Originally posted on YouTube on 26 October 2023.
Namaste Mother Nuggets!
Last time, Orin Ryder stopped a bank robbery. This time, he commits a crime. Character growth, right?
Is Orin turning to the dark side, or is he just doing what he has to? Tell me where you’d draw the line in the comments.
A Quick Rules Confession
First up: I’ve discovered there’s a whole section of the rules for being questioned by the police. Which I did not use last time. So next time Orin deals with the cops, we’ll do it properly. If I got it wrong, tell me in the comments. You know how it is around here.
Picking October’s Adventure
This month Orin gets a voluntary encounter, which means he picks what to do. There’s a list of thirteen types. Some need a spaceship (piracy, hauling cargo, carrying passengers), and Orin doesn’t even have a car, so I took those off the list. Mining and salvage can happen on land, so they stayed in.
I could have just jumped straight to “job offer”. But the story’s been evolving on its own, and I wanted to let it keep doing that. Orin’s got a bit of a reputation now: he stopped a robbery, and he’s been asking everyone for work. So I numbered the options two to ten on 2D6, and put job offer on both 11 and 12 to give it a better chance.
I rolled a nine: robbery.
Well. Everyone else keeps robbing people. Those Joes inspired us. Let’s start small, with a pickpocketing.
I drew a card for the location: the stadium, in the Pub and Rec district, right next door to Lower Gaia. We roll for an encounter on the way there, and get nothing. Smooth trip.
In the heart of New Hope City, Orin Ryder finds himself at a crossroads, his spirit a little disheartened. He had heroically thwarted a bank robbery, saving the lives of the bank’s employees, only to discover it had backfired. His credit score had plummeted, marking him as a liability. Despite his good intentions, he still can’t move into better work.
It’s here that Orin, like many other working Joes, begins to question the system. The law, it seems, offers him no protection, having left him vulnerable to not one but two robberies in the past month. Frustration builds, and he contemplates bending the law to his own will. If it couldn’t protect him, why shouldn’t he take the law into his own hands?
Searching for anonymity, he finds his way to the New Hope City Sports Arena, a massive gathering place with throngs of people: the perfect venue to make some much-needed cash. Yet as he watches the crowd, the working Joes just here to enjoy the game and forget their daily doldrums, he feels a pang of guilt. Orin can’t bring himself to rob someone who, just like him, is trying to make ends meet.
He’s about to abandon the idea and head home when he notices two suspicious sports fans. Just like him, they’ve been lurking, watching, casing the hardworking folk here to watch the game. In a twist of resolve, Orin decides he’s going to pickpocket the pickpockets.
Robbing the Robbers
Orin’s going to the game. Why not? Maybe he figures nobody would ever look for him at a stadium. The local sports ball team, apparently.
I rolled for his mark: a criminal. A thief. Hey, we’re taking criminal justice into our own hands! There’s one more of them than Orin, and they’re rep four.
The pickpocket roll is opposed: Orin’s rep five against theirs. Orin passes more. He gets away clean with their stuff, and that’s worth three increasing rep D6s.
Then I rolled to see what happens next: they chase him, they report him to the cops, they come back for payback, or nothing at all. Nothing. They never noticed. Orin got away with it.
So: he saved a bank from a robbery, plus morals. He robbed someone, minus morals. What a journey it’s been for Orin Ryder, all because he’s trying to find a job and no one will give him one.
Oops: The Encounters Before and After
I almost forgot: you’re supposed to roll an encounter on the way into a place and on the way out. Let’s do that.
On the way in: a Shaker. Oh, hello, that’s what we want. Two attorneys. Orin’s Cruel (plus a die) but a Joe (minus a die), and he passes more than them. They’re favourable. I decided not to push it, and to keep them on the books instead. They’re now known to Orin, so next time he needs a lawyer, he starts with a favourable interaction. Handy, for a man who’s just started a life of crime.
On the way out: a criminal. Another criminal! But hopefully a useful one: a smuggler, rep five, same as Orin.
Orin has banked so many increasing D6s this month that I spent some of them on sweet talk. A smuggler might give him exactly the kind of job he’s after. The first interaction went positive. Then he asked for work, and spent one more D6 just to have the edge.
Same result. The smuggler says no.
Maybe he’s thinking: no man, you’re too hot right now. People know you since you stopped that bank robbery. So we burnt all that energy for nothing. What a shame.
End of the Month
October’s tally: rent cost one decreasing D6, and he didn’t leave the battle board this time. On the plus side, he had a big pile of increasing D6s, so after cancelling out, he gets to roll four dice to try to increase his rep.
At least one has to beat his current rep, or roll a six. And: a six.
Orin Ryder is now rep six. It’s a shame we can’t put it into Savvy instead, but it gives him a buffer: if things go badly, he only drops back to five. And it makes sense. He stopped a bank robbery, he got away with a crime, and he’s been asking everyone for work. His name is getting out there.
I’m also thinking Orin might need a vehicle. With wheels, he could start doing things like moving cargo. Maybe that’s how next month starts.
Old Orin Ryder is getting stuff done. Happy days.
That’s where my 5150 videos stop… for now. Orin’s story isn’t finished, and when I pick this campaign back up, we’ll find out whether he ever lands that job.
What should Orin buy first: a car, or a better gun? Let me know in the comments.
Ciao for now.
(Note: This post was created transcribing my youtube videos using tools which may include elements of artificial intelligence.)
