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| I'd like to say that this made a significant dent in my pile of shame, but... |
As mentioned in a previous post, Five Parsecs From Home is a solo miniatures game built around campaign play. The player runs a spaceship crew for hire. They do jobs for employers who prefer to keep their dirty work at arms length. Violence happens, the interests of the employer is advanced, and the crew gets paid - in theory. Things have a way of going off the rails.
Preparing a new campaign involves generating a crew and the resources they have at their disposal. It mostly involves rolling dice, checking tables, and recording the results. Those results only offer the basics. Providing more narrative details is left to the player.
The Crew
The standard crew size is six characters. There are rules for starting with a smaller crew that I'm looking forward to trying out sometime. But this is my first Five Parsecs From Home campaign, so I decided to stick with a standard crew.
I used the "first timer" method. All six characters are Human. As with many rules systems, Humans have middle of the road statistics and minimal special rules. An all Human crew simplifies both character creation and running them during play. It also means that I don't have to find miniatures to represent an unusual character.
Below are the results from the Background, Motivation, and Class tables. The numbers are the die rolls using percentile dice. The names of each result are paraphrased to keep them relatively short. The rules effects of each result are also noted.
Background Table Results:
87 Industrial World - +1 Gear
33 Drifter - +1 Gear
96 Wasteland Nomads - +1 Reactions, +1 Low-tech Weapon
07 Dystopian City - +1 Speed
16 Mining Colony - +1 Toughness
02 Peaceful, High-Tech Colony - +1 Savvy, +1D6 credits
Motivation Table Results:
36 Adventure - +1D6 credits, +1 Low-tech Weapon
19 Glory - +1 Combat Skill, +1 Military Weapon
53 Discovery - +1 Savvy, +1 Gear
48 Technology - +1 Savvy, +1 Gadget
06 Wealth - +1D6 credits
24 Survival - +1 Toughness
Class Table Results:
66 Scoundrel - +1 Speed
98 Scavenger - 1 Rumor, +1 High-tech Weapon
25 Mercenary - +1 Combat Skill, +1 Military Weapon
48 Trader - +2D6 credits
44 Negotiator - Patron, +1 story point
09 Technician - +1 Savvy, +1 Gear
I put the results together and assigned miniatures as follows:
Industrial World, Adventure, Scoundrel - Wanda Whitestar
Drifter, Glory, Scavenger - Kirby McDowell
Wasteland Nomads, Discovery, Mercenary - Bug Spray
Dystopian City, Technology, Trader - Helen Salinger
Mining Colony, Wealth, Negotiator - Jessica Blaze
High-Tech Colony, Survival, Technician - Rosie
The Ship
The crew's spaceship is handled abstractly. The rule book mentions that a player could have a model for the ship that might appear in a battle, but the ship isn't the focus of the game. The main thrust of the game is the crew and the trouble that they get into.
That said, the ship does have an effect on the game. The debt that the crew owes on the ship - a nod to games like Traveller - provides a motivation and complication. How the ship is fitted can provide benefits for the crew. Finally, an equipment that the crew isn't carrying is assumed to be stored aboard the ship.
I rolled a 38, resulting in a retired scout ship with 25 Hull and the fuel-efficient trait. A rolled a 2 for debt, resulting in 22 credits owed.
Flavor Details
These tables are optional and don't effect gameplay, but add a little extra inspiration for the narrative behind the campaign. Die rolls used percentile dice.
55 The crew met at a bar.
62 "Somewhat honorable bandits" - I choose to interpret this as a collection of lost souls with nowhere better to be and no better prospects that as independent troubleshooters for hire.
I've got some ideas to flesh out the bare bones generated by these results. Names for the crew and more details for their backgrounds. The fact that they all met at a bar has already inspired the name of the ship: The Last Call.
Preparing a new campaign involves generating a crew and the resources they have at their disposal. It mostly involves rolling dice, checking tables, and recording the results. Those results only offer the basics. Providing more narrative details is left to the player.
The Crew
The standard crew size is six characters. There are rules for starting with a smaller crew that I'm looking forward to trying out sometime. But this is my first Five Parsecs From Home campaign, so I decided to stick with a standard crew.
I used the "first timer" method. All six characters are Human. As with many rules systems, Humans have middle of the road statistics and minimal special rules. An all Human crew simplifies both character creation and running them during play. It also means that I don't have to find miniatures to represent an unusual character.
Below are the results from the Background, Motivation, and Class tables. The numbers are the die rolls using percentile dice. The names of each result are paraphrased to keep them relatively short. The rules effects of each result are also noted.
Background Table Results:
87 Industrial World - +1 Gear
33 Drifter - +1 Gear
96 Wasteland Nomads - +1 Reactions, +1 Low-tech Weapon
07 Dystopian City - +1 Speed
16 Mining Colony - +1 Toughness
02 Peaceful, High-Tech Colony - +1 Savvy, +1D6 credits
Motivation Table Results:
36 Adventure - +1D6 credits, +1 Low-tech Weapon
19 Glory - +1 Combat Skill, +1 Military Weapon
53 Discovery - +1 Savvy, +1 Gear
48 Technology - +1 Savvy, +1 Gadget
06 Wealth - +1D6 credits
24 Survival - +1 Toughness
Class Table Results:
66 Scoundrel - +1 Speed
98 Scavenger - 1 Rumor, +1 High-tech Weapon
25 Mercenary - +1 Combat Skill, +1 Military Weapon
48 Trader - +2D6 credits
44 Negotiator - Patron, +1 story point
09 Technician - +1 Savvy, +1 Gear
I put the results together and assigned miniatures as follows:
Industrial World, Adventure, Scoundrel - Wanda Whitestar
Drifter, Glory, Scavenger - Kirby McDowell
Wasteland Nomads, Discovery, Mercenary - Bug Spray
Dystopian City, Technology, Trader - Helen Salinger
Mining Colony, Wealth, Negotiator - Jessica Blaze
High-Tech Colony, Survival, Technician - Rosie
I'll come up with names later.
Their Stuff
Character generation provided the following starting equipment:
2 Military Weapons
1 High-Tech Weapon
2 Low-Tech Weapons
4 Gear
1 Gadget
4D6 credits
In addition, all crews start with the following:
3 Military Weapons
3 Low-Tech Weapons
1 Gear
1 Gadget
1 credit per crew member
Finally, the rules provide a benefit for characters who rolled a Savvy increase. Each time that occurs, the player can take a High-Tech Weapon instead of a Military Weapon. With three characters rolling Savvy increases, I opted to substitute three High-Tech Weapons for Military Weapons.
Below are the results from each equipment table. As before, the numbers are the percentile dice rolls.
Military Weapons
70 Auto Rifle - a heavy rifle with a drum magazine used for fire support.
76 Rattle Gun - a belt-fed machine gun of obsolete or dubious design.
High-Tech Weapons
17 Hand Laser - a directed energy weapon in the form of a pistol.
98 Glare Sword - a glowing energy blade projected from a shiny handle.
41 Beam Pistol - a military grade sidearm.
25 Hand Laser - more handheld pew-pew.
Low-Tech Weapons
36 Machine Pistol - a submachine gun or PDW.
99 Brutal Melee Weapon - an unsubtle approach to melee combat.
06 Handgun - a conventional pistol.
17 Scrap Pistol - a conventional pistol bashed together from the parts that happened to be around.
38 Machine Pistol - see above.
Gear
07 Beam Light - gun mod that improves visibility.
47 Frag Vest - armor for a single character.
90 Sector Permit - handy on planets that require a license to operate.
73 Med-patch - single-use item that reduces the recovery time for an injured character.
38 Fake ID - handy for acquiring legal documentation via less than legal methods.
Gadget
05 Analyzer - provides a bonus when looking for certain information.
18 Boosted Leg - cybernetic implant that improves movement for a single character.
Credits
Rolled 18 on 4D6 and added 6 for a total of 24 credits.
Their Stuff
Character generation provided the following starting equipment:
2 Military Weapons
1 High-Tech Weapon
2 Low-Tech Weapons
4 Gear
1 Gadget
4D6 credits
In addition, all crews start with the following:
3 Military Weapons
3 Low-Tech Weapons
1 Gear
1 Gadget
1 credit per crew member
Finally, the rules provide a benefit for characters who rolled a Savvy increase. Each time that occurs, the player can take a High-Tech Weapon instead of a Military Weapon. With three characters rolling Savvy increases, I opted to substitute three High-Tech Weapons for Military Weapons.
Below are the results from each equipment table. As before, the numbers are the percentile dice rolls.
Military Weapons
70 Auto Rifle - a heavy rifle with a drum magazine used for fire support.
76 Rattle Gun - a belt-fed machine gun of obsolete or dubious design.
High-Tech Weapons
17 Hand Laser - a directed energy weapon in the form of a pistol.
98 Glare Sword - a glowing energy blade projected from a shiny handle.
41 Beam Pistol - a military grade sidearm.
25 Hand Laser - more handheld pew-pew.
Low-Tech Weapons
36 Machine Pistol - a submachine gun or PDW.
99 Brutal Melee Weapon - an unsubtle approach to melee combat.
06 Handgun - a conventional pistol.
17 Scrap Pistol - a conventional pistol bashed together from the parts that happened to be around.
38 Machine Pistol - see above.
Gear
07 Beam Light - gun mod that improves visibility.
47 Frag Vest - armor for a single character.
90 Sector Permit - handy on planets that require a license to operate.
73 Med-patch - single-use item that reduces the recovery time for an injured character.
38 Fake ID - handy for acquiring legal documentation via less than legal methods.
Gadget
05 Analyzer - provides a bonus when looking for certain information.
18 Boosted Leg - cybernetic implant that improves movement for a single character.
Credits
Rolled 18 on 4D6 and added 6 for a total of 24 credits.
 |
| "You shorted me five credits." "Uh, taxes?" *Sounds of violence.* |
The Ship
The crew's spaceship is handled abstractly. The rule book mentions that a player could have a model for the ship that might appear in a battle, but the ship isn't the focus of the game. The main thrust of the game is the crew and the trouble that they get into.
That said, the ship does have an effect on the game. The debt that the crew owes on the ship - a nod to games like Traveller - provides a motivation and complication. How the ship is fitted can provide benefits for the crew. Finally, an equipment that the crew isn't carrying is assumed to be stored aboard the ship.
I rolled a 38, resulting in a retired scout ship with 25 Hull and the fuel-efficient trait. A rolled a 2 for debt, resulting in 22 credits owed.
Flavor Details
These tables are optional and don't effect gameplay, but add a little extra inspiration for the narrative behind the campaign. Die rolls used percentile dice.
55 The crew met at a bar.
62 "Somewhat honorable bandits" - I choose to interpret this as a collection of lost souls with nowhere better to be and no better prospects that as independent troubleshooters for hire.
I've got some ideas to flesh out the bare bones generated by these results. Names for the crew and more details for their backgrounds. The fact that they all met at a bar has already inspired the name of the ship: The Last Call.
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