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Monday, June 20, 2016

The Accommodating GM and the Weird Sunday

"Do I give you guys too little treasure?"
Shrugs

Player 1: "Why don't we just fast forward through this section of space?"
Me: "You have plans I should be aware of?"
Player: "It'd just be a bunch of random encounters."
Me: "And possibly the resources, contacts, or other means to accomplish your goal (of paying off a 250,000 debt) once you reach Guild Space.
Player: "OK, good point."

Me: "You have to make  a decision where you are going to go.  The less populated area, the more populated area, or out into the wilds with damaging terrain."
Player: "Why not go through the most populated area?  What could go wrong?"
Player 2: "We would be noticed and if we got into a fight, we'd likely be destroyed [] their ships are twice as big as ours (and would do massive damage if they hit)."
Player 3: "Why don't you want to go through the less populated space?"
Player 1: "We'll meet bad guys there and they'll attack us.  Why do we think that the more populated area is less safe?'
Players 2 & 3: "There ships are bigger, there are more of them, and they have more sensors operating in that area.  We may face a few outcasts in the less populated area, but we will definitely face more if we go into the more populated space."
And on it went in contrary-land for a while.

Travelling through the less populated space, they detect a habitable planet almost perfectly textbook perfect.  Player number 1's other character receives a vision of a dragon who invites the party to meet and discuss the planet.  The dragon is described as a higher-reality creature who is projecting its presence into normal space.  It wants the party to send humans to populate its planet.  In exchange, it will give them their pick of treasure.  Player 3's PC finds a piece that will more than cover the 250,000 debt.  The other four PCs (between Players 1 & 2) will choose their loot next week.

Next bit of post-game conversation is about other players at the store I am known not to get on well with.  Feels like a bit of a wind-up.

Weird.

2 comments:

  1. Reason I prefer dungeons and wilderness to civilized areas: Too many entanglements. Hell = Other people.

    I always wanted to run a Dragonstar game where at least one of the dragons had uplifted itself with neural interfaces to become a godlike, distributed intelligence, with surreal perspectives and PC missions. While the actual dragon body remained only as a sort of amusing keepsake of its former existence.

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    Replies
    1. Dungeons are either other ships, or on planets. Wilderness is space. Civilised areas have dungeons and are in wilderness.

      Other people are also players. Yes, I know the pre-nihilist/existentialist quote.

      I think you should run that for us on Thursday nights, Peter.

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