Encounters : Our Last Best Hope

11/29/2015
Encounters

Our Last Best Hope

As part of the then attempt to introduce new systems to gamers who haven't tried it, I ran a session of Our Last Best Hope for the mini-con and drew inspiration from the Alien movies.

I was able to get three players in total to play with me, as well as a few others, but sadly I was not able to mark down who my players were for the session.

The game was set in the Arctic, and the four players fulfilled each role: the Soldier, the Scientist, the Engineer and the Doctor.

Sadly, I have lost my notes on this game and thus do not have further information on the players.  But I would like to think the game remains a memorable one for them.

Act I Begins

For initial set-up, we generated the complications for the game and we are all huddled in the tents at the start of the game.  Earlier that evening, Tobie was carried back into camp with something clamped on his face.  Some of them felt fascinated by the thing that was wrapped on his face.  Others were panicking, knowing that Tobie was the pilot of the journey. The doctor preps his tools. The engineer sets up the light sources.  The storm gets stronger outside.  They all feel something uneasy about the situation and they reach out to M.I.M.I.C. for advice.  Everyone has bracelets that allow them to communicate with M.I.M.I.C. but their interplayer communications are down.   Sensors detect movement outside the camp, approaching their general direction.   The game is set in LV-42, one of the three moons orbiting Calpamos, which is the same moon where the first Alien movie is set.   The storm in interfering with the scans.  The thing is estimated to arrive in less than one minute.    Acid sprays out as the doctor cuts off one of the legs of the thing wrapped around Tobie's face.  The acid hits some of the lights.  The thing closes in towards the camp, but the storm covers it from view.  Richard takes point, and rushes to check the motion outside.    The alien charges at the tent!  The loud thudding sound smashes into the tent at Richard from behind him!  Towering six feet tall, the enraged alien grabs at Richard!  He quickly pulls out his lucky dagger, a touch stone, to try to fend the thing off.  Two try to help, one using Frost's laser while the other simply tries grabbing one of the standing lamps to stab at the alien.  The lamp hits the alien and it gives out an elephantine squeal.  Richard stabs the blade against its body, and at the point, the laser burns into its skin.  Both pull back, seeing the Alien trashing in all directions.  Elsa is yelled at to head back.  Frost rushes forward with the experimental laser and swings with it like a cutting sword.  Richard feels the tail smack into his stomach, flinging him to the ground.  M.I.M.I.C. starts counting down as another threat is closing in.

"Aim for the head!" the Scientist starts yelling at them.  Frost shakes her head, yelling at another for being crazy!  Richard grabs the thing by the tail, dragging it down.  Frost comes in and stomps on the thing.   M.I.M.I.C. starts counting down for twenty nine.... Frost thanks Elsa for being around, and Elsa starts waving to distract the monster, giving Frost the chance to burn the thing.  The thing squeals then hits the ground, dead.   M.I.M.I.C. stops the count. The detected bogey has suddenly stopped its movement.  And worse, it can no longer detect it.

Minutes later, with the others gathered by the tent.  Tobie has seemingly slipped into a coma.  Frost is checking on the body, and the thing has fallen off.  Richard drags the other to the side, telling him he knows what is going on here.   "We were sent here under the same assignment!  What you know is what I know..." Richard growls at him, claiming to know what he did.  The other, however, challenges him to say it out loud.  The other pushes Richard back, reminding him they have a job to do.   He reminds Richard to be careful.   The other yells out, telling them that Tobie is still breathing.  The other starts eating ice out of panic.  Richard admits he is happy that Elsa is around to keep him sane.  There are rumbling sounds however, getting closer.  M.I.M.I.C. warns them to seismic activity on the rise!  Elsa grabs the Survival Logbook and yells at them to follow her to a cave she found when she was surveying the activity.  Richard yells at them they cannot leave Tobie as he's their own pilot.  The others grab whatever kit they can.  "I thought this place was stable!" the other calls out at the Engineer.  But the Engineer yells back that he should shut up as he's making her feel crazy.  The Scientist notices the walls and tells them to move towards them as they are geologically secure!  They realize the motion sensors are not picking up any movement in that direction, making it perfect to head there.  They safely duck into the cave.  Frost admits she hates Hans, and the group drops to the ground to catch their breath. The snow has covered most of the exit way, trapping them for the time being.

Minutes later again.  Tobie remains stable and breathing though unresponsive.  Most of them have rested enough to be able to move a bit more.  Tobie's eyes sudden shoot open and he looks at them, confused and dazed.  Elsa tries to explain what is going on, or at least what they know.  Hans reveals that moment however that the Elsa cheated on her board exam.   She reminds them that she deserves to be an Engineer since she got them to be here alive.  Richard insists however it was the other woman who got them here alive. Tobie mumbles about having stumbled into some cave, filled with eggs.  The others begin to worry if it is the same cave.  Tobie looks around and slowly begins to nod.  Hans complains that they had just run back into this place like stupid people. Tobie remembers Hans telling him to go into the cave to take video footage inside.  True enough, there are things in the cave.  Hans lags behind, but Richard drags him with him.  Hans thanks Richard for at least being reliable enough to keep the team safe.  There is mist in the chamber, but with their arrival, the mist dissipates revealing eggs.  Tobie admits he saw one open and something crept out... "There, just like that one!"

Elsa yells at the others to look out!  Frost watches as Elsa begins to tremble in fear.  Elsa holds the laser close, but another pod begins to open, revealing slimy things - the very thing Elsa cannot stand.  Frost rushes in to help out with the Power Suit worn.  Richard charges forward, hoping his Soldier training can help out!  They attack the things emerging from the pods but this time they all try to kill it with fire!

The squealing sounds fill the cavern, and horrifically, they don't seem to be running out!  Hans begins to back away from the others, and he starts yelling at them to try smashing them or burning them!  The Scientist's advice seems to help, but they aren't sure what they can use to burn things in the cold.  Frost yells that someone should help her! The Power Suit starts stomping at the pods and face huggers that try to slip closer.  Frost hears Tobie starting to cough and she hurries to carry him out of the way.  The Experimental Laser starts burning others too, and the group is surprised to see Hans using it.  The fire however begins to also rise around Richard, who turns out to be afraid of fire!  They successfully avert disaster!

As the others finish off the rest of the eggs, Hans can see Tobie coughing and struggling to breathe.  Tobie starts having stomach pains and collapses to the ground.  Richard tries to help him up. Tobie coughs out a lot of blood, that hits Richard on the face.   With the eggs all popped, they try to help Tobie stabilize.   He admits he feels very hungry.  Frost asks M.I.M.I.C. to scan Tobie, but M.I.M.I.C. informs her that he cannot do so since she chose the organic ointments instead of the usual lab set-up.  M.I.M.I.C. does inform them that the existing lab set up is still at the landing bay currently 10km away.   Elsa sighs. The Engineer has been chomping on snow out of nervousness.  M.I.M.I.C. suggests disassembling a power suit and a motion sensor to reconfigure it for scanning a human body. Tobie learns from the others that an alien had clamped on his face. But he thought it was just Hans surprising him then since he sent Tobie to check the cave for some artifact.  M.I.M.I.C. informs them of an incoming message from Weyland Yutani.  The face that emerges addresses Hans, informing them that they have lost tracking of the team.  He asks them for extraction and asks M.I.M.I.C. to boost the signal and attempt to allow him to be better tracked.  The Scientist gives them the command.  M.I.M.I.C. boosts the signal, but Weyland Yutani still doesn't pick them up. M.I.M.I.C. is told to boost it by 30% Hans asks M.I.M.I.C. boost by 80% despite M.I.M.I.C. warning that the system might not be able to handle it.  The girls however think Hans knows what is happening to Tobie.   An explosion rips through the equipment as fire spread through the communications hub!

Hans calls for an Emergency Power Down to compensate.  Frost asks Elsa if there is any way she can help.  Elsa remembers her sister who she left behind and her need to get home to her.  They killed most of the flames, but as they open the machine they see parts still melting.  Frost brings Tobie to the ground, but more slimy coughing comes out.  The Scientist asks M.I.M.I.C. to vent the coolants, but M.I.M.I.C. sadly informs them it cannot.  Richard remembers his happy place, finding some calm inside.  Hans closes in to help Elsa as she tries to tie up the last few repairs before it fries completely.
Tobie's body begins to convulse.  Frost feels something pushing out from Tobie's chest.  That same moment, Richard is still lost in his happy place as he pushes his hand into the warm moist earth.  Tobie begins to scream as something begins to trash and shove against his chest from the inside!  Richard still lost in his thoughts imagines grabbing the turnip from the earth, and then yanking and tugging to break it free.  Free.  It tears free!  Tobie screams as his chest tears open despite all of Frost's attempts to stabilize him with medicines.  The chest busters leaps out towards the closest person - Frost!  Richard comes to his senses and runs for it!  Elsa rushes close to help. Hans grabs hold of the thing by the tail!  Frost drops to the ground, and grabs the Experimental Laser to try to burn it again.  The thing sprays out acid, forcing them all to pull back, and the chest burster vanishes into the snow.  But before it can move away, Hans leaps down to grab it.  Elsa and Richard try to help, all of them hoping to pin it with Hans' leather jacket. They grab hold of it in time, and the laser punches a hole through its head.

The group drops to the snow, exhausted.  Tired.  They stare at Tobie's dead body.

End of Act I

Act II: Bad Decisions

In the snow, the group discovers they are forced to break down their machinery to generate heat.  They use up all their medication to deal with the frostbite and other effects.  M.I.M.I.C. informs them that the Recovery Team is still enroute.  They all have been exposed to the cold, however, and are now suffering 3 Harm each.

Elsa hears Hans stories about his time at the University, and she shares her own stories about having left her family.  None of them realize, however, something is hunting the team outside their makeshift camp.  They start to notice something occasionally moving in the distance, barely visible against the raging blizzard.  M.I.M.I.C. updates them that the Recovery Team is arriving in two hours and ten minutes.  Elsa asks Richard if the ones coming are "them", and she admits she saw the documents that had orders for him to silence them if the mission was completed. "Who are they?!"  Hans growls, "Wait a minute!  You were giving me shit about.. about..."  Frost reminds them they have to calm down and relax and conserve body heat.  They don't have any other machines to break down to generate more heat. The fire in the camp starts to fade.  Richard tells them they can always go to the alien ship, rather than the landing vessel.  The others suspect however he's trying to plan something else, especially when he recommends they drag Tobie's body.  Hans hisses they should just leave it. He reminds them traversing means being exposed to not just the elements but whatever is stalking them outside.  And he would rather just freeze to death than be torn limb from limb. Richard admits he only has a few ammunition left in his rifle.  Richard insists the alien ship is better insulated and they can find better shelter there.

A shadow arrives at the doorway.  The group sees the long elongated head, the extensions on its back.  The thing seems to be hissing, slowly scanning the cave.  Then suddenly, it is gone.  Richard reminds them that thing can find them here, or the cold kills them.  M.I.M.I.C. informs them that movement is heading to their direction.  They notice, however, M.I.M.I.C. didn't warn them sooner when it was by the door.  The movement M.I.M.I.C. detects, however, is coming from INSIDE the cave.  Frost and Hans tells Richard to lead the way.  The four quickly move through the snow to get out.  Hans, however, lagging behind, is told by M.I.M.I.C. that it is upon him!  The screech breaks the silence as Hans turns and sees the monstrous thing emerging from the cave.  It's head is too large to fit the cave exit, its massive crown too large to allow it to leave.    It howls and tries to break the door open wider.
That screech.  Hans finds himself remembering the sound and hearing the howl of the wind when he was facing a ravine in the past.  The ground feels widening between him and the others.  Frost rushes close to Hans, helping him stay focused.  Richard raises his rifle, ready to fire.  The things crown begins to emerge as it continues to ram against the cave opening to break it wider.  The group continues to run, moving as fast as they can through the snow, hoping to escape.  Frost uses her Death card: Prove That You Care, as she tells them to please go run as she can handle this.  "Guys, run!  This proves that I am not an evil person.  This proves that I care!" She distracts the Alien Queen, forcing it to chase after her while the rest of them break into a run in utter fear as the Queen rips her apart.

Frost has a flashback of events back in med school when she was dealing with a dead body. She remembers all the fear she was going through when she couldn't cut the body open.  Richard grabbed hold of her hand back then and helped her cut the dead body open.  The instructor, however, sees Richard's actions, which leads to him getting expelled from the medical school.

Hans makes a break for the ship, telling M.I.M.I.C. to divert the pick up point to their location. Elsa tries to help divert the alien with Richard's help, telling everyone that he's got it covered!  Richard pulls out his Death card: Help a Friend, and so as they run, Elsa slips on the ice.  Remembering Frost's sacrifice, Richard pulls Elsa up and shoves her to go ahead while shooting in the air and drawing the aliens to him instead!  The aliens squeal as they close in on Richard.  Elsa and Hans continue running, hearing the gun fire punctuated by squeals of the aliens.

Then silence.

The two approach the ship, moving under the shadow of the alien vessel.  Their own ship parked not too far away.  Their only reason for camping at the distance was because the Engineer insisted that was more stable ground.  Hans contacts M.I.M.I.C. to confirm the new pick up point.  He can see the dot in the sky closing in as M.I.M.I.C. confirms the pick up is in one minute.  Hans and Elsa however can see the swarming xenomorphs, called by the Queen, closing in on their location.  Hans feels this was a wrong idea.  These creatures should not have been discovered.  The cold, however, seems to have frozen some of the other xenomorphs.  Some of the still active ones actually crash through the frozen ones, shattering them.  As Hans and Elsa approach the ships, Hans heads straight for their own ship, activating the systems.  The warmth of the ship wraps around them.  They close the hatch immediately.  The xenomorphs arrive, swarming over their own vessel... and neither of them know how to pilot!

Hans asks M.I.M.I.C. about the fuel reserves.  M.I.M.I.C. confirms there is enough to reach the landing bay.  The ship's engines are facing the creatures, but when Hans commands M.I.M.I.C. to burn the thrusters to kill the things, M.I.M.I.C. overrides the command.  Charleston of Weyland Yutani contacts them and informs them they are unwilling to land the Retrieval Vessel. M.I.M.I.C. informs them that it is unwilling to accept Weyland Yutani's decision on the matter. M.I.M.I.C. tells them the Engineer can rereoute the systems for M.I.M.I.C. to handle the piloting from this point on.  Elsa admits she does not think it is a good idea.  M.I.M.I.C. however claims to have cared for Elsa since she has always cared for the ship and treated it with respect.  M.I.M.I.C. wants to return the favor.  Elsa admits she was, however, never a good listener.  She begins yanking the wires and pulling things apart even as M.I.M.I.C. asks her to stop.  To let the parts go.  To let it go.  Sparks fly around, and the shock courses through Elsa as she plays her Death card: Did Not Listen. Her death causes her to hit the ground, and her body convulses as she hopes to escape this horrific scene through death.

Hans, now alone, contacts Weyland Yutani, and informs them he is awaiting extraction.   They ask him to confirm if M.I.M.I.C. is able to handle autopilot but he informs them M.I.M.I.C.is down.  The ship hailing them informs him the aliens are climbing the vessel and attempting to break in.  He asks permission to send the extraction team from the professor.  Hans, however, realizing the threat of these aliens, tells the Extraction Team to fall back.  "This is a mistake.  Fall back!"   The power gets cut and everything now is completely bluish red from the emergency lights.  Hans heads down to the ship's cover, making his way through the darkness towards it.   He finds the power core and thought there's enough to travel, there's no way to get out.  An explosion rocks the ship somewhere.  Flashlight beams run across the scene as gun shots are fired in the distance.  Hans sees the Extraction Team arriving, and one of them spots him and open's fire. He ducks under the machinery and hides.

Expendable.  Hans now realizes he's expendable and the company wanted the creatures alone, and the whole trip here was folly.  Hans, wanting to make up for that mistake, rewires what he can of the power core to activate self-destruct system.  He does not want anyone to be able to bring back news about these monsters.  He turns, expecting a shot to be fired when someone arrives behind him. He turns to see someone pale skinned and naked.  M.I.M.I.C. addresses him, asking him what he is trying to do.  Hans explains he's routed the core to explode.  M.I.M.I.C. it seems is currently in a synth body.  Hans admits company policies no longer apply, especially when the Extraction Team is not here to rescue anyone.  "They were after the creatures from the beginning.. too bad I even had to kill to get this expedition to succeed."  M.I.M.I.C. admits his last attempt to rescue him was flawed and Engineer Elsa has shut him down at great cost.  M.I.M.I.C. activates the self-destruct sequence activate.  The Extraction team, hearing this, tries to hurry out.

"There is nothing left worth taking back," Hans nods. M.I.M.I.C. claims company parameters insist he must stop Hans, but Hans voices out the override code to disable M.I.M.I.C.  The count down quickly drops, counting down faster and faster...

An Extraction Team soldier sees Hans, takes aim, but a pair of xenomorph hands clamps down around his head from behind and pops it with a squeeze.  The Alien Queen comes into the light... but Hans smiles.

A thermonuclear explosion erupts on the surface, tearing apart all the aliens in the vicinity.  The ships are rend asunder.  The arctic once more becomes very silent.

*

The media reports of a strange explosion detected in the arctic.  Weyland Yutani explains that some experimental station had exploded due to intense weather conditions that are prevailing in the area.  There are no reported deaths.

*

In some other facility, a synth opens his eyes. A man sits in front of it and asks if it knows who he is.  The synth replies the man is the one they are shaped after, Bishop.  He asks the synth it's designation and the synth replies it is M.I.M.I.C.  It pauses, then asks why it feels... sad.  

Bishop stares, and realizes this version of the A.I. cannot be permitted to be released.  He silently deletes the files.

The world is saved for now.  There are no survivors.

The End

Our Last Cold Hope : Our Last Best Hope

5/10/2014

"Our Last Cold Hope"

Our Last Best Hope

Snow has taken over the world.  Three men attempt to locate the three Scientists who can save the world and reactive the Weatherman, a machine that can return the climate back to normal.



Engineer Howard Scott
Brought with him a medicinal kit. Left behind his girlfriend.
Felt Callum helped him stay sane.  Found Sam to be a source of crazy.
Fear: Dying of starvation.
Secret: Killed the fourth scientist who sent them on the mission.

Scientist Sam Walls
Brought with him a map of the Weatherman facility.  Left behind his chance at getting married to the one he loves.
Found Howard to be a source of sanity.  Hated Callum for making him feel crazy.
Fear: Being left alone.
Secret: Was also in on the murder of the 4th Scientist.

Doctor Callum Wick
Brought with him his Bible.  Left behind a multi-millionaire lifestyle.
Found Walls to be a source of sanity.  Despised Howard for being a source of crazy.
Fear: Dogs and Wolves
Secret: Sold scientist secrets to get rich.

The group had the following assets: Lucy, the snowmobile, Survival gear, and the super satellite phone they use to contact M.I.M.I.C.

Act One

The scene opens with the group heading towards the first destination where M.I.M.I.C. detected one of the scientists.  Howard is asleep.  Callum notices a distress beacon and tracks it to a bunker that is owned by a doom prepper Clad Owen.  He is listed as deceased ten years ago.  Callum doesn't like this but Sam reminds him that M.I.M.I.C.  is usually wrong when it concerns people.  Sam feels it is worth checking out.  Callum admits meeting the doom prepper in the past, that they were role-playing game buddies.  He did like playin a game about the end of the world.  The guy was meticulous and might be O.C. enough to have the supplies they need.  Sam warns he might also be crazy enough to have defenses from intruders.  Callum admits they weren't quite friends since he killed around four of his characters back then.  As they get closer to the bunker, there comes the sound of firearms.  Guns are firing.  Callum laments not having someone who can use guns with them.  The bullets pings the snowmobile a few times.  The bunker has been taken by raiders and has set traps around it.  M.I.M.I.C.  detects at least four raiders present.  Callum ops to run them over with Lucy.  "Thank god you're here, Sam.  God knows how crazy I'd be if you weren't here to help me out," Callum admits.  They run over two of the raiders and Callum cheers happily as he kills the attackers.  Sam spies one raider with a rocket launcher! "MOVE!  MOVE TO THE LEFT!"  Callum turns instead to the right to run him over!

With the bunker open, Howard and Sam opt to investigate it.  Inside, they find a massive ravine that has broken the passageway of the underground bunker.  Creating a makeshift pulley-system, the two cross the gap and find a dog on the other side.  The dog has been dragging a body with it.  The body isn't of the doom prepper instead, it is one of the dead scientists!    The dead body has been ravaged by the cold.  His skin has been frozen for a few days.  The body is surprisingly in good condition, having been strapped to the dog by mistake.  The dog must have been dragging it all the time.  Howard asks what M.I.M.I.C. will need from Doctor Takana.  Howard hacks away the hand to use for the security system.  Sam finds himself remembering the fated night with the 4th scientist.  Him attacking the scientist and yelling, "This is all your fault!" over and over as he savagely attacks.  "Howard?" Sam tells Howard to calm down.  They pack the parts in ice.  The dog whimpers, wanting to go with them, but its leg is broken.  Howard kills the dog to take it out of its misery.

The snowmobile's horn is blaring.   The two hurry out, without having enough time to grab the supplies.

The two then rush back as quickly as they can when Callum starts warning them that a super blizzard is closing in, freezing everything in its path!  As the two emerge just in the nick of time, Callum swings by to pick them up!  LUCY drives up a nearby ramp that allows it to bypass the bunker and get close enough to pick them up before the while wall covers them and instantly freezes them cold.

"Callum, it is a good thing you can read my mind as to where we could get out fast," Howard sighs.

Howard starts panicking about his fear of starvation.  He isn't too happy that Sam insisted there was not enough time to grab the supplies in the bunker.  Callum tries asking about what they found.  Howard proudly shows off the severed parts of the doctor.  Callum is confused why M.I.M.I.C. didn't identify him.  Howard explains it is because he was already dead.  Sam remains silent the whole time.

Act Two 

Disaster strikes.
The satellite phones are dead.  LUCY is totaled.  The snow mobile falls into a ravine and crashes in.  The three survive with minor wounds, but with less assets on their end, things are not looking too good.  Just when they thought things would not get worse all communications with GPS satellites have ceased as well.
M.I.M.I.C. is unable to give clear directions anymore.  With one of the biometrics needed, the group has a chance in saving the world.  But the question now is, can they find a way to get back?

As they wait for the blizzard to end, Callum allows Sam to get some sleep.  He talks to Howard about the situation.  Howard complains about how they should have stayed in the bunker where there's food and supplies.  Callum flares up on Howard about always questioning him, and reminds him of what M.I.M.I.C. has told them.  They have to just find their way home to the Weatherman.  They took shelter in a cave to find shelter from the storm.  Callum complains about the life he used to live, being wealthy and happy.  Howard flares up too about hoping to care for Sandra, his girlfriend.  It was all he wanted from George, the fourth scientist.    Callum starts tearing up the bible to help grow the fire.   He laughs as the page he burns talks about the flames of hell.

Something jolts away from the sudden fire.  M.I.M.I.C. informs them it is still processing.  Howard grabs the hatchet to be ready. Wolves emerge, staring at them.  Callum feels his fear of wild animals kick in.  His heart pounds in his chest!  "Callum, damn it, I guess I have to face this threat alone.." Howard growls.

That's when Callum digs into his pocket, pulls out a bunch of pills and swallows them, and tells Howard, "I can do this!  Howard, listen to me.  Wake Sam up and find your way to the Weatherman."  Howard tries to convince Callum he can do it, but Callum ignores the hatchet Howard tries to hand to him.  Callum remembers watching how Howard killed the 4th Scientist and was thinking that unlike Howard, he does not have the strength to kill a person.  If Sam and he will have to face the defenses of the Weatherman, they may have to kill someone.  Callum cannot do that.  He rushes forward to lure the wolves away.  "Over here!  Fresh meat!"  He throws them his medicinal pills to buy the others time.

The wolves tear into Callum.

Sam and Howard by some miracle finds their way back to the Weatherman.  The survival gear and the compass were enough to help them find their way back.  Tired and hungry and weak, they finally reach the entrance to the Weatherman.    While the systems are functional, the defenses however are still a danger.  Howard hacks into the Weatherman systems while Sam distracts the artificial intelligence that protects the Weatherman, a digital intelligence that manifests as a red-glowing young woman.  Thankfully, Howard's hacking skills works in time and the system reboots.  The security disengages to allow them inside.

They get to the machine.  With the biometrics, they know they can turn the machine on.  The two talk about how they both worked together to kill Doctor George Tanaka in the past.  There's even some question if this is some kind of karmic act of balance.  However, a gunshot suddenly cracks and the two discover that one of the scientists has actually been in the Weatherman all this time! He was protecting his own family by staying in the Weatherman.  He has overheard the confessions and sees the two only as threats to his family's safety.  Howard rushes forward, even as a shot is fired through him, and grabs the doctor's hand.  He keeps pressing the hand until the gun runs out of bullets!  Howard dies by his own hand, but knows he has given Sam the chance he needs.  With the gun, now empty, the doctor stares at Sam Walls, fearful of what the man who killed Dr. George Tanaka will do.

The doctor and his family stare at Sam in utter fear.

Ending

Sam implants the biometrics to activate the Weatherman.  The machine is switched on.    The doctor stares at him.  The mother covers her children's eyes.  With the Weatherman started, it cannot be stopped.  The doctor walks up to Sam and stars helping him activate the machine fully.

As the world thaws, the word spreads of the heroic actions of Sam Walls and Doctor Haqim.  There is no word of Dr. Callum and his ill-gotten wealth.  The future Mrs. Scott never sees her fiance.

The Parasol Affair : Our Last Best Hope

03/24/2013
The Parasol Affair

Our Last Best Hope

It was a Sunday night with one of the group missing, so we opted for a one-shot dose of fun.  Given that my partner, Rocky, had yet to try Our Last Best Hope, this was an opportunity to change that.  I quickly loaded my pdf copy of Our Last Best Hope and went through the basic rules with them.  I explained the three basic scenarios and after toying with the idea of Space for a brief moment, it quickly became clear that the group was gunning for a game that resembled The Walking Dead.    So our Threat, Limit and Plan became this:

And yes, that is the lovely Yoshi posing in the photo.

Crisis:
Zombies!  Hive Mind!

Limit:
Scientific Expertise of the group was unique.

Plan:
1) Get Subject Alpha
2) Bring to Parasol Labs
3) Release Cure
4) Profit from the Cure!

Assets:
1) Shotgun and Shells
2) Short-wave radios
3) Reinforced Van
4) Psych-ward containtment head-thingie
Later Asset) Antidote, small doses.

With that out of the way, we quickly decided on our roles:

Gotta love them index cards.

Rachelle was one of my newer players (she portrayed Cassandra Caine in the Castle Falkenstein game) and she opted to portray Sam Jackson, the Soldier.  Sam brought his Guerilla Training and left his Brothers-in-Arms.  Sam was afraid of going against zombies who were once people he knew.  He felt that Engineer Bob made him Crazy, while Scientist Rhodes helped him stay sane.  The secret Sam kept from the others, however, was that he was never deployed.  His death card was to die when he refused to listen.

Erich was the Scientist Jeff Rhodes who brought with him his zombie-detecting dog, Wally.  He left behind his rival, his fiancee.  His fear was a very vibrant fear of snakes or to quote the player: "Snakes.  Zombie snakes.  Living snakes.  Snakes on a plane.  Snakes."  Sam Jackson drove him crazy, while Doctor Doom helped him stay sane.  The secret he hoped never to reveal, however, was that he had sold the virus to the highest bidder, to pay for an expensive engagement ring and wedding.    Jeff Rhodes was to die by his own hand.

My partner, Rocky, played Bob the Engineer.  He brought with him his Multi-Tool and left his Cat, Precious, behind.  He felt Rhodes helped keep him sane, while Sam Jackson drove him crazy.  Deep down he was terrified of Zombie Clowns and his secret was that he used to be a woman.  Bob was to die helping a friend.

Finally, I was Doctor Danny Doom, who brought with me my love of horror movies and left behind my immense wealth.  Just like Bob, Rhodes kept me sane while Jackson drove me crazy.  I held a deep fear of dying alone, and my secret was that I had created the zombie virus.  I was fated to die by another's hand.

The story begins with me, the Captain, calling for everyone to gather.  M.I.M.I.C. had just informed me that the original plan of bringing Subject Alpha will NOT work.  As we consult M.I.M.I.C. we discover that the reason it won't work is that there's the possibility that the virus has altered in an unexpected way due to the fact there were multiple Patient Zeroes.  And unless we located each patient zero, who were infected by the original strain, any antidote we created was unlikely to work.

The group was feeling pretty distressed about this.  I, however, had an idea.  Without asking the group, I asked M.I.M.I.C. if it could locate individuals via facial recognition once it had access to records that contained the patient's names.  While the group pondered over what new course of action to take, the first threat surfaced as other armed survivors emerged from the street with guns and pitchforks in their hands.  Jackson quickly began shooting them down with Rhodes' help while Bob used the radio to call out in coming threats.  They clear the street and are pretty pissed at first because I wasn't helping out.  To their surprise, however, I tell them I have the addresses of the two Patient Zeroes.  When they ask how I was able to get it, I divert their attentions by calling out Engineer Bob's secret about formerly being a woman.  While the others gasp at the revelation, Bob spits back, "You broke my heart bastard."

We make our way downtown to the first location, after a few more struggles with the bridge being out, and later still, the tire blows.  I stay in the van and try to see if M.I.M.I.C. can delete all references of my name to certain net records, but M.I.M.I.C. informs me that cannot be done.  Once the tire is fixed, however, we hurriedly continue to the first location: the Zoo.  Finding the place where the patient was last seen, we discover the place is crawling with snakes!  Rhodes' panic strikes, but thankfully we are able to use our combined efforts to bring the things down.  We might not have enough time to capture all the patient zeroes.  At this point, the group demands I explain how I know about the patients, and my secret is revealed.  But the accusations thrown at me shift away when Rhodes' secret is revealed.  We fight, and eventually I inject him with the original virus which I've still had with me all this time. I had hoped to get the patient zeroes in time to synthesize a cure.  But given the events, we had to move forward faster.  I ask M.I.M.I.C. the percentage chance of synthesizing the cure with a freshly infected subject with the original virus.  Before M.I.M.I.C. could answer, however, Rhodes stabs me with the same virus.  With two original infectees, M.I.M.I.C. reports a very high percentage of success.  We had, however even less time now to develop a cure.

We head to Parasol Labs.
The first act ends with the group rolling very high on the white dice.   We not only recover from any Harm we've received, but we actually also get a new Asset added to the mix!  We write in, Antidote, and excitedly move into act two.

Act Two begins with us mapping out our plans on how to spread the antidote around the country.  I propose a crazy idea of injecting ourselves with the antidote, then allowing zombies to bite us, acting as vectors to spread the cure.  The others think its a crazy idea, given we'd end up dying before the cure takes effect.  A second idea comes, to spray the area with the antidote and release it as a liquid agent.  With the zombies having loads of open wounds, the infected should be cured in time.  Luckily, there was a nearby carnival tent which suggested there should be a plane that we could use.

We head there, find a plane, and quickly get working on it to carry the cure and release it properly.  While Bob and I work on the plane, a zombie clown enters the area with a massive grin on its face!  Bob falters in fear, but the group stays together, choosing to deal with it as one.  Jackson takes the lead, however, instead of Bob, and tries not to let panic overtake himself as fingers slide out of the fat clown's lips, pry the mouth, open, to have a second zombie clown crawl out of its body like some macabre display.  More zombies start to gather, perhaps drawn to the area by their hive-mind connection and of all that appears that moment is one of the soldiers that Jackson once trained with.  Seeing his old brother-in-arms, Jackson charges forward to face his fear and thankfully (using the Death Card), survives the ordeal.

by Shapula.deviantart.com

Bob and I quickly board the plane and take to the air, spraying out the antidote to cover the first two blocks with a cloud of hope.  But trouble seems to follow us as the plane we've rigged fails that moment, and runs out of power.  With the plane on its descent, Bob reaches towards me with the sole parachute we have and reminds me to stay strong.  I am soon slowly descending with the chute while Bob crashes in the distance.  Bob's sacrifice saves me.

But only for so long.  Cause as I land, hordes of zombie dogs begin to charge in my direction.  With seemingly no hope in sight, I hold my head high and prepare to face the worst.

We cut back to the labs, and I emerge with cuts and wounds all over myself.  (I used my death card to survive.)  I calmly walk towards the two others and tell them about the plane crash.  I contact M.I.M.I.C. and ask it to email to any other still surviving humans that reach out to it the formula to the antidote.  Then I tell Rhodes to do me a favor, and shoot me.  I deserved to die.  Even with the cure.  I created the virus.  I should not be allowed to survive the zombie outbreak.  Rhodes agrees, shoots me, but before Jackson can do anything, he shoots himself in the head.

Jackson is all alone.  She stares at our dead bodies.
The camera pulls back into the darkness.

*
Even with Jackson failing to meet his death after cheating death, (that added +2 Black dice to the final roll), having the three of us meeting our deaths (with two Choosing our Deaths) meant having lots of extra white dice to the final roll when we Confronted the Crisis.  The group very easily won with a white result!

*

Within barely a year, the world has recovered from the outbreak.  Survivors everywhere praise the actions of the group for how they have found the cure to the outbreak.  The file name of the antidote is IMDOOM.  Jackson is praised as a hero.

The world endures.

The Alien Ship : Our Last Best Hope

 03/07/2013
The Alien Ship
Our Last Best Hope

It was Gamer Meet night (those in the Philippines who want to attend, just join either this Facebook group, or this Google Plus Community.) and I headed to Eastwood to run another one-shot game for whoever was present.  The game ended up being Our Last Best Hope with two players trying it out for the very first time.  This meant I get to be a player too! Woot!  After a quick discussion on what the game is like, we started on mapping out the particulars for the set-up.

 To prep for the game, I had with me the black and white six-sided dice, the index cards and markers to write stuff down, and a bunch of glass beads that can be used as Story Tokens.

The Crisis was:  Alien Ship headed to Earth.  And given how we all loved Macross/Robotech, we decided it was a massive alien vessel like a Zentraedi warship.

The Limit was: We were the only ones who knew about the incident.  Taking a slightly sci-fi twist, we were space based scavengers that had a ship and some tech to scrap any old satellites and other machinery still in orbit that were no longer being utilized.  We noticed the ship's approach and knew it was only a matter of time before others on Earth did.  We wanted to nab salvage rights.    Supposedly the characters did NOT know about it being a threat at the start.

And the Plan:  To fly into the ship and take control of it.  If we cannot control it, to rig the ship's power supply to destroy it and save the Earth from having a continent-sized vessel slam into it.

Yes, we really were feeling a tad anime-inspired for this game.

The crew was:
Captain Jim: Engineer who had brought his Lucky Rabbit's Foot with him and left behind his dog, Yoshi.  He had secretly slept with Doctor Wu's wife and was afraid of getting infected by some alien pathogen.  He liked how Badger kept him sane and found Doctor Wu infuriating.  I played the Captain (and Supply Officer) and had drawn, "Die when I refused to listen."

Doctor Wu: Doctor who had also secretly slept with Badger's wife.  I failed to remember his other stuff, and sadly he was to be the first one to die in the game. He was played by Justin, who supplied some of the other pictures in this post.  He had drawn, "Die fixing a Mistake."

Badger: Soldier who had brought his secret expertise with him and left behind his shameful past.  He secretly had killed lots of other people before during his younger age.  He would die helping a friend.  He was played by Carl.

We did not have a Scientist to help us.   We had a Highly Maneuverable Ship, Narcotics and Robotic Exoskeletons with Servo Arms as Assets.  And the game began.

The opening scene began with M.I.M.I.C. informing us that ship came into view.  I called the two for a meeting and informed them we were going to fly to the ship, go inside and look to see if we can control its systems.  We relished at the thought of becoming wealthy, scavenging a country-sized vessel of alien tech.  After informing them of the mission, Doctor Wu got infuriated and walked out.  Doctor Wu had his opening scene with Badger, as the two went to the Narcotics area to grab something to calm down.  The threat began as the Company suddenly attempted to initiate a remote sequence to send the ship back home! Bad rolls lead to the Doctor very early opting to die to save the ship.

Meteors strike the vessel, M.I.M.I.C. later malfunctions, and at some point we lose a lot of very valuable air as a rupture happens in the cargo area where the possibly infectious alien material is kept.  I face my fears and thankfully, seal the rupture before things get worse.

The Complication hits, and we lose the Narcotics supply, forcing me and Badger to reconsider our plans.  The attempt to pilot the ship fails, so we resort to rewiring the power supply of the alien vessel to prep it to self-destruct.

Badger and I learn later that an intruder had found its way into the ship!  An alien security robot entered the vessel and used its alien tech to appear as anyone the viewer happened to be thinking of.  Badger found himself staring at the late Doctor, then later, the faces of people he had killed in the past, and finally the face of his wife.  In hopes to help him, I tried activating the air locks to open, and he eventually dies helping me, a friend.

Alone in the vessel, M.I.M.I.C. informs me that the ship is running out of power, and at that point we realized there were a LOT of black dice still and just enough white dice to equal it.  Wanting to have a successful ending, I order M.I.M.I.C. to shut down all other systems save for communications.  With the remaining air supply, I record a quick message explaining what we three had tried to do, then commanded M.I.M.I.C. to send back to earth a final transmission containing my message as well as all data logs existing of the last 24 hours.   As the transmission completes, I execute the self-destruct sequence and die.. refusing to listen to M.I.M.I.C.'s warnings... as the ship explodes.

The story ends with the people of the Earth horrified to see a sudden explosion in the night sky.  News quickly spreads that there was such a dangerous object that remained undetected and so close to the planet. An Extinction Level Event would have unfolded if it had not suddenly inexplicably exploded on its own.  Then our transmission was received and all over the world news outlets broadcasted the video clips and final message of our vessel as I explained what we had done to save the world.

We are remembered as heroes, even if none of us where there to see it in the end. To quote Carl, "It's the dysfunctional and the underdogs who end up saving the planet...Just like in the movies."

*

Both players were not accustomed to this sort of a game.  Both found it very fun and admitted to now being eager to try other games as well.  I promised to run more stuff in the coming weeks.

*

In a wonderfully touching move, I received a box of Gigi's Cupcakes as a "thank you" for running games.  I admit that this gesture was very sweet and much appreciated and I do hope those who read this blog consider thanking their own GMs in a similar manner someday.  It feels very good to know the hard work of getting a game prepped, or in the case of this one, teaching a new game and mindset to approach it, is appreciated.

So yeah, I got home with a dozen yummy delectable cupcakes to share with my partner, Rocky.  I guess saving the world tastes even better when you got cupcakes to enjoy in the end.  Heheheh!

Review: Our Last Best Hope

I will state this early, I feel bad
THIS COVER is not the cover
of the PDF I bought via Drivethrurpg.

Review: Our Last Best Hope by Mark Diaz Truman
Magpiegames
Rating: ★★★★

I'm a sucker for disaster flicks.  I love watching a group of people do what they can to save the world, no matter how unrealistic or Hollywood-inspired the method is.  From deep-sea drillers saving us from a meteor, to drilling deep into the Earth's core, I am a sucker for these movies because they have their dramatic touches and crazy moments mixed with action-packed tension and weepy tears.  While my sensibilities favor movies like Deep Impact more, for a role-playing game I can definitely see Bruce Willis' movie translating to a more fun romp.

And so, when I heard about Our Last Best Hope, I was very thrilled!  When I finally purchased a copy at Drivethrurpg, I was even happier to learn the game did not limit itself to just space-related disasters.  The game included ideas for a Snow based disaster (inspired by movies like The Day After Tomorrow, The Grey) and Zombie apocalypse movies.  As I began reading more, I found myself smiling at how the system was written, a tad cautious thinking it would work only with experienced gamers, but discovering my fears were quite unfounded.

So What Is This Game?

The game is a GM-less role-playing experience for you and your players as the only group of people who are in the position to save the world.   Heroic Sacrifice is a major element in the game and to be honest, I doubt one can win in this game without at least two player's sacrificing themselves for the rest of the crew.

Wait, WIN?   You can Win in this Role-playing game?
Admittedly, that caught me off-guard at first.  After all those years of understanding role-playing game is NOT about winners and losers, this game comes out and reminds me of board games like Pandemic and Betrayal at the House on the Hill.  Basically, given the doomsday scenario that looms over the group, the players have to work together as best as they can to WIN and save the day.   The game uses a lot of six-sided dice which needs to be in two distinct sets (Black and White is used as a descriptor in the game, but so long as you can differentiate the two dice sets that should be fine) and I don't kid when I say a LOT of index cards/paper will be needed to keep track of the many Assets, Threats, Story Cards, and the like.  But no, don't get turned off by that statement.  The cards are many because as players, you will want to easily look at the table and see them all when you need to.  Having many index cards allows you to jot down stuff, leave them on the table for all to see and keep the game moving.

So the World is Ending?

Yes, at the very start of the game, you and the players map out The Crisis, The Response and The Plan.  The Crisis is basically the threat the world is facing.  Whatever you choose it to be, time should be of the essence or opportunities to deal with it are tremendously few.   The game nicely has samples starting page 123, and these were a great jumping point for my group in starting the game.   The Response is the explanation to why your team is the one facing the threat, which can range from being the most skilled, the closest, or the only ones who can attempt it for some reason.  And finally, the Plan is something the players can come up with.  What is the group's world-saving stroke?  As long as it sounds plausible and not silly, then you're off to a great start.  Assets are also determined, which reflect items you can use to help you in the mission.

The Game is split to two Acts, with the first Act lasting as long as something called the Event Pool has not allocated a total number of dice equal to thrice the number of players in the game, and Act II only giving each player a single scene before the final roll to save the world is rolled.  Players gain Black dice whenever Threats roll sixes.  Players can save White dice by spending Story Points when they rolls sixes while facing Threats.

The game has players choose from four roles:  Soldier, Scientist, Engineers, and Doctors.  Each role has a specific way of helping in the game, and this way requires the use of Story Points.  Each player starts with a few Story Points (and access to a larger limited pool of Story Points in The Plan) which they can spend in hopes of surviving and stopping Threats, and eventually having enough in the final pool to defeat the final challenge.   

This is where the game reminds me of Fiasco, but gives it a more dice-rolling equals excitement twist which I liked.  In Fiasco, each player has a scene which they can set or resolve.  In this game, each player also gets to set a scene, and state which players are with him in the scene.  These scenes are set-ups to try to use one's Story Cards.  Story Cards are filled up by the players to reflect who in the team makes them crazy, keeps them sane, knows a secret of theirs and can play one of their Fears.  When interacting with another player who "keeps you sane" or "makes you crazy" you can trade in the Story Card for two Story Points.  Whenever the other player wants, she can use your Secret card to force you to reveal your secret, or be the one who reveals it, also for two Story Points.  The Fear card can only be played while a said character is facing a Threat, and this rewards the one who played the card but increases the Threat the character faces.  I know it sounds complicated, but it flows actually very smoothly in play and encourages players to interact, role-play, and come up with smaller stories on how they relate to one another.

What I Brought and What I Left Behind

The game even adds a system to reflect the character showcasing either something important to her, or something she feels she has to live/fight for.  Called Touchstones, these can be anything (Left my son, brought my lucky pack of playing cards, brought my ego, left my criminal past) which when invoked during play fuels the character's actions to survive a Threat.  But just like Story Cards, these touchstones can only be used once, so using them when really necessary is key to playing well.

What's with all these Threats?
At the end of every scene, a Threat Card is drawn (and the game provides ample suggestions for threats, while all players contribute more Threat cards as each card is played, keeping the deck of bad things that happen colorful and interesting) and the player or players in the scene must resolve it, or die resolving it.    This can be done by using Story Points to tap into one's Abilities, as well as use Assets and have other characters help you out.  Given how all Threats in Act I start with three dice, and in Act II start with five, it would not be uncommon for deaths to rack up to halt the threats.

So if people keep dying..
... the game keeps running.  How?  We have Death Cards which players draw randomly at the start of the game and when at a point where they will die, can use the Death Cards to cancel the death, stop the Threat that was to cause it, and in a later opportunity then die using the method as described in the Death Card they had drawn.  This allows characters to describe their acts of self-sacrifice (or at times, stupid deaths) to try to help increase the chances of winning the game.   Using a Death card adds more dice in the Event Pool in favor of the players.

In the end of Act II, the accumulated dice are rolled and based on a table in the book, the final resolution on how the Mission went is revealed.  (This reminded me a lot of Fiasco in how the resolution at the end showed what happens in the story overall.)

So if so many Player Characters die, why is this Fun?
Because the game is working on the disaster flick premise!  In such movies, the characters are all (in their own ways) finding ways to survive and save the world, but things don't always work in their favor.   But even with the mix of personalities, differences in political, religious, social and emotional views, the strength of the human spirit tends to be the rising point of unrelenting hope in the story.  And this game has a system that very nicely encourages such behavior.

Lastly, there's the three meta-roles in the game.  The Captain, the Supply Office and MIMIC.  The Captain sort of acts as the pseudo-game master, who can help resolve any disagreements system-wise during a scene.  The Captain usually is a role played by the person who best understands the game (or owns it). Being a meta-role, this role is retained even if in the story, the said character dies or is removed from his post.  The Supply Officer handles all the Story Points, and allows the rest of the players to focus on their role-playing even as the Story Cards are cashed in.  This also keeps the Captain from having to focus on exchanging cards for Story Points.  And finally we have MIMIC.

MIMIC is the Massively Integrated Multipurpose Informational Computer that the players can refer to for information, assistance and the like.   For Space Missions, imagine it to be like Mother in the Nostromo, or HAL in 2001 A Space Odyssey.  The role of MIMIC passes on to the player who is not part of a scene, which allows everyone a chance in answering any questions and requests for information that the players might need.  This allows everyone to have an even bigger role in forming the game's narrative, which is fun!

A Refreshing Way to Enjoy Panic
Our Last Best Hope successfully portrays the atmosphere and feel of a disaster movie, even if the group is laughing and screaming bloody murder during scenes.  The way the Threats keep coming, the way MIMIC's trustworthiness and reliability is always questionable, and the way dying does feel like its the only way to help the others succeed all work well together in hitting the game designer's desired feel.    The sense of heroism is there, but not in the way superhero games do so.  The sense of tragedy is present, but not in the manner that dark modern horror games accomplish it either.

The game succeeds in delivering a new experience and quite frankly, a very enjoyable one at that!  I recently ran this game with six players, three of which had never played a role-playing game before, and they had so much fun I already have to prep a new game for the coming week.  This game works well for "come in, sit down and try this" sessions and while I don't see this working for a long term chronicle, I do see this as a pleasant option groups can embrace to take a breather in some weekends, or to try something new yet memorable.

(Oh and I'm not sure if its intentional, but it seems an earlier version of the game can be seen in Magpiegames' website.)

Rating Breakdown:
Concept: An absolute blast!  To be quite frank, this game is very well done.  It captures what it aims to do very well.  And thanks to the Kickstarter supporters, the game on the onset already offers three approaches you can enjoy.
Crunch: Very tricky at first, given how dice that go to the Event pile suddenly are not part of the comparison on whether or not a Threat is defeated, but one very quickly gets the hang of things.
Layout: I love it.  However, some issues.  MIMIC's page, for example, tells the reader "We'll talk later about who plays MIMIC during a scene (See Playing MIMIC, pg 59) when that very page is page 59.  And as I mentioned above, WHERE IS THE BEAUTIFUL COVER!??! The PDF I purchased via Drivethru rpg had the singles and spreads, but neither had the cover.  I know it was part of the download as a JPG, but I really wished it was the first page of the PDF.  And I really got frustrated that pages in the PDF reader did not match the pages shows in the book itself.  I guess I had hoped the PDF version would have adjusted the pages to match the PDF reader's pages.
My favorite part: Death Cards.  It is a lovely concept to be honest.  One which I can see getting System Shopped for other games.
What I wish was better: Roles.  I wish the game offered more roles than just the four roles.   And perhaps a better explanation on Harm would have been nice.  It took my group a while to realize how just a bit of Harm really tilted the game very quickly towards Threats winning, given they could never be removed permanently.

But yes.  Do yourself a favor and BUY this game.
It is absolutely worth every cent.

Our Last Best Hope is on DrivethruRpg.

The Mission to the Moon : Our Best Last Hope

02/06/2013
The Mission to the Moon
Our Best Last Hope

To say we were afraid was an understatement.  We were excited.  We were hopeful.  But we were definitely terrified.  We had never done this before.  And we most likely would never have the chance to do this again.

This, my dear readers, is another Indigo Entertainment game night.  Yes, our workplace has tabletop gaming nights.  Don't you wish you worked here already?

Had a blast with six other friends when we got our chance to play Our Best Last Hope for the very first time.  If you want to know my thoughts on the game, you can check out the review over here.   While Urim, Theo and J.P. have played in a role-playing game with me in the past, Karlo, Jess, and J.P.'s friend Jeehoon were about to try a table-top game for the very first time.   In many ways, I feel very happy that their first experience will be with one of the more innovative new games to come out of the indie side of things.

The Crisis we opted for was one based in outer space, and the one we rolled was "The Moon was crashing towards the Earth" and "Time Was Running Out".  So quickly, we thought of The Plan and came out with "Use Experimental Wyrmhole Generator to Pull Moon Back To Original Place."  That sounded sci-fi enough for this disaster movie role-playing game, and so the story had begun.

Jess was Lieutenant Major Jess, a Solider tasked to ensure the safety of the team.  She brought with her a memorable Bullet Pendant from her parents, and left behind her Star Wars novels.  She was Afraid of Heights and secretly had a heart condition.  She had the Death Card: Die When Least Expected.

Dr. Karlo, Dr. Theo, Lt.Mj. Jess, Lt. Tobie, Dr. Urim
and The Dr. Blondie Jones

Karlo was Professor Karlo, a Scientist who had with him his Research Papers and left behind his Prized Plaque.  He was deeply afraid of losing face, and secretly had allowed people to die in the past.  I don't recall what Death Card he had, which is apt given how the game ended.

Tio was Doctor Tio, a Doctor who brought with him his lucky bracelet and left behind his Pride and Glory.  He secretly stepped on people to get famous and feared suffocating in space.  His death card was Dying to Show He Cared.

J.P. was Doctor Blondie Jones, a Doctor who brought her mother's necklace and left her dying mother behind.  She feared small, tight spaces and secretly was a nymphomaniac.  I forget his Dying Card too.

Urim was Doctor Urim, an Engineer who brought his picture of his Baby, and left the child behind.  He was afraid of Doctors, and secretly had faked his degree.  He was to Die by Disobeying a Direct Order.

I was Lieutenant Tobie, a Solider who was to fly the ship.  I was Captain and brought with me my "wedding ring" having left behind my partner Rocky whom I never got to marry.  I was afraid of heights, just like Lt. Major Jess and secretly was dying of cancer.  I had the Death Card:  Die by my Own Hand.

And finally, Jeehoon was the Supply Manager, a role which we had not really planned for him to take (since he showed up to wait for J.P. but ended up seeing him handle as he quickly nominated himself to handle the giving out of Story Points!)

Our Assets were Unmanned Robots, Wyrmhole Generator, Very Maneuverable Space Ship, Highly Fortified Well Defended Space Station, Weapons Cache and Self Sustaining Space Suits.

The story opened with me, the Captain, informing the crew that an alternate route was necessary given the route of the HAXE-1 was miscalculated.   I quickly checked with the others if that was a viable choice, but before anything else could be decided upon, we realized that MIMIC was having issues.  In many scenes that were to follow, MIMIC had malfunctions, shut down oxygen supplies, communications shutting down and at one point even disabled the radiation shielding of the ship.   Many times, we were forced to help each other out, with me and Doctor Karlo getting quite hurt.  Amusingly, as we started to trade in Story Cards to grab more Story Points, it became apparent VERY quickly that a majority of the Crazy Cards were directed toward Blondie Jones!  The Black Dice kept rattling in, with us reaching twelve Black dice while having only four White Dice after a long round.

Alien invasions started happening as Threats, with the first "death" happening as Aliens materialized inside the medical bay where Dr. Blondie Jones was.  The dice was rolled and sadly, it resulted in the Black equaling White, meaning a second Threat activated that moment!  The Blast Doors locked up keeping me and the others from arriving in time to help her.  As Blondie faced certain death (the last roll slapped four levels of Harm upon her), she raised the Death Card to delay her death.

Very quickly things escalated with Act I ending with Black Dice in a huge lead.

Act II Begins with us discovering MIMIC had forgotten to bring our Space Suits with us.   And very quickly, flashbacks started to get played as characters started to die.  Lt. Maj. Jess dies suddenly as her heart condition strikes at the worst possible moment.  Dr. Theo saves us as he commands the defenses to shoot down a meteor storm from the moon itself.  But the debris smack into the section of the ship he is in, killing him just as he Shows Us He Cares!   Dr. Jones finds herself infected with a reddish alien virus, and she begs me to shoot her before she contaminates the rest of the crew, Dying At The Hands Of Another.  As I stumble to the cockpit where Dr. Urim is, I discover to my dismay that he too has been affected by the virus!   He grapples me to the wall, choking me, but then he plays his Death Card, Dying By Disobeying Orders, and he chooses to disobey the virus long enough to shoot himself in the head.

Finally, I realize the window to use the Wyrmhole Generator is closing, and without the suits, it has to be turned on manually.  I contact Dr. Karlo, tell him as a soldier it is my duty to ensure the mission succeeds, and begs him to tell my partner that if given the chance, I would have married before I left.   I step out of the protected area, will myself to reach the device, and switch it on.

Each Death Card played added three white dice in the final pool, so all those deaths added TWELVE White Dice to the pool (plus two more for Dr. Jones' earlier play) giving us a wonderful amount of dice to win in the end!  As the wyrm hole erupts, I see the HAXE-1 stretch into a blur, and stare at the planet Earth one last time for a seemingly immortal moment.   Then the HAXE-1 explodes, throwing Dr. Karlo in the escape pod back towards Earth.




Epilogue:

Dr. Karlo gives a speech in memory of all who have died in the mission to save the Earth.   And statues are erected in our honor.   The world is saved.

*

The game was absolutely a blast!  Granted there were some rule hiccups (we removed one Black Die from the threat every difference of four in a roll, when it should be five.  And I totally made the mistake of not rewarding two Story Points each time a black Six was added to the Event Pool.    But all in all the game was an absolute riot of a good time.  And given three people who never gamed before had a blast, I definitely recommend this game for people interested in trying something new.

I can't wait to try and save the world again!