Friday Night Game Report - Coriolis - The Third Horizon RPG Session 8
Last night, the Friday night gaming group finally returned to their play of the Coriolis - The Third Horizon campaign play. I've been looking forward to posting up this blog entry since I finished writing it up this morning. You can read about the previous game session by following the link. This post is somewhat long, so I've put it behind a cut for those who don't want to read about my roleplaying game campaigns.
CHARACTERS
Naima Saab (KathyB) - Trailblazer (Scout)
Hafisa darRouash (Angela) - Pilot (Freighter Pilot)
Zouma Abid-Arif (Ellie) - Stowaway/Ship Worker (Engineer)
Moustafa Harouz (DavidM) - Negotiator (Peddler)
Tafik Sharoun (Mark) - Scientist (Archaeologist)
First Triad, Dancer Segment, Day 11, CC 58
Naima Saab and Hafisa darRouash decide they need to get back to the Ruby Flower and get some of the other player characters to help them out. Naima ponders that they've gotten themselves in too deeply into whatever has gone down on Mira itself, and the problem is spreading up to the station. They need to find Sumala Fadros, as both women are worried about her. Blake Harold tells the two women that he is coming with them; he wants to get to the root of the problem, and Sumala seems to be a key player in matters. Both Naima and Hafisa are surprised at this, but don't question him as they trust him to the degree possible given the situation.
Back at the docks, Moustafa Harouz, Zouma Abid-Arif, and Tafik Sharoun get the scared Sumala Fadros aboard the Ruby Flower. She's not inclined to go aboard the ship, but Tafik rightfully convinces her that she will be safe on board. Scherza, the ship's AI, is not comfortable letting the woman aboard the ship without more thought, but Moustafa overrules the AI as captain of the ship. Once Sumala is made comfortable and has a hot cup of chai, she's ready to tell her story but the characters decide to wait for Naima and Hafisa to return. The Ruby Flower crew members go about some of their duties. Scherza informs the three player characters that the ship is being watched by a couple of "shady looking" types.
Naima and Hafisa arrive back at the Ruby Flower and board with Blake Harold, much to Moustafa's annoyance. And to Scherza's as well. The scout and the pilot learn of Sumala's presence on the ship, and are both relieved and satisfied. Only Zouma sees the smile play across Blake's face momentarily [and she spends 1 Darkness Point to do so]. Once the crew is assembled on board, everyone meets in the observation lounge, where Sumala Fadros finally tells them what's going on. After explaining the basics of the political and social situation on Mira, she tells them the role she served for Professor Darfal ibn Salumar. The professor had made a remarkable find about the Portal Builders in the ruins on the southern part of the continent that had been previously unexplored. She doesn't know what it was, but the Foundation boss on Mira (who partially sponsored the expedition), Sariha Milmasine, sent her representative, Hamid al-Fazoulis, to report back to her about the discovery. Less than a day after Hamid left, the expedition was attacked by Miran rebels, and Professor ibn Salumar fled to the wilderness (possibly deeper into the ruins) with a couple of his assistants. Tafik questions her on this point, and Sumala is definite about the fact that Professor Darfal ibn Salumar survived the attack and fled the area. She was left for dead, but managed to get back to civilization and made her way back to the Icon City to report to Sariha Milmasine at the Miran office. She was dismissed, and told to get up to the "safety of the station", and to lay low there. She doesn't know what's going on, but suspects collusion somewhere, perhaps from the professor's rival or another group. And she doesn't believe that the Miran rebels that attacked were rebels at all - they were too well armed, for one thing, and there was no reason to expect them to even be there. She doesn't know what happened to Professor Darfal ibn Salumar, but she remembers seeing him take an information tag with him when he fled the chamber he was using as his base of operations for the expedition.
Moustafa, Naima, Hafisa, Zouma, and Tafik discuss matters and decide what to do. Tafik convinces the others that they need to go down to the surface of Mira. Questions need to be asked, and a search made for the missing Professor Darfal ibn Salumar. Sumala Fadros tells them that she will come with them, though it's clear that she's frightened. Scherza informs the characters that the shady characters watching the ship have departed the area. The crew makes arrangements with the station to depart, filing a flight plan for Mira and its capital.
The next morning, the Ruby Flower departs Mira Station, the able hands of Hafisa darRouash piloting the ship safely down to the large spaceport near the Icon City. Sumala Fadros becomes increasingly more nervous as they approach the surface of the planet. The ship arrives at the large spaceport, and the characters go through a routine inspection on arrival. They don't admit their true purpose in being at the Icon City, though Moustafa doesn't lie precisely about their reasons for visiting the Icon City. While Naima, Hafisa and Zouma secure the ship and prepare for a jaunt into the outlying regions of the planet, Moustafa and Tafik proceed to a meeting that the latter had arranged with Sariha Milmasine.
At the lush and fully Miran-inspired offices of the Foundation, Representative Milmasine greets the characters courteously but without much warmth, though she welcomes Professor Sharoun to Mira and says that he's come at an opportune time. They engage in some pleasantries before getting down to business, Sariha Milmasine offering them some fine Miran food and drink. After the socialising is over, Tafik asks her what she meant, to which she replies there's a need for a skilled archaeologist - and she also knows that he is/was a friend of Professor ibn Salumar. She says that she, too, has her sources.
Back at the Ruby Flower, Naima convinces Sumala Fadros that it might be a good idea for her to visit the Foundation's man, Hamid al-Fazoulis, and she and Zouma accompany Sumala to find the man, leaving Hafisa to see to any ship maintenance that might be required. They set off to find him, Sumala telling them that she knows the man well and that she knows where his home is. They check at his office, but learn that he's still out in the field, something that Sumala finds odd since she knows he must have returned to see the Foundation supervisor about the professor's finds and death/disappearance.
At the Foundation rep's office, Tafik and Moustafa make no headway at all, although Sariha Milmasine casually mentions that the Foundation is working with the Colonial Agency on this archaeological dig, and then says she'd like Professor Sharoun to visit the archaeological site that Professor ibn Salumar was working at. Perhaps he can "make sense" of matters there, though she warns it will be dangerous with the Miran rebels known to be in the area. Tafik agrees to the request, and Milmasine says she'll arrange a sub-orbital shuttle to get him (and his friends, if he likes) to the dig site.
Meanwhile, Sumala leads Naima and Zouma to the residence of Hamid al-Fazoulis, which turns out to be a pleasant residence in one of the more built-up parts of the Icon City, but they realise something is wrong. The main door appears to be smashed in, and there are signs of energy weapon discharges on a wall near the entry way [Zouma spends 1 Darkness Point for the latter]. Naima advocates caution, and leads the group towards the entrance. As they enter the structure, someone rushes and tackles Naima from the inside...
Last night's game session of the Coriolis - The Third Horizon was a fun time, and a real blast for me to run. As noted from the previous session, we'd not played the game since June due to various circumstances, so the Friday night gamers were really looking forward to this session. The session went pretty much the way I expected it to go, though the player characters complicated things a couple of times, where I didn't expect them to. There were also a couple of leads that I expected them to follow up on, but such was not the case.
In any event, a good game session with a nice pseudo-cliffhanger, and I'm looking forward to running the next session of Coriolis - The Third Horizon, although this likely won't happen until after I return from GenCon 2017.
CHARACTERS
Naima Saab (KathyB) - Trailblazer (Scout)
Hafisa darRouash (Angela) - Pilot (Freighter Pilot)
Zouma Abid-Arif (Ellie) - Stowaway/Ship Worker (Engineer)
Moustafa Harouz (DavidM) - Negotiator (Peddler)
Tafik Sharoun (Mark) - Scientist (Archaeologist)
First Triad, Dancer Segment, Day 11, CC 58
Naima Saab and Hafisa darRouash decide they need to get back to the Ruby Flower and get some of the other player characters to help them out. Naima ponders that they've gotten themselves in too deeply into whatever has gone down on Mira itself, and the problem is spreading up to the station. They need to find Sumala Fadros, as both women are worried about her. Blake Harold tells the two women that he is coming with them; he wants to get to the root of the problem, and Sumala seems to be a key player in matters. Both Naima and Hafisa are surprised at this, but don't question him as they trust him to the degree possible given the situation.
Back at the docks, Moustafa Harouz, Zouma Abid-Arif, and Tafik Sharoun get the scared Sumala Fadros aboard the Ruby Flower. She's not inclined to go aboard the ship, but Tafik rightfully convinces her that she will be safe on board. Scherza, the ship's AI, is not comfortable letting the woman aboard the ship without more thought, but Moustafa overrules the AI as captain of the ship. Once Sumala is made comfortable and has a hot cup of chai, she's ready to tell her story but the characters decide to wait for Naima and Hafisa to return. The Ruby Flower crew members go about some of their duties. Scherza informs the three player characters that the ship is being watched by a couple of "shady looking" types.
Naima and Hafisa arrive back at the Ruby Flower and board with Blake Harold, much to Moustafa's annoyance. And to Scherza's as well. The scout and the pilot learn of Sumala's presence on the ship, and are both relieved and satisfied. Only Zouma sees the smile play across Blake's face momentarily [and she spends 1 Darkness Point to do so]. Once the crew is assembled on board, everyone meets in the observation lounge, where Sumala Fadros finally tells them what's going on. After explaining the basics of the political and social situation on Mira, she tells them the role she served for Professor Darfal ibn Salumar. The professor had made a remarkable find about the Portal Builders in the ruins on the southern part of the continent that had been previously unexplored. She doesn't know what it was, but the Foundation boss on Mira (who partially sponsored the expedition), Sariha Milmasine, sent her representative, Hamid al-Fazoulis, to report back to her about the discovery. Less than a day after Hamid left, the expedition was attacked by Miran rebels, and Professor ibn Salumar fled to the wilderness (possibly deeper into the ruins) with a couple of his assistants. Tafik questions her on this point, and Sumala is definite about the fact that Professor Darfal ibn Salumar survived the attack and fled the area. She was left for dead, but managed to get back to civilization and made her way back to the Icon City to report to Sariha Milmasine at the Miran office. She was dismissed, and told to get up to the "safety of the station", and to lay low there. She doesn't know what's going on, but suspects collusion somewhere, perhaps from the professor's rival or another group. And she doesn't believe that the Miran rebels that attacked were rebels at all - they were too well armed, for one thing, and there was no reason to expect them to even be there. She doesn't know what happened to Professor Darfal ibn Salumar, but she remembers seeing him take an information tag with him when he fled the chamber he was using as his base of operations for the expedition.
Moustafa, Naima, Hafisa, Zouma, and Tafik discuss matters and decide what to do. Tafik convinces the others that they need to go down to the surface of Mira. Questions need to be asked, and a search made for the missing Professor Darfal ibn Salumar. Sumala Fadros tells them that she will come with them, though it's clear that she's frightened. Scherza informs the characters that the shady characters watching the ship have departed the area. The crew makes arrangements with the station to depart, filing a flight plan for Mira and its capital.
The next morning, the Ruby Flower departs Mira Station, the able hands of Hafisa darRouash piloting the ship safely down to the large spaceport near the Icon City. Sumala Fadros becomes increasingly more nervous as they approach the surface of the planet. The ship arrives at the large spaceport, and the characters go through a routine inspection on arrival. They don't admit their true purpose in being at the Icon City, though Moustafa doesn't lie precisely about their reasons for visiting the Icon City. While Naima, Hafisa and Zouma secure the ship and prepare for a jaunt into the outlying regions of the planet, Moustafa and Tafik proceed to a meeting that the latter had arranged with Sariha Milmasine.
At the lush and fully Miran-inspired offices of the Foundation, Representative Milmasine greets the characters courteously but without much warmth, though she welcomes Professor Sharoun to Mira and says that he's come at an opportune time. They engage in some pleasantries before getting down to business, Sariha Milmasine offering them some fine Miran food and drink. After the socialising is over, Tafik asks her what she meant, to which she replies there's a need for a skilled archaeologist - and she also knows that he is/was a friend of Professor ibn Salumar. She says that she, too, has her sources.
Back at the Ruby Flower, Naima convinces Sumala Fadros that it might be a good idea for her to visit the Foundation's man, Hamid al-Fazoulis, and she and Zouma accompany Sumala to find the man, leaving Hafisa to see to any ship maintenance that might be required. They set off to find him, Sumala telling them that she knows the man well and that she knows where his home is. They check at his office, but learn that he's still out in the field, something that Sumala finds odd since she knows he must have returned to see the Foundation supervisor about the professor's finds and death/disappearance.
At the Foundation rep's office, Tafik and Moustafa make no headway at all, although Sariha Milmasine casually mentions that the Foundation is working with the Colonial Agency on this archaeological dig, and then says she'd like Professor Sharoun to visit the archaeological site that Professor ibn Salumar was working at. Perhaps he can "make sense" of matters there, though she warns it will be dangerous with the Miran rebels known to be in the area. Tafik agrees to the request, and Milmasine says she'll arrange a sub-orbital shuttle to get him (and his friends, if he likes) to the dig site.
Meanwhile, Sumala leads Naima and Zouma to the residence of Hamid al-Fazoulis, which turns out to be a pleasant residence in one of the more built-up parts of the Icon City, but they realise something is wrong. The main door appears to be smashed in, and there are signs of energy weapon discharges on a wall near the entry way [Zouma spends 1 Darkness Point for the latter]. Naima advocates caution, and leads the group towards the entrance. As they enter the structure, someone rushes and tackles Naima from the inside...
Last night's game session of the Coriolis - The Third Horizon was a fun time, and a real blast for me to run. As noted from the previous session, we'd not played the game since June due to various circumstances, so the Friday night gamers were really looking forward to this session. The session went pretty much the way I expected it to go, though the player characters complicated things a couple of times, where I didn't expect them to. There were also a couple of leads that I expected them to follow up on, but such was not the case.
In any event, a good game session with a nice pseudo-cliffhanger, and I'm looking forward to running the next session of Coriolis - The Third Horizon, although this likely won't happen until after I return from GenCon 2017.