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The Road to PARTIZAN 11: Summary & Recap Dec 13, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to the final episode of the Road to PARTIZAN. This week, Dre, Jack, and Austin talk through and discuss through the entirely timeline of events, reflecting the events of the past 10 weeks of play and as outlined during the Microscope games from the past two weeks. For your convenience, we've added the Microscope timeline below to help you follow along. There are even a few new events added to round a few things out and fill in a few key details.

Whether you're a new Friends at the Table fan listening for a quick snapshot of the lore leading to PARTIZAN, or if you're hoping to remind yourself of everything that happened on the way here, thanks for listening! I hope you're looking forward to next week's episode, PARTIZAN 00, as much as we are!

This week on The Road to PARTIZAN 11: Summary & Recap

////PARTIZAN PALACE DATE ENTRY | 100 P.M. 03 43 \\\\

. . .

///OPERATION: CHOOSE SECTION: ANNOUNCEMENTS && PLATFORM | DISPLAY TOP RESULT\\\

. . .

//WELCOME TO THE PALACE\\

. . .

/OPERATION: EXTRACT KEY QUOTES | BULLET FORM\

The Palace offers all citizens of the Divine Principality access to verified news, information, and advice through any terminal device.
Designed by Stel Columnar's most advanced technicians, built by the sharpest materials engineers in Stel Orion, spread through Divinity with speed only achievable by the fleets of Stel Apostolos, filled by Stel Kesh with the knowledge and history of countless generations, and operated by the firm and caring hand of Stel Nideo, the Palace represents the breadth of Divine ingenuity and aptitude.
Information on The Palace will always be perfectly reliable, thanks to teams of researchers, recorders, and adjusters dispatched across the galaxy.
Additional features include local almanac data, key scholarly texts, and a liturgical calendar.
Whether you'd like to pursue a vocation with the Palace, submit a feature request, or want to report questionable material, simply travel to your local Palace office and administrators will be happy to assist.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000), and Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Edited by Austin Walker and produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

The Road to PARTIZAN 10: Microscope Pt. 2 Dec 05, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to the final part of the final game (but not the final episode) of the Road to PARTIZAN. Building on the foundation of everything that has come before, this week Andi, Austin, Dre, and Keith fill in more important gaps in the history of the Divine Principality. A fourth and fifth Stel rise. Ploys, plots, and backstabbings abound. A centuries-long war begins in earnest. And final, a fracture forms at the heart of Divinity.

As mentioned above, this will not be the last update on the Road to PARTIZAN. Next week, Dre, Jack, and Austin will walk through the entire Microscope timeline, offering a recap of history from the end of Twilight Mirage to the beginning of PARTIZAN. Whether you're just jumping in or need a refresher, we hope that'll be useful to you. And one week after that, we'll be launching PARTIZAN in earnest with episode 00, where you'll be introduced to the player characters, squads, and starting situation. As a reminder, if you want more info on the world of PARTIZAN, check out our Patreon at FriendsAtTheTable.cash, where Austin has shown of tons of additional worldbuilding, including faction, region, NPC squad, and Mech creation!

Speaking of things worth checking out: We've also rolled out some special seasonal merch! Go to FriendsAtTheTable.shop to pick up your very own Bluff City Zoo Winter Snowfari t-shirt, sweatshirt, or tote! This week on the Road to PARTIZAN: Microscope Pt. 2

////DIVINE SPACE TRANSIT RECORD

///LOCATION: PARTIZAN | ASHEN STRAND 001.01 | 33550336.8128.496

///DATE 03/44/413 PM

///PORTCULLIS STATUS: STANDARD ARRIVAL

///ARRIVALS:

1x Machine Parts | Destination: Girandole automated siphon station "Farmington"

1x Return Fuel Supply | Destination: Girandole automated siphon station "Farmington"

1x Waning Institute Trash Drone | Destination: Third moon of Girandole. (UNAUTHORIZED)

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000), and Keith J. Carberry (@keithjcarberry) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

The Road to PARTIZAN 09: Microscope Pt. 1 Nov 30, 2019

Show notes

Finally, the Road to PARTIZAN enters its final lap. Over the next two weeks, we'll be zooming the camera out to look at the 5,000+ years that have taken us from the end of the Twilight Mirage to the very moment PARTIZAN begins, and to do that we'll turn to Ben Robbins' excellent Microscope, a game which we used in part during COUNTER/Weight's "faction turns."

In this first part, we'll look directly at the moon world of Partizan, where a religious prophet makes a dramatic claim, performs apparent miracles, and winds up caught in the machinations of an empire. Will this shake the religious foundations of the Principality? Or will this prophet be stomped out like so many other challenges to Divinity's rule…

This Week on the Road to PARTIZAN: Microscope Pt. 1

///YEAR:1418 PERFECT MILLENNIUM

////LOCATION: PARTIZAN | ASHEN STRAND 001.01 | ISLES OF LOGOS

///RECORD TYPE: AUDIOVISUAL

This is a low-quality recording of a "Rededication Ceremony" at a temple or church. Across two dozens sequences, the footage follows members of this community as they prepare for, attend, and mingle after a religious ceremony. The footage leaps from scene to scene artlessly, offering only brief snatches of time as the camera operator inconsistently holds down the "record" button. Banners are hung. Seating is assigned. An orator speaks at a podium in front of a large, dark shape. They are in the middle of speaking, and the camera picks up the words "their war is our opportunity," before being cut off. Afterwards, food and drink is provided. Over the sound of backround chatter, an attendee offers the camera a friendly hand sign and a smile.

The Road to PARTIZAN 08: For the Queen Nov 22, 2019

Show notes

The Road to PARTIZAN continues, and it does so with Alex Roberts' and Evil Hat Productions' For the Queen, a card based storytelling game about the retinue of a leader on a critical journey through difficult territory.

Today's game takes place about 500 years before the events of Partizan, at a moment where the Principality marches against two of the only remaining galactic powers not yet under the heel of the Divine Principality, each an echo of a past culture that fans of our second season, COUNTER/Weight, will know well.

Now those two cultures join on this crucial mission to the heart of Divinity. From the Empire of Apostolos, the Apokine (our stand in for the game's titular Queen) has gathered around them a cadre of trusted companions: Eudora (Andrew Lee Swan), their adopted sibling, Antigone Gennadiy (Janine Hawkins), their former caretaker and a current soldier in their military, and Orbit Shard (Andi Clare), their bodyguard and most trusted fighter. They are joined by Modus Maria (Austin Walker) a member of the mysterious "Branched," a people who have transformed their bodies into something spectacular and free—only to have the threat of war force them to rebuild themselves as soldiers first and foremost.

In this moment, the future is unwritten. Can the Apokine finish their journey and secure freedom for their people? Or will Apostolos be conquered by the Principality, as so many other people and places have been?

This week on the Road to Partizan: For the Queen

////PARTIZAN PALACE DATE ENTRY | 1418 P.M. 09 01 \\\\

. . .

///OPERATION: CHOOSE SECTION: MILITARY ACTION && GALACTIC POLITICS: DISPLAY TOP ARTICLE\\\

. . .

//APOSTOLOS STRIKES KESH, ESTABLISHES 'FORT ICEBREAKER' \\

. . .

/OPERATION: GENERATE BULLETED PRECIS\

Hostilities begin on Partizan during fight between Kesh and Apostolos in the Verglaz Taiga
Apostolosian forces led by elect of Motion, Hyacinth, who utilized wind and snow drift to disorient Kesh opposition and to misdirect their opposition long enough for Fort Icebreaker to come online.
Brief description of Fort Icebreaker: "a mobile fortress," "network of tunnels," "treads and cannons"
Neutral analysts from Orion and Columnar are quoted, citing the divine Motion's ability to extend operation time of Apostolosian hollows as a key aspect of this victory, though secondary to Hyacinth's strategy
Melody Sefton East of the Church of Received Asterism calls for an end to hostilities.
Additional context given re: current Kesh-Apostolosian hostilities across Divininty (see also: Princept (Dahlia), Princept (Cynosure Kesh)

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

The Road to PARTIZAN 07: Beam Saber Pt. 2 Nov 15, 2019

Show notes

The world of Grona is said to hold the key to ending the war between the ever-expanding Divine Principality and its rivals, the recently allied Orion Combine and the Divine Collaborate. But whatever secrets are held on its surface are locked behind a gate, a gate patrolled by the Divine Courage, defended by orbital cannons, and barricaded behind the constant gunfire and flame of a raging battle.

Somehow, a squad comprised of superstar mechathlete Memphis Longhand, the brothers David and Smack Talk, and the Candidate Pigeon must breach this perimeter. And they have to do it while carrying a very big box.

Today on The Road to PARTIZAN: Beam Saber Pt. 2

////ASSET: FORMERLY HABITABLE WORLD, 'GRONA' ////LOCATION: Lagoon-N 1232 ///STATUS: ABANDONED | EXPENDED ///DESCRIPTION: From its initial colonization in the Miraculous Millennium, through its time as battlefield in the Victorious Millennium, and until the final days of the Perfect Millennium's first century, Grona was Class IV planet under the Lammer classification system. However, once hostilities settled after ██████████████████████████████████, Yes! Power, Better Brighter, and other firms were able to more fully utilize the planet's resource basin. With Orion's extractive mechanisms working at full capacity, Grona was elevated for two centuries from habitable world into a more a more comprehensive portfolio of bundled resources. No attempt should be made to recover.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), and Keith J. Carberry (@keithjcarberry) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

The Road to PARTIZAN 06: Beam Saber Pt. 1 Nov 08, 2019

Show notes

On today's entry of the Road to PARTIZAN, we pick up with the characters we made in Dusk to Midnight and zoom in to the climax of the Divine Clash by playing Beam Saber by Austin Ramsay.

Months ago, the OriCom Logistics Division staged a strategic coup against the Divine Principality by successfully escorting Courageous to a rendezvous point where they opened a gate for OriCom's ally in the war, the Divine Collaborate, so that they could join OriCom's fleet with their own. In the time since, though, the fighting has been trying, the allies have lost many (including teammate Lunar Leson), and additional reinforcements are far away and moving more slowly than anticipated.

Which is why Memphis Longhand, the Talk brothers, and their new Divine-piloting ally, Pigeon, are being sent on a secret mission. On the planet of Grona, in the city of Zibeline, fighting rages against the occupying Principality's forces. The resistance there is waiting desperately for a delivery that is supposed to change the war forever...

This week on the Road to PARTIZAN: Beam Saber Pt. 1

////ASSET: Dunlop-class Mobile Shipping Depot, 'Topmark'

////LOCATION: Lagoon-N 332

///STATUS: ABANDONED | DECOMMISSIONED

///DESCRIPTION: Dunlop-class Mobile Shipping Depots were mobile logistics platforms designed for refuel and repair in the era before Stel Orion's formation. Able to house six frigate-class vessels at once, the Dunlop was an operational cornerstone for both Orion warfare and commerce. Once integration into the Principality was complete, these depots fell out of favor for both aesthetic and technical reasons. This particular vessel was decommissioned after ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████.No attempt should be made to recover.

The Road to PARTIZAN 05: Ech0 & Dusk to Midnight Nov 01, 2019

Show notes

Welcome back to the Road to PARTIZAN. Today, we're moving into a new trio of episodes that explore an era of history that would come to be called The Divine Clash. For over a century, the ever-growing Divine Principality would throw its might against the allied forces of the Orion Combine and the Divine Collaborate, the distant successor states of two major nations featured in our COUNTER/Weight season.

Next week and the week following, we'll see the climax of the Divine Clash via Austin Ramsay's Beam Saber. But first, we offer a pair of vignette one-shots via two games that were made for the Emotional Mecha Game Jam (which was organized by John R. Harness and Takuma Okada).

First, in Role Over Play Dead's Ech0, we travel through the wreckage the war left behind, as children born over a generation after the war's end try to reunite the memory core of a long dead pilot with her machine. Then, in Riley Rethal's Dusk to Midnight, we define the early days of the Clash, and follow the careers (and the wavering resolve) of four of the pilots who would help to decide its outcome.

A couple of extra notes: First of, because one of the player's files was totally corrupted, much of this episode had to be rebuilt via a backup recording. That means that there are a few times where you can hear breathing sounds heavier than normal. There are also moments where background noise is a bit more prevalent, and it was pretty impossible to untangle some crosstalk (especially since we were playing as children especially prone to crosstalk in Ech0).

You'll might also notice that I say a few times up top that we want to play three of these vignettes. Due to time concerns, we couldn't make that happen, but for the record, the final vignette I'd planned was EPITAPH by Dante Douglas, which is metal as hell and rules. You should check it out.

Finally, because Ech0 is such a visual experience, I've included a screenshot of the map we drew below. You can find close ups of all of our sketches at the Mapmaker tier over on our Patreon (with a quick caveat that we're currently catching up on much of our Patreon stuff, and we've been prioritizing new shows up rather than supporting material, but it's coming soon, I promise!)

This week on the Road to PARTIZAN: Ech0 & Dusk to Midnight

////PARTIZAN PALACE DATE ENTRY | 1418 P.M. 05 22\\\\

. . .

///OPERATION: CHOOSE SECTION: CRIME AND DEVIANCE && OPERATION: DISPLAY TOP ARTICLE\\\

. . .

//VERGLAZ UNIVERSITY ARCHAEOLOGY ANNALS RAIDED, HOUSE LESON INVESTIGATORS POINT TO HERETICAL GROUP\\

. . .

/OPERATION: IDENTIFY KEY SUBJECTS: SUBJECT (ROLE | EVALUATION)\

ELET VALERA (VICTIM, SCHOLAR | TRUSTED)

CARBIDE LESON (CHIEF INVESTIGATOR | TRUSTED)

SLOE UPLIGHT (WITNESS, EXPERT IN FIELD | SUSPECT)

"THE FRIENDS OF GUR SEVRAQ" (████████ , ██████████ | ANATHEMA, SEEK ACCESS APPROVAL FOR FURTHER INFORMATION)

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Edited by Austin Walker and Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

The Road to PARTIZAN 04: Armour Astir Pt. 2 Oct 26, 2019

Show notes

The crew of the Constellation-class Carrier Hellebore has breached the earliest defenses of the station which orbits the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Having dispatched the mercenary Barter and his crew of ConCons, pilots Cerise, Teasel, and Gold repair and rearm. Above them, Captain of the Ivory Prince (and secret leader of the rebel group known as Horizon) Briar Brightline watches over them.. But they are not alone. Beyond the next gate, something strange has made the station its roost. And behind them, out in black of space…. something new, but all too familiar, approaches.

This week on the Road to Partizan: Armour Astir Pt. 2

////PARTIZAN PALACE DATE ENTRY | 1423 P.M. 03 06 22\\\\

. . .

///OPERATION: CHOOSE SECTION: FAITH AND CULLLLLLLLLPRATION: DSPLTPPPPPP ARTICL\\\

. . .

//\\//\\ PERENNIAL WAVE READINGS: HIGH. PALACE ACCESS DISRUPTED. PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER. //\\//\\

The Road to PARTIZAN 03: Armour Astir Pt. 1 Oct 19, 2019

Show notes

Join us in our second game on the Road to PARTIZAN, where we are playing Armour Astir: Advent by Briar Sovereign, a fantastic PbtA mech game that is equal parts Escaflowne and Mobile Suit Gundam.

Today's episode starts with about 20 minutes of setup explaining the game and introducing the characters. If you want to skip all of that, then read the next couple of paragraphs and jump ahead to 22:45.

Our game of Armour Astir takes place in a time of fables and magic, around 500-1000 years after our first Road to PARTIZAN game. As the Divine Principality spreads and grows in power, one small group inside of it tries to check its imperial ambition. That group is called Horizon, and it is funded and controlled by the powerful House Brightline of Stel Kesh, who are nostalgic for a better age--whether or not that age ever existed is, of course, up for debate.

Horizon has heard word that Stel Nideo has located an incredible source of power at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, and is sending some sort of force to capture it. To stop Nideo, Horizon rushes ahead with a single ship to locate that device and to disable, destroy, or take it over for their own.

The Ivory Prince, Horizon's ship, is blessed (and accompanied) by the mischievous divine Perennial, and captained by the noble Briar Brightline (Art Maritnez-Tebbel), an officer who loves it when a plan comes together. On board are three ace pilots: The Arcanist and Consul Cerise Sky (Andi Clare), a devotee of Perennial and high ranking magistrate in the Divine Principality. Teasel Mode (Janine Hawkins), an Ashen witch, who has bound herself tightly with Perennial in exchange for powerful gifts. And Vessel's Gold (Andrew Lee Swan), a cyborg mercenary from a culture left behind, who fights for a paycheck… and a good cause.

As they land at the edge of a massive space station, can the crew come together to face down their foes and uncover the mysteries of the galactic core?

This week on the Road to PARTIZAN 03: Armour Astir Pt. 1

////PARTIZAN PALACE DATE ENTRY | 1423 P.M. 01 01 01\\\\

. . .

///OPERATION: CHOOSE SECTION: FAITH AND CULTURE && OPERATION: DISPLAY TOP ARTICLE\\\

. . .

//PRESENT ELECT AND VERSE GALLICA DELIVERS SERMON AT PERENNIAL DAY SERVICE\\

. . .

/OPERATION: HIGHLIGHT AND EXTRACT SUBJECT QUOTES\

"Twelve years ago, just after my election, ███ ██████ put our great House in jeopardy. I worried at first, I admit. But then, I remembered my lessons. I remembered the Constellation of the Adversary: Three thousand years ago, a misguided and treasonous group attempted to sabotage everything we had built. But as time has shown, Divinity will not, can not, crumble so easily. Ours is a culture of equilibrium, a balanced society which--though it may shake--cannot fall. The Principality is a star shining so brightly, that no matter how many foes surround it, its light exceeds. It is for this reason that, even in this time of trouble, I am confident in Stel Nideo's future."

The Road to PARTIZAN 02: Dialect Pt. 2 Oct 11, 2019

Show notes

For millennia, three rules guided the Hypha as they traveled across the galaxy. First: Follow the light of the strand through the stars, stopping only on worlds marked by its color—and even then, only temporarily. Second: Never leave behind the bodies of our dead. And third: Protect at all costs the mystery of the Chorus Bond, that which connects us to each other, to the Strand, and perhaps to something even greater than that.

But now, these rules—and the way of life they protect—have come under threat. The Divine Principality, a vast and hungry empire, has arrived.

This week on Friends at the Table: The Road to Season 6: Dialect Pt. 2

////YEAR: 850 MIRACULOUS MILLENNIUM

////LOCATION: PARTIZAN | ASHEN STRAND 001.01 | 33550336.8128.496

///RECORD TYPE: AUDITORY

The sound of an excavator's claw striking clay ground. Voices with Stel Kesh dialects discuss early findings at an archaeological site. [See Conversation 850MM.SK.ASHEN01]. Metal strikes metal, and the heft of something is raised from the ground. Near the microphone, there is the electronic beep of an incoming message, but none arrives. Then, from the distance but growing louder, the high pitched sound of resin shattering accompanied by human screams. Finally, the sound of a single pair hooves walking towards, and then past, the microphone, and the sound of the communications channel closing.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Text by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Edited by Austin Walker and Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

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