[Other] [Mothership] Desert Moon of Karth

[EMIW]

Wayd Embrason Name: Wayd Embrason Class: Marine Description: Wayd is a boisterous guy. He enjoys life, and doesn't sweat the small stuff. He knows his limits and what lies outside them, which includes anything scientific or numbers-based. He just wants to see some of the galaxy and have an adventure, and he sends messages back to his dear old mum on Prospero's Dream detailing everything. Background: The focus of Wayd's 34 years of life has been trying not to get drawn into the scum and villainy of Prospero's Dream. For a big, simple guy like Wayd it would have been the easy way, but even he knew it would only end in tears, especially for his dear old mum. So he took the kind of jobs that would only be helped by someone of his stature, something he was told he got from his dad - heavy manual work, operating exo-suits and, most recently, working security at Apex Loop, a dingy bar in the Fortuna District. One day he got talking to a regular, a grizzled, grumpy looking guy in his late 50s, or maybe early 60s. Hard to tell, the guy looked beaten down by life, but he was there every day to nurse his drinks and look glum. It turned out he was a former marine. He never wanted to talk about his past career, but over time Wayd's ebullient nature wore him down, and he started to relate some of the wilder missions he had been sent on. Wayd even got a smile out of him. He agreed to show Wayd some of what he had learned as a Marine, just the basic stuff, to help with the bouncing. "Or if I become a Marine?" asked Wayd. "They ain't that desperate," growled the man. News of the voyage to Karth reached Wayd through the grapevine of the Dream. Word gets around about people hunting for an elixir of youth. This was exactly the kind of thing his ex-Marine friend had gotten involved in, back in the day. He came up with a plan. "If I tell them I'm a Marine, a proper one, they'll have to let me go! And maybe if I borrow the stuff you kept..." "It ain't worth it kid. No sights or sounds out there worth watching all your friends get killed off right in front of you." It was the closest the man had ever come to telling Wayd what happened to him. But Wayd didn't even notice, "Well I'm not going to spend my life in this damn bar, or lifting boxes! I can do more! Or I'll end my days drinking my life away like you!" Wayd stormed out, and went straight to sign up for the trip to Karth. Before they disembarked a package came through to him - his friends old tool kit, some ancient scrip, and a bright yellow patch bearing a bolt of electricity. Wayd smiled, feeling much better about this venture now that he had his friend's blessing.   Skills: Military training (starting) +10% Heavy Machinery +10% Close-quarters Combat +15% Loadout: Extermination

Let me know if you need any more info right now. Stats minus bonuses are in the stat thread.

[Jedyot]

Hello there! How is everything?
I wanted to apply for this exciting adventure. It would be my first time as a player in Sci-fi horror.
I'm excited and I hope you consider me as part of this crew.
Thank you very much

Andy "Scanner" Dalton Name: STR: 32 SPD: 34 INT: 45 CMB: 39 Calm: 85 Resolve: 0 Max Health: 16 Andy Dalton Class: Saves: Sanity: 53 Fear: 21 Body: 26 Skills: Zoology (+10) => Field Medicine (+15) => Surgery (+20) Chemistry (+10) Loadout & Credits: Loadout: Vaccsuit (AP3), Rigging gun, Sample Collection kit, Flashlight, Lab Rat "Einstein" (small pet) Credits: 28 Scientist "The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you" Description: Andy is a hermit, she likes to live among the countless unfinished inventions and enjoys reading medical books, technological advances and robotics. She's grumpy, temperamental and very effusive at times, but deep down she likes using his knowledge to help others solve their problems. Those that know her say she is a good laugh. She stands about 5'3'' feet tall, with her usually dirty gloves from his last chemistry forays, she is a bit untidy and messy in everyday life. Although she knows, in that disaster, the location of all the tools and parts of the laboratory. Touch or reorder his things at your own risk... Andy doesn't like violence, but when the time comes she can be the most reckless to protect himself and others. Background: Andy's journey through space began long before she set foot on a spaceship. When she was a child, she lived on a small and peaceful planet called Azura. She was happy there, surrounded by family and friends, until the day she was kidnapped by a group of interstellar smugglers. These thieves took Andy to a distant planet where she was forced to work as a slave to a group of rogue scientists. Seeing her curiosity and potential, they trained her in the arts of medicine and science, teaching her how to create advanced technologies and medicine. Despite her dire circumstances, Dalton's thirst for knowledge never wavered. She worked tirelessly to master the skills her captors demanded of her, always hoping that one day she would be able to use his knowledge to escape. After years of servitude, Andy managed to repair a crude spaceship with salvaged parts and fled the planet. She spent the next several years traveling through space, improving and advancing his learning. If you ask her, she would tell you that the reason Karth was the chosen destination to continue her journey was due to rumors of ancient species, possible scientific discoveries such as aging reversal, and limitless adventures. However, her true motivation is to get revenge on Rowan Carter, the smuggler who captured her as a child and who is now on that moon...

[Silent Rain]

Bunch of additional apps came in, all are looking good. Also nice to see some new players rolling up some apps as well. Shaping up to be a good pool.

[Classic Gamer]

Originally Posted by Dworin

Those would be your free skills. The +3 is on top of that. ETA: Chemisty is a 10% skill, as I understand it you can't raise that to 15% just take a skill at the next higher level for 2 points.

Thanks, Dworin. Based on your instructions I have listed both Agriculture and Chemistry as (10%) trained only level skills and added Robotics as a master level (20%) skill for the full three points allowable. I have also updated Q’s background to reflect four years on the research ship instead of two to allow time for this new specialization.

This actually worked well as robotics was the other area of study that I was considering during character conceptualization. Being able to work with all disciplines allows for a more well-rounded and fun character to play. Now if only M|DR01D will allow Q to make a few minor modifications.

Silent Rain, I think this fulfills all immediate requirements for character completion, but please feel free to request more info in any given direction. I am excited for the possibility of joining your campaign.

[ihinka]

M squares Q with a dispassionate gaze. "Minor modifications you say... Only licensed personal are authorized to effect repairs or modifications on me or any other android from the 'Medic' class. My directives will not allow me to permit to be tampered with without such license." With M's unnerving appearance and the monotone delivery it is unclear if what was just said was the pure, unadulterated truth... Or if she was pulling Q's leg.

[EMIW]

Originally Posted by Classic Gamer

Thanks, Dworin. Based on your instructions I have listed both Agriculture and Chemistry as (10%) trained only level skills and added Robotics as a master level (20%) skill for the full three points allowable. I have also updated Q’s background to reflect four years on the research ship instead of two to allow time for this new specialization.

Hi, if I've read the character sheet correctly you need to have unlocked the preceding skills to get a Master skill. In the case of Robotics you would first need to unlock Engineering (2pts), for which you would first need to unlock either Heavy Machinery, Computers, or Mechanical Repair (1pt).

On character creation I don't think anyone can have a Master skill as all Starting Skills are Trained level, then you'd have to spend 5pts to get an Expert then Master, and even Teamsters only get 4pts to spend.

With 3pts you could have 3 more Trained Skills, or 1 Trained + 1 Expert Skill.

[Classic Gamer]

Oy! Guess I should have looked a little closer at the skill tree. Thank you for the clarification. Computers and engineering it is, hopefully with robotics to come in the future.

[Thebardstale]

Hey there, this game looks really interesting, although I never played a sci-fi/horror game before.

Here's my application:

Caleb Delmont Name: STR: 28 SPD: 38 INT: 32 CMB: 32 Calm: 85 Resolve: 0 Max Health: 56 Caleb Delmont Class: Saves: Sanity: 25 Fear: 30 Body: 35 Armor: 40 Skills: Military Training Tactics Rimwise Loadout & Credits: Loadout: Extermination: SMG, frag grenade x6, advanced battle dress (+15% armor save), stimpack x6, electronic took kit Credits: 30 Marine Description: Caleb is a rather unassuming 19-year-old man. Standing at 5’9’’, he dresses in plain tactical clothes and armor, always has a plain haircut and shows no tattoos or scars on his body. This often has people making the mistake of dismissing him as too young and unqualified, but he still carries himself with a straight posture and a serious look on his face. Although that look says “don’t mess with me” rather than show professionalism as it’s the look of someone who’s fallen through the cracks of society and somehow managed to come out on top without much help. Despite his looks, Caleb is far from a quiet guy, he’ll speak his mind regardless of whom he’s talking to. His knowledge of military tactics doesn’t seem to apply to personal relations, so he often gets in trouble for running his mouth. But when it comes to real combat, he’s as reliable as it gets and will always do his best to come out on top by looking for the best strategy available while keeping his companions alive and in one piece. Background: Caleb might be the youngest soldier dishonorably discharged in recent history. He was born in a backwater planet called Athos IV, in the Zenithia Nebula. As an orphan, he was sent straight to military school since the orphanage couldn’t afford anything else. Fort Braddock, as the school was called, was the last place parents in the Athos system sent their kids if they wanted them to have a prosperous future; in Caleb’s case it was the only option but at least he had a career guaranteed upon graduation. He graduated from the academy at the age of eighteen and he was top of his class, or he would have been if he hadn’t accumulated so many demerits for running his mouth and confronting his instructors too many times. He still managed to land a position as the leader of a new squad with five of his class mates. All was good for Caleb for a while until his squad was deployed. His CO, sixty-year-old with a stagnant career named Commander Samuel Blackwell, assigned them as security detail for a small military convoy across the desert plains on Athos IV. It was meant to be an easy mission so only Caleb’s squad was in charge of security, but when he studied the route the convoy would take he noticed it passed through a canyon half-way to their destination, the perfect spot for an ambush. As was usual by then, Caleb brought his concerns to his CO immediately, requesting air back-up or drone surveillance. Commander Blackwell dismissed his objections and ordered him to carry on as already established. As expected, pirates ambushed the convoy and only Caleb and very few others managed to escape with their lives thanks to his tactical decisions in heat of battle. Also as expected, Commander Blackwell forced him to take the blame and accused him of insubordination. None of the other survivors stood by him for fear of losing their careers, so Caleb was dishonorably discharged at the age of eighteen, less than two months after graduation. As an orphan accustomed to disappointments and frustration, Caleb took the news rather well. He knew he was in the right and if his advice had been followed the mission would have ended with a lot less casualties, or it might have even been a success. However, he wasn’t sure what to do with his life as he suddenly found himself with no job and nowhere to go. So he started doing odd freelance jobs, mostly security, enough to get by and leave the system. He eventually found his way to Prospero’s Dream, where he learnt about the desert moon of Karth. There he saw an opportunity to make a new career for himself. He remembered how he proved himself at the military school and there was sure to be a lot of people interested in his talents over there, and a lot of money to be made. So he booked the first, and cheapest, ticket he could get and he was on his way to a brighter future.

[Silent Rain]

Thanks for the spot check, EMIW.

Welcome, Thebardstale, and thanks for the app. Have to start somewhere.

Also, for the record, while Mothership is more than capable of running a campaign set in a lonely space hauler with its crew being slowly picked off by a logic-defying alien...this is not that game. There will certainly be aspects of horror, but it is not a through-line throughout the entire campaign.

[Aethera]

Is the Classes chart in the first post correct? Teamsters get 42 starting armor? I downloaded their character sheet to see what it looked like, and it says armor 35 for Teamsters. (The +7% could be a vaccsuit?)

[Silent Rain]

Right you are, Aethera. Looks like I had the bonus from their vaccsuit already added in. I corrected the Armor save to now read 35. Thanks for catching that.

[Dworin]

I have accordingly changed my armour from 49 to 42.

[47Ronin]

I think my application is now complete!

[Silent Rain]

Thanks, Ronin. Chart has been updated.

Looks like the apps are beginning to taper off, so I'm going to move up the deadline from 4/7 to 3/31.

[Aethera]

 

I'm coming up with an older honorably-discharged Marine/Teamster ("There's no such thing as an ex-Marine.") explosives tech now in a more exploration mindset. The number of links I'm seeing between him and the other character apps are already climbing, so I figured, hey, why not? Obviously, any of the Marines would be able to read the worn/outdated Sergeant and EOD tech patches on his vaccsuit. That may be connection enough.

@EMIW:

 

Skipper could be the man you described as Wayd's benefactor. I hadn't read yours yet, so it didn't influence my decision, but it's almost exactly the vibe I was going for. I think he'd have a job on Prospero's Dream, but it wouldn't necessarily be fulfilling to him after the Marines. I could see him having a standard drinking habit ingrained in his schedule. If you're interested, we could work this together? Skipper wouldn't have been planning to go to Karth, but maybe he ended up wanting to keep an eye on Wayd or do something more to challenge himself than being a surly security guard. This is just me brainstorming as I type, though, I don't want to step on your creative toes. Let me know what you think, for or against.

@ihinka:

 

There was an explosion that resulted in Skipper getting discharged from the Marines, and I could see him being ordered to see a qualified medic wherever he went next. Medics would be on either end, anyway, and M could easily be one of them. M would also know/realize that the injury was not damaging enough for a medical discharge, despite that being what was listed on his release papers. He has some scars and a little trouble with one shoulder, but not in a major fashion. Might M have been tested in a military situation as a prototype/early model to show the armed forces what could be done? Or, alternately, have been on whatever planet/ship Skipper went to next? I know it's a little thin as a connection, so if you're not crazy about it, I can just save those revelations for later.

@Jedyot and 47Ronin:

 

I don't know how long Andy or Neev might be on Prospero's Dream leading up to the flight to Karth, but Skipper is both a grouchy hermit-type kindred spirit (to Andy, anyway) and an old-fashioned "protector of the small" (for both Andy and Neev) that would alternately be appealing and likely disgust someone like Andy who got where she is by climbing out of slavery on her own, or Neev, who made herself a crewmember even before she could be crewing ships. If these two were going to Karth, I could see Skipper going as her/their bodyguard(s), whether that were an agreed upon distinction or just in his mindset. Dunno how Andy or Neev would feel about it, but I doubt either'd like being a damsel in distress in his eyes.

Eric "Skipper" Symkin Callname "Skipper" (AI Generated art) Name: His given name is Renaud, which he never uses. It was an old family name his parents saddled him with, and he never lived it down as a child. It was still in use in the Marines, though he was generally addressed by his surname by then. Now, unless there's cause to examine his papers in detail, no one around him knows it.R. Eric "Skipper" Symkin Concept: 59yo male former Marine Sergeant (Teamster)   Calm: 85 Strength: 45 Sanity: 30 Resolve: 0 Speed: 43 Fear: 35 Health: 80 / 80 Intellect: 36 Body: 30   Combat: 45 Armor: 42 Skills: Zero-G +10% Mechanical Repair +10% Piloting +10% Rimwise +10% (1 pt) Military Training +10% (1 pt) Explosives +15% (2 pts) Stress & Panic: [X] Teamster: Once per session, a Teamster may re-roll a roll on the Panic Effect Table. [ ] Scientist: Whenever a Scientist fails a Sanity save, every friendly player nearby gains 1 stress. [ ] Android: Fear saves made in the presence of Androids have disadvantage. [ ] Marine: Whenever a Marine Panics, every friendly player nearby must make a Fear save. Loadout: [ ] Excavation: Crowbar, hand welder, laser cutter, body cam, bioscanner, infrared goggles, lockpick set, vaccsuit (+7% armor save) [X] Exploration: Vibechete, rigging gun, flare gun, first aid kit, vaccsuit (+7% armor save), survey kit, water filter, locator, rebreather, binoculars, flashlight, camping gear, MREs x7 [ ] Extermination: SMG, frag grenade x6, advanced battle dress (+15% armor save), stimpack x6, electronic tookl kit [ ] Examination: Scalpel, tranq pistol, stun baton, hazard suit (+5% armor save), medscanner, automed x6, pain pills x6, stimpack x6, cybernetic diagnostic scanner Trinket: flint hatchet Patch: patch with a very not-PG-13 Russian word Starting Credits: 22 Description: The older man with perpetual frown lines is just shy of six feet tall, not surprisingly big, but the muscled way he fills out his suit with biceps and shoulders stretched to their limits affects that impression. If this is his physique at sixty-ish, what might the younger man have been capable of? Skipper is close-mouthed about his background, but pieces of it are obvious from small signs either on his person or in his behavior. The Marine markings on his vaccsuit are faded and even scratched off in places, but the three gold chevrons above crossed riflesSergeant and a warhead with an X of lightning bolts behind/piercing itEOD tech patches were designed not to come off, even if this is just a vaccsuit, effectively his "off-duty" officer attire. Occasionally they get covered up by temporary badges of whatever job he's currently on, but those tend to be easier to remove. He has a number of fine white scars on his arms (when they're visible) and primarily the left side of his face, most of which look minor, provided they had not all been gained at once.   Skipper was born on a small mining colony, the kind that only exported ore, Marines, and criminals. Not desiring to be one of the latter, he studied piloting instead of mining, and used that as a stepping stone into the Marines. His natural strength and speed were a great resource, and he took to combat like a sponge to water. The type of combat didn't matter. Yet it was his tactical savvy as a Corporal that led to him being encouraged to take the tests to go into explosives training and ultimately to get his promotion. He was "officially" promoted to Sergeant while he was taking the entry test; his comrades laughed at him later for it, at the same time as they congratulated him and bid him goodbye. He was assigned elsewhere after finishing his Explosive Ordnance DisposalEOD training. He did a lot of small-team work as part of a larger force that would splinter apart to accomplish their disparate tasks, but as he got more experience, his confidence and willingness to speak up if it would help his team likewise grew. It led to better jobs, but also got him taken to task for trying to inform superiors of a better way to do their duties, even if he was ultimately right. He got "demoted" back to small-team work, though it freed him of the responsibility to speak up at the same time, as he became the senior EOD tech on whatever team-based mission he was on. "Skipper": The callname was a result of being the chief EOD tech on a small mission that went bad, and he ended up taking over for the injured captain of the skiff for a time. It was a legit "Skipper" sort of role, but the name stuck, and the story had lingered, at least while he was still in the Marines. Honorably Discharged for Medical reasons: There's more politics to this than there ever was a medical reason to boot him out. His capability is still extremely high, even as he (and his scars) have aged. Would he rather be in the Marines still? Probably, but not if bringing concerns to a commanding officer more than once on unrelated matters was going to erode the shmuck's ego (that he hadn't done certain things correctly the first time, and/or had to be corrected by an underling). Skipper might not have been aware who the commanding officer was related to, what underhanded business the officer was involved in that couldn't stand any scrutiny, nor how far the "Skipper" reputation had preceded him at the time. He's learned most if not all of that since. Changing planets and ships whenever the mood suited him isn't really Skipper's cup of tea; he's a structured and organized Marine, who doesn't do spontaneity well off the battlefield. It suited him far more to find a permanent berth on a station or planet that could support someone with his skills in the private sector. He would call himself a "security consultant", however that usually translates to either gun for hire or squeaky wheel on some security-related topic. He's worked as security in three different longer-term jobs on Prospero's Dream in the two decades since he reached the station, and he's grown sick of them. His patience used to be better, or so he thought. It was time to leave, and he had been checking for availabilities either on ships that reached the station or on worlds those ships were headed to. The notice about Karth was his timely salvation. He didn't need to be the bug-hunter this time around, and could imagine exploring with a group or company being fascinating, at least to start out with. He could also imagine pitching himself to a group based on his more advanced skills (explosives were often used to clear roads, rivers, or any barred passage) with the fact he had been a career Marine counting him as an "extra" guard. Application complete, barring character connections with other PCs in the 20 years he's been on Prospero's Dream.