The Colonial News Bulletin
For thirty years, the Colonial News Bulletin has been the most trusted source for news throughout the Circinus Galaxy. Now, with the establishment of the first new colony since before the Homeworld War, the Bulletin will be on the ground, reporting on everything as it happens. Two of the senior editors of the Bulletin are here, with a rare team of dedicated full-time journalists. You’ll be covering everything, from politics and research to personal stories and the darker underbelly of the colony. It’s an intense job, and one you’re all ready and proud to tackle.
During the game, you will actually have access to a newsroom in which to write news stories and publish them via the communicators. All players will see these articles! So we encourage you to be actual journalists--track stories and plots, conduct interviews, and get the news out to the fledgling colony. And if your articles come out biased or inaccurate? Well, that’s just part of the drama. No one said your news had to be perfect--just interesting.
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1095024263943166/
Group Members:
T. Aurora ((Liza Jaye))
O. Lysa ((Steve McClellan))
A. Vendette ((Shana Hausman))
W. Nett ((Aaron Roan))
V. Amaranth ((Pythe Courter))
N. Ransha ((Stephanie DeMane))
For thirty years, the Colonial News Bulletin has been the most trusted source for news throughout the Circinus Galaxy. Now, with the establishment of the first new colony since before the Homeworld War, the Bulletin will be on the ground, reporting on everything as it happens. Two of the senior editors of the Bulletin are here, with a rare team of dedicated full-time journalists. You’ll be covering everything, from politics and research to personal stories and the darker underbelly of the colony. It’s an intense job, and one you’re all ready and proud to tackle.
During the game, you will actually have access to a newsroom in which to write news stories and publish them via the communicators. All players will see these articles! So we encourage you to be actual journalists--track stories and plots, conduct interviews, and get the news out to the fledgling colony. And if your articles come out biased or inaccurate? Well, that’s just part of the drama. No one said your news had to be perfect--just interesting.
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1095024263943166/
Group Members:
T. Aurora ((Liza Jaye))
O. Lysa ((Steve McClellan))
A. Vendette ((Shana Hausman))
W. Nett ((Aaron Roan))
V. Amaranth ((Pythe Courter))
N. Ransha ((Stephanie DeMane))
Player: Liza Jaye
Name: T. Aurora
Group: The Bulletin
Homeworld: The Colonies
Variant: Baseline
Character Coach: Toby Gurl ([email protected])
Description:
You come originally from the sprawling and complex Sapora family, long one of the most powerful families of Baryos, with a history going back hundreds of years. The Saporas have been leaders, heroes, ministers, and more. Now, as the galaxy splinters and spreads, so do the Saporas. Your elder sibling, B. Sapora ((Sophie Monahan)), was considerably older than you, and left home when you were young.
You stayed home on Baryos, watching the war from a distance. Your parents pushed you towards politics, or perhaps going into the sciences like your cousin L. Auberro ((Jules Robins)). You were interested in politics, certainly, but you didn’t want to join it yourself. Your parents were politicians, heavily involved in the early days of the Galactic League. You saw up close how the political machine functioned. It was ugly, tangled, and would’ve required you to be much more cutthroat than you particularly enjoy.
At university you found yourself drawn to writing, but fiction didn’t seem like enough to satisfy you. You never felt like you could quite use fiction in the right way. It wouldn’t be enough to change the world. A great novel would entertain people, but it wouldn’t stop poverty, or prevent another war. You hadn’t inherited your family’s love for backroom politics, but they did instill in you an inability to ignore the problems of the galaxy.
You met A. Vendette ((Shana Hausman)) in a writing class, and Vendette dragged you into journalism. The two of you became fast friends, and after graduation, friendly rivals. Vendette started freelancing for the Colonial News Bulletin, while you took a posting with the Journal of Interplanetary Affairs. You missed each other, being suddenly on opposite sides of the journalistic battle lines, but you always kept up with each others’ articles, and pushed each other in pursuit of more and more interesting stories.
You spent quite a few years on Ottsalia, staying off the political beat. You mostly covered local issues, which was alright with you, but somewhat unsatisfying. The most fun you had was spending time with D. Lightshaper ((Wil Hall)), a community organizer for the Order of Dawn who was doing some really excellent charity work. Your articles on Lightshaper brought in more donations and more support, and that felt good. You genuinely made a difference for that small Morning Shrine.
That led you into a major story, though. You were working on it with a fellow reporter for the Journal, Ers Halven. You and Ers spent months following lead after lead, and eventually you had what you were looking for: proof that one of the lead monks of the biggest Morning Shrine on Ottsalia was using donations to bribe officials of Triskele to influence technology. It was an enormous scandal, and would’ve incriminated half a dozen people.
When it was done, though, Ers wouldn’t publish it. Instead they insisted you show it to the Triskele officials, and blackmail them in turn, to get a massive payoff. You were horrified, but if you had turned in Ers to your editor, you might’ve gotten fired. Ers had been with the Journal for years, and you were fresh on the job. Bitterly, you asked for a transfer off Ottsalia. Your editor brought you over to the editorial side, which was fine by you. You were tired of field research anyway. A year later, with things calmer, you anonymously tipped off O. Lysa ((Steve McClellan)), a freelancer for the Bulletin, about what you and Ers had found out. The Bulletin took it to press, and half the board of Triskele got taken down by the scandal. It was satisfying to watch, at least from a distance.
At the editing desk, you found yourself with more and more political articles piling up on your desk. It wasn’t just editing, soon, it was advising. Reporters would come to you looking for connections, old family friends you could put them in touch with for a good scoop. You still felt like you were on rough footing after what had happened on Ottsalia, so you rarely turned them down. As time went on, though, you got more and more frustrated. It felt like people were just coming to you for your family name and reputation, not because they actually respected your work or your time.
A year ago, you got a message from Vendette. The Bulletin was looking for a full-time political editor to cover the changing relationship between the Colonial Congress and the Galactic League. Real big picture stuff. You took the job, and you were happy to. You were sick of the infighting and squabbling and backroom dealing that was so commonplace at the Journal. You had to make some changes, though. Moving out to Windrock meant changing your name to Aurora. Your sister had made it big in the Colonial Congress, and you weren’t about to fall into the same trap you had before. So far, no one at the Bulletin knows your family history, just that you’re originally Baryosi. You like it that way.
Now you’ve been assigned as the editor covering the expedition to Phaelos III. It’s by far the biggest job you’ve ever been handed, and you’re not about to fail. It’s a little odd to have Vendette working for you, especially after they got you this job, but it’s nice to be on the same side of the paper again. As your co-editor is O. Lysa, who you leaked the article to years back. That was anonymous, and you’re pretty sure Lysa doesn’t realize that came from you. That’s fine. The rest of your team seems competent, and you like working with them. You plan to take this seriously. You’ll make sure they get their articles out, and make sure they’re the best damn work the galaxy has ever seen. The whole galaxy has its eyes on Phaelos III, and it’s up to you to make sure they know the truth--whatever that turns out to be.
Light: You’re a just and fair reporter, interested in as many people as possible knowing as much of the truth as you can get out there. You’ve got grit and ambition and want to do things the right way, not the easy way.
Dark: You’re hiding a family history of political connections and intrigue from the world, and if that comes out, it’s bound to be a scandal. You’ve grown bitter with the dishonesty and infighting so prevalent in journalism, and it colors your view of human nature.
Questions:
Relations:
B. Sapora ((Sophie Monahan))
L. Auberro ((Jules Robins))
O. Vendette ((Shana Hausman))
O. Lysa ((Steve McClellan))
Name: T. Aurora
Group: The Bulletin
Homeworld: The Colonies
Variant: Baseline
Character Coach: Toby Gurl ([email protected])
Description:
You come originally from the sprawling and complex Sapora family, long one of the most powerful families of Baryos, with a history going back hundreds of years. The Saporas have been leaders, heroes, ministers, and more. Now, as the galaxy splinters and spreads, so do the Saporas. Your elder sibling, B. Sapora ((Sophie Monahan)), was considerably older than you, and left home when you were young.
You stayed home on Baryos, watching the war from a distance. Your parents pushed you towards politics, or perhaps going into the sciences like your cousin L. Auberro ((Jules Robins)). You were interested in politics, certainly, but you didn’t want to join it yourself. Your parents were politicians, heavily involved in the early days of the Galactic League. You saw up close how the political machine functioned. It was ugly, tangled, and would’ve required you to be much more cutthroat than you particularly enjoy.
At university you found yourself drawn to writing, but fiction didn’t seem like enough to satisfy you. You never felt like you could quite use fiction in the right way. It wouldn’t be enough to change the world. A great novel would entertain people, but it wouldn’t stop poverty, or prevent another war. You hadn’t inherited your family’s love for backroom politics, but they did instill in you an inability to ignore the problems of the galaxy.
You met A. Vendette ((Shana Hausman)) in a writing class, and Vendette dragged you into journalism. The two of you became fast friends, and after graduation, friendly rivals. Vendette started freelancing for the Colonial News Bulletin, while you took a posting with the Journal of Interplanetary Affairs. You missed each other, being suddenly on opposite sides of the journalistic battle lines, but you always kept up with each others’ articles, and pushed each other in pursuit of more and more interesting stories.
You spent quite a few years on Ottsalia, staying off the political beat. You mostly covered local issues, which was alright with you, but somewhat unsatisfying. The most fun you had was spending time with D. Lightshaper ((Wil Hall)), a community organizer for the Order of Dawn who was doing some really excellent charity work. Your articles on Lightshaper brought in more donations and more support, and that felt good. You genuinely made a difference for that small Morning Shrine.
That led you into a major story, though. You were working on it with a fellow reporter for the Journal, Ers Halven. You and Ers spent months following lead after lead, and eventually you had what you were looking for: proof that one of the lead monks of the biggest Morning Shrine on Ottsalia was using donations to bribe officials of Triskele to influence technology. It was an enormous scandal, and would’ve incriminated half a dozen people.
When it was done, though, Ers wouldn’t publish it. Instead they insisted you show it to the Triskele officials, and blackmail them in turn, to get a massive payoff. You were horrified, but if you had turned in Ers to your editor, you might’ve gotten fired. Ers had been with the Journal for years, and you were fresh on the job. Bitterly, you asked for a transfer off Ottsalia. Your editor brought you over to the editorial side, which was fine by you. You were tired of field research anyway. A year later, with things calmer, you anonymously tipped off O. Lysa ((Steve McClellan)), a freelancer for the Bulletin, about what you and Ers had found out. The Bulletin took it to press, and half the board of Triskele got taken down by the scandal. It was satisfying to watch, at least from a distance.
At the editing desk, you found yourself with more and more political articles piling up on your desk. It wasn’t just editing, soon, it was advising. Reporters would come to you looking for connections, old family friends you could put them in touch with for a good scoop. You still felt like you were on rough footing after what had happened on Ottsalia, so you rarely turned them down. As time went on, though, you got more and more frustrated. It felt like people were just coming to you for your family name and reputation, not because they actually respected your work or your time.
A year ago, you got a message from Vendette. The Bulletin was looking for a full-time political editor to cover the changing relationship between the Colonial Congress and the Galactic League. Real big picture stuff. You took the job, and you were happy to. You were sick of the infighting and squabbling and backroom dealing that was so commonplace at the Journal. You had to make some changes, though. Moving out to Windrock meant changing your name to Aurora. Your sister had made it big in the Colonial Congress, and you weren’t about to fall into the same trap you had before. So far, no one at the Bulletin knows your family history, just that you’re originally Baryosi. You like it that way.
Now you’ve been assigned as the editor covering the expedition to Phaelos III. It’s by far the biggest job you’ve ever been handed, and you’re not about to fail. It’s a little odd to have Vendette working for you, especially after they got you this job, but it’s nice to be on the same side of the paper again. As your co-editor is O. Lysa, who you leaked the article to years back. That was anonymous, and you’re pretty sure Lysa doesn’t realize that came from you. That’s fine. The rest of your team seems competent, and you like working with them. You plan to take this seriously. You’ll make sure they get their articles out, and make sure they’re the best damn work the galaxy has ever seen. The whole galaxy has its eyes on Phaelos III, and it’s up to you to make sure they know the truth--whatever that turns out to be.
Light: You’re a just and fair reporter, interested in as many people as possible knowing as much of the truth as you can get out there. You’ve got grit and ambition and want to do things the right way, not the easy way.
Dark: You’re hiding a family history of political connections and intrigue from the world, and if that comes out, it’s bound to be a scandal. You’ve grown bitter with the dishonesty and infighting so prevalent in journalism, and it colors your view of human nature.
Questions:
- Are you jealous that O. Lysa got to run your story instead of you?
- What parts of Phaelos III’s politics and developments are you most interested in?
- Are you afraid of people discovering your real identity?
- How do you reconcile some of your secrets with the belief that people deserve to know the truth?
Relations:
B. Sapora ((Sophie Monahan))
L. Auberro ((Jules Robins))
O. Vendette ((Shana Hausman))
O. Lysa ((Steve McClellan))
