Warbirds thread
Poh Tun Kai
We went through character creation to make Kabuki, a Haitian bar queen turned fighter pilot, and El Mariachi, the Tegesta rancher/brewer who found that his gift of gab would make him the perfect show-stealing Guild pilot. What I love about Warbirds is that it assumes right off the bat that you're automatically an awesome pilot, as well as having a big ground-level skill set. So in the same way that 13th Age makes sure you all have equal amounts of non-combat Backgrounds no matter what your classes do in combat, Warbirds gives you two separate pools of stats, one for buying the skills and traits you use in the air and another one for buying all the skills you have on the ground. So Ivan made an interceptor/dogfighter type with good gunnery skills, while Darren made a character with terrific flying skills at all altitudes (dogfighting and strafing) while having rather mediocre attack skills. So even though El Mariachi has some devastating ground attack cannon on his plane, he wasn't really a good attack specialist.
Combat was simple and I'm glad I just had two players to keep things easy. When you have five or six players and even more enemies on the dogfight tracker, I'm sure it'll get messy. The PCs had superior equipment to their Mayan Air Force opponents and easily shot down enemy attack planes, but the pirate frigate gave them a lot of trouble as they didn't have the firepower to crack it, only to disable it by blowing up the bridge. The math reminds me a bit of Silhouette (Heavy Gear) except that there's only one die being rolled, and no opposed rolls most of the time (which cuts down on whiffing a lot more than in Silhouette).
There are separate experience tracks for different skills as well as general-purpose XP that can be spent anywhere, which feels a bit complicated, but as long as each player manages their own skills it should be okay.
Darren Loo
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Kevin Empey
Poh Tun Kai
Kevin Empey
Poh Tun Kai
Darren Loo
They go up diddley up-up,
they go down diddley down-down!
They entrance all the ladies
and steal all the scenes,
With their up diddley up-up
and their down diddley down-down.
Up! down! Flying around!
Looping the loop
and defying the ground!
They're all frightfully keen.
Those Magnificent men
in their flying machines!
They can fly upside down
with their feet in the air!
They don't think of danger;
they really don't care!
Newton would think he
had made a mistake!
To see those young men
and the chances they take!
Those magnificent men
in their flying machines,
They go up diddley up-up,
they go down diddley down-down!
They entrance all the ladies
and steal all the scenes,
With their up diddley up-up
and their down diddley down-down.
Up! down! Flying around!
Looping the loop
and defying the ground!
They're all frightfully keen.
Those Magnificent men
in their flying machines!
Those magnificent men
in their flying machines,
They go up diddley up-up,
they go down diddley down-down!
Those magnificent men...
those magnificent men
Those magnificent men
in their flyyyyyyying machines.
I'm tempted to run Warbirds again this weekend if Hish isn't running his game.
Poh Tun Kai
Ivan Tam
Poh Tun Kai
Darren Loo
Shift244
Darren Loo
Shift244
Shift244
Kumiko Yamazaki
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=============================
Darren Loo
Darren Loo
Tractor, pusher or both?
Shift244
Darren Loo
All warbirds are custom built, so your plane can look like anything you want it to look like... with a propeller :p
Shift244
On Tuesday, May 6, 2014 5:39:55 PM UTC+8, Shift244 wrote:
Like these awesome LEGO stuff by Jon Hall: http://avaxnews.net/touching/Lego_Dieselpunk_by_Jon_Hall.htmlSkyhammer or Iron Condor?
Ivan Tam
Darren Loo
Ivan Tam
Shift244
Shift244
Ivan Tam
Also, we need a soundtrack
Darren Loo
Darren Loo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf_ghh7bc78 - Battle of Britain
Ivan Tam
Darren Loo
Poh Tun Kai
101 Gold Jaguars (oldest mercenary squadron in Azure, founded in Yucatan)
103 Red Foxes (showy stunt pilot squadron, highest casualty rate in the Guild)
104 Blue Spiders (former Haitian military unit, famed for strict discipline)
105 Green Dragons (legendary party squadron, dumping ground for troublemakers)
106 Grey Falcons (considered the best among the best for its high kill counts, led by Guild legend Alanna Duval)
107 Black Scorpions (the premier attack squadron, known as ship-breakers)
In case you're wondering, 102 White Hawks went rogue and joined the pirates of Andros Island three decades ago.
Darren Loo
Char background soon.
Darren Loo
Ladies...
Jose “Tequila” Banderas
Age: 23
Ethnicity: Spanish
Born to a rough but well off family of rancheros in the wild frontier island of Tegesta, Jose Banderas was largely homeschooled by his parents – a wildcatting father from Puerto Rico and a saloon-owning mother from San Nicolas – together with his three siblings, Pedro, Carlos and Carmen. A handsome, charming lad, even in his early years, the eldest Banderas son quickly gained a reputation as a slick, smooth-talking wheeler-dealer with a talent for flare and an eye for a good deal. With the help of his two brothers, he soon began brewing his own moonshine, to be sold at his mother’s saloon. This eventually grew to become a lucrative business, running moonshine to local saloons and even to corporate-run bars.
His success, however, brought him to the attention of some of Tegesta’s less savory operators and Los Reguladores moved to muscle in on his upstart moonshining business. Jose’s father, Jenaro, would have none of that however and the Banderas family quickly saw the thugs off. But that was only the beginning and two nights later, an even larger posse rode into town, looking to put the upstarts in their place. They were met by a hail of gunfire from the tough ranchers, which precipitated a three day siege of the ranch. Jose, however, had managed to talk a large enough number of gunslingers to form a posse himself to join his family and the group drove off the Reguladores.
Now infuriated, the local Jefe declared all-out war on the insolent ranchers. On a clear, moonlit night, the Reguladores attacked in force, supported by an old, war-weary pusher. The clearly outgunned Banderas family and their gunmen fell back but, once more, Jose’s silver tongue came to the rescue. As the tide began to turn against his family, the young moonshiner rode out to the old San Nicolas airfield and begged the old Captain Santos Dumont to aid the family. The Captain refused although, in the end, allowed the pleading Jose to take one of his oldest airplanes – if he could handle it. Desperate to try and extricate his family despite having virtually no hours in an airplane and only the barest idea how they worked, Jose leapt into the cockpit and unwittingly unearthed a second gift besides his charm – he could fly.
Thrilled, the rookie pilot soared into the night like an avenging angel, arriving just as the family had retreated to the cover of the house. With a single, deadly burst, he riddled the Reguladore fighter, forcing it to break off. Unfortunately for the bandit pilot, at treetop height, the damage to his airplane proved too much and it careened into the ground, exploding on impact. With the loss of their support, and with an unknown fighter above, the Reguladores beat a hasty retreat, hastened by Jose. His enthusiasm proved to be too great, however, and his borrowed plane ended up belly-landing in a ploughed field.
Daylight found almost a dozen dead Reguladores, including their pilot, the son of the Reguladore Jefe. With things clearly getting out of hand, the elder Banderas called the local Tegesta Rangers for help. This helped neutralize the threat to the family, but at the cost of curtailing Jose’s moonshining activities. But the elder of the Banderas siblings already had another goal in sight. Captain Dumont was more than a little cross at the loss of his airplane but further badgering persuaded him to allow Jose to take to training himself in earnest in the ways of flight on the condition that the rookie pay back the Captain for both the lessons and the loss of his first airplane as soon as he has the means to do so. It was already clear to Jose and his family that the eldest son could not remain on Tegesta – word was out that he’d had a bounty placed on his head by the Jefe for killing his son – and Jose’s gift for flying together with his flair and knack for showmanship would be a convenient ticket to entry into the Guild.
And that’s how Jose Banderas, rancher, moonshiner,
smooth-talker, joined the Guild. Word of his natural talents quickly spread and
within weeks of the start of his training, he’d been bundled off on an airship
to the Guild Keys where he completed his flight training. Old Santos Dumont
would never admit to being proud of his unexpected find, but he’s certainly
pleased – a Guild aviator is just the kind of person you’d want to owe you a
favor. The Banderas clan are also mighty
proud of their little condor and they hope that his position in the Guild would
mean that the Reguladores would think twice before striking again. For Jefe El Culebra,
its meant posting an even higher bounty for the young pilot.
Advantages:
Good Luck (Minor)
No Press is Bad Press (Minor)
Sex Appeal (Minor)
Disadvantages:
Debt (Minor)
Dependents (Minor)
Hunted (Minor)
Darren Loo
Ladies.
Jose “Tequila” Banderas
Age: 23
Ethnicity: Spanish
Born to a rough but well off family of rancheros in the wild frontier island of Tegesta, Jose Banderas was largely homeschooled by his parents – a wildcatting father from Puerto Rico and a saloon-owning mother from San Nicolas – together with his three siblings, Pedro, Carlos and Carmen. A handsome, charming lad, even in his early years, the eldest Banderas son quickly gained a reputation as a slick, smooth-talking wheeler-dealer with a talent for flair and an eye for a good deal. With the help of his two brothers, he soon began brewing his own moonshine, to be sold at his mother’s saloon. This eventually grew to become a lucrative business, running moonshine to local saloons and even to corporate-run bars.
His success, however, brought him to the attention of some of Tegesta’s less savory operators and Los Reguladores moved to muscle in on his upstart moonshining business. Jose’s father, Jenaro, would have none of that however and the Banderas family quickly saw the thugs off. But that was only the beginning and two nights later, an even larger posse rode into town, looking to put the upstarts in their place. They were met by a hail of gunfire from the tough ranchers, which precipitated a three day siege of the ranch. Jose, however, had managed to talk a large enough number of gunslingers to form a posse himself to join his family and the group drove off the Reguladores.
Now infuriated, the local Jefe declared all-out war on the insolent ranchers. On a clear, moonlit night, the Reguladores attacked in force, supported by an old, war-weary pusher. The clearly outgunned Banderas family and their gunmen fell back but, once more, Jose’s silver tongue came to the rescue. As the tide began to turn against his family, the young moonshiner rode out to the old San Nicolas airfield and begged the old Captain Santos Dumont to aid the family. The Captain refused although, in the end, allowed the pleading Jose to take one of his oldest airplanes – if he could handle it. Desperate to try and extricate his family despite having virtually no hours in an airplane and only the barest idea how they worked, Jose leapt into the cockpit and unwittingly unearthed a second gift besides his charm – he could fly.
Thrilled, the rookie pilot soared into the night like an avenging angel, arriving just as the family had retreated to the cover of the house. With a single, deadly burst, he riddled the Reguladore fighter, forcing it to break off. Unfortunately for the bandit pilot, at treetop height, the damage to his airplane proved too much and it careened into the ground, exploding on impact. With the loss of their support, and with an unknown fighter above, the Reguladores beat a hasty retreat, hastened by Jose. His enthusiasm proved to be too great, however, and his borrowed plane ended up belly-landing in a ploughed field.
Daylight found almost a dozen dead Reguladores, including their pilot, the son of the Reguladore Jefe. With things clearly getting out of hand, the elder Banderas called the local Tegesta Rangers for help. This helped neutralize the threat to the family, but at the cost of curtailing Jose’s moonshining activities. But the elder of the Banderas siblings already had another goal in sight. Captain Dumont was more than a little cross at the loss of his airplane but further badgering persuaded him to allow Jose to take to training himself in earnest in the ways of flight on the condition that the rookie pay back the Captain for both the lessons and the loss of his first airplane as soon as he has the means to do so. It was already clear to Jose and his family that the eldest son could not remain on Tegesta – word was out that he’d had a bounty placed on his head by the Jefe for killing his son – and Jose’s gift for flying together with his flair and knack for showmanship would be a convenient ticket to entry into the Guild.
And that’s how Jose
Banderas, rancher, moonshiner, smooth-talker, joined the Guild. Word of his
natural talents quickly spread and within weeks of the start of his training,
he’d been bundled off on an airship to the Guild Keys where he completed his
flight training. Old Santos Dumont would never admit to being proud of his
unexpected find, but he’s certainly pleased – a Guild aviator is just the kind
of person you’d want to owe you a favor. The Banderas clan are also
mighty proud of their little condor and they hope that his position in the
Guild would mean that the Reguladores would think twice before striking again.
For Jefe El Culebra, its meant posting an even higher bounty for the young
pilot.
Advantages:
Good Luck (Minor)
No Press is Bad Press (Minor)
Sex Appeal (Minor)
Disadvantages:
Debt (Minor)
Dependents (Minor)
Hunted (Minor)
Darren Loo
Body 0
Mind 0
Spirit 1
Fame: 2
Skills:
Riding: 1
Brewing: 1
Awareness: 1
Barter: 2
Publicity: 2
Persuade: 2
Perform: 1
Strafing : 2
Ordinance : 1
Ivan Tam
Poh Tun Kai
Darren Loo
I wonder who is free on Sunday. Should I try running?
--
Ivan Tam
Darren Loo
Poh Tun Kai
Ivan Tam
Today, Tequila and Chef attended a dinner where they met the Governor of West Grand and his rambunctious daughter, as well as the Colonel of the Old Guard and his second-in-command. The next day, they took part in an impromptu training exercise with the newly-launched WGS Marybell Green, an armed freighter that was promptly hijacked by East Grand terrorists. A few good strafing runs were enough to force the ship down, fortunately. Hail to the daredevil pilots!
Poh Tun Kai
Alternately, there are also pony cards to play.
Spheniscine
Poh Tun Kai
We also got to know some interesting NPCs. West Grand Gardening Society President Gordon, the dubious businessman Boss Cannon, Tracy Ashland and her friend Cody, Colonel Bradley's crony Captain Thompson, and the rookies Pimple, Rose, Horse and Omar Bradley.
Deadline proved adept with both throwing knife and gravity bomb in the session's fights, Pyro won the loyalty of the Old Guard rookie pilots with his lessons, Chef showed off his sushi chopping skills and Tequila talked his mouth off as usual. Also, there was some sort of gangster assassination attempt involving custom motorcycles. What's up with that?
Darren Loo
Poh Tun Kai
Poh Tun Kai
Shift244
Poh Tun Kai
Ivan Tam
Very appropriate, actually. :)
Poh Tun Kai
Anyway, let's see about whether or not we can get back to this game in about two weekends' time.
Ivan Tam
I like "The Baron Rides" for some reason. "L'Arc-en-Ciel" works too, but then the French government will go blow it up. "Caribbean Enterprise" sounds like a plucky little tramp freighter from a pulp movie.
Anyway, let's see about whether or not we can get back to this game in about two weekends' time.
Shift244
Darren Loo
--
Darren Loo
--
Poh Tun Kai
Poh Tun Kai
Shift244
Poh Tun Kai
Poh Tun Kai
Darren Loo
"Alternately, we bring the Mirabelle Green with us on our strike mission and use the offensive as an excuse to keep her away from the Old Guard until we can negotiate a return to lawful government. That adds to our work, but we can take out the Santiagans AND protect the Green too, right?" he says with a dazzling grin.
"Basically, we need to buy ourselves breathing room to find out what is going on and untangle the webs being woven here."
Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm ready to continue running this. Sunday, 2pm at Darren's place. Okay?
--
Darren Loo
"We feign innocence about the Green's dispositions - after all, our contract does not cover the internal affairs of West Grande and there is no reason to believe that she is anything but an asset of the West Grande navy ¿no? Anyone who objects can bring it up with the legal government of West Grande." Tequila stabs a finger at Flattop Shoals on the map. "That's my suggestion anyway, with regards to señora Green."
Shift244
Darren Loo
"My biggest concern about a move to Flattop is supplies, not reinforcements. We can easily hold with the forces we have, but not if we run our of ammunition and spare parts, not to mention food, fuel and water. That is why I am hoping to persuade the good Colonel to support an aggressive redeployment - with the support of his son and señorita Ashland." he grins, "Take the war to them and all that. The Mirabelle Green will support our move of course and deposit señora Green on the shoals to set up her 'government in exile' in peace, out of immediate reach of the Old Guard. After that I hope to delay any action against us by focusing attention on the Santiagan Navy."
--
Poh Tun Kai
Poh Tun Kai
The success of the raid has forced Colonel Bradley's junta and Marybell Green's civilian government (still based out of the skyship West Grand One) into a grudging makeshift cooperation. Meanwhile, Strix and the Rooks managed to stop some Old Guard fighters from accidentally attacking a plane full of Jamaican journalists and their Guild escorts. The Grandstanders' victory dinner with Governor Green (prepared by their own Sous-Chef) was the talk of all Azure in the days to come.
Meanwhile, in East Grand City, the pirate alliance was called off due to the brutal tactics of the Santiago military. Governor Michael Ashland was forced to broadcast a fake confession on East Grand radio, and Emil Rolle was promoted to command of an elite East Grand squadron.
The war is at a pause...but the war will continue.
Ivan Tam
--
Darren Loo
Need Weird Science. Develop Heavy Rocket. Acc-2 AP4 lead +5
Ivan Tam
Poh Tun Kai
In our most recent adventure, the Grandstanders faced the first East Grand air raid in a long time - sixteen heavy attack fighters and two bombardment frigates. Thanks to the efforts of the Guild pilots, the attack was stopped and both bomb frigates destroyed before any enemy ordnance reached the Storm's Wake air base.
At the Governor's briefing afterwards, Mandy found that Colonel Bradley of the Old Guard had taken a liking to her. Also, Governor Green revealed that there was a power struggle within East Grand between the peacemakers (led by Padre Inez) and the pro-Santiago hawks. The Grandstanders spoke with Marcus Digger, a geologist, about the underside caves beneath East Grand, which are believed to lead up to the Valley of Kings where Alan Ashland and Padre Inez had been jailed. A daring rescue mission was planned, involving glider commandos and air support...
How's everyone feeling it?
On Wednesday, 13 August 2014 12:28:52 UTC+8, Ivan Tam wrote:
Poh Tun Kai
On Wednesday, 10 December 2014 08:47:28 UTC+8, Poh Tun Kai wrote:
Kelvin Ganesan
Kelvin Ganesan
Kelvin Ganesan
Kelvin Ganesan
Poh Tun Kai
What callsigns did you two agree on?
Razzman Khaliff
Right you are, Kelvin.
What callsigns did you two agree on?
Kelvin Ganesan
Kelvin Ganesan