Gravity's Rainbow
Created: 2026-01-18 21:27:59 | Last Modified: 2026-01-29 12:44:00
So going through some old notes and trying to clean my hard drive I found what appears to be a session log of what was the very first RPG session that I ever game mastered. Actually, that isn't completely true — it was the first one that didn't end in frustration or disaster.
This must have been in the before times of around 2014. We were playing Stars without number, 1st edition back then, which is still an excellent role playing game. The log is written in prose, which is nice, but like many of my literary ambitions it was never finished. I am publishing it below in its full, completely unedited glory, spelling mistakes and all.
What follows is the Tale of my groups first time playing Stars Without Number. Enjoy.DRAMATIS PERSONAE Theadora Tank - Expert/Captain of the players' ship. Iman Core - Expert/ Biotech specialist Elre - Warrior/Captain's bodyguard and templar of the Tetragrammaton tech religion. Trick - Psychic/Telekinesis and Teleportation psychic; rolled 1 on HP roll.
Our tale starts with the party about to complete their first mission: The successful delivery of 90 tons of pesticides to the Gravity's Rainbow pharmaceuticals research station would net them a payment of 20k credits- exactly enough to pay for this month's interest on the ship. It's a rotating torus space station, but captain Theadora wisely got a level 1 in Piloting so the ship lands in the central docking module no problem. The party takes the elevator to the administration deck to handle customs and payment. The station is bright, white and clean, like an ipod, all with fake birdsounds from the speakers. At this point it should be noted that captain theadora does all of this in full body medieval plate mail, because the noob DM(me) did not read the equipment list carefully enough. Later, on the biodeck, Iman figures out that there are no pests whatsoever on the station. Is there more to the pesticides than the party thought? After ignoring the biodeck elephants for 5 minutes, the party makes their way to the hotel bar, as they notice a heavily guarded maintenance bulkhead door. Two of the party succeed on their Culture/Criminal rolls and figure out that it's a mercenary guarding the door. After some unsuccessful persuasion attempts on the guard, it becomes apparent to our heroes, that violence is the only solution. Pesticides without a pest? A maintenance area that dares to be guarded? Clearly, blood had to be spilled! However, with the mercenary brandishing his submachinegun and signaling for backup, and the party's total HP being countable on two hands, they decide to take a more cunning approach later...
Trick discovers no alcohol is being served at the hotel bar. Company Policy. Disappointment aside, something special must have been in the air that night, since Trick took a strange liking to the bartender. Eventually, the Janitor shares his secret stash of space whisky with Trick, in exchange for stories of space travel. Meanwhile, Theadora, the gallant knight, and her remaining party is approached by Vivian Darkbloom, an investigative journalist who thinks that something is foul on the station. Trick has finished his information gathering, gets bored, and calls the party over: Red, the janitor, has apparently been working in maintenance, before being promoted to chief facility manager of the hotel. This is all our heroes need to hear; the maintenance area is the definitive nucleus of the local conspiracy and anyone involved deserves no mercy or politeness. A quick stun baton to the head and Red is unconscious on the floor, ready to be interrogated. Vivian exits, visibly shaken and not ready for the tough crowd. Red rages impotently, tied up on the floor. He only wanted to strike an alcohol smuggling deal with our brave space travelers. After all, he didn't get where he is now by not being a cunning enterpeneur. The party get no further information, but a maintenance keycard. Imam seizes the moment, never one to pass up free booze, and takes the bigger part of Red's stash of space whisky with him. It was illegal on the station anyway.
Elre visits midnight mass at the local Tetragrammaton temple. So inspired by the priest's sermon and the enormous energy cell shaped effigy, he decides to follow a disgruntled researcher in the crowd home to his housing module. Elre tries to trick the researcher over the intercom:
"Whos there?" "It's Elre, I've got some.... medication for your wife!" click
It doesn't work. No matter! A hero without a plan, and really bad persuade rolls, is still a hero!
After unsuccessfully trying the exact same approach on the now wary maintenance guards one more time, the party goes to sleep in the hotel, still ignorant of the horrors that lurk in the very walls of the station...
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Trick dreams. He finds himself ina dark room, surrounded by an almost palpable blackness that, presently, gets pierced by a vertical beam of bright light. The beam grows and extends, like a door opening into the sun. A bulky, human figure emerges wearing what seems to be a space suit. Trick does not see himself in the reflection of the enormous visor, as the figure approches, silently, with soft movements. The strange astronauts hands move up to take off his helmet, and, just before what should be his face is revealed, Trick awakes.
Moments after regaining his orientation, scanning his mostly unremarkable space station hotel room, Trick hears a high pitched scream coming from the hall.
What a cliffhanger.
Tags: rpg