rack install

Five Parsecs From Home - First Crew

Say Hello to the crew of the Free Ship Jules Verne.  From left to right:

Captain Nemo - supposedly in charge of this band, his authority is widely ignored.  No one knows how he came into possession of this retired troop transport ship, but the armory is surprisingly well stocked.  He tries to affect a piratical air with a robotic parrot on his shoulder, but he's really in it for the discovery of new stuff.

Gronk - This giant alien speaks through a translator.  He seems to be on a mission understandable only to him.  The most common words are "justice" and "laws", but his rules don't match ours.  He carries (in addition to all the goodies in the weapons locker), a bit of ancient alien technology.  Shaped vaguely like a pistol, he calls it "Thunder of Justice".  When he fires it, you notice.

Ivan - Raised in a bizarre militaristic cult, Ivan has trained his whole life for combat.  (All males in the cult are called Ivan.)  He had a realization that money is good, and left the cult for personal monetary gain.  He has a patron willing to support his monetary efforts.

Ivanka - When the love of her life left the cult, she chose to follow.  No-one knows if the love is reciprocated, or even consummated.  But where Ivan goes, Ivanka follows.

Flounder - The vagabond.  A dirt-grubbing peon on a backwards world, he was hired to sweep floors at a modern research facility.  Driven by his lust for adventure, he taught himself enough tech to ship out into the universe.  He brought along an old sword that he insists on attaching to any modern, hi-tech weapon he carries.

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I just got Five Parsecs, and haven't played a game yet.  But the simple mechanics of rolling up a crew were very enjoyable and took up an evening!  My crew is very well armed, has a patron, and is ready to start on their first campaign.

All the background fluff above was generated by rolling against the tables.  For example, "Ivan" got "wealth" as his motivation, with a background of "Religious Cult".  "Ivanka" got "Religious Cult" also, but then rolled "Romance" as her motivation.  Instant story!

Flounder rolled an interesting combination of primitive class, adventure motivation, and research outpost background.  The mop-pusher ended up going to the stars.

Massacre at Crater 47

My small liberation force approached the city of Crater 47, intending to free them from their shackles.

Commander Suremann sped out ahead in his Wolverine light tank, as the Viper APCs moved off to the left.

But as we crested the first ridge, what did we see?  Hordes of enemies in armored trucks!  They had so many troops they hung off the sides and tops!

Turn One, the Wolverine wisely drops down into a rubble field (not water).  The Liberator took a high point on the ridge.  This was a costly mistake, as every mortar on the board ranged him.  In one turn all his front and side armor was wiped away.

Turn Two (or three?) saw Commander Suremann's heroic stand.  After a daring tree-top level race across the front of their position, he charged the flank of the enemy.

 ...Only to have his targeting systems fail him.  One TVLG hit a truck, the SMLM, cannon, and AP laser all missed.  He did not survive much longer.

One Viper hid in a gully.

His companion, further out in the open, did not fare so well.  He was eventually destroyed by a rain of mortar fire. 

FFOL - Galactic Heroes Save The Alliance

What do you do when SoCal Edison cuts your power for 11 hours?  Why, you play Galactic Heroes, of course.  And since it's almost Halloween and you are playing by candle light, you play a horror scenario:

I started with the "Foggy Streets of London" FFOL Tales of Horror scenario.  I replaced the werewolves with Reavers.  After the scenario, I made a couple more mods to give Kaylie and Wash more jobs to do. 

Scenario:  A small research facility had a breach and accidentally deployed some Paxiline II, a new, less-lethal version.  The remaining troopers are mindless, zombie-like creatures, wandering the base.  Normally, your crew would celebrate this, but Reavers have attacked the base!  The Alliance is offering a reward for every trooper rescued.  They will also “temporarily overlook” any outstanding warrants.  (Foggy Streets of London Tales of Horror Scenario)

Reavers entering from one edge:

The board was lit by a hurricane lamp and a modern LED lamp:

Early on, a Reaver got lucky and took River out of action.  He successfully turned her into a Reaver later:

Alliance troopers are scattered around the facility:

There were 3 players:  Me as the Reavers, Sara with Zoe's team, and Helen with Mal's team.  Miles chose to survive the lack of Internet by sleeping. 

Zoe's team entered from this side.  They succeeded in getting wiped out, with Kaylie dragging the heavily-wounded Zoe to safety.  They came in last place.

Mal's team entered from Zoe's side of the board.  They won the game, with Malcom taking down the Reaver Leader and rescuing most of the troopers.  Simon couldn't bring himself to shoot River-the-Reaper, and ran away.  River ended up taking Malcom out of action.

Final tally?  9 troopers rescued alive, 2 died, and 1 turned in to a Reaver.
River and Shepard were turned in to Reavers.
Malcom died.

Helen was the clear winner!

And thankfully, half an hour later SoCal Edison decided to turn the power back on, letting me post this.

FFOL - Big Damn Galactic Heroes

Sightings

Something new

Got something new today.

the old roof rack