Sorcery

I'm back home and, more or less, on the mend from the summer flu I brought back as a souvenir. I'll try to get the post up tomorrow!

Thanks for letting us know! I'll work around it!

While that's frustrating, I'd say it was worth it for that dice roll! I'll try to get you a post ASAP so you can reap the benefits of your great fortune! Unfortunately that probably won't be until Wednesday. 😞

Hey everyone. I unexpectedly got a trip crammed into my schedule (heading out on Wednesday, going to last seven or eight days). Preparations for that have kept me busy and I'm not sure I'll be able to post much until I return. I'll try, but I don't want to promise anything that might not hold up.    Thank you for being patient! 🙂   ---   Taurelin's plan sounds good and fitting! Survey as a setup action to judge the right moment to intervene (and as a mini-engagement roll for Kaz) has my go-ahead. 🙂

Hey everyone. I unexpectedly got a trip crammed into my schedule (heading out on Wednesday, going to last seven or eight days). Preparations for that have kept me busy and I'm not sure I'll be able to post much until I return. I'll try, but I don't want to promise anything that might not hold up.    Thank you for being patient! :)

That seems like something that could work! Did you have any specific approach in mind?

Best wishes from, presumably, all of us! Take all the time you need, the real world out there has to come first sometimes.

The week got a little chaotic, sorry about the delay! Post and shoot away!   I rolled up initiative for Betty to get things moving.

Initiative Order 2x BLUFOR <= 1x OPFOR 2x BLUFOR 1x OPFOR Agenda If you want to take actions in a specific order, you can. Otherwise have a first come, first serve approach and just jump in when you have time to post. After the first two player posts, I get one turn, then the other two players get theirs, then I another.   Refer to this post for info on ranges. Most likely you will be shooting at targets at Medium range with normal cover, so Average difficulty at two Purple and one Black.  

I'm not sure making them look gross would work, especially since the magebreaker would probably consider that a reason to toss Miko out, but giving Mateikis different ideas or occupying him otherwise would definitely work. Like, say, roping him or one of his friends I go a duel or such.   I'll also try too remember to always include the Clocks, even if nothing changed, to make the situation a little more readable at a glance. 

No worries, take your time! Thanks for letting us know. 🙂

I would stretch the definition of Short Range a little beyond what the books define it as. We're going to disregard the "talk without raising your voice" descriptor and push it out to 50 metres...-ish. Not a hard ruling and especially for indoors/close quarters fighting we may end up compressing it again, but I'd say we're looking, very roughly, at the following:    Game Range Band  Approximate Distance  Engaged  0 ~ 5 m  Short  5 ~ 50 m  Medium  50 ~ 300 m  Long  300 ~ 800 m  Extreme  800 ~ 1500 m  >Planetary Scale  ~ 1500+ m   By that... metric, Hank and Darcy are at medium range for each other, while all other fireteam-fireteam ranges are short range. Both enemy units are at medium range currently, but moving closer could potentially bring at least fireteam 2, the one at the farm building, into short range.   I can try putting a hex grid on future iterations of the map to make it easier to estimate ranges. That, once again, will not be a hard rule, but it should help with getting a feel for it.   As for the black-and-white objects, I have no clue. I'll rule them as generic cover with one Black die though.

  The first two buildings are checked without any incidents. The metal shed because there is nobody in there. Granted the huge parked agricultural machinery and the dodgy lighting make for an oppressive feeling while checking corners and clearing the space, but it is soon evident that Darcy's team of two is utterly alone inside. Hank's team, meanwhile, encounters one of the customary 'area is off limits, turn around' signs used during exercises to protect the private spaces of the civilian population.   The section pushes deeper into the farm complex, spread out to present a more difficult target and cover each other. When Darcy steps out from under the metal roof, she spots movement in the trees beyond the paddock: at least two figures can be seen moving from tree trunk to tree trunk, trying to stick to the shadows. Unfortunately for them, the sunlight reflects noticeably off the yellow-coloured brassards they are wearing to identify them as the enemy in this exercise. They clearly are Yellowland forces.   Just as Darcy makes her report over the section radio net, two heads and rifles stick around the far corner of the main farm building, right in front of Hank and Dan's fireteams. A third figure dashes across the short open space and into the cover provided by one of the parked pickups just a few metres away.   Agenda I still need Initiative rolls using Cool from @rmorgens, @Jades, and @Demented Once we've got the initiative stack, the shooting will start   

The first conversation of interest Larisa's keen ears pick up on is one between a small group of men, one of whom she immediately recognises: Dominyk Mateikis, a well-to-do merchant specialising in the import and export of luxury furniture. He is the exact kind of person this auction event is targeting and the way he is greeted by passers-by and greets them in turn indicates that he is a regular guest. The other men clustering with him seem to be colleagues of his, other merchantmen of similar wealth but likely other business interests that ensure their friendships are not imperilled by competition.   Larisa is already almost out of eavesdropping range of the group when Mateikis touches upon what he is here for today: he wants to pick up a new pastime, something that is convenient for a busy man and can be put aside for a while whenever necessary. Something with an aura of scholarliness, because he is a man of science after all. There is some back and forth about possible options, but most of them are quickly shot down by Mateikis. He does not want to try painting and rare books are too dusty and boring to him. Then one of his friends suggests collecting butterflies, sounding as if he is making a joke, but the idea seems to have struck a nerve. Some quick skimming of the auction brochure later, the merchant finds three lots of interest to him. Ones that contain starting points for his future butterfly collection. Unfortunately, one of them is that with the name of Vakaris Dabulis on it.   The other group that catches her attention is not unlike your own coterie. Two men and one woman, who seem to fit in perfectly with their surroundings, but appear ever so slightly off to someone in a similar trade. These three are not wealthy merchants or lesser nobles, they are here with a lot more purpose than the people who came here for light entertainment and possibly a, more or less spontaneous, bid or two. Their conversation is too hushed for any eavesdropping, but there is no doubt that their presence poses a threat to your own task. Whether they are here to acquire the same thing or for something unrelated, their interference could turn things upside down at any moment. Worse, with their allegiance unknown, there is no way to tell how ruthless they are going to be in pursuit of their goals.

That's fine, I hope things are a little less bothersome now.   Can you please do me a small favour and edit your post a tiny bit? I should've been more explicit about it, but the driver who dropped you off is out of the picture, to keep the encounter simple (which is also why the farm people are not there right now, handwaved away). So your buddy is going to do what buddies do and stick to you. To keep the whole thing manageable, your fireteam members will effectively remain glued to your character most of the time.   I only plan on changing that if we end up doing things like consolidating all the NPCs into a base of fire while you guys do house clearing or such.

Jades seems to be MIA, so I will move her fireteam along for the time being. Map update is in the works, contact is imminent.   With those rolls you guys definitely spotted the enemy in time, please hit up the dice thread and roll for initiative using Cool. I'll post up the next bit once I have the initiative order. We'll go with the standard FFG SW approach and allow anyone to take a given initiative slot on their side while the opposition will have a single initiative slot. That way we should have maximum flexibility for the pitfalls of play-by-post.

And we're on the road. I'm glad to have the three of you along for this trip.   Bear with me while I feel my way into social errands (my Blades groups were usually... more hands-on) and if you feel like anything is missing or you need additional info, give me a poke!

The visitors, both those looking to conduct business and those there for appearances, are slowly congregating under the glass roofs of the conservatory. Canapés and drinks are left behind for the time being, albeit reluctantly by some, as the focus of attention leaves the social jockeying in the entrance hall. At least for a while. People move towards the greenery in small groups, slowed down by the need to file through a single entrance. Further holdups are created by those planning to partake in the auctions, who need their names entered into the ledger after paying a participation fee intended to disincentivise fraudulent bidders. Of course, this is only aimed at those who came for the spectacle, to ensure that they do not drive up prices merely for a better show. Determined interference, however, will hardly be discouraged this way.   Kamila, the clerk, manages to pass a hastily scribbled replica of the auction schedule to Mikołaj as he shuffles towards the conservatory doors, a young woman hanging on his arm. She clearly has had a little too much to drink already and is very busy taking in her surroundings, looking around with wide eyes and frequent, almost inaudible giggles whenever she spots a friend or someone she knows mingling in the distance.  Even though the sorcerer is unsure why Ana has chosen him specifically as the recipient of her immediate company, she seems to know a number of the other young men and women drifting from one group to the next.   The order of lots being auctioned is secret, to increase tension and to encourage people to stay for the entire event, thus exposing them to more lots they might want to bid on. With the schedule however, Larisa and Mikołaj can quickly figure out what is supposed to happen when. Better yet, they still have some time to strike up conversations with other guests, as assistants are still busy meticulously lining up an array of candles on a table. The process of laying them out and checking them for defects is a very public affair, intended to build trust into the auction format and assure people that the perfect candle will make for a genuinely random end to the auction.   Ana clearly has no interest in or listens to the quick consultation between the two retainers, although Larisa's presence and evident acquaintance with Mikołaj has her a little pouty until the blonde moves away once more. With the crowds it is easy to miss someone, but Larisa is reasonably certain that Kazimir has not arrived just yet. Whether he is running late or already playing an angle beyond these walls, only his eventual arrival will reveal. Judging by the drumming rain and the occasional rumble of distant thunder, he will be able to have a dramatic entry, should he want one.   Clocks Other Bidders Outmanoeuvred 0/8   Auction Begins 0/4   Lot Secured 0/6   Suspicion 0/6 Agenda The clocks should be fairly self-explanatory, but to ensure everyone is on the same page: No. 1 limits the options for other parties by encouraging them to spend their funds on other lots, discouraging them from partaking in what you are interested in, etc. The fuller this clock, the easier it will be to fill up clock No. 3, your win condition. The other two are timer/fail condition clocks that will be ticked on bad rolls or to move the story forward.   You can now try to nudge other participants into directions opportune for you, run other sorts of interference, and generally prepare the battlefield for the auction itself. Feel free to come up with NPCs you spot and strike up a conversation with, but try to avoid direct speech and stick to the broad strokes of what topics you touch upon and what you are trying to get them to do. Dialling this in for the right speed of play may end up taking a little time, but for now I'm leaning towards "it's better to barrel through the first errand than to bog down", especially for a game that has so much of its potential during the downtime phase.   If you want to mess with the lots (or anything else), you can do so either by flashback or by stealing away during the auction.   Light loads only for those present on the premises. Kazimir can come with heavier kit depending on the kind of entry he wants to have when his arrival... arrives.   Write up and post your fluff now, we'll then discuss the specifics for the rolls in the ooc thread, add the rolls, and move on to resolution. Similarly, you can ask about flashbacks in ooc first and once we are happy with the angle, commit them to writing.  

The call is yours, but I'm on board for making it happen.

@Intro Just to make sure I don't toss you somewhere you don't want to be just because of a misinterpretation, can you give me a quick Paint sketch (a rough circle is sufficient) of where you'd like your fire team to move?

I think illusions of some sort could be air-related, yeah. Also, Miko can absolutely still enter the place and partake. The magebreaker doesn't have him on a list of bad people. Just his list of "clearly knows magic" and his job is to make sure there is no magical interference. As long as Miko doesn't use magic to mess with the auction, he is a welcome guest and spender of silver.   And I think we could run this as a Social plan and swapping the lot numbers happens as flashbacks to a prior nightly incursion by Larisa?

You should've kept that flashback to yourself until the very end to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but... still, I really like that idea!   I hope your trip is going well so far!

Right, I knew I forgot something... let's say Average difficulty, so two purple. I'll edit the post to reflect that.   As for the slings, it seems like Star Wars and Genesys have differing rules for what they do. Consider it a houserule, because they certainly help a lot more with conveniently carrying a rifle than with handling it to bring it on target. Bipods and tripods cover that as well anyway.   Load Bearing Gear (plus 3 encumbrance limit) and/or backpacks will probably feature in the future, but I kept them out of the equation for now since the equipment list for the first encounter is limited and compact enough not to run into that issue. Once we're looking at bigger weapons, sidearms, rations, and all that, yeah... we'll need something to bump up the limit. Going to tackle that when it becomes relevant and keep things streamlined until then. High speed, low drag.

I was planning to delay that and tackle it as aside project while the errand is happening, but Strengths are fixed to Intelligence & Magic.   House ability, relations with other factions, and reputation I would like to sort when Taurelin is back.

@Jades @Intro @rmorgens @Demented   The time to shoot things is nigh, get your rifles and lace up your boots.   Subsequent iterations of the battle map will have the section split up into smaller fireteams so you can see where you are, but I didn't want to clutter it up unnecessarily while everyone was pretty much still in the same spot.   Since Baldr cannot handle the right dice just yet, do all your rolls in this thread on the old forums.