"An Alien World" (Game Thread)

"An Alien World"

A Role Play and Table Top Game In One​

Commander Kim Lee: profile

I strode into the Transport's Command Conference Room and pushed the chair away from my place at the head of the long table. I stood before the 20 Section Leaders we had reanimated from Cryogenic hibernation. I had always been and likely always would be a get to the point kind of girl, so I launched immediately into my summary of our situation:

• We are not at our original destination, New Terra.
• For reasons I am unaware of, the transport was redirected here.
• Our transit was ... let's just call if much longer than planned.
• We are in orbit of a planet very unlike New Terra.
• New Terra has flat, vast plains onto which our Shuttles were going to simply glide and land.
• Once on the ground, the Pre-Colonization Preparation Shuttle crews would prepare safer landing strips, housing, and more...
• ...and the remaining Shuttles would then land to begin large scale colonization.
• This planet, however, is mostly rolling hills covered by thick forest.
• Our shuttles will not be landing without damage ... and, likely, casualties.
• Now, we could simply leave every one in hibernation and send down one Pre-C in the hopes of landing safely, then cutting a landing strip out of the forest, but...
• The Transport has suffered some damage...
• ...and the longer than expected transit has resulted in shortages of supplies.
• We are losing or low on power ... oxygen ... cryogenic fluid...
• And we are out of time.
• If we leave everyone in cryo, they die in the tubes. We've already lost some Colonists.
• If we reanimate everyone, we asphyxiate.
• So ... here's the plan.
• We have reanimated you 20 Section Leaders.
• We are in the process of reanimating your Sections.
• We are stuffing your Shuttles absolutely full to the brim with any and all supplies we can.
• And we are prepping some equipment shuttles with the bulk gear and heavier equipment.
• We are studying the planet, looking for the least dangerous place to put you down.
• And we will do our best on several successive orbits to put you all in the same place.
• I will be remaining here, obviously, as will my senior staff.
• Navigation will put the Transport in geo-synchronous orbit above the primary landing -- or crash landing -- zone, so that you can communicate with us via radio.
• And we will help you survive ... and, hopefully, in the end ... thrive.

After a couple of dozen questions, many of which were unfortunately either not answered or answered insufficiently:

• The Section Leaders made their way to their Shuttles.
• They briefed their Section's Colonists.
• We had spent days studying the planet before reanimating the Section Leaders.
• We picked the best landing zone and launched the Shuttles, four per orbital pass.
• The Shuttles have maneuvering thrusters to point them in the right direction for descent, but beyond that they were essentially big buses with wings.
• We waited until we got confirmation of safe -- or relatively safe -- landings before launching the Shuttles filled with equipment and supplies.

For the Players:

• Do not post here until your PC's profile is accepted and sent back to you for posting to the OOC thread.
• I will PM you your initial situation, post it here, or a combination of both.
• Include that initial situation in your first post here.
• Each reply here should include:
  • The name of the PC for whom you are posting.
  • A link to that PC's profile.
  • The "situational" information that I sent you in a PM and/or that I posted here in the Game Thread.
  • Your PC's response to that information.
  • And, if you choose to write it, a creative role play reply last.
• For the record, the Game Thread posts for Mimi Robb are my attempts to practice doing all of this.

Day 1:

• A relatively safe landing zone (LZ) is chosen.
• It is a shallow wetlands with a minimal number of trees.
• Landing in water is not ideal.
• But every other potential landing zone is forested and/or mountainous.
• The Shuttles would require a perfect descent to prevent -- or at least minimize -- damage to the Shuttles.
• One Shuttle is released on each orbit of the Mother Ship.
• Unexpected atmospheric conditions cause the Shuttles' descent paths to vary greatly.
• They (crash) land between 11 to 99 kilometers (~7 to ~62 miles) from the LZ. (1d9 twice for 1st and 2nd digits.)
• Their direction from the LZ vary, too. (1d8 = direction.)
• Because they have no flammable fuels, there are no deadly explosions.
• However, there are also no rising plumes of smoke to indicate their positions relative to the other shuttles.
• The shuttles do suffer damage due to the forested, mountainous terrain surround the relatively safer LZ. (1d10 = % of resources saved and condition of Shuttle for future use.)
• And casualties occur. (Same roll die as damage.)

Section #1:

• PC aboard: Mimi Robb -- Shuttle Pilot/Section Leader. (AngelEyes1994)
• Distance from Landing Zone: 33 km (21 miles).
• Direction from LZ: Northwest.
• Damage/Casualties incurred: 10% (1d10=1)
  • No, I didn't fake this die roll because the character is my own.
  • I was tempted to reroll, but I think -- since Mimi's Section is mostly for "practice" -- I'll keep it that way.
  • Survivors: 45 of 50. Minimal injuries.
  • Food: 90 days (90% of 100 days)
  • Water: 90 days (90% of 100 days).
  • Surviving Gear: Looking good. Insignificant losses. All survival gear either okay or repairable.

Section #2:

• PC aboard: Rachael Peters -- Zoologist. (Aussie_Wolf)
• PC aboard: Tony Peters -- Security Officer. (Aussie_Wolf)
• Distance from Landing Zone: 66 km (41 miles).
• Direction from LZ: Northeast.
• Damage/Casualties incurred: 10% (1d10=1)
  • Survivors: 45 of 50. Minimal injuries.
  • Food: 90 days (90% of 100 days)
  • Water: 90 days (90% of 100 days).
  • Surviving Gear: Looking good. Insignificant losses. All survival gear either okay or repairable.

Section 3:

• PC aboard: Mackenzie Johnson -- Mechanical Engineer. (Kenzie63)
• Distance from Landing Zone: 88 km (55 miles)
• Direction from LZ: North.
• Damage/Casualties incurred: 20% (1d10=2)
  • Hull is cracked open along one side, leaving a meter wide, two meter tall gap of jagged metal and composite materials. Otherwise it's pretty fair.
  • Survivors: 40 of 50. Some injuries; minimal critical injuries.
  • Food: 80 days (80% of 100 days)
  • Water: 80 days (80% of 100 days).
  • Surviving Gear: Above average. Water purification equipment destroyed.

General Information For All Sections:

• You can imagine your Shuttles being similar to one of the US's now defunct shuttle fleet.
• They weren't made for landing in tropical forests, so ... you're going to deal with more crash than landing.
• Per the rolls above, the shuttles are intact and secure (from potential predatory wildlife) except as otherwise noted.
• There is no fresh water obviously close to the Shuttles.
• There is ample fauna and flora. Just think Earth tropical forest.

What To Do Now:

• Contemplate your greatest needs and most important actions.
• I will send each of you a PM with information specific to your group.
• PM me your response.
• I will either PM you with more comments, questions, situations, or results; or will tell you to post your move.