Fruit from the Vine [1/?]
solo TTRPG play report
1d5 Signal Received: 1
1d50 CSSS: 3 Intercom/Volume/Distance“Are you sure you want to bring it on board? It looks old,” Carl’s voice rattles through the intercom in my EVA helmet.
“Of course I’m sure,” I hiss. “That’s why I’m out here driving this stinking crane. Because I’m sure.”
“And because I need something to go right,” I think. I would not want Carl to hear that. The dumb computer would probably start running some psychoanalysis software on me. I won’t call Carl an AI, because he certainly isn’t intelligent. He’s just the dumb voice that comes out of the dumb computer in this dumb ship.
“I gotta get out of here,” I mumble. I regret speaking aloud immediately.
“Well, you are about as out as you could be,” Carl pipes up. “How much farther out could you want to get?”
I bite my tongue and focus on driving the crane to grab the messenger probe. Regrettably, it looks like Carl is correct. The probe looks very old. But I’m out here, and the crane is almost in position, so I might as well grab it. I might be able to sell it to a museum or something.
1d100 Int Check: 16, success The crane’s claw, with a little help from its electromagnetic fingers, snags the probe. With a few more lever pulls, the probe is delivered into the ship’s cargo bay. I follow my umbilical back to the airlock and head inside to see what we’ve found.
Welcome aboard the Invisible Wo.
Name: Corsa
Class: Bruiser
Strength 42 Speed 29 Intelligence 28 Violence 25
Reality 11 Fear 39 Body 20
Wounds: 0/3
Limit: 2
What is this?
This is another (long-promised) solo actual play report. I will be using the same sources and tools that I did for my last game: the Mothership hack 5 Million Worlds by
along with the Combined Systems Semiotic Standard v2.0 oracle by . This time, I am playing through Fruit from the Vine as seen in the .
The Message
“Oh-Sys colony ship Chromatic Terminus, massive system failure. Rerouting to Pinnacle, emergency landing probable.”
“That’s it?” I wonder aloud.
“That’s it,” Carl confirms.
“I wasn’t asking you,” I growl. The probe must by 200 cycles old. Even then, it should have been able to carry more than that short message. I look the machine over again to see if I missed anything else. Carl scans it as well.
1d50 CSSS: 14 no but...“Well, at least we can figure where Pinnacle is,” Carl remarks. “It looks like the probe was keeping track of its course before and after being launched during the ‘massive system failure.’” A nearby monitor flares to life, cycles through a few star charts from the database, and eventually zooms in on a standard-looking system with one habitable planet. “Should I set the course?”
I sit back from the probe. “Yeah, sure, why not,” I say. “Maybe there is still someone there that needs help. Or maybe we can scavenge something off whatever’s left of this Chromatic Terminus.”
“Very well,” Carl replies.
I can feel the Invisible Wo adjusting course. Or can I? I shouldn’t be able to feel it, that’s for sure. Another system going bad on this rust bucket. Maybe I’ll be able to leave it behind and fly a colony ship soon. That would be pretty cool.
“I’m going to sleep. Wake me when we are close enough to see what’s happening on Pinnacle,” I announce. Off to cryo I go.
Approach
“Oh, Corsa,” Carl wakes me up with the sing-song voice of a serial killer. “It’s time to wake up.”
I groan and stagger out of my cryo-closet. I yawn. “What do you see?” I ask the otherwise empty room as I get dressed.
“The planet Pinnacle has a single continent. There is a reasonable amount of construction, as well as artificial light production, possibly indicating a terrestrial city.”
“Oh, that’s okay, I guess,” I mutter. I head toward my weapons locker and grab a pistol and a utility knife.
1d50 CSSS: 12 noI don’t have much ammo left for the pistol. Well, I’ve found that it gets more done by being waved around than by actually shooting. Let’s hope that experience holds up. “Anywhere to land? Any sign of that colony ship?” I’ve forgotten its name.
1d50 CSSS: 37 yes but“Yes, I have identified the location of the Chromatic Terminus,” Carl replies.
Yes, that’s the name.
“However,” he continues, “Its location is inaccessible to us.” A picture of a ship, mostly covered in what I guess to be jungle growth, fills the screen in front of me.
“Of course it is,” I grumble. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. Grumbling. I gotta get away from Carl. “Anywhere close that we could land?”
“There are two reasonable landing areas, both within range to travel on foot to the Chromatic Terminus.”
“Which one looks like an easier landing zone?” I ask. “I don’t want to risk the Invisible Wo.”
1d2 choice: 2Two images float next to one another on the display. “One appears to be surrounded by thick foliage. The other is barren. The barren one offers fewer dangers to the ship.” After a pause, Carl continues, “I have also grown quite fond of you.”
“The barren one it is,” I say with forced enthusiasm, ignoring Carl’s misreading of my previous statement. I just don’t want to get stuck here, and the Invisible Wo might be the only ride in town. I don’t like the look of either of these landing sites, nor the location of the Chromatic Terminus. If I don’t find survivors shortly after landing, I’m gonna get right out of this place.
Carl brings the Invisible Wo through a looping descent toward the barren landing area. As we get closer, the ship’s scans resolve a bit, showing some activity on the surface. They will certainly see us coming, which is fine. I wouldn’t want to surprise anyone. That’s a good way to get shot.
Arrival
We touch down near the center of the cleared area. I can see teams of what look like mostly other trads working around the periphery of this location. The occasional gouts of flame from these teams explains the barrenness of the landing zone. I exit the Invisible Wo as one of the teams approaches.
1d5 Size of Ripper Team: 4
1d50 CSSS: 13 Living quarters/sleep/interactionThree of them look like standard trads. The fourth, at about eight feet tall, is either the tallest trad or the shortest looper that I’ve ever seen. I greet them with open hands, as three of the four are carrying flamethrowers.
“Hello! I’m Corsa!” I say. Nice. Real smooth. Deep breath. “Would you all happen to have heard of the Chromatic Terminus?” I pause before offering more.
The strangers stop walking and exchange glances. After a moment, the tall one speaks up, “Yes, we are aware of that name. How do you know it?”
1d50 CSSS: 41 Broadcast system/communication/bondHow much to say? Might as well tell the truth. I avert my eyes slightly to make it clear that I am no longer addressing the flamethrower team. “Carl,” I say both out loud and over my neurolink. I hate using it, because I hate the feeling of Carl’s voice in my head, but it’s the easiest way to get in touch with him right now. “Could you please play the distress call that we captured?” I also want to make these guys think I have some crew onboard.
“Of course,” Carl replies directly into my superior temporal gyrus. I hear him in my left ear. Only on the left. Always on the left. Not sure why he does that.
Before he had even finished confirming the order, the message from the probe plays over the Invisible Wo’s broadcasting system. “Oh-Sys colony ship Chromatic Terminus, massive system failure. Rerouting to Pinnacle, emergency landing probable.”
The trads in front of me look a little confused, but the looper (probably?) smiles. “Ah, that must have been sent by our ancestors. The colony ship crashed here, and, while it wasn’t our intended destination, the crew went right ahead and did what they were sent to do: create a colony.”
That would explain why this looper is so short, I think.
“Well, in that case, I guess you don’t need any help from me,” I say with a shrug.
I turn to reenter my ship when that looper calls out, “Wait! We might still be able to use your assistance.”
I stop and wait, but I do not turn around.
After a moment, I hear the looper speaking in a more authoritative tone, “Someone wake up Tanner. We’ve got company that might be able to help with Lux and Finn.”
The looper addresses me again, “Could you come over to our base?” He waves a spindly arm toward a rust-covered metal building fitted with flamethrower turrets. Beyond the building, almost obscured by the shimmering heat of all the flame in this place, sits a small shuttle with its cargo bay open. “Tanner will be able to explain.”
“Sure, why not,” I say. I start walking toward the building. Without a word (that these guys can hear), the Invisible Wo lifts into the air.
“Thanks, Carl,” I think to the ship. “Tail me as best you can. Any sign of trouble, blast that shuttle. I don’t want them coming after you.”
“Nor do I,” Carl replies.
Always on the left.
Tanner
Tanner looks like he just woke up.
1d50 CSSS: 31 biological hazard/spoilage/transference“This is Corsa,” the looper (I’m sure of it now) introduces me. “She just landed in a small ship asking about the Chromatic Terminus.” He continues on to recount the rest of our conversation.
I look around. The walls of this small room are cluttered with faded maps, some digital, most hand-drawn, all covered with notes in black or red ink. I would have to get closer to get an idea of what they were for, but I don’t risk that right now.
“Yes, Corsa, we could use some help,” Tanner finally says. “As you may have noticed, we are in a constant struggle against an alien biological force: the Vine. We have been able to keep this area clear with the liberal application of fire, but we need a more permanent solution. Two of our group, we call ourselves Rippers, were on an away mission to acquire some valuable information about the Vine. They have not been heard from in a couple of days, and I am worried that they are in trouble. Would you be willing to try to recover them?”
1d50 CSSS: 21 no, but...Do I trust him? Not really. The Vine story certainly explains what I’ve seen so far, but why are they staying here? Why not just leave? The most obvious explanation would be that they don’t have a ship. Maybe their colony ship is unrepairable. Or maybe they just don’t have the expertise to do it.
“What do you hope to learn? How to destroy the Vine? Why not just leave this planet?” I ask, pushing him.
“I have almost resolved to do just that,” Tanner replies. “This mission was our last effort to gain some knowledge of defeating the Vine and reclaiming our home. If it fails, as it seems it has, we will give up and leave this place.”
“How do you plan on leaving? That shuttle I saw won’t take you out of this system,” I say.
“The shuttle will take us to our main ship,” Tanner replies. “We have it hidden in orbit.”
1d50 CSSS: 35 yes, but...“Alright then,” I say with a nod, “I came here to help the crew of the Chromatic Terminus. I might have been a little late, but I’ll do what I can. Where were your operatives headed?” I stand up to indicate that I plan on leaving immediately.
Tanner smiles. To the looper he says, “Polt, get our hero here a flamethrower. That pistol won’t do much against the Vine’s minions. And then take her to the maze.”
I barely hear any of this, as I am busy thinking to Carl, “This guy says he’s got a ship hidden in orbit somewhere. See if you can find it. There’s something fishy going on around here, but I’m not sure what it is yet.”
“You got it,” Carl replies. “I’ll need to leave for a bit. I’ll let you know when I’ve done a sweep.”
1d50 CSSS: 1 flooding/water/weakness“Thanks. Don’t be gone long,” I think. Something about not having Carl close by while I’m down here suddenly seems terrifying. I felt invincible with the Invisible Wo hovering nearby. Polt hands me a flamethrower, and even this formidable weapon does nothing to allay the doubt that I feel gnawing in my mind.
I walk out of the building ahead of Polt and the other Rippers, intent on hiding any weakness I am feeling. One of Polt’s overlong arms extends over my shoulder, pointing toward a towering mass of vegetation on the horizon.
“This way to the maze,” he says.
Thanks for Reading!
That’s as good a place as any to take a break. I hope you are enjoying Corsa’s adventure on Pinnacle. Next week I’ll release Part 2 as well as my September production update and my plans for the fall.
—MAH
Ho ho! Wow, I'm lovin' this Corsa/Carl dynamic. And knowing what is Tanner is probably up to makes the tension more palpable, haha. Awesome, can't wait to see what happens next!
I really liked this! Thank u for sharing! 😊