CH 1.1-b: Shank's Pre-Owned

Dice for Hawke's door slicing (we'll assume his helmet scanner lowlight amp is helped out by Krosus' nearby with a saber, eliminating all setback for the darkness). Result: 5 Success! Hawke gets it open!

It takes some time, but Hawke manages to slice the keypad. The door grates open, and once again you can hear the sounds of the Kraspen night: a buzzing siren fades in the distance, the sound of distant blaster fire coming to an abrupt end, all reminding you how desperate abd chaotic life is in the city, which, according to Zhaff, are a result of the labor riots.

Looking out the newly opened door, you see something like an alley, except wider, with enough room for one-way speeder traffic. To the left the street comes to an end then narrows into a foot traffic only type alley, much like the one that you first used to enter this neighborhood after parking your ECUL. To the right, the street continues and then widens about a block down to what passes for a normal street, wide enough for two-way speeder traffic totaling 4 lanes, much like near the Espos Station Tower. Three blocks after that is another intersection.

As you look to your right down the street, your directional sense tells you that you'd want to stay to your right (1st right at the intersection, then another right would take you past the Espos Tower and toward where your ECUL is parked on the same street). Before that, if possible, moving through a side alley or the first building on your right would likely lead to right about where your ECUL is parked, which, as a reminder, is at the end of the street a couple of blocks from the Espos Tower, just outside the alley entrance that leads to Charitable Charlatan's, past which is Shank's.

To give a bit more direction sense with easier terms, let's say that looking straight out the newly opened door across the street I just described is West. Directly behind you, to the East through the warehouse you're currently in, is the back door to Charitable Charlatan's. To the North would be the Kraspen Spaceport, to the South the street narrows into a foot traffic alley neighborhood again. If you could phase throough walls, your ECUL is just over a block Northeast of where you are. About 3 blocks North of your ECUL is the Espos Tower, on the same street as your ECUL. Charitable Charlatan's is 1/2 block South of your ECUL, in a foot traffic neighborhood, with Shank's being a 1/2 block past Charitable Charlatan's.

As your merciless GM, I suggest you consider the situation and potential outcomes before advancing. You may want to take a moment to talk things through, even posting a couple of times today before making a decision to advance (remember, I've said before that talking doesn't count as an action, except in very special circumstances. Also, keep in mind that I try to make our game world more on the believable/realistic side, as part of the challenge. Your group taking a few moments to talk isn't going to pass a lot of time in the game, and could be beneficial.

Just a reminder to be careful, as I know some of you may have played in games where you can't screw up via coddling GM's. I'll say this: there are Espos out there, as you know, behaving and acting much like any police force would.

It's still early in the game so I'm keen on helping you guys adjust to my merciless ways. Eventually, however, you'll be on your own.

You can, of course, close the door while you talk, if you like. Or leave it open, so you can hear and see what's going on outside, while you stay to the sides, out of sight. Both have positive and negative value, depending, but the point here is that I do keep it in mind.

Regarding your options, remember what I said about stealth before: if your Stealth party members are at least Short range (about 7 meters or 20 feet) ahead of the rest of the group (who are, of course, also using stealth), they can serve as your scouts and help to insulate the group from surprises and ambush, using their stealth to maintain the element of surprise and secrecy. However, keep in mind that there are threats your scouts themselves might not see, and those threats might also fail to spot your scouts. However, the less sneaky types in the group might still be spotted.

Ultimately, much like a real military outfit, the scouts do help serve to insulate the party from being detected, allowing those better looks around the corner, over the ridge, out the window, etc.

Krosus invites the Dark Side, and it answers, seething into his very being...

As Krosus taps into the Dark Side, the rest of you don't perceive anything different going on around you. Of course, you've only been talking for a minute.

Working on map making skills and thought this might help you guys out. The spaceport and riots you passed are to the north.

Think there is a misinterpretation here. Lissewa is somewhere between the Espos Tower and the Spaceport, to the north. Keep in mind that it was an hour's travel by speeder from the spaceport to the Espos Tower.

Lexi advances under cover of darkness, avoiding the occasional illuminated areas created by overhanging street lights jutting out from buildings. Fortunately, this part of Kraspen, despite the occasional outburst of noise that breaks the constant din of distant chaos, is quiet and still, likely a result of it being the middle of the night and the general desire of law abiding citizens to stay say off of the streets. That, and of course, you're only a few blocks from an Espos Station, which tends to reduce the crime rate in the immediate neighborhood. She makes it to the end of the street without difficulty, and disappears from the rest of the group's view as she rounds the corner to her right.

There's an image in Lexi's note; please let me know if you can see it anyway.