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.
