Five Parsecs From Home - Solo Campaign - The Crew

I think it was Black Friday, last year, I picked up a PDF of Five Parsecs from Home. I don't love PDFs... but it was a game I'd been looking at and thinking about and the PDF was and insanely good deal.... so, I bought it. I've looked at it once or twice over the intervening months. I can't recall what got me looking at it more seriously this past week... but I did! Serious enough that I decided to roll up a completely random crew! And then write up some background fluff. Here's what I've got so far... 

We begin our story on Shoshti Station, orbiting the planet Zzarvazdan. 

Centuries ago, the station was a colony ship, carrying thousands of passengers heading out into the galaxy to find new worlds to colonize. The ship was designed that, once it arrived at its destination, it would remain indefinitely operating as a space station – housing the colonists until more permanent residences were built on the surface of their new world. Once surface settlements were complete, the station remained as a space port and luxury resort, for colonists to get away to or out system tourists to visit – once interstellar travel became more common and affordable. 

As the centuries wore on, however, the colony on the planet below was not as productive as others and did not attract the kind of industry and investment needed to thrive in the burgeoning interstellar community. The planet became a bit of a backwater and Shoshti station attracted… less savoury clientele. Now it is a den of gambling, a marketplace for all manner of illicit good and services and other vices. 

Renata Starchild, the leader of our band of plucky space adventurers, grew up on Shoshti Station. The only child of a sex worker and a musician, she had little in the form of any sort of formal education but grew up wise in the ways of the galaxy. From a young age she spent a lot of time hanging around the space docks and eventually picked up odd jobs helping mechanics and service crew and was able to learn her way around a starship. She was a fan of listening to the stories of the smugglers and pirates and other starfarers that came and went from the station, dreaming that she, too, would one day be the captain of her own ship.

That day came sooner than expected when she won a ship in a game of kracts. The ship still had a lot of credit debt owing on it that she would have to take on and need to pay down. It sure wasn’t much to look at. Being a retired scout vessel that was nearly a century old, it had a lot of wear and tear on it… and it wasn’t very big…. But it was a starship, and if was FAST and still had some pretty advanced sensor equipment. 

Next she would need a crew… 

The first she recruited was Jordan Faffard. Faffard had grown up on a distant Research Outpost. As a child, he dreamed only of a life of adventure. There was none to be found in the quiet life on the station. Not having the aptitude for science or engineering that his parents had, he worked for a time in general labour and security, but only long enough to save up enough credits to get off that station and  seek the life of adventure he had so longed for! Their credits had gotten them as far as Shoshti Station where he thought for sure they would find some ship to sign on to. Faffard met Starchild in one of the bars on the station and the two hit it off at once. 

The next brought into their circle was Norigort. They were born in the underslums of a Megacity on one of the galaxies more populated worlds. Born into extreme poverty, there was extreme limits to what they could see and explore on their homeworld. Surely, they thought, the starships they saw coming and going from the nearby port could be their ticket out to see the galaxy. Somehow they got working passage on one and have been travelling the starts since, always on the move, desperate to see new things. When they met a young new captain of an old scout vessel, they were only too happy to join on as crew. 

The fourth member of the crew they recruited was Gdork, a K’Erin. The K’Erin are

proud and warlike aliens with a penchant for brutality and a peculiar sense of honor. Gdork has grown up as a member of frontier gang. They’d left the gang in search of The Truth… But they’re never really clear on what Truth they’re looking for… Perhaps when they find it they’ll let the rest of the crew know… In addition to their proclivity for violence, they are an accomplished hacker, which could come in handy for doing jobs that were less than entirely legal. 

The final member of the crew recruited, before they set out to make their way in the galaxy, was another alien named Vsssri. Vssri was a Soulless - A species of cybernetic organisms, connected into a combined hive-intelligence. Vsssri was from a Isolationist Enclave and travelled the galaxy preaching their faith 

The sixth member of the crew was a bot that came with the ship. It was programmed for interstellar navigation and security. It’s factory designation was LRD-A55, but everyone just calls it Lard Ass. 

The Crew so far... from left to right; Nordin the Primitive Hive Scum, Jordan Faffard the Enforcer, Gdork the K'Erin ganger/hacker, Renata Starchild the Captain, Vsssri the Soulless Mercenary, and LRD-A55 ("Lard Ass") the Bot. 

THE CREW

Renata Starchild

• Species Type: Baseline Human
• Reactions: 1
• Speed: 5”
• Combat: +0
• Toughness: 3
• Savvy: +0
• Luck: 1
• XP: 0
• Background:  Space Station - +1 Gear (Hazard Suit)
• Motivation: Fame - +1 story point
• Class: Scoundrel +1 Speed
• Gear: Glare Sword. Military Rifle, Communicator, Hazard Suit
• Notes: Leader

Jordan Fafferd

• Species Type: Baseline Human
• Reactions: 1
• Speed: 4”
• Combat: +1
• Toughness: 3
• Savvy: +1
• Luck: 
• XP: 0
• Background: Research Outpost - +1 Savvy - +1 Gadget (Stabilizer)
• Motivation: Adventure - +3 credits - +1 Low-tech Weapon (Shotgun)
• Class: Enforcer - +1 Combat Skill - Patron
• Gear: Hunting Rifle with Stabilizer, 
• Notes:

Nordin

• Species Type: Baseline Human
• Reactions: 1
• Speed: 5”
• Combat: +0
• Toughness: 3
• Savvy: +1
• Luck: 
• XP: 0
• Background: Lower Megacity Class - +1 Low-tech Weapon (Colony Rifle)
• Motivation: Discovery - +1 Savvy - +1 Gear (Communicator)
• Class: Primitive - +1 Speed - +1 Low-tech Weapon (Blade)
• Gear: Shotgun, Blade
• Notes:

Gdork

• Species Type: K’Erin
• Reactions: 1
• Speed: 4”
• Combat: +1
• Toughness: 4
• Savvy: +1
• Luck: 
• XP: 0
• Background: Frontier Gang - +1 Combat Skill
• Motivation: Truth - 1 Rumor - +1 story point
• Class: Hacker - +1 Savvy - Rival (Mercs) 
• Gear: Shatter Axe, Machine Pistol 
• Notes:
• When Brawling, K’Erin characters may roll twice, picking the better of the dice.
• If a K’Erin character begins their round within base movement speed of an enemy, they MUST move to engage them in Brawling combat.

Vsssri

• Species Type: Soulless
• Reactions: 1 
• Speed: 4”
• Combat: +1
• Toughness: 4
• Savvy: +1
• Luck: 
• XP: 0
• Background: Isolationist Enclave - 2 Quest Rumors
• Motivation: Faith - 1 Rumor - +1 story point
• Class: Mercenary - +1 Combat Skill  - +1 Military Weapon (Military Rifle)
• Gear: Needle Rifle 
• Notes:
• 6+ Armour Save
• Soulless cannot use consumables or receive implants. They use the Bot Injury table.
• Unlike Bots, they can learn from experience and receive XP normally.
• They may also have Bot Upgrades installed, but must pay 1.5 times the normal cost (rounded up)

LRD-A55 (“Lard Ass”) 

• Species Type: Bot
• Reactions: 2
• Speed: 4”
• Combat: +1
• Toughness: 4
• Savvy: +2
• Luck: 
• Notes
• Gear: Scrap Pistol with Shock Attachment, Concealed Blade 
• 6+ Armour Save
• No XP, only purchased Upgrades
• No implants or consumables
• Never affected by Character Event

Extra Equipment

• Colony Rifle

Credits: 6

Story Points: 6

Rumors: 3

Rivals: 1

Crew Background 

• Met Through: A random meeting in a bar
• Characterized as: Living the Dream! 

THE SHIP

• NAME: Silver Slip
• SHIP: Retired Scout Ship
• DEBT: 23 credits
• HULL: 25 
• TRAITS: Fuel-Efficient

And that's it! All ready to play my first game tomorrow! 

I've actually done all the pre-game sequence - mostly so I could determine the opposing forces and make sure I had some appropriate miniatures... 

I do... 

Stay tuned for Campaign Round One tomorrow!!! 

(or... shortly thereafter!?)