Recruiting: Mecha World (PbtA system)

Started by Autocad, July 12, 2018, 02:43:02 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Autocad

Who wants to pilot giant robots?

This will be a system game using an adaptation of the "powered by the apocalypse" system.

The player characters are pilots, each with their own personal mech, based on board a mech-carrier spaceship. They travel between planets/stars carrying out missions and getting into trouble during downtime. Mechs tend towards the "real" end of the Real-Robot-vs-Super-Robot spectrum.




Questions for interested players:

Sexy times
Where on the vanilla-extreme spectrum do you want this to be, i.e. Consensual / Non-consensual / Extreme? Any particular kinks you want to see?

Mechs
Do you prefer bulky, stompy mechs (a la Battletech 'Mechs) or more humanoid, graceful mechs (a la Gundam)?

Downtime
What mix do you want of in-cockpit combat time with the mech and downtime with the pilot (including sexy times)?

Plus anything else you want to see happen that hasn't been addressed.

GunmetalDreamer

On my way out the door, but consider this a Declaration of Intent!

Zenkai

Yes please. Mecha are a favorite subject of mine, and I've GMed and played in a number of mecha themed games.

I'd put my tastes somewhere in the NC spectrum, but I'm not averse to shifting a bit in either direction.
Mecha-wise I like Gundam and Jovian Chronicles more than big stompiness, but BattleTech has many campaign ideas you could use (particularly the campaign system in the early-edition mechwarrior RPGs).
I'd like cockpit-time and fun-time to naturally flow one from another and have natural consequences between themselves.

greypsychman

#3
I would be interested. I am ok with any mech, however I have played a lot of battle tech. I would like to see a natural flow from combat to personal time.

Florence

Okay, I love me some mechs, so I'm gonna slap down some tentative (but strong) interest in this concept.


Sexy Times

I'm pretty flexible, honestly. What I'd want to see sexually kind of boils down to just what the actual concept of the game is and by extension, the kind of character I play. I can play more dominant characters, more submissive characters. In general, I tend to play a lot of gay lady characters, though, but not always. Also fond of playing hermaphrodite/futa characters (w/balls, cause I know some prefer them without, lol), so if there's the option to play a character like that, certainly a plus for me. Could totally play a character based loosely on my Battletech character, being an AFAB enby with they/them pronouns. Unsure of how I'd approach that character sexually, though, but I'm sure I'd have fun figuring it out.

tl;dr: I flexible.

Mechs

I guess I'd say I lean more towards Gundam style mechs, for a variety of reasons. First of all, I just love the aesthetic. They've always struck this really nice middle-ground for me between looking realistic and stylish. I also like the more agile, high-octane combat compared to the more 'tactical' combat you tend to get with clunkier, stompy mechs.

That said, I absolutely adore Battletech (thanks in no small part to the recent game), and that, along with the Front Mission games, has really given me a better appreciation of those kind of mechs. So frankly, I'd say I enjoy both, each in their own unique way.

But, if I HAD to pick, I'd say I prefer the Gundam style mechs. My introduction to the mecha genre came from Gundam and to me, that's always stuck with me as what mechs 'should' look like.


Downtime

I can really only parrot what others have already said. I think there should be something of a balance, with one flowing naturally into the other. Presumably with sexy time stuff being placed in a separate thread or threads to avoid holding up the narrative flow.

Misc

I've got a lot of thoughts, but not really sure on what specific things to say I'd like to see happen. I guess it depends on how this shapes up in general. If I think of some specific ideas to bring up, I'll be sure to do so.
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Mac84

Ooo! Very intersting. :D

Sexy times: I would be somewhat towards the middle. I'm not a fan of Non-con unless it is a plot device.

Mechs: I lean more towards Gundam-esque (Macross!) Robots, (08th MS Team is my absolute Favorite GUndam anime).

Downtime: I would like an even balance, but feel that the story would probably dictate the most for this.




Depending on which mech style we can go with. Here were the mechs I was leaning towards. I normally do "Support" type roles.

An Artillery Mech that can function as more guns for the space carrier when in transit, or in space battles:


or possibly a "Grunt" type Mecha. Nothing outstanding but reliable and rugged.


HEY GUNMETAL! Great to see you again! XD

Florence, great choices for Videos! I love 08th MS Team. That fight between Norris, and the 8th Team was GREAT!

Florence

Quote from: Mac84 on July 14, 2018, 12:08:09 PM
Macross!

Haha! Robotech and Gundam are probably the two biggest reasons I love mecha stuff so much. I rewatched Robotech a few years back and I have to admit, while I'm fully aware it's somewhat of a bastardized version of Macross, it actually still holds up on it's own imo. The first part, at least. After it diverged from Macross and started adapting other stuff, I kinda lost interest in it.

Quote from: Mac84 on July 14, 2018, 12:08:09 PM08th MS Team is my absolute Favorite GUndam anime
Quote from: Mac84 on July 14, 2018, 12:08:09 PMFlorence, great choices for Videos! I love 08th MS Team. That fight between Norris, and the 8th Team was GREAT!

:D! Yeah, I LOVE 08th MS Team. Been ages since I've seen it, though. I'm thinking of giving it another watch through thanks to this. I've heard some decent things about Iron-Blooded Orphans too, and I've been meaning to give it a shot.

I've always preferred Gundam shows that are a little more down to earth, rather than the ones that go all over the top and stuff. Except G-Gundam. That series is just GLORIOUSLY over-the-top. G-Gundam is absolutely one of those cheesy dumb shows that I just can't get enough of. Especially with the English dub. But I consider G-Gundam to have it's own very distinct appeal from the other Gundam shows.

But yeah, in general, I've always been more of a fan of shows like the original Mobile Suit Gundam, as opposed to Gundam Wing, which I always remember being more popular when I was younger. SEED and SEED Destiny were alright too, imo, but I'd say they were inferior to the original series in a lot of meaningful ways. Plus I'm a sucker for the original's old-school art style, though SEED's own aesthetic wasn't awful by any means.

Side note: Holy shit, it wasn't until I was typing this up, looking at wikipedia's article on the franchise, that I realized G-Gundam came out a year before Wing. Really? I dunno why, but I'd ALWAYS assumed Wing came out first...

As another side-note: How about that live-action film apparently in the works from Legendary? I have to admit, I'm not hopeful. Hollywood's got a really bad track record when it comes to adapting anime, and I'm not confident this will be any different. Still, there is that tiny, innocent part of me that's praying beyond hope that maybe, somehow, this will be the exception. THIS will be the one that gets everything right.




As far as a kind of mech for my character... hmm...

For more 'Gundam' style mechs, I'm thinking a more agile front-line fighter type of mech. Some decent medium and short ranged weapons. Possibly equipped with a melee weapon of some kind depending on what the setting allows. A little weak in regards to armor, and not equipped with any heavy weapons, but excelling at out-maneuvering enemies and providing a distraction for the mechs with heavier guns to do their thing.

For a more 'Battletech' style setting, probably a medium assault type mech. Mostly medium-ranged weapons, a decent balance between mobility and firepower, being neither exceptional nor awful in either regard. Sort of your versatile, adaptable, jack-of-all-trades type mech.
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Florence

After spending some time listening to soundtracks on Youtube, I do want to amend my previous statement regarding the quality of various Gundam series by saying, SEED and SEED Destiny DID absolutely kill it in regards to music.

I mean, holy shit, Vestige by TM Revolution coming on as Strike Freedom launches for the first time? It's just so perfect.
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

GunmetalDreamer

Quote from: Mac84 on July 14, 2018, 12:08:09 PMHEY GUNMETAL! Great to see you again! XD

Heyo Mac!  It's been a while, eh?

That was kind of a crazy weekend, but let's see if I can't generate some input here:

Sexy Times
Heh, well, I’m not going to lie and pretend that I don’t enjoy some POW non-con, but given the core set-up that might be a little Bad End-y for this particular game.  Depending on the degree of Mad Science we want to incorporate, it’s a fine vector for restraints, drugs, devices, and just generally Playing Doctor which could be fun to bring into the mix.  Overall though, I’m pretty open minded – so don’t hesitate to bring something online on my behalf.

Mechs
Ha ha, I’m one of those people who loves mecha in all their form.  I’d really be happy with either, but given that I’m one of those crazy bastards who likes driving Light ‘Mechs in Battletech, I guess I’ll lean in favor of the more graceful mobile suit end of the spectrum (admittedly, my first love there is for grunt suits :P )

Downtimes
Ha, well, I’m a bit of a mechanical fetishist and I can definitely enjoy a bit of rough handling, so the line gets pretty blurry for me.  It sounds like what you’ve got built up is pretty mission focused though, so, maybe 2/3rds blowing stuff up and 1/3rd off duty comradery / lewd fraternization?

I’ll admit that I’m kind of curious what you’ve cooked up mechanically.  The only PbtA systems I know that are really suited for Mecha Stuff are Uncharted Worlds and Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands (which is mostly PbtA by association).  Once I get up to my elbows into the guts of the system, I might change my tune a little bit.

Misc
It sounds like we’re pushing pretty Space Operatic here, so I’m gonna go ahead and ask: what’re you thinking in terms of alien species?  Some human-compatible extra-terrestrial crew members?  Repelling giant space monster invasions?  A galaxy largely dominated by mankind and civil strife?

Autocad

Woot for the interest!

Popular consensus goes to Gundam-y mechs so that's what we'll do! Also we'll alternate between missions where we blow stuff up in mechs and downtime with team building and fraternization.

Now for the wall of text for world-building, this isn't fixed in stone so feel free suggest changes.




Giant mecha - the Combat Frame

The technology behind giant mecha began as full immersion virtual reality gaming technology (like FullDive in Sword Art Online) that allowed the human brain to interface with a computer directly. It wasn't long before somebody discovered the military application of using this technology to pilot fighting vehicles. Information could be uploaded directly into the consciousness of the pilot without need for heads up displays or instrument panels, and they could control their vehicles exactly as they wished with their mind without the intermediary of joysticks and pedals. The second generation of VR piloting technology went a step further in integrating human and machine and sought to feedback information from the vehicle into the pilot's brain as though it were their body, so they could feel the vehicle as an extension of their own body and control it much more intuitively than before.

The maneuverability of the tanks and planes first fitted with the virtual reality piloting system was greatly improved and the whole system showed great potential. But problems began to surface at the same time, with the brain expecting the nervous system of a human body but encountering the body of a vehicle, and rejecting the signal as a result. The Combat Frame was developed specifically in response to this requirement of the VR piloting system. With a humanoid chassis possessing a torso, head, two arms, two legs, and so on that mapped one-to-one to the human body, the probability of rejection was minimized. At the same time the major limitation of VR piloting, requiring the pilot to be immersed in VR and effectively unconscious to the outside world, was solved with an Augmented Reality system that pasted VR inputs over the real world, allowing pilots to sense and control their Combat Frames while keeping their own eyes and ears open to the real world around them.

The final result and current iteration was the third-generation Combat Frame Augmented Reality (CFAR) system that allowed a pilot to integrate with their Combat Frame as though it was an extension of their own body, taking in data from the Frame's sensors like their own senses and controlling the Frame as easily as they did their own limbs, while remaining in a state of normal consciousness.

Political Setting

Humanity has left its cradle, Earth, and began spreading throughout the solar system, with permanent settlements ranging from atmospheric habitats above Venus to dome colonies on the moons of Saturn.

Earth remains the most populated planet and the economic center of the solar system. There is a precarious balance of power between the four major powers: the US, EU, China, and Russia, each of which control one of Earth's four space elevators. They compete with each other on Earth for influence over the unaligned nations within Africa and Southeast Asia and in space for colonies to expand their interplanetary reach. The Moon is a quiet backwater, home mostly to mining operations, low-gravity shipyards, and military bases.

Mars has been terraformed into an inhabitable planet with the second most population in the solar system. It is divided up into territories owned by the terran nations and granted strictly limited autonomy due to the difficulty of governance between interplanetary distances. However the economic and political policies are definitely exploitative, and being the only habitable body capable of theoretical full self-sufficiency, there is an undercurrent of discontent at the status quo and desire for independence.

Venus has an uninhabitable surface due to its high pressure corrosive atmosphere, but permanent floating colonies exist in the upper atmosphere where conditions are less extreme. There is an international project to terraform the planet that is theoretically a cooperative project between all the major powers, but the process is slow and difficult, and beset with corruption and political meddling.

Mercury is sparsely inhabited due to its extreme environment and proximity to the sun, hosting only a handful of research and military bases and a super-super-max prison veiled in secrecy.

The Asteroid Belt is a thick barrier of asteroids in this setting that stands as a formidable obstacle to navigation between the inner and outer spheres of the solar system. The charted safe routes are a natural choke point preyed upon by pirates who operate from hidden asteroid bases. Going above or below the solar plane to bypass the asteroid belt entirely takes too much fuel and is more expensive than contracting a PMC (private military contractor) to provide security through the most dangerous passages, resulting in a proliferation of such business.

Jupiter and Saturn are the frontier of human expansion. The gas giants are mined for the hydrogen that fuels modern power reactors. Jovian and Saturnal cities exist under protective domes on the larger, more habitable moons, and own orbital gas mining stations around the gas giants themselves. The economy is driven by the sale of fuel to the ever-hungry reactors on Earth and Mars.




Combat Frame Carrier

The PCs are new employees of Excalibur, a PMC with ties to the US government on Earth. Excalibur specializes in weapon testing and fields more unconventional and experimental Combat Frames than the average. Excalibur's main naval asset is the Avalon, a Combat Frame Carrier that can carry a company of Frames and the supplies and staff needed to repair, refit and resupply them. The Avalon is lightly armed and armored otherwise, meant to stay a safe distance away from the fighting after launching her Combat Frames.

Freshly overhauled and refitted at the Mars shipyards, the Avalon takes on a fresh crew and a new complement of Combat Frames and pilots as she prepares for a transit to Jupiter...

Mac84

#10
Nice looking set up Auto,

It is looking like most of the fighting will take place in Space correct?

Will start work on provisional Character sheet.

greypsychman

I am out of town until Sunday. I won't be able to do anything until then.  Where would you like us to post characters When we get them done?

Autocad

The RP will take place not just in space, but also planetside - like the terraformed fields of Mars or the aerostat habitats of Venus, moonside - like the domed cities of Titan, around giant space stations and inside them, and more.




Some of you might have already found the rules thread WIP in the GM's Corner, which you can use as a guide to get a head start on character creation. Just keep in mind that the rules are subject to change before they have been finalized.

Characters can go here until the RP starts proper at which time you can transfer them to the appropriate OOC thread.

Florence

#13



Pilot
Name: Ciel Lécuyer
Callsign: "Baroness". Her somewhat arrogant and haughty personality, combined with her skills at piloting and the red paint job of Valse Rouge earned her the nickname, referencing the historical Red Baron.
Description: A french woman with shoulder length light blonde hair and sky blue eyes. She has a slightly tall, lithe build, with well toned muscles. Her personality can be somewhat off-putting for some, as she tends to look down upon those who fail to prove their worth to her. Conversely, however, she is perfectly amicable towards those who have, even amongst her enemies. She enjoys combat for the thrill of it, putting less stock in ideals or even monetary gains. That said, she despises cowardly conduct in battle, especially from her allies. Sexually, she's pansexual and tends to be a dominant lover, with a penchant for bondage, or at least some manner of power play.
Stats:

  • Gunnery: 0
  • Piloting: +1
  • Guts: +1
  • Tactics: 0
  • Comms: -1
Pilot Moves:

  • Outflank
Relationships:

  • Person: Friendship/Rivalry X
Health: 4/4

Mech
Designation: Valse Rouge
Specification: A lightweight mech that sacrifices long ranged firepower and armor for improved maneuverability. As such it possesses a leaner build than most, stripped of anything deemed 'unnecessary bulk'. It has a striking red paint job. It is equipped with afterburners to allow the pilot to more easily chase down enemies and outmaneuver them. Armaments include a beam saber for melee engagements, and a drum-fed machine gun for medium ranged fighting.
Rating:

  • Firepower: 0
  • Maneuver: +1
  • Armor: 0
  • Support: 0
Mech Equipment:

  • Beam Saber (1 Firepower Point): Melee, Long none / Medium none / Close 0, 1 Energy Damage
  • Machine Gun (1 Firepower Point): Direct Fire, Long -1 / Medium 0 / Close -1, 1 Kinetic Damage
  • Afterburner (1 Maneuver Point): +1 bonus to Change Range moves
Durability: 3/3
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

greypsychman

#14
Pilot

Name: Atle Odegaard

Callsign: Viking; He received his call sign because of his build, his Norwegian heritage, and fierceness in battle.

Description: Atle is Norwegian and stands 6’1” inches tall weighing 215 pounds. He has light to medium brown hair and a beard. His hair is short to medium length. He has bright, blue eyes. Atle has a muscular, athletic build but is surprisingly agile when he moves. He has a generally optimistic point of view and tends to see the best in people. This makes him appear a little naïve. He is a brave and courageous fighter who firmly believes in justice for all and treating others with respect. Atle is a team player and will do whatever is necessary for his companions to be successful.

Alte grew up in Norway so he speaks Norwegian but he is also fluent in English. His parents were middle class and he has three older sisters. Atle was lucky enough to earn admission to the Norwegian Military Academy in Oslo. He took the general courses and after graduation was assigned as a platoon commander. While he was a good commander and liked by his troops, Atle wasn’t a spit and polish leader. He felt it was more important that his troops were tactically proficient, displayed initiative, and able to think on their feet. He was dismissed from the army and a few weeks later when the opportunity to join the Excalibur PMC, Atle jumped at the chance. This is partly because of his optimistic viewpoint. Atle truly believes that cooperation among all human governments is essential in order for humanity to prosper and expand. He is hoping that an example of an EU soldier working with US soldiers can show others that teamwork is possible. Atle notes that, in fact, if you look back through history, the US and EU were often allies.

Atle is hetrosexual and generally prefers women with blonde or auburn hair and either blue or green eyes. He also is attracted to more busty women. 
These are my on and offs:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/onsoffs.php?u=60343

Stats: Assign +1/+1/0/0/-1 to below:
  • Gunnery: +1
    Piloting:     0
    Guts:      +1
    Tactics:     0
    Comms:  -1

Pilot Moves:

Starting pilot move: Called Shot

Relationships:

Person: Friendship/Rivalry X

Health: 4/4

Mech

Designation: Drakkar
Specification: The Drakkar is a medium Mech with average speed and armor. It has a large, high velocity projectile weapon mounted on its right forearm (1 point) and caries a battle axe for a melee weapon (1 point). The Drakkar also has a targeting system that makes it Accurate (1 point). Atle chose to have its paint scheme in a maroon, grey, and black tiger stripe pattern.

Rating: Assign +1/0/0/0 to below:
  • Firepower: +1 (3 points)
    Maneuver:  0
    Armor:       0
    Support:    0

Mech Equipment:
  • Weapon-Battle Axe (1 point): Melee, Long none / Medium none / Close 0, 1 Kinetic Damage
    Gauss Rifle (1 point): Direct Fire, Long -1 / Medium 0 / Close -1, 1 Kinetic Damage

Engine-Standard Mech Engine

Durability: 3/3.


Hamadryad

Just wanna throw in my interest :)

Smutwise, I'm more into the non-con side of stuff, I don't really have any limits.

Mechawise, I don't mind either, leaning more towards the sleek high action mechas.

Downtime, I think downtime should be uncommon in the main thread, with it mainly being briefing/debriefing for missions. The rest of downtime can be put in other threads.

Here's a preliminary character sheet, too :)

Pilot
Name: Ryali Banks.
Callsign: Harley, originally a derogatory nickname Ryali got in bootcamp for being the camp bike, she has since embraced the name.
Description: A short, athletic tanned girl with long brown hair. Large bust and wide hips, she sees herself as a bit of a sexual icon. She loves a good rutt almost as much as she loves blasting things in her mech.

She's down to do just about anything with just about anyone.

Stats: Assign +1/+1/0/0/-1 to below:

  • Gunnery: +1
  • Piloting: 0
  • Guts: +1
  • Tactics: 0
  • Comms: -1
Pilot Moves: Your character starts with all basic moves, plus one pilot move of your choice. Mark pilot moves on your character sheet.

  • Brace for Impact
Relationships:

  • Person: N/A
Health: 4/4

Mech
Designation: Starburst
Specification: A medium sized mech with decent armour plating and multiple ranged weapons, limited melee capability.
Rating: Assign +1/0/0/0 to below:

  • Firepower: +1
  • Maneuver: 0
  • Armor: 0
  • Support: 0
Mech Equipment: Your mech starts with equipment based on its rating. Mark equipment on your character sheet.

  • Weapon
  • Engine
Durability: 3/3

Florence

Changed my characters name and callsign, and added a description.

I'm sure I don't have to tell any Gundam fan in this thread what I'm going for with this character :P

Though I guess, being a protagonist in this story, she's more an anti-hero than the usual anti-villain versions of this trope.
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Autocad

Version 1.0 of the player rules are up which contain enough information for a complete character sheet:

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=290710.0

Besides the mechanical requirements of the character sheet, it would be nice if you can contribute to the world building by writing up brief summaries for your character's:

Character / Mech description: If you want to go into more detail than the minimum requirement in the character sheet.
Background: Where did your character come from and why did they join Excalibur?

Mac84

how needed would be an Artillery/Support Mech?

I'm still kinda itching to play a "Monster". Or would it be better to go with a "Grunt" Front line suit?




Florence

Updated my sheet. I'll write up a backstory when I can devote more brainpower to it.
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Autocad

Quote from: Mac84 on July 24, 2018, 07:16:23 AM
how needed would be an Artillery/Support Mech?

I'm still kinda itching to play a "Monster". Or would it be better to go with a "Grunt" Front line suit?



It's really up to you. Pick the mech you want!

greypsychman

I updated my character sheet and added a little more back story as well.

This is kind of what I envisioned as a mech.




Zenkai

#22
Pilot
Name: Jagoda Drolyewska
picture

Callsign: Butch (her flight trainer took one look at her and put this down without a second thought)
Description: Muscular, heavy-shouldered, and too short for her bulk; blonde, thick-voiced, foul-tempered. She has trouble relating to others, possibly because of the negative reception she's received in most of her old outfits. Lashing out at everyone has long since become a habit for her. Hidden beneath the iron-hard exterior is a girl with a desperate need to be loved. Boy, girl, or machine, as long as it holds her tight and makes her helpless to resist. She'll love whoever manages to make her submit forever. Or at least until a stronger person comes along...
Stats:

  • Gunnery: 0
  • Piloting: +1
  • Guts: +1
  • Tactics: 0
  • Comms: -1
Pilot Moves:

  • Shield Ally When you Shield an Ally against an incoming attack, roll 2d6 + Guts. On a 10+, you deflect the attack off your armor and both you and your ally avoid taking Damage. On a 7-9, the GM will present you a difficult choice. On a 6-, you take Damage in your ally's stead.
Relationships:

  • Person: Friendship/Rivalry X
Health: Maximum health is 4.

Mech
Designation: Sungrazer (managed to shield-surf on a solar flare inside of Mercury's orbit. One month of hospital stay and three months in the brig were forgotten quickly, but the name stuck.)
Specification: A charred monstrosity that only its mother pilot can love. It might have once had an orange paintjob, but it's a mass of welds, patches and replacement parts now. An oversized shield on its left shoulder, and an adapted asteroid plasma drill on its right forearm stand out due to their less than damaged appearance.
Rating:

  • Firepower: 0
  • Maneuver: 0
  • Armor: +1
  • Support: 0
Mech Equipment:

  • Weapon: Plasma Drill (inaccurate, 2 damage, melee)
  • Weapon: Battered Rifle (inaccurate, direct fire, standard profile)
  • Weapon: Whirlwind Missile Pack (inaccurate, missile, sniper profile)
  • Shield: +1 bonus to Brace for Impact and Shield Ally moves
Durability: Maximum durability is 4

Florence

Just a question for backstories: How long exactly have the player characters been with this group? I know you said "new", so I would guess not very long.
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Autocad

You have just signed on. First scene will be arrival on board the Avalon and a tour of the ship.