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  • #157920
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    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 and 20mm figures at the ready, 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)

     

    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

    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?)

    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.

    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.

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #157923
    Avatar photoMike
    Keymaster

    Nice.
    I wasn’t sure about the name at first but I am converted.
    I’m a believer you could say.

    #157925
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Thanks, Mike

    The ship’s name actually came from the last group of players I ran my Cortex tabletop sci-fi campaign for in the years BC (Before Covid).

     

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #157926
    Avatar photoThuseld
    Participant

    We need an explanation for your terrain notebook? Does it have a different map on each double page spread?

    The game looked fun. I love Five Parsecs. I need to dust off my campaign again. I especially loved how small that game was.

    #157927
    Avatar photoDeleted User
    Member

    Nice game. That Gunner almost took out all the bots.

    #157928
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Thanks for the replies folks.

    Yup,  Gunner was a one man army for sure 🙂

    The terrain was from the Giant Book Of Sci-Fi Battle Mats by Loke Battle Mats. 31 A3 double spreads of sci-fi maps. From deep space to interiors.

    I also have the Big Book Of Cyberpunk Battle Mats – 30 A4 double spreads.

    I have a number of Paizo’s Starfinder maps and some of Ryan Wolfe’s 0-hr.com spaceship maps and a couple of building maps of his too.

     

     

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #157943
    Avatar photoThuseld
    Participant

    Oh no. Those Loke battlemap books look amazing. Yet another thing I can’t afford right now but suddenly need in my life. What a smart idea. Does it bother you having the ring binding randomly in the middle of the map?

    #157967
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    I barely noticed the spiral bind once the game started, to be honest, Thuseld.

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #157978
    Avatar photoThuseld
    Participant

    On another note, does this new version of Five Parsecs include the actual combat mechanics? Or would I still need my copy of FiveCore?

    #157980
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Everything you need is in the new book, except dice, figures and terrain

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158086
    Avatar photomadman
    Participant

    I have been following this as well and have the following observation and wonder if it is correct.

    This looks more like a sci fi combat game with RPG elements in the form of characteristics of the individuals having some effect and the ability to randomly generate events, environments, characters and “patrons”. Other than trying to stick with some character traits and how that might effect game play I don’t see this as an RPG. Am I correct or out to lunch?

    Personally given the lock down and a dearth of potential group gaming for some time to come this is not necessarily a bad thing. But I have played and loved Traveller for decades and see that as sci fi RPGing. This looks like a good way to generate, or detail out, scenarios for game play, and maybe to add to an RPG session or campaign in the future but not necessarily and RPG per se.

    I am still looking at picking it up if it does what I say above as I have a new found use and interest in solo, semi RPG gaming. Thank you.

    #158089
    Avatar photoMike
    Keymaster

    Depends on how you define an RPG.
    I am inclined to agree with you. For me any game that requires figures and or scenery is not an RPG, for me an RPG can be all in the imagination and requires not physical representation of anything in the game world.

    That is a loose definition of what an RPG is for me.

    #158090
    Avatar photomadman
    Participant

    Mike, the operative word is REQUIRES.

    To me an RPG is something you primarily envision, act and react to in your imagination. Often we resort to minis to help clarify a situation BUT…

    In the past (gawd 40 years ago)I played D&D with a group who were all wargamers first and foremost. Every interaction was placed on the table in miniatures and immediately it became a wargaming scenario. Skills and “what the character would know” went out the window and player knowledge (all had memorized all the books) ruled the action. Five first level characters instantly became Napoleons (the other guys were big Empire players) and a hundred orcs never stood a chance. Every attack, position and defense was optimized beyond comprehension.

    Now, again, having said that I would still be interested as I am really looking for a (war)gaming system to incorporate into solo gaming and not a replacement for Traveller.

    #158092
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Mike, I ran RPG game sessions Fridays and Sundays, where self and friends GM’d, for over three decades and I’ve never played a tabletop RPG without having figures on the table so clearly it depends what form your RPG takes. Not all events in game take place on the game map but for action scenes they are invaluable.

    Madman, you are correct that it is not a true RPG. It’s a campaign and battle system. There are RPG like elements in choosing what the crew do by way of training, trading, exploring, etc. or in the choice of whether or when to move planet, who gets what gun or gear. To be honest I’m not sure how you would run a true solo RPG. Even the Fighting Fantasy series were a poor substitute for a flesh and blood GM.

    That said, back in the day, sessions were often the group prepping for the fight at the end of the evening.

    I’d sooner be running a Cortex Prime game with real people around the table but in the meantime 5 Parsecs lets me scratch the RPG itch. I can weave my own stories around the bald narrative of the die rolls.

     

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158094
    Avatar photomadman
    Participant

    Mike, I ran RPG game sessions Fridays and Sundays, where self and friends GM’d, for over three decades and I’ve never played a tabletop RPG without having figures on the table so clearly it depends what form your RPG takes.

    There are RPG like elements in choosing what the crew do by way of training, trading, exploring, etc. or in the choice of whether or when to move planet, who gets what gun or gear. To be honest I’m not sure how you would run a true solo RPG.

    I’d sooner be running a Cortex Prime game with real people around the table but in the meantime 5 Parsecs lets me scratch the RPG itch. I can weave my own stories around the bald narrative of the die rolls.

    Thank you for the well thought out answer. So there are some areas where you will make choices but generally it is (dice?) driven game. I like that and will pick up the pdf file. Thank you.

    #158120
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    It’s astounding;
    Time is fleeting;
    Madness takes its toll
    But listen closely…

    … I’m not saying I’m hooked on 5 Parsecs but here’s sheet one (of 5) of my spreadsheet to track stuff in game! This sheet is A3 and my printer only does A4 but fortunately sheet 5 produces an A4 summary sheet of info I need in game.

     

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158399
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Freetrader “Destiny’s Child”: Turn 2 “I have a little job for you”

    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.

    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 and THX07 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 Micro Machines Star Wars collection.

    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. The 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 …

    … 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!!

    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.

     

    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.

    I’ll do the after action die rolls tomorrow.

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158536
    Avatar photoDarkest Star Games
    Participant

    Sometimes the quick easy ones are the best!  Hopefully the after action rolls prove as good as the action.

    "I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

    #158542
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    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.

     

     

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158545
    Avatar photoThuseld
    Participant

    This is fun and is convincing me to buy the book. Question: Where is that map from? It reminds me of the maps from the Star Wars Miniatures game. How do the smaller figures look on the maps?

    It has shown me that I can possibly use my Star Wars miniatures for Five Parsecs games on the maps.

    #158547
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Thanks for that, glad you are enjoying the story.

    The map in the second game is one of Paizo’s Starfinder Flip-Maps, specifically the Undercity flip mat. Double sided mats about 2′ x 3′

    I base human figures on a 20mm base and the squares on the mats are 25mm square. All fits together pretty well I think.

    Thanks to Darkest Star for his input too.

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158585
    Avatar photoDarkest Star Games
    Participant

    Wow, they had an even better run of luck than just that firefight!  Power armor and a glimmer sword, now they’re stylin’. Were this one of my RPGs, that sort of bling would attract the wrong kind of attention from various hoods with a mind to taking it for themselves, probably sneakily.

    I hope The Emperor Of All Known Space doesn’t get on the crew for being near Pr. Irulan, Sardukar can’t dance and are even worse bartenders.

    "I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

    #158589
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Thanks, Darkest Star.

    The Crew have had some good luck with the die rolls so far and (in theory) the current opposition are puny and armed with popguns so this SHOULD be a breeze.

    However the Conditions roll for this job resulted in a Vengeful outcome. If they fail this mission Jethro Gibbons becomes a Rival instead of a Patron! Which is what made me come up with an imperial connection, the target had to be someone important. Though I’m thinking youngest daughter of a minor house rather than the daughter of the Padishah Emperor herself. The figure may remind you of another Sci-fi heroine.

    In my back story, the Imperial Council that runs the Empire consists of all those who have served as “Mouth of the Emperors” who’s consciousnesses are stored in an alien artefact known as The Jade Throne. On a regular basis the Mouth has their memories and personality imprinted on the Jade Throne ready for the moment that they ascend to the Imperial Council as a new emperor and act as Interrex appointing the new Mouth. The Great Houses jostle for ascendancy seeking to position one of their own as a potential Mouth.

    A daughter who runs off to dive bars attracts the wrong sort of attention but may be considered a misfortune. To have a daughter who runs off to a dive bar and winds up dead smacks of carelessness. 🙂

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158666
    Avatar photoDeleted User
    Member

    I wonder if the Special Agent has a real name.

    That second game went really well. I was hoping Gunner would be a one man army again but everyone got a fair share fo kills.

    Interesting background wiht the Jade Throne. Does imprinting a Mouth onto teh Jade Throne overide teh last one? Or do they cumulate into a mixed personality?

    #158676
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Mr. Smith has had so many “real names” over the years that even he is hazy as to what his birth name was.

    I think of the imprinting as an update rather than an overwrite.

    Meanwhile, the crew

     

    manage to get Princess Irulan to a nearby monorail station

    Only to find some of the punks looking for the princess have arrived there too.

    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.

    Busy tonight so the game will have to wait until tomorrow.

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158716
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Crib sheet for today’s game. All of the crew info is pulled through from the more complete front sheet (sample of that in messages above). That means that each game I just have to add NPC details, print it out and I’m good to go. AAR later today, all being well.

     

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158742
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    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.

    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.

    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 position 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!”

    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!

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158853
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    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 🙂

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158860
    Avatar photoDeleted User
    Member

    Maybe roll for oppoment difficulty? The rules must have some kind of random opponents?

    #158862
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    You roll for opponents before each fight. Might be useless Punks might be Assassins or Vent Crawlers. Tougher opponents tend to come in smaller groups. You roll 2D6 and pick the highest number then add the modifier for the enemy type. Tougher opponents have better weapons, armour or stats or may make wounds more likely to be serious/ fatal.

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158894
    Avatar photoThuseld
    Participant

    That game looked nice and fun. I am looking forward to the next battle. Inspired by yourself I have been creating a spreadsheet to track my campaign. Oddly I love using spreadsheets for this!

    #158913
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Thanks, Thuseld, glad you are enjoying it.

    The spreadsheet certainly makes tracking changes to the crew, monies in and out and what they have stashed easier.

    If you have even half the fun I’m having you’ll have a blast.

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158943
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    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!

    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.

     

    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

     

     

    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.

     

    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 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 usable 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 lock-down 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)

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #158950
    Avatar photoThuseld
    Participant

    Another fun looking engagement. I hope that non-military lock down doesn’t have too much of an impact, although lucky the punks aren’t sticking around as rivals. They know when they are beaten.

    #158991
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Thanks Thuseld, with no rivals to complicate things hopefully the crew will not feel the need to move to another planet.

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #159000
    Avatar photoDeleted User
    Member

    That fight sounded like a walk in the park. THK07 seems to be the tank of the team.

    #159005
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    Hi, Thomaston,

    the punks were unlikely to be too much of a problem which is why I forced a showdown. It saves plans being derailed by the punks turning up to interfere.

    Scrapper and Gunner are both intrinsically tougher than THK07 and Mila and Micah have better armour. He just got lucky.

    I plan on doing the next turn’s admin tonight or tomorrow – though I am currently torpid as a lizard on a rock, in the heat.

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #159389
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    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.

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #159589
    Avatar photoMike Headden
    Participant

    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.”

    “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.

     

    “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.

     

    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.

    There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

    #159630
    Avatar photoDarkest Star Games
    Participant

    Short and sweet!  As long as you can keep facing these sort of trash you could make quite the pretty penny, and maybe clean that town up a little.  Hmmm, wonder if the local constabulary would just pay you to scare the crooks straight, or put them down if not.  But we all know this good fortune cannot last…

    "I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

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