Attempts to raise the research ship on comm channels met with no response, but the distress signal continued to emit as well as the the commercial identification code for the vessel. The latter was run through the computer and revealed the craft to be registered to Lysani Laboratories. Further computer checks revealed that the corporation was primarily a pharmaceutical research firm with various ties to the Imperial government, particularly the military.
Upon approaching, the ship appeared to be operating on limited or emergency power based on the lack of the sort of lights you see in the image above, though the ring was still spinning. A successful recon check revealed several points of entry onto the lab ship; most promising was a maintenance hatch that could be manually accessed on the docking "spoke" pictured above. Pilar suited up for a space walk and literally jumped (successfully) from the Longshot to the Lysani ship. She gained access through the maintenance hatch and found herself in a reception area of some kind. An interior communications unit on the wall was operable, but nobody responded when she used it.
The reception area, the handful staterooms and the mess area Pilar investigated were all eerily empty and dark due to the unusual number of smashed overhead lights. One of the staterooms had appeared to be previously occupied but several centimeters of water on the deck and the missing linens and blankets were perplexing. She maintained frequent radio contact with Nathan Khyber, who piloted the Longshot while she investigated the increasingly bizarre scene. She called out often, "I'm here to help... is there anybody onboard?"
Once she heard a rhythmic, metallic banging back toward an area she had previously passed through, but could find no source for the noise. Returning to the reception area she decided to access the lift to the pinnace (which I called a shuttle all session because it was just easier) and investigated the cargo area (finding some useful spare parts and science equipment) but not the bridge or the engineering section. Returning to the reception area she barely noticed in time the dark, pipe-wielding figure moving out from behind the furniture.
Her assailant was dressed in a tattered lab coat, splattered with blood and grease. He appeared human, but his skin was gray and his eyes two red tangles of bursting veins. We dubbed him the "space zombie". His wild and powerful pipe swings were taking out chunks of the reception area's wooden wall paneling. Pilar tried to reason with the thing, but to no avail. Luck was with her, though, for she was able to deftly sidestep his vicious attacks before dispatching the poor soul with a single laser blast through the chest from her pistol.
She examined the body and noticed an identification badge of some kind. It indicated the wearer as Dr. Douglas Fines, senior research scientist. The logo on the badge was the Lysani Labs logo, to no surprise. Pilar called the name over to Nathan Khyber and had him run it through the computer. It came back with some general professional and personal information. Dr. Fines was dual-specialized as a chemist and psychologist and had been working for Lysani for several years.
Pilar decided that her curiosity was satisfied and she didn't want to expose herself to further risk on the ship without reason. She returned to the Longshot the same way she arrived (barely making her zero G check to leap between ships) and the partners headed for Ovuurn. Khyber called into the belter's station once the ship was closer, informing them of the cargo they carried (three tons of spare parts for the station's downed primary life support system) but neglected to mention their side-trip. When asked how she wanted to handle that detail, Pilar stated that she didn't.
The parts were received by a supervisor in the station operations department, who looked like Giancarlo Esposito's character Gustavo in Breaking Bad (this reminds me, I need to watch last Sunday's episode after this post), only in a space suit.
The supervisor was accompanied by two burly space dock workers that Pilar assumed were hired muscle. When the parts were delivered without problem and a proof of delivery provided so that the duo could get paid back on Llewellyn she was at a loss. Her assumption was that their presence would have been detected on the science station and some authority would be here to apprehend, detain or attack them. Lacking this, she decided to explore the station a bit with Nathan before heading back home.
It turned out to be a run-of-the-mill mining operation. Miners and brokers met and haggled over the loads coming in, small merchant ships and free traders came and went with supplies and minerals respectively. The duo bumped into an old acquaintance of Khyber's, a fellow former Navy pilot named Trent Lowell. Trent and his wife Amanda were belters and had been working out of the station for years now.
The foursome met for brief drinks before the Lowells headed out on their scheduled run. Like Nathan and Pilar, the Lowells seemed to prefer scratching out a living by their wits and wiles out on the fringe to a more comfortable but controlled existence closer to the core. The men seemed genuinely happy for the chance to reacquaint while the women hit it off nicely. When Nathan neglected to ask about or mention Lysani, the station or what they had found there, Pilar likewise did not pursue things. The short, happy party broke up after a couple of hours spent in the single, small lounge on the station and the crews went their respective ways.
Soon the Longshot was disembarking from Ovuurn and headed out in the direction of the furthest gas giant (and the lab ship) to refuel while Pilar decided upon their next action. When asked about his opinion on whether they should simply return to Llewellyn to collect their money or poke around some more on the lab ship, Nathan just shrugged and provided some non-committal answer. This ended our session for the night.
So what did I think? Well for starters, this session broke some new ground for me personally. We played the entire time in bed. Rolling dice on my side took some getting used to, but it was relaxing and surprisingly manageable. I don't suspect this is an approach I'll take with my D&D group. The general refereeing also came much easier for me this time.
My wife once again played the game well and approached situations cautiously but with the right amount of calculated risk to generate some tension and danger. On the downside, I think at times she was looking for more input from her partner and NPC Nathan Khyber. I tried really hard not to give any. This is her game to play, after-all, not mine.
The default assumption of almost every RPG is that a party will be adventuring, not a single adventurer. While solo games are obviously possible, they can be tricky... especially for a first-time player with nearly no RPG experience. I think having a consistent NPC presence is a sound approach for this and any solo game. It provides an extra set of hands, abilities and occasional ideas... the trick is finding that sweet-spot between automaton and full-fledged party member. If I've erred in any direction so far, its probably that Nathan Khyber has been sort of useless... of course, my wife also hasn't truly gotten stuck anywhere yet.
Noteworthy, and not necessarily good or bad at this point, when the action moved to Ovuurn I got the sense that my wife was waiting for the "story" to take off somehow. The feds were going to show up... Lysani agents would attack... the space yakuza would ambush them...Ovuurn would be full of space zombies... whatever. I'm striving to make the "story" emerge logically and for it to be driven in large part by the choices my wife makes and not according to some rat maze I've set up with only one way to get to the cheese. I'm not sure that she's embraced that fully yet. I suspect sometimes that she assumes I have this master plan or puzzle set up ahead of time that she needs to discover, step-by-proper-step. In part I do, otherwise I wouldn't be holding up my end of the RPG social contract. But it's not that hard to pull together some set pieces and places, potential conflicts and a handful of patrons in a sub-sector and toss just a few leads out at a time. One must let the player(s) move through the world... the adventure of it will happen alright, and it will seem so much more meaningful and engaging when the players are pursing the goals that they themselves have chosen. Let it unfold naturally and over time. Change it as it goes, this is a shared creation not a TV drama that needs to be tidied up in 60 minutes with time for commercials. I hate mazes. And rats. Love me some cheese, though. Moving on... as far as the "adventure" goes, I'm pretty much ready for just about anything. Pilar could decide to return to the lab ship, head back to Llewellyn or join a circus... I'm good to go.
BUT....
If, hypothetically speaking, there was only one thing that I could attest to absolutely knowing about my wife, its that uncertainty drives her nuts. She either wants to figure everything out or know first hand that it can't be figured out. Since Ovuurn seemed to be what it was on the surface, my wife is channelling her attention back to the space station. It's killing her to not know what the hell THAT was all about. What's giving her pause, I think, is that there's no obvious goal that going back into danger advances. If I were a betting man, though, I'd say... wait. Better not. In case she reads this, you know.
So once again the happy couple was off to bed (or, already in bed, just with less books, dice and clothes)
Me: So... you heading back to Llewellyn, the lab ship or someplace else?
Her: I'm not telling you... I don't have to, do I?
Me: Well, at some point, yes, you've gotta do something otherwise the game gets sort of stuck in neutral.
Her: Ok.... I do know one thing. We need to hire some muscle to kick some butt if Khyber's going to stay on his spaceship like a big baby.
Me: Ummm.... you can do that.
Her: I can?
Me: Of course. It's your world. I'm just a humble squirrel looking for a nut. Speaking of which...
Her: Eyes roll
Posts
Really enjoyed the writeup - thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI tend to GM more than I play, so when I do get to play, I often find myself a bit 'stage struck' - my mind goes blank of all cunning plans, I forget all the RPG mantras (pack your rope, your high hard boots and your ten foot pole) and I feel myself floundering. This is something I've also seen in new players. They either have too many choices of action, with none more obvious than the other, or they have yet to develop the particular pattern solving skills that roleplaying games seem to encourage.
Of course, in soloplay, the NPCs shouldn't lead or direct the action, but they can be useful for delivering the first couple of clues/hooks that get the player going. Getting the player to look at their skill set and make some rolls also gets them in the 'game' mood, too. And gives them some clues as to how they can get further information or otherwise influence the game.
The new player seeing the GM as 'the opponent' is quite common, too, as most game playing to date will be of the adverserial type found in board games, etc. Working out that the GM is part of the story-telling, and not the 'bad guy', takes a bit of a head shift if you've never role-played before - but it's a great feeling for the GM when you see that little light go on and the player say, 'Ooooh, I get it!'
"Getting the player to look at their skill set and make some rolls..."
ReplyDeleteKobold, thanks for the post. I htink we agree on the role of th NPC in solo-play and I'm striving for the sweet spot you describe. The comment I pasted in quotes above is a long-standing sentiment with which I have recently formed a rather subtle but different opinion.
The great thing about having my wife as a new player is that she's not yet constrained by what appears on the character sheet. When somethign is happening, her nose isn't pointed down at her sheet trying to find a solution... she's working it out in her mind. The actual in-play interaction between us has so far been my wife stating what it is that she wants to do and me interpreting that into game terms. Over time she'll naturally become more familiar with her skills thorugh play and do her own interpreting. But I'm hoping that she retains that ability to observe, initiate and react to the game outside of the rules.
Good point about the character sheat and one I hadn't thought of.
ReplyDeleteThe last game I ran with new players (my 10 yr old daughter, and a 13 and 15 yr old, plus my wife's 19 yr old son) was quite refreshing in that fashion as they would often come up with novel ways of solving a problem that I just had not even considered! Lots of fun - a bit of railroading at the beginning to get them headed in the direction I had initially planned, and then they just ran with it and I was able to throw out half my notes and just keep making stuff up as they explored the pirate base and battled the pirates!