Genesys RPG Session Report – Salvage, Session 2

The following Genesys RPG session report is based on the Hebrew posts written by my awesome player Daniel, and translated using Google Translate (some editing by me). Thanks a lot again Daniel!

Link to original Hebrew posts: https://tinyurl.com/yyx726mz

Check out sessions 0+1 report here: Salvage Sessions 0+1 Report

SPOILER ALERT! Sort of. Even though I heavily changed or just straight made up large chunks of this campaign’s story, players who plan to play in the Salvage setting might learn a few canon details that their GM wouldn’t necessarily want their characters to know.

After a good night’s sleep at Ashok’s, Ho’led and Jericho wake up to join Cam (whether he sleeps at night or not, it’s a mystery only Essos know the answer to). They decide to spend the day getting organized, with Ashok taking care of transportation to the Onai ruins and the rest going to visit Dave Thompson, who still owes them a prize.
On the way they try to find out more information about the ruins of the Onai and also about the Ruster — the Onai robot Ashok mentioned he saw patrolling outside the ruins. In Cam’s inspection of the colony’s database, he found that no one has yet been able to seize such a robot, though according to Ashok’s description, it appears to be a maintenance bot and not a guard. Ho’led also tries to find out more information about the Onai ruins, but it seems that no one has discovered this location yet.

After walking the streets of Petra, they reach The Hold, the heart of the colony, that is actually built of a spacecraft standing on its side, towering over the city. The guards at the entrance let them in and they go up in the state-of-the-art elevator — to the second floor. There, at the end of the hall, is Dave Thompson’s office, inside a spacious room with large windows reminiscent of a spaceship’s observation room. Felicia, Dave’s assistant, meets them at the entrance and smiles nervously as she asks them to wait as Dave has another meeting.
Through the large hallway windows of Dave’s office they can see two thugs and a tall, elegantly dressed guy, with a fluttering robe and a high collar — but the most striking thing about him is the impressive amount of cyber implants — his brain is actually visible through a transparent material, floating in a green liquid. Cam surprisingly recognizes the man as Freebrain, a brilliant but dubious criminal with whom he has had contacts in the past. Freebrain and Dave appear to be in the middle of an argument, which is interrupted as Freebrain’s thugs threateningly approach Dave. After about a minute, Freebrain leaves the room and exchanges awkward “hellos” with Cam – they are both surprised to see each other.

Felicia lets the characters in, where Dave is happy to see them and instructs Felicia to bring them the prize — 300 credits each. While Felicia takes care of the reward, they try to persuade Dave to support their expedition to investigate the Onai ruins. Dave initially does not understand what they want from him. Jericho explains that this could be the key to humanity’s salvation, that perhaps lost knowledge is hidden among the Onai ruins. Ho’led tries to convince Dave by re-telling legends of wealth hidden in such ruins. Suddenly, Dave gets up, a look of enlightenment on his face and he agrees to fund the characters’ expedition, on one condition — that they help him resolve his dispute with Freebrain, and bring him a special substance, Biolumicron, an energy source rumored to be found only in Onai ruins.
Dave says he had to arrange for a meeting place between Freebrain and a Duster gang, away from the eyes of Firewall, but this went wrong and Freebrain blames Dave. The group agrees to the terms and goes out with Felicia to the stores near the Hold, where they feel like children in a toy store. Cam gets a new rifle and more grenades, Ho’led is equipped with improved armor and Jericho picks up a Trithium sword.
As evening falls, they return to Ashok’s, who tells them that he managed to locate a vehicle for them.

Early next morning, the four of them leave Petra to the huge parking lot outside the city. Ashok leads them across the parking lot, passing an expedition getting organized to set out to the pole to collect water — a depressed bunch of “volunteers”. Ashok eventually leads them past the parking lot and they reach the vehicle, entirely hidden in a crevice. Ashok begins his preparations to start the vehicle, but when Cam and Jericho inspect it, to their surprise, they identify a chain of grenades attached to the propulsion mechanism, ready to explode! They manage to neutralize the booby trap and while glad they found more grenades, they are furious at Ashok. Jericho interrogates him using his Psychic powers — and Ashok reveals that he actually stole the vehicle from a Duster gang! They find a symbol of a red skull on the vehicle, but they do not know enough about the tribes of the Dusters to recognize it. On further inspection, they do not find any other traps on the vehicle and they set off.

After about three hours of fast driving they reach the ruins’ location. They scout from a top of a dune when suddenly an opening opens in the sand and a small Ruster, as Ashok described, comes out and starts touring the area, until it reaches another point, where it seems to try to advance right into the sand. The Ruster is the size of a washing machine, and does not look harmful — and they decide to capture it. Before that, they hide their vehicle in a remote valley, and cover their tracks so that they will not be easily located.
Cam picks up broadcasts coming from and to the Ruster — communicating with something or someone inside the ruins — but these are automatic transmissions that command the robot. They decide to pounce on it. Jericho first, he jumps and pushes the robot on its side, which begins to rage in response, then Cam detects a new message sent from Ruster to the ruins — unidentified object has been encountered. The transmission does not help the Ruster, which is soon paralyzed by Cam, who then manages to mimic the Ruster’s regular broadcasts. They cover the Ruster with a sack and make their way towards the entrance of the ruins.

The opening leads to a sloping shaft and after they find no defenses or traps on it, they go inside and find themselves in an alien structure, where there is a large door, two more destroyed Rusters, and a lot of sand blocking access. They realize to their surprise that this is an Onai spacecraft! On further inspection they detect that the wall in one place is crumbling, and they break through it, which leads to the depths of the alien ship. Luckily, it brings them to the engine room of the spacecraft. Inside the room they recognize the engine core, which is fed from a tank made of a clear but strong material that once contained the fuel, but now has only a very small amount of the Onai’s energy source left in it — the same Biolumicron that Dave was looking for. They disconnect the container and make their way to the entrance to bridge of the spaceship, where Cam tries to break through the door’s locking mechanism — but the alien programming is beyond his capabilities. Jericho takes the reins, and with the help of his friends, breaks the door by force. They enter what appears to be the command bridge of the ship, but is completely alien and silent — after all, they have neutralized the spacecraft’s energy source. Only a small light twinkles from a panel in the center of the room. Cam approaches it and manages to activate it. An Onai’s hologram comes to life and Cam starts to record the broadcast while Ho’led tries to translate her words. It seems to explain about the planet Omega, then the camera moves away to show the binary stars that Omega orbits, but then the camera moves further away, and in amazement they see a third star, orbiting what seems to be the same solar system! The stars revolve around each other and the third star approaches Omega. At the last second before the hologram ends, the third star passes by, perhaps even touching Omega!

Still astonished by the discovery, they are startled when a noise is heard in the room and they get ready to attack. A door opens silently on the bridge, and an ancient and (luckily) inoperable Ruster guardian robot topples down, revealing what appears to be a store box of emergency alien equipment and weapons behind it.

UPDATE! Session 3 is available here: Salvage, Session 3

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Roy Altman

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