Episode 2.09 Decision at Dorella
Star Wars
Shards of Infamy
Decision at Dorella
In a flash of intense light, the ancient station, CHENTAVARI PLEX, dropped from hyperspace into the Tapani Sector. With it came members of the Shalent Aw'akeen, a reclusive people, who now had no choice but to return to the galactic stage. Emperor Gregor Vortapani, regent of the Tapani Imperium, was the first to extend a hand in friendship.
The crew of the Banana Republic, who inadvertently piloted the long-lost station, gained some well-earned rest, pay, and repairs to their ship. But there were still loose ends. Dizzy and Iwa were looking for the last parts of Iwa’s rare JEDI LINK ARMOR. A kind not seen since the Old Republic.
Bi-Tai Iltrek, their old acquaintance, heard about Iwa’s search. He knows a dealer in rare armor and antiquities. One KEM JELNU on Dorella. Bi-Tai sends this on to Iwa and Dizzy, along with a simple request to deliver a small jade statue Kem Jelnu has been desperately looking for…
Notes from the Game Master
For those who haven’t enjoyed a Play by Post adventure, below are a few ‘Rules of Play’, and a little on the structure. But first, the theme…
The Theme
Star Wars has its Dark Side, Light Side, and plenty of Gray in between. Shards of Infamy is that seamier side of the galaxy. It’s inspired by a long list of sources from Han Solo novels, the Book of Boba Fett, the Mandalorian, Firefly, then there is the occasional wink and nod to the Pirates of the Caribbean.
But at its core, it is, and always will be, Star Wars.
May the Force Be With You (you may need it!)
General Rules of Play
Some expectations between player and Game Master!
Read the Rules of Play
Play By Post Rules of Play
The Narrator or Game Master (that’d be me) will work hard to keep things moving along at a scene every 1 to 2 weeks. Life gets busy, really busy, so that may get slower but also may get faster!
For Game Master posts, I’ll use third person. Probably Third Person “close” which is really kissing cousins to “first person”.
On posting, please try to post at least something every two weeks. Otherwise, I’ll be the proverbial pain in the shorts to you about this.
If I can’t Narrate for Life reasons, I’ll let everyone know when the game goes on a brief pause so it will leave no one hanging (other than a cliffhanger, which delight me to no end :D )
In each post, a character may do two things: 1 move action (walk, run, etc) and 1 "action" action (fight, throw something, etc). No more, no less. Talk? No limit on that, of course!
Speaking of Character Conversations!
If PCs are having a conversation,
- It is fine to have multiple posts between those two that are the conversation
- We all remember when we used to write as a single post:
Let's not do that.
- Write in each post what your character says right now in a normal conversation exchange. Players set to Maximum Verbosity probably already recognize that they need to read it aloud before posting to make sure they aren't monologuing.
- Answer in sequence as that same conversation would happen in realtime
- Yes, this probably means a long thread of short posts! Great! That will still count as One Move for those characters.
This one is important... we're here to ROLEPLAY, not ROLLPLAY. Don't jump to the dice right away. Explain in character what your character is doing. You don't have to go into detail, but give me your character's viewpoint here. It may turn out you do such a great job, no dice roll is necessary!
Now, on using other people’s characters in your move… DO NOT DO THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE CLEARED IT WITH THE OTHER PLAYER FIRST, and LET ME KNOW THIS IS GOING ON. I mean it.
Your 'in character' move should involve your character taking steps to solve the problem. No one here is supporting cast. Only the NPCs are supporting cast.
Now, if you go over 4 weeks without posting and I’ve nagged you until you’re screaming and you aren’t posting… THEN… your character goes up for grabs by the rest of the group as an NPC. This is to keep the story moving.
BUT! If you’re having trouble with a move or action, please get in touch with me or your fellow players over our Discord. Collaborate and brainstorm ideas, then post a move.
Don’t EVER be afraid of a failed roll. Never. Those weak results are a gold mine for play by post. Lean into it.
Communicate! Communicate! Communicate! The best Play by Post games I’ve been involved in are the ones where the players talk their buttocks off about worldbuilding, actions, and moves.
And don’t be afraid of posting moves that don’t involve dice actions. Those can sometimes be as important as the once with dice rolls! I’ll be reading and taking notes off those as well. Post conversations! If you feel like your character should sing and you have terrible lyrics in mind that you like... make a post!
Last, but not least, and MOST IMPORTANT… have fun. If this works as I hope, I will run more of these.
The Adventure Structure
I will structure the adventure in ‘Chapters’ (or Acts if you prefer) where each ‘Chapter’ will be a separate Discussion Board. As the adventure progresses, we’ll move to new Chapters, until that inevitable end!
Relations
Protagonists
Allies
Neutrals/Bystanders
Competitors
Adversaries
Plot type
Plot
Related Locations
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