TiffanyKorta

Long, long ago I had a Highlander character in a mage game I ran. As I recall they were pretty solid in a WoD kinda way! I also apparently did a good job as the player, who wasn't initially keen, eventually made their own Mage characters! But back to those Lawn Chairs.

This is what Uncle Backett looked like for the curious.

Lambdragon: Large herbivore common to the Alell jungles. Lambdragons slowly graze through the forest, eating from the treetops. They have few natural predators, due to their size and the protection of the pack. The term ‘lambdragon’ was given to them because of their perceived gentleness but attacks by lambdragons are not impossible. The creatures have surprisingly sharp teeth for a herbivore (more accurately, they have two sets of teeth – an exterior set of flat teeth for feeding on leaves and a retractable set of sharper teeth used in defence and mating rituals) and a stampede of lambdragons can flatten a tank. The creatures reproduce by depositing egg sacs in hollows in trees. The larval lambdragon feeds on the interior of the tree and ‘hatches’ when the weakened tree collapses. The passage of a large herd of lambdragons can cause sizable seismic tremors, causing trees to fall and thus bring new dragons into the herd. Llellewyoly: The Llellewyoly are a minor race native to Junidy in the Aramis subsector of the Spinward Marches. They are nicknamed ‘Dandelions’ or ‘Dandies’, as they resemble a two-metre-tall version of a Terran plant, with five stalk-like limbs that are used for manipulation, movement and sensing. Llellewyoly are highly intelligent and have excellent memory recall and organisational skills, possibly as a result of their incredibly complex social structure. A Llellewyoly possesses dozens of formal titles simultaneously and addressing it by the wrong title is a grievous insult. They are rarely encountered outside their homeworld. Maleficent: Infamous and mysterious predators of the Alell jungles, maleficents are fast and brutal creatures. They are jet-black in colour, although markings can be seen under ultraviolet light. They travel through the trees by means of tentacles, snaking along the canopy in search of prey. Little is known about their biology but some scientists believe they are not originally native to Alell. Menorb: An unremarkable agricultural planet, known mainly for producing food for export to the Vargr market. Unfortunately, this has drawn more than its share of raiders, who snack on Menorb before moving on to more profitable targets. Oyntrip: A Droyne unit of social organisation, ranging in size from a handful of individuals to the population of a whole planet. Roughly cognate to a ‘clan’ or ‘nation’. Pixie: The Pixie system is home to a forward operating base of the 213th Fleet. Travellers are requested not to travel to this system without due cause. The only civilian port is home to a small community of belt miners. Public Order Commission: The local police force of Regina. The moon is Law Level 9, banning most personal weapons. Public Order Commission officers are also empowered to detain individuals or confiscate items that are judged to be ‘disruptive or damaging to public order and safety’. In the past, this has been used to control technologies or restrict the movement of visitors to the moon. In practice, the POC is much more lenient in the most cosmopolitan cities; visitors to the less trafficked regions of Regina are advised to exercise caution. Regina: The capital of the Regina subsector and seat of the Duchy of Regina, this is one of the most important worlds in the Spinward Marches. It is a bulwark against Zhodani aggression and the largest trade hub in the sector. Vessels travelling along the Spinward Main from the Core worlds often offload their cargoes at Regina, leaving smaller local traders to carry the goods on to the lesser systems. Regina Highport sees more traffic in a day than some lesser systems see in a decade. Technically, Regina is a moon, not a planet; it orbits the gas giant Assiniboia, which itself orbits the locus of the primary star Lusor and its companion star Speck. There is a third star in the system, a red dwarf on a long eccentric orbit. Regina Highport: This Class A starport is one of the largest ports in the entire sector. Over 80% of the cargo that passes through Regina is destined for other worlds in the sector, so most of the port is given over to cargo handling and warehousing. The port itself is located in geostationary orbit over Regina Downport and Startown, which is located halfway between the cities of Credo and Atora. Roup: Roup is a water world. The only stable ‘land’ consists of synthetic islands grown from webs of microorganisms and seaweed. These huge rafts support vast cities, factories, farmland and even the starport. Roup’s citizens practice aquaculture on a planetary scale, with whole oceans sectioned off using bubble-nets to maximise productivity. Rynkatropa: The Rynkatropa are a minor race of sophonts who resemble ambulatory sea slugs. They have three pseudopods that they use to manipulate objects and move on land, and communicate by whistling. They have four sexes (male, female, neuter and incubator) and had just reached TL1 when they were enslaved by the Vargr. Solomani Hypothesis: The theory that Humaniti originally evolved on the planet of Terra, the home of the Solomani. According to this theory, the Ancients transplanted primitive humans to other worlds in the galaxy, most notable the homeworlds of the Vilani and Zhodani. Genetic evidence has largely confirmed the Solomani Hypothesis, although some scientists and religious groups advocate other origins for Humaniti, such as parallel evolution or divine intervention. Startown: The region around the old Regina starport, now the primary downport. This strip of bars, cheap hostelries, raucous entertainments and less savoury businesses is notoriously violent, corrupt and profitable. Technically, it is divided between the nearby cities of Credo and Atora; both blames the other for the state of Startown. Siu (Guest): Term of respect used on Alell, derived from old Vilani dialect term ‘Siu’ch’, meaning guest or honoured visitor. Tusal: Tusal is an illegal narcotic, usually sold in the form of tablets, although some prefer it in its less processed, undried form as a wad to be chewed. Tusal is derived from a seaweed. The origin of the drug is unknown but is believed to have been imported from the Vargr extents a century ago and is now grown on various worlds along the Corridor sector. A dose of tusal produces mild euphoria and intoxication; a very strong dose can dull pain receptors and cause unconsciousness. As a tusal user can remain functional while under the effects of a low dose, many addicts chew six or seven tablets per day to remain in a constant drugged haze. Tusal is especially associated with menial jobs and the unemployed, as an otherwise dull life of drudgery can be made pleasant by the drug. Long-term effects of tusal addiction include respiratory and digestive problems, and a high incidence of stomach cancer. Uakye: Uakye is tidally locked, so all settlements are in the habitable ‘twilight zone’. The planet is closely associated with Efate but Countess Parasii strongly affirms her planet’s independence from the technocracy one system over. University of Regina: Commonly used to refer to any of several prestigious academic institutions on Regina. Collectively, the University of Regina is the largest and most successful higher-level education and research facility in the Spinward Marches. Whisperhawk: One of the most common sights in the jungle, whisperhawks are beautiful avians with prodigious wingspans. The hawk’s wings are both locomotion and feeding organs – whisperhawks feed by digesting the insects that are caught on the sticky underside of the wings. A flock of hawks can glide across the jungle canopy at twilight, catching hundreds of thousands of insects as they fly. The buzzing of the trapped insects and the susurrus of the wind gives the whisperhawk its name. They are notoriously stupid creatures and have been known to attack humans and vehicles (as well as flagposts, fences, houses and even small trees). If threatened, whisperhawks attack by wrapping their wings around a larger foe and trying to smother it. Wochiers: The atmospheric pressure at sea level on Wochiers is more than four bars; the population therefore live in the mountains or in underground complexes. The high pressure makes Wochiers ideal for certain engineering projects, especially crystal growing. By tradition, all visitors to Wochiers must bring an offering of a living plant to the hydroponics caves; suitable plants are available in the starport gift shop. Yres: The only surface structure on Yres is the entrance to the starport, which is an extremely impressive system of airlocks and tubes reaching from the surface to the seabed. The cities of this balkanised world are all underground and underwater. Visitors face an additional docking fee of Cr250, which is an obligatory donation to the Yres Reconstruction and War Widows Fund. The atmosphere is highly radioactive; iodine tablets are available from public dispensers throughout the cities.

Highport, Regina System Regina/Regina (1910 A788899-C) After confirmation of your position your various starships are directed to one of the more remote pylons of the High Port. For such a busy system you are surprisingly quickly docked with relatively little trouble, likewise, all the required electronic paperwork is exchanged and accepted. All you need is clear customs and you should be on your way planetside. Strangely what happens is that you're met by members of the Port staff, though no security or law enforcement (called Public Order Commission here). They explain that there's been an issue that will delay things for a while and are quite insistent that you wait here for a little while. As here appears to be a rather swanky executive lounge, probably normally used for diplomatic or corporate arrivals and departures. You can also see several faces that you recognise, something that can't be a coincidence... Out of Character The lounge has a full range of facilities, as well as all of you.

He's not come up yet but Carlton is Elias's long-time lawyer, so there's a good chance you've heard the name before. He'll be reading the will after the funerals, which you know is scheduled for the 17th.

You'll be met at the Highport, will be in the next post from me.

Don't feel that you have to keep with the poll, it was just a quick and easy way to organise people's thoughts. Technically we're missing a vote, which is why I didn't push this when posting the start. I will try my best to have fights be avoidable, or solved creatively unless you do something really stupid.

Right start of the adventure is up, post format is up to you what I'd like at least is Character Name, an Image and a link to the sheet please.

Regina System Regina/Regina (1910 A788899-C) You jump into the Regina system, emerging from jump space some distance from the main world, as the jump shadow of the gas giant Assiniboia means that ships cannot always arrive close to the moon itself. Your navigation screen lights up with hundreds of contacts. Most are small traders and freighters but as you come closer to the highport, you detect larger as you come closer to the highport, you detect larger ships. Much larger ships. Up ahead, there’s a convoy of megafreighters. You pass by these slow-moving titans; each one of them could swallow your ship 5,000 times over, at least. The names and port registrations are redolent of distant, exotic worlds far off in the Core systems. These ships have been travelling for months, jumping across the Corridor sector. Off to one side, there is a flotilla of Imperial warships, part of the sector fleet. They glitter in the darkness, but you cannot get too close; there is a military interdiction zone around them. Even at a distance, however, they are a sight to behold. At the centre of the formation is the 200,000-ton Korrirak-class dreadnought Pride of Efate; your ship could fly down the barrel of that meson gun with plenty of room to spare on all sides. A constellation of smaller warships surround the Pride and you can see a swarm of troop transport shuttles making their way from the highport to the flotilla along a military flight lane. Regina is one of the most heavily-trafficked systems in the Spinward Marches so as you fly closer to the highport, you are assigned an approach vector to make sure you do not interfere with the courses of any of the other thousands of ships. Usually, a small ship like yours would get put into a holding orbit for hours until a docking berth became available, or you would get sent to one of the smaller stations, but this time you are contacted directly by traffic control. "This is Regina Control. We have you logged as a Public Order Commission special visitor, please confirm your identity." Out of Character Feel free to cover your arrival in system, either singularly or with others.

Totally fair, will archive by the weekend.

Openned up for the choice of skill package, shall have a prologue scene so you can a feel for character this week with a tentative start of next week

To try and catch up a little we're going to try and run two scenes side by side, just make it clear which of the two places you are at the moment. If it get's to confusing we'll pause one to play out the other or split things into two separate threads.

Sure, feel free to finish off the characters.

Right everyone who's still around tag you character(s) with Phase 1, I've opened up this to start talking about character connections. Unless everything happens super quickly we'll aim for about a week, with the skill choices opening up midweek I figure.

Don't sweat too much about the second character, depending on when they turn up things might need tweaking anyway.