Friends At The Table

Hey everyone, welcome to a very special bonus episode of Friends at the Table. As we said on Twitter, we're currently taking a few weeks off after the end of Kingdom to catch up on things, prep for the rest of PARTIZAN, and generally tak ea break.  Many of us here on the show have spent some of that break by playing Blaseball, the internet sensation that VICE's Gita Jackson describes as "an online, joke-y, facsimile of [baseball] ...  about baseball fandom, and the bullshit that goes along with it." It's an absolute blast, and because so many of us were getting into it, Art had the great idea of wanting to sponsor a season or two of the game. So, he reached out, we chatted with the folks behind Blaseball (though we didn't get to meet the commissioner himself), and here we are.  If you are just joining us for the first time as a fan of Blaseball who doesn't know anything about us, we hope this episode is an enjoyable introduction into the sort of stories we tell and games we play. If you're a fan of ours who

For those who live under tyranny, the exhaustion and fear is such that it can be hard to even imagine or recognize what escape or progress or revolution look like. But when Icebreaker Prime came over the horizon, the citizens of Cruciat, beaten down by generations of chic, high-minded Kesh terror, knew exactly what they were looking at. Millennium Break. Cruciat was all but undefended, with the bulk of Kesh’s forces engaged with Motion her Apostlosian forces to the west--an attack they would not have anticipated if not for late coming intelligence from an Apostolosian traitor.  Now, the revolution had to make a final decision in this first stretch of what would surely be a decades long campaign: Was it time to make a definitive strike. To take not just any city, but the city a Princept sometimes calls home. The city where the prisoners turned radicals of the Rapid Evening were once held. Where knowledge is locked away from those that need it most. Where hierarchy is woven into the streets themselves. The ques

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 Passage serves to hide the worst of the Principality, too. The winner earns glory, but each Stel--even those currently at war with each other--also seeks something else through their simple presence at the games: To convince the world that this is what ‘civilization’ looks like. At home, the Stels drive their boots into the backs of their most vulnerable citizens. But here on the beautiful Isle of Summer, they gather in the name of fair and even conflict on an agreed upon battleground to see who is the noblest of them a

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 clear that these are not hypothetical questions. A decision must be made. This week on PARTIZAN: Breaking Vigil ///Operation Dossier\\\ //Organizations\\ The Vigil City Equiaxed Commune: Across Columnar space, the Equiaxed--a culture of people who augment their synthetic frames with living, organic materials for a variety of reasons--are persecuted, outlawed, arrested, and even experimented on. One way that this vulnerable and targeted group has found some peace is to live together in communal living spaces, where they ca

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 elect of Past in the process. The Pact had attacked Valence’s homeworld, and disregarded the authority of the True Divine. Motion had been bested by the Rapid Evening, and found herself a rival in Ver’Million Blue--a rivalry felt in the jealous heart of Motion’s new elect, a young, yet intuitive Apostolosian commander known to be attentive and authoritative in equal measure.  And yet, it was clear that the group was a potential ally in the struggle against the Princepts’ endless war and the Principality’s outmoded system

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 done about those who abetted the reactionaries?  They set the world on fire in the name of justice only to ask: What might justice look like? This week on PARTIZAN: Millennium Break: The First and Second Arrests of Clementine Kesh ///Operation Dossier\\\ //Organizations\\ The Church of the Resin Heart: A Disciples of Logos church on Partizan which claims to be the true inheritor of the prophet’s religious mission. The “resin heart” in question is a 3-foot large object pulled from the sea 400+ years ago and displayed a

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 question? That was a surprise.  The scale of Oxblood’s representation on board was part of that. In a crew of over a thousand, they made up a solid block of a few hundred, and that meant that a whisper was heard as a galewind. Within a day, a game of telephone (and the Oxblood reputation for drama) had transformed the election fliers into “fires,” demands written in burning oil across the topdeck. But it was also due to the novelty. While many had brushed against lowercase D democracy in their daily lives--whether that was

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, and service members, with plenty of room to train, work, and even relax. But here, in the middle of the Prophet’s Sea, far from the Apostolosian supply lines for which it was built, and still badly damaged from Kesh’s dramatic assault months prior, Icebreaker Prime is anything but operating at peak efficiency. From rations to rifles, the storehouses grow emptier by the day. Entire decks are off limits, flooded or worse. The technicians are still figuring out how the engine actually works--which means they’re far from un

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 illustrated, all of us on this show are deeply invested in issues of justice and equality. We all stand behind the protests that have emerged across the country and world demanding justice for the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Tayler, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless others who have been taken from us. It has given us a great deal of hope to see so many rally against a culture of white supremacy and cruel, violent, and negligent policing. To that end, we’re donating $5,000 to a few groups, listed below, t

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 through Rezevi, offering high-tech military scrap in exchange for necessities like bedding, fuel, and chowder. What the citizens of Rezevi do not know, of course, is that the now-invisible Icebreaker Prime sits in the sea a few hours away, where the Rapid Evening licks its wounds and prepares to play host to rebels, revolutionaries, and radicals the likes of which Clementine Kesh could hardly imagine. This week on PARTIZAN: On the Eve of Revolution ///Operation Dossier\\\ //Organizations\\ Strand Semaphore: Using ancient

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, built around a stuffy (and secretive) aristocracy. They are tied to the Past. History, knowledge, stubbornness. Stel Nideo: Created the largest faith in the empire, and used that influence to shape (and surveil) mass culture. They are tied to the Present. Faith, coercion, stability. Stel Orion: An industrial giant that controls more literal space than any other Stel, yet is also the most fragmented and unstable. They are tied to Space. Wealth, labor, expansion. Stel Columnar: A fence-sitting democracy, made up largel

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 ///Operation Dossier\\\ //Organizations\\ The Red Fennecs: Technically, the Red Fennecs are an Apostolosian logistics and transport squad. In actuality, they’re utilized by their commanding officer, Tes’ili Serikos, as the backbone of a humble smuggling operation.  The Black Century: Infamous retinue of the Divine Motion. Each member of this 100-person company serves for 100 years. Motion guarantees them this service. House Whitestar: A generation ago, House Whitestar was a footnote: A noble house in name alone, with an anc

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 south, the fog begins to roll in. This week on PARTIZAN: BITTER AIR - THREECARD ///Operation Dossier\\\ //Organizations\\ The Red Fennecs: Technically, the Red Fennecs are an Apostolosian logistics and transport squad. In actuality, they’re utilized by their commanding officer, Tes’ili Serikos, as the backbone of a humble smuggling operation.  The Black Century: Infamous retinue of the Divine Motion. Each member of this 100-person company serves for 100 years. Motion guarantees them this service. House Whitestar: A generat

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 ploy is put into action. House Chasmata, strongest of Kesh’s noble families on Partizan, will lead their vast ground force in a feint maneuver to Icebreaker’s northwest edge. Lucia, meanwhile, will lead the combined forces of the remaining houses at the Fort’s opposite end in the southeast.  It’s an old plan, one that hasn’t worked in five years of war, nor the occasional skirmish prior. But this time, there is a final twist: The Rapid Evening. Driven into the fray by A.O. Rooke’s boisterous bragging, the group has

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 shakes with the arrival of Orzen’s noble defenders, Imperium’s Plume, ready to drive HORIZON and their SBBR allies from the city. In the middle of it all, Jesset City and the Oxblood Clan, blooming radicals with a role assigned to them, and another they’d like to play.  The stage is set. It is time to draw back the curtain. This week on PARTIZAN: A Revelation in Orzen ///Operation Dossier\\\ //Organizations\\ HORIZON: A radical-reformist group funded by Stel Kesh’s House Brightline. Commanded on Partizan by Gucci Garan

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 ever to get things off of Partizan, which means that more material than ever is available in the facility. Plus, with each Stel reinforcing their borders ahead of what feels like inevitable war, this city deep in the Pique Ridge has been left without its usual guards. Where once the noble hallows of Imperium’s Plume guarded the people of Orzen (and the Palace staging facility hidden beneath the town), defense has now been contracted to a group of Oxblood Clan mercenaries. Oxblood clan mercenaries with motives and loyalt

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. This week on PARTIZAN: A Captive Audience ///Operation Dossier\\\ //Organizations\\ The Curtain of Divinity: Though Kesh is technically governed through an elaborate parliamentary democracy, the truth is that The Curtain of Divinity, a secretive organization inside of the Stel (and with agents across all of the Principality), serves as the actual power behind the throne. Knowledge of the Curtain is carefully guarded, and its membership is even further protected.  It is unclear (even to the vast majority of the organi

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 greater concern. Unsure of Sevraq’s location, the Church of the Resin Heart requests aid from the Society of Banners and Bright Returns, who use the trip to the isles to find their own relief… and profit. This week on PARTIZAN: A Call From an Island ///Operation Dossier\\\ //Organizations\\ The Isles of Logos: An independent nation built by the followers of the prophet Logos Kantel’s around their very first church. Though only a small handful of islands in the Prophet’s Sea, the Isles keep a standing defense force tha

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 ever carried the name.  This week on PARTIZAN: DESERT SQUIRE - SLEIGHT ///Operation Dossier\\\ //Organizations\\ House Callister: The newest house of Orion, whose status was earned through “heroism in battle...” which is to say state-sanctioned piracy. Led by and named for Callister Drive Callister (who was given his new surname simultaneously with his new House), a sometimes ally, sometimes rival of the dreaded Exeter Leap House Bittenbach: “Before all others.” Technically, this is Bittenbach’s motto because  they were

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 on PARTIZAN: DESERT SQUIRE - RIPOSTE ///Operation Dossier\\\ //Organizations\\ House Callister: The newest house of Orion, whose status was earned through “heroism in battle...” which is to say state-sanctioned piracy. Led by and named for Callister Drive Callister (who was given his new surname simultaneously with his new House), a sometimes ally, sometimes rival of the dreaded Exeter Leap House Bittenbach: “Before all others.” Technically, this is Bittenbach’s motto because  they were the very first noble house in St