A run through of the first campaign turn of my 5 Parsecs 3rd Edition game.
Having preordered the rules from Modiphius I got a PDF version a few days before I got the hard copy and I was impressed. The hard copy is small format, 175 pages, lavishly illustrated and well laid out. Logical (to me at least) layout coupled with the upper page corner being colour coded and labelled as to which section you are looking at made navigation of the rules easy. Would recommend! If a solo sci-fi RPG sounds your sort of thing. It is more whole crew and campaign focussed than Stargrave, which I also have and like.
So dice (D6s,D10s and some 00-90s to make up a D100) in hand I launched into crew creation.
I opted for the completely random method, just roll and see what you get, rather than the suggested 6 humans suggested for newbs. This has caused no problems so far.
I have 3 humans, a bot, a Stalker ( a blue-skinned alien who can teleport short distances) and a Bio-enhanced (cyborg).
The humans are Mila "Call Me Captain" Voronezh, The Reverend Micah Green of the "Church of the Infinite Void" and Mr. Smith, formerly a special agent. Backstory suggests Mila and Micah grew up on the same industrial world while Mr. Smith grew up in a well-off megacity on their current world. Mila is in it for the thrills, Micah is looking to spread the faith, Mr Smith is looking for romance so I have decided that his wife died and he is looking for someone worthy to replace her. An old boss of Mr. Smith's is on their current world and may have work for them.
THK07, the bot, gets no backstory or bonuses but starts with enhanced stats. So I decided THK07 was Mrs Smith's bodyguard. With her death he has transferred his allegiance to Mr. Smith. With a built in 6+ save he is currently the only crew member with a saving throw.
The Stalker, Tam "Scrapper" McGee, is tough (human base is 3, he's 5) due to his upbringing on a mining world. The cyborg, Ion "Gunner" Bradley has enhanced legs which boost his speed from 4 to 5. They are in this just to survive.
They have a quite a bit of money (17 credits) but owe 21 credits on the unreliable merchant cruiser they call "Destiny's Child." Time will tell if the crew are indeed destiny's children :)
I'm using my own background rather than 5 Parsec's own Unity setting so my crew are in the Imperium of the Sentient Mind on one of the core worlds, known as The Throne Worlds, specifically Pax Imperialis, a world known for it's bot factories. Cheap bot upgrades might be useful if the crew can make some cash.
So the crew spend some time trading, training and looking for work. They make a little more cash and spend 11 credits paying off some of their debt on the ship but spend 1 credit in interest on the loan and another credit for upkeep of ship and crew.
Their patron has no work for them but a few die rolls see them offered a chance to make a little cash hacking an interstellar comms relay. One of the bot corporations is using an off the book landing site and a competitor would like to know what it's being used for.
(Basically, die rolls are an Access job and the opposition are 4 war-bots ... and a story is born.)
There are 2 credits worth of Extra Shiny Bits on the battlefield.
The field of battle (alas atmospheric conditions have interfered with the clarity of the image)
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/5787/tF7vHk.jpg)
The crew Seize The Initiative, getting a free move or shot (needing natural 6s). The crew use this to reposition.
We then roll 1D6 per crew member to see if they act before or after the enemy. They need to roll their Reaction value or less. Apart from the bot, who's a 2, the rest are all 1s so I'm not hopeful.
Ooh! That's better than expected. So Gunner, the Rev and THK07 will act before the warbots
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/3497/j47UJe.jpg)
Gunner opens fire first with his Rattlegun (MG) – three shots at targets in the open but more than 6 spaces away so needing 5+ on a D6. Shot one hits, needing 4+ to beat the bot's toughness, which it does and Warbot 1 fails it's saving throw of 5+ so it's down. Combat in 5 parsecs is pretty brutal.
Gunner adjusts aim a little and the second bot joins the first, but although the final shot hits Warbot 3 it fails to beat the warbot's toughness. But, the bot is stunned and knocked back a space.
Rev Green takes a potshot at Warbot 3 with his Colony Rifle but misses by miles..
THK07 rushes towards the big blue relay, using it's bulk as cover. As a bot and with the best Savvy bonus they are best placed hack the relay. (+1 for being a bot, +2 Savvy)
The Boss bot rushes forward to take cover behind a cargo container, out of sight of the crew in their current positions. Warbot 3 shakes off the effect of being shot. (Switch it off and switch it on again, maybe?)
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/2645/UmnYb4.jpg)
Turn two reaction tests are not so good but THK07 gets to the relay but his attempt to hack it fails (2 rolled + 1 for being a bot + 2 for Savvy = 5. 6 needed .... soooo close!
Boss bot moves from the cargo container to a pile of fuel drums. His plasma rifle's first shot puts Rev Green down but he just misses Scrapper with his second.
Turn three, THK07 is the only crew member to act before the bots and they successfully hack the Relay!!
The Warbots might now decide to quit the field but opt to stay and fight.
Some repositioning and ineffective fire ensues.
Turn four, all of the crew get to move before the bots except Mr. Smith.
Gunner strides forward on his bionic legs, pouring fire into Warbot 3 which is no longer in cover. The bot goes down in a hail of fire.
Inspired by this, or flushed with their success at hacking, THK07 moves to get to close range and clears the cover so Boss bot counts as in the open .... and then misses. Doh!
Despite needing to roll 5+, Mila hits Boss bot and puts him down.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/6064/vYF6bP.jpg)
The crew collect the Extra Shiny Bits from the grey generator in front of the relay and carry Rev Green off with them.
Turns out the Rev Green is not badly hurt but will need to miss the next fight to recuperate.
They collected some weapons, gear and cash from the field and from their greatful sponsors, some of it probably in that cargo container.
Everyone gains experience.
Whoever owns the warbots doesn't hold it against them enough to become Rivals, so that's good.
A bit of paperwork and we're ready tor campaign turn two.
I'm sure I got stuff wrong but everything flowed well and I don't think any mistakes were crucial.
Verrry interesting... thanks for the AAR.
Sounds excellent
You put this in my head.
Thank you. >:(
Looks excellent Mike :-bd
Nice to see you're getting in some tabletop gaming.
The background stuff really helps to make the campaign flow well.
Solo RPG?....hmmmmm ;)
Thanks folks! And, "you're welcome!" fsn :D
Aye, good stuff.
Although I keep reading it as Dr. Smith, rather than Mr.
"Danger! Danger, Will Robinson" . . .
Thanks Raider. Of course, at one point, he would have been Agent Smith.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VTm1BUao-KM/UPU5zfQFz0I/AAAAAAAAGP8/zD_KpXr24NU/s1600/the+matrix_reloaded+2.jpg)
Looking good
There has been a little more of a hiatus between the first campaign turn and the second than I'd intended. However, the real life interruptions have at least given me time to slap a coat of paint on THX07.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/3379/IklzVA.jpg)
In the downtime since the last fight the crew have been able to pay their bills and still have enough left to put Micah through enhanced recovery at the local Med-Centre so he'll be available for this fight after all.
Gunner had learned enough from the last fight to spend some time speeding up his reaction time.
Mila andTHX07 went off trading. Mila scored a couple of Med-packs and a couple of Stim Packs. THX07 traded some odd bits and pieces from the cargo hold for some treasure ... which turned out to be worthless shiny baubles.
Scrapper and Mr Smith went off to explore the local area and came back with a broken boosted arm set, which Gunner will try to repair, and a military rifle.
The crew's local contact, Special Agent Jethro Gibbons, got in touch to say he had a small job for them. He had an agent undercover in a local gang and needed to get some items to him. They were to take a package into a quiet corner of the Undercity and hand it to the agent. If the package was lost, damaged or opened the job would be failed.
So they set off with Scrapper, as toughest crew member, trusted with the package and it's delivery.
Closing in on their contact they discover that some Undercity Nomads, scavengers living on what they could beg, borrow or steal, had set up in a nearby storage area and the tribe's boss is leading his lieutenant and a half dozen tribesmen out to drive off the interlopers. (There's a second batch of four nomads lead by the Lieutenant off the bottom right of the image)
When I rolled nomads I was about to change it to gangers as I had no nomad figures but then I remembered my old micromachines Star Wars collection.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/3964/YPXwEU.jpg)
On a roll of 9 plus 2 for THK07's savvy and plus1 for being outnumbered the crew easily make the 10+ required to seize the initiative. They move cautiously forward.
The grey areas on the map are counting as voids over a lower level. The guy in blue near the centre of the map is their contact, one level down. The brownish square next to him is a lift which the crew must reach to make contact. All of the upper areas are assumed to have barriers to stop people falling over the edge so most shots are going to require modified scores of 6+.
The initial reaction rolls are pretty good for the crew ...
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/2329/0FIJNq.jpg)
... and Gunner once again steps forward and hoses the enemy with fire. Rolling a five and two sixes (+ 2 for his combat skill but -1 for moving with a heavy weapon) he puts the leader and a tribesman down and stuns another tribesman!!
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/8150/6UAhAw.jpg)
Other fire from the crew is ineffective.
The nomads are armed with hand lasers that can only fire 12 squares so they are well out of range but they are fast (6" move as opposed 4" for the crew) so rush forward.
At the end of the turn I roll 2D6 (1 per casualty) needing a 1 or 2 for a nomad to leave the battlefield. I roll a 1 and a 5 and decide that the stunned nomad considers that honour is satisfied.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/7494/ZL5d31.jpg)
Initiative rolls for turn two are not so good. Only one crew member will get to go before the nomads.
Scrapper moves forward, trusting to his high toughness to see him safe. He pops off a couple of shots at the remaining nomad from the leaders group and the second shot puts the target down.
The Nomads move forward and are now in range with their hand lasers. They all snap off shots but only manage to stun Scrapper and Mila.
Mr Smith fires and puts down the Lieutenant. Micah fires and puts down the tribesman who was behind him.
Mila fires, misses but is now unstunned.
THK07 fires and puts down one of the two remaining tribesmen. The last nomad decides discretion is the better part of valour and flees.
So swift, so brutal. 6 nomads down and the crew unscathed.
Scrapper recovers from stun and wanders down to hand over the package. Mission complete!
The nomads (not unsurprisingly) decide they want nothing to do with a rivalry between them and the crew.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/1580/cHNF9c.jpg)
I'll do the after action die rolls tomorrow.
This looks rather fun, Mike ! :-bd
Cheers - Phil. :)
hmmmm.
Makes me want to get out my "Traveller".
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSN0CKSknYm6xN1WozGf59vkszgiaoS7DwNIU8w2h2C-fNE5yKDsXOH_amoPv40Qrql1FY&usqp=CAU)
Quote from: Ithoriel on 03 July 2021, 01:46:11 AM
Scrapper recovers from stun and wanders down to hand over the package. Mission complete!
The nomads (not unsurprisingly) decide they want nothing to do with a rivalry between them and the crew
.
That was brutal and quick - overwhelming firepower wins the day!
Quote from: fsn on 03 July 2021, 07:11:05 AM
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSN0CKSknYm6xN1WozGf59vkszgiaoS7DwNIU8w2h2C-fNE5yKDsXOH_amoPv40Qrql1FY&usqp=CAU)
Aah, memories. I had many of those little black booklets - but I have no idea what happened to them.
Awesome report. Thank you. 8)
could i ask where the "terrain mats" are from, please?
Great reports and sound like you are having a lot of fun! :-bd
Quote from: Scorpio_Rocks on 03 July 2021, 09:54:51 AM
could i ask where the "terrain mats" are from, please?
The Undercity map used this time is a Stafinder Flip-Mat from Paizo bought from Amazon. I have a collection of them bought from various on-line sources. Most of them have been just under a tenner.
The map used in the previous game was from the Giant Book of Sci-fi Battle Mats from Loke, also bought on-line. It's a ring bound book of 62 A3 maps that can be used alone or as a double spread.
I have some other maps from Ryan Wolfe's www.0-hr.com (http://www.0-hr.com) site. Beautiful ship and building maps but pricey when you include postage and handling to the UK.
Thank you, Sir!
Orders winging their way for some as we speak.
In game rule terms, the crew rolled on the Loot table and the die rolls saw them acquiring a suit of Battledress armour (5+ save, +1 to Reactions to a max of 4).
Or as the narrative of the story, Mila checked the downed nomads but found nothing useful. Bio-locked weapons and vermin infested robes weren't going to be worth the effort of carting back to the ship. Just as she was about to return to the others she spotted another body, victim of some long forgotten combat. The corpse was little more than dessicated shreds of flesh holding the skeleton together but the battledress it wore seemed to be functional. Separating the armour from as much of the previous occupant as possible she hauled it back to Destiny's Child, cleaned it, fumigated it, replaced the batteries and hey presto! Working armour, fit for a captain.
Their patron put them in touch with a friendly doctor for some free treatment, not realising that none of them were hurt.
Micah was given access to the Agency Armoury and came back with a "slightly-used" Screen Generator (5+ save, not negated by enemy weapons having the Piercing attribute) which he now wears.
THK07 repaired the Boosted Arm set and helped Gunner fit it. A modified roll of 6+ is required for a repair. A natural 1 is a permanent fail. The crew decide to spend 2 credits to buy a couple of spare parts to boost the roll by 2 and THK07s Savvy of +2 is added as well. Anything but a 1 and it's fixed. Die roll .... 6. Doh! didn't need those spares after all.
Mr Smith and Micah go exploring and find an Arms Dealer with military weapons for sale but given that funds are short and the crew are pretty well armed they opt not to buy.
Gunner and Scrapper go trading, doing a deal for a Glare Sword (think Light Sabre). I like to imagine they traded those unneeded parts for it. They also hear an interesting rumour.
Clearly impressed by their performance, Jethro Gibbons offers them a job escorting a VIP to a pick up point.
Princess Irulan has given her Imperial Guard "minders" the slip to slum it in an infamous nightclub and pissed off a bunch of gutter-scum in the process. Half a dozen no-marks armed with Saturday Night Specials shouldn't pose a problem for the now well armed and kitted out crew. The fact they are headed by the leader of the recently routed nomads may be a bonus or a hindrance. On the up side, Jethro has promised hazard pay if they kill him. There are rumours of an alien artefact in the area that might be worth checking out too.
I have a couple of new figures lined up for Mila and Gunner. So far, merely undercoated.
Meanwhile, the crew (with new models for Mila and Gunner)
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/1090/l7AcDN.jpg)
manage to get Princess Irulan to a nearby monorail station
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/7330/Ptq0HH.jpg)
Only to find some of the punks looking for the princess have arrived there too.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/6086/6pcUs5.jpg)
The leader has a powerclaw and a scrap pistol rather than a shotgun. The guy in the duster is local mob muscle sent to beef up the unreliable punks.
Cool
Freetrader "Destiny's Child": Turn 3 – The Great Monorail Turkey Shoot!
The crew think they have successfully escorted Princess Irulan to the monorail station and just need to hand her over until they realise that some of the punks hunting the princess are already there.
Fortunately, Mila's comm-link buzzes and a message comes through to say that if they can get the princess to the crossway where the exit from the monorail stations meets the banks of rent-a-terminals there is just room for a droid gunship to land and pick up the princess. The gunship will not land until the princess is in position.
In game terms, the princess must spend a turn within 3 squares of the nominated point to trigger the pickup.
The crew attempt to Seize the Initiative, needing a modified 10+ on 2D6. They score 7 with the dice, add 2 for THK07s Savvy rating and another 1 for the punk's attribute of Careless. Success!
The crew move cautiously forward, all except Gunner who hops up on a large cargo crate.
Rolling for reactions, only Gunner gets to act before the punks. Probably not a big deal, the punks are way out of range with their scrap pistols.
Not quite up to form Gunner puts one of the punks down and stuns another.
The punks move forward, staying in cover. The crew also push forward
Micah puts the mob enforcer down but other shots by the crew have no effect.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/3424/3ZK43o.jpg)
At the end of round the punks check morale for the loss of their two comrades. 1D6 per loss, on a roll of 1-3 a punk will bail (not counting as down but simply removed from the table). 2D6, double 1s. The two rearmost punks bail.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/981/ShGTex.jpg)
Turn one is over and the punks are down to the leader and a gang member.
Once again Gunner is the only one able to act before the punks. First shot is a miss, second is a stun, third puts the leader down. Has he lost his mojo?
The surviving punk moves forward but is still out of range.
The crew continue to advance but manage to miss the surviving punk with a volley of fire.
Clearly feeling immortal the remaining punk passes his morale check for the loss of the leader.
Gunner and Mila get to go before the punk. Gunner needs 6+ to hit with no modifiers to the die roll and rolls two sixes! He needs to equal or exceed the punk's Toughness of 3 and rolls a 3 and a 4. Last bad guy down and they didn't even get a shot off.
Princess Irulan is in positions and the following round the gunship arrives and an Imperial Guard steps out and ushers the princess onboard.
As Scrapper quips,"I don't know which of the Seven Dwarves he is but he sure ain't Happy!"
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/1052/ZGwGbl.jpg)
I am torn between hoping my crew get some more competent opponents to give more of a game and hoping they don't so they get more gear and skill before they start tangling with Vent Crawlers and Assassins!
Turkey shoot! In a barrel!Great report again.
Why would anyone want to shoot turkeys
The 'shoot first' tactics of the crew make these scenarios pretty easy.
If it was a war zone then shoot first seems fine as a tactic, but I think this is more of a civilian setting, so should the crew be limited from opening fire on suspected enemies, until they are actively hostile? Feels like there should be more consequences for shooting random civilians?
This does rather depend on the setting - but it does feel that (in game) the crew are allowed to know that the enemy is definitely an enemy long before they would have that certainty (in real life). Perhaps having a few groups of potential enemies around, only one of which are the hostiles, the others are groups of civilians, who are likely to be neutral (or even friendly) would make it hard for the crew to machine gun down enemies at long range.
Just some thoughts - ultimately if it works for you, it works for you!
Thanks for the comments. As the others who post AARs regularly will know, it is sometimes hard to know if one is merely talking to oneself!
fred, the scenarios are set up as "I am your employer, here is the job I want you to do, here are your targets." So knowing what the bad guys look like isn't immersion breaking thing, for me.
I chickened out of having civilians in the last scenario assuming that late, at night, there would be few of them and that in bad neighbourhood the locals would recognise the punks , know trouble was brewing and make themselves scarce. I do have a lot of (unpainted) civilian types and I'm working on a scenario involving a fight in a spaceport with a crowd of colonists/ refugees and some cops. If combat is hand-to-hand only, the cops ignore it. If one side fires a gun or uses a grenade the cops become part of the other sides forces and colonists will move on random die rolls. If the bad guys take a morale test, failures don't cause one of their side to bail, instead each fail means they have drawn a gun and shot a bystander thinking they are part of the crew. After that round they bail as normal. I need to run a couple of simulations and do some painting before running it for real.
When I started I wondered if I would be able to avoid fudging die rolls but the die rolling has been so much in the crews favour that the only fudging I've done (so far!) has been to the crews detriment. In the last scenario there should have only been 4 punks. Roll 2D6 pick the high roll and add 3 - rolled snake eyes, so rolled a third dice which came up a 3. The leader, if I'm understanding things right, should only have had a power claw as a weapon but I gave him a scrap pistol too. Things like that.
Sooner or later they are going to come up against nastier things, I'm sure. So far the Conditions table hasn't come up with dust clouds that reduce visibility to a handful of squares, for example. That would cramp Gunner's style for sure!
If it all works within the context of the game, then that is all that matters.
And if these are early scenarios, and you are expecting more challenging opposition then good luck for those!
I know what you mean about the dice rolls - but I've been doing a bit of solo gaming recently, and like you haven't really found it a temptation. I think we games setup for solo play its less of a problem. Sometimes when I have played a standard game solo, I've been more likely to fudge dice rolls, or movement, but some of this comes I think from the complexity of a 2-player game played on your own, there can be a lot to remember and get right.
Having made short work of the punks and successfully delivered the princess the party set about scavenging the battlefield and collecting their rewards.
Experience gained allowed several characters to improve their abilities.
More tangible rewards were in the form of cash and the patronage of House Rimush for the return of their errant princess plus a Flak Screen which provides a measure of protection against grenades, albeit the latter was damaged.
Trading and exploration provided a damaged Battle Visor (re-roll 1s when shooting) which was promptly fixed for free by a friendly mechanic, a chit for 6 credits worth of fuel and 4 starship repair parts which would repair 1 hull point each if Destiny's Child takes damage.
Placing items in their stash they discover one of their three stashed Colony Rifles was damaged.
Hearing that the punk gang intended to settle their score with the crew, Gunner and Scrapper go out to track down the hideout of the Laytown Buzzards.
They track the punks to their base in The Sump, an area wreathed in swirls of dust, gas and steam. Visibility is both limited and variable (8+1D6 squares, re-rolled every turn).
On the up side, there is an item that a collector will pay a couple of credits for in the area.
This may not be as one sided as the last fight with these punks!
Be careful what you wish for :)
Looking like a fun campaign, must take note of those rules if I ever start putting together some sci-fi stuff down the line...
You're protecting a princess! Shoot first is the obvious tactic.
Ask Han ... and Greedo.
Good read ... maybe 2022 will be Nobby's year of SciFi.
Cracking stuff, Mike !
Cheers - Phil. :)
Freetrader "Destiny's Child": Turn 4 – Down In The Sump Station At Midnight
Making their way down through The Sump to the station that processes the sump sludge, the crew became aware of people scurrying away in the gloom. Clearly word of their exploits had travelled far enough that the local denizens didn't fancy tangling with a bunch of heavily armed and armoured folk with murder on their mind!
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/3701/30Zf33.jpg)
Arriving at the Sump Station with it's vats of black sludge oozing and bubbling slowly away, the crew heard the punks in the gloom at the far end of the entrance hall. Nearest them, the giant maw into which autotrucks would tip waste to be processed with the sludge was a metre or so below ground level giving cover to those within.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/455/ysyxSh.jpg)
On the other side of of the central sludge sewer was a similar lower area this time with some sort of furnace far enough below it to allow it too to act as a sort of ad hoc trench.
The crew were, once again, able to seize the initiative and took the opportunity to make a cautious advance into the building.
The swirling murk briefly parted revealing the opposing punks
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/7117/1Hyd9J.jpg)
Rolling for visibility (1D6 + 8 ) gave the maximum 14 spaces.
The reactions phase was disappointing with only Gunner and Mila able to move forward and open fire. Gunner managed to put down a shotgun armed Specialist but Mila missed with both shots.
The punks advanced in a line, opening fire but, of the surviving seven, only one managed to score a hit. The basic punks count as Poor Shots and hit only on a natural 6.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/6354/CLRJkh.jpg)
THK07 was hit with enough impact to put him down but his armoured carapace saved him, leaving him stunned. The punk rolled a 6 to hit, 6 to beat toughness and THK07's saving throw was a 6. I should buy a lottery ticket :)
The rest of the crew stepped forward and opened fire but the only effect was that Scrapper put the punk leader down.
One of the punks decided he'd had enough and bailed.
Morale Phase, rolling 1D6 per casualty scored 1 + 5. Punks bail on 1-3.
So, one turn in and the punks have their leader and a specialist down and a grunt has bailed.
In return THK07 is stunned and can move or shoot, but not both, next turn.
In turn 2 the conditions are slightly worse and visibility is down to 13 squares.
The reactions phase is no better than the first and only Gunner and Mila are able to do anything before the punks.
Gunner now performs his party piece, putting the remaining specialist and a punk down and stunning a second punk.
Mila climbs up on the crate in front of her to get an angle on the two surviving, unstunned punks but again misses with both shots.
The punks, needing natural 6s return fire and, no surprise, miss.
At this point I remember that the punks have scrap pistols with a range of nine squares so most of their firing has been out of range. No harm done to be honest because their firing has been abysmal.
The last punk moved to within range (as his AI type says he should) and unstunned.
Mr Smith opted to fire at the two punks farthest away and put both down (for once I remembered his +1 if not moving, for his gun sight!).
The remaining crew failed to hit the last punk.
Morale phase, 4D6, 1-3 on any of them and he bails, surely he's gone anyway?
Nope, four 5s! What a hero!
Reaction phase and NONE of the crew get to go before the last punk!
Can he inflict damage on the crew at the eleventh hour?
Nope. Another 5. He needs a natural 6.
Mila fires twice, knocking him back and stunning him again with the first shot and putting him down with the second. The last opponent is down.
Showdown over. Time to see if the Laytown Buzzards have learned their lesson. On a 4+ they are no longer rivals. The crew's roll is 3. Plus one for having sought out the punks and another 1 for putting down at least one specialist. The Laytown Buzzards have had enough.
Scavenging the battlefield the crew find 3 credits in cash, a useable shotgun and a blade carried by one of the specialists.
Gathering dust in a dark corner is a plasma rifle also in working condition. Seems the punks were as bad at scavenging as they were shooting!
The crew accumulate some useful experience that will make them even tougher opponents in future.
Sightings of P'rang ships in the area lead to an Imperial lockdown of non-military travel for two campaign turns.
And in a surprise move Mr. Smith decides it's,"time for a makeover." This is basically just a cosmetic change but the game system suggests that if you have another appropriate figure you should use that. I have an Elheim figure I've recently acquired that I think would fit the bill. Time to get out the paintbrush!
Onwards to campaign turn 5 (of 20)
entertaining read as always Mike.....your reasoning behind the crew opponent's actions seem fine to me.
Did you have Quadraphinia (sp?) or something from Sid Vicious playing in the background for a bit of atmosphere in the background while you were resolving the latest scenario?....I'm guessing probably not James Last though ;)
Look forward to the next episode....
Great report.
I can confirm a disturbing lack of punks in LB recently too!
Could Mila not go down to the shooting range for a bit of practice? :D
More good stuff
Definitely !!
Cheers - Phil. :)
Quote from: pierre the shy on 16 July 2021, 02:55:35 AM
entertaining read as always Mike.....your reasoning behind the crew opponent's actions seem fine to me.
Did you have Quadraphinia (sp?) or something from Sid Vicious playing in the background for a bit of atmosphere in the background while you were resolving the latest scenario?....I'm guessing probably not James Last though ;)
Look forward to the next episode....
Thank you! Nothing playing during the game but The Jam playing as I wrote up the AAR - starting, naturally, with "Down in the tube station at midnight" :-)
Quote from: Lord Speedy of Leighton on 16 July 2021, 05:53:50 AM
Great report.
I can confirm a disturbing lack of punks in LB recently too!
Cheers!
I doubt lack of punks leads to people thinking "Can't Get used to Losing You"* :)
Quote from: fsn on 16 July 2021, 06:00:10 AM
Could Mila not go down to the shooting range for a bit of practice? :D
What? She's the captain! Shooting is what the others are for! :)
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 16 July 2021, 06:07:05 AM
More good stuff
Thank you.
Quote from: Techno II on 16 July 2021, 06:08:51 AM
Definitely !!
Cheers - Phil. :)
Thanks Phil.
*As sung by the Leyton Buzzards
Freetrader "Destiny's Child": Turn 5 – Will They Never Learn
"There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves." - Will Rogers
The bar is dingy, dark even. Just how the furtive patrons like it.
In the dimmest corner sits a blonde, eking out her Vadrassian Brandy while pondering the immediate future.
Destiny's Child's finances are pretty buoyant at the moment but won't stay that way without a steady stream of work and neither Gibbons nor House Rimush have anything for them at the moment.
"Gentleperson," an oily voice interrupts her thoughts,"May we speak?"
She says nothing but points at the chair opposite.
A tubby, grey-skinned alien with slicked back black hair sits. He is sweating profusely, staining the armpits of his cheap brown suit.
Mila wonders if this is down to his species' physiology, the humid atmosphere of the bar, or if he knows she has her glare sword in her hand, under the table, and that the flick of a switch will eviscerate him.
She says nothing.
"Gentleperson, I am an .... introducer. I introduce those with jobs needing done to people with the skills to do them."
"Sorry," Mila interrupts,"I don't do plumbing work any more."
The alien wheezes, it could be laughter or irritation. Who knew?
"It is said," the alien continues,"that a certain crew went to Cybot's off the books landing site, turned their warbots into scrap and extracted much useful information for their employer. Such a crew could be useful to a client of mine. Is yours that crew?"
"I'm not saying we are that crew ... but I'm not saying we couldn't handle such a job either."
More wheezing, laughter then,"All you need to know is on this." The alien stands, bows ever so slightly and oozes out of the bar.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"So," said Gunner,"We go to Downbelow Station, find the sleep box, hack the door data to find out who's stayed there and pass the info to Mr. Slimey."
"About right,"agrees Mila, looking at the data cube's display.
Micah,"At least the fate of the Laytown Buzzards should keep the locals out of our hair."
Scrapper snorts.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Late evening, the crew are ambling towards Downbelow Station when a voice calls out from the gloom,"Well lookee, lookee! It's Destiny's Babies! Lookin' all shiny and bright."
"Back off!"yells Mila,"We have no beef with you!"
"Dat right? Well we have a beef wid you Blondie! This is Banshee territory and you are trespassin'. I bet you think, cuz you croaked the Buzzards that youz are all that. But you ain't nuthin'! We're comin' for you, nomarks! We'll put Destiny's Babies to bed!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The crew have an Access opportunity job with 9 punks as opposition. They need to make it to the centre of the map and complete a successful hack. All the rest is my interpretation of those bare facts.
:-bd
Really enjoying these - keep up the great reports!
Good stuff, Mike !
Cheers - Phil. :)
I do like the story you are spinning out of the fairly basic outlines given to you by the game
Very good
Thanks or the feedback folks always much appreciated.
Fab intro Mike.
Thanks, Will
Freetrader "Destiny's Child": Turn 5 – Will They Never Learn (Part 2)
The bar is dark as ever and Mila is once again toying with a jar of Vadrassian Brandy but this time she is watching the rest of the crew. She is realising that as the tale of their latest exploit is shared around the table each is gaining insights that will serve them well in the future.
She is so engrossed that she only notices the grey skinned alien in his stained brown suit as he sits down.
"Gentlepersons," he says,"word has come to me of a commotion in Downbelow Station. Do you have a ... tale for me?"
"Well,"says Mila,"a group of ... friends are said to have been on their way to Downbelow Station when the Banshees took exception to their being on Banshee turf. They warned the Banshees off but no notice was taken of the warning. So a face off ensued ... or so they say."
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/5462/FcGToL.jpg)
"For once I ... they remembered to activate their scanner bot and that together with their droid member's savvy combined with the punks carelessness was just enough to let them seize the initiative."
"They advanced cautiously,"continued Mila,"their heavy weapons expert, their droid and and the agent moved up and opened fire. The rattle gun took down two punks and the agent's autorifle took down another. The punks moved up, forced to close the distance by their short ranged weapons. The other friends got into position and fired in turn, taking down another punk. A further punk decided to bail.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/4835/tK4KRd.jpg)
"As the punks continued to advance, the fire from the friends put down another two. Leaving only the leader and one gang member."
"A burst from the rattle gun staggered the punk leader and then cut him down. None of the crew had sight of the last punk so they waited. He burst from cover, taking a potshot at the priest who returned fire but also missed. The last punk would have hurdled the seating and disappeared down the track had ... I not put him down."
"You?" the gray skinned man wheezed his strange laugh,"So were you able to bring me back a souvenir?"
THK07 leaned forward a little,"I am smart and I have an affinity with such things, it was the work of a mere moment to get what you needed." He pushed a data cube across the table.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/4219/Im7RIx.jpg)
The alien stretched his hand over the table and though he neither appeared to pick anything up nor drop anything, when he withdrew his hand the data cube was gone and a credstick was in it's place. He stood, give a stiff little bow with a weird grimace that might have been intended to be a smile and said,"Thank you, gentlepersons all, a pleasure doing business." And off he went.
"Well, well," said Mila, checking the credstick,"Three credits to add the the two we got turning in the bounty on the leader and his henchmen. Not a bad haul."
"Not to mention the ship upgrade parts we liberated from the sleepbox," Micah chimed in..
"And the beam pistol that was in there too," added Gunner.
"Where's Smith got to?" grumbled Scrapper,"It's his round."
"Up at the bar, sweet talking that redhead," Mila grinned.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
In game terms the Banshees had the same problem as the Laytown Buzzards. Bad shots (Natural 6s to hit) with short range weapons and an AI that had them move, keeping in cover wherever possible, to within their maximum range of 9, 12 for the leader and lieutenants. At least they got to pop off a couple of shots though to no effect.
3Cr pay, 2Cr bounty on the crims plus 2Cr worth of parts towards a ship upgrade and a beam pistol found on the battlefield.
The campaign event after the battle was a learning experience for the crew (+1 XP each) hence Mila's observations on the crew after action chat.
The personal event was Mr Smith making a friend (+1XP).
The Banshees are smart enough not to continue the feud.
Keep it up
Superb.
At some point the enemy will find longer range wweaponry...
Good stuff, Mike. :-bd
Cheers - Phil. :)
Thanks guys!
Fun to read, keep it up!
Thanks Sunjester.
Next up, the crew must protect a VIP from 4 Assassins.
Good fun.
Hopefully the assassins will be more of a challenge.
Campaign Turn 6: No point getting mad when it rains if you created the storm
Mr Smith was still working on a new look, clothes shopping wasn't high on the crew agenda, but he was winning the battle to get the crew to just call him Smith ... at least he thought he was.
Smith pondered the irony of living on a spaceship full of wonderful automated systems and yet finding himself oiling parts of the landing gear with an oil can.
Lost in reverie, he didn't hear the grav car, a long, sleek, grey limousine with House Rimush's heraldry across the bonnet, pull up alongside the ship until a door opened and a voice called out,"You there! Yes, you with the oil can! Is this the Freetrader Destiny's Child?"
Smith spun round and was suddenly aware that he had dropped into a half crouch with the oil can pointed like a pistol at a tall, grey haired and immaculately tailored man who was looking at him with an expression that one might adopt on finding a Grigovian Mudsucker in one's salad.
"I am Benedictus Madvarion" said Benedictus Madvarion," I am Lord Rimush's treasurer. I have several fine children. This,"he continued while dragging a young man out of the car by the ear," is not one of them, this is my nephew Gardor. He unwisely took out a loan from someone not noted for their forbearance with defaulters and then even more unwisely stole ship parts from Harvok "The Beast" Mansbane in an effort to pay off at least some of the loan. While I would be happy to let you take him to The Sump and drown him it would make family dinners with my sister and mother even more insufferable than they are at the moment. So, take him to the concourse, present these papers to the recruiting sergeant and make sure he is inducted into the Kameiras. You will be paid for your efforts, of course."
Madvarion was almost inside the car before he turned to say,"There will be hazard pay, naturally, since a team of 4 assassins has been hired to kill him. Hazard pay is payable on success or failure. So if he dies don't be too sad .... I certainly won't be!"
Mr. Smith felt sorry for the spotty, gangly, unprepossessing youth. The Kameiras were the empire's expendable shock troops - "First to land! First to die!"
"You there! Peasant!" bellowed Gardor, even though he was only a couple of metres from Mr. Smith,"Show me to my stateroom! At ONCE!" He thrust a backpack at Mr. Smith.
Smith took a step forward, took the backpack, delivered a swift kick to the young man's crotch and swung the backpack, which had a nice heft to it, into the back of the, now doubled over, boys head, leaving him flat out on the boarding ramp and only semi-conscious.
As he was idly wondering if the kid would fit in the garbage compactor Mila and Micah came back from their trading expedition at the local tech flea-market. Mila was clutching a gently used (i.e. broken) screen generator that she was convinced THK07 could fix given time and discussing a rumour she'd heard.
She looked at the prone figure,"Thief or stowaway?" she asked.
"Neither," said Smith."Package to be delivered to the Kameiras."
"The Kameiras!,"exclaimed Mila,"Balls of the sacred emperors! What did HE do wrong?"
Gardor, who had been stirring, sat up, stood up and then threw up. Swaying gently and looking dazed he said,"Laid a bet, lost, borrowed cash to pay it but then couldn't pay that back so 'borrowed' some ship parts to cover the debt but some fetchers tracked me to my sleepbox, stole the parts AND my beam pistol and sold me out to Beast Mansbane. Fetchers ... if I ever find them ...."
Mila and Smith exchanged meaningful glances. Micah hummed a little tune to himself.
Gunner, who like Smith had been training, appeared at the top of the ramp,"Trouble?"
Mila sighed,"When is there not?"
"This is a package for delivery,"Mila pointed at Gardor,"see it is stowed securely."
Grabbing Gardor by the scruff of the neck Gunner started to drag him up the ramp, ignoring the squawked protests.
"The House Rimush contact mentioned assassins," warned Smith.
Mila glanced around, wary rather than alarmed, in time to see Scrapper and THK07 returning from an exploration of the local area.
Mila gestured to the third figure with them,"I hope he's not another job, we've already got one from House Rimush."
"This," roared Scrapper, slapping the young man on the back so hard he staggered forward a couple of steps,"is a new crew mate .... if you'll have him."
"Gentles, Khalil Bahnas at your service. Born on Military Outpost 90337 and recently paid off from the Starliner Daydream"
"Paid off from a Dreamliner,"said Mila warily," there's a story there."
"Daydream was old, we ran into uncharted asteroids and she wasn't worth the cost of repairs. So, poor Khalil is here with a cred in his pocket, a blade at his side and a lust for adventure in his heart."
Mila laughed,"OK hotshot! You have chutzpah, I'll give you that. Until we see what else you have you'll be cook, cleaner and guard dog. Are you still in?"
"Yes, YES! Thank you, thank you. You won't regret it!"
Mila's face was suddenly hard, her voice colder than the wind across the Tygerian Ice Wastes,"I come to regret it, you'd best be able to breathe hard vacuum!"
Just as suddenly she was all smiles,"Scrapper, take our young guard pup to the stash and kit him out with bigger teeth than that blade."
* * * * * * *
So, the die rolls behind that.
Gunner and Smith trained and the XP point gained was enough for them to bump up their Combat Skills.
Mila and Micah went trading and found a broken screen generator and heard a rumour, giving them a total of 4. Each campaign turn they roll 1D6 and on a score equal to or less than the total of rumours they gain a quest. Basically a series of tougher but more rewarding jobs.
THK07 and Scrapper went exploring and got a result of "nothing found" and New Friend (roll up a new crew member).
The job they have is another escort job. Get a no skills, low stat VIP to within 3 squares of the map's centre and keep them alive there for a turn. There are no unusual terrain conditions but they need to field a full crew of 6. Pay is 1D6 credits plus 2 credits Hazard Pay and in addition there is a Loot Cache in a random location on the map which gives a roll on the Loot Table.
They are up against 4 Assassins (could have been anywhere between 1 and 6). The crew are -1 to Seize The Initiative due to the assassin's alertness. Any crew member who is downed reduces their Injury die roll by 5% because the assassins are Gruesome – aiming to kill or wound rather than just to take people out of the fight. This will be a Tough Fight so there's an additional XP point to be had.
The basic assassins have a Military Rifle and a Blade each while the leader has a Clingfire Pistol and Blade.
Good luck, you'll need it! 8)
Khalil Bahnas?
(https://imgix.bustle.com/inverse/ef/94/d3/52/cf97/471b/b64a/c9a6e363875e/redshirts1jpeg.jpeg?w=1200&h=630&fit=crop&crop=faces&fm=jpg)
Quote from: Lord Speedy of Leighton on 29 July 2021, 05:01:47 PM
Good luck, you'll need it! 8)
Thanks Will, I'm sure the crew will need all the luck they can muster.
Quote from: fsn on 29 July 2021, 07:22:27 PM
Khalil Bahnas?
He's not a red shirt but he is a rookie by comparison. The crew can only field six of the seven crew so he will be left to mind the ship to cut his teeth later on easier opposition. Hopefully not to step in to "dead men's shoes!"
You're too kind to rookies. Put them in the front line. Better they catch a bullet than someone useful. :Ph
Also, I thought you'd like to know that I used some birthday money to buy some of the new Traveller books. This is all your fault.
Quote from: fsn on 30 July 2021, 02:59:36 PM
You're too kind to rookies. Put them in the front line. Better they catch a bullet than someone useful. :Ph
I can only field 6 crew maximum so, up against assassins, the rookie gets to guard the ship, swab the decks and make chicken soup for the wounded, if required.
Quote from: fsn on 30 July 2021, 02:59:36 PM
Also, I thought you'd like to know that I used some birthday money to buy some of the new Traveller books. This is all your fault.
Wot? Traveller and not 5 Parsecs? :)
Quote from: Ithoriel on 30 July 2021, 05:39:21 PM
Wot? Traveller and not 5 Parsecs? :)
Been a
Traveller man since about 1978. I still have all the little black books. :-[
Campaign Turn 6: No point getting mad when it rains if you created the storm (2)
Life has been a little busy over the past few days so no time to play the next game, until today
However, it did give me time to slap a little paint on the new Mr Smith figure and on the scanner bot. Couple of pieces of scenery finished off too.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/8067/3br4W1.jpg)
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/2972/EvzxoM.jpg)
*********************************************
The crew were almost at the recruiter's station and Mila was beginning to hope they had evaded the assassins when their scanner bot detected the assassins just entering the area.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/4073/X5pLzh.jpg)
Three armed with military rifles and blades and a leader with a clingfire pistol and blade.
No chance to seize the initiative this time around (severely fluffed dice roll!).
The crew had formed a box around Gardor but now Gunner, Mila and Micah rushed forward to take up positions that would give them sight of the opposition.
Three assassins also rushed forward, taking cover among the seating but the fourth walked to a position behind a scanner post, snapping off a shot at Gunner that went wide.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/439/D8Rg7Y.jpg)
The rest of the crew closed up on those in front, hustling Gardor along with them.
The recruiter, alarmed by the gunshot, ducked down behind the foliage surrounding his pitch, feeling more than a little exposed in the glare of the holographic dropship projected above him.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/4648/WGUoQp.jpg)
Gunner and Mila got to move before the assassins. Gunner changed position to get a better angle and then blasted the leader, stunning him, then putting him down. Turning his attention to the assassin who took a pot shot at him Gunner scythes him down, in turn.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/8725/MW63li.jpg)
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/2605/DT50E5.jpg)
Mila also moves forward and takes two shots at an assassin, stunning her
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/963/FBkxSx.jpg)
(What do you think of the stun marker?)
... and then dropping her.
The remaining assassin returned fire, hitting Mila, beating her toughness and penetrating her armour. Eek!
Oh, wait! Mila has a point of luck (only one in the crew that does) and gets to leap 1D6 squares in a random direction.
Fours squares straight forward into a bush!
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/9343/ZeoDXu.jpg)
Not dead after all!
The rest of the crew breathe a sigh of relief and close up on Gunner and Mila.
Despite losing three companions the remaining assassin opts not to bail, still hopeful of downing Gardor.
The reaction checks see Micah, Mila and Gardor acting before the assassin.
Gardor rushes up to the bewildered recruiter waving his paperwork at him.
Mila fires twice but only manages to stun the assassin, while Micah follows up with two shots of his own. A miss ... and a hit that puts them down.
So, Gardor delivered safely, all four assassins down and, despite a scare, no one on the crew hurt.
No one is coming to avenge the assassins.
*********************************************
I'll do the rest of the after battle sweep up tomorrow.
Superb
Great stuff!
Loverly
Thanks folks!
Next up ... Sand Racers.
Need to dig out some figures that will do as fast things with lots of teeth!
Great stuff, Mike ! :-bd
Cheers - Phil. :)
Always good to read.
I'm telling you though, Mila needs some weapons training.
Quote from: Ithoriel on 10 August 2021, 09:25:52 PM
fast things with lots of teeth!
There are some ladies of Runcorn I could introduce you to.
Thanks Phil.
fsn, Mila has a combat value of +2. Scrapper and Gunner are +3, Khalil is +0 and the other three are +1.
I think she needs someone luckier rolling the dice for her :)
There are some scenarios in 5 Parsecs where it is suggested that a representation of the crew's ship might be appropriate.
While looking for something completely different on EBay I cam across a slightly cartoony version of the Millennium Falcon. At 30cm wide, 30 cm front to back and 20cm to the top of it's radar dish it sounded slightly bigger than I'd intended but at £9.95 plus postage it was way cheaper than the other things I'd idly considered getting.
So, it arrived by courier today and is undergoing a minor refit.
Gentles, I give you the Freetrader "Destiny's Child."
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/6762/CxrCq0.jpg)
Nice!
Nothing a paint job and a few fixing couldn't cure!
She's a beauty!
Ship painted, reassembled and decals applied.
Better still, the guns still pop back and forth and the various sound effects still work.
Coat of gloss varnish, weather permitting, and I'll call her done.
I'm sure people with more time, talent and equipment could have spray painted, washed, shaded, weathered and chipped the living daylights out of it but "good enough for army work" will do for me. :)
A picture of the current state of her with the crew assembled at the foot of the ramp to give an idea of scale
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/8135/aBHUiA.jpg)
Looking good.
Definitely worth what you paid for that, Mike ! :-bd
Cheers - Phil. :)
That has come together nicely (and quickly)!
As you say you could spend an age detailing up the ship - or you could have it ready for games!
After a month, or so, of life being "interesting" I hope I am now able to get back to 5 Parsecs and the exploits of Destiny's Children.
Campaign Turn 7: Sun, Sand and .... Teeth!
Mila was feeling pretty pleased with things.
The crew seemed to have got over their amusement at her death-defying leap into a potted plant. No longer asking if she was "bushed" or feeling "treed" off or the like.
She and Micah had had a good trading session scoring a working Glare Blade power sword and a damaged Quality Sight that THK07 could hopefully repair. While they were out he had been doing minor maintenance in the ship and fixing an item from the stash in between.
Gunner and Scrapper had done a bit of sight-seeing and in the process had an offer of a job .... which was just as well as Smith had reported back that neither Jethro nor House Rimush had anything for them.
A day later, she and Gunner were approaching the offices of Operational Support Interstellar and they were pleasantly surprised to find they were not the usual hole-in-the-wall place their clients so often inhabited. Entering the towering plasteel and ecoglass monolith she noticed that the well armoured, heavily armed guards in the hallway looked alert and competent. This place clearly housed some seriously successful businesses .... who wouldn't normally need the services of the crew or their likes.
As they approached the reception desk the young woman at the desk was working on a screen. Looking up, she flashed a smile every bit as real as her pneumatic chest, flawless face and platinum hair. Mila reckoned she could completely upgrade Destiny's Child for the sort of money that amount of work of that quality cost.
"Good Day! Welcome to Inspiration Arcology,"gushed the receptionist. Then she took in the figures before her. "Oh! What do you want?"
"We have an appointment. Mila Voronezh and Ion Bradley."
"Really?" the receptionist raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," snarled Mila,"Really!"
As she took a step forward she was suddenly aware of the guards taking an interest and stepped sharply back.
Moments later,"Ah. Eighth floor. Navid, please escort these ... people to Operational Support Interstellar ."
Navid gave the briefest and shallowest of bows, barely more than a nod and gestured for them to follow him to the turbolifts.
Moments later they were in front of a plain plasteel door with the letters OSI etched into it. Compare with the ornate doors lining the corridor, this looked like a cleaners cupboard.
Navid turned and walked off without a word.
With a hiss, the door sank inward a little and slid sideways into the wall, revealing a small reception area. Stepping forward they were aware of the swirl of light from a hi-tech multiscanner.
A gaunt, grey-haired man standing ramrod straight beside a small desk said,"Thank you for coming. Please come this way."
His insignia-free black coveralls did nothing to hide the fact that he was military.
They followed him into a large busy office full of black clad figures.
Then Mila saw what was on the back wall and her blood ran cold. With a couple of succinct curses she hissed at Gunner,"What have you got us into?" Seeing his confusion she gestured with her chin.
There on the back wall was the Imperial Dragon logo and below it the inscription Ordo Speculatores Imperialis,"The Emperors' personal secret service!" she continued.
As the gaunt man ushered them into a large comfortable office he could not hide a grin. "Relax, Captain Voronezh, we want your help not your head!"
"I am Colonel Aquilaus, and deep in the Great Sand Sea there is a monitoring station. What it is monitoring, and why, is none of your business. Suffice it to say that should anyone realise that it is ours there would be undesirable repercussions."
"We need to install an upgrade. It's very simple, twist the current component and pull then push the new component and twist."
"That sounds pretty simple for a job you are paying us 3 Credits for," Mila shrugged.
"Three credits?" queried the colonel,"Oh, you spacers. 3 Mega-credits Captain. We are, unlike your people, not too proud to work with small change." He grinned.
"Oh, we deal in small change too, we just call them bits."
"The sand in the area is very soft. It will be a slog. The only upside is it slows the sand runners too. We will run you out near the site in a flitter. You will be given paperwork that says you are a tri-vee team making a documentary about the sand runners."
"So, are you up for this?"
"Do we have a choice?" scoffed Gunner.
"No, not really"
"Then we're in,"said Mila
As they started back to the turbolift, Mila glanced back. Behind them was a blank stretch of wall.
******************************
This is a delivery mission, one character has the MacGuffin and has to get to the centre of the table and spend an action to complete the mission. They have private transport (no rivals can interfere) and slippery conditions which I have translated to soft sand.
The sand runners move 7 a turn (6 because of the slippery conditions) compared with the crew's 4 and can make a free 3 square jump into combat if they have a target in range. There will be seven of them, the maximum possible. They need to close to melee range, have no bonus to combat ability but add one to rolls to beat a target's toughness.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/4533/93VdJo.jpg)
Mouthy lot there ;D ;D ;D Got me coat and am leaving soon ;)
Nice intro, let's see how it plays?
Ditto !
Cheers - Phil. :)
Sounds good! Now lets see the action. ;D :-bd
Thanks for the encourangement, all.
Campaign turn 7 game now completed.
Proper write up tomorrow but I can reveal that 3 sand runners got into contact and one of the crew is down!!!
:o X_X
Campaign Turn 7: Sun, Sand and .... Teeth! (2)
Darkwalker's Drinking Hole was as dingy as ever, the bartender had a Vadrassian Brandy poured before she reached the bar, a couple of regulars nodded a greeting as her gaze passed over them .... all so familiar.
Ah! A figure sat in her favourite spot, black coveralls somehow even blacker than the surrounding darkness, the steel grey hair picked out by the feeble lighting.
"Colonel Aquilaus, a pleasure to see you. The others will be here shortly."
The colonel's gaunt look and ramrod straight posture had lead Mila to assume he was somewhat stuffy but it turned out that he was a charming conversationalist with wide interests and a fund of, often self-deprecating, amusing anecdotes."
"Well," thought Mila, as the others assembled,"Never judge a book ...."
"So,"Mila started once everyone was settled,"I take it OSI is happy with our work?"
"Very much so,"Aquilaos nodded,"though my transport officer is still moaning about you turning his flitter into a scrap yard."
"Hey,"Mila protested,"Adamantium and Ceramicite armour plating is worth quite a bit and anyway we dusted it off before we took it on board ... well, dusted it off a bit."
The colonel smiled,"And the broken flak vest and deflector field?"
"Trekking back to the flitter we found a downed gunship, decades old at the very least. A few armour plates were loose and the two man crew didn't need those items any more. Running a spaceship isn't cheap, you know!"
"How did the job itself go?" asked Aquilaos,"Problems? I notice we are one short"
"We'd almost made it to the monitor when we spotted sand runners. A pack of seven of them, coming in fast."
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/3372/eDQa2e.jpg)
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/7063/HW2lCX.jpg)
"We were a bit worn down from slogging through the soft sand so we missed a chance to get into position a little faster." (One pip short of Seizing the Initiative)
"Micah and Gunner hustled forward but couldn't get a sight of the beasts as they rushed towards us, keeping to the gulleys for cover. The rest of us followed as best we could."
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/1879/1yBN3m.jpg)
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/4736/TR9ZUk.jpg)
"As the beasts continue to close the rest of the crew move up to try and get line of sight on them. I stay with Scrapper, who has the component, and we close up on the others."
"Gunner has a shot at a bunch of the sand runners. The rattlegun barks, one beast goes down, then a second and finally a third staggers back a pace, stunned. But the rest of us are startled at how close the things are and before we react they are among us."
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/1985/gqEgCj.jpg)
"Gunner, naturally, slices the runner that goes for him with the battle blade attached to the rattlegun and it goes down." Gunner grins and give a little mock bow.
"The one attacking Micah misjudges slightly, perhaps disconcerted by the soft sand, and simply pushes him back a couple of metres but stuns him in the process."
"Smith and the runner he's facing are pretty evenly matched. Missing with his bite, the runner slashes Smith with his claws putting him down, covered in blood. But, as he goes down Smith jams his gun in the beast's mouth and pulls the trigger blowing the thing apart."
"I put two shots into the thing attacking Micah and it goes down. THK07 takes a shot at the beast Gunner stunned but misses and Scrapper heads towards the monitoring station.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/821/2VBWlL.jpg)
"The last two sand runners, seeing the destruction of their pack, sprint back down the gulleys and disappear."
"Swapping the parts was as easy as you told us so Scrapper had the job done in no time. We headed back by a slightly different route than the one we'd taken in and came across the gunship, crashed in a rock formation."
"Truly, I'm sorry for your loss and thank you, on behalf of the Imperial Counsel, for your service. More tangible tokens of our satisfaction have been transferred to your bank account."
A pretty brunette took a seat and a shadowy figure stood with a hand resting gently on her shoulder. "Sorry for our loss, colonel? I assure you rumours of my death are somewhat exaggerated! It takes more than a sand runner to kill Mr Smith, it seems. Knocked out, lightly lacerated and covered in blood – much of it from the beastie – but far from dead!"
"Mila, let me introduce Freyja Keggisdottir, a further addition to the crew, if you'll have her."
***********************
After the battle the crew found 3Cr of debris and two damaged armour pieces so I decided they found a downed vehicle.
When Smith went down I wasn't too worried because most results are "out of action" for a period, unless you roll really low. So when I rolled 16, I feared the worst and was relieved to read
16 - Miraculous escape: The character survives and receives +1 Luck, but all items carried are permanently lost.
One point less and he'd be dead or otherwise lost to the campaign.
An autorifle, a gunsight (that I keep forgetting about), a glare sword and a screen generator are a lesser loss than the luck gain for the character is a plus. Especially as there is a working glare sword and plasma rifle together with a damaged screen generator in their stash.
Gunner continues to be Mr. Death & Destruction but a high Combat Value and a rattlegun will do that!
I need to roll up Freyja's stats before I decide if she will join the crew or be rejected. Perhaps a lover's tiff with Smith will lead to her flouncing off. Who knows?
I'll work out Campaign Phase 8 over the weekend and we'll see where destiny leads the crew next.
Great report!
Good stuff !
Thirded !
Cheers - Phil. :)
Alas matters medical, legal and funereal have combined with work fixing all the little jobs needing done in the house and garden, that have accumulated during the pandemic, which are now proving beyond my slowly declining abilities have consumed my life in the interim and don't show any sign of slackening off. However I have managed to write up the set-up for the next adventure so, though I'm not sure when the game itself will take place, here is the continuing saga.
Campaign Turn 8: Same old, same old.
Freyja was sitting on a bench outside somewhere that it's sign said was Inspiration Arcology ... she wasn't sure what an arcology was but it seemed to involve immense amounts of glass, steel and vegetation.
She was wondering if it was worth returning to the Destiny's Child.
Mila had sent her out to look for work for the crew.
Her visit to Jethro Gibbons had been cordial and he had a job for them if they wanted it. Make their way to a remote area of the undercity and check if rumours of an increase in the number of void rippers there were true. Didn't sound like fun and the pay wasn't great so she said thanks but no thanks. Besides surely House Rimush would have something better.
However, she'd been given short shrift by the House Rimush majordomo who told her brusquely that if they had work for the crew they would be in touch.
So here she sat, her first job for the crew and she'd blown it!
"What we run from and what we run to are often one and the same."
Startled, she hadn't noticed the man sit down, she turned to see an elderly Zensufi monk, wrapped in the, slightly frayed and grubby, white robes of his order.
"If I wanted vague and ambiguous advice I'd have bought a fortune cookie," she said tartly.
"Ah, but what you want is a job."
"What, how do you .. who are you?" she asked sharply.
The old monk grinned and inclined his hooded head,"Not all are who they seem. Indeed, are any of us who we seem?"
Exasperated, she said,"You really are irritating, you know that?"
He took her hand gently but firmly, his grip stronger than she'd expected from this bent old man, turning her hand palm up he dropped a data crystal, seemingly plucked out of thin air, into her hand and folded her fingers over it.
"For Mila," he said,"I'm afraid I really must go, good to meet you."
She glanced down at the crystal and tucked it safely away. When she glanced up the monk was gone and the only figure in sight was a tall ramrod straight figure with grey hair, dressed in a black coverall, walking up the steps of the arcology. Of the monk, no sign at all.
******************************
"Well," thought Mila,"Freyja Keggisdottir, there was an enigma. Brought up on an Ice World, in a commune, by The Cult Of Elrond to be a baby-making machine. Escaped aged fourteen and on the run ever since. More dangerous with those steel shod boots of hers than with the blade she carried. Sent out to check with Gibbons and House Rimush if they had work for the crew she comes back with a job for OSI instead."
"Smart enough to turn down 'Walking with Voidrippers' too, bless her."
The data crystal from Aquilaos had complimented them on their record of safe deliveries of VIPs needing escorted and offered decent pay for safe escort of an Imperial Ecologist to a spot in the underhive where a fellow researcher had set up a Micro-Hab, a sort of semi-permanent tent, in order to study the local hydrology. If the ecologist got close enough his data-pad would download all of the info from the hab's own data-store.
"All so easy," Mila thought," were it not for the gangers and their recently acquired stash of military rifles and shotguns. Half a dozen gangers wouldn't usually be a problem for the crew but these had serious firepower."
"Ah, well! Time to pick up another little lost lamb and escort them into the field and try to avoid them getting their dumb head shot off."
An interesting set-up, good to see you are able to get some time for fun stuff