Episode 50 — Through The Airlock

[IanSolomon 5]

 

the airlock is clearly just for the old dudes escape ship, never designed to be a docked by another ship, and what gave you the idea that their skiff is the exact ship that gets docked there? Sark said the airlock was invisible from the outside anyway, so its pretty obviously not for any random ship to dock into. why the hell would he let any ship dock ona airlock that leads to the bridge of his main ship and his fucking weird napoleon bedroom?

 

Yeah I debated even leaving my comment because I was afraid it would be seen as negative about the show in general. Hopefully I didn't give that impression, I look forward to this podcast more than any other every week. I appreciate Wednesdays in a way I never have before because I know I get to listen to these nerds on my drive home. Maybe I just hold it to a higher standard and that's why when there is one little plot point that doesn't make sense, it stands out so much.

 

You make a good point but the only thing I'm left wondering is, how did the old dude actually open the airlock when he would use it?

[qrter 79]

Is someone FORCING you to listen to this podcast? Are you trapped somewhere and need assistance? Two NEGATIVE posts for 'YES', One NEGATIVE post for 'NO'...

To be fair, although Chaosounds' post may have been too negative in tone, he does make a point - I also kind of felt Sark was leading Blackie to the right conclusion. There are a lot of jumps in logic, there. I expected at least some kind of Intelligence check for remembering where the airlock actually was - it was only opened for a couple of seconds, without warning. Especially after all the intense skill checks happening before, it all seemed a bit.. too convenient.

 

That said, I also appreciate that Sark might just want the adventure to move the fuck along, and not spend too much time on this stuff.

[Bad Wizard 39]

 

You make a good point but the only thing I'm left wondering is, how did the old dude actually open the airlock when he would use it?

 

his escape ship was docked. So no issues with vaccum.

 

 

A good episode, its not like they were going to "miricle" everyone over.

Plus everyone made their rolls.... so.... well never know what would of happened if they missed.

They planned for it very well, tying together and what not....

 

Good ep in my mind

[RobotsPJs 123]

To be fair, although Chaosounds' post may have been too negative in tone, he does make a point - I also kind of felt Sark was leading Blackie to the right conclusion. There are a lot of jumps in logic, there. I expected at least some kind of Intelligence check for remembering where the airlock actually was - it was only opened for a couple of seconds, without warning. Especially after all the intense skill checks happening before, it all seemed a bit.. too convenient.

 

That said, I also appreciate that Sark might just want the adventure to move the fuck along, and not spend too much time on this stuff.

 

I'm getting from this that there should have been more checks and yet they should have moved the story along quicker.

[IanSolomon 5]

 

his escape ship was docked. So no issues with vaccum.

 

 

THANK YOU! That totally makes sense, and has restored my full enjoyment of the episode. For some reason that didn't occur to me on my own.

[Bad Wizard 39]

 

THANK YOU! That totally makes sense, and has restored my full enjoyment of the episode. For some reason that didn't occur to me on my own.

 

 

 

Never a problem, thats why im the Resident Informed Mage

[telegramsam 92]

Hey guys, one thing, I have been wondering about since the episode where they discovered the bridge--wouldn't it behoove the party to start using their intelligence and wisdom stats? They keep trying to figure things out with their own brains, which, as we can see, has been a bumpy ride, and they may have missed a lot of things that Sark has meant for them to have. I love the way the show is going so far, but I'm a little disappointed when people aren't roleplaying smart characters in a smart way. Make some Int and Wis checks!

[qrter 79]

 

I'm getting from this that there should have been more checks and yet they should have moved the story along quicker.

Nope, that wasn't what I was saying. I said I expected there would've been more to Blackie guessing what was expected from him - it seemed more than a bit of a stretch.

 

Having said that, I can also see how Sark might think "that would take a lot of time, I want to move things along".

 

I'm saying the first would have my personal preference, but I also can understand how Sark might come to a different decision. I'm a master of empathy, me.

[Mr Sark 227]

i think an Endure elments spell would of been helpfull..... plus it poses the question, would endure emelents, which protects you from all natural weather effects, hot/cold/rain/snow...... could it be seen as also to protect from pressure deferentals? beit high or low? It will protect from altitude sickness from being in the mountains..... Soo... Other Mages thougts?

...Bad Wizard: Regarding your endure elements question: If I were GMing, I like to reward people for using spells creatively, especially non-combat/non-buff spells so I'd totally give them some sort of damage reduction/benefit if they used Endure Elements to counteract the effects of a vacuum.

I hadn't thought of it, but if it had been brought up this is definitely the kind of thing that I'd assign bonuses for. It sort of makes sense but more importantly it's creative and makes a player feel like a badass.

[Mr Sark 227]

Really let down by this episode. Sure there were some fun moments (which is why I listen) but as far as the gameplay... c'mon if you were just going to hand it to them why waste an entire episode while they uselessly planned out a strategy. Sark basically explained to "Blackie" exactly what the group was doing. Pretty lame. Could have saved 50mins and just said "Ok everyone you line up the ships and make the jump, what next?". Seemed pretty clear there was not even a possibility of failure here. Sark must be scared after the "keep rolling til you fall" episode.

I'm never too scared to gig a player BUT I gave it to them with low-risk because they spent the time planning. May not make for the best podcast episode, but I'm role-playing that we're not podcasting!

[Mr Sark 227]

...Both ships have airlocks that have to be opened and closed manually, from just inside the outer door? Who would EVER design an airlock system that way? How did anyone ever get on or off this ship in the past? Did they have to sacrifice a person and give the whole crew terrible bloody orifices every time a ship "docked?"...

 

...Please tell me I missed something obvious, like the remote opener was broken or something...

...I also kind of felt Sark was leading Blackie to the right conclusion. There are a lot of jumps in logic, there. I expected at least some kind of Intelligence check for remembering where the airlock actually was - it was only opened for a couple of seconds, without warning. Especially after all the intense skill checks happening before, it all seemed a bit.. too convenient.

 

That said, I also appreciate that Sark might just want the adventure to move the fuck along, and not spend too much time on this stuff.

Yeah no doubt this was a little loose but here's the airlock dets (keep in mind I learned everything I know about airlocks from Event Horizon, The Abyss, and 2001... with a dash of Wikipedia.)

 

I though it would be interesting if, as an additional safety feature, entrance to an airlock was via a short teleport rather than a bulkhead, especially an executive airlock.

 

The controls to the airlock were up in the bridge (the room with the viewport adjacent to the necromancer's quarters) and Blackee would've had the best chance to operate them, but he was off in the skiff (He caught a lot of crap from the party while he was away, but I honestly I think he saved the day). I thought about having the means by which the airlock was opened be the necromancer actually blasting an underling out into space everytime he wanted it open, but as entertaining as he might find that, it seemed pretty unreliable and tedious.

 

The escape ship was not always docked outside, I had unvisited areas of the tower set aside as internal docking bays where ships could be reeled in and not be damaged by dangling outside on an external docking area when the Tower made an FTL jump (probably doesn't actually matter since the ship isn't technically accelerating but whatevs). Would've been interesting if the party had made off with the executive escape craft. Hahaha. On a vessel as big as the tower though, stumbling across some of these spots was pretty low.

 

As far as the party's relatively easy crossing... I do wish I'd had Blackee roll a bit more for that precision ship alignment BUT I gave it to them with low-risk for two reasons. 1- They put the time in to the planning, which was good role-playing. 2- Like qrter said above, I just wanted them off that goddamned tower.

 

Thanks for the comments! "It keeps me sharp, on the edge, where I gotta be!" - Vincent Hanna

[IanSolomon 5]

Thanks so much for that explanation, it's somehow reassuring that the answer I needed was in your head the whole time even if it was never said out loud. Loving the story so far and I can't wait to hear what happens next!