Ark E1: Pilot
In this first section we:
- 1) Introduce the players to the setting
- 2) Introduce the characters to the table
- 3) Introduce the characters to each-other
- 4) Give space for orientation questions
- 5) Make the first check
Watch the Live Play
Introduce the Story
You are crew members of a Jhoutigari survey vessel assigned to the Magr'ra's Cauldron of Br'rvaGishani.
For the past few weeks, the survey ship has followed the path of the phenomenal cyclone as it makes annual circuit across the planet. Your vessel has been eternally shielded in the sanctuary of the storm's eye. The views, insight, and readings have been incredible. Over the last few hours, one garbled reading has solidified itself into a trackable signal thanks to careful analysis by the crews comms officer, Lithressia.
It's a distress signal, and it belongs to an arcological airship which hasn't been seen in three hundred years.
Introduce the Players
Go around the table, introducing characters conversationally
With each, explain how they ended up on this voyage. They're part of a Jhoutigari survey crew, but how did they get here? For this module, a prerequisite is that all players are members of the ValuSelu Pact, and so all have decided if they Abide, Deny, or Revere the chivalrous commandments which form the backbone of Pact Law.
- If they Abide the Pact, then they are likely here as part of their first conscription. A Pact citizen cannot own private property without first doing a year of conscription. Most are stationed near to their home town, but some are selected for their skills (or volunteer) to come out to the colonies.
- If they Deny the Pact, then they are likely here as a severe punishment for a petty crime. By sending prisoners out to the colonies, they can typically milk extra time out of the prisoner's punishment under the guise of work training, though most of them end up being used for hard labor.
- If they Revere the Pact, then they are either a conscript as well, or an enlistee sent to Jhoutai's rugged frontier to make a name for themselves and work their way up the planetary division of the Jhoutigari. This is likely the beginning of a long service or career, rather than an obligation.
Go over their Mantras and Backstory and talk about the ways in which their characters have interacted during their time aboard. Do their values clash or enmesh? Encourage collaborative or adversarial relationships according to the tone you want to have but remember: adversarial parties are more likely to fail.
Introduce the Team
The wingship cabin accomodates two rows of three seats lined up and facing each-other, leaving an aisle between the cockpit at the front and the boarding ramp and equipment racks at the back. Windows of dense glass along the ceiling and walls provide a sweeping vantage of the world outside and the belly of the survey ship above. In every direction you are reminded that you're at the bottom of a vast oculus of hurricane clouds.
"Flight ready, awaiting confirmation." Pilot Gage reports from the cockpit. Zer voice is louder over your headset than it is from the front.
You share the immediate cabin with three others — Nashu, Ramshanti, and Uker'ra. Squazzi's there, too, but we'll come back to him in a moment.
This is an invitation for Player's to be introduced to NPCs while being prompted to describe how their character has interacted with the NPC during the 2 weeks they've known them so far.
This can be brief or lengthy, depending on how much your party likes to elaborate on getting to know NPCs. This is also your opportunity to get to know the NPCs, as you will be portraying them for the duration of the campaign. If the trials of the arcology don't prove dangerous enough for , rifts between the NPCs can crank up the intensity of the players.
Stretch Goal: Provide some Curveball Ideas for playing with the formula.
The Away Team
Knight Prospect
Nashu came to this world to stake a claim for his family, but first he has to make a name for himself. He's from a reliable stock of hunters, but this is his first posting as a commander.
Though his Martial training was rigorous, his strengths lie in logistics, and leadership. His shield is etched with an oath to protect his crew.
Stats, Secrets, and Gear coming soon!
Dishonored Exorcist
Following an incident as colonial detective, Ram was redeployed to the airship as an Auric reserve with little to do except contemplate her fear of heights. The posting is droll, and she is determined to do something of significance with her time.
She takes this seriously. A commendation from Nashu could mean a return to service.
Stats, Secrets, and Gear coming soon!
Soulless Medic
Sazashi Nasyk • Hollow • Medic • Survivalist
This is Uker'ra's fourth deployment. His official role is as a medic, but he is a journeyman of the Survivalist's Guild with several expeditions under his belt.
Before he deployment he goes Hollow as part of his faith, and leaves his Soul with his mate. He can sleep with both eyes open. He speaks in a soft, cadent voice.
Stats, Secrets, and Gear coming soon!
"We should have visual within the next ten seconds," Operator Lithressia says over the comms.
"Deploy the drone," Nashu orders.
A teardrop-shaped shadow falls into view and away before spreading its great curled wings and banking sharply towards the island. You catch a momentary view of a knife-shaped beak before it's too far to discern anymore.
On the Wingship
On the Survey Vessel
Indentured Hands
With a mouth like a motor and a mind as vulgar as pig iron, Squazzi is good at pushing buttons, which is good because that's about all he's about allowed to do.
He claims to be a second generation colonist and locksmith by trade. The patch on his suit warns you that he's a larcenist as well.
The Pilot
Rarely found without a stimulant in hand and an eye on the readings, Gage spends most of zeir time in Immersions, practicing on vessels far more agile than the wingship.
Zey're impersonal to everyone except Lithressia and other humans, around whom zey are merely aloof.
The Overwatch
Talkative and professional. Lithressia's melodious voice and precise diction give her an air of authority — an important component of her role, as she spends most of her time in everyone's ear to help keep them on task.
If you're not sure what to do, ask her.
A monitor over the portal into the cockpit shows a stream from the drone's mounted camera. Condensation ebbs at the edge of the feed as it swoops down towards the island at such a speed that the land seems to lurch out from beneath the overhang of storm clouds.
Sinister crags of basalt and iron jut up into the sky, lacerating the underbelly of the storm and sending whrols of mist spinning out over the sea roiling against the rocky shore. The landmass is narrow and angular, the lip of a crater risen above the sea, and is comprised exclusively of sheer faces.
Nashu stares up at the feed, searching for signs of a ship amid the grainy details of the feed.
The character with the highest acuity sees it first.
( Acuity 4) Intersecting with the sharp angles of the cliffs you spot it. An oblong shape, geometric along some edges and lumpy along others. One structure overgrown with another. A massive construct encased in coral and impaled on the clifs.
"Gage, can you confirm what we're seeing?" Nashu asks.
Gage already has zer Codex open. "It's a Geode-Pattern Ark," zey announce, voice becoming monotone as they read from the text: "As the shell expands, so too does the city within. Workers excavate the cancellous interior and process the material into living concrete, which is then used for construction, and for reinforcing the cortical crust—"
"That's enough, thank you," Nashu says, cutting Gage off. "Lithressia: We have confirmation of the Arcology. We will be deploying.
A pause, then: "Confirmed. You have the blessing of the Gishani Marshall's Office. Good luck, away team."
"Countdown begins," Gage says as the wingship's beak begins to angle downwards.
The meissner engine hums to life beneath your feet and in your inner ear. Ramshanti makes a quick prayer sign.
The inertial dampening adds to the chorus, whispering baritone lies about which way is down. Uk'kera pulls his seatbelt taut.
Your eyes tell you that down is forwards, through the windshielt and down into the dark green seat. Your body tells you that down is towards the floor. Nashu closes his eyes and grits his jaw.
What do you do?
"Off we go." Gage announces.
A solid metallic kerchunk reverberates through the hull as the docking clamps disengage, and you drop.
And thus begins the first Conflict of play: a test of the the character's Constitution. All Players must Ante — remember, only Numerics go into your Hand and count towards your Ante. All Royals are set aside in a Bide pile.
For this first Check, they should play with an open hand so that you can coach them on the tactics of playing their cards.
Pass a Constitution check of 6.
- On a Failure: Gain 3 Ranks of Motion Sickness
- On a Success: Nothing happens to you
Spiralling Flyover
Gage descends in a broad spiral, flying over more of the arcology as the storm recedes to expose it. Anchoring the arcology to the spires is a wild tangle of stony vines, some as thick around as the belly of the wingship. Whatever growth they had cultivated aboard the ship had gone wild.
"Gage, can we land?" Nashu asks, raising his voice over the screams of the wind and the hums of the wingship.
"No. The surface is almost entirely overgrown. However, there's an auxillery takeoff port for VTOLs. The crust has grown up around it, but left enough of an opening that I could land inside if someone could go down and do a manual override on the VTOL Portal. Nothing is responding to hails.
"You're sure this is the only way in?" the Captain asks.
"Yes commander."
Nashu inclines his head in a nod, then looks at you. "You and Uk'kera will rappel down and open the port, then, so that we may land inside. I have entrusted Uk'kera with some clearing charges to clear any coral if needed. Hopefully they will not be."
Gage chimes in before you set off. "The meissner engine can only handle a few minutes of continous stationary hover— less in this wind. Get down and open the port quick, or you'll be working alone for this."
Time to Rappel!
For this next part, the party will rappel down into the sinkhole with Uker'ras help and guidance.
If this is the anyone's first time playing Ethnis, this will be their first encounter with a multi-turn Contest with a single objective and no opponent. Time progresses in 5-second rounds with each Participant taking a turn in the order of their RFX. Each player is told the length of the descent, and must judge for themselves how many meters of rope they can safely descend each turn. The rcommended is three-to-five meters, but storm gusts and skill levels will change that. On thir last turn, they will have to stick the landing with a Vault check, so leave some cards for that!
In most scenarios, the Narrator will present you with a scenario in which there's one Skill more obvious to resolve it than another. If you're creative, you can apply your other skills, though they may not be the easiest or most efficient route forward.
Means
Based on how the character chooses to get down, this will determine their check difficulty.
| Skill | Justification and Execution |
|---|---|
| Climb | Utilize the rappel kit to lower yourself down at a difficulty of 1 per 1 meter of rope. |
| Grapple | You've gotten this far in life through brute force. You're not about to change that now. Using your gloves as handbrakes, you slide down. Base Difficulty is ½ your Size (rounded up) per meter. |
| Engineering | You're not a seasoned climber, but pullies are simple machines—you can figure it out. Base Difficulty is 4 for the first meter to acquaint yourself with the mechanism, followed by 2 per 1 meter of rope. |
Complication
At the start of each round, roll from the following table and add the effect to play.
| 1d4 | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | A sharp gust of mist blows past, making the rope wet and pulling at you. Checks are 2 points harder as Gage fights the drift. |
| 2 | It's windy, but not turbulent. Checks are 1 points harder as Gage fights the drift. |
| 3-4 | Nothing happens |
Outcomes
| 1d8 | Description |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Lucky you, nothing happens! |
| 3-5 | The wet cable binds up in the pully. You can fix it with an Engineering Check of 4. If you make a Climb Check of 4 first, you may climb the cable to generate some slack on the pully, lowering the Engineering difficulty to 2. |
| 6-7 | You begin to swing around in worrying arcs, entangling your lines. If this occurs when Sticking the Landing, add 2 to the difficulty of that Vault check. |
| 8-9 | One of your ropes pulls slack and you begin to fall. Use your gloves as handbrakes for a difficulty of your Mass. You or someone within 1m of you can fix your rope for 2 Engineering |
| 10+ | Your pully shatters and you begin to fall. Use your gloves as handbrakes for a difficulty of your Mass. You must now climb down by hands alone or free fall and Stick the Landing! |
Stick the Landing
There's one last step you must make! On the same turn in which you reach the bottom of the rope, you must also land on your feet. Make a Vault check equal to the number of meters you moved down the line this turn.
You've landed safe and sound! Proceed to the next section.
You land awkwardly, slamming into the ground for Fall Damage.
2: Get into Cover
As soon as your boots touch down onto the hard, slick surface, Uk'kera attatches you to a tether he's secured a spur in the wood refore unclipping your attatchment to the rappel line, then helps you move out of the way for the next. The sound of your own breathing fills your ears, louder even than the wind trying to coax you over the edge and into the dense, blinding mist all around you.
Lithressia's message comes without voice. A blip of text in the chatbox of your Comm.
/[Lithressia]// This is about as good as it's going to get. The storm is curving as it passes by. You won't get more than a few hours./
Squazzi's message come spoken and by text. His voice becomes tinny as the wingship pulls away.
"/[Squazzi]// What happens then? You'll extract us?/"
"/[Gage]// The survey ship can't fly this close to the wall. We'll get help when the Marshall sends in his men. A week?/"
/[Lithressia]// Unfortunately yes. We're obligated by circumstance and proximity. He is not./
"/[Nashu]// Uk'kera, how quickly can you get everyone to the VTOL port."
Uk'kera's voice is clear over Comm, thanks to proximity. While the others discuss, he has been crawling along the twisting surface and tying off a line.
"/[Uk'kera]// Gage got us close. Not much longer./"
(Nashu checks in on the players)
"/[Uk'kera]// Alright (players), low and slow. Follow close.
Three rounds.
After much scooting, crawling, and clambering, you at last find yourself at a concave depression in the stony surface beneath the overlapping vines.
/"[Gage]// The override for the Segmented VTOL Auxillery Portal is located at towards the bow-side of the portal, housed in a weather-sealed casing./"
"/[Uk'kera]// The portal is sealed over. We're figuring that out now."
Prompt the players on how to get through. The depression itself would easily be broken just by walking over it, though this would be an unfortunate choice due to the hive of Cortical Bats living in its walls. The percussion of the explosion would send them akilter, but would agitate them even worse.
Following Gage's instructions, you are able to ascertain where the lever is supposed to be, but it appears to be totally encased in a foot of coral.
Gunshots and loud noises make the bats aggressive. If they become active, refer to the Cortical Bats Encounter
Once the players have worked out how to pulled the lever, proceed to the next subsection.
With a terrible and grating mechanical scream, the floors segments retract, pouring the water down into a darkness beyond. You hear it splash against metal, echoing over a metal platform.
"This will be much easier than the last," Squazzi assures. "No wind this time, and we're going one at a time. You first.
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