Mystery of BT-SHT 365: Ep. 2 - The Rescue

[@20catsRPG]

All this time I thought it's 'Augment Raiders', they're after tech to upgrade their cyborg bodies... Imagine how disappointed I was when they turned out to be 'Oghman Raiders' :(

[@johnnysizemore5797]

What i love 'bout these Game diary/War Stories is the fact that Seth's So honest with 'em. It's also like getting a preview of how a Campaign works. You should make this a regular part of the channel, it's great!

[@ArawnNox]

Its why I like Seth's reviews. He has actually played the modules he reviews rather than like most who review based on theory. You get a much better idea of what does and doesn't work when you actually run it vs just reading the book.

[@SSkorkowsky]

I once had this guy (another RPG reviewer) tell me that my policy of playing a game before I review it ruins my impartiality, and how his reviews (where he doesn't necessarily play them) are less influenced by.... something. I dunno. I just ignored the guy because anyone who says that an inexperienced review is as thorough as an experienced review is kind of an idiot. I can't count the number of times that even as a very seasoned GM that my initial impressions, both good and bad, were totally wrong once I actually played the thing. Sometimes, huge amazing facets reveal themselves. Other time a huge problem pops up that could only be noticed when the scenario/system is put to the real test. RPGs are meant to be played, not read.

[@Nionivek]

It also helps that Seth doesn't entirely bomb bad parts of modules so long as they can be easily fixed. His reviews are very constructive for people to run these games themselves. I ran "Horror on the Orient Express" and was astonished that the module wanted you to make 2 incredibly long speeches in a row (I should have shortened it). This is something that a basic review, of someone who didn't run it, isn't going to mention.

[@johnnysizemore5797]

@Seth Skorkowsky(I just now noticed your last name has a lot of vowels in it. Must have been hard to write as a kid?) -- Exactly my thoughts on it as well. I liken it to buying a Car from a lot as opposed to buying from a friend: It could be the same model & everything, but you don't get the whole truth from the lot.....

[@danacoleman4007]

@@SSkorkowsky great points!

[@dapdap8304]

Honestly, Seth, I think the NPC offers her ship because she's about to inherit a whole flipping planet.

[@m0rtez713]

Not-so-fast...

[@danielmcgillis270]

I can see offering ship shares s a down payment on the ship, but not the whole ship.

[@jesternario]

@@danielmcgillis270 Agreed. 1% of ownership in a starship is a hell of alot better payment than an entire ship.

[@danielmcgillis270]

@@jesternario And it will keep the players from just selling the ship and retire. Rule#1 as a game master: Keep the players hungry. You got to give them a reason to work or who would? Got ta pay that mortgage man!

[@MrTonypace]

If I inherited a rural property, I sure as heck wouldn't give away my car.

[@bossman4799]

Yeah, new video on the "Bat Shit" campaign. Can't wait.

[@willgillies5670]

Seth I love the Santa Cthuluh decoration. And I agree, love the War stories and the campaign recap.

[@NightWatchersPet]

If you're good, he brings you presents of fish and dreams. If you're naughty, he eats your souls. Better be good, for goodness sake 😜

[@GenericHeretic]

I just love all the work and polishing that Seth puts in on every video, by far my favorite content creator

[@OomaGooma]

Çhris Wooten - He’s my favorite too. I do watch other videos about RPGs but Seth can inform, educate, and entertain. He’s the real deal.

[@johanneskaiser8188]

Same here. He makes great videos on RPGs and writes excellent books. :D

[@danielmcgillis270]

"Locking them out." Our games nickname for pushing somebody out an airlock.

[@jacobstruck3317]

"Like we need encouragement. Murder it is."

[@j.murphy4884]

I'm loving this format. It's a war story, a review, and advice around writing around problems in modules all in one.

[@C4VEM4NL4WYER]

best birthday present so far!

[@lordbiscuitthetossable5352]

My impression on the contact guy was that he was also after the map, the reason he wasn’t mentioned again at least indicates that the module designers didn’t expect them to honour the deal. It seems pretty sloppy for them not to consider that an potential obstacle however

[@AubriGryphon]

Yeah, the cannibalism angle is stupid, especially with all those cattle RIGHT THERE. I'd suggest describing them having several temporary smokehouses set up to preserve meat, clearly intending to process the entire herd before they leave the planet.

[@tooawesomepeoples1]

Hey! Barbara Bain from Space 1999 as Coralene Patrovsky. Nice touch!

[@kevingriffith6011]

"Once they refuelled at the Gas Giant..." I'm not familiar with the setting, but if that's not already the name of a refueling station (rather than it just being a gas giant they can harvest fuel from or one with a refueling station orbiting it,) then it desperately needs to be.

[@SSkorkowsky]

In Traveller, ships that are streamlined can fly down into a gas giant planet and skim hydrogen that they then process into fuel. It can take a day or so to process it all, but it's a whole lot cheaper than buying fuel at a starport.

[@spacedinosaur8733]

Get your fuel at Gas Giant! All major galactic currency accepted. Don't forget to try a Star Smoothie. Remember to fill up before you leave the system - at Gas Giant!

[@richmcgee434]

Not the first time this thought has occurred to people. I've played in two entirely separate Traveller games where there was a "Gas Giant" franchise business for refueling services. One of them even went the whole tacky convenience store route with snacks and junk food - their "sno-cone" style flavored ices were called "Fuel Scoops" instead and they served giant oversized soft drinks in "External Drop Tank" cups. Even had a line of ever-changing collectable spaceship toys they'd sell around the Imperial New Year season, the Tigress being in very high demand.

[@spacedinosaur8733]

@@richmcgee434 If you get a star-wash & thermal recoating, pest incineration 50% off!..Speaking of pests...just kidding folks, drop off your griglings at Starsmasher playland & petting zoo.

[@euansmith3699]

@@spacedinosaur8733 I miss the old days, when they used to have a Servo-drone that would come out, check your manifold pressure, clean your view ports with a greasy rag, and try to sell you cheap ablative coatings.

[@olschoolgamer1869]

Great video! Funny that Jack mentions about the module having a list of required supplements that the referee should have to run the adventure. The old GDW classic Traveller modules always had a paragraph at the begin of the book describing what supplements would be need and what supplements would be useful. As well as paper, pencils and dice.

[@klinewolf4254]

I love these war stories! Thanks for sharing Seth.

[@MaxWriter]

Fantastic. I enjoy these glimpses at what happens at your table as well as the reviews.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Thanks, man.

[@fpicotte]

I wanna see that camera-drone footage!

[@KuyVonBraun]

Never, ever assume the PCs are going to do anything. I wish scenario writers would remember this 😊

[@kontrarien5721]

Cue awkward, escalating back and forth between GM and players where GM keeps shooting down player plans until the only thing left is for them to get back on the railroad and do it the way the module and GM want.

[@danielmcgillis270]

The problem with any modual in is that most are made in a video game format. They are written with the intent that the players will follow the format and continue the storyline. Most modual designers have little experience dealing with creative players. Creative players rarely follow a prescribed game plan.

[@matthewmccloud4777]

Grista is my spirit animal!

[@swytchblayd]

I always find it interesting that many modules assume that players will just do what the book says they need to do, and that the GM has aaaaaall the books on hand and ready to go. Why is this so common? Is it just a byproduct of the expediency that books are pushed out?

[@Sofus.]

Jack I know you're forced to say you "only tell jokes"

[@Space_Pirate_Buzaso]

Dear Seth, Thank you for working in a pun about the Module's name Sincerely, Space Pirate Buzaso

[@ArawnNox]

I got my start running games seriously using modules and yeah these sorts of omissions and mistakes can really mess an inexperienced GM up. Lord knows I've had a few stumbling blocks in my early days because of it. Thanks for these vids, they're great for new GMs and Old Hands alike; it's okay to tweak modules and fill in blanks left by designers.

[@rpeterson9182]

I’d contend that it’s more than “okay”. If and when a GM has a better plot point or twist to put into a published campaign they’re running, I hope to heaven they’d have the guts and open-mindedness to put it in and thus improve their campaign. Just because something is in print doesn’t make it the best option/ending. [I’m looking at you, ‘Tomb of Horrors’.]

[@ArawnNox]

@@rpeterson9182 Yeah, my point is, when you're just starting out, you feel compelled to follow the module to the T as opposed to altering it.

[@rpeterson9182]

ArawnNox Sad but true. We need to steer more noobs to Seth’s videos so they come to understand sooner.

[@jackleg2007]

This is a good. It shows even if a module is lacking in certain areas, a GM can fill in the blanks and/or replace facts as needed to fit their group. Looking forward to the next part.

[@tunkatodd4539]

I cannot stress enough the appreciation & excitement I have for your vids. They are informative, very entertaining, & the time & production pit into their creation is top shelf. SCOT BROWN MUTHAFUCKERS!!

[@filiplykkegaardkastrup1876]

This video is BT SHT crazy good

[@TheDreadedBeauty]

I'm always excited to see a new video. Thanks so much!

[@PrezHarrison]

Loving the Traveler stuff i've started running high n dry . Thanks for the inspiration.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Glad you're enjoying it. Have fun with High n Dry.

[@jameswatson5011]

GM'ing by the seat of your pants is the BEST! Great job Seth!

[@euansmith3699]

Double Jack the NPC! Twice the fun! You have a great day too, Jack.

[@Lallander]

This is a great way to show off a module as well as good game mastering. Keep up the good work.

[@alackofgames913]

GAH! HIS AUDIO IS SO CLEAN! RUN!

[@derekjotyma]

You are such an inspiration, Seth. I look forward to your videos every week. Thank you and all the best!

[@anonymousguy720]

Love this series and all your dming tips. I have been a DM for over a year and I learn so much from your thought process and how to make games more engaging. Thanks!

[@will1myers]

"It was a pretty good plan, unfortunately it didn't work" Sums up rpgs pretty well

[@Toyall1]

Ive watched through this series so so so many times

[@puffstanley4442]

Love these!

[@tarsis6123]

I love hearing what your players do. It gives me more respect for my DM when we do what we do.

[@josephkiddy3331]

Killing it as always thanks for the great content man

[@bradhoover1644]

HAHA this is great! I haven't role-played in years and this sure makes me miss it. I hope you do more of these game diary videos.

[@richmcgee434]

Y'know, the "cannibal raider" things is pretty bizarre (I mean, there are cattle right there at hand) but you could sort of justify it if it's a deliberate part of trying to intimidate the future slaves into not giving them any trouble. Pick whichever captive seems least likely to be useful in the long run (maybe they're wounded, or too old/young, or they tried to fight or escape), kill them and butcher them in front of everyone and make it clear it could happen to anyone. The raiders would have to be brutal sociopaths to act this way - but they're already here taking slaves. It's not a big step, they're already monsters by profession by any civilized standard. And it sure would make them easy to hate even for the usual amoral crew of Traveller PCs.

[@litlclutch]

loving your traveller series, has me SUPER hyped to try it out myself

[@orinmayer1276]

Reminds me of some old Travelers campaigns, good times

[@SabreXT]

About RPG books/missing stuff from scenarios. I think the high price of books combined with how incomplete and low quality they are why so many RPG fans have hard drives full of pirated books. I could give a bunch of examples, but the one I'll use was a book of one shot horror adventures where 3 of the 5 adventures were written for different expansion settings. While it would be possible to convert them to remove the setting specific elements, and I get that companies want to sell more books, it's still a bad thing to do. Another example I'll use is DnD, where you need 3 expensive books just to run the game. Contrast that to free "quick start" versions of some games that have an adventure and the rules needed to play it for nothing. There's also the low quality of many adventures. If you're making an adventure to sell for money, I don't think it's too much to ask that you include basic stuff like maps of combat areas.

[@danielramsey6141]

Man Seth, you and Demonac are amazing content Creators :)

[@HeadHunterSix]

7:43 nice, um.... decoration in the cockpit. :D

[@fable731]

Love the videos! Traveller is something my friends and I have been looking at for a while, but we have been hung up on a few things like setting and trying to start the game with a ship( and ending up with old character.) I am commenting hoping that you would be down to do a breakdown/ guide to the game itself. It sounds awesome and your reviews have reignited my interest in the system.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Eventually I'll do a break-down series for it like I did with Call of Cthulhu. We're doing Mongoose 2e (as opposed to T5 which is very different, but also currently in print). Starting with a ship can be done by either a Benefit roll and ending up with on (or at least 25% of one), of just simply start them with one either paid outright or with monthly payments. The High and Dry adventure gets them started by giving them a Seeker ship as the payment (or at least a 1-year renewable lease from Scout Services). As far as Setting, you have a lot of options. You can use the Traveller Third Imperium setting which has 40 years worth of lore and stories and an amazing Traveller Wiki (seriously, check it out) or you can just ignore all that and make up your own universe/galaxy/system. It's a lot like D&D in the fact that GMs can either use the pre-made world with all its rich history and lore, or they can just build their own world with little effort. So many other games out there can be difficult to remove the rules from the setting, but Traveller hits that perfect spot where you can do it easily.

[@fable731]

@@SSkorkowsky thank you! I was showing a friend your videos yesterday. By the end of the day he is asking me to learn and run call of Cthulhu so i am starting your videos for that today!

[@fable731]

@@SSkorkowsky thank you for taking the time to read and reply to mine and others comments! While i was watching your videos for CoC i watched Icarus. Would you say the it would be better to use traveller and add mythos and some sanity rules or CoC and add the items its missing

[@ARIES5342]

MURDER IT IS! Adam

[@09lonedrone]

Love hearing about your games

[@sirguy6678]

Great video! I am really enjoying the story- you had to do a lot of changes and improving of the base module/ have you ever thought of doing a series of KZbin videos on “how to modify a module to make it actually work “? Many published modules are in need of a overhaul - even many classic Gygax designed videos were pale compared to what they could have been 😖- just a thought

[@thelastmotel]

Some elements of The Final Sacrifice in there. Shame no-one was called Zap lol

[@timbuktu8069]

I LOVE the way you can take a (let's face it) bad scenario and spin it into something great.I'd really like to see you do a series on that.

[@rikhenry9701]

I'm not judging but I can't help but feel like someone watched the movie Firefly Serenity and threw this together with %70 inspiration and %30 actual planning; they were asking more questions of "how can I do this" versus "how can I make this better."

[@Graham-ce2yk]

Good review and playthrough. The author of the campaign definitely forgot that when you write a scenario it has to be runnable by someone other than the person who wrote it. As for that railroad with the raiders, never give players a false option, like red herrings in a mystery it's a complete waste of time.

[@Scanner9631]

I could see people sending in their champion while some of the other PCs were rescuing the slaves and stealing or sabotaging the ships. So the options could be made use of.

[@kevinkrueger7479]

SETH, SETH! I am a guy who can't get out so much anymore due to health issues. However, in this video I noticed the Christmas Cthulhu behind you. Could you let me know where you found it? Just sayin'. I'd appreciate it. Say "hi" to Jack.

[@OomaGooma]

Let’s all get BT SHT crazy! Whoooooo!!

[@dmain6735]

Subbed, this is good content. Cheers Seth.

[@KingofBlades113]

Will we get a full system review of Traveller soon?

[@SSkorkowsky]

Eventually. I mean... Conan took me a year before I was ready to review it, so I'm not exactly fast with these. But, unlike with Conan, I love Mongoose Traveller.

[@SilentSooYun]

Seems to me that if the players don't have a ship already, the Raiders have two for the taking... no need to spoil them with the Shenanigans

[@Scanner9631]

In the same vein why are the Oghman raiding hicks ville instead of the port where there are at least 2 ships for the taking and probably the best and most tech on the planet?

[@Wolfphototech]

😊 *I'm literally on a mission to watch every single video by you and Dungeoncraft .* *I wonder if you know Dan masters ?*

[@SSkorkowsky]

We did an interview Q&A How-To thingy with Questing Beast together a few months back. We spent a good deal of time both before and after just chatting and laughing. Terribly nice guy.

[@Wolfphototech]

@@SSkorkowsky Cool . I'll check that out .

[@jkl1110]

Hey seth, there is a PC game using paranoia system coming out, you should check it out. Is active battle with pause and looks fantastic. It's called "paranoia: happiness is mandatory"

[@RWxAshley]

In terms of why they would still offer the Roleplay option for the hostages I can see what they were going for. Its far easier to sneak/fight out of a raider camp with one hostage then it would ever be to try and save a dozen. So its really more about making it easier on the party to get the job done rather than skipping a whole encounter.

[@Nionivek]

This is especially bad for me because when I run a module I am often trying so hard to stick with what a character knows that I often have them be excessively unhelpful. Having them have absolutely nothing to say in character and I might as well be DMing a cardboard cutout. I often don't get time to entirely memorize a module before running it (and thus make extensive changes).

[@otterpoet]

Man, now I feel disappointed that I never wore a talking wolf head while playing my Vargr PC...

[@jesternario]

So how does that wolf head work? Is there like a jaw rest that moves the lower jaw, or does your chin just move it directly?

[@SSkorkowsky]

My chin moves it, but I have to really exaggerate my mouth movements to get it to work right.

[@antwan1357]

im playing elite dangerous while playing this it goes really well together.

[@jameskerr3258]

Awesome

[@Minnan1]

I have a question. Do you plan the tweaks/changes to a module ahead of time, or do you improvise when they come up?

[@kachiechan]

He explains how he reads and preps modules in another video. Short answer is that he preps them ahead of time and it sounds like a very long process.

[@tripple-a6031]

What kind of module doesn't need to be read and prepped before playing? Of course no matter how much time you put into the prep work, you always have to improvise some things in the end, the players won't do (exactly) what you planned after all.

[@Colouroutofspace4]

7:30 wow. Where did he get a maser pistol that's a TL17. Must have paid out the ass AND made a killer broker roll.

[@SSkorkowsky]

During character creation he rolled that he had an alien artifact as a Benefit. Since alien artifacts are really just very high tech levels (and we were in the middle of a session, since his previous character died to complete player stupidity and I just wanted to get him back into the adventure ASAP) I flipped through, found a TL17 gizmo, and said, "You have this."

[@Colouroutofspace4]

@@SSkorkowsky cool way to run that. I'll have to remember that for when I roll characters

[@ericrogers884]

Seth where did you get the Conan snake cult symbol shirt?

[@johanneskaiser8188]

It sounds to me like they included the roleplay option for prisoner-release as a way for the players to see the raiders more as people than just mobs to kill. So when they make a deal (and maybe even begin to like one or two of them), THEN it turns out they have to murder these people they just managed to strike a deal with anyway. This in itself might pose interesting opportunities of interactions within the group and of certain PCs with the raiders. Depending on the group this dilemma alone might get people hung up on it for around one hour if not more Awesome photoshop with Moto falling off the bike. That is so funny. :)

[@CareerKnight]

Since the modual also makes the raiders cannibals and already eating people I doubt that was the intent.

[@Ralndrath]

Hmm, is Seth the furry or is Jack? lol

[@rickeymariu1]

There was a time when Jack gave critical feedback

[@drsatanrx]

Can we get more cyberpunk stories in the future?

[@PatrickLohKamp]

My regular party probably: Ignore all the side quests, *If provoked or sufficiently bribed: scouts enemy encampment. Sniper / suppressor kills. holdout an EMP weapon OR a ship's missile nuke brought along for "heavy persuasion". Take the space viking's ship(s). Or flush them out of the canyon when things look bad, as their ships power up/ take off. They'd just hit it/them with a missile rack. Then want to go find the other(s) and scorch'ed Earth the other site. The current party: Probably try to negociate. Then: go for a total Command and Control kill on the enemy leader/ Ship's bridges. Keep the ship(s) as prizes. Consider time / committments and the difficulty in hitting any/all other space-viking locations on the planet. . People always forget that hiding ships in a hole is NO GOOD if you're "guards" are hiding in the hole too. It'd be terrible easy for a vehicle, a couple of guys with good weapons, or a small ship: to power up on them and just drill two parked ship's like that....

[@jimamos7984]

Sensor operator. Sensor....Operator.... (sung to tune of Smooth Operator)

[@grahamcarpenter691]

Hey, guys. How do you spell the name of the enemies? Augmen? Ogmen? Sorry, I’m not super familiar with Traveler.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Oghman. Here's the Traveller Wiki on them and their world if you're interested wiki.travellerrpg.com/Oghma_(world)

[@Escylon]

09:07 Isn't that Barbara Bain in Space 1999?

[@Scanner9631]

Helena Russell of Space 1999

[@HeadHunterSix]

I'm not sure that having a drone flying around recording one's adventures is such a good idea when those adventures are clearly of an illegal nature. We call that "evidence" - not to mention, their employers might have reservations about such things.

[@Scanner9631]

Recording the bank heist 0 for brains. Recording the rescue from the raiders clears you of crimes there.

[@ronaldsmith8980]

Thanks for this Seth, can't wait for part 3. I'm a bit confused about Coralene. Wasn't her whole reason for being in the town to get the Map? If so wouldn't she try to ingratiate herself with the players (without particularly revealing who she is) so she could either steal the map from them or at least con them into letting her see it? That is to say she almost certainly knows the players are criminals (bank robbers), and I would expect her to be very cautious with regard to them. I guess what I am really trying to ask is, did the module specify that she was there to get the map, or was that something you added?

[@SSkorkowsky]

I added that part. The module only says she was in the Trojan Reach sector researching her family. That's it. The Trojan reach is hundreds of worlds, and she just so happened to be in this one-horse town on this nowhere planet where a map just happened to be at the exact time the raiders came. So I decided she was there for the map. As I said, my backstory might not be perfect, but it's better than the nothing the module gave.

[@M1A1cavalryman]

@@SSkorkowsky Being in the one-horse town with a nice spaceship is a lot better than her previous career as the Chief Medical Officer on a wayward moon that visited a new system every week!

[@romulusnuma116]

Give us the Jerry wipe away the debt

[@craftsmenMC]

a bit unrelated to the video, but wondering if seth or anyone else knows what i need to play AD&D 1e, and if so where i can get what i need

[@krisbowling9681]

New video!

[@DFloyd84]

For the character with the inconsistent age, I could justify it being separated into biological and chronological ages due to extended periods of cryo.

[@ronbrown6841]

Doom! Doom! Doom!

[@captainharris8980]

To me it reads "The Mystery of B_T-SH_T" 365". Call me crazy. :)

[@TheInfamousRPGGroup-on-Rumble]

"why would the module even offer a RP option if there is 0 possibility of it succeeding?" if a module or GM does that, its a bad game or GM. there is no mechanical reason why combat should "work better" than diplomacy. or what about stealth and reverse-kidnapping? why do RPGs focus so heavily on combat???

[@Tony-dh7mz]

Seth, forgot to mention on the "Fred" video, but if you want a fantasy game with that type of system go get "The Witcher" rpg, (btw the witcher tv show starts 20th dec on netflix)

[@caseymasterspearpeak]

So the Scenario is BaT-SHiT 365 days a year then?

[@MegaDeathRay10]

Tuck me in

[@ncrtrooper1782]

BT-SHT 365 is the second best name next to the USS CHODE

[@Tony-dh7mz]

Batshit all year,

[@mbnevill]

Bat shit returns! :)

[@blinddog4288]

Great recap, but hate the game. Still gave you a thumbs up.

[@Glaswalker1001]

That female wolf furry gives me the creeps.

[@warrendavis9262]

Sounds like the authors fell down on this one...

[@SSkorkowsky]

Yeah... it's a self-published scenario and it reads like one. I've read and run some self-pubs that were just as fit and polished as something with a big-budget company behind them. Sadly, that's not the case here. We still had a lot of fun (34 playing hours off a $2 investment is a screaming deal), but it's more of a rough-draft than a final product. GMs will have to fill in a lot of gaps to make this one run smooth.

[@warrendavis9262]

@@SSkorkowsky Well, if you had fun, I guess that's all that matters...

[@goodday4221]

8:50 the legendary battle at the Dustpan Dildo Bowl

[@filiplykkegaardkastrup1876]

Second

[@GooberDragon]

First

[@colinmerritt7645]

Seems like the mystery of BT-SHT 365 is pure BT-SHT and a Serenity rip-off.