Odradek's Drift Session 1: Krongu Ultradrank
Players
- Lt. Gunt Zama, ex-Navy (Gourd Dwarf)
- Maj. Rosalie Klein, ex-Army (xtinak)
- Laszlo "Lazer" Llewelyn (Mistuh)
- Evie Moth, ex-Navy (Scribble M. Horror)
- Cpt. Minnow Blux, ex-Army (Oldhawkeyes)
Summary
In the early 'aughts, Krongu Corporation was a thriving venture, selling primordial slime to speculative evolutionists across the Pleiades. But when the soup bubble burst in '06, Krongu's value dipped & most employees (and investors) fled the planet for greener (or in this case, less-green) pastures. So it goes.
In a last ditch effort at solvency, the Krongu executive board scraped together funds to commission a free trader. It's mission: to sell the last 66 metric tons of inventory and (hopefully) find a new line of business for the corporation to pursue.
So the heroes of our tale began in orbit around their planet of employment. A handful of rumors had filtered through to Krongu's measly class E spaceport, and so the crew debated whether to seek out the lost S.S. Beatrix for a longshot at the mCR 1 bounty, or just do some trading runs to nearby worlds. The upcoming Drift Series baseball tournament in nearby El Zocalo piqued general interest, and the possibility of possibly fixing the tournament was raised.
Thus, the crew jumped to El Zocalo (safely, despite the unrefined fuel), a heavily-polluted industrial world managed by Neogen Multistellar. Gunt and Evie both attempted to find lodging for free. Gunt ended up running into a single cop and getting thrown in a holding cell for not having a Neogen-branded ID card. Evie met some escaped industrial serfs and earned a bowl of soup by reciting an enigmatic Babylonian joke.
Meanwhile, Minnow, Rosalie, and Laszlo went looking for patrons at the spaceport bar, which adjoined a zero-g cage match arena. Minnow bonded with a fellow ex-army soldier named Zanzer Perspect, and heard his tale of woe:
"I've seen shit all over the sector man. I took drop pods into the storms of Wrociai and did battle with unity cultists on Phaedra. But now I've got one mission left: sweet revenge. See, I was doing a tour on Tamtidine and my unit got this shipment of brand-new Neogen-branded auto-rifles. Seemed great, until we got ambushed by insurgents and all our guns jammed after a few shots. Only me and a few buddies made it out alive. I've been trying to track down who's responsible ever since. Last month, I got access to the Neogen employee records -- the guy responsible for QC of that batch is named Anaximander Isotope. Apparently, he retired last year to Fener, just a couple jumps away. I aim to get my revenge, but I'm low on cash at the moment."
Zanzer went on to note that Anaximander, having been embezzling and skimming his whole life, almost certainly had a sizable bank account that avengers could enjoy after his demise. Moved by his tale, Minnow promised to help track down Isotope and offered Perspec passage.
At the urging of Rosalie and Evie, however, they decided to attempt to sell some slime before departing the planet. Evie proposed marketing it as a fertilizer, but it was decided that that would be plan B after attempting Laszlo's proposal: to sell it as a health drink.
First, Laszlo tested a sip. The flavor was earthy and the texture was both gritty and slimy. Though nauseated and a few shades greener, he was able to keep it down.
One of the fugitives Evie met, Rudiger Kreft, was hired as guerrilla marketer. Given a bath, haircut, and mid-tier athleisure outfit, he was escorted to an upscale park-dome by Minnow. Unfortunately, Rudiger's constitution was worn out but decades toiling at the smelters, and he promptly began vomiting into a potted fern.
Cap'n Minnow's Special Blend (by Oldhawkeyes):
1/3 Krongu Slime 2/3 Alkaline Water Pinch of sugar Two tbsps of salt Twist of lemon
Undeterred, the intrepid Kronguvians pivoted to less honest means. They would pay one of the cage fighters at the spaceport bar to drink a solution that resembled Krongu Green Slime. To this end, Rosalie used her knowledge of Brawling to befriend the current top fighter, Tulip Driblette. She settled on a payment of 500 to drink fake "Krongu Ultradrank" and another 150 to display a Krongu decal prominently on the ass-cheek of her boxing shorts.
(Credit to Mistuh for the graphic design work)
Will she succeed in next weeks fight and bring glory to the Krongu brand? Will Krongu Ultradrank be the next health craze on El Zocalo? Will Zanzer Perspec get his revenge? Tune in next week to ODRADEK'S DRIFT to find out!
Notes
- Traveller rocks. Was sweaty and grinning the whole time I ran this.
- The patron was rolled up on the fly using tricks from Oldhawkeyes and Chao. I was really nervous about this part of the game but it was way easier than I expected.
- Having a list of NPC names prepared is (so far) much more useful than prepping maps.
- 90% of the sauce comes from having engaged players who make their own plans and pursue threads and generally create chaos. On that front I was extremely lucky on my first session running Classic Traveller.