Wartech Campaign: Experimental Rules (Part 5)

Dynamic Gear System

This is something that Jarom and I have been brainstorming for a while, and something we want to implement in our own game. It's a dynamic gear creation system. Where making the gear for your character is as involved as making your character. We wont be providing a huge list of weapons and armor in a core book and countless sourcebooks, rather a system where you can make your own gear. It allows you to customize it however you need, and keep you updated on pricing, which is the balancing factor. You could potentially create something very devastating, but when it's price starts to get higher than your credits you are given, you begin to think twice about buying it over a decent set of armor or rations and supplies. Our justification in this system is there are countless arms and weapons manufacturing companies and nations in the galaxy, at least one of them is bound to make the thing you are thinking of.

Jarom even ingeniously developed a way that price will go up or down depending on where you get the item from (to show rarity) or what your nation of origin is (to show racism in unfair business practices). For example: My brother, James, who played Gra', the cardoon, was once a shocktrooper for the Hezakian Combine. The Combine garners a lot of discrimination and racism toward the cardoon, but they also make the type of gear he likes and has grown accustomed to. So when James was creating his awesome weapons, he found them to be extremely expensive, because in order to get the features he wanted, they were only available if the weapon was declared to be of Combine make. It even amounted to something like each grenade costing some amount of 1/4th of his monthly salary. However, they were ideal for his character, and on more than one occasion the weapons showed their potency and worth with his fighting style.  It will definitely be one thing some players will have to deal with.

Wartech Campaign: Experimental Rules (Part 4)

Broad Psionic Skills

One of the things I wanted about psionics in our Wartech setting, was that they did not have definite powers. They worked more like skills. You do your best to describe what all that psionic skill type encompasses and then you let the player use it however they interpret it. There are 3 categories of psionics: mind psionics, body psionics, and spirit psionics: and within each category there are 5 skills. These are meant to broadly cover any sort of power that is available in this setting.

Unfortunately we didn't get to try the new psionics rules as much as we would have liked. It just didn't come up that often. My brother, James, rolled and extra character which was purely psionic so we could get a taste of them. We really liked what we were able to try. It just felt right keeping the skills broad and the GM created TN's based on the difficulty of our actions.


MIND Psionic Skills

• Mind Attack = Mental assault on a target, causing damage. Bursting through defenses on a targets mind to make them more vulnerable to other mind psionics. Example uses:
• Mind Blast: Assault a mind with thought. Strain determines damage. The damage is unmitigated by armor. Tn7=L(stun), tn9=L, tn11=M, tn13=V
• Weaken Mind: Distract or weaken the mind’s defenses. Strain determines bonus to Mind class psionics used against target. Tn7=+1 bonus, tn9=+2 bonus, tn11-+3 bonus, tn13=+4 bonus. Lasts for 2 rounds.
• Weaken Resolve: Demoralize or depress the target. Strain determines penalty target takes whenever it attempts a resolve check. Tn7=-1 penalty, tn9=-2 penalty, tn11=-3 penalty, tn13=-4 penalty. Lasts for 2 rounds.
• Mind Drain = Draws energy from the target, causing fatigue, or remove ideas, thoughts, and even memories; like a mind wipe. Example uses:
• Cause Fatigue: Get the brain to think it is tired and fatigued. Strain determines stun damage inflicted on target. The damage is unmitigated by armor. Tn7=L(stun), tn9=M(stun), tn11=V(stun), tn13=X(stun)
• Memory Wipe: Remove targeted memories. Strain determines detail of information you erase from target’s memory. Example: tn7=character doesn’t remember meeting you in passing. Tn13=character has no memory at all of any of your parties actions over the past month.
• Mind Projection = Sending or suggesting messages, pictures, thoughts or emotions. Also can be used for establishing a simple message link with a non-psionic character. Example uses:
• Suggestion: Put thoughts into a mind, making it think they are its own. Strain determines the difficulty of the idea suggested to a character. Example: tn7=suggest an action that the character would normally do, like go to the bathroom while he is working. Tn13=suggest an action that goes against everything the character believes in, like placing the gun to his temple and pulling the trigger.  Lasts until you use another psionic power or lose concentration.
• Illusion: Fool the target’s mind into thinking it is seeing or hearing something. Strain is determined by the complexity and believability of the illusion. Example: tn7=fools the guard into thinking you are wearing a company uniform. Tn13=fools the person into thinking that the room is full of ghosts. Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.
• Message Link: Allow you to trade messages with a non-psionic character. Strain determines difficulty and complexity of the message. Example: tn7=2 or 3 word messages to another within the same building. Tn13=Discuss your attack plan to another on the other side of the planet. Trading messages with another psionic character is easier, so the strain difficulty is reduced 1 step. Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.
• Mind Reading = Sensing or reading thoughts, pictures, or emotions. Also can be used for establishing a simple message link with a non-psionic character. Example uses:
• Probe: Used on someone unaware of your probing or resistant to you. Strain determines complexity or details of your search. Example: tn7=basic mood or emotion of the subject. Tn13=his entire plan including times and names.
• Share Sense: Allows you to see things through the target’s own eyes, or hear through their own ears remotely. Strain is determined by the familiarity with the target and distance away. Example: tn7=a fellow teammate in the next room. Tn13=someone you don’t know in the next building over. Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.
• Message Link: Allow you to trade messages with a non-psionic character. Strain determines difficulty and complexity of the message. Example: tn7=2 or 3 word messages to another within the same building. Tn13=Discuss your attack plan to another on the other side of the planet. Trading messages with another psionic character is easier, so the strain difficulty is reduced 1 step. Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.
• Mind Shield = Protect against mind attacks or increasing resolve against situations. Example uses:
• Mind Armor: Creates a mental barrier which shields your mind against attacks and intrusions. Strain determines the armor rating it has against Mind Blasts and Cause Fatigue, and the penalties they suffer when using other Mind class psionics against you. Tn7=L armor/-1 penalty, tn9=M armor/-2 penalty, tn11=V armor/-3 penalty, tn13=X armor/-4 penalty. Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.
• Strengthen Resolve: Reinforce your mental faculties and strengthen them. Strain determines bonus granted to resolve checks. Tn7=+1 bonus, tn9=+2 bonus, tn11=+3 bonus, tn13=+4 bonus. Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.

BODY Psionic Skills

• Psi-alteration = The psionic can alter its physical features so as to disguise itself or accomplish something it wouldn’t be able to do in its normal form. Example uses:
• Squeeze: Change your shape to be thinner or just on your limbs to squeeze through tight spaces or small areas. How much you are needing to squeeze determines the strain. Example: tn7=shift your arms to slip out of arm-cuffs. Tn13=flatten your whole body to squeeze through prison bars. Lasts until you use another psionic power or lose concentration.
• Stretch: Extend limbs or fingers to increase your reach. Length extending and which extremity determines the strain. Example: tn7=use your whole body to reach higher to get the item from the top shelf. Tn13=stretch your finger longer to reach around inside a lock and pick it manually. Lasts until you use another psionic power or lose concentration.
• Disguise: Alter your own facial and body features enough to hide your identity. This cannot change skin or hair color, or alter hair lengths. How drastic of a change you wish to accomplish determines the strain. Example: tn7=droop your body and features to make you appear much older. Tn13=alter facial features slightly to copy another person’s so you appear to be like them in passing. Lasts until you use another psionic power or lose concentration.
• Psi-metabolism = Allows the psionic to alter his/her metabolism to survive with little sustenance and in extreme environmental conditions. Example uses:
• Adapt: Regulate your metabolic processes to survive in hostile environments. Severity of the conditions determines the strain. Example: tn7=function after 3 days with no food or water. Tn13=function in a toxic atmosphere with little oxygen.
• Feign Death: Slows your metabolic rate to a degree that makes it appear you are dead to scans and inspection. Strain determines the duration of the effect before you awake, and damage you take upon awaking. The damage is unmitigated. Tn7=a few hours, L(stun) damage. Tn9=half a day, M(stun) damage. Tn11=a full day, L damage. Tn13=2-3 days, M damage.
• Psi-emission = Transfer of biokinetic energy from within the body. Used a lot with devices to make things like psychic shields or blades. Example uses:
• Empower Psi-device: The device used will determine the strains and damage/armor they provide. Using the device lasts until you use another psionic power or lose concentration.
• Energy Transfer: You can use some of your stun points to heal another character, through touch, of stun damage. The strain is determined by the amount of stun damage you heal on the target. Tn7=1 stun healed, you take no stun damage. Tn9=2 stun healed, you take 1 stun damage. Tn11=3 stun healed, you take 2 stun damage. Tn13=4 stun healed, you take 3 stun damage. You still take the stun damage whether or not you succeed in your roll. You cannot attempt a heal if you do not have enough remaining stun points. If this uses up your remaining stun, the action is resolved as normal, then you pass out upon completion. You can attempt this at short range, but it increases the difficulty of the strain 1 step.
• Psi-enhancement = Boosting your characters’ own abilities. Such as concentration, speed, and strength. Example uses:
• Boost Strength: Increases your strength temporarily, granting you a +2 bonus to athletics and acrobatics checks and a +1 to melee damage. Strain determines how many rounds the effect lasts. Tn7=1 round, tn9=2 rounds, tn11=3 rounds, tn13=4 rounds
• Boost Speed:  Increases your movement speed and initiative by +2 temporarily. Strain determines how many rounds the effect lasts. Tn7=1 round, tn9=2 rounds, tn11=3 rounds, tn13=4 rounds
• Boost Concentration: Temporarily grants a bonus to all non-attack rolls. Strain determines how many rounds the effect lasts. Tn7=1 round, tn9=2 rounds, tn11=3 rounds, tn13=4 rounds
• Psi-rejuvination = Heal yourself of wounds, even others through touch. Example uses:
• Heal Self: Strain determines the amount of hit points or stun points you heal yourself. Tn7=L stun points, tn9=M stun points, tn11=L hit points, tn13=M hit points
• Heal Other: Strain determines the amount of hit points you heal another through touch. Tn7=1 hit point, tn9=2 hit points, tn11=3 hit points, tn13=4 hit points

SPIRIT Psionic Skills

• Cryokinesis = Slowing down molecules to reach freezing temperatures. Example uses:
• Freezing Touch: Causes something you touch to begin to freeze or cool. Size of the object and intensity of the cold determines the strain. Example: tn7=cool an overheating gun. Tn13=completely freeze a body.
• Cold Blast: Creates a blast of chilling air by dropping the temperature suddenly at a space surrounding a targeted point in medium range. Tn7=L(en) damage, tn9=M(en) damage, tn11=V(en) damage, tn13=X(en) damage.
• Electrokinesis = Control of electricity. Different from Psi-emission. Can power equipment, charge batteries, even make limited range energy attacks. Example uses:
• Electric Charge: Creates a stable and steady flow of power that can be used to power or charge devices. Must be able to touch the power or charging elements to charge the device properly. Size of the machine and familiarity with its electronics determines the strain. Example: Tn7=light a small lamp. Tn13=power an electric car on the move.
• Electric Shock: Emits a violent bolt of electricity that can arc distances or short out electronics. The shock can be delivered through touch, or arc at Short range. To make it arc at a Medium range, the difficulty of the strain is increased 1 step. Tn7=M(en)(stun) damage, tn9=L(en) damage, tn11=M(en) damage, tn13=V(en) damage.
• Pyrokinesis = Speeding up molecules to reach burning temperatures. Example uses:
• Heating Touch: Something you touch begins to heat up. Size of the object and intensity of heat determines the strain. Example: tn7=warm up someone’s cold drink. Tn13=bring a large vat of water to boiling.
• Ignite: Causes something that is flammable to ignite on fire. Severity of the fire determines the strain. Tn7=minor fire, deals L(en) damage. Tn9=moderate fire, deals M(en) damage. Tn11=stable fire, deals V(en) damage. Tn13=severe fire, deals X(en) damage. You can attempt to ignite the air in a specific area within medium range. This creates an effect similar to a flash fire and works like an incendiary grenade. This can only be attempted on a Tn11 and deals V(en) damage, or a Tn13 and deals X(en) damage.
• Illuminate: Excites the molecules in something solid that is normally inflammable. This makes it provide illumination through touch, enough to emit a moderate amount of light for a room. The strain determines the amount of rounds it will last. Tn7=1 round, tn9=2 rounds, tn11=3 rounds, tn13=4 rounds
• Technokinesis = Control machines and interfacing with them without cybertech. Example uses:
• Control Device: Control the actions of a computer or electronic device. Once linked, you control it with skill checks like normal. Familiarity, complexity, and distance determines the strain. Example: tn7=a computer you are touching. Tn13=An AI across the room.
• Scramble Device: Can send static or jumbled information to a machine that scrambles it and confuses it, often necessitating a reboot or power down. Distance away and familiarity with the device determines strain. Example: tn7=a computer you are touching. Tn13=An AI across the room.
• Datalink: Establishes a wireless link with a computer or electronic device. Once linked, you receive information with skills checks like normal. Familiarity, complexity, and distance determines the strain. Example: tn7=a computer you are touching. Tn13=An AI across the room.
• Telekinesis = Moving objects. Self levitation. Example uses:
• Move Object: Can lift, push, or pull an object remotely. Distance away of the object and weight determines the strain. Example: tn7=move a tablet across the room. Tn13=slam an enemy into a wall.
• Levitate: Causes yourself to float in the air. Height, distance, and how burdened you are determines the strain. Example: tn7=float silently across the floor unburdened. Tn13=soar quickly a few flights carrying something heavy.

While the sample applications listed don’t cover all possible uses of the skills, it samples the most common and works as guidelines for making your own. If a player thinks of a use for a power that is not described, determine if it’s believable with that power or another, and come up with your own strain outcomes.

Wartech Campaign: Experimental Rules (Part 3)

Last post I expounded upon a couple rules that didn't work very well. This week is a couple that we thought fit nicely with the game.

Different Archetypes

In our system we are designing for Wartech, we liked the idea of a few broad character classes. I condensed the list down to moderator, combatant, technician, and operative.

• Combatant (COM): Career fighter or combat specialist. Characters start with 1d6+6 HP, and +1 Fighting.
• Moderator (MOD): Leaders or commanders. Characters start with 1d6+3 HP, and +1 Empathy.
• Operative (OPS): Special agent or freelancer. Characters start with 1d6+4 HP, and +1 Acquiring.
• Technician (TEK): Technology specialist or science officer. Characters start with 1d6+2 HP, and +1 Scientific or +1 Repairing.

Combatant was essentially a fighter and technicians stayed the same. But we chose to split up the rogue into moderator and operative. We felt there needed to be distinction.

New Character Sheet

Having a unique character sheet helps to get into the feel of a new game, even if it's just an experimental one. The following sheet is a little more detail oriented and I built it to cover more rules for Rogue Space. Like the [+Initiative] and [+Movement] boxes next to the [Hit Points] box. These were to include special rules that gave you a modifier to your initiative and movement for calculating those from your current hit points.

The boxes below the FASER stats are meant for filling in your purchased skills for easy reference during play.

I really enjoy making character sheets. Getting all the pieces to fit.

More to come next week.

Wartech Campaign: Experimental Rules (Part 2)

This is a continuation of reporting what experimental rules worked and what didn't for our Rogue Space Wartech campaign. Last week I explained the Skill system which worked really well.

Stun Points

We had given characters a second set of health points called Stun points. These were meant to represent your character's non-lethal damage. Losing all your stun points knocked you out cold. They were also easy to recover. Your character's stun points is just his/her health points divided by 2 (rounded down). Some weapons did stun damage only, and it would work well for psionics. Using and pushing psionics didn't eat up your health points, instead it did your stun points. This allowed for more liberal use of psionics without making them so deadly to the user.

Well this rule looked good on paper, but it really didn't effect play all that much. It only served to convolute the rules where they probably didn't need to be. Few things did stun damage and few times did we use our psionics and noticed any difference when using stun points instead of health points. So in short this rule really didn't add anything to game's experience.

Two Damage Types

The idea here was weapons do either Physical or Energy damage. Why? Because armor. Some armor would be more effective against energy weapons than physical weapons, and visa versa. So a weapon would be listed as something like M(ph) meaning Medium Physical damage, and some armor would have 2 defense values: M(ph)/L(en), meaning you roll Medium defense vs physical damage, and Light defense vs energy attacks.

Well this didn't really work out either. For simplicity most of the time the GM would stick with one damage type and then at some point you would forget there were 2 different damage types. Most armors too would just have the 1 defense die which did equal defense vs. both damage types. So this really didn't come into play much either, and only seemed to clutter up the character sheet.

Next week I will get into a few rules that actually worked really well.

Wartech Campaign: Experimental Rules (Part 1)

My brothers and I, and one of Jarom's friends (who's first experience roleplaying this was) ran a game set in our Wartech setting. We plan on making our own RPG system for it, but for now we just wanted to run a game that explored and developed the setting and events more than anything. And it worked quite well. Jarom's story arc he ran for us we can see as being a great Intro-to-Wartech module we would release for the game, and it would do well of establishing the setting, and the players therein.

So I thought I would write a couple small articles on what game and experimental rules we played it in. Again, this didn't use our planned game system, but instead we used Rogue Space. A quick and dirty simple system that would get the work done. But we wanted to go ahead and throw in a few hacks to try to emulate the feel of Wartech. I gave a brief description of those new rules in this post here. I will extrapolate on them in a few posts on which ones worked and which ones didn't.

Skill System

This was to be done in lieu of Backgrounds found in the Rogue Space rulebook. Once you got your FASER attributes distributed, you had some points to spend on skills. We did something like 10 points. We felt that worked for starting heroes that had some experience under their belt. (Younger upstart heroes could have something like 6 points, while seasoned veteran heroes had upwards of 16) Using a point, you could buy a skill and have a +1 in that skill. Then if you wanted to spend another point, you could raise that skill to a +2. Starting heroes could not have more than a +2 in a skill. Skills were grouped under the different FASER scores, so when it came time to do an action, you checked if you had a skill that covered that action, and for the roll you add the appropriate FASER score + that skill score. If you do not have a skill for the action, then you just roll the appropriate FASER score.

Example: Gra' was going to fire his gun on the pirates of the ship he was invading. This action would normally add just your Fighting score (+2), but since Gra' is skilled in Range Weapons (+2), he adds that as well. So he gets to add a+4 to his active test.

The idea behind this system was to be a little more specific than defining your character's career. So instead of just being a 'Ship Pilot' for the GM to decide what exactly that encompassed, you could specify what kind of Ship Pilot he was, and what other little things he was good at. Here is the list of skills we used for Wartech, and a brief description of what they covered:

FIGHTING Skills

• Strategy = Understanding and executing tactics and tactical situations.
• Athletics = Physical strength and prowess. Also deals with sports and throwing objects.
• Acrobatics = Physical nimbility. Gymnastics and balance.
• Endurance = Resisting pain and fatigue. Enduring punishment and damage.
• Heavy Weapons = Use of large mounted or held weapons. Indirect fire weapons.
• Range Weapons = Use of most firearms and portable ballistic weapons.
• Melee Weapons = Use of bladed or bludgeoning weapons.
• Martial Arts * = Skilled hand to hand fighting styles. Highly disciplined. (Your unarmed attacks can deal L(ph) damage and you gain a +1 to defense roll vs. melee attacks when in a fighting stance)
• Brawling = Brutal hand to hand fighting. Unarmed fighting. Grappling. (Your unarmed attacks deal L(ph) damage or M(ph) stun damage)
• Intimidate = Threatening and striking fear into the target for cooperation.

ACQUIRING Skills

• Survival = Ability to survive with low food and water and hostile conditions.
• Manipulation = Manual dexterity and control. Sleight of hand.
• Stealth = Art of sneaking, hiding, and moving unheard and unseen.
• Vehicles = Standard surface or low altitude vehicle piloting/driving.
• Aircraft * = High altitude or low orbit vehicle piloting.
• Spacecraft * = High orbit or interplanetary vehicle piloting.
• Perception = Alertness, awareness, observation, and intuition.
• Investigation = Searching, tracking, interrogation, and noticing details.

SCIENTIFIC Skills

• Business = Knowledge of existing businesses and business protocols and operations.
• Archaeology * = Any history dealing with pre-known time. Usually before the existing calendar.
• History = Recorded history of the factions and recent planetary records.
• Law = General galactic law knowledge, and protocols.
• Biology * = Knowledge of life science. Botany, genetics, zoology, etc.
• Physics * = Knowledge of physical science. Chemistry, astronomy, planetology, etc.
• Medicine * = Diagnosing and treating medical issues. Surgery and advanced first aid.
• Navigation * = Procedure of navigating on the surface and in a star system.
• Subspace * = Anything dealing with Tourin lanes or subspace knowledge and navigation. (Note: Tourin lanes are the Wartech setting's form of FTL, more on that in a later post.)

EMPATHY Skills

• Religion = Knowledge of current religions and their beliefs and practices.
• Streetwise = Know-how and protocols of underground or street culture.
• Charm = Interacting with others to change attitudes and even seduction.
• Bluff = Lying or convincing of falsehoods or avoiding information leaks.
• Diplomacy = Reaching agreements or understandings with same or different cultures.
• Command = Leading others and inspiring courage and communicating in combat.
• Insight = Reading mannerisms or sensing moods or motives in someone.
• Resolve = Inner strength to deal with mental attacks or stress. Used in keeping yourself from dying when at 0 hit points, and to keep yourself from getting knocked out when at 0 stun points.
• Entertainment = Performing arts. Singing, dancing, comedy, drama, etc.
• Meditation * = Enhance focus and concentration for healing and checks. Used for negative effects from psionics and for recovering stun points.

REPAIRING Skills

• Technology = Repairing and technical use checks. Deals with mechanics and electronics.
• Computers = Computer operation and advanced use. Deals with hacking.
• Demolitions = Setting explosives and creating them.
• Security = Knowledge of security systems and protocols.
• Systems = Knowledge of ship and large vehicle systems and operation.
• Creativity = Talent or aptitude in creating anything convincing or immersive.
• Armor = Operating features of advanced power armor. Such as CAFs.

Note 1: Any skill listed with an asterisk* cannot be used untrained. Meaning someone not trained in Physics cannot attempt any checks that Physics may cover.
Note 2: You really do not have to list all the above skills on your character sheet, or memorize them all. Only the ones that you purchased for your character. With the exception of the * skills, you are assumed to have a +0 score in the ones you did not buy.
Note 3: In some cases, just having the skill may not require a check. If a character is trained in Vehicles, he can drive the car casually to their destination without any issue, but if a character were not so trained, then he would probably need to do Acquiring attribute checks to make sure he doesn't make a mistake!

This system worked very well, and we loved the feel of it. The list of skills can be easily altered to fit the feel of any campaign.

More experimental rules in a later post next week.

Serro's Ship Log

Entry 225

From what I could understand, the battle was still going on in orbit. Now we had to just worry about this ship above the palace. Once again the captains convened. We decided the best route was to sneak into the ship.

Primeus Regulars

Using a risky maneuver, we were able to hide our ship at the edge of the stormy atmosphere of the world, and drop pods into the topside. We couldn't get underneath where the armor was weakest because all ship guns were pointing down and ready.

Our little invasion force was able to burrow in, thanks to our boarding pods, and take out some of the security when we got there. They didn't expect us coming. But of course, fighting off the guards raised an alarm. I was able to get into the system in time and bluff security that there was indeed a hull break and intruders, but it was happening clear on the other side of the ship. I figured a lie with partial truth would have gone better than a full fledged lie. It seemed to buy us some time.

We fought our way to the bridge, only to find it empty and completely locked down. Gra' was kicking himself for not remembering that. His career specialized in ship boarding, and larger capital ships generally had secondary bridges where all personnel would go to during a boarding. This would help to foil any attempts to taking over the ship.

I had to do some digging amongst the fight to find where that was, as security had caught on to my ruse from earlier. I found it in a sequestered area. One in which we couldn't all get to easily. Luckily I was able to find some venting and pipes that Jin'kins could squeeze into. He was trained for this sort of infiltration. While we were making our stand inside the deactivated main bridge. I guided Jin'kins through the complicated venting system in getting to the panic bridge.

We found that someone has been tracking me down. It was Honek, that hezak merc and his gang, and heavily armed. He seemed to be more anxious in getting to me, but Gra' and our battlebred friends were able to hold him off. Jin'kins was able to work his way inside, and took out the ship captain, a burly Primeus fairin with an ancient sidearm he used initially. But Jin'kins skill in close quarters were unmatched. He held the rest of the crew at gunpoint and commanded them to reactivate the main bridge.

Battlebred Shocktrooper

Once the bridge was lighting up all around me, I got the word out to the rest of the fleet that we had successfully taken over the ship, and Gra' was able to finish off the mercs that had been dogging us this entire adventure.


So now that closes the chapter. We had gotten commendations and considerable pay for our work, and it seems Melthos now had complete control over the trade world. It could grow now, and get stronger, as it needed to be.

Gra' Jin'kins, and I were offered permanent employ under Melthos and charge of trading on Krutos, but I declined. I didn't want to be tied to a single nation. I liked my freedom. I wasn't going to give that up.

The End

Serro's Ship Log

Entry 224

Getting to the transport control hub wasn't going to be something we could sneak to. We took the Streetripper and punched our way through the missile pods on our way there, mainly with backup from Melthos fighters shooting missiles behind us. The Streetripper is of cardoon make, so Gra' drove it, and he was able to do so quite well.

Primeus Militia

We arrived at the transport control hub and rode a hovercraft to the top floor. That would be where I would need to jack in to take it over, but the place was well defended.

Primeus Drone MC

We found a guard of heavily armed units and CAFs waiting for us. We had some casualties, but was able to finish the job when I found a crate filled with a large combat drone that I hacked to work for us. The final obstacle was a Heavy CAF that we got by having my combat drone grapple it and fall off the ledge. We had conquered the transport hub, and things were looking our way.

But outside something else incredible was happening. The storms that normally dominated the atmosphere got even more chaotic and lower to the ground as though a massive ball of fire was descending from the sky. Much to our amazement it was a Primeus capital ship, the Zodius, burning up from reentry. It would seem that the ship was crashing from the battle that was taking place in orbit, but the vessel slowed and the the sheer force of the anti-grav generators smashed all the windows in all the buildings for miles. It hovered directly overtop the planetary ruler's palace and opened up with all of its guns, blasting a mote surrounding it. The ship was creating an impossible obstacle to protect the family from instrusion and takeover. Smart move too, the next goal of our invasion force was to capture the family.

View of the Zodius from the Hub

Zodius creates a mote around the palace

Serro's Ship Log

Entry 222

Quiv Battlebred

It's been a couple days of planning. Gra' and Jin'kins took the opportunity to upgrade their equipment and get a few additional treats. They will join a quiv battlebred squad on the ground assault, the ones I am assigned to ferry to Krutos. I was invited to the captain's conference and their grand admiral went over the battle plans. Somehow Primeus knew this would be coming and got any remaining bit of fleet they could to Krutos. So Melthos will be meeting it head on with as much as they can muster. My Needle and a few other ships plan to swoop onto the planet when the 2 fleets meet (sneaking in under the confusion of space battle), and establish a forward base on the outskirts of the capital city. We all travel the lanes tomorrow.

Entry 223

Cardoon Streetripper

With my team, the squad of battlebred, and a streetripper aboard (a cardoon design APC), we arrive around Krutos. And sure enough, a Primeus fleet was waiting for us. Luckily the Melthos fleet arrived first and engaged them in a brutal space conflict. I took the Needle in under the fighting with a couple other small ships and headed straight to Krutos. We enter the planet's atmosphere through the poles and ride under the upper atmosphere storms.

The city had its defenses. Along the rails that made up the cities' infrastructure were missile launchers. Luckily our ECM and armor prevented us from getting any major damage. We dropped on land with what was designated to be our base. The troops and my team unloaded and begin the assault, facing off against the planetary defense forces. I opted to stay aboard the ship and keep it warm. I'm no soldier. I didn't want to leave my ship unoccupied amidst a battle.

Primeus MC (Military Construct)

Good thing too. As Gra' and the rest pushed closer, they met up with a MC that was able to hault their assault. I had the idea to try using the Needle's plasma cannon to take a shot at it from long range. It was a tricky shot. I needed to aim through a couple buildings, but still the shot was potent enough to do a significant amount of damage to the MC.

Our forces regrouped. We had taken the forward base. Next step planned was to take over the citie's transport system. There was no way Melthos would progress on land unless they had control over the rail system.

They looked to me and my team to handle that. Apparently I was the most capable hacker on ground.

Serro's Ship Log

Entry 221

Luckily Nykus' claim was right. He was indeed important to the Melthos nation, and were happy to pay the 3 million. But he now tells me he has another job for us. He will gladly pay off my debt completely for it.

They have a plan of attack with the moonspiders for Krutos, but they need a fast stealthy transport for a few specialists to be dropped behind enemy lines, and we are just the ship and crew for the job.

I didn't know what to think of it. Technically my job was done, and my duty here fulfilled. They paid already so I could go.

But I could find several reasons to take the high risk job. I've been getting to know and like Jin'kins, and I could see this was important. Melthos could potentially be a much better client nation than Primeus, and Krutos under Melthos control would be a massive bonus. Gra' seems to be having fun and appreciate the action as well. But on the other hand we could get killed. I didn't start this little venture to be a spec-ops military unit.

Damnit, I'm taking the job.

Serro's Ship Log

Entry 219

I was back on the Needle when Nykus came aboard. The sovereign agreed to lend the Moonspiders to help with the war. Exact details of the cost for such an alliance I am unclear on. I'm sure he will know what to do. Nykus asked us to transport him to the quiv homeworld of Melthos so he can pay us there. We would be taking a tourin lane directly to there from this system so there shouldn't be too much risk involved. I reluctantly agreed, knowing it would be the only way to get paid. I couldn't go to Krutos now that we are outlaws there.

As we were leaving the moonspider fleet, we get a call. It's from a young cha'el female named Livesz. She claimed to be Shev's sister, and wished to join us. Apparently she never liked her brother and considered herself freed from his oppression. She felt indebted to us. I reluctantly agreed and let her on board. I would be starting her on a trial period, an internship if you will.

We traveled to a lane leading directly to Melthos.

Entry 220

We pulled out of the lane in the Melthos system. The planet was a few hours journey away. But we found a larger ship hailing us. It's that hezak mercenary from the spa back on Krutos. He is here for Nykus alone, and offered to take him and do no harm to us. Part of me wanted to give him up, but a bigger part of me wanted to get paid, and this hezak merc wasn't offering any money. I tried bluffing that we didn't have him, but somehow he knew.

It was a good think that our new 'member', Livesz, knew how to fly. I immediately had her take the helm and fly our ship full speed toward planet Melthos. Once we reached the planetary defense fleet we would provide amnesty from the mercs.

The bigger merc ship was fast, but ours was slightly faster. The gunner aboard it wasn't a very good shot because we fared well getting past it. It released a small fighter though, which was very fast. The little craft wouldn't be able to travel tourin lanes, but it caught up to us. I got to the plasma cannon and took shots at it, but it persisted. It shot a torpedo which was able to get past our defenses. But the torpedo didn't explode. It attached, like a boarding pod. I didn't know of any that did that, especially since it would be impossible for anyone to survive aboard a torpedo that travels that fast and hits that hard.

It attached to our engine room, so I had Gra', Jin'kins, and the battlebred go check it out. I left Livesz manning the helm while I still worked on the fighter pursuing us.

The three found the torpedo did have occupants, but not biological ones. Four robots popped into the engine room and began establishing a foothold. It was a fierce fight, but they weren't attacking or sabotaging our engine like I thought they would, instead the robots were acting as signal relays for a hacker aboard the merc ship. I found myself in an electronic war with the mercs. It was tough, they had a skilled team of hackers. A few times they were able to power down my engines, causing the hezak ship to start gaining on us. I made it imperative that we killed the bots as soon as possible, or else we find ourselves assaulted by a much bigger ship.

Eventually the 3 warriors got them, and I was able to gain control of my ship again. Livesz throttled it back to full and we were leaving the merc ship behind. An intense close call.

Nykus better be legitimate with the amnesty claim, and he better have my money. At first I felt I may be overcharging him, but not so much anymore.

Serro's Ship Log

Entry 217

The moonspiders! The cursed moonspiders. Nykus finally revealed to me where we were headed, the main fleet and headquarters of the moonspiders. At least he tells me he has an IFF signal we can broadcast to prevent us from getting shot out of the void, and enough to speak directly with their leader, the spider sovereign. He can't tell me why until we get there in front of the sovereign. With that I upped my price up to 3 million credits. That would succeed in getting rid of 90% of the debt I took out on the ship. He insures me he is here on behalf of the Melthos government, and they are willing to provide whatever necessary to fulfil this mission. Apparently using Melthos branded ships for it would have been to conspicuous, so a private trader was the perfect cover.

The world we are seeking, which supposedly has the moonspider main fleet is still a few days away. If we get there, and there is nothing, I'm still charging full price.

Entry 218

The fleet was imposing. It's a massive grouping of ships, mostly small ones - transports and smaller, covering so much of the orbit of this cold world. They let us pass through because of that signal given to us by Nykus. The fleet commander directed us to a small inconspicuous courier ship among the fleet. It supposedly housed the spider sovereign. I got to thinking how great of an idea. What better way to hide your fleet leader than in a smaller ship. Most would prioritize a carrier or juggernaut. It could backfire though because a courier can't really take much of a hit. The Needle is a bigger ship.

Upon docking we are met with an armored escort to the main room of the ship, and there she was, the spider sovereign herself. A regal looking quiv with several limbs out her back, each controlling their own holo console. Upon seeing Nykus, she turns the consoles off, and folds her arms back, and greets him, but it is far from a friendly greeting.

Nykus explains the situation, and it was no less surprising to me. The new nation of Melthos is dying. They won the rebellion by the skin of their teeth, and with a few less than ideal worlds wrested free from Primeus, including their abused homeworld. Now they find that all the tourin lanes leading to and from their space are all slowing down, minimalizing outside trading and support. They need to make a bold move, and make it fast to keep the new way of life for the quiv alive. They wish to take Krutos. At first I was confused, then it made perfect sense. Krutos is the ideal tradeworld. All lanes leading to and from it are fast and healthy, and it's right on the edge of Primeus space, next to the Melthos border. Melthos controlling that world would be leagues of help for the nation, but a major blow to Primeus pride. If that wouldn't be stabbing the bug's nest you just escaped from, then I don't know what would.

Nykus went on to explain that according to the intel he just recieved from Jin'kins' package, Primeus was busy elsewhere. Their main defense fleet was united with Tinteron fighting something at the edge of known space. We don't know what, but now is the perfect time to strike Krutos, and Melthos needs the help of the moonspiders.

The sovereign seemed to be thinking it over, then said if she was to help, a few things would need to be done, one had to be taken care of right now. An angry looking cha'el stepped forward. The sovereign introduced him as Shevs, and he was the lifemate of the moonspider ship's captain Gra' killed a week ago.

We tried to offer up Nykus' bodyguard as an apology especially since the one we killed was a battlebred also, but he didn't seem interested, and charged Gra'. Shevs was a skilled cha'el psionic, and brandished a psi-blade and psi-shield. Gra' immediately went for a grapple, holding the cha'el in a deadly lock. He struggled the entire time while Jin'kins took shots with his claws. It was a close battle, the cha'el made a powerful mind attack which nearly stunned Gra', but they eventually finished him off. Onlookers were cheering at the spectacle and exchanging credits. I stepped in and appologized ot the sovereign about the cha'el's death, but mentioned he chose his fate. The sovereign didn't seem to mind. She agreed to discuss things privately with Nykus. We headed back to our ship.

Serro's Ship Log

Entry 214

As soon as we had a chance to breathe from the action, Gra' restrained Jin'kins. I had some questions. No quiv fights with that martial skill unless they were built for it. He didn't fight my inquisition. He let me know he was simply on a delivery. He had something important to give to a quiv politician on Krutos. He seemed sincere that he didn't want trouble. He's seen enough in his life under servitude. Still, I wanted to make sure.

I don't often like to use my unregistered psionic ability. Ever since I was a child I could get a sense of other minds around me, even delve into them with enough concentration. I pulled the quiv close and got a look. He was telling the truth, and it didn't seem like he was supposed to kill me. Which was important.

Regardless, we are going to drop him off in Krutos and be done with it.

Entry 215

Compared to the thousands of barely habitable worlds in the galaxy, Krutos would be considered pretty decent. A mere strip around the equator of the world is considered habitable. The rest is black frozen wasteland. Because of the intense storms from the disparate climates, you need to enter atmosphere at one of the poles and ride underneath it to the equator and get to the main city. It's a tradeworld. All tourin lanes leading to and from it are fast. It's also the last stop between Melthos and Primeus space. Many a trader could set-up shot here and never be lack of work. The only thing that stops many of them from doing that are harsh Primeus trade embargoes and taxes.

The city itself is like a giant scaffold with structures suspended in between the bars. Lifts and rails between them provide the avenues for transport. If there is one thing you can say nice about Primeus, its that they know how to build efficiently. The city is about as tall as it is wide.

Once docked, we said our goodbyes to Jin'kins, and got to business. We were met by the consort to the local Primeus planetary royal family. Guess who the wood was for. He was the usual stuck-up wealthy type. Once things were finalized we got our pay. After a long trip, Gra' and I needed a drink.

Entry 216

Combat Assist Frame

Well Jin'kins came back, but this time he came back with a job. He met Gra' and I in the bar as I was putting my name out there for work. His contact here, a Melthos politician, wants a ride off, him and his battlebred bodyguard. He is offering 1.5 million for the job. For some reason I had an uneasy feeling about this. Like I knew it was going to be trouble. I agreed as long as I got to meet this politician. He did have a meeting time and spot. Some cha'el day spa. It was a few hours off, so we had time to do some shopping. Gra' was anxious to see it parted on some expensive military goods. Also I reluctantly commissioned a repair job to the Combat Assist Frame (CAF) we looted from that moonspider ship. I don't have any proficiency with wearing them, but it may come in handy one day.

We took a transport to meet the Melthos politician, a quiv named Nykus. He did have an imposing female quiv battlebred bodyguard, but she seemed loyal to Nykus. He explained that he needed to go someplace, but wouldn't tell where, and by doing this we would probably be branded enemies of the state with Primeus. Now, I never did like Primeus all that much, but to do so could be suicide, especially since I do get work from them, and they own a lot of space. With that I upped the price of the trip. I figured 2.5 million should cover it. He agreed.

Then we heard a booming voice from outside the spa call for Nykus. Jin'kins peeked and it was a hezak mercenary with his band of about 8 fully armed fairin. All wearing the colors of a Hezakian Combine group. Nykus wasn't willing to turn himself in, but we saw it would be too much for us to take, even if we had a battlebred on our side. Our best option was to hurry out the back. The mercs gave chase and we caught a taxi, threw out the driver, and piled in. We soon found ourselves running from a Combine military hovercraft.

After an intense chase, we made it to our ship and escaped in time. One thing about Krutos, and Primeus docks in general, it's extremely expensive to stay there. Nykus gave us coordinates to a distant planet in this system, so no tourin travel. I'm now headed somewhere I don't know or have any documentation of, and a lot more quiv on my ship than I am comfortable with, and an enemy of Primeus. I may have just ruined my career.

Serro's Ship Log

Entry 212

We caught word of work available on one of the lesser known vacation spots in Primeus space. Tenion, a remote world in the Zeyus system. While its stellar location is well within known space, its considered a 'remote' world merely for the slow tourin lanes leading to and away from it. Anyone wanting to take an expensive off-world vacation rarely has the time. One other thing that makes the world stand out is it's natural luminescent forests. Few people use wood furniture, and those few are after some retro or art-deco look only the wealthy bother to try. Apparently the wood from the trees here retain their shimmer even after construction or treating. The local government is really into conservation so exporting the lumber tends to be erratic and limited. It's impossible to establish any consistent trade with the world for the lumber, making it a rare commodity for unique furniture. Which is what brings me here.

Gra'zeknum was in the process of getting a small load of the shimmer lumber on the Needle when I was approached a quiv asking for transport off the world. He claims he just missed his flight, so when I asked for his flight ticket to see if his claim was legitimate, that was all the documentation i needed. I'm not the transport authority. Besides I figured any quiv trying to get off any Primeus world would be a worthy cause. It didn't stop me from overcharging him a little though.

He called himself Jin'kins. His gear suggested some Primeus military training, especially the long range rifle slung on his back. I just had Gra' lock his gear away and keep an eye on him. We finalized the trade documents and went on our way to Krutos in the Fellos. The cost of the trip really doesn't make the job that profitable, but it's on our way, and I hear Krutos has more business opportunities.

Entry 213

Just as it was getting to Tenion, the trip away was long and uneventful. We took a lane change when things turned weird. Our ship signaled that there was something obstructing the lane up ahead, I had to quickly pull the grip to prevent us colliding with whatever it was. When the ship slowed down I found the free-floating asteroid field. Usually these are pushed away by gravity emitters, but our sensors told us one of the emitters must have been out. As I got closer to maneuver through the field we get a distress signal. A courier class ship is floating in the field. Usually this happens when inexperienced pilots try traversing the fields they can end up space hulks when they're not careful. I called back for confirmation and they gave a response believable enough.

I called Gra' to suit up in case there was trouble. Jin'kins offered to help as well. But as our ship got closer, the scanner finally picked up an emblem on the ship it didn't recognize, but I did. The Moon Spiders. A pirate clan of quiv that emerged before the quiv rebellion. Things weren't working fast enough for them in getting out from Primeus control, so they escaped. Nobody would offer amnesty for fear out of making an enemy with Primeus, so they could only survive through piracy. When the quiv finally won the rebellion and formed Melthos, they refused to join. Whatever reasons they had for it, they never said, only that their raids and captures stay frequent enough to reach the ears of any independent trader, but not too frequent, so as to require a call for action against them by any major nation.

I immeditately called an alert, turned the ship about, and pushed the impulse full power. If there was one thing the Needle was good at, it was getting away. But this small courier apparently had the same idea. They stepped up some sort of short-lived booster and kept on our tail. I had Gra' take shots at them with our plasma cannon, but he's definitely a better shot with the personal firearm than the ship-mounted. With a chase getting nowhere in open space, Gra' opted for the boarding pod, apparently so did the pirates. Gra' took the new guy and boarded the enemy ship and gave them hell. Meanwhile I had to deal with 2 pirates that boarded my ship, alone.

I securely locked my systems to buy some time in case they tried to take control. When they found me I was ready. I took a few ineffective shot, but my purpose was to lead the 2 invaders through our cargo hold and space them. Meanwhole Gra' and Jin'kins were fighting through the enemy forces of the ship to the bridge. After spacing my own invaders, I made my way back to the cockpit and got the ship up and running. Through some creative hacking I was able to take control of the Moon Spider ship, and get to their captain's CAF (combat assist frame), which provided enough a challenge to halt Gra' and Jin'kins' progression, but luckily Gra' has experience and is geared to take on heavy powered armor.

After Gra' killed their captain, and the rest of the crew, we salvaged what we could from their ship, I wiped their computer to get rid of any evidence of us being there, and moved on. Gra' reported to me the capabilities and actions of our new guy. I'm going to need to question him and find out what his intentions are aboard my ship, or get rid of him as soon as I can. Whatever it is we'll need to figure it out before we hit Krutos.

Wartech Campaign: Introduction

Wartech is a game system and setting that Jarom and I have been working on for a while now. Since Jarom is home for winter break from college, we decided to run a campaign while he was still here. He is GMing it and my brother James, Jarom's friend (James A.), and I are the players. This campaign's purpose is to help explore and flesh out the setting more than paytest our RPG rules. So for simplicity we are using the Rogue Space system. We liked it during our MECHS campaign and modified it a bunch to fit the nuances of the setting. I am borrowing a lot of the mechanics and rules in my Star*Drive posts as a basis.

I may cover these in more detailed posts later, but these are some of the other things we have modified for it:

• A skill system: Instead of backgrounds for your character, you have a list of skills. When creating your character you buy skill ranks with some skill points set by your GM, and when making an action, you add the skill's rank (if applicable) plus its appropriate FASER attribute. It's a little more structured and dynamic than character backgrounds.
• Stun points: You still have your standard hit points, but you also have a second health track called stun points. Your stun points are half (rounded down) of your hit points. Some weapons and attack types (like stutter weapons, and unarmed attacks) do stun damage. When you run out of stun points, you are knocked out. They also can represent fatigue.
• Two damage types: There are 2 damage types in this game. Energy and Physical. Laser, particle, and stutter weapons etc. do energy damage. And slug weapons, unarmed attacks, blades, etc. do physical damage. The only thing this factors into is armors have 2 protection values. So an armor may be L against physical attacks, but M against energy attacks, etc.
• Different archetypes: Fitting with some of our original game's terminology, the archetypes are renamed. Technician stays the same; Warrior is renamed to Combatant; Rogue is renamed to Operative; and a fourth is added, Moderator. Which is the leader or diplomat type archetype.
• Broad psionic skills: Psionics are changed with broad categories. Buying ranks in a category allows you to attempt any power under the category. I'll clarify the categories and powers another time.
• Dynamic gear system: Jarom presented a neat system we are playing with that allows players to create the gear they get on their character, by buying traits of the weapons and armor. Credit costs for the traits helps to curb min-maxing but give the player freedom for defining what their character has. If it works well here, we will try implementing it with our original system planned.
• Expanded ship rules: No real changes to how ship construction or combat works, just expanded upgrades, weapons, quirks, etc.

With these new mods, we got excited for our game. The basic premise is my brother James and I are independent traders. We built a ship that is more akin to the Millenium Falcon (we built it to make our own Kessel Run.) We called it the Needle, and rolled sturdy hull and haunted quirks. The haunting we're not sure what it means yet, but we know it will be giving the two of us strange dreams.

Here are the three of the player's basic dossier's.

Serro
Player: Jared (me)
Archetype: Moderator
Race: Fairin
As a child he exhibited some psionic ability, but in the nation of Saunos, psionics are known to suddenly disappear from families. His parents sent him to live with his uncle to work on a remote relay station for his early years, in hopes of evading government agents. He grew up there, saving his money, until he could buy a ship and became an independent trader, and captain of the Needle.

Gra'zeknum
Player: James (my brother)
Archetype: Combatant
Race: Cardoon
Like most cardoon, Gra' was born on his homeworld and conscripted into the Hezakian Combine. And like many cardoon, he was put into the shock trooper squads with low survivability rates. His specialized in taking on heavy armor. Despite all odds, he survived his term and like most cardoon, was given a crappy pension. He was later recruited to work for Serro as the muscle for when things get ugly. He takes the job seriously.

Jin'kins
Player: James A. (Jarom's friend)
Archetype: Operative
Race: Quiv
A Primeus escapee built for a specific purpose, and a hidden past. He hitches a ride on the Needle with the rest of the party in the first adventure when he gets caught up in things.

I will be posting journal entries of Serro, captain's logs, as they are happening.

Facility: 3D Preview

The word is out. A very valuable piece of intelligence leaked on the net about something some people would pay a really high price for. The location they gave was a secret underground facility on this lonely rock. You hop into action and make your way to the world. A long flight due to its remote location and slow currents leading there, but the goal should more than compensate for your trouble. You know this information leaked to everyone so you will not be the only mercenary on the job.

Let’s see how well you fare in the facility.

Just a little mock-up of a game in progress using Tinkercad. Someone had a question of scale of the tiles a while back, and this shows it. The miniatures are 28mm tall. My hope is this conveys a sense of infiltrating an underground installation. I have been working on the rulebook and that always helps put thinks into perspective. What works and what doesn't.

Above is one of the images I will use in the rulebook for attacks. The character (left) rolled 3 dice in attacking the enemy (right) who rolled 5 dice in his defense. Since with attacks only the target symbol counts for hits, the attacker won the roll, and deals 1 damage (3-2=1).

Speaking of which, here are a couple new figures Jarom drew and I tried making models of.

I started experimenting with texturing the bases or at least giving them a few features. These are enemy figures. Scientists, security, and staff you encounter in the Facility.