A brief layover in Port Wander then off to Footfall in a new (old) ship (sessions #17 & 18)

Whilst en route to Port Wander Darien takes a break from his reading of the Red Book of the Haxtus to discuss the captaincy of the Penance of Iocanthos with Scythia.  They agree to keep the death of Cobolt under wraps for now and promote Killroy, the first officer, to the role.

Upon their arrival in port Mord slips off to deliver his package.  The gentleman he meets scans the item and is aware that he investigated it but doesn't seem to concerned.  He asks Mord why a Tech priest would not report or act on something so apparently heretical?   Mord replies that he is only concerned with technology not the strictures or rules of the priesthood.  The man shows him out but anticipates that they will meet again...

Ramirez meets Darien and Theata while Lomar goes off to check how his "work crews" got on.
The "work crews" as we cme to refer to them were an idea suggested by Lomar's player after they had left Port Wander but it was too cool to ignore so we retroactively added it in as a Background Endeavour (see Rogue Trader: into the Storm for rules on how to run background endeavours).

In the player's own words: Lomar is specifically qualified to help hunt down dangerous creatures. As he lacks some of the relevant skills, and because the creatures in question are well above the ability of one man alone, he must do this sort of work with teams. Lomar is planning on taking one of these teams to scout out the Emperors Bounty. Workers have been on there for months and Lomar is going to search out for any remainng mutants onboard. I expect many may have been taken out as part of the refurb, but just in case Lomar will take a team of professionals to assess the scale of the mutant presence. Once he has an understanding of their number and strength he will make a decision in each case whether to leave the mutant alone or to capture them. Captured mutants of a worthwhile value will be given options to either serve the family, or to be dropped off at one of the planets the Baccharus family now own which included mutant numbers. Bacchus has superb storage facilities on baord but that vessel is away. Highly valuable psykers are the prime target, and Lomar is very qualified to deal with them. If any can be found then then will be given employment opportunities to serve in the house and to have a better life than the one they currently have laid out before them. The Emperors Bounty will be purged as much as is possible and the mutant hordes within either captured, shipped off, permanently removed or offered a way out in employment.

Back at the mansion Ramirez Connery, the bondsman who runs things for them at Port Wander, updates them on events:

• Lomar's teams were a success and a number of twists and dregs were routed out.  Some were known felons who were turned in for bounties, some paid passage to be smuggled out of the system and others have entered service with the House, including a small cadre of unsanctioned psykers and Wyrds
• Schofield, Darrien's sister has passed through on her way to the Majestic Labour
• Ramirez has recieved word that Darien is to take command of the Emperor's Bounty, appoint a command crew and set sail to meet up with Baccharus and the Majestc Labour at Footfall

Theata finds new orders from his House; they have have arranged a new commission for him - he is to be the primary Warp Guide on a newly commissioned vessel: the Emperor's Bounty....Theata spins it to Darien that he will insist to his House that he acts as Warp guide, if he wants him and will demand the station if need be.

Over the next few days Darien makes various arrangements to form his officer cadre:

• He asks Scythia to be his High Factorum - she is shocked and honoured and accepts.  The ex-Administratum adept she had suggested for the role will become the Ship's Purser instead.
• Deatrix accosts Darrien and demands to be the Choir Master he agrees at once and she stomps off, content.
• Darien offers Lomar the role of Master-at-arms, he is unsure but says he will always do what the House requires of him, but it is for Baccharus to say as he is sworn in service to him.
• The Death Cultist Que'toh is appointed as "Master of Whispers"
• When Mord returns from surgery to replace his flesh arms with two new good quality bionics, Darien asks him to take on the role of Enginseer Prime, which he accepts
• Darien officially appoints Killroy as the master of the Penance of Iocanthos and it begins it's new "milk run" from Port Wander to Fervious.

The Emporer's Bounty gets underway.  As they leave Darien is approached by Father Aubray, the Ship's Confessor (as an ex-mechanicus monitor cruiser the shrine to the Emperor is comparatively small and is staffed by a small group of minor clergy, Frater Militia and Mendicant monks).  Aubray is a practical and pragmatic man who still wears his old Guard fatigues (after having "found his faith in the field" and serving as a Confessor to his fellow infantrymen).  He asks if he can say a benediction over the vessel as they set forth and Darien agrees. Later they share a drink and the Father fills Darien in a little about his past and the Eccelsiarchy contingent aboard.

Theata discovers that one of the subordinate Navigators aboard is his "betrothed" a corpulant female navigator by the name of Lucretia Xan'tai.  She seems to be perpetually bored and has a harem of young human males.

Theata takes the ship to Footfall in a quarter of the time expected but on route the crew is shaken by the appearance of "ghost ships" around them.  Darien shows his command mettle by calming the situation and the rest of the voyage is uneventful.

When they arrive at Footfall they are hailed by the Majestic Labour and Darien takes a shuttlecraft across to the "flagship". There is no official welcome and the ship seems to just be "business as usual".  Darien and his entourage head to the bridge where they find Klyto.  Surprisingly he shows what passes for respect towards Darien and indicates that his father & sister are ensconced in Baccharus' dining hall.  The Explorers head there.  A debauched "regency" style banquet is in full swing and it appears that Schofield has brought a coterie of sycophantic hangers on with her (or picked some up en route).

Schofield is giggly, girly and very much a daddy's girl. It appears that she is pandering to his worst excesses and  Baccahrus constantly interrupts Darien to tell him some other trivial anecdote about something his daughter has done. His plan, possibly suggested by Schofield, is that Darien will remain in command of the Emperor's Bounty while she, as heir, stays near "daddy-kins" on the Majestic Labour. They will travel together as a flotilla - Darien refers to his father as the "Lord-Admiral" which he appears to approve of highly.

Baccahrus gives his tacit approval for Lomar to be instated as Darien's Master-at-arms, if for no other reason than it gives the Lord-Admiral someone he trusts aboard his son's vessel.

The Lord-Admiral has a new scheme - they will soon leave Footfall to rendeavous with some aquaintances of his who may have details of an opportunity that they will trade with the House. But before they leave port Baccahrus wants thenm to negotiate some contacts that will help sell on/exploit/fence whatever the opportunity is...

The Explorers assess their options for who to approach.  They figure they could seek a deal with one or more of:

• House Krin (see Dark Heresy Main rule book and Rogue Trader: Edge of the Abyss) - a mercantile noble house
• The Beast House (see Dark Heresy: Disciples of the dark gods) - illicit traders of Xenos creatures with previous connections to House Baccahrus
• The Kasaballica (see Dark Heresy: Book of Judgement and Rogue Trader Edge of the Abyss and Hostile Aquisitions) - Calixian crime syndicate and significant player in the Cold Trade
• The Logicians (see Dark Heresy: Disciples of the dark gods) - Tech heretics with connections to Mord

They decide to approach House Krin and negotiations eventually bear fruit.  However the representative they speak with, Quaestor Papyrus, insists on accompanying them on their endeavour (along with entourage) to "protect his investment".

Meanwhile Lomar has been called away to an emergeancy on the Majestic Labour; one of the beasts has escaped.  He drags Mord along (although he offers frequent protests) and they organise a search of the ship.  Due to his role as Twist catcher, Dungoof makes a reappearance and joins the serach teams. The creature is the Lord-Admiral's favourite Ambull (see Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema), a female named Jordan. Dungoof and Lomar eventually corner it but are interrupted by a dark, armoured and winged humanoid shape. The new assailant attacks them and the Ambull and they retaliate but the armoured figure escapes.  The Ambull is however, safely recaptured. And when told the news the captain did exclaim (to graons and laughter "Jordan's Alive!" ;) (gotta love Brian Blessed....)

The flotilla translates to into the Warp and emerges, some ten days (ship time) later to meet the Lord-Admiral's contacts; a Stryxis caravan...

Expanding the cast part 1

The second story saw some changes to our regular cast of characters.
First off the chap playing Dungoof felt that he couldn't see a long term future in playing an Ork. Essentially he felt that he couldn't be consistantly "orky" enough and felt restricted in social situations (particularly as we play a very social and interaction heavy game). However the character concept, and the fact that he's a significant character on board was not something I wanted to lose. Plus the rest of the players were very keen on his effect in social scenes - in their opinions it made it more challenging and more interesting. Added to that the PC, and particularly the way the player ran him was just plain fun.
The player had an idea for an Explorator Tech-Priest, which was very cool and would fill what had become a very obvious "skill gap" in the group (Tech-use) so we agreed that he would "retire" Dungoof to the Bilge decks.  Essentially the Ork is still aboard, Twist catching and scum hunting but that way the player got to play a character he found easier to run and, if the mood takes or the scenario requires it (as it has done since) he can pick up Dungoof again. Just one of the advantages of playing with a huge ship of potential characters.
The tech-priest in question is Enginseer Desmond Mord, the Omnissian Congregator aboard the Majestic Labour. A specialist in Servitors and Cogitators Mord is a radical free-thinker who had to flee the Calixis Sector after accusations of tech-heresy after daring to create and invent unsanctioned technologies.  He arranged to be smuggled out of the sector and was able to secure a post on the Labour through Bo'sun Tanda, who was from the same Forge World and ran with the same street gangs in his youth.

The second change was that we gained a fifth player. However due to work and family commitments he wouldn't necessarily be able to play regularly.  With this in mind we created the Untouchable Arch-militant character of Rahip Lomar.

Rahip was born and brought up on the Calixian Death World of Zel Secundus. There he learnt to hunt and defend himself, becoming an accomplished sniper. He was spotted and recruited to a specialist Imperial Guard unit: Major Thomas Baker-Street's Irregulars where he also met the young penal soldier Vyn Tanda. He served quietly and obediantly, but his Untouchable nature kept him alienated from his colleagues. However after a disaterous run in with a group of Eldar both he and Tanda met and were eventually recruited by Lord-Captain Baccahrus.

Baccahrus recognised his Untouchable nature and has made great use of his "talent" ever since, tutoring him in what it means and having him accompany key staff on various missions, delegations or discussions.

On board ship Lomar works to help tend to Baccahrus' collection of beasts, having more of an affinity to them than his fellow man.  He also acts to co-ordinate and manage the Lord-Captain's hunting trips to various feral, feudal and Death worlds to obtain new creatures for the collection.

The final change was the unexpected death of Vyn Tanda.  While the player could have burnt a Fate point to survive she decided she'd rather try a different character and so created an Astopath; Deatrix Castella.  An accomplished swordswoman and psyker she is constantly accompanied by a large wolf. Due to work commitments unfortunately she hasn't had much chance to play her yet so she's often encountered as an NPC aboard ship.

The Dark Frontier (sessions #4-7)

So, having finished our first sojourn into Rogue Trader, with no small success the question was "What next?".

The players had focused quite alot on the Halo device and especially keeping it away from the Lord-Captain so it seemed natural to follow that up. Therefore I took advantage of the downloadable scenarios on the Fantasy Flight Games site and decided to run the follow up adventure Dark Frontier.

The Emperor's Bounty was made fit for travel and sent back to Port Wander for refit with a skeleton crew consisting of 50/50 Majestic labour clan-kin crew/Emperor's Bounty survivors.  The remaining survivors of the Bounty were assimilated into the Majestic Labour's crew.

When visiting his father Darien is surprised to find the Halo device there, even after he'd organised to have it sent into a star.  At first he thinks it could be a second one but there's no doubt, somehow it has found it's way back on board, and the captain is jealously guarding it.

After the Bounty leaves the Labour attempts to translate to the Warp but something goes horribly wrong. The ship is ripped through the Warp, the hull rends and buckles and the vessel careers way off course.  When they eventually come to rest in real space again Theata places them somewhere in the Ragged Worlds.

They soon learn that their drives are locked and that they are trapped in the system.  However investigations soon identify the only stellar body is an artificial "dark star" orbitted by a single moon and a debris field of previous victims.

Darien & Co are sent to the moon to make contact with the apparently human inhabitants and are able to negotiate with their leader, while the Captain sends the ship's Confessor, Brother Namahs, to open a dialogue with the religious sect that is resident in the debris field.

The Explorers' negotiations reveal that in exchange for passage off the moon for those who want it the settlement are willing to offer up the weapon they have prepared to break the dark sun's hold on the Labour.  They have the warhead of a Vortex Torpeado, but no reliable way to get it to the Xeno world's surface.  Darien agrees to help but upon return to the Majestic labour he discovers that things haven't progressed so well with the religious zealots of the other community. Brother Namahs believes that a potential opportunity resides with the captain of a merchant vessel which is also locked here, and is currently allied with the religious "Brotherhood". Darien is dispatched again to try to negotiate with her.

The captain's name is Lynara Cobolt and she comes across as a pious servant of the Emperor. She offers to help with the plans to escape and to act as a liason with the Brotherhood but what she asks in return is membership in the Rogue Trader Dynasty, Darien immediately assumes this means marriage...

The next session of play began with our "heroes" in a conference room aboard the Majestic Labour updating the Lord-Captain with details of recent events.  A new player character, Enginseer Mord, was introduced as the ship's chief Tech Priest, Magos Ectris, had delegated him to attend in his place (something the captain considered a major snub). The Captain seemed inclined to make Captain Cobolt his "next" wife and requested that she be brought onboard. The meeting was then interrupted by a delegation from House X'an Tai (the Navigator house that Theata belongs to) summoning the Carto-Artificer to his presence of his uncle, the ship's Warp Guide.

The Chief Navigator seems exceedingly frustrated, to the point of appearing somewhat manic, at the prospect of being Warp locked for much longer. He charges Theata with getting them out of there with all due haste.

Cobolt arrived with a small (armed) delegation, a discussion ensued in the hold where she'd landed which revealed the presence of Xenos on board - which in turn lead to to Captain Baccahrus telling her what he thought of her prudish, ignorant ways, and her leaving in haste.

The players then tried to alleviate matters but attempts at negotiation seemed to be stonewalled.

It is about then that Chief Bosun Tanda comes up with a plan - they will stage a fake coup on board the Majestic Labour - using doctored audio files and a staged battle against twists, mutants and bilge scum "recruited" by the Twist Catcher, Dungoof. Erronius will contact Capt. Cobolt and explain that he, and some loyal followers, are over throwing the Xenos-loving Captain but that they need her assistance. The staged battle will take place once she arrives on board with reinforcements, a bunch of badly armed muties etc will be killed for effect, meanwhile Theata will "gain command" of the bridge.

The players decide to take the plan to the Captain (and Klyto) and manage to sell it to them. All goes as planned, Tanda and Erronius fighting alongside Capt. Cobolt in one of the cargo holds as a swarm of twists are essentially executed (having been trapped in the hold by Enginseer Mord). The message soon comes through that the bridge is theirs and the Lord-Captain is dead - Erronius drops to one knee and asks for Lynara Cobolt's hand in marriage - she accepts.

The following session was the execution of the plan.  Darien piloted the Labour's Guncutter to the surface of the dark sun, accompanied by Theata, Vyn, Mord, Lomar (another new player character) and some ratings and servitors to manage the Vortex warhead. Meanwhile the Majestioc Labour and Cobolt's ship; The Penance of Iocanthos, will engage the alien "Void Wasps" that attack any ships that approach the xenos world.

Thanks largely to Darien's piloting skills they get down to the alien world's surface and disembark, heading to a very visable "node tower" - the theory being that if they cn knockl one of the nodes out the field holding the ships will be broken).

On the way they had to pass through a maze decorated with xeno pictograms and warp infused hieroglyphs.  The starnge sigils and symbols overwhelemed Darien, basically leaving him a  gibbering wreck for the remains of the game (poor guy failed every WP roll he had to make.  The Trauma meant that he could have acted but teh player was absent that day so for expediency I just had him panic & fret and act as a distraction and further complication to the others)

The tower was guarded by a series of formidable xeno constructs - the last of which resulted in an epic battle that almost killed both Mord & Theata. Bo'sun Tanda had a plan to distract it by placing herself in harm's way - which worked - too well. Vyn dies trying to save her friends.

It appears that the Halo device found it's way to the planet's surface and was the cause of the problems, finding it's way to the "altar" in teh central chamber of the tower. Mord sets the Vortex Warhead to detonate and they get out of there as quickly as they can.

We then jump to a few days after the misson to the "Alien world". Mord & Theata are out of the infirmary and Darien has spent most of the time under heavy sedation.

The Lord-Captain summons Darien, Theta and Mord for "brunch" as he wants to brief them before the arrival of Captain Cobolt from the Penance of Iocanthos.

He explains the events that transpired while they were on their expidition:

The battle lasted for just over four hours

The Void Wasps were persistant and quite deadly, they hit the Penance of Iocanthos a LOT but weren't so successful against the Majestic Labour.  The captain decided to raise the alien "ghost field" rather than it's void shields - making it much harder to hit but leaving it exposed to damage if shots connected. Essentially the Xenos craft were skilled but didn't hit very hard. Some were damaged but none of the alien ships were lost until the Vortex warhead blew up the tower. The Majestic Labour ended up firing four salvos of torpeados leaving it's magazine depleted by half. The Penance did not fare as well. While it's armour resisted the majority of damage the sheer number of hits it suffered meant that critical hits kept penetrating. First it's crew compartments were holed then it lost sensors (having to fire blind for the rest of the conflict as the tech-priests tried and consistantly failed to get them back on line.). Essentially unable to move or see the Wasps hit it again and again...thrusters were damaged, then it's Munitorium caught fire. The fire teams summoned by the Captain soon lost control of the blaze, causing a chain reaction which blew the stores (and a large section of ship), the fire spreading on to the ship's impressive Temple Shrine. Still the fire teams couldn't subdue the flames and they wrencked the shrine, then went on to damage one of the Cargo holds before spreading to the second (and final) hold. Mercifully it was at this point that the Void Wasps were destroyed so no further damage was sustained. Captain Cobolt had to take the emergency measure of venting the 2nd Hold to the Void to save it - at the cost of those souls still working within. Once the battle was concluded and the dead counted the losses suffered on board caused a mutiny to break out against the Captain.....which she eventually subdued....leaving the Penance in a precarious position....

During the mutiny Lynara contacted the Majesic Labour to beseech Darien for aid (as she had helped him previously) but got the Captain instead - destroying the ruse about his death. She has since cut communications until requesting a meeting later that day.

Through it all Darien seems dazed, befuddled, amnesiac and somewhat obsessed with a data slate, upon which he is attempting to draw and replicate the xeno pictograms that decorated the alien world.  

Mord discovers that Tanda's body is currently being kept "on ice" and he and Darien go to pay their respects. Theata returns to the cartography chambers to continue work to determine a safe warp route to and from this system.

Lynara arrives to be met by the command crew, Theata & Mord. Darien is late and has to be escorted to the meeting by the ascerbic Ms Scythia, Klyto's apprentice/assistant.. Lynara has arrived without entourage and seems somewhat humbled since their last dealings with her. The Lord-Captain takes everyone off to a reception room to discuss matters. Captain Cobolt still wants to join the dynasty (the suggestion being that she's quite prepared to lay aside her piety for profit) and Darien's father considers the Penance, albeit damaged, to still be a worthwhile prize. So they agree that Darien and Lynara will still be wed. A message arrives that a ship has translated from the Warp into near space and so Darien, Theata and Mord head to the bridge to investigate while the two Captains continue their discussions.

The Majestic Labour's augur array is a standard transport system so it can't get detail on the new ship that now rests near the other side of the Xeno world but they are able to identify that it is an Astartes Gladius class Frigate - a Space Marine multi-role ship.... It doesn't hail them, launches no shuttle craft, in fact it just appears to sit there... A tense waiting game ensues. Darien, Theata and the Lord-Captain are all keen to not "wake the carnosaur" - especially considering the xeno crew and technology on the ship. Lynara returns to the Penance to do the same. Darien splits his time either on watch on the bridge or in the ship's observation dome, still making his notes and drawings. After about 14 hours the Astartes ship jumps into the Warp again, disappearing as quickly as it arrived....

Mord is summoned by Magos Ectris, the senior tech-priest on the vessel, who asks for copies of all recording and research he has made relating to the Xeno constructs. Mord hands them over and asks the tech priest for advice - he wants to find a way that he can remove the "weakness" of his human emotions as the death of Vyn is distressing him greatly. The Magos is encouraged to hear this and says that he will give Mord some papres containing methods he can study involving procedures and tech-rituals he might use to exorcise such weaknesses.

Darien and the Captain discuss what to do next and agree that this system could hold potential profit - a tech-priest explorator mission to the xeno world, potential "cold trade" in alien artefacts, salvaging the vessel debris and setting up a small but longer term colony on the moon.  However the Penance needs repair, and the Lord-Captain wants to solidify the alliance so that they hold proper title on the ship. Therefore they agree that while the Majestic Labour remains in system to oversee the opening of "trade channels", Darien and a had picked staff will board the Penance and acompany her back to dock for repairs.  In this way they hope to:

• Restore morale on the ship - or at least prevent another mutiny
• Protect their new "investment"
• Take back the colonists and brotherhood members who want to return to Imperial space
• Arrange and conduct the wedding of Darien & Lynara

Baccahrus snr. dispatches Mord to oversee the emergency repairs to the Penance - a task that he conducts to such success that all the damaged systems are brought back online - leaving only the hull damage to be remedied.

Further preparations are made (these & repairs taking about two weeks in all) and a "delegation" selected:

• Darien
• Theata
• Mord 
• Lomar (sent by the Lord-Captain as his eyes & ears)
• Ms Scythia (sent by Klyto)
• Sister Litilia (a novice sister, selcted by Brother Namahs at the behest of Darien, considering the "pious" nature of the crew and Brotherhood)
• An Astropath (so Darien has a "reliable" means to contact the Majestic if needs be)
• A staff of sundry servants, maids, pages, clerks and assistants.

...all ready for session #7....

Klyto, High Factorum of the Majestic Labour

In the last post I waffled on about creating memorable NPCs so I thought I'd post an example of one of the charactesr who inhabits the Majestc Labour.

When it was clear non of the players were intending to run a Senschal I thought it would be worthwhile to have an interesting character as the High Factorum.  To create him I used the modified Origin path from Into the Storm.  Just glancing over it I came across the Unnatural Origin - "False Man" entry. Now I'd already established in my mind that our captain is a Xenophile and that he's had multiple dealings with alien races.  He keeps a menagerie of alien flora and fauna and the ship is kitted out to host aliens ads well as containing Xenos components.  My mind then flicked back to the Stryxis and their "meat" - how they can even vat grow humanoids to order....What if our captain felt he needed a completely trust worthy major domo to handle his affairs, someone "perfect" for the job?  There were elements in the Imperium who would consider some of his activities "radical" at best and highly heretical at worst, it would be difficult to recruit a suitable candidate (perhaps he's tried in the past and had to have them "removed"...), so why not create one? He'd had no qualms about giving a detailed specification to the Stryxis and ordering a unique and capable "piece of meat". Thus Klyto began to take shape as a concept.
I wracked my head for comparable "major domo" characters in fiction, someone I could parody or act as a touch stone to help the players lock on to the concept. I'd already got Brian Blessed as my captain so his work in Flash Gordon was fresh in my mind - immediately I thought of Ming the Merciless' right hand man; Klytus.  The imagery of the mysterious masked and robed figure with the sarcastic and ascerbic wit was ideal.  The name was tweaked to reflect the origin and our High Factorum was "born".

As Klyto has only once removed his mask in the presence of the players (Session #18) his origin and nature was maintained as a mystery until then. All the players really knew was that he had the complete trust of the Captain and he seemed to openly dislike and try to inhibit, put down and back bite Darien. He even openly used Dungoff's complete lack of subtly and deciet to get full details of the Explorer's activities, rewarding him with "shiny" Ork weapons and trinkets. He's also alluded to Darien being the latest in a line of heirs, all of which have met with gruesome ends until now.  

Klyto generally acts dismissvely towards the players, unless he can use or exploit them (in the case of Dungoff) or has to deal with them as part of his duties (Darien). In those cases he is critical, condescending and sarcastic.  In short he's great fun to play :)


Klyto, False Man and High Factorum and Master of Whispers aboard the Majestic labour

Profile
WS 30 BS 40 S 27 T 30 Ag 38 Int 48 Per 40 WP 46 Fel 34
Movement: 3/6/9/18
Wounds: 10
Corruption Points:0
Insanity Points: 11
Skills:Awareness, Barter, Commerce, Common Lore (Underworld), Deceive, Evaluate, Forbidden Lore (Archeotech), Inquiry, Literacy, Navigation (), Pilot (), Speak Language (Low Gothic, Ship Dialect, Trader's Cant), Trade (Voidfarer)
Talents: Basic Weapon Training (Las, Launcher, Melta, Plasma, SP, Bolt), Pistol Weapon Training (Las, Launcher, Melta, Plasma, SP, Bolt), Ambidextrous, Autosanguine, Chem Geld, Rival (Rogue Trader, Nobility)
Traits: Charmed, Ill-omened, Void Accustomed, Loyalty, Seeker of Lore,
Role: High Factotum

Making memorable NPCs

Back in days of yore, when I was young and, in all likelihood, you were even younger (if you were even born...), the main RPG I ran was Marvel Superheroes Advanced by TSR (now Wizards of the Coast). At the time the company's house magazine was "Dragon" and while I wasn't a big D&D player I'd often fork out the cash to get it for ideas, especially if there was a Marvel related article.

One particular article, which I cut out and kept* to this day was all about making memorable NPCs.  The arguement was simple - the players could potentially meet hundreds of concerned citizens, scientific experts, pushy cops etc all of which could be cookie cutter stereotypes and easily forgotten but a simple way to lift your game above the usual is it make those pieces of mobile scenery or plot vehicles memorable.  I took this to heart and personally I use the following as simple benchmarks:

1. Use memorable names - Stan Lee used alliteration when he named characters simply to help him remember his own creations names, if that works for you, great! Personally I tend to use plays on words (often I'm the only one who gets the joke...) or a reference to the role the character plays or some other aspect of the character. e.g the Chief Vox Officer aboard the Majestic Labour is Chief Piel, named in honour of one of the most memorable DJs in British Pop history, John Peel, likewise the ship's Confessor is quite "alternative" and progressive in his beliefs so I named him Brother Namahs (Shaman backwards).
2. Give each NPC a memorable trait - it doesn't have to be much, it doesn't have to be earth shattering but just something "different" - The dock hand who constantly has a lit lho stick in hand, the servitor with the brass arm, when the rest of his bionics are steel, the Kasaballica boss who always bows in the presence of a lady.  Don't overdo it though - just a single element can give a distinction to set the person out from the crowd but load them up with attributes and they become a parody which will detract from the overall story and flow of the game
3. Act it - I'm a GM who tends to try to give his all; I tend to run games standing up, I move about, strike poses, rub my hands together gleefully as a stryxis dealer, always hold a cup or glass in my hand when I'm slurring out the Lord-Captain's commands.  My players know me for my "memorable" character voices (when one of our guys first watched "The Phantom Menace" he was alledgedly herad to say "That's a Ben voice!" when Watto first spoke) I'm not good at impressions (my John Peel is abysmal) but they are memorable.  Voice conveys alot of character - it's a great shorthand for helping players get a gauge for what are otherwise just numbers and words rather than living people - the same with actions and body language. It doesn't need to be an oscar winning performnce just something that teh players will remember for the next time they meet the character, or simply when they are relating teh stories about the game to friends.  Now I know that there may be some reading this who will find this the hardest advice to take on board and implement but believe me once you start the easier it becomes and the more involved you will find the players becoming.

An immediate question might be why bother?  These are after all the supporting cast, not the heroes of our tales.  I'd suggest the reasons are threefold:

1. It helps the players - Bless 'em, there's a lot going on in plots and games - especially when you are sat on the player side and haven't got the advantage of seeing the "big picture" plot.  You'll probably have heard of the phrase "Putting a face to the name" - this is a way of doing that in game without having a cast of hundreds sat in your living room.  Having these memorable "tags" that the players can use to associate with NPCs will help them order the flow of events in their minds and keep abrest of what's going on, to who, where and when.
2. It helps you - Memorable traits are as much a shorthand and aid memoir for a GM as for players.  You have a whole universe to run! If knowing that the arms dealer they last spoke in Port Wander had a peg leg and clockwork parrot it's a mnemonic that will help trigger a whole bunch of other recollections about the character and what happened last time they met.
3. It makes it a little more real - We know this is all a game. This is a fantasy setting where mulit-kilometre long spaceships filled with tens of thousands of crew are sailed through an ocean of black by a motley assortment of cyborgs, mutants, psychics and ne'er do wells...this is by no means real.  However, in my personal experience rpgs are at their best when the players and GM have some sort of emotional investment in the game, something which is very hard to create when it is "only a game".  Having memorable NPCs can help to do that; you are adding a touch of uniqueness to these faceless characters just a small touch of individuality.  It will add a hint of realism to the campaign and it does pay off.

To be completely honest I think that trying to apply these techniques has been the source some of  the surrent success of my own game.  In fact when at the end of our second story arc it looked likely that the players would be leaving the Majestic Labour one took me to one side and begged assurance that we'd return soon simply because he wanted to spend more time meeting the NPC crew as they'd had such an impact on his play experience.  That's the sort of response that makes the effort worthwhile.

*Yes kids, there was a time before scanning and digital media...

A good ship

The Majestic Labour - "Flag ship" of the eventual fleet of House Baccharus

The "first of many vessels" according to Master Baccharus, the Majestic Labour was originally a refinery vessel which was later converted into a pilgrim transport.  How the family obtained the ship is veiled in the same mystery as the cause of the Master's exile, and depending on the day, time, master's mood and most recent drink, the tale he tells will vary.  Suffice it to say that since obtaining the ship a number of "personal alterations" have been made.

Her crew numbers in the region of 20,000 and consists mostly of a "Kin-brotherhood" of bonded Voidsmen, fanatically loyal to the Master and who consider the ship in the same way as many would view their homeworld. In all likelihood they were resident upon the ship before the Master first received his Warrant.

The Master's connections and "passions" have led to a number of more unorthodox alterations to the ship.  Firstly there are a number of cabins and decks configured especially to the needs of a variety of Xenos species.  While this can be of benefit for hosting alien personages such "intimacy" with the abhorrent non-human is regarded as a sin my the more "mainstream" Imperial citizen and is often a source of some contention, even with the Clan-kin crew.

Secondly the Master has been able to aquire an enhanced alien defence grid, increasing the quality of the ship's defensive turrets and most astonishingly an alien "Ghost Field" generator.  While this cannot be used at the same time as the vessel's Void shields it does confound the augur arrays of other vessels, allowing the Majestic Labour to evade many a pursuer.  That said some say it's very presence onboard invites damnation upon the entire crew...

Another mystery surronding the ship is how the master was able to convince the ship's Magos to install and maintain all manner of Xenotech.  Perhaps part of the answer lies in the magnificent observation dome that sits amidships on the vessel's spine.  While arguably the most pleasent part of the ship for dirt dwelling visitors the grand vistas provided have frequently helped the crew to locate new opportunities for exploration and profit. Such activity seems to be relished by the ship's ancient machine spirit, the sensors and augurs seem far more responsive when underway on some endeavour or other but lethargic and sluggish when not.

The ship has retained it's ample cargo hold, which is of particular use on those rare occasions she is carrying legal cargo. Most of the ships general systems (life support, sensors, void shields & Gellar field etc) are standard for a transport of her size, but her engines are somewhat oversized, giving her a good dose of power and a bit more speed than a similar sized bulk transport.  Her hull is armoured inside and out and or defence she bears a Voss configuration torpeado tube in the prow, capable of launching a salvo of two torpeados in quick usccession, suitable for defence against pirates and raiders (or naval customs ships and overly curious Inquisitors...).

Majestic Labour     
JERICHO Class Pilgrim Vessel (Transport)
SHIELDS     Single Void Shield  
ARMOUR        13
HULL INTEGRITY      53       
SPEED     4
TURRET RATING      3
MANOEUVRABILITY  -9    
DETECTION    5
SPACE AVAILABLE     45
SPACE Left Over      0
POWER AVAILABLE:    40
POWER USED          39
Weapon Capacity         Prow, Port, Starboard
Skill Test Modifiers: Tech-Use Repair Ship/Emergency Repairs -10, CMD/Hit&Run (Def) 5, CMD/Boarding Action (Def) 5, Forbidden lore (Xenos) -10, Charm/Inquiry Tests w\Xenos in Ship's Xenos Habitat +10,
Crew Disposition:   Fanatical
Crew Quality  Competent (30) 
Crew Max    100% 
Morale Max  98%  
Normal Operations (Morale)  
        
Achievement Bonuses    
Achievement Bonuses: Trade + 175  Explore + 50      
    
Essential Components    
Lathe Pattern, 2a Drive (Transport) , Strelov 1 Warp Engine (T,R,F) , Gellar Field, Commerce Bridge (T), M-1.r Life Sustainer (+1 Morale Loss) , Clan-Kin Quarters (All morale loss reduced by 1, minimum 1), M-100 Auger Array
 
Supplemental Components    
Main Cargo Hold, Reinforced Interior Bulkheads, Armour Plating, Observation Dome, Micro Laser Defense Grid (Xenotech), Ghost Field (Xenotech) (Enemy is -20 to  to hit, -30 w/lance; -30 on Hit&Run attacks), Xenos Habitats x1 (Hurts Morale),     
    
Complications / Past Histories    
Adventurous,  Xenophilous     
    
Weapons    
Voss Pattern Torpedo Tubes (1)  [Strength: 2, Damage:2d10+14, Crit Rating: 10, Range: 60]  Location:PROW