Background: Industrial world Motivation: Glory Class: Scoundrel
Name
Injuries
Status
Ariana Raschke
Active
Urien Jackstadt
Active
Drathi
Active
Renette Grison
Active
Crew Name
Notes
Story Points
Credits
Stash
Raschke‘s Rifles
4 QR
8
22
Colony Rifle Glare Sword D. Ripper Sword D. Hunting Rifle Still (2) Stim Pack (2) Service Pistol Nano-doc
Entity
Type
Details
Job
Col. Ivan Novikov
Patron
Sector Government
Darius Armiger
Patron
Wealthy Individual
Valentin Bezerra
Rival
Tech Gangers – Neon Reapers
The Coreward Path/Vane Voss
Patron
Private Organization
World
Settlement
Notes
Mackensen V
Kevil’s Port
Restricted Education
Campaign Options
Slaves to the Star Grind
Money is Tight
Starting in the Gutter (all options)
Dramatic Weapons + Adjusted Shooting
Detailed Post-Battle Injuries
5X Experience Variant
Story Track to begin once we hit a crew of 6
Factions to be used once we reach the next World
Pre-Battle
Upkeep and Ship Repairs Upkeep 1 Credit (Money is Tight) No ship
Assign and Resolve Crew Tasks Urien: Recruit: 86: Bot: Hired Ariana: Repair: Drathi’s rifle: 2+3/6: Failure (-1 Credit) Drathi: Trade: 20: Medical Pack: Stim Pack Renette: Patron: 2+3/5: One Job: The CoreWard Path
Determine Job Offers Danger Pay: +2 Credits Time Frame: This Campaign Turn Benefits: Persistent Hazards: Dangerous Job: Increase enemy force numbers by +1 Conditions: None
Assign Equipment Ariana: Hand Laser Drathi: Colony Rifle
I just read the excerpt about being able to hold only to 5 items in stash unless you have a ship, so I assigned some items here and there to make sure they fit. The rule applies from now onwards.
Resolve any Rumors 6/4: None
Choose your battle Check for Rivals – 3/1: None Select your Job: Patron job
Readying for Battle
Determine Deployment Conditions: No Condition Notable Sights: Curious Item Objective: Eliminate Enemy: Roving Threats: Converted Infiltrators Number: 1,5+0: 5 (Lieutenant, Specialist-Shotgun), Handgun Post battle, I realized I forgot to add the Hazard of an additional enemy. I'll try to remember to add it in the next battle I'll run. Unique Individual: N/A Seize Initiative: 11+3/10: Success
Round 1
11233
both sides moved
Round 2
22556
Round 3
12246
Drathi shoots Specialist: 4+2/5: Hit: 6/4: Casualty: 6: Save
Ariana shoots Leader: 6/5: Hit: 6/4: Casualty: 6: Save
Roll for a Campaign Event You’ve made some business contacts. Add a new Patron to the list of those known.
Roll for a Character Event Drathi: 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.
Crew Name
Notes
Story Points
Credits
Stash
Raschke‘s Rifles
4 QR
8
25
D. Ripper Sword Still (2) Stim Pack (2) Nano-doc Booster Pills
Text Narrative
At the safehouse, Urien pulls Ariana to the side. He leans towards her, and pauses. She looks at him confused. ‘Is he hitting on me?’ she wonders. But then he finally speaks. “Look, boss, hey…” he begins. “…yes?” she asks, wondering. “I don’t mean to press this matter…but” he sighs, tensions are high. “Are we any closer to getting a ship and off the planet?” “You sure have a way with words Jack.” She replies. “Remind me why I have you on recruiting tasks still?” She pushes his arm to the side and starts walking away. “Because I have a pretty face?” He answers as she escapes. Then he realizes he never got an answer to his question, and he runs after her. “Not that I don’t like Mackensen’s thick atmosphere, but…”. Ariana cuts him off. “You do your job, find us another crew member. I’ll do mine. When the time comes for a ship. We will get a ship.” She looks at him, and lifts her palm in a stopping gesture as he opens his mouth again to speak. “Now is that all? because I want to go check on Drathi’s rifle. See if it’s salvageable.” Urien nods, and Ariana leaves to her task. Renette, having caught a glimpse of the entire conversation, pats him in the back and smiles at him. “Some dude that the boss talked to says he has a job for us. I’ll go check it out. Do you want to come?” Urien shakes his head. “I have been assigned another task, you can take Drathi”. “He’s off to somewhere, can’t get a hold of this skulker if my life depending on it.” she replies, and leaves.
Renette stands outside a building that doesn’t seem to fit the rest of Kevil’s Port architecture. It’s got sharp edges, straight lines, and an impressive stature overseeing the surrounding area. She checks the address to make sure it’s the right one, and then heads to the entrance. Two well groomed security guards stop her. Something inside of her stirs uneasy. These are the exact kind of people that really disgust her. She battles with her feelings, and stays as calm as possible as they search and secure her sidearm before letting her inside. A clean shaven man wearing a fit costume uniform, and a monocle arrived. “Mrs Grison, of Raschke’s crew.” one of his subordinates announced as he entered. “Mr. Voss.” Renette replied, between her teeth. “Ah yes. I know of your creed.” He asserted firmly. “You are unlike your leader. We stand apart. Yet, in this particular case, you may find all of our interests are aligned.” He paused. “Hear me out?”. She nodded. “There’s a group of thugs we detected on an outpost outside of Kevil’s Port. I have it on good authority that they’re not what they seem. Sightings reported them from delinquents to cyborgs to zombies. One of them was actually seen interfacing to a device. My worry is that they are Converted. Find them, kill them, especially this one. And hope that they don’t tell their fleet about us.” He takes a breath. “Danger Pay is 2 Credits, but it needs to be done ASAP.” “Yes. We have a deal. I’ll take this job to Ariana.” Renette agrees. She didn’t like them, but if it’s converted that they’re up against, she didn’t like them more.
Back in the safehouse Ariana failed to repair the hunting rifle, as she was missing an important damaged part. Perhaps next time. Drathi arrived with some medical supplies, that no-one asked where he found them or what he traded to get. Renette returned with the details for the job, and as she was briefing everyone, Urien arrived with an extra. First impression was of a tall dude in a trenchcoat wearing a hat, but then the squeaking metallic sounds and heavy thud of his legs gave it away. “Hey all, may I introduce 2IC, our new addition.” Urien added. “2IC, meet the crew.” In a flat robotic voice, 2IC introduced itself. The bot was clearly visible underneath the human clothing. “2IC is good at most tasks, and considers itself some sort of a detective, wanting to expand on their investigative skills.” Urien adds. “Hey Urien, I see you used all your charm today.” Renette responded. “too-ai-see, welcome.” Drathi said. “Alright, alright, yes. We’re good. Let’s get geared up. Brief 2IC on the way.” Ariana added, and they headed for the job.
They confronted their enemies near an abandoned street block. Ariana split the group. She, Urien and Drathi took the left approach from the stairs, while Renette and 2IC headed in the yard to enter via the lower entrance. Drathi takes the first shot, followed by Ariana. These should have been killshots, however their foes brushed them off as if they were never shot. Ariana recalled then the stories about the Converted. She hadn’t had the chance to face them off in battle, but she had read the memo. Their cybernetic implants give them an inhuman toughness acting like an armor layer. The memo said that the kill ratios are reduced by 16.66% on account of this. The converted, in shooting distance of the crew shart shooting at Drathi. His sixth sense kicks in, and he ducks at the last minute, saving himself from certain death. Coming from below, Renette shoots at an unaware foe, but yet again their inhuman toughness saves them. The crew starts getting frustrated. The shooting becomes more intense, as Raschke’s Rifles have got the converted in the crossfire, shooting at them from both sides. Urien draws first blood, killing their mark, while Renette takes out another one. 2IC comes to her support and with a point blank shot, eliminates the converted leader. The converted keep fighting aggressively. Their losses don’t make a single dent to their morale. ‘Does morale apply to these… things?’ Ariana wonders, as her crew keeps exchanging shots with them. Urien brushes off a wound that should have taken him down, but he’s quickly back on his feet. 2IC eliminates another converted. The shootout lasts a little bit longer, until Urien takes the final shot with his handcannon, killing the last enemy. As they gather around their fallen enemies, Ariana looks at the rapidly decaying body masses. “Well done everyone. We sure showed them.” Among the loot they find a distraction bot and some booster pills, which will for sure come in handy in the future.
Back at the Tailed Gecko, the crew has gathered to celebrate. They raise their glasses of skoltar ale, as Urien joins them. He pushes a slip towards Ariana with a name “Verner Dilucca”. “Who’s this?” Ariana asks. “We’re starting to get a name of ourselves.” Urien replied. “That’s a Unity official of the sector. Don’t know his exact title, but he said he has a job for us if we’re interested.” He takes a good gulp of ale to wash away the feeling of cat-hair in his throat. “How much did we earn boss?”. “4 full Unity credits. But the best thing is, according to Mr. Voss, that we stopped them in their tracks.” Ariana smiles. “There’s no other trace of their presence in the sector.” “This would reduce invasion threat probability to less than 5.13%” 2IC added in his robotic voice. “Yes!” Renette cheered, and raised her glass. “I’ll drink to that.”
Session Summary
Using Talespire again was a fun change. I did spend some time to create a crew in titancraft that looks a lot (or are the exact same in some cases) like the ones I have in physical format. My main issue at the moment with Talespire is that designing a board from scratch will take a long while. There are a few ready boards like the one I’ve used, but it’s not like they’re adjusted perfectly to the Five Parsecs from Home ruleset. Perhaps some time I’ll find the opportunity to create 12×12 tiles and just place them around, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get to it.
Background: Industrial world Motivation: Glory Class: Scoundrel
Name
Injuries
Status
Ariana Raschke
Active
Urien Jackstadt
Active
Drathi
Active
Renette Grison
Active
Crew Name
Notes
Story Points
Credits
Stash
Raschke‘s Rifles
2 QR
6
16
Colony Rifle Glare Sword D. Ripper Sword D. Hunting Rifle Still (2) D. Quality Sight
Entity
Type
Details
Job
Col. Ivan Novikov
Patron
Sector Government
Danger Pay: +2 credits Time Frame: following 2 turns BHC: Conditions: Vengeful Completed
Darius Armiger
Patron
Wealthy Individual
Valentin Bezerra
Rival
Tech Gangers – Neon Reapers
The Coreward Path/Vane Voss
Patron
Private Organization
World
Settlement
Notes
Mackensen V
Kevil’s Port
Restricted Education
Campaign Options
Slaves to the Star Grind
Money is Tight
Starting in the Gutter (all options)
Dramatic Weapons + Adjusted Shooting
Detailed Post-Battle Injuries
5X Experience Variant
Story Track to begin once we hit a crew of 6
Factions to be used once we reach the next World
Pre-Battle
Upkeep and Ship Repairs Upkeep 1 Credit (Money is Tight) No ship
Assign and Resolve Crew Tasks Urien: Recruit: 94: Special Character: De-converted: Isolationist Enclave, Revenge, Punk, Didn’t Recruit Ariana: Repair: Quality Sight: 6+3/6: Success Drathi: Explore: You make a useful contact: Next campaign turn, add +1 to your choice of a roll to Recruit, Find a Patron, or Track a Rival. Renette: Trade: Medical Pack: Stim Pack
Determine Job Offers Danger Pay: +2 Credits Time Frame: This or the Next Campaign Turn Benefits: Security Team Hazards: None Conditions: None
Assign Equipment Quality Sight: Shotgun
Resolve any Rumors 5/2: None
Choose your battle Check for Rivals – 2/1: None Select your Job: Patron job
Readying for Battle
Notable Sights: Person of Interest (+1 Story Point if reached) Objective: Eliminate Enemy: Interested Parties: Rage Lizard Mercs: 2-1: 1 Unique Individual: 7+1/9: No unique Individual
I decided here to up the odds. I swapped the single enemy for a Unique foe – a Callous Merc. If I win, I’ll earn an extra Quest Rumour for this.
Battle Text (feel free to skip)
Seize Initiative: 8+3/10: Success Moved forward, Ariana behind cover, Drathi upwards to get good vantage point Round 1 2466 Everyone moved into positions Round 2 1126 Quick Phase: Urien moves and shoots via the opening Urien: 3+2/5: Hit: 3/5: Stunned Enemy Phase: Merc moves under cover of opening, out of LOS from Drathi and Ariana, isn't stunned no longer Arianna moves and shoots: 1+1,1+1/6: Miss Renette climbs down as I had forgotten she's armed with a shotgun, and can't reach from far away Round 3 1146 Quick Phase Arianna Shoots Machine pistol: 1+1,2+1/6: Miss Urien shoots: 3+3/6: Hit: 1+2/5: Stun Enemy Phase Merc shoots Ariana: 2+2+1/6: Miss, no longer Stunned Slow Phase Renette moves and shoots shotgun: 4+1/6: Miss Drathi has no LOS from his balcony I'll jump him down will take him a while so that he doesn't hurt himself Round 4 2245 Quick Phase Arianna Shoots Machine pistol: 1+1,2+1/6: Miss Drathi keeps going downwards Enemy Phase Merc shoots Ariana: 2+2+1/6: Miss Slow Phase Urien shoots: 1+3/6: Miss Round 5 2255 Arianna Shoots Machine pistol: 1+1,2+1/6: Miss Enemy Phase Merc shoots Urien: 6+2+1/6: Hit: 1/6: Stun Slow Phase Urien doesn't move, shoots his Military Rifle: 6+2/6: Hit: 1/5: Stunned Renette moves and shoots shotgun: 5+1/6: Hit: 1+1/5: Stunned (2) Round 6 2445 Quick Phase Arianna Shoots Machine pistol: 2+1,3+1/6: Miss Enemy Phase Merc shoots Urien: 6+2+1/6: Hit: 2/6: Stun (2) Slow Phase Renette shoots shotgun: 2+1/6: Miss Urien moves to cover again, 1 stun removed Drathi moves to flank Round 7 3355 Enemy Phase Merc shoots Urien: 2+2+1/6: Miss Slow Phase Drathi moves and shoots: 1+1/5: Miss Renette shoots shotgun: 2+1/6: Miss Arianna Shoots Machine pistol: 1+1,6+1/6: 1 Hit: 1/5: Stunned Urien shoots: 1+3/6: Miss Round 8 2456 Drathi aims and shoots: 5+1/5: Hit: 2+1/5: Stunned (2) Merc shoots Drathi: 2+2+1/5: Hit: 5/3: Casualty: Spent Luck instead Renette shoots shotgun: 3+1/6: Miss Arianna Shoots Machine pistol: 1+1,2+1/6: Miss Urien shoots: 2+3/6: Miss Round 9 1445 Quick Phase Drathi aims and shoots: 4+1/5: Hit: 4+1/5: Casualty, Spent Luck instead Enemy Phase Merc charges at Drathi: 5+4/4+3: Merc Hits: 2+1/3: Casualty, Drathi is down Renette shoots shotgun: 6+1/5: 2 Hits: 4+1,3+1: Casualty: Merc is Eliminated
Post Battle
Resolve Rival Status 5/1: No
Resolve Patron Status Success
Determine Quest Progress N/A
Get Paid 7 Credits
Battlefield Finds Curious Data Stick +1 QR +1 QR for getting the git
Check for Invasion N/A
Gather the loot Hand Laser
Determine Injuries and Recovery Drathi: 20: Hunting Rifle Damaged
Experience and Character Upgrades Ariana: +3 XP Urien: +3 XP Drathi: +2 XP Renette: +4 XP
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat
Toughness
Savvy
Luck
XP/Level
Ariana Raschke
2
6″
+0
4
+3
2
39/5
Urien Jackstadt
1
5″
+2
4
+0
14/2
Drathi
2
6″
+1
3
+2
2
14/2
Renette Grison
1
5″
+2
3
+0
1
13/2
Renette: 45: +1 Combat Skill
Correction to Drathi; can’t have Luck 2. Increase Combat Skill instead.
Invest in Advance Training No
Purchase Items No
Roll for a Campaign Event The crew spends a night drinking, watching movies, and playing cards. +1 story point
Roll for a Character Event Urien: You’ve had time to reflect on your adventures. Earn +1D3 XP: 3
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat
Toughness
Savvy
Luck
XP/Level
Ariana Raschke
2
6″
+0
4
+3
2
39/5
Urien Jackstadt
1
5″
+2
4
+0
1
17/3
Drathi
2
6″
+2
3
+2
1
14/2
Renette Grison
1
5″
+2
3
+0
1
13/2
Urien: +1 Luck
Crew Name
Notes
Story Points
Credits
Stash
Raschke‘s Rifles
4 QR
8
22
Colony Rifle Glare Sword D. Ripper Sword D. Hunting Rifle Still (2) Quality Sight Hand Laser
Check for Galactic War Progress N/A
Text Narrative
Ariana had laid out the gun parts, and was carefully oiling her machine pistol. While she was at it, she got the quality sight from the stash, and put it in the laser calibrator to see why it was off and try to fix it. Despite being focused on the task, she felt someone was watching her. She turned around to find Drathi carefully eyeing her every move. She still hadn’t managed to understand non-human behaviours, so she did the next best thing. She asked. “Everything okay there, Drathi?” “Drathi’s troubleshooter, but you troubleshoot too. It’s good working with you. Good.” the skulker replied, his whiskers moving around. Ariana would have to take his word for it. “Thanks. You’re a valuable member of the team too Drathi. I’m glad you’re with us.” The skulker made a chittering approving sound. “I’ll go, check Kevil’s Port. Explore.” and with a sudden acceleration, he left before Ariana had a chance to respond. Right at that moment, Urien and Renette barged in, having a conversation. “I’m telling you, if I interview another lost cause, I’ll just buy a bot for our next crewman.” the mercenary stated. “Oh come on, the last dude would have been a perfect addition to our squad.” Renette chuckled. “Stop pulling my leg. He was a converted. I’ve heard the stories, but seeing one in person. Gave me shivers.” Urien shook his head and shoulders as if trying to shake away the experience. “You’re not so macho as you seem, tough guy.” Renette kept teasing him. “And he wasn’t converted, he escaped before. You should be more eager to give people a chance.” “Converted, de-converted. It’s all the same to me. And we’re not an employment office here.” Urien responded. Renette dropped of some Stim Packs. “Bartered for these. Just in case.” She said. Ariana nodded and turned to the team. “Did this guy have any skill set we need in the crew?” They stopped their conversation and looked at her. Something about the way she handled herself in the last fight against the bugs, made them respect her more. They looked at each other and in agreement, they spoke in unison. “No, not really.” “Okay then.” she added. “I’ll finish up here, and I’ll got visit Mr. Armiger. He said he had more jobs for us.” Ariana continued. She leaned over the calibrator, working on the sight, but continued the conversation without looking at them. “That’s okay with you Renette? Nothing to do with Unity, right?” Renette was unsure if that was passive aggression or an honest question. Ariana hid it well, or perhaps she was unsure herself. “Yeah that’s fine.” Renette responded, and the conversation ended with a chill.
Ariana went alone to meet with Darius. She was furious on how a simple delivery mission had them fighting for their lives against the swarm. She wanted answers. The door to Darius’ roof apartment opened and he offered her some coffee. “The beans are imported straight from the Core worlds. Not those modified hybrids used in terraformed planets.” He offers. “You think you’ll buy me off with some coffee?” Ariana dismissed him. “You almost got us killed. This wasn’t a simple delivery. What’s your stake in this?” she shakes her fist. Darius friendly demeanor turned serious immediately. Crut stepped forward, but his boss stopped him gently with a palm on the chest. “I didn’t know much more than what you learned.” he replied. “We had made two attempts for delivery which both failed. I suspected a rival working against me, not an invasion threat.” “You could have warned us then! at least that!” she shouted. “Then I wouldn’t know if you had what it takes.” He quickly countered. “Don’t tell me that in Unity Armed Forces you always had all the intelligent reports beforehand.” She was taken aback by that statement and recollected all the times she was thrown in the thick of it without a heads up. One of the reasons she left Unity. But she could not hold it up to him for expecting her to rise up to the circumstance. She calmed down a little, relaxing her fist. “Now, since coffee is out of the question. I have another job offer. Are you up to it?” Darius asks. “What kind of a job is it?” she responds with a question. “Elimination.” He gives her a data sheet. “The mark is a mercenary, wanted by a number of parties. He goes by the name Szarik-Thos” “We’re not hitmen.” Ariana reacts with surprise. “If that’s what bothers you, try to bring him in, dead or alive.” Darius counters. “You will give him a choice, but I doubt he’ll give you one.” Ariana is still pondering. “Pay is good, or you can go back to your friends at URO, work for them.” Darius adds. The look on her face revealed her surprise. Seems Darius has done his research on her crew. “We’ll take it.” she finally says. “I’ll talk to you again once it’s done.” She leaves, still wondering if she made the right choice.
The crew gears up, considering their target they arm to the teeth. They locate their mark in Cinder Ward, a ruined part of Kevil’s port, fallen to fire during an old conflict. Drathi takes to higher ground to cover more area. Renette takes to the western side and finds a place to perch. Urien an Ariana crouch forwards. Soon they see their target, a reptilian, armed with an infantry laser and a heavy blade, wearing a thick suit of armour. He’s located in the entrance of a mostly collapsed building. The moment he sees them, he takes cover, and the fighting begins. Despite being severely outnumbered, four-to-one, Szarik-Thos puts up more than a fight. Renette notices someone casually standing in the sides, but not bothering to take cover, smoking a cigar in the middle of the battlefield. She rushes to him, and they have a short discussion. The rest of the crew is too busy with the battle to notice. During the shootout, the crew manages to reach a short wall to take cover right outside the entrance, but all both sides achieve is nothing more than a standoff. Some glancing hits here and there, but nothing that would affect the outcome. “Szarik-Thos!” Ariana shouts. “You’re not going to make it. Surrender and you might get to live!” A sharp hissing chuckle is heard from the ruins. “I surrender, I’m as good as dead. You wanna get me? you’ll have to try. How many of you will die first?” Drathi jumps down and leaves to flank him, as the mercenary carefully has avoided getting in his sights. Renette covers the other side of the entrance, and the shooting continues. The crew slowly reaches better tactical position, but they don’t do a dent into their foe. Finally, the skulker finds an opening from the rear of the ruined building, and jumps inside. He stabilizes his hunting rifle, aims, and shoots. The thick reptilian hide takes the brunt of it, and the merc shoots back. The lazer scorching at Drathi, who survives by sheer luck. The reptiloid is in his sights when he pulls the trigger again, however, for some reason he turns at the last moment, and the bullet only grazes him. He draws his blade and charges furiously at Drathi. Unprepared, the skulker tries to fend off the worst of it, using his rifle as an improvised melee weapon. A strong hit right with the blade right on the barrel of the rifle brings both the rifle and the skulker down under a pile of rubble. Not letting an opportunity go missed, Renette jumps in the building and blasts the merc with her shotgun, finishing him. Ariana rushes to Drathi, who gets out of the rubble unscathed. His rifle though is damaged. The rodent curses and hishes, looking at the body of the merc with sheer hatred. Searching through the site, Urien finds a curious data stick – something to check afterwards – and a hand laser.
Ariana takes a photo of the mark, and heads back to Darius’. Once more he isn’t there, but he has Crut, deliver the payment, 7 full Unity credits. This gets her closer to her goal, getting a ship. Back in the safehouse, they splurge a bit. They spend the night drinking, sharing stories and playing cards. When it’s quite late, Urien slips away to his bunk and spends some time reflecting on his actions during the job. Morale is high overall, and Ariana tries to come to terms with her new civilian life. This feels like a major milestone to her. It was a completely private job, no Unity involvement, but she was unsure of the morality involved. Taking orders also meant no responsibility on the right or wrong of it. Now she has to make choices, and these choices matter. She looked at the crew resting. They seemed to be more content with this kind of assignment than working for Unity, so perhaps the conflict is her own alone.
Session Summary
This mission should have been a walk in the park, but once more you never know what you’re getting into with tabletop games, especially when there’s dice involved. It took me a full 9 combat rounds to finish the mission. Speaking of which, I’ve noticed that the most enjoyable games to me are the ones that last for about 5-6 battle rounds. Less than that it’s usually too fast to understand what happened, and doesn’t really make up to the time spent setting up everything. More than that it’s starting to become tiresome.
I’ve not started working yet with the story track, as my milestone will be getting a crew of 6, but I should consider bringing character Motivations into the fold. I need to remember them, and perhaps use them for potential quests, rivals, or events occuring during the game. Ariana was generated in Bug Hunt, so she’s missing a Motivation. I intend to give her one once we get a Ship. I think that will be a good milestone.
Thanks! I am trying to find the right balance with pictures in terms of effort. Perhaps collecting a few important snap shots might make sense? Trying to keep it low, because I found that shooting photos of every single thing that happened is to the detriment of the tabletop experience, and requires extra effort afterwards to write the AAR.
peter holland
11:05 am on August 3, 2026 Permalink
Yes, taking a lot of pictures affects the flow and enjoyment. It gives you more options of what to put in the aar though.
I’ve seen some with a lot of photos that are unappealing die to the length of the posting.
But a wall of text can be unappealing too.
A happy balance could be one or two for each round/bound of play with what you consider the best action or important occurrence.
Then you can choose either, both or none.
Choose your battle Check for Rivals – 6/1: None Select your Job: Patron job
Readying for battle
Determine Deployment Conditions No Condition Notable Sights: Documentation
Determine the Objective Deliver
Determine the Enemy Roving Threats: Swarm Brood
Number: 6/3+2=8 1 Pack Leader (No Specialist? (2))
Battle Rolls
Seize Initiative: 4+4 = 8/10 Fail Round 1: 2266 Everyone is dashing forward Round 2: 2334 Quick Phase: Ariana dashes forward Enemy Phase: the Swarm dashes closer Slow Phase: Urien aims and Shoots: 5+2/5:Hit:4: Casualty! Renette moves and shoots: 2+1/5: Miss Drathi moves and shoots: 1+1/5: Miss Round 3: 4556 Enemy Phase: Swarm vs Ariana: 6+1/2+1: Ariana receives 2 hits: 1+1,2+1/4: Stunned twice Slow Phase: Urien: aims and shoots: 1,4+2/5: Hit: 3: Stun Renette: moves and shoots: 4+1/3: Hit: 1: Stun (2) Drathi aims and shoots: 6+1/3: 2 Hits: 5+1, 2+1: Casualty Round 4: 2245 Quick Phase: Ariana retreats and Shoots Machine Pistol: 5,6/3: 2 Hits: 2,6: Casualty Drathi aims and shoots Leader: 6+1/3: 2 Hits: 6+1,3+1: Casualty Enemy Phase: Bugs can't reach team, by a short distance Slow Phase: Urien aims and shoots Military rifle: 2+2/3: Hit: 4/4: Casualty Renette aims and shoots Military rifle: 6+1/3: Hit: 4/4: Casualty Round 5: 2445 Quick Phase: Drathi aims and shoots: 3+1/3: Hit: 3+1/4: Casualty Enemy Phase: Bug charges at Drathi: 2+1/5+3: Drathi Wins: 1+1/4: Stun Slow Phase: Ariana shoots Machine Pistol twice: 5,6/3: 2 Hits: 5,5/4: Casualty
Post Battle
Resolve Rival Status N/A
Resolve Patron Status Busy-> Will get another Job next Turn
Determine Quest Progress N/A
Get Paid 3 Credits
Battlefield Finds Vital info / Invasion Evidence: Turn in this information to get a Corporate Patron automatically on this world. If the enemy is an Invasion Threat, you instead find Invasion Evidence; if so, earn +1 credit and add +1 when checking for Invasion in the next step.
Check for Invasion 2+1-1: No
Gather the loot 3 Dazzle Grenades
Determine Injuries and Recovery N/A
Experience and Character Upgrades Ariana: +3 XP Urien: +4 XP Drathi: +3 XP Renette: +3 XP
Invest in Advance Training No
Purchase Items No
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat
Toughness
Savvy
Luck
XP/Level
Ariana Raschke
2
6″
+0
4
+3
2
36/5
Urien Jackstadt
1
5″
+2
4
+0
11/2
Drathi
2
6″
+1
3
+2
2
12/2
Renette Grison
1
5″
+1
3
+0
1
9/1
Urien: +1 Toughness Drathi: +1 Luck
Crew Name
Notes
Story Points
Credits
Stash
Raschke‘s Rifles
2 QR
6
16
Scrap Pistol Colony Rifle Glare Sword Hand Cannon Shotgun D. Ripper Sword D. Hunting Rifle Still (2) D. Quality Sight
Roll for a Campaign Event A chance meeting turns into a new ally. Roll up a new character and add them to the crew, OR add +1 story point. You may decide after rolling up the new character 98: Strange Character 08: Unity Agent, won’t Recruit, we have enough of Unity
Roll for a Character Event Ariana: You know someone who knows someone. Add a Patron. Private Organization: The Coreward Path (Veron Voss)
Check for Galactic War Progress N/A
Text Narrative
Night fell, and the three moons of Mackensen V stood high up in the sky, a cool green colour reflecting off them. In the safe house, Ariana and Drathi had all sorts of spare parts in front of them, trying to fix the damaged items in their stash. Ariana was focusing on Urien’s military rifle, while the skulker was working on the damaged stabilizer, which would make a fine addition to his hunting rifle. Renette was not with them. She had just finished a glass of skoltar ale, and was starting an interview with a potential crew member. Tarminos had referenced her, reluctantly. Something was off about her. Renette has seen her share of crazy across the galaxy, and she’s heard that some people look at her weird regarding her own beliefs and volitions, but she felt that this lady in front of her, had taken it a step even further. “So tell me Pan. Tarminos told me, you escaped an isolationist enclave. Are they after you? Will that be a problem for us?” She asked her. “After me? nah. They absolutely loved me. They’ll miss me, but I left them a copy.” Pan replied while fiddling with the table. “What’s with the atmosphere here? I can’t breathe.” “You’ll get used to it.” Renette cast aside her complaint. “What do you mean a copy?” “Oh I’m an artist, so I made them a copy. Of me. They loved it.” She responded. “Yeah… so nothing else to bring to the crew. Why, did you ask to join us then?” Renette asked. “Well for the credits of course. Everyone knows that the fastest way to riches is joining a crew and doing jobs and shit.” She coughed. Trying to cast away the feeling of cat hair in the throat that the atmosphere of Mackensen V had served upon her. “Scoltar ale helps.” Renette told her. “Good luck finding a crew, I don’t think we’ll be a good fit. Also consider, to keep doing what you do. You know, art.” She stood up, and mulled over the wasted time.
Urien called out to Ariana. “It’s time boss, we have to go and meet our next benefactor.” “Benefactor?” Ariana asked as she finished working on the rifle. She had fixed it. “Well, that is if we do the job right.” Urien said. “His name is Darius Armiger. He’s waiting for us.”
They reached the top floor of the tower where Darius lived. Something that stood out to Ariana after climbing five floors worth, is that the air was cleaner. She paused for a few moments and breathed in, enjoying this feeling that she had missed since arriving at Mackensen V. They rang the bell, and the door opened. “Come in, come in.” A voice yelled from inside. As they stepped in, a hulking figure, stood at the side. “Don’t mind Crut.” A fancily dressed man said as he arrived from the inner part of the appartment. “He’s just here to ensure of my safety.” He smiled and bowed slightly. “Darius Armiger.” “I’m Urien, and this is my boss, Ariana.” Urien started, before Darius cut in. “-Raschke. Yes, I’ve heard of you. A pleasure to meet you in person.” He showed off his manners. “Will you have a soft drink with me at the bar, while we discuss business?” She leaned her head softly to the side as a positive gesture, and moved to the balcony. A nice view overlooking Kevil’s Port. “I didn’t know this place was beautiful.” Ariana commented. For a moment she forgot her hardships in Unity. “Yes, it’s easily hidden by the harsh reality of this planet. That’s why I bought this place. It’s a daily reminder that there’s beauty even in the harshest places.” Darius added. Ariana didn’t talk for some time. She wanted to enjoy this. The beautiful view, the soft drinks, the clean air. Urien cleaning his throat returned her to reality. “We have business to attend to.” Urien pointed out. Ariana sighed and nodded. “What is this job Mr. Armiger?”. “A delivery. There’s a package I want you to bring to a location.” He hands over a single-use e-data sheet. “Details are here.” “I see that you’ve added some extra security to offset some risks?” Ariana asks. “Yes, you won’t even notice. Just deliver the package and get out. Simple.” Darius replied. “Oh, and if you get it done quickly, I’ll have another job for you. It’s a busy period, and I’m short on hands.” “It’s a deal Mr. Armiger.” Ariana smiled. She finished her drink, and they left.
The crew arrived at their destination, several kilometers away from Kevil’s Port, only to be greeted by an eerie silence. The observation tower in the middle was unoccupied. “Meeting we someone for package delivery, boss?” Drathi asked as he scoped the area with his rifle. “Someone should be here, but if not, we just drop it off, take photographic evidence and leave.” She replied. “I’ll do it.” “Hold up. I got movement.” Urien cut her off. “What are these things!?” He added, visibly scared. “What?” Renette asked and tried to see for herself. Ariana looked carefully to where Urien was pointing, and immediately drew her machine pistol. She cursed. She spit in the ground in front of her. And the cool friendly face she had immediately disappeared. Her crew hadn’t seen her before like this. As if a switch flipped. “Bugs. Fucking bugs.” She said. A frown appeared on her eyebrow ridge. Her jaw clenched, teeth grinding. “Bah… what?” Urien asked. “The Swarm.” She added. “I fought all sorts of bugs. They do look like face rippers. I count 8 of them.” Her crew is frozen. They’ve fought other goons, but nothing like that. “Alright, squad listen up.” Her voice turned strict, military. “Shoot to kill. Don’t let them get close. Cover each other, advance slowly.”
Ariana dashes towards the tower, the package in her backpack, machine pistol at hand, while the swarm approaches from all sides. Her crew advances slowly, and starts shooting at the bugs. Urien’s shots find one dead center, killing it. Knowing how to maneuver around them, Ariana positions herself carefully, so that when they jump her, she faces only one of them at a time. She’s struck by one, but manages to fend it off eventually. The rest of the crew keeps providing cover fire, and Drathi kills another bug. Retreating tactically, she fires her pistol into the thorax of the bug, green goo splashing everywhere. Now they have them all in the open, where they want them. The team opens fire, and they start eliminating the remaining enemies, one by one, all of their shots find their targets. Two swarm bugs remain. Drathi stops, aims, and fires, finishing off one, while the other finds the opportunity in the chaos to reach him. He fends it off. Ariana turns to her side, and kills it. The battle was tense, and Ariana proved her worth – she knew how to keep the monsters at bay. She stood over the battlefield looking over the bug remains slowly dissolving. She climbs the observation post, delivers the package, and takes a picture for the patron. As she climbed down, she couldn’t help but notice the team gossiping. She barely caught with her ear that they were telling each other that she’s badass. She restrained a smile, and turned to them. “Where in UAF did you serve?” Urien asked. “Must have been a Hunter Squad.” Renette responded and Ariana nodded. “If you survive, constant deployment at invasion fronts will let you muster out quickly.” Ariana said. “Speaking of which…” she looked around. “We need to search this place. Make sure the swarm hasn’t targeted this system.”
A quarter of an hour later, they regroup. “Drathi found these.” He proudly displays 3 dazzle grenades. “LE grade.” He smiles, his whisker pads going to the side, proud of what he found. “That’s good Drathi.” Unfortunately my search yielded undesirable results. She presented a flat, alien egg-shell like piece. “These things were not indigenous or forgotten. They landed here, recently.” She looked up to the sky. “Perhaps we stopped them in their tracks.” “Or else?” Urien asks. “Or else we scrounge whatever credits we have, borrow from a loanshark, and get a ship out of here as fast as possible.” She answers. “Let’s go, time’s wasting.” She assigned tasks. Urien was to collect the payment for the job, Renette and Drathi were to go back to the safehouse, get their things ready and wait for her in the Tailed Gecko. She’d head to the Unity Reserve Office – she had to learn if the Swarm was coming to Mackensen system for real.
Back in Kevil’s Port, Urien collected their paycheck from Crut – Darius wasn’t available, but he left them a message to check back with them for additional tasks. Their questions would remain unanswered for now. In the URO, a suprised Colonel Novikov received an unannounced visit from Ariana Raschke. He was already in a meeting with a couple of people she hadn’t seen before, but she didn’t care. This was urgent. She opened her backpack and dropped off the swarm shell onto his desk. “The Swarm made an appearance.” She added. The Colonel and his guests looked at her. “Your UAF days are over Raschke. Leave the bugs to the hunters.” He exchanged glances with the other men in the room. “Are we under threat of imminent invasion Sir?” she asked. He didn’t answer immediately. Instead he raised his hand to call for an officer to collect the shell. “We’ll check. Where did you find this?” “Five klicks South-South East. It could be a scout pod.” She added, leaning against his desk with both arms. The Colonel nodded to the officer who arrived. “Send a scout team. Two people. Investigate immediately. Run a deep-space hypersignal scan, relay to HQ, and receive information for any Swarm sighting or anomalies in two-parsecs radius. Priority Red.” Ariana sighed in temporary relief.
“While we’re waiting, how about some introductions?”. The gray haired guest expressed. He was a neatly dressed man. While not wearing a uniform, he might as well be. Ariana couldn’t tell if he was military or a politician. Perhaps a bit of both. Clean shaven, wearing a smart monocle. “Gentlemen.” Colonel Novikov said. “Meet Mrs. Ariana Raschke. Former bug hunter. A capable trooper, if I may say, who still helps Unity wherever she can.” He turns to the guests. “This is Mr. Voss, a representative of the Coreward Path.” He gestured to the neatly dressed man, who nodded in agreement. Without waiting to be introduced, the other man interfered. “Name’s Lombo.” He offered his hand. “Ariana Raschke, as in.. Raschke’s Rifles?” He asked. Reluctantly Ariana shook his hand. “Yes.” she agreed. “You’ve started making a name across Kevil’s Port. Really showed these isolationists.” He added. “If you’d have me, I could be a conduit between the interests of Unity and yours. I can see a definite alignment.” She looked at Lombo. Something about him was odd. She wondered. He looked fit, experienced, trained, and like knowing what to say in the right moment. She didn’t call him out, but she was certain that she was talking to a Unity Agent. Mr. Voss got excited at Raschke’s deeds. “Mrs. Raschke.” He gave her a data card. “Here’s my contact information. In case you want to find more opportunities to show your skills in a similar fashion.” He smiled. Ariana felt something sinister about that smile. She started feeling uneasy about these acquaintances of Novikov. What was their agenda, and what did they want with her and her crew. She smiled awkwardly for a brief moment, and waited in silence. It felt like hours to her, but in a few minutes the lieutenant returned, and gave a data sheet to the Colonel, who went carefully through it, scrolling up and down several times. At the end he turned to his guests. “I can’t say much in terms of confidentiality, but given our trust, let me tell you that preliminary findings show that Mackensen system is out of the Swarm’s antennae for the time being. We’ll verify with the scout team later.” He looked at Ariana. “Raschke, thank you.” She knew that this was both a thanks, and a dismissal. She mumbled a goodbye to the company, and left for the Tailed Gecko. She knew that her crew was waiting eagerly to learn what she had found out.
Session Summary
This episode was a reminder that once a bug hunter, always a bug hunter, in the Five Parsecs from Home universe. I hadn’t fought bugs before with a regular crew, so I was uneasy as to how it would play out. After the first kills from my team, I was relieved, and we won in the end. Recruiting still doesn’t work to what I’m looking for. Truth is I’m looking for very specific things, but since I’m playing with extra upkeep costs over 4 crew, I’m content at staying as is until I find what I want exactly.
Background: Industrial world Motivation: Glory Class: Scoundrel
Name
Injuries
Status
Ariana Raschke
Active
Urien Jackstadt
Active
Drathi
Active
Renette Grison
Active
Crew Name
Notes
Story Points
Credits
Stash
Raschke‘s Rifles
6
13
Scrap Pistol Colony Rifle Glare Sword Machine Pistol Hand Cannon Shotgun D. Ripper Sword D. Hunting Rifle
Entity
Type
Details
Job
Col. Ivan Novikov
Patron
Sector Government
Danger Pay: +2 credits Time Frame: following 2 turns BHC: Conditions: Vengeful Completed
World
Settlement
Notes
Mackensen V
Kevil’s Port
Restricted Education
Campaign Options
Slaves to the Star Grind
Money is Tight
Starting in the Gutter (all options)
Dramatic Weapons + Adjusted Shooting
Detailed Post-Battle Injuries
5X Experience Variant
Story Track to begin once we hit a crew of 6
Factions to be used once we reach the next World
Pre-Battle
Upkeep and Ship Repairs Upkeep 1 Credit (Money is Tight) No ship
Assign and Resolve Crew Tasks Ariana: Find Patron Job Urien: Recruit: Baseline Human: Drifter, Power, Technician, didn’t recruit Drathi: Explore: Trade: Insider Information (automatically find a Patron next Turn if looking for one) Renette: Trade: Basic Supplies (skip next turn Upkeep costs)
Determine Job Offers Sector Government Danger Pay: +1 credits Time Frame: This or the following campaign turn BHC: Hazard: Veteran Opposition
Assign Equipment No changes
Resolve any Rumors None
Choose your battle Check for Rivals – None Select your Job: Patron job
Readying for Battle
Determine Deployment Conditions No Condition Notable Sights: Peculiar Item
Determine the Objective Fight Off
Determine the Enemy Criminal Elements: Tech Gangers
Number: 5 Lieutenant, Specialist
Combat
Seize Initiative 8+3 = 11 Success
Ariana Move to B1: 9/8: Success Urien Move to B1: 8/8: Success Drathi Move to A2: 12/8: Success Renette Move to A2: 9/8: Success
Round 1 Initiative: 3456
Enemy Phase: Enemy 1: Find Cover: Fail, Shoot at Urien: 3/5, Miss Enemy 2: Find Cover: Fail, Shoot at Drathi: 1/5, Miss Specialist: Find Cover: Success, Shoot at Renette: 4-1=3/5,4-1=3/5, Miss x2
Slow Phase: Drathi: aims and shoots at Enemy 2: 5+1=6/5: Hit: 3+1=4/5: Stunned Urien: Find Cover: 1/5: Fail, Shoot at Enemy 1: 1+1=2/5: Miss Ariana: Scout for Location: Person of Interest: 11/8: Success: +1 Story Point Renette: aims and shoots at Specialist: 3+1=4/5: Miss
Enemy Phase: Enemy 1: Shoot at Urien: 2/5: Miss, Stun removed Enemy 2: Shoot at Drathi: 5/5: Hit: 2/3: Stunned. Stun removed. Specialist: Shoot at Renette: 2,3/5: Miss
Slow Phase: Urien: aims and shoots at Enemy 1: 4/5: Miss Drathi: Move to B2: 2+6=8/8: Success Renette: aims and shoots at Enemy 2: 5+1/5: Hit: 1/5: Stunned
Round 3 Initiative: 1266
Quick Phase Drathi Brawling with Specialist: 5+3/4: Hit: 5+1/5: Casualty: 2/6: No Save. Casualty. Ariana: Move to B2: 2+6=8/8: Success: Brawling with Enemy 1: 4+1/4: Hit: 3/5: Stunned
Round 4 Initiative: 1223 Drathi: Brawling with Enemy 1: 5+4/6: Hit: 6/5: Casualty: 4/6: No Save. Casualty. We hold the field. 6/3: No credits paid extra.
Post Battle
Resolve Rival Status (4,1): Rival! Valentin Bezerra of the Neon Rippers
Resolve Patron Status N/A
Determine Quest Progress N/A
Get Paid 5 Credits
Battlefield Finds Curious Data Stick. 1 Quest Rumour
Check for Invasion N/A
Gather the loot Damaged Gear: Stabilizer, Quality Sight 2x Still
Determine Injuries and Recovery N/A
Experience and Character Upgrades Ariana: +3 XP Urien: +3 XP Drathi: +4 XP Renette: +3 XP
Scrap Pistol Colony Rifle Glare Sword Machine Pistol Hand Cannon Shotgun D. Ripper Sword D. Hunting Rifle Still (2) D. Stabilizer D. Quality Sight
Roll for a Campaign Event The crew has decided it’s time for a new person to be in charge. Story Point -1: You’ve made some business contacts. Add a new Patron to the list of those known.
Roll for a Character Event Urien: They don’t make them like they used to. Damaged Military Rifle.
Check for Galactic War Progress N/A
Text Narrative
Ariana was finishing her breakfast, a locust goat egg omelette, packed with nutrients. Wiping her mouth, still chewing down her last bite, she stood up, put the plate in the Z-23 automated washer and turned to the rest of the crew who were doing their morning routine. “I’m going to head up to the URO. I got a text from the Colonel that he’s got another job for us. You know what to do until then. Gather intel, find someone new to join us.” She finished her bite. “We’ll meet up at the Tailed Gecko afterwards.” The crew exchanged glanced looks. Finally Renette spoke. “Just make sure we don’t end up being a Unity Task Force. If I wanted to fight for Unity I’d have enlisted.” Ariana pushed down the urge to defend Unity. After all she had chosen to leave this life. “Once we have more options, we’ll consider them.” She responded, not knowing what else to say. It didn’t seem to convince her crew, but they didn’t press the matter further.
At the Unity Reserve Office, Col. Novikov was waiting for her. “Raschke, so glad you’re here. I wouldn’t outsource this again, but you still find me in need.” He begun explaining. “You dealt with the Pale Colds swiftly and efficiently. But now there’s another gang that saw this as an opportunity. They think that this is a turf area to be fought over by the gangs. We need to make it clear to them that no-one I mean no-one will undermine our authority here.” “What’s the opposition?” Ariana asks. “Some sort of Tech Gangers. Neon Rippers they call themselves. Their leader is a man called Valentin Bezerra. Veteran crew, but you’ll get your danger pay. Finish them and I trust that we’ll be safe from anymore gang-conqueror wannabes for quite some time.” He presented a d-pad with pictures of their markings. They seemed well armed for gangers. “We’ll deal with them.” Ariana responded, and headed off to the Tailed Gecko.
There she saw Urien Jackstadt patting someone in the back and sending him out. “Another unsuccessful attempt to recruit someone useful Jack?” she asked, using a new nickname for Urien. He was taken aback at first, but replied soon. “A power-hungry drifter, only technical skills – I don’t think he’d be a good fit. I’m trying to find someone different. Someone that will make a difference.” He said. “I like the way you’re thinking. Where are the others? We have a job to do.” Ariana continued. “They should be here any moment now, our skulker friend has gotten some insider information. Should help with seeking job opportunities outside of Unity’s grasp.” He added. “Aha.” Ariana nodded. “And Renette?” “Got her message, something about getting a good deal on basic supplies. Should keep us afloat for a week or so.” Urien said. Ariana smiled, and wondered if things would be better going forward.
They gathered their gear, and went after the Neon Rippers. Ariana used her tactical knowledge to get in close to the enemy before they even knew they were there. They counted a handful of enemies, including their leader and his bodyguard. But soon they got made, and laser beams started flying in their direction, missing, while the party took cover. Drathi managed to get a grazing shot at one of them pinning him down, while the rest of the crew shot suppressing fire. In the midst of the firefight, Ariana spotted a person of interest. He was taking cover, but seemed otherwise unfazed by the conflict. She reached him and they exchanged some words. Noone knows what they talked about, and the crew quickly forgot about it, since they were occupied with the task at hand.
From a position of cover, Ariana took a pot shot at a tech ganger from above. The bullet found him in the chest, taking him down. The fight continued with neither side gaining any serious advantage. Determined to get this over with, Ariana gestures to Drathi and they both charge at the tech gangers from different sides, entering a brawl. Drathi is a fierce foe with the blade, the tech ganger specialist is wounded and out of the fight. Ariana stuns another enemy at close combat, while Urien and Renette provide covering fire. Renette’s shot is a direct hit, the ganger unable to stand again.
Drathi turns his attention to the last enemy in the field. They may be fearless, but they still can be defeated. His swings his blade, and another ganger is down. Raschke’s Rifles hold the field. Their wounded enemies scurry away while they rummage through their stash. They find a curious data stick, a stabilizer and quality sight in bad condition, and a couple of stills.
The next day Ariana heads back to the URO to meet up with Col. Novikov. The moment he sees her, he smiles. At the same time as he does the welcome handshake, he gives her the payment. “Unity sure made a mistake of passing you over, Raschke.” He says. “If it were up to me, I’d have made an officer out of you first chance I’ve got.” “Thank you, Sir”. She responds. “I would have taken it. Glad to know I can still be of help.” She turns to leave. “Oh, Raschke” he adds as she leaves. “Just a heads up. You fought them off. But their leader survived, and he’s a man with a grudge. Word is Valentin has started asking about your crew. Keep your head on a swivel.” “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
She returns back to the the safehouse, and sees the crew exchanging weird glances. Unsure if something did happen, or did she just imagine it? Urien was working on maintaining his rifle, but he broke something in the trigger mechanism and will need a replacement part. “We got a good payment 5 credits.” Ariana says in a loud voice and the crew cheers. Renette steps up to her. “Here’s a contact info I got. A man named Darius Armiger. He’s known to be wealthy and with odd requests. Perhaps it will be worth it seeking him out for a different source of payment before we become solely Unity grunts.” Ariana nods, and forces a soft smile.
Session Summary
For this battle I tested some homebrew rules for small tables battles. They’re sitting in between RAW and the no-minis rules. Meant to allow for the placement of minis and terrain to give a nice overview of the battle, without going into the nit-picking details of counting distances and setting up a larger table. Overall it worked well, but I identified some improvements needed which I’ll need to test. Also perhaps a grid of 2×2 is too small, and I need to make a 3×3 grid to have more room to maneuver. I’ll test this in a later session. The interview recruit homebrew rule doesn’t work to my favour. I’m always getting uninteresting baseline humans. I want to find some different primary aliens, bots, or someone that will make it worth it to turn into a Psionic by spending a Story Point (someone that begins with a Combat Skill bonus due to a background roll preferrably.)
Getting the Actual Play Reports written has caused me a writer’s block, and due to that I haven’t gotten to playing my campaign. As with the previous session, I had played this months ago, but never gotten down to writing it. I need to tone down significantly the expectations from my reports. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved the high production value of the 2nd campaign of Bug Hunt. But honestly, I don’t think I have in me the energy to keep doing it. Perhaps it’s part of the reason I have been stalling, and only focusing on different parts of the hobby. Risking a potential burnout on printing and painting miniatures, I’ll try to get back on playing my campaign.
Unfortunately, I’ll be doing a variable style of actual play reports. Sometimes I may give just a rough overview of the turn. Other times I may provide a detailed comic presentation with actual play photos. Most of the time it will be somewhere between these two, but I don’t want to commit. At the very least I will be providing the bookkeeping information that I need so that I don’t miss any important things to the story going forward.
Current Status
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat
Toughness
Savvy
Luck
XP/Level
Ariana Raschke
1
6″
+0
4
+3
2
27/4
Urien Jackstadt
1
5″
+1
3
+0
1/0
Drathi
2
6″
+0
3
+2
1
1/0
Name
Species/Type
Weapons
Gear
Traits
Notes
Ariana Raschke
Human
Service Pistol
Brave Supportive
Origin: Trade Hub Training: Planetary militia, technical, leadership Service history: Anti-pirate operation, USS Astral Monarch, Colgan’s Wreck. Completed Missions: 9 Mustered out
Urien Jackstadt
Baseline Human
Military Rifle w Beam Light
Friendly Logical
Background: Comfortable Megacity Class Motivation: Escape Class: Mercenary
Danger Pay: +2 credits Time Frame: following 2 turns BHC: Conditions: Vengeful
World
Settlement
Notes
Mackensen V
Kevil’s Port
Restricted Education
1st Turn Summary: Offered a job from Col. Novikov, didn’t take it. Drathi gambled away a Rifle. Opportunity battle against Isolationists (they didn’t like the newcomers)
Game Options
Slaves to the Star Grind
Money is Tight
Starting in the Gutter (all options)
Dramatic Weapons + Adjusted Shooting
Detailed Post-Battle Injuries
5X Experience Variant
Story Track to begin once we hit a crew of 6
Factions to be used once we reach the next World
Campaign Steps
Upkeep and Ship Repairs Upkeep 1 Credit (Money is Tight) No ship Drathi is back in fighting shape
Assign and Resolve Crew Tasks Ariana: Train +1 XP Urien: Recruit: Available is Baseline Human: Industrial World (Frag Vest)/Glory (+1 CS, Military Rifle)/Scoundrel (+1 Speed), Hired
Existing Job Offers Sector Government Danger Pay: +2 credits Time Frame: This or the following 2 campaign turns BHC: Conditions: Vengeful
Assign Equipment No changes
Resolve any Rumors None
Choose your battle Check for Rivals – None Select your Job: Patron job
Readying for Battle
Determine Deployment Conditions No Condition Notable Sights: Peculiar Item
Determine the Objective Fight Off
Determine the Enemy Criminal Elements: Gangers (Aggresive) (P1-2,S4, C0, T3)
Urien shoots Leader: Hit: Stunned Renette shoots ganger: Miss
Round 2
Drathi shoots: (aiming): Leader: Hit: Kill Urien shoots thug: Miss Renette shoots (aiming) thug: Miss Ariana shoots specialist: hit: Kill Morale: 1 thug flees
Round 3
Drathi shoots (aiming) thug: Miss Thug shoots Ariana: Miss Thug shoots Ariana: Miss Thug shoots Urien: Miss Urien aimed shot at Thug: Hit: Kill Renette aimed shot at Thug: Hit: Kill Ariana shoots thug: Miss Morale: Last thug flees
Post Battle
Resolve Rival Status N/A
Resolve Patron Status N/A
Determine Quest Progress N/A
Get Paid 1(=3)+2=5 Credits
Battlefield Finds Personal trinket
Check for Invasion N/A
Gather the loot Damaged Weapons: Ripper Sword & Hunting Rifle
Determine Injuries and Recovery N/A
Experience and Character Upgrades Ariana: +3 XP Urien: +3 XP Drathi: +4 XP Renette: +3 XP Drathi (5/1) Roll: Your pick: +1 Combat
Invest in Advance Training No
Purchase Items No
Roll for a Campaign Event An admirer wants to come along. Baseline Human: Drifter/Truth/Nomad, Not hired.
Roll for a Character Event Ariana: You meet up with an old arms dealer contact who owes you a deal. Hand Cannon, Machine Pistol, Shotgun.
Check for Galactic War Progress N/A
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat
Toughness
Savvy
Luck
XP/Level
Ariana Raschke
1
6″
+0
4
+3
2
30/4
Urien Jackstadt
1
5″
+1
3
+0
4/0
Drathi
2
6″
+1
3
+2
1
5/1
Renette Grison
1
5″
+1
3
+0
3/0
Name
Species/Type
Weapons
Gear
Traits
Notes
Ariana Raschke
Human
Service Pistol
Brave Supportive
Origin: Trade Hub Training: Planetary militia, technical, leadership Service history: Anti-pirate operation, USS Astral Monarch, Colgan’s Wreck. Completed Missions: 9 Mustered out
Urien Jackstadt
Baseline Human
Military Rifle w Beam Light
Friendly Logical
Background: Comfortable Megacity Class Motivation: Escape Class: Mercenary
Background: Industrial world Motivation: Glory Class: Scoundrel
Name
Injuries
Status
Ariana Raschke
Fit for duty
Urien Jackstadt
Fit for duty
Drathi
Fit for duty
Renette Grison
Fit for duty
Crew Name
Notes
Story Points
Credits
Stash
Raschke‘s Rifles
6
9
Scrap Pistol Colony Rifle Glare Sword Machine Pistol Hand Cannon Shotgun D. Ripper Sword D. Hunting Rifle
Entity
Type
Details
Job
Col. Ivan Novikov
Patron
Sector Government
Danger Pay: +2 credits Time Frame: following 2 turns BHC: Conditions: Vengeful Completed
World
Settlement
Notes
Mackensen V
Kevil’s Port
Restricted Education
Text Narrative
Zzx’rth’g the alien landlord collected the weekly rent, and was on it’s way, when Ariana left a sigh. Things weren’t looking good. The crew was short of men, credits were running low, and there was a deadline for her mission. She grit her teeth, told herself that she can do it, and went in the hall to talk to her crew.
“Hey boss.” Urien greeted her. He was trying so hard to appear cool and proffessional, but he always comes as a sleazy scumbag who’s trying to hit on her in the bar. Soft skills are not his forte. Ariana sighs again.
“What you’ll have us do? Drathi is ready to rest and get ready!” the skulker said in a cheerful? manner. She couldn’t understand if he was joking or not. She needs to freshen up on her skulker cultural knowledge. “Yes Drathi, you shall rest, so that it won’t hurt running at the Pale Colds the day after tomorrow.” she replied. “And you, ” she turned to Urien. “Get a second chance to find us the fourth member of our crew. I’ll stay here and do study tactics for our team, while looking after Drathi at the same time.”
Urien didn’t have many options for finding someone to recruit in Kevil’s Port. The Tailed Gecko was the most obvious place to start with, so that’s where he headed. “What you’ll have?” Asked the bull-man bartender. “A scoltar ale. Name’s Urien.” He put the credits on the counter. “What’s yours?” “Flattering,” the bartender replied in a heavy voice while serving him the same beer he had the other day, “But you’re just not my type.” “No no, you got it wrong. I am just trying to…ah whatever.” Urien paused, changed his stance, and went to explain. “Look, dude, me and the crew I’m running with, seems we’re going to be stuck in this place for a while. I’m trying to make some business connections. I thought learning your name before talking stuff like this would be good, you know, but have it your way.” Frustrated he turned his attention to the beer in front of him. He looked forward to drinking the viscous liquid that made him forget the annoying cat-hair atmosphere of Mackensen V. “My name is Tarminos. Friends call me Tar. My guess then is you’re looking for information?” the bartender replied, while drying some glasses. “Yes, Tar…” – Urien let it linger for a while, while the bartender kept looking at him in the eye, he decided to go with his full name eventually – “…minos, do you know if there’s anyone in here looking to join a crew? we’re quite short-handed at the moment.” Tarminos nodded. “I’ll hook you up. Stay.”
Minutes passed. Then one hour. Then more. Urien had to drink two more scoltar ales just to pass the time. Eventually he decided he’d have enough, and Tarminos was probably messing with him. He stood up. “Where are you going? she’s here.” the bartender stopped him. A long haired brunette, in her late 20s, took the seat next to him. “Hey Tar. The usual.” she said to the bartender in a confident voice. Urien turned to her, but before he even had a chance to speak, she cut him off, palm gesture to stop right in front of him. “Look man, I’m just not interested, alright? Go find another pretty lass to bother.” she told him. “Why does everyone think I’m hitting on them?” Urien said out loud, frustrated. She and the bartender laughed. “I’m messing with you. Tar told me about your little get-to-know before, and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Name’s Renette. Heard you’re looking for crew.” Urien was left speechless. “You do pass as a Casanova if you ask me. So, tell me. What’s your crew, what kind of jobs you do, and what are you looking for in a member.” she continued. “We’re Raschke’s Rifles.” He eventually responded. “Our leader, Ariana, has strong tactical knowledge, and connections to get jobs that pay well. They also come with a good amount of risk involved. We need a few extra hands to ensure business continuity. What do you bring to the table?” “Wow, that’s a lot of corpo mumbo jumbo. Ariana? you’re the ones that faced off the isolationists the other day? I respect that.” she continued while Urien nodded. “I’m good with a rifle. Let’s say I come from a tough background, and I had to learn how to fend for myself. I managed to get out of there, and now I want to be someone. If it happens that the powers that be, pay for what they’ve done, along the way, well, that’s just an added bonus.” “I think we have an understanding. I say you join us for this next job, and we can decide after. Think of it as a trial period. You’ll get compensated of course.” Urien offered his hand. She bumped it. “I’m in. Let’s go meet the rest of the crew.”
Back in the safehouse, they found Ariana and Drathi over a rough map sketch. Urien did short introductions, and they got right on to the briefing. “Listen up, the Pale Colds are small time gangsters. They shouldn’t pose a threat, but we’re still low at numbers which makes this all the more dangerous. Urien thanks for bringing Renette to the fold. Drathi also is healing well, so he should be joining us tomorrow. The patron – local Unity – needs this to be done soon. There’s a risk that the Pale Colds will act against him, and then we’ll lose any favor we have. We’ll hit their turf near the Unity Reserve Office. We want them out of this area. Prepare for long range combat and they shouldn’t be able to close in for a shot against us. Questions?” Ariana used her military training to provide an efficient plan to the team.
The fighting the other day went smoothly for Raschke’s Rifles. They clashed with 6 gangers from the Pale Colds. Within a handful of minutes, they took down one each, including their lieutenant. Two thugs fled, carrying the message that this area was out of bounds for the Pale Colds. They also found the gangsters stash of weapons, a damaged ripper sword and a damaged hunting rifle. Nothing someone with skill couldn’t fix, in the stash was also a personal trinket.
After the fight, Ariana went by the URO again. She found him talking to an old acquaintance of her. “Flint?” she asks the gray haired old man. “What are you doing here of all places?” “Ariana! my girl!” A smile appears on his face as he hugs her. “You had just enlisted last time I saw you.” “You two know each other?” the Colonel asks frustrated. “She comes from Luyten-4071. A large trade hub. My trade was just starting in the arms business. Her parents helped me a lot getting the right connections. I don’t know if it wasn’t for them if I’d be where I am today.” The old man replied. “In Mackensen V?” she taunted. That was a side of Ariana that she never let out, except with the closest people. “I found that the Unity Reserves are ill-equipped, and requisitions take a long time. Since I’m UWS certified, this makes them a good sales partner. That’s my business here with the Colonel.” He replied. “How about you? I don’t see you in your fatigues, not that I’d expect a woman of your skill to end up in a URO in Mackensen V – no offense Colonel – this is one of the toughest ladies I’ve met.” “Mrs Raschke mustered out.” the Colonel intervened, a look of surprise in Flint’s face. “She did leave with a good record for Unity, hunting bugs along the galaxy. I guess she’s had enough. Now she’s here as a private contractor.” “There’s more to the story Flint.” Ariana replied. “But yes, that is correct. Also, Colonel Sir. The mission – the job I mean. Is done. The Pale Colds shouldn’t bother you anymore.” “Here for payment then.” He unlocked a drawer with a PIN code, took out a bunch of credits, and handed them to her. “Well done then. Unity thanks you.” “Hey girl, I’d like to catch up with you later. Where can I find you?” Flint asks. “The Tailed Gecko, old man.” Be there in an hour.
Back in the Gecko, the crew was celebrating a job well done, when Tarminos gestured for Urien to come over. “Word in the gutter has started spreading about your crew. There’s an admirer that would like to join you. But, he isn’t one of those who stick around. He’s a nomad, drifter. Do you want me to set up a meet for you?” the bartender asks. “Thanks. I think we’re good for now. We’re looking for a different skill set.” Urien replied. As he headed back he saw an old man had joined their table, and was sharing old stories with Ariana.
A long while later, when they were about to leave, Flint turned to Ariana alone. “Perhaps if you were still in UAF, I could have greased some wheels and pushed the bureaucracy to get you that Officer’s Training you were so eager for. Now I can’t, but I owe your family, so as a token of gratitude I have a small gift for you in your new endeavour.” They went to his ship, and he gave her a case with some guns. A handcannon, a machine pistol and a shotgun. “Thank you Flint.” she hugged him. “I hope we meet again.”
Session Summary
Writing down the actual play report months later doesn’t help with the summary. I really want to pick it up and start playing more. I need to actively decide to reduce my hobby painting time and play more. It’s just so much easier at the end of the day to do something that doesn’t require reading, thinking, and setting up tables. I have been considering creating a semi-portable gaming table that would really speed up my gaming time, perhaps I need to get on with it and do it. I’m also fiddling with some homebrew mini-table rules that are in-between the no-minis rules and the regular table rules. Something that will let me place minis on the table, but will be much faster.
As to the game session itself the combat part was really fast. The enemies short range weapons didn’t help them at all, and our crew made short work of them. The job interviews homebrew rule for recruiting, while interesting, hasn’t really worked to what I wanted sofar. I want diversity in my crew, and would like another alien or a bot if possible.
I really enjoy writing the text narrative in the end, I’m feeling I’m letting out some form of creative expression. But, perhaps for the next session I’ll also have some actual play photos to go along with it.
I’ve been sitting on reporting this actual play for about 3 months. Mustering out from Five Parsecs from Home: Bug Hunt into Five Parsecs is something I’ve been longing for, but it seems burnout reached me first. I never finished painting my industrial terrain (chem tanks, generators and other neat sci-fi stuff) and couldn’t get myself to preparing a comic-style report in Krita.
On the other hand I really wanted to play the story, and I actually did, play a second session without even posting the first game. And as I sat down and cleaned up my notes, and tried to make sense of everything, to tie it up together, an epiphany hit me about a major difference between Bug Hunt and 5P core. And no, I’m not talking about the combat rules, or species and enemies and stuff. It’s a core issue, which I think played a major role in my procrastination mentioned above.
Emergent storytelling in Bug Hunt is generated mostly in the tabletop battles. There are unknown markers, enemies spawning from the sides, interesting locations, and a stress factor that really pumps everything up. Holding the enemy at bay, sacrificing troopers, waiting for the drop ship in the EZ, all make for a great story. The campaign side of it, is mostly filler for the downtime of troops. Much like in movies like Starship Troopers.
On the other hand, emergent storytelling in 5PFH is driven by the campaign steps. Yes, the fun part for the player is the tabletop battle, but the story isn’t there (except perhaps in certain cases like the end of a quest or something). The story is in what happened before, and after. Who are these crewmen, what is this world they’re at, what drives them, and how are they making ends meet? The tabletop part gives a short story, but it could be as simple as “fought some goons, Jim was wounded but we got hold of the package”.
Here comes the connection to what I described above. In the first session (which I hadn’t published until now), I took almost 40 pictures for what transpired. Setting up shoots for the campaign steps, and for each tabletop event and everything. Putting this all in krita and trying to write a story felt like a ton of work. I’ve come to realize now that it’s because the story is paced differently. It’s longer narratively, and shorter in action. A comic style approach with tabletop photos just doesn’t work, and the only way to do it would be setting up shoots for the campaign steps and having the protagonists voice dialogue. This is something I’ve not done before to such an extent – similar to the BH pre-battle and post-battle pages of my APs but much more photos – and needs a great deal of planning ahead. Also I need appropriate backdrops/diorama to easily set up scenes for photography. It’s too much effort to have to set up a whole table just for getting a picture of a tiny corner.
Session Zero
First of all, I need to decide what rules to use from the Compendium and from Patreon releases. I will try to gradually add more detailed stuff.
Slaves to the Star Grind
Money is Tight
Starting in the Gutter (all options)
Dramatic Weapons + Adjusted Shooting
Detailed Post-Battle Injuries
5X Experience Variant
Story Track to begin once we hit a crew of 6
Also I’ll be using a homebrew rule for recruiting, that I call Job Interview.
Job Interview When recruiting a new member, you roll randomly for Crew Type, Background, Motivation and Class. The crew member comes with all aforementioned bonuses. However, if you find they don’t fit your crew, you must spend another Recruit action to roll again.
I find this rule makes for a more interesting playstyle. There a bonus compared to RAW (new recruits don’t get to roll for bonuses) but comes at a cost (you don’t get to choose character types).
Let’s talk about my Starting Crew. First of all we have Ariana Raschke. She mustered out from Bug Hunt having served in the Red Coyotes and the Solar Rats. She tried to make officer but never made it. She’s had enough with Unity and decided to try her fate in the private sector. A wise choice, considering the fatality ratio of Bug Hunters. Mustering out, she earned 4 credits, and I will be spending a Story Point so that she retains her Service Pistol. For Dramatic Combat, her Service Pistol will have a Range of 11″. She also gains a Sector Government Patron, a connection from her days in the military.
Next up I rolled Urien Jackstadt. A baseline human Mercenary, coming from a Comfortable Megacity Class. He wants to Escape. Now that’s an interesting combination. A rich dude turned mercenary trying to escape.
Last but not least (yes, a starting crew of 3!) we have Drathi. A Troubleshooter Skulker from a Low Tech Colony, whose motivation is Discovery. Cool, a ratfolk who wants to left his backwater world and wants to explore the galaxy.
Rolling up weapons and gear, we have 6 credits and a stash of 2 Colony Rifles, and a Scrap Pistol. Ariana is armed with her Service Pistol, Urien carries a Military Rifle with a Beam Light, and Drathi has a Hunting Rifle and a Nano-doc. Also rolled 6 Story Points.
Session 1
New World Arrival Steps Licensing Requirements, no Freelancer License required. World Traits: Restricted education.
Using donjon.bin.sh, I’ve rolled up that the world is called Mackensen V, and the main settlement is Kevil’s Port.
Pre-battle
Upkeep and Ship Repairs Upkeep 1 Credit (Money is Tight) No ship
Assign and Resolve Crew Tasks Ariana: Train +1 XP Urien: Recruit: Available is Primary Alien: Skulker – Mani: Won’t recruit Drathi: Explore: I don’t have a gambling problem! (lost a Colony Rifle)
Determine Job Offers Sector Government Danger Pay: +2 credits Time Frame: This or the following 2 campaign turns BHC: Conditions: Vengeful
Assign Equipment Beam Light to Military Rifle + Scrap Pistol to Urien
Resolve any Rumors None
Choose your battle Check for Rivals – None Select your Job: Carry out an Opportunity mission
We Seized the Initiative, however this was a difficult battle. The enemy is armed with long range weapons, outnumbers us and is cautious, which means they’re split in groups and they flanked us. Battle lasted for 9 rounds, the last 2 of which I had to run using the no-minis rules as I had made a mistake (forgot to use Ariana’s Luck point) which turned the tide of battle, but had packed up the table in between. Both Urien and Drathi went down.
Post Battle
Resolve Rival Status No
Resolve Patron Status N/A
Determine Quest Progress N/A
Get Paid 4 Credits
Battlefield Finds Nothing of value: …not one thing!
Check for Invasion N/A
Gather the loot Weapon: Melee Weapons: Glare Sword
Determine Injuries and Recovery Ariana: Knocked Out Urien: Knocked Out Drathi: Minor Injuries (1)
Experience and Character Upgrades Ariana: +5 XP (Surived & Won, First Kill, Killed Unique Individual) Urien: +1 XP Drathi: +1 XP Ariana (27/4) Roll: +1 Luck
Invest in Advance Training No
Purchase Items No
Roll for a Campaign Event The crew spends a night drinking, watching movies, and playing cards. +1 story point
Roll for a Character Event Drathi: Maybe you are leading a charmed existence? +1 Luck
Check for Galactic War Progress N/A
Text Narrative
Ariana thanked the pilot of the light freighter and stepped off the ramp at Kevil’s Port. Her gait felt much lighter without the heavy Unity standard boots. It would take her a while to get accustomed to civilian clothing. She wore a leather jacket over a white shirt, blue jeans and boots. As she looked around the spaceport – if one would dare call it that way – she was almost overwhelmed by a newfound freedom. Freedom of choice, freedom to follow a dream of captaining her own ship and … at the same time the hard reality hit her that she has to make choices. Back when she was following orders, things were neatly placed in their own boxes, the world didn’t need to make sense, and she didn’t need to make sense of it. “Madam, madam” a bot’s artificial voice colour pulled her out of her thoughts. “Madam you need to move away from the landing pads, the risk of injury or immediate death is calculated at 1.26422%”. She nodded, and started walking away as she realized she was in possession of her service pistol and 4.005 credits. Ariana quickly turned around asking “Do I need to declare …” her voice trailed off as the bot had moved away already and noone seemed to bother. She shrugged, “well that’s that” she thought to herself, and decided to find the nearest establishment for drinks, jobs and leisure.
The atmosphere of Mackensen V was mildly unpleasant. Nothing toxic or dangerous, but breathing it in gave this feeling, in the back of your throat as if you had just swallowed cat hair. Coughing didn’t help as there was nothing to cough away. She entered the Tailed Gecko, weird name for a cantina, she thought. A tall man with brown hair and wearing a cape, was sitting at the bar, drinking a golden coloured frothy drink, that could potentially be beer. She took the stool next to him. The bartender, a Bull-looking uplift snorted “What you’ll have?” he asked. “Same thing he has.” she pointed at the man. He poured the drink. It tasted like beer, but it was way more viscous, and drinking it was difficult. On a side note, it all made her forget about the cat-hair atmosphere.
Urien looked to his left. A newcomer had entered the bar. Urien was laying low for quite a while now, but credits were tight, and he wasn’t used to a frugal lifestyle. He quickly scanned the room, and to his luck there was the brown-fur Drathi in his orange uniform, a skulker he had acquainted with on his last trip from Cosnucha 3. The latest leg on his escape from… well he’d rather not think about it now. Drathi was sharp and smart, and trustworthy as far as fringers go. Yeah, this could work. He turned to the newcomer. Stared at her. She looked attractive, so he should be careful to present himself as a hire, not as a hook up. He composed himself, cleared his throat, and in a deep voice he asked. “Are you looking for a crew?”
“It’s that obvious?” Ariana replied, startled. “New faces in Kevil’s port are either looking for a job, or hiding from one.” He said. “And which one am I?” she taunted. “Neither, that’s why you are looking for a crew.” he persisted. “Military?” “Raschke, Ariana. I’ve had my share of time in UAF.” Ariana introduced herself. “Something about your stance, Officer makes it obvious.” Urien pushed it further, Ariana grimaced. “And here’s where you got it wrong. Mustered out as trooper, unfortunately.” Disappointment coloured her voice. Urien lost his flow, and just stood for a moment without knowing how to respond, mouth half open.
“And you are?” she eventually asked. “Urien, Jackstadt.” he whistled. A few faces turned around to look at him, among them was Drathi. He gestured him to come over. “Look”, he continued. “Me and my pal Drathi,” he grabbed him by the back of his uniform collar and pulled him close “we’re capable. I’m good with a rifle, he’s good at solving things, and you may not be an officer, but you seem like a leader.” Drathi was suprised, but caught on very quickly. In his fast skulker speech he said something about troubleshooting, and nodded at whatever Urien was saying.
“Okay… we’ll see.” she reluctantly agreed. She had her guard up, but in reality she wasn’t accustomed to situations like that. Hunting bugs was simpler. Aim, shoot, kill, and try not to die in the process. “Great!” Urien and Drathi smiled and were about to cheer. “Not so fast!” Ariana stopped them. “Consider this a trial period. Let’s see how you do in your assigned tasks first.” That was a bit of a downer for Drathi, but Urien didn’t lose his hope. “Yeah, right, of course. What are we to do?” “You, smooth talker, find another member. We need hands.” She told him, then turned to Drathi. “You, seem like a perfect fit for Kevil’s port, ask around, see what you can find out about this place.” “What will you be doing?” Urien asked Ariana.
“I’ll be meeting with someone who might have a job for us. I still have my connections, and I’d rather use them while they’re still fresh.” She said. “Alright, just make sure you don’t turn us into Unity goons, people aren’t too fond of central authority around these parts.” Urien responded. “We meet, at your ship after?” “My ship? I’m still working on that…” her teeth showed in embarassment. “Let’s meet here, after, I’ll reserve a table, alright?” and she quickly left before they could ask any more questions about lack of a ship.
Ariana found the Unity Reserve Office in a back alley. The building looked derelict, the sign was faded and the paint chipped. Ariana approached, and she saw a couple of grunts guarding the place. They weren’t wearing their caps, their shoes were dirty, and their guns resting on the wall next to the entrance. One was smoking, the other was fiddling with a rosary. It took all the effort in her not to berate them for this appearance. “Is Colonel Novikov” inside? The guards nodded. “First floor, to the right, end of hallway.” One of them added. Their boredom was apparent. They didn’t bother to sign her in, check ID or even secure her sidearm. She reached Novikov’s office. A man in his early 50s, military composure. He seemed like he was still fighting against the lack of purpose that had befallen his unit, but it was slowly eating away at him. Who was winning, was unclear at the moment. He looked up at her. “Colonel Novikov sir? Ariana Raschke”. She almost stood at attention as she presented herself, and bit her lip at the realization. The Colonel looked at her with that stare that pierces through you and reads all your thoughts. “Raschke?” he said. “Yes, Lt. Thompsanch referred you to me.” He paused. “Look girl, I’ve got some work that needs to be done.” He looks around, letting the condition of his unit, speak as to why he doesn’t have the resources to do it. “Let me tell you. My ass is on the line for this one.” He takes a deep breath. “You cannot fail, or it will come back to bite me, and I cannot have that.” “You have my word sir.” She reassures him. “It remains to be seen what your word is worth here. Lt. Thompsanch’s word got you through this door, but that’s as far as it will take you.” He seems like a hard man to please. “Look, there’s some criminal elements, some gangers called the Pale Colds that are causing trouble, and the locals just won’t do anything about it. I wouldn’t either, I got intel that they’re casing our offices. I need them dealt with soon, and I can’t use my men to do it. Danger pay is 2 extra credits on top. You have 2 week cycles to do it, or I’ll find someone else.” She nodded, “I’ll return when it’s done, sir.” He looked at her, unsure if he should stop her from calling him sir, but he let it linger.
On the way back to the Tailed Gecko she was thinking of how she should call her outfit. “Raschke’s Rifles” sounds good, she thought as she entered the cantina. Sitting at a table in the rear, she found Urien yelling at Drathi. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “This rodent can’t keep himself from getting into trouble!” Urien exclaimed. “He lost a rifle from our stash on gambling!” “I’d get us a pack of grenades, but the dice were crooked!” Drathi hissed back. “Ugh!” Urien grimaced. “That’s why I didn’t hire your friend as well, one skulker in a crew is enough!” “Not a good start into Raschke’s Rifles, right guys?” Ariana tried to calm things down, but she wasn’t happy with how things were going. Yet, she had a job, and a timeline, and she couldn’t start from zero searching for a crew. “You named the crew after yourself?” Urien sighed. “How little you military fellas think of yourselves…” “At least I got us a job, so get a grip, and let’s start planning. What do you know about the Pale Colds?” She put him in his place, and they started talking about their resources and next actions.
A while later, they are heading to the starport to gather their gear and set up a base camp, when they notice several hostile looks towards them. “Shit…” Urien whispers within his teeth. “What’s going on?” Ariana asks. “Isolationists. They must have seen through your civilian outfit. You reek of Unity.” Urien replies. “They hate Unity”. She nods. “We shoot first, then.” and draws her pistol. Urien smiles, and he and Drathi arm themselves with their rifles. Half a dozen isolationists armed with colony rifles, are split into two groups, and taking cover from among the starport scatter. The first shots from both sides all miss, as if they are all reluctant to hurt each other. That is, until a well placed shot from the isolationist leader, the most radical of the group, hits Drathi, and brings him down. Ariana responds with a direct kill shot from her trusty service pistol to the most imminent threat she detected, a man armed with a rattle gun. Hiding behind crates, they avoid being shot. Urien takes down another isolationist which makes the specialist of the group panic, and run away. Among the flying bullets, Ariana takes a clean shot and kills another isolationist. Their leader now has closed in and scores a hit on Urien, who goes down. Ariana is facing the last two enemies alone. It’s all a haze. In the end, she’s the only one standing. The isolationist and their leader are down in a pool of blood.
Thankfully, it seems that Urien was just knocked out, while Drathi suffered only minor injuries. Searching the battlefield Ariana managed not only to rescue her crew, but also to get hold of a glare sword and 4 credits worth of scrap. They rented a small house at the edge of Kevil’s port, and spent the night tending to their wounds, playing cards and feeling lucky to be still alive. Drathi especially feels like he’s living a charmed existence. That shot should have killed him, but it got deflected by his tobacco case. They all wonder if they’re a good fit for each other, but somehow, it worked out, and none of them feels like challenging it.
Graphic Narrative
Bookkeeping
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat
Toughness
Savvy
Luck
XP/Level
Ariana Raschke
1
6″
+0
4
+3
2
27/4
Urien Jackstadt
1
5″
+1
3
+0
1/0
Drathi
2
6″
+0
3
+2
1
1/0
Name
Species/Type
Weapons
Gear
Traits
Notes
Ariana Raschke
Human
Service Pistol
Brave Supportive
Origin: Trade Hub Training: Planetary militia, technical, leadership Service history: Anti-pirate operation, USS Astral Monarch, Colgan’s Wreck. Completed Missions: 9 Mustered out
Urien Jackstadt
Baseline Human
Military Rifle w Beam Light
Friendly Logical
Background: Comfortable Megacity Class Motivation: Escape Class: Mercenary
Danger Pay: +2 credits Time Frame: following 2 turns BHC: Conditions: Vengeful
Session Summary
I really enjoyed the game, it was fast and fun, which is what I expected of and known of Five Parsecs from Home. The rules choices I’ve made and homebrews seems to be working well overall. As I mentioned in the beginning my main difficulty at this point is the storytelling. The realization I made about the differences from Bug Hunt really helped. Also going forward I’ll most likely be switching between text and graphic narratives depending on how I feel, what works best at the time, and perhaps I’ll settle eventually at a specific process flow.
Took me a while to get this Five Parsecs from Home: Bug Hunt game played, photographed, cleaned up and blogged, but here it is. It was really frustrating having to play the same mission again, which delayed me in setting everything up, and then doing the work as doing something repetitive usually takes the fun out things, but I must say beforehand that I actually enjoyed it.
Mission: Re-take Star Port (sheltered)
1. Special Assignments
Ariana: Officer Training Course: Failure Kato: Marksman Training : Success Ulla: Harsh Environment Course: Success
– Planetary militia – Technical Training – Leadership Training
– Anti-pirate operation – USS Astral Monarch Campaign
Kato Minoru
6
5
Military Outpost
– Ground forces (Scouts) – Survival Course – Harsh Environment Course – Physical Training – Marksman Training
– Police Action – USS Astral Monarch Campaign
Ulla Voight
5
6
Trade Hub
– Naval forces (Security) – Physical training – Marksman Training – Harsh Environment Course
-Anti-pirate operation – USS Astral Monarch Campaign
Name
Missions & Injuries
Status
Ariana Raschke
S2E1, S2E2
Kato Minoru
S2E1
Service Pistol +1″ Range
Ulla Voight
S2E1, S2E2
Post-battle
1. Determine Casualties and Lost Marines
Ariana: Minor Injuries 1 Turn in Sickbay Kato: Torso Wound: 4 Turns in Sickbay
2. Update Completed Missions
Done
3. Check for Mustering Out
Ariana: Muster Out! Kato: Failure
4. Determine Reputation
23 Initial -1 For Support Points +1 For Rescuing 1 Troopers +1 For 2 Objectives Completion +1 For Objectives Roll +1 For Hanie Riffin Origin 26 Final
5. Experience and Leveling
Ariana: MVP (she sacrificed herself to Hack the objective) 2 XP Kato: 1 XP, will increase Speed to 7″ Ulla: 3 XP, will increase Toughness
6. Roll for Operational Progress
1 Support Point Claimed: 7 Total Enemy swarms: Industrial Zone: Place 2 additional Contact markers at the beginning of battle
7. Roll for Military Life
Kato: You’re getting in shape, at least. You may immediately raise Speed by +1 for a cost of 5 XP (can’t…)
Session Summary
I had to use 2 Movie Magick cards: Evac Called & Reinforcements. I did not want to drag this battle out or fail it, so I used everything in my power to win.
I may have missed bringing up a Screamer or two of the variants, but I don’t think it would have much of an impact to the end result.
Well I finally got a character to muster out – and the one who didn’t have any advance to her Combat skill at that, also she doesn’t get to muster out with the service pistol, so I will have to spend her blood-earned Story Point to get it. On the other hand, she has a high Savvy score, and received Leadership training, which means she’s a perfect fit for a crew leader figure.
This means I will be switching to a regular Five Parsecs from Home campaign going forward.
I did spend some time preparing my crew for the Five Parsecs from Home campaign, and you can find a teaser shot here. I custom-designed Ariana’s civilian version using Titancraft and some digital kitbashing in blender. She also has her hair dyed differently this time – guess she didn’t want something that loud in her civilian life.
Since I commited so much time in printing and painting terrain for Bug Hunt (I burned out actually while painting my industrial zone terrain) and I really want a tough trooper like Ulla to be part of my crew (Combat skill +3!) I may continue running the Bug Hunt campaign on the side, and may get her to muster out as well. Should that happen, there’s always going to be a spot for her in Ariana’s crew.
I am still getting the hang of this comic-book approach. It takes a bit longer to edit and process, but I really like the new refreshing look.
For Bug Hunt specifically I will continue on this level of detail. As I have said before, Bug Hunt is resouce intensive on the solo player. Lots of bookkeeping which I have reduced via the use of tokens. I have also reduced the journaling of all those rolls and movements of blips as it is tiresome, and I need to have this balance between enjoyment and effort.
When I return to regular Five Parsecs from Home, I intend to perhaps have some more detailed mechanics text alongside with the comic panels, for a better understanding. It remains to be seen though, as planning doesn’t always mean it’s good in practice.
Pre-battle Roster
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat Skill
Toughness
Savvy
Ariana Raschke
1
6″
+0
4
+2
Kato Minoru
3
6″
+1
5
+1
Ulla Voight
1
5″
+3
4
+1
Name
Completed Missions
XP
Origin
Training
Service History
Ariana Raschke
7
5
Trade Hub
– Planetary militia – Technical Training – Leadership Training
– Anti-pirate operation – USS Astral Monarch Campaign
– Naval forces (Security) – Physical training – Marksman Training
-Anti-pirate operation – USS Astral Monarch Campaign
Name
Missions & Injuries
Status
Ariana Raschke
S2E1, S2E2
Kato Minoru
S2E1
Service Pistol +1″ Range
Ulla Voight
S2E1, S2E2
Session Summary
Although low priority, the mission wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Since I am focusing on mustering out my team, I really take care of not placing them too much into harms way, and the rest of the troops are more dispensable. My main characters almost have plot armor in this regards, but things can always turn sour, as you never know if the dropship will arive in time. Having this bad roll on the Enemy Movement was a bit disheartening as I need to fight another battle to gain the starport sector, and this time at a higher priority level. On the other hand this gives me some extra time to prepare my industrial zone terrain (printed, primed, but not painted yet) and have a full assortment of terrain to cover all sectors.
I didn’t expect to have a second season of Five Parsecs from Home: Bug Hunt, but here we are. I have decided on what the second season will be like, but I still need to decide some things. I’ll ask questions to the Oracle:
Q: Are the Red Coyotes disbanded? A: Yes, but the Characters stick together
Alright then it seems that the Red Coyotes were a “Special Assignment” regiment, and once their task was complete, they were disbanded. The Characters though will be transferred to a new regiment together (this is the interpretation of the but result of the Oracle.)
Q: Is Lt. Thomsantch with them? A: No, but he keeps an eye on his old comrades
Rolling at the Regiment flavour table: Solar Rats
Pre-Battle Roster
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat Skill
Toughness
Savvy
Ariana Raschke
1
6″
+0
4
+2
Kato Minoru
3
6″
+1
5
+1
Ulla Voight
1
5″
+3
3
+1
Name
Completed Missions
XP
Origin
Training
Service History
Ariana Raschke
6
0
Trade Hub
– Planetary militia – Technical Training – Leadership Training
– Anti-pirate operation – USS Astral Monarch Campaign
– Naval forces (Security) – Physical training – Marksman Training
-Anti-pirate operation – USS Astral Monarch Campaign
Name
Missions & Injuries
Status
Ariana Raschke
Kato Minoru
Service Pistol +1″ Range
Ulla Voight
The Red Coyotes were sitting in the barracks, playing cards, when their datapads started blinking and notification sounds filling the room, as the troopers paused for a moment. Ulla took a look at her datapad. “Transfer order-” she pauses as she reads further “-got PY-511 in F9 V system.” “Same here” Ariana interrupts. “I am to report to the Solar Rats regiment in Colgan’s Wreck – how about you, Kato?” she asks. “Garrison duties? Why are we being sent to some frontier outpost?” He complains, then realizing the question. “Oh, yes, at least we’re together. Solar Rats. Yay” he fakes a cheer.
The door opens and Lt. Thompsanch enters. Someone yells “Officer! Attention Troopers!”. They drop whatever they’re doing and stand attention. “At ease troopers.” Thompsanch begins, takes a pause and continues. “News must have already reached you. Transfer orders have already been placed to the lot of you. The USS Astral Monarch returns to her naval patrol duties. The Red Coyotes are disbanded. I don’t know where you will end up, but I pulled some strings to ensure that tight fire teams stay together. Let me say that I am proud to have been your commanding officer. You delivered this victory, and Unity stands strong because of you.” The troopers salute and cheer “hurrah”, pumping their right fists onto their chest.
PY-511 System Map
The troopers were accepted quickly into the Solar Rats. The missions under their belt meant they weren’t addressed to as rookies. But still, it was as non-exciting as possible. Until the alarm went off. Sirens blasting at full, the troopers quickly gathered at the barracks. Their Captain, Fyodor Alekhin, gave a quick briefing. “Alright you rats. If you thought this was an easy assignment, well I hate to break it to you, but you’ve got your work cut out for you. As of zero seven hundred hours today Colgan’s Wreck is no more.” he didn’t pause for the restless murmuring, but instead with a louder voice he continued. “Face Rippers. Nasty beasts, have infested PY-511. They were sighted yesterday. Colgan’s Wreck was overrun quickly. We have credible intelligence that the bugs originated from the cavern system from the badlands to the south of the colony. Civilian Evacuation was issued at 0300 through the starport. Carpet bombing was performed at 0700H today in the city to eliminate the infestation, but it was ineffective. Since 0900H, one by one, the Starport, Farms, Industiral Zone, Waste Zone were all overrun by bugs, and contact was lost to any forces there.” “OUR MISSION” he goes with a louder voice, and the troopers stop talking. “Protect the Forward Operating Base that was set up by the Tech Corps. This will be our foothold so that we can proceed to clear the rest of the sectors one by one, to eliminate the infestation. Get your gear and dropship assignments, and get going! DISMISSED”.
Sector Map
For this game I will follow the Co-op Campaigns system from the Bug Hunt Appendix, but with a single player. After fooling around with several online generators and hex tools, I couldn’t find one to my liking, so I turned to my rudimentary drawing and photoshoping skills and delivered the above result. 7 sectors in total, and I can go only from one to the adjacent ones, unless I capture the Starport. This should give at least 7 missions which might give enough attempts to get a trooper to muster out. If I don’t manage to muster out afterwards, I’ll proceed to regular 5PFH campaign without a mustered out crew member. For each of the above sectors I rolled the following priorities and randomly assigned one of each Factors.
+ 09.06.25 + + Solar Rats dispatched West from Operational Zone. Advancement. + + Dust storm obstructing targeting systems. Dropship fire ineffective. + + Squad Musculus – Sgt Kosarev, Trooper Voight, Fire Team advancing towards Objective B – Scout the FOB. + + Squad Rattus- Troopers Raschke and Minoru towards advancing Objective C – Hack sensor data for enemy entry points. + + Intel aimed for precision airstrikes after evacuation. + + Objective A – Secure the 150 approach determined as Secondary. + 09.11.45 + + Techtrooper rescued – Fighting condition determined. Squad Musculus reinforced. + 09.16.20 + + Techtrooper rescued – Fighting condition determined. Squad Rattus reinforced. + 09.20.25 + + Hostile signals detected amassing from 185. No combat as yet.
Round 2
+ 09.27.05 + + Hostile signal detected at 100 + 09.32.00 + + First combat. Squad Rattus reports 3 aliens in sights. Face Rippers. Fire at will. 2 confirmed alien kills. + + Squad Musculus – Techtrooper rescued – Fighting condition determined. Trooper located at terrace of command tower. + + Trooper reports enemy contact. 4 aliens in FOB barricades. + 09.36.15 + + Hostile signal in OZ at 185. Signals amassing from 120.
Round 3
+ 09.40.05 + + Squad Musculus broken formation. Sarge Kosarev indicates Objective B achieved. + + Trooper Minoru reports unconfirmed alien kill. + 09.43.00 + + Face rippers closes in on Squad Musculus. Sergeant Kosarev is reported as first casualty. 4 alien kills reported. 3 unconfirmed. + + Squad Musculus reports 5 more aliens in sight. Position compromised. + 09.46.45 + + Trooper Voight formation broken. Dash to connect to Squad Rattus. Reports 1 confirmed alien kill. + + Squad Musculus formation restored. 5 alien kills reported, 1 confirmed. Casualty ratio good. So far 5.0 to 1.0. In Unity’s favour. + + Squad Rattus advances. + 09.50.50 + + Hostile signals amassing from 90.
Round 4
+ 09.53.20 + + Hostile signal in OZ, at 190. + 09.54.20 + + Squad Musculus suppresses aliens. Face rippers overrun the tower. Squad Musculus reports casualties. + + Squad Rattus reports hostile contact. 5 aliens in sight. + 09.56.45 + + Squad Rattus engages hostiles. 3 alien kills reported, 1 confirmed. Casualty rate down at 3.5 to 1.0.
Round 5
+ 09.59.55 + + Squad Musculus reports 3 alien kills. None confirmed. + + Squad Rattus reports 1 confirmed alien kill. + 10.03.00 + + Bugs engage Squad Rattus. 2 confirmed alien kills. The troopers overcome odds. + 10.04.10 + + Squad Musculus reports increasing pressure from hostiles. Enemy forces growing rapidly. 7 confirmed detections from 170. + 10.06.15 + + Trooper Raschke distinguishes herself. Wounded, she confirms a 4th alien kill. + + Evac flare deployed at F.O.B. Sector 5. Dropship en route. + + Squad Musculus reports 3 alien kills. None confirmed. + 10.08.05 + + Hostile signal detected approaching from 100. Enemy closing in from all sides. Casualty ratio back at 5.0 to 1.0. + + Objectives 1/3 Cleared. Victory is uncertain.
Round 6
+ 10.11.40 + + Squad Musculus is encircled. Firing at will. 2 alien kills reported. 1 confirmed. + + Squad Rattus reports 1 unconfirmed alien kill. + 10.13.00 + + Close combat engagement. Bugs overrun Squad Musculus. 3 Trooper casualties, 1 wounded. 3 reported alien kills.1 confimed. + + Squad Musculus reports contact with 3 more aliens from 180. + 10.14.00 + + Trooper Raschke engages data interface. Data transferred. Objective C completed. + + Squad Rattus reports 1 alien kill. Not confirmed. + 10.18.15 + + Dropship approach. Squad Rattus evacuation executed. + + Hostiles amassing from all sides. Expect wave attack imminently. Casualty ratio down to 3.0 to 1.0.
Round 7
+ 10.20.05 + + All contact lost with Squad Musculus. Casualty ratio established at 2.0 to 1.0. The price of Victory.
At the start of Round 7 I noticed that I needed two objective instead of just one to Clear the Sector. I went back and played it out with a *what if* they remained until they Hacked objective Nr.2 - because I would not leave without a victory at this point - and Ariana hacked it at the Quick Phase of Round 7. With no Bugs in range to attack her, and no Contact Markers nearby to affect the end result, I decided to go ahead with a Success instead of putting back the figures at approximate distances and running it all over again. The end result is the same.
Post-Battle
1. Determine Casualties and Lost Marines
None
2. Update Completed Missions
Done
3. Check for Mustering Out
No Chance
4. Determine Reputation
18 Initial -1 For Support Points +3 For Rescuing 3 Troopers +1 For 2 Objectives Completion +1 For Objectives Roll 22 Final
5. Experience and Leveling
+4 XP each, MVP: Ariana (+5 XP) Ulla will spend 8 XP for +1 Toughness
6. Roll for Operational Progress
1 Support Point Claimed: 3 Total Enemy Moves: Enemy swarms: Industrial Zone
7. Roll for Military Life
Kato: You’re detached on special duties. You cannot participate in the next mission, but you receive a bonus roll on the Special Assignments table.
As the Solar Rats flew back to command, they caught sight of the bombers going the other way. Ulla looked at her teammates. “For those we lost-” she spoke. “-They will be avenged.” Ariana responded. The ride back was silent. They had lost many good men and women today. An eager Captain Alekhin was waiting for them at the landing pad as they arrived. He counted heads, and instantly knew. “Well done troopers!” he yelled, to be heard over the sound of the dropship’s engines cooling down. “There will be time to mourn later. The war has just begun. Get some rest to get ready for the next mission. I expect debriefing at 1500. Early intel while you guys were pitting it against the bugs in the F.O.B. says that they swarmed the I.Z.” As the troopers disembarked, he stopped Kato, his hand, flat on his chest. “Not you, swift boy.” He looked at him. “I don’t know what strings you pulled, but you won’t be joining us for the next mission. You’re to go back to the rear for some special assignments. Brass wouldn’t tell me more.” “Yes Sir!” Kato answered, and headed for the barracks, running after his friends.
Post-Battle Roster
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat Skill
Toughness
Savvy
Ariana Raschke
1
6″
+0
4
+2
Kato Minoru
3
6″
+1
5
+1
Ulla Voight
1
5″
+3
4
+1
Name
Completed Missions
XP
Origin
Training
Service History
Ariana Raschke
7
5
Trade Hub
– Planetary militia – Technical Training – Leadership Training
– Anti-pirate operation – USS Astral Monarch Campaign
– Naval forces (Security) – Physical training – Marksman Training
-Anti-pirate operation – USS Astral Monarch Campaign
Name
Missions & Injuries
Status
Ariana Raschke
S2E1
Kato Minoru
S2E1
Service Pistol +1″ Range
Ulla Voight
S2E1
Session Summary
This was a really fun battle despite the small roster, and I got to enjoy some new terrain I printed and painted. For the next fight I intend to attack the Star Port, as I don’t want to attack high priority sectors yet, which means I have to get some terrain ready for this as well – this might cause a slight delay for the next game session. I may have done a few mistakes during the session, but nothing of significant impact. It was fun, how the small roster was countered a bit by the three! troopers I rescued – almost an entire fire team. I think the new campaign style is really interesting, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it will play out. For the enemy, the next session will start seeing the appearance of variants – and I haven’t decided yet if it will be a different variant per sector, still randomly determined. On the journalling part, any of my usual readers will have noticed that I’m still experimenting. In addition to my awesome (sarcasm detected) drawing skills for the sector, and the cool planetary system generator by donjon.bin.sh, I have changed my photos, reporting and narrative of the battle. I decided to do away with the mechanical description of game parts of the combat. Bug hunt is really heavy on the bookkeeping side, and I’ve only managed to resolve this by introducing tons of different tokens and markers. Writing it all down for the report would defeat the purpose, and just make the game too tiring for me. I changed the in-battle narrative, inspired by the Space Hulk 1st Edition Missions book. I think it comes closer to the feel of the game, and is a refreshing change in narrative style. Last but not least, I adapted a semi-comic book photo presentation. I’ve seen it a few time by other players, and I always found it looked cool. However I could not find a suitable program to do it on my own. Any apps I found were clunky, riddled with ads, or had a paywall for premium features which should be standard. Then I discovered I could do it in Linux with Krita. There was a short learning curve, but eventually I got the hang of it. However when I was playing the game and taking the pictures I still had not found out about it, so the pictures were taken from eagle-eyes view, at the end of each round – not suitable for a comic-book style story. I intend to further experiment with this on my next game, and perhaps have something better looking.
Continuing on my Five Parsecs from Home – Bug Hunt campaign, a dual episode, as I played two campaign turns back to back. I also was a bit burned out and didn’t do detailed note-taking of the mechanics and rolls. Bug hunt has a lot of figures and markers on the board to monitor so it can quickly become cumbersome. Instead, using my tokens and markers I noted down the most important parts, and also took pictures at least one per round. So I intend to give an overall overview of what happened each round, in a narrative style along with the pictures.
Another topic that has to do with my slight burnout is the lack of purpose of this campaign. If you are following, it has become a bit of a tangled mess. The random enemy types per battle which give a very abstract narrative content which is in contrast to the operational progress table, along with the “let’s get it done with so I can muster out to Five Parsecs” thought that’s nudging the back of my head really push me to get it wrapped up quickly.
What I also noticed on my side of things is the terrain and setup topic. I am playing on a 60 cm x 60 cm board, and I have been doing a rough calculation of distances to make it feel larger. To this extent I have printed rulers and blast templates at 60% size to make things more true to size. After all, terrain and miniatures are scaled to 60% from the 28-32mm scale, and the base size is 15mm in my games which is 60% of the 1-inch standard grid. Therefore distances are correct now. However this means that a 60 cm table is the equivalent of a 100 cm x 100 cm table, which is 1,7 square feet larger than the typical 3′ x 3′ table. I am also missing enough linear terrain to block LOS and movement. I still need some ruins and rock formations.
I have been considering ways to improve the portability, storage and setup of my games. I am playing in 15mm scale and I should take advantage of it. Recently I went ahead and magnetised over 1000 miniatures for storage, and it has made things so much better. I no longer have to behave as if I’m serving dinner in fine porcelain, and can be a little bit more rough with taking things in and out of storarge. What I have been working with in my head is getting a backgammon box board, magnetize it and turn it into a quick solution for storage and playing. I still will need to work on the specifics, but planning is the most important part, and I am almost done with this step.
Now, on to the game.
Episode 06
I rolled up a new character to replace Jake Bradley. Her name is Ulla Voight. Like Ariana, she’s also coming from a Trade Hub, and also did an Anti-pirate operation in her service history. She had a basic training in Naval forces (security). I think it’s very likely she knows Ariana, so I’ll work with this concept in terms of background.
Special Assignments
Ariana: Officer training course: Failure Kato: Physical Training: Failure, Harsh Environment Course: Success (two assignments, but no participation in the mission, due to military life roll in Ep05) Ulla Voight: Physical Training: Success
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat Skill
Toughness
Savvy
Jake Bradley
1
5″
+1
4
+0
Holbrook Linkovich
1
4″
+0
3
+2
Allyson Stoyer
2
5″
+0
3
+0
Ariana Raschke
1
5″
+0
3
+1
Kato Minoru
2
5″
+1
4
+1
Ulla Voight
1
5″
+1
3
+1
Name
Completed Missions
XP
Origin
Basic Training
Service History
Jake Bradley
4
7
Prison Planet
Planetary Militia
Garrison or patrol duties
Holbrook Linkovich
2
2
Scientific Outpost
Naval forces (Ships Crew)
Extended campaign
Allyson Stoyer
1
0
Core Systems World
Ground forces (Scouts)
Police action (Commendation)
Ariana Raschke
4
11
Trade Hub
Planetary militia
Anti-pirate operation
Kato Minoru
4
11
Military Outpost
Ground forces (Scouts)
Police Action
Ulla Voight
1
3
Trade Hub
Naval forces (Security)
Anti-pirate operation
Name
Special Assignments
Missions
Status
Jake Bradley
Ep01, Ep03, Ep04, Ep05
Minor Injuries Ep03 (0) Knocked out Ep04 (0) Gruesome Fate Ep05
Holbrook Linkovich
Ep01
Death Ep01
Allyson Stoyer
Ep01
Gruesome Fate Ep01
Ariana Raschke
Technical Training Leadership Training
Ep02, Ep03, Ep05
Minor injuries Ep02 (0) Head Wound Ep03 (0)
Kato Minoru
Survival Course Harsh Environment Course
Ep02, Ep03, Ep05
Leg Wound Ep03 (0)
Ulla Voight
Physical training
Fight a tabletop battle
For the battle I used a desert roll mat I had made myself with acrylic spackle, paint and fine sand. I had severe issues with it in the past with sand shedding everywhere, but I re-coated with floor polish and it’s much better now. For terrain I decided to do a space junkyard with an alien monolith at the centre for theme.
Rolled up two objectives, a Vital Patrol objective and a Hack objective.
Priority was rolled at 3, and Spawn Rating 2.
I spent one Reputation point to increase Support to 4.
Support Options Fire Team: Failure Sarge: Failure Colonial Militia: Success Soulless Recon Team: Failure
Loadout Ariana: Hand Cannon + Boarding Sword Ulla: Shotgun + Service Pistol
I placed the Tactical Locations and rolled 3 Signals which I placed as well.
Ariana Roschke was sitting in the briefing room of USS Astral Monarch. She looked around for Kato, but he was nowhere to be found. He had mentioned spending some extra time doing special assignments. But her gaze stopped at another familiar face.
“…dismissed. Get at it troopers” the Lt. Thompsanch’s voice echoed in her ears. She quickly made a beeline towards her target.
“I’ll be damned! If this isn’t Ulla!” She exclaimed.
Ulla turned around, and a smile appeared on her face. “Ari! Didn’t know you were stationed here!” She hugged her warmly.
“Come! Let’s get ready for the mission. We have a lot of catching up to do!” Ariana took her by the arm. Oh she also had to remember the mission objectives. Someone would have to fill her in.
Battle Round 1
Ariana and the militia move behind cover towards the vital objective that must be patrolled. We got Contact. 3 Vent Crawlers! The Fire Team shoots and kills one, stunning another. Ulla moves and fires her shotgun, blasting another crawler to pieces. Spawn Point: SE (2)
HD-603 is a desert planet of little consequence to Unity. However, that’s where the mission was. They had to patrol a space junkyard for enemies, and locate an abandoned terminal and hack it to retrieve the data. Ulla checked her gear once more as she was stepping foot on the light sand. She got point on the Fire Team, while Ariana was leading a team of Colonial Militia towards the patrol point at a huge junk pile. Spaceship cemetary someone called it, and they were right. She was hoping it wouldn’t be unity cemetary also as Ariana yelled “Contact” over comms, and some man-sized mantis-looking bugs running towards them. They had found openings through the junk and were really closed. Ulla and her Fire Team started shooting, killing two of the chittering creatures.
Battle Round 2
The Fire Team lights up the last bug One contact marker disappears, the other moves away, a new appears NE Ulla goes to investigate the signal Ariana goes to Patrol the objective, the militia dash behind her Ulla finds supplies +2 Support Patrol isn’t successfully completed Spawn NE(3), SE (1)
Ulla’s team kills the last insect, while she heads off towards a point of interest. A signal blasting on her datapad. Searching through the junk she recovers a crate of Unity gear. That should come handy for the missions to come. Might make recquisitions a bit less stingy. Ariana and her team starts their patrol for any more enemies.
Battle Round 3
Fire team moves closer The contact marker by the second objective doubles in number We move closer to the second objective Spawn NE(2), SE(-) A contact marker spawns SE Patrol isn’t complete successfully
Without ending the patrol, the squad starts moving towards the second objective. Getting ready for contact with the blips appearing on their scanners nearby.
Battle Round 4
The contact markers move towards Ariana. 6 bugs including an Assassin and a Bruiser! The militia stun a bug twice and wound the bruiser Ariana kills the assassin bug with her hand cannon The fire team moves and kills one bug and wounds another Ulla moves towards the signal but turns and shoots and kills a bug A contact marker appears at the signal: stay frosty It disappears and a new one appears at NE Spawn NE(1), SE(1)
As if they smelled them approaching, the signals move closer, and soon it’s clear that more of the insects are upon them. “Six bogeys!” Ariana calls over the comms. “Fire at will at the large one!” she orders, and the militia aim their fire, wounding the beast. It’s crippled. Ariana aims at one with some huge pincers, and blasts away her hand cannon. The bug splatters it’s innards everywhere as it dies. The troopers fire and kill another bug, and immobilize another. “I’ll go investigate this alien pillar!” Ulla shouts. But seeing the conflict, she turns her attention to them, and shoots her shotgun, eliminating another insect.
Battle Round 5
Fire Team shoots and kills two bugs Contact markers move around Ulla investigates the signal: Ambush: 5 bugs Ariana moves and stuns the bruiser knocking it back away from the objective The militia form a line and shoot at the newly appeared bugs, killing 2 Patrol still not complete Spawn NE(-) blip, SE(-) blip
The troopers open fire at the rest of the bogeys, and decimate them. Only the crippled big bug remains standing. Ariana shoots at it, her hand cannon’s bullets missing any vitals, but sending it reeling further back. Ulla approaches the alien column only to come face to face with more chittering. A handful of insects jump towards her. Does this artifact have anything to do with the bug’s appearance? She has no time to ponder. “Contact!” she yells. “Form a line and cover her!” Ariana orders the militia, who take positions and fire at will, bring the enemy numbers down to three.
Battle Round 6
Ulla dashes away from danger Fire Team forms a line and shoots at the bugs but they all miss The bugs attack and 2 troopers are slain, but the third one kills the bug attacking him Ariana attempts to hack the other objective and fails The militia eliminates the bugs attacking the fire team Patrol done at last Vital objective complete Spawn NE(-), SE(-)
Ulla runs back to the cover of the troopers. The fire team also forms a line, but the bugs now scatter quickly, and dodge any shots from the troopers, gaining ground at the same time. They reach grappling distance, and two troopers fall under the sharp pincers. The militia quickly shoot again, and make short work of them, securing the safety of the troopers. Ariana reaches the terminal. She tries to connect it to power, but fails to bring it to life. “Come on you stupid piece of shit!” She yells. “Ma’am! Patrol is done. We have enough information to get to command!” A trooper shouts.
Battle Round 7
New contact! 4 bugs near Ariana She abandons the objective and dashes away Ulla calls for evac, Success! The militia form a line and shoot at the wounded bruiser, one shot managing to end him Fire team shoots at the bugs from far and miss Spawn NE(-), SE(2)
As Ariana tries to get the terminal working, Ulla calls at her. “Ari! Four bogeys on your six.” “Screw it.” Ariana says and runs back to the group. Ulla calls for Evac. “This is trooper Voight to USS Astral Monarch. Patrol Objective Accomplished. Ready for Extraction. Enemy movement moderate.” “Acknowledged trooper. Stand by for extraction.” The response comes quicker than usual. The troopers and the militia stand their ground shooting an all enemies in sight, and finish off the crippled big bug, as the new group advances towards them.
Battle Round 8
The troopers shoot at the bugs, one dead, two stunned Contact markers move all over A bug dashes close but Ulla blasts it with her shotgun to death Evac arrives! Success Mission time: 1h30m
No orders are necessary, the fighting continues as the Red Coyotes stand their ground. Two more bugs eliminated and two suppressed. Ariana is watching the movement signals on her scanner as the sound of the dropship engines draw her attention. One by one the soldiers board the ship, and she joins them. Inside she looks at Ulla with a smile. They both made it back alive, and with objective accomplished. That’s success to her.
Post Battle Report
Determine Casualties and Lost Marines –
Update Completed Missions –
Check for Mustering Out No Chance
Determine Reputation +1 -1 Reputation
Experience and Leveling Ariana +3 XP, Ulla +4 XP (MVP) Ariana: +1 Toughness, +1 Savvy Kato: +1 Toughness
Roll for Operational Progress 31+15: Stalemate (+15)
Roll for Military Life Kato: Time tinkering. Select a personal weapon and increase range by +1″ (Service Pistol – Just in case he musters out)
Check Entitlement to R&R None
Reputation: 14 Points, +2 Support Points
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat Skill
Toughness
Savvy
Jake Bradley
1
5″
+1
4
+0
Holbrook Linkovich
1
4″
+0
3
+2
Allyson Stoyer
2
5″
+0
3
+0
Ariana Raschke
1
5″
+0
4
+2
Kato Minoru
2
5″
+1
5
+1
Ulla Voight
1
5″
+1
3
+1
Name
Completed Missions
XP
Origin
Basic Training
Service History
Jake Bradley
4
7
Prison Planet
Planetary Militia
Garrison or patrol duties
Holbrook Linkovich
2
2
Scientific Outpost
Naval forces (Ships Crew)
Extended campaign
Allyson Stoyer
1
0
Core Systems World
Ground forces (Scouts)
Police action (Commendation)
Ariana Raschke
5
0
Trade Hub
Planetary militia
Anti-pirate operation
Kato Minoru
4
3
Military Outpost
Ground forces (Scouts)
Police Action
Ulla Voight
2
7
Trade Hub
Naval forces (Security)
Anti-pirate operation
Name
Special Assignments
Missions
Status
Jake Bradley
Ep01, Ep03, Ep04, Ep05
Minor Injuries Ep03 (0) Knocked out Ep04 (0) Gruesome Fate Ep05
Holbrook Linkovich
Ep01
Death Ep01
Allyson Stoyer
Ep01
Gruesome Fate Ep01
Ariana Raschke
Technical Training Leadership Training
Ep02, Ep03, Ep05, Ep06
Minor injuries Ep02 (0) Head Wound Ep03 (0)
Kato Minoru
Survival Course Harsh Environment Course
Ep02, Ep03, Ep05
Leg Wound Ep03 (0) Service Pistol +1″ Range
Ulla Voight
Physical training
Ep06
Ready for Another Campaign Turn
Back in the living quarters of USS Astral Monarch, Kato was tinkering with his service pistol. “Hey Kato.” Ariana says as she and Ulla enter. “Meet my old friend, trooper Voight, the newest Red Coyote.” “Ulla.” She introduces herself. He nods in acknowledgement. “What are you working on there?” she asks. “Just recalibrating the barrel for better aiming. I feel like I’ll get some extra effective distance with it.” He answers. “Let’s hope it won’t come to us shooting bugs with pistols” Ariana points out. “Let’s hope not.” Kato agrees. “But better be prepared.” The three troopers continue socializing, until the next mission.
Perhaps Ariana should stop trying to become an officer and get some courses done.
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat Skill
Toughness
Savvy
Jake Bradley
1
5″
+1
4
+0
Holbrook Linkovich
1
4″
+0
3
+2
Allyson Stoyer
2
5″
+0
3
+0
Ariana Raschke
1
5″
+0
4
+2
Kato Minoru
2
6″
+1
5
+1
Ulla Voight
1
5″
+2
3
+1
Name
Completed Missions
XP
Origin
Basic Training
Service History
Jake Bradley
4
7
Prison Planet
Planetary Militia
Garrison or patrol duties
Holbrook Linkovich
2
2
Scientific Outpost
Naval forces (Ships Crew)
Extended campaign
Allyson Stoyer
1
0
Core Systems World
Ground forces (Scouts)
Police action (Commendation)
Ariana Raschke
5
0
Trade Hub
Planetary militia
Anti-pirate operation
Kato Minoru
4
4
Military Outpost
Ground forces (Scouts)
Police Action
Ulla Voight
2
8
Trade Hub
Naval forces (Security)
Anti-pirate operation
Name
Special Assignments
Missions
Status
Jake Bradley
Ep01, Ep03, Ep04, Ep05
Minor Injuries Ep03 (0) Knocked out Ep04 (0) Gruesome Fate Ep05
Holbrook Linkovich
Ep01
Death Ep01
Allyson Stoyer
Ep01
Gruesome Fate Ep01
Ariana Raschke
Technical Training Leadership Training
Ep02, Ep03, Ep05, Ep06
Minor injuries Ep02 (0) Head Wound Ep03 (0)
Kato Minoru
Survival Course Harsh Environment Course Physical Training
Ep02, Ep03, Ep05
Leg Wound Ep03 (0) Service Pistol +1″ Range
Ulla Voight
Physical training Marksman Training
Ep06
Fight a tabletop battle
For the battle I kept the same a desert roll mat. For terrain I decided to do an outpost with power generators surrounded by rocks (real rocks).
Rolled up two objectives, a Patrol objective and a Vital Retrieve objective.
Priority was rolled at 5, and Spawn Rating 3.
I spent one Reputation point to increase Support to 6.
Support Options Fire Team: Success Sarge: Failure Grenades: Success K’Erin assault marine team: Failure Weapons Support: Success Colonial Militia: Success
Loadout Ariana: Hand Cannon + Boarding Sword Kato: Power Claw + Combat Rifle with Mounted Launcher + Service Pistol Ulla: Shotgun + Service Pistol
I rolled 6 Signals which I placed, and must investigate at least 2 or suffer a penalty to completed Objectives.
Lt. Thompsanch had the same desert planet on the briefing screen. “You know HD-603 pretty well. Your previous mission gave us enough intel to know there’s enemy presence there. We can’t be sure as to their numbers, as the data wasn’t recovered, but patrol was definite.” The Lieutenant takes a breath and continues. “Last time it was a junkyard, but now we want to ensure that the Unity outpost that we lost contact with is secure, and if not, evaluate the status.” “Troopers! Patrol the outpost. If contact is confirmed, you must retrieve the support crates. They have vital Unity material that was sent to the outpost for classified purposes.” The Lieutenant looks around the room. “Questions?” They knew better not to ask. “Dismissed. Get your loadouts and deploy!”
Battle Round 1
It is Vital that we retrieve an item at the other side of the battlefield and also patrol the power generators Kato dashes forward to retrieve the objective He has got some distance to cover We decided to take the North route outside of the outpost Investigated a signal and found 3 civilians A spawn point appeared in our backs NW(-)
The Red Coyotes deployed to the West side of the outpost. Ulla got point of a Colonial Militia team, while Kato took Fire Team Alpha and Ariana Fire Team Bravo. They were much better armed this time around, and with more troops. “Let’s avoid entering the outpost until we know what’s going on.” Ariana radios. “I’d rather not be locked inside with no way out, and a swarm of bug coming my way.” “I’m leading the way.” Kato responds. “Ulla, I think I saw movement in the rocks, you better check it out.” “I’ll be… hey mama, we got some civvies here. Perhaps they know what’s going on. Lt. Thompsanch can debrief them after.” She gestures them to keep silent, and points them to follow in the middle of the squad. The ground shakes, and a hole opens nearby to the north. “Bug tunnel!” a civilian whispers. The troopers look at each other. They know what they have to do.
Battle Round 2
Kato moves back and closed the Spawn Point supported by a trooper! We avoided any contact with the enemy Spawn SW(3)
Kato takes a soldier with him, and they start laying explosive charges. A few seconds later, a loud bang is heard, and the tunnel collapses on itself. “That should take care of them for now.” Kato calls as the Red Coyotes continue marching along the North side of the perimeter of the outpost.
Battle Round 3
3 bugs appear next to the troopers and are killed on the spot Ulla moves forward and comes into contact with four bugs But she investigates the signal and rescues a trooper! Ariana moves and blasts to death a bug with her hand cannon The militia form a line and shoot killing a bug stunning another Fire Team moves behind them Power generator has been patrolled! 1 objective complete Another spawn point appears North Spawn SW(2), N(-)
An ambush by the mantises is quickly averted as the troopers open fire at the first sign of movement. The three insects that popped their heads out, turned into lifeless corpses. Ulla runs ahead when she hears a Unity code for SOS. She heads to the fence and finds a battle ready trooper holding his service pistole. “You have arrived? We were overrun!” He mentions. “Trooper, are you fit for combat?” She asks. “Yes ma’am!” He responds and straightens his pose. “Then get your sidearm and follow us to victory!” Ulla orders him. The chittering behind her draws her attention. “Contact!” The trooper yells. The militia form a line and open fire, and with Ariana’s support, they reduce the enemy to half numbers. “Outpost patrol complete! Move to retrieve the packages!” USS Astral Monarch radio comes over the network. “We have close oversight this time around.” Kato mentions as he turns his attention back to the battle. He notices another tunnel appearing between him and the objective.
Battle Round 4
Ulla moves and wounds a bug with her shotgun Ariana kills the other bug Contact! Bugs surround us from the North and from the Outpost The fire team forms a firing line and shoots, kills 2 bugs, stuns 2 others Militia forms a line and shoot but only stun two bugs Civilians move in the safe corridor Kato shoots his grenade launcher into the bugs He kills a bug, wounds one, stuns another, and is out of ammo Spawn SE(1), N(-)
“Bogeys North and South!” Ariana shouts, as insects appear from both sides. “We musn’t be surrounded! Form a corridor! Protect the civilians! I’ll clear the front!” Ulla responds and shoots the insect to the East, wounding it. The troopers follow their orders to the letter, allowing for the safety of the civilians who look around terrified, staying in the middle, as the Unity troops open fire. They eliminate and suppress the threat from the North, however the ones in the outpost under cover, are hard to hit. Kato aims his rifle mounted grenade launcher at them, and bug parts start flying all over, blasted by the grenade. However the launcher jams, and won’t be able to shoot again until repaired, after battle.
Battle Round 5
Militia shoots and misses the bugs behind cover Solo trooper shoots his pistol and misses the bugs behind cover A bug charges at the militia and kills him The rest of the bugs are no longer stunned Contact! 5 more bugs at the power generator, one of them an assassin bug Fire team moves and shoots at the bugs north, wounding one Ariana moves and supported by a trooper manages to disable the North spawn point Kato kills the wounded bug in front of him The civilians move in the centre for protection The fire team shoots and kills two bugs I… forgot to call for evac Perhaps after we retrieve the last objetive Spawn SE(-) blip
“Path east is clear! Move forward! Cover our rear!” Ulla orders, as the fighting ensues. Another blast is set off, this time by Ariana, and the second bug tunnel collapses. Just one tunnel remains at the other side of the oupost, unreachable, but also a lower threat. Shooting ensues, many bugs are killed, but one breaks through, taking a brave man of the colonial militia down with it.
Battle Round 6
Beep sir! 4 bugs North Two bugs are killed Ulla picks up the package Kato and Ariana shoot and kill the two other bugs The militia kill the assassin bug and stun another The bugs charge at the militia who fight bravely They kill two bugs, stun two more, and lose one soldier Two contact blips! 8 bugs One Leader The civilians run to safety The rescued trooper calls for evacuation failure Fire Teams move and shoot They kill one bug and wound another Spawn SE(1)
Ulla recovers the package as the Red Coyotes are spread thin in formation behind her. The colonial militia are at the rearguard, as bugs start swarming, coming from the outpost. Shooting and covering fire by the troopers is not enough, and the militia soon resort to hand to hand combat. Another man falls, but many bugs are killed. “This is Outpost H-603A1 garisson with the Red Coyotes. USS Astral Monarch come in! Mission objectives complete. Civilians under fire. Request extraction.” The trooper calls, but noone answers.
Battle Round 7
5 bugs appear NE Ulla and Kato kill and stun one each The militia try to hold, they shoot and kill a bug and wound another Bugs attack and the militia fight bravely. They wound the bug leader, kill a bug and stun another. But they also suffer the same. They lose a trooper, one is wounded and another stunned. Fire teams form a line and shoots at bugs, kill two, wound one, stun another The solo trooper shoots and kills a bug with his handgun Evac success! next round Spawn SE(4) blip
“Contact!” a handful of bugs appear at the vanguard. Immediately Ulla and Kato react, suppressing the threat and reducing their numbers. The fire teams retreat tactically, shooting at the enemy, while the militia put their last stand against the oncoming horde of insects. They lose another man, and their last two fighters are stunned and wounded. Alas the bugs don’t gain ground without a cost. Four bugs are dead from the concentrated fire and brave melee defense. “bzzzt bzzzt” the radio comes in. “Standby for extraction Red Coyotes. Dropship inbound.” A glimmer of hope fills the troopers and civilians. They may get to live another day.
Battle Round 8
Ulla and Ariana kill the two bugs north The militia shoot and kill two bugs One fire team retreats towards the rest of the characters and shoot and kill one bug Bugs attack now They kill the militia, but bravely the militia takes a bug down with him They also kill one fire team trooper The fire team retreats and shoots back killing a bug Evac! End of battle
The vanguard eliminates any surrounding insects. Evac is clear for landing. The militia are too far away, they make a last stand against the challenging enemy numbers, shooting two bugs dead. The insects close in. One man fights and with a knife kills the bug with his last breath before perishing alongide his companion. Another bug dashes forward, and manages to kill a trooper before he reaches the safety in numbers of the rest of the squad. A dustcloud lifts as the dropship arrives, completing the evacuation.
Post Battle Report
Determine Casualties and Lost Marines –
Update Completed Missions –
Check for Mustering Out No Chance
Determine Reputation +6 -1 Reputation
Experience and Leveling Kato, Ulla +4 XP, Ariana +5 XP (MVP) Kato: +1 Reactions Ulla: +1 Combat Skill
Roll for Operational Progress 100+15: Time to hold a parade! +1 Reputation, R&R
Roll for Military Life Ariana: You’re getting in shape, at least. You may immediately raise Speed by +1 for a cost of 5 XP. – Spent Kato: You cash in a favor. Spend 0-2 Reputation, and for each point you earn 2 XP or a +1 bonus when rolling for a Special Assignment. Spent 2 Reputation for +2 bonus.
Check Entitlement to R&R Done
Reputation: 18 Points, +2 Support Points
It’s been a few days after the last mission. The troopers are hanging around the recreational deck, relaxing, when Lt. Thompsanch appears. “I want you all tomorrow at 0800 hours at the portside hangar. Ceremonial dress. We will have a holo-parade, and the Sector General will address the regiment. Sector is secure from all roving threats boys. Seems the USS Astral Monarch and the Red Coyotes did it’s job. Shore leave is in three days. You’ll hear it from the man himself, but you can hear it from me now – Well done!” The troops cheer and start chanting “Red-Co-yo-tes, Red-Co-yo-tes.” Once the fuzz dies down, Ariana finds the Lieutenant. “Sir. What will happen to the Red Coyotes now? I understand this Regiment was formed ad-hoc to eliminate the roving threats of the sector.” “Vigilant and sharp as ever trooper Roschke.” The Lieutenant replies. “I’d like to see you get assigned to the officers training that you’re so intent on joining.” He pauses for a moment and looks around. “I don’t really know what brass intends to do. There’s a chance the core of the regiment will be transferred to another unit. We understand that we don’t want to lose the cohesion you’ve achieved, but still as you said the unit has no more purpose now. Take the win, trooper.”
Name
Reactions
Speed
Combat Skill
Toughness
Savvy
Jake Bradley
1
5″
+1
4
+0
Holbrook Linkovich
1
4″
+0
3
+2
Allyson Stoyer
2
5″
+0
3
+0
Ariana Raschke
1
6″
+0
4
+2
Kato Minoru
3
6″
+1
5
+1
Ulla Voight
1
5″
+3
3
+1
Name
Completed Missions
XP
Origin
Basic Training
Service History
Jake Bradley
4
7
Prison Planet
Planetary Militia
Garrison or patrol duties
Holbrook Linkovich
2
2
Scientific Outpost
Naval forces (Ships Crew)
Extended campaign
Allyson Stoyer
1
0
Core Systems World
Ground forces (Scouts)
Police action (Commendation)
Ariana Raschke
6
0
Trade Hub
Planetary militia
Anti-pirate operation
Kato Minoru
5
0
Military Outpost
Ground forces (Scouts)
Police Action
Ulla Voight
3
4
Trade Hub
Naval forces (Security)
Anti-pirate operation
Name
Special Assignments
Missions
Status
Jake Bradley
Ep01, Ep03, Ep04, Ep05
Minor Injuries Ep03 (0) Knocked out Ep04 (0) Gruesome Fate Ep05
Holbrook Linkovich
Ep01
Death Ep01
Allyson Stoyer
Ep01
Gruesome Fate Ep01
Ariana Raschke
Technical Training Leadership Training
Ep02, Ep03, Ep05, Ep06, Ep07
Minor injuries Ep02 (0) Head Wound Ep03 (0)
Kato Minoru
Survival Course Harsh Environment Course Physical Training
Ep02, Ep03, Ep05, Ep07
Leg Wound Ep03 (0) Service Pistol +1″ Range
Ulla Voight
Physical training Marksman Training
Ep06, Ep07
Session(s) Summary
First of all two mistakes I’ve noticed that I did. a) I forgot to use the Beep Sir rule in Ep06, b) I forgot to use the Variants rule in Ep07 (and half the times I forgot to roll for pack leaders). This is a reminder that Bug Hunt is very dense game in a lightweight ruleset. The nice thing is that forgetting a rule or two isn’t game breaking, but as a solo game it does take it’s toll on the mental load of the player.
With this out of the way I must admit that before finalising the Post Battle Report of Ep07 I went to bed, worried about the effort to run yet more games until someone musters out, however, as it turned out, the victory result in the Operational Progress gives me a narrative freedom to reset everything and enjoy the rest of the missions without the issues mentioned in the intro of the post.
Going forward I will determine a single enemy type and a single theatre of war for the next campaign. I will also determine if the characters will remain in the same regiment, or if they have been transfered to a new regiment.
I am also considering using the co-op campaign rules, albeit solo to go at my own pace, and clear a sector instead, giving something more tanglible as a purpose.
Furthermore it is important to solve the terrain issue. I need a smaller, portable surface (as discussed before) and linear terrain. As such I may delay the next games until I have a working or in-progress solution.
Perhaps I miscalculated how much effort I would need (as a gamer) to muster a character from Bug Hunt to Five Parsecs, but I am not giving up yet!
peter holland, 
Onibaba are discussing. 
technoalchemist, and 1 other are discussing. 
Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice 
Reply