Episode 1: A new job; A Starport Scum AAR

The fringe is full of interesting stories and characters. Heroes and Villians, Tyrants and freedom fighters. In reality though, the truth is hardly ever so black and white..

On a small, insignificant dustball on the fringe, just such a story is about to begin..

In a small dive-bar on the surface of this rock Vic is having a drink. His day haven't been great so far, and so he drowns his troubles. 

"Barkeep, have you got something for me?" Vic asked wearily.
"I'm afraid not. Most work has gone off-world since the mines ran dry, not much left on this hemisphere anyhow." He replied.


A new voice rings out in the mostly empty building: "You Vic?" 

 Turning around slowly, Vic takes in the newcomers. He's not impressed by the local thugs. "Who's wants to know?"
 "The boss wants to see you, you best come quietly." One of them wheezes through his rebreather, waving his guns around.
 "If you've got a job for me, I'll consider it" Vic growled. "Otherwise, get out of my face."
The newcomers level their guns at him. "We wasn't asking, Vic."

 "You've really made a mistake now boys." Vic gets a wicked grin on his face as his hand suddenly whips out with his custom shotgun.

 The boom of the shot is hellish in the confined space, and the first of the thugs turns into a pink mist as the shot rips through him.
 His comrade narrowly escapes a similar fate as he dives behind a table. 

 As Vic slowly walks over, the thug looks to be regretting his cocky words.
 "Look man, I only followed orders. You don't have to go crazy on me like you did Lez!" he stammers.
 "Where can I find your boss?"
 "In the old Omni-corp building on mainstreet, you can't miss it. Ask for Mr Guntz. I told you what you wanted, please just let me live." the thug pleaded. Vic pulled the trigger. "Can't have you come after me later." he said over his shoulder.
 

A short time later, CC and Kai, his companions join him in the parking lot of the bar.

 Sharing what he'd found out, he asked for a decision: should they go see Mr Guntz?

"I figure we might as well, we are running low on funds from the last job." Kai offered.

"You know me Vic, I'll follow your lead." CC nodded at their bloodsplattered leader.

"Let's go then, see what he wants."

At the offices of Mr Guntz.

 As they enter the small office, Vic and his comrades notice the heavy presence of thugs. "Let's not start anything in here, we're here to talk." Vic cautioned.

 "Mr Vic, I'm sorry if my boys caused any problems. You know young people, always so eager." Guntz smiled apologetically.
 "They are no longer with us. What did you want so badly you sent an armed "escort"?"
 "Straight to the point, I like that. I've been asked to look into some potentially worrying research by the Rakuen Biotech corporation. I could use your team's skills to investigate their abandoned facility on the outskirts of the great desert. To keep negotiations and stalling to a minimum, I've been authorized to offer you 10.000 UC upon delivery of any and all research material from that facility."

 "That's a lot of credits for what seems like a pretty standard crawl. You have all this muscle, why not do it yourself?" Vic asked suspiciously. 
 "My employer does not wish to be directly linked to this act, as I'm sure you can appreciate Mr Vic."

After a short discussion, the team choose to take the assignment. It's too good a payday to pass up, especially with funds running low.

 

The edge of the desert, close to the abandoned Rakuen facility.

"It doesn't seem to be as abandoned as they claimed" CC snorted.

"Let's try a stealthy approach then, maybe we can even get the data without a fight." Kai suggested.

"Good idea, let's go people." 

The guards on duty seem to be more than your average thugs or militia, suggesting that somebody else is looking for whatever Rakuen might have left behind.

 The guards catch something moving in the corner of their eyes, and move to investigate..

..As he move around a cliff, he spots Kai! In his haste his shot goes wide, but the mercs in the compound is now alerted!

Moving with blazing speed, Kai slams into the guard, winding him and bowling him over, but fail to take him down.

CC moves around the rock and into view of the pinned guard. Taking careful aim, she squeezes the trigger, and the guard is permanently silenced.

Inside the compound a frenzy of activity erupts as more combatants move to support their comrades. 

 Vic dodge a slug from the guard..

 ..But it trips him up, and his own shot goes wide as well. luckily for him, CC is looking out for him and before the guard has a chance to capitalize on the opening, a rifle bullet slams into the side of his head.

 Kai ran towards the door at full tilt, hoping to catch at least some of the attackers unawares.
"Slow down Kai, we don't know how many of them are in there!" Vic shouted at the younger mans back.
"Don't worry, I'll save one or two for you!"
Kai winked at him before sprinting even further into the building.

Crossing into the open space, Kai sees a half-dozen mercs. Still confident, he smiles as he jumps, blades flashing at the closest foe.
 The vibro-blade passes cleanly through the throat of the merc, his scarlet blood leaking onto the floor.
 Quickly raising his rifle, the next soldier just managed to block the blow as Kai's blade came slicing at him.

 With his momentum halted, Kai was in a bad spot. At point blank range, several of his enemies open fire.

His armor manages to absorb some of the blows, but it eventually fails as the weight of fire slams into him again and again. Kai goes down, his fate unclear..

With shots still ringing out, Vic and CC make it into the building. Stopping to catch their breath, they realize that something's gone wrong when Kai doesn't reply.

  Throwing himself into the room, Vic realized what had happened. As he sailed through the air, his shotgun barked out several rounds.
 The entire space was filled with fragments as the blasts strip paint and interiors from the falls. One of the mercs manage to make it out of the room by the skin of his teeth, but his friend is less lucky. Standing over Kai's unconsious body, he took the brunt of the blast, leaving him a tattered mess, barely recognizable as human.
Kai was spared any further injury thanks to being on the floor.

 Just when the pandemonium of Vic's shots are dying out, CC steps around the corner and open fire as well. Her shot flies true, hitting a mercenary standing in the open doorway center mass.
 He crumples to the floor, the light going out of his eyes before he hits the ground.

Losing yet another of their number, coupled with the messy death right infront of them is too much.
"We're not payed enough for this. Sir I wish to surrender!" One of the mercs drops his gun, and the rest follow suit.

Vic keeps an eye on the disarmed mercs as CC rushes forward to check on Kai.
"Is he ok?" Vic looks over.
"Yes, just took a nap boss."Kai replies. He starts to laugh, but winces as the pain comes back with a vengance.
"I need you to get all the data off the facility mainframe, can you do that?"
"Sure thing boss." Kai limps over to the console and starts the data extraction.
As soon as the data is transfered, the group turned to their captives. "You are free to go as soon as we've left the facility. Can't give you any of the data, professional reputation and all that."
"You'll just let us go, just like that?" They look at their captors suspiciously.
"As long as you don't come after us, sure." Vic smiles his best shark-like smile as they begin to walk out of the building.
"Are you sure about this Vic, just letting them go like that?" CC looked over at him with a worried look on her face.
"Have a little faith girl, I tagged both them and the mainframe with a bug, we'll know if they come after us" Kai said to CC and winked impishly.

When they got back to the hotel, Vic called Mr Guntz on a secure line.
 "We have the data, transfering it now."
"A pleasure doing business with you Mr Vic. One last thing, did you look at any of the data?"
"No, should I have?" Vic responded, somewhat taken aback by the question.
"Of course not, forgive me. Goodbye Mr Vic."
The line cut.

Soon thereafter the 10.000 credits showed up on the credstick Vic had linked to his account.
They were rolling in it, for now at least.

He was interrupted from his thought when Kai called out for him: "Hey boss, can you get in here?"
When he entered the small room Kai had claimed, he saw a wealth of data rolling across the monitors. "What's all this data Kai?"
"It's a copy of the Rakuen mainframe. The Merc just tripped my alarms. They seem to be using the master password to wipe all the data."
"They weren't after the information?" Vic's brow furrowed.
"Seems unlikely, that master password isn't anything that is left lying around. Someone gave it to them, or they have a good tech with them. Anyway, that's not the most interesting part."
"What is?"
"The data they wanted to delete first. It's a record of a Rakuen facility on Thylla I, involved in something called Project BW."
"What is that?"
"No idea, but they sure don't want anyone to find out.."
"That's why they asked if we had looked at the data!" Vic cursed under his breath. "We need to pack it up, get to the spaceport and off world double-quick."
"CC, you grab the arms and armor. Kai, Stow your kit. They could be coming for us any minute!"  

He'd been right. A few minutes after they left the hotel, a big explosion and gunfire could be heard behind them, as they moved through the back-alleys and side streets to avoid any possible patrols.

They arrived at the spaceport eventually, seemingly in the clear.
Catching their breath, the trio entered the 'port.

"So where are we headed boss, other than away from here?"
"Thylla I." Vic said solemnly.
"Is that really so smart?" CC looked at her companion and saviour. "You know I'll follow you anywhere, but that's asking for trouble."
"Yep, it is. But this thing stinks of big Corp involvment, and these people tried to kill us, so there's that. We're going." Vic walked up to the ticket vendor to book passage on the first shuttle out.
"Well, this will be interesting." Kai mused, dodging a shoulder-punch thrown by CC.

"Let's go, we have a mystery to solve" Vic returned with 3 tickets and a fire in his eyes.



What are Rakuen up to? Who where the mercenaries? What is project BW, and why are the people behind it willing to kill to keep it a secret?

 Log on next time to find adventure, some answers and more questions!

Heroes, Villians and others of note; Characters of my Starport Scum campaign

Just like with the Saga of Clarke, I figured it would be easiest to gather all the characters and their background in one post, for easy reference.

This is the first bunch of notable characters.

Protagonists

Vic

Traits
Tough guy - Ignores the first hit every round.
Fighter - Rolls +1D in close combat.
Intimidating - Any attempt to intimidate models during conversations succeed on a roll of 3+.

Equipment
Custom Shotgun - +1D if target is within 12" when attacking, -1D if over 12". Hits all targets within 2" of original target.
Combat Knife
Body armor - 2D save.

Formerly from the core worlds of Unity, Vic came to the fringe years ago. After his first employer stranded him in the outer reaches, he has put his skills to use as a fixer, taking on jobs too messy or dangerous for local talent to handle. Never one to shy away from a fight, or a lost cause, Vic does attempt to stay away from the big Corporations and Unity, as they were the reason he ended up out here. Vic is the de-facto leader of the small team, being the most experienced.


CC

Traits
Sharpshooter - Rolls +1D in ranged combat.
Clever - Rolls +1D for all non-combat related tasks.
Tracker - Can track any non-droid.

Equipment
Hunting rifle - +1D ranged combat if stationary, Ignores cover if stationary.
Handgun
Body armor - 2D save.

 A fringe local, CC grew up on a farmstead in a backwater system called Quineg. A clever and resourceful girl, she quickly showed an aptitude for hunting and was trained to track and hunt from a young age. Her early life was a hard but honest one, as life tends to be on the fringe. But like so many others, her life soon took a tragic turn when a raiding group of space pirates came to her home. The farmers and townsfolk put up a fierce fight, but it was ultimately doomed.
 Just when she thought she was being shipped off as a slave for the rest of her life, Vic swooped in like a knight in shining armour. He'd been hired to deal with the pirates by a local businessman, and had shot and stabbed his way through them to get their boss. In doing so, CC and several other young ones where saved.
 She begged Vic to take her with him, since her family hadn't survived the raids. He eventually relented, and CC have been his loyal comrade ever since.

Kai

Traits
Blademaster - Rolls +1D in close combat when using bladed weapons.
Quick - Adds +2 to movement rolls.
Tech adept - Rolls +1D when attempting non-combat tasks involving electronics/computers.
 
Equipment
Vibro Blades - Allows 2 strikes per attack.
Body armor - 2D save.

Kai's origin is unclear, but what we do know is that he's been trained in martial arts and spent several years in fighting pits around the fringe. Most of the fighters are slaves or debt-slaves working off what they owe, but Kai found it a lucrative business. After a number of years he ran foul of some powerful gangsters, and decided to take up a new job as a fixer. Combining his fighting skills with the technical aptitude cultivated as a child, he quickly made a name for himself. That's when he ran into Vic and CC during a job. The three of them combined forces, and have worked together ever since.


Villians

Graham

Traits
Inspiring - +1 to morale rolls.
Nerves of steel - +1D to non-combat tasks involving stressfull situations.
Sharpshooter - Rolls +1D in ranged combat.
Equipment
Modified Assault Rifle - Hits all targets within 2" of the original target.
Body armor(limited) - 1D save.

Graham is the captain of the Void Stalkers, a successfull mercenary group that works with many of the bigger names on the fringe. They are even rumored to have connections to some of the big Corps on the core worlds, but it's anyones guess if thats true, or just a rumor he encourages. Gramham is a charismatic man of action and a former Unity soldier, who started up the Void Stalkers with what was left of his command after a mission gone wrong. Due to a bureaucratic snafu, they were never reported MIA and presumed dead. Left to his own devices, he built his organization over the last 20 years, employing other former soldiers and security personel like himself and have managed to make it one of the biggest players on the fringe. He currently holds a long-time contract with a mysterious and well-funded patron. 

Bella

Traits
Sharpshooter - Rolls +1D in ranged combat.
Fighter - Rolls +1D in close combat.
Nerves of steel - +1D to non-combat tasks involving stressfull situations.

Equipment
Heavy assault rifle - Pushes target back 1" on hit.
Combat knife

Bella was an orphan on a already crowded world closer to the core worlds, she grew up fighting in the streets of the hive city of her birth. Quite by accident she piqued the interest of a Unity agent on assignment when she was just 8 years old, and so she was taken into the Unity training program. After many years of grueling tests and trials, she was sent to the fringe, to join and report on a up-and-coming mercenary group known as the Void Stalkers. Her years of training served her well, and within a few years she'd made it into the inner circle as the 2nd in command. Working in the moral grey-zone of the mercs world has unbeknownst to her skewed her moral compass, making her handlers worry that she might be compromised. She denies this, but have stopped all communication since. Her true loyalties seems unclear at this moment.

Other Characters

Hannibal

Traits
Quick trigger finger - May shoot twice in an attack.
Danger sense - Can sense and avoid traps on a roll of 5+.
Tracker - Can track any non-droid.

Equipment
Revolver - Accurate (+1D to ranged attacks within 12"), Impact(Saves only on 6+)
Body armor(limited) - 1D save.

Hannibal is a bounty hunter and self-proclaimed lawman. Styling himself as a old Terran lawman, he has a reputation for always getting his man and never giving up.

Zak

Traits
Relentless - Can't be pinned.
Quick - Adds +1 to movement rolls.
Resolute - Can't be persuaded not to fight.

Equipment  
Powered fist - +1D to close combat rolls.
Flamethrower - R 6", Ignores cover, hits all targets within 2" of the original target.
Body armor (Extensive,Durable) - 3D save, can't be decreased or ignored.

Zak is a enigmatic fellow. Emerging on the fringe a few months ago, Zak came from beyond the outer reaches, uncharted space. No-one knows who or even what he is, only that he is looking for some people and they only know as much because thats the only question his gravelly voice ever asks. Yashar, Thugee and Billby are the marked men, the men who betrayed him and Zak won't ever stop chasing them.



I'll keep updating this post as new characters and creatures show up, and to reflect any changes in traits and/or equipment. Check back every few episodes of the campaign for some more info!

Til next time!

A shipload of goons and a few more pieces of terrain

With the summer holliday here, and the inspiration of tales of Rhoro Tharik (which can be found here), I've painted up a few more goons and finished up some more terrain pieces for my own upcoming Starport Scum scenarios.

A whole bunch of goons.

 With human space being as wast as it is and realities of interstellar transport, more than a few of these men and women once belonged to Unity armed forces or were security personel from the core worlds. Due to choice or chance, they got stranded in the fringe. Forced to make ends meet, many end up as guards, local militia or little more than hired thugs working for one crime-boss or another.

A few even stay with their own units, forming some of the numerous private security firms or in darker cases, roving bands of desperate men, perpetrating unspeakable acts.   

These troopers I painted up to fill the role of professional mercenaries. Many corporations prefer to bring their own security on their excursions to the fringe, but it's not unheard of for them to have mercs in their employ as well, especially in unstable regions. The hired help costs only a fraction of what the internal security does in case of horrible death and/or mutilation, due to contractual obligations. 

I have too little in the ways of terrain for more rural areas, as well as for my station and spaceship tiles. But I had to start somewhere, so first I made a few more rocks and a few stand-alone buildings.

A military command post or similar civilian structure, with a small outbuilding on the outskirts. Could be anything from a foremans office in a mine or some such industry, to a colony admin building for a small settlement.  The structure is from Sayiner micro toys.

A small bunker. A structure of obvious usefullness on the fringe of human space, where there might be local wildlife to keep in line, or some ne'er-do-wells looking to take what's yours. Also from Sayiner micro toys.

 The last building is a all-purpose pre-fab. Storage, living quarters or improvised work area, these versatile structures comes in a range of sizes and shapes, manufactured locally to keep costs down. Virtually all of them are made from standard templates aquired from core-world mega corps like Sanada Corp or Union. This one I cast in plaster, using some plastic packaging for a mould.

Rocks like these are one of the easier and more versatile pieces of natural terrain you can make, and they work well for my Horizon Wars game as well, being able to hide a mech is a big plus in my book! The two in the background are made from a plastic half-sphere covered in paper towels soaked in a pva-water mix. The bigger one in the last pic have crumpled up newspaper for a core, with the same paper towels for cover as above. I might very well make some more, but I think I might try creating a few more bases of woods and then some furnishings for the spaceport and spaceship tiles.

I have a set of characters for my upcoming Starport Scum games ready, but I'll make a separate post, so I can keep that one updated as more characters appear as the story progresses.

I also have a new faction brewing for Horizon Wars, but more on that later!

Til next time!

Another go at Starport Scum

Only a week or so after my first game some of the rules were tweaked to better match the mechanics with the setting of the game, and so I had to give Starport Scum another go!

The single shot echoes through the valley and the small town. At the compound that serves as HQ for the town's guards, a man in a suit collapses as the bullet tears through him.

The mysterious sniper smiles as he gets ready to fall back, his mission accomplished.

Having spotted the sniper, the target's now unemployed bodyguard starts barkig orders to the local guards. Bullets and energy beams strike the snipers perch, forcing him to seek cover..

..But he is not alone. He'd hired a local band of farmers turned thugs-for-hire. They surge forward to cover his retreat, and with more luck than skill, manage to bring down a guard.

In a mere moment, the area outside the compound is turned into a battleground as guards and thugs engage in firefights. 

Through the smoke and confusion the bodyguard comes charging through, straight at the sniper.
His photon blades flashes as he lands blow after blow, forcing the assassin back and to his knees.

Grunting from the pain of several cauterized cuts by the energy blades, the sniper manages to raise his rifle and fire as he's forced to his knees. His aim skewed by having to dodge more attacks, his shot strikes the attacking bodyguard but misses the vital points he was aiming for. Both of them wounded, they nontheless struggle to their feet.

Outnumbered and outgunned, the thugs are starting to falter under the two guard units.

Taking the chance while still possible the sniper starts moving toward his extraction point.

Not willing to let his prey get away, the bodyguard sets out after him, firing his laser pistol as he goes. The sniper dodges as well as he is able, taking a few blasts to his armor, and returns fire with a small shard pistol, forcing the bodyguard to duck and roll to avoid the cloud of razor-sharp projectiles.

The last of his distraction gone the sniper is now alone, but close to his exfil.

In the shadows of a great rock, the bodyguard again catches up to his elusive prey. Photon blades singe the air as he strikes the sniper. Falling to the assault, the sniper seems defeated..

..But just as he is about to hit the ground, a stim-autoinjector floods his system with it´s payload. With a surge of adrenaline and amphetamines, he shoots towards the edge of his extraction zone.

The bodyguard curses under his breath as the mysterious assailant disappears from view. Who the frag was he? And how did he know that one of the big-wigs of the Stellar Traders Union would be here? That was just some of the many questions racing through his mind as he steeled himself for the unplesant conversation with his employers..


The tweaks made wonders, the gameplay shifted toward the heroic and the cinematic just like I had hoped!
It also has the added bonus of rewarding ganging up on the goons and using spray and pray tactics to set up deadly attacks too.

Now that I know that it'll work the way I hoped, I can start planning for future games and no less important, introduce the main protagonists of the adventures to come!

Til next time!