Author: mark

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Stellar Beacon Weekly Digest #4

beacon-bug

[Dateline: Shinyuan] Foreign Minister Gaoba issued a statement. “Our stellar opal miners now rest in peace after a cowardly attack. We, however, will not rest. The culprits will be traced out.”

[Dateline: New Lucknow] Mobilization of naval reserves commences in response to threats and accusations from system of Shinyuan.

[Dateline: Emerald Rift] A free trader reported receiving the following radio signal from the uninhabited world of Vytr “This is the voice of the synth resistance. There will be no negotiation. There will be no compromise. There will be biosynthetic evolution.”

[Dateline: Third York] A.I. dyssynchronization virus causes problems for people with cybernetically enhanced limbs purchased from Xeracorp Industries. Right hand does not know what left hand is doing. Nor does it want to,

[Dateline: Robin] Markets for rare-earth elements are in turmoil as tensions increase between the systems of New Lucknow and Shinyuan.

[Dateline: Senior House] Scientists successful in achieving quantum entanglement over 5 astronomical units. This opens up possibilities for instantaneous near stellar communication.

[Dateline: Convention Authority] Shipments of fragment cedar arrive across the systems of the Convention Authority as gamers and geeks prepare their saunas for the R³ Festival, when they reflect critically on the media they love, and prepare for renewal and transformation in the coming year.

[Dateline: Petram] The Pope sent greetings to the worlds of the Convention Authority as they celebrate the R³ Festival, noting that “reconciliation and renewal are shared values”.

[Dateline: Newcali] An asteroid is being inserted into orbit as a “second moon” increasing the variety and intensity of tides. Happy Surfing!

<Zek’s List> A Wearer of a Noble White mercury gown was seen standing in the observation deck of the Titanus on the ship’s eighty-ninth solar excursion. I want that  gown! Will pay well.

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Stellar Beacon Weekly Digest #3

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[Dateline: Shinyuan] Reports of an attack on the Axkl, a craft carrying stellar opals on its way back to Shinyuan from the Flintarn belt, 5 crew killed.

[Dateline: Ferril] The congress of this newly rediscovered planet thanked explorers from the CAS Andre Norton for providing a cure for Alzheimer’s-related memory loss.

‏[Dateline: Hulon IV] Authorities looking for volunteers to colonize the desert world of Myriln III among the prison population. Reduced or commuted sentences available for first 1000 volunteers.

[Dateline: Lira] Main planet defense grid reportedly down seven times over last eighteen months for maintenance. Smugglers to blame?

Galra Amonis is not dead. She is everywhere. Just check a holo, a screen, reflections in the info net.

On this date in 2155 the colony at Kepler 22b was founded making the water rich planet the first to be settled both through a process of terraforming and genetic modifications tailored to facilitate thriving in specific terraformed aquatic environment.

 

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Stellar Beacon Weekly Digest #2

beacon-bug

[Dateline: Shinyuan] Responding to the increasing tension with New Lucknow, Foreign Minister Gaoba stated “They can’t change interstellar law, and must accept our lucrative interests in the Flintarn belt.”

[Dateline: Newcali] The remains of rapper Zed Brax were returned to his daughter. Depressed over the Great Silence, and having given up hope the return of Interstellar travel and the opportunity to see his family again, he drank himself to death.

[Dateline: New Saitama] The Diet debates the potential of clone overpopulation: real or imagined? How will society deal with millions of obsolete replicants?

[Dateline: Convention Authority] Terraforming creating new friendships. Sorong and Third York establish a partnership for reshaping Cas-62f.

A controversial decision bans baying of genetically engineered werewolves at soccer matches.

[Dateline: Senior House] Today’s fellows lecture discusses the possibility of harnessing energy from a black hole to power a stellar beacon and fully restore galactic travel.

<Zek’s List> Notice to the Shahia of Heijaska. Your cyborg army will fall. Your Black Nebula mercenaries will betray you.

<Xeracorp promotions> Discover ten off-world parasites that can improve your health, career and romantic prospects! No quarantine required!

 

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Stellar Beacon weekly digest

beacon-bug

[Dateline: Petram]  Vatican officials condemned the practice of making statues out of genetically engineered human exoskeletons, “The human body is made in God’s image, and this type of cosplay is an affront to the creator” noted the papal spokesbot.

[Dateline: New Lucknow] A damaged merchant vessel arrived with a cargo of cloning tanks, the crew reporting an attack by Galtian raiders. In political news, the Commissioner announced prototype testing origami engine stating: “We will play our part in ending the Great Silence.” Opposition leaders asked if it wise to spend limited resources on origami technology. Public outrage increases on social media.

[Dateline: Newcastle upon Eridanus] Eta Carinae selected to be as base planet for a gravitational observatory to look inside of Andromeda galaxy.

[Dateline: Shunyuan] The New Lucknow ambassador delivered a formal protest of Shunyuan’s control over the Flintarn belt saying “Stellar Opals always fuel conflicts. History is witness to it”

<Pop Culture Parade> Zero-point yoga literally twisting advocates and detractors out of shape. See what it could do for you and to you.

 

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Character example: Belladonna Rose Esther Dahlia Ferncider

Belladonna Rose Esther Dahlia Ferncider (her friends call her Donna) grew up in a “traditionalist” agricultural commune. Well, traditionalist except that everyone had been genetically engineered to look like gnomes, halflings and dwarves of fantasy fiction. She is 3 feet tall with chibi-eyes, dagger ears, and hair like a fuzzy black lamb. She hated her rural life,and feels the space exploration will feed her wanderlust and take her far far away from the farm.

She’s a space pilot who breaks all the rules, fond of trick maneuvers in combat. Because of her appearance she sometimes has a hard time being taken seriously. She compensates by wearing nearly constantly wearing a flight jacket with emblazoned with patches from all the missions and expeditions she’s been on. She’s living the adventures she’s always wanted, so she typically has a broad smile and is happy and well liked, by humans and AIs alike.

Aspects:

  • High concept: pilot who breaks all the rules
  • Trouble: “Who needs backup?”
  • Aspect: need for speed
  • Aspect: button masher
  • Aspect: “What can I say, the AI likes me?”

Skills

  • +4 Piloting
  • +3 Acrobatics, Scan
  • +2 Blast, Intrusion, Making
  • +1 Cosplay, Might, Empathy, Networking

Stunts

  • Trick Maneuver: when you succeed in evading damage using piloting, you opponent takes one stress, or two if you succeed with style.
  • Pecking, Ordered: In an unfamiliar social setting, you can immediately understand the power structures involved.
  • DPS: you can choose to at +2 to your melee attacks at the cost of you opponents inflicting +2 damage if they succeed in hitting you.

Donna

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Character example: Gamal Bolívar Elnecash

Gamil Bolivar, starship engineer, is often seen carrying with a big wrench that he uses both to fix things and also to protect the weak.

He’s rather athletic, both enjoying the great outdoors and as the captain of a zero gravity water polo team.

He’s a shameless flirt, and seems to have a girl in every spaceport.

Aspects:

  • High concept: Starship Engineer with
    a Big Wrench
  • Trouble: “I protect the weak.”
  • Aspect: “Wait, I have another idea…”
  • Aspect: zero-gravity water polo champion
  • Aspect: a girl in every starport

Skills

  • +4 Making
  • +3 Survival, Combat Arts
  • +2 Blast, Acrobatics, Scan
  • +1 Cosplay, Might, Intrusion, Science (Physics)

Stunts

  • The Great Outdoors once per session, you may reduce a moderate consequence to a minor one, by luxuriating in the great outdoors.
  • Not OSHA Compliant +2 to attacks you make in fights that take place in engineering related settings: workshops, factories, etc. Create an aspect to note the dangerous element of the setting giving you this edge.
  • Training montage once per session you can prepare for you next combat, gaining +1 to all melee skill checks in that scene

gamal

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Character example: Leslie Lachance

Leslie Lachance is a shape shifting gender fluid first contact specialist (current pronoun: he)  A historian of old earth and famous cosplay champion, he uses both these skill sets to help the team interact with the new societies they discover. Charismatic, he is, perhaps a bit too popular and ambitious.

Aspects:

  • High Concept: shape shifting first contact specialist
  • Trouble: too popular for my own good
  • historian specializing in pre-stellar Earth
  • ambitious and hardworking
  • famous cosplay champion

Skills

  • +4 Cosplay
  • +3 Networking, Scholarship
  • +2 Empathy, Acrobatics, Combat Arts
  • +1 Intrusion, Scan, Making, Blast

Stunts

  • Mission Control +1 to all attempts to create advantages for other players when you aren’t present but can communicate.
  • Suspension of Disbelief Once per session, you can take +2 to any roll where a character you are cosplaying would have an advantage.
  • Research Montage you can use your Scholarship skill to quickly accomplish tasks that would normally require extensive investigation or research, even when a library or archive is not available.  You must explain how you came to research this topic in the past

Leslie Wanders

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Character example: Tanya Parks, PhD

Tanya Parks is straight shooting science officer and a polymath, who the team can rely on in investigations in many different fields from astrophysics to forensic pathology. She’s also skilled with heavy plasma weapons: her motto: “Science advances one funeral at a time.”  It is true that she can be easily distracted by shiny objects and scientific anomalies.

Aspects:

  • High Concept: straight shooting science officer
  • Trouble: Oh, shiney!
  • Science Advances One Funeral at a Time
  • Mistakes Lead to Success
  • My Destiny is in the Stars!

Skills

  • +4 Science
  • +3 Blast, Acrobatics
  • +2 Cosplay, Networking, Empathy
  • +1 Making, Scan, Survival, Piloting

Stunts

  • Polymath: your science skills applies to all realm of science
  • That’s Funny: once per session you can succeed at any Scan roll, create an aspect to describe the scientific anomaly that drew your attention
  • Plasma Weapons are Messy: After you successfully shoot a target, they gain the aspect “on fire”

TParks

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The Cosplay Skill

Return to Stars cosplay

Cosplay is your character’s aptitude for self-presentation using costuming, genetic modification, posture and movement. Thanks to centuries of refinement, it is considered a fine art in the Convention Authority.

Because Cosplay involves granular genetic control of your body it is a skill you can use to recover from physical consequences.

For cosplay competitions, the player defines the level of the challenge, which represents the impressiveness of the costume and performance they desire to create. They need to overcome this difficulty, or they fail to captures the judge’s attention.

You can perform Cosplay to create distractions in combat, thanks to your knowledge of stage fighting.

Sample Cosplay Stunts

  • Dress for Success you understand the power of FASHION!  With appropriate garb once per session you can use Cosplay in place of the Networking skill.
  • Suspension of Disbelief Once per session, you can take +3 to any roll where a character you are cosplaying would have an advantage.