April A-Z blogging challenge

Like last year I've decided to try my hand at the A-Z blogging challenge again! Last year I used it to provide the players in my Fallout campaign with background information on important locations/people/events, since none of them were familiar with the setting. This year I'm running a Star Trek game, and rather than make the A-Z about it [since a) the players are more than familiar with it and b) I doubt I can do the subject any more justice than the collective intelligence over at Memory Alpha already has], I decided to use it as a sounding board for whatever crazy idea I manage to come up with on the day in question. As I'm blessed with lots of roleplaying opportunities at the moment (playing in three campaigns and running one myself), that sort of limits the time I can spend on the challenge realistically, so the goal I'm setting for myself:

spend about 15 minutes for each day/letter on the day itself to come up with an idea, then write it down in about 30 minutes or less. Then, if I like the idea (or if readers respond to it favourably), I'll come back to it after the A-Z challenge has ended and expand on it. So expect an odd collections of places, people and locations to pass by in the coming month.

[FASA Star Trek] Raising Attribute ratings

Since this isn't covered by the rules I presented my players with the following option. I present it here for the internet to pilfer!

Only the cream of the crop of would-be space explorers are admitted to Starfleet, and thanks to the extremely challenging curriculum its officers graduate from the Academy at the peak of their mental and physical abilities. Regular exercise ensure that even afterward, when they have been assigned to active space duty, they remain in excellent shape.

Nevertheless, there is always a margin for improvement, and even the fittest officer can benefit from an intensified training regimen.

Dedicating their off-duty hours almost exclusively to working out in the ship’s gym, officers can develop a rigorous personal program and push their bodies to its limits. Options include:

Power training: the officer initially spends 4 weeks, relatively uninterrupted, improving his/her body mass and muscularity. After the 4 week period, the character makes a Saving Roll against his/her Strength Rating. If the roll is higher than the rating, the character’s rating improves by 1D10; if the roll is lower the rating improves by 1D10-4.*

Fitness training: the officer initially spends 4 weeks, relatively uninterrupted, improving his/her stamina. After the 4 week period, the character makes a Saving Roll against his/her Endurance Rating. If the roll is higher than the rating, the character’s rating improves by 1D10; if the roll is lower the rating improves by 1D10-4.*

Gymnastics training: the officer initially spends 4 weeks, relatively uninterrupted, improving his/her agility and reflexes. After the 4 week period, the character makes a Saving Roll against his/her Dexterity Rating. If the roll is higher than the rating, the character’s rating improves by 1D10; if the roll is lower the rating improves by 1D10-4.*

*To keep their bodies in perfect shape, after the initial period of 4 weeks the officers will have to spend half of their off-duty time in the gym. Once an officer lets up on his/her exercise program, their improved physical fitness will revert to its former condition, at a rate of 2 points per week.

Additional workouts on top of the exercise necessary to keep up an officer’s improved shape are possible, but do not net equally high gains. If an officer spends the remainder of his/her off-duty hours in the gym, the character’s Attribute rating in question is improved by 1 point for every 2 weeks spent in this fashion. Once an officer lets up on his/her additional exercise program, their additional improved physical fitness will revert to its former condition, at a rate of 2 points per week.

 

Notes: an Attribute can not be raised more than 20 points in total, nor can it be raised above 99 in this way for human characters.

One page dungeon contest 2012

Gavin pointed this out on his blog and I thought I'd try and enter something this year for the one page dungeon contest! My noble intentions unfortunately immediately gave way to my laziness, so the Invasion from Planet X dungeon idea I came up with has been replaced with a one page reworking of an earlier dungeon I made. So my entry this year will be The Biosphere which my Fallout players might remember as The Shining Temple.

Deathwatch session 2 summary: Rage Against The Clock

/Entry 5/ We dispatched the swarm and the two Warrior Tyranids who seemed to be leading it. A most peculiar development occurred: brothers Armenius and Macbeth vanished without a trace. In their stead a Dark Angel librarian by the name of Elias descended the sloping hillside where we had left our two brothers when we entered the prison camp. Brother Elias used his connection to the Warp to teleport down to Tantalus, and it seems likely that Macbeth and Armenius’ disappearance is somehow linked to this. Unfortunately we have no time to investigate; we are pressed for time and the mission is of the utmost importance, even at the expense of my brothers. The Imperial Guard commissar and most of his troops survived the onslaught and are in fighting shape, though splattered with Tyranid guts all over. Further questioning revealed they only just arrived here as well, coming from the east. They are keen on joining us on our mission - and a safe way off this Tyranid-infested hellhole - though. Brother McGregor searched the premises of the prison camp, but the Magos is not here.  We strike north with all due haste, towards the Magrail station.

/Entry 6/ Disappointing. Brother McGregor picked up a life sign reading from the tunnels beneath the defunct station. We entered the bowels of the complex in the hopes of finding the Magos there, but only found a half-crazed console operator. I decided to take him along, he might prove useful if we are to try and enter the central complex and have to bypass security lockdown measures. Brother McGregor tapped into the surveillance network, but no luck. We head out west, along the Magrail track, out of sight of any approaching Tyranids.

 

/Entry 7/ We were almost ambushed by four Shrikes, but thanks to brother Bill’s vigilance and jump pack, we were prepared. Hails of glowing hot lead from our bolters ripped the foul creatures apart, and even the Imperial Guardsmen did a good job distracting one of them without getting too seriously injured. The only casualty the console operator we just rescued from his dank hiding hole. I guess that’s the irony of life. We must continue.

The away team

When it comes to birthdays, nothing beats having a girlfriend who's into roleplaying! And so I got my hands on a very cool early birthday gift: a set of 15mm Astro miniatures which will see use in the upcoming Star Trek campaign!