[Five Parsecs / Rogue Stars] Raedwald’s ‘Prima Luce’ campaign (p2: Turn 2)

[Raedwald]

Preparations and Campaign Background
As someone who takes great pleasure from the narrative element of wargaming, I love Five Parsecs from Home. It’s really a dream to be able to randomly generate so much content; inspiring the campaign storyline, game backgrounds, as well as miniature conversions and painting.

While the 5PfH campaign system is therefore phenomenal, I’m less keen on  the tabletop game rules, which in contrast with the campaign system, seem to lack granularity or RPG gameplay elements, and come across a bit more like a ‘first-person arena shooter’ style game to me.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem overly complicated to substitute the tabletop rules with an alternative; my choice (based on fairly limited experience) being Rogue Stars. This remains quite a quick and simple system, while allowing for creative storytelling and a fine level of detail.

For my own campaign I’m drawing inspiration from the 40K universe, as described in the classic early 1990s White Dwarf articles for Confrontation and Space Fleet. I’m combining this with my collection of Earthdawn RPG sourcebooks from the same era, as well as some background from 5PfH.

The action will take place on the planet of Barsaive II, with travel between regions or Hive cities taking the place of planet hopping. The basic premise is  that Barsaive II has only recently emerged from a warp storm, which entirely cut it off from the wider system. The native K’Erin survived by modifying their economy and resource management according to the Rites or Protection and Passage; a set of instructions provided by the Imperial human overlords from the system Administratum, based on the planet of Thera. The Therans almost entirely evacuated from Barsaive II ahead of the warp storm, but have now returned and established a colony at Hive Vivane. The native inhabitants, far from welcoming them with open arms, are actively resisting an Imperial take over, having formed independent governments and regimes.

As an interesting approach, my crew are staunch pro-imperial Therans, and begin the campaign in Vivane. Their ship is the Prima Luce (which means ‘First Light’ and seemed like a suitable Latinised nod to ‘Earthdawn’).

For interest, below is an image of the amateurish frontispiece I sketched for my 5PfH campaign notebook, in the style of an old movie poster.

Cheers,
Raedwald

[Raedwald]

Crew Creation

Captain Tarlanth Medari
Baseline human
Background: Peaceful, high-tech colony
Motivation: Political
Class: Agitator

A younger son of a noble Theran family, Medari was raised in the spires of Vivane. His active agitating for a more hardline, aggressive reconquest of Barsaive II made him enemies in high places, given the First Governor’s limited resources and more measured approach. Medari was disowned and run out of town, making enemies with a Brat Gang in the process, but with enough funds to secure a loan on a worn colony ship.

Adagir Garusddin
Baseline human
Background: Lower megacity class
Motivation: Political
Class: Trader

A once ambitious trader from the lower hab zones, Garusddin was duped and ruined by wealthy and ruthless native K’Erin merchants. His xenophobic hated of the K’Erin was deeply embedded, and he sought out fellow loyal Therans who would share his ideology for a ruthless reconquest of Barsaive II.

Dallia Melyora
Baseline human
Background: Alien culture
Motivation: Discovery
Class: Special agent

An orphan, raised in a secretive Eldar Craftworld colony in the northern reaches of the planet, as she reached adolescence, Melyora developed a strong desire to discover more about her own Theran people and the world outside the colony, so travelled to Vivane. Young, arrogant and naïve of human ways, she has nonetheless been trained in combat and espionage.

Jeslar
Baseline human
Background: Religious cult
Motivation: Escape
Class: Scavenger

A native of Vivane’s underhive, Jeslar grew up among scavvies in a cult of the Emperor. Fervently loyal to the Therans and the Imperium, he sees joining the Prima Luce as a means of escaping the brutal existence of life in the underhive.

Khalifa Carinci
Mysterious past
Backgrounds: Subjugated colony on alien world & Research outpost
Motivation: Political
Class: Technician

Unbeknown to her crewmates, Carinci formerly worked as a mechanic for the Theran Orichalcum Institute of psyker research, at a hidden outpost deep in K’Erin territory. When the K’Erin discovered the outpost it was hastily disbanded and all knowledge of it denied. Carinci, a proud Theran, found herself back in Vivane, sworn to secrecy, but with little left to her name.

‘Nonger’ Parn
Mysterious past
Backgrounds: Bureaucrat & Religious cult
Motivation: Escape
Class: Ganger

Running with House gangs, and operating as their accountant or money mover, Parn’s real troubles began when a high-ranking boss developed supernatural powers, and the taint of Chaos began to spread through the organisation. The cult was discovered and even Parn’s loosely associated gang was eliminated. Parn got away, but daren’t reveal her story to anyone, seeking escape from both cultists and authorities.

Ship: Prima Luce (Worn colony ship)

The crew met in Vivane’s underhive, seeking mutual protection among like minded loyal Therans. Their actions against K’Erin merchants and rebel sympathisers has seen them characterised as somewhat honourable bandits.

They start at Hive Vivane, the Imperial foothold on Barsaive II. The surrounding wastes are distinctly Flat for many miles around.

Cheers,
Raedwald

[Grumpy Gnome]

I like your old school artwork for your campaign notebook. It nicely sets the tone. The narrative aspects of the 5 Parsecs campaign system really seems to be its major strength. I have been considering how to best adapt it to other games.

Your crew sounds like an interesting bunch and look forward to reading of their adventures.

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Will be following with interest. We are currently in a 5LftB campaign, but are considering 5PfH for the future.

Story and crew sound great.

[ced1106]

Which Battle Systems sf set is this?

Feel free to post in the BS terrain FB pages!

[Tactalvanic]

Nice 80's/90's sci-fi vibe coming from the campaign cover.

Look forward to some interesting mission reports

Hoping a copy of 5pfh will be landing near me for birthday soon for a perusal.

Maybe you could add a servo skull or cherub later that floats around covered with LED lights muttering "biddi-biddi-biddi" or similar.

[Raedwald]

Thanks for the comments all. Shame the picture turned sideways, not sure why. 

@Grumpy Gnome - I’ve only played one game in the campaign to date, will report on it when I get the chance, but Rogue Stars does seem to fit reasonably well, the XP awards between systems seem proportionate, will see how it pans out.

@Mad Lord Snapcase - Thanks, I’m trying not to get drawn into Five Leagues given the number of projects on the go already, but given how great Parsecs is, it’s definitely noted for future potential.

@ced1106 - It’s the Gothic set, really pleased with it as a simple and affordable solution for interior settings. I might pick up a second set to expand beyond 2’ x 2’, or look at the bolt on options.

@ Tactalvanic - Thank you, hope you enjoy the book. I’ve got a Caryatid painted up, but it’s perhaps not quite the same theme. 

[Burgundavia]

Lovely background. Be interested to see how you adapt Rogue Stars to a solo setting.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

I look forward to seeing how this goes on.

[Ragnar]

Following.  I'm also doing a 5PFH campaign so I'll enjoy seeing yours progress.

[blacksoilbill]

That's a great looking crew: I love the range of miniatures you've got there. Looking forward to seeing your campaign.

[Raedwald]

Thanks for the comments folks. Whilst I’ll be staying true to the combined game and campaign mechanics, my main interest is in fuelling a narrative.

A habitually long account of the first round follows, photos attached at the end.

Campaign Turn 1

Pre-game
Most of the crew went ‘trading’, which largely consisted of banditry against anti-Theran sympathisers, and obtained a variety of grenade components, creds, training materials, and general trade goods.

Melyora, in her desire for discovery, went exploring around Vivane’s underhive. Unfortunately, her manners and appearance drew the wrong attention, and some thugs set upon her in a dark passage. She fought well, but outnumbered she was taken down, and beaten to within an inch of her life. By luck (the expenditure of a Story point) a gun toting bar landlady, hearing the commotion, intervened, but Melyora would be out of action for some time (2 rounds, reduced from 3).

Medari paid off a chunk of the Prima Luce’s ship debt, before advertising the crew’s availability for hiring, via the dark network. Such a well connected crew were always sure of job offers, and Medari was able to turn down a Spire nobel’s request for someone to chase off an official and his Navy bodyguards investigating his air yacht. Instead Medari accepted a job from his existing contact in the Vivane lower council.

A particularly dominant and aggressive Sand Runner had drawn together a pack in the wastes south of the hive, and they were terrorising the outlying settlements. Councillor Oathstone collected the tithes from these communities and was responsible for their security, so was under pressure to act. His limited security team had killed one sand runner, but the lightning fast reptiloids were proving too elusive for them. Worse yet, Oathstone’s own pet sand runner, Munchie, had now escaped from his out-of-hive compound and joined them. If Munchie’s identity nose ring was picked out, Oathstone would be finished by the scandal.

So it was, that Medari and his four healthy crew mates, along with their trusty Scanner Bot, found themselves on the trail; assigned to eliminate the pack leader, and thereby break up the sand runners. As a secondary objective, Munchie was also to be put down, and the incriminating nose ring recovered.

Game 1
On the tracks of the sand runners, Medari, Jeslar the scavvy, and Parn the secretive fence, wandered towards a huddle of apparently abandoned shacks. Old Garusddin and Carinci the Tech had taken the scanner bot over to a distant cluster of rocks, so weren’t present when Jeslar spotted some fast moving shapes appear from the heatwaves the other side of the shacks… heading right towards them!

Even at a distance, Jeslar made out the pack leader, from it’s distinctively large, lolling tongue. He sprayed some rifle fire ineffectually, until his gun clicked out of ammo. Six sand runners in all were speeding towards them, and as Jeslar reloaded, Medari and Parn fanned out to the right, trying to keep some open ground in front of them.

Medari and Parn kept drawing beads on the approaching critters, and quickly learnt that sand runners were too quick to allow time to stop and aim. Firing off a number of snap shots however also failed to find a mark.

On their left, the pack leader, shielded by another sand runner, had weaved up towards Jeslar, who took down the latter with a shot between its eyes, the body bouncing some way on through its own momentum.

Parn sprinted over to some crates to get a clear shot at the pack leader itself, just as Garusddin and Carinci also arrived on the scene. Unexpectedly, the pack leader changed course and hurtled at Parn, leaping the last few meters with fangs bared. In an explosion of blood, Parn flew backwards to the ground, unmoving. The pack leader, licking gore from its face, saw three guns rising to point at it, and in a flash darted behind a boulder to its right.

This brought it in front of Jeslar, who opened fire, throwing up ash and dust before some shots hit, lightly wounding the pack leader and knocking it down. Old Garusddin then appeared around the boulder, and delivered the coup de grâce at point blank with his shotgun.

Garusddin then caught sight of Munchie and another sand runner near the shacks, and edged forwards to zero in. The pair skittered out of sight, but spying one behind some barrels Garusddin fired, dropping the creature, before taking a satisfied drag of his cigar. Munchie was still alive though, and Carinci moved forward and began to open fire at him. Missing at first, she then managed to lock on with her targeter and clipped him.

With the pack leader down and shots raining in at them, Munchie and the other two remaining sand runners turned, and began bolting off. Garusddin pumped off a couple of shots at the rapidly disappearing Munchie, clipping him again with one (the higher toughness was really showing). As Munchie began to vanish back into the heatwaves, the advancing Jeslar dropped to one knee, took careful aim, and squeezed the trigger. Munchie went down, dead. (This was an awesome 30” shot, just in time!). Not to be outdone, Garusddin fired at extreme range at the other receding sand runners, missing as one escaped, but then impressively taking down the last.

Post-game
It transpired that Parn, aiming her gun at the pack leader, had had it smashed back into her face, the burst of blood coming from her nose and mouth as she was knocked out, with no lasting damage.

(Rolling for Parn’s injury revealed a ‘gruesome fate’. This would have been a suitable bit of narrative, but having just converted and planned the painting of the miniature, I spent a Story Point for a re-roll!).

The relieved Councillor Oathstone paid well, including the promised bonus for recovering Munchie’s nose ring, and the crew earned some extra creds for harvested sand runner parts. They also had a rummage around the abandoned shacks, and uncovered three stun grenades too.

Back in Vivane, Medari managed to get hold of a needle rifle, and Carinci drained one of their Duplicators to create a second one. Her workload went up though, as first the ship’s Analyser module failed (campaign event), and then Garusddin, cleaning his shotgun, managed to cross-thread and jam a choke halfway in the barrel (character event), and also came grumbling for assistance.

And that was it for campaign Turn 1. Thanks for reading!
Raedwald

Photos
1. L-R: Carinci (with spotter bot), Parn, Medari, Jeslar, Garusddin.
2. Sand Runners, front-left: Pack Leader, front-centre: Munchie.
3. Initial deployment.
4. The pack leader leaps at Parn, as Carinci and Garusddin arrive.
5. Jeslar takes a long shot at the fleeing Munchie.

[zemjw]

I did wonder what you were going to use for the sand runners. Seeing the squigs brought a smile to my face

Looks like it was fun. Mine has stalled after the first game, but I really must get back to it

[ithoriel]

Good looking game and great write up.

Love the squigs as sand runners too.

As I do my 5 Parsecs games in 20mm I used CP Models carnosaurs as sand runners, wish I'd thought of squigs now!

Must drag myself away from Starfield long enough to do another 5 Parsecs game.

[Bullshott]

Great campaign background and game report. I'll keep an eye out for more from this crew.
I'm busy painting up figures in order to be able to start my own 5 Parsecs campaign