Daring Travellers and dangerous Patrons
Voidstein Part 2- Announcing the winners and losers of the first Voidstein Type 2 Classic Traveller Braunstein
We recently concluded our six week long hybrid Classic Traveller Braunstein.
This is the ongoing series in several parts describing the Classic Traveller Braunstein, it’s winners and losers and the after action review.
In Voidstein Type 2 – Red Zone; participants could play as Patrons and/or Travellers.
Patrons
Patrons compete in the crisis for a position of greater power among other patrons, aka Factions. I won’t reveal the names of the participants to protect their The following were the Voidstein patrons:
Defiance – Anarchist/Socialist terrorists/freedom fighters (depending on your point of view). The defiance has secrets the government does not want revealed to the public.
The 400th CruRON Federation Navy – The official government and military during the crisis
Jumpspace Media – The corrupt broadcast media organization
StarPeace – A registered NGO that is actually a cult sort of like Ahm Shinrikyo
Servonics Inc. - The front corporation for the notorious villain Solomon Stans
Space Vikings – A family clan of adventuring conquerors looking to build a saga of glory in the sight of the old gods in space.
The Cult of the Void – a shadowy illuminati of Tech lords that pull the strings behind the scenes.
(Later some of these would be eliminated, shift, or rebrand)
Travellers
All Travellers are talented ex-military free agents who do dangerous work for money in space. They vary greatly but all share that goal.
Emberson – He has a giant sword and not much else can be said about Emberson.
Tara – An expert hacker and administrative agent, the perfect chameleon, spy and infiltrator.
Larson Winchell – Very early on joins the Vikings and converts
Jet Jenkins – Handlebar mustache schemer and space cowboy, always able to get out of a mess
Kossori – A talented veteran and problem solver who would ultimately join the rebels
Yolando and Gerald – Meet each other early on and remain comrades, eventually joining the Vikings and then the Rebellion
Arthur Greenback – Maybe only enough luck to stay alive, Captain of the Neko
Gunn – A psychopathic former Marine Gunnery-Sergeant that likes stabbing
David Butler – A cantankerous mechanic looking for pay.
Gus – Highly skilled former special forces.
Dynamo – A swashbuckling, laser cannon wielding ex-Army Col.
Announcing the winners and losers of Voidstein Type 2 – Red Zone
Variable changes: Politics – 2. Mil – 1. Econ – 2. Social – 2.
Qualitative status of Vinfall Solar system. - Hegemony eliminated or driven off. Federation eliminated. Multiple factions eliminated. Solar system in shambles. Tens of thousands dead.
The patron winner is:
The Defiance!
Goals: Pol <2 Mil <3 E <3 S <3
Goal: Disrupt the current order in Vinfall to gain power and influence.
Both goals achieved with minimum losses and minimum exposure to the larger Defiance cell network. The Defiance began with the smallest pool of cash available to give Travellers but with a unique, ancient TL15 blockade running ship that could travel at 6G and Jump-5 with advanced computer software.
They gave the ship to be used by one of the Travellers and were able to use it’s software to “select-2” the bridge of the commanding Federal Naval Officer during the assault on Helios, the capital of the solar system, as well as use the ship to slip in with equipment and personnel to take over the station quickly.
They worked to alter the narrative by seeding rumors among sympathetic indie traders in starports and doing an interview with Jumpspace.
Lastly, they managed to not reveal their cards and work efficiently and quietly with the Vikings and Stans, essentially only silently moving the variables of Vinfall in their favor.
Runner up is:
Space Vikings!
Goals: Pol <2 Mil <3 Econ <3 S<4
Goal: Bring glory to your house by bringing low a great space monster (Hegemony Dreadnought) OR the top leader of another faction of equal power.
Goals were achieved, but the supremacy of the Vikings in glory and honor remains in doubt. The Vikings did not attain the glory personally of bringing down another faction but manipulated other factions in doing so. As a result, the apparent glory went to Baron Richard (deceased.)
The Space Vikings initially began with the brute force of simply wiping StarPeace off the map, which turned out profitable in goods and supplies but costly in men. After that, they worked with other factions and players to build the alliance that could ultimately topple Helios and the Federation. The Vikings started with a cohort of warriors, most of whom were wiped out in the StarPeace attack. They also started with a small flotilla of Viking Cruisers which were lower tech and slower than Federation Cruisers.
Victories and defeats:
Overwhelming victory:
Defiance
Space Vikings
Pyrrhic victory:
The Free Militia (Initially Servonics)
Overwhelming defeat:
Federation
Cult of the Void
Pyrrhic defeat:
Jumpspace Media
Travellers
The Traveller winner is:
Jet Jenkins!
Probably earned the most money swindling the Federation by putting them in a bind, requiring no danger or adventure to do so, but simply manipulation and maneuvering. Started the game with the second worst position on board a space station with factions killing each other, aliens inbound and running out of life support.
Jenkins organized one of the corporate gangs to make a daring escape and stole a fed ship. When he made it to the feds he convinced them he was bringing them the ship instead of stealing it. This led to a possible contract.
Jenkins had little money to speak of to start, so he found one of the most talents specialists on the ship and seduced and married her, using the most ancient form of currency.
By marrying the most talented computer hacker in the solar system, he was able to produce software for profit which enabled the assault on the Hegemony. The Feds paid the largest sum of money in the game of liquid funds to a Traveller for this: 1.5 million credits.
With the credits he established a private investigation firm, and immediately after establishing it began an investigation of what could end his new success with his new bride. This eventually led him to the highest levels of the Federation and a meeting with Baron Richard, where he duped the Baron into thinking he was a free agent for hire and an asset for the coming battle, along with him getting to know Dame Psyche.
The whole thing worked as a ruse to uncover what was about to happen, a tide of bloodshed. Knowing this he took his remaining credits and paid for passage off the station, leaving the solar system to burn with profit and his bride.
No adventure was needed. This was accomplished in Play-by-post in only a few paragraphs.
A masterclass of manipulation, scheming and daring.
The runner up is
Kossori!
Kossori was the most efficient for the highest pay off with the most heroism. Only coming into conflict with one Traveller who he’d ultimately become friends with at a starport bar after nearly killing him in space combat, he took a lead on a Federation job at a starport and came to Helios.
During an insane boarding of an alien Dreadnought, Kossori worked with an expert team of Travellers, Marines and specialists to rapidly uncover that the Dreadnoughts were exposed to an AI virus and helped to turn the fleet on itself, slaughtering every single Federation sailor in the 400th CruRON and all 3 Dreadnoughts to prevent the virus from exposing the rest of the Federation and Sophont space, likely saving untold lives.
After returning, he agreed to stay on as a freedom fighter with Solomon Stans and Stans paid him a straight 1 million credits, making for the second highest payout per efficiency of gameplay.
Accomplished in only a few paragraphs of text, no adventures with the least amount of danger until the end of the game where, in one single adventure, he made a massive payday and probably helped save all of Sophont space.
A close third of mention:
Emberson
Emberson took a job prospecting a claim on a radioactive mine, taking the risk on a crazy old miner named Gus Chiggins. Along with Dame Psyche, they rode across the brown, icy wastes of Glumcrag on what appears to have been an ancient site of nuclear detonation, perfectly glassed frozen brown desert. There he fended off the Frostcoil using a vehicle mounted gun long enough to get off the nuclear glass and make it to the mine and the crew slew the vicious Ghort, the scourge of Glumcrag.
Obtaining the mine claim, Emberson arrived at Helios to cash it in and joined the suicidal mission to assault the Hegemony Dreadnoughts where on board the ancient vessel he slew robots and tentacled aliens with his broadsword during the activation of the Black Globe Generator as the crew escaped.
Emberson achieved the highest amount of credits earned for a single Traveller in the game, and participated in multiple adventure in both PBP and live session play.
Running list of Voidstein Type 2 – Red Zone – Awards
Most Valuable Player - Tara
Most deaths - David Butler
Most time spent in romance arc with the Referee - Jet Jenkins
Most betrayals – Testes Dynamo
Most attempted war crimes - Solomon Stans (Space Vikings are close 2nd)
Most well intentioned - Kossori (Life science is close 2nd)
Worst intentions – Solomon Stans
Most public exposure – Testes Dynamo
The next post I’ll reveal the results of our five-point AAR: What what supposed to happen, what did happen, what went wrong, what went right and what we will do with this type of Voidstein in the future with our lessons learned.