OOC

[Marullus]

Noted!

In all those cases, the antiquated moral hero works with ne'er-do-wells and criminals in a gray-shade world. I think the start point is easy.

That said, the presence of the moral-bound figure eventually pushes towards morally-good choices and often at the expense of pragmatism.

• Malcolm Reynolds refuses to finish the Train Job when he finds out the crime lord hired them to steal medicine from a helpless, sick colony for profit.
• The Mandalorian breaks his bounty hunter contract when he realizes he is turning the helpless foundling child over to scientists who want to experiment on him.

I expect the GM will throw a situation like that at us eventually. I am excited for it as a player. But if other players want to be on the dark side of morally gray and "doing the right thing" at the end of our IC negotiating is OOC not what you're looking for, then it is possible for things to break. I would like to identify the group playstyle now and will re-script if this is an issue.

It is still worth an OOC check-in, imho. An unbraked AI is a big deal and seemed a good point for a moral decision. If this screws up the party, I am happy for the GM to shift the direction and scrap the action.

[shaidar]

For Jonas it's not so much the AI, he sees this is the potential for an interesting ally, which could backfire spectacularly. Who knows how dangerous the AI is, it'll be fun (as a player) to find out.

It's more this Rex guy turning up and throwing his weight around if he wants to be boss he can pay the bills at the end of the day Jonas is a pragmatist, but he likes to try it on.

[Marullus]

Understood.

Of course, Rex has nothing to offer but even shares of whatever they come across. Doing the right thing with the AI isn't in itself a job that pays anything and I expect he will say so. I am waiting for the GM because an Exchange designation announcing him as a bona fide Justicar scrolling across the screen likely changes his gravitas and perception of his leadership. (I am excited to see how PCs react to that both positively and negatively.)

However, having a ship is a good starting point (if this can result in that) and even shares is more fair than usual, I expect.

Firefly.jpg (45 KiB) Viewed 560 times

I expect we're going to continue to get a variety of jobs on our way to finding this AI a permanent home:

I'm also embracing the "gunslinger comes to town" story. In old Westerns (and shown in new stories like the Mandalorian that use the same storytelling model), the gunslinger is constantly drawn off-track from his goal to help those that need him in each town he passes through. I like that this design supports GM-introduced storylines for each chapter. I have a major Redemption arc, but understand the fun is in the side quests for this style of story.

...but the reality of that is up to the GM.

And, I appreciate input from other players that this direction is good for what you want from this game. If the above isn't what you want as players or isn't something your PC would sign onto as a character, I don't want to push forward.

If you just want to roleplay grousing and IC tension without breaking the party (like Jayne Cobb to Malcolm Reynolds) that's no problem for me. As long as all players are happy and we don't alienate any characters.

[Faanku]

For now, Shion is happy to keep moving around the sector and making contacts. It's only in the last year or so since the war ended that she left her T3 world, so there's a lot for her to see.
OOC I'm keen to start tinkering with a ship we can call our own as well!

[shaidar]

I'm not going to make Jonas a permanent pain in the ass, I know how disruptive that can be.

I haven't decided how he'll react to who Rex is.

A fair share and a ship so they can go places is likely enough to have him stop his grousing, eventually.

[Lance]

For now, Shion is happy to keep moving around the sector and making contacts. It's only in the last year or so since the war ended that she left her T3 world, so there's a lot for her to see.

Same!

[shaidar]

Jonas has reasons to keep moving too, not that he'd let on.

So it sounds like everyone is happy to do a bit of exploring.

[Marullus]

Active:

• Alix Conzweth - Sneaky Hacker / Teleporter / Starfarer-Pilot [cybersavant]
• Jonas Jones - Doctor / Gunslinger (and a little bit of pilot) [shaidar]
• Shion Kuznetsov - Mechanic / Soldier [Faanku]
• Askor Binshav - Close Combatant / Bad-Ass Brute [Lance]
• Pelles Rex - Gunslinger/ Diplomat / Moral Compass (and a little bit of pilot) [Marullus]
• Ekaterina Voronina-Sokolova - Pilot / Sniper / Biopsion [The Bindoner]

Recently MIA (not sure when he'll be back)

• Corbeau Boucher - Nearly Crippled Face Type in training [Samwell Turleton]

I know I'm already like six posts deep today, but I want to make sure we don't jump ahead without cybersavant or The Bindoner being able to get home from work.

[The Bindoner]

Katusha (Ekaterina) will be happy to have a ship to fly, and doesn't much care how or why she gets it. You met her as a hired gun for a criminal, you can make some assumptions about her morality from that. I suppose the fact she's freelance rather than a member of the gang tells something too.

I'm working from home, but I don't have internet where I paint. I do check on the 'phone occasionally, so I'll usually read things even if I don't have time to write a reply.

[cybersavant]

Alix is happy to free the AI in the interest of elf preservation, for now it keeps him alive and future repercussions can be dealt with in the future

he's also hoping to palm something during the inventory check

[Marullus]

Good stuff.

I redacted the mistaken half of my previous post. Excited as this continues to evolve!

[The_Wanderer]

Now that you are attached to the AI, you probably want to make up a goal to resolve that for XP.

I'll also put together some basic rules for the negotiation. It will be some kind of skill challenge. Plan on naming one of your number as the lead negotiator where the Talk or Trade Skills will come in handy - there's potentially more useful skills if you can make a good argument.

The rest will essentially be making arguments to aid the discussion.

[Lance]

I can see how Rex could be useful in the negotiations, but Askor is a fighter and Katusha is a pilot/sniper, not employed by Lou-Haul Inc.

[cybersavant]

anyone else have negotiation skills?

[Faanku]

Only if we're dealing with toasters, unfortunately.

[The Bindoner]

Katusha has basic Trade 0, if we need an assist on the financial aspects.

I doubt Connect is much use in this case, unless we need to find someone to negotiate on our behalf

[Marullus]

I would rather see the roleplay go to someone with Trade (it doesn't come up often enough!) but am glad for Rex to also aid with Talk/Diplomacy. Of course, Zuehlka just pointedly excluded Askor, Rex, and Katusha from the negotiation job and pay-out, which becomes a cool IC point for the other PCs to address.

[The_Wanderer]

I would rather see the roleplay go to someone with Trade (it doesn't come up often enough!) but am glad for Rex to also aid with Talk/Diplomacy. Of course, Zuehlka just pointedly excluded Askor, Rex, and Katusha from the negotiation job and pay-out, which becomes a cool IC point for the other PCs to address.

Just to clarify - it wasn't so much an exclusion (I obviously expect you guys to all work together on this) more like adding some fiction to have you removed from Zulehka's group and added to the main party.

[The_Wanderer]

Negotiation 101

1. Zulehka has mentioned she believes the find is worth 10's of millions of credits
2. The Blood will provide an initial offer that is less and their reasons for that offer
3. The party will identify the main negotiator
4. The main negotiator's roll will provide the basic skill check against a sliding scale DC - score higher and get a better result.
5. Each party member will post what they say to The Blood on why they should offer more and make a roll to support it - not everybody has to make the same kind of roll (trade+cha, talk+int, etc); just make the one that makes sense and that your character can do best. The aiding rolls will be a DC8 skill check. Success adds +1 to the main roll
6. We will have 2 rounds of negotiation - Initial offer from The Blood, Counter from the Party, Response from The Blood, Final Counter from the Party

Tips and other info

• Be creative with the skills you use and what you say to employ them. I will be lenient on rulings here but please have it make sense
• While this is predominantly a skill challenge just for this scene, there can be lasting consequences. i.e. if you shoot The Blood negotiator, there will be consequences
• I know this may not be everybody's cup of tea so my intention is that we keep this relatively brief and resolve it in about a week
• Let me know if you're unsure here, I'll answer questions in the OOC thread so everybody can see.

[Marullus]

Just to clarify - it wasn't so much an exclusion (I obviously expect you guys to all work together on this) more like adding some fiction to have you removed from Zulehka's group and added to the main party.

Oh, okay - I didn't read it that way at all. Even so, she created a clear definition between those who came with her and are getting a pay day, and those that aren't. I think that's fair and a good IC thing to work out. Future group cohesion then needs an intentional invitation to the new PCs this way (instead of the OOC handwave that might leave future confusion IC). Existing PCs can absolutely have opinions on this to be expressed IC.

1. The party will identify the main negotiator
2. The main negotiator's roll will provide the basic skill check against a sliding scale DC - score higher and get a better result.

It looks like Corbeau Boucher was intended for this (Lead +1/Int+1, or his retainer with Trade +2) but you lost him enroute to this point (do we IC have a reason why?)

Of the current PCs, Rex has the best skill (Talk+1/Cha+1) plus the only Foci (reroll 1s as Diplomat) to support the main roll.

Ekaterina also has Trade-0/Cha+1 and everyone else appears unskilled at talking (-1).

I would want this to make sense IC, not be an OOC decision, however. Neither Rex nor Ekaterina are currently even part of negotiation or resulting payouts (thus the importance of the IC conversation mentioned above).

I see three viable IC solutions:

• Rex would step up (only) if he is asked to do so. The others have already seen his skill in talking a robot out of nuclear annihilation, but he isn't going to push himself forward.
• Ekaterina could put herself forward, identifying herself as a merchant captain and thus a suitable trade negotiator.
• The original crew could hold to their task and profit shares, naming one of their own as lead negotiator unskilled.

I see the IC and OOC motivations as very different in the scenario. I don't see any of the IC options being ruinous. I am excited to see IC play.

1. Each party member will post what they say to The Blood on why they should offer more and make a roll to support it - not everybody has to make the same kind of roll (trade+cha, talk+int, etc); just make the one that makes sense and that your character can do best. The aiding rolls will be a DC8 skill check. Success adds +1 to the main roll

This is very generous and awesome! Allowing all PCs to participate via helping rolls takes a lot of weight off the above and really makes it inclusive. Thanks!