Welcome! These forums will be deactivated by the end of this year. The conversation continues in a new morph over on Discord! Please join us there for a more active conversation and the occasional opportunity to ask developers questions directly! Go to the PS+ Discord Server.

Mind the WMD Themes and EP

4 posts / 0 new

Last post

Sat, 2011-03-19 11:23

Raddu76

Mind the WMD Themes and EP

I'm going to run Mind the WMD this week. I've never run it and have players who've never played it, only one that's read much about it, so I really want to lay the themes down without reading two pages to them before the game. I'm mostly using the Quick Start rules to make it a quick one-shot night. With that being said it seems like the scenario is missing a few opportunities to engage some of the themes, or maybe I just don't know the system enough to read between the lines. I'd like some help laying down additional themes or point me in the direction of how to do it..oh yeah, the game is on Tuesday 3/22. Here's what I see. 1) Mind the WMD, obviously relates to today's terrorism issues. So this theme shows off Firewall 2) Nanite WMD, shows the effects of the TITANS 3) Finding out how to reach Gray Xu should show the Players how to roll some skills an interact with society. What other themes and mechanics can I throw in here? 4)The combat with the uknown attackers on Xu's ship. Obviously this shows combat. What else can I show inside of combat? The characters are supposed to undock the ship from the Scum barge so they don't infect the rest, so this can be some hacking and whatnot as well. 5) Dying...obviously the characters should die so they can be reseleeved to have that experience 6) Some more interaction trying to find the old hab, this is where I can show the differences in society 7) Traveling to the old hab, stress the differences in Elysium to the Barsoomians in the "wild" 8)Second fight What am I missing, how can I include more showcase for the setting and the system mechanics. So if these are the major points of the scenario, here's what I see as missing: Aliens, I really want to include this, I think I'm going to say that the Mars Hab actually has alien tech that the TITANS found. Also, I'm thinking the Night Cartel that's there uncovering the stuff has gone missing (actually they've been mutated by the alien tech), the PC's will fight the unknown 3rd party and in the middle the aliens/mutated night cartel, shows up and both sides have to work together to fight off the aliens. Forking (I think I'm ok with leaving this out...but where could it be included?) Politics (OK with leaving this out for this adventure, but again, how could it be included) Psi stuff (Again, ok to leave out) Any comments are helpful, thanks!

Sun, 2011-03-20 18:58

OneTrikPony OneTrikPony's picture

Re: Mind the WMD Themes and EP

Mind the WMD is pretty dense allready. I'll be impressed if you actually get through all the themes you've mentioned in one session. You should note that there is one theme missing from that adventure and the quick start rules; NETWORKING SKILLS. None of the sample characters have any networking skills and networking roles are not included in the quick start mechanics. This will be a Major part of the game when you actually play it so i would include it in your first game if it's important to you to cover all the bases. If your players will be using the premade characters I'd suggest that you assume that those characters have networking skills in a network relevant to their REP scores. (yes AIRC they do have Rep, just no networking.) If you think that's too powerfull, give them networking skills = Rep-20. Aliens really don't figure into the setting in the Locale where MtWMD takes place, with the exception of the Factors. And outside of the exoplanets Aliens don't really figure into the game much anyhow. So if you really want to have aliens you'll probably have to make up another alien faction or introduce the Factors. Good Luck. :D

—

Mea Culpa: My mode of speech can make others feel uninvited to argue or participate. This is the EXACT opposite of what I intend when I post.

Sun, 2011-03-20 20:29

kindalas

Re: Mind the WMD Themes and EP

The one thing I did when running this story. I made it into a simulspace interview to be a part of firewall. I also treated it as more a kyobasi maur test. Or however it is spelled. So I may have amped up the bad guys for each part. Forcing the players to scramble just to relay what they had discovered on the flower. And at the weapons cache I took the time to introduce the players to heavy seeker weapons fire. At the end of the mission I gave the players a report card. Some time soon, I'll run the players through the exact scenario again, except they will be handling some recruits and one of the recruits will be a plant from another organisation and the players need to fiure it out. And then after that I'll have the players get stuck in a variant of the simulation. Like a Startrek holodeck error. Where it is the next generation version. And the situation becomes worse and worse as a total existiental collapse, and the PCs are resleeved and resleeved until they go crazy. I figure it's the kind of stress test that Firewall would put it's agents through.

—

I am a Moderator of this Forum [color=red]My mod voice is red.[/color] The Eclipse Phase Character sheet is downloadable here: [url=http://sites.google.com/site/eclipsephases/home/cabinet] Get it here![/url]

Sun, 2011-03-20 22:31

Raddu76

Re: Mind the WMD Themes and EP

Thanks OneTrikPony, i'll keep that in mind. ANd I guess I just wanted the players to witness some kind of strange mutation, but that doesn't have to be Aliens, it can be TITAN stuff, I'll stick with that. Kindalas, I love that...definitely going to do that simulspace idea...haha...I can't wait to see my players' faces.