Grudge Bounty Gone Wild

Plot Infliction 00 - Let There Be Plot

Your parent has tasked you with avenging a former mate and offspring which were captured by slavers some years before you were born. After saving for many months, you are purchased a passenger ticket to the city planet your pre-family was taken. You are instructed to kill three individuals, and then come back to raise pigs on the family farm. Your parent also has dreams of expanding the farm to include chickens, so if you are able to earn some credits while you are there all the better.

Regardless of what your nature ends up being, you're mostly looking forward to getting off the back water world. You've also heard rumours of vast riches that can be obtained by combatants on your destination planet.

While growing up on the pig farm, a local retired combatant taught you one maxed out stage of either defender or aggressor. He also provides you with a med kit and 1D weapon.

You can also have 1 sci/tech stage (20 total XP) OR be half way towards your next stage of your choice (15 total XP).

Character: BILLY-BOB

• Billy-Bob's google sheet
• Crocaloid - agile gecko type
• starting as aggressor & technician
• player is threatening to use the most obnoxiously annoying stereotype accent possible, yes-sirree bob
• mortal wound aficionado

Minor rule adjustments

• Can't hit someone's weapon in combat unless beating them by 20 or a successful assassination attack. - Creating a Flinch rule to cover this instead.
• When using two weapons, a nick means one weapon hit. A high/low D6 roll determines which one if they are different sizes. Full Aggressor bonus damage on the weapon that hit.

Game Nights Part I

• Arriving on planet, forced to walk the 'Path of Violence'.
• Rampant grudge bounty system. Credits applied randomly. Can pay off the grudge bounty to cancel it.
• Healing booths all along the bridge to keep the violence going.
• Occasionally people are snatched by sea tentacle monster.

Game Nights Part II

• Hanging out in bar.
• More grudge bounty battles.
• Find out there's a significant hatred of the technicians who own the planet - source of grudge bounty credits.
• Hired by a Mavvice named Anspach. Anspach stole patches, Billy-Bob applied mortal wounds.
• Skulked off to subtly get Tools. Anspach trying to get into a clan.
• More hanging out in bar - just defeated an Orbodun.

Plot Infliction I - Wait, what?

Orbodun: "Apologies for the surprise attack, but you never truly know someone unless you fight them. Are you interested in joining our quest to bring honour to the galaxy?"

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Billy-Bob cocks his head, and does what rudimentary net searching he can on the "Dal-Cana" the big fluffy bastard mentioned. "That there is a PAR-tic-U-larly unexpected suggestion, and I would have just as likely expected a pig to start yodelling. Whooo-EEE. But I do have to ask, if you don't mind my asking: what is it that you think you know about me from fighting me just now? Aside from that I can't duck worth a good goddamn."

---

Orbodun: "Well my friend, you can defeat me. And using a rather unique technique. That's enough for an initial conversation."

Your rudimentary net search reveals a lot of media-type pieces extolling the merits of an honourable life.

---

The idea of pretending to be honourable for an extended period of time is something that Billy-Bob weighs. He could probably pull it off, if it seemed worthwhile.

"Well, I do reckon we're having that initial-type conversation. What do people call you, besides 'fluffy bear person'? And what would joining your quest be meaning for me to do, exactly?"

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Orbodun: "You may call me Kano. Members of Dal-Cana are always on the lookout for people behaving in a dishonourable fashion. Breaking contracts, betraying allies, that sort of thing. That information is fed to our mathematicians and we provide a vetting service for a fee. Depending on the transgression, we also decide if an individual is worth attempting to reform. If not, and the transgression is deemed serious, we may choose to eliminate them."

"Your skills set you up for that last task when it becomes necessary. In some instances we would ask you to eliminate a specific person. These would be paid jobs. Alternatively we would give you access to our discharge list - individuals who should be killed, but the only compensation would be their grudge bounty and salvaged gear."

"You would have limited access to our mathematician network, provided you provide sensor logs of people you consider dishonourable."

---

"So, just so's I'm sure I'm understanding this... you're looking for me to be a sometimes contract goon, but more generally a snoop is most of the point, and in return I get some mathy fortune teller advice stuff - yeah?"

Billy-Bob licks an eyeball in a contemplative sort of way.

"It sounds mostly like a good thing, Kano-bear. But aside from the snooping and occasional murder, I'm still a bit fuzzy on the vetting service thingybob part. I get that it is maybe a way for the whole setup to get paid, and give assurances about folks, sort of like an honour credit rating dealie. But what is the business model for the evaluation of them-there 'transgressions', and what does reforming a person mean in particular?"

The idea that he may be in the midst of being "reformed" bothers Billy-Bob a bit. Along with the idea that if he slips in his honour-code schtick, he could be punished simply by being sent after somebody too scary.

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Kano: "Sadly, I'm not privy to the exact details of our proprietary business models, nor am I involved in the reformation process. My role is currently restricted to low level recruitment of combatants."

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Game Night Part III

• Agreed to be a goon-for-hire for the Dal-Kana.
• Killed a goon that was working with a thief.
• Killed another goon the thief hired to exact vengeance.
• And... killed the thief.
• Killed another couple of people on the Dal-Kana probably should die list.
• Got helmets to make them look like Daft Punk

Plot Infliction II - Med Pack Workout

Commence healing!

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Using those med packs to make use Harder Better Faster Stronger.

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At some point during the first bout of healing, a human woman approaches you guys. She seems a bit timid and uncertain of herself.

"Um, hi guys. Would you like some help with your healing?"

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Billy-Bob represses his instinctive flinching from AIF-standard hominidophobia.

"Hey there, darlin'. I sure would appreciate some help with the healin'. Are you suggesting a particular price? Or are you interested in auditioning for a spot on our team-like thingie?"

Is the human sporting much in the way of scars? And how is it armed? And, obviously: what is its grudge bounty?

---

She has no scars that you can see. In fact she looks opposite to what a scar would look like. Obviously put a point to 'coolness' in her character build. She's armed with a 1D laser pistol, and you note it's been fitted for her. Grudge bounty is at 25.

She slowly gets closer and reaches out to touch your arm, trying to do so in such a way that people nearby don't notice. She seems to concentrate a little and you start healing one point per turn.

"I'm hoping to join your... team-like thingie? For mutual protection. I don't think I'm going to last long here without being part of a group."

---

If Billy-Bob had been a Trop, his eyestalks would have burst out of his helmet's visor.

"What you're proposing is, um, very, um, interesting. It do indeed make quite a lot of the good kind of sense for us to stick together in a team-like thingie."

Then, via nanobot direct-connection communication: "If you can hear this, we should probably be shifting to a more med-kit pantomime sort of operation. Right? Or am I confused about how magic-type peoples are regarded hereabouts?"

Trying to be subtle, is it clear that Anspach has noticed what is going on?

"Say, what would you like us to call you, darlin'?"

---

She starts talking through the nanobots.

Landi: "Oh, my name's Landresstra. Landi for short. To be honest, I'm not sure how mentalists are regarded here. I haven't been here long."

Anspach has definitely noticed. "Wonder what else she can do..."

---

Looped into the GrudgeWiki™: "All righty then Landresstra, this is Anspach, and I am Billy-Bob. Anspach is a scout, with an odd ability to do maximum damage with his pistol. He's working on joining one of the local fight club thingermajigs. I'm an aggressor with a focus on mortal wounds, and I'm recently recruited by those uppity lawful Orbodun honour enforcer groups. Anspach, what do you think about Lendresstra here joining up with us?"

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Anspach: "I think you should keep your mentalist abilities as much of a secret as possible. The technicians that gift us with our bounties might get twitchy about a human mentalist, even if you're obviously not one of the technophobe variety. Though considering we're being watched all the time, not sure how realistic that is. Regardless, you're waaay too useful to pass up if you want to join us."

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BB on GrudgeWiki: "Agreed - we should keep the magical shenanigans as stealthy as possible. While I doubt it'll confuse any mathy-capable techy folks, it should help keep us from running into continuous local-type irritations. Anspach, are you able to facilitate some of that sneakiness?" Pauses. "Although, I guess that depends greatly on the whatfor and howises of these possible magicks. Beyond that very edifying magical healing glowing finger action, what other nifty tricks can you do, darlin'?"

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Landi: "Nothing exotic, mostly combat oriented stuff - shield, bonus to hit. Though I do have a teensy bit of prescience. That's what let me to you. By the way, what the heck does p.c. stand for anyway?"

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Game Night Part IV

• Given another target by Dal-Kana
• Enroute got into a fight with a herd of Equidons
• Commited horsicide

Plot Infliction III - We no need no stink'n plot

Landi: "I think next time I'm going to use my bonus to hit ability."

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Billy-Bob ponders - Landresstra had mentioned also having shield powers. It would be very effective is she could be healing and dancing with a shield. But if we're still trying to be subtle about her powers, then the magical healing and shield might be too obvious. But the bonus to hit would not be something to draw much of any attention.

BB: "You having more of a precocious bonus to hit would be quite welcome. I have a spare heavy blaster, if you'd like to also pack a bit more of a punch, blast-wise."

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Game Night Part V

• Close call with a Sandarak
  • Some sort of baiting tactic / odd looking disruptors.
  • Got token for a bar somewhere.
• Fought target given by Dal-Kana
  • Tough fight, Billy and Landi almost killed.

Plot Infliction IV - Next Target

Shortly after being paid for the last bounty, you get your next target from the Dal-Kana. A group of humans, two designated as professional, and eight as green. They're currently at a cafe on the corner of emall and agronomy. You're offered 100 credits for the job.

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Billy-Bob puts the skeleton aspects of the job on the GrudgeWiki. "Before we be gallivanting off on another whack-job, does you all mind too terribly much if we pause not just to do the healing, but also to let me personalize the Groten's guns for my own use? It should probably be some place discreet - do you all think another corner of this park would be sufficient, or should we put some distance between us and this excitement?"

For reference, where was the special bar indicated by the Sandarak?

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Anspach: "Um, wouldn't you need tools for that? Plus, you risk wrecking something. Maybe we should try to find a shop that actually has a technician."

Landi: "Regardless, we should find somewhere else. I'm sure lots of attention on us at the moment, we should go be boring for a while."

The bar seems to be a members only facility called The Righteous Cavern.

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BB on the GrudgeWiki: "OK, howabouts we move on to somewheres with less worrisome attentions. Where I can fit these big blasters to my needs - and fit your weapons if you want that too - without our being noticed."

Billy-Bob pings the Dal-Kana mathematicians: "What is the risk profile for The Righteous Cavern?"

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