I wanted the attack on the base to be the focus of the session and I wanted it to be as tense as possible. My first instinct was to use space combat because, well, the conflict was taking place in space. The immediate issue was that the orbital base isn’t capable of any kind of dramatic movement – it has only enough thrust to maintain an orbital position. That made positioning and navigation rolls pretty much pointless, so space combat was out.

However, the social combat rules once again proved to be more than flexible enough to be adapted. This obviously isn’t a “social” combat scenario, but the principles worked flawlessly.

In the past I had success using social combat to run a heist scenario, so I decided to use the same basic map. You can download the PDF here: Orbital Base Assault Diagram.

All I changed were the names of the tracks, as the rest of the layout seemed appropriate to the scenario. The three avenues I wanted to make available were Piloting, Digital (Hacking) and Gunnery. I wanted to keep track of how much damage the character’s ship was suffering so I used a Damage track as well.

Setup

The players need to create four markers using the stats of their characters. If there are more than four characters, some of them will have to combine their stats. If you have fewer, allow the players to share stats. One marker will be placed on each of the three main tracks (Piloting, Digital, and Gunnery) and the final is placed on the Damage track.

The GM sets one marker on each of the grey circles to represent the defenses of the orbital base.

Piloting

I decided the marker on the piloting track would be limited to using Pilot or Navigation. This was to represent physically moving the ship closer and closer to the orbital base without crashing into it.

Digital

The marker on the Digital track could use Communications or Computers. This was to represent the efforts of the crew to electronically disrupt the defenses of the orbital base.

Gunnery

As the name suggests, the marker on this track could use the Gunnery skill. This was intended to represent using the ship’s weapons to counter and disable the physical defenses of the orbital base. It didn’t come up, but there could have been a problem if Gunnery had already been used on offense and therefore wouldn’t be available for defense. I would just allow the characters to narrate an interesting use of another skill if it does come up.

Damage

Instead of a regular time track I decided to provide time pressure by having a damage track that advanced one box at the end of each turn. In addition, I advanced the damage track one box for each defender marker that shared a zone with a character marker at the end of a turn. If the damage track reaches 8, the attack fails and a concession needs to be negotiated. After applying damage, the player controlling the marker on the damage track can make an Engineering check at a target equal to the box the marker is on. For each positive shift, move the marker one place lower on the track.

At the end of the scenario I ad-libbed that the character’s ship took a moderate consequence since they were at 5 boxes on the damage track when they won. If you’re looking for something more concrete you might try:

1 box = no consequences

2-3 boxes = mild

4 boxes = moderate

5 boxes = moderate and mild

6 boxes = severe

7 boxes = severe and moderate

8 boxes = potentially destroyed, but negotiable as part of the concession

Winning

The players win as soon as they have all three of their markers in the bottom zone.

General Notes

The scenario plays out well using the normal rules for Social Combat (with the exceptions noted above). My instinct was to disallow Composure attacks, but in retrospect I think they would probably work fine if the players can come up with appropriate narration. Even using Gunnery to do physical damage could be appropriate if you have multiple characters that want to use that skill. This does allow the defenders an additional win condition, however, since the players can’t win without all three markers in the bottom zone…

It would also have been appropriate to factor the ship’s statistics into the stats of the markers. I didn’t do this, and everything worked fine, but it’s something to consider.

What I came up with was a game that can be played with a deck of standard playing cards and a small set of poker chips (or beads or other counters).

The premise of the game (in case you’re one of those people who cares about such things) is that each player is a wizard who is attempting to gather arcane energy (cards) and cast a spell. In order to do so, you have to risk personal energy (chips). When you run out of personal energy, you’re out of the game. The winner is the last wizard standing.

I’ve playtested a few dozen times with three different groups and I’m pretty happy with the current rules. It’s simple to learn, the mechanics will be familiar to anyone who has ever played cards before, and there is surprising depth of strategy once you get the basics down.

You can download a fully functional but streamlined version of the game rules in PDF format or ePub:

Spellcraft Streamlined (PDF – Table of contents isn’t linked yet)

Spellcraft Streamlined.epub

I plan to eventually expand on the rules to include custom cards and some roleplaying elements.

I hope you enjoy the game and please let me know what you think!

Ratings

Trail Condition: 3/5 Most of the trail is well-maintained, but there are a few sections of exposed rock and/or roots that might be difficult for people without sturdy footwear.

Challenge: 3/5 The beginning and end of the trail feature some fairly steep portions but the middle is mostly downhill.

Scenery: 4/5 The views on this section of the Baden Powell are definitely better than the Lynn Canyon to Grouse portion and there is a similar amount of variety in terrain.

Crowds: 2/5 Maybe not quite as crowded as the Grind, there were still quite a few other hikers on this trail. In particular, the first section (known as the Quarry Rock trail) and the last section (Lynn Canyon Park) were very busy.

Research

I based our trip on the information I found on the Vancouver Trails site here. I had done the Quarry Rock portion of the trail a few times many years ago, but we were going to be using transit rather than driving this time, so I was glad to have some guidance regarding transit directions.

Getting There

Since the beginning and end of the trail are fairly far apart, transit seems like a more convenient option even if we had a car.

We followed the directions on Vancouver Trails and took the Seabus over to Lonsdale Quay. There was a sign of things to come when we missed the Seabus by a few minutes and had to wait half an hour for the next one.

Once at Lonsdale Quay, the directions indicated that we should be looking for the 229 bus. The 229 does, indeed, go to Phibbs Exchange, but it’s worth noting that the 239 Phibbs Exchange is also a good (if not better) option. We found this out when we asked a bus driver and he pointed to the departing 239 – another 15 minutes of waiting that could have been avoided.

There was another 20 minute wait at Phibbs Exchange for the 212 bus, which brought us directly to Deep Cove. All told, we spent about an hour waiting for transit, so a trip that could have been completed in about 40-45 minutes took nearly two hours. We’ll definitely plan better next time.

Getting Started

The first marker on the Baden Powell trail in Deep Cove

Trail marker at the point where the trail first leaves the road

The bus dropped us off across the street from the park in Deep Cove. We stopped to take a few pictures and use the washrooms before walking up to the trail. The first marker on the Baden Powell as a whole (or the last, depending on your perspective) is near the middle of the park. We followed the paved path up to Panorama Road and followed it for a minute or two, and we nearly walked right past the driveway that leads to the trailhead.

The trail began with a short series of steps and then there was a section of exposed roots. I guess this part of the trail (known to the locals as Quarry Rock) gets used so often that, combined with erosion from water, only the rocks and tough old tree roots are left.

Root formations at the start of the trail

Unsurprisingly for such a nice day, there were a lot of people (and a lot of friendly dogs) on this part of the trail. Like most of the Baden Powell, the trip up to Quarry Rock is a lot of up and down and we crossed many small valleys and dried up creeks. There were a few steep portions, but nothing too challenging.

We reached Quarry Rock after about 40 minutes and stopped for a quick lunch. We had planned to go further before eating, but the delays in getting to the trail had us way off schedule. There were about a dozen other people with the same idea, but the area has more than enough room. We found a nice mossy spot in the shade and dug in to the pepperoni, cheese and mixed nuts we brought for trail rations.

After lunch I shot a quick video from the top of Quarry Rock and then we moved out.

Impressions

View from under the power lines above Quarry Rock

A few minutes after Quarry Rock we came to a large clearing near a power-line tower. There is a pretty cool view from underneath it, and there is plenty of evidence of people enjoying that view with fire and tasty beverages. There are several trails leading out of the clearing and the description on Vancouver Trails is a bit hard to follow, so I made a quick video that should help future hikers make the right choice. (Note: this video showcases my most recently acquired video editing skill: Voice Over! Oooh! Aaah!)

Not long after the clearing, we reached Indian River Drive. Apparently this paved road is considered part of the Baden Powell and we walked along it for several minutes until we found the next section of trail. This portion is shared with mountain bikers and it is probably the most challenging part of the entire hike. In particular, there is a long stretch of exposed rock that would be difficult without good hiking boots.

Must be great for mountain bikes

We paused at the highest point of the exposed rock section and ate some apples and the rest of our mixed nuts.

From there, the trail started a gradual descent that went on for a couple of hours – nearly half the total distance covered by the hike. During this time we traversed terrain ranging from exposed rock to wooden boardwalks over swamp. At about the half way point of the hike, we crossed Mount Seymour Parkway. Crystal said the outhouses there were the nicest she’d ever used.

I wonder if it's still in use...

At what I would assume must be the lowest point in the middle portion of the trail is a nice home beside a fast-running river (the Seymour River, I believe). After descending for such a long time, we began the inevitable climb back up toward Lynn Canyon park. There were several long sets of stairs, beginning on the riverbank opposite the house. Beside the first set of stairs we saw a big pipe coming out of the cliff face. We saw the same pipe several more times along the ascent. Apparently it was once a very important part of the water supply system for downtown Vancouver. Not sure if it still is or not.

As we got closer to Lynn Canyon, there were many other trails criss-crossing with the Baden Powell, but we managed to stay on track easily by following the familiar orange triangle markers.

We took our third, and final, break on the beautiful rocky beach just downriver from the Lynn Canyon bridges. After gathering our strength, we made the final ascent past the tourists and into the park via several long flights of wooden stairs. A Legolas (or Orlando Bloom) fan left an inspiring message on a tree stump along the way. I’m not sure if everyone will appreciate it as much as I did, but it definitely got a laugh out of us.

In total, the hike took a little over four hours, including stops for lunch and for a nice break on the riverbank when we got into the park.

Getting Back

We boarded the 229 bus just outside Lynn Canyon Park for a 15 minute trip down to the Seabus and back downtown. If I had a choice, I’d definitely choose to have all my return trips be smooth and, aside from the crowded bus, this one presented no problems.

Items of Note

It’s hard to say, but I think hiking the trail in this direction is slightly easier. The beginning and ending of the hike are fairly intense this way, but the uphill portion would be much more prolonged in the other direction. In any case, the trail is rated for year-round hiking, so hopefully I’ll have a chance to find out soon.

I’ll keep you posted!

Ratings

Trail Condition: 4/5 With the exception of a short section at the very top, the trail is very well maintained and easy to walk.

Effort: 3/5 Most of the steep portions of the trail are traversed through switchbacks.

Scenery: 3/5 The view from the top of the lookout is very impressive but there are only a few other view points along the way.

Crowds: 5/5 Though there was evidence of frequent use, we didn’t see a single other person on the trail.

Research

Crystal’s experience with the trail was from back in high school, and I’d never been there, so we did a bit of research before heading out. I based our plans on the information I found on the Regional District of Nanaimo site, here.

Getting There

We normally try to stick to hikes that can be reached via public transit, but transit is not a practical option on most of Vancouver Island. Fortunately, Crystal has lots of family in the area and her aunt and uncle were eager to join us – Ride Secured!

We parked the truck in the day-use area of the Cameron Lake parking lot, which is about 23 km west of Parksville along Highway 4. Access to the trail is across the highway from the parking lot exit.

Getting Started

The first section of the hike follows a old logging road that has been somewhat worn down by motorcycles and spring runoff. The instructions on the RDN site said we needed to take a right off the road to find the trail.

Don't be fooled!

As you can see in the picture, there is a misleading right turn available well before the real trail. We considered the extra five minutes we spent on the alternate trail to be a good warmup – your mileage may vary.

A few more minutes down the trail, we found the right turn we were looking for, and soon after, we found what most people would consider the real trailhead and an accompanying map of the area.

The trailhead

First Impressions

Being fairly fresh off of a trip up The Chief, Arrowsmith Lookout felt relatively easy. There are some moderately steep sections but, for the most part, the lower trail consists of a lot of switchbacks, which allow for a slightly more relaxed pace.

About 2/3 of the way up, the trail splits, offering the option to continue up to the lookout, or to take the longer CPR trail. I’m definitely interested in the full trail, but we didn’t allow enough time on this particular trip, so we stuck with our original plan and took the left fork.

The trail splits

The trail got a bit more challenging in the upper sections, and the final accent is a fairly steep scramble up some loose dirt and gravel that I wouldn’t be eager to try in the rain.

The bulk of the trail is quite sheltered, which was okay with us because it was fairly hot the day we were there. On the down side, there weren’t many view points until we got near the top.

Highlights

Small waterfall above the McBey Creek bridge

There is a nice waterfall on McBey Creek, about a third of the way through the hike. It may not be Shannon Falls, but it’s a welcome change of scenery.

When you get to the lookout, there are a few different places to take a quick break, but I recommend pushing all the way to the top, as there is only one spot where you can actually get a glimpse of Cameron Lake.

Peek at Cameron Lake from the top of Arrowsmith Lookout

As I mentioned earlier, most of the trail is sheltered by big trees, but there are a couple of clearings along the upper portions where you get a view of the cliff face across the valley (Arrowsmith2 video), and the view from the lookout is more than worth the wait (Arrowsmith1 video).

Going Down

The switchbacks made descending from Arrowsmith a fair bit easier than The Chief and similar hikes. I was definitely happy to have good boots and a walking stick, but it could have been done without either.

I lost the notes I took during the hike, but I believe our total return trip took just under four hours.

Items of Interest

A big bonus to this hike is the fact that it terminates at Cameron Lake. We were on a tight schedule, but if we do a hike in this area again, we’ll definitely make time for a dip in the lake at the end.

We came across a notice that at least part of the trail may be getting logged again in the near future. Details were a little sketchy, but I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has more information.

We usually stick to trails with transit access, but there isn’t really a practical way of getting to the Chief via transit, so we enlisted a friend with a van. Our friend who joined us on the Lynn Canyon to Grouse Mountain hike decided to come along and the driver invited a friend as well, for a total of five people.

Getting There

The trip from downtown Vancouver to Shannon Falls is about 45 minutes along the amazing Sea to Sky Highway. The parking lot entrance is quite well marked, but even if you miss it, there is a second parking lot specifically for The Chief a little bit closer to Squamish.

Shannon Falls

We piled out of the van about 10:00 am. The Shannon Falls parking lot was about half full, plus a few tour busses. Shannon Falls is a very popular tourist spot, offering a gorgeous view from the base of the waterfall only a minute’s walk from the parking lot.

One benefit of being such a popular spot is that there are some very nice washrooms to use before heading out.

After using the facilities, we walked over and took a quick look at the falls, feeling a bit out of place with our packs and walking sticks among the well-dressed tourists. A quick back-track brought us to the gravel trail that started us on our way up The Chief.

First Impressions

Bridge over Olesen Creek

The first 5 minutes on the trail were gentle and gave us a chance to warm up a little bit. That changed pretty quickly, however, as soon as we crossed the wooden bridge over Olesen Creek. From there on the trail was a series of stairs and steep sections with lots of cool rock formations and exposed roots.

I’m not sure what caused it, but I started getting very nauseous about 20 minutes into the hike. We took a short break and I drank a bunch of water, which calmed down my stomach. I’m not sure what the problem was – it could have been the yoghurt I had for breakfast, but it also might just have been me trying to set too fast a pace.

Highlights

There were a number of very cool view points along the trail, starting from about half way up.

Crystal and I in front of the rock that (temporarily) defeated me

Even though I don’t do it very often, I’m a big fan of bouldering, and there is a great specimen off the right hand side of the trail about 2/3 of the way up. The first time I hiked The Chief, I managed to scramble to the top of the boulder. I’m embarrassed to admit I wasn’t up to the task this time. In case the hike wasn’t cool enough, I now have to come back just to defeat this rock!

We decided to take a bit of a break in front of the rock, and while people were grabbing snacks I ran down the exposed rock slope and took a quick video with my iPhone. The spot I was standing to shoot the video has been made into a helipad for emergency services.

I got to do some more rock-scrambling near the top of the first peak. The recommended route is to use the chains and ladder, but there was a bit of a lineup so a few of us decided to climb the adjacent ridge. (I don’t recommend this route, as it’s much more dangerous than the chains and ladder).

Crystal climbing the ladder near the top of First Peak

After the ladder we climbed a short but steep section of exposed rock to the top of First Peak.

The view is pretty mind-blowing, and well worth the few hours of effort it took us to get up there.

We considered hiking to the second and third peaks, but one member of our group had to be back in Vancouver by 4:00, so we just ate some lunch and started back down.

We had some visitors during lunch in the form of half a dozen chipmunks. They are very tame and are obviously used to using their cuteness factor to score free food. All it took was sitting still for a few minutes and they were soon eating from our hands.

The second video was shot from the top of First Peak. There was a strong wind that ruined the audio, so you won’t get to hear Crystal speculating about how many chipmunks would be required to make a good stew. (You also won’t hear the burst of laughter that followed her extremely out-of-character statement).

Going Down

As every hiker knows, the trip up might be hard on the heart and lungs, but the trip down can be murder on the knees.

Descending the upper trail

We formed into three groups on our way down to accomodate everyone’s comfort level with descents. Amy and I ran most of the way down and I very thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to do some back-to-nature parkour. I won’t recommend that everyone try the running method, but it’s pretty fun if it’s within your comfort zone.

At the bottom of the trail is a small shop to buy souvenirs and snacks. Few things taste quite as good as an ice cream sandwich after three or four hours of hiking. (Of course, I showed iron discipline and commitment to my low carb diet by abstaining).

Including half an hour for lunch and a few breaks on the way up, the hike was about four hours. If we were in a hurry, I’m pretty sure we could have done it in three, even at our present fitness level.

Have you hiked The Chief? How does this summary compare to your experience?

I’m also getting much faster at the other aspects of animation. Hopefully that will translate into a more entertaining end-product for you.

I’d love to hear your comments.

Once again, the spaceship images were taken from the Diaspora rulebook. They are © Brad Murray and used with his permission.

Research

Crystal and I are pretty keen to push our limits in hiking, but we had a friend with us who was concerned that he was pretty out of shape, so I started looking for a hike that would be challenging but not too crazy. I considered the Lynn Peak trail, until I got to the part of the review that described it as the Grouse Grind, just less busy. That sounded a little more difficult than what we were looking for. A bit more browsing brought me to Baden Powell from Lynn Canyon to Grouse.

Intermediate difficulty, 5 hours total hike, and only 220 metres elevation gain all sounded like it fit the bill.

Getting Started

Since none of us downtown residents bothers to own a car, we hoofed it down to the Seabus and then jumped on the #229 bus at Lonsdale Quay, which dropped us off a block or so away from Lynn Canyon Park. It turns out, however, that we could have saved time and effort by taking the #228 bus and getting off at the end of Dempsey Road. Ah well, despite the crush of tourists, Lynn Canyon Park is a good place to grab snacks, water, and/or use the washroom before setting out. The hike from Lynn Canyon to Lynn Headwaters is about 15 minutes along the west side of the creek before a short, fairly steep ascent to Dempsey Road (the spot you’d get off the #228 bus).

Before getting to the trailhead, we walked down the narrow access road to the Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. There were no crazy drivers the day we were there, but I’d recommend being careful as most of the 750 metre long road doesn’t have a shoulder to walk on. After passing two overflow parking lots on our right we found the start point on our left – and with it our first test. The trail begins with a series of stairs and switchbacks (at about the half way point some helpful individual has marked that you still have 125 steps to go). We weren’t in a rush, so we stopped once or twice to catch our breath. Since we hadn’t done the trail before, it seemed wise not to burn ourselves out.

The Trail

Stone path along the portion of the trail shared with mountain bikers

After the stair challenge, the trail flattened out until we intersected with the top of Mountain Highway – apparently a very popular off-leash dog-walking area. We took a quick break and refilled our water bottles at the fountain before hitting the next challenge. This portion of the trail is quite well-groomed and I believe it’s maintained by a local mountain-biking club. It is also quite steep and, 15 minutes in, we actually discussed whether we were in good enough condition to continue. Pride proved stronger than our tired legs and we pushed on. The trail soon flattened out and we were glad we persevered.

Signpost at a trail intersection

While the total elevation gain might only be 220 metres, it definitely feels like more because of the constant switching back and forth from climbing to descending. There were several trails that intersected with the Baden Powell, at least one of which leads to the peak of Grouse Mountain – another alternate Grouse Grind I suppose. With one minor accidental exception, we stayed on the Baden Powell the whole way.

Even with several short breaks and a bit of extra hiking at the start, we finished the trail in just over 4 hours. We were all a bit tired, and our friend’s legs were a bit shaky, but we were happy and proud to have completed a beautiful, challenging hike.

One of the more impressive bridges on the trail

Getting Back

This part of Baden Powell ends at the base of Grouse Mountain – site of the famous Grouse Grind Yuppie Alpine Club. We were a little tempted by the Starbucks, but the area was packed with people so we just hopped onto the #236 bus which brought us to Lonsdale Quay and the Seabus back to downtown.

Random Impressions

Taking a break at the view point bench

While it’s nice just to get out into nature once in a while, you really need to hike this particular trail just for the sake of hiking. There are only one or two places where you can actually get a decent view of anything. One of those view points had a nice new bench, so we took a quick break there. I tried to get a few shots of the view, but my iPhone (3Gs) couldn’t capture anything but a blur.

This definitely isn’t a backcountry trail. There are several places where you are walking right beside a paved road and there are a few houses built within 10-15 metres of the trail. It may not be as busy as Lynn Canyon or The Grind, but we did meet at least a dozen people along the way, ranging from hardcore trail runners to a group of SFU students to a couple of older ladies who powered past us in a blur of MEC jackets and trekking poles.

In addition to many sets of stairs, portions of the trail that are prone to getting muddy have been nicely built up with wooden walkways, but there are also steeper portions that are very rough and worn down. The trail is rated for all-year-round use, but I would be very hesitant to tackle it during heavy rain or in icy conditions.

While there are some very steep parts, none of them are very long and there are more than enough level portions to let you catch your breath. I would recommend this trail to anyone who is looking for a moderate challenge and isn’t motivated by reaching a particular view point.

I was originally going to start learning animation using Flash, and I understand that would still be the first choice for many people – particularly those doing this kind of thing for a living. If I had any amount of expertise with Flash already, or even if I was a bit more familiar with other Adobe products, that’s probably what I would have done. The situation I’m in, however, is starting from scratch. I have some familiarity with creating book layouts in Illustrator, but I’ve done virtually no work with Photoshop at all.

Since I’m starting from scratch anyway, it didn’t make sense for me to intentionally jump on board with a program that the biggest company in the world has decided to boycott. Besides, I’d like to be able to run my own animations on my iPad.

Process

The source material for the animation is the first session of a roleplaying game called Diaspora that I recently started running for a small group of friends. I skimmed the major plot points and anything I thought be amusing and left out the rest.

The stick people were drawn in a program called EazyDraw that I picked up from the app store. One part of my learning curve was figuring out the best format to export them in. I’ve settled on .png with a transparent background (though you’ll probably spot places in the first few scenes where I hadn’t yet adopted that yet). Apologies to users of Internet Explorer 6 or earlier – the transparent backgrounds won’t work properly. (But seriously, if you’re still using IE, L2browser noob)

The spaceship images were taken from the Diaspora rulebook. They are © Brad Murray and used with his permission.

(Getting the animation to run in WordPress was another story. Leave me a comment if you’re interested in that process).

It has definitely been a fun, and occasionally frustrating, learning curve. I plan to keep creating these and I’m confident my skillz will advance pretty quickly. My goal is to become comfortable enough with this form of storytelling to start using it for more original content.

It was a simple plan: drive a big van loaded with ten billion dollars and a few hundred pounds of explosives from one end of Burrard Street to the other. As it turns out, it wasn’t that simple… then again, it never is…

Neon tattoos writhing in the dark, the young gang-banger grinned ear-to-ear as he hit a lever and the hidden vehicle entrance slid open. A quick salute, then he blended back into the darkness of the Underground.

Returning the salute, Mason put the old van into gear, grimacing as the transmission made complaining noises. “Where the hell did they dig up a manual transmission in 2070?” he sub-vocalized over his PAN to Isaac.

“No idea man, but all she has to do is hold together ’til we can get to the Toyota building,” Isaac replied from his position behind the van.

“Easy for you to say, that Barracuda’s like a fucking tank.”

The van started picking up speed and Mason laid on the horn to scatter a few surprised pedestrians. This part of the West End probably hadn’t seen non-police vehicle-traffic for years and people’s reactions showed it.

“Alright, here we go,” Mason muttered to himself. He shifted up another gear and hit the gas, just managing to get some tire-squeal as he made the corner onto Burrard. Isaac swung the Barracuda around behind the van, keeping about 20 metres between them. According to his PAN’s heads-up-display, the bots he wrote the other night were still managing to suppress all reports to local security about vehicles in the West End.

“Looks like we’ll get past Toyota security without a hitch,” Isaac reported. “So far so good.”

Neither of them saw where he came from, but the cyborg made quite the impact as he slammed into the side of the van.

“Holy shit! Maybe not.”

Metal screamed as the cyborg’s titanium hands crushed through the van’s frame and tore the passenger door off. Isaac just barely managed to swerve out of the way as the attacker tossed the door like a frisbee at the Barracuda’s windshield. Kicking in his reflex enhancers, Mason took in the cyborg’s appearance with a quick glance. Bright red LED-style eyes stared out of a metallic skull; a metal hand reached for one of two heavy-calibre SMGs strapped to thighs over kevlar combat gear. This guy was gonna be a serious problem.

Fortunately, Mason had a solution to this kind of problem – a Mass-Intertech 7.62mm solution. He grabbed “Bessie” off the passenger seat and ripped off a tight one-handed burst. Mason was fast, but the ‘borg kept up. Only a single round actually made impact before the barrel of the assault rifle was batted away. The rest of the burst did some serious damage to the windshield and a nearby office building, but the cyborg seemed unfazed.

“I wonder if the kids these days even know who Arnie was?” commented Mason, as he dropped Bessie to the seat, drew one of his automags and started blasting away at the Terminator look-a-like.

“I think you’re the only person in the world who has time to think about shit like that during a gun-fight,” replied Isaac as he pushed the accelerator to the floor. He grinned in spite of himself as the Barracuda laid a patch at 60 km/hour. Steering with his knees, Eyes drew his matched Skorpions and popped his head and shoulders up through the ‘cuda’s sunroof. As the car pulled alongside the embattled van, he burnt a full clip from each gun into the cyborg’s back. Even titanium body plating has its limits and the bursts left the Terminator dangling from the van’s door frame by his one functioning arm.

Squinting through the blood and machine fluid, Mason cocked Bessie’s under-barrel grenade launcher and put an HE round right down the cyborg’s throat. Isaac just managed to duck back into the car before both vehicles were peppered by thousands of supersonic cyborg-bits.

“He won’t be back.”

Isaac would have laughed, but he got a little distracted by a pale blur that coalesced above the Barracuda and landed gently astride the sunroof. Though he didn’t have time to double check, Isaac was pretty sure the little Asian man’s white suit wasn’t even ruffled.

“Oh shit, not this guy again!” Isaac slammed the accelerator and swerved toward a low-hanging neon sign. The man in the white suit paused for a moment, then leapt into the air – executing a quadruple flip over the obstruction and once again landing gently on the car’s roof.

With unbelievable speed, Mason jammed Bessie through the van’s steering wheel, wedging her barrel against the gas pedal. He coiled his legs, kicked out the windshield and leapt toward the Barracuda, drawing two automags on the way. His impact nearly crushed the car’s hood, but the armour plating held up and he started shooting.

“Uh, Mace, who’s driving the van?” asked Isaac over his PAN.

“Bessie’s got it,” replied Mason.

“Oooh, shit.” Isaac pulled the car up beside the van and nudged it just in time to keep it from heading into a crowd of people on the sidewalk.

Either Mason’s aim was uncharacteristically effected by the swerving vehicle, or the man in white could dodge bullets; because even from just a few feet away, not a single round from the automags managed to connect. After trading bullets and punches for a few seconds, Mace realized he was no match for this guy at close quarters. Firing a few shots to keep his opponent off balance, Mace dove forward, reached through the sunroof, grabbed a seatbelt and yanked the e-brake. The man in white executed another of his quadruple flips – this time away from Eyes and Mace – and landed on the roof of the van.

“Oh, no you don’t!” yelled Mason as he leapt into the air himself. Mason just barely managed to keep his balance as he landed on the van’s hood, but the effort didn’t effect his aim this time and at least one bullet made a red stain on the otherwise pristine white suit.

The melee was now passing Georgia Street – only a few blocks before impact and the van was starting pull off the road again. Still firing as he twisted, Mason dove through the absent windshield and dropped perfectly behind the wheel. Tossing Bessie onto the passenger seat, Mace banged up onto a curb and jerked the steering wheel, taking the van onto two wheels.

The man in white casually shifted his stance and rebalanced on the cab of the van.

“How the hell does he do that?” cursed Mason. “Guess we’ll have to take this up a notch.”

Mason whipped the steering wheel around again and the van catapulted into the air, making a full rotation before bouncing and slamming back onto all four tires, still facing down Burrard.

“Where’d he go?” yelled Mason.

“Got him,” reported Isaac, “50 metres back, on the west side of the road.”

“Very nice. Let’s finish this.”

Mason made the turn from Burrard onto Canada Place at over 50 klicks, struggling to force the ancient, abused suspension to hold onto the pavement. By the time he hit the disguised ramp in front of the Toyota building, the van was doing 110.

“Well, at least this part is going according to plan,” thought Isaac, as he smoothly accelerated alongside the now airborne van. He whipped the Barracuda into a tight 180, shifting into reverse and pacing the van. Mason glanced down at the car and jumped, dropping heavily into the passenger seat.

The car slid to a stop just as the van impacted the second story of the Toyota building. Exactly on time, the C4 detonated, disintegrating most of the first 3 floors of the office tower and showering the neighbourhood with flaming bank notes.

“They wanted their money back – now they’ve got it,” said Mason.

As Isaac brought them back onto Burrard, Mason disengaged his reflex enhancers. Seeing the man in white still standing on the sidewalk ahead, he reached into his vest and popped three cigarettes into his mouth, lighting them all with a single swipe of his Zippo. As they passed the man in white, Mason flicked a lit cigarette out the sunroof. The man in white watched the cigarette spin through the air toward him, caught it, nodded solemnly in their direction and took a puff.

“I think we might meet him again.”

I believe the key element in creating a successful RPG heist sequence is taking the focus away from the specific task resolution of most games and moving it to scene and narrative resolution. The Social Combat mini-game featured in Diaspora is a great example of this mentality.

According to the Diaspora Rulebook, setting the stakes is the first step in creating a successful Social Combat. In the case of a heist, the stakes are usually pretty clear: success means stealing the money, finding the information or whatever it is that the heist is targeting. Failure means getting caught, which means no loot and the possibility of jail time (or some Personal Combat to fight your way out).

The next step is the map. The map I created has three tracks to represent the three common routes the group might take toward their goal: Physical, Digital and Social. (Click here for a pdf copy of the map).

Physical Track
The Physical Track represents feet on the ground at the site of the heist. People jumping fences, breaking windows, blowing up walls and cracking safes would all fit into this category. Skills like Agility, Alertness, Demolitions, Repair and Stealth are all appropriate to this track.

I also found it thematically appropriate to include Combat skills on the Physical Track to represent direct engagement with guards. Range 0 allows Close Combat or Brawling, Range 1 allows Slugthrowers and Energy Weapons, and Range 2 imposes a -1 penalty on ranged attacks. (I recommend limiting range to 2). This replaces the usual Composure attacks allowed in Social Combat.

Digital Track
The Digital Track represents computer-savvy character(s) hacking into the target’s system, finding floor plans, disabling security cameras, deactivating alarms and generally messing about with digital defenses. Communications and Computer are the obvious skill choices for this track but you could easily justify Assets (for bribes) and Bureaucracy as well.

In addition to the standard options available in Social Combat, characters on the Digital Track may also attack the Detection Track. The Target is the current position of the marker on the Detection Track. Reduce the position of the marker by the number of shifts generated (cannot go below 0).

Social Track
The Social Track represents the efforts of the characters to “socially engineer” their way into the confidence of the target. An “inside man”, someone posing as a delivery boy or someone attempting to impersonate authorized personnel would all count as actions on the Social Track. Assets, Bureaucracy, Charm and Intimidation are the usual skills used on this track.

In addition to the standard options available in Social Combat, characters on the Social Track may also attack the Detection Track. The Target is the current position of the marker on the Detection Track. Reduce the position of the marker by the number of shifts generated (cannot go below 0).

Time
Instead of the standard time track, the heist map has a Detection Track to represent how close the characters are to getting caught. If the marker reaches the eighth box, the heist ends in failure. The alarms go off, the lights come on, the guns are out, the cops are on their way, etc.

- At the end of each round, move the marker on the Detection Track to the next highest box.
- At the end of each character’s turn, move the marker on the Detection Track up one place for each guard in the same zone as that character. Do this at the end of each guard’s turn as well.

The Actors
The players may either place their characters individually or form teams. If they form a team, they’ll need to build a composite character based on their available stats. The composite character has a 5-cap pyramid for skills and uses the Composure and Health Tracks from one character on the team (if used, the Wealth Track can be from a different character on the team). Aspects can be tagged from any character on the team (though the team counts as a single scope).

Three markers are used to represent the opposition and they begin the game on the zones marked in grey. So long as the characters have at least one marker on each track, the opposition remain spread out as well. If, at any time, there are no character markers on a track, the opposition may move off that track (using the usual rules for movement) to one of the others. The opposition may move into the Goal zone, but may not move into the Getaway zone.

Note that neither the Goal nor the Getaway zones count as part of any of the Tracks (Physical, Digital, Social) and, therefore, characters in those zones cannot use the associated special rules (Physical Combat and/or attacking the Detection Track).

Victory
The heist is a success when all character markers are in the getaway zone. They cannot move into this zone, however, until all of them are present on either the Goal or Getaway zones. In other words, the characters must gather together on the Goal zone before they can proceed to the Getaway.

Tips
It is important for the characters to remain spread out among the tracks. Too much focus on a single track will make it easy for the opposition to gang up on a single space. Two guards on a single space with a character can quickly move the Detection Track marker all the way up.
While it is a solid strategy, for story and playability reasons, I recommend that the Referee not just sit back and build obstructions until the Detection Track reaches at least 3.