Anatomy of an Expedition
Rare is the expedition that goes entirely according to plan, but Crows divide the most successful journeys into five steps. The quintessential ‘cinematic action’ of the story usually takes place while delving into the deadly alien ruins … But getting there is half the fun.
This is just an introductory list of challenges your crew may face; a basic template for these adventures. Depending on the unique strengths of your heroes, the narrative focus may shift heavily towards the other steps, or you may find new events presenting themselves, driven by the personal entanglements each hero brings to the tale.
This is just an introductory list of challenges your crew may face; a basic template for these adventures. Depending on the unique strengths of your heroes, the narrative focus may shift heavily towards the other steps, or you may find new events presenting themselves, driven by the personal entanglements each hero brings to the tale.
Preparation.
Crow teams can be very fluid, forming and dissolving as part of each expedition. Steady partnerships are common among ’heroic’ groups, but retirements, accidents, personal politics, and the steady trickle of new Crows looking to join up with seasoned veterans make recruitment a normal part of preparation. This is an opportunity for Talker heroes to shine, interviewing and bringing in new faces.
This is also the time for logistical preparation: restocking supplies, getting new personal gear, and upgrading the ship – spending some of the money the last expedition earned. Heroes with an emphasis on resources often make substantial contributions before the ship even leaves port.
Efforts: Assess skills, assess motives, persuasion, negotiation, acquisition, repair/upgrade
This is also the time for logistical preparation: restocking supplies, getting new personal gear, and upgrading the ship – spending some of the money the last expedition earned. Heroes with an emphasis on resources often make substantial contributions before the ship even leaves port.
Efforts: Assess skills, assess motives, persuasion, negotiation, acquisition, repair/upgrade
Discovery Locating new Dynasty sites can take many forms. Surveying new systems (or reexamining systems believed to have been picked over) for T’ien-Lung artifacts or tracking down gravitational anomalies that surround damaged Dynasty harbors requires painstaking work. Ley-stones from previous expeditions may act as treasure maps, allowing this phase to be skipped. Some teams specialize in shadowing the movements of other Crows, looking to capitalize on their superior research skills with a parallel delve.
Preparation may also take place after the Discovery phase, when one or more Crows already have a lead on a new site and are now looking for new partners to help them access it.
Efforts: Research, reconnaissance, puzzle solving, stealth
Approach. Getting to the site involves mostly ship-based obstacles. Traveling across the Star Web requires a ship, supplies, and avoiding various dangers ranging from accidents to pirates to low level brush wars breaking out between the various nations. With Dynasty sites often well beyond formal borders all the dangers of traveling in the interstellar wilderness are magnified. Smaller crews may emphasize ‘Crow skills’ over ‘ship skills’, making even small setbacks during this step challenging.
Approach may precede Discovery when the existence of a site is uncertain and the crew is simply surveying a distant star system hoping for a hit.
Efforts.Navigation, ship chases, ship combat, repairs, negotiation
Delving.The narrative heart of the expedition — entering the alien ruins — is the most consistently dangerous part of the process. The deadly misfortunes of the Curse loom over every decision, creating inexorable time pressure. Lethal security systems, malfunctioning technology, alien control interfaces, and mutated T’ien-Lung servitors are just some of the endless varieties of deathtraps awaiting the Crows. Mixing the familiar and the strange makes experience with previous sites both an advantage and liability. Constant wariness towards the surroundings and one’s own assumptions is the price of survival. Add in the possibility of rival Crows on site and you can expect only the unexpected.
Efforts: Variable-G exploration, finding traps, puzzle solving, combat, finding & extracting loot, vacuum/low-G survival
Coming Home. After escaping from the Celestial Dynasty ruins, hopefully with bags full of loot or new pieces of the ancient puzzle, the final step is capitalizing on these rewards. The journey home may be as fraught with peril as the voyage out, but the focus here is often on the consequences of success. Deciding who to share secrets with, how to sell off the treasures, and determining where you now stand in the larger Crow community. The focus becomes more social again, with self-promotion and negotiation essential to gaining ground before the cycle begins anew.
Efforts: Negotiation, building Reputation/Legend, acquisition, spending Reputation/Legend, character advancement