5 Parsecs From Home

Episode 1

Intro:

The camera pans past an asteroid and into the glare of a white star, accompanied by an orchestral composition that tries to be epic, in a weary sort of way, played on the finest synths the 90s had to offer. The camera turns in space, before slowly zooming in on a frozen planet in orbit around the pale star. As we get closer, boxy transport ships and angular cutters soar past the camera, teasing at a universe of diverse cultures and limited polygons.

The light of the sun is eclipsed as the camera pans past the hexagonal mass of The Uninvited Mosasaur, a vast former colony ship. A cast of actors flash onto the screen, each smiling uncomfortably for a moment before silently swiping to the next.

Starring:^[1]

GRIT ZEPHYR: Played by an ex-Shakespearean actor in his 50s, with white skin, hair and a beard. Half his face is covered in metal bulges, lenses and flashing LEDs. Despite playing a grizzled punk from the undercity, he speaks with a Received Pronunciation accent at all times.

Despite Kichiro owning the Mosasaur, the crew unanimously elected Grit to be their Captain after showing his capability in their first job together. Growing up as a dissident in the dense city-world of Atinita taught him tactics, improvisation and a keen sense for traps.

Most of his former comrades think this aging anarchist has sold out and gone looking for his share of the pie, but there are some who suspect this is only another mask for the veteran saboteur.

Name: Grit Zephyr

Species: Human

Pronouns: He/Him

Background: Lower Mega-City Class (+1 Low Tech Weapon – Machine Pistol)

Motivation: Glory (+1 Combat, +1 Military Weapon – Military Rifle)

Class: Punk (+2XP, +1 Rival: Feral Mercs: The Swords of Hekkan)

ELIJAH HALEY: A vaguely recognisable genre-staple, a frowning brown-haired, white skinned woman in her early 30s. Was scheduled to a starring role on the fantasy show this replaced, GRIMMSBANE: PRINCESS OF SHYISH, before it was cancelled.

A former military lieutenant and Grit's right hand in every firefight. On witnessing illegal experiments, she turned whistleblower and was chased from the system.

Name: Elijah Haley

Species: Human

Pronouns: She/Her

Background: Military Brat (+1 Combat)

Motivation: Escape (+1 Speed)

Class: Scavenger (+1 Rumor: an extracted data file, +1 High-Tech Weapon – Hand Cannon)

KICHIRO HUNTER: A dark-skinned woman with a tight bun of black hair gives a confident smile to the camera. She's been struggling for recognition in the industry since she graduated acting school, and she's determined to make a name for herself as the inquisitive sharpshooter Kichiro.

Kichiro's wide-eyed wonder at each new species or unique climate on the planets she visits is tempered by the things she's seen happen on them. The inheritor and owner of the Uninvited Mosasaur, she refuses to change the name her mother gave it, much to Grit's consternation.

Name: Kichiro Hunter

Species: Human

Pronouns: She/Her

Background: Research Outpost (+1 Savvy, +1 Gadget – Insta-Wall)

Motivation: Discovery (+1 Savvy, +1 Gear – Hazard Suit)

Class: Nomad (+1 Gear – Fixer)

RAI MIST: Someone is hidden under a reptile mask, though it is difficult to say who it is. Beneath all the latex is a retired masked wrestler, whose aerial stunts fit the agile reptilian Rai. Reading every line in the most flirtatious way possible makes the character an instant fan favourite.

Rai grew up with war as a constant, which makes his light-hearted outlook surprise many who encounter him. When the military turned on his best friend Elijah, he was right there with her, and has been ever since.

Name: Rai Mist

Species: Swift

Pronouns: He/Him

Background: War-Torn Hell-Hole (+1 Reaction, +1 Military Weapon – Shatter-Axe)

Motivation: Power (+2 XP, +1 Rival: Starport Scum, Olligoth Gate Bruisers)

Class: Scavenger (+1 Rumor: an intercepted transmission, +1 High-Tech Weapon – Beam Pistol)

WENDY ESCOBAR: A serious-looking woman done up in pale grey makeup and blue-dyed hair. Delivers her lines aggressively, regardless of context, and speaks with a strong Australian accent.

Wendy joined the crew after a mission got them tangled up in her attempts to find the cult who killed her parents. Brash and hot-headed, she isn't one for negotiations or half-measures.

Name: Wendy Escobar

Species: Stalker

Pronouns: She/Her

Background: Comfortable Mega-City Class (+1d6 Credits - 5)

Motivation: Truth (+1 Rumor: an extracted data file, +1 Story Point)

Class: Enforcer (+1 Combat, +1 Patron: Wealthy Individual: Vessalius Mason)

RAT PANTHEOCIDE: A person in long black robes and an intricate mask of a squid-like appearance. Beneath it all is an actor with a long career as thugs and n'erdowells in middling Hollywood action films of the 70s-80s. Plays their role with a gusto that the internet has immortalised in countless gifs.

Rat is a member of a religious order who hold it as their sacred duty to right the wrongs inflicted upon mortals by their callous gods. A wanderer by nature, Rat approaches life with a lackadaisical unconcern for personal consequences, paired with an unshakeable zeal to fight for the downtrodden and upset the order of things.

Name: Rat Pantheocide

Species: Minor Alien

Pronouns: They/Them

Background: Alien Culture (+1 High-Tech Weapon – Hand-Cannon)

Motivation: Faith (+1 Rumor: old map showing a location, +1 Story Point Minor Alien)

Class: Scientist (+1 Savvy, +1 Gadget – Repair Bot)

Left to right: Wendy, Kichiro, Grit, Rat, Elijah, Rai

Also Starring^[2]:

FITZGERALD MORA

Name: Fitzgerald Mora

Species: Swift

Pronouns: He/Him

Background: Industrial World (+1 Gear – Purifier)

Motivation: Loyalty (Patron Commissioner Lemma: , +1 Story Point)

Class: Scientist (+1 Savvy, +1 Gadget – Stabilizer)

and

NAGOMI DOYLE

Name: Nagomi Doyle

Species: Soulless

Pronouns: They/Them

Background: Subjugated Colony On An Alien World (+1 Gadget – Repair Bot)

Motivation: Revenge (+2XP, +1 Rival: Desperadoes, Tunnel Foxes)

Class: Agitator (Rival: Gangers, The Vengeful Scarlet)

Starting Equipment Rolls:

Glare Sword

Infantry Laser

Needle Rifle

Brutal Melee Weapon x2

Colony Rifle

Scanner Bot

Snooper Bot

Episode 1:

In which cats are herded. with lasers.

Tasks:

Grit & Elijah go Trading, and after a long day of haggling return to the ship with 3c worth of fuel and an Assault Blade mod for their Needle Rifle.

Rai & Kichiro decide to Explore the dense city blocks that cluster around the geothermal heat vents of Jovras III. Rai spies a broken Jump Belt in their travels and immediately retrieves it, confident it can be restored. Meanwhile, Kichiro happens across a retired hitman who agrees to Train her.

Wendy & Rat go looking for new Recruits. They find Nagomi in a desperate last-stand against the Tunnel Foxes & the Olligoth Gate Bruisers. In a moment of zeal Rat decides to step in and save the stranger, to spite the gods that arranged such a hopeless situation.

During the firefight they find Fitzgerald stunned by an explosion beneath a fallen crate. On awakening he calls on a local government contact, Commissioner Lemma, and her forces successfully scare off the thugs.

Battle:

Grit gets a call from a friend from the old days; Vessalius had got out of the undercity young, and made a small fortune for himself on Jayvos III, rising through the ranks of one of the semi-legalised crime families that run the planet in various capacities.

Vessalius is worried; His pedigree hivecat Majesty was supposed to be infertile, but conditions on the planet had activated a genetic quirk that allowed her to breed with a local tom.

The city fringes had been plagued with tragic heat-stat failures in the planet’s early years, and now the abandoned boroughs are known collectively as ‘The Necropolis Fringe’.  Vessalius explains that if the crew don’t intervene, they’ll soon be teeming with not only feral luxury pets but corporate goons as well: If the megacorp that own the exclusive licence to the Refirian Fine-Tailed Sphinx learn that there were strays running around with their genetic pedigree, they’ll send elimination squads to track down every last one. In the process, they would spark a scandal and drag Vessalius’ name through the mud. He will pay very well to have the situation resolved.. Quietly.

Some of the crew grumble at first, but the fact is they’re broke and the pay is too good to pass up. They’re to head out into the Necropolis Fringe, taking out every hivecat they can find, while protecting themselves from the less pampered species of the dead zone.

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Type: Patron (Vessalius Mason)

Mission: Secure

Enemies: Roving Threat - Carnivore Chasers

Additional:

• Caught Off Guard: All crew act in Slow Actions on the first turn.
• Shiny Things: 1c cache 2d6 in a random direction from the centre of the board.

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The starting board

Pre-Battle:

Seize the Initiative roll: 13, free normal move (or shoot, hit on 6) before the battle starts.

Grit uses Snooper Bot to cancel out the Carnivore Chaser’s Alert trait. It rolls a 2, so does not break.

The crew move up the board in Seize The Initiative.

Turn 1:

Quick Actions: -

Enemy Actions: Enemies advance, staying in cover

The hivecats know something’s up

Slow Actions:

• Wendy advances and shoots a spider hiding behind the church with her Colony Rifle. She misses.
• Rai moves up to the 1c Cache.
• Rat advances and shoots the same spider with their needle rifle. They miss both shots.
• Grit dashes for centre.
• Kichiro moves forward and shoots a hivecat with her military rifle. She misses.
• Elijah moves to higher ground and takes a shot at the same hivecat with her infantry laser. She misses.

End Phase: No morale or win check yet.

End of Turn 1

Turn 2:

Quick Actions: Kichiro readies a Snap Fire.

Enemy Actions:

• Hivecat 1 makes for a well near Elijah’s building. Kichiro fires on Hivecat 1 with her military rifle, and misses.
• The rest of the Hivecats lurk inside the central building as the ticks and spiders move up.

The hivecats take a break

Slow Actions:

• Rai lights up a spider sneaking around the church with his beam pistol, and kills it!
• Wendy blows away the other spider with her hand-cannon.

The spiders die quickly

• Grit advances to a window of the centre building and opens fire on the tick inside with his machine-pistol. One shot glances off its thick carapace, stunning it and knocking it backwards.
• Elijah moves up to surprise Hivecat 1 below, shooting and stunning it with her infantry laser.
• Rat dashes towards the centre.

End Phase: The enemy do not panic. None of the crew are within 2” of centre.

End of Turn 2

Turn 3:

Quick Actions:

• Rai moves and shoots the stunned tick with his beam pistol, adding another stun to it.
• Elijah shoots the stunned Hivecat 1 again with her infantry laser, stunning it more.

Enemy Actions:

• The stunned Hivecat 1 moves below Elijah and prepares to jump up at her.
• The stunned tick skitters upstairs to hide in the ruined building.
• Tick 2 pounces on Rai, who knocks it away with his brutal melee weapon, stunning it.
• Hivecat 2 moves up to support Hivecat 1.
• Hivecat 3 attacks Rai, incapacitating him with 2 successful hits.
• Hivecat 4 moves up beside Hivecat 3, preparing to pounce on Grit next turn.

Rai goes down under a flurry of claws

Slow Actions:

• Grit opens up with his machine-pistol on Hivecat 4 through the broken window, shredding it with bullets.
• Rat moves up beside the 1c Cache, opening fire on Hivecat 3 with their needle-rifle at short range and killing it instantly.
• Kichiro moves up to the corner of Elijah’s building and fires on Hivecat 2 with her military rifle, killing it.
• Wendy moves up beside Rat, collecting the 1c Cache.

End Phase: Tick 1 panics, fleeing the battle.

Kichiro flanks Hivecats 1 & 2

Turn 4:

Quick Actions: -

Enemy Actions:

• Hivecat 1 scampers over the wall and hides on the floor below Elijah.
• Tick 2 moves into cover further inside the central building.

Slow Actions:

• Wendy moves in to shoot Tick 2, and misses.
• Rat moves up beside Wendy and fires on Tick 2, killing it in a hail of needles.
• Elijah descends the stairs to take a shot at Hivecat 2, missing it in the darkened ruins.
• Kichiro appears in a crumbling doorway beside her, and a snap-shot with her rifle kills Hivecat 2, ending the game.

Wendy & Rat attack Tick 2

End Phase: All enemies are dead, location is Secured.

Post Battle:

• Gained 9c (1c Cache, 5c Reward, 3c Danger Pay)
• Found: Starship Part (-2c to Starship Component installation), and a Cargo Crate worth 3c. (Nestled inside the Starship Part is a Hivecat kitten, who Kichiro secretly adopts. The kitten is called Miles.)
• Rai suffers a Minor Injury, and must spend 1 Campaign Turn in Sick Bay.
• Bought an Infantry Laser (currently at: 22c)
• Campaign Event: The sector news networks are awash with rumors of war.
• While you remain on this planet, any roll for Invasion is at +2
• Character Event: Rai earns a little credits on the side (2c)