Dicey Stories: Recent Episodes

Dicey Stories

stories shaped by dice - a tabletop RPG actual-play podcast with emphasis on storytelling - listen to us play or read the serialized narrative

Timon and Corille try to get away with the cat claws.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Timon and Corille acquire the cat claws.

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NotesIn this episode, Danielle describes the clock for triggering the Perils of the Warp as "a perilous game of nim." If you're not familiar with it, nim is a game where you and an opponent alternate taking objects from a pile in an effort to be the last one standing.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Timon and Corille gain entrance to the secret Ryjotech research lab.

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NotesThe Kerr-Lonn-Ny mentioned in the audio of this episode comes from our Star Wars: Cruise Control campaign.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Some quiet time aboard a subway car.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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An Imperial psyker chases the team through the subway system.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Timon finds his way back to Corille.

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Corille and Morelyn Haig argue.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Timon and Corille get their first experience of the Imperial Guard.

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NotesWe make reference in this episode to characters and events from a previous campaign, Star Wars: Cruise Control. You can find that here: https://diceystories.com/star-wars-cruise-control/

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Timon and Corille acquire additional support to fulfill Jan’s request.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Timon and Corille slip away from their posts in search of off-worlders.

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NotesIf the names in this episode sound familiar, it's because a lot of them are pulled off the convenient names list from Blades in the Dark.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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The planet Nullia has persisted for generations with little outside influence. Whispers of an "Imperium" are just rumors. When an off-worlder styling herself as a "Rogue Trader" arrives, however, the chance to leave escape forget venture beyond Nullia presents itself. If you can meet her price in time, that is.

session advertisement for the 2025 RinCon Tabletop Gaming ConventionSetupWelcome to the newest campaign by Dicey Stories! Rogue Trader: Escape from Nullia is a tabletop roleplaying campaign set in the universe of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40K. It takes its inspiration from the WH40K Rogue Trader video game from Owlcat Games. Our characters start as nobodies, but they are ambitious seekers of knowledge and authority who will do what they must to survive. The release of each episode’s audio will be accompanied by a serialized, narrative write-up of the adventure. So give a listen, read along, or enjoy both formats!

Rogue Trader: Escape from Nullia is played using the Genesys roleplaying system now published by Edge Studio and the Mythic GM Emulator by Tana Pigeon. Our main resources for this campaign are the Genesys Core Rulebook and Shadow of the Beanstalk. We sometimes reference fanmade WH40K supplements such as Dark Heresy from Hoob and Rogue Trader Genesys from Anthony Arcarola, as well as Environmental Set Pieces from Kainrath, a supplement for Genesys’s older sibling, the Star Wars Roleplaying Game. (For other examples of us combining Genesys with the Mythic GM Emulator, see our Resh Hour and Cruise Control campaigns.)

BackgroundIf you know nothing about Warhammer 40K or Rogue Trader, that’s fine! Neither did I prior to starting this game. But if you do know this IP, don’t worry; Danielle is quite familiar with the universe from reading novels, playing the Rogue Trader video game, and listening to the Valentyne Heresy actual play from Dumb Dumbs and Dice.

This campaign started as a one-shot prepared for the Southern Arizona Gamers Association's 2025 RinCon Tabletop Gaming Convention. Danielle ran it a total of three times in that format, and the story wrapped up in four hours. Once she and I began playing it using the Mythic GM Emulator, however, it spun off in a completely different direction and took on a life of its own. Our PCs started as pre-gens that Danielle made for her module, so they had less personalization than the PCs from some of our recent campaigns. After playing for a little while, we made some adjustments to the characters to suit our liking and then continued on from there.

The write-ups of this campaign will primarily be from Timon’s perspective, with occasional annotations from Corille. In the character briefs that follow, you'll see that we have some songs associated with Timon and Corille. In addition to those, we got inspiration from Rogue Trader by Jonathan Young and For the Guard by Colm R. McGuinness.

A Year in Monsoon Jungle brings together two Dicey Stories series, Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron and Cozy Farming. Today we have the second half of our sixth and final season, monsoon.

Friends old and new gather for Fritz and Mariah’s wedding.

Waning Monsoon
Late Monsoon

Note: Thank you for joining us for A Year in Monsoon Jungle and accompanying us for all the time we’ve spent on Alpha Centauri. This story is well and truly wrapped up now, and the Dicey Stories podcast will be taking a bit of a hiatus. Look for us to return to your feed later this spring with Rogue Trader: Escape from Nullia played using Genesys and the Mythic GM Emulator.

Our six seasons were derived from the calendars of the Larrakia people and the Gundjeihmi people of the area around Darwin and Kakadu in Australia’s Northern Territory. References:https://www.experiencethewild.com.au/?p=Birding-Info-Weather-Seasonshttps://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/Indigenous-knowledge/Calendars/Gulumoerrgin

A Year in Farm Valley is now available for you to play yourself for free or pay-what-you-want. Visit our itch.io store: https://diceystories.itch.io/a-year-in-farm-valley.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

Need context? Check out the trailer for Cozy Farming or Jump to the start of Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron.

A Year in Monsoon Jungle brings together two Dicey Stories series, Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron and Cozy Farming. Today we have the first half of our sixth and final season, monsoon.

Fritz and Mariah start work on a new greenhouse, but Redd takes issue with the crops they intend to grow.

Early Monsoon
Waxing Monsoon

Our six seasons were derived from the calendars of the Larrakia people and the Gundjeihmi people of the area around Darwin and Kakadu in Australia’s Northern Territory. References:https://www.experiencethewild.com.au/?p=Birding-Info-Weather-Seasonshttps://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/Indigenous-knowledge/Calendars/Gulumoerrgin

A Year in Farm Valley is now available for you to play yourself for free or pay-what-you-want. Visit our itch.io store: https://diceystories.itch.io/a-year-in-farm-valley.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

Need context? Check out the trailer for Cozy Farming or Jump to the start of Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron.

A Year in Monsoon Jungle brings together two Dicey Stories series, Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron and Cozy Farming. Today we have the second half of our fifth season, build up.

Connections continue to form in the valley: the network node gets installed, and Fritz finally proposes to Mariah.

Waning Build Up
Late Build Up

Our six seasons were derived from the calendars of the Larrakia people and the Gundjeihmi people of the area around Darwin and Kakadu in Australia’s Northern Territory. References:https://www.experiencethewild.com.au/?p=Birding-Info-Weather-Seasonshttps://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/Indigenous-knowledge/Calendars/Gulumoerrgin

A Year in Farm Valley is now available for you to play yourself for free or pay-what-you-want. Visit our itch.io store: https://diceystories.itch.io/a-year-in-farm-valley.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

Need context? Check out the trailer for Cozy Farming or Jump to the start of Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron.

A Year in Monsoon Jungle brings together two Dicey Stories series, Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron and Cozy Farming. Today we have the first half of our fifth season, build up.

Fritz and Mariah improve their relationships with the non-humans in the neighborhood.

Early Build Up
Waxing Build Up

Our six seasons were derived from the calendars of the Larrakia people and the Gundjeihmi people of the area around Darwin and Kakadu in Australia’s Northern Territory. References:https://www.experiencethewild.com.au/?p=Birding-Info-Weather-Seasonshttps://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/Indigenous-knowledge/Calendars/Gulumoerrgin

A Year in Farm Valley is now available for you to play yourself for free or pay-what-you-want. Visit our itch.io store: https://diceystories.itch.io/a-year-in-farm-valley.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

Need context? Check out the trailer for Cozy Farming or Jump to the start of Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron.

A Year in Monsoon Jungle brings together two Dicey Stories series, Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron and Cozy Farming. Today we have the fourth season, big wind.

The stresses of country life begin to mount for Fritz and Mariah.

Early Big Wind
Mid Big Wind
Late Big Wind

Our six seasons were derived from the calendars of the Larrakia people and the Gundjeihmi people of the area around Darwin and Kakadu in Australia’s Northern Territory. References:https://www.experiencethewild.com.au/?p=Birding-Info-Weather-Seasonshttps://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/Indigenous-knowledge/Calendars/Gulumoerrgin

A Year in Farm Valley is now available for you to play yourself for free or pay-what-you-want. Visit our itch.io store: https://diceystories.itch.io/a-year-in-farm-valley.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

Need context? Check out the trailer for Cozy Farming or Jump to the start of Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron.

A Year in Monsoon Jungle brings together two Dicey Stories series, Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron and Cozy Farming. Today we have the third season, heavy dew.

Mariah and Fritz independently begin thinking more seriously about their future together, such as whether it involves marriage or children.

Early Heavy Dew
Mid Heavy Dew
Late Heavy Dew

Our six seasons were derived from the calendars of the Larrakia people and the Gundjeihmi people of the area around Darwin and Kakadu in Australia’s Northern Territory. References:https://www.experiencethewild.com.au/?p=Birding-Info-Weather-Seasonshttps://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/Indigenous-knowledge/Calendars/Gulumoerrgin

A Year in Farm Valley is now available for you to play yourself for free or pay-what-you-want. Visit our itch.io store: https://diceystories.itch.io/a-year-in-farm-valley.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

Need context? Check out the trailer for Cozy Farming or Jump to the start of Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron.

A Year in Monsoon Jungle brings together two Dicey Stories series, Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron and Cozy Farming. Today we have the second season, bushfruit.

Mariah and Fritz get their first products to market, a new set of natural dyes.

Early Bushfruit
Late Bushfruit

Our six seasons were derived from the calendars of the Larrakia people and the Gundjeihmi people of the area around Darwin and Kakadu in Australia’s Northern Territory. References:https://www.experiencethewild.com.au/?p=Birding-Info-Weather-Seasonshttps://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/Indigenous-knowledge/Calendars/Gulumoerrgin

A Year in Farm Valley is now available for you to play yourself for free or pay-what-you-want. Visit our itch.io store: https://diceystories.itch.io/a-year-in-farm-valley.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

Need context? Check out the trailer for Cozy Farming or Jump to the start of Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron.

A Year in Monsoon Jungle brings together two Dicey Stories series, Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron and Cozy Farming. Today we have the first season, knock 'em down.

Seeking a simpler life away from Dome politics, Fritz and Mariah settle down at an abandoned farmstead along the edge of the Monsoon Jungle.

Getting Started
Setting the Scene
Arrival
Early Knock 'Em Down
Late Knock 'Em Down

Our six seasons were derived from the calendars of the Larrakia people and the Gundjeihmi people of the area around Darwin and Kakadu in Australia’s Northern Territory. References:https://www.experiencethewild.com.au/?p=Birding-Info-Weather-Seasonshttps://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/Indigenous-knowledge/Calendars/Gulumoerrgin

Note: This episode was recorded on 19 October 2025, and in the audio I comment that it is the first day of that year's Ace Week (Asexuality Awareness Week), an observance important both to Mariah and myself. Learn more here: https://aceweek.org/.

A Year in Farm Valley is now available for you to play yourself for free or pay-what-you-want. Visit our itch.io store: https://diceystories.itch.io/a-year-in-farm-valley.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

Need context? Check out the trailer for Cozy Farming or Jump to the start of Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron.

Spend a weekend relaxing at Nwabudike Morgan’s private dome in the remote Chiron wilderness with fellow members of the board of directors. Until… a murderer strikes!

Session Report

GM NotesFor those of you who listened to our previous couple episodes, Hackathon, today’s story chronologically takes place after that arc—although we played this murder mystery before we played the network encounters.

If you’re as reluctant to leave our Chronicles of Chiron story setting as we were, please join us next episode as we begin playing our exploration of Fritz’s happily ever after with Mariah in A Year in Monsoon Jungle, an extended play of my very own A Year in Farm Valley roleplaying game.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Corazon “Hypercor” Santiago uses the new network node connection between Data Haven and the Domes to uncover some of what Nwabudike Morgan has been up to since his fall from power.

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GM NotesIn today’s session, we work through a network encounter using the rules from the Android: Shadow of the Beanstalk Genesys setting book.

We played this Hackathon after we played Fritz’s investigations at Morgan’s secret dome, so we both knew what Corazon would uncover here. If you’re interested in what Fritz does with that information, join us next episode as we use a different roleplaying game called A Weekend in the Country to play out a murder investigation.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

When Fritz commissions Corazon “Hypercor” Santiago for some corporate espionage, she first warms up against the most experienced hacker in Data Haven, Roze.

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GM NotesIn today’s session, we work through a network encounter using the rules from the Genesys Core Rulebook.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Mariah and Cleve experience planetfall for themselves.

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GM NotesThank you so much for joining us on the journey across Alpha Centauri! I’d also like to thank our amazing players, whose calm and reasonable characters foiled many a plot. As a GM, it’s been a delight to be part of such a character-driven narrative.

Although this marks the end of our Chronicles of Chiron Genesys campaign, over the next several weeks we’ll be sharing some additional adventures from this setting that we played after Cleve’s and Mariah’s ended, some using other RPG systems. So if you want to join Corazon “Hypercor” Santiago as Jennifer GMs her through a hacking spree, or solve a murder alongside Fritz, or hear about Mariah and Fritz building a new life together after all the chaos dies down, stay tuned!

Note: The Lilly and Imogen referred to towards the close of this episode are from our first Dicey Stories campaign, Starcraft: FRAWD Investigators.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Cleve and Mariah restore Engineering to working order.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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The situation aboard the incoming colony ship turns out to already be deteriorating when Exocraft I arrives.

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Note: In this episode, we reminisce a bit about the graffiti aboard James Raynor's flagship in our Starcraft: FRAWD Investigators campaign. That was way back in Episode 22 during Part 1 of One Quiet Night about 16 minutes in.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Mariah gets Avery Tex’s side of his story.

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Player (!) NotesI learned the term Umwelt from the book An Immense World by Ed Yong. If you have any interest at all in how creatures perceive their world (including humans), I heartily recommend it. There are chapters on the five senses you already know about, but also ones on heat, vibrations, pain, magnetic fields, electric fields, and more. Did you know humans can learn echolocation? It’s a brilliant book.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Cleve listens to the University’s perspective on the stowaway.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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A newcomer unexpectedly lends a hand stabilizing Exocraft I.

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GM NotesThe voice for Avery is directly inspired by comedian Melissa Villaseñor’s impression of actor Owen Wilson. Her voice is amazingly broad, and while I strive to emulate it, I don’t think I’ll be doing a Lady Gaga impression anytime soon. If you’d like to see what Melissa’s capable of, check out this link for her talk on finding her own voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFjv971_NZM.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Damage from the assault on the launch causes problems once Exocraft I reaches orbit.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Everyone contributes to preparing the exodome rocket for launch.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Cleve and Mariah deal with their injuries.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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The Data Haven gang escapes with enough rocket control units, but the price is high.

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GM NotesThe organic superlubricant Arx deploys is a researchable tech for powering fusion lasers from Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, but our PCs’ use is far more mundane. Just like in the video game, though, they can’t exactly control where it spreads.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Omega interrupts the rocket control unit heist.

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GM NotesMany of the minions here wield “hatchets and cleavers.” This comes from one of our favorite songs about peasant revolts, “John the Red Nose” (also known as “Cutty Wren”). We’re especially fond of the cover by The Longest Johns, which you can find on Bandcamp here.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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The team makes a move on the warehouse to recover the missing rocket parts.

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GM NotesThe MacGuffin of this arc, rocket control units, is from another video game, Factorio. Like our adventure, Factorio involves crashing on an alien world. And the objective is also to launch a rocket into space. Factorio’s means of doing so, however, involve more ecological destruction than Mariah and Cleve might be comfortable with.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Cleve and Mariah recruit the Pirates as local security.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Cleve and Mariah make plans with the co-leaders of the exodome expedition to resume their rocket project.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Cleve and Mariah learn about the current status of the exodome.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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The conflict with the exodome gangs is resolved.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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The joint University and Data Haven expedition to the exodome begins with a bang.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Cleve and Mariah meet with Dr. Ale Barbossa, scientific leader of the University explorers.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Cleve and Mariah decide how to handle what they have learned in the miasma repulsion facility.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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The Progenitor in the miasma repulsion facility explains their situation.

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Lishan takes the Data Haven delegation to visit the miasma repulsor facility.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Thara introduces Mariah and Cleve to Acolyte Lishan of the miasma repulsor facility.

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The Data Haven contingent heads to Sanctuary City.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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New plans are made.

Tric and Heppa keep Kachen out of the hands of South Tower justice.

Rhaessa tries to arrest Kachen on necromancy charges.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve leads a research project in the University field archives while Mariah consoles Paola.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Kachen takes over control of Thrandolil’s device.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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The Data Haven contingent arrives at Temple Pier and enters Sanctuary.

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GM NotesThe religious leader of the University, Mother Miriam Godwin, is directly inspired by Sister Miriam Godwinson from the Alpha Centauri video game. Title and name changes, however, put her on an equal footing with her scientific counterpart.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric tries to banish Anador.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Cleve and Mariah determine the cause of Dr. Van Hoff’s death.

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GM NoteIn between this arc and when the PCs reach the University, a couple of us used the worldbuilding RPG Beak, Feather, and Bone to flesh out the locations and factions there. While we don’t have audio for that activity, we have the notes and the map we produced. If you don’t mind some spoilers, feel free to check out that session report on our website.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Thrandolil’s apparatus performs the function he built it for.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Cleve and Mariah reach Dr. Van Hoff’s damaged and stranded ship.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Thrandolil’s research experiment gets underway.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Cleve uncovers evidence that Dr. Van Hoff, one of the University researchers he and Mariah met on Skull Island, has since run into trouble.

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GM NoteHydracoral as seen in this episode is directly inspired by the alien unit in Civilization: Beyond Earth. In the video game, it’s just a barrier, but in our game, hydracoral is itself a danger.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa meet with Volas and Thrandolil about the latter’s research.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Mariah and Cleve consider their next steps in preventing a repeat of the Unity shipwreck disaster.

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GM NoteThe nature of wildlife in this episode is directly inspired by real scientific research. Barramundi are a type of coastal fish that can live in both saltwater and freshwater. But as they’re only capable of breeding in saltwater, their expansion on Chiron is thankfully limited. Gale’s natural harpoon is also a real feature of a jellyfish-like creature on Earth. Researchers are actively studying how this works in hopes of improving drug injection in humans. (Nematocyst research: https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/677497)

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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A council of mages meets at the Estbryn encampment.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve and Mariah see to everyday business at the Headquarters Dome.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric, Heppa, and Kachen theorize about what Thrandolil will do with his magical contraption and Anador’s circlet.

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This arc contains references to the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and The Hammer of Thursagan. It uses the material mechanic from the I Declare supplement, available from the Genesys Foundry on DriveThruRPG.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve helps Nila rescue her exiled brother.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Elves, humans, and saurians recover from the assault.

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GM NotesI originally thought the campaign was going to end with a trek across the Bitter Swamp to Mal-Ravanal’s fortress for a final showdown there. I was going to ambush the players with drakes along the route. However, as events in our story developed organically, that ending grew less and less likely. I still wanted to bring in drakes, though, and having them attack the saurian allies was the perfect opportunity. I don’t feel like I managed to make my drakes quite as intimidating as the ones in the Battle for Wesnoth video game, but I was still glad to give Drake Gliders and Clashers some air time. You also got to hear Tric spout lore about Flamehearts. As for other units from the video game, this combat let us see the pinnacle of saurian fighting prowess, the Flanker, as well as a return of our old friend, the Mudcrawler.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Marina collects more data on chironic connections to resonance energy.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Sprizz and her drake allies attack Hezzis and Bzzazz’s encampment.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Scarmouth the siege worm deals with some pests.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa experience daily saurian life up close and learn more about the society.

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GM NotesOf all the peoples that Tric and Heppa interacted with during this campaign, the saurians have always felt to me like the most foreign. They have very short lives, they have a very rigid gender divide in their societal roles, and they are not mammalian. Those are all details drawn from their entry in the Battle for Wesnoth wiki. I decided to lean further into all that in this arc, inspired by the various fish, reptiles, and amphibians that can change sex (ref: https://www.treehugger.com/animals-can-change-their-sex-4869361). Although Salras is not transgender in the same sense as a human in the real world might be, I did talk with the transgender player in our group prior to introducing this topic, just to make sure I handled it in a way we would all be comfortable with.

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and the Legend of Wesmere, as well as references to Ashen Hearts, a User-Made Content campaign.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve and Mariah head back to the domes.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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With the chase over, a battle ensues in the swamps.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Checkerboard gets settled into her new life at Data Haven.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Wolf-mounted goblins pursue Tric, Heppa, and their loaded cart of recovered people and items.

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Note: This episode uses our Chase rules. Find them here.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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While Datajack Prime attends to systems at Data Haven, Mariah helps Takuto reach out to Arx.

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Kachen pursues one additional goal at the orc encampment.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Cleve instigate a few more changes in the Morgan Domes before heading back to Data Haven.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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While Tric and Heledd barter for Anador’s circlet, Heppa and Kachen search for the missing journals.

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GM NotesMainline orcs in the Battle for Wesnoth video game don’t have any magic. For Gugdish, I once again took my inspiration from the expanded units featured in the User-Made Content campaign A War of Life and Death, which includes the Orcish Conjurer. Some of the other orc units that inspired me were the Orcish Assassin and the Orcish Warlord. We’ll see other units from the video game as this arc continues, including Goblin Pillagers, a Wraith, and a new unit for our characters, the Nightgaunt.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Peace is made between Morgan Industries, the Stepdaughters of Chiron, and Data Haven.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Heledd’s carefully crafted plan gets the team within reach of their targets.

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GM NotesThe Battle for Wesnoth video game has a take on orcs and goblins that I haven’t seen anywhere else. They’re the same species, as are half-orcs. The different designators arise from the physical capabilities of the individuals. Orcs are the strongest, half-orcs are less muscular, and goblins are considered runts. This then sets their social standing. This doesn’t come up much in any of the mainline campaigns, but it’s included in the write-up on the official wiki, and I used it to inform how I portrayed those characters.

This arc contains references to the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Eastern Invasion.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Morgan Industries’ new board of directors convenes for the first time.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Each in their own way, Tric and Heppa seek to improve Kachen’s situation.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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With a surprise election underway, the domes of Morgan Industries are abuzz with excitement.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Heppa and Tric enjoy a discussion of magic theory with Cwuml, a silver mage.

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GM NotesTric’s story about using symbols to teleport between established locations was inspired by the teleportation system in the video game, Betrayal at Krondor. I’ve never played it myself, but Tric’s player did when she was younger.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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With elections underway, Mariah and Cleve each use their own unique skill sets to support Fritz.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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While Heppa sees to one more patient, Tric gains one more quest.

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GM NotesLots of units from the Battle for Wesnoth video game are going to come out in this epic battle, as I’m sure you can imagine. We had a Goblin Pillager and an Orcish Crossbowman menacing Heledd in her Rhaessa disguise, and we referred to Tric not being Dunefolk enough to be a Horse Archer. Endathalas was chewed on by a Ghast, and Tric encouraged him to be an Elvish Rider, which is the upgrade of the Elvish Scout. And of course, there are the Chocobones, which I always find a real challenge in the video game, as well as Terwaen’s promotion from Knight to Paladin. We also finally get our first Silver Mage!

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Cleve meet with Nwabudike Morgan, CEO of Morgan Industries and chair of the board.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Terwaen secures medical treatment for Tric and Heppa, who in turn secure her a promotion.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve and Mariah try to convince Xiao to delay the blockade.

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Note: A pretty powerful monsoon rolled through during this part of the play session. Please bear with us as we incorporate it into the story. I’ve cleaned it out of the audio as best I can, but there’s only so much one can do against the power of nature.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Vicious skeletal cavalry threaten Tric’s carefully selected team.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve and Mariah get more support for Fritz in the upcoming election.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric’s crack team braves the dangers of the swamps.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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The groundwork is laid for a Morgan Industries reorg.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric leads his special scouting task force around the edge of the battlefield.

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GM NotesThis episode makes reference to birds that carry and drop burning sticks. This isn’t something I made up. If you’re interested in learning more about this tool usage by some Australian birds, I’ve linked an article here: https://altoona.psu.edu/feature/researching-firehawks.

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion, Delfador’s Memoirs, and The South Guard.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Fritz meet with Leyland Campos to pitch changes to the Morgan Industries board of directors.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Dicey Stories is going on a mid-winter hiatus. New episodes resume at the start of February.

Tric’s contingency plans regarding Thrandolil do not go over well with Heppa.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve and Louisa race against the clock to rescue Snacker before he gives Fritz up to the authorities.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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House Thrandolil hosts a large family dinner, much to Penna’s displeasure.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Louisa brings news of a new threat.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric welcomes his sister Terwaen to Estbryn Forest while Heppa brings Alric in for his first visit.

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GM NotesI got the new alcoholic drink in this episode, Joli Rouge, from a song of that name by the Dreadnoughts. It’s got a really fun video that think you should check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yeh1S_kl8YI.

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and South Guard.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Cleve meet with Shu-Fen about unseating Nwabudike Morgan.

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GM NoteComing out to someone you care about is rarely easy. Mariah and Fritz each take a risk here in being open, and fortunately it works out for them. Scene 14 of this arc hits close to home for several of us at Dicey Stories. If someone comes out to you, please believe them and try to be supportive. Thank you.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa pay the dwarves of Untdunben another visit.

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GM NotesThere are no trains in the Battle for Wesnoth video game, at least not any of the campaigns I’ve played. So why do these dwarves have a train? Well, while contemplating this rematch with the dwarves of Untdunben, I rolled on the Mythic GM Emulator’s event meaning tables for inspiration and got Develop and Vehicle. Mining tracks are well-established in the video game, so I decided they weren’t all for carts—some were for trains.

Oh, and if you’re interested in the songs that you heard snippets of from Tric’s player, one was On the Railroad by The Longest Johns (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udICE0keewk), and the other was an American folk song called Red Iron Ore. We like the version performed by Bob Gibson (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbt6_gmAfqE).

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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All is not well at the shop of Fritz the Tailor.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa negotiate with saurians.

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GM NotesThis arc, we used a number of video game units to help flesh out our story. Tric imagined Breda as an Elvish Captain. Quemilya’s magic theory discussion was influenced by the Sorceress write-up, as Tric’s training is by the one for the Elvish Lord. And some of the rapid-seeming changes in the society of our short-lived saurian allies came from the descriptions and artwork of such units as Skirmisher, Ambusher, and Soothsayer. Some cultural details are pulled from the general overview of saurians on the Wesnoth wiki, but I put my own spin on them.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Cleve get unexpected help reaching the main Morgan dome.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa return to the Foul Fen.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Pastor Thara shows off the wreckage of the colony pod.

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GM NotesThis is the first we hear of Pravin Lal, who you might know as another faction leader from the Alpha Centauri video game. There, he leads the Peacekeepers, a democratic group devoted to the original Unity ideals. In our game, it remains to be seen what kind of society he heads.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric begins training in preparation for his future as an elvish lord.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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The current inhabitants of Cliff Island are not thrilled to have visitors.

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Thrandolil’s research begins to cause disquiet in the young elves who have been performing his field work.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Cleve explore Cliff Island with a ranger and an ensign.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa return home with presents and news of the wider world.

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This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and South Guard. There are also references to A War of Life and Death, a User-Made Content campaign.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve and Mariah leave the Garden of Chiron aboard Xiao’s ship.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric continues to clash with his mother but grows closer to Kachen.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Datajack Prime holds talks with the Stepdaughters of Chiron council to work out the details of the new alliance.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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The cleanup of South Tower begins.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah reflects on recent events and what they have taught him about himself.

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GM NotesThis episode depicts a mental health counseling session. Mariah has recently been through an incredibly traumatic experience. While he makes progress in a single session here, in real life, a breakthrough can take months or more. Therapy can be constructive in many situations; don’t be reluctant to seek help.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa clash with the Rats again.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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After helping train a xenodragon, Mariah and Cleve visit Sal to learn about some prophecies.

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The city of South Tower burns.

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Note: This episode uses mechanics detailed in Skill Adventures by David Shamp, available from the Genesys Foundry on DriveThruRPG.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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An attempt to view the prophecies of the Cult of Chiron does not go as intended.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa learn more about Kachen’s recent activities and his past with Rhaessa.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah holds a wide-ranging conversation with Deirdre’s son Jack.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Alric, Heppa, Tric, and Glammur entertain themselves at South Tower’s After Harvest Festival.

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GM NotesThe players really enjoyed the Full Bloom festival early in our campaign, so I decided to given them a chance to experience another. Inspiration came from a lot of places. For one, there are the youtube videos by Pupsi where he carves vegetables into ocarinas and then plays pop music. Check out his performance of Africa by Toto. Another inspiration was a renaissance faire, where Danielle and I saw a melon catapult years ago. The shoveling part of the pitchfork competition was inspired by a sand shoveling competition we saw at another fair. The throwing part was because in the Battle for Wesnoth video game the Peasant unit has a ranged attack with the pitchfork in addition to a melee attack.

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Liberty.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve and Xiao meet with the mysterious rangers.

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Additional allies arrive to join the fight against shadow mage Godol and his Rat confederates.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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The Prophet of Chiron and some followers pay Mariah a visit at the hospital.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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The elves and their allies clash with Godol the shadow mage and his.

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GM NotesMost of the NPCs in the fight today are units from the Battle for Wesnoth video game that we’ve already seen in earlier encounters, like Ruffians, Shadow Mages, and Efa the Bandit. The only new one here is Tric’s merfolk friends, who are based on the Netcaster line.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve and Marina secure proper care for Mariah.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Rhaessa and Heledd join Tric and Heppa in their investigation of necromancers underneath South Tower.

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GM NotesThe exploration of the space under South Tower was heavily inspired by combat maps from the Battle for Wesnoth video game. Cave terrain frequently has mushroom tiles, mining cart tracks, and old fortifications. And if you see a big stretch of water, you can be pretty sure a Tentacle of the Deep is lurking in it to attack any of your units that get too close!

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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With the help of a mysterious ranger, Mariah’s friends keep him out of harm’s way.

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GM NotesRangers, in our game, are actually based on embassy guards. Some countries require their guards to all have a uniform appearance, even down to strict height limits. Inspiration really can come from anywhere.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric catches up some with Kachen and gets to know the new server at the Parting Glass.

Tric recruits the white mage Rhaessa to help with whatever foul magics are afoot beneath South Tower.

Kachen shares a little of what he was up to over the summer.

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GM NotesIn the Battle for Wesnoth video game, the only mainline unit with teleportation is the Silver Mage. They are able to move between villages that their side controls. In terms of the battle map, that means any villages flying their side’s flag. I’ve translated that mechanic into the bit of magical philosophy we encounter here: that for risk-free teleportation, one must travel between places of safety. The video game’s artwork for the staff of the Silver Mage is also what inspired the description of Kachen’s staff.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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All of Dr. Yerin Gupta’s plans come crashing down around her.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa deal with a late night intruder.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Briar beasts run rampant in the Garden of Chiron.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric reconnects with some of the Dunefok of South Tower, but neither his mother nor Damal are terribly impressed with him.

Mariah remonstrates with his captor.

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Note: In this episode, you’ll once again hear us using social material and maneuver mechanics that come from a Genesys supplement called I Declare! Adjudicated Social Encounters for Genesys by Micah-Shalom “FatCrab” Kesselman. You can find it on the Genesys Foundry at DriveThruRPG here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/349232/I-Declare.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Upon returning to the Parting Glass, Heppa delivers to Alric the message from his parents in Weldyn.

Mariah’s reunion with his old friend Deirdre does not go as smoothly as Cleve’s reunion with Roze did.

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GM NotesWhen we describe Mariah’s view of the sunset-lit world as featuring diamonds, and an ocean of islands, and a forest deep and silent, we’re quoting there from Mariah’s theme song, which is “Rivers in the Light” by Tide Lines. Cleve’s player does not tend to associate songs with her characters, but when asked about one, she jokingly suggested “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, a very apt song indeed for the fatalistic Cleve.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa bid farewell to Terwaen’s household with several revealing conversations.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Marina takes Cleve and Mariah to the Stepdaughters of Chiron council building.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric duels Dame Merriver.

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Note: This episode uses our Fight Night rules. Find them here.

GM NotesThe Battle for Wesnoth video game inspired a lot of specific events and NPCs in our tabletop campaign. I leaned heavily on the closing events of the Eastern Invasion campaign, even quoting from the epilogue where Gweddry and Owaec are granted their rewards. But one specific part of the video game’s lore that stood out to me was that the period after the war with Mal-Ravanal is considered Wesnoth’s Silver Age—but it only lasts the length of King Konrad II’s reign. Why did the Silver Age end? Why did Wesnoth fall to ruin again after that? Well, one outlandish theory from my players was that Konrad II had actually died long before history records it, and various nobles were keeping that a secret. That idea is what led to Merriver’s righteous rage about the treatment of her father in court.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Some among the Stepdaughters of Chiron prove less easy to get along with than craws are.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa talk with Dame Merriver about threats to the kingdom… and her illicit weapon shipments.

Mariah, Cleve, and Marina visit with some farmers on the outskirts of Stepdaughters of Chiron territory.

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GM NotesThe description of the farm in this episode is actually inspired by alter eco chocolate bars. The inside of the packaging has a labeled graphic of regenerative agriculture in practice, which we thought fit very well with the ethos of the Stepdaughters of Chiron. Creative inspiration for TTRPGs can come from anywhere!

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Sir Anyc shows Tric and Heppa around and presents them to Dame Merriver.

The team debates how to handle the remaining demon craw.

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GM NotesIn humans, hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is a crucial treatment for situations like menopause or gender transition. Personally, HRT helped me become myself for the first time. For Checkerboard, the proposed HRT regimen might help her undo the Progenitor abuse.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa learn of some tensions within Terwaen’s household… and within her people.

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GM NotesThere are a number of mounted units in the Battle for Wesnoth video game. In preparation for this arc, I reviewed their descriptions and artwork for inspiration. Terwaen and Anyc are Knights, and Rugg and Inyc are Paladins. While not every unit type has an NPC in our game, there are still discussions of Grand Knights, Horsemen, and Lancers to give more flavor to the culture of the Horse Plains. And for orcish forces, the mounted units are the Wolf Rider line. Those are just talked about around the dinner table here, but don’t worry, we’ll see them eventually.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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The team deals with the repercussions of Dr. Citali’s errant pistol shot.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa are welcomed to Terwaen’s home.

Demon craws attack.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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As they approach Terwaen’s village, Tric and Heppa befriend a knight after observing a duel.

The Progenitor research facility holds a few surprises.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Heppa and Tric study Mal-Vektor’s staff—which is almost as dangerous as the man himself.

Their new friends lead Mariah, Cleve, and Marina to a Progenitor ruin.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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The elves extract what information they can from their necromancer prisoner.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah, Cleve, and Marina face some unexpectedly tough negotiators.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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A necromancer joins the battle against the elves.

Data Haven enacts its plans to slow down Morgan’s Planetary Security Force.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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When Tric, Heppa, and Ash return to the scene of their last fight, they find that the situation has grown more dire.

The Council of Datajacks deliberates on action against Morgan Industries and alliance with the Stepdaughters of Chiron.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Before reengaging the undead threat in the caves, Tric and Heppa develop a plan with Ash and Aglana.

At their request, Ash takes Tric and Heppa big game hunting for a giant spider, but the cave system holds more significant dangers than just webs and venom.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve and Mariah begin recruiting for the new Data Haven council and sounding people out on how to stop Morgan’s Planetary Security Force.

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GM NotesYou might notice how often characters in this arc talk about “vendettas.” In the Alpha Centauri video games, factions don’t “declare war.” To fit the sci-fi theming, they declare “vendetta” against each other. In both the video game and our campaign, however, the meaning is official violent conflict.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Heppa deviates from Ash’s carefully chosen path as he leads her and Tric up into the Heart Mountains.

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GM NotesWhile preparing for this arc, I studied up on the Mountain Travel section in Skill Adventures by David Shamp, available from the Genesys Foundry on DriveThruRPG. It gave me some ideas for ways different skills could come in handy during a travel montage and directly inspired the scene with Butterbell the pony almost falling off the cliff.

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and Dead Water. There are also references to Northern Rebirth.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve makes deliveries around Data Haven while Mariah recovers from his injuries.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Extended family helps Heppa with her corruption and Tric with taking on the mantle of his noble heritage.

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GM NotesAs usual, many NPCs in this arc are derived from units in the Battle for Wesnoth video game. Ash is an Avenger, and with Ruthiel, we get our first Shyde, the ultimate unit in the Druid line in the mainline game. User-made content campaigns have a ton more units, though. Soliana is thus a Star, a non-mainline step above Shyde.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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In which the dangers of siege worms are made completely clear.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Heppa seeks guidance from Soliana, an elf steeped in knowledge of fae magic.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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On the way back to Data Haven, the group comes across some ominous remains.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa present the needs of the Grey Woods woses to the most prestigious elvish council of all, the Ka’lian.

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GM NotesThis whole episode with the Ka’lian is very much indebted to A War of Life and Death by Mystical_Warlord. In that non-mainline campaign for the Battle for Wesnoth video game, Scenario 13 sees the primary character, Lord Ardonath, asking the Ka’lian for aid. I took NPC names—and to some extent, personalities—from that conversation. Aolis, Theodmer, Gaelira, Soliana—they’re all from that scenario. Neia, who we met earlier this arc, is too.

One other thing I’ll add about our meeting with the Ka’lian… If you are familiar with the “BOOST” series in the Genesys Foundry at DriveThruRPG, you might recognize it. I used this encounter as the basis for my submission to BOOST #7, Modular Encounters, where I gave tips for running a similar encounter and adapting it to different settings. BOOST stands for Book of Online Sourced Triumphs, by the way. They’re a variety of community-built resources for Genesys, and they’re free to download from DriveThruRPG.

https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/390112/boost-7-modular-encounters

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Liberty. There are also references to Eastern Invasion and to Crin of Crenlyn, a User-Made Content campaign.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Reunited, Cleve and Mariah patch each other up and share information on their new contacts.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa enjoy a dance party with the young elves of Wesmere and then cookies with their grandparents.

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GM NotesThe special items gifted to Tric and Heppa were created with input from the players on what type of item they were interested in. Tric’s player wanted something stealth-related, and since the shadow ring turned out to be too creepy, I created the cowl. Its description is based on the artwork for the Elvish Avenger unit in the Battle for Wesnoth video game. I asked Heppa’s player what type of magic she wanted made easier for her character, and based on what she said, I designed the thorny bramble wand.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Mariah and Cleve find different ways out of the dome.

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GM NotesIt was a spur of the moment decision to have Fritz be the same character as Morris. The tailor was intended as a single-scene NPC, but Mariah took a liking to him. This was the perfect place to bring him back and showcase a consensual encounter. But who knows what fate has in store for these binary-star crossed lovers?

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa get acquainted with an unexpected new relative.

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GM NotesIn this episode, we meet Ash, an NPC who holds a special place in my heart for a number of reasons I’ll get into more some time in the future. But for now, I’ll share that Ash sneaking around Carcyn on the way to the Grey Woods without being spotted by humans is akin to Hide and Seek, Scenario 5 of the mainline campaign Liberty. Ash is an Avenger, which is a unit from the Battle for Wesnoth video game, one step above a Ranger.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

An unexpected additional rescue opportunity presents itself.

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GM NotesThe University of Chiron in our tabletop game is a mix of University of Planet and Lord’s Believers from the Alpha Centauri video game. This melding of science and religion was itself inspired by the Supremacy affinity in Beyond Earth. Supremacy is highly technological but uses religious names for most in-game units. Time will tell how this new faction interacts with Data Haven and the Stepdaughters of Chiron.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Newly arrived in Wesmere, Tric and Heppa settle in and meet Neia, an ambitious young shaman.

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GM NotesIn this episode, we meet Neia, a character from the User-Made Content campaign A War of Life and Death, and the information she shares with Tric and Heppa is basically a summary of that campaign. We also get our first look at Wesmere. As the home of the Ka’lian, the most prestigious elvish council, this forest is a pretty big deal. It has its own paragraph on the Geography of Wesnoth reference page on the video game’s wiki. That’s where I got the names for its villages and other prominent features. The description of the Ka’lian itself, to come in a future episode, is based on how it appears on battle maps.

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion, Liberty, The Rise of Wesnoth, and A War of Life and Death, a User-Made Content campaign by Mystical_Warlord. There are also references to Heir to the Throne and The Sceptre of Fire.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Arx search for a way out of the Hospital for Experimental Miasma Treatment.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Bruised and battered, Tric and Heppa leave the Grey Woods for Wesmere, bearers of the woses’ call for aid.

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GM NotesThe first Wesmere elf we meet, Filvarel, is a minor character from Scene 13 of A War of Life and Death by Mystical_Warlord. This user-made campaign has many more types of units than mainline Battle for Wesnoth, and Filvarel is one of those, an Elvish Guardian. The description of his appearance and equipment is based partly on the art that was in the video game when I played it. I also wanted to indicate that Wesmere was a more industrially developed forest than Estbryn. We’ll be meeting a lot more characters from A War of Life and Death in the next arc, including more non-baseline units.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Mariah gets Arx released from Dr. Bingyi Khan’s care.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Society of Shadow remnants clash with Tric and Heppa deep in the Grey Woods.

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GM NotesThis combat features more units from the Battle for Wesnoth video game. Donella, like Efa, is styled after the Bandit and was fighting alongside a Poacher. In the video game, the Bandit has a morningstar attack, while the Poacher has both a bow and a dagger. The new type of undead in this combat is a Wraith, and yes, in addition to its blade, it does have a wail attack in the video game.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve and Mariah overcome physical and emotional challenges on their way to the hospital where Arx is imprisoned.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Following the fight against Gaenyn, Tric and Heppa return to the Society of Shadow encampment to ensure no stragglers linger.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve and Mariah attract some unanticipated attention during the Planetfall Day festivities.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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The shadow mages launch their ambush… as do the elves and woses.

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GM NotesOne of the inspirations for setting our tabletop Wesnoth game in the aftermath of Mal-Ravanal’s war was me playing through A War of Life and Death, a User-Made Content campaign by Mystical_Warlord. It is set in a similar timeframe, and at the very end of this arc, we’ll even meet a character from it. The caravan attack in today’s episode was heavily inspired by its Scenario 15.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah, Cleve, and Takuto enter the main dome of Morgan Industries.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa gain further insight into forbidden magic and the corruption that the woses can sense in the Grey Woods.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve, Mariah, and Takuto explore a Progenitor wreck.

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GM NotesThis is the first real look we have at Progenitor technology and design. In the Sid Meier’s Alien Crossfire expansion, these aliens have lost some of their technology and are relatively peers with the human factions. On our Chiron, however, we only see ruins.

To design this little prison block, I worked backward. I wanted Progenitors to be relatively large yet not just big humans. I took inspiration not only from the video game, but also from the Overlords in Arthur C. Clarke’s novel, Childhood’s End. They will likely remain mysterious for some time; how big a role they play in the overall campaign is yet to be seen.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Ulf introduces Tric and Heppa to Gaenyn, the leader of the shadow mages, who has uncomfortable ideas about how he and the elves might collaborate.

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GM NotesOur Society of Shadow grew out of the shadow mages from the mainline campaign Liberty in the Battle for Wesnoth video game. Gaenyn’s physical appearance is based on the artwork for Shadow Lord Helicrom, the leader of those shadow mages. Unlike other human mage units, Shadow Mages have swords, which is why I gave Gaenyn one.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Cleve negotiate for the right to recover data from their cryobeds.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Ulf guides Tric and Heppa through the Grey Woods.

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GM NotesWhen preparing for this arc, I scoured the mainline campaigns of the Battle for Wesnoth for any mention of the Grey Woods. There are battles there in both Liberty and Secrets of the Ancients. We’ve already seen ideas from Scenario 6 of Liberty in all the clues that have been dropped about the Society of Shadow. Secrets of the Ancients is set much farther back in Wesnoth history, but I was able to bring in a witness to those events because woses are so long-lived. The elf Isthiniel that Dolmathengalin speaks of comes from the introduction to Scenario 12 of that campaign. The main character of Secrets of the Ancients goes by Ardonna and Ardryn-Na; we mention her a few times, too.

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Liberty and Secrets of the Ancients. There are also references to Eastern Invasion, and I took inspiration from A War of Life and Death, a User-Made Content campaign by Mystical_Warlord.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Morgan Prospecting’s activities at the crash site do not go unnoticed.

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At the pottery market on the outskirts of Dan’Tonk, Tric and Heppa bump into an old acquaintance who is able to help them with the next stage of their journey through Wesnoth.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah, Cleve, and Takuto head out on a recovery job for Data Haven.

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Tric and Heppa learn about a previous Manu expedition to the Sandy Wastes. Then they round out their Dunefolk education by attending a morning of Dune School.

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GM NotesThe Dune School scene in this episode is based on the experiences of some of my childhood friends. I’m not close enough to my forebears' cultural heritage to have attended any myself, being a fourth generation American. But I had friends who spent weekend mornings at Polish school or Hebrew school or Chinese school, learning the associated languages and traditions. I drew on stories of those experiences to design the Dune School scene, and I populated it with bits and pieces of lore discussed on the Battle for Wesnoth forums.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Takuto makes his case for going on the next trip out of Data Haven.

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Tric and Heppa spend time in Dan’Tonk’s Dunefolk quarter meeting with the glassmaker, the weaver, and the falconer/scribe.

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GM NotesThe Luminary Council and Paragon Council, as presented in this episode, had their origins in a discussion of potential Dunefolk politics on the Battle for Wesnoth forums (https://forums.wesnoth.org/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=52367). I took some of those ideas and spun them out into what you see in our campaign. This session was played in July of 2021. In the time since, the Luminary became an actual unit with the release of Battle for Wesnoth version 1.16. It’s a level 3 unit, the pinnacle of the Herbalist line and the strongest Dunefolk healing unit. In our game world, however, a Luminary is a sufficiently advanced artisan, a leader in one of the scientific disciplines. Similarly, the Paragon is now an actual unit—a powerful level 4 fighting unit separate from any of the other unit lines.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Roze shares information gleaned from the network node job.

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A travel montage gets Tric and Heppa from the Wesnoth capital Weldyn to its largest city, Dan’Tonk.

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GM NotesIf you listen to as much folk music as I do, you may recognize the name Lily the Pink. I heard it on an album from the Irish Rovers. I don’t consider it a fabulous song, but it was the perfect source for a spur-of-the-moment charlatan NPC. I thought it was particularly apt because two major streams of magic in Wesnoth are white and red, and pink is a combination of those two.

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Liberty. There are also references to Eastern Invasion and to Crin of Crenlyn, a User-Made Content campaign.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah spends time in the medical center while Cleve helps Tenoch with expedition equipment.

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GM NotesTenoch’s rover is a direct copy of the Alpha Centauri video game rover. It does look something like a futuristic, more aerodynamic jeep that’s fully sealed. For Mariah and Cleve it means faster and safer transportation through the wilderness. As anyone who’s owned a car can relate, however, a vehicle can come with its own set of troubles.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa enjoy a spooky nighttime ghost tour of the battlefields around Weldyn.

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GM NotesThe Battle for Wesnoth mainline campaign Eastern Invasion can end one of two ways: a giant battlefield or a private duel. I decided to make both versions of Scenario 17 true as far as the history of our tabletop campaign is concerned. I use details from those in the ghost tour. Many of the units from the video game also fed into those descriptions, such as Paladin, Mage of the Light, Shadow, and Nightgaunt—the latter two are the scarecrow-like members of the Ghost line.

Note: The audio for this episode also includes events that really belong with the start of the next arc, so their write-up will be released with that.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Cleve return to Data Haven along with Corazon, Dr. Citali, and their prizes.

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GM NotesThe discussion of what’s edible and how to process different foods is lightly inspired by the Alpha Centauri video game. In that, xenofungus tiles only produce food and other benefits after extensive research—except for the faction that inspired our Stepdaughters of Chiron. In our game, the characters have to work out what changes to the environment (or to themselves) they need to make. Finding that balance and blending is an ongoing theme of the campaign.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa share a meal with Alric’s parents and learn more about the Manu clan.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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After Mariah and Cleve get rid of the repo squad, they encounter another familiar face out in the wilds of Chiron.

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For the first time in their lives, Tric and Heppa meet an elf not of Estbryn Forest.

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GM NotesSir Deoran is the primary protagonist of the South Guard mainline campaign of the Battle for Wesnoth video game. In Scenario 5, he is given the choice to ally with human bandits or with the elf Ethiliel, who has already lent him aid. For the purposes of our story, he made the latter choice. In the video game, she’s a Shyde unit, but given what she’s experienced in the years since, I have her as a Sylph here, more an attacking unit than a defending one. If you ally with Ethiliel in the South Guard, the campaign ends with Scenario 8a, which has her in conflict with the Elvish Outrider Eltenmir, while the Elvish Marshal Ithelden is supportive of her. In my imaginings, Ithelden was the leader of the Aethenwood council, and once he was taken out of the picture, Eltenmir seized power and exiled Ethiliel for her “betrayal” in siding with the humans against an elf. After that point, there was on-and-off open conflict with the humans, which included the battles Knots and the Beard participated in.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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As they prepare to head back to Data Haven with their prizes, Mariah, Cleve, and Corazon share some pieces of their pasts.

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Tric and Heppa meet Alric’s parents, a papermaker and a falconer.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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The team deals with Mariah’s sudden collapse.

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Tric and Heppa arrive in Weldyn, the capital of Wesnoth, but not without a minor magical mishap first.

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GM NotesThe Battle for Wesnoth video game is a tactical turn-based strategy game that also involves some resource management. Each unit needs to be paid its level in gold every turn. The standard day/night cycle has six parts: dawn, morning, afternoon, dusk, first watch, and second watch. This is the source of my payment schedule for mercenaries in Rhodri’s caravan. The day/night cycle also provides bonuses or penalties to units based on their alignment. The four alignments are chaotic, neutral, lawful, and liminal. Most elvish units are neutral (getting no bonuses), and most Dunefolk units are liminal (getting bonuses at dawn and dusk). So you may sometimes hear us reference those things. I don’t hew closely to it in my adversary stat blocks, but sometimes it results in a setback here or a boost there.

This arc contains major spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign The South Guard, and of course spoilers for Eastern Invasion. There are also references to the Rise of Wesnoth and Heir to the Throne.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah, Cleve, and Corazon assault Morgan’s network node and encounter some unexpected phenomena.

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GM NotesNetwork Nodes are an adaptation from Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. In the video game, it’s the first building which boosts science output. In our setting, with miasma cutting off long range communications, cable must be physically laid. Similar to old telegraph repeater stations, our Network Node is a data relay, ensuring communication can flow over a physical cable.

The Morgan Autonomous Security-Trons, however, aren’t from anything in particular. Because of the miasma, there wouldn’t be human guards, nor remote operation. So the robots have to manage a variety of situations with limited artificial intelligence. And yet, somehow Morgan Robotics still found enough power to compute debt on the fly.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Following the ambush, Tric and Heppa get to know Knots and the Beard a bit better.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Cleve guides Mariah and Corazon through the wilderness to Morgan’s network node.

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Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa deal with ambush clean-up.

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GM NotesOnce again, units from the video game informed NPCs in this arc. Tomos was a perfect vehicle for leaking more information on Kachen. He is very much based on the basic human Mage. The nagas at the ambush were based on the basic Naga Fighter, except for Zlek, the Naga Myrmidon. Even the environmental hazard of the Mudcrawler was from a video game unit. The fun part of Knots and the Beard for me was getting to show off Genesys talents that my players would never take. However, they are the rare characters in this campaign not drawn from a Wesnoth unit. As far as I know, there are no dual-sword wielders or axe-and-shield fighters among the human units.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah, Cleve, and Corazon spend some time in Data Haven resting and preparing for their data recovery job.

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GM NotesData Haven is an original location, heavily inspired by my experiences in hackerspaces and machine shops in the United States. I adapted that kind of freewheeling creative culture into a contained environment. They’ve got basic needs like food and housing covered (for now), so what do they get up to?

Roze develops perhaps the most unique voice of the contingent. They embody the “information wants to be free” ethos of Data Haven. Yet they are tempered with the years of living underground, cut off from the world.

Dr. Marina Citali also starts to develop. I wasn’t ready to directly introduce Deirdre Skye yet, but Marina offers us insight into the Stepdaughters of Chiron. And like Corazon (or rather, “Hypercor”), she was born on Chiron, so she sometimes challenges the PCs’ “planetfaller” expectations.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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With some help from their new friends, Tric and Heppa ambush the ambushers.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Roze offers Cleve, Mariah, and Corazon a job, but Dr. Citali has her own ideas on what it should include.

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GM NotesIn this arc, we see several characters and creatures adapted from the video games. From Civilization: Beyond Earth, we have the Wolf Beetle, the Siege Worm, and the ever present Miasma. From the original Alpha Centauri, I also lifted Xenofungus (which is perhaps related to Miasma).

I only took character inspiration from Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri. During our Session Zero, I asked the players for ideas on NPCs aboard Unity that their PCs knew. For most of those, I matched player NPC descriptions with existing leader profiles from the game. Cleve’s NPCs are Sinder Roze and the Santiago family, represented by Corazon. Mariah’s are Dr. Deirdre Skye and the “killer HR” of Nwabudike Morgan. You also heard mention of Professor Prokhor Zakharov from The University and Captain John Garland, who led the Unity expedition.

Aside: In this episode, we make a reference to an upside down battlestation. That was the setting of several arcs of our StarCraft: FRAWD Investigators campaign, starting with A Very Special Mission.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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When a collapsed bridge halts the caravan’s progress, Tric and Heppa conduct an investigation.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah, Cleve, and Corazon reach Data Haven.

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Tric and Heppa make the acquaintance of some veteran mercenaries also serving as guards on the caravan.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Cleve have their first close-up encounter with Chiron’s atmospheric miasma.

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As the caravan heads down the bank of the River Weldyn, Tric and Heppa search for a missing child.

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GM NotesThis episode’s description of Falcon Sight was inspired by information from What It’s Like to Be a Bird by David Allen Sibley. In case you hadn’t guessed it yet, we really like birds. Also, this episode also introduces several new NPCs. Prior to starting this arc, I asked the players what types of characters they were interested in encountering on this journey. They gave me the basics: another spin on human mage, a precocious child, grizzled veterans, and so on. This whole arc was mainly conceived as vignettes centered around those ideas.

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion, The South Guard, Descent into Darkness, Secrets of the Ancients, and Liberty, with references to Delfador's Memoirs.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Cleve protect Corazon Santiago from the Morgan Repossession Team.

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GM NotesThe Stepdaughters of Chiron is an adaptation of the video game faction, Gaia’s Stepdaughters. It remains to be seen if they are as peaceful as their video-game equivalent (which itself takes inspiration from real-world organizations like Greenpeace), or if they truly are “ecoterrorists”.

Why change the name? “Gaia” is sometimes a name for Earth, but this campaign takes place on the planet Chiron. The stepdaughters are trying to adapt to their new home, not remake their old one.

Note: In this episode, you’ll hear us using social material and maneuver mechanics that come from a Genesys supplement called I Declare! Adjudicated Social Encounters for Genesys by Micah-Shalom “FatCrab” Kesselman. You can find it on the Genesys Foundry at DriveThruRPG here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/349232/I-Declare.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa take care of their business with Damal and Heledd in South Tower.

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GM NotesTracking currency is not something I particularly enjoy in RPGs. And yet, here I saddled my players with debt, which had the potential to push them away from story-oriented playing to money-grabbing. Why did I do this? Well, the simple reason was to continue giving them reasons to return to the Parting Glass to interact with the NPCs there. The players really liked the Parting Glass and its cast of characters, but I didn’t want them to have to bend over backwards trying to justify time in South Tower when there was a whole country of Wesnoth to explore. This way, they’re free to follow the story wherever it leads, confident that I’ll provide space for them to return to their secondary homebase at some point in the future.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Cleve meet another human and learn some of the current situation on Chiron.

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GM NotesCorazon is perhaps the NPC most loosely inspired by the original video game character of the same name. Rather than have her focus be militarization as in the source game, I reinterpreted that at a more personal level as someone who is a bit reckless. Plus, early on, I wanted an NPC who was born on Chiron, not a “planetfaller.” Someone who would have a different perspective on society. Both because they don’t have Earth to compare to, and because they didn’t get a choice in coming to this planet.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa reconnect with Heledd and Alric at the Parting Glass.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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The first extraterrestrial lifeforms that Mariah and Cleve encounter are less than happy to see them.

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GM NotesDuring our Session Zero, our group made a list of things we either really wanted to have or really wanted to avoid in the campaign. Both players were interested in something supernatural to fit into the sci-fi setting. For Cleve, this translated to an ethereal animal companion. For Mariah, it was magic-like powers tied to the new planet. Neither PC had the experience necessary for those talents right away, but because we knew they wanted them, we began laying the groundwork for that early. The items that Cleve keeps finding and the purple glow to Mariah’s eyes are the first hints of what’s to come.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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Tric and Heppa meet with Thrandolil about their next project for him and then head back to South Tower.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Mariah and Cleve leave Earth aboard Unity, seeking a new life on the planet Chiron in the Alpha Centauri system. But something goes wrong on the way there.

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GM NotesYou might be wondering why I set this campaign 30 years after planetfall rather than coincident with it. By setting it later, the world has already had some chance to develop into factions that the PCs have to deal with. This also ensures that there’s a mix of built-up regions and wild regions. A campaign starting right at landing would have involved a lot more exploration and “human vs nature” conflicts than we wanted.

I also wanted to see how the named NPCs changed over those 30 years. This gave the players something fresh to experience even with an NPC they “made.”

I did talk about the extra 30 years of cryosleep with my players before launching the campaign, however. As always, it is important to obtain consent. After all, this is a cooperative story among players and GM. I encourage groups to bounce ideas off each other (and separate player from character knowledge).

In this episode, we also hear about our first planetside faction, Morgan Industries. One of Mariah’s NPCs took inspiration from CEO Nwabudike Morgan from the Alpha Centauri video game. It was straightforward to project what 30 years of unchecked capitalism might look like on a pristine planet.

Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com.

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High Lord Volas commissions Tric and Heppa to undertake a task for him on their upcoming journey.

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GM Notes High Lord Volas is a character from the Battle for Wesnoth mainline campaign, Eastern Invasion. The assassination attempt we refer to is from Scenario 4a of that campaign. He does not have much dialogue in that, so his personality is mainly my invention here. His physical description is that of the Elvish High Lord unit from the video game.

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and Northern Rebirth, with references to The South Guard.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Tric and Heppa exchange information with Kachen before he leaves on his own job for Thrandolil.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Jump to Arcs | Season 1

Open Datalinks. Subject: Honest Assessment of Earth in 2100. Result:

The few billion people and perhaps half as many kind souls don't agree on much, but they do agree that Earth is ruined. The environment. The politics. The war. The Mistake. Sure, there are pockets where things are mostly okay, if you've got the credits. But you know it's gotten real bad when even the rich people want to leave. Of course, with everything so fractured, no one person or state was rich enough nor smart enough to figure out how to get away on their own. So despite all of humanity's failures, we came together for one last job.

Mars is a fool's errand; we shoot for the stars! FTL is a myth. We designed cryosleep pods to last us the 100 year journey at 5% the speed of light. We took what readings we could remotely. The new planet seems to be habitable, but we're bringing extra resource pods to be safe. Who knows, maybe one day the colonists will be able to come back and fix Earth. Or heck, maybe we can learn from this project to fix our own house rather than ruining someone else's. What’s more likely, though, is that humans never change, and they ruin the new planet before too long.

Copy Editor Syd Meijer (under pseudonym, Dequiem), Don't Let The Door Hit YouOpen Datalinks. Subject: Informational Brochure on Habitable Alpha Centauri Planet. Result:

Earth is the past, but Alpha Centauri holds the future! Be one of the select 100,000 colonists to a new world! Relax in our patented Peaceful Cryosleep™ pods and wake up to a planet of limitless possibilities! But it's a one-way trip, and cellular service is limited! Remote lifescans, however, show a pristine planet brimming with flora, fauna, fungi, and fun! Perhaps you'd like to generously help fund the project, and thereby secure your place as a founding colonist. Or are you a driven scientist? Then there may be room for you in the Academy or Biogenetics modules. We want the best in many disciplines. There are many ways to join and contribute to Humanity's greatest achievement! Competitive positions are limited, so act now!

Copy Editor Syd Meijer, Firaxis Marketing Brochure #3SetupWelcome to the newest campaign by Dicey Stories! Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron takes place in a sci-fi setting exploring humanity’s attempt to escape Earth’s problems on a new planet. While the focus is on our two PCs, the overall story is also at times political. Where my StarCraft campaign was more on the sillier side, I’m trying to grow as a GM by running a more narratively-driven dramatic campaign. Some concepts we address head-on are finding a place to belong, duty versus obligation, the environmental impact of human expansion, cycles of wealth inequality, and revenge.

Alpha Centauri: Chronicles of Chiron is played using the Genesys roleplaying system now published by Edge Studio. We also occasionally reference the Mythic Game Master Emulator’s event meaning tables for inspiration. The release of each episode’s audio will be accompanied by a serialized, narrative write-up of the adventure. This time, they will primarily be written first-person from the point of view of one of the PCs.

BackgroundSid Meier’s Alpha Centauri and its expansion, Alien Crossfire, are the most direct inspirations for this campaign, but we also draw on elements of the more recent Civilization: Beyond Earth. If you know nothing about these, that’s fine! Neither did the players prior to starting this campaign. I enjoyed both video games, the story more in the former and the gameplay in the latter. But they both have a wondrous mix of flora, fauna, and fiendish folks. Characters from the video games contribute varying degrees to their TTRPG equivalents. Some are very direct lifts, while others only borrow a few traits. And regardless of where they started, once they are living NPCs, they diverge from their video game personalities.

Session ZeroBefore planning the first arc, I asked players a series of questions about their characters. This was helpful in both designing the characters and building a narrative around them.

What's something or someone your character is leaving behind on Earth?
What's the best way to honor Earth? Forget it? Don't repeat it? Liberate it? Memorialize it?
Technology is both a cause and solution to the problems of old Earth. What priority should it have on the new world?
Is your character on the ship legitimately, or did they sneak aboard somehow?
How does your character feel about possible aliens? Sentient vs non-sentient?
Who are some NPCs they know who were definitely on the ship? Friends or rivals? And how did the last 30 years treat them (unless they've also been in cryosleep).

Of these questions, asking for NPCs they already knew was the most helpful for adventure development. It gave the PCs someone to immediately care about—whether that was out of concern, fear, or something else.

Season 1Coming Soon... 1. Planetfall - A hundred thousand lucky humans leave Earth to settle the planet Chiron in the Alpha Centauri system. Among their number are O.A. “Cleve” Cleveland, a survivalist hired by the Santiago conglomerate to act as a wilderness guide, and Mariah Esteban Thorne, a stowaway eager to see the new world but unable to talk his way into a legitimate spot in the expedition. Due to unforeseen events, Mariah and Cleve awake from cryosleep separated from the rest of the explorers. What they find when they venture out into the wilds of Chiron is an exciting new planet to which humanity has brought all its old flaws.

The Estbryn Forest council decides Kachen’s fate.

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GM Notes I really enjoy the social components of the Genesys system. I like learning characters’ motivations and leaning on them when I can. I like the way social combat helps flesh out an exchange and gives players an opportunity to both gain and lose ground simultaneously. I was excited to have the chance to try out this different kind of social scene, an adjudicated encounter. Although we don’t have many more opportunities to use I Declare this way in the rest of the campaign, we really liked some of the concepts in it. Social weapons (in the form of material) and additional social maneuvers fit quite easily into Genesys and provide some additional spice for social-heavy campaigns. For that reason, even if you don’t see yourself running an adjudicated encounter ever, I still recommend this supplement to expand your social encounter toolkit. At the low, low price of pay-what-you-want, it’s definitely worth the investment. You can find it in the Genesys Foundry at DriveThruRPG here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/349232/I-Declare

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Tric and Heppa take a stab at defending Kachen before High Lord Volas and the council.

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GM Notes This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and Northern Rebirth.

This arc uses a Genesys supplement called I Declare! Adjudicated Social Encounters for Genesys by Micah-Shalom “FatCrab” Kesselman. I do my best to explain its mechanics to my players at the start of this episode, but any mistakes in that are my own. If you’re interested in reading it for yourself, it’s available as pay-what-you-want in the Genesys Foundry at DriveThruRPG here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/349232/I-Declare. I’ll talk more about my impressions of it at the end of the next episode.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Heppa and Tric continue their fighting retreat as the undead menace approaches the population center of Estbryn Forest.

The Battle for Estbryn Forest begins with a skirmish between elves and undead in a wooded gully.

The elves of Estbryn Forest prepare to face a new threat.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Heppa and Tric deal with the crisis caused by Fenowin’s rash response to Kachen.

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GM Notes Damal’s treatise on the four elements was inspired by a thread on Dunefolk Lore that I read on the Battle for Wesnoth forums here. The part that particularly caught my attention was this:

Four elemental forces each bleed through into the material plane. The Sun bleeds through and creates the scorched deserts. The Seas bleed through and create the fertile coasts and river valleys. The Winds bleed through and create the windswept highlands. The Deeps bleed through and create the mineral-rich underground.

forum user ghype, 14 Apr 2020

After this part, there was some discussion of the Aether, which factored heavily into my explanations of magic as our game progressed.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Kachen’s first evening in Estbryn Forest passes uneventfully, but the following morning there are some problems.

Tric escorts Kachen to meet with Thrandolil, who has been conducting research with Heppa.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

As spring advances, Heppa gets some advice from older elves about romancing humans while Tric works the Estbryn Forest border patrol.

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GM Notes This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and Northern Rebirth.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric spends time growing closer to his father and his bird, while Heppa works on her relationships with her sister and Alric.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The elves search Estbryn Forest for the missing necromancer’s staff.

Tric and Heppa find someone willing to talk to them about Anador.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa settle back in with their families in Estbryn Forest.

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GM Notes This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Eastern Invasion.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa fend off the skeletons uncovered by Ulf’s excavation.

Tric and Heppa look for artifacts in the cave system below South Tower.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Before leaving South Tower, Heppa and Tric visit Damal’s apothecary shop.

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GM NotesI love it when players produce extra material for the game, like writing songs, drawing sketches, or even just doing research on their character’s interests. These sorts of things extend way beyond just learning the rules of the game and spending XP. I find this so rewarding, as it shows that the world I’m creating for them really resonates with them in some way and stretches into their lives beyond the play session. If you’re interested in seeing the map that Heppa left for Alric (and that Heppa’s player was kind enough to draw for my entertainment), you can find it here.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Heppa and Alric go on a date. Tric and Heledd most certainly do not.

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GM NotesI did a fair bit of research in preparation for the date in this episode. Since Heppa had shown interest in herbalism, alchemy, and alcohol, I decided to combine them. If this is the sort of thing you’re interested in as well, I recommend the following book by Amy Steward: The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks. Here also is a link to a lengthy article about milk punch from Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/cooksillustrated/science/844-articles/story/the-key-to-crystal-clear-cocktails-milk-really.

If this is of no interest to you at all, don’t worry. Once they leave the Parting Glass and Alric behind, our elves will spend much less time sampling alcoholic beverages. And finally, for a special treat from our bard, check out this ode to Alric's past: Fresh Prince of South Tow-air

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

After the closing ceremony of the Full Bloom Festival, Heppa and Tric get in some weapons practice and then go birding.

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GM NotesIf you’re interested in learning more about the style of draw Mhaev uses with her composite bow (the thumb draw rather than the three-fingered draw), then check out this video by NUSensei: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK82xdoFAqY

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and Liberty, as well as references to the Rise of Wesnoth, Legend of Wesmere, and the Hammer of Thursagan.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The victory over the Rats has some unanticipated emotional repercussions for Heppa.

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GM NotesI didn’t anticipate Alric becoming a romantic interest for Heppa. When I introduced him to the storyline, my goal was to provide Tric with a different perspective on the Manu, a younger, less jaded one than some of the others. As well as to provide Heppa with a source of information on Kachen—though she ended up not prying there, out of respect for Alric’s focus on privacy. Heppa’s player, however, did express interest in adding this romantic dimension to the game. Hence the flirting you’ll observe between Heppa and Alric. It was important to me that the player guide the course of the relationship, though, which is why at the end of this episode, I explicitly ask how she wants the scene to end. I also consulted with her a lot in between game sessions to make sure this proceeded comfortably for everyone involved.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Imogen and Lilly narrowly escape and make one last report.

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Note: This marks the end of our StarCraft campaign! Lilly goes on to be a real member of Raynor’s Raiders, helping Jimmy more directly with reconnaissance and combat operations in the fight against Mengsk. As for Imogen, well, once things are more settled, she opens a school for psionic children to learn techniques in a properly supportive environment. At least, that is what we imagine for them. We hope you’ve enjoyed our story and that our use of the Genesys roleplaying system inspires your own play. And now, a word from our GM….

It was a delight to explore characters, scenes, and themes from Blizzard’s StarCraft video game in RPG form. Lilly and Imogen were amazing to see brilliantly solving a problem in one scene and snapping at each other the next. Lilly’s flashbacks were a wonderful way to see backstory and sometimes deliver key information to the players. And Imogen—though her psionics fried her nearly as often as they helped her—showed how a ghost could maintain their sanity with this power. So many of the NPCs were fun to play, but it’s probably no surprise that my favorite was Malorn. He was so easy to slip into, sometimes being helpful, but always dripping with scorn. Thanks for following our escapades!

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

As rain sets in, a mysterious falcon joins Heppa and Tric in their fight with the Rats.

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GM NotesOnce again, units from the Battle for Wesnoth video game were an inspiration for elements of this arc. The Cuttlefish has an ink attack with the poison quality. Lady Sabine is an Arch Mage. Sleidr is a Thief, and the male portrait of that inspired his look. The fight had many units from both the “lawful” and “chaotic” alignments of the video game. (Elvish units are of “neutral” alignment, by the way, which you will sometimes hear Tric’s player reference.) Henrick is a Sergeant, and that determined his armaments. He brought Bowmen and Javelineers with him. On Sleidr’s side there were Thugs, Footpads, and the Bandit Efa. Alric’s “action mode” is inspired by the Assassin—not that he was ever of that profession!

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Down on Dead Man’s Rock, Imogen and Lilly arrange to send not one, but two crucial messages to ensure the sector’s future.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

With help from the town guard, Tric and Heppa launch their ambush against Sleidr and the Rats.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Saffron makes a pit stop at Hyperion before going after the Xel’naga artifact.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric plans to strike back at Sleidr and the Rats while Heppa immerses herself in more magic theory and medicine.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Lilly and Imogen make good their escape.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa trick Sleidr into giving them the stolen rings.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Neiman and Narud make their way through a Xel’naga temple in search of a powerful artifact while Lilly and Imogen do some precision thievery.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

With some help from their friends, Tric and Heppa disguise themselves as humans.

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GM NotesWhen the players first reached South Tower, I expected that they would gain access to the House of Light by some means and there obtain a new artifact as well as information related to the mysteries surrounding Kachen. However, as play progressed, it became clear that they were not going to do that. So, I had to get them the information some other way. Heledd’s theft was the first part of that; I brought the artifact out of the tower for them. Sir Marthynec was the second part. Rather than Heppa looking through Rhaessa’s books and potion supplies, here now was a patient from whom she could get the same information about the dapper inkcap mushroom. Sometimes a GM has to be flexible. Sir Marthynec, by the way, comes from Scenario 4c of the Eastern Invasion campaign in the Battle for Wesnoth video game.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Lilly and Imogen prepare their traps for Neiman and Narud.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Alric reveals himself to be well-suited for helping Tric and Heppa plan the recovery of Heledd’s stolen goods.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Lilly and Imogen investigate the Xel’naga temple they are using as the lure for Neiman.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

While Heppa treats Heledd’s injuries, Tric and Alric investigate the scene of the crime.

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GM NotesAfter our Wesnoth campaign had been going for a while, Heppa’s player was missing the special ability she had when playing Lilly in our StarCraft campaign. Not that she wanted that exact flashback mechanic again, but just something that felt special and could gift her with knowledge that she did not already have. My solution to this was to look at the Heroic Abilities in the Realms of Terrinoth supplement. Heppa and Tric each got one that their player liked, and their introduction did succeed in injecting something special into the mix. Note that we don’t use them entirely as depicted in Realms of Terrinoth, as usually we’re interested in a more narrative application of the ability.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Imogen, Lilly, and Malorn relocate the terran population of Stryko II in advance of the Swarm’s arrival.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Things are a little hectic at the Parting Glass due to a missing waitress.

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GM NotesThis arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Eastern Invasion, as well as references to the Hammer of Thursagan and the Sceptre of Fire.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Imogen and Lilly pick a planet for ambushing Neiman, but it turns out to be less than ideal.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

The dinner with Mhaev and Terwaen goes about as smoothly as can be expected. Afterwards, the younger attendants use everything they have learned to draw up Tric’s family tree.

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GM NotesGoing into this family dinner, I was not sure at what point the players would figure out that Terwaen was Tric’s half-sister. The secret benefitted from the fact that the relationship between Terwaen and Mhaev is somewhat chilly. Still, I thought some of the license Mhaev took with Terwaen might tip them off. When it became clear that the players were still not getting it, not even after Terwaen called Tric her brother, that’s when I decided a diagram was necessary. Sometimes you just can’t beat a visual aid. The family tree is below if you’re interested in double-checking your comprehension, too.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Imogen shares her master plan for saving the Koprulu Sector from Earth, and Lilly helps her set it in motion.

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Note: During the scene in Egon’s lab, when Imogen examines the Xel’naga artifact, a real life monsoon rolled through our recording location, dropping a torrential downpour around us as we played. Feel free to pretend that the noises you hear are psionic static. However, if the background sound of rain is too much for your ears, you can stop listening there, read the write-up for Scenes 3 and 4, and pick up listening with the next episode.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa return to the Parting Glass to get ready and then welcome their dinner guests.

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GM NotesThis arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Eastern Invasion.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

While Lilly burns bridges, Imogen plots Lost & Found’s next moves against Neiman.

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Note: This arc was recorded in Summer of 2020, and like many people, we did not have full control over our environments during lockdown. Please forgive the noise from the flatmate’s TV. I scrubbed out as much of it as I could.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric has a tense meeting with his mother Mhaev and then relaxes at the joust with his cousin Heppa.

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GM NotesIn this episode, I sprang one of the surprises I’d been planning ever since Tric’s player gave me carte blanche for things pertaining to Tric’s parentage. I knew that finding his mother would be something Tric would want to accomplish early in the campaign, but I didn’t want the mystery to stop there. With the introduction of a mysterious father as well, I created the next hook for Tric. Hooks for Heppa were somewhat more challenging. She was always so curious about everything, that I was often not sure of what would stick. Ultimately, magical theory became a key interest to her, and this arc gave a space for that to really start growing.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Lilly and Imogen get the escaped prisoners to safety aboard Hyperion, where Lilly finally calls Durian.

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Note: This arc was recorded in Summer of 2020, and like many people, we did not have full control over our environments during lockdown. Please forgive the noise from the flatmate’s TV. I scrubbed out as much of it as I could.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Heppa hangs out with the White Mage Rhaessa learning about human healing magic. Meanwhile, Tric chats with Dame Terwaen of the Horse Clans, with whom he has more in common than he expected.

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GM NotesThe NPC Ulf suddenly sprung into existence in this arc. At the start of this episode, you hear us establish some things about him with 69: Ruin and 2: Dreams. That is us consulting the Event Meaning Tables of the Mythic GM Emulator. The Action table is a set of one hundred verbs, and the Subject table is a set of one hundred nouns. I often roll 2d100 and consult these tables when planning for an upcoming session just to get some prompts for where the story might go. They can also be helpful for responding to unexpected situations at the game table.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Imogen presents the escape plan to the liberated prisoners while Lilly leads marines away from Saffron.

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Note 1: This episode uses our Chase rules (starting around 12:30). Find them here.

Note 2: This arc was recorded in Summer of 2020, and like many people, we did not have full control over our environments during lockdown. Please forgive the noise from the flatmate’s TV. I scrubbed out as much of it as I could.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa enjoy the opening of the Full Bloom Festival. He tries his hand at the archery competition, while she participates in the duels.

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GM NotesOnce again, units from the Battle for Wesnoth video game inspired characters in this arc. I happen to think the sprite for the Javelineer is adorable, so I had to include that unit among the guards. One of the competitors in the archery competition is a Trapper. Terwaen is obviously a Knight. Mhaev is inspired by the Dune Windrider, a unit that was not retained in the most recent release of the Battle for Wesnoth, version 1.16.

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Eastern Invasion, as well as references to Liberty.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Imogen makes arrangements for a rendezvous with Raynor’s Raiders while Lilly deals with Dominion military forces.

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Note: This arc was recorded in Summer of 2020, and like many people, we did not have full control over our environments during lockdown. Please forgive the noise from the flatmate’s TV. I scrubbed out as much of it as I could.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa antagonize yet another former resident of Hisanham, but then Tric manages to entertain the patrons of the Parting Glass with his first stand-up performance.

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GM NotesOnce again, units from the Battle for Wesnoth video game inspired characters in this arc. Gwaffalyn is a mash-up of the Fencer and Duelist units. Rhaessa is a White Mage. Heledd is a Thief. Aderyn is an Elder Falcon, a type of unit in Dunefolk armies. Damal is a Dune Herbalist.

As of this arc, Tric Manu has learned that he is a member of the Manu clan of the Dunefolk. At this point, I should mention that there are no mainline campaigns featuring Dunefolk characters in the Battle for Wesnoth video game. The lore in our game world is derived from unit descriptions, discussions on the Wesnoth forums about what could go into official lore, our personal experience living in arid environments, and our own imaginations. Also, we started playing our tabletop roleplaying game while version 1.14 was the current Battle for Wesnoth release. Since then, version 1.16 has come out, and it made a lot of changes to Dunefolk units. So some of the characters in our campaign are based on units that no longer exist in the current release.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Lilly and Imogen enact their plan to conceal Saffron, sacrificing some scantids and Dominion troopers along the way.

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Note: This arc was recorded in Summer of 2020, and like many people, we did not have full control over our environments during lockdown. Please forgive the noise from the flatmate’s TV. I scrubbed out as much of it as I could.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric makes friends with a local magpie while Heppa savors the flavors of human food and drink.

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GM NotesFollowing the scene with Alric and his falcon, Tric’s player expressed interest in an animal companion. Although falcons fit with Tric’s Dunefolk heritage, we settled on a magpie to better fit Tric’s personality. Then it was up to me to introduce the animal in a way that a bond could form between them. Mate’s stats are derived from the falcon in the Genesys Expanded Player’s Guide with a few key modifications. We are most familiar with Australian magpies, having lived among them for a couple years, so we gave Mate a swooping ability as well as some basic mimicry for communication purposes. You can see him in our campaign artwork by Del Borovic, where he is playing with some flags in the upper left of the picture. Heledd is also in that picture, which means you have now been introduced to everyone detailed in it.

The map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Imogen talks with the former prisoners, trying to convince herself that the future of the sector will be in good hands once they are delivered to Matt Horner. Meanwhile, Lilly secures access to a crucial vespene supply.

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Note: This arc was recorded in Summer of 2020, and like many people, we did not have full control over our environments during lockdown. Please forgive the noise from the flatmate’s TV. I scrubbed out as much of it as I could.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

At the Parting Glass, Tric uses his knowledge of Merriver’s underground arms purchases as leverage for arranging a meeting with his mother, South Tower’s captain of the guard.

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GM NotesThis episode brings our characters to the Parting Glass for the first time. Although our campaign ranges all over Wesnoth and the lands around it, this inn serves as one of the anchor points. It is the setting of our campaign art piece by Del Borovic, in which you can also see both Alric and his falcon, Aderyn. The name of this tavern comes from the traditional Scottish song The Parting Glass. I particularly like the version performed by The Longest Johns, featuring Natalie Holmes. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0lD6y-R6yc

The map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Lilly and Imogen plan an approach for keeping Saffron undetected until Jim Raynor can rescue them.

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Note: This arc was recorded in Summer of 2020, and like many people, we did not have full control over our environments during lockdown. Please forgive the noise from the flatmate’s TV. I scrubbed out as much of it as I could.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

The two bumbling elvish cousins succeed at making many humans uncomfortable around them.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Lilly and Imogen flee Ten Tines with all the prisoners.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

A helpful human fencer named Gwaffalyn shows Tric and Heppa around South Tower.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Violence breaks out on the surface above Ten Tines Prison.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa journey to the bustling city of South Tower that has grown up around the old Southern Outpost.

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GM NotesThis arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Eastern Invasion, as well as references to the Legend of Wesmere.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Lilly gets her old friend Sally to safety while Imogen tries to get out of a prison on lockdown.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

On their way to South Tower, Heppa and Tric meet some human farmers who provide yet another perspective on the war with Mal-Ravanal. To Heppa’s delight, she also gains more insight into the human condition from them.

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GM NotesOnce again, units from the Battle for Wesnoth video game inspired characters in this arc. Roombledoombledeur is from the Wose unit line. The so-called fancy skeleton, Mal-Uldhar is a Lich, and specifically one from the first scenario of Eastern Invasion. Tilyn, with his straw hat and pitchfork, is a Peasant, and his father Gumreddoc, back in his adventuring days, was Heavy Infantry.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Lilly and Imogen gather what intel they can inside Ten Tines Prison.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa learn more about the humans who used to live just south of the Estbryn Forest and the undead who chased them away.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Lilly and Imogen gain access to the Dominion’s Ten Tines Prison Facility.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa meet the current inhabitants of the abandoned human village just south of the Estbryn Forest.

Lilly and Imogen spend some quality time with the protoss of Browder II before beginning their next double-dipping job.

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Note: This episode uses our Fight Night rules. Find them here.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa explore the former settlements along the southern edge of the Estbryn Forest.

Imogen and Lilly release two protoss back into the wild.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa get ready to leave on their next mission for Thrandolil.

Tric and Heppa get ready to leave on their next mission for Thrandolil.

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GM Notes

Mushrooms play a larger role in our campaign than they do in the Battle for Wesnoth video game, where fungus is just a type of terrain. In the real world, in addition to having some wild shapes, mushrooms have some pretty crazy names. For some examples to incorporate into your own games, check out the list linked here.

This arc also sees another set of Battle for Wesnoth units come to life as characters. The attacking creature at the keep was a Ghost. Renwick’s appearance and personality are informed by the video game’s artwork for the Elvish Hero unit. Fenowin is a Druid. Baeowin is an Elvish Rider, and Endathalis is an Elvish Scout.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

A drunken Lilly tries to play matchmaker between Malorn and Durian.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa reconnect with their families back in Estbryn forest.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa reconnect with their families back in Estbryn forest.

Through a revealing application of psychometry, Imogen and Malorn come to better understand what has shaped each to be the person they are today.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Glammur helps Tric and Heppa try to make sense of Kachen’s past actions.

Karax takes Imogen to task on her use of psionics. Lilly’s day is also rough; a supply run to Mar Sara City takes a devastating turn.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa face new mysteries when they return to Kachen’s ruined keep with the dwarvish bard Glammur.

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GM Notes

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Eastern Invasion, with references to Northern Rebirth.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Imogen and Karax perform surgery on Malorn. Lilly and Li June provide the refreshments.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa learn about the power of stories from the dwarvish bard Glammur.

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GM Notes

The Battle for Wesnoth video game is a turn-based strategy game. Gender identity and sexual orientation don’t factor into it. However, tabletop roleplaying is an immersion into a full world. For me, that means a world populated by a diverse cast, just like real life is. Although I don’t necessarily introduce characters by explicitly announcing these things, as the GM, I make that the reality in the game. You may have noticed that Glammur is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. This campaign includes characters who are, among other things, nonbinary, genderfluid, transgender, homosexual, bisexual, and asexual, just like the world we inhabit does. You may not always realize when a character has one of these traits… again, just like in real life.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Lilly and Imogen escape Iceberg station with protoss in tow, a wounded Malorn and a newly liberated Karax.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa make an appeal to Lord Knutan, leader of the Untdunben dwarves.

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GM Notes

Several units from the Battle for Wesnoth video game make an appearance in this arc. The party was attacked by Vampire Bats. Mari-Elin is a Footpad. Trigadur is a Dwarvish Thunderguard. And Lord Knutan, not only is he a Dwarvish Lord unit, but he’s actually a character from Eastern Invasion, where he makes an appearance in Scenario 2. One of the fun things about making an RPG campaign from the video game was picking out little pieces of lore here and there that could inspire far more elaborate events at our table.

This episode also introduces the bard Glammur. Their importance to the campaign is reflected in their inclusion in our group character portrait, where they can be seen sitting on the right. Their look was inspired by the Dwarvish Explorer unit.

The map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa make an appeal to Lord Knutan, leader of the Untdunben dwarves.

Lilly, Imogen, and Malorn confront Lendasha. The rematch goes much worse than their first meeting at DORF.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa tour the forge, refinery, and mines of the dwarvish stronghold Untdunben.

Tric and Heppa tour the forge, refinery, and mines of the dwarvish stronghold Untdunben.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Imogen and Lilly convince Malorn to adopt their plan for getting access to Iceberg Station.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Now at the dwarvish fortress of Untdunben, the presumed source of the tainted water in the Estmark Hills, Tric and Heppa begin asking questions.

Lilly and Imogen arrive on Deadman’s Rock to meet Malorn, but a rough landing sends them to Mira Han for more than just mail delivery.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Having been recently rescued from their own troubles by Mari-Elin, Tric and Heppa repay the favor by helping the human carter in return.

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GM Notes

Part of this arc was inspired by The Mary Ellen Carter by Canadian folk music legend Stan Rogers. I’d had the idea for this encounter bumping around in my head for a while, but I had no specific plan to use it in this arc. However, when the bats were getting the better of the PCs at the end of last episode, that seemed the perfect time to bring Mari-Elin into play. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGRP3jxwD_A

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Lost & Found lines up additional work for both zerg and protoss clients.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

The saurian Hezzis guides Tric and Heppa to a cave system where they run into some of the natural dangers of the underground.

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GM Notes

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Eastern Invasion.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

A couple infested terrans welcome Imogen and Lilly to Char and present them to the Queen of Blades.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa uncover more information about the water quality issue in the Estmark Hills. Tric makes another deal with the saurian skirmisher Hezzis to advance their investigation.

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GM Notes

The Realms of Terrinoth fantasy supplement for Genesys has a talent called Templar that makes Divine a career skill for your character, but lets them only cast one spell per encounter. We made a similar talent for Primal for use in our game, with an Improved version that takes away the casting limit. As of this episode, Heppa has the initial talent, with plans to acquire the Runic Lore talent, as well. Meanwhile, Tric plans to acquire the Bard talent. There are no bards in the mainline Battle for Wesnoth unit list, so this is an area where we just make up our own lore. Runes do exist to some extent in the Battle for Wesnoth, but we make up a lot for ourselves in that area as well.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Imogen and Lilly spend some time at Li June’s compound, solidifying their friendship with the recluse while advancing Imogen’s research.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Heppa studies both the necromantic artifact and the unwell human mage who helped recover it. Meanwhile, Tric focuses on camp tasks, demonstrating more outdoor survival prowess than he may actually possess.

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GM Notes

Several units from the Battle for Wesnoth video game make an appearance in this arc. The party was attacked by Walking Corpses. Hezzis is a Saurian Skirmisher. The staff the party finds is that of a Necromancer. And most of all, there’s Kachen.

Kachen’s appearance and some of his qualities were strongly influenced by the Dark Adept unit in the Battle for Wesnoth video game. Also, by my own sleep issues. For me, GMing is an opportunity to explore all sorts of personalities and world views. It provides an avenue for grappling with real-life issues as well. In this case, my periodic insomnia and shallow sleeping. Through Kachen, I could give it a face and a name, and at least this one fictional character understood what I go through some nights.

Anyway, that all was the starting point for Kachen, but he became much more over time. His importance to the campaign is reflected in his inclusion in our group character portrait, where he can be seen standing in the shadows on the left.

The map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

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Imogen takes Jim Raynor to task over the goals and implementation of his revolution.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Heppa, Tric, and Kachen find a necromancer’s staff but are set upon by other denizens of the swamp.

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GM Notes

At the end of this episode, you hear me once again review with my players what they and their characters are interested in doing. This was a technique I picked up from the Mythic GM Emulator. When playing with that, you specifically keep track of story threads, adding new ones to the list when they crop up and crossing them off when they are resolved. I find it a helpful practice particularly at the start of a new campaign, when everyone is getting used to their new characters and a new world.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Lilly and Imogen seize control of Mar Sara City communications to support the attack by Raynor’s Raiders, but things take a nasty turn.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa meet Kachen, an unsettling human hermit who is also looking for something in the swamp.

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Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Imogen and Lilly help Raynor’s Raiders with preparations for the liberation of Mar Sara City.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa investigate the remains of long-ago battles in the swamp where Connie and Marvin get their peat.

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GM Notes

This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Eastern Invasion, as well as references to the Legend of Wesmere.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Li June helps Lilly recover the information from her adjutant.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tric and Heppa get lost in the Estmark Hills and stumble upon a criminal enterprise.

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GM Notes

I had definitely intended the campaign to start with an exploration of the southern battlefield, but a failed Geography check took us way off course. Fortunately, I already had some ideas bouncing around in my head for adventures further down the line. The events in this episode were inspired by the Irish folk song Hills of Connemara. I particularly like the version performed by Gaelic Storm. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rREMPw8U2No

The character of Hepalonia started our game with Intolerance as her Flaw, and in the first few sessions, her player wrestled with how to portray that, hence some of the ignorant comments about humans that you hear in this episode. Eventually, we shifted her Flaw to Ignorance, since that was more comfortable for the player. One of the things I really enjoy about RPGs is watching characters come to life through play. For Heppa's player, discovering the character as we play is more important than the adventures that happen around that, so it was important to get her to a place where she was comfortable.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Lilly and Imogen spend some time in Mar Sara City getting Frank set up in his new life as Mervin and meeting with Jim Raynor.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lord Thrandolil of Estbryn Forest commissions his daughter Hepalonia and nephew Tric Manu, two young elves at loose ends, to seek a magical artifact on his behalf.

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GM Notes

This arc is the Echoes of Invasion season 1 opener. It contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and the South Guard, as well as references to Liberty and the Legend of Wesmere.

Prior to starting play, we decided as a group that the PCs would be cousins and settled on the general concept of the game involving searching for magical artifacts on behalf of a patron. I asked the players when making their characters to come up with some NPCs in their village. This first episode was a chance to bounce the PCs off of those NPCs to help the players get comfortable with their new characters.

The character of Tric Manu, who is inspired by the writings of outdoor humorist Patrick McManus, is a half-elf. You will frequently hear us refer to him as an elf, since that is his cultural upbringing. The player gave me, the GM, permission to do whatever I wanted with the background of Tric’s parents, some of which I start hinting at right from the beginning. That's going to be a major thread running through our campaign.

Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here.

Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Removed from the warfront, Frank regains equilibrium with the help of Lilly and Imogen. Lilly has drinks with Durian on Korhal while Imogen meets Kate Lockwell in a dark Augustgrad alley.

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Note 1: This arc is the FRAWD Investigators season 3 opener.

Note 2: This arc features Ted, who appeared previously in our unrecorded pilot. If you’re curious about the events discussed, read the narrative write-up of that story here.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Thirtysome years ago, the lich Mal-Ravanal and his undead hordes were beaten back from the gates of Weldyn, capital of the human kingdom of Wesnoth. In the intervening decades, Wesnoth has recovered under the benevolent rule of King Konrad II. Of course, all of this is irrelevant to two young elves simply looking to see the world and avoid responsibilities in their small forest. Isn’t it?

Setup

Wesnoth: Echoes of Invasion is a tabletop roleplaying campaign set in the world of the video game The Battle for Wesnoth. It takes place during the Silver Age, three decades after the events in the mainline campaign Eastern Invasion. Our characters are young elves from a small forest on the edge of the Estmark Hills, two cousins both eager to avoid settling into a boring career. Their first adventure together is to seek an artifact on behalf of a researcher in their village, a task which sets in motion events that will change their lives in ways they never imagined. The themes of Echoes of Invasion include belonging, healing, responsibility, judgment, and legacies.

Echoes of Invasion is played using the Genesys roleplaying system now published by Edge Studio. We also occasionally reference the Mythic Game Master Emulator’s event meaning tables for inspiration. The release of each episode’s audio will be accompanied by a serialized, narrative write-up of the adventure.

Background

If you know nothing about The Battle for Wesnoth, that’s fine! Neither did one of our players prior to starting this game. But if you do know Wesnoth, don’t worry; the rest of our group is quite familiar with the world from playing the video game. Although I enjoy turn-based strategy and am partial to hex maps, what I really like about Battle for Wesnoth are its storylines. When my turn to GM came up, I decided it would be the perfect world to explore in a tabletop RPG. Echoes of Invasion draws heavily upon Eastern Invasion, but I pulled details from many other campaigns as well, including some User-Made Content (UMC). I will provide specific spoilers and references for those as we get to them. I also made frequent use of materials at wesnoth.org, including the timeline, maps, unit descriptions, campaign dialogue, and discussion forums. Some details, though, we have made up for ourselves, drawing inspiration from the Realms of Terrinoth fantasy sourcebook for Genesys.

Art

Our lovely character illustration was done by Del Borovic. She was great to work with. You can find her online at delborovic.com. As for our map, I drew that. It is nowhere near as beautiful, but I had fun pulling out the colored pencils.

The music for our podcast episodes is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.

Lilly finds everything she was looking for, but leaving Tarsonis behind is a little rougher than anticipated.

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Note: Dicey Stories is going to take a short break. We’ll be back in July.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Imogen negotiates with Captain Hawke for control of the Confederate adjutant that implicates Arcturus Mengsk.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

An old ally helps Lilly deal with a zerg attack in Tarsonis City Metro Station.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly, Imogen, and their marine escorts return to Tarsonis.

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Note: This arc is the FRAWD Investigators season 2 finale.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Imogen desocializes Frank the Tank.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly shares more of her secrets with Durian while Imogen juggles her own relationships with Dominion servicemen.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Despite a variety of setbacks, Imogen finally acquires some terrazine.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly shares parts of her past with Durian while Imogen starts taking steps to reverse a resocialization.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

While Lilly rubs shoulders with the brass at Durian’s promotion ceremony, Imogen digs for information in the seedier parts of assault platform Imperative.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Imogen and Lilly get a job offer from the Queen of Blades.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Kate Lockwell’s team successfully completes the PR stunt on Tarsonis, but Lilly and Imogen uncover a reason to linger in the system.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

The Special Mission goes fine until other Dominion forces get involved.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen go on dates, and the Special Mission starts with a bang.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Imogen and Lilly present their case for a Special Mission to the military comptroller.

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Scene 7

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

With the zerg incursion dealt with for now, the real danger—Dominion bureaucracy—rears its ugly head.

Scene 3
Scene 4
Scene 5

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 20

Chaos: 6
Interrupt Roll: 10 > 6, as planned
Setup: Trapped in a box
Purpose/Goal: Get away with evidence
Type: Action

Summary

Tcho obtains evidence of the moff’s plans.

Scene 20.1
Scene 20.2
Scene 20.3

Mythic Scene 21 (Epilogue)

Chaos: 5
Interrupt Roll: 10 > 5, as planned
Setup: Close of the cruise
Purpose/Goal: Understand the moff's plans
Type: Social

Summary

JT helps Tcho understand what he has uncovered.

Scene 21.1
Scene 21.2
Scene 21.3

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
Allies and Adversaries - resource collection from Fantasy Flight Games
Gear and Gadgets - resource collection from Fantasy Flight Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
Cold Comfort, Shadow of the Broker IX - fan-made module by Tommy “VerdantSF” Roddy (though I heavily modified it for the Desert Rose Solutions campaign)
Star Wars: Resh Hour Trilogy - a set of our previous adventures, featuring JT's girlfriend Renci and Gomarr

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen make their way to Dominion platform Imperative, in orbit above zerg-controlled Tarsonis.

Scene 1
Scene 2

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 19

Chaos: 7
Interrupt Roll: 1 < 7, odd = altered
- NPC Action: Val Isa
- trick/lies
Setup: Gala shmoozing
Purpose/Goal: Get moff buy-in
Type: Social

Summary

JT sets up an intervention activity on Naboo for the moff.

Scene 19

Referenced Materials

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Nexus of Power - Force-strong worlds source book from Fantasy Flight Games
Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
Allies and Adversaries - resource collection from Fantasy Flight Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
Leia, Princess of Alderaan - novel by Claudia Gray
Lessons from the Past - adventure module in Force and Destiny from Fantasy Flight Games

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Back on Korhal, Imogen and Lilly prepare to join the assault on Tarsonis.

Scene 17
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Scene 19
Scene 20

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 17

Chaos: 7
Interrupt Roll: 8 > 7, as planned
Setup: Dinner hour
Purpose/Goal: Get money
Type: Social

Summary

JT solicits donations at the gala.

Scene 17.1
Scene 17.2

Mythic Scene 18

Chaos: 6
Interrupt Roll: 8 > 6, as planned
Setup: Ballroom holds moff things
Purpose/Goal: Get info
Type: Exploration

Summary

Tcho gains access to the moff’s equipment.

Scene 18.1
Scene 18.2

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Star Wars: Resh Hour Trilogy - a set of our previous adventures, featuring JT's girlfriend Renci and Gomarr
The Scrapheap King, Shadow of the Broker III - fan-made adventure module by Tommy “VerdantSF” Roddy
Cold Comfort, Shadow of the Broker IX - fan-made module by Tommy “VerdantSF” Roddy (though I heavily modified it for the Desert Rose Solutions campaign)
The Jewel of Yavin - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
Allies and Adversaries - resource collection from Fantasy Flight Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Ramping-up Dominion military activity intrudes upon Lilly and Imogen’s workaday lives.

Scene 13
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Scene 15
Scene 16

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 16

Chaos: 8
Interrupt Roll: 7 < 8, odd = altered
- Focus: NPC Action (Kerr-Lonn-Ny)
- ruin/ambush
Setup: The night of the gala, Tcho sneaks into the moff's space
Purpose/Goal: Gain information
Type: Social/Investigative

Summary

Tcho snoops around the moff’s quarters while the gala gets underway.

Scene 16.1
Scene 16.2
Scene 16.3

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
Allies and Adversaries - resource collection from Fantasy Flight Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
The Scrapheap King, Shadow of the Broker III - fan-made adventure module by Tommy “VerdantSF” Roddy
The Jewel of Yavin - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Leia, Princess of Alderaan - novel by Claudia Gray
Lessons from the Past - adventure module in Force and Destiny from Fantasy Flight Games

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen make a delivery to the protoss colony on Browder II.

Scene 9
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Scene 11
Scene 12

Note: This episode uses our Fight Night rules. Find them here.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 15, Part 2

Chaos: 7
Interrupt Roll: 1 < 7, odd = altered (Maelstrom introduces problems)
Setup: Breaking into the lair of the shipjackers
Purpose/Goal: Stop the hijacking
Type: Action

Summary

As the Maelstrom tears the ship apart, Tcho and the Blue Streak disrupt the Zann Consortium’s plan to seize Dame Metropolis.

Scene 15.6
Scene 15.7
Scene 15.8
Scene 15.9

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Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
Allies and Adversaries - resource collection from Fantasy Flight Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
Environmental Set Pieces - fanmade resource by GM Jedi Scoundrel, Theo, cmdluke, and Salcor
Lessons from the Past - adventure module in Force and Destiny from Fantasy Flight Games
The Jewel of Yavin - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen go bengalaas hunting on Antiga Prime.

Scene 6
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Scene 8

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 15, Part 1

Chaos: 7
Interrupt Roll: 1 < 7, odd = altered (Maelstrom introduces problems)
Setup: Breaking into the lair of the shipjackers
Purpose/Goal: Stop the hijacking
Type: Action

Summary

The Blue Streak performs reconnaissance on the captain’s enemies.

Scene 15.1
Scene 15.2
Scene 15.3
Scene 15.4
Scene 15.5

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
Allies and Adversaries - resource collection from Fantasy Flight Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
Environmental Set Pieces - fanmade resource by GM Jedi Scoundrel, Theo, cmdluke, and Salcor
Mask of the Pirate Queen - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Lessons from the Past - adventure module in Force and Destiny from Fantasy Flight Games
Master and Apprentice - novel by Claudia Gray

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen work their new business in the Mar Sara wastes.

Scene 4
Scene 5

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 14

Chaos: 6
Interrupt Roll: 8 > 6, as planned
Setup: Tcho talks with the captain.
Purpose/Goal: Get captain to attend gala (to help with moff reform)
Type: Social

Summary

Tcho and Captain Rowan investigate mutineer activity on the bridge.

Scene 14.1
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Scene 14.4
Scene 14.5

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
Allies and Adversaries - resource collection from Fantasy Flight Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
Environmental Set Pieces - fanmade resource by GM Jedi Scoundrel, Theo, cmdluke, and Salcor
Mask of the Pirate Queen - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Lessons from the Past - adventure module in Force and Destiny from Fantasy Flight Games

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen make a smuggling delivery to Joey Ray in Mar Sara City.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 13

Chaos: 5
Interrupt Roll: 8 > 5, as planned
Setup: Kerr-Lonn-Ny chasing down Adalat through the Dame at night
Purpose/Goal: Catch Adalat
Type: Chase

Summary

Cerean athlete Kerr-Lonn-Ny chases the mutinous Frozian Adalat across Dame Metropolis.

Scene 13

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
our Chase rules
Environmental Set Pieces - fanmade resource by GM Jedi Scoundrel, Theo, cmdluke, and Salcor
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
The Jewel of Yavin - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Allies and Adversaries - resource collection from Fantasy Flight Games

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

After some post-battle decompressing, Lilly and Imogen head back to the Dominion.

Scene 21
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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 12, Part 2

Chaos: 4
Interrupt Roll: 2 < 4, even = interrupt
- (carry/tension)
- Don't need to draw out mutineers; their plan is already started.
Setup: Tcho and Kerr-Lonn-Ny investigate mutineers
Purpose/Goal: Get info on mutiny (and moff if possible)
Type: Action

Summary

Tcho and Kerr-Lonn-Ny rescue the captain from a mutineer.

Scene 12.4
Scene 12.5

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
Allies and Adversaries - resource collection from Fantasy Flight Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

With the psi-disruptor destroyed, Imogen ensures Jackson's Revenge will never take off again.

Scene 17
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Scene 19
Scene 20

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 12, Part 1

Chaos: 4
Interrupt Roll: 2 < 4, even = interrupt
- (carry/tension)
- Don't need to draw out mutineers; their plan is already started.
Setup: Tcho and Kerr-Lonn-Ny investigate mutineers
Purpose/Goal: Get info on mutiny (and moff if possible)
Type: Action

Summary

Tcho and Kerr-Lonn-Ny investigate a possible mutiny belowdecks.

Scene 12.1
Scene 12.2
Scene 12.3

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly, Imogen, and their crew make their move against the psi-disruptor aboard Jackson's Revenge.

Scene 16

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 11

Chaos: 5
Interrupt Roll: 7 > 5, as planned
Setup: Meditation meeting with Ursa Diol
Purpose/Goal: Ursa buy-in for reforming the moff
Type: Social

Summary

JT meets with Ursa Diol for some quiet meditation and a heart-to-heart on the moff.

Scene 11.1
Scene 11.2
Scene 11.3

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Leia, Princess of Alderaan - novel by Claudia Gray
Lessons from the Past - adventure module in Force and Destiny from Fantasy Flight Games
The Scrapheap King, Shadow of the Broker III - fan-made adventure module by Tommy “VerdantSF” Roddy
The Jewel of Yavin - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Nexus of Power - Force-strong Worlds source book from Fantasy Flight Games
Cold Comfort, Shadow of the Broker IX - fan-made module by Tommy “VerdantSF” Roddy (though I heavily modified it for the Desert Rose Solutions campaign)
Mask of the Pirate Queen - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Ghosts of Dathomir - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
Star Wars: Resh Hour Trilogy - a set of our previous adventures, featuring JT's girlfriend Renci and Gomarr

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

The assault on Jackson's Revenge begins.

Scene 13
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Scene 15

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 10, Part 2

Chaos: 6
Interrupt Roll: 10 > 6, as planned
Setup: Chase scene with Renault
Purpose/Goal: Convince moff’s folks that Tcho is gone
Type: Chase

Summary

JT meets up with Tcho outside Dame Metropolis.

Scene 10.4
Scene 10.5
Scene 10.6
Scene 10.7

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
our Chase rules
Lessons from the Past - adventure module in Force and Destiny from Fantasy Flight Games
The Jewel of Yavin - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Nexus of Power - Force-strong Worlds source book from Fantasy Flight Games
Star Wars: Resh Hour Trilogy - a set of our previous adventures, featuring JT's girlfriend Renci and Gomarr

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen interrogate their pirate prisoner, and Malorn causes trouble before he even lands.

Scene 10
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Scene 12

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 10, Part 1

Chaos: 6
Interrupt Roll: 10 > 6, as planned
Setup: Chase scene with Renault
Purpose/Goal: Convince moff’s folks that Tcho is gone
Type: Chase

Summary

Sergeant Renault chases Tcho across the ship, exactly according to plan.

Scene 10.1
Scene 10.2
Scene 10.3

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
our Chase rules
Environmental Set Pieces - fanmade resource by GM Jedi Scoundrel, Theo, cmdluke, and Salcor
Nexus of Power - Force-strong Worlds source book from Fantasy Flight Games
Lessons from the Past - adventure module in Force and Destiny from Fantasy Flight Games
Star Wars: Resh Hour Trilogy - a set of our previous adventures, featuring JT's girlfriend Renci and Gomarr

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly consults with Aiden about Snowball while Imogen summons another ally to join their cause.

Scene 7
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Scene 9

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 9

Chaos: 5
Interrupt Roll: 8 > 5, as planned
Setup: Take stock in JT’s room
Purpose/Goal: Learn about problems, get treatment
Type: Social

Summary

JT, Kerr-Lonn-Ny, Tcho, and Gomarr all meet up in JT’s room for a much-needed break. JT helps Tcho deal with his injuries while they discuss the ramifications of the day’s events.

Scene 9.1
Scene 9.2
Scene 9.3
Scene 9.4

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Debts to Pay - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Star Wars: Resh Hour Trilogy - a set of our previous adventures, featuring Gomarr and JT's girlfriend Renci
Ultimate Alien Anthology - old Wizards of the Coast d20 resource, since FFG didn't make a species reference
Suns of Fortune - Corellian Sector source book from Fantasy Flight Games
Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
Leia, Princess of Alderaan - novel by Claudia Gray

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Following the fight in the factory, Lilly and Imogen find themselves worse off than before they decided to search it for supplies.

Scene 4
Scene 5
Scene 6

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 8

Chaos: 6
Interrupt Roll: 9 > 8, as planned
Setup: An injured Tcho needs help in the Snowscape.
Purpose/Goal: Get to a safe space.
Type: Skill challenge

Summary

A sympathetic passenger finds Tcho and helps him get away from the Snowscape.

Scene 8.1
Scene 8.2
Scene 8.3

Note: This scene sees the return of Gomarr, a minor character from our Star Wars story Resh Hour 3: Into the Dark.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Star Wars: Resh Hour 3: Into the Dark - one of our previous adventures, featuring Gomarr
Allies and Adversaries - resource collection from Fantasy Flight Games
Environmental Set Pieces - fanmade resource by GM Jedi Scoundrel, Theo, cmdluke, and Salcor
Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly, Imogen, Lief, and Aiden return to the wrecked factory in search of resources for their attack on Jackson's Revenge. Unfortunately, the crash had some survivors.

Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 7

Chaos: 7
Interrupt Roll: 5 < 7, odd = altered (dominate/advice)
Setup: JT is in lock-up to think over what she will tell the moff about Tcho.
Purpose/Goal: Get out of jail.
Type: Skill challenge

Summary

JT makes some new friends while locked up in the passenger recuperation area.

Scene 7.1
Scene 7.2

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

The Jewel of Yavin - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Lessons from the Past - adventure module in Force and Destiny from Fantasy Flight Games
Quarantine Quandary, Shadow of the Broker IV - fan-made adventure module by Tommy “VerdantSF” Roddy and Peter “Maveritchell” Thompson
Star Wars: Resh Hour 3: Into the Dark - one of our previous adventures, featuring JT's girlfriend Renci and introducing Gomarr

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Aiden and Imogen catch up and make a plan for moving forward.

Scene 11
Scene 12
Scene 13

Note: This arc features pirates. There is more than our usual amount of drinking by fictional characters and swearing, though nothing that would exceed a PG-13 movie rating or an ESRB Teen rating. Just thought I'd warn you.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 6

Chaos: 8
Interrupt Roll: 6 < 8, even = interrupt
- Introduce a new NPC (harm/pain)
- Scene will be more of an interrogation, introducing Qarash Panaka himself
Doubles Interrupt
- PC Negative (delay/mundane)
- Gala location will be site of interrogation
Setup: JT is suspected of involvement in messing with the moff's cargo.
Purpose/Goal: Get Moff to agree to come to the gala and clear JT's name of any wrongdoing.
Type: Social

Summary

The moff questions JT about activities in the cargo hold.

Scene 6.1
Scene 6.2

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Leia, Princess of Alderaan - novel by Claudia Gray
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
The Jewel of Yavin - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Lessons from the Past - adventure module in Force and Destiny from Fantasy Flight Games
Star Wars: Resh Hour Trilogy - a set of our previous adventures, featuring JT's girlfriend Renci

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Bullets and invectives fly as things come to blows aboard the factory ship.

Scene 9
Scene 10

Note: This arc features pirates. There is more than our usual amount of drinking by fictional characters and swearing, though nothing that would exceed a PG-13 movie rating or an ESRB Teen rating. Just thought I'd warn you.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 5

Chaos: 7
Interrupt Roll: 6 < 7, even = interrupt
- PC Positive (control/enemies)
- JT scene with Moff will be delayed by this one
Setup: Moff's forces are looking for Tcho
Purpose/Goal: Get Tcho away from Stormtroopers
Type: Combat/Chase

Summary

Sergeant Renault and his stormtrooper squad chase Tcho Praetor through the Snowscape.

Scene 5.1
Scene 5.2
Scene 5.3

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Environmental Set Pieces - fanmade resource by GM Jedi Scoundrel, Theo, cmdluke, and Salcor
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
our Chase rules
our Fight Night rules
Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
Star Wars: Resh Hour Trilogy - a set of our previous adventures, featuring JT's girlfriend Renci
Leia, Princess of Alderaan - novel by Claudia Gray

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly provides a distraction so that Imogen and Lief can sneak around the pirates' outpost.

Scene 7
Scene 8

Note: This arc features pirates. There is more than our usual amount of drinking by fictional characters and swearing, though nothing that would exceed a PG-13 movie rating or an ESRB Teen rating. Just thought I'd warn you.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 4

Chaos: 6
Interrupt Roll: 9 > 6, as planned
Setup: Talk with Moff’s chief-of-staff
Purpose/Goal: Get meeting with Moff
Type: Social

Summary

JT has a lunch meeting at the Imperial with Ursa Diol, the moff’s chief-of-staff.

Scene 4

Note: Here we break with canon because at the time I somewhat randomly chose Moff Quarsh Panaka, I did not know at what point he died in the official timeline. We retcon that death to suit our own purposes.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
The Jewel of Yavin - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Environmental Set Pieces - fanmade resource by GM Jedi Scoundrel, Theo, cmdluke, and Salcor

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly, Imogen, and Lief infiltrate the pirate crew at the coordinates Uncle Leo provided.

Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
Scene 4
Scene 5
Scene 6

Note: This arc features pirates. There is more than our usual amount of drinking by fictional characters and swearing, though nothing that would exceed a PG-13 movie rating or an ESRB Teen rating. Just thought I'd warn you.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 3

Chaos: 5
Interrupt Roll: 1 < 5, odd = altered (malice/home)
Setup: Explore the cargo hold where the gala will be held
Purpose/Goal: Work on gala arrangements
Type: Social

Summary

JT explores the cargo hold with the help of a crew member who seems to have as many secrets as she does.

Scene 3.1
Scene 3.2
Scene 3.3
Scene 3.4
Scene 3.5

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games
SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
Star Wars: Resh Hour Trilogy - a set of our previous adventures, featuring JT's girlfriend Renci
The Jewel of Yavin - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Rendezvous at Ord Mantell - adventure module adapted to SWRPG from older systems

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Imogen meets with Uncle Leo and investigates her brother Aiden's activities with help from Lilly.

Scene 9
Scene 10
Scene 11
Scene 12

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 2

Chaos: 4
Interrupt Roll: 5 > 4, as planned
Setup: Getting settled on the ship
Purpose/Goal: Work on gala arrangements
Type: Social

Summary

As she gets settled in for the cruise, JT runs into some old friends and some new problems. An Imperial presence aboard Dame Metropolis is interfering with arrangements for her gala!

Scene 2.1
Scene 2.2
Scene 2.3
Scene 2.4

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
The Scrapheap King, Shadow of the Broker III - fan-made module by Tommy “VerdantSF” Roddy
Lessons from the Past - adventure module in Force and Destiny from Fantasy Flight Games
Cold Comfort, Shadow of the Broker IX - fan-made module by Tommy “VerdantSF” Roddy (though I heavily modified it for the Desert Rose Solutions campaign)
Suns of Fortune - Corellian Sector source book from Fantasy Flight Games
Riders of the Maelstrom - adventure module from West End Games

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Imogen and Lilly make sure Saffron will pass Umojan environmental checks... the hard way.

Scene 5
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Scene 7
Scene 8

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Mythic Scene 1

Chaos: 5
Interrupt Roll: 7 > 5, as planned
Setup: Boarding the ship
Purpose/Goal: Identify a potential donor
Type: Social

Summary

Embracing her new role as charity director for the War Orphans Fund, Force-sensitive outlaw technician Jai Tessa, known as JT to her friends, schmoozes with wealthy passengers while waiting to board Dame Metropolis on Corellia, hoping to get some of them interested in attending her fundraising gala during the cruise.

Scene 1.1
Scene 1.2

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Referenced Materials

SWRPG Adversary Decks from Fantasy Flight Games
The Jewel of Yavin - adventure module from Fantasy Flight Games
Suns of Fortune - Corellian Sector source book from Fantasy Flight Games
The Scrapheap King, Shadow of the Broker III - fan-made adventure module by Tommy “VerdantSF” Roddy
Cold Comfort, Shadow of the Broker IX - fan-made adventure module by Tommy “VerdantSF” Roddy (though I heavily modified it for the Desert Rose Solutions campaign)
The Hovertrain Heist - fan-made adventure module by Ben Erickson
Ultimate Alien Anthology - old Wizards of the Coast d20 resource, since FFG didn't make a species reference

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

For a change of pace, Imogen and Lilly deal with the Umojan bureaucracy instead of the Dominion one.

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Note: This arc is the FRAWD Investigators season 2 opener.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Welcome aboard Dame Metropolis, the largest, most majestic cruise starship in the entire galaxy. During your stay with us, hobnob with the movers and shakers of the galaxy over lunch at the Imperial restaurant or mingle with elite society at a charity fund-raising gala. Relax on the sand in the Beach Zone or enjoy a vigorous swim in our sector-sized pool. Prefer the cold? Hit the slopes or ice rink at the Snowscape. Runners, there are plenty of places for you to get a workout, too! Cool down afterwards in the meditative gardens. The more scientifically-minded might enjoy a lecture from a resident professor or the stellar phenomena visible from the Observation Lounge. You younglings will be well-cared for in entertainment facilities that include a reconfigurable playground and a holo-park. Parents, leave them in our care while you get your shopping done on the Bazaar Deck. Any extra baggage can be stowed safely in our secure cargo holds. And don't forget to get a tour of the bridge from the captain! Our friendly staff will be on hand at all times to help you with any logistical, medical, or scheduling needs. Leave the concerns of the galaxy behind as you step aboard Dame Metropolis.

Star Wars: Cruise Control is played using Fantasy Flight Games' Genesys and Star Wars roleplaying materials and the Mythic GM Emulator, set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Background

After completing our Star Wars: Resh Hour trilogy with the Mythic GM Emulator, my spouse and I batted around ideas for what other spin-off stories could be fun to tell in the expanded universe of our old Desert Rose Solutions campaign. Renci's and Renn's stories had run their course, having grown from NPCs to PCs in their own right. For a while we considered various other NPCs of the DRS campaign who could get upgraded to PCs. One idea I kept coming back to, though, was another adventure for Renci's girlfriend, JT (my spouse's PC in the original DRS crew). What would JT get up to following the intervention that Renci staged to get JT back on track after her Dark Side experiences? We knew from the close of the DRS campaign that JT had wanted to spend more time on a set of charities she had helped start, but how could we make that into an adventure?

I came up with the concept of a charity fund-raising gala held on a space cruise disrupted by a mutiny. After asking around on the old FFG forums for ideas [ref, ref2], we started play with the Mythic GME in one hand and the WEG module Riders of the Maelstrom in the other. We do not follow the plot of that module, but it was an excellent source to draw from. I also pulled some ideas from FFG's Suns of Fortune source book, as well as the novel Leia, Princess of Alderaan, by Claudia Gray. FFG's Allies and Adversaries and the SWRPG adversary decks helped fill the ship with NPCs, and we frequently consulted the fan-made Environmental Set Pieces, as well.

Setup

Ano

Lilly and Imogen tie up loose ends on Mar Sara, then respond to an unexpected summons.

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Note: Dicey Stories is going to take a break for July. We'll be back in August.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen get all the captives, terran and zerg, to safety.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen bring all their resources to bear to disrupt Neiman's research.

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Note: Sound quality back to what passes for normal around here!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen prepare their assault on Neiman's zerg training grounds.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen find one of the people Neiman abducted, learning more about the ghost's plans and Lilly's past.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

A hydralisk with a neural implant bars the way farther into the Cerberus facility.

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Note 1: This episode includes physical combat where the goal is to not kill the other side.

Note 2: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen form an unlikely alliance for raiding the Cerberus facility on Chau Sara.

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Note 1: This arc is the FRAWD Investigators season 1 finale.

Note 2: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Back on Mar Sara, Li June shares her research on zerg catalysts, and Lilly acts on it.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen wrap up loose ends on Korhal and investigate Grom's new lead at the local spaceport.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen take Spearmint to meet Grom at the mining company's headquarters in Augustgrad.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen make plans for moving forward, and Lilly comes clean to Imogen about her past.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Selendis interrogates Lilly and Imogen about their true goals at the protoss base.

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Note 1: Social combat, right from the start.

Note 2: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly is reckless, and Imogen is ambitious. It catches up with them in the icy wastes of Browder II.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Selendis questions Lilly and Imogen about their business on Browder II and then grants the terrans some leeway at the research base.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen are accused of connections to the tal'darim when they return Arudin to his people at the protoss base on Browder II.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen get better acquainted with the terran Spearmint and the protoss Arudin, making plans to take them off Antiga to get them the help they need.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen locate the psi emitter and disable it, which does not make its current owner happy.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen negotiate with an anti-technology cult to gain the battery that Snowball needs. In return, they agree to deal with the device that attracted zerg to Antiga to begin with.

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Note 1: Social combat starts around minute 18.

Note 2: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen complete their investigation of the ruins and pursue a lead on Lieutenant Spearmint's current whereabouts.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen search the local ruins for the man who attacked their truck… and has the battery they need for Snowball.

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Note: Episodes 36-52 have sound quality different from our usual. If it doesn't work for your ears, please enjoy our narrative write-ups and jump back into listening with Episode 53.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Returning to Saffron proves more of a challenge for Lilly and Imogen than they expected.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen recover materials from the Exploracorp facility to improve Saffron.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen arrive on Antiga Prime and begin salvage at an Exploracorp science vessel manufacturing facility.

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Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen end their stay on Korhal by following up on some leads related to missing witnesses for FRAWD's case against Rose Incorporated.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen let Durian enjoy the limelight following their successful operation at the Dominion Optics Research Facility.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

The inevitable combat: Malorn's tal'darim rival Lendasha shows up to confiscate the protoss laser weapon being tested at the Dominion Optics Research Facility.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Dr. Brine provides a tour of the research lab at the Dominion Optics Research Facility to some FRAWD agents.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen complete their plans for recovering the protoss weapon from the Dominion Optics Research Facility, and their mercenary friend Durian joins the operation.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen conduct reconnaissance on the Dominion Optics Research Facility.

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Note: Social combat starts around minute 44.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

The exiled tal'darim Malorn prepares Lilly and Imogen to steal a protoss weapon from the Dominion Optics Research Facility on Korhal.

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Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen sort out the vermin issues aboard Hyperion and get Saffron in proper working order.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen encounter other alien lifeforms during their search for their zerg larva Snowball aboard Hyperion.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen search Hyperion for Snowball after the zerg larva goes AWOL.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen explore Hyperion, the flagship of Raynor's Raiders.

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Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen take drastic steps to ensure Rory Swann will help fix up Saffron.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Imogen burns a bridge while Lilly mugs a zerg.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen explore the Cerberus science vessel.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen contend with the dangers of the Mar Sara countryside.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen visit Li June for a Snowball update and some sweet tea.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Imogen creates a distraction to get through the Mar Sara spaceport quarantine, and Lilly has to clean up the mess.

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Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

The crew of the Raptor gets help from an inside man as they seek to restore their void crystals, but the galaxy may never be the same again.

0:00 - Intro
1:03 - Character Creation
3:06 - Adventure

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

A threat... the Hive Armada wants to... steal/capture the... void crystals which will... start a war/invasion!

We refer to a few other systems good for one-shots, Everyone is John from Gamer Nation Studios and One Last Job by Grant Howitt (both of which we have played with a Star Wars flavor).

0:00 - Intro
1:35 - Character & Ship Creation
13:16 - Adventure

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Abandoned in Dead Man's Port, Lilly and Imogen pursue new opportunities.

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Mira Han

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

A couple people get very angry, and it's not Lilly and Imogen.

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Sarah Kerrigan/Queen of Blades

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen repurpose an old mining platform.

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Spine crawler

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen spend some quality time with the crew of the Smashing Star, which maybe should've been named the Crashing Star.

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Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen prepare for their next job, then remember to check in with their actual employer.

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Donny Vermillion

Kate Lockwell

Egon Stetmann

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Once again, Lilly and Imogen are denied health coverage.

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Kinetic After Action Report

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen enjoy some sweet tea and get offered yet another job.

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Cerberus logo

Cerebrate

Hatchery

Note: Social combat starts around minute 14.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen get everything in place so they can walk away from the plot.

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War Pigs logo (unit)

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly makes another friend. Imogen makes phone calls.

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Larva (plush)

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Quite the clinic.

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Medic

Firebat

Zergling

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Some people are cut out for refinery work. Some aren't.

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Goliath

Vulture

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen make some new friends at a bar.

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Joey Ray's (interior)

Wanted Poster

Rory

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Lilly and Imogen get a new assignment. And some new jobs.

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Big Daddy Browder's Gas & Guns

Marine

SCV suit

Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com