Hi all,

I'm firing up a pbp game very soon and while I've got the plot worked out, I could use some insprational help with the opening scene.

We have 3 players - ex-guardsman/obscura pushing lowlife, a tech acolyte and an asyet undecided. The premise for the game is that each character has committed a crime in their past for which they begin the game in a penal colony (murder of a upspire citizen and desertion of his unit, and suspected tech heresy respectively for the two currently known characters) awaiting some severe punishment (penal legion enlistment for the guardsman and interrogation followed by mind-wipe for the acolyte). Their saving grace will be recruitment by an Inquisitorial agent looking for expendable but skilled recruits.

The prison scene isn't to be a huge part of the game - their interviews with the Inq agent will be the most prominent scenes in this locale, but I'd like to open with the pc's in a typical prison scene that might get them to roll a few dice and establish their characters, and give them a chance to spot that they are being studied by a mysterious visitor to the prison (the agent). The pc's may only know each other from having spotted each other round the prison, so likely won't have formed any relationships between themselves at this point.

My best idea at the moment is to put them in an excercise yard scene, letting them decide what their characters might be doing at that time, an dthen possibly have a fight kick off (someone picking up on and making disparaging remarks about the ex-guards regimental tattoo is a pretty easy way to get him involved) and then let the characters react accordingly, allowing those that make a perception test to notice the cowled figure watching the inmates from the safety of the yards garrison wall. Guards will either wade in and start stun-battoning until order is restored, or let the ruckus play out, then the pc's will be wisked off to their cells/solitary, before being tken to meet the agent.

So, thoughts? Its not designed to be a deep and revealing scene , just enough to let them get in character. Any ideas of details that I can include to give the scene / environment really pop would be much appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope it generates a few thoughts and ideas that I can use.

Anodyr

without knowing what kind of GM you are and what style of play you wish your players to engage in, a few things come to mind.

why does the Inq agent pull these particular cons out? out of all the men in this penal colony, why them? what particular skills/qualities do they have that makes them desirable? i would either use a premade background found in the Inq handbook or make one up to suit each character. their particular crimes are somewhat indicative of their personalities.

i would take each player aside, describing their particular surroundings, the guards , the walls, sounds, etc...each with a different beginning. the guardsman can be engaged personally in a fight that you can role play out, the tech acolyte (maybe a Reclaimator scum or an actual Tech Priest awaiting transfer to an Adeptus Mechanicus holding for punishment) and whatever you can think of for the other character. to get them in character more, i'm thinking of a small 'interview' with the Inq agent. the ex guardsman can be busted up a bit by the guards and clasped in manacles when he is brought in front of the agent. the tech acolyte can be tossed into a room surrounded by odd bits of equipment. the Inq agent gives him a test of some sort what can u make with these? or what are these pieces used for/can be used for'? something you can actually role play and have them use some skills to get them working and using their heads. the questions that the Inq agent asks are up to u.

once done. leave them to their own minds. they are transferred hooded and manacled through the facility. until they arrive at their destination...i'd go for a trans orbital platform or some such thing....they are surprised when their hoods are removed and you are standing in front of them...then tell them who you are and what you are. u have been press ganged into the Inquisitions service...we have need of men just like urselves. at taht point either they can introduce themselves or you can introduce them.

they board the guncutter (or whatever you use) and then their briefing will begin. much of this scenario can be done actually without all of them being present...a phone call..whatever...but they come together when they are on that platform ready to get started...that way you don't have to waste a gaming session on getting started. actually i'd leave it as a bit of a cliffhanger, once the interview is over. leave them with them being transferred, the gaming session starts with the 3 players staning together. the work already laid out at your leisure.

the prison world is up to u, as is its particular personality and atmosphere. u said u didn't want it to be too deep so i gather u don't need to be too detailed..just enough for ambiance. i hope this was somewhat helpful.

A few things come to mind.

0)Get the PCs to do detailed backgrounds. Find a common thread or invent one. Maybe the upstanding hiver was involved with tech heresy..... This gives you a reason for the =][= to have singled the PCs out.

1)A fight in prison is always good. It's obvious that their Boss to be would set it up to test their future minions^wmen. Let the fight go until the PCs or their foes get the upper hand and have the guard's break it up.

2)It might be useful to the plot for their Boss to have them "escape" from prison as part of their cover.

First thing I would do is work out some particulars about the characters' background. What they were, what they did, why the Inquisition noticed and cares? Knowing who their Inquistior is will obviously shape what sorts of pasts are considered "useful".

Since it sounds like they are shaping up to be truely hardened scumbags that have some sort of intrinsic value I would make the prison scenes very bleak, grim and generally terrible. Toss in as many descriptive sights, sounds, SMELLS and little snippets of wrong as you deem necissary to make it memorable. Imperial prisons tend to be located in particularly awful places, not just to better isolate the convicts but also to render escape pointless, and this is for those that are imprisoned rather than simple execution or servitor conversion. Avoid putting in anything that has much potential for lethality for any establishing fight scenes, but refrain from letting the players know that you are going Nerf on them. The point is to introduce them to the game and have some fun and squishing them like bugs is contrary to this goal.

Possible inspiration for your scenes are the Pitch Black/Riddick movies and the Schaeffer's Last Chancers novels. If the idea is to make them "big dumb muscle" for the Inquisitor (at least to start) you might even consider throwing in an NPC orgyn that is also recruited. Obviously the big guy is utterly useless for covert missions, but he is great for "thuggin". Play to stereotype and they get a bipedal grox with the brains of a kindergartner and the loyalty of a family dog who packs heavy ordinance that the acolytes are not trained with yet. After a few missions they will likely have warmed to the big oaf, and then his true value comes into play... When you are ready to escalate your game and introduce the "big badguy" the villain can demonstrate in dramatic and deadly detail why it is that the Inquisition should pay serious attention to him. Villain unleashes a seriously hardcore amount of certain doom on your team of acolytes, but their loyal friend (the Emperor loves ogryn for their unflinching loyalty!) interposes himself and saves them at terrible personal cost: his life! Insert touching yet simple dying words as the villain makes his escape. The next time the villain's name comes up in an investigation they will definately take it personally! Instant, yummy drama!

Read or paraphrase the following:

The guards corral you into a grungy tiled area. Around the corner, in the next room you can hear harsh voices, pitiful moans and the crying of the forlorn along with a curious static sound like a downpour of rain.

"Strip for delousing!" shouts the guard. (If the players don't comply, the guards prod them with Shock Mauls until they do)

As you enter the next room, you see a dozen other prisoners in various states of soapiness around the group showerheads. All voices fall silent and you hear a single 'thump' on the floor mingled with the pattering water.

"Yoo dropped yer soap...." grunts the Ogryn in the corner...

How's that for an opening prison scene? C'mon, it's the Dark Future, it's supposed to be scary!

I had a similar idea, though in my story arch the prison becomes overrun by an uprising of Chaos cultists. The PCs are then forced to survive and ultimately assist an Inquisitor and his strike force in putting the uprising downending in a confrontation between the PCs and the Chaos tainted leader of the cult. Afterwards the entire colony is purged save for the PCs who are spared under the condition that they are now bound to the service of the Inquisitor.

I was planning on having the players come up with their own backstories and whatever crime had put them in prison, with the provision that they couldn't chose anything that would give them any points of corruption (or they wouldn't survive the Inquisitor's screening).

Atheosis said:

Consider this prison idea ninja'd Muwahahaha (i really like it, thanks for the idea)

Ryorus said:

Glad to be of help.