Skip to main content

Five Parsecs From Home (1e) Campaign (session 0)

Inspired by Shaun's blog I decided to start a Five Parsecs From Home 1st edition campaign. I like this edition because it has less book keeping than the current edition and the FiveCore combat system is suited to my taste. I will use these books:

  • Five Parsecs From Home (1e)
  • FiveCore Skirmish gaming (1e)
  • Every Star an Opportunity supplement for planet descriptions 
  • Scum and Villany for factions because they are quirky and fun

Session 0 involved character creation. The group will consist of 3 PC + 1 goon. They meet in the planet Nemain because all three of them are in trouble with the authorities.The randomly generated characters were (from left to right): Echo (a bounty hunter with a Power Claw), Sakir (and ordnance specialist from a religious cult) and Christa (a genetically enhanced hulker modified to have an absurdly strong body).

Echo                        Sakir                        Christa

And below is their full character sheet, including talents, backstory and current armoury: 

Nemain would bet quite an agreeable planet if it were not ruled by a brutal dictator and on the verge of an ecological disaster. Banking on the apocalyptic mood, the two dominant factions are devoted to different flavors of drug recreation:

  • The Ashtari cult: Artifact worshipers that carry vials of gases from the Ashatari Cloud to inhale. The visions show them the location of precursor ruins.
  • The Turner Society They run posh society clubs that are a front for their business of selling Vosian crystal drugs.

These are the only two house rules I intend to employ:

  •  Only PC can be assigned to activities and events (except recruit, which can be attempted by goons). If no mission can be undertaken in a week due to injuries, one item has to be bartered away for upkeep per injured character.
  • I will play the FiveCore Skirmish gaming (1e) rules as written, except that I will change the result of a FLINCH while in COVER to: "Figures in cover will keep their heads down (breaking line of sight) but do not move or hunker down". This change is taken from Five Men in Normandy .30 cal edition. Going over an obstacle reduces movement by 1D6.


 

Comments

  1. A excellent start! I started with 1 PC, which was a challenge, so 4 is much better. I also like your rule changes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Shaun! I had the PDF for ages but didn't read it until I saw your campaign. Now I think its a hidden gem. Very Travelleresque. Curiously, with Traveller I also prefer the first 1977 edition,

      Delete
    2. I was struck by it being very Traveller-ish as well. And I prefer CT over the other versions as well.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Five Parsecs From Home (1e) Week 1

Fleeing from the brutal crackdown decreed by governor Mantis on people that are not up on their taxes, our drifters ( see session 0 ) meet in a back alley of the mega-city Nemain. They don't want to be pressed on the local guard to make up for their debt. They read on each others eyes the fear of being at the end of the rope. Sakir, a paranoid and resourceful enforcer tasked by a fringe religious group to scout the galaxy for ancient artifacts, suggests to the pair a temporary refuge. He knows the location of an Ashtari Cult den. After all, they also worship artifacts and their religion is in good terms with Sakir's fringe cult. The other two, agree. Mostly to rest for a while and also for the chance to sample the infamous gasses that the Ashatari inhale to have visions of archeological sites. Sakir Once in the den they relax. Perhaps a little too much. Echo, the quiet and lethal bounty hunter, wrecks a sofa with her power claw while whole-body-shaking enthralled by the drug. A...

Napoleonic Battlerep with Hordes of the Things

Today I tested my HoTT Napoleonic variant playing a battle of French Vs British with Wofun 18mm miniatures. I used the Solo Tactical Engine uploaded by David Lemon to the file section of the DBA & HOTT Wargaming FB group. It worked great! Before the battle, poor scouting only revealed to the French the presence of  Highlanders in the village. Napoleon deploys with a strong center of  veterans wearing dustcoasts ... and a battery strategically placed on the heights   Wellington chooses a mixed center, allied infantry stiffened by the thin red line... ...and close artillery support... ...which he directs personally. The battle rages on!! Specially in the center and the French right. On the left, conscript units on both sides just stare at each other The French veterans advance and do not waver when battered by cannon fire On the British left, 1st Foot infantry advances with Dragoons in close support The chaps of the 1st Foot face and repel an ambush from voltigeurs l...

How to run solo 6 nations campaigns

 Since DBA 1.0, the rules include a very cool six nations campaign system with provisions for sieges, alliances, reserves, detachments, hidden placement of field armies, etc. The campaign rules can be downloaded for free from the History of WARGAMES RESEARCH GROUP website. This system also appeared alongside the HOTT fantasy rules. After the following map I will list 3 solo engines that have been published for this campaign system to automatically drive the non-player nations.  * Programmed Leaders for DBA Campaigns: an article by P.J. Raper that was published in Wargames Illustrated 84. It uses personalities to automate the decisions of non-player factions. * Programmed Nations in DBA Campaigns. An adaptation of the preceding article. It can be downloaded from HERE . * Solo DBA Campaigning by Ian Duncan. A different system  that uses a deck of cards to control non-player factions. It's the one I will use for my campaign. It was published in Lone Warrior #110. It may be f...