A NOCTURNE v7.2 – play-test session #1

A NOCTURNE v7.2 – play-test session #1

I’d intended to externally record this play-test campaign in some fashion, like a kind of secondary prosthetic repository of notes, maybe a slapdash podcast or somesuch. As it is, text’ll probably do. Fuck it.

This session was mostly character + craft creation, and getting the group up to speed (we only had two of the group present due to last minute re-jigs – Roxanne’s played Blades before and more or less knew the score, while Brendon had only really played D&D – new blood!), with the first taste of an opening score.

We open on the crew of the Ghost, a patchwork stealth craft (using the Dark Orb playbook) as they set foot on the ludicrously rich mining world of Tethis to meet with a few members of the the Most Serene Mining Council, the promise of a well-paid job in the thick, poisonous air. They enter one of the Tethisii’s artificial palaces through the fungal gardens, the slug-like mining magnates greeting them perfunctorily.

Nix (The Forgotten) is an uplifted arctic fox from a desolate, frontier ice world, forced to hunt and live by their wits, a frightening third eye nestled in the fur of their forehead (Brendon’s surprising and creepy take on the Forgotten’s The Subtle Knife ability – somehow, Nix can kill with a look).

Bug (The Witch) is also uplifted, a hyena-like creature from a desert world that used to be a paradise before being strip-mined for its valuable resources – Bug’s rebellious ways prompted the colonial authorities to implant an AI safeguard in his mind, which has grown strange and mutated over the years (Roxanne honing in on the Witch’s weirdest ability, Vessel, just like I knew she would).

The Mining Council have a simple proposition: they’ve been trying for years to strike a lucrative deal with the Naturalis Syndicate, the shadowy aristocrats who run the gas mines on nearby Naturalis III. The wrench in the gears is one of the Naturalis administrators, codenamed Lamplight, a mysterious woman unwilling to give up control of the Syndicate’s resources. The task: get Lamplight on side, or at least get her out of the way (likely the latter).

The crew’s plan: pose as new money investors hoping to get a small piece of the Naturalis Syndicate, trying to draw out Lamplight in the process. We establish that the Malgren Consortium, established at craft creation as rivals of the crew, may be interfering, but the engagement roll doesn’t go too badly – a 5, so a risky position starting out.

The crew, following some exchanged communiques, arrive at the Naturalis Syndicate headquarters, a bristling mining platform in the gas giant’s upper atmosphere, and are greeted by Sub-Administrator Lanthom (a sharply-dress man with a body like a low-poly imitation of a person), flanked by android guards. The androids scan Bug and something suspicious turns up – the android barks something at Lanthom, and he eyes the two. He asks them, bluntly, if they’re armed. Bug quickly allays his fears with some spiel about propriety and some are-you-serious’s, but I start a clock called Admin’s Suspicion and add a tick (a 5 on a Sway roll).

They’re taken to a corporate suite with a striking view of the gas giant’s cloud formations. Lanthom seems to wait for someone, silent. Then one of the androids shivers – a number of the administrators, paranoid about their physical safety and protective of their identities, have all ported temporarily into this android shell for this preliminary meeting. Their distorted voices combine.

The first big question: proof of funds. The players suddenly panic and I remind them about flashbacks. Brendon immediately latches on: turns out the Tethisii Mining Council have given them a fake line of credit – real enough to deceive on a first pass, and disguised enough to seem like it’s from another source. With this, the roll to convince the Syndicate of their story is Controlled. Still, Roxanne rolls a 4 and decides to take it on the chin – I add another tick to the Suspicion clock. The Administrators are mostly convinced, but they definitely have their guard up.

Then, it’s down to initial business, but that’s where we left it as it was getting late. I don’t like to split scores across sessions, but sometimes it’s gotta happen.

Stray thoughts: it’s a testament to the durable core of Blades that Roxanne was able to jump back into the mindset so quickly after several months away from the rules, and Brendon seems to be picking it up really quickly. That said, it’s really too early to tell if my hack is working as intended or not. Looking forward to stretching my system to breaking point over the next few weeks.