X-Wing Miniatures Game - Galactic Civil War Campaign Rules

X-Wing Miniatures Game
(c) Fantasy Flight Games

Introduction

After falling away from Fantasy Flight Games' X-Wing Miniatures Game for a few years, myself and a group of friends are looking to play on a semi-regular basis again - but we wanted to do something that would give our battles a little more depth than the one-off battles affairs we used to play. At the same time, we didn't want to do anything that required much book-keeping or would cause us headaches if we wanted to drop in and out of play as life's pressures dictated. Thus we put together the Galactic Civil War Campaign Rules. They are written with 1st Edition in mind but there's nothing I'm aware of that would prevent these rules being used by 2nd Edition players (feedback welcomed if this is not the case). I hope you enjoy them!

The Galaxy Map

Using the board from FFG's excellent Star Wars Rebellion boardgame, this map shows all of the key systems across the galaxy - and which factions control them. When the campaign begins, the hidden Rebel base is on Mon Calamari and the Empire's Death Star at Coruscant. The number of symbols on each location dictate the size of each game of the X-Wing Miniatures game to be fought (more below). 

The Galaxy Map
(c) Fantasy Flight Games (game board for Star Wars Rebellion)

Campaign Aim

The players are aiming to either destroy the enemy base or liberate/control the majority of the galaxy's systems, whichever happens first. At the start of the campaign, one faction requires to occupy 17 of the 33 systems to ensure victory.

Campaign Turns

During a Campaign Turn, one player picks a system to attack and both players then fight a battle of the X-Wing Miniatures Game as normal. The winner not only takes control of the system, but they also increase their faction's Renown in the process. Increasing Renown unlocks new Ships and Pilots for their faction to call upon in future battles - and brings the player closer to victory as their spies search for the enemy base! More on this later...

When starting the campaign, players flip a coin. The player who wins the coin toss has control of play for Turn One. The other player has control of play in Turn Two, before the first player has control again in Turn Three, with play alternating between players each Campaign Turn. No player ever gets two turns in a row.

Turn Sequence

The Turn Sequence is as follows: 

1. Choose a system to assault

2. Pick forces

3. Play a game of the X-Wing Miniatures Game

4. End Phase

1. Choose a System to Assault

The player in control of play picks any neutral system on the board to assault. Players may not attack systems which already belong to the enemy faction - the one exception being to launch attacks on the enemy base as detailed in the Renown section. Although armies of the Empire and Rebels clash on the ground, it is in the dominance of space, that systems are won and lost. 

While a game of X-Wing may not encompass the full scale of planetary assaults or even the huge fleets of ships engaged involved, for the purposes of the campaign, it does represent a microcosm of the overall battle - in that whoever wins the scenario takes control of the system and widens their Renown!

When picking a system to attack, the number of symbols on the selected system dictates the size of the battle. If there is a clear hexagonal symbol on the system being attacked, the attacking player can decide whether this symbol counts as one symbol or none (thereby influencing the size of the battle). Once this is determined, players can pick forces.

No. of Symbols     Size of Scenario (Points)

         0-1                          100

           2                           200

           3                           300

Note: It will be easier to play larger games once your Renown has risen a little. Depending upon the size of your collection it may be tricky to play a 300 point battle with only Pilot Skill 1 ships at your disposal!

Note: if players only have sufficient forces for 100 point battles then there is nothing to stop them from playing small encounters in every scenario for the duration of the campaign. The intent though is for there to be larger games both to mix up the scale of encounters and to allow more opportunity to use huge ships in some of the battles. We feel that this gives the campaign more variation and an epic sweep - but play with what you've got!

2. Pick Forces

Players pick their forces as normal with a the following minor but significant restrictions: 

- Only pilots with a Pilot Skill equal to or below their current Renown can be selected. Both factions start the Campaign with Renown of 1, meaning that only Ships with Pilot Skill of 1 may be selected on both sides for the opening battle. Factions need to conquer/free systems to increase their Renown, thereby unlocking more Pilots and Ships as they do so.

- Unique ships/characters etc are indeed unique. Once a unique Pilot or Ship is killed/destroyed, they are gone forever - or at least for the duration of the current campaign. You therefore cannot select them for future battles. They may be one with the Force but they can't directly help fight the Galactic Civl War any longer.

3. Play a Game of X-Wing Miniatures Game

Players may play a standard battle to the death or - at both players' agreement - play scenarios (or even campaigns, there's no reason why campaigns within this campaign can't be played!) from the X-Wing Miniatures Game and supplements. 

Whichever scenario is played, run it as usual with the following additional rule: 

"Get clear Wedge, you can't do any more good back there!"

Unique pilots/ships may flee the conflict at any point during a battle by exiting any board edge. This represents the ship taking the time to make the calculations for the jump to hyperspace to escape, or to return to the safety within the range of a nearby allied convoy of Star Destroyers. This gives players a chance at least to keep their unique ships and pilots available for future encounters. Even heroes don't hang around if it means it might get them killed!

Note that while unique pilots/ships which flee survive for the purposes of the campaign, for the purposes of victory conditions in any given scenario, they count as having been destroyed (as is usual when a ship exits the board).

Once the victory conditions are reached in a game, players may wish to play on until all unique ships have vacated the battlefield or simply call it there with all remaining named ships assumed to have escaped, whichever players mutually agreed beforehand.

Base Attack: If the faction is launching an assault upon the Death Star or the hidden Rebel base, a 300 point battle will be fought (or as large as players' model collections will allow). If the attacking faction wins such a battle, they destroy the enemy base and win the campaign! If the assault was unsuccessful, the base will be relocated (see below in End Phase).

4. End Phase

There are several things to be updated in the End Phase of any given turn:

Campaign Map: mark or reflect on your Star Wars Rebellion board which faction now controls the system just contested. If one faction controls/has liberated the majority of systems or if they have destroyed their enemy's base, they have won the campaign! Expect a medal ceremony! 

If an attack on a base was unsuccessful, the base should be moved to a neutral system to be contested at a later point in time. Note that moving the base into a neutral territory does not mean the system has been taken over by that faction; rather they have been forced into a hasty retreat and are looking to lie low in their new system after coming so close to losing the entire war. They will remain there - and the system will remain neutral - until such time as the enemy faction finds them to launch another base assault. If there are no neutral systems left, place the base on any system under the faction's control. 

Campaign Roster: Note down any unique pilots/ships that were killed/destroyed. As mentioned above, these may no longer be used for the rest of the campaign. Note that the crew/upgrades on unique ships can completely change from battle to battle. This is to save on bookkeeping, to keep builds unpredictable, and to reflect that factions will want to calibrate their ships in different ways for different conflicts.

Renown: Renown is a critical aspect of campaign play. It reflects the faction's current standing in the galaxy, which pilots they can attract to their cause, and the effectiveness and extent of their spy networks who are trying to find the Death Star plans or the location of the hidden Rebel base.

As mentioned above, both players start with a Renown of 1 and can only select ships with Pilot Skill equal to or less than their current Renown. After a battle has been fought, the winning side increases their Renown by 1, while the losing side's Renown remains at its previous level. This means that to unlock all of the Pilots, players need to raise their Renown to 10, winning 9 battles in the process!

Another aspect of Renown relates to the faction's strength in spying and subterfuge as their agents seek the destruction of the other's base of operations. Once Renown reaches 10, the faction has discovered the location of the enemy base and, on their next turn, may opt to attack it. The faction will keep discovering the new location of enemy bases for every 2 Renown thereafter, namely when Renown reaches, 12, 14, 16, 18 (because base systems can be lost due to a Factional Major Victory, it is possible to have Renown of 17 but not hold 17 systems).

And that's it! Fly casual - and have fun!

Advanced Rules:

Special Recruits

Each faction assigns 5 unique pilots to flavourful systems before the campaign starts. e.g. Luke on Tatooine, Chewie on Kashyyk, Lando on Bespin, etc. These territories are considered neutral until they have been contested.

These characters cannot be taken until they are unlocked, even if they would usually be unlocked by an increase in Renown. Once they are unlocked, they become available both as pilots and as crew as desired. It goes without saying that they may not feature in a single battle as both pilot and crew - and that the usual rules for unique characters being killed apply. 

The chance to unlock iconic characters becomes available when the faction's Renown raises to 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15; once this has been achieved, the faction may - in their next turn when they control play - launch an assault on relevant system and, if they win the battle, in addition to taking control of the system as usual, may add the unique character to their campaign roster. Note that such characters may be fielded in a future squadrons for battle even if this breaks the established rule of not being able to field anything with a pilot skill higher than current Renown. If they fail to win the battle, the character is permanently locked for the remainder of the campaign as systems cannot be contested a second time.

Example: Having reached Renown of 3 in a previous turn, the Rebel player manages to win the battle for Bespin and Lando becomes available to his forces for the remainder of the campaign. The Rebel player's Renown rises to 4 but even though Lando's pilot Skill is 7, he can be fielded in any future forces from hereon in (for as long as he survives that is). Remember that Lando can be selected as either pilot or crew in a given scenario.

Note that an enemy faction may attack a system which potentially unlocks a character for their foes at any time. If they lose the battle, their opponent will gain access to that character as normal so there's no obvious reason why they'd want to do so!

Faction Major Victory

If one faction wins three successive victories in turns in which they control play or wins three consecutive victories across a mixture of turns during which they and the enemy control play, they are considered to have won a famous victory over the other faction and are rewarded with a Faction Major Victory. To clarify, a faction receives no FMV for winning 3 battles only on 3 consecutive turns where the enemy controlled play. 

In the case of the Rebels, they encourage an uprising which sees Imperials thrown out of the nominated system, to become permanently neutral (it cannot be reclaimed). For the Empire, they can destroy a Rebel-held system with the Death Star - although it is treated as being permanently neutral. In both instances, the faction who won the Major Victory declares the target system and the effects are immediate, applied without any need to play a battle of X-Wing. Scum faction would apply the same success as the Rebels would, only they'd achieve it by hiring mercenary scum to drive the Empire/Rebels out of a system. Only systems which have been contested and won by the opposition may be targeted for an FML. Base systems may not be targeted. 

Once a FMV has been applied, the faction is considered to be back at 0 wins; they must win another 3 battles as set out above to enjoy another FMV reward.

Note: FMVs alter the number of systems required to end the campaign: remember that one side only has to control/liberate the majority of systems for a win. Keep an eye on this once you start overthrowing enemies or destroying worlds! If for any reason a faction does not want to take advantage of a FMV, they are not obliged to do so. If both factions finish the campaign with an equal number of systems, both fleets amass for one final climactic battle - play one final game for as many points as you choose! Winner takes all!

Unable to apply a FML? It may be the case that, in the early stages of the campaign in particular, one faction does not control any systems other than its home base which cannot be attacked. If so, note that the FML was lost and count the faction's status as being back at 0 wins as is usual. However, should the enemy faction subsequently win a FML result, their FML result is cancelled by the one that their opponent lost. Note that to prevent one side unfairly losing out, this is cumulative.

i.e. The Rebels start the campaign with 6 consecutive victories. The Empire has no systems so - on two occasions - the Rebels forfeit their chance to liberate an Imperial system. But then the Empire strikes back, winning an incredible 9 consecutive victories! Normally they would have won 3 FMLs but these are offset by those lost by the Rebels, meaning that the first two are lost with the Empire only able to apply the last the FML result.

Other Potential Advanced Rules 

You can certainly add rules for experience and keeping track of upgrades to ships but we felt that had the potential to unbalance the game and bog us down in bookkeeping - at least this way scenarios should be easy to jump in and out of and be finely balanced; one side may have access to many more pilots but a swarm of basic fighters has as much chance as two experienced and upgraded freighters of winning a battle! 

A problem we've found in other gaming systems' campaigns is that experience bonuses / other rewards for success is that one side inevitably ends up overpowered and before long the fun falls out of the campaign as the outcome becomes inevitable. We did kick about a few ideas about awarding experience but nothing we came up with addressed this issue - but feel free to apply your own experience rules if you have them!

These rules rarely refer to the Scum faction because we wanted to play with classic Rebels v Imperials but it makes no difference to playing the campaign if Scum replaces either the Rebels or Imperials.

There's the potential for having all 3 factions fighting for dominance of the galaxy but we'll maybe have a think about that for another time... 

Coming soon... Campaign log for the Galactic Civil War!

The Random Film Review: Mandy

Mandy

Director: Panos Cosmatos

Cast: Nicholas Cage, Angela Riseborough, Linus Roache

Released: 2018

Nicholas Cage encounters cults, drugs and horror - madness ensues.

The Good:

Strong images with a trippy feel, unique type of horror
Gloriously insane
Cage does his full-on mad routine drenched in blood for a sizeable portion of the film, good if you can go along with it
The bikers reminded me of the Cenobites from Hellraiser (as a Clive Barker fan, this can never be a bad thing) 

The Bad:

I felt little connection with Nicholas Cage's character who was fairly impenetrable although enjoyed , Cage does his full-on mad routine drenched in blood for a sizeable portion of the film, bad if you can't go along with it
Story makes little sense but it feels like a demented fairy tale so it doesn't matter

And The Verdict:

Hallucinogenic, trippy, gory with interesting imagery but could have been even better with more empathetic characters - "You've got red on you" from Shaun of the Dead sums up the whole film very well!  7/10

The Random Film Review - Alien

Alien

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerrit, John Hurt

Released: 1979

A group of space truckers find their lives are under threat after encountering a menacing alien.

The Good:

Wonderful, believable performances from an excellent ensemble cast
Production design is jaw-dropping
H.R.Geiger's alien design is exquisite
The direction is wonderful
The effects still stand up very well for a film now 40 years old

The Bad:

There is a little too much meaningless technobabble but this is the most minor gripe (like Lambert, "I like griping")

And The Verdict:

Many fellow fans prefer the sequel but this for me is the best instalment of what would become a franchise of ever-diminishing returns - a true classic of science fiction and horror, highly recommended if you haven't seen it! 9/10

Note: I watched the 2003 Director's Cut which has additional scenes yet has a slightly shorter running time. Both versions are classics but I do prefer the slightly improved pace of the Director's Cut.

The Random Film Review: Paths Of Glory

Paths Of Glory

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Cast: Michael Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou

Released: 1957

Three soldiers are put on trial for cowardice after refusing to fight in a suicidal attack

The Good:

Kirk Douglas is on top form and you are rooting for him all the way
Immersive tracking shots through the trenches and the assault through no man's land that put you right in the action (a widely-known Kubrick trademark)
Believable characters which makes it all the harder to watch
Based on true events, it exposes the callousness of military officers in World War 1
Nice to see Joe Turkel as a young man (I only knew him from The Shining and Blade Runner)

The Bad:

None

And The Verdict:

The tone was darker and the film a harder watch than I had anticipated for a relatively old war film. Definitely a classic in the genre and stands up well despite the passage of time since its release. With it being Kubrick though, I shouldn't have been so surprised! 9/10

The Random Film Review: Christopher Robin

Christopher Robin

Director: Marc Foster

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Hayley Attwell, Bronte Carmichael 

Released: 2018

A middle-aged man is stalked by his childhood toys. Witchcraft is not involved.

The Good:

Innocent and enchanting - refreshing to see when so many "children's films" are now 12 certificates
Ewan McGregor does well in convincing the audience that the characters are real and holding the whole film together
The animated creatures were beautifully realised and I even liked Eeyore for the first time ever!
Classic, timeless quality

The Bad:

Central character story was reminiscent of Mr Banks' character arc in Mary Poppins
The characters were all a little terribly British for my personal tastes
PG certificate was baffling! It should have been a U

And The Verdict:

Enjoyable fare, good family fun. 8/10

Judge Dredd: Sector 1 Session #3

Training Day Part 3

Introduction

These session logs record gaming sessions using the EN Publishing's Judge Dredd: Tabletop Adventure Game. The four stars of the story (the Player Characters or PCs) are (left to right) Judges Weaver, Click, Brody and Simmons. Brody is a Med-Judge while the others are Street Judges.

Dredd (2012) image copyright DNA Films/IM Global/Reliance Entertainment

This opening storyline - Training Day - is an adventure I have put together which weaves together several of the missions from both the rulebook and first supplement, all under the overall storyline of the new Cadets undergoing their final assessment to, hopefully, earn their full badges! Warning: spoilers follow if you intend playing any of the scenarios from the published material! Fellow GMs wishing a copy of the Training Day adventure can email me at thebissler@gmail.com and I will happily send over the PDF! You will, of course, require to own copies of those books to run the full adventure!

Acknowledgements: A huge thanks to Dan Burgess for keeping me right on "Undersked" terminology on the 2000AD Tat & Chat Facebook Group - this was much appreciated! A massive thank you to Ian  "Anorak" Hollingsworth who also helped me out on this and a number of previous occasions with Dredd lore (even though I have read all of the Complete Case Files, I bow to his encyclopaedic knowledge of all things Dredd). You are a gentleman and a scholar sir!

Previously In Sector 1

The four Cadet Judges have are undergoing their final assessment to become Judges under the watchful eye of Judge Brennan. They have concluded their first investigation, that being into the theft of "Numunce" - arresting the main suspect, Mick Bricklington. Several of the cadets have been badly wounded, but their twelve hour assessment has only passed the halfway point. Having had a chance for a breather and a hottie courtesy of Eddie Seven, the Cadets have taken a call for aid for an ambulance which is under attack...

Date: Saturday, April 11 2099, 1251 hours.

Frankenstein 2

Sirens blaring, as the Cadets speed along the Fiona Bruce Mega-Way, Brennan receives a crackling message from Central.

Judges on Lawmasters by Brian Bolland
Copyright Rebellion 2000AD Ltd

"Judge Brennan, be advised, cadet Simmons is in a critical but stable condition. Unfit to return to duty today."

"Roger that," Brennan says. "Advise Principal Griffin that Simmons'll need to resit his final assessment. Keep me posted if his condition changes."

The rookies exchange glances of concern for their fellow cadet but do not have time to worry; up ahead they spot the parked ambulance which is being raided by two armed gunmen, both of whom are dragging bagged body parts - intended for those in medical need - from the vehicle. A medic lies dead on the ground, grey red matter spilling from his head on to the plascrete.

"Give it up creeps or you'll be making personal donations," Weaver roars as they close in on the ambulance, sirens blaring. 

A former student in Citizen Manipulation at the Academy of Law, Weaver's voice carries a steely authority which causes the perps to instantly freeze and drop their weapons. In moments, the three cadets are upon the perps, have them cuffed and under questioning. They call in a Pat Wagon and Med Wagon to pick up the perps and the parts respectively. Brennan follows up and nods with satisfaction at the efficiency of his rookies.

"Not bad," he says.

While Brody tries in vain to resuscitate the ambulance driver, Click calls upon his knowledge of the law to sentence the perps to thirty years in the Iso-Cubes for organ legging. He explains to the perps that their sentence can be extended by a further five years for obstruction of justice if they don't talk. After some resistance and further barking from Weaver, one of the perps finally agrees to cooperate.

"Sir, they say they're working for a black market surgeon going by the name of Frank N.Stein," Weaver explains. "This perp'll take us to his hideout under the Jimmy Nisbet Undersked."

"Lead on rookie," Brennan nods.

Minutes later, the team pull up at the Underzoom and the perp leads them to a door hidden in the dark shadows at the side of the tunnel. With Weaver at his back, the perp goes through a long and elaborate sequence of knocks to the metal doorway. There is a brief pause before the cadets hear the clacking of locks and the door opens the merest of fractions. 

"Knock knock," Brody says, kicking the door wide open and drawing a startled yelp from the guard behind it. 

Click storms inside and rams his daystick into the guard's mouth. The perp gags as he chokes on a mixture of blood, daystick and broken teeth. 

"...and good night," Click says, withdrawing the baton. With a quick flick of the wrist, the blood and bone splash from Click's daystick, spattering the perp's face and clothes. Not knowing what hit him, the guard crumples to the ground in the foetal position and blubbers.

Frankenstein 2 by Mike McMahon
Copyright Rebellion 2000AD Ltd

With Weaver and Brennan moping up the perps behind them, the duo of Brody and Click storm through the premises, taking down perps with baton and gun. Finally, they find Frank N.Stein in a makeshift - and unpleasantly filthy - operating theatre where he has just finished performing a liver transplant and - alerted by the shouting and screaming - has a spit gun at the ready! In an attempt to blind the Judges, he turns the blazing surgery lights at them and opens fire! He hits and wounds Click - but a retaliatory shot disarms him! Stein now apprehended, Brody checks her fellow Cadet's injury. 

"Just a minor flesh wound," she tells her fellow rookie. "Might have been worse were it not for our anti-dazzle visors. It's just like Griffin taught us at the Academy - 'your equipment could be the difference between life and death'."

"I seem to recall you were amused by some sort of innuendo when he said that," Click says.

"A sense of humour can't hurt in our calling," Brody replies defensively. "It'd all be so bleak otherwise."

"It's behaviour unbefitting a Judge. Childish things belong in childhood. We're not children now - we're Judges."

"I'll be the Judge of that," Brennan cracks, unable to resist his own joke, much to Click's unspoken irritation.   

A search of the makeshift theatre reveals that - along with countless body parts - there is a rack of human skins in a huge freezer unit. Faced with a long stretch in the 'Cubes, Stein confesses that he has been provided with a number of 'fresh Juves' by Vito O'Brien's gang; the team remember that this is the same creep whose mobsters wiped out Bricklington's gang at the Mike Pence Block earlier on the day. Following their lead, another team of rookies had raided his hideout but shutdown the site without any sign of O'Brien himself. Weaver is keen to nail O'Brien, but when he puts Stein under pressure to contact O'Brien, there is no reply.

"Only natural given that he's top of Sector One's most wanted today," Brennan advises the frustrated rookie. "He'll be off-grid for a while after this morning's events. You can't win 'em all, son." 

"We do know that Stein used to work for a Bud Yetale at the David Guest Nu Yu Hospital in Matt Damon," Brody explains after calling up Stein's perp sheet. "And guess what? That high-class joint specialises in a miracle procedure that rejuvenates the skin. It's all the rage with the crocks, those oldsters are handing over fortunes to look young again. Med and Tech Divisions have been wanting to analyse the treatment for use in healing therapies but Justice Department has been tied up by legal red tape by Guest's lawyers. What's the betting that Juve skin is the mystery ingredient and that's the reason they don't want Justice Department breaking down their formula? Tell me I'm wrong Stein?"

"We call 'em 'deathcials'," Stein forlornly admits.

Satisfied with Stein's confession, the team sentence him accordingly sentenced and head over to the Matt Damon Block.

David Guest Nu Yu Hospital

Upon arrival at the hospital in Matt Damon Block, Brody marches up to the main desk and a nervous receptionist.

"Ah, J-Judge...oh, Cadet...how can I help you?"

"I'm here for the same reason all these crocks are," she says, gesturing to the clinic which is packed with septuagenarians, octogenarians, nonagenarians and others closer to the grave still. "I'd like a deathcial."

"Err, you're too young for a- I mean, a 'deathcial', what's that?"

"Let's not play games. Get Bud Yetale down here right now," Brody orders.

Some of the crocks start shuffling their way to the exits, but the other rookies bar the way and start sentencing the grizzled grandfathers and grannies as accessories to murder.

"What's the meaning of this?" the manager, Bud Yetale demands as he enters the reception area. "This is a highly-respected Hospital! How dare you harass my clients!"

Bud Yetale

"Thirty five dead in a hideout under the Jimmy Nisbet Undersked do more than dare it - they demand it," Click replies. "Thirty five dead for cosmetic surgery - 'deathcials' - to keep these broken down old crocks looking youthful! Stein, an ex-employee of yours say he's supplying you with Juve skins." 

"I provide a high-class service to high-class citizens who like to look classy," Yetale says, his chest puffed up with self-importance. "I make no apologies for putting their interests before those of some deadbeat illegal immigrants invading our fine Mega-City, no doubt rapists and murderers all. Death's too good for that filth!"

"Meathead! You're doing life!" Click shouts, jabbing his daystick at the disbelieving manager.

"W-wait! This is an abuse of power! You'll be hearing from Chief Judge Goodman about this, mark my words you - hah - rookies! You don't even have the authority!"

"They do today," Brennan disagrees. "You can write to the Chief Judge from the comfort of your Iso-Cube creep!"

The cadets find themselves caught up in the administration of sentencing as the whole hospital is put into lockdown and all complicit patients rounded up and sentenced. When they finally send off the last crock crooks to the Iso-Cubes, a robot enters the hospital and approaches them.

"Good afternoon Judges," it addresses them. "My master, the great and illustrious Charles Faster Kane, requests several minutes of your time. Please accompany me to his offices."

"Charles Faster Kane? CFK?" Weaver asks. "Isn't that the creep rumoured to be running for Mayor?"

"Yeah, and we need to sit and listen to what he has to say," Brennan grunts, following the robot as it exits the surgery. "Word from up top is that we treat this creep with kid gloves. Voting for Mayor is virtually meaningless but it's one of the few democratic decisions the citizens of this city still have. Maintain the illusion that what the citizens want or think is important and we keep a lid on what could be a powder keg of anger ready to erupt all over the city. No 59(c)'s* in here, no sentencing unless I say so, got it?"

[*59(c) aka Crime Blitz: Judges have the legal right to enter a citizen's home and search for incriminating evidence.]

"Who up top? Sector Chief?" Weaver asks.

"No, up top. You know, top, top?"

"Chief Judge Goodman?" Click asks.

"Took a while but we got there," Brennan replies sarcastically. "Glad I can still say with confidence that the Academy of Law doesn't make dumb Judges."

The team are led to the elevators and the robot picks the penthouse as their destination. It starts humming along to the muzak tunelessly, the high-pitched drone emanating from its voice box not unlike the sound of fingernails down a blackboard.

"Don't do that," Weaver orders. 

"Don't like robots?" Brody asks. "They keep this Mega-City One running. Without them the city would be in chaos."

"Like's got nothing to do with it," Weaver answers. "Don't trust 'em. It'll all end in tears, mark my words."

Charles Faster Kane

The robot leads the team from the elevators and into offices which have huge depictions of Charles Faster Kane and his name emblazoned on the screens in ten feet print. 

"Anyone remember who we're here to see?" Brody asks.

"Ah Judges! Welcome to my modest theatre. Please, be seated.

The robot leads them into a large auditorium and asks them to sit in the front row. Weaver ignores the robot's repeated requests to be seated. After a whispered threat to tear the robot's circuits out, the robot finally falls silent and steps back into the shadows.

The room is suddenly filled with show music and bright lighting and the wall behind the stage slides open to reveal a huge luxurious apartment adorned with valuable art and sculptures, dozens of robot servants and a party of fifty or so scantily-clad citizens out in the plastiglass sky pool which looks out across the vista of Sector One. 

Charles Faster Kane's sky pool

"Nice apartment, isn't it?" Weaver says.

"Just look at those citizens. It's like they're gripped by some kind of fit of anarchic clothlessness. It's verging on public indecency," Click mutters distastefully. "They should all get six months for that."

"Not now," Brennan grunts.

A troupe of dancing girls pour into the auditorium and suddenly break into chorus, and perform a full song and dance routine to the bemused rookies.

C! Charles! 
F! Faster! 
K! Kane! 
He's Charles Faster Kane
Don't vote for more of the same 
He's a man on top of his game
Matt Damon's international man of fame
Don't listen to the competition's policies lame
C! 
F! 
C, F K!
He's Charles Faster Kane!

The dancing girls suddenly form a huddle and scream excitedly; appearing from their midst is Charles Faster Kane himself. The girls merrily cancan off-stage as he takes his place a podium which is sliding up out of the platform.

A spotlight is trained upon him, revealing him to be clad in his standard tuxedo attire, teeth sparkling as he greets the group with a wide smile and addresses them with a deep, theatrical bluster.

Charles Faster Kane

"Good to see new cadets, Judge Brennan! This city needs more young blood! More Judges! Finer than the most opulent of wines, we need the lifeblood of the fine upstanding men - and women! - of the Justice Department! Without the Judges, we would never have survived the dark days! Never risen up out of the ashes of the radioactive hell that was the Atomic Wars. Chaos. Anarchy. Despair! Thank grud that you are here to protect us! You are like a shining beacon guiding us through the fog of midnight! And here we are - Mega-City One! Biggest, grandest, richest, and best! - of all the Mega-Cities! But make no mistake - this is no utopia we live in. We are besmirched by that most persistent of humanity's stains - crime! Even here, oh yes, even here in this magnificent block-"

"Err, I'm sorry, we're on a tight schedule here, so if you could you get to the point?" Weaver interrupts.

Charles Faster Kane pauses for a moment in puzzlement, before his expression eventually changes to one of displeasure. 

"Is this how the Academy of Law teaches our Cadets to conduct themselves, Judge Brennan?" he asks. "I am getting to the point cadet! Perhaps if you could still your tongue for the merest of moments and allow me to finish my oratory, I will indeed get to the point! Now I've lost my place. Rewind the autocue. Ah yes, 'most persistent of humanity's stains - crime,' Yes, I'll pick up after there... 

"Even here, oh yes, even here in this magnificent block which I metaphorically built up from city bottom with my own blood, sweat and tears, even here there has been a surge in rampant criminality. And when I discovered that you were raiding such a reputable and well-regarded establishment as the David Guest Nu Yu Hospital, I said to myself, 'Charles Faster Kane, you can't just stand idly by and do nothing'. Which logically means I have to do something. And something I did! I seized the initiative and ordered new security robots to patrol the block! I only hope it will prove sufficient to bolt the doors against the rising tide of criminality, criminality in which we will all drown if we do not plumb the depths of our humanity! So I thank you! And grud-speed young cadets! May you burn brightly! Judge Brennan, if you would pass that part about the security droids on to the Sector Chief, I, Charles Faster Kane, probable Mayor of Mega- City One in 2100, would consider it a mighty boon indeed!"

Brennan grunts something to the affirmative at which point the backdrop reopens and CFK drifts backwards (probably on a mini-pedway) into his apartment. The backdrop closes again and the lighting returns to normal.

"Let's out the hell outta this gruddamn place," Brennan snarls, storming off. 

"Quite the show," Weaver says.

"Yeah," Brody says. "Did you hear the surprise in his voice when he looked at me and mentioned the women of Justice Department? What difference does it make? Men, women; we're all Judges. What a scumbag."

As usual, as soon as the cadets return to their bikes, more radio calls cackle through their bikes.

"Incident: Futsie* cannibal eating self at Twin Pine Mall, Michael J.Fox Block. Judges required to apprehend citizen for incarceration in the Psycho-Cubes."

[*Futsie: Victim of Future Shock Syndrome. A condition where citizens were overwhelmed by the pressures of living in the overpopulated future city and run amok, usually with violent consequences for fellow citizens. Always sent to the Psycho-Cubes which are colloquially known as the 'Kook Cubes']

"Incident: Multiple vehicle collision on Easy Rider Slipway, vicinity of Dennis Hopper Block."

"Hopper's closer," Weaver states, calling once again upon his local knowledge. "We'll take it."

The cadets put the foot down and head for Hopper...

To be continued...

NEXT PROG: DROKK THE BLOCK!

Session Supplementary

I've probably made this session sound a little better than it was; unfortunately I was tired and my energy wasn't right for the session. Sometimes these thing happen but I also let myself down a little in the preparation. I'm determined to put on a better show next time! Must do better!

More next week!

Updated Sector 1 Map

1) Grand Hall of justice

2) Statue of Judgement

4) Movie Special Effects Museum

5) Nu Face Clinic

6) Flavulike Research Facility

7) Eddie Seven's Hottie House

8) Dan's Van Hire

9) Mike Pence Block

10) O'Brien's Synthi-Olive Oil Co
12) Matt Damon Block
21) Jimmy Lisbet Undersked

 

Core Space: The Perseus Campaign Mission 2

MISSION BACKGROUND:

MISSION: HACKED OFF AT ATOM VALLEY
SHIPS: THE ION HOPE AND THE BLACK MARIA
CREWS: ARIANNA SABRINE AND GAK (ION HOPE) AND JACE DOLMAN AND JAY "LARS" LARSEN (THE BLACK MARIA)

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: THE CLAWTECH CHIP WAS HACKED! FIND THE HACKER (KAORI) AND STOP HER TRANSMITTING THE DATA!
SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: SCAVENGE NEW EQUIPMENT (CLOSE COMBAT EQUIPMENT CAN BE SOLD FOR "BUY PRICE"

SET UP:

This is the second part of the Perseus Campaign as featured in the Core Space rulebook. Core Space is available to buy from Battle Systems now! Any sections below which are written in italics tell the story of the game, while those in plain text refer to the actual game itself. The story aspects are not-for-profit fan fiction and the copyright for the characters and universe belong to Battle Systems.

Note that the main report relates to a Solo Play Game using two different crews cooperatively. This campaign is intended to be played with two players - notes only on the 2 player session can be found at the bottom of this article. 

As they prepare for another mission, Lars puffs and snorts as he buckles himself into his chair in the Black Maria's cockpit. Jace senses his engineer's agitation before he even speaks. 

"Could you believe that the Ion Hope showed up at the Trader's Gambit? The last thing we need is Arianna and that alien freak Gak stealing our business!"

"It's a free universe," Jace sighs. "We're both operating out here so expect to see a lot more of them. So long as we don't start shooting at each other, it can be beneficial to both of us."

"Shooting them? Not a bad idea," Lars shrugs. Then, as Jace draws him the look of death, his tone softens. "Of course, we won't shoot 'em. All I'm saying is that it'd be better if they'd just butt out."

"Well, we've got the jump on them this time," Jace attempts to reassure Lars. "We can pick our spot to dock with the Atom Valley outpost. Let's get down there, find Kaori and stop her transmitting that hacked Clawtech data!"

"Already thinking of another juicy payday," Lars smiles, plotting the landing course as they enter orbit.

Overview of the table, ready for play!

A closer view of the board from Jace & Lars' side of the table.

And a close look at the board from Arianna and Gak's side of play.

ROUND ONE:

Event Card doesn't cause any problems...

...sending Gan'Eek to the crew of the Ion Hope.

As they open the airlock, the crew of the Ion Hope spot a civilian, Gan'Eek rushing towards them.

"Ignore him," Arianna instructs Gak. "The Black Maria is already here and you can bet your last UA that they're here for the same reason we are. I'll get to Kaori, find out which terminal she's broadcasting the hacked chip from and take it out. If you can focus on salvage, we can make this a lucrative little score - and get one over on Jace Dolman and that creep Lars."

"That would make Gak happy," the Quell nods stoically.

But they aren't interested! Everyone rushes on board while Jace and Arianna are in a race to reach Kaori first!

End of Round One Overview.

ROUND TWO:

There's no Purge on the table so (unfortunately) the Event Card has no effect.

Jace approaches Kaori...

"Kaori," Jace smiles as he approaches the hacker. "Just the person I was looking for. Word has it you're transmitting sensitive Clawtech material. How about you save yourself a lot of trouble and you tell me where the terminal is?" 

But she waves him away! Arianna steps in, attempting to Persuade her...

"The hell I will," she responds. 

"Quite right too," Arianna nods, placing her arm around Kaori. "You can't trust Jace - he'll just as soon put a round in you when you tell him the information. Listen, I can help you..."

Though her Persuade roll is worse than Jace rolled, Kaori whispers the location of the terminal Arianna is looking for!

Despite her misgivings, Kaori whispers the location of the terminal to Arianna - much to Jace's dismay! He instinctively reaches for his gun to insist Kaori reveals the information... 

Lars and Gak search crates and find more equipment! With armour which improves Gak's strength in close combat, Gak will be a fearsome opponent!

Kaori attacks Jace, costing him two Health!

...but Kaori fires upon Jace, wounding him!

"Don't think me a helpless damsel," she warns.

ROUND THREE:

The Event Card will have no effect.

Arianna drops a Health stim for Jace even though he is the opposition. Knowing Jace doesn't even have the information about the terminal and that neither of them can make it to the terminal this Round, she moves into position to search another crate and pockets a grenade.

Jace gratefully scoops up the Health stim and subsequently Persuades Kaori to tell him where the terminal is, before pursuing Arianna down the corridor!

"That looks like it hurts," Arianna says somewhat gleefully to Jace. "Here's a stim, don't say I'm not good to you!"

She drops a stim and rushes off down the passageway. Jace grabs Kaori by the throat and holds the gun under her chin.

"I'm trying not to be the bad guy here, but you aren't leaving me with much choice. Either you tell me what I want to know now or I decorate the walls with your brains and I find out anyway. Which is it to be?"

Kaori whimpers her response and Jace charges after Arianna to destroy the terminal. 

A Harvester enters play and heads for Gak.

Overview at the end of the Round.

ROUND FOUR:

No searches have been performed on rooms so the Hostility Tracker is reduced by a single peg.

Able to activate first this Round, Jace charges in to the room and - to be certain - fires two rounds at the terminal, destroying it! Primary Objective complete! He uses Arianna's stim to restore his Health, something which the rival Captain possibly regrets gifting him now!

Jace rushes past Arianna and unloads on the terminal, destroying it! Moments later a notification on his data pad chimes that Clawtech had transferred the reward!

"I just helped you out and you steal my score?" Arianna blurts, disbelieving her eyes.

"All's fair in love and the Core," Jace smiles.

Livid, Arianna moves off in the opposite direction to try to find some additional loot. More Harvesters enter the board and close in on Jace. Can he make it back to The Black Maria alive?

"Noted," Arianna answers as she spots Harvesters closing in - and leaves Jace to deal with them! She has to find some salvage to ensure that the mission isn't a complete failure.

Gak casually destroys the Harvester and moves behind a generator to cover Arianna's return to The Ion Hope. He is caught off-guard when Gan'Eek suddenly shoots at him - and wounds him!

"Why shoot Gak?" the stunned Quell asks the Ech Triune. "Shoot purge!"

End of Round overview.

ROUND FIVE:

Arianna has the UA token and in a moment of spite, applies the Event Card to Jace's only weapon!

His Outland Energy Rifle will require a Repair action to be usable again!

"What the hell?" Jace asks no one in particular. "The rifle is showing a software malfunction! It won't fire until I reset it!"

Jace runs as far as he can to get away from the Harvesters which means they are now closer to Gak and closing in on hm!

End of Round overview.

ROUND SIX:

Apologies, some pics were missed here - Lars decides to risk checking out one last crate for salvage before returning to the Black Maria. He drops some credits as he cannot carry any more items. Jace also risks grabbing some salvage even though he is close to a Purge entry point. Arianna sprints back to the Ion Hope as the Purge close in on their position!

"Airlock room heating up," the Quell hollers. "Gak has company! Hurry up Arianna!"

End of Round overview. A Harvester appears next to Jace's position but fortunately he is just outwith the robot's reach!

"All right, all right," Arianna replies over the comms. "I'm on my way!"

ROUND SEVEN:

Gan'Eek distracts the Devastator - and Gak, having been shot be Gan'Eek leaves the Ech Triune to his fate!

Jace unjams his weapon and shoots the Harvester, destroying it!

"Lars always hits control, alt, delete..." Jace mutters as a Harvester closes in on him. As it almost gets into striking distance, the weapon reboots and several status lights on the gun turn from red to green. Jace levels the rifle at the Harvester and blows it in half!

A very disappointed Arianna and Gak return to their ship without further incident.

"What happened?" Gak asks as they return to the Ion Hope. 

"That slimeball Jace Dolman happened, that's what. Come on, let's get the hell outta here and see if we've got anything worth trading."

Gan'Eek is swiftly dispatched by the Devastator and the Purge now start pursuing the fleeing crew of the Black Maria. Lars returns to cover their airlock while Jace races back.

End of Round overview.

ROUND EIGHT:

Apologies, I was too involved with the game and missed a few more pics! Jace decides to retrieve the credits Lars discarded before returning to the ship! Lars is far from impressed but holds his position for the time-being!

"Never mind the extra credits Jace," Lars shouts. "We're outta time!"

"I can make it," Jace insists.

End of Round Overview.

ROUND NINE:

Gravity Unwell! Jace won't escape this turn!

 Jace scoops up the money and struggles against the gravity as he heads back to the Black Maria!

"Watch your back," Lars shouts, spotting the pursuing Devastator almost in striking distance behind his friend! Lars runs back inside the ship to prepare a hasty blast off.

...but the Devastator makes a double move to catch him! End of Round overview.

ROUND TEN:

However, the Event Card helps! Jace spends a skill point to make a free Move to safety.

The Devastator inflicts three health loss on Jace but it doesn't matter!

The robot swings its fist at Jace and almost knocks him clean of his feet. His gashed forehead bleeding profusely, he throws himself over the airlock threshold and seals the door behind him!

They made it! 

AFTERMATH:

"Result," Lars grins. "We did it!"

"We did - but Arianna is not pleased. I think I made a mistake in stealing the job from under her nose. She threw me a health stim after Kaori shot me and I rewarded her by destroying the terminal and taking the reward. That was a lousy move on my part."

"What did she expect? That job was an open contract," Lars remarks. "If you're not fast, you're last!"

"Still, I don't feel great about it," Jace says, his voice trailing off.

"She'll get over it."

"That remains to be seen. I hope I haven't just created new problems for us next mission."

POST-GAME SEQUENCE:

Arianna and Gak take their career boosts and increase their skills. Note the items they sell during trading. No close combat weapons were found to take advantage of being able to sell the items for "Buy" price.

As do Jace and Lars. Same again with regards to selling goods, no close combat weapons were salvaged.

Post-trading phase, both crews have more funds available to spend.

After spending their monies, both ships upgrade. The Black Maria now has level 2 Docking Thrusters to ensure quick extraction in future missions!

CLOSING REFLECTIONS:

It was fortunate that both crews were able to reach Kaori very quickly and extract the information. This meant that the mission was completed relatively quickly without too much confrontation with the Purge - but even at that Jace was nearly defeated! It will be very interesting to see how things progress in future missions as the Hostility Tracker starts higher. I didn't do much with the skills again but these did get some use in the 2 player session (noted below).

Even though this was Solo play, I did play both crews as being willing to race each other to the main objective. I've decided that Arianna and Gak will be more hostile towards Jace and Lars in the next session, and that they may use force to do so. I haven't decided if this will definitely happen but it is an option on the table! And if they are fired upon, perhaps the Black Maria may retaliate! This could end up going very badly, but time will tell!

I'm still greatly enjoying the system and looking forward to Mission 3 of the campaign!

2 PLAYER PLAY:

Our session was fun and played out in a similar fashion with Jace and Lars managing to trash the terminal to secure the Primary Objective. On this occasion though, Jace and Lars made their escape without issue but Gak had to fight his way back to the airlock with Harvesters, Devastators, an Assassin and a Live One breathing down his neck! He made it though! We both made use of several skills and this definitely brought an added dimension to proceedings - leading to several Purge characters being destroyed by various means! Both sides found some close combat weapons so enjoyed a bumper payday which allowed both ships to not only be fully maintained but add a number of ship upgrades including the docking clamps (see below)! Things are building up nicely for our continuing campaign!

Note to regular reader and commenter "Spikey": for some reason I'm having problems responding to your comments on the Mission 1 post and this seemed to start after there were three comments on the thread. I don't know if it's a browser issue or simply Blogger not being able to handle more than a few comments but thank you for all the kind words! I really value comments though so please keep them coming if you or anyone else reading this feels inclined to do so!

Re your last comment: you're right, there is a fair amount of work that goes into these posts and recording them as they happen does break up play - but I do it mainly because I enjoy being able to look back at old sessions I've played. I'm also incredibly grateful to yourself and everyone else who seems to be enjoying these - and for returning again to read more! Thanks all!