow at the bouncer's actions, take a larger pull on my whiskey and turn to the contractor.  "It would appear that I've some business to attend to, my dear.  Sorry to say we must part company... for now."

I then offer the newcomer a seat and motion toward the whiskey, inviting her to partake.

GM:  She sits down and begins to speak.  The sound coming out of her mouth doesn't sound anything like what you're used to.  However, you have one of those expensive little translators attached to your lapel.

She says, "My name is Akoona Lata.  I seek an alliance with you to bring down House Draconis.  In exchange, I will give you anything that is within my power to grant.  I am not rich, but am a good warrior and skilled in the many arts of pleasure."

Akier:  Do I know anything about House Draconis, or can I find anything out easily?

GM:  They are a distant and occasionally rival noble family.  They deal in everything unsavory, from drugs to arms to slaves.

Akier:  "House Draconis... hmmm."  I say thoughtfully and take a drink.  "They are powerful and I have returned some of their lost property in the past.  Tell me, Miss Lata, why would I want to make such powerful enemies?  Well, I would... so the better question is why would you, my dear?  And why should I trust you not to stab me in the gibblies?"

GM:  She replies, "Most noble Akier, House Draconis has taken nearly a hundred of my people from our home planet only hours ago.  The Draconis ship is docked here at Alpha Blue.  Very soon, they will leave to go back to the Draconis system and it will be too late for me to save my family and friends."

Akier:  I swish the scotch around and stare at it for a moment, thinking it over.  After a few moments, I down the rest and look at Akoona.  "We should get to work... but first, what do you know about the traditional uniforms of 20th century human high schools?"

GM:  "I know nothing, my lord.  But I am also a fast learner."

Akier:  "Excellent, my dear.  Research it while I figure out what to do and consider it your armor.  I would recommend the Finnish or Danish routes of study myself."

GM:  She nods in compliance.

Akier:  Looking at the rest of the bottle of scotch, I decide to pocket it and stand to leave.  Is there a central computer terminal I could use in my private quarters?

GM:  Yes, there is.

Akier:  I will head there then with the intention of finding out what I can about where the House Draconis ship is docked.

Oh, I would like to look around first to see if I can spot anyone who looks dependable from that batch of people who came in earlier.

GM:  You notice a short, silver robot who looks quite dependable.

Akier:  I approach the robot with a lot more swagger than I would normally have, and introduce myself as Octavious Septimus Sextimus the Fifth.

GM:  "They call me X19-8B.  What can I do you for?"

Akier:  I give a nod as if the robots's name is of grave importance.  "Nice to meet you, X19-8B.  May I call you X19?

GM:  "Yes.  May I reciprocate by referring to you as 5?"

Akier:  I smile at the small robot.  "All my friends do, X19."  I give a quick look around and whisper in a conspiratorial tone, "Is there anywhere we can speak man to... er... robot?"

GM:  The robot walks with you out into the corridor.  No one is around.

Akier:  I give another look and then ask.  "Tell me, are you aware of the underground sex-bot slave trade?  No, probably not.  You see, there are folks about who kidnap poor, honest female robots and forcibly reprogram them into sex-bots."  Putting my hands up, I continue.  "Now, that's not me.  I wouldn't think of doing that to another sentient in a heartbeat, but... some would.  Some on this very station."

GM:  "That's terrible," the robot replies.  "Where can I find one of these underground sex-bot slave traders in order to bargain with him?"

Just then, Akier hears a voice behind him.  A voice from the recent past...

"You shouldn't have run out on us back on Nebulon Minor, Akier.  Especially not after you slept with my sister."

Akier:  One of these days, I need to stop trying to play a hustler.

GM:  You remember your ex-partner's redheaded sister as he fires his blaster at your torso.

BTW, you are 1st level and have 25 Health.

[I roll 2d6.  Would have been 3d6, but I took one off because of Akier's personal shielding unit.  My results are a 2 and a 6.  That critical success (the 6) means 3d6 damage.  I roll embarrassingly bad, lucky for Akier.  He takes a mere 5 points of damage.

Akier:  "You know I don't have time for this today, old chum."  I pull my vorpal chainsword and point it at his head.  "I would rather things not go snicker-snacker, but they will if you don't kindly back off."

GM:  Your ex-partner, Greely, backs off.  Lowering his blaster, he takes a step back and turns as if to leave.  "You should have killed me when you had the chance, Akier."

He swiftly turns around and shoots at you again.

[I roll another 2d6 and the highest result is a 5.  I roll another 2d6 to determine damage and it's not looking good for the nobleman.  I roll a 5 and 6, then another 6, then a 2... totalling 19 damage.  Akier has 1 point of Health remaining.]

Holy shit!  He caps you right in the face!  By the way, once per session you can double your dice pool.  I strongly suggest you take advantage of that now before it's too late.  If you survive this encounter, you're sure to acquire a badass facial scar.

Akier:  As I attack with the chainsword, I say to the silver robot, "X19 old bean, I tell you what.  4 days VIP treatment on my credit if you help me kill this wanker."

[He rolls 6d6 and gets two 6's, good for 4d6 damage.  Unfortunately, he ends up with an uninspiring 11 points of damage.  X19 isn't made for combat and he only does 3.]

GM:  Your ex-partner fires again.

[I roll 2d6 again and my highest result is a 6, so I roll another 3d6 for damage.  Since Akier only had 1 point left, I probably didn't need to even roll, but I was curious about the results.  Sometimes, you just can't look away from the car crash.  I ended up with a total of 20 points of damage.]

Akier:  Is there an Alpha Blue version of a Doc Wagon?

GM:  Assuming you want to be stitched back together, yeah, it can be done, but not cheaply.  Akier's available funds are siphoned into the account of the cyber-surgeon on duty.

Akier receives "I can't believe it's not organic" synthetic flesh.  There's no tissue rejection, but he will have horrendous scarring and an electronic eye.  It'll be 5 weeks of rest before he will fully recuperate.

_____________

Niven81 told me it was a great game and that he'd like to keep playing.

So, that's it.  Not as much sex as I was hoping for, but you can't always get into every aspect of a game in 90 minutes.

Going forward, I'd like to keep scheduling Alpha Blue sessions online.  Until a better platform comes along, I'll keep using Roll20.


VS

p.s.  I've got a Kickstarter running throughout March.  It includes an Alpha Blue scenario, among other things...

Miscellanious stuff

There's a spirited  review of my very first OSR adventure - Liberation of the Demon Slayer.  It was a lot of fun to read as it allowed me to revisit that world, albeit briefly.

There's an awesome actual play report from the guys who took part in a session of Alpha Blue on Roll20 a couple weeks ago.  And here's another one with kids(!) that's totally PG-13 (for space drug references).

This was a nice review of Crimson Dragon Slayer edition 1.11.

I've also managed to write a few more things on Draconic Magazine.  Please check them out and let me know what you think.

Trinity of Awesome will be available soon.  First it goes to Kickstarter backers and then everyone else on DriveThruRPG / RPGnow.  If you're an RPG blogger and/or reviewer and want to be put on the list, send me an email at:  Venger.Satanis@yahoo.com

Thanks,

VS

It's all about the exploits!

This blog post focuses on Universal Exploits, my latest creation.

Reviews have been favorable.  Some say, it's the best thing Kort'thalis Publishing has ever put out.  Here are reviews one, two, and three.  Additionally, a fresh review of Alpha Blue herself.

Below is a video walk-thru or visual preview of Universal Exploits.  Even at 9 minutes or so, I feel like I barely scratched the surface...

If you've had a chance to check out the book, I hope you also consider writing a review and telling people what you think about Universal Exploits.  Actual play reports are awesome, too!

Curious about any aspect of the game or its sourcebooks?  Just ask, I'd be happy to provide info or run a short demonstration for you.

Remember, if you purchase UX from Amazon or CreateSpace, email me for the PDF (just send invoice, receipt, proof of purchase, etc.) so you can get those high-resolution files of starships, Grabba the Butt's palace of perversity, and custom character sheets.

Enjoy,

VS

p.s.  This is where to find the previous maps/PDFs.  Oh yeah, and here are the new custom character sheets for Alpha Blue.

Alpha Blue: Making a Character

The following are three video tutorials.  Each one goes into detail about Alpha Blue's system, setting, and character creation...

If you have any questions, please ask!

VS

Alpha Blue customized character sheets

+James V West has done an absolutely stellar job with the new Alpha Blue custom character sheets I commissioned from him.  And +MonkeyBlood Design (Glynn Seal) turned them into usable files via Dropbox.  Thanks to you both!

Here's the black and white front and back.

Here's the bloody parchment front and back.

By the way, the latest Alpha Blue sourcebook, supplement, what-have-you is finished.  It's in the final editing stage.  Meanwhile, I'm also waiting on the last few pieces of artwork.

Universal Exploits should be available to everyone in October.  I can't wait for you to see it!

Have a great weekend,

VS

The Girl Who Would Be Assassinated

Last Saturday, I was running Alpha Blue at the OddCon convention in Madison, WI.  We had a backroom suite all to ourselves, free from noise and distraction - it was a fantastic experience and one I hope to see over and over again.

A few people did wander into our area, wondering what we were playing.  Invariably, I'd say "Alpha Blue".  They'd respond with, "Never heard of it."  Then I'd reply, "That's because I wrote it.  It's a sci-fi RPG mixed with 70's porn."  Mixed reactions, as expected.

One time I mentioned Ice Pirates, but the young dude hadn't heard of that.  Ice Pirates meets Flash Gordon might be a better description, if one were to dial down the sleaze.

As usual, I had a few ideas in my back pocket.  But mostly, I let character creation, player wanderlust, and luck decide how the scenario was going to go.  Luckily, Alpha Blue and Girls Gone Rogue are filled to the brim with all manner of random tables.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating - GMs should listen to what their players say when not actively playing the game, out of character and usually leading up to the adventure proper.  An attentive GM will pick up all manner of clues: what players want to do with their characters, who they want to talk to, where they want to go, what they want to kill, what's special about their character's backstory, why they need the money, etc.  Because we're all sitting, verbal cues are much more important than body language.  Just by listening to the tone in a player's voice, you can usually tell what's resonating with him.

For instance, the players were interested in things to buy.  +sean mcconkey, who's played Alpha Blue almost as much as I've run it, was talking about various purchasable goods when an idea hit.  Clones!  For a thousand credits, you could buy a clone.  Of course!

That made so much sense to me regarding available technology, avoiding unnecessary PC death, providing money pits for PCs to spend their hard earned credits on, and various shenanigans that can occur during the cloning process, etc.

Plus, what about the ins and outs of obtaining a clone of someone else?  Can one buy the rights (or steal the DNA) to clone the space girl next door?  What about a hardened super-criminal?  Or quantum physics genius?  Is that slavery?  What if you inserted some or all of your consciousness/will into the "not you" clone?  Mmm... possibilities.

So, what are these clones like?  As I envision it, a clone is an identical copy that could be held in reserve as backup or activated immediately - instant twin!  Want more than one clone?  Sure, it's 1,000 credits per clone... you can buy as many as you can afford.  My advice: definitely make that an option in our Alpha Blue game!

Getting back to the character creation process, one of the players was really excited about his space priest / assassin career opportunities and rolled on the debt owed tables in order to purchase his own starship.  He mentioned how "up for anything" he was if and when his creditors asked.

Boom!  That became the hook.  Within minutes of play, that PC received a transmission from the bounty hunters who lent him the credits to buy Tiny Dancer.  On they went to New Alderaan 2.  We all know that something bad happened to the original Alderaan, but apparently both New Alderaan and Alderaan 2 also took turns for the worse.

With my Samsung Galaxy 4, I found a picture of the target, Loganna.  Since New Alderaan 2 was home to domed cities full of beautiful androids draped in brightly colored, see-through fabrics, everyone at the table took a gander at the girl who would be assassinated.

Of course, that wasn't set in stone.  The PC who owed the debt didn't have to track her down and kill her - in fact, I was hoping the party would take an alternative route - but I've found that old habits die hard.  Longtime gamers who've assassinated hundreds of individuals in-game probably don't even question their orders anymore.  If their mission is to take someone out, they take them out... no matter how hot they are!

I've never encountered so many male players choosing to play female characters as when I'm running this RPG.  I like to think that Alpha Blue helps re-program gamers.  Another example is the technician / pirate PC (left my notes at home and have to do all this from memory and I'm terrible with names) who was alone on the ship with several space prostitutes.  As the Space Dungeon Master, I practically had to rip off his clothes (in-game) and grind her vagina on him before he got the hint.  As gamers, we've been so used to avoiding casual and serious, emotional and sexual relationships, attachments, and drama that it seems weird to intentionally involve ourselves in such moments, to embrace them rather than acknowledge them briefly before getting to "the real adventure": breaking in, slaying, and looting.

Another observation I had was a player who kept gambling.  His character was a gambler with an edge (he was invisible, except for clothing, items carried, etc.) and that's pretty much what he did throughout the game, except when forced into combat or situations between card games.  That seemed strange to me, but I went with it.  He actually made several hundred credits, though it didn't seem very exciting, heroic, villainous, adventurous, or sleazy.  To each his own.

Speaking of sleazy, after the assassination and leisure center shoot-out with a competing bounty hunter crew, Sean's pimp character had his girls work the session's concluding party back at the space station brothel we all know and love.  He rolled the best of anyone that game - 3d6, all sixes!  So, I let him re-roll for exploding dice because it was a situation of making money on his star whores.  All told, the party's pimp made 3,300 blue bucks in about two hours.  Who said pimpin' wasn't easy?

One last thing, in an effort to remind players that once per session they could double their dice pools, as well as, creating some additional visual aid, I brought a blue glow stick to the game.  The object was to double a PC's dice pool and then pass the glow stick to someone else who could use it and then he would pass it again.  That actually led to a couple of minor problems.  The passing back and forth was distracting while allowing it to be passed back and forth continually gave everyone 3 or 4 double-ups during the session.

Next time, I'll probably just splurge on a 10-pack of blue glow sticks for about $5.  Then everyone will have one and once they've used it, they can hand it back to me and it's done.

Everyone had a good time, were impressed with the maps, laughed at the tables, got to feel a little dirty, and I can't wait for next time!

VS