Dicey Stories

Morgan Prospecting’s activities at the crash site do not go unnoticed. Scene 6 Scene 7 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

At the pottery market on the outskirts of Dan’Tonk, Tric and Heppa bump into an old acquaintance who is able to help them with the next stage of their journey through Wesnoth. Scene 12 Scene 13 Scene 14 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here . Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 , part...

Mariah, Cleve, and Takuto head out on a recovery job for Data Haven. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 Scene 5 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa learn about a previous Manu expedition to the Sandy Wastes. Then they round out their Dunefolk education by attending a morning of Dune School. Scene 8 Scene 9 Scene 10 Scene 11 GM Notes The Dune School scene in this episode is based on the experiences of some of my childhood friends. I’m not close enough to my forebears' cultural heritage to have attended any myself, being a fourth...

Takuto makes his case for going on the next trip out of Data Haven. Scene 15 Scene 16 Scene 17 Scene 18 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa spend time in Dan’Tonk’s Dunefolk quarter meeting with the glassmaker, the weaver, and the falconer/scribe. Scene 5 Scene 6 Scene 7 GM Notes The Luminary Council and Paragon Council, as presented in this episode, had their origins in a discussion of potential Dunefolk politics on the Battle for Wesnoth forums ( https://forums.wesnoth.org/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=52367 ). I took some...

Roze shares information gleaned from the network node job. Scene 11 Scene 12 Scene 13 Scene 14 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

A travel montage gets Tric and Heppa from the Wesnoth capital Weldyn to its largest city, Dan’Tonk. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 GM Notes If you listen to as much folk music as I do, you may recognize the name Lily the Pink. I heard it on an album from the Irish Rovers. I don’t consider it a fabulous song, but it was the perfect source for a spur-of-the-moment charlatan NPC. I thought it was pa...

Mariah spends time in the medical center while Cleve helps Tenoch with expedition equipment. Scene 6 Scene 7 Scene 8 Scene 9 Scene 10 GM Notes Tenoch’s rover is a direct copy of the Alpha Centauri video game rover . It does look something like a futuristic, more aerodynamic jeep that’s fully sealed. For Mariah and Cleve it means faster and safer transportation through the wilderness. As anyone who...

Tric and Heppa enjoy a spooky nighttime ghost tour of the battlefields around Weldyn. Scene 14 Scene 15 GM Notes The Battle for Wesnoth mainline campaign Eastern Invasion can end one of two ways: a giant battlefield or a private duel. I decided to make both versions of Scenario 17 true as far as the history of our tabletop campaign is concerned. I use details from those in the ghost tour. Many of...

Mariah and Cleve return to Data Haven along with Corazon, Dr. Citali, and their prizes. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 Scene 5 GM Notes The discussion of what’s edible and how to process different foods is lightly inspired by the Alpha Centauri video game. In that, xenofungus tiles only produce food and other benefits after extensive research—except for the faction that inspired our Stepdaughters...

Tric and Heppa share a meal with Alric’s parents and learn more about the Manu clan. Scene 10 Scene 11 Scene 12 Scene 13 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here . Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 , part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org . Need context? Jump...

After Mariah and Cleve get rid of the repo squad, they encounter another familiar face out in the wilds of Chiron. Scene 19 Scene 20 Scene 21 Scene 22 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

For the first time in their lives, Tric and Heppa meet an elf not of Estbryn Forest. Scene 8 Scene 9 GM Notes Sir Deoran is the primary protagonist of the South Guard mainline campaign of the Battle for Wesnoth video game. In Scenario 5, he is given the choice to ally with human bandits or with the elf Ethiliel, who has already lent him aid. For the purposes of our story, he made the latter choice...

As they prepare to head back to Data Haven with their prizes, Mariah, Cleve, and Corazon share some pieces of their pasts. Scene 15 Scene 16 Scene 17 Scene 18 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa meet Alric’s parents, a papermaker and a falconer. Scene 5 Scene 6 Scene 7 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here . Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 , part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The team deals with Mariah’s sudden collapse. Scene 11 Scene 12 Scene 13 Scene 14 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa arrive in Weldyn, the capital of Wesnoth, but not without a minor magical mishap first. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 GM Notes The Battle for Wesnoth video game is a tactical turn-based strategy game that also involves some resource management. Each unit needs to be paid its level in gold every turn. The standard day/night cycle has six parts: dawn, morning, afternoon, dusk, first...

Mariah, Cleve, and Corazon assault Morgan’s network node and encounter some unexpected phenomena. Scene 8 Scene 9 Scene 10 GM Notes Network Nodes are an adaptation from Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. In the video game, it’s the first building which boosts science output. In our setting, with miasma cutting off long range communications, cable must be physically laid. Similar to old telegraph rep...

Following the ambush, Tric and Heppa get to know Knots and the Beard a bit better. Scene 14 Scene 15 Scene 16 Scene 17 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here . Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 , part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org . Need context? Jump t...

Cleve guides Mariah and Corazon through the wilderness to Morgan’s network node. Scene 5 Scene 6 Scene 7 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa deal with ambush clean-up. Scene 12 Scene 13 GM Notes Once again, units from the video game informed NPCs in this arc. Tomos was a perfect vehicle for leaking more information on Kachen. He is very much based on the basic human Mage . The nagas at the ambush were based on the basic Naga Fighter , except for Zlek, the Naga Myrmidon . Even the environmental hazard of the Mudcrawler wa...

Mariah, Cleve, and Corazon spend some time in Data Haven resting and preparing for their data recovery job. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 GM Notes Data Haven is an original location, heavily inspired by my experiences in hackerspaces and machine shops in the United States. I adapted that kind of freewheeling creative culture into a contained environment. They’ve got basic needs like food and hou...

With some help from their new friends, Tric and Heppa ambush the ambushers. Scene 10 Scene 11 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here . Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 , part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org . Need context? Jump to the start of the series...

Roze offers Cleve, Mariah, and Corazon a job, but Dr. Citali has her own ideas on what it should include. Scene 20 Scene 21 Scene 22 GM Notes In this arc, we see several characters and creatures adapted from the video games. From Civilization: Beyond Earth, we have the Wolf Beetle , the Siege Worm , and the ever present Miasma . From the original Alpha Centauri, I also lifted Xenofungus (which is...