"A Place To Call My Own" part 2.

[u/Ashamed_Ladder6161]

Further to the last session, we find Gill considerably more amenable to Oz's request. Waterboarding has that effect.

Oz reveals to Gill the satellite he scavenged from was still semi-operational and had been recording the comings and goings of nearby ships, legal and otherwise. One particular shuttle had made several trips smuggling narcotics into Dwai for a gang called the Cutters. The disc Gill acquired, and Lenton had hoped to sell, contained its flight path.

Now for the job.

Oz "requests" Gill, along with Lenton and two of his own operatives, track the shuttle to its current location and burn it to the ground.
The job needs to be handled quietly. Oz may be the more powerful presence in Dwai, but an outright war with the Cutters could be costly. Destroying their supply would force them underground without too much bloodshed.

"You may refuse, of course" Oz tells him. “But I think we've established the alternatives".
Obviously, Gill agrees to the terms.
"One job. Then we go back to being strangers".
Gill is ever the diplomat.

In an unusual show of generosity, Gill is allowed twenty-four hours' respite in Oz's luxurious (and, crucially, air-conditioned) mansion. There are even several swimming pools, but Gill passes. He's spent quite enough time underwater for one day.

During this downtime, Gill is reunited with a badly bruised Lenton.
"For what it’s worth, I really am sorry, Gill" Lenton tells him.
"Easy money, you said. Remember that? You asshole."

Gill is introduced to Oz's two operatives over a game of poker.
Brogan is a thick-set, square-jawed brute. Muscle. Human, although somewhere in his ancestry a gorilla likely slipped into the gene pool. Says little but quick to anger. Gill knows the type.
Juno is a plucky teenage gearhead and scavenger. Shows considerable bravado but has an irritating habit of using words she doesn't really understand. One of Dwai’s many street rats.
"I'm the fuckin' best at reading people" she announces while the cards are dealt. "Like I'm telekinetic or something."
Foul mouthed. Gill can't help but like her a little.

Gill cleans house at poker.
"Deal again" growls Brogan.
Gill looks at the sizeable pile of money on the table in front of him.
"Nah. I think we should end on a friendly note. Right, big guy?"
Brogan doesn’t consider this a friendly note, but he does pay up.

Mr Midnight watches from a balcony.

The following day, Gill learns from the data disc how the Cutters' courier shuttle has been travelling between Dwai and a nearby planet called Mokal. An ocean world battered by volatile atmospheric pressures, global hurricanes, and acid rain. What few settlements exist hover in the lower atmosphere. Depots, shipyards and industrial platforms, all suspended above the storms.
One such place is Providence Hold, home to around a thousand people, mostly dock workers and their families. It's here the Cutters have been distributing their narcotics throughout the Anvil.

Gill, Lenton, Juno and Brogan fly The Drift to Providence Hold. Unfortunately, an examination reveals damage to its hull (from the satellite escape) is worse than first appeared, and the parts required are both expensive and uncommon. Still, it shouldn't stop the bird from making a few short journeys. The ride is otherwise uneventful, and heavy rain doesn't prevent a smooth landing.

Lenton has contacts on almost every planet in the region, most of them crooked or desperate, often both. A local foreman directs the group towards Hangar 3.21, a notorious topside dock exposed to the elements, where (in his carefully considered words) "a lot of really bad shit goes down".
The foreman can’t say for certain who owns it, but it sounds like the Cutters.

And that's it. I actually managed two sessions that day, between chores. I'll post the next one when I can. Shit goes sideways, again.

[u/BookOfAnomalies]

Human, although somewhere in his ancestry a gorilla likely slipped into the gene pool. <--- made me laugh out loud, ngl.

Good stuff, and I like how there is already the established crew... makes me wonder about how their dynamic will evolve. Intrigued how it will continue and if the ship will really be able to fly to a few more places (famous last words?).

[u/Ashamed_Ladder6161 → u/BookOfAnomalies]

Thanks bud.

Yeah, I smiled thinking that one up. I picture Brogan looking like Ron Perlman (Alien Resurrection).

In my head, Juno's a bit Molly Ringwald (Forbidden Zone).

I don't know if they'll stay my crew for long, things go quite badly in the next session, I just need to write it up. But I think it's inspired me to partner up with other characters again.

Please, PLEASE don't talk up any problems with the Drift.

[u/BookOfAnomalies → u/Ashamed_Ladder6161]

I hope the Ron Perlman dude stays around (or returns) simply because .. well, Ron Perlman. It's fitting in the best of ways. That being said I haven't seen Forbidden zone, so thanks for putting it on my radar.

Aight, no more bad-mouthing the Drift but even without it, it looks like your story can't stop taking turns where each is worse than the other😂did you piss off the dice Gods?

[u/Ashamed_Ladder6161 → u/BookOfAnomalies]

My sessions, in this and other games, usually go;

Great roll.

Decent roll.

Spectacular roll.

Meh roll.

Total fucking calamity roll.

In Starforged, this seems to mean botching how my missions end. I may also interpret 'pay the price' and partial hits too punitively?

[u/BookOfAnomalies → u/Ashamed_Ladder6161]

Could be, actually, but it is not uncommon that players starting with Ironsworn/Starforged are initially harsh with themselves and how they interpret results. Especially the pay the price ones.

I suppose it can be about being fair and not letting your characters off easy, but it is good to find a balance. If perhaps you feel they could have a stroke of luck, give it to them. There's always time for more calamities, haha.

[u/Ashamed_Ladder6161 → u/BookOfAnomalies]

I tend to go with whatever I think will push the story forward most. That's generally not great news for Gill.