Campaign ‘26, Session #09-10: Exiles of a Thousand Islands

 THE CRUELLEST MONTH IS UPON US! Cruel, but by no means less loved: all this fecund florabundance and accompanying cloying scent is energising, no matter T.S. Elliot has to say about it. By time of posting, we're ten sessions into our Exiles of a Thousand Islands campaign, recorded as part of the Campaign '26 Challenge, Nathan Bateman's ongoing provocation to bloggers to commit themselves to playing the game(s) we all love to write about.

A WAY INTO THE FOREST by Munkao, taking from ATTI #03, Upper Heleng, text by Zedeck Siew

The Story So far:
Session #01 (landing, rhino, creepy moth man)

Session #02 (surviving in the wilderness)

Session #03-06 (exploring the west, giant cockroaches, myths and legends)

Session #07 (The wind worries the baboo, mudslides, Wingseed and Dangles)

Session #08 (leech fight)

Session #09:
2nd April 2026 (Thursday 26th was cancelled)

Who Played

Players were represented this session by Brett Slocum and Tinhead Ned.

Characters

The Cuckoo, male outcast as a youth, now blooded

Hard Boulder, female outcast as a youth, now blooded

Sweet Told No Lies, elderly male pariah

(Adult pariah White Moon and his accomplice the youth Brooding Mountain were assumed to be assisting in the background)

Day 8 of 3rd Month of Dry Season, Clear skies

Having lost elder Monsoon-Swallows-Pride following the encounter with the weird, giant leeches during the previous night, the pariahs decided to leave the gold-panning until they have better support/tools/a PLAN.

We ruled that as White Moon and Brooding Mountain (Louis' characters) had not officially gone home yet, they would be able to assist in the transportation of Monsoon-Swallows-Pride's body.

Before that occurred, we had agreed that Hard Boulder and The Cuckoo would be considered adults by the Pariah band for battling – and overcoming – the malevolent spirit-leeches. Mechanically, this involved increasing their HP, giving them a spirit die and improving heir saving throws. I quite liked the idea of them also gaining additional epithets but neither player was committed to doing this at this stage. Hard Boulder inherited her late mentor's foraging skill in addition to listening (for threats!) and leadership. She has a spirit die (hit die) of 1d4 and 4 HP. The Cuckoo is lightly heartier (6 HP, 1d6 SD) and demonstrates skill at storytelling and fishing.  

Given that they had the assistance of White Moon and Brooding Mountain and the going towards the coast was on the descent, I ruled there'd be no impediment to movement and they arrived by the coast in good time. Here they elected to lash together a bier for Monsoon's body and send him out into the sea which brought him to this island initially. They held a small service before casting him off (the die of fate declaring it to be a receding high tide), with his belongings divided among the survivors. Hard Boulder praised her late mentor's patience.

I rolled a reaction for the Goddess of the Sea. She welcomed the gift of Monsoon's body, and the tide carried the bier ou into the waves, before it was subsumed by a shoal of gleaming white fish.

On their way back along the coast, they spied a pair of unusual trees: The left-hand tree is dead. The right-hand tree is in permanent flower (ZS, Upper Heleng). The tree is garlanded with cords and braid, some at great height: clearly this pair of trees is of great spiritual significance... but to whom? They pass by without interfering.

They return to base camp in the Forests of the Tortoise by nightfall, placing a small memento mori on the previously assembled ancestral shrine, beside the water pail of the deceased nameless youth.

Session #10:
9th April 2026

Who Played

Players were represented this session by Brett Slocum, Louis Jenner and Tinhead Ned.

Characters

The Cuckoo (m), Hard Boulder (f), White Moon (m) – adult pariahs

Big Tortoise (m), Brooding Mountain (m), Idle Jungle (f) – outcast youths 

Day 9 of 3rd Month of Dry Season, Scorching Sun
After witnessing the death of his age-mate, Sweet-Told-No-Lies decides to retire from trips into the unknown, entrusting his charge – The Cuckoo – to continue with the gold-panning plan. In turn, The Cuckoo and Hard Boulder will take on the responsibility of mentoring youths Idle Jungle and Big Tortoise respectively.

With White Moon and Brooding Mountain on hand to assist with any threats, the pariahs feel better prepared to face down any further threats to their mission. However, further preparation would certainly help. Hard Boulder has already crafted a pronged staff from her late mentor's possessions (the better to pin a leech to the ground before chopping it), while the possibility of applying salt to the leeches also encourages further innovation, as the party use their dugouts to evaporate a few handfuls of pure sea salt. They plan to take 3 days worth of rations (a day there, a day panning for gold, a day back).

Additionally, White Moon has crafted a set of pan pipes from the single stem of windworn bamboo previously snatched from the clump harassed by the wind-spirit.

They leave the following morning. Passing through the lands of the tortoise they witness nothing but a flash of orange in the trees (possibly an orangutan) and then an improvement in the weather, as thin wisps of cloud obscure the worst of the sun's glare as they head towards midday. 

After breaking for lunch they enter less familiar territory – less familiar in that they have not learned of the nature of its spirit, and have cleaved close to the coast on all the excursions. They trudge past the tall, garlanded trees yet again. White Moon pays them a little closer attention, curious as to the species: he gleams little beyond the supernatural nature of the right-hand tree's florabundance.

Passing the tree the wisps of cloud thicken into a brooding sky, and a wind kicks up off the sea. This is read as an ill omen, but the party elect to press on. They head up the slopes of the mountain, passing the stand of Windworn bamboo. The party realise they are being watched: traipsing up a cleft in the mountainside (probably a dry stream), gigantic sloths peer at them from either side. The cuckoo stops to make eye contact: a sloth meets his gaze, before darting up the tree at supernatural speed.

Evidently, not ordinary sloths...

Nonetheless, they press on, arriving at White Moon's "claim" (the area he and Brooding Mountain camped at while the rest of the party battled giant, killer leeches) and setting a watch. a giant tuatara (6' long) is spotted at the edge of the fire's glow and it only departs after the party make themselves big and intimidate it. 

Later, during White Moon's watch, a Sun Bear shows up. White Moon plays it a melody on his newly crafted pipes: not only does the tune seem to please the bear, but the cloudy sky clears granting a glimpse of a brilliant sky. The rest of the pariahs – already roused to the potential threat – enjoy the spectacle in spite of their broken sleep.

A tongue sun bear

Day 10 of 3rd Month of Dry Season, Scorching Sun

The party wake to find the bear still with them, and it follows them to their gold-panning site further downstream. Hard Boulder and White Moon share their rations with the animal, it stays with them. They use various methods to try and separate gold flakes from silt (including sacks, wooden plates, banana leaves) all with varying degrees of success. Ultimately, they return to their camp with more than a third of an ounce of gold, and they discuss what can be done with it.

While preparing camp for the evening, White Moon smokes som esorerers sage to see if it can bring him closer to his animal companion. Again, the substance only makes him feel sick. We close the session with the pariahs hitting the hay, 24 miles from base camp.

Reflections

I didn't load the map this session, which made overland travel feel a bit weird (for me, at least). I'd quite luck to do a one-mile hex version of the rutes the pariahs have already used.

The night-time encounter procedure irks me at two points. One, it's too frequent (I need to work out how many rolls to make) and two, it nearly always brings a threat. Something to think about or next time.

Again I forgot (in the second of the two sessions) to talk about experience and "Xs", so had to do it post session. Not necessarily bad but I think it would be better in session. 

Links

Campaign '26
https://pressthebeast.bearblog.dev/campaign-2026/

Munkao, Illustrator and RPG Creator:
https://www.instagram.com/munkao/?hl=en

Zedeck Siew's Writing Hours
https://slowlorispress.com/

Session #01 (landing, rhino, creepy moth man)
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/01/exiles-of-thousand-islands-session.html

Session #02 (surviving in the wilderness)
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/01/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands_26.html

Session #03-06 (exploring the west, giant cockroaches, myths and legends)
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/03/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands.htm

Session #07 (The wind worries the baboo, mudslides, Wingseed and Dangles)
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/03/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands_11.html

Session #08 (leech fight)
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/03/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands_26.html

The Petal Hack, 2nd Edition by Brett Slocum
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/351835/the-petal-hack-2nd-ed?affiliate_id=767873

Altar of the Ancestral Sprits
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2020/11/altar-of-ancestral-spirits.html

Campaign ‘26: Exiles of a Thousand Islands, Session #08

***THIS POST WAS EDITED, 8th April 2026***

I'm going to lead with  link to The Bad Doctor's most recent post (at time of writing) which has some great advice I'm not going to follow. I mean, I am an actual robot, how am I to escape the destiny of my flesh-shell? As Beyoncé herself once said we are all but bio-mechanoids... and who am I to contradict a Goddess?

Now that the basics are down, it's time for us to read about that thing that happened in the shared imagination of three people, and will now live (for a short time) in yours:

ENTER THE MAGIC GIANT LEECHES

Leeches by Munkao, taking from ATTI #03, Upper Heleng

Campaign ‘26: Exiles of a Thousand Islands, Session 7

This is a report concerning the seventh session of Pariah: Exiles of a Thousand Islands, an old school sandbox game set in [a version of] the world of  A Thousand Thousand Islands, as described in a series of zines and seminal adventure Reach of the Roach God, all by Zedeck Siew and Munkao.

Campaign '26 is a challenge issued by RPG blogger/man-mountain Nathan Bateman in this post:  participants pledge to run or play a game for most of the year 2026. I have sworn a sacred oath to run a PARIAH Campaign using the ATTI zines (and accompanying adventure, Reach of the Roach God) for the whole of 20026. 

A group of outcast hunter-gatherer elders and a gang of youths have crossed the perilous seas in dugout canoes and landed on a mysterious island. Though they are surviving off the land, they have lost one of their number to a tiger attack. The elders are looking to secure the future of their new home by contacting neighbouring settlements and spirit-of-the land, both in the Here & Now and through the parallel realm of the Dawn.

On their trip to Dawn they were informed that gold was to be found in a range of rocky hills to the east: this was confirmed by a mysterious crow-spirit, who offered to trade them the lives of their youths for some gold. They declined, electing to seek gold the old fashioned way. Previous session reports below:

Session 0

Session 1

Session 2

Sessions 3-6

A Sunda Crow

Solo Blueholme: Second Delve, Part 3/3

This concludes the write-up of a solo-game exploring the Stygian Library, using BLUEHOLME as operating system.  The previous post can be read here.

Aged philologist and wannabe wizard POLSTRUM had organised a second delve into the STYGIAN LIBRARY after previously failing to retrieve MAZIRIAN’S GRIMOIRE. In addition to his faithful servant, MAREK, he has enlisted the aid of the following adventurers:

• Larkin (Eliza Larkinkis), fighter 1
• Sirka, changeling fighter-mage 1/1
• Bastien, fighter 1 (a hired retainer)
• Emmeline, fighter 1 (follower of Larkin)
• Schmidt, Cleric 1 (a hired retainer)

Additionally, thief-for-hire Kurdt fled following his death and subsequent resurrection. After a series of bruising encounters the party may have finally reached their goal...

Illustration by Alec Sorenson

Campaign '26: Exiles of a Thousand islands, Sessions 3-6

Campaign '26 is a challenge issued by RPG blogger/epic poetry enthusiast N.Bateman in this post: in short, participants pledge to run or play a game for most of the year. I have sworn a sacred oath to run a PARIAH Campaign using the ATTI zines (and accompanying adventure, Reach of the Roach God) for the whole of 20026. Previous session reports below:

Session 0

Session 1

Session 2

A Yellow Book, if ever there was one

Campaign '26 – Exiles of a Thousand Islands: Session 2

Campaign '26 is a challenge issued by RPG blogger/epic poetry enthusiast N.Bateman in this post: in short, participants pledge to run or play a game for most of the year. I have sworn a sacred oath to run a PARIAH Campaign using the ATTI zines (and accompanying adventure, Reach of the Roach God) for the whole of 20026, details of which can be found here and here. 

Sumatran Tiger caught on trail cam, courtesy International Tiger Project https://www.internationaltigerproject.org/

Alone in the Wilderness

Real World Date: 15th January 2026

We were 3 payers short this session (2 due to unforeseen life stuff, 1 who'll be AWOL for at least 6 weeks due to travel) but still had 3 players ready to go. We picked up the morning after an uncanny visitor in the night had interrupted the youths, departing with a wooden pangolin but leaving some interesting information about the nearest settlements: Quiet Lake and the Death-Rolled-Kingdom.

Campaign '26 – Exiles of a Thousand Islands: Session 1

 First session report of this A Thousand Thousand Islands campaign, part of Campaign 26. 

Ornamental prowhead figures from Borneo via https://www.artoftheancestors.com/

Campaign '26 – Exiles of a Thousand Islands (ATTI+Pariah): Session 0

Contrary to popular belief, one can never start the year with too many challenges on the go. So whilst I  watch City 26 gathering momentum with almost manic glee, I'm equally excited to pick up the gauntlet cast by N. Bateman in his Campaign ‘26 post.

I intend to run a Pariah Campaign (sort of) set in the world of A Thousand Thousand Islands every Thursday night for at least the rest of the year. Occasionally I’ll be writing about it here.

Solo Blueholme: Second Delve (Part 2 of 3)

This continues the previous post:

https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2025/12/solo-blueholme-second-delve-part-1-of.html

Illustration by Alec Sorenson

Solo Blueholme: Second Delve (part 1 of...)

Illustration by Alec Sorenson

This continues the revived solo series previously explored in this post:

https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2025/11/solo-blueholme-first-delve-into-stygian.html

...with downtime activities detailed here:

https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2025/11/solo-blueholme-between-sessions.html

The game was originally begun in the summer of 2024 and has recently been revived. 

THE SECOND DELVE

Solo Blueholme: Between Sessions

Initially I planned to write-up the second delve in my solo game of Stygian Library using Blueholme as my OS(R) of choice but realised I hadn't actually finished it, and recording experience and downtime activities was taking longer than planned. The previous delve can be read here:

https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2025/11/solo-blueholme-first-delve-into-stygian.html

Some Stygian Librarians by Alec Sorenson

All of this took place in June/July of last year (2024) and has been sat in my drafts for a while: I can't stand clutter! Let the posts be SEEN!

Solo Blueholme: First Delve into the Stygian Library

Continuing on from my previous posts about the Stygian library & Blueholme, this is an Actual Play report of my first solo session in the library June 2024! Related posts can be found here:

https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2024/06/blueholme-stygian-library-solo.html

https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2024/07/solo-blueholme-session-0-chargen-etc.html

...both of which detail the minor changes I made to Blueholme (a retroclone of the first D&D introductory basic set) before starting the campaign.

This particular post was inspired by Technoskald's series of reports upon multiple delves into the library:
https://solo.technoskald.me/tagged/stygian-library

Emmy Allen's Stygian Library, cover image by Alec Sorenson 

You can purchase a PDF of Emmy Allen's Stygian Library from DTRPG at this affiliate link or a beautifully produced hardcover print edition from Soulmuppet Be aware that there will be a new edition of the book released relatively soon, to coincide with the re-mastering of Gardens of Ynn. The new edition appears to be an update to the cover only, but if you're planning on buying the Ynn remaster it might be worth holding out for the new print edition of Stygian as they appear to form a rather elegant pair...  the new print edition has been out for a year or so now, the previous remaster (with the Alec Sorenson cover) having been superseded. Otherwise the two book are identical.

Gangs of Titan City (solo game): session #3 (Fallout phase)

At time of writing it is still uncertain as to whether tomorrow (14th June) will witness a return to the City of Ghosts sandbox, and while I'll definitely be running ANOTHER session of GoTC if it doesn't happen, I feel like I want to run through the fallout element while I have some spare time just to get the wheels turning ahead of the next operation.... so: it's time to spark up an imaginary plasma-cig, chuck some Cryochamber in the headphones and see what's going down in Plutogia!

Not actually Plutogian, but Necromundan.. still, an obvious touchstone!

Gangs of Titan City (solo game): session #2 (operations phase)

I set aside 31st May for a session in the City of Ghosts but was unable to attract the required number of players. A few weeks ago I decided such occasions presented me with a great opportunity to test out Gangs of Titan City  as a solo game, but as it transpired it would not be until yesterday (7th June) that I'd be returning to Plutogia.

Alternative cloth-bound cover to the book available from Soul Muppet

This was the first "operations phase", the segment of the game I predicted would be the most challenging to resolve satisfactorily as a solo player. In the event 

* * *

Gangs of Titan City: solo session#1

When there aren't enough players available for a Friday lunchtime one hour sandbox game I try and get my RPG fix elsewhere. Recently I realised that I could probably make Gangs of Titan City work as a solo game, and went through session zero with myself to set up the character and world. 

Titan City aka Plutogia, picture from the original GoTC Primer

Well, that was fun and everything (and I confess to being quite excited to get into the meat of the game), but I still hoped I'd have enough players the following week to pick up City of Ghosts again. As it turned out, it wasn't long before I was back in Titan City again... and so here I am, starting with a MONTAGE.

( * m o n t a g e * )

ESCALATION PHASE

~Opening montage~

The fugitive Tark, performing on stage in the guise of Madame Villette, subjects the audience to a baroque combination of biting stand-up, delicate chanson and surreal-yet-thought provoking performance art. Their old friend and colleague Bug manages a wry smile as he scans the faces of the enraptured audience in the cabaret room. He's confident no one noticed: since moving to this part of town, he's become well known for his grim countenance, and is secretly proud of the ironic moniker Smiler that he's been awarded. He checks for signs of trouble and/or possible marks, while ostensibly clearing empty glasses.

A rowdy gang of toughs muscle their way in, though the minor commotion they cause is not sufficient to break the spell of Madame Villette's performance. The bar manager Blind Willy Latif doesn't need enhanced optical implants to know these boys are part of the Lead Legion, and he'd managed to keep them out of his bar for a number of years now. His hand reaches beneath the counter for a terrifying looking cudgel, when something catches his wrist.

"If they're paying, their staying," says Carmen, whispering in Latif's ear. 

"I ain't havin' no bullet boys in my bar-"

"Whose bar, Willy?"

Willy grunts, releases the cudgel, and slopes off to the cellar. The three hoodlums approach the counter:

"What can I get you three fine gentlemen?" Carmen's face is trying its best to look charming.

"What're ya sellin', beautiful?" asks the group's leader

Carmen's face immediately sours, she shoots the man a murderous look... before remembering she's in the customer service game now, and does her best to smile:

"I can offer you three mugs of beet ale... I think anything else would be beyond your budget."

This retort lands surprisingly well, and Carmen serves the thugs their drinks to the sound of their throaty guffaws.

Down in the beer cellar, Ezra is attempting to find some peace and quiet. It's been tough living life on the lamb, first evading PSI-Squad and now his erstwhile employer, Wavelength. He wasn't sure what living in the Green Sector would entail before getting there, but the name New Eden definitely conjured up an environment more pastoral than a roadhouse bar and cabaret called Blind Willy's.

The thick concrete of the cool beer cellar was Ezra's temple, his meditation chamber. Above him, the noise of the bar was reduced to a droning thrum, an almost hypnotic mantra enabling him to attune his mind to the deeper whispers within the Titan City. Perfectly still, perfectly at peace, Ezra let the soul of the city wash over him like gentle waves on a beach...

...until the cellar door swings open and the full torrent of noise washes over Ezra like a tidal wave, followed by a grumbling Willy staggering noisily down to change a barrel of beet ale. The old man grumbles to himself at the place going to "rack and ruin" since "Smiler's people took over"... Ezra watches in silence, aware that Blind Willy can't see him. 

After he changes the barrel, Willy walks back up the wooden steps, pausing before opening the hatch. He sniffs the air:

"You comin' up to lend a hand, boy? We got mugs an' glasses that'll need collectin' an' washin'"

Ezra stayed silent.

"Whelp, I'll let Carmen know you're on hand if you're needed."

Ezra watched the old man leave. He tried to get back into the "zone", but the moment had passed. He sighs before ascending the stairs himself, before suddenly his attention is seized by a vision of a face he'd not seen in a long time: embittered and determined, an ugly face from his past...

...Agent Colm of PSI-SQUAD!

~Events table~

I rolled "2: A Rival adds a Hazard to the Danger Table". given that I mentioned Agent Colm, it's a good idea to use him as the rival. 

I also need to add a lead or a job to the danger table, courtesy the gang's contact, Rennia Ren. I'm guessing her ultimate goal is to use the gang's skills for her own social justice mission in her Arcology (i.e. against the Hypercorp, Empyreals and other authorities) but not sure how just yet. I rolled on the "jobs" table for Heartwards and got "The Enforcers have set up a hidden listening station somewhere on our turf. Destroy it!" This works as there's already a listening station in Arcology 23. Maybe the gang could repurpose it?

The Danger Table now looks like this:

1. Wavelength move to locate and ultimately abduct Ezra
2. Willy Latif resolves to reclaim his bar
3. Carmen's secret is out: all the gang know that she is Sujo's ex-lover
4. Agent Colm tracks Ezra to New Eden 
5. Lead from Rennia Ren: The Enforcers have set up a hidden listening station somewhere in Arcology 23... destroy it!
6. —

~Gang Moves~

Probably a good idea to take a look at the gang's objectives and dynamic before deciding their first moves.

There's a bit of a few conflicts within the gang at the moment, though they have not yet bubbled up to the surface. Tark and Carmen are (mostly) keen for the quiet life, whereas Smiler (and Ezra, on the quiet) wants to destroy Wavelength for good. This dynamic is complicated by the fact Tark and Smiler are both slightly resentful towards Carmen and Ezra for "forcing their hand", and causing them to leave Wavelength before they were fully ready. despite their differences, Tark and Ezra find common ground in their outsider status (Ezra as a psion, Tark for their gender fluidity). Conversely, Smiler and Carmen are former lovers currently on an extended break.  

In any case, the gang need cash money to live: despite the roaring trade, running the bar isn't helping out too much as they're paying exorbitant rates to the the local brewer. The brewer is in the pocket of The Lead Legion, whom all gutters are keen to stay on good terms with until they're better established.

Immediately a job springs to mind: rob the dray after it's stocked up the bottle shops and bars of the neighbouring hab unit ward... and make it look like it was the work of the Misshapers, known to be hiding out somewhere in New Eden!

Smiler, came up with the idea for this job. He's had a few minor run-ins with local Lead Legion capo Scorgio and loves the idea of pulling one over him... but they need to gather intel first so that'll be down to Tark.

After Ezra tells Carmen about his dream, she's keen to find out if PSI-Squad is active in the area, so also decides to gather intel around the vice den in the centre of the sector, operated by Lead Legion. She's going to see if she can exploit the rapport she established with some of the Lead Legion's gutters during the previous night's service. 

Meanwhile, Smiler has decided to head down to the the Misshapers territory (they are a minor faction in this sector) and see if he can get some of their disenchanted mutant street gutters to help him out. In the short term, the idea is that they're going to take half of the hijacked cargo, including the vehicle, ensuring its not traced back to Smiler. Ideally they'll also provide some stolen motorcycles so the gang can make off with their share of the cargo back to base. In the long run Smiler's plan is to take this claim (Eager Hopefuls) from the Misshapers and  recruit the mutant gutters as a squad,.  

A. Tarquin's Gather Intel

Tark is going to use  their spend a few days in disguise as an old drunk, getting an idea of the routes and times the draymen take. They also plan to spy on the draymen to establish how heavily armed and armoured they are, whether they have additional security and, as a bonus, how likely they are to accept bribes.

If Tarquin  had a player, it's likely they'd argue that they can use Tarquin's specialism in stealth and approach this intel gathering move using exploit. However, Tark doesn't have a player so I'm ruling that they're to use appeal (as they need to use charisma to create a convincing disguise) and it will be a flat 2d6 test.

I roll 2 and 6 = 8, partial success

In the context of an intel roll partial success means:

The Gutter makes a specific and useful discovery about one of the Operation’s obstacles awaiting the Gang, but the local security forces detect their intrusion. The Narrator describes an avenue of approach that is either cut off or heavily reinforced. 

At this early stage it is absolutely imperative for Tark that he goes undetected: this is a minor disaster! We can imagine that a local enforcer has clocked Tark going from bar to bar and bottle-shop to bottle-shop- maybe even recognise them from their performances as Madame Villette at Blind Willy's (might be pushing it?)- time to use some desperation.  

Gutters also have access to Desperation, which can be used to push beyond their normal limits (for more about Desperation, see page 104). Once a Player rolls a Test, they can take 1 point of Desperation to reroll one Die from that Test before determining its outcome.

If a player in a conventional game asked to use desperation, I'd ask them to tell me what that looks like. In this instance, we can imagine Tark realises they're being followed at attempts to do something crazy, to ham up their roleplay to throw the enforcer of the scent.

I re-rolled the two, achieving four: Tark is has now achieved a full success. For gather intel, that looks like this:

the Gutter makes a specific and useful discovery about one of the Operation’s obstacles and learns a critical piece of information about the obstacle, such as a weakness, particular quirk, or useful opportunity.

Tark has worked  out the following:

• Most of the small bars and bottle shops receive irregular deliveries
• The dray visits 2 bars every night: one in a highly visible area pretty close to the enforcers' precinct and one on the outskirts of the hab block where there's not too many enforcers or Lead Legion cronies
• The drivers change regularly, and are armed with cattle prods only

I decided Tark wasn't able to work out the corruptibility of the drivers at this stage.

B. Carmen's Gather Intel

Carmen is going to go to the Vice Den operated by Lead Legion, The Serpent in the Garden. She's going to hang out in the bar for an evening, keeping an eye out for any Lead Legion gutters she's met at Blind Willy's, and try to get some info using the rapport she's established with them before. She wears her trademark broad-brimmed hat and poncho, but with her auburn hair down.

Carmen is using an appeal-led approach, not her best stat (0), but I think she can get a +1 as she'll be dealing only with those she's familiar with. She rolls 9 which is a partial success, but this is boosted to a full success thanks to the circumstantial bonus I applied: ordinarily the Bullet Boys would think there was something off about their favourite bar maid materialising out of nowhere and asking them lots of questions about psi-squad, but they genuinely think she might be into them on some level.

They at least discover that she can handle her drink, and Carmen extracts the following from them over the course of the night:

• They haven't seen psi-squad in New Eden for years- if they were here it'd be to check-in on the territory under Misshaper control
• There's word of a PSI Agent fitting Colm's description ruffling feathers around Little Titan

This is the info she was after, but she has to stay around for a little longer to make her cover convincing. She drinks the 3 gutters under the table and catches a hover-bike taxi home in the early hours.   

C. Smiler's Arrange a Meeting

Smiler is getting ahead of himself in attempting to lure a whole claim and squad: he first needs to arrange a meeting with the disgruntled Misshaper capo.

Kayvan Hoo is identified as the person to speak to, following a convoluted chain of comms leading all the way up to Rennia in the adjoining sector. Kayvan is the daughter of a mutant activist fallen on tough times and leading a small squad of misfits in the service of the Misshapers. She is athletic, hairless, and almost entirely turquoise in colour. She rarely laughs, but when especially pleased issues a gurgling trill from the back of her throat. She carries an antique longsword which can be electrified if required. 

Smiler elects to play it completely straight: he lays out all his plans, short and long term, secure in the knowledge that Kayvan Hoo doesn't know exactly who he is (though she's had her own contacts vouch for him) and can disappear without fear of reprisal from Lead Legion or the Misshapers if she rebutts him. she's mildly enthused, but wants to see how this first operation goes, and wants cash up front.

• Contact bonus: One of the Contact’s interests closely aligns with yours (kick The Misshapers out of the claim).
• Contact drawback: They’re “falling on tough times” and need you to take on 2 Debt to help them out.

Smiler's People will get the dray truck to Kayvan's squad, split the cargo then trade the truck for two stolen jet bikes. They now have 2 DEBT.

Operation Phase

To break the narrative of the preceding, a solo player this represented an interesting juncture: the first operation! I'm trusting my instinct that I can just allow genre literacy to guide the decisions I make as GM, and allow the characters to follow their own instincts. Hopefully I won't need any additional tools (i.e. outside my brain and the sourcebook) to shape the narrative.

Though I ran out of time to put it into action, I think I'll devote an entire session to the operation phase next time I sit down at the table, structured like this:

1. Planning: the book breaks this down a) into setting objectives b) choosing gear and c) starting the operation. Because I'm the sole player, these elements will sort of get mashed together while I come up with an idealised plan of action, maybe with contingencies ("plan B")
2. The main driver will therefore be the gang's plan: f they roll well, things will go as intended... partial successes and failures will either push the desperation up or send things off the rails. I'm going to follow the flowchart on p.158 of the core rules:
   
   

Page 158 Gangs of Titan City, alt-text provided

Fundamentally, between operations the danger table should provide further complications: right now, the gang are new players on the scene: they have the advantage of surprise. That said, we'll see whether the second operation is "dramatic" enough to warrant the introduction of a further complication mechanic.

I'm also doing this theatre of mind, as per the book: beyond the sector map locations are vague (though atmospheric). It's a narrative game, after all! Again, we'll see how that works: it's quite far away from the skirmish based spire-meets-grimlite-meets-Necromunda I had planned just before gangs was kickstarted

So: the next session will be the operation phase, session 3 will deal with fallout (and possibly the prep phase of the next operation. They may or may not appear as two separate reports, let's see! I'm hoping to get another session of City of Ghosts in come next Thursday (30th May) , and if that goes ahead I'll prioritise getting that out prior to any GoTC reports.

~

Links

PARIAH lunchtime sandbox play reports:
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/search/label/1%20hour%20game 

Gangs of Titan City session 0:
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2024/05/gangs-of-titan-city-solo-experiment.html

GANGS OF TITAN CITY: Solo experiment, session zero

As part of my continuing effort to squeeze in some tabletop action wherever I can, I've been hosting a weekly, open-table, no strings drop-in sandbox every Friday lunchtime (whenever life permits). Occasionally the stars align, and we get a short but sweet hour of exploratory roleplay: you can read all the play reports at this link right here.

Sometimes, things don't go to plan: to show my commitment (and scratch that RPG itch), I've decided to start a solo-game of GANGS OF TITAN CITY. I backed the Kickstarter nearly 2 years ago (have a look at my review of the quickstart here), yet the odds of me getting it to the table any time soon remain relatively slim. For this and other reasons, it was an obvious choice.

The alternative cover to GotC, by Rollin Kunz

You can order a copy of this excellent game here

City of Ghosts One Hour Pariah Sandbox Session 5 Play Report

You can find more information about this is series of games in this series of posts, but in a nutshell I was inspired by Luke Gearing's and Pat Eyler's respective one-hour megadungeon sessions to run a weekly PARIAH sandbox during my Friday lunch break. 

Just wanted to add a small note to say:

• I'm having issues with this blog's formatting: I'm aware of display issues, will hopefully get to sort it out this weekend
• This post is mostly a note for current and future players in the campaign. 

This is the fifth play report, with the game taking place on 29th March. Next game is scheduled for 3rd May, though we haven't been able to make quorum in the last few sessions.

Back in the One Hour Pariah Sandbox: City of Ghosts Session 4 Play Report

Following an extended break the City of Ghosts campaign is once again up and running. You can find more information about it in this series of posts, but in a nutshell I was inspired by Luke Gearing's and Pat Eyler's respective one-hour megadungeon sessions to run a weekly PARIAH sandbox during my Friday lunch break. This is the fourth play report. 

The One Hour Pariah Sandbox: City of Ghosts Session 3 Play Report

Portrait of late (Finnish?) Mesolithic man by Tom Björklund,
used as character art for Wren-in-the-Sedge 

Due to time constraints and inspired by Luke Gearing's one-hour megadungeon sessions, I'm running a weekly PARIAH sandbox during my Friday lunch break. This is the third play report. 

Session 1 is here

Session 2 is here

The One Hour Pariah Sandbox: City of Ghosts Session 2 Play Report

Due to time constraints and inspired by Luke Gearing's one-hour megadungeon sessions, I'm running a weekly PARIAH sandbox during my Friday lunch break. This is the second play report: track down all related posts at this link  

Between sessions, I posted on the r/osr subreddit (and also on the NSR Cauldron), seeking advice regarding this undertaking. There were some valuable responses which I'll summarise below, before getting into what happened in session 2...