Five Parsecs From Home - Online Campaign - Round Three - Space Pirate Raid

 With their former employer getting more and more agitated making some vague (and some very NOT-SO-VAGUE) threats, it was decided it was time to go! Unfortunately, taking stock of fuel and supplies, the crew realized they would have to find a way to make some coin here on Athilles IV, just to get OFF the planet!!

The crew busied themselves with assorted tasks and trying to avoid those that were hunting them. 

Meetoktu and Mad Willie set about trying to repair a few of the damaged weapons. At some point the two got into a heated discussion about the effectiveness of lasers (for those who aren't aware, or maybe just forgot... Mad Willie DOESN'T BELIEVE IN LASERS!?) and Meetoktu got SO FRUSTRATED, she decided to "demonstrate" that lasers DO work by further melting the pistol Willie was trying to repair... at which point Willie grabbed the Boarding Cutlass Meetoktu was trying to repair and scampered out of the ship and into the enshrouding mist... he returned several hours later with the handle for the boarding cutlass... the blade was never seen nor spoken of again... 

Ace and Jimmy Oath spend some time training. Getting Jimmy back into shape after his stay in the sick bay. 

Pylon and Case wend out trading. Pylon managed to score a good deal on a handgun (which Willie took to replace the one that Meetoktu melted) and Case managed to sell some cargo, bringing in some much needed income. 

AS they were making preparations for their departure some Googly-Eyed Alien Space Pirates came looming out of the mist looking to do some misdeeds! 

The leader of the enemy forces - a Pirate Lieutenant armed with pistol and ripper sword. 

There were two specialists, also armed with handguns and ripper swords. 

Then there were FOUR other Pirates with Military Rifles. 

I thought this might go very poorly... 

At least THIS time we remembered that the entire planet is shrouded in mist and the maximum visibility is 8" (on tabletop!) 

I hand drew a simple map for this encounter - at the bottom of the picture is the crew's ship... Didn't have time to colour it... 

WE played the game on a mix of Roll20 - where I had the map and counters, and Discord - which we used for chatting. At the beginning of the first turn all of the crew were clustered by some crates and barrels outside the ship. In the distance they could hear the revving of Ripper Swords and knew something was amiss! 

The crew moved forward to take cover and meet whoever was coming for them... The pirates advanced in rushes through the mist. 

The orange circle marks the "Notable Sight": a Peculiar item that, if a crew member moves into contact with, would gain +2 XP.

In Round Two - shots were exchanged, but as everyone was in cover, there wasn't much affect. Meetoktu was stunned, briefly, and Jimmy Oath used his Distraction Bot to... well... distract one of the Pirates for a turn. 

On Round Three the crew got a bit lucky and took out two of the Pirate Crew that were trying to sneak around the flank and rush them. Another, on the other flank was stunned. 

The loss of two of their crew would cause TWO MORE of the Pirate Crew to flee! 

In Round Four the second specialist was taken out (with three stuns!?) and ANOTHER Pirate fled, leaving only the Pirate Lieutenant!

He was finished off in Round Five and that was it. Willie did make it to the Notable "Peculiar Item": (to gain +2 XP).

WHEW!!! They really needed a win this time around, and they GOT ONE!!

Here's how the rest played out:

STEP 1: TRAVEL 

1. Flee Invasion (if applicable) 

No invasion, no need to flee...

2. Decide whether to travel

The crew decided they would like to travel... but did not have the FUNDS to do so!

3. Starship travel event (if applicable)

No travel, no event

4. New world arrival steps (if applicable)

Still on Athilles IV

Generated a new Rival at this point as well... PIRATES!! 

STEP 2: WORLD

1. Upkeep and Ship Repairs

Pay upkeep for seven crew = -2Cr (+1 for Purifier) 

In an effort to save up funds for a move offplanet, they decided to make no payment on Ship Debt - +1Cr interest - Debt now 17 CR

2. Assign and resolve crew tasks

Lt. Meetoktu Yrmngr  - Repair Boarding Cutlass - rolled 1 - Damaged beyond fixing?!

Mad Willie - Repair Handgun - rolled 1 - Damaged beyond fixing?!

Jimmy Oath - Training +1XP

Pylon - Trade - Acquired Basic Firearms - choice of a Handgun, Colony Rifle, or Shotgun. Chose Handgun to give to Ace - to replace damaged scrap pistol. 

Ace - Training +1XP

Case - Sell some cargo - Earn 2 credits. 

Brother Bart - Recovering in Sick Bay

I just could not stop rolling ones for repairs!? WTF!? 

3. Determine Job Offers

There were none... 

4. Assign Equipment

Mad Willie took the spare Handgun from the Ship's Locker

Ace took the Handgun that Pylon found at the market. 

5. Resolve any Rumors

They're already, theoretically ON a quest... and have heard had no further rumours 

6. Choose your battle

Having THREE rivals now, it was 50-50 that they were going to end up fighting one of them... I rolled a 3 and that meant they were fighting the NEW rivals - the SPACE PIRATES - that may or may not be privateers in the employ of their previous employer... 

STEP 3: TABLETOP BATTLE

Deployment Condition: Caught off guard: The Crew all act in the Slow Actions phase in Round One. (I forgot about this when we actually PLAYED the game... but it didn't really matter, as I'd remembered that there was a maximum line-of-sight of 8"... so there was no shooting on the first turn anyway... 

Notable Sights: Peculiar item: Gain +2 XP.

Objective: RAID! The Objective is to SURVIVE!! If the crew failed to Hold the Field, their ship will take 1D6+1 points of Hull Point damage. If a spaceship model is available, it should be placed dramatically on the table for this mission so the players have a visual reminder of what you are defending!

THE ENEMY 

ENEMY: Pirates

NUMBERS: (d6 roll = 6!) +2 = 8!!! (Lieutenant, 2 specialists, 5 Pirates) 

PANIC: 1-3

SPEED: 5”

COMBAT SKILL: +0 (Lt +1)

TOUGH NESS: 4

AI: A - Aggressive! 

WEAPONS: 2A (Lieutenant - Hand Gun and Ripper Sword, Specialists - Hand Gun and Ripper Sword, Pirates - Military Rifles)

Space-faring looters who descend on colonies to raid, pillage, and enslave.

Loot: Gain an extra Loot roll if Holding the Field.

STEP 4: POST-BATTLE SEQUENCE

1. Resolve Rival Status

Space Pirates remain rivals

2. Resolve Patron Status

There was no patron involved in this one - other than that we are saying, narratively, that all the new rivals generated by the previous game's event, is actually their obscenely wealthy former employer hiring thugs to track them down... 

3. Determine Quest Progress

Not a quest battle. No progress. 

4. Get Paid

+5Cr! It's a little weird that you get "pay" for a fight that wasn't related to a job... maybe it was for bounties on the pirates they took out...? 

5. Battlefield Finds

Debris: 1D3 credits’ worth on the scrap market. = 2Cr 

6. Check for Invasion

No invasion

7. Gather the Loot

Consumables (2 uses)

Ripper Sword - Damaged

3 Dazzle Grenades - Damaged

8. Determine Injuries and recovery

Brother Bart - still recovering in sick bay. 

9. Experience and Character Upgrades

Lt. Meetoktu Yrmngr - +3 for surviving and winning, which brought her to a total of 8, 7 of which was spend to increase Combat Skill! 

Mad Willie - +3 for surviving and winning, +2 for making it to the Notable Sight, brought him to 5XP

Jimmy Oath - +3 for surviving and winning, +1 for training brought him to 5XP

Pylon - +3 for surviving and winning, brought him to 5XP

Ace - +3 for surviving and winning, +1 for training, +1 for taking the first enemy out of action, brough them to 4XP 

Case - +3 for surviving and winning, brought her to 6XP

Brother Bart - recovering in sick bay. 

10. Invest in Advanced Training

Nope.

11. Purchase items

Nope. 

12. Roll for a Campaign Event

The Crew meets up with an old arms dealer contact who owed them a deal.

They got a choice of 3 weapons from the following list: Hand Cannons, Military Rifles, Shotguns, or Machine Pistols. 

Two Hand Cannons and a Machine Pistol were selected! 

13. Roll for a Character Event

Jimmy Oath - Where did it go?

A random item carried by the character has been lost. When rolling for a Character Event next campaign turn, roll 1D6+Savvy as well. On a 5+, the item turns up again, otherwise it is lost for good.

Distraction Bot

Ace swears she saw Mad Willie recover it from the Battlefield... Willie swears he never saw the thing... Doesn't know what Jimmy's talking about... mumbled something incoherently about bots cannot be trusted! 

14. Check for Galactic War progress

No invasion, no war. 

And that was if for this week! 

Five Parsecs From Home - Online Campaign - Round Two - Regular Delivery Bots

The crew briefly considered travelling to a new world... but then looked at the costs of doing so and the total credits they'd accrued so far, and figured there was still money to be made on Athilles IV!

Lt. Meetoktu Yrmngr and Mad Willie spent some time training and working on the ship. There were many arguments, so the crew spent as much time AWAY from the ship as possible... 

Brother Bart spent some time at the market, but rather than buying or selling ended up taking confessions from the faithful... and in the process received a Hot Tip about something they were searching for information about!

The new crew member, Pylon, was sent out to spread rumours in hopes of throwing off their Rivals. 

Ace and Case spent some time looking for new jobs. They were offered another job by their previous Patron, and found a new Patron. Both needed work done IMMEDIATELY... the Corporation seemed a little threatening - like NOT completing the mission might put the crew in their bad books. Other crews that had done work for them and not succeeded met with untimely ends or simply dissapeared... The Crew decided it wasn't worth it and passed on the job in favour of more work from their previous patron... which turned out to be another delivery job... 

This time they were delivering a package to a secure bunker in the middle of a ruined part of the city, scavengers and scrappers were all around looking for treasures amidst the rubble. Whether they thought the crew was moving in on their turf and trying to steal their goods, or thought they might be worth robbing... one small group of Scrappers made a move... 

As the crew approached their drop off point a voice called out to them "Hey! Watcha got there...?"

They looked around bewildered, unsure of where the voice was coming from... or... maybe they forgot how to role-play...? 

"why don't you just leave it and go away, we'll make sure it gets to where it needs to go!" 

"No, thanks! We got this!" called back Lt. Yrmngr

"Leave the fucking package or we start shooting!?" 

Someone flinched and the shooting started.... 

This is the leader of the Scrappers who was shouting at them. She's supposed to have a sword and a hand laser... I figured a GIANT-ASS-HYDRO-SPANNER could count as a sword... if ever there was close combat - which THESE foes would avoid at all costs...  

Scrapper Specialist with a Rattle Gun

There were two other scrappers armed with pistols... I just drew one picture and used it for both of them... If I'd had time, I might have changed the name tag on the second one... but... I didn't, so...

Not getting any MINIATURES PAINTED these days... but I am having fun making all these character portraits... 

This is the simple map I made in Roll20. The amorphous grey areas are huge piles of rubble and scrap - area terrain, cant draw line of sight through, bad-going. Long rust coloured things are large pipes that count as linear obstacles/cover and the smaller round rusty things are heavy barrels full of scrap and refuse. 

The blue square is where they had to get to to make the delivery. 

The red circle was a "Notable Sight" if one character spends a turn there investigating, they'd gain a bonus 2XP... 

These were the dispositions as the first shots started flying... 

The initial burst of fire from the scrappers was brutally accurate. (I just could NOT stop rolling five and sixes... and everyone was in the open...). The scrappers were all up in cover on the heaps of rubble and refuse. 

Dispositions at the end of round one... Brother BArt and Mad Willie went down in the initial burst from the rattle gun... I think...? Case took a hit from one of the hand lasers... Would have been funny if Willie had been hit with one of the lasers, because he simply DOES NOT BELIEVE IN THEM... I'd be curious to know what excuse he came up with for the damage it did to him... 

I'm curious to know how he explained away all the injuries that WERE caused by lasers... 

But the end of the first round, everyone was in cover and just blazing away at each other... with little effect. 

After a few rounds, someone (Lt. Yrmngr?) got a lucky shot off that took out the Scrapper with the Rattle Gun... which halved the number of incoming shots each turn... but it just wasn't good enough. 

Eventually Lt. Yrmngr and Ace were hit as well and Pylon (the newest, least experienced and youngest member of the crew) decided to call it a day. He probably only stayed as long as he did to provide covering fire as the rest crawled away. 

When they were out of the Kill Zone and took stock, only ONE was actually seriously injured. The bullets that passed through Brother Bart has knicked his spine and punctured a few vital organs. he needed IMMEDIATE emergency surgery and will have to spend some time recovering from his injuries aboard the ship.. 

The rest all just had minor scrapes and knicks... and BROKEN EQUIPMENT (seriously, four of the five injured rolled the same result - Equipment Loss - I guess those scrapper were aiming for their guns...?) 

News of the failed mission did not sit well with their employer... He flew into a rage and started hiring mercenaries left and right to track them down and kill them all... so the crew decided it was best if they fled the system... They had a tip to follow up about a potential BIG SCORE (a Quest!) 

Here is what happened in all the steps of the game... 

STEP 1: TRAVEL 

1. Flee Invasion (if applicable) 

No Invasion, no need to flee

2. Decide whether to travel

Seems fine where they are... Not travelling

3. Starship travel event (if applicable)

Not Travelling, no event... 

4. New world arrival steps (if applicable)

Not applicable

STEP 2: WORLD

Still on Athilles IV

1. Upkeep and Ship Repairs

1 Credit paid for Upkeep (with seven crew, this should be 2Cr, but they have a purifier that they can use to purify water and sell for 1Cr per campaign turn, reducing upkeep by one)

6 Credits paid on ship debt, 1Cr of interest applied, bringing total debt to 16Cr

2. Assign and resolve crew tasks

Jimmy Oath is in Sick Bay and unable to do tasks or participate in this turn's mission

Lt. Meetoktu Yrmngr - Training +1XP

Mad Willie - Training +1 XP

Pylon - spreading rumours to throw off Rivals

Ace and Case looking for Patrons (and jobs) offered job from current contact and a new Patron 

Brother Bart - Trade - Hot Tip - +1 Quest Rumour

3. Determine Job Offers

Current contact offered job - +1 Credit, Needs to be completed by Round Two!? 

NEW Patron - Corporation - +1 Credit, Needs to be completed by Round Two!? Vengeful - if failed, patron becomes rival. 

4. Assign Equipment

Colony Rifle assigned to Pylon

5. Resolve any Rumors

Rumours have lead to the Crew figuring out... something...? that can set them off on a QUEST!!

6. Choose your battle

Rivals did not catch up so the crew had the choice of going off on the Quest, or doing one of the Patron jobs - BOTH of which needed to be completed THIS TURN... 

So... continuing to work for the Wealthy Individual. We shall call him Melon Husk. 

STEP 3: TABLETOP BATTLE

Deployment Condition: 

No special Deployment Conditions

Notable Sights: 

Peculiar item: Gain +2 XP

(rolled nothing, but I forgot to use this last game, so...) 

Objective: 

Deliver

ANOTHER Delivery Job... well... I guess they did a good job last time delivering that Plutonium Nyborg... so... 

A crew member of The Crew's choosing is carrying a package. The package must be delivered to the exact center of the table. A suitable marker or terrain feature should be placed there. Placing the package safely requires a Combat Action.

If the carrier becomes a casualty, roll 1D6: On a 1, the item is destroyed. Otherwise it can be picked up by spending a Combat Action at the location they fell.

If you drive off all enemies, you Win as long as the package is undamaged.

THE ENEMY 

No Unique Individuals

ENEMY: Salvage Team

NUMBERS: 3+1 = 4

PANIC: 1-3

SPEED: 4”

COMBAT SKILL: +0 (Lieutenant +1) 

TOUGH NESS: 4

AI: C - Cautious

WEAPONS: 2B 

Regular: Hand Laser (12”/1/0/Snap Shot, Pistol)

Specialist: Rattle gun (24”/3/0/Heavy)

Lieutenant: Hand Laser (12”/1/0/Snap Shot, Pistol) and Blade (Brawl/-/0/Melee)

A rival crew looking for salvage, and ready to fight for it.

Scavengers: Roll twice on the Battlefield Finds Table.

THE GAME HAPPENED HERE

STEP 4: POST-BATTLE SEQUENCE

1. Resolve Rival Status

Being beaten by a bunch of rag-tag scrappers did NOT generate any new rivals. 

2. Resolve Patron Status

Patron was not pleased... 

3. Determine Quest Progress

Not a quest mission, so, no progress... 

4. Get Paid

+1Credit - presumably from some side hussle... or maybe an advance on the job...? 

5. Battlefield Finds

Nope

6. Check for Invasion

Nope

7. Gather the Loot

Cargo Crate - 1D6 credits = +2Cr - presumably found amongst the rubble and dragged off as they fled. 

8. Determine Injuries and recovery

Meetoktu - Equipment loss - Random carried item is damaged -  boarding sabre

Willie - 27 - Equipment loss - Random carried item is damaged - pistol

Ace - Equipment loss - Random carried item is damaged. - scrap pistol

Brother Bart - Crippling wound - Require 1D6 credits (-1Cr) of surgery immediately, or suffer -1 permanent reduction to highest of Speed or Toughness. 1D6 (3) turns out of action. 

Case - Equipment loss - Random carried item is damaged - Marksman Rifle

9. Experience and Character Upgrades

Meetoktu -  (+Training +1XP) +2 = +3

Willie -   (+Training +1XP) +1 = +2

Ace - +1

Brother Bart - +1

Pylon - +2

Case - +1

10. Invest in Advanced Training

Nope! 

11. Purchase items

Nope! 

12. Roll for a Campaign Event

It’s time to go!

Whatever you did, every campaign turn you stay on this planet, you must add an additional Rival. 

We said that was due to the patron being FURIOUS at their failure! 

13. Roll for a Character Event

It is time for a make-over! 

The character changes their clothes, hair-style, or something else. This is only cosmetic. If you are able to, reflect this on the miniature.

I guess I'm redrawing someone's picture! 

14. Check for Galactic War progress

No invasion, no war, no progress... 

And that was that!!! 

AT least I got to play ONE GAME this month!? 

Five Parsecs From Home - Online Campaign - Round One - Deliver the Goods

Our deranged band of miscreants began their adventures on the world of Athilles IV - an industrial world shrouded in toxic haze, that severely limited visibility. 

The found themselves blessed with THREE potential Patrons, unfortunately all three wanted their jobs done NOW!!! 

They went with the job offered by a Wealthy Individual whose influence spreads over most of the quadrant. He wanted them to deliver a small package to a secure door at the back side of a sturdy building in the seediest part of Startown. It totally wasn't Plutonium Nyborg... that would be, like, illegal... or something..

[we played the game using Discord and Roll20 - for the map and stuff... I forgot to take many screen shots early in the game - and didn't take any notes on what happened turn by turn... the blue square was were Willie, who was carrying the package, needed to stand for one turn. I used the Fog of War feature to hide areas from the players - the dark grey areas would have shown up and totally black on their screens] 

As they crew approached the building Ace ran off to the right and Brother Bart the left to watch their flanks... 

It was Ace that had the first contact... 

As they peered down one of the side alleys, out of the haze loomed a large terrifying Uplift Mercenary Wolf-Hybrid, carrying a Rattlegun. 

The giant Wolf-creature raised it's gun and it was immediately apparent it was not out for a stroll, but hunting the couriers! Ace squeezed off a few shots from her needler and sent the mercenary reeling for cover... 

A burst of automatic fire rang out elsewhere. Jimmy Oath, who was just exiting the central route, went down. At the end of the alley most of the crew were moving up through another Uplift Mercenary Wolf-Hybrid rushed up and popped it's head around the corner. 

Rushing up past Sal and Jimmy, who was bleeding on the ground, Lt. Yrmgr blasted the Mercenary at point blank range with her Infantry Laser! 

Sal moved forward and fired at the Merc that has shot down Jimmy from the next corner, but missed.  

Ace and the Merc with the rattle gun got into a protracted firefight - neither being able to hit the other in cover... Fire from the others drover the Mercenaries leader back to cover around the next building. 

Ace finally got in a good shot. Blood geysered from the Wolf-Merc neck as it fell back behind the building. 

The Wolf-Merc-Leader recovered and shot down Sal, who was now standing in the open... 

Mad Willie made it to the door and buzzed at the intercom, pass codes were exchanged and a small port in the door opened for Willie to pass the package through. Mission Complete! 

But there was still this Mercenary to deal with! 

Lt. Yrmngr keep the mercenary pinned down while Brother Bart and Ace tried to flank on both sides. 

Ace got their first and peppered the area with needles. The Wolf-Merc-Leader staggered back from the corner, giving Lt. Yrmngr the opportunity to rush to the next corner and blast the leader with her infantry laser! 

and that was that... 

Checking on the injured crew, Jimmy was only lightly injured. He would spend a short time in the sick bay, but was expected to fully recover. Sal was a totally different story. The full burst of the Mercs Military Rifle had left her shattered. Still alive, but she would be permanently crippled and would not be able to continue with the crew... 

Here's how the pre and post game sequence went... 

STEP 1: TRAVEL 

1. Flee Invasion (if applicable) 

No Invasion, no fleeing!

2. Decide whether to travel

Didn't seem to make sense in Round One... 

3. Starship travel event (if applicable)

No travel, no event

4. New world arrival steps (if applicable)

Nope. 

STEP 2: WORLD

1. Upkeep and Ship Repairs

We actually did this part LAST WEEKEND.. and I didn't take a lot of notes of details... upkeep was paid and some of the ships debt was paid down a bit... 

2. Assign and resolve crew tasks

Again, I can't remember exactly who did what... I know better next time. I think two crew trained, two went to do trade or explore and two went to throw the rivals... 

I realized afterwards that even though they started the game with patrons, they probably still should have sent someone to get the jobs... alas... 

3. Determine Job Offers

The Crew had three patrons to start with:

Local Government (via Case)

• Danger Pay: +2Cr 
• Benefit: Health Insurance 
• Complete By: Campaign Round ONE

Wealthy Individual (via Jimmy Oath) 

• Danger Pay: +1 Cr 
• Benefit: Persistant 
• Hazard: VIP
• Complete By: Campaign Round ONE

Private Organization (via Jimmy Oath) 

• Danger Pay: +2 Cr
• Complete By: Campaign Round ONE

4. Assign Equipment

Equipment was assigned... 

5. Resolve any Rumors

No Quest... 

6. Choose your battle

Rivals did not find them, so they had their choice of Patron jobs... Though one offered Health Insurance and another paid a bit better, they went with the Wealthy Individual's job as they had the Persistent benefit - meaning, if they succeeded in the mission and this Patron became a Contact, they would have the Persistant trait and remain a contact, even if the crew eventually moved off world.  

STEP 3: TABLETOP BATTLE

Deployment Condition: 

No special conditions

Notable Sights: 

Peculiar item: Gain +2 XP

(kind of forgot about this...) Maybe I'll add it to the next game if one isn't rolled 

Objective: 

Deliver

A crew member (Willie) is carrying a package. The package must be delivered to the exact center of the table. A suitable marker or terrain feature should be placed there. Placing the package safely requires a Combat Action.

If the carrier becomes a casualty, roll 1D6: On a 1, the item is destroyed. Otherwise it can be picked up by spending a Combat Action at the location they fell.

If The Crew drive off all enemies, you Win as long as the package is undamaged.

THE ENEMY 

• Enemy Encounter: Hired Muscle
• Number Rolled: 1 (yeah, rolled snake-eyes...) 
• Enemy: Feral Mercenaries
• Numbers: +2
• Panic: 1-2
• Move: 5”
• Combat Skill: +0
• Toughness: 4
• AI: A = Aggressive
• Weapons 2B - 2x Military Rifles, 1x Rattle Gun (VIP has Miliary Rifle)  
• Uplifted Humans merged with animal features, typically wolves.
• Quick feet: They add +1” to the distance for any Dash move.

STEP 4: POST-BATTLE SEQUENCE

1. Resolve Rival Status

Nope, Uplift Mercenaries hold no grudges... or... just not interested in facing these guys again! 

2. Resolve Patron Status

Having successfully completed a Patron Mission, the crew now have a Contact - and a Persistent one, at that! 

3. Determine Quest Progress

Not on a quest, hence, no progress... 

4. Get Paid

+2 Credits (rolled one... plus one danger pay... damn...) 

5. Battlefield Finds

Debris: 1D3 credits’ worth on the scrap market. = +1credit

6. Check for Invasion

Not invaded. 

7. Gather the Loot

Personal Item - 3 story points

8. Determine Injuries and recovery

Jimmy - Minor injuries - No long-term effect- 1 Campaign Turn in Sick Bay

Sal - Permanent injury - spinal crippled for life. 

9. Experience and Character Upgrades

Mettoktu - +4XP

Jimmy - +1XP

Willie - +3XP

Ace - +3XP 

Brother Bart - +3XP

10. Invest in Advanced Training

Not at this time... 

11. Purchase items

Saving up to pay off ship, so... 

Also, everyone HAS some pretty good weapons. 

12. Roll for a Campaign Event

An admirer wants to come along.

Gain a new crew member, if desired. They have only the base profile with no extra rolls, and bring no equipment.

If your crew has any Feral members, the new member is also Feral.

13. Roll for a Character Event

Willie - Have a heart to heart talk with a crew member.

Select a random crew member. Both earn +1 XP.

Ace

14. Check for Galactic War progress

No invasion, no war, no progress... 

And that was round one of our online Five Parsecs From Home. I had a good time. I like this system. Looking forward to Round Two - next week, hopefully!!

I do hope I'll get back to playing my solo game as well... it's been a bit nuts this past week as I've been painting the basement... 

The Return of Mad Willie

Christian has threatened to join us on Saturday night for the online Five Parsecs From Home campaign. He indicated he would like to reprise his role as Mad Willie - a character he played in our Savage Worlds Sci-Fi campaign over a decade ago! There was just no way I could say NO to that!?

Mad Willie

• Species/Type: Baseline Human
• Reactions: 1
• Speed: 4
• Combat: +0
• Toughness: 3 
• Savvy: +1
• Luck: 
• XP: 0
• Background: Low-Tech Colony
• Motivation: Adventure
• Class: Technician
• Homeworld: "Glasgae IX" though there is no known record of such a planet... 
• Gear: 2x Handgun (12”/1/0/Pistol), Loaded Dice
• Notes: +3 Credits

Mad Willie is a skilled repairman, able to patch together various bits of the ship whenever called upon. He is less interested in actual preventative maintenance - Meetoktu can handle that. (Meetoktu? What a bloody fairy name). But he is good at getting the ship's engines and computers going again when they stop working. He is also a good man in a tight spot, blazing away with his heavy pistols.

However, people call him Mad for a reason. For starters, he wears a kilt and balmoral, which he has clearly made himself. The kilt is a length of reinforced syn-weave that has obviously been clumsily stitched together and painted plaid. Willie has been seen patching up the paint job several times, but if pressed claims that his brush is actually a sewing needle, and that he is only making repairs to his beloved kilt. Willie claims that he hails from the planet of Glasgae IX, but no such planet has ever existed. When asked about it, he makes up stuff that often contradicts his last story. If pressed, he gets twitchy, and starts reaching for his pistols. His accent ranges from Scots to Irish to something like Russian at times.

Then there is the robots issue. His previous captain had a perfectly good hospitality robot, but then it blew up. Willie denied responsibility, but seemed much more at ease after the robot was gone. Willie hates and fears robots. The more primitive and clankier, the worse. "Och, I hate them clanky buggers. They give me the willies, stomping around and eating people." Note that Willie does not fear any andriod that appears fully human - "That's nae a robot - it's a person, ye eedjit!". But once an android got cut and started bleeding lubricant, and Willie freaked, and killed it. This caused some trouble. Probably why he ended up in trouble with the law, and ultimately, how he ended up as part of the crew of The Æthelwulf

Willie also believes that lasers are harmless, despite any and all evidence to the contrary. Anyone shot with a laser is a "wee scared bairn - it's just a flashlight, for christ's sakes!" Anyone killed by laser fire is a hypochondriac, even if missing body parts. "Ach, the poor bugger must really have thought those things are real. The mind is an amazing thing." This means that Willie will basically treat anyone with a laser as an unarmed delusional fool, ripe for the picking. When shot with a laser, Willie will firmly blame the damage on something else, no matter how improbable. "Laser burn? Dinna be a fool, lass. I was standing by a window, and there was a solar flare. Didst tha nae seeit? Lasers. I like thee, lass, but th'art sometimes a wee bit daft." He does have a healthy respect for Plasma weapons, and other such stuff, it's just lasers that he believes to be a scam.

Willie is starting to realize that people don't mean "Mad" in the same way that he does. This is causing him to become madder. Willie is starting to think that it would be cool if he started to learn how to blow things up...

"Explosions in me cabin, what do ye mean? That smoke could've come from anywhere. I was probably just jimmying the turbo-oscilliator. Hey, why don't you keep yer big nose to yuirself anyways, ye big fookin' smarty-pants?"

Yeah... this is going to be great... 

Five Parsecs From Home - Online Campaign - The Crew

In addition to the solo campaign I'm trying out with miniatures, I'm also going to have a try at running a GMed campaign online using Roll20.

The previous weekend we rolled up a crew and ship and stuff and here's what we've got so far...

(I thought I'd do character portraits for all - to also use as Tokens in Roll20 - I also really wanted to try out some new water soluble crayons... results were... mixed... needs more experimentation!) 

(had hoped we'd have started this past weekend... alas....) 

Lt. Meetoktu Yrmngr

• Species/Type: K’Erin
• Reactions: 1
• Speed: 4
• Combat: +1
• Toughness: 4 
• Savvy: +1
• Luck: 1
• XP: 2
• Background: Military Brat
• Motivation: Power
• Class: Technician
• Homeworld: Deltitne
• Gear: Infantry Laser (30”/1/0/Snap Shot) with Shock Attachment (impact trait vs Targets within 8”), Boarding Sabre (Brawl/-/1/Melee, Elegant), Communicator
• Notes: Leader

   

Ace

• Species/Type: Baseline Human
• Reactions: 2
• Speed: 4
• Combat: +1
• Toughness: 3 
• Savvy: 0
• Luck: 0
• XP: 1
• Background: Wasteland Nomad
• Motivation: THE TRUTH
• Class: Soldier
• Gear: Needle Rifle (18”/2/0/Critical), Scrap Pistol (9”/1/0/Pistol)
• Notes:

Jimmy Oath 

• Species/Type: Baseline Human 
• Reactions: 2
• Speed: 4
• Combat: 0
• Toughness: 4
• Savvy: 0
• Luck: 0
• XP: 0
• Background: Space Station
• Motivation: Order
• Class: Secret Agent
• Homeworld: Manolla (often referred to simply as Planet "M")
• Gear: Concealed Blade, Marksman’s Rifle(36”/1/0/Heavy), Handgun (12”/1/0/Pistol)
• Notes:

Bartholemew (Brother Bart) 

• Species/Type: Baseline Human 
• Reactions: 2
• Speed: 4
• Combat: +1
• Toughness: 3
• Savvy: 0
• Luck: 0
• XP: 0
• Background: Religious Cult
• Motivation: Glory
• Class: Ganger
• Gear: Shotgun (12”/2/1/Focused), Blade (Brawl/-/0/Melee), 
• Notes:

Sal (Salamander) 

 

• Species/Type: Baseline Human 
• Reactions: 2
• Speed: 4
• Combat: +1
• Toughness: 3
• Savvy: 0
• Luck: 0
• XP: 1
• Background: Wartorn Hellhole
• Motivation: Adventure!
• Homeworld: LV-428
• Class: Mercenary
• Gear: Needle Rifle (18”/2/0/Critical), Handgun (12”/1/0/Pistol)
• Notes: 

Case

• Species/Type: Baseline Human 
• Reactions: 1
• Speed: 5
• Combat: 0
• Toughness: 3
• Savvy: 0
• Luck: 0
• XP: 2
• Background: Comfortable Megacity Class
• Motivation: REVENGE!
• Class: Scoundrel
• Gear: Marskman’s Rifle (36”/1/0/Heavy), Scrap Pistol (9”/1/0/Pistol)
• Notes:

GROUP STUFF

CREW

• Met Through: being in trouble with the authorities
• Characterized as: In it for the credits

STARSHIP

• Name: The Æthelwulf
• Type: Built from Salvaged Wrecks
• Debt: 21
• Hull: (30) 30
• Traits: Purifier

Equipment (Needs to be Assigned) 

Weapon Stats are (Range/Shots/Damage/Traits)

Military Weapons

Low-Tech Weapons

• Colony Rifle (18”/1/0/-)

Gear

Gadgets

• Distraction Bot

Credits: 3

Story Points: 8

Rumours: 2

RIVALS

Case - ROID GANGERS (7)

Lt. Meetoktu Yrmngr - Precursor Exiles (4) - were part of a syndicate that lost a huge military contract due to Meetoktu's meddling and interfering when her father was the head of procurment for the sector.

PATRONS

Local Government (via Case)

Danger Pay: +2Cr 

Benefit: Health Insurance 

Complete By: Campaign Round ONE

Wealthy Individual (via Jimmy Oath) 

Danger Pay: +1 Cr 

Benefit: Persistant 

Hazard: VIP

Complete By: Campaign Round ONE

Private Organization (via Jimmy Oath) 

Danger Pay: +2 Cr

Complete By: Campaign Round ONE