OOC General Chat

This is the info i needed and i agree with him gargling a light saber. Of course after we have discovered everything we need from him.

I figured we would take Ezeriah advice and try to get most of the discussion out of the way over the weekend before Monday, if anyone else has anything else they wish to talk about. I will assume that the first official DM post will probably cover the resting portion since we could all use a rest.

Agreed, we should get everything that we want done before our characters go to sleep out of the way before Monday, and ideally have an agreed-upon plan of what to do when our characters wake up.

I think it would be easier to hash out our "group consensus" OOC than IC, and Ezeriah recommended doing so earlier, so I'll start that discussion here.

I think our main three options right now boil down to "cooperate with Nash", "politely decline to cooperate with Nash", and "initiate hostilities with Nash". Of course, there are nuances to each of these options ("cooperate with Nash" could be either "cooperate with Nash in good faith", "cooperate with Nash with the intent to betray him later", or somewhere in-between), but those differences won't really impact our characters' short-term plans.

As of right now, I think Tajanna and Lissewa both lean towards "cooperate", Krosus leans towards "initiate hostilities", and Hawke and Lexi possibly also both lean towards "initiate hostilities", but I'm not as sure on those two. We probably should try to get a plan that all of our characters are willing to go along with (even if only grudgingly), otherwise our characters are likely to literally be at each others' throats next week, or just spend the whole week bickering and sabotaging each other and get nothing done.

Also, a consensus about opening up the 1.1 threads to viewing would be nice, too (I vote yes, unless someone has a compelling argument otherwise).

Lexi is just antsy. She's kind of borderline between cooperating and being hostile. She's pretty well ruled out "don't cooperate" because that leaves someone out of their control with knowledge of what they are. So it's either cooperate and use him or kill him outright. Likely, she'll go along with a cooperation plan, so long as the plan is to keep him on a short leash with no real power truly making him a puppet.

She absolutely doesn't trust him, but that's not abnormal. if he's a means to their end, so be it.

Krosus learned some things. First off I was able to read some of Nash's thoughts. One of them was about lissia and implied something was done to her. Secondly Krosus knows lissia was lying during her conversation with us, due to a really good discipline check. So he wants to know the truth about what happened to lissia and what game is Nash playing. So that is what he wants known before we plan a course of action. I have a feeling we need to deal with Nash now before we get entrapped by his mechanations. Secondly Krosus wants to investigate the ship for the missing tranciver part. It's either here or evidence of how it was dispose off can be found. If not found he thinks we should make contact flesh crawler as soon as possible to get a better perspective on what's happening on this planet

A couple of things to help you along:
Although the 'cooperation' component is clearly an important issue, beyond this, you should also try to decide your next actual move. I'm not going to have Nash spoon feed you guys as to what you should do, if you decide to cooperate with him in some capacity. Of course, if you make a decision, he can offer some who/what/where insight, locations, advice, etc, but don't look to him for 'what do we do next' type advice.

You should consider aspects of the game so far, the players involved, places, and organizations when you consider your next move, and how your group can work toward establishing power in Kraspen, and on Bonadan. As a memory refresher, below are some people/organizations/places/events you've encountered or heard of, in no particular order of importance or value.

Keep in mind this is a list to refresh your memory from the last couple of months of real-world time, which seems fair given that your characters have been in Kraspen for less than a day. Also, keep in mind that this is what I recall.

In the future, I suggest you start copy/pasting some things into the Group Journal and Notes as a way of combining your ideas into one powerful brainstorm/think tank, as I will be less and less inclined to help you along, as I naturally expect you to become better at playing the game, which is meant to be fair, yet challenging.

Each player should keep it to one post in the Group Journal/Notes, organizing that one post any way they see fit. Adding additional posts will just clutter things up. Some of you have reserved spots, some should join that thread.

Dead Floaters
Mech-Zecutives
Zhaff
MechTronics
Fleshcrawler
Nash
Espos
Labor Riots
Hawke has information on this, and we can GM handwave the search of the ship: you don't find the missing modulator part for the holo-terminal.

Some insight from your merciless GM as to how you might proceed in...

OPERATION: DARK THRALL

I won't always be so helpful, but given the political nature, intricacies, and the complexity of this mission, not to mention the newness of the group as a whole, I thought it worth providing some direction. Enjoy.

Subversion Endgame
Your squad's ultimate goal for Operation Dark: Thrall-- taking power as quietly as possible!

RP-wise, we'll assume that the group's conversation with Nash, in the Spear's lounge, included the technical aspects of taking control of the Board, in addition to the ins/outs of how power works in the CSA, rather than slogging through a lot of unnecessary gamey technical posts in the narrative.

Take Control of the Bonadan Executive Board
There are Executive Boards on key planets, in key systems, across the Corporate Sector, which control what are called 'sub-sectors' across the entire Corporate Sector. These sub-sectors make up the voting power of the CSA, and are the powers that be that control the laws, resources, and decision making power of the CSA.

In a sense, using real-world terms, you can view the Corporate Sector Authority (CSA) as a country, and the sub-sectors as states/provinces within that country. The sub-sectors are the voting power within the CSA. The Executive Board of each sub-sector is run by a handful of members, who ultimately make the decisions for, and control, that sub-sector, giving them a vote as to how the CSA itself conducts business and behaves as a larger entity.

Most of those Executive Boards, which control sub-sectors, are being threatened by Sith Spec Ops squads just like yours. Your squad, 8th Special Operations, has been entrusted with perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle: Bonadan, the distribution hub of the entire Corporate Sector, which essentially makes it like the 'capital' planet/system of the Corporate Sector.

The Bonadan Executive Board (to clarify, this is what Nash was referencing when he mentioned being placed into a position of power): Anyone who owns/controls 51% of the Board's financial power has actual control of the Board itself, as the voting power of each Board member is actually equivalent to their % ownership. This means that 51% control requires no actual vote, as the 51% is enough to win outright, giving the majority owner dictator-like power, and the control that comes with it.

To Nash's knowledge, from hearsay around the Kraspen underworld, no member of the Bonadan board has 51% control. Furthermore, this degree of control and ownership on any board is somewhat rare, as the Board members themselves are typically good at jockeying for control, working together when necessary to prevent anyone from achieving 51% control. The number of members on any board is variant, but can range anywhere from about 5, to a dozen, depending on how many 'war droids', as Nash called them, are 'patrolling the financial market.' Naturally, each Board as a whole owns the vast majority of their respective 'sub-sector' market, but not that entire financial market, making certain that the 'little guys' never gain any real foothold, as the Board itself controls when, and if, any new members will be inducted into said Board.

The endgame idea for Op Dark Thrall is to be in control of 51% of the Bonadan Board, in any way you choose to do so which would actually give full control of the Bonadan Executive Board, which controls the Bonadan solar system you're in, and the sub-sector attached to the board. All of the Sith squads like yours, across the Corporate Sector, are busy doing the same kind of missions, subverting and usurping seats on Boards across the Corporate Sector. Assuming enough of those Sith missions are successful, the puppet Board members will be able to exert enough control over the Corporate Sector as a whole to control its resources, and decision-making power (e.g., preparing for, and entering, galactic war with the Empire, New Republic, or both).

A note on Board members (again, info provided by Nash during your 'get to know you' session): They are, naturally, very secretive, and stay in the shadows, appreciating that being 'known' would make them huge targets for extortion, assassination, etc. They use pawns, and the like, to carry out their whims, when necessary. Nash suggested that the only real way to get to them was to 'follow the money, and the power'. Sooner or later, it should lead to someone on the Board, as those are the individuals that truly control Bonadan, and the Bonadan sub-sector, which would be a collection of (solar) systems, and their constituent planets.

However you choose to exert this 51% control over the Board is up to you.

Or, you could just say screw it all, abandon the mission, go where you please, and hope the Sith Empire forgets about, or forgives you, and utterly fails in their effort to take over the galaxy.

Your choice.

A SIDE NOTE ABOUT HYPERSPACE LIGHTSABER DUELS!

Recently, in a Star Wars game where I'm a player, I was challenged to take part in a cargo bay duel (sparring) with another character, as part of our group's trip through hyperspace (the fight starts on this page, in a public game).

Ultimately, this was prompted by the GM's asking "Any particular items people would like to tend to before coming out of hyperspace?"

It was a ton of fun, with some great narrative as part of the RP flavor in the game. As such, I've decided to open up a Hyperspace Lightsaber Duels sub-forum, which will serve as a place, for those of you who wish to participate, to engage in some lightsaber sparring, during those long hyperspace trips, or during any downtime on the ship when you would like to. There are no permanent criticals, or injuries of any kind, but beyond that the combat is treated like any other in the game.

The great benefit of this is that it will allow you to have some fun, RP as much as you like during the duels, and, the most utilitarian feature, gauge your character's overall combat readiness while learning the combat mechanics of the game in full! You can duel as often as you like, which will simply reflect duels taking place at an appropriate point in time, prior to the current moment in the narrative (so, at this point, any duels would have taken place during your squad's hyperspace trip to Bonadan).

To set up a duel, simply make the challenge in the Hyperspace Lightsaber Duels OOC, and then the player who accepts the challenge can create a new thread in the cargo hold of their choice. Label the thread "Krosus vs Lexi" with an attached sequel number if needed, such as "Tajanna vs Hawke: 4"

How about 'Tajanna vs Lissewa'? Gotta pad my win/loss ratio to look good to the brass.

Also, while we're on the subject of the technicalities of CSA politics, how is the percentage of each board that is controlled by each of its respective members calculated. Is it based on discrete, purchasable "shares" in the board, or something akin to total net worth?

That probably wouldn't go well for Lissewa! But you never know...
It is based on discrete, purchasable shares and ownership of the financial market. Each member's total net worth is an entirely separate value, and they alone can determine how much of their net worth they are actually willing to skin into the market, as a means of exerting financial, and political, control over their respective Board and sub-sector.

Hawke at this point doesn't trust anyone. However, he's not seeing many options. As it currently stands working with Nash seems to be the only option before them for the mission to succeed. Running away and hoping that the Sith don't send assassins isn't even entering his mind as a possibility.

Alright, not sure if this is how I wanted everyone to find out about it because I think drama like this would be best reserved for IC discussion, how should we handle this?

I was assuming that our characters don't know yet, as Krosus hasn't told them, and CCL was just explaining Krosus's decision-making process to us as players.

My comments were strictly for OCC discussion. I prefer the mystery, but my in character would have told the group my thoughts and what I learned.

Which I'm down for RP it out.

For the Hyperspace Lightsaber Duels, to level the playing field a bit, and allow Lissewa to get in on the action...

Lissewa can, of course, bring BS-10, aka Sebastian, her security droid. This includes a special rule wherein Sebastian must be defeated prior to attacking Lissewa, in a simulated two-tier assault for the lightsaber user.

Well, that's how I would prefer it go down as well. At least in this setting. I initially was against going into greater detail into what occurred during my portion. Mostly because my character would think it was messy and embarrassing. But if she is called out on it, she will not likely fight it.

Well, at this stage he might help me stay up an additional round or two. If I could actually use blasters set to stun I might stand at least a small chance.

It's all simulated, Squeeks. Use your blaster weapons as you see fit. Being able to use BS-10 is to account for the fact that everyone else is bringing Parry and Reflect to the party.

Everyone should really view this as a way to get some combat experience in without dying, learning how to play to their individual character's strengths and weaknesses. I really appreciate that this will allow you all to get a better understanding of how combat capable your character really is. And, it makes sense, because your characters, chosen for a mission to take the crown jewel of the Corporate Sector, should have a decent amount of training/experience that makes them choice candidates for the mission, hand picked and put together by STRAT-COM.

In the future, I may even open up Hyperspace tournaments for small XP awards. Either way, getting some combqt experience in and learning the mechanics can only benefit you.

UPDATED RULES AND INFO ON HYPERSPACE DUELS
There have been some changes and additions, so make sure you're aware of them...

This is the place to challenge others to a duel, whether you leave it an open invitation, or would like to challenge someone in particular!

Is your character really ready for a fight, or as ready as you think they are? Find out! Gauge your character's combat prowess, and master the game mechanics, all while having fun!

Just like 'real' combat in the game world, anything you can do in one of those fights, you can do in a duel. Force Powers, Talents, spending Triumph/Despair/Advantage/Threat, etc, it's all part of it.

A few big differences between 'real' combat, in the narrative, and duels:

(1) There will be zero permanent injuries, or death, no matter what critical hits are rolled. Critical hits, however, for the purpose of the duel, will be treated as full critical hits.

---If the critical would cause some permanent, or temporary, damage, it will do so only during the duel (e.g., permanently crippled limbs will be treated as sprains, etc).

---If the critical would be a fatal blow, you can just write it off as the attacking character 'pulling up' at the last second, lightsaber stopping at their opponent's neck, for example, in what would clearly be a finishing strike.

(2) A character's Wound Threshold/Strain Threshold will be considered fully recharged for the start of each and every duel. Naturally, this recharge does not carry over to the 'real' world in the game.

(3) No Destiny token use.

(4) Obligation and Duty modifiers do not apply; instead, use your character's base stats.

(5) Only one non-attack action may be taken prior to initiative (e.g., to commit a Force dice for a power).

(6) Duels will start at Short range.

(7) Your Defensive conditionals for abilities like Parry and Reflect will not apply. Instead, claim any Parry or Reflect incidentals you would like to perform in OOC format.

(8) Everyone has to call their combat actions/maneuvers/incidentals (Attack, Maneuver, Parry, Reflect, use of Advantage,Threat, etc) in OOC format, in addition to any RP flavor they want to add. Damage totals are to be clarified in OOC as well.

(9) If your opponent rolls and there is Threat or Despair left in their pool, you get to decide how it is spent, not the GM.

In fact, you won't need me at all for these duels, and assuming you know the combat mechanics, you can carry them on without me, at your leisure. Of course, I will naturally be watching them, and weigh in if need be.


To set up a duel, simply make the challenge in the Hyperspace Duels OOC (this thread!). If two players agree to a duel, either of them can then:

(1) create a new thread, in the cargo hold of their choice (which can be done immediately by the player who accepts, just to speed things up).

(2) the thread creator adds an initiative roll to their first post

(3) then, the other player can then enter, adding an initiative roll to their first post as well.

Once a new thread is opened with an initiative roll, signalling the start of a duel, a failure to show up by the other player will be considered a forfeit.

All new threads, necessary for a new duel, are to be labelled with character names like 'Krosus vs Lexi' with an attached sequel number if needed, such as 'Tajanna vs Hawke: 4'.

Lissewa can, of course, bring BS-10, aka Sebastian, her security droid. This includes a special rule wherein Sebastian must be defeated prior to attacking Lissewa, in a simulated two-tier assault for the lightsaber user.

Gambling for credits, naturally, is allowed.

Roleplay as little, or as much, as you like during the duels and enjoy! I know I did!