Yes, I know I goofed. I have messaged EH about it.
Yes, I know I goofed. I have messaged EH about it.
I don't know if you remember me telling you all about an RPG wherein each of our characters were from different genres? The GM had us appear on DS9, and we almost blew it up.
Going counter clockwise, starting with the one with her back to you is Clio, a 36th century android, a Desert Storm era Marine, a Medieval Mage (me) and a Feudal Japan Ninja. The mage and the ninja didn't quite know what to make of Quark.
Last edited by anyrose; 22 Jun 2015 at 05:05 PM.
This sooooooooo reminds me of D&D and various RPG pubs in the 70s....Originally posted by anyrose
I don't know if you remember me telling you all about an RPG wherein each of our characters were from different genres? The GM had us appear on DS9, and we almost blew it up.
Going counter clockwise, starting with the one with her back to you is Clio, a 36th century android, a Desert Storm era Marine, a Medieval Mage (me) and a Feudal Japan Ninja. The mage and the ninja didn't quite know what to make of Quark.
Also Gamma World
Good times.
(Well, sort of good times.)
Last edited by general_urko; 22 Jun 2015 at 06:22 PM. Reason: added Gamma World reference to buff geek red
OMG that picture is awesome.Sounds like a great game! Also, I'm extremely impressed with Quark's sartorial flair!
(oops, that should have read 26th century android - similar to but more advanced than Data)
Yeah, we had a lot a of fun with "Unstuck in Time". We used GURPS as the base and the rest was completely from the mind of our GM. We also had an 18th C. pirate and a mid 20th C Vegas-wannabe magician with us, but they dropped out after a while.
Excellent picture anyrose. Looks like it was a fun and crazy game.
Gamma World for geek cred, G_U - honestly
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Looks like a weird but good game. I only played Gamma World once; my hometown was described in one of the mass-market modules as having been overrun by radiation-blasted freaks. Sounded about right.
I played Champions quite a bit in college - a fun superhero game. My character was a superfast British guy who was a diplomat by day, and the crime-fighting Nightspeed after hours. Lots of AD&D when I was younger, too; I had a paladin who did quite well, earning the gratitude of the king, and rose to become a duke.
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 23 Jun 2015 at 10:20 AM.
OK, so, if you want to the ante...I learned hexadecimal notation from the way classic Traveller coded descriptions of planets, and wrote the combination for my high school locker in plain sight in hex because I knew only 1 other kid at my school knew it...Excellent picture anyrose. Looks like it was a fun and crazy game.
Gamma World for geek cred, G_U - honestly
Last edited by general_urko; 23 Jun 2015 at 09:40 PM.
Just FYI, Nia does indeed know that only four officers are currently offship--or at least, there were until the transporter room just beamed more down.Her reference to 'several officers have been beamed on and off the ship' included earlier, when the group included others such as Rangin and Kjaerstad, and probably someone else I'm forgetting.
I should add, the transporter personnel haven't yet told Nia the new info--the names of the officers who've just been beamed off the ship. So who's with Graham's target, and who's with Jones's?
(Sorry, I'm only writing from this account because I was just about to make a Nia post.)
Oh, I getcha. I'll add more.
in post 695:
Rawlings was instructed to give the ship an update. Can we assume he did?
According to Nia, he hasn't yet. While Collins was talking to Bob Bobbins, Rawlings took out his communicator, but was never seen using it. Maybe he's just staring in pity at the poor schmuck who's either been stuck with--or invented--such a hilarious name.
Please send me a PM if there's something you expect to see in the game thread but haven't yet, rather than hash it out here in the setup thread. Thanks.
Rats, I didn't think we were hashing, but sure, fine by me!
Actually that brings up a request I wanted to make: when there's something our characters should have known because they live/work on a starship--but we obviously don't--could you give us the info here in the Setup thread rather than correcting us in-game, which usually takes the form of: "(Character) knows that (something that s/he presumably supposed to know but we just made it clear we don't)"?
Because, to take a recent example, when I've just had Kylah ask Singh for a communicator, and then the next GM post says "Kylah knows she can always use the library computer thingy* to contact whoever she wants," it kiiiiinda makes Kylah look, well, like a total ignorant idiot.
(Like, Singh could have said, "Certainly, I'll get you a communicator. In the meantime, don't hesitate to use the library computer thingy if you need to--oh, you probably can't see it from where you're lying, let me pull that nearer to you." Thus we get exposition without making it look as if Kylah has no idea what the communication machines are for despite the fact that it's her specialty.)
It's even worse with Nia, who's been on the ship longer than any of the other PCs; alas, as you know, I'm staggeringly stupid and ignorant when it comes to tech stuff, but Nia's reputation as a skilled, experienced officer shouldn't suffer just because she has a doofus for a player. So if you can give us the heads-up in the Setup thread--or even via PM--that would be incredibly helpful, if possible and not too much of a pain. Thanks!
* Note: this may be a paraphrase.
I second that request
Glad to. Thanks.
Mellophant ate my game thread post!
Last edited by anyrose; 25 Jun 2015 at 03:35 PM.
Thanks EH!! Muchly appreciated.
anyrose, I hate when that happens. The other day I was composing one of Nia's posts, a pretty long one (ha! big surprise), and it took me a while to write. When I pressed "submit," vBulletin gave me the login page and said I wasn't signed in. CRAP. I hadn't clicked the "remember me?" box and apparently my login had timed out. In haste, I clicked the back button hoping that my post would still be cached in my browser, but nope.
I then clicked the forward button again to get to the same login page. With great doubt, I logged in. And joy of joys, the post went through! I got very lucky there. Some day I'll remember to compose all my stuff in EditPad first.
Yes, the various legal ploys, threads and charges have been amusing to watch!
Speaking of which: EH, is there a legal advocate on the ship? I remember Delaney acted as someone's counsel in or after the first mission, but having been knocked down to Ensign, will he still be an option for Nia to mention to Kylah? Even though she's a victim/witness, Nia's the type to recommend having an advocate whenever you're talking to a police officer.
There is no JAG officer assigned to the ship, of course, but any crewmember may ask any officer to voluntarily serve as an advocate in a nonjudicial proceeding. Delaney did so in a Captain's Mast. CMs are informal disciplinary proceedings short of courts-martial.
Talking to yourself again, choie?
Heh. It's all very meta.
I know, I know. I had a little fun with that. The two likely won't have much cause to interact for a while, so...
Thanks for the info, EH!
I always liked mysteries where the bad guys are given away by something physical, unremarkable but damning. It's so Sherlockian.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Problem with posting lag went away for a while. Now it seems to be back. And yes, when I posted T'Var's answer to Kylah's question about the suspects, none of the other posts were there. GAH!
Boy those questions were bizarre... almost as if Lunnd had meta knowledge of Kylah's lying about the zither!
Of course, if he were a defense lawyer for one of the robbers cross-examining her, sure, I guess it might undermine her a bit. Or, similarly, as a DA trying to work through any possible areas of weakness in her tale in preparation for prosecuting the case. Otherwise this just served to put her immediately on the defensive and make her feel as if she were being accused of something, which seems like poor judgment on Lunnd's side. I hope Graham, Collins and/or T'Var call him on such victim-blaming behavior, ahem!
She had already told her story in her own words; he followed up on points of interest, or that didn't quite add up. I've been involved in police investigations of this kind. Didn't seem "victim-blaming" to me. YMMV.
Actually I'm curious.
Just as an aside to the game, and from your experience EH, what is the rationale for the detective asking those questions about the zither and the one about Rangin being responsible for it?
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
I'd say taking such interest in Kylah's actions re: the zither, of all the unimportant things, does imply victim-blaming--as if whatever her reasons for not fixing the thing on her own, or seeking out a specialist, were to blame for the mugging. If she'd been raped, would he ask, "Why were you wearing that dress? What made you choose that bar? Why didn't you go to a nicer bar instead of one in the city?"
Actually--yeah, he probably would. And that would be wrong, too!
Nah c'mon -- Lunnd suffered from Too Much Meta Knowledge of Plot Syndrome.
I think his questions would've been more understandable for someone like Vargas, if he suspected she was up to something on the planet and needed her to explain herself, but less for Lunnd, who's just there to solve a mugging.
A good detective will want to know why someone, perhaps uncharacteristically given past Starfleet shore leave experiences on Anubis, found him- or herself in a dangerous place, and if that explanation is logical and consistent. The detective might wonder why a valuable piece of property was destroyed but not stolen. A colleague who was with that person but then left not long before things went bad may have been involved, and ought to be asked about, too. Romantic ties, or romances gone wrong, can make people behave in unpredictable ways, or give them cause to lie.
In any event, as I have noted in PMs to some players, this subplot is not the mission I intended, and I would prefer to wrap it up sooner rather than later.
Sigh!
He also, for whatever reason, fixated on what was wrong with the zither and wondered why Kylah didn't fix it herself, because that totally matters in catching the criminals. It had nothing to do with the GM's own knowledge of Graham's suspicions of Rangin, or the fact that we all know Kylah is lying; it was just Lunnd being that awesome a detective.
Damn, too bad he's not in Starfleet Security. He should have Vargas's job! (God knows Vargas is pretty much playing out the stereotypical "I've got two weeks left until retirement, I'm not doing a damn thing anymore!" trope.)
She's the victim of a kidnapping/mugging. Unless there's some reason he doesn't think she was really attacked and this is all some kind of setup for... I dunno, some insurance scam?...why does it matter why she was in the bar? Her motives are really irrelevant here.A good detective will want to know why someone, perhaps uncharacteristically given past Starfleet shore leave experiences on Anubis, found him- or herself in a dangerous place, and if that explanation is logical and consistent.
Even granting that those motives re: why she went to the bar matter, why would he need to ask why she didn't fix the zither herself?! Bonkers!
Absolutely true, but what on earth does Kylah's not going to an Elasian expert have to do why the criminals destroyed the zither?The detective might wonder why a valuable piece of property was destroyed but not stolen.
Yep, except he beamed up back to the ship a half-hour before Kylah was attacked. I'm not saying Rangin's not a potential suspect (because he's been acting like one--awesome job on that ambiguity from CIAS, and to general_urko for being willing to have his character jump to that conclusion--notice how good many of the players are at having their characters make mistakes? That's realistic! God knows Kylah acts stupid most of the time).A colleague who was with that person but then left not long before things went bad may have been involved, and ought to be asked about, too.
But it still seems like a huge leap considering Rangin's schedule, at least for someone who doesn't already hate Rangin (like Graham) or who isn't already aware of his odd behavior.
Wouldn't Lunnd have been wise to ask Graham about Rangin in private? Perhaps he eventually will, but I doubt it given your oft-stated desire to hurry this thing up. More on that later, ahem.
Mais naturellement. But the leap to assuming Rangin was a romantic partner was a pretty darn big one for someone who knows nothing about anyone, and who hadn't spoken to Graham about Graham's suspicions or any other crew members, etc.Romantic ties, or romances gone wrong, can make people behave in unpredictable ways, or give them cause to lie.
Y'know what's really frustrating here? That this gaffe could be fixed so darn easily. I won't even tell you right now how I'd fix it, I'll give you a few paragraphs to mull it over before revealing this delightfully easy and logical explanation for Lunnd's seemingly preternatural knowledge of the Rangin/Kylah situation. Feel free to use it, it really does clear everything up and makes the Thoth cops look awfully good. There, that's a hint for you.
As long as we're talking about this good detective and his questions: for a genius like Lunnd, he sure skipped some obvious and important areas of questioning! And for most of them, the only reason he didn't ask them was meta-related: the players and GM all pretty much know they're not relevant (except one or two actually are, and relevance didn't matter where the zither was concerned, so...). Here they are:
1. "I know a little about your background. If I understand correctly, you're a member of a wealthy royal family. Is this fact widely known on your ship, or in the public?"
Rationale for asking: finding out if someone who knew she was wealthy arranged for this seemingly random mugging. And finding out if it could possibly be a crewmate in cahoots with someone.
2. "Did anyone in the bar seem aware of who you are, or of your wealth? Have you ever been threatened before?"
Rationale for asking: again, to learn if her status attracted attention and might have been the motive for the crime; also to know if the kidnapping was intended to be a proper kidnapping, perhaps, but once she was injured the perps got nervous. The threats are an obvious point of interest as well.
3. "You mention that this was a valuable zither. What made it so valuable? Would its worth have been obvious to average, unknowledgeable criminals?"
Rationale: to determine how easy it was to tell that the zither was valuable; also, whether the criminals were ignorant and didn't recognize that the zither could be worth money, which is why it wasn't stolen.
4. "Could the fact that the zither was broken explain why they destroyed it rather than take it? Would it have any worth even as a broken object?"
Rationale: self-explanatory, pretty much; to figure out if the thieves thought a broken zither was useless, whether it was or not, they might have broken it/left it behind.
5. "How certain are you that you didn't notice anyone following you outside the bar?" (And btw he should be asking Rangin this as well.)
Rationale: to pin down whether this was the money-changing guy or anyone else from the bar.
6. "Your dress was ripped, and you also mention that the men seem to have discovered your communicator despite it being hidden beneath your clothes; finally, your uniform is also missing. Did these men threaten you in any sexual way?"
Rationale: because this is a question any investigator would ask of a woman whose clothes were ripped and she'd apparently been... handled... by a group of three men. It's unpleasant but it's cray-cray that none of the investigators has specifically asked this question of T'Var or Villa or Kylah. Ruling out a sexual component is simply foolish.
(He might also have asked T'Var about any sexual injuries, which none of the cops have done yet. Again, you know there were no sexual wounds, but neither Graham nor Lunnd or any of the others have that knowledge.)
Rationale: checking off a natural area of exploration, and meta, to make your investigators look like they know what they're doing and DON'T have the same info that Villa/T'Var/the GM and Players do.
7. "You say the bartender referred you to the money exchanger. Did the bartender give you the man's name? What about the man, did he give you any identification?"
Rationale: Hardly needs explaining, does it?
8. And here's the kicker, the question that this genius Sherlock Lunnd absolutely should've asked no matter what: "Can you describe this money exchange man?"
Rationale: because he's supposed to be a freakin' detective and this is the numero uno question any person should have asked!
All those would've been way more relevant questions for a good detective than, for example, why Kylah didn't seek out an Elasian specialist to fix her zither!
All of the above was written without the hindsight of seeing the latest Lunnd questions. So now he's asking even MORE questions that imply Kylah is somehow involved in some criminal activity herself, or is somehow to blame for this, or... really, anything other than a victim. "What other plans did you have?" WHAT does that matter? One or two questions are almost close to some of my above questions, so yay for that, but Mr. Genius Detective still hasn't asked a single thing about what the hell this money exchange guy looks like... and he's the most obvious suspect!
Whew. Okay, as promised, here's the way Lunnd could've found out about Rangin/Kylah without it requiring meta knowledge:
(For those playing at home: are you ready? Have you guessed how this easy fix could have been (and still could be) done?)
Spoiler (mouseover to read):
Quite simply, Lunnd (or some other local cops) found some witnesses of the argument between Kylah and Velir, though none were close enough to hear precisely what happened. And neither CIAS nor I would've argued that point, because I don't think Kylah or Velir were paying attention to anyone else--no one else existed for them during that awful argument.
Boom, fixed! Now, not only have the Thoth cops done some good due diligence, this solution also could add some stuff for Rangin to do (he could be questioned now, although ideally by a different detective so as to not waste time). I mean, poor Velir hasn't had anything to do in at least 50 posts--except for my purposely dragging him in briefly via Nia's thanking him.
Anyway. That's all I'm going to say about the questions, because I think Kylah properly addressed them in my last post.
Now for that last line in your post re: delays.
To everyone else: beyond my original idea of just having Kylah get mugged and her zither broken, after which she could've just shamefacedly beamed back up to ship with some injuries for help and that's the end of it--the delays in the mission were not. my. fault.
I know EH didn't specify me here, but I don't want anyone else thinking I had this master idea of dragging out a Kylah Trauma Plot just for my own angst-loving kicks. My original thought was to have Kylah get some needed karma for using her not-really-broken zither in her lies and, therefore, having it destroyed, and her money lost, in order to teach her a (rather harsh, admittedly) lesson. I thought she'd get mugged, hurt somewhat, but able to use her communicator to get beamed back to the ship. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Velir would feel bad, she'd have her idea of running away quashed, and that's it.
I think it's wonderful and thrilling that the rest of the crew got involved, because I think we've had fun with a mini-investigation, and everyone's had some good moments. Still, I just wanted to make sure y'all knew my original suggestion to EH would've taken up a week of game time, tops.
Last edited by choie; 03 Jul 2015 at 05:05 AM.
A happy, glorious Independence Day to my fellow American Mellophanters!
Thanks, EH, and the same to you!
ADAMS: It's a masterpiece, I say. They will cheer every word, every letter!
JEFFERSON: I wish I felt that way.
FRANKLIN: I believe I can put it better.
Now then attend,
as friend to friend,
our Declaration committee.
For us I see immortality
in Philadelphia City.
A farmer, a lawyer, and a sage...
...a bit gouty in the leg.
You know it's quite bizarre
to think that here we are,
playing midwife to... an egg.
(Sorry for the anti-British tenor of the song, dear CIAS. You know how I feel about your green and pleasant land!)
Last edited by anyrose; 04 Jul 2015 at 12:55 PM.
Quelle heure est-il, in-game, EH? Feels like the current Bridge crew have been on duty since about 0800, right? It was 1501 just before Collins and Graham got the call to beam down to the planet with Lunnd, and we've had the chase and interview since then. Can Nia get off soon?
....So to speak?
Now, that kind of depends on Graham, no?
How about 1630, and time for a watch change?
Hells to the yeah!
Good oneNow, that kind of depends on Graham, no?
Note to all: it's Sickbay, not "the infirmary."
Oh sorry about that, I think I accidentally used that once and general_urko picked up on it, but as you notice I've used Sickbay a few times since. Just a slip.
Righto.
If you liked the ST:TNG episode "The Inner Light," http://en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wik...ight_(episode), in which Picard, influenced by an ancient alien probe, lives a long and happy life with a wife and children on a dying world, you might want to see this webcomic sequel: http://journeytotheinnerlight.com/outerlight/page1.php. The artwork is a bit crude, and I don't really like the direction the story goes in (better, I think, to have left the episode alone), but you might like it.
nope. didn't like it.
and not for nuthin', but for someone who wants to wrap this up quickly, your NPC is sure dragging things out. Are you sure you have him under control?
Thanks for linking to the comic. I'll be honest, I didn't understand the comic's plot. Something something certain baddies involved with Kataanians, blah blah not everything is as it seems, yadda yadda gratuitous sexy panel of strippers on the Enterprise (wtf was that about), then creepy ending.
It did amuse me that we're apparently supposed to believe thatSpoiler (mouseover to read):
Eline created a self-insert fan-fiction where she gets to romance whoever found the probe.
As for Lunnd's questions... hey, I might not like the tenor he took with Kylah right off the bat, but at least now he has a reason to be more assertive with Rangin instead of ESP, since I gave him a gimme by having Kylah slip and reveal that she and Velir argued. (Lunnd can thank me later.)
Of course I completely understand why Collins is baffled. She's seeing someone actually investigating, whereas she only gets the whole shooting phasers and bullying part of her job. Displaying curiosity as to obvious anomalous behavior that she actually witnessed--normally good-guy Velir Rangin being viciously cruel to an assault victim lying in a sickbay bed--is beyond Collins's programming.
Last edited by choie; 06 Jul 2015 at 12:17 PM.
Yeah. She'd never make it into Mensa.
Last edited by anyrose; 06 Jul 2015 at 12:26 PM.
So, Graham, no sticking up for kid sister Collins, huh?
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