After Action Report -- Night of Conquest
[WARNING - Spoilers below]
Ran the adventure yesterday afternoon for 4 9th-10th graders.
In an effort to save trees, I used an old flat panel TV as the "map board" -- all maps and images were projected from laptop to TV as PowerPoint slides. Boys enjoyed the upgrade as it felt more sci-fi to them. Sources like Pinterest & Deviantart were very helpful.
Adventure began post-banquet in the palace. Vargr patron had cut a trade deal with the locals. I'll skip how I modified the backstory to fit our ongoing campaign with the Spinward Marches.
K'tring attack, patron demands PC escort him to starship across down at airship port. Team escapes palace, dodged rifle fire makes it to boathouse, steal rowboat. K'tring shot at boat from short and current sweeps boat toward bridge, where more K'tring are ready to shoot players. Over objections of the the Vargr patron ("I can't swim!" Response: "not even doggy paddle?"), team jumps into river and makes shore in the waterfront district.
After a chase through the streets, patron suggests going into the sewers (non-canon addition to adventure). PCs do a good job of dead reckoning toward the airship port, then suddenly a horde of rat like critters swarm them. In a flash of genius, one of the PCs wonders aloud "what are they running from?" And then they detect the wall of water bearing down on them.
Running from the flood, they turn a corner and are confronted by a K'tring squad. Ordered to surrender, the PCs put their hands up (finding strong hand holds) and wait for the deluge. K'tring are swept away, one PC loses grip and must be rescued. Having lost their bearings, the group goes back topside and learns they are close to the airship port, but inside the K'tring quarter.
Deciding the sewers are too dangerous as well as the streets, the team goes to the rooftops. while attempting to race across the ghetto amid the partying K'tring, one PC falls into an alley and a K'tring posse investigates. Now its time for the PCs to turn a fight -- blades versus cudgels, 4 PCs/1 NPC against 8 K'tring in a narrow alley. Through a combination of lucky initiative and damage rolls and morale checks, the PCs defeat the K'tring band despite the NPC being knocked out and two PCs taking some bad hits. Fortunately the team was near the Ghetto wall so they manage to escape into the arms of a Jaajde militia squad before the K'tring can counterattack.
Taken to the airship port, they come upon the final rounds of a battle to retake the port from the K'tring. Unforunately, a K'tring airship was shotdown and crashed onto the starship -- it can't fly until the airship is removed, but the team can enter it and heal, get weapons and access the air/raft.
In the non-canon climax, patron flies the air/raft to the K'tring command airship moored at the old island citadel. In addition to General Thran, the K'tring Crown Prince (who didn't support his aging father's decision to invade, and now sees the invasion as failed as the airship armada has been scattered/destroyed enroute a la the Spanish Armada), is aboard.
Using deckplans from the Windermann Incident, PCs sneak aboard, knock out a few K'tring, get into a shootout with Gen. Thran and a few lackeys as the Crown Prince accepts defeat. In his final act of vengeance, Thran fires his pistol into the hydrogen filled gasbag causing a fire and subsequent explosion. PCs race toward the waiting air/raft and barely escape before the airship goes down in flames.
Invasion thwarted, patron saved, PCs survive and game over until next time.
Lessons learned?
Of the adventures so far, my players have greatly enjoyed Death Station, One Crowded Hour and Horde. They also liked a sidebar outside of their campaign based on the Military Academy variant from Challenge 26. Night of Conquest was a little ragged, somewhat like my Beltstrike/Mission to Zhodane mashup. Like Horde, NoC takes place dirtside, but with airship deckplans.
I try to avoid having each session simply be a "dungeon crawl" in space. But that is what many of the CT adventures are (Annic Nova, Kinunir, Shadows, etc).
What is clear to me is that my players don't do well in "sandbox" scenarios, and they like defined episodes/chapters/scenes. They have learned that Traveller combat is deadly if they get hit, so they try to avoid violence.
I'm interested to hear suggestions about adventures -- any version, I can convert to CT/any source -- LBB, magazine articles, etc. -- they might suit my players.
Regards,
Greg
