Sunday, 26 March 2023

The Proxima B Biomass Saga - A sci fi domain game

 Here are all of the turn updates of a game I ran using these protocols: https://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/2023/03/some-freeform-domain-play.html 

If you would like to see the private messages the players received you may view my referee document here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dAxtMt_XOej6mXAOqdo5UST2XTXpGlwUSwW7ha9mwgA/edit?usp=sharing 


Game Begins: 

Prelude: 


4023 GE (galactic era).  

The proxima b system. A sol like star system with 6 heavily inhabited planets - many with inhabited moons of their own….

The bird elfs of the moon of Avias awake to find their forests covered in shadow. A pinkpurple circular mass looms in the sky. It is enormous…perhaps as big as Avias itself.

Chat legging - bird wizard - found his hunting interrupted by the sphere, all the game too spooked. He wondered if he could get away from the sphere but then quickly remembered since the Bird war, he and all his people were caged in by the humans - locked in their massive forest filled cages…

In a dingy, dark corner of the planet that Avia orbits around, Proxima Prime, Dave and Corporal Rudiger looked up from their drinks, or novacoke, to look at the holonews broadcast.  

Something had appeared above Avias…something massive…something massive that seemed to be able to move around like a VERY fast spacecraft.

Dave knew what it was, he had funded the thing’s creation. It seemed like a good (or at least lucrative) idea at the time but…the biomass had got free and now..there it was, huge and massive and ready to eat the moon.

Corporal Rudiger thought about the bird elfs on Avias. Fuck em, he thought, let that purple ball eat them. He had killed thousands taming the elf birds in the Bird war. Now, he had left the military and was running security for those who paid better…like Dave.

Mutey didn’t hear about the biomass above Avias until he got home later that day and was washing the blood off his fists. He didn’t have any thoughts on the issue…

 

Turn 1: 

4023 - 4033 GE. 

With the panic and confusion from the arrival of the biomass as cover, Chat Leggings (bird elf wizard) staged an escape from the forest cages of Avias. With two other bird elfs, Chat overpowered a group of guards and stole their prison transport ship. The trio then escaped to the outer reaches of the system where they remain in hiding to this day. 

Through a secret network of satellite relays broadcasting across the entire system, Chat has become the public face of the plight of the bird elfs. Public opinion on the bird elfs over the decade has softened, much of the underclass of Proxima B relating to their downtrodden and imprisoned situation. 

Dave (his legal full name), became the President of the military corporatocracy that rules over the entire Proxima B system. It is well known he secured the position through exorbitant bribes to a staggering number of key officials. Dave has since changed some key wording of the Proxima B constitution to have his position now be known as “President and Mystical Healer”. He also remains in control, or at least receives enormous income streams, from the most important corporations in the system. 

Ignoring the threat of the bio mass, Dave enacted two key policies relating to the moon Avias. One was the broadcasting of gladiatorial death matches between humans and the bird elfs. These bloody bare fisted fights were broadcast system wide on state funded networks, and a state funded gaming system was set up to accompany the broadcasts to allow anyone to easily gamble to bet on the matches. The second policy was shipping the bird elfs across the planets of the sector to conduct menial tasks in more or less a slave labour capacity. This system of forced labour off moon, resulted in the bird elfs peoples survival when the bio mass destroyed their humans two years into the decade. 

Corporal Rudiger, suffering from a terrible malaise with the appearance of the biomass volunteered to take part in the bird elf gladiatorial matches. He killed many hundreds of bird elfs with his bare hands. Viewers often commented on the utter lack of passion he had while doing so, a dead and distant look in his eyes as he strangled the life out of yet another innocent bird elf. Regardless of his depression, he became quite rich by betting on himself in every single match (which he always won). 

Rudiger, alongside all of the human military on Avias, were evacuated from the moon as the freeway sized feeding tubes of the biomass began to smash into its surface. Two years later the moon had been consumed by the biomass. The bird elf population (other than those already shipped across the system conducting slave menial labour) were not evacuated. Approximately 20 million bird elfs were consumed (alongside their forest homes). 

Finished with Avias, and doubled in size, the biomass then moved to Proxima prime and began feeding. By the end of the decade the planet was gone - consumed by the biomass. 

A chaotic evacuation took place, important corporate and military assests alongside wealthy individuals shipped off to other planets in the system. Most could not escape though and approximately 15 billion people were devoured. President Dave’s lack of action and planning and organisation are largely blamed for the loss of the moon and the planet (and the deaths of all those consumed by the biomass). 

The planets remaining in the proxima b system are: 

Prox-Beta: An industry heavy, factory covered world. 

Prox-Aqua: A largely aquatic resort world. 

Prox-Min: A mountainous mining world. 

Prox-Prod: A grassy agricultural focused world. 

Prox-Alpha: A grimy, slum covered, desert world.  

With his gambling earnings, Rudiger fled to Prox-Alpha where he dived into a life of vice - drinking, gambling and whoring. His infamy as a cold blooded killer kept him safe when he was passed out in the gutters of the planet. It is rumoured by the end of the decade he had sobered up, revitalised by some obsessive interest in conspiracy theories and associations with radical fringe groups. 

Prox-Aqua became the new capital of the system, and where Dave took stately residence. 

Chat Leggings seized hold of the Anti-Dave sentiment after the loss of Avias, linking the death of most of his people to the president's gross criminal negligence. Many across the system agreed with him. 

Not much is publicly known of Mutey’s actions during the decade, but rumour does associate him with a new conglomerate of criminal organisations that has allegedly taken the chaos of the biomass situation as an opportunity to murder all other competitors. It is assumed he works as muscle for one of the important captains in this organisation. 

Scout craft sent to survey the biomass have observed life on its surface. Strange, detail-less and goopy humanoids shamble across the mass - moving in and out of towers of slime that resemble the lost cityscape of Proxima Prime. Small populations of slimy created bird elfs too, shambling through forests of dripping slime trees.

Finally, a religious mania has spread through the system, many millions joining a pink robe wearing cult that calls out to the biomass in public displays, singing and dancing and ecstasy and demanding the biomass come to them next, to devour them so they may join it, their new god…



Turn 2:

4033 - 4043 GE. 

The decade began with a cosmic spectacle! The biomass exploded! Erupting like a flower into bloom!

This is, at least, what it looked like from a distance. Up close, trillions of jelly mass bird like creatures, pink bats, erupted from the surface of the mass and launched themselves into the void! The biomass was visible smaller from the effort, mobilising its own jellymass into an armada of bio birds. 

In response, President and Mystical healer Dave, totally nationalised the corporate interests of the system, and put them in his direct control. He then totally consolidated the military, all forces, land, space, air, water, infantry, ballistics, etc, which where then transferred directly to Prox-Aqua. 

Unusually, there was seemingly little response to the concentration of military power, the beurocracts beneath him and across the system happy to support the stockpiling of weaponry into one place. A year into the decade all planets save Prox-Aqua were empty of military assets and defenceless. 

Prox-Aqua was transformed from a resort planet, into a military fortress in a year. 

Corporal Rudiger, still sobering and deep in a conspiracy fuelled fugue state found himself the victim of a number of attempts on his life. Low level thugs and criminals attacking him in dark alleyways and broad day late. Sick of the bother, he transported himself to Prox-Aqua where he was re-united with his once employer President Dave. 

Before Rudiger’s arrival, tragedy had befallen president Dave several times, close friends, family members, and even pets found murdered or dead under suspicious circumstances. Unusually, no one within Dave’s military dictatorship seemed overly interested in investigating the causes of the deaths. Rumours abound that those associated with the Biomass Religious movement were responsible. How or why this is the case, is unknown. 

As such, Rudiger arrived to a particularly lonely Dave, and Dave quickly promoted him to an important position within the military, a position created specifically by Dave and  known as “General bird roaster”. While the position was certainly one high up in Dave’s dictatorship - the specific responsibilities and powers of the role were never formally defined.  

His power consolidated, President and Mystical Healer Dave announced his response to the BioMass threat in early 4034: He would begin work on creating a consciousness duplication and transfer device. This led to several riots across the system, the ineptitude of President Dave too much to bear. Work began on the project regardless. 

But, the armada of bio birds arrived in Prox-Prod in 4034 and swiftly ate alive every living thing on the planet, alongside all stores of food. The bread basket of the system was destroyed in a few weeks. With starvation spreading throughout the system, the progress of President Dave’s consciousness duplication and transfer project slowed to a near stop. 

The military of Prox-Aqua secured and stock piled all stores of food across the system, leaving the populations of Prox-Alpha, Prox-Min and Prox-Beta to starve. And starve they did, the populations of each reduced to a single billion by the end of the decade. 

…Apart from Prox-Beta which in 4035 was attacked by the bio-mass. As the planet was slowly consumed over 5 years productivity ground to a halt regardless, as those who fled did so, and those who couldn’t starved. 

All progress on President Dave’s consciousness project stopped. 

By 4035 Dave and Rudiger had found themselves isolated from the rest of Prox-Aqua. All of Dave’s military government mysteriously separated themselves from the pair. While his orders were more or less followed (when they could be) he was left alone on a resort island with Rudiger, totally surrounded by military defence forces. Imprisoned, almost. 

And this is when the bickering between Dave and Rudiger began. With only the two of them around, annoyances turned to grievances, and then arguments to fights. Though both men were approaching their 60’s Rudiger was the superior physical specimen and Dave never walked away uninjured from their spats. The conflict got worse, and then Dave started needing hospital treatment after every fight. 

Strangely, no one in Dave’s government did anything to stop the situation, or help him. And so the abuse got worse and worse…

By 4042 Dave had lost an arm, and was wheelchair bound, from the endless violent abuse from Rudiger. Rumours speak of other injuries to more private regions but…these are simply rumours. 

Dave was saved in late 4043 when Chat Legging appeared in his now quite old prison transport craft. Security was so lax to Dave’s prison, I mean, resort island, that the bird elf simply flew in from space, scooped  up Dave from his wheel chair as he watched the sunset, and kidnaped him. 

The torture of President Dave was then broadcast across the system, as the bird elf revolutonatries near drowned him in a bathtub of blood. Though there werent too many left to witness the event, most agreed that Dave was very quick to give up the military codes that Chat leggings was demanding. 

This allowed Chat and his pair of revolutnaries to break into a military compound on Prox-Aqua and load up their prison transport ship with as much firepower as it would carried. 

They then left the planet behind, taking president Dave with them. 

General Rudiger was taken into custody, and immediately found guilty of aiding and abetting the terrorists. He was given a life prison sentence. 

Some featureless beaurocrat was awarded the position of President with barely any ceremony. It appeared nameless and shadowy individuals now controlled the military of Prox-Aqua and the position of President and Mystical healer and devolved to that of a powerless figure head. 

The decade ended with a  president kidnapped and deposed, billions killed due to starvation and the productive capacity of the system utterly destroyed…Fortunately, a shadowy cabal of unknown actors was controlling ALL of the military might in the system! 




Turn 3: 



4043 - 4044

On day one of 4043 the fleet launched from Prox-Aqua and moved directly towards the biomass. The giant quivering ball of jelly was defenceless - the swarm of bio birds still roosting on the ruined Prox-Prod. The fleet unleashed all of Proxima B’s military projectiles at once  - stockpiled over the last decade. Hundreds of nuclear weapons and untold thousands of conventional missiles thundered in the defenceless jelly in unending explosions. The flesh of god rippled and ripped and exploded into a pink mist, then disappeared. 

The fleet, empty of ALL missiles, returned to Prox-Aqua before the swarm of bio birds could retaliate. The bio mass had been defeated. 

A few days later all mining stopped on Prox-Min as a religious mania raged across the planet. Here, the biomass religious movement formed into one single and solid entity, the “Brotherhood of the Cosmos”. All of the remaining billion people on the planet converted to the church in a single day of religious ecstasy. 

The brotherhood, now formed, vowed revenge for the destruction of their god’s corporeal form and vowed to await and prepare for his return. The swarm of bio birds arrived at the planet towards the end of the year, where they remain, flying directly at any craft that comes near the planet in self-destructive attacks. 


This did not deter brave Chat Leggings though, who spent the year mounting attacks on the bio birds from his now extremely well-equipped craft. Chat televised his daring attacks on the bio bird swarms, and become a cult hero on the military planet of Prox-Aqua. His most watched footage was when he managed to actually capture a living bio bird through an elaborate and death-defying space manoeuvre  - scooping the creature up from the void with an open cargo door. 

The elusive Mutey was spotted leaving Prox-Aqua early in the year, onboard one of the system's most luxurious spacecraft (retrofitted with some high-end military hardware). Grainy footage exists of him drinking from a very expensive glass, en route to the outer reaches of the system. 

Down below, on the military-controlled Prox-Aqua, the disgraced and abusive Rudiger used his infamy and fringe group contacts to develop an imprisoned vice empire behind bars. Though imprisoned for the rest of his life, he had spent the year ensuring this would be in comfort, as anything his heart desired was smuggled behind bars for him (which was mostly booze and weaker men he could casually beat to death). If anything happened in the prison system, he would know about it, and if anything big happened, it was his doing. 

Finally, a prophet appeared from the sands and the slums of Prox-Alpha. A wretched and disfigured prophet who would drag himself, one-handed through the filth and the mud of the dirty slum streets. His skin was stained pink, and his ruined limbs shredded to appear like dragging tendrils of slime. The creature claimed he was President Dave, re-born as the son of the Biomass. Regardless of the outrageousness of his claim, a following erupted around him, the Prophet Dave becoming the leader of the Brother of the Cosmos movement on Prox-Alpha. The church's finances were greatly helped by the release of the prophet’s book which, was a sordid and self-serving memoir, that nonetheless sold extremely well. 



Turn 4:

4044 - 4045

Early in the year the swarm of bio birds spread out from Prox-Min and in equal hordes begin circling around each planet. Prox-Prod was empty of human life, but all other planets were overcome with religious zealotry with the arrival of the birds. Any human who found themselves out in the open air, with nothing between them and the void, were filled with oscillating overwhelming feelings of both joy and sorrow. Joy for feeling at one with the biomass through the space flock, and sorrow at the fact that their god, the biomass, had been so cruelly killed by the Prox-Aqua fleet. 

Chat Leggings also beamed out a stirring speech early in the year, broadcast across all networks through his illegal repeaters and overriders. The bird elf freedom fighter called all human, alien and bird elf sentients to raise up and fight agains the bio-mass menace. Chat Leggings demanded that all take arms against the Brotherhood of the Cosmos, to slay the zombie masses and to free the people of the system! Unfortunately, there was no response. Most of the system’s inhabitants deep in a fugue state of religious ecstasy.  

Safe in the bowels of the Prox-Aqua penal system, Rudiger began using his time behind bars for good, entering a group designed to help prisoners with substance abuse. This finally helped Rudiger through the dark maze of his soul, allowing him to finally stop drinking, to give up the bottle and live in sobriety! 

Rudiger did not get to spend his sobriety in peaceful jail for long though, as all of the planet’s prison population were conscripted into the military. All year long any able-bodied person on the planet was forced into military surface and trained with both bullet and laser weaponry. 

Unfortunately, much of this army was lost to the bio-bird-caused religious mania. Only half way through the year did the commanders of the army realise the need for staying underground, away from the harmful mind-altering rays emitting from space. Of the one billion people on Prox-Aqua, only 10 million were able to remain in the new Laser Bullet army, the rest of the planet’s population lost to biomass religious madness. 

Before the arrival of the bio bird flock, the Prophet of Prox-Alpha, lead the faithful through an orgy of mass suicide. A million adherents to the Brotherhood of the Cosmos faith publicly killed themselves as penance for their race’s destruction of their god the biomass. The prophet had recently organised for this million to change their will’s to make him the sole inheritor of any and all of their material possessions - quickly making the prophet severely wealthy. The prophet disappeared from public life shortly after the event.  

Chat leggings blasted his way through the bio-bird flock above Prox-Aqua late in the year, and presented himself for arrest, deep beneath the ground in a military bunker, to the underground army. His charges were immediately dismissed and he was welcomed as a hero amongst the ranks of the underground army! Chat Leggings now finds himself in a position of command within the 10 million strong underground army of Prox-Aqua 

Rudiger too, with his influence, infamy, contacts, and service history, found himself in a position of command in the army…would the bird elf and the bird elf killer be able to put aside their differences to lead the army to victory? Only time…will tell…

The year ended with the release of another important book. Mutey, deep in space in the other reaches of the system, self-published a memoir outlining his rule in the creation of the Prox-Aqua military dictatorship, and his role in organising Rudiger and Davo to be isolated and alone from the rest of society together. He does state in the book that he did not give any orders for Rudiger to endlessly beat Dave near to death - but he thought it was a good thing regardless. Importantly, Muety reveals that it was HE who organised the stockpiling of ballistics on Prox-Aqua and HE who ordered the destruction of the BioMass. 

The vast majority of inhabitants of the system, now utterly devoted to the BioMass and the Brotherhood of the Cosmos vow to kill Mutey for his criminal murder of their lord and savoir. Only the underground army, beneath the surface of Prox-Aqua were able to see the service and sacrifice that Mutey had given to attempt to save the Proxima B system…


Turn 5: 

4045, Month 1: 

Chat leggings, now co-commander of the Prox-Aqua underground army, started the year with a stirring and inspirational speech, urging the army to go to the surface and fight! In the underground military bunker a hasty effort to equip each of the 10 million soldiers with some form of faraday cage helmeting was undertook. Efforts were spotty though due to the under resourcing of the base, and many of the soldiers “protections” were sub par. Regardless, the army moved to the surface, while Chat Leggings bravely stayed beneath the surface, alongside Co-Commander Rudiger. 

On the surface, about half the army immediately lost their minds - another 5 million people joining the religious frenzy that is the “Brotherhood of the Cosmos” movement. The remaining 5 million soldiers cleared several areas of religious lunatics, referring to them as zombies, slaughtering thousands of civilians. The remaining soldiers then spent most of the month shooting directly into the sky, hoping to reach the bio birds in orbit. A few hundred f the creature’s carcasses fell to the earth in messy, jelly explosions, but this was not even a dent on the number of the creatures swirling around the planet. 

The bio bird swarms retaliated! On all planets across the system billions of the creatures plunged to the surface and began consuming the ground itself! A massive tunnelling exercise was under way! The billions of bio birds slammed into the earth and began slurping it away with their feeding tubes! It would be slow work if there wasnt billions of the creatures, growing larger and larger as they worked! 

The military base beneath Prox-Aqua was breached within the month, Chat Leggings escaping in his prison transport craft, while Rudiger stayed behind to fight! 

Co-Comander Rudiger vowed to fight to the death, killing every bio bird he saw, but as soon as the massive creatures breached into the underground military base he was flooded with feelings of ecstasy and joy and lost his mind! A minute later him and his troops were eaten alive by the massive bio-birds (grown fat and massive by many tonnage of earth consumed)!

On Prox-Alpha, in a secret medical base beneath the ground. The ex-prophet worked with a team to overcome whatever was causing those on the surface to lose their minds. A cure was found….a small lobotomy seemed to block the feelings of overwhelming religiosity that seemed to overcome all those who were on the surface. Just a small, simple lobotomy! Recipients of the lobotomy were now able to walk on the surface of Prox-Alpha and not be overcome with mind-controlling overwhelming emotions! Unfortunately, it appears any latent psychic abilities are ruined by the process - condemning those who receive it to a mundane mental experience. 

Just as on Prox-Aqua, the medical base on Prox-Alpha was breached by the all-consuming, tunnelling bio birds. The ex-prophet escaped to space with a small team of medical experts, on board a medical spacecraft. 

About the time that the two underground bases were being overrun, Mutey, somewhere in the dark reaches of space, released another book! A retort to the religious movement of the Brotherhood of the Cosmos. Mutey’s teachings focus on the loss of the main mass of the biogod, and that the reason for this loss is indeed those adherents to the Brotherhood of the Cosmos for their neglegience of the holy mass. 

Unfortunately, barely any one read the book as most of the system’s population had already lost their minds! 

Turn 6: 

4045, Month 2:

Three spacecraft converge in the dark of the outer system. 

Mutey’s high end luxury craft, retro fitted with the highest end military gear - tracked a fleeing medical craft. 

The medical craft was no match for Mutey’s ship and a hostile boarding took place. A crew of military specialists secured the medical craft. 

Ex-president Dave was found on board - deep in cyrosleep. The coordinates for the craft were the next system over. The ex-president and ex-prophet had planned to escape…

Chat Leggings, a revolutionary and military commander boarded soon after Mutey and his crew. The three ships docked…and events transpired. 

Dave remains in deep sleep, but his craft has been commandeered. Mutey and Chat remain on board. 

On the surface of Prox-Aqua the remain 5 million solider army, with their faraday helmets, were quickly overwhelmed by bio birds and bio worms. One particularly fearsome bio worm - Bio Rudier, delighted in the mindless slaughter and consumption of his ex comrades….the resistance had been defeated! 

No on on on the surface of any planet remained in resistance to the biomass. The brotherhood of the cosmos reigned supreme across the system….

Only a few dark days remained… 


Turn 7: 

4045, Month 3, day 1: 

On the surface of all planets in the system a new religious mania spread through the faithful of the brotherhood of the cosmos. “The Ships” become a term synonymous with evil, the anthesis of all that is the holy bio mass. The rebel ships - the three that escaped from both Prox-Aqua and Prox-Alpha with Mutey, Chat Leggings and Dave onboard - become all that is evil and wrong with the universe! 

And so the mindless masses of the Brotherhood of the Cosmos used the technological infrastructure still left standing across the planets of the system to track the craft! And tracked they were! The Brotherhood of the Cosmos now knew exactly where those vile devils, the ships, were in the system - no longer were they hidden by the void!

But two of the ships were leaving the outer reaches of the system, travelling at light speed towards the planets of the system! 

Chat Leggings, on board his retro fitted prison craft, chaged at Prox-Prod! The craft charged directly at the horde of bio birds orbiting around the planet! 

And then he begun firing dart rounds! 

Tiny microdarts, laden with a virus brewed up specifically for the biomass, impacted into the biobirds that swarmed towards Chat Leggings craft! 

As the darts punctured the jelly flesh of the biobirds, the immediately began falling apart, the connective tissues of their biomass rotting and decaying at an accelerated rate! As the flesh of the biobirds fell apart and floated through space it came into contact with more of the biobirds, spreading the infection further! Huge masses of the biobird flocks began to rot apart in space, their decaying rotted jelly flesh floating in foul tendrils across the void, some entering the upper atmosphere of Prox-Prod. 

A similar scene took place above Prox-Aqua, with Mutey’s luxury craft firing micro darts at the bio bird flock too. As a huge chunk of the bio bird flock rotted apart, on the planet below the hold of the Brotherhood of the Cosmos wavered! People came to their senses, waking up, realising their minds had not been their own! 

As millions of biobirds rotted apart from the spreading virus, millions of people on the world below came to their senses…an awakening from the dream of the brotherhood of the cosmos!  

Mutey himself stayed aboard the medical craft that Dave had commandeered from Prox-Alpha - deep in the dark outer void of the system (but tracked and detected by Brotherhood technicians). He sat next to Dave as he slept in his cryo chamber, and talked to the ex-president, asking him if was aware of the chaos and destruction his decisions to create the biomass had led to…


Turn 8: 

4045, Month 3, day 2:

 

The day began with millions of biobirds setting a light speed trajectory towards the sun. These were the birds that had already been infected by the biomass virus. 

Unfortunately, the birds were unable to complete their journey to the sun as they broke apart from the ravages of the virus. Great rivers of the infected flesh swam through flesh, decaying and infectious biomass flesh! 

The dead flesh of infected bio birds swirled through the upper atmosphere of each planet. Those bio birds that were not infected, and are currently in space, would be unable to penetrate the atmosphere to the planet below without themselves becoming infected! A protective barrier of infectious dead bio tissue! 

On the surface of the planet, patchy bouts of infection spread, but all infected bio birds and worms would swiftly launch towards the sun on infection. This filled in the atmosphere of dead flesh swirling around each planet. 

Regardless of the amount of dead and infected flesh floating through the atmosphere and void of space in the atmosphere, a successful quarantine measure took place. A  population of billions of bio birds, uninfected, lurked in the space of the system. Millions of uninfected bio birds and worms lurked in the empty spaces of the planet’s surface - wary to approach the micro dart-wielding sentients.

With the bio birds retreating from the upper atmosphere, their grip on the minds of the sentients below began to fade, even more people waking from the dream of the Brotherhood of the Cosmos! 

One final bio mass creature launched itself from the surface of Prox-Aqua into space. Biomas Rudiger! A massive bird worm, the size of a sky scraper! 

Unfortunately, Biomass Rudiger was infected on leaving the planet - travelling through the infected atmosphere, but before it fell apart into dead infected flesh it travelled at great speed to the tracked beacon of the medical craft holding ex-President dave in cyrosleep! 

Biomass Rudiger devoured the medical craft, with both Mutey and Dave onboard, its final act before melting away into dead flesh in space…

Or did he…

With its dying consciousness the biomass Rudiger realised it had consumed the escape pod, rigged up with the beacon of the medical craft….a decoy! 

Biomass Rudiger was filled with regret as it realised it had wasted the last moments of its life eating nothing more than an escape pod….

Chat Leggings landed on Prox Prod - far away from the colonies of Bio creatures. Here he declared a new age for the planet! Freedom from the bio mass menace! 

Chat Leggings brought with him a wealth of knowledge of the biomass virus. He got his people, both humans and freed bird elfs to mass produce the virus and constructs a massive cage. The cage was laced with the virus, any bio mass creature that attempts to breach it would be infected and die. 

The humans and the elf birds of Prox-Prod now lived together, millions , living under the leadership of Chat Leggs in a massive cage to protect against the ever present of Bio mass creatures. 

Mutey landed on the resort/military world of Prox-Aqua in the medical craft Dave had commandeered from Prox-Aqua. His luxury craft landed soon after. 

Using knowledge of the virus from Chat Legging, Mutey armed and led a military effort to cleanse the planet of the bio mass creatures. After several years the planet had been cleansed! All the biomass creatures hunted with micro darts…

At the site of the landing of the two crafts, a shrine was erected. A shrine that housed the body of Dave, still deep in Cyro sleep. 

The legend of the ex president grew in stature over the proceeding years. The visionary who had both created the biomass and helped with its defeat. 

Dave became an enigmatic figure in Proxima B culture…why had he do what he did? Was it a test? Did it make us stronger? When will he wake?

In the end, it was decided that Dave would wake when the time is right, when the people of Proxima B had become wise and evolved enough to understand his nex set of teachings… 

Davism became wide spread, replacing the Brotherhood of the Cosmos as the system of spiritual thought in the system.

Knowing what he did, that Dave was dead in his cyro chamber, and that he had killed him, slowly drove Mutey mad. 

Mutey continued to release best selling writings. Books that devolved in their coherency over the years, eventually becoming the ravings of a twisted, jealous and corrupted man (alien). 

Why could people not see that HE was the hero, not DAVE.  MUTEY WAS THE HERO! NOT DAVE! WHY  CAN’T THEY SEE THIS?! 

But then…a thought came to Mutey…a revelatory thought that made everything make sense. Mutey was Dave! Mutey was in the cryotank…and Dave was here. Mutey was Dave and Dave was Mutey…

The books came in manic torrents, confusing the general public and complicating the tenants of Davism until…. A day of tragedy. 

One morning, the people of Prox-Aqua came to the shrine of Dave and found a bloody scene… 

The cyro tank open…one ancient and rotted corpse, another fresh one. Both bodies faceless. A mess of blood covering the shrine. The removed faces of both corpses had tumbled down the stairs of the shrine, moved by the wind…

Was it murder? Was it suicide? Was it sacrilege? The people of Proxima would never know…only left with the faceless corpses of two of their heros and the lurking threat of the biomass birds in the outer darkness of space. 


The End 

Monday, 13 March 2023

Some Freeform Domain Play Guidelines/Structure

It's time to play another grand freeform strategy (?) game with my friends on facebook! This time with even less rules and more free form than last time! 

Here's what we are doing: 

Before character creation the referee may like to outline a general idea of the setting, but that is not necessary. 

Character creation. Players provide: 

  • Name
  • Class 
  • 2  x strengths (things they are very good at) 
  • Why are they important? 
  • Appearance 
  • Where are they? 


Take all the characters and mix them up. You now have an implied setting. Perhaps jot down some key notes about this setting. 

Now turns begin. Each turn is a certain amount of time in length (a day, a decade, a year, etc). 

Each turn each player (via their character) can complete a set number of actions appropriate for the time length of the turn. The scope of these actions is also dependant on the length of the turn. 

Some turn lengths and their suggested number of actions: 

  • 10 years: 3 
  • 1 year: 2  
  • 1 month: 1 
  • 1 day: 1 

Assume players are generally successful in their actions, or at least partially successful. Assume their characters are competent and powerful. If two or more players’ actions come into opposition with one another the players may need to provide specific arguments as to why they are successful. The referee will need to untangle these and work out what happens! 

Once the referee has all of the actions for a turn, they take them, and work out what happens! Public updates outlining the big events of the setting are provided, alongside private updates to specific players if required. 

Each turn, each player gets an update to their character, including: 

  • Any new strengths they have 
  • What kind of resources to they have access to 
  • Their current location 
  • (If needed) Any looming dangers. 

Suggested turn structure: 

2 x 10 year turns 

2 x 1 year turns 

2 x 1 month turns 

2 x 1 day turns (+more if needed/desired)  

...

The game has already begun with a suggested setting of "sci fi", and we have the following characters: 

  • A planet devouring biomass
  • A bird elf wizard 
  • A management consultant 
  • A war veteran 
  • An alien mutant thug 
Should be fun! 


Thursday, 23 February 2023

Making more interesting fantasy wargame units with A.I

Following on from this: https://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/2023/02/using-ai-tools-for-fantasy-wargames.html post, I thought I would try and get Chat GPT to make some more unique faction units. How to generate some faction ideas without actually thinking myself? How about some random magic cards from: https://scryfall.com/random ! I'll pull five random cards, mash them together, feed them to Chat GPT and ask for 10 units...

The random magic cards: 





The key words I see are: "Angels, Flying, Zombies, fire swords, punishment, red hair, plate armour, underground seas, caverns, salt, bulls, horns, wings, laughter magic, laughing, hideous, deafening".

So, I asked Chat GPT: 

"Make a list of ten fantasy tabletop wargaming units for the following army: Flying angel zombies who come from beneath the ground. They spawn beneath the salty oceans of underground seas. They often use fire swords and wear heavy plate armour. They often have red hair, or horns. Some of them are bull-like or half bull. They have many different types of wings. They are hideous. Their laughter is deafening and hideous. Their laughter is magical. They are obsessed with punishment.  List strengths, weaknesses, weapons used and a general description for each unit. Ensure each unit is different but is thematically part of the same army/faction." 

And got: 

Seraphic Heralds - These flying angels are the leaders of the army and wield flaming swords. They have powerful magic and can inspire nearby units to fight harder. Their wings are pure white and they wear shimmering plate armor. Strengths: Inspiring presence, magical abilities. Weaknesses: Vulnerable to anti-magic attacks.

Cost: 7 per unit


Abomination Bulls - These bull-like undead are terrifying to behold with their massive size and red, glowing eyes. They charge into battle with their horns and trample enemies beneath their hooves. Strengths: High damage output, durable. Weaknesses: Slow movement speed.

Cost: 4 per unit


Infernal Impalers - These flying undead are armed with long spears and can swoop down on unsuspecting enemies from above. They have red hair and fiery wings, and wear heavy plate armor. Strengths: Quick and agile, good at taking down heavily armored foes. Weaknesses: Vulnerable to ranged attacks.

Cost: 4 per unit

Laughing Maniacs - These undead are disturbing to look at with their twisted, hideous appearances and maniacal laughter. They use fire swords and can ignite enemies with their attacks. Strengths: Fear-inducing, good against lightly armored foes. Weaknesses: Vulnerable to psychological attacks.

Cost: 2 per unit


Punishment Enforcers - These flying angels are heavily armored and carry whips and flails to punish disobedient enemies. They can also heal nearby allies. Strengths: Good at crowd control, can heal allies. Weaknesses: Low damage output.

Cost: 4 per unit


Abyssal Chanters - These undead have bat-like wings and red hair, and use their magical laughter to disorient and confuse enemies. They can also summon additional undead units to the battlefield. Strengths: Powerful magical abilities, can summon reinforcements. Weaknesses: Low physical defense.

Cost: 5 per unit


Saltwater Revenants - These undead have spawned from the salty oceans of the underground seas and are resistant to water-based attacks. They use tridents and can move quickly through water. Strengths: Water resistance, good at amphibious assaults. Weaknesses: Vulnerable to fire attacks.

Cost: 1 per unit


Horned Fiends - These half-bull undead have powerful legs and can charge into battle with devastating force. They use axes and can cause enemies to bleed with their attacks. Strengths: High damage output, good at disrupting enemy formations. Weaknesses: Low defense against ranged attacks.

Cost: 5 per unit


Winged Harbingers - These flying undead have massive, bat-like wings and can unleash a screeching, deafening laughter that can stun enemies. They use scythes and can fly into battle with terrifying speed. Strengths: Quick and agile, good at disrupting enemy formations. Weaknesses: Low defense against ranged attacks.

Cost: 6 per unit


Plate-clad Phantoms - These undead wear heavy plate armor and use maces and shields to crush enemies. They have a ghostly appearance and can phase through walls and obstacles. Strengths: High defense, can move through terrain obstacles. Weaknesses: Low damage output.

Cost: 3 per unit



And then I asked, "Please write a backstory for that army": 

"Long ago, in a world ruled by powerful beings, the angelic order of the Celestial Realm waged a great war against the demons of the Abyss. The conflict lasted for centuries and consumed countless lives, until finally, the angels emerged victorious and banished the demon horde back to the Abyss.


However, the victory came at a great cost. Many of the angels had been corrupted by the Abyssal energies they had been exposed to during the war, and they began to exhibit demonic traits. The Celestial Realm, fearing the consequences of this corruption, banished these fallen angels to the underground seas that lay beneath the surface of their world.

Over time, the fallen angels began to change even further. The salty, Abyssal waters that surrounded them gave them a grotesque appearance and imbued them with new powers. They became hideous, flying creatures, with many different types of wings and the ability to spawn zombie minions from beneath the ground.

The fallen angels were filled with a sense of punishment and retribution, and they sought to make those who had banished them pay for their perceived sins. They were obsessed with using their newfound powers to wreak havoc on the world above, punishing those they saw as enemies and spreading fear and chaos wherever they went.

As time went on, the fallen angels continued to evolve, developing fire swords and heavy plate armor to augment their strength and defenses. Some even began to take on bull-like or half-bull forms, with red hair or horns sprouting from their grotesque bodies.

The laughter of these fallen angels had a deafening, hideous quality to it, and it was imbued with magical power. It could drive enemies mad or make them freeze in fear, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

Now, the army of the flying angel zombies from beneath the ground roams the world, seeking to punish those who would stand in their way and spreading chaos and destruction wherever they go. Their twisted bodies and unholy powers make them a terrifying foe, and their enemies tremble at the thought of facing them in battle." 

Not so bad!

Pretty quick method for putting together a fantasy army! Now I just need another army and two players! 



Tuesday, 21 February 2023

Using A.I tools for Fantasy Wargames

 Here's an easy way to come up with descriptive (as in no stats [though you may be able to ask the AI to give you stat for specific systems]) army/unit lists for your FKR/freeform wargaming pleasure 

  • Go to https://chat.openai.com (or AI text generator of choice). 
  • Ask it to "make a list of [XAMOUNT] fantasy tabletop wargaming [XFLAVOUR] units, listing strengths, weaknesses, weapons used and a general description for each" 
  • [XAMOUNT] : Insert how many units you want here! 
  • [XFLAVOUR]: Insert the type of units you want here! 
  • You can obviously change any aspects of this as you see fit (changing "fantasy" for "sci fi" for example. You could also change the format / ask for more or less specific detail. 
  • You could also ask for specific types of units, for example "a list of five infantry units" or "a list of three ranged units". 
My assumption is you will generally get quite generic units (I assume its using warhammer wiki's and other public repositories) but you could probably get it to be more creative with some work. 

Here's what I got when I asked for, "make a list of four fantasy tabletop wargaming orc units, listing strengths, weaknesses, weapons used and a general description for each": 

I have coupled the descriptions with another AI tool, MidJourney, which you can use to make your own custom digital minis if you include the key word "tabletop miniature" and "white background". 
  1. Orc Warriors
  • Description: These are the basic infantry units of the orc army. They are armed with crude weapons and armor, and are often led by a particularly brutal orc warboss.
  • Strengths: These units are numerous and relatively cheap, making them great for forming the core of an army. They are also very tough and resilient, able to soak up a lot of damage before going down.
  • Weaknesses: Orc warriors are not particularly skilled fighters, and their weapons and armor are of low quality. They can also be slow-moving and susceptible to ranged attacks.
  • Weapons Used: Orc warriors are typically armed with a variety of crude weapons, such as axes, spears, and swords.
  1. Orc Boar Riders
  • Description: These are orc warriors mounted on giant boars. They are particularly effective at charging into enemy lines and breaking them apart.
  • Strengths: Boar riders are fast and mobile, and their boars are particularly tough and hardy. They can be devastating in a charge, breaking enemy formations and causing chaos.
  • Weaknesses: Boar riders can be vulnerable to ranged attacks, particularly if they are caught in open terrain. They are also relatively expensive, and their mobility can make them difficult to control.
  • Weapons Used: Orc boar riders are typically armed with spears, bows, or other ranged weapons, in addition to their boar's natural weapons (such as tusks or hooves).
  1. Orc Shaman
  • Description: These are orc spellcasters who draw their power from the dark forces of the universe. They use their magic to curse enemies, blast them with dark energy, and even summon demonic allies to fight on their behalf.
  • Strengths: Orc shamans are extremely versatile, able to support other units with spells or fight on their own using melee or ranged attacks. They are also difficult to take down, as their magic can protect them from harm.
  • Weaknesses: Orc shamans are relatively weak in hand-to-hand combat, and their magic can be unpredictable or difficult to control. They are also vulnerable to anti-magic attacks or magical interference.
  • Weapons Used: Orc shamans typically use spells to attack enemies, but they may also be armed with crude weapons such as staffs or daggers.
  1. Orc Warboss
  • Description: This is the leader of the orc army, a massive and brutal warrior who inspires fear and loyalty in his followers. Warbosses are armed with powerful weapons and are often accompanied by a retinue of loyal bodyguards.
  • Strengths: Warbosses are incredibly tough and powerful, able to take on entire units of enemy soldiers by themselves. They can inspire nearby units to fight harder and more fiercely, and their leadership can make the difference in a close battle.
  • Weaknesses: Warbosses can be expensive and difficult to control, as they are often prone to bouts of anger or recklessness. They can also be vulnerable to ranged attacks or magical interference, which can take them down from a distance.
  • Weapons Used: Orc warbosses are typically armed with massive weapons such as greataxes, warhammers, or giant cleavers, which they use to cleave through enemy formations.


And then, they need someone to fight against!

"Make a list of four fantasy tabletop wargaming undead units, listing strengths, weaknesses, weapons used and a general description for each":

  1. Skeleton Warriors
  • Description: These are basic infantry units of the undead army, made up of animated skeletons equipped with crude weapons and armor. They are typically led by necromancers or other powerful undead commanders.
  • Strengths: Skeleton warriors are numerous and relatively cheap, making them great for forming the core of an army. They are also very tough and resilient, able to keep fighting even after taking significant damage.
  • Weaknesses: Skeleton warriors are not particularly skilled fighters, and their weapons and armor are of low quality. They can also be vulnerable to anti-undead attacks or magical interference.
  • Weapons: Swords, spears, axes, shields
  1. Grave Guard
  • Description: These are elite undead soldiers, dressed in ornate armor and wielding powerful weapons. They are often the personal guard of vampire lords or other powerful undead leaders.
  • Strengths: Grave guard are highly skilled fighters, able to hold their own against even the most skilled opponents. They are also very resilient and can take a lot of damage before going down.
  • Weaknesses: Grave guard can be expensive and difficult to acquire, making them harder to field in large numbers. They can also be vulnerable to anti-undead attacks or magical interference.
  • Weapons: Swords, halberds, greatswords, shields
  1. Banshees
  • Description: These are ethereal undead spirits, haunting the battlefield with their mournful wails. They are typically found leading spectral units or providing magical support to undead armies.
  • Strengths: Banshees are very fast and agile, able to move through solid objects and avoid attacks. They can also use their wails to demoralize or even kill enemy units.
  • Weaknesses: Banshees are very weak physically, and can be easily dispatched by even a single well-placed attack. They are also vulnerable to anti-undead attacks or magical interference.
  • Weapons: None (ethereal)
  1. Crypt Ghouls
  • Description: These are undead creatures resembling ghouls, with razor-sharp teeth and claws. They are often used as shock troops or to infiltrate enemy lines.
  • Strengths: Crypt ghouls are very fast and agile, able to move quickly across the battlefield and strike from unexpected angles. They are also very deadly in close combat, with their sharp teeth and claws.
  • Weaknesses: Crypt ghouls are not particularly resilient, and can be taken down relatively easily if they are caught in the open. They are also vulnerable to anti-undead attacks or magical interference.
  • Weapons: Teeth, claws.


Finally, you can even use MidJourney to make a battlefield for you: