Campaign Turn 22 – Marduk Station – The Quest is the Quest, Part 2
After going through customs, and being reminded that they could not sell goods on Carbia, they went about routine business. Selene, while wandering about, met a group of mercs, who called themselves the Bastard Saints. The Saints were an odd group - a religious order that went militant due to their planet and their people being invaded. They were accused of heresy by the leaders of the religion, so they split off and turned mercenary. Not everyone in the Saints were members of their faith, but the leadership were all Clerics. Some even claimed to be able to heal others (easily explained by psionic Rejuvination, but they claim the power is divine).
When the crew was back together, they decided that the unknown vessel was their best lead, and took their shuttle, the Speckled Jim, to investigate. They picked up a beacon, and vectored towards it. Clouds of toxi volcanic ash and vapors blew through this area. Visibility was near zero, and even their sensors were having trouble. The shuttle landed, and just as the crew was disembarking, their sensors picked up movement.
A large number of humanoid beings were advancing upon them, at high speed.
The crew quickly moved to get into cover while the probable hostiles advanced quickly.
Sandy, the sand runner that Vonthos adopted, charged ahead, leaping on one of the hostiles, who cut her down immediately.The crew took up overwatch positions, waiting for the hostiles to appear. As they came into sight, the crew realized they were mercs. Not the mercs that they had encountered at the starport - apparently this system was crawling with them.
Jaxx took the first one that came into his sights out, as did Miak, Selene and Vonthos. Four down right away, but there are just so damn many. Jaxx was hit, shaking him up. Miak was hit - not fatally, but as he fell, his filter mask came off, and he lay on the ground choking.
A vent in the area belched out a cloud of.... stuff.... reducing visiblity even more.
The shooting continued. With visibility this poor, all of the shots were at close range. Vonthos, Selene, Vilem and Jaxx all dropped a merc, but they just kept coming. Vonthos went down, again taken out by the toxic environment.
There was no banter among the crew. No chatter at all. Even the enemy wasn't talking. This was unusual for the team. Almost eerie.
Selene charged one of the leaders of the mercs with her Ripper Sword, cutting him down; she then moved deeper into the vapors, trying to reduce the number of enemy that could attack her. Ginny, seeing Selene do that, also tried to move into the vapors, but instead of brawling, she fired her flame pistol. Unfortunately, the swirling fog caused her to misjudge her shot, and none of the enemy were hit.
Vilem andd Jaxx each killed an approaching merc, but Jaxx' Blast Rifle overheated. It would be useless until repaired.
At this point, unknown to the crew, one of the squid heads arrived.
He was a hotshot, wielding a hand cannon and a machine pistol, and he would turn the tide.Jaxx quickly drew his beam pistol, but missed his target. Ginny lit up one of the merc Captains, but his armor saved him. He did stop, drop and roll, moving out of sight.
Selene cut down another with her ripper sword. Ginny fired her flame pistol again, but once again missed her targets.
Jaxx was shot at by one of the mercs. To anyone else, it would have been lethal, but Jaxx was lucky - at least for now. However, at this point, the Squidhead gunslinger arrived in range of Selene. Its hand cannon fired a lethal shot, but somehow the killing round missed her. However, the machine pistol tore into her, and would have dropped her except for the use of a stim pack.
Selene popped a dose of Booster Pills - she needed to be sharp. She charged the squidhead with her ripper sword, but his luck held out and he survived the attack. Ginny, giving up on the flame pistol, took a dose of Rage Out, drew her blade, and screamed as she charged one of the mercs, cutting him down.
The squidhead continued to shoot at Selene, who, even after taking the booster pills, was starting to wear down.
Clearly, the tide of the battle was turning against the crew. Jaxx and Vilem both missed their shots.
Selene continued to attack the squidhead - she managed to stun it, but it did not fall. Ginny cut down another merc, and danced back into the fog.
The squidhead continued to fire at Selene. She had to pop a second stim pack, but even that wasn't enough, and his fusillade of shots dropped her.
Vilem was shot at, but his deflector screen sent the round off into the distance. Vilem returned fire, killing the Merc.
Vilem shoots again, taking out another merc. One of the mercs got a solid hit on Jaxx, who used a Stim Pack to stay in the fight.
The squidhead advanced on Ginny, taking her out. Vilem also fell to a merc, leaving Jaxx standing alone.
Jaxx managed to drop the squidhead gunslinger, but multiple shots from the remaining mercs took him down.
The remaining mercs regrouped and left the battlefield. The toxic environment would finish off the meddling busybodies.
But what they didn't realize is that the encounter did not go unnoticed. The Planetary Refuge, a medical and search & rescue organization that set up a hospital on this inhospitable world, had picked up the shuttle landing - in the middle of nowhere, and believing it might be a distressed spacer, sent a scout to see if anyone needed help.
The scout arrived while the firefight was still ongoing, but stayed in the distance, under cover. When the firefight ended, the scout approached. She bundled as many survivors - whether the crew of the RenPig or the mercs - into the shuttle, and flew the shuttle to their hospital.
Jaxx was just knocked out. When he came to, the Sisters told him that Vonthos and Ginny only received minor injuries. Selene's injuries were more severe, and Miak's injuries Looked Worse Than They Were, and he was OK. Vilem, however, needed immediate and expensive surgery.
Jaxx obviously paid for the surgery, and gave the Sisters a Med Pack for Selene. He then also paid for additional treatments for Selene, Vonthos and Ginny.
Selene and Miak both looked guilty. "Things are changing, Jaxx. Kazi's leaving us to run a colony. You've changed some - you used to chase money above everything else, but now you're getting political. And we weren't the only ones to take a beating - the Bastard Saints lost a lot of men, including their Captain. Miak and I were talking to the survivors, and, well, we're going to sign up. The Swarm have been poppiing up more and more often around here, and people are dying. We've had enough of conspiracies and mysteries, and just want to kick ass."
Jaxx sighed. This was not a surprise. He looked at Vonthos and Ginny. "How about you?"
Vonthos replied "I'm going with Kazi. I joined up because of the Archimedes artifact, but this life isn't for me."
"I'm with you, Jaxx, until the end. And I know that Vilem is, too."
Jaxx smiled at Ginny. He had started to think of her as his baby sister, and was glad she was staying. "Thanks. You have all become like family. And, of course, Kazi is family. Just one more mission together - let's finish what we started?"
The crew agreed. One more fight. Jaxx would have to start recruiting. At least Ginny's abilities made her rather persuasive in that regard.
One more fight, then the crew would be splitting up. No. Not "the crew". The family. Jaxx would have to think about what that really meant to him.
But he didn't have time to fret about that now. Now was the time to figure out where the leaders were, where they were holding Miranda.
As he was pondering this, a young man approached the crew. He introduced himself as Ansila Herington. He was one of the mercs they faced on the planet. They were hired through human intermediaries, but when he saw the squidhead fighting on the same side as he was, he realized he was fighting for the wrong side. He wanted to join the fight against the squidheads. Jaxx glanced at Ginny, who had moved close enough to tell if he was telling the truth. She nodded at Jaxx, who replied "Welcome to the team. Betray us, and I'll space you." Ansila was taken aback at that comment, but Ginny laughed and said "He says that to everyone."
Ginny handed Ansila the Shell Gun she had been using in battles. "Here. This was Selene's, then mine, and now it's yours. Treat it well
Editorial
Our first Red Zone mission, and we took a beating. With the three-stuns-you're-out rule, being outnumbered as much as we were (due to all the difficulty dials being turned to 11), it was just too much. Having said that, our Turn 4 battle event, which spawned the Elite Gunslinger, and the Turn 6 Red Zone event that added three more opponents were really the game changers. If those events didn't happen, we might have won.
But that's one of the reasons I decided to split up the crew.
Selene and Miak will be doing Bug Hunt missions, and possibly Tactics missions. I 'designed' the merc group's background the way I did because I've been grooving on Warhammer 40k again, and while I don't plan to play, and really dislike the lore, I really like the minis. So, going with the quasi-religious origin of their merc group, I can use Sisters of Battle and Space Marine minis
Kazi, as Colony Administrator, is essentially just a name on paper now. I was really not planning on having any of the other characters go to the colony, but as I thought about it, Vonthos was a good character to move over. When I started the crew, he came in because of a mysterious item that he and Kazi both had, so they shared a connection.
That means Jaxx will have three baseline characters in his crew, which will allow me to lower the difficulty so we won't have to be facing 10+ (and sometimes 20+) opponents every turn. It was just getting too much, both in painting time and in gameplay.
Step 1
1. Flee Invasion - N/A
2. Decide whether to travel - Yes; used Military Fuel Cell so no cost
3. Starship travel event - Time to Reflect. +1 Story Point.
4. New world arrival steps - Arrive at Carbia
1. Check for Rivals - Do not follow
2. Dismiss Patrons - Dismissed
3 - License paid - No License
4 - world characteristics - Opportunities: Add +1 when rolling for Patrons; Import Restrictions: Can not sell any items on this world.
Step 2
1. Upkeep and ship repairs. 1Cr due to Living Quarters upgrade
Pay for Medical Care: n/a
2. Assign and resolve crew tasks
Jaxx - Repair Handgun - success
Kazi - Repair Blade - fail
Selene - Explore - Meet someone interesting. gain Quest Rumor
Villem - Trade - Find something unusual - Roll on Gear table - Protective Item - Flak Screen
Miak - Train
Vonthos - N/A
Ginerva - Trade - "Gently Used" Roll on Gear table. Damaged - Gun Sights - Unity Battle Sight - +1 to all Hit rolls.
3. Determine Job Offers
Quest mission
4. Assign Equipment - n/a
5. Resolve Rumors: - n/a
6. Choose Battle - Quest
6.5 Check Rivals - n/a
Readying for Battle -
ELITE on 3+ -
DIFFICULTY SETTINGS: Respawn 5; Strength 4 – Add 2 basic enemies, 1 specialist, 1 Lieutenant
Quest mission: The enemy is becoming more determined. All future battles that are part of the Quest reduce the enemy Panic range by -1
World Settings -
1. Deployment Condition - Toxic Environment: Whenever a combatant is stunned, roll 1D6+Savvy (0 for enemies). Failure to roll a 4+ becomes a casualty
1. Notable Sight - Priority Target. Select a random enemy figure. Add +1 to Toughness. If slain, gain 1D3 credits.
2. Objective - Defend - Drive off enemy. To win, you must Hold The Field. If opposing AI is Cautious, Defensive or Tactical, change to Aggressive. Add +1 to enemy numbers.
4. Opponent Type - Elite Hired Muscle
-1 to Seize the Initiative.
Lts and Captains gain 4+ Armor Save
Unknown Mercs 9: 1 cap, 1 lt, 2 spec = 5
Weapon 2B
AI:
Aggressive
Let us just call it a day: If the Mercs are reduced to 1 or 2 remaining figures, you may call a truce at the end of any round. The battle ends and you do not Hold the Field.
Tacti-cool: Two basic enemies have sighted weapons, adding +1 to Hit rolls when shooting.
Supporting fire: If you defeat a Merc in a brawl, randomly select a Merc with Line of Sight to the winner. They will fire immediately as a bonus action, Hitting only on a natural 6.
Difficulty - Strength 4 - add 2 basic, 1 specialist and 1 lieutenant
Respawn 5
Number
Normal x 5
Panic 0 ; Speed 5"; CS +1; Tough 4; Save ; AI: A
Military Rifle: Range 24"; Shots 1; Damage 0;
Normal x 2
Panic 0 ; Speed 5"; CS +1; Tough 4; Save ; AI: A
Military Rifle: Range 24"; Shots 1; Damage 0; +1 TO HIT
Specialist x 3
Panic 0 ; Speed 5"; CS +1; Tough 4; Save ; AI: A
Hand Flamer: Range 8"; Shots - ; Damage 1; Area, Burn
Lieutenant x 2
Panic 0 ; Speed 5"; CS +2; Tough 4; Save 4+; AI: A
Military Rifle: Range 24"; Shots 1; Damage 0;
Blade: Range Melee; Shots --; Damage +0 MELEE
Captain x 1
Panic 0 ; Speed 5"; CS +2; Tough 5; Save 4+; AI: A
Military Rifle: Range 24"; Shots 1; Damage 0;
Ripper Sword: Range Melee; Shots --; Damage +2 MELEE
UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL - NO
Panic 0 ; Speed ; CS ; Tough ; Save ; AI:
4. Set up the battlefield -
---
Fight!
Seize The Initiative: yes
Won? No
Held The Field No
TPK
First Blood - Jaxx
Post-Battle
1. Rivals - No
2. Patron - N/A
3. Quest Progress - Rolled an 11. Next time, we are at conclusion. On this world
4. Get Paid - 5Cr
5. Battlefield Finds - N/A
6. Check for Invasion - N/A
7. Gather Loot - Roll 3x; keep best 2.
Damaged Loot: Scanner Bot, Combat Armor
Deflector Field
8. Injuries
Jaxx - Knocked Out
Selene - Serious Injury - 2 turns
Vilem - Crippling Wound - 6 credits of surgery. 6 turns in sick bay
Miak - Stars of the Story: It looked works than it was.
Vonthos - Minor Injuries - 1 turn
Ginerva - Minor Injuries - 1 turn
9. Experience:
Jaxx 3
Selene 1
Vilem 1
Miak 1
Vonthos 1
Ginerva 1
Kazi
10. Invest in Advanced Training: no
11. Purchase Items: no
12. Campaign Event: A chance meeting turns into a new ally. We will take the recruit
13. Character Event: Jaxx: You had time to reflect on your adventures +3 XP
