The Story So Far
James “Basilisk” Rokuro has been tasked by Annora Petrov, a lawkeeper on Lastport station, with finding her son Warden at a settlement called Reverie on an unnamed desert world where a Precursor Vault was found. Warden, a rebellious criminal to his mother’s lawkeeping ways, joined a Precursor cult that established Reverie to be close to the Vault. Others have since joined the settlement, turning into into a frontier prospecting town. Should the Vault ever open, it promises a boom on treasure hunters, scientists and criminals.
James has no connection to Petrov or Warden, except that the lawkeeper has promised to look into details surrounding the massacre of James’ people. He has been hunting They that wronged him for a while, acting as a fugitive and gunslinger, selling his services when necessary to survive. Perhaps James will finally find a home on Lastport and a friend in Annora, while still continuing his quest for revenge.
Opening Scene
Jame’s strange biomechanical ship, the Vengeance, which was James’ first and only clue to the identity of They who massacred his people, approaches the yellow-orange orb of the desert world where Reverie is found. From Orbit, James sees (ROLL = 48) rugged mountains and as the ship enters the atmosphere and descends toward Reverie, (ROLL = 2) cavernous sinkholes dominate the area. Was this world once wet, and the sinkholes are vast now dry reservoirs? Or did the Precursors mine and drill this planet to the point of such collapse? James doesn’t know, and doesn’t have time to worry about it.
NOTE: I never rolled to see how life bearing Reverie’s planet was, so let’s do that now.
Roll = 36: Extinct. It feels more and more like something happened here. Perhaps the Precursors drained this world of water and therefore life? Maybe. We’ll see.
Arrival
Let’s roll to find out how organized Reverie is.
Roll = 79: Corrupt. Looks like the bad actors that came to Reverie after the Cult established it have taken over and now it is a hive of scum and villainy.
Basilisk hails the town, hoping for official permission to land just to make his life easier. Initial contact with Reverie is (ROLL = 8) welcoming. He and his ship have something of a reputation and whoever runs Reverie now is interested in finding out why the gunslinger is here,.
Upon arrival, James needs to make a Gather Information move to get the lay of the land. After securing the Vengeance, he walks the dusty trails into town proper in search of a saloon or other gathering place. I’m not sure what the “feel” of town is right at this moment, so let’s roll on the Inhabited Location Feature Table.
Roll = 16: Crews at work.
I think the new Boss of Reverie has put everyone to work trying to get the Precursor Vault open. This undoubtedly has the cultists and scientists on edge. These two groups probably don’t usually get along, but the common “enemy” of Boss (ROLL = 51) Takara has them at least talking. Meanwhile, the various prospectors and tradesmen that came here in hopes of making money are on Boss Takara’s side, suggesting a rift is growing in town.
Anyway, James needs to Gather Information.
Roll +wits = 5+1 = 6
Challenge Dice = 1 and 5 STRONG HIT!
“On a strong hit… the path you must take or action you must take to make progress is made clear.” Also, +2 Momentum.
MOMENTUM: +5
The main road is lined with small buildings, most of which serve as businesses and workshops on the first floor and residences on the one or two floors above. James passes by the Precursor Cult “temple” (just a pavilion, really) noting that is is empty and quiet. The work crew on the street note his passing but are too busy preparing large equipment to make small talk. Eventually James comes to a saloon, Reverie Commons, and goes inside. It is quiet with only a few patrons since Boss Takara has most everyone working hard.
When James approaches the counter and asks the bartender about a man named Warden, the bartender sneers. “One of them cultists? Them and the pointy heads are all at the Vault camp. But if you want to talk to them, best move quick. Boss Takara is about to unseal the vault and those idiots want to be first in. Suicide, you ask me.”
James thanks the bartender and heads out. He approaches one of the crew obviously preparing to take their machine to the Vault to help open it. “I’ll be riding with you,” he says, not bothering to ask.
Next time, James will meet Warden and others at the “Vault camp” (whatever that is!) and we’ll roll to find out what sort of wonder and danger the Precursor Vault might hold!
I.E. 