Writing and Publishing Advice - dicegeeks
Writing and Publishing Advice with Author Ryan Dalton
Author and role-player, Ryan Dalton, drops in on the podcast. We have a great conversation about writing, publishing, and tabletop RPGs. We dive deep into his books and how RPGs influenced his writing. Don’t miss it!
Check out the show notes and listen
Onyx Path Publishing 10th Anniversary Sale
A vast array of RPG titles are on sale at 50% off on DriveThruRPG. This is the time to pick up Onyx Path games.
Click here to browse the titles
Play Session Vault
Here's the recap of a session of WEG Star Wars my group and I played back in 2014. We were playing the descendants of nobles who had been forced off Alderaan centuries in the past and now have become a fleet of pirates. The GM (Andrew) did the write-up on an old forum we used to use. Enjoy!
Drugs and Thugs - Pirate Session Recap
Post by Andrew » Tue Jan 14, 2014 9:06 pm
Well I can't remember ever laughing this hard or this much in a tabletop RPG session. We all gave ourselves headaches; it was glorious. Zeuben, I had your character give four young pirates a mission (hope you don't mind). A man by the name of Tannon Bringbey ran a mining operation and city on a planet in the outer rim called Kaeltoo. He had contracted the pirates to escort some cargo but something had gone amiss and he had decided not to pay. The pirates need to maintain their reputation, so they weren't going to let him off easy. But they waited for the right moment.
They had learned that Bringbey had something of great value in a safe in his personal office. So four pirates were went to retrieve it. As an optional aside, they would be paid more if they could find a way to publicly embarrass him. The pirates were as follows:
Deel Weyfell, human gambler played by Matt - Nephew to the King, his speech is as smooth as his appearance.
Osk Ar'Lya, Bothan engineer played by Holly- Hired crew and brilliant mechanic, Osk is somewhat unpredictable but can handle herself. She loves explosives.
Riisa Keteris (actually Ravenstone), brash pilot played by Seth - Niece to the King by his younger brother, Riisa is Deel's cousin but likes to keep that a secret. She's trying to prove her worth without pulling the family card so most of the crew thinks she was hired on. She's an ace pilot and always itching for a fight.
Ser Vystal Dergonmoore, Durosian armchair historian played by Jake - Ser Dergonmoore authored a very successful novel early in his career. It was translated into hundreds of languages and read widely throughout the galaxy. His second novel was somewhat less inspired but still a success. By the time he put out his fifth, he couldn't even find a publisher. After squandering his wealth he latched on to a pirate who was hijacking the liner he was traveling on so he could get some inspiration for his next novel. He knows a lot but has no idea how to handle himself in a fight, should it come to that. Of course it was going to come to that.
They were given a few days to research and then they'd launch off on a borrowed light freighter to land on the planet. They'd have to come up with their own cover story for being there. Here's what they found out before they landed:
-The planet only had one largish city (Capital City) and some small outposts. Most of the planet was run by Bringbey. He distributed some kind of drug that calmed people and that's where he got his wealth.
-They mined minerals and metals for use in starship building.
-There was some asteroid mining nearby but Bringbey didn't own that.
-Bringbey was purported to be a fair and good ruler who had been in power for about 15 years.
-It was winter on the planet and in the mid thirties.
-Bringbey operated out of a high rise apartment building in the city. He used the top two floors at least.
-The apartment building had some kind of lockdown procedure.
After some checks of the freighter Riisa determined that what it lacked in offense it made up for in speed. There were no weapons of any kind, but it handled almost like a fighter. They decided to pose as drug buyers interested in Bringbey's product. They were allowed to land and told they'd be able to meet with Bringbey the following day. Meantime they were put up in a hotel and given a speeder for transport.
They discovered that the drug was a kind of plant like material that was chewed. It was called Dream Salve because besides the feeling of calm and euphoria it provided, it supposedly provided the user with blissful sleep at night. They also overheard someone talking about someone else who had not chewed in a while. They were plagued by nightmares. Needless to say, it piqued the pirates' interest.
The next day they were introduced to Bringbey and some of his people. They all seemed like decent folk and everyone in the city seemed as if they were treated very well. There was very little security. Bringbey himself, it turns out, was a huge fan of Ser Dorgonmoore, owning a signed first edition of his first novel, but since they all had assumed identities Vystal couldn't reveal himself. They received a tour of a processing facility for the drug and learned that it was in fact synthetic. They made it because something in the local ecology had contaminated the water table and caused all the residents to have horrible nightmares. The drug was a way to keep everyone sane.
The pirates told Bringbey that Vystal was actually a scientist who would like to discuss the finer points of the drug with another scientist and they left to meet him. Meanwhile Bringbey asked Deel how willing his employer was to cross moral lines in the name of business. Deel assured him that his boss was a businessman first and would do whatever it took. This seemed to please Bringbey, raising a red flag.
While Deel and Riisa went back to the hotel, Vystal and Osk went to meet the scientist. Worried that he didn't have enough scientific knowledge of ecology, Vystal excused himself to the restroom where he loaded his pocket computer with folders of data about the ecology of the planet they were supposedly representing. When their escort became worried and knocked he exclaimed loudly "Don't come in here! The smell is horrible!"
They met with the scientist (Dr. Neb, a Sullustan) who seemed much more interested in Osk's sultry appearance than the data at hand. Perhaps that's why he didn't quite notice that Vystal had barely any idea what he was talking about. He asked if Osk would like to get dinner later and Vystal agreed for both of them. Dr. Neb seemed somewhat put out by that.
When the group met up again at their ship they decided they needed to get water samples from various places to test and find out what was causing the nightmares. The hotel tap and the nearby river were obvious choices. Osk suggested someone get a sewer sample, but no one volunteered. After the idea was about to be thrown out, Vystal decided he'd venture into the sewer. While the rest of the group took the speeder to get their samples, he decided it would be an adventure to hitchhike from the ship (a mile out of town) to the sewer and back.
He managed to get to the sewer but that's where his luck ended. He fell completely into a cesspool and was completely drenched in raw sewage. He tried to hitchhike back, but it didn't seem he was a very welcome sight. However, one car did pull over, and who would happen to be driving it but Dr. Neb. Vystal gave a completely bogus story about wanting to get out of the rain by traveling by sewer. Dr. Neb agreed to give him a ride to his ship and forget about the whole thing if he promised he wouldn't join the date with he and Osk that evening. Vystal had no choice but to agree. When he arrived on the ship he had to burn all his clothes and Deel had to hose him off.
That night Osk got the Dr. to talk all about his work and ended up learning that the residents of the city didn't always have nightmares. Something had happened about 20 years ago that started them. She reported back to the rest of the team and they decided something wasn't right. Perhaps Bringbey was not the just ruler his city believed him to be. The next day they were supposed to tour a bigger drug processing facility, but the driver who picked them up, (Bringbey's second in command Teal) took them to Bringbey's high-rise apartment building instead. When they got to Bringbey's office he questioned them heavily about their employer. Eventually he revealed that he knew they were lying but wanted to know if there was still a chance they could do business. Deel told him that they didn't have an employer but were sure they could sell the drug. Since they didn't have any money to pay up front, Bringbey told them to leave. He also recognized Ser Vystal and gave him his book, telling him the later stuff was rubbish. Vystal did not take kindly to this news and was fuming.
They went back into the waiting room and were given their weapons back. Deel made a signal asking his companions if they should try storming Bringbey. Vystal, not paying attention at all, decided to walk back in and give Bringbey a piece of his mind. Mistaking his movement for violent intent the pirates went swiftly into action. They got into a shootout with Teal and the secretary in the waiting room and then with Bringbey himself in his office. Eventually they were able to knock everyone unconscious. When Bringbey came to they told him to tell them where the safe was. He said they had two minutes before the building locked down. They knocked him out again since he was being uncooperative and started looking for the safe in earnest. Meanwhile Osk cracked into his personal computer and found out that they had deliberately altered the local ecology so that the nightmares would begin. They used this opportunity to offer the Dream Salve as a method of control over the city's population. Dr. Neb and Bringbey were the architects of this plan. Osk tried to break into Bringbey's personal money accounts but was unsuccessful.
Thinking he had been messing with something on the wall behind his desk they searched carefully for any signs of a hidden door. Not being able to find one, and being afraid of a lockdown they just shot the wall until they found the safe. While Osk cracked into it they all searched his office and adjoining rooms. They found quite a pile of loot by the time Osk broke into the safe. In the safe they found two data plaques, a vial of solution, and 10,000 credits.
No alarm had been sounded, so they hoped they were in the clear. They walked out of the waiting room (after looting Teal of an expensive engagement ring and the secretary of an expensive gift to Teal) and headed down the elevator. When they reached the ground floor a guard asked why they were unattended. Deel tried to bluff his way out but the guard wasn't buying it. Chaos broke loose when Deel drew his weapon and shot at the guard. Riisa broke for the door to get outside with Vystal right behind. Riisa saw a car in front of the apartment and opened the door. Vystal jumped in head first without pause, right onto the lap of Dr. Neb.
What happened next was a shootout, a fake hostage taking of Osk by Deel, and a lot of screaming by Vystal. Eventually the gang sped away. Dr. Neb was left on the sidewalk yelling after them. Osk yelled out that she loved him and he said he'd find her. Then Deel, in a rare moment of true nobility, knowing Dr. Neb had conspired to take control of an entire population shot Dr. Neb and killed him.
They took off and got away. As they left orbit they broadcasted the data of Bringbey's plot to every terminal in the city. Then they hit the switch for hyperspace. Back on board the Howling Void, they were told they had done exceptionally well as not only did they receive the valuable item (a data plaque containing secret smuggling trade routes) they had outed Bringbey and his people had overthrown him. The vial was an antidote to the poisoned water supply and Victor said they'd send an agent to clean the water of the city.
So that was amazing. Everyone played their characters really well and I had a ton of fun GM'ing. Matt, I forgot to say it during the session but I'm awarding you one additional skill point for killing Neb. It was a good character moment.
Keep gaming!
Matt