However the Summer Passage of Arms--a yearly competition of strength, skill, acumen, and style--began, it has followed in the fate of many similar comptetitons prior and become a proxy for nationalistic fervor. On the Isle of Summer in the Prophet’s Sea, all five Great Stels gather to test each other in a host of events. Commenters often say that the games bring out “the best of the Principality.” This is true, though perhaps more true--and obvious through its omission--it is the case that the P...
Jul 17, 2020•2 hr 35 min
With its internal threats sorted, at least for now, Millennium Break’s de facto leaders shift the bulk of their attention outward. As rebellion is sparked across Partizan, a new question takes center stage: If Millennium Break wants to lead this revolutionary moment, does it need to step out into the light of day? Who can they save if they take this risk? And who do they put in harms way if they refuse to rise to the challenge? As a dire situation develops in the Memoria Teardrop, it becomes cle...
Jul 10, 2020•2 hr 52 min
A week away from the moon of Partizan, a vessel rare in its luxury and power orbited the Portcullis which connects this provincial system to the rest of the empire. Inside, the living leaders of the Pact of Necessary Venture conferred with the sort of secrecy afforded only to the truly powerful. Their question: What was to be done about Millennium Break? On paper, the two groups had great reason to despise each other: Gur Sevraq had robbed the Pact of a Divine, killing its elect and a former ele...
Jul 03, 2020•2 hr 22 min
One might think that, with elections behind them, Millennium Break would turn its full attention outwards, towards the world it was trying to change. Instead, like an athlete determined to operate at peak performance, it turned further inward. Bringing democracy onboard Icebreaker was all well and good. A solid first step. But what was to be done about Clementine Kesh? What was to be done about those who would send fellow revolutionaries to die instead of stand with their comrades? What would be...
Jun 26, 2020•2 hr 6 min
Word traveled fast: The Oxblood Clan had demanded elections, and whether they’d get them had become the talk of all Icebreaker. For the hundreds on board familiar with the guild’s practices, Oxblood’s insistence was no surprise. The group was famous for deciding on things “as a family,” which meant a mix of extempore votes on the shop floor and regular elections for key decision-making roles throughout the organization. But the degree to which the entire fortress had been consumed with the quest...
Jun 19, 2020•2 hr 36 min
First off, a quick note of thanks to everyone who has already contributed to our fundraising efforts for Reclaim the Block, The Bail Project, BYP100, and The Marshall Project, which we announced last week. Thanks to your donations we’ve raised over $70,000 for these causes, which is INCREDIBLE. But the sale continues. You can go to friendsatthetable.itch.io to contribute. Let’s push for $100k! At peak operating efficiency, Icebreaker Prime can comfortably house almost 10,000 soldiers, sailors, a...
Jun 11, 2020•1 hr 36 min
Hey everyone, Austin here. Today’s episode kicks off an eight episode run tracing the revolutionary movement on Partizan that formed at the end of the previous episode.We’ll be playing (butchering?) the Kingdom 2nd Edition playtest by Ben Robbins. Below, you can find all the standard info that is in an episode dossier, but in lieu of a traditional description, I wanted to use this space to let you know about an initiative that we’re kicking off today. As the themes of our show have probably illu...
Jun 05, 2020•2 hr 35 min
The town of Rezevi is quiet, most days. Five years ago, when the war with Kesh first kicked off, the sleepy fishing town’s residents wondered if their lives would be shaken by the conflict. But as an Apostolosian town, the demands of war--mandatory service, expectation of quarter, junior and senior reserve duty--were already stitched into daily life. In reality, it simply meant that their assigned fishing quotas raised a bit. But over the last week, a shocking number of strangers have passed thr...
May 15, 2020•3 hr 27 min
After a stunning victory in Orzen, the Society of Banners and Bright Returns must now face the cold light of day. Bodies wounded, hollows damaged, and reputations scarred, Broun, Thisbe, and Valence recuperate as best they can. But as the war becomes ever more complicated, and as new expectations are placed on them, tensions raise from a simmer to a boil. This week on PARTIZAN: On the Edge of Fracture ///Operation Dossier\\\ //Organizations\\ Stel Kesh: The oldest established power in the galaxy...
May 08, 2020•4 hr 1 min
In the valley where Juniper lies along a slight river, the Divine Motion has brought her enduring velocity to bear. In front of her, the vanguard of her Black Century, the tip of an endless spear. Behind her, the vast machinery of the greatest military power in the history of life itself. And in her sights, unworthy prey: The Rapid Evening, a group sent to die for an empire they don’t believe in and fractured even in their seditious ambitions. This week on PARTIZAN: BITTER AIR - COMBUSTION ///Op...
May 01, 2020•2 hr 45 min
At the northwest reaches of the extended defensive perimeter known as Fort Icebreaker, Kesh brigades engage in a feint so convincing that the graves have already been dug. To the southeast, the bulk of the Stel’s might on Partizan waits for the signal to roll through the weakest point in Apostolos’ line. And in the middle, as if the axle of a wheel, is the Rapid Evening, a river, and a bastion called Juniper. Here rests the fate of the early days of this new offensive. From the hills to the sout...
Apr 25, 2020•2 hr 33 min
In the weeks since Kesh’s new offensive into Apostolos territory, little has changed besides the quantity of weekly war casualties. Halting Kesh’s push is Fort Icebreaker, a massive defensive line composed of a dozen smaller forts, an intricate tunnel system, and a massive moving fortress called Icebreaker Prime which stalks along the border, rejecting any intruders with overwhelming force. But that will change today, says Kesh leadership. Organized by tactical prodigy Lucia Whitestar, a complex...
Apr 17, 2020•2 hr 7 min
Content Warning: This episode features discussion of chemical warfare and suffocation. Deep in the Pique Ridge, at the back of a steephead valley, on the edge of the town of Orzen, under the Cathedral of Imperium is an archival facility filled with record of Partizan’s greatest secrets. And in its halls, gunfire rings out as HORIZON leader Gucci Garantine, her bodyguard Thetonious, and their collaborator Valence attempt to breach the sanctum’s innermost reaches. As below so above, as the ground ...
Apr 10, 2020•2 hr 47 min
Eager to refill their coffers, Kal’Mera Broun has brought SBBR to meet Kesh noble (and HORIZON commander) Gucci Garantine, who offers the group a daring opportunity to both make some money and get access--however temporary--to some Stel Nideo state secrets along the way. The target is a secure Palace facility in the canyon city of Orzen, where raw footage is given final review before being shipped off-world for permanent archival. But with Apostolos’ Barranca Loop on lockdown, its harder than ev...
Apr 03, 2020•3 hr 4 min
Content Warning: This episode features injury, surgery, and infection. With Gur Sevraq retrieved (and secreted away inside of the Winter Palace), the Rapid Evening ought to have earned themselves reprieve. But with the drums of war beating, an overeager member of the crew volunteers them for a difficult new mission. With this added pressure, Clementine Kesh pushes herself to get back on her feet as quickly as possible, while her crew uses what time they find to continue pursuing their own goals....
Mar 27, 2020•3 hr 24 min
With the “kidnapping” of Gur Sevraq spread far and wide, each Stel on Partizan spins up for war—even though some have not yet decided who they will come to blows with. In the heat of this moment, the Isles of Logos have become more important than ever, with shipments passing through the port and transports stopping to refuel on route to some combat maneuver. But for the Disciples of Logos on the island, whose leader has seemingly vanished not once, but twice, these developments have earned even ...
Mar 19, 2020•2 hr 25 min
From the midst of a sandstorm, hands burst through the tempest in search of a miracle worker. From the front, the reformed pirate Callister Drive Callister leads his forces—and the unnatural sands—towards the heart of Gur Sevraq’s pilgrimage. From the rear, the head of Partizan’s largest church, the Song Aleel Verdicate, seeks to employ subtler methods to capture her prey. And in the middle of it all is the Rapid Evening, declaring their presence—and their intentions—as loudly as any who have ev...
Mar 06, 2020•2 hr 24 min
With their defense operation underway, the Rapid Evening have moved into position and identified a potential threat in the form of an unnaturally-moving sandstorm. As Sovereign Immunity and Clementine Kesh attempt to ingratiate themselves with the pilgrimage’s leadership and re-route the convoy, Exeter Leap and Ver’Million Blue standby in overwatch position. And as the storm grows nearer, it becomes clear that are not alone in their ambitions. But the threats are not only in the sand… This week ...
Feb 28, 2020•2 hr 7 min
In a matter of weeks, thousands of Kesh hollows will slide down the icy hills of the Verglaz Taiga, weapons raised and spirits on fire, as they charge an Apostolosian line. It will be the start of a new, bloody offensive, a spark that will light the moon aflame, drawing every Stel on the moon into the sort of open conflict that has not been seen in this region since the Principality first conquered it. But that hasn’t happened yet. Today, Clementine Kesh awakes in her bed, sun shining through he...
Feb 22, 2020•2 hr 15 min
After their initial gambit found success, the members of SBBR have put Columnar’s too-curious 301st Appraisal Unit off balance. Now, they seek to finish the deal--but to do so in such a way that will not draw more attention and ire towards the Sable Court, who has hired them. And if they can succeed, they may yet find that while the Great Stels of the Principality pay well, covens hidden in the woods offer more than simple currency in reward for loyalty. This week on PARTIZAN: Under the Boughs o...
Feb 14, 2020•2 hr 25 min
Before Cymbidium died, he asked the labor machine Thisbe, whose deerlike design drew from the form of his own people’s, for a favor: Deliver a final message to Mourningbride, initiate of the occult group the Sable Court and former Elect. On hearing about this goal, Thisbe’s squad members Broun and Valence encourage her to pursue it, and travel with her deep into Columnar territory to meet with the Hyphan witches of the forest. But when they arrive, they find a less welcoming host than expected.....
Feb 07, 2020•2 hr 26 min
After a successful mission retrieving key remnants of the Divine Past and the body of the Elect Cymbidium, the Rapid Evening has returned to Cruciat, Kesh’s capital on Partizan. While the city mourns the loss of an Elect, the crew’s members are busy resupplying, repairing their vehicles, and pursuing their own ends. While Clementine Kesh deals with the emotional aftershock of her first command, Sovereign Immunity, Exeter Leap, and Ver’Million Blue test the constraints of their imprisonment and t...
Jan 31, 2020•2 hr 44 min
The events in Obelle were disastrous for many, yet for the Society of Banners and Bright Returns, the nighttime raid on the seaside town went down in the book as a win. Now, they return to their home in the heavily stratified metropolis of Oxbridge in the heart of Stel Orion territory. After getting paid and tending to an unforeseen entanglement, the crew spends some time following leads, satiating their curiosity, and shoring up their reputation around town. This is the first session featuring ...
Jan 24, 2020•2 hr 12 min
Northwest of the seaside town of Obelle, there is a crater. Inside of that crater are the remains of the Divine Past, and those who wish to claim them: On one side, there are the members of the nascent special operations group the Rapid Evening. On the other, GLORY, a special Apostolosian unit which seeks to resurrect the culture’s greatest heroes as supersoldiers. But as everyone on the holy moon of Partizan knows, there are always more than two sides. This week on PARTIZAN: SHORESIDE RECOVERY ...
Jan 17, 2020•2 hr 23 min
The destruction of a Divine, the killing of an Elect, and war on a new front: Any one of these could shift the balance of power on a moon like Partizan. So when all three occurred in Obelle, the great Stels began to analyze, strategize, and maneuver immediately. Squadrons were re-deployed, diplomats recalled, artists commissioned, and clergy and commentariat both called to weigh in. But for Stel Kesh, one matter was more important than any other: The safe and honorable recovery of the body of th...
Jan 10, 2020•2 hr
To the west of the small town of Obelle, the Oxblood Clan attempts to secure the landing zone for an inbound VIP. The plan is simple: Recover them and escape east across the sea. To aid them in that task, the Society of Banners and Bright Returns have been sent to take out the nearby Apostolosian militia’s sensors, fuel reserves, and weapon platforms. So far, it’s been light work for the team, with Kal’mera Broun’s artillery-scale flashbang and Thisbe’s powerful mechanical gorilla, Mow, being ke...
Jan 03, 2020•1 hr 35 min
It started with as basic a job as they come: The Society of Banners and Bright Returns (SBBR), a rookie outfit based in Oxbridge, was tapped for a contract as a support unit in a rescue op. There was a little town called Obelle on the border between the Apostolosian Barranca and the Prophet’s Path, where damn near the only free folks in the Principality made their home. Some sort of VIP was making landfall just northwest of the spot, and while another crew was doing the pickup, SBBR (which was j...
Dec 26, 2019•2 hr 19 min
It is the year 1423 of the Perfect Millennium, and the galaxy has been conquered by the Divine Principality. At the center of this empire, the only place where its five Great Stels meet, there is a moon beating where a heart should be. The moon of Partizan. Abetted by immortal, machinic gods called Divines, and the legions of Hallowed mechs which extend their terrible reach, the Principality spent millennia sharpening itself on its rivals. What it could not devour it obliterated. What it could n...
Dec 19, 2019•3 hr 21 min
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 ...
Dec 13, 2019•1 hr 7 min
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 t...
Dec 05, 2019•2 hr 4 min
