Tuesday, January 18, 2022

A More Thorough Preview

Surgery is tomorrow (welp), so wish me luck! I might be out of touch for a bit here, depending on how it all goes and how quickly I feel like sitting in front of a keyboard pounding some keys, so I thought I'd leave you with a deeper preview of Shards of Tomorrow: Second Edition. 

I have been tinkering with the backstory a bit, and I have realized that the backstory is vital to generating a game that is not just GoTG or SW with the serial numbers filed off. This is morphing into its own thing, and I am enjoying the process quite a bit. I understand the social and economic forces at play, and how these impact the various shenanigans. There are lots of opportunities for adventure in this that aren't just "it's like the Death Star, only BIGGER". I present to you the starter NPC (and her bodyguard) who would serve as the initial patrons for the PCs in the default starter campaign. FYI, Banquo II is a dense mechanical planet that is composed of ore gathered from thousands of meteors that collected there. It has a magnetic core that undergoes dozens of fusion reactions every second, and which generates untold power. Guilds have come to purchase that power, and they use the nearby moons to supply the resources they need for survival; Banquo is missing little things like vegetation, arable land, and water, so they have to come from somewhere. Fortunately, nearby moons are rich in a variety of resources that the guilds gather and bring to Banquo, to support the work of their energy mining facilities. The leaders of one of the new guilds would hire the PCs to do their dirty work important missions.
    Oh and FYI, Eno the Prime Director is a JERK. He's like Ultron if Ultron was a character on the Sopranos.
    Finally, a disclaimer that these are in draft form, and are likely to see significant changes before the book is actually published.

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Nisa Montrel | Rinjak Rogue 3
AC 14 | hp 28 | Feat +9 | Move 4 | Resolve 4D10
2 Blast Pistols (+4 | 1D6 | +1 action for 2 weapons; 5 actions total per round)
      STR 6 (--) | INT 12 (+1) | WIS 10 (+1)
      DEX 9 (+1) | CON 7 (--) | CHA 14 (+2)
Danger Sense; Heightened Senses (+2) 
Beguile; Contacts (+1); Quickness (+1); Resolute (+2)
 
Nisa Montrel is a young investor (having just completed economics academy) who recently founded her own guild. When the rival and more powerful Phalanx Guild nearly went bankrupt and had to liquidate many of its holdings, she purchased some of their weaker assets for chips on the credit. She is clever and strategic, but has relatively few connections and limited assets. She owns three skimmer barges on Banquo’s Tooth, a greenhouse dome on Banquo’s Eye, and a small refinery on Banquo’s Maw. Each of these was underperforming when operated by the Phalanx Guild but is performing well under her stewardship. She does not trust bots at all, and dislikes interacting with the bots of Banquo II, even though this is required for high-level transactions, especially since Eno the Prime Director holds all contracts for the planet and its moons. She has contracted several clans of worob to work her various holdings, with much success. She will not use bots, even though many find it is more cost effective to do so. She has a twin brother named Kale who is profoundly lazy, and an uncle named Vix who continues to maintain friendships among the Phalanx Guild; Nisa knows her uncle sometimes subverts her purposes. She routinely feeds him limited or false information to stay one step ahead of her competitors. She is looking to put together a crew for the various operations that are needed, including a range of exploration, security, recovery, and salvage operations.
 
Kril Gorodan | Uran Myrmidon 3
AC 16 | hp 38 | Feat +9 | Move 4 | Resolve 3D6 
Heavy Blast Rifle (+8 | 3D6) 
      STR 15 (+2) | INT 8 (--) | WIS 10 (+1)
      DEX 6 (--) | CON 14 (+2) | CHA 6 (--)
Body Armor (+3); Charm (see below)
Attack (+3); Health (+5); Vigor (soak 1 point per attack)
 
Kril Gorodan was the bodyguard of Nisa’s father, and Kril was present when the elder Montrel was slain. He swore to watch over Nisa, and he has dedicated his life to her protection. The uran have a tremendous sense of pride, but also are steeped in superstition. As a member of the uran, Kril must take part in elaborate worship ceremonies to his god-king several times per day and must undertake holy pilgrimages several times per year. Nisa respects Kril’s religious obligations, and often makes excessive allowances to accommodate his faith.
      Once per turn, he may (as a free action) emit pheromones that cause a living creature within 3 meters to attempt a Feat or be charmed (as the intuition). All Uran have this innate ability, although not all develop it as fully as Kril has. 


  

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