Remember the homebrew setting I was developing, The Jovian Chronicles? Wondered if it was just another of those “what if” masturbatory conceptualizing many designers do? Know how I’m always mentioning what a great GM I am? I’m starting a series here where I post the story summaries of our session for your entertainment and my own glorification.
Prologue: The PC’s are the survivors of the Europa Explorer, which crashed on in this acidic bog on this land they’ve never seen. Security specialist Jerrith, Engineer’s Mate Alan Hatchett and a ferret name Squeezil - now possessed of sapience - narrowly escape the sinking vessel with the aid of some small frenetic alien. They travel in a direction of the creatures insistence, having a close encounter with voracious native insects, and arrive in the home village of their savior, “Taka” she likes to be called.
Initial contact with Taka’s species proved hindered by the lack of communication. The females present readily accepted the child’s return, after her inspection. Jerrith’s innocent demonstration of his carbine put the mature agrarian males on the defensive, understandably. Alan’s analysis of their native tools revealed sophisticated machining and carpentry. The hoe’s head was apparently made of finely forged titanium, quite unusual for such a seemingly primitive people. Violence wasn’t the response, however the team was escorted to the village central plaza by a close contingent of the men.
The walk through the settlement attracted many onlookers and showcased the diversity of these aliens. All were of modest height and slender to wiry builds with finely scaled skin in earth-toned coloration from sand to slate with an iridescent sheen present in the light. Homes were plant fiber huts with ceramic mortar and woven mat doors. All in all, these beings were not much unlike pre-industrial cultures of Earth. Family based societal organization was observed. A lodge composed of several interconnected huts sat on the plaza, out of which issued three apparent elders bedecked in beads and ceremonially painted to show rank. The eldest invited them in.
The team participated in a ceremony led by the eldest in which they imbibed a strange beverage that had a strong adverse reaction to the two humans, though Squeezil seemed immune to the worst effects. The hosts tending to their sickness followed a throbbing headache and vomiting and now able to communicate with the team via some form of verbally initiated limited linguistic telepathy. They had been given “The Voice”.
The Erven are a simple people with a reverence for the preservation of nature whom toil essentially as peasant labor. Illiterate, they pass on treasured histories orally and don’t possess the “documents” (also a rough translation of the concept of technology). Apparent herbivores, without even domesticated animals, they are avowed pacifists whom highly respect life and are grateful for the care given to Taka. They have no concept of anything above the corusea (the sky spanning plasma phenomena) and very little of events on other shiffs (floating continent like land masses which emanate an anti-gravitational field and moving over some kind of field called the elemir). Skimmas are some kind of machine capable of navigating the space between shiffs, but the Erven have none.
There are other sapient species present in their world - “Others” like the Myessi and Cappodans are mentioned - but this village is under the “protection” of the Ceph Nior. A warrior race that is wary of threats and “takes life”, the Nior lost their homeland in a catastrophe and have warred over it with others. The crash landing of the Europa attracted Taka’s curiosity and no doubt would attract their overlords from a nearby outpost, perhaps arriving in a ryzma (local day measured by a full color cycle of the corusea, 30 hours).
The team considers leaving to spare the Erven the anger of their masters, but there is little place to go. The shiff is only 3 to 4 rymas wide on foot. It is decided that fealty must be sworn to the Ceph Nior when they come to prevent violence. In the meantime the team go about trying to share their advanced technical knowledge with their generous hosts. Alan attempt to improve their central irrigation pump. Jerrith shows how to form clay into bricks. Squee attempts to give them a language, but meets difficulty the telepathic nature of communication. Things are interrupted with the feared arrival of the lords.
Upon domestic riding beasts called striders, lithe quadruped saurian reptiles, a squad of Ceph Nior enters the village. More humanoid then the Erven, with hair and ears, their lavender hued skin features deeper pigmented striations and dark bony plates that can extrude from the skin to form a keratinous natural armor besides the leathery chitin armor they wear. Armed with halberd-like darglaives, the five receive the reception of nobility with the whole village of 80 turning out with offerings. A central figure in decorative amber colored armor holds himself as the commander. He immediately orders the team and the eldest into the lodge.
The team is interrogated about their home shiff, but being mystified as to where this realm is aren’t helpful. Offerings are demanded and replied with a candy bar, which the Ceph find not particularly good. The team is ordered to come with them when Taka comes running into the lodge, perhaps fearful for her friends, and his harshly struck by the officer for the disturbance. Noticing the team’s reaction, he wishes to further demonstrate his power and order the girl killed. Jerrith intervenes to offer him their only luxury in exchange for the child’s life, his vodka. Identifying the clear liquid as poison, and believing this to be an attempt at assassination, smashes it to the floor and orders his men to attack.
The elder spirits away Taka while the team fights to defend themselves. Jerrith gets to his hidden carbine and takes down one, while Squeezil surprises a second with a grievous bite to the neck. Angering the warrior, she runs to hide in a stack of rug rolls. The Nior return fire with their weapons, which project some kind of molten slug like a musket. Alan rushes a third but is easily repelled before having his legs sliced out from under him by a heavy darglaive swing. Closing to melee range the Ceph outnumber Jerrith. His gun stock a por match for their axe-like weapons. Turning with a blow to the back swings him into a hard blow to the chest - he succumbs to shock. Squee, swiftly moving to hide on Jerrith‘s person, is able to apply some bio balm to his wound but it’ll take a while to heal even with it‘s accelerated effects. Alan is given treatment by the officer, not wanting to loose his quarry so soon.
The warriors begin to bind their captives.
To be continued …
