A Note on Campaign Log Posts

My three regular readers may notice a difference in quality between my various campaign logs. A brief explanation:

For Kaserne on the Borderlands and Somewhere West of Light (and probably other future campaigns that I GM), I take very few detailed notes while I’m running. My posts for these are reconstructions from what I do manage to type under pressure, my own fallible memory, and reminders and corrections from my players. However, that reconstructive effort usually occurs when I’m semiprofessional writer mode, so I pay a fair amount of attention to grammar, mechanics, and a consistent narrative voice. In short, what you’re getting from those is roughly equivalent to what I’d churn out as a first draft for publication.

For Convergence (and other future campaigns where I’m a player), I tend to take more detailed notes, with two exceptions. The first is combat, particularly for tactically-dense systems like Lancer. The second is scenes that are roleplay-intensive where I’m taking a lead role. However, because I’m not (intentionally) taking responsibility for maintaining a coherent narrative over months or years of play, I’m less inclined to do post-session cleanup. Among other things, it’s a non-trivial effort that I simply have to deprioritize these days. All of which is to say that session logs where I’m a player tend to get turned around faster, but aren’t edited to my usual standards for semi-professional output.

This Destiny Sucks

I’m not sure this is really a full-fledged campaign idea so much as a rusty plot hook crusted with dried ichor.

The PCs meet an old wizard in a tavern, or in the ruins of their village, or wherever. The wizard recognizes them as the fated ones, chosen by destiny to be the champions who defeat the evil overlord. He sends them on a series of quests, which grow ever more perilous and morally questionable.

Eventually, the PCs realize that there is no prophecy, they have no destiny, and they’re unlikely to ever meet the evil overlord. The wizard is a bullshit artist who uses groups of low-budget adventurers as disposable pawns and decoys in his various scams and capers.

[Convergence 04.03] Misidentification

Having secured the mining vessel involved in illicit paracausal salvage, we now turn our attention to intel analysis and next steps – and the Q-ship that’s lurking in the area.

I’m looking at Fahad, our prisoner on the mining vessel, when he starts iterating through thousands of overlaid versions of himself. Something is pulling him here. I’m tempted to try to force-filter for a compliant version of him, but I refrain – I’m more likely to break his reality.

I link to Ilias via our dataplating and toss him a content warning followed by a visual feed clip of the effect. He recognizes it as paracausal – this moment is like a bowl for Fahad’s fate, he always settles here.

We prep for TG Brigand to hit the Q-ship.

Ilias takes a look at its paracausal instability – how focused is the weird on it? How likely are we to see an Atlas manifestation? Well, there’s no exotic radiation, no overlaid multiple versions. It’s been prepped to look like a worn, patinaed hull, but it’s new, high-end construction – the sort that the known local shipyards don’t specialize in. This is built to mil-spec, and it’s built, not printed, to a level that Tu’rosans don’t have. The armament is Tu’rosan-built but drawing on a Union tech base. Light armor, heavy engines, heavy armament – it’s a battlecruiser-spec ambush hunter and commerce raider. Also carrying mil-spec sensor gear, currently passive. Aaand life support far in excess of what they should need for a crew of a ship of that size.

(The fact that we even found them was a huge traffic analysis hit in the first place.)

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Player Drama and Lack Thereof

This is very much a meta post for Kaserne on the Borderlands. Its intent is to provide a tiny bit of insight into table dynamics for the two humans and 25,378 AI content-scrapers that read this blog.

A recent discussion over on Kato’s Twilight: 2000 forum raised the issue of PC rank and in-play observation of the chain of command. Raellus asked the question, “Has anyone ever played in- or Ref’ed- a campaign where there was no rank within the party? How’d that go? How were time sensitive decisions made, especially under pressure (e.g. combat)?”

My response was:

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[Convergence 04.02] Betrayer

Inbound to Stockland Station aboard the fast scout ship Bower to support Union space forces with rescue and recovery efforts – and to rendezvous with TG Brigand as they hand off their inspectors to main Union forces.

The first thing that comes in as we approach is all the comms traffic around the response ops. It’s well-structured, multiple bands in use to coordinate between Union assets, local authorities, and belter spontaneous volunteers. Union is focused on rescue efforts, no real security other than TG Brigand. No one else is watching comings and goings.

I start digging through ship movement logs, looking for anyone who’s hanging out in a parking orbit or staging area or otherwise not participating. Looking for Ashfall’s staybehind observers or preparations for a secondary attack. TG Brigand has done a great collection job and Janus and I have a good set of filters (29 on the roll). Two ships stand out:

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[Convergence 04.01] Target Package

When last we saw our protagonists, we were heroically running away from the Fires of the Emperor with three rescuees.

We make rendezvous with the high-delta-v craft that brought us. The crew is affected – they only perceived the ship but they did have some memetic effects (sensor weirdness, grav distortions).

We’re fairly sure the rescued belters are from our timeline. The drugs are getting flushed out of their systems.

We can still feel Atlas’ presence and pressure. The ship is still trying to force itself into our reality – and bring all systems (back) online after Rael’s departure/deletion.

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[Convergence 03.04] Extraction

Ashfall clock at 2 of 4.

Deep within Fires of the Emperor, another gateway has opened. Transmissions and contacts are flowing. The loss of Rael has been noted. Atlas is forking to assume direct control. Response is inbound. Systems here cannot fully handle the load of Atlas’ manifestation but it is taking command. Weapon systems are reactivating. General quarters is sounded. New clock at 0 of 6.

Breach clock at 1 of 4. Atlas was working on its own goals of establishing a permanent breach within our reality.

Tu’rosan support of Union and Umbra’s recovery are stationary.

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[Convergence 03.03] Sample Collection

Having boarded the dreadnought, Fires of the Emperor, we have a side scene as we feel a sense of disquiet and change. It’s like we’re recompiling and assembling an out-of-sequence memory set. We’re in a fight, in our frames. There’s a sense of dread. We’re tearing through hostile contacts. An externally-imposed sense of calm comes over us.

We resolve onto the battlefield. We’ve been here before – it’s the wasteland. Again, we’re badly damaged. Many of our upgrade systems have been destroyed. The battlefield is littered with wreckage. All we can sense from our enemies is their hostility toward us (and vice versa).

It’s day. I don’t want it to be day. I want it to be night so we can see stars and Janus can calculate stellar drift to tell us when we are.

I roll a 2. Consequence: I blink out and am separated from Janus. From Echo’s perspective, it looks like I’ve rippled out through a gateway like the enemy frames we’ve observed. But where I am, it’s night.

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