TACHYON
SQUADRON
CLARK VALENTINE
JOIN THE ACE PILOTS OF THE TACHYON SQUADRON.
ENLIST TODAY! The universe is in trouble. Take Take your stand against the overreaching arms of the Dominion of Unity.. Stand up against piracy and lawlessness. Unity Ensure that all members of the Draconis system enjoy peace and prosperity. Join the Tachyon Squadron arm of the Draconis Volunteer Group! Engage in interstellar combat; steer your ship among the stars, and join your fellow fighter pilots in a quest for danger, glory, and victory. Tachyon Squadron is a Fate Core supplement that blends space opera and military sci-fi. The game requires Fate Core to play. This book includes: ➤
A highly structured starfighter starfighter combat engagement system, with a focus on phased combat and maneuvering for advantage
➤
Instructions on creating fighter pilot pi lot characters in Fate, including pilot interactions and vices to blow off steam between battles
➤
Personal and gear stunts, which provide a streamlined mechanic for sci-fi necessities like energy blasters, hand scanners, and deflector screens
➤
An overview of the galaxy and the key players within it
➤
A sample mission: The Pirates of the Kepler Valley
TH FOR USE WI T
FA TE CORE
Suit up and fly high. The Tachyon Squadron needs you! LEONARD BALSERA
EHP0042 • ISBN 978-1-61317-155-4 • $25.00 US
www.evilhat.com • @EvilHatOfficial facebook.com/EvilHatProductions
N IAN BRIA ENGARD
JEREM Y JE K ELLER
AN YA R Y MACK LIN
MIK E OLSON
TACHYON
SQUADRON Writing Clark Valentine System Development & Additional Writing Mike Olson Art Direction Brian Patterson
Artwork Brett Brett Barkley
Layout & Graphic Design Fred Hicks Editing Amanda Valentine
Indexing Rita Tatum
Proofreading Karen Twelves Line Development Leonard Balsera Business Development Chris Hanrahan Marketing Carrie Harris Project Management Sean Nittner and Sophie Lagacé Product Development Fred Hicks and Chris Hanrahan
An Evil Hat Productions Publication www.evilhat.com •
[email protected] @EvilHatOfficial on Twitter facebook.com/EvilHatProductions
Tachyon Squadron Copyright ©2018 Evil Hat Productions, LLC and Clark Valentine. All rights reserved. First published in 2018 by Evil Hat Productions, LLC. 10125 Colesville Rd #318, Silver Spring, MD 20901. Evil Hat Productions and the Evil Hat and Fate logos are trademarks owned by Evil Hat Productions, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior express permission of the publisher. That said, if you’re doing it for personal use, knock yourself out. That’s not only allowed, we encourage you to do it. For those working at a copy shop and not at all sure if this means the person standing at your counter can make copies of this thing, they can. This is “express permission.” Carry on. This is a game where people make up stories about wonderful, terrible, impossible, glorious things. All the characters and events portrayed in this work are fictional. Any resemblance to real people, hot-shot pilots, stars of battle, dogfighting action, or top guns is purely coincidental, but kinda hilarious. Goose! GOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!!!
TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Playtesters ·
·
·
·
·
5
·
5
TACHYON SQUADRON
7
The World of Tachyon Squadron 7
Space Opera & Military Sci-Fi
8
CREATING A PILOT Character Concept· Aspects · · · · Skills · · · · · Stunts · · · ·
· · · ·
11 · · · ·
· · · ·
11 15 18 19
Miscellaneous: Stress, Personal Details, and Incidentals · · · ·
SKILLS
· 20
23
Spacefaring Skills · Action Skills · · ·
· ·
· ·
· 24 · 26
Social Skills ·
·
·
·
·
· 28
STUNTS
31
Personal Stunts Gear Stunts · ·
· ·
· ·
· ·
· 31 · 33
Adjusting Refresh ·
·
·
· 34
ENGAGEMENTS
35
The Phases of Engagements· Shields and Damage · · · Bugging Out· · · · · · The Maneuver Chart · · · Actions · · · · · · · The Opposition: Flights & Swarms · · · · · · Big Ships and Large Targets ·
36 44 47 48 49 53 54
Fighter Screens · · · · Personal Damage and Getting Taken Out · · · · · · Modular Equipment · · · Engagement Example· · · Fighter Pilot Terminology· · The Dicta Boelcke · · · ·
THE GALAXY · ·
· 83 · 85
The Draconis System · · Draconis System Details ·
COMBAT PILOTS AT WAR · ·
64 65 68 77 82
83
A Quick History Lesson Galactic Society · ·
The Routine · Missions · ·
60
· ·
· ·
· ·
· 97 · 98
· 85 · 87
97 Off Duty · · · · · · Life in Tachyon Squadron·
·100 · 105
3
GMING TACHYON SQUADRON Issues and Themes · · · 107 Engagements · · · · · 111 Out-of-Cockpit Encounters 115
107
We Band of Siblings · Running Campaigns ·
· ·
SHIPS TO FLY AND PEOPLE TO MEET The Ships of Tachyon Squadron · · · · Draconis Military and Government Ships ·
·
·122
·
· 125
Civilian Ships · · Hostile Ships · · Designing New Ships People of Interest ·
121 · · · ·
· · · ·
EXAMPLE PLAYER CHARACTERS Jiaohua “Nok” Kristensen· Seraphim “Nails” Dakano · Ibrahim “Auger” Harahab ·
· 147 ·149 · 151
·126 · 127 ·138 ·140
147
Amelie “Gunner” Tsang · ·153 Lien “Squid” Krishnamurthy 155 Trinidad “Thermic” Moreno 157
THE PIRATES OF THE KEPLER VALLEY
159
Scene 1: Defense of the Neptune Conveyor · · ·160 Scene 1.5: Decompression, Repair, etc. · · · · · 161
· 162 · 162
Scene 2: Blockade · · · Scene 3: Rescue Mission ·
DEFENSE OF ARCOSOLARI KALAMOS Campaign Setup · The Arco · · · · Ambush · · · ·
· · ·
· · ·
· 165 ·166 ·169
165
Decompression, Repair, and Hartley · · · · · ·170 The Battle of Arcosolari Kalamos · · · · · · 172
INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCES Books · · · · · Movies and Television ·
4
· 117 ·118
· ·
·173 ·173
Games · · · · Video Games · ·
173 · ·
· ·174 · ·174
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A long list of people are owed thanks here. I’ll start with every single person on the credits page—Evil Hat’s development, editing, and production staff are top-notch: Mike, Lenny, Amanda, Sean especially. This game has been in my head for at least a decade—thank you for the chance to make it, Fred. Thanks for the push, Lenny. Many thanks to Glen Larson (Battlestar Galactica) and George Lucas (Star Wars ), who filled my childhood imagination with fighters streaking through the stars. Many Cylon Raiders and TIE Fighters met their doom at the hands of my friends and me in my childhood backyard. Countless thanks to the people who built, ferried, repaired, supplied, and flew Spitfires, Mustangs, Warhawks, Hurricanes, Avengers, Hellcats, Yakolevs, and innumerable others to rid the world of one generation of fascists. May we not need to do so again. Many thanks to the dozens of folks who playtested this game through three calendar years. Their efforts toward getting this book published have been essential, and they are deeply appreciated. Finally, thank you to my family, Amanda, Mary Rose, and Thad, for putting up with my endless hours in front of the keyboard while writing this. Your support and patience have been gifts that I am so grateful for.
PLAYTESTERS Developmental playtesting occurred at U-Con in November of 2015, at Origins Game Fair in June of 2016 and 2017, at DexCon in July of 2016, and in Clark Valentine’s home game groups throughout 2016. Playtesters are: Josh “Slapshot” Albritton Tiernan “Rorke” Ashford Leonard “Nails” Balsera Tracy “Scarecrow” Barnett Chris “Muskrat” Bekofske Bob “Neutron” Bersch Don “Offside” Bisdorf John “Doozy” Britch Brendan “Deadstick” Conway Michael “Zero” Donovan Bill “Ladykiller” Eastman Morgan “Merlin” Ellis Rich “Double Dip” Flynn Mary Lynn “Slingshot” Gregory Evan “Jamboree” Griggs Mengu “Fancy” Gungor Blair “Spotlight” Hoplight
Jamie “Hurricane” Lackey Paul “Doorknob” Marcinkevage Michael “Hotdog” Pace Jon “First Blood” Proesel Justo “Firefly” Reyes Sarah “Poacher” Richardson Tori “Ao” Rivers Tim “Riccochet” Rodriguez Michael “Bookhouse” Schwartz Paul “Flatline” Stefko Andrea “Salazar” Tapia Ron “Wizard” Tapia Jeremy “Böôger” Tidwell Ruth “Banshee” Tillman Amanda “Copper” Valentine Matt “Fang” Weber Alex “Snowball” Young
5
THE STAR PILOT’S PRAYER “Heavenly Lord, guide my vessel with Your mighty hand as I take to the stars. Let Your wisdom grant me steady assurance, and bring me, my vessel, and my passengers safely home. Amen.”
6
THE STAR PILOT’S PRAYER THAT STAR PILOTS ACTUALLY SAY screw
“Dear Lord, please don’t let me fuck up.”
TACHYON SQUADRON Fighter pilots. For hundreds of years, the profession has held a certain mystique. In the long ago past of Earth, it was born of fabric and wooden aircraft, gasoline and lead and sheer guts. Now it’s expressed in carbon fiber and ceramisteel alloys, quantum hydrogen and laser blasters, but the sheer guts hasn’t changed a bit. Fighter pilots are still fighter pilots, risking everything to chase after adventure and danger and glory and victory. You are a fighter pilot.
THE WORLD OF TACHYON SQUADRON You carry on the tradition first established by the goggles and leather helmet clad fliers of old, but instead of rickety flying contraptions you’re in sleek spacecraft soaring among the stars. The player characters are fighter pilots who, as pilots of Tachyon Squadron (part of the Draconis Volunteer Group), fight to maintain the independence of the upstart Draconis system against the overwhelming might of two interstellar empires: the Stellar Republic and the Dominion of Unity. There is interstellar war against superior forces. There is piracy and lawlessness. There are limited resources and shoestring budgets. There are rival squadrons trying to steal your glory. There is the grinding stress of combat and pilots who do what they have to do to get by, day by day. And there is the terrifying thrill of deadly combat in the cold vacuum of space.
FATE CORE Tachyon Squadron is a roleplaying game built on the Fate Core
system by Evil Hat Productions. To play it, you need a copy of the Fate Core rules and a few sets of Fudge/Fate dice or a Deck of Fate—these are available from Evil Hat (www.evilhat.com). You also need some pens and paper, a few friends (3-5 people total is the sweet spot), and about two or three hours.
7
N O R D A U Q S N O Y H C A T
SPACE OPERA & MILITARY SCI-FI Tachyon Squadron is firmly planted in space opera with a side order of military sci-fi. The stories it produces are fundamentally adventure stories, thrilling tales of daring space pilots risking everything. But there’s a human element to it, too—nobody emerges from war unchanged. The pilots’ personalities, and the relationships among them as squadron mates and as friends, will both affect and be affected by the action. Fans of any sort of science fiction know that a genre label doesn’t tell you all you need to know about some of the basic setting assumptions, the available technologies that the characters take for granted, and the amount of real “science” in our science fiction. Let’s talk about that for a moment.
TECHNOLOGY Technology is unrecognizably advanced in some ways, and not much better than early 21st century Earth in others. We occasionally spin some notional “science” to explain the high technology—but don’t mistake that for any sort of assertion that real physics works that way.
Communication: Electronic communication via text, sound, and holovid (holographic video) is widespread and inexpensive; most people carry personal comms/computing devices that support communication like this. Communication across planets and into orbit is nearly instantaneous and happens in real time. From planet to planet within a system, lag due to the speed of light makes real-time communication infeasible, so asynchronous text and holovid messages are used. Communication from one star system to another can take many days to transmit via FTL repeater ships; this is akin to transoceanic letter delivery back on 18th century Earth.
Medicine: Medical technology is highly advanced but not miraculous. Infectious disease is rarely dangerous. Injuries that take months to heal on 21st century Earth are treated in days or even hours. Artificial limbs, eyes, ears, and internal organs are common, but not all patients are a good match for these devices. Cybernetics is not practiced except as adaptive devices to aid those living with disabilities. Star Maps: Despite borrowing a few names of real stars, no effort is made to replicate any sort of star map a real world astronomer would recognize.
8
Starfighter Movement: The starfighter combat in Tachyon Squadron is inspired by fighter combat from the WWII and Korean War era. Starfighters move like Spitfires and Sabres even in the vacuum of space; conservation of momentum is right out the window. That said, some pilots have learned to cheat and briefly point their ship (and its guns) in a direction that it shouldn’t—but the G-forces and cognitive load involved prevent it from being a common maneuver.
T A C H Y O N S Q U A D R O N
Military Structure and Technology: Space-borne military forces are based on 20th century blue water navies. Fleets are dominated by capital ships—cruisers and destroyers and frigates with great big guns and missiles and torpedoes. The biggest are the carriers, deploying squadrons of fearsome starfighters. Installations aboard space stations and on planetary and asteroid surfaces provide defensive strongpoints. Faster Than Light (FTL): FTL travel is common. Chandrasekhar drives, also called hyperdrives—devices that makes FTL travel possible—are tremendously expensive and bulky, but with a good navigator it’s not especially dangerous. Generally small ships like starfighters aren’t equipped with hyperdrives but military capital ships almost always are, as are many civilian cargo and passenger transports. Direct FTL communication, on the other hand, has not yet been invented. Communications from system to system are handled by repeater ships, which gather and store communication bound for a particular system, jump to that system, and re-transmit it.
Artificial Gravity: Almost all spaceships and space stations have artificial gravity. In reality this would have all sorts of staggering implications, which we conveniently ignore in Tachyon Squadron. Energy Weapons, Exotic Fuels, etc.: Tachyon Squadron gleefully assumes laser blasters, quantum hydrogen drives, and other fantasy technology are all highly effective. Ships’ engines are a bit like today’s jet engines—you don’t want to stand behind them, but neither do they turn everything for miles into radioactive glass. Aliens: The assumption of the setting is that humans are the only intelligent, sapient starfaring species. Animals and plants of non-terrestrial origin are common, but none of it is intelligent.
Sapient AIs and Robots: There are some robots and AIs, but they are definitely tools, and aren’t advanced enough to be considered living entities in themselves. There is no substitute, in this fictional world, for the judgment and cleverness of a human pilot, so autonomous or AI-piloted fighters are not effective weapons.
9
N O R D A U Q S N O Y H C A T
TACHYON SQUADRON FOR FATE CORE VETERANS If you’ve never played a Fate Core game before, welcome! Make sure you grab a copy of Fate Core System from Evil Hat Productions, which contains the basic rules to play this game. If you have played Fate Core-based roleplaying games before, most of this will be familiar to you. In any case, there are some differences between pure Fate Core games and Tachyon Squadron (each difference is discussed in detail in the appropriate chapter):
∂ Rather than a stress track with boxes worth different stress amounts, stress in Tachyon Squadron works like hit points. Ships’ shields work the same way.
∂ Stress does not recover at the end of a scene; you must take deliberate action to relieve stress.
∂ Character aspects include relationships with other pilots and a description of a vice that lets you blow off steam.
∂ Stunts are divided among personal and gear stunts. Stunts that represent gear and equipment a) do not count against your fate point refresh, and b) maximize dice rather than grant a static bonus.
∂ Starfighter combat is governed by a system called the engagement.
∂ The skill list is different than the default skill list presented
10
in Fate Core System.
CREATING A PILOT Characters in Tachyon Squadron are created largely in the same way as in Fate Core. You come up with your character concept and aspects, choose a name and invent a bit of an until-now story, choose skills and stunts, and you’re ready to take to the skies. There are a couple of differences to the standard Fate Core system though, so read carefully.
CHARACTER CREATION: THE 30-SECOND VERSION 1∂ Character Concept: Name, look, background, callsign 2∂ Aspects: High concept, decompression, relationships, other 3∂ Skills: One at Great (+4), two at Good (+3), three at Fair (+2), four at Average (+1) 4∂ Stunts: Two personal stunts and one gear stunt, refresh 3 5∂ Miscellaneous: Stress, personal details, incidentals, starfighter, etc.
CHARACTER CONCEPT Come up with a basic idea for the type of fighter pilot you’d like to play. All sorts of people feel the irresistible draw to fly. Most of these people take up travel as a hobby—frequent passengers on commercial aircraft and spacecraft. For a few hours or days they experience the thrill of using laws of physics to thumb their noses at other laws of physics. Some of the more adventurous take up skydiving, spacewalking, or become pilots themselves. But a tiny few aren’t satisfied unless they’re going half the speed of light while getting shot at. These are combat starfighter pilots. That’s you. Tachyon Squadron is not about maintenance techs, squadron chaplains, or meddling locals. Your character is a fighter pilot.
11
T O L I P A G N I T A E R C
12
INDOMITABLE CONFIDENCE AND INSTINCTIVE AGGRESSION Fighter pilots come from all walks of life, but they have a few things in common. All of them, every single one, is driven, confident, and daring. Space combat is a merciless filter, quickly and ruthlessly eliminating the timid and the hesitant. Those without a suitable killer instinct wash out early in training, if they’re lucky. If they’re not so lucky, the enemy makes short work of them, distributing their atoms across a million cubic kilometers of some lonely asteroid belt somewhere. Of course, that’s not to say that they’re all loud and boisterous—you’ll find plenty of variation and pilots who are quiet and orderly and analytical, same as among any other group of people. But as a rule starfighter pilots are confident and aggressive. They want to attack. They want to fight. They want to win. Some of them live long enough to temper that killer instinct with some wisdom, wisdom that good leaders use to keep the foolhardy young hotshots alive and mostly out of trouble. But until then, starfighter pilots tend to be aggressive, bold, and sometimes reckless.
COLLABORATION Don’t create characters in isolation—discuss your ideas with the GM and the other players. What mix of personalities and backgrounds do you think would be fun? Generate and talk about some ideas for how your pilots will interact. Examples include:
∂ My character is a defector from the Dominion trying to redeem
C R E A T I N G A P I L O T
herself by fighting for an idealistic cause.
∂ My character is a glory hound who wants to rack up kills and make a name for himself.
∂ My character is a war-weary veteran of the Republic who doesn’t know how to do anything else.
NAMES Give your pilot a look and a name. People in Tachyon Squadron come from all races, in all shapes and sizes and genders, and from all of the old nations from Earth and beyond. Names that mix and match cultural and linguistic origins are at least as common as monocultural names, especially among characters from the Stellar Republic.
EXAMPLE NAMES Thess Ayson Teresa Baili Amy Bettelheim Prapun Birasiri Carlos Cabral Ranga Caputo Pankaj ChatterjeeCollins Piotr Drame Laszlo Feher Olga Fomenkovna Ruth Greenstone Dieyna Gueye Michiko Gutierrez
Rich Hopkins Vasilis Ignacio Noriko Ishimura Young Su Kang Emma Lansey Abril Liakos Riku Matsumoto Malick Mbaye Tapha Mendes Priyanka Motiwala Russ Murata Christina Navarro Paulo Ndiaye Nabil O’Connor
Jin Olsen Kira O’Neill Arataki Petrovna Baqar al-Rashid Mapiya Reed Muna al-Shirazi Julia Shockey Jacob Singh Angelique Wedderburn Hitoshi Yegorov Lin Yuang Khady Zander Liping Zhao
13
T O L I P A G N I T A E R C
CALLSIGNS
Every pilot has a callsign, a nickname bestowed upon them by their comrades, usually to memorialize some truly remarkable foul-up the pilot was involved in, blamed for, or standing near. To compose this aspect, choose your callsign: THOR, MUSKRAT, COPPER, etc. The player sitting to your left then tells the story of how you earned it. This might suggest some weak spot you have in your skill set, or a particular kind of trouble that seems to find you. Or maybe it’s just dumb luck. Your callsign is how you’re referred to over the radio while on missions—so no two pilots in the entire Draconis Volunteer Group should have the same callsign. Some pilots go by their callsign even outside the cockpit—it’s pretty common to hear pilots calling each other by their callsigns at the bar or even in the mission briefing room. Callsigns can change as your pilot’s career progresses. If something really monumental happens and it seems appropriate to update your callsign, go ahead and do that.
EXAMPLE CALLSIGNS AMP BADGER BEAGLE BEAKER BLINKER BOOKIE CACTUS CHATTY COPPER CURVEBALL DALLAS DEADSTICK DIZZY DUTCH FLAKE FLAMEOUT FLATLINE GADGET
14
GAUCHO/ A GRUMPY HAILSTONE HIPSHOT HOOD HURRICANE JUNO K ILO K NUCKLES LAB RAT LOCKOUT LUMPY LUNCHBOX MAMA MERLIN METEOR MOJO MUSKRAT
NAILS NIX NOSEY NOTCH OFFSIDE OGRE OUTLAW OUTLINE OZONE PANCAKE PAPPY PATCH POACHER POET RABBIT RASCAL ROBO RUDY
RUST SANDBAG SCARECROW SCOOTER SENSEI SINKER SLAPSHOT SMOKEY SPIDER SUNBURN THOR THUMPER TRICKY TROLL TULSA VODKA YAMMER YUKON
ASPECTS Aspects in Tachyon Squadron are very much as they are in Fate Core. The big differences are that Fate Core’s trouble aspect is replaced here by decompression, and two of Tachyon Squadron ’s aspects are relationships.
C R E A T I N G A P I L O T
HIGH CONCEPT: WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU HERE? This aspect represents your high concept, the answer to the question “What’s your deal?” Keep in mind that every player character is a trained starfighter pilot in Tachyon Squadron. No maintenance technicians, no ground-side intelligence analysts— you’re all combat pilots. But are you a retired Republic Navy pilot looking for one last grasp at glory? A defector from the Dominion tired of fighting for the wrong side? A crop duster from some fringe colony hoping to see the galaxy? An idealist on leave from the Republic Navy fighting for the welfare of the brave people of Draconis? Each player in turn takes a moment to describe their character’s tale—how did you learn to fly, how much combat experience do you have (if any!), and what made you decide to volunteer for this group? Write an aspect like COMBAT-HAUNTED VETERAN LOOKING FOR R EDEMPTION or HOTSHOT K ID HERE FOR THE ADVENTURE.
15
T O L I P A G N I T A E R C
ASPECT 2: DECOMPRESSION For the decompression aspect, we’re specifically talking about the psychological sort of decompression. Starfighter pilots live under tremendous strain and stress every day they’re on duty. They have to find a way to blow off steam—but there are healthy and unhealthy ways to do that. This aspect specifies both your preferred healthy and your most common unhealthy way to deal with the strain of your chosen profession, separated by a slash. The healthy side describes how you’d deal with stress and strain if you were practicing good self-care and valuing your mental health. Do you regularly visit a counselor or psychologist? Do you have strong religious or philosophical beliefs that give you peace of mind? Do you have a partner who loves and supports you through thick and thin? The unhealthy side is a reflection of what happens when your judgment fails and you indulge your inner demons. Do you drink heavily? Do you let your temper get the best of you and get into fights? Do you have a history of unhealthy sexual encounters or romantic train wrecks? Do you have addiction problems you can’t quite shake? A pilot with EXCELLENT THERAPIST /HITTING THE BOTTLE might have a good relationship with a competent psychologist who helps her keep a lid on her drinking problem. A pilot with GOOD MATES ARE EVERYTHING/BARROOM HERO likes spending time with his friends, but can’t seem to keep clear of bar brawls.
THE DARK SIDE OF DECOMPRESSION Unhealthy ways of blowing off steam can go to some very dark places. If your game group has a player wrestling with a real world substance abuse problem, mental health issue, or the like, this part of the game might hit very close to home. Be sensitive to other players who might have a personal vulnerability. If someone seems uncomfortable with your choice of decompression aspect, don’t be a jerk by making them defend their discomfort—just pick something else.
16
C R E A T I N G A P I L O T
ASPECTS 3 AND 4: RELATIONSHIPS Each of these aspects defines a relationship you have with another player character. To define the first one, consider the aspects you already have and those of the player sitting to your left. Do they suggest a particular relationship between the two pilots? Some suggestions include: Is there a debt—of money, a favor, your life? Is there romantic interest—and is it requited? Is there mistrust in one’s ability as a pilot? Are you intense rivals for victory count? Write an aspect to reflect that relationship from your perspective—and the other pilot writes an aspect to describe it from theirs. As you proceed around the table, the player to your right will do the same thing with you, allowing you to fill in your second relationship aspect.
ASPECT 5: FREEFORM The fifth aspect slot is for whatever sort of aspect you want to put in it. Think about something that makes your character unique and interesting, and add it here. Are you a DEADEYE SHOT WITH A BLASTER? Or a CARDSHARP? Or were you BORN IN THE C OCKPIT? Do you have a FAMILY BACK HOME? Do you have a unique relationship with your ship—maybe you’ve made some SPECIAL M ODIFICATIONS? You may leave this aspect blank and fill it in during play if you wish.
17
T O L I P A G N I T A E R C
SKILLS Once you’ve chosen aspects, assign skill ratings. Make sure you read over the detailed description of each skill in the Skills chapter (page 23) before you rate them. Just like in Fate Core, skill ratings form a pyramid with Great (+4) as the apex:
∂ One Great (+4) skill ∂ Two Good (+3) skills ∂ Three Fair (+2) skills ∂ Four Average (+1) skills ∂ The rest are at Mediocre (+0) Each skill in Tachyon Squadron is discussed in detail in the Skills chapter (page 23).
ARCHETYPES If you’re having trouble assigning skills, this list might give you some inspiration. These skill arrays are incomplete—fill in the rest as you see fit.
∂ The Athlete: Pilot +4, Gunnery +3, Athletics +3, Fight +2, Sneak +2
∂ The Inquisitive: Pilot +4, Technology +3, Investigate +3, Empathy +2, Sneak +2
∂ The Joker: Pilot +4, Tactics +3, Rapport +3, Sneak +2, Provoke +2
∂ The Natural: Pilot +4, Gunnery +3, Notice +3, Provoke +2, Rapport +2
∂ The Brain: Tactics +4, Technology +3, Investigate +3, Discipline +2, Provoke +2
∂ The Swashbuckler: Gunnery +4, Pilot +3, Athletics +3, Fight +2, Rapport +2
∂ The Technician: Technology +4, Tactics +3, Investigate +3, Notice +2, Shoot +2
∂ The Veteran: Tactics +4, Pilot +3, Discipline +3, Empathy +2, Provoke +2
∂ The Warrior: Gunnery +4, Tactics +3,
18
Athletics +3, Shoot +2, Discipline +2
Unassigned Skills: When you create your character, it’s perfectly fine to leave some of your Fair (+2) and Average (+1) skills unassigned. You can fill them in later as play progresses and you learn what skills are necessary and interesting in your game. Skills are divided into three categories: spacefaring skills, action skills, and social skills. Assign one of each of the four ratings, +1 to +4, to the four spacefaring skills. This leaves a Good (+3) apex pyramid to distribute among the action and social skills. So how do you distribute those ratings? Talk about the focus of the game with the other players and GM—do you anticipate a lot of social interaction and conflict? Expect plenty of action outside the cockpit? Making sure you all know what to expect prevents the “Whaddya mean nobody has Rapport?” problem.
C R E A T I N G A P I L O T
SPACEFARING SKILLS: WHAT DO THEY MEAN? A complete description of all skills is in the next chapter, but an understanding of the spacefaring skills is crucial to playing the game.
∂
Gunnery: Gunnery is your primary attack skill, at least in starfighter combat. A high Gunnery rating means you’re very good at putting fire on a target.
∂
Pilot: Pilot is your primary defensive skill. A good Pilot rating makes you harder to hit in starfighter engagements.
∂ Tactics: Tactics puts you in position to make attacks and keeps you away from enemies who want to attack you. With a high Tactics rating, you’ll find yourself with more options and more potential targets in starfighter combat, and it’s harder for enemies to get in position to attack you.
∂ Technology: Technology is used for two things in starfighter combat. It’s used to detect and hide from enemy ships, which means a high Technology rating puts you in position to sneak up on and ambush the enemy. Second, it’s used to make emergency repairs in combat, so a high rating helps your chances of surviving an engagement.
STUNTS Once you’ve assigned skill ratings, choose three stunts—two personal stunts and one item of gear. Your first two personal stunts are free, but each thereafter costs a point of refresh. Your refresh, which begins at three, is only affected by personal stunts—gear stunts are free, from the perspective of refresh cost. We discuss stunts in a lot of detail in the Stunts chapter (page 31).
19
T O L I P A G N I T A E R C
MISCELLANEOUS: STRESS, PERSONAL DETAILS, AND INCIDENTALS Finally, it’s time to wrap up the last details.
STRESS You start with five boxes for stress, unless you have a stunt that grants you extra. This stress works like hit points in numerous other roleplaying games—you can absorb up to 5 shifts of stress before you can absorb no more. Lenny’s character, Nails, is in a blaster fight on the surface of the planet Asami. He takes one 3-shift hit, which Nails decides to absorb as stress. The following round, Nails takes another 3-shift hit. He decides to take one more stress—giving him a total of four—then he accepts a mild consequence to mitigate the two remaining shifts of damage and stay in the fight.
GEAR AND PERSONAL POSSESSIONS Pilots are issued a flight suit and helmet, a blaster sidearm, and an ID card identifying them as a member of Tachyon Squadron. You can declare that your pilot has any other personal items you think they might own. None of these things are mechanically important unless you have an aspect or stunt to represent the importance of that gear. Think about any important personal possessions your pilot might have—a photo of your ex, a lucky charm, an artist’s electronic canvas, etc.—and, if it’s important enough to be an element in the story, consider making one of your aspects about this item.
NOSE ART Every pilot is assigned a starfighter: an SF-46D Blackfish, a venerable multirole starfighter that’s highly popular with its crews. To further personalize and individualize their ships, some crews paint nose art on the hull—a cartoon character, pinup art, a stylized slogan, the starfighter’s nickname, or the like. Not all pilots bother, but some take great pride in their art.
20
C R E A T I N G A P I L O T
21
T O L I P A G N I T A E R C
PERSONAL DETAILS Think about some personal details of your character, things that will inform their personality and actions. Do they keep a neat or cluttered apartment? Do they have a family? A spouse? Children who depend on them? A sweetheart back home? Do they cope with a mental or physical disability? Write a few words describing your character’s appearance, what they typically wear, that sort of thing.
DISABILITY IN TACHYON SQUADRON
22
The highly advanced—from 21st century Earth’s perspective— state of medical technology in Tachyon Squadron may have a dramatic affect on disability, but eliminating it is by no means one of those effects. Disability is no barrier to service in the Draconis Volunteer Group. Adaptive devices like advanced prosthetics, ocular implants, and hover chairs are common and they aid in overcoming challenges presented by a lot of physical disabilities. Starfighter controls can be configured to fit almost any user. With technology like this, it’s tempting to allow the disability to be erased. Resist that temptation. Prosthetics and hover chairs and configurable controls make the world accessible, but they don’t make the challenges of the disability go away, and not all disabled people would want to use the latest and greatest adaptive tech anyway. This is especially true for characters with mental disabilities (PTSD might be especially common among characters who are war veterans). Some adaptive tech could help—changing displays in the cockpit to organize data in a way that’s easier for you to digest, for instance—but no technology exists that can rewire the brain, and even if it did no ethical physician would do it. So the character has to adapt and cope as best they can. If you wish to represent a disability mechanically, do so through an aspect, or perhaps through an invokable stunt. Don’t reduce skill ratings—a person who needs a hover chair to get around needn’t be less athletic than anyone else, but the context of their athleticism is different. Also, ensure you’re portraying a disabled character well—if you don’t share the disability of your character, make sure you do some homework and read some first-person accounts from folks who do. And able-bodied folks should never, ever, play a disability for laughs. The Fate Accessibility Toolkit from Evil Hat Productions is an invaluable resource for playing a disabled character.
SKILLS Tachyon Squadron uses a slightly different skill list than Fate Core. Skills are divided into three categories: spacefaring, action, and social.
SKILL LISTS SPACEFARING SKILLS
∂ ∂
Gunnery: Shooting your starfighter’s guns. Pilot: Flying a ship, avoiding attacks made against the ship you’re flying.
∂ Tactics: Fighting with a ship—putting yourself in position to attack, analyzing enemy tactics, formulating a plan, etc.
∂ Technology: Fixing damage, angling your shields, detecting your enemies before they detect you. ACTION SKILLS
∂ Athletics: Running, jumping, dodging blaster fire. ∂ Fight: Striking, grappling, knives, etc. ∂ Notice: Perceiving via your body’s senses. ∂ Shoot: Using blaster pistols and rifles. ∂ Sneak: Moving undetected, staying hidden. SOCIAL SKILLS
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂
Discipline: Keeping your cool, removing stress. Empathy: Being aware of others’ emotions and intentions. Investigate: Tracking down information. Provoke: Evoking a negative emotion in others. Rapport: Evoking a positive emotion in others, getting along with people.
23
S L L I K S
SPACEFARING SKILLS The four spacefaring skills are Gunnery, Pilot, Tactics, and Technology.
GUNNERY This skill represents your marksmanship using mounted guns and laser blasters, such as a starfighter’s guns or weapons mounted on a capital ship or space station. Pilots with high Gunnery might be naturally good shots, or they might spend countless hours practicing on the gunnery range during training. Note: Gunnery is for mounted or emplacement weapons only. Competence with handheld weapons is represented by the Shoot skill; missile weapons state in their description what skill you use to attack with them.
a Attack: Use Gunnery to make attack actions during starfighter engagements using your ship’s guns.
c Create Advantage: Use your ship’s guns to generate situation aspects like SUPPRESSIVE FIRE.
o Overcome: Use your ship’s guns to blast obstacles out of the way. d Defend: Some ships (usually capital ships and space stations) allow gunners to use this skill in defend actions.
PILOT Pilot measures your ability to fly any sort of spacecraft or aircraft. Driving a ground speeder or cycle falls under Pilot as well. It’s a vital skill for pilots in Tachyon Squadron, being the primary skill you use to avoid getting blown to bits in space combat. Someone with a high Pilot skill might be a young phenom with great instincts or a wily veteran who, no matter what situation she’s in, has been there before.
a Attack: Pilot isn’t typically used to attack, unless you’ve decided to set your throttle to “ramming speed.” A poster hung prominently in the squadron ready room officially discourages this tactic.
c Create Advantage: Fancy flying can create situation aspects like BARREL ROLL or LEAF ON THE WIND in starfighter engagements.
o Overcome: Push an enemy fighter to a disadvantageous position in an engagement. Land a critically damaged ship on an alien planet.
d Defend: Pilot is the main skill used to defend against Gunnery attacks in starfighter engagements.
24
TACTICS Every pilot in the squadron is expected to understand starfighter tactics. This skill represents your grasp of not just how to shoot and how to fly, but how to fight with a starfighter—how to seize the advantage to put your enemy in your weapons’ sights. Someone with a high Tactics skill might have spent long hours studying theory and case studies of hundreds of fighter engagements, or might be a veteran who’s survived years of combat and has learned the hard way what works and what doesn’t.
S K I L L S
a Attack: Tactics isn’t typically used to attack. c Create Advantage: Create aspects like COME O UT OF THE SUN or SPLIT-S to help yourself and your comrades in an engagement.
o Overcome: The Tactics skill is used to perform overcome actions in the vital maneuver phase of starfighter engagements. It’s used to shake someone off your tail or stay on your target’s tail.
d Defend: Tactics is not used to defend. TECHNOLOGY The Technology skill measures your familiarity with computers and machinery, especially aboard your starfighter. Your ability to detect enemy ships and repair damage to your own is governed by Technology. The skill can be used with any technological devices, not just aboard spacecraft. Someone with a high Technology rating might be a trained scientist or engineer, or maybe an experienced tinkerer.
a Attack: Lock a missile onto a target and fire. c Create Advantage: Create aspects like ANGLED DEFLECTOR SHIELDS or RIG FOR SILENT RUNNING.
o Overcome: Detect enemy ships at long range—the first phase of starfighter engagements. Perform emergency repairs.
d Defend: Technology isn’t usually used to defend.
25
S L L I K S
ACTION SKILLS The five action skills are Athletics, Fight, Notice, Shoot, and Sneak.
ATHLETICS This skill summarizes a wide array of physical attributes: physical strength, agility, quickness, and toughness chief among them. A person with high Athletics is likely to be very physically fit and might be an avid participant in at least one sport—team handball is extremely popular among the crews and staff of the Draconis Volunteer Group.
a Attack: Use a thrown weapon, swing from a rope onto your target. c Create Advantage: Leap up to the high ground, sprint through the crossfire.
o Overcome: Race through a burning engine room, climb a rope, swim away from the wreck of your fighter.
d Defend: Avoid gunfire. Resist the physical abuse of punching out. FIGHT Use Fight to rate your skill in hand-to-hand combat: fisticuffs, wrestling, close combat with non-ranged weapons. Someone with high Fight might hold a high rank in a formal martial art, be a big, intimidating brawler, or study swordsmanship or fencing.
a Attack: Throw a series of punches and kicks. Slash at your opponent with a knife.
c Create Advantage: Kick a knife out of your opponent’s hand (DISARMED).
o Overcome: Throw your opponent through a doorway. d Defend: Parry a sword thrust. Block a combination of punches. NOTICE Notice rates your perceptiveness and the sharpness of your senses. People with a high Notice skill can spot movement from a long distance, or have the highly trained ear of a musician.
a Attack: Notice isn’t an attack skill. c Create Advantage: Notice is best used to discover aspects on targets, like WEAK POINT or FAVORS LEFT TURNS.
o Overcome: Spot someone trying to remain hidden. d Defend: Notice isn’t a defense skill.
26
S K I L L S
SHOOT Shoot measures your skill at firing handheld laser blasters, whether pistols or rifles. It does not cover spaceship guns; that’s the Gunnery skill. People with a high Shoot skill take extra practice time at the range, or perhaps grew up hunting and shooting for sport.
a Attack: Attack a target with a hand-held laser blaster. c Create Advantage: Lay down SUPPRESSIVE FIRE. o Overcome: Destroy the lock on a door. d Defend: Shoot is not a defense skill. SNEAK Sneak is the skill that rates your ability to move and hide without being detected. People with a high Sneak skill know how to move deliberately and quietly, or they might be physically small to aid in hiding.
a Attack: Sneak is not an attack skill. c Create Advantage: Create situation aspects like QUIET AS A MOUSE or ONE WITH THE SHADOWS.
o Overcome: Avoid leaving tracks, sneak past a passive security system.
d Defend: Stay hidden while someone is actively looking for you.
27
S L L I K S
SOCIAL SKILLS The five social skills are Discipline, Empathy, Investigate, Provoke, and Rapport.
DISCIPLINE Discipline reflects your ability to remain cool under pressure, to put panic aside and rely on training, and to prevent your emotions from overruling your better judgment. It’s also used to recover from stress. People with good Discipline are frequently known as “unflappable” and are often good leaders.
a Attack: Discipline is not an attack skill. c Create Advantage: Create situation aspects like STEELED FOR THE FIGHT or COOLER HEADS PREVAIL.
o Overcome: Eliminate fear-generating situation aspects. Remove stress. Determine the best course of action in the chaos of combat.
d Defend: Resist efforts to Provoke you. WHERE’S DECEIVE?
28
You might notice that we don’t have a Deceive skill. In Tachyon Squadron, lying and being deceptive is baked into Provoke and Rapport and, to a lesser extent, Sneak. If you’re trying to be deceptive, you’re also doing something else—negotiating, trying to charm someone, yelling at them, etc.—so roll on that skill. If you want to be especially good (or especially bad) at doing that while lying, take a stunt or an aspect to represent that.
S K I L L S
EMPATHY Empathy is the skill you use to make yourself aware of others’ emotions, intentions, or honesty. It’s the social analogue of Notice. People good at Empathy have good “emotional intelligence”; they’re able to read nonverbal cues and subtle signs of people’s true intentions.
a Attack: Empathy is not an attack skill. c Create Advantage: Empathy works well for discovering aspects on others, like TERRIFIED OF FAILURE or WARY OF OUTSIDERS.
o Overcome: Empathy isn’t typically used to overcome obstacles. d Defend: Use Empathy to notice if someone is trying to deceive or manipulate you.
INVESTIGATE Notice is the skill you use to pick out minor details; Investigate is the skill you use to dig up information and put facts together. An Investigate roll typically represents minutes to hours of work, rather than a single moment. Good Investigators are often trained in law enforcement techniques, but sometimes they’re academics or journalists.
a Attack: Investigate isn’t an attack skill. c Create Advantage: Use Investigate to discover situation aspects or aspects on other characters, such as IN MASSIVE DEBT or FORMER DOMINION INTELLIGENCE AGENT.
o Overcome: Learn the owner of a cargo ship based on its registration number, find security camera footage from a certain location and date.
d Defend: Investigate isn’t a defense skill.
29
S L L I K S
PROVOKE Provoke is used when you want to evoke a specific emotion in someone, almost always negative. You’re trying to get them angry, or afraid, or ashamed. People with high rankings in Provoke are sometimes… Well, sometimes they’re jerks. Or at least they’re good at being jerks when they have to be.
a Attack: You can attack with Provoke if you really go for the throat, shaming or terrifying someone into irrelevance in the scene—and your target has to be in a position to care about what you say. Consequences, of course, need to reflect the narrative—you can’t kill someone by yelling at them.
c Create Advantage: Create aspects reflecting the emotional states you provoke, like FURIOUS or GUILT-RIDDEN.
o Overcome: Goad someone into taking a swing at you. Intimidate a guard into letting you pass.
d Defend: Provoke is not a defensive skill. RAPPORT Rapport is the skill you use when you want to get along with people. Provoke is about negative emotion, while Rapport is about engendering positive emotion. Negotiation, persuasion, and making connections are all part of Rapport.
a Attack: Rapport is not an attack skill. c Create Advantage: Create aspects like TRUSTED or HELPFUL. o Overcome: Get information from a talkative tavern buddy. Negotiate a reduction in price for that precision missile. Start a rumor.
d Defend: Rapport can be used to douse rumormongering or defend against Provoke-based attempts to turn the mood of a room against you.
30
STUNTS Stunts in Tachyon Squadron come in two distinct varieties: personal stunts, which represent unique talents, quirks, or tricks a character knows, and gear stunts, which represent gear or equipment a character has. Personal stunts reduce your refresh; gear stunts do not.
PERSONAL STUNTS Much like stunts in Fate Core, personal stunts change how skills work for you. They grant a bonus under particular circumstances, allow using one skill in place of another, or give you a unique talent you can use a limited number of times. The rules for creating these stunts outlined on page 88 in Fate Core System are all applicable in Tachyon Squadron.
31
S T N U T S
EXAMPLE PERSONAL STUNTS
∂
Cool Under Fire: You may use Discipline, rather than Athletics, to defend against ranged attacks made in a firefight.
∂
One Shot One Kill: Gain +2 to Gunnery attacks made in a starfighter the first time you attack a given target in an engagement.
∂
Instinctive Flier: You may use your Pilot skill rather than Tactics in the maneuver phase of engagements.
∂ Jury Rigger: Gain +2 to Technology overcome rolls to repair a spaceship while not at a repair facility.
∂
Gunslinger: Gain +2 to Shoot attacks made with a blaster the first time you attack a target in a conflict.
∂
Gossip: Once per session, you may ask the GM for a bit of helpful information that you heard through the grapevine.
∂
Called Shot: During a Shoot attack, spend a fate point and declare a specific condition you wish to place on the target. If your attack succeeds, you place that condition as a situation aspect with two free invokes on the target in addition to hitting them for damage.
∂ Tough as Nails: You gain an extra mild consequence slot. ∂ Okay, Fine!: You can use Provoke with a +2 bonus instead of Empathy to learn a target’s aspects, by bullying and browbeating them into revealing one to you.
∂
Good Hunting: You gain +2 to attempts to create an advantage using Rapport by inspiring fellow pilots and squadron mates; if successful, you gain an extra free invoke on the aspect you create.
∂
Danger Sense: You gain +2 to any attempt to detect ambushes, people concealing violent intent, etc.—in or out of a starfighter.
∂
Lie Detector: You gain +2 to Empathy-based attempts to discern dishonesty in others.
∂ Always a Way Out: You gain +2 to Technology overcome actions when attempting to escape from a location.
∂
32
Pugachev’s Cobra: Once per game session, in an engagement, you may use the on their tail action against someone who is on your tail—switch places with them on the maneuver chart.
GEAR STUNTS Gear stunts represent advantages given to you by equipment that you have access to. You don’t need a stunt to represent gear—if you have a blaster, you can use the Shoot skill even without a stunt. But you don’t get any particular advantage to your use of that skill unless you have a stunt to represent your blaster. Gear stunts differ from personal stunts in two important ways. First, gear stunts don’t reduce your refresh—you’re free to gather as much gear as you can reasonably justify. Second, gear doesn’t provide a static skill bonus—instead, it lets you maximize dice.
S T U N T S
MAXIMIZING AND MINIMIZING DICE Many gear stunts give you the ability to maximize one or more dice in your 4dF roll rather than give you a static bonus. To maximize a die, turn one of the dice to +after you roll. Important Caveat: You can’t maximize more than two dice on any single action, even if you have more than two “maximize one die” effects. Go ahead and acquire as much gear as you can borrow, beg, or steal, because gear stunts don’t reduce your refresh—but you can’t maximize more than two dice on any action, so the impact of gear is limited. A player rolls 4dF for an Investigate skill check, getting +-00 for a Mediocre (+0) result. Her character has a stunt called High Performance Datapad, which allows her to maximize one die. She chooses the die showing - and turns it to a +, for a final Fair (+2) result of ++00. In some circumstances—such as if your starfighter is damaged in combat—you might have to minimize one or more dice. To minimize a die, your opponent turns one of your dice to - after you roll. You can’t be required to minimize more than two dice on the same roll. If different effects cause you to maximize and minimize dice on the same roll, they cancel each other out one-for-one. For example, if various effects call for you to maximize two dice and minimize one on the same roll, just maximize one—one of the maximizations and the minimization cancel each other.
33
S T N U T S
STUNTS WITH ASPECTS Sometimes a stunt has an aspect associated with it—for instance, the Blaster Carbine’s BULKY or the Monofilament Blade’s DANGEROUS TO ITS WIELDER. Treat these as situation aspects in effect when the gear is being used—they can be compelled or invoked like any other situation aspect. Aspects that describe gear provide an interesting way to create a more powerful stunt that has some drawback associated with it.
EXAMPLE GEAR STUNTS
∂ ∂
Heavy Blaster Pistol: Gain Weapon:1 on successful Shoot attacks.
∂
High Performance Datapad: Maximize one die on all Investigate overcome or create advantage actions.
∂
Hand Scanner: Maximize one die on Technology overcome or create advantage actions when repairing or modifying items immediately near you.
Blaster Carbine: Maximize one die on Shoot attacks. A carbine is BULKY.
∂ Augmented Spec: Wearable eyepiece that lets you maximize one die on Notice actions.
∂ Stimpack: Once per session, recover from a mild consequence as a free action.
∂
Monofilament Blade: Gain Weapon:2 on successful Fight attacks, but the blade is DANGEROUS TO ITS WIELDER.
∂
Personal Deflector Screen: Screen that filters some energy out of high energy attacks. Gain Armor:1 vs. damage from blasters, slug throwers, explosives, etc. Can’t be used with another personal screen.
∂
Personal Concealment Screen: Screen that partially scatters outgoing light. Maximize one die on all Stealth actions. Can’t be used with another personal screen.
ADJUSTING REFRESH
34
Player characters start with a refresh of 3, which is reduced by personal stunts. The first two personal stunts a character chooses are free, and don’t affect refresh. Each personal stunt after that reduces refresh by 1—you can’t take so many personal stunts that your refresh is reduced below 1. Gear stunts never count against refresh, but you can never maximize (or minimize) more than two dice on a single roll, which limits how much impact gear can have.
ENGAGEMENTS An engagement is a highly structured form of Fate conflict used to resolve space battles involving starfighters. The heart of it is in the maneuver and action phases, where every vessel in the combat works to gain advantage—an abstract concept representing optimal position, velocity, and several other factors—and may attack targets with advantage equal to or less than they have.
ENGAGEMENTS: THE 30-SECOND VERSION The engagement consists of four phases.
1∂ Detection: Determine whether any ships are undetected going into combat. 2∂ Maneuver: Establish which pilots have advantage over others, enabling them to attack. If you want to concede or attempt to disengage, this is the time. 3∂ Action: Make attacks, create advantages, and perform all sorts of other actions. 4∂ End of Round: Degrade your maneuver chart position (slide your ship down one slot). Return to the maneuver phase. Repeat the cycle of maneuver-action-end until one side is destroyed or disengages.
35
S T N E M E G A G N E
THE PHASES OF ENGAGEMENTS The basic engagement represents two groups of starfighters engaging, maneuvering, shooting at one another, maybe some being destroyed or damaged, and eventually disengaging. The phases for playing this out go like this: detection, maneuver, action, end of round. You repeat maneuver, action, and end of round until one side is destroyed or one or both sides run.
DETECTION PHASE Because the two groups of starfighters are still millions of kilometers apart and far beyond visual range, the highly advanced sensors that each fighter is equipped with have a chance to detect the drive plumes and other electromagnetic emissions of enemy fighters. When ships are detected, the type of each ship and how many flights they’re arranged into are revealed. At the end of this phase, we’ll know whether one side has any ships that the other doesn’t know about. Here’s how to do it: Everyone on the players’ side performs an overcome action with the Technology skill. Make a note of the best and worst results to establish a range. Meanwhile, the GM makes a single overcome roll with their best Technology-equipped vessel. Now, we compare the results to see if any ships are undetected.
∂ If the GM’s roll beats the PCs’ highest roll, one of the GM’s ships (or flights of ships, if they’re organized into flights) is undetected. If the GM succeeds with style, all of her ships are undetected. That’s very bad news for the PCs.
∂ If the GM’s roll is between the PCs’ highest and lowest rolls (inclusive—ties count for this middle section), no ships are undetected.
∂ If the GM’s roll is lower than the lowest PCs’ roll,
one of the PCs’ ships is undetected. If the lowest PC succeeds with style, all of their ships are.
The side with the undetected ships chooses which ships are undetected. Large ships—such as freighters, military capital ships, big passenger liners, etc.—emit titanic quantities of broadband radiation and light up like small stars on any halfway modern sensor suite. These ships can never be undetected. Similarly, space stations are impossible to miss (but hidden installations on planet surfaces or asteroids might not be).
36
E N G A G E M E N T S
DETECTION PHASE IN A NUTSHELL Every pilot and the GM make overcome actions with Technology. Look at where the GM’s result falls in the range of player results:
∂
GM beats highest player: One GM ship (or flight) is undetected (w/ style = all GM’s ships)
∂
GM between highest and lowest player (including ties): Nobody undetected
∂
Lowest player beats GM: One PC-piloted ship is undetected (w/ style = all PC-piloted ships)
Some stunts and ship equipment change this—the text of the stunt or equipment gives you those details.
A flight of three starfighters is on a long-range patrol: Nails (played by Lenny), Nok (played by Amanda), and Gunner (played by Carrie). Mike is the GM. Mike asks for detection rolls from all the players, while he rolls for his ships, four Dominion DF-112 Goblin starfighters arranged into two flights (flights are groups of multiple ships that act as one).
Nails (Lenny): [ 0+0+ (+2), Technology skill +1] “I got a Good result, +3.” Gunner (Carrie): [ 0000 (+0), Technology skill +3] “I also got +3.”
Nok (Amanda): [ -+-- (-2), Technology skill +4] “Ugh. +2.” GM (Mike): [+000 (+1), Technology skill +1] “And +2 for me. Nails and Gunner are your best and Nok is your worst. I tie Nok, so nobody is undetected. OK, so your ships pick up two flights of two DF-112 Goblins. It’s engagement time!”
37
S T N E M E G A G N E
MANEUVER PHASE
MANEUVER PHASE
Once detection is resolved, IN A NUTSHELL the ships swarm toward one another and engage in a swirlIn the engagement’s first ing, chaotic dogfight. Surviving maneuver phase, make an a dogfight depends on mainovercome action with the taining tactical superiority over Tactics skill. Place your staryour enemies—not letting them fighter’s marker on that value bring their guns to bear on you on the maneuver chart. Some while putting yourself in posistunts and actions change tion to fire at your opponents. this—the text of the stunt or In the maneuver phase, each action gives you those details. pilot determines their relative level of advantage compared to the other ships in the fight. This advantage is tracked on the maneuver chart. At the end of this phase, you’ll know where to place your ship on that chart. MANEUVER CHART
Grab a large sheet of paper, a dry erase board, or something similar that you can lay flat on the table. Create a chart that looks like the one on the opposite page. Get some markers to represent spaceships—sci fi wargame miniatures, small toy spaceships, tiny models built from LEGO® bricks—some sort of individually identifiable tokens you can place on the rows. Use a single marker to represent an enemy flight. FIRST MANEUVER PHASE
If this is the first maneuver phase of the engagement, place a marker representing your ship on the maneuver chart like this (the GM does this for their ships too):
∂
If you are not undetected, perform an overcome action with Tactics. Place the marker representing your ship on that number (or lower, if you wish). If you roll exceptionally high or low, expand the chart as necessary, keeping Undetected at the top and Special at the bottom.
∂ ∂
If you are undetected, place your ship in the Undetected section. If your ship is a capital ship, a cargo ship, passenger liner, or any other sort of big ship, place it in Special.
∂ Each enemy ship controlled by the GM performs this action as well.
38
MANEUVER CHART UNDETECTED
E N G A G E M E N T S
+9 +8 +7 +6 +5 +4 +3 +2 +1 0 –1 –2 –3 SPECIAL
39
S T N E M E G A G N E
GM: “Okay, everyone make maneuver phase rolls.” Nok: [+0++ (+3), Tactics skill +2] “Nice. +5!” Gunner: [ 00-+ (+0), Tactics skill +4] “I have +4.” Nails: [ 00-0 (-1), Tactics skill +4] “+3.” GM: “My Goblins get +1 and +4. OK, everyone place your ships.” Nok places their marker on +5, Gunner on +4. and Nails on +3. The GM places one marker on +1 and another on +4.
MANEUVER CHART UNDETECTED +9 +8 +7 +6 +5 Nok +4 +3
Gunner
Goblin 2 Nails
+2 +1
Goblin 1
0 –1 –2
40
–3 SPECIAL
SECOND OR LATER MANEUVER PHASE
If this is the second or later maneuver phase of the engagement, place a marker representing your ship on the maneuver chart like this (the GM does this for their ships too):
∂
If you were on someone’s tail (page 50) and no longer are (the target was destroyed, the target shook you off, or you chose to break off), perform an overcome action with Tactics as if it were the first maneuver phase.
∂
If you shook someone off your tail last phase, perform an overcome action with Tactics as if it were the first maneuver phase.
∂
If you are currently in the Undetected slot of the maneuver chart, perform an overcome action with Tactics as if it were the first maneuver phase.
∂
If you were in Special last turn because you were switching zones , perform an overcome action with Tactics as if it were the first maneuver phase but in the new zone.
∂ ∂ ∂
If you choose to bug out (page 47), place your ship in Special.
E N G A G E M E N T S
If you choose to switch zones (page 52), place your ship in Special. Otherwise, stay where you are on the maneuver chart based on the end of round phase of the previous round.
Some actions let you manipulate your and other ships’ positions on the chart, but we get to that later. For now, this is all you need.
41
S T N E M E G A G N E
ACTION PHASE Action is the third phase of the engagement. This is the phase when you make attacks, create advantages, make emergency repairs, and any number of other actions.
ACTION PHASE IN A NUTSHELL The pilot of the ship highest on the maneuver chart who hasn’t yet gone this round goes next. On your turn, take two actions from the list of available actions: Step 1 and Step 2. Play then passes to the next highest ship on the maneuver chart who hasn’t yet gone this round. Once all ships take a turn in the action phase, the phase is complete.
Who goes first? Who goes next?: The turn always passes to the pilot of the ship highest on the maneuver chart who hasn’t gone yet. Ships on the same maneuver rank go “simultaneously,” which means they take their actions but the effects aren’t applied until they both complete those actions—for instance, two ships on the same rank could conceivably destroy each other. If a GM’s ship and a player’s ship go simultaneously, the GM should declare what she’s doing first. What happens when it’s my turn?: Your turn happens in two steps: Step 1 and Step 2. There are a variety of actions; some must be performed during Step 1, some during Step 2, and some require both steps. We talk about all of those options in detail in “Actions” (page 49). Who can I attack?: You can attack any target at your level or lower on the maneuver chart. Targets above you have the drop on you and can attack you. Attacks are generally performed by making an attack action with the Gunnery skill, opposed by your target’s defense action using the Pilot skill. See the description of the action you’re taking for more details. GM: “Let’s go to the action phase. Nok, you’re first.” Nok: “I’m going to get on Goblin 2’s tail. Attacking with Gunnery…” [+--- (-2), Gunnery skill +2] “…Uh, zero. Wow. Oh, wait, I get a +2 bonus for being on their tail, so that’s +2 total.” GM: [+-+0 (+1), Pilot skill +2] “My defense is +3, so you miss! Gunfire goes streaking around the ship but none of it connects. Next up are Goblin 2 and Gunner, who go simultaneously. I’ll declare first—Goblin 2 will try to shake Nok off its tail.”
42
At this point, Gunner and Goblin 2 go, then Nails, then Goblin 1. A detailed example follows (page 68).
END OF ROUND PHASE Once every ship has taken their actions, the cycle repeats.
∂
END OF ROUND IN A NUTSHELL Every ship’s position on the maneuver chart degrades (moves down one slot) unless an action, stunt, etc. says they should not. Return to the maneuver phase.
Degrade all ships. This means that all ships move down one slot on the maneuver chart (shown below). Some actions you can take in the action phase, such as tactical refocus, allow you to skip degrading.
E N G A G E M E N T S
∂ Ships that declared they were bugging out (page 47) in the maneuver phase escape and leave play, if they survived. Ships that were switching zones (page 52) move to their desired zone.
∂ Cycle back to the maneuver phase and continue until one side is destroyed, bugs out, or concedes.
DEGRADE
Nok DEGRADE
Gunner
DEGRADE
Goblin 2 DEGRADE
Nails
DEGRADE
Goblin 1
43
S T N E M E G A G N E
SHIELDS AND DAMAGE Starfighters hit by weapons fire, and potentially other space hazards, take hits (computed in the usual Fate method, equal to the difference between attack vs. defense rolls plus the attacker’s Weapon rating). Hits must be absorbed, which you can do in two ways: your shields can be weakened and you can accept damage.
SHIELDS Shields are invisible fields that protect ships from laser blasts, solar radiation, shrapnel, meteorites, and a host of other space hazards. When powerful weapons strike the shields, they sometimes momentarily glow a translucent blue. Most spacecraft in Tachyon Squadron are equipped with shields, even if they’re not designed as combat ships—they’re dead useful to have. Shields are given a strength rating, typically 1 through 3 but some are stronger. The rating of the shields is how many shifts of hits, in total, it can absorb before it’s exhausted. So if you start with strength 3 shields, get hit by a 2-shift blast, then take 1 more shift in the next round, your shields are exhausted.
DAMAGE If your shields are drained, and you either have hits remaining from the attack that drained your shields or a new attack, your starfighter sustains damage. Each instance of damage mitigates up to two shifts. For each instance of damage, roll a single fate die and check off the next box in the appropriate column. Penalties listed are cumulative. Some slots also hit you with an aspect that your opponents can invoke (and get one free invoke, just like consequences).
44
DAMAGE IN A NUTSHELL Damage must be mitigated in one of two ways: Draining shields and taking instances of damage. Shields work exactly like stress— they can typically absorb up to 3 shifts of damage, depending on their strength rating. Damage remaining after shields are drained causes instances of damage. Each instance mitigates two shifts of damage. For each instance, roll a single dF and mark off the next box on the corresponding list on your ship’s damage chart. For each round your ship takes at least one instance of damage, your pilot also sustains one shift of damage.
E N G A G E M E N T S
DAMAGE CHART FOR THE SF-46 D BLACKFISH +COMPUTER SYSTEM DAMAGE
[Minimize 1 die on Technology actions [Minimize 1 die on Gunnery actions [Sensors and targeting systems offline: Minimize 1 die on Technology and Gunnery actions, SHOTS IN THE DARK Flash fire! Punch out! 0PROPULSION SYSTEM DAMAGE
[Minimize 1 die on Tactics actions [Minimize 1 die on Pilot actions [Critical damage to drives: Minimize 1 die on Tactics and Pilot actions, DRIVES READY TO GIVE OUT Catastrophic explosion! Punch out! -CRITICAL SYSTEMS DAMAGE
[LIFE SUPPORT DAMAGED [Cockpit hit, pilot sustains damage equal to the amount
the ship sustained in this hit Structural disintegration! Punch out!
Damage and Personal Stress: Each round that your ship sustains an instance of damage, your character suffers one shift of damage to themselves—most players will choose to take stress, if they can, rather than take a consequence. Space combat is not for the faint of heart. Victories: Each time you destroy an enemy ship (swarms don’t count), make a note of your victory! When you get back to base the crew chief will paint a silhouette on your ship’s hull in celebration.
45
S T N E M E G A G N E
SIMPLE DAMAGE To make the GM’s life easier, some enemy ships have two ways to track damage: regular damage and simple damage. Regular damage is what we were just talking about. It’s recommended to use that system to track damage for elite or veteran enemies, recurring bad guys, and the like. Simple damage simply tracks how many shifts of damage the ship has absorbed. It’s listed like this: ( ) That means that the ship can absorb a total of 7 shifts of damage. Mark off a box, starting on the left, for each shift of damage the ship suffers. When the last box is marked off, the ship is destroyed. The stress track set off by parentheses like this ( ) represents shields—when that’s gone, the ship’s shields are down.
PUNCHING OUT
46
Being in a ship that is destroyed is hazardous to your health. If you happen to be in that unfortunate situation, your squadron commander will be writing a sad letter home for you—you’re dead, space cowboy. Luckily for you, every modern starfighter is equipped with an AES— Automated Ejection System—which throws you clear of the fiery destruction of your starfighter. This is called punching out. If your ship is destroyed, spend a fate point (nobody else can spend it for you) to invoke your ship’s AES. This is not a gentle process—it activates powerful explosives to launch your seat through your disintegrating canopy, accelerating you at about 20 Gs. It’s a real kick in the butt. When you punch out, your seat attacks you—your character, not your ship. If you’re punching out because of damage that has destroyed your ship, the attack has a bonus of +5. Use your Discipline or Athletics to defend against that attack. It’s very common for pilots to suffer injuries of some sort when ejecting. You can also punch out manually before your ship is destroyed—on your action phase, or in the maneuver phase, possibly as part of a concession. If you do it manually you have a chance to brace yourself, so you only need to defend against an attack at +3 and you don’t need to spend a fate point. If you survive punching out, your flight suit provides limited life support for up to 30 hours—your helmet’s face shield snaps shut to seal the suit against the vacuum of space, and a rescue beacon automatically begins transmitting on a recognized emergency frequency. So once you’re ejected, the chances of rescue are slightly better than completely terrible. Don’t worry, even the Dominion considers shooting ejected pilots a war crime. Usually. If they get caught.
BUGGING OUT If a fight turns against you, you might want to push the throttle to the stops and get the hell out of there. If you’re in over your head, there’s no shame in turning tail. Tacticians call it “disengaging,” but pilots call it “bugging out.” You must declare that you’re bugging out in the maneuver phase. Once you decide not to bug out in a maneuver phase, you can’t revisit that decision until the next maneuver phase begins. Concession can’t save you in the thick of the fight, so choose wisely. There are two ways to bug out.
∂
Concession: Declare your intention to do this at the start of a maneuver phase, and negotiate the concession according to the typical concessions rules—accepting some significant negative outcome for yourself (and any fate points to which you’d be entitled—see Fate Core System, page 167). Perhaps you arrive back home with a full stress track and carrying a mild consequence. Perhaps your fighter is destroyed and you narrate being picked up by a rescue ship. Perhaps two ships from your side want to bug out on the same round—and the GM demands that one pilot be captured if the other is to return home safely (everyone getting the fate points owed to them, of course, with perhaps an extra for the captured flier).
∂
Run the Gauntlet: Declare your intention to bug out at the start of the maneuver phase, and place your ship in the Special slot of the maneuver chart. Anyone anywhere on the maneuver chart can attack you. If you survive the round, you successfully bug out.
E N G A G E M E N T S
47
S T N E M E G A G N E
THE MANEUVER CHART There are any number of ways to make a maneuver chart. A wet erase miniatures battle mat or a dry erase board are ideal, because you can erase and add slots if you need them. Absent that, butcher paper or gaming paper work well too. A range of +8 to -2 is good to start with. If a ship degrades below -2, add slots as necessary; do the same for ships that manage to exceed +8.
THE UNDETECTED SECTION This section represents ships that have managed to avoid detection at the start of the engagement. These ships have the opportunity to attack largely without fear of immediate counterattack—ambush, in other words. They are by definition above all other ships in the engagement, and thus may attack anyone and cannot be attacked by anyone. Once the first round is over, undetected ships are noticed. If they’re still in the Undetected section at the start of the second round, they must roll Tactics to place themselves on the chart.
THE SPECIAL SECTION The Special section represents ships that aren’t actively engaged in combat maneuvering, such as ships that are trying to disengage or unarmed ships such as cargo vessels and shuttles. It also serves as the home for capital ships and space stations, which can attack—we talk about that in “Big Ships and Large Targets” on page 54.
48
ACTIONS Pilots get two different actions—Step 1 and Step 2—in the action phase of engagements. A wide variety of actions are available.
ACTIONS IN THE ACTION PHASE (AND THE STEPS THEY CAN BE TAKEN ON)
E N G A G E M E N T S
ATTACK ACTIONS
∂ Desperate attack (full phase) ∂ Large target strike (full phase) ∂ On their tail (full phase) ∂ Snap shot (Step 1) NON-ATTACK ACTIONS
∂ Create an advantage (Step 1 or Step 2) ∂ Overcome (Step 1 or Step 2) ∂ Push (Step 2) ∂ Repair (Step 1 or Step 2) ∂ Rescue (full phase) ∂ Shake off a tail (full phase) ∂ Switch zones (Step 2) ∂ Tactical refocus (Step 2) ∂ Thin out the swarm (Step 1 or Step 2)
49
S T N E M E G A G N E
ATTACK ACTIONS Desperate Attack (full phase): You can’t take this action if someone is on your tail. Spend a fate point to climb two slots on the maneuver chart, then attack a ship at or below your new slot. If you take this action, you acquire the aspect EASY T ARGET with a free invoke; you keep that aspect until it’s eliminated with an overcome action. Large Target Strike (full phase): Attack a large target, such as a capital ship, a space station or asteroid installation, a planet-based installation, or similar. See “Big Ships and Large Targets” on page 54 for full details on how this works. On Their Tail (full phase): To get on another starfighter’s tail, slide your ship down the maneuver chart to position yourself in the slot directly above your target, and declare that you are on their tail. (Also use this action to remain on their tail if you used this action in the previous round against the same target.) As part of this action, make an attack against your target with a +2 bonus to your attack roll. Each round you remain on this target’s tail, this bonus increases by one. If your target does something to change their position on the maneuver chart—a tactical refocus action, for example—you may move your ship on the maneuver chart to stay one slot above theirs. If your target is destroyed or shakes you off, or they move on the maneuver chart and you choose not to follow them, in the next maneuver phase you must roll Tactics as if it were the first round to determine your new position on the maneuver chart. Snap Shot (Step 1): Make an attack against a ship at your level or below on the maneuver chart. Most attacks are made with guns—an attack roll using the Gunnery skill vs. a defend action using Pilot from the target—but some other weapons can be used if their descriptions allow it. Attacks made against targets on the same level of the maneuver chart are resolved simultaneously, meaning both attacks are resolved before damage to the other is accounted for. Yes, this could result in two ships destroying each other.
50
NON-ATTACK ACTIONS Create an Advantage (Step 1 or 2): You may attempt to create an advantage or overcome an obstacle in the standard Fate Core manner. Creating advantages works exactly the same way as described in Fate Core, and is a good way to mechanically represent aerial combat maneuvers like WINGOVER (a very rapid turn), BARREL R OLL to improve attack and tactical positioning, a SPLIT-S to improve defense, etc.
E N G A G E M E N T S
Overcome (Step 1 or 2): You can use the overcome action to eliminate existing situation aspects, as described in Fate Core. Push (Step 2): You may attempt to push an enemy ship at your position or lower on the maneuver chart to a lower slot on the maneuver chart. Make a Pilot overcome roll, opposed by the target’s Pilot overcome roll. If you succeed, the target drops down the maneuver chart a number of slots you choose, up to your margin of success. As usual, success with style generates a boost, and a tie doesn’t move them but gets you a boost. If the target of your push is on someone’s tail and you succeed, you break them off their quarry. If the target of your push has someone on their tail and you succeed, their pursuer may go with them to stay on their tail, or may stay where they are and break tailing, at the pursuer’s option.
Repair (Step 2): You can undo some of the damage caused to your ship by using the repair action in the action phase. Choose a damage category or shields and make a Technology overcome roll vs. a target of +2; success means the worst checked damage instance is cleared or you regain +2 to shield strength. Rescue (full phase): If a pilot—enemy or friendly—has ejected into space, you can rescue/capture them with this action. Move your ship down two slots on the maneuver chart, and your comrade is rescued or enemy pilot captured. All ships currently in service with Tachyon Squadron are equipped to safely pick up at least one character this way. If the person you’re attempting to pick up has some means of propulsion (a spacesuit equipped with maneuver jets, perhaps) and for some reason they don’t want to be rescued, opposed Pilot rolls are necessary to get them. You can also use this action to pick up objects of roughly the size of a person or smaller drifting in space.
51
S T N E M E G A G N E
Shake Off a Tail (full phase): If someone is on your tail, you can attempt to shake them off. Make a Tactics overcome roll opposed by your attacker’s Tactics overcome roll—if you succeed, the tail is broken. If you fail, they’re still on your tail. If you tie, choose: they’re still on your tail but you gain a boost, or you succeed at a cost. If you shake your attacker, both you and your attacker reposition yourselves in the next maneuver phase by rolling Tactics, the same as the procedure for the maneuver phase in the first round. Switch Zones (Step 2): In a multizone fight, such as with a fighter screen (page 60), use this action to switch zones. You may only take this action if you are in the Special slot on the maneuver chart. If someone is on your tail, they have the option to stay on your tail and follow you to the next zone, appearing in the slot above yours after you roll in the next maneuver phase, or they may stay in the first zone and roll for their own position in the next maneuver phase, at their option.
Tactical Refocus (Step 2): This action allows you to make a Tactics overcome roll to determine your position as if it were the first maneuver phase. Move your ship to that position (or to any position lower than that) immediately, and you do not degrade in the next end of round phase. You might choose to voluntarily lower your own position if, for example, you have someone on your tail and you want to lead them to a poor tactical position. Thin Out the Swarm (Step 1 or 2 but not both): Make an overcome action using Gunnery (or another skill, if you use a modular weapon) against the Pilot defense of the ships making up the swarm—more about swarms in the next section. If you succeed, you eliminate one swarm aspect—typically you choose one with multiple free invokes remaining. This action is simply an application of the overcome action in Fate Core, so its results are treated the same way. Failure can be interpreted as success at a severe cost, success with style gets you a boost, etc.
52
E N G A G E M E N T S
THE OPPOSITION: FLIGHTS & SWARMS Cinematic starfighter dogfights often feature dozens of fighters flashing across the screen with rainbows of blaster fire gunning every which way. Tracking each of these fighters individually would be a bookkeeping headache—this is a game about awesome fighter pilots, not accounting. We manage this problem in two different ways.
FLIGHTS A flight is a group of starfighters—usually two, sometimes four—that act together as a single entity. A flight increases its weapon damage by 1 on successful attacks for each fighter after the first (so a flight of four fighters with a base of Weapon:0 would have Weapon:3 on successful attacks). Attacks made against a flight affect one member of the flight first, until that member is destroyed. Damage from a single attack left over after one member is destroyed does not carry over to the next member, unless the attacking weapon’s description says otherwise.
THE SWARM What about the hordes of enemy fighters that fill the backdrop in cinematic starfighter battles? In Tachyon Squadron, we call this the swarm, and we represent them with a collection of aspects with free invokes that the GM can use to make her attacks with more dangerous enemies even more dangerous. To cut down on this advantage the GM has, pilots can thin out the swarm, an action described on page 52.
53
S T N E M E G A G N E
BIG SHIPS AND LARGE TARGETS Some starfighter battles involve attacking a large target like a space station, a planetary or asteroid base, or a capital ship (a cargo hauler, a frigate, a cruiser, a carrier, etc.—something big and lumbering that might as well be stationary compared to a fast and nimble starfighter).
ATTACKING LARGE TARGETS Large targets typically have a variety of smaller systems that can be individually targeted by starfighters. When a starfighter pilot attacks a large ship, they have to specify what system they’re targeting—propulsion, weapons, bridge, payload, shield generators, the hull, etc. Damaging and destroying different systems on the capital ship has different effects, much like damage to a starfighter. Destroy enough of the systems, and the target is considered “out of action,” even if it’s not destroyed. Large targets are placed in the Special section of the maneuver chart in the maneuver phase of engagements. They can’t maneuver quickly enough to avoid being attacked by starfighters if the fighter pilot is determined to do so, so they have to rely on other means to protect themselves. Starfighters must choose one of two modes of attack vs. large targets, and face different defenses in each situation: long range and short range. In either case, most large targets—capital ships, space stations, ground installations—have active defenses, meaning they defend themselves by shooting back. Pilots whose attack rolls fail take damage. So don’t miss.
Long-Range Attacks: The first way a starfighter can attack a large target is from long range. At long range, the fighter’s weapons must penetrate the heavy shields that capital ships typically employ. These shields aren’t usually like starfighters’ shields—they don’t degrade unless they’re hit by the big weapons other capital ships bring to bear (which this game does not cover). Instead, they act like armor—and strong armor it is. Additionally, some systems on the ship cannot be targeted from long range. For example, gun emplacements are often so well protected they can’t be destroyed from a distance—pilots have to get much closer to knock them out.
54
Short-Range Attacks: The alternative to long-range attacks is for a fighter pilot to approach very close to the capital ship, below its shields, and skim the surface to attack the targeted system. Typically defenses are much deadlier close in, where point defense blasters, relativistic scatterguns, and other devious systems designed to shred attacking fighters make their last stand. The advantage is that starfighters can attack any vulnerable system at this range, and their weapons don’t have to penetrate the powerful shields that extend a farther distance away.
BEING ATTACKED BY LARGE TARGETS Many ships and stations are equipped with offensive cannons and missile launchers—the ship’s stat block tells you how many and what their stats are. While the ship is always placed on the Special slot of the maneuver chart, the offensive cannon targeting systems work exactly like starfighters—the gunner aboard the ship rolls Tactics for the first round. They can then make an attack against targets at or lower than their level, or they may perform the tactical refocus action. They can’t do any more advanced actions—no getting on anyone’s tail, no pushing, no creating advantages, etc. Just make one attack each round as the snap shot action, or refocus.
E N G A G E M E N T S
CAN BIG SHIPS BUG OUT? Can a big capital ship or a lumbering cargo hauler bug out? The answer is yes, but… Obviously a sleek starfighter will always be able to catch up with a slower battle cruiser, but that doesn’t mean that fighters chasing a capital ship can take out its guns and then have all the time they want to pound the daylights out of it risk-free until it explodes. The GM may impose some sensible narrative limitations on the action. Starfighters have limited fuel and the guns will run out of energy eventually, even if we don’t track either in Tachyon Squadron. The GM might decide that a particular ship can’t just vanish into space, but limit the PCs to some number of rounds of attacks before they must break off and head for home. At that point, consider a concession rather than playing out those rounds: the ship is damaged but all the PCs make it home safely, for instance.
LARGE TARGETS AND REPAIRS At the end of each action phase, each large target can attempt to repair a single instance of damage.
55
S T N E M E G A G N E
EXTENDED EXAMPLE: BIG SHIP BATTLE [Gunner, Nok, and Nails are back, this time in a fight with an unescorted Dominion frigate Purity . Nok and Nails are on maneuver slots +5 and +4, the frigate’s gun emplacements are on +2 and +1, and Gunner is on +1.]
Nok Nails
“Purity” Gun Battery 2 Gunner
“Purity” Gun Battery 1
Dominion Frigate“Purity” GM: “Okay Nok, you’re up first. How do you attack the frigate?” Nok: “Hm… Let’s focus on the propulsion system, see if we can render her dead in the water. I’ll start with a snap shot.” GM: “You can’t take a snap shot at a large target; a large target strike is a full phase action.”
56
Nok: “Oh, right. Well, then, that’s what I’ll do. I have a Vulcan’s Hammer; I’ll try that from long range because shields are only half as effective against it. It says I use Technology as my attack skill. What’s the code for a missile launch? Tav-Two!” [ +--0 (-1), Technology skill +4] “Then it says I maximize one die, so that makes my dice ++-0 for +1 and a total result of +5.”
GM: “The frigate sends up a torrent of fire against you.” [+--- (-2), Long-range defense skill +1] “Wow, that’s a -1.”
Nok: “A 6-shift hit—I mean, a 10-shift hit! The missile says it has Weapon:4.”
E N G A G E M E N T S
GM: “Let’s see how much of that gets through the armor. It says the heavy shields provide Armor:5, but 1 more for the propulsion section, so that’s Armor:6 for shields. But the Vulcan’s Hammer missile says shields are only half as effective against it, so that’s down to Armor:3. 10 minus 3 is 7 shifts of damage to propulsion. Each instance mitigates 2 shifts…that’s four instances of damage. Yikes. According to the damage chart, According to the damage chart, I’m now minimizing two dice on Tactics rolls for gun emplacements, all Technology rolls for repair are minimizing one die, and she’s dead in the water. That…was not good for the bad guys.”
Nok: “Victory dance!” Nails: [Lenny fist bumps Amanda] “If we hit the propulsion section again she’s done for, and I’d like to see about capturing this puppy. Let’s take out the guns at short range. I’ll go in guns blazing.” [ 0000 (+0), Gunnery skill +3] “All blanks? That’s dull. A total of +3.” GM: [+0-+ +1, Defense skill +3] “That’s +4. With my Weapon rating, that gives me a 3-shift hit on you.” Nails: “Wait, what? You’re defending, how do you get a hit on me? Oh wait, the target ship has active defense, so I take damage on a miss. Got it.”
GM: “Exactly. You skim the frigate’s surface, about to target one of the gun emplacements, and gunfire erupts around you, driving you off.” Nails: “Well, jeez. 3 shifts, that takes my shields down. Can I have one dogfight where I don’t end up getting almost killed?” GM: “The bad guys are up next. Their #2 gun emplacement is on +2. They’ll shoot at Gunner, who still presents a threat.” I minimize 2 dice because of the damage you caused. [ +++0 becomes +--0, Gunnery skill +4] “That’s +3!”
Gunner: [ 00-+ (+0), Pilot skill +2] “+2. Dang.” GM: “That’s a 1-shift hit, with Weapon:2, for 3 shifts.” Gunner: “Looks like my shields are offline too. This jerk might be dead in the water but he still packs a punch. Okay, my go.”
57
S T N E M E G A G N E
GM: “Well, you and gun emplacement #1 go simultaneously. But if you want to do your actions first, go for it. Gunner: “I wanna take out that gun turret. I have an unguided rocket swarm. Short range, let’s do this. It says here I use my Pilot skill to attack, and maximize one die if attacking a large target.” [+++0 (+3), Pilot skill +2] “Maximizing that blank die to +, that’s +6!” GM: “Short-range defense! Pew pew pew!” [ --+0 (-1), defense skill +3] “A whopping +2. You got me! 4-shift margin of success, plus Weapon:6 (Six? Who wrote these rules?) is a 10-shift hit. Ouch. Short-range armor is only 1, so that’s 9 shifts, or 5 instances of damage… That gun emplacement is dead. It is so dead. But! Your action was simultaneous with its action, so it still gets a shot. And it shoots at you—but it still minimizes two. [ 0++0 becomes 0--0 (-2), Gunnery skill +4] “That’s +2.”
Gunner: [+-++ (+2), Pilot skill +2] “I got +4. No dice for you.” GM: “OK, it’s the end of the round. The frigate is going to try to repair something. Maybe get its engines back up…” [ 0-0+ (+0), Technology skill +2] “That’s +2.” Nok: “Not so fast, minimize that plus because of the damage to your propulsion section.”
GM: “That makes the dice 0-0-, or -2, so the total is zero. I needed +2, so that’s not enough. Rats. OK, round is over, let’s set up for the next one. Nobody did a refocus, so everyone degrade one slot.” Nails: “How does the surviving gun emplacement work?”
58
GM: “It degrades just like you guys do. I could have done a tactical refocus for the gun instead of taking a shot, but I didn’t, so it works just like everyone else.
E N G A G E M E N T S
DEGRADE
Nok DEGRADE
Nails
DEGRADE
“Purity” Gun Battery 2
KABOOM
DEGRADE
“Purity” G.B. 1
Gunner
Dominion Frigate“Purity” [After the end of round phase]
GM: “So here’s what I’m thinking. You can’t just sit here plinking at this guy all day long. I’m thinking you might have two more rounds to put this ship’s guns out of action before you need to head back to refuel. Does that make sense?” Nok: “What happens if we miss that deadline?” GM: “You’ll run out of gas and end up floating through space. You’re almost at what pilots call bingo, for whatever weird reason pilots assign silly names to things. It’s the minimum fuel level necessary to get you back to base. But if you head back now, this guy will have time to get his engines back online. If you use your last two rounds to take its bridge out, or its last gun turret, a shuttle full of Marines might be able to get here to board and capture her. Sound good?” Nails: “The moral of the story is unescorted capital ships are sitting ducks.” [Play continues]
59
S T N E M E G A G N E
FIGHTER SCREENS If starfighters are attempting to defend a space station, a large ship or a convoy of large ships, a point in space (such as a jump point), etc. they can set up a fighter screen—a patrol set off thousands of kilometers from the target they’re protecting, so attackers have to penetrate the screen to attack the target. Here’s how they work in an engagement.
OUTSIDE UNDETECTED
UNDETECTED
+9
+9
+8
+8
+7
+7
+6
+6
+5
+5
+4
+4
+3
+3
+2
+2
+1
+1
0
0
–1
–1
–2
–2
–3
–3
SPECIAL
60
INSIDE
SPECIAL
There are two separate zones in which independent encounters occur: outside the fighter screen, and inside it. The attackers fight the fighter screen as usual in the outside zone. But if any attacker wants to attempt to penetrate inside the screen—presumably where the target they’re trying to get to is—they must place themselves in the Special slot of the maneuver chart and take the switch zones action on their round. They then begin the next round’s maneuver phase by making a Tactics roll for the new zone as usual. You cannot attack targets in another zone.
E N G A G E M E N T S
EXTENDED EXAMPLE: PIERCE THE SCREEN [Nails, Gunner, and Nok are trying to get past a screen of Dominion starfighters to attack a space station. The three are currently all in the outside zone; Nails is in slot +5, Gunner and Nok have decided to penetrate the screen right away and put themselves in Special. Pairs of Dominion Gator fighters are in +4 and +3.]
OUTSIDE
INSIDE
UNDETECTED
UNDETECTED
+9
+9
+8
+8
+7
+7
+6
+6
+5 Nails
+5
+4
Gators 1
+4
+3
Gators 2
+3
+2
+2
+1
Station Gun Battery +1
0
0
–1
–1
–2
–2
–3
–3
SPECIAL Gunner
Nok
Enemy Space SPECIAL Station
61
S T N E M E G A G N E
Nails: “Think my best bet is to take a snap shot at one of these flights of Gators, then create an advantage to help you two.” [Nails attacks and destroys one of the first pair of Gators. For his Step 2, he creates RUNNING INTERFERENCE with a free invoke.] GM: OK, it’s the Gators’ turn. [One Gator flight (currently missing one member, destroyed by Nails) and then the other get on Nok’s and Gunner’s tails. Nok avoids the attack thanks to RUNNING INTERFERENCE, and Gunner’s shields are hit for two.]
OUTSIDE
INSIDE
UNDETECTED
UNDETECTED
+9
+9
+8
+8
+7
+7
+6
+6 Station Gun Battery +5
+5 Nails +4
+4
+3
TACTICAL REFOCUS
+2
+2
+1
+1
0
0
–1
–1
–2
–2
–3
Gators 1 GETS ON THE TAIL OF
SPECIAL Nok
62
+3
Gators 2
–3
GETS ON THE TAIL OF
Gunner
Enemy Space SPECIAL Station
E N G A G E M E N T S
[Nok and Gunner both attempt to create advantages for their Step 1 actions, and use switch zones for their Step 2 actions. In the next round’s maneuver phase, they each roll Tactics to place themselves on the inside zone’s maneuver chart.]
OUTSIDE
INSIDE
UNDETECTED
UNDETECTED Gators 1
+9
Gators 2
STILL ON THE TAIL OF
Nok
+8
STILL ON THE TAIL OF
Gunner
MUST ROLL FOR POSITION IN THE NEXT MANEUVER PHASE
+7
+9 +8 +7
+6
+6
+5
Station Gun Battery +5
DEGRADE
+4 Nails
+4
+3
+3
+2
+2 SWITCH ZONES
+1
+1
0
0
–1
–1
–2
–2
–3
–3
SPECIAL
Enemy Space SPECIAL Station
63
S T N E M E G A G N E
PERSONAL DAMAGE AND GETTING TAKEN OUT A bunch of different things can cause damage to your character, not all of them direct attacks.
∂
Mental Attacks: Someone attacking you with Provoke can cause damage depending on the circumstances and your relationship with them—you need to care what they have to say, have a reason to be afraid of them, etc.
∂ ∂
Physical Damage: Being hit by attacks in a fight can cause damage. Damage in Engagements: Space combat is terrifying. For each instance of damage your ship takes, you suffer 1 shift of damage. And, of course, if you happen to be aboard a ship when it’s destroyed and you can’t eject, that’s that.
∂
Missing a Night’s Sleep: Sleep deprivation is poison. You automatically suffer 2 shifts of damage for the first night of sleep you miss, 4 for the second consecutive night, 6 for the third consecutive night, etc. You can’t recover from stress if you’ve missed the previous night’s sleep. Whether a partial night’s sleep counts is up to the GM.
∂
Death and Loss: Witnessing the death or severe injury of a comrade is very traumatic. The first time you witness this, suffer 4 shifts of damage. Each time thereafter, suffer one fewer, until you’re sufficiently jaded that it causes zero stress. The GM may compel your relationship aspects to increase this stress as appropriate.
GETTING TAKEN OUT If you get taken out, the GM decides your fate. If it’s from a psychological source, perhaps you turn in your wings. You’ve lost the edge, hotshot. Held on too tight. If it’s physical, well, combat pilots don’t all survive the war, do they? Might be time to create a new pilot PC. Or maybe it’s some other obstacle short of losing the character—GM and player discuss what makes the most sense for the narrative you’ve been creating together.
64
MODULAR EQUIPMENT The squadron has been assigned a number of equipment modules that can boost the PCs’ ships’ capabilities. The modules are limited in number, so they should be used carefully. Your GM will tell you which ones, and how many of each, are available—possibly providing cards you can put into the appropriate boxes on your ship’s sheet. Some are consumable, meaning you use it once and it’s gone. Equipment that grants attacks can be used in attack actions like snap shot, on their tail, etc. in place of your starfighter’s guns. The listed action skill tells you what skill to make your attack with.
E N G A G E M E N T S
G-18B “VORTEX” AREA ATTACK MISSILE
∂ Antimatter warhead attacks up to four ships on the same slot of the maneuver chart. If you use a Vortex in the thin out the swarm action, success eliminates two aspects, not just one. This weapon is not effective against large targets.
∂ Consumable ∂ Action Skill: Technology, maximize one die ∂ Special: Weapon:2 on successful attack ∂ This weapon occupies one modular equipment bay. G-16 “VULCAN’S HAMMER” PRECISION MISSILE
∂ Quantum gamma warhead attacks a single target. ∂ Consumable ∂ Action Skill: Technology, maximize one die ∂ Special: Weapon:4 on successful attack ∂ Special: Shields are only half as effective against this weapon’s attacks
∂ This weapon occupies one modular equipment bay. MARK 24 UNGUIDED ROCKET SWARM
∂ A dozen rockets with high explosive warheads make a single attack against a single target.
∂ Consumable ∂ Action Skill: Pilot, maximize one die if attacking a large target ∂ Special: Weapon:6 on successful attack ∂ This weapon occupies one modular equipment bay.
65
S T N E M E G A G N E
PLANE-SENKO INERTIAL SUPPRESSION UNIT TYPE 7
∂ Temporarily reduces your starfighter’s momentum, allowing you to change direction quickly.
∂ Maximize one die in defend actions to avoid weapon attacks in engagements.
∂ This module occupies one modular equipment bay. PLANE-SENKO THRUST VECTORING SYSTEM TYPE 19
∂ Increases starfighter maneuverability by coordinating thrust vectoring from engine output.
∂ Maximize one die in overcome actions when using the push action in engagements.
∂ This module occupies one modular equipment bay. ALDERSON 5M SHIELD BOOSTER
∂ Recharges shield generators faster. ∂ At the start of your attack phase, increase your shield rating by 1, up to your allowable maximum.
∂ This module occupies two modular equipment bays. GENEVA INDUSTRIES B6 “HAYMAKER” PARTICLE ACCELERATOR
∂ Axial weapon that directs relativistic protons at targets. ∂ Add 1 to your ship’s Weapon rating for attacks made with Gunnery. ∂ This module occupies two modular equipment bays. ECLIPTIC SYSTEMS COUNTERFORCE ADAPTIVE COMPUTATION NODE V.9.2
∂ A computer that learns enemy tactics and begins anticipating them. ∂ In the second maneuver phase of an engagement, maximize one die in your overcome action to determine your placement. In the third and subsequent rounds, maximize two dice.
∂ This module is most useful for pilots who like to take the tactical refocus action, but will also be used when you need to re-establish your maneuver position after being on someone’s tail.
∂ This module occupies one modular equipment bay.
66
WHISPERTECH D-30 EMISSIONS REDIRECTION SYSTEM
∂ This system temporarily redirects most electromagnetic emissions from the starfighter, casting an illusory image several dozen meters to one side, which fools an attacker’s targeting computer.
E N G A G E M E N T S
∂ Once per game session, declare that a successful attack against you in fact missed—it hit your illusory decoy instead.
∂ This module occupies one modular equipment bay. HIGH PERFORMANCE OPTICS HC-91 “HAWKEYE” SENSOR BOOSTER
∂ Maximize two dice in detection actions at the start of the encounter. ∂ This module occupies one modular equipment bay. ECLIPTIC SYSTEMS RESILIENCE ENHANCEMENT NODE V.4.0
∂ Automatically identifies damage and recommends work-arounds. ∂ Maximize one die when attempting the repair action in an engagement. ∂ This module occupies one modular equipment bay. DESIGNING YOUR OWN MODULAR EQUIPMENT GMs and players are encouraged to invent their own equipment modules. Player-invented modules can provide a fun secondary plot focusing on a Technology-oriented pilot, as that pilot draws up plans, gathers material, tests prototypes, etc. Things to keep in mind as you design equipment modules:
∂ Equipment modules work very much like gear stunts. They maximize dice, rather than grant straight bonuses; otherwise, the powers and abilities they grant look very much like stunts.
∂ A powerful module can be balanced by requiring more than one equipment bay, by limiting uses per encounter, by making it consumable, or by having it apply a disadvantageous aspect to the ship that carries it (BULKY CARGO, DELICATE AND EXPLOSIVE , or similar).
∂ Consider narrative-focused modules for particular missions: running a blockade to deliver a Cargo Module full of supplies to trapped ground troops, using a Rescue Module to assist the survivors of a space wreck, etc.
67
S T N E M E G A G N E
ENGAGEMENT EXAMPLE p.36∂
p.46∂
A flight of three starfighters is on a long-range patrol: Nails (played by Lenny), Nok (played by Amanda), and Gunner (played by Carrie). Mike is the GM. Mike asks for detection rolls from all the players while he rolls for his ships, which are led by two pairs of DF-112 Goblin starfighters. The GM has established that he’s using simple damage for the Goblins. Nails (Lenny): [ 0--+ (-1), Technology skill +1] “Zero.” Nok (Amanda): [ --00 (-2), Technology skill +4] “I got +2.” Gunner (Carrie): [ 0--- (-3), Technology skill +3] “Zero. Rotten luck.”
GM (Mike): [ 0++0 (+2), Technology skill +1] “+3 for me. Nok is your best at +2, which I beat, so one of my ships stays undetected. Haha!” Nails: “Really? ‘Haha?’”
p.35∂
GM: “I’m the GM, I’m allowed one goofy laugh. It’s in the rules. OK, so your ships pick up on a flight of two DF-112 Goblins and a swarm of six DF-107 Gators. It’s engagement time!” Nok: “There’s probably another pair of Goblins out there somewhere. Keep your eyes open, everyone.”
p.38∂
GM: “Okay, everyone make maneuver phase rolls.” Nok: [+0+0 (+2), Tactics skill +2] “I got +4!” Gunner: [+00- (+0), Tactics skill +4] “+4 for me too.” Nails: [ ---0 (-3), Tactics skill +4] “Oh, for… +1. I got +1.” GM: “My Goblin gets…” [ 00-0 (-1), Tactics skill +3] “…+2.” Gunner: “Where are the Gators?”
p.53∂
GM: “They’re part of the swarm. [Mike places three index cards on the table, marked FLIGHT 1, FLIGHT 2, and FLIGHT 3, each with two free invokes.
p.38∂
68
GM: OK, everyone place your ships on the maneuver chart.” Everyone places their ships.
UNDETECTED
Goblins 1
+9
E N G A G E M E N T S
+8 +7 +6 +5 +4 Nok
Gunner
+3
Goblins 2
+2 +1 Nails 0 –1 –2 –3 SPECIAL
69
S T N E M E G A G N E
p.48∂ p.42∂
p.50∂ p.24∂
GM: “Everyone good? You were right, there’s one undetected Goblin flight. I’ll place it on the Undetected section. Let’s go to the action phase. That Goblin on Undetected goes first, because it’s highest on the maneuver chart. I could move down to slot 5 to get on Gunner’s tail, but I think I’ll make a snap shot against Nok for my first action. That’s a Gunnery attack…” [++0- (+1), Gunnery skill +4] “That’s +5.”
Nok: “I have a stunt that lets me roll Technology instead of Pilot to defend in engagements, so that’s...” [ --00 (-2), Technology skill +4] “+2. Ouch.” GM: “A 3-shift hit! Wait, a 5-shift hit, because Goblins have Weapon:1 on Gunnery attacks, and there are two of them in the flight.”
p.45∂
p.33∂
Nok: “Well, my shields drain, which absorbs 3 shifts. That leaves 2 shifts, so I guess I take one instance of damage. [ 0] I got a blank. According to the Blackfish damage chart that means I have computer system damage—” [Amanda marks the appropriate slot on her sheet] “—and I have to minimize a die on Technology actions. Does that mean every time I roll Technology? Even when I’m rolling it instead of Pilot?” GM: “Yes, that’s what it means. The systems you rely on to make Technology effective where you’d usually use Pilot aren’t working as well. Also, you take a shift of damage yourself, Nok, because of the ship taking an instance of damage.”
p.20∂
Nok: “I’ll just take a point of stress.”
p.51∂
GM: “OK, for my Step 2 action I’ll try to push Nok below my other Goblin. That’s my Pilot against yours. I get…” [ 00-0 (-1), Pilot skill +2] “…+1.” Nok: [+++- (+2), Pilot skill +1] “+3. Nothing doing, Mike, I’m not going anywhere.” GM: “OK, Gunner and Nok, you’re on +4, you’re next.”
p.52∂
70
Gunner: “I’ll go first, if you don’t mind, Nok. First I want to thin out the swarm. That’s a Gunnery overcome action for me.” [+00(+0), Gunnery skill +3] “That’s +3.”
E N G A G E M E N T S
GM: “The swarm is made up of Gators, which have a Pilot skill of +1 by default…” [ -0+0 (+0), Pilot skill +1] “+1. You take one of the aspects out! Say, FLIGHT 3? It doesn’t matter, they’re all the same.” Gunner: “Sounds good.” [Mike removes the aspect FLIGHT 3 from the table] “I get two victories from that, right?” GM: “Well, no, the swarm doesn’t count for victories.”
∑p.45
Gunner: “Dang. OK, for Step 2 of my turn, I want to push the Goblin on +2.” [++00 (+2), Pilot skill +2] “That’s +4.” GM: “Goblins have a Pilot of +2, so…” [ -0+- (-1), Pilot +2] “…+1.”
Gunner: “So I can push you down 3! Down you go, to -1.”
NOK MOVES ONTO THEIR TAIL
Nok
GM: “So the current state of things is a Goblin flight on Undetected— I’ll need to roll Tactics to place him next round—Gunner and Nok on +4, Nails on +1, and a flight of two Goblins on -1. OK, Nok, you’re up.”
Nok: “I want to get on that Goblin’s tail.” [Nok slides her ship down to 0, which is directly above her Goblin target.] “I make a Gunnery attack…” [++00 (+2), Gunnery skill +2, +2 bonus for getting on their tail] “That’s +6.”
∑p.50
71
S T N E M E G A G N E
GM: [ -0+0 (+0), Pilot skill +2] “Uh… +2. Look, I’m invoking the swarm, FLIGHT 1, once for free, which gives me +4. A Gator gets in the way of your shot, making it less effective.”
p.66∂
p.46∂
Nok: “Fine, I’ll drop a fate point on FORMER T EST P ILOT O UT FOR A RIGHTEOUS C AUSE, giving me +8 total. With my guns’ Weapon:1, that’s a 5-shift hit. Oh, wait, I’m carrying a particle accelerator in an equipment bay—that makes it Weapon:2. That’s 6 shifts.” GM: “Ouch. OK, we’re using simple damage for these guys, so I’ll mark off six boxes… One box left. Ouch, as I said. Its shields are gone and it’s trailing smoke. Nails, you’re up.”
Nails: “Awesome. First I’ll take a snap shot at that Goblin that Nok just lit up.” Nok: “Don’t you steal my kill.” Nails: “Just softening him up for you.” [ --00 (-2), Gunnery skill +3, +2 for a stunt giving Nails a bonus the first time he attacks a target] “+3.”
GM: [ -+++ (+2), Pilot skill +2] “I got +4. Swing and a miss.” p.52∂
Nails: “Eh, that’s OK. Step 2, I want to do a tactical refocus. I’m way down here, and who knows where that undetected guy will end up.” [++-0 (+1), Tactics skill +4] “+5. I’ll take it.” [Lenny moves his ship marker to the +5 slot]
Nok
72
GM: “OK, highest ranked ship that hasn’t gone yet is this Goblin flight who Nok is chasing. He’s going to try to shake off the tail. That’s my Tactics vs. yours, Nok.” [ 00-0 (-1), Tactics skill +3] “+2.”
∑p.52
Nok: [+-0+ (+1), Tactics skill +3] “+4. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
GM: “Dang. OK, end of the round. Everyone degrade your maneuver position.”
E N G A G E M E N T S
∑p.43
Nails: “I don’t have to, because I used the tactical refocus action!” GM: “True. I’ll roll Tactics for that undetected flight of Goblins in the next maneuver phase, which happens right now.” [+0++ (+3), Tactics skill +3] “+6! So he’s right above Nails, and he goes first.” Nails: “Great.”
MANEUVERS IN AND GETS ON NAILS’S TAIL
Goblins 1 Nails
TACTICAL REFOCUS PREVENTS DEGRADE
DEGRADES
Gunner
STAYS ON TAIL
Nok DEGRADES
Goblins 2
73
S T N E M E G A G N E
GM: “And he’s going to get on your tail, Nails.” [ ++00 (+2), Gunnery skill +4, +2 bonus for being on tail] “+8!” Nails: “Uh oh.” [ -+0- (-1), Pilot skill +2] “Uh… That’s +1. Wow. 7 shifts. And I’m all out of fate points right now.” p.53∂
GM: “9 shifts. Goblins have Weapon:1, and it’s a flight of two, so Weapon:2.”
Nails: “Right, nine. Shields gone, six left, that’s three instances of damage.” [ --0] “One hit on the propulsion system, I’m minimizing one die on Tactics. Two hits on critical systems… Oh crud. I now have LIFE SUPPORT DAMAGE as an aspect, and the cockpit was hit. So I personally sustain 9 shifts of damage. Wow.” GM: “Hate to tell you Lenny, but that’s 10 shifts. You take 1 more, because your ship took an instance of damage.” Nails: “Wow. Well then. I guess I blow my whole stress track, and still have 5 shifts to burn. That’s a serious consequence. Let’s say… INTERNAL BLEEDING?” GM: “Works for me. Your turn, by the way.” Nails: “Is ‘bleed a lot’ a Step 1 action, or full phase? I need to get away from this guy. I’m going to shake a tail.” [ ++-0 (+1), Tactics skill +4] “+5!” GM: “Hang on, that’s a Tactics roll, so flip one of those +to because of the damage you took. You’re at +3. Now I roll.” [+0-0 (+0), Tactics skill +3] “That’s +3. I’ll take the free invoke on your INTERNAL BLEEDING, and that’s +5. I’m still on your tail.”
Nails: “Uh oh. That action takes both steps, so I’m done.” Gunner: “I’m on +3, so I’m next. Nails is in real trouble, but I can’t attack the guy on his tail because I’m below him. Hm. OK, for Step 1, I want to create an advantage to help Nails. I’ll barrel roll and spray gunfire at the ship on your tail.” GM: “Sounds like Gunnery, or maybe Pilot?” Gunner: “I think Gunnery.” [+000 (+1), Gunner skill +3] “+4.”
74
GM: “That does it! You create the aspect COVERING FIRE with a free invoke. What’s for Step 2?”
Gunner: “Tactical refocus. I have to get above this guy on Nails.” [+++- (+2), Tactics skill +4] “+6…I’ll drop a fate point on PROFESSIONAL MILITARY PILOT to bring that to +8.”
GM: “Do it.”
E N G A G E M E N T S
[Gunner moves her ship toUNDETECTED the +8 slot on the maneuver chart]
+9 Gunner
+8 +7 +6
Goblins 1 TACTICAL REFOCUS
+5 Nails +4 +3 +2 +1 0 –1 –2
Nok
Goblins 2
–3 Nok: “I’m staying on this guy’s tail. He’s going down.” [ -0++ SPECIAL (+1), Gunnery skill +2, +3 bonus for second round on a tail] “+6.” GM: [ -+0- (-1), Pilot skill +2] “That’s +1. Oh, wait, I need to minimize two dice. So, -4 on the dice, that’s -2 total. 8 shifts of damage.” Nok: “10 shifts, with my Weapon rating and equipment.”
75
S T N E M E G A G N E
GM: “Well, you sure killed the hell out of that guy, he only had one stress left. One gone, and one ship left in Goblin Flight 2.” p.45∂
Nok: “Woohoo! Painting a silhouette on my ship when we get home.”
Nails: “After you visit me in sick bay, right?” GM: “Hey, I have one more ship to go. Goblin Flight 2 still has one ship left. I’m going to try to get away from Nok.” [ 0--- (-3), Tactics skill +3] “Oh, that’s awful. Total of zero.” Nok: [+00- (+0), Tactics skill +3] “+3. On you like glue.” GM: “Hm, you’ll get a hefty bonus against him next turn. OK, round over, starting a new round. So, I propose that we part ways.” p.47∂
Gunner: “You’re not going to concede, are you? Bugging out?” Nails: “If he wants to, let him!” GM: “Yeah, I’m conceding. I propose you let this Goblin go, and in return I don’t blow Nails out of the sky, which I’m kind of set up to do.” Nails: “Done!” Nok: “I guess. I’d like a shot at that Goblin, but we can’t risk losing Nails.” Gunner: “It’s fine, I suppose. I wanted that kill.”
p.101∂ p.103∂
76
GM: “So both sides split off and run. Engagement over! Nok, you gain a victory, and Nails, you’d better review the recovery rules.”
FIGHTER PILOT TERMINOLOGY Part of playing a fighter pilot is talking like one. Here are some terms you can use to make your in-game dialogue feel a bit more authentic.
∂ Ace: A pilot credited with at least five victories. ∂ Auger in: Crash in a spectacular manner, usually digging a big hole
E N G A G E M E N T S
when you do.
∂ ∂ ∂
Bandit: A hostile starfighter you are authorized to attack. Bearing: A contact’s direction relative to your own flight vector. Bingo: The minimum amount of fuel necessary to return to base. “I’m at bingo, I gotta bug out.”
∂
Bogey: A starfighter that you’ve detected whose identity and intentions are unclear.
∂
Bug out: Synonym for the more academic term to disengage. A pilot will almost always refer to it as bugging out instead, unless they’re some kind of Poindexter. Don’t ever call it running away .
∂ ∂
Civvie: A civilian ship.
∂ ∂
∂ ∂
Contact: Any ship that you have detected. “Contact, bearing one three by two niner mark seven, range twelve million klicks…”
Dogfight: Close-range combat between starfighters. Firing solution: This describes the situation when a missile has locked on target and the fighter carrying the missile is positioned so that the missile can hit that target. At this point a hit isn’t guaranteed, but the target’s in trouble.
Flight vector: A spacecraft’s speed and direction of travel. Friendly: A confirmed non-hostile contact. Could be a civilian ship, or a friendly warship or starfighter.
∂
Guns: Radio announcement that you’re firing your ship’s blaster cannons. Most veteran pilots don’t bother with this unless a friendly is near the target. “Engaging Bandit-4, guns guns guns.”
∂
Hostile: A confirmed unfriendly ship. Generally synonymous with target .
∂ ∂
Klick: A kilometer. A megaklick is one million kilometers. Lead: In a two-fighter flight, the lead is the offensive component— the pilot whose job it is to find firing solutions and target enemies.
77
S T N E M E G A G N E
∂
Lock on: When a missile’s sensors have detected a target and are fully focused on it, ignoring other targets and electromagnetic clutter in space, it’s said to be locked on. This is necessary but not sufficient to hit the target; it might be out of range or too fast to catch. Wait until you have a firing solution to actually launch the missile.
∂
Multirole fighter: A starfighter capable of both dogfighting and strike missions. The Blackfish is considered a multirole fighter.
∂
Overshoot: When an attacker isn’t able to manage their energy package effectively and ends up in front of their target, they’re said to have overshot the defender. This usually leads to a reversal of roles, as the enemy is now in a position to attack.
∂
Pitch: Rotation around the horizontal, wing-to-wing axis, relative to the pilot. Orienting along this axis is called pitching up and pitching down, or nosing up and nosing down. A full pitch rotation is a loop.
∂
Position: There are three basic ways, or positions, in which one fighter can meet another. A fighter in an offensive position sees their target first and is able to use that to their advantage. A fighter in a defensive position is the “target” referred to in the previous sentence—they don’t see their attacker until it’s too late. Two fighters in a neutral position are aware of each other, but neither one has an advantage or an immediate firing solution. In game terms, position is handled in the detection phase of combat.
∂ Roll: Rotation around the axis running from the fighter’s nose to tail. ∂ SCM: Space Combat Maneuvering. Technical term for dogfighting. ∂ Six: Synonymous with tail . To be on your enemy’s six is to be directly behind them and able to attack (think of a clock face with the fighter at the center pointed at the 12); you want to avoid having an enemy on your six. “I’ve got your six” means “I’m watching your back.”
∂ Space superiority fighter: A starfighter designed as a dogfighter. ∂ Strike fighter: A starfighter whose primary mission is attacking stationary targets or ships larger than itself, usually with heavy munitions like bombs and missiles. Sometimes called a light bomber or fighter bomber or attack fighter .
∂ Tav: Radio announcement that you’re launching non-gunnery weap-
78
ons. Tav-One is unguided rockets, Tav-Two is guided missiles with precision warheads (Vulcan’s Hammer, for example), Tav-Three is a guided missile with area warhead (such as a Vortex), Tav-Four is any other weapons release other than guns. The origin of the word tav is a matter of much debate.
∂ Victory: A pilot is awarded a victory when she destroys an enemy ship. Half victories can be awarded for shared victories, if two pilots both cause significant damage to the target.
∂ Wingman: The counterpart to the lead, the wingman is the defensive component of a two-fighter element, whose role is to stick by the lead and keep enemies off their tail.
E N G A G E M E N T S
∂ Yaw: Rotation around the vertical axis, relative to the pilot. Most maneuvers involving yawing also involve some degree of roll such that the resulting G-force pushes the pilot into their seat, reducing the strain on the inertial dampeners by redirecting all that energy down, rather than to one side. This combination of yawing and rolling is called banking.
JARGON AND GAME MECHANICS Actually treating dogfighting in Tachyon Squadron with realistic detail would result in excruciatingly slow game play not especially in the spirit of Fate. Rather, the intention is that you use this brief primer to make your dogfights sound more like dogfights, and thus maybe make them feel more authentic. It’s a tool to add some specificity and flavor, if that’s what your group is into. For example, on your turn you might create an advantage to put a BARREL ROLL A TTACK aspect into play and then push an enemy fighter into a lower slot on the maneuver chart. In the fiction, the enemy tried to break away from you, but then you pulled a partial roll and loop, putting you on their six and ready to attack. Also, try using your hands to represent you and your target when you describe the action. Seriously, it helps!
79
S T N E M E G A G N E
WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT? If you really want to go for the authenticity, pilots wouldn’t speak the names of letters over the radio—they would use this (archaic, but still in use) phonetic alphabet to ensure that misheard speech doesn’t garble messages. For example, a DF-107 Gator starfighter would be described as a “Delta Foxtrot Won Zeero Seven” by a pilot using strict formal radio protocol. That pilot might encounter some razzing at the bar later, but nobody’s going to misunderstand them. The origins of many of these words have been lost for centuries. A: Alpha B: Bravo C: Charlie D: Delta E: Echo F: Foxtrot G: Gabbo H: Hotel I: India
J: Juno K: Kilo L: Lima M: Mike N: November O: Oscar P: Papa Q: Quebec R: Romeo
S: Sierra T: Tango U: Uniform V: Victor W: Whiskey X: X-Ray Y: Yankee Z: Zulu 0: Zeero
1: Won 2: Too 3: Tree 4: Fower 5: Fife 6: Six 7: Seven 8: Ate 9: Niner
MANEUVERS
80
∂
Barrel roll: A basic maneuver in which the fighter dissipates energy by making a completely longitudinal rotation (that is, wing over wing) while moving laterally to port or starboard. A barrel roll attack is this maneuver plus a 180-degree loop, a tactic commonly used to counter a break .
∂
Break: The most basic defensive maneuver, a break is simply turning 90 degrees away from a pursuing attacker. This decreases the defender’s exposure to attack and could cause the attacker to overshoot.
∂
Combat spread: A maneuver in which two fighters put distance between each other such that the lead is presented as an easier target to lure an enemy in, at which point the wingman will be in position to attack.
∂
Defensive split: The lead and wingman simultaneously break in opposite directions, forcing the enemy to follow one of them and providing an opportunity to circle around and maneuver behind the enemy.
∂
Guns-D: Guns defense, more colloquially known as jinking or guns-D, is a defender’s last resort. It’s basically just weaving back and forth or up and down in an attempt to spoil the attacker’s aim.
E N G A G E M E N T S
∂
Immelmann turn: The pilot noses up into a half-loop, usually while executing a half-roll, to make a 180-degree change of direction. It’s mainly used to disengage by abruptly changing flight vector. See also split-S.
∂ Jinking: Making frequent erratic turns, often as part of guns-D maneuvering.
∂ Sandwich: The lead and wingman fly side-by-side but with significant distance between them—a klick or more. When one of them picks up an attacker on their tail, both fighters break in the same direction, thus “sandwiching” the attacker between them and exposing the enemy fighter to attack.
∂ Split-S: The inverse of an Immelmann—a half-roll followed by a descending half-loop. Like the Immelmann, the split-S is typically used to disengage.
∂ Thach weave: A maneuver in which the two fighters (or pairs of fighters) turn away from each other for some distance, turn back toward each other until they cross flightpaths, continue on away from each other, then weave back toward each other to resume formation or again cross paths. Viewed from above, the fighters appear to outline a figure-8. An enemy pursuing one of the fighters or fighter pairs is invariably left vulnerable to the other.
∂ Whifferdill: Any bonkers or foolhardy maneuver that doesn’t already have a name often gets called a whifferdill. “Hey Nails, nice whifferdill out there. What’re you tryin’ to do, getcherself killed?”
∂ Wingover: An energy-management maneuver for when there isn’t time for a split-S or Immelmann, a wingover consists of a flat (that is, without a roll) 180-degree turn combined with a quarter-loop. Used defensively, this should result in an attacker overshoot.
81
S T N E M E G A G N E
THE DICTA BOELCKE Oswald Boelcke was a World War I German flying ace and is commonly considered “the Father of Air Fighting Tactics.” Perhaps you’ve heard of Manfred von Richthofen, aka the Red Baron? Boelcke taught him how to fly. He was also the first person in history to formalize the study of air combat into a list that’s come to be known as the Dicta Boelcke. Although originally conceived far from the Draconis System, the Dicta Boelcke are still surprisingly applicable to space combat maneuvering (though you may have to squint a bit for a few of them).
1∂ Try to secure the upper hand before attacking. If possible, keep the sun behind you. Avoid attacking before you’re sure you have the advantage. 2∂ Always continue with an attack you’ve begun. Breaking off an attack early means ceding the advantage to your opponent. 3∂ Open fire only at close range, and then only when the opponent is squarely in your sights. Don’t expend ammo unless you and your targeting computer think it’s a sure thing. 4∂ You should always try to keep your eye on your opponent and never let yourself be deceived by ruses. Don’t assume you know where your enemy is or what they’ll do next. 5∂ In any type of attack, it is essential to assail your opponent from behind. Because they don’t usually have guns pointed at you back there! But also, it’s harder to hit a target moving across your arc of fire than it is to hit one you’re following. 6∂ If your opponent dives on you, do not try to get around his attack, but fly to meet it. For our purposes, the phrase “dives on” here is just another way of saying “attacks.” Your instincts may tell you to flee, but turning to face your attacker is better than giving them your tail. 7∂ When over enemy lines, always remember your own line of retreat. Be mindful of where you are in relation to the rest of the squadron and how to get back to them. Don’t let the combat disorient you.
82
8∂ In principle, it is better to attack in groups of four or six. If fights break up into a series of single combats, pay attention that several comrades would not go after one opponent. You may be good alone, but you’re better as part of a formation. If you’re outnumbered, don’t make it worse by ganging up on a single enemy.
THE GALAXY It’s centuries after humanity’s first hesitant steps into the stars, and the Draconis system is one of hundreds of star systems that have been settled. But now Draconis is under attack, and it’s up to Tachyon Squadron and the rest of the Draconis Volunteer Group to hold the line.
A QUICK HISTORY LESSON Hundreds of years ago, the first primitive hyperdrives were invented and humanity fluttered from the nest. Despite some disastrous early setbacks, we found our wings and spread throughout the galaxy. Now, dozens of politically independent entities exist throughout settled space. The two most powerful, by far, are the Stellar Republic and the Dominion of Unity. The Republic (home to the Sol system and Earth) is flawed, but at least nominally stands for liberal democratic values, the rule of law, and democratic institutions. The Dominion is an aggressively militaristic and expansionist surveillance state governed by a dynastic ruling family with a personality cult built around them that borders on religious. Both states rule over many dozens of star systems. Eleven years ago open war—now known as the Great Galactic War, or just the War—sparked between them. Fleets of starships clashed, littering star systems with burned-out hulks. Titanic armies struggled for control of planet surfaces and asteroid mines and space stations. Fire. Blood. Death. Billions perished.
83
Y X A L A G E H T
84
Ten years later, the clashing fleets had reached a terrible stalemate, grinding one another down in a bloody war of attrition. Both sides were exhausted. An armistice agreement was signed, and people across settled space celebrated the peace that followed, the peace that now exists between the two rival superpowers. But it’s a tense peace. Intense ideological, political, and economic differences remain. Overlapping territory claims are unresolved. War could easily break out again, war that few people want. Which is why it was so alarming to leaders in both the Dominion and the Republic when, only a year after The War ended, the government of the border system of Draconis declared its independence from the Dominion of Unity. The Dominion vowed to fight to regain authority over the strategically important system. The Republic considered its options carefully and decided to recognize Draconis’s independence, but refused to take the step the Dominion warned would be seen as an act of war—providing direct military aid. But the Republic didn’t want to leave Draconis on its own. The Republic Intelligence Service and the Draconis government concocted a way to get military aid to Draconis without the Stellar Republic being seen as directly responsible for providing it. Three squadrons’ worth of older starfighters were decommissioned from the Republic Navy and sold to salvage companies. These ships passed through several holding companies and front corporations, arriving after a few weeks of paper shuffling in the ownership of Draconis Defense Holdings, Inc., which immediately turned ownership over to the fledgling Draconis Navy. Getting ships was the easy part. Getting people to fly them? A bit harder. Behind the scenes, the Republic’s Navy and Intelligence Service worked with the Draconis Navy to recruit volunteers—pilots from the Republic that would fly for Draconis and buy time for them to train their own forces. Soon, advertisements began to appear around the Republic and smaller, unaffiliated states: Starfighter pilots wanted! Good pay, good benefits, plenty of action! Advancement opportunities! Adventure! Excitement! Hundreds of pilots applied. Any active duty Republic Navy pilot who applied was granted indefinite leave. Many civilian pilots applied and were accepted as well. Even a handful of defecting Dominion pilots, disillusioned and tired of fighting for tyranny, were brought aboard. And so, the ships and crews of the Draconis Volunteer Group—Tachyon, Graviton, and Axion Squadrons—were assembled.
GALACTIC SOCIETY For the most part, galactic society would be recognizable to people in an industrialized country today. Money and Scarcity: The world of Tachyon Squadron is not a post-scarcity society. The official currency in the Stellar Republic is the credit, which is widely accepted across settled space, including Draconis. Electronic commerce is common, as is cash money that’s nearly impossible to counterfeit. People still need to work for a living, food must be grown, products manufactured, resources mined, etc. Poverty remains a problem without an immediate solution. Economic policy, tax policy, and support for the poor varies across systems and governments. The government of Draconis is a popularly elected parliamentary democracy, but it is new and its institutions are still gaining strength. Social Issues: Populations across the Stellar Republic are both racially diverse and tolerant; the people of the Dominion of Unity tend to be personally tolerant even if its government is not. Romantic partnerships of widely varying configurations and arrangements are generally accepted. While many people hold religious beliefs, it’s considered gauche for a politician to use religion as an electoral lever or cite it as motivation for any particular policy.
T H E G A L A X Y
THE DRACONIS SYSTEM Draconis (formally 26 Draconis) is a trinary star system 46 light-years distant from humanity’s homeland in the Sol system. It has five major planets, two of which are habitable without life support. Known jump points exist to four nearby star systems, two in the Stellar Republic (Luyten and Gamma Corvus), and two in the Dominion of Unity (Callisto 2119 and Beta Atria, but these points are no longer actively mapped). Other uncharted jump points might exist—information on their locations would be extremely valuable. The Draconis Navigation Bureau—the agency charged with mapping these things—consists of a half-dozen overworked and underpaid astrophysicists, so that’s the best they can muster for the moment. Millions of people live here, whether on planetary surfaces or in one of the many space stations scattered through the system. Freedom from the Dominion has apparently inspired the entrepreneurial spirit— hundreds of small companies providing goods and services of all sorts have sprung up in the past two years. Mining and refining are by far the major industries, but a nascent high technology manufacturing sector is growing rapidly.
85
Y X A L A G E H T
GETTING AROUND DRACONIS Transportation throughout the Draconis system is provided by private firms that operate shuttles, passenger ships, and cargo service. Ships are classified by their size and capability, and generally fall into types like this:
∂ Atmospheric Capable: Flying through planets’ lower atmospheres and landing on planet surfaces is exclusively the domain of small ships. Shuttles carry people and cargo from planetside to orbit—sometimes docking at a space station, sometimes directly meeting up with a system ship or a starship to transfer their payload. Starfighters and small private vessels can easily perform atmospheric and landing operations. Shuttle service between Draconis Station and the planet surface is frequent, reliable, and inexpensive.
∂ System Ships: System ships are bigger spacecraft that haul people and cargo across the system. They aren’t hyperdrive equipped, which keeps their construction and maintenance costs down, and saves on needing a licensed hyperspace navigator on the crew.
∂ Starships: Starships have Chandrasekhar drives—also known as hyperdrives—and can travel from one system to another. The expense, power demands, and sheer bulk of hyperdrive equipment means only large cargo or passenger ships or big warships can utilize it.
HOW DOES HYPERSPACE WORK? In Tachyon Squadron, hyperdrives are necessary to get from one star system to another. Using a captured singularity, a miniature almost-black-hole (thus “Chandrasekhar drives,” named for astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar), they bore open a wormhole in space-time leading directly to the destination point. The distance and direction of this wormhole is governed not only by the hyperdrive’s settings but by the local gravitational topography—meaning, to jump from System A to System B, you need to get to the right point in System A, with the right velocity and direction, before you jump. These “jump points” drift and move because sources of gravity—planets, stars, moons, etc.— are constantly moving around. Most settled star systems have a Navigation Bureau whose job is to maintain accurate maps of jump points into and out of the system, but even with accurate maps you still need a trained navigator to plot your jump correctly.
86
DRACONIS SYSTEM DETAILS Draconis is a trinary system with five planets and numerous space stations. OBJECT
TYPE
NOTES
Alpha Draconis
Primary star
F9 class
Beta Draconis
Companion star
K3 class
Gamma Draconis
Companion star
M1 class red dwarf
Draconis
Planet
Earthlike rock/seawater surface
Asami
Planet
Frigid rock/ice surface
Takahashi
Planet
Tidally locked, scorched surface
Kalamos
Planet
Gas giant
Othonoi
Planet
Gas giant
Kripka Cluster
Asteroid belt
Mineral rich
STATION
LOCATION
PRIMARY PURPOSE
Draconis Station
Planet Draconis
Residential,
T H E G A L A X Y
Commercial, Military Iringa Fields
Planet Draconis
Agricultural
Draconis Hull Yards
Planet Draconis
Industrial
Asami Processing Station
Asami
Ore Processing
Outpost Diyi
Kalamos’s upper
Gas Extraction
atmosphere Arcosolari Kalamos
Kalamos
Residential
Habitat Othonoi Prime
Othonoi
Residential, Agricultural
Paczynski Station
Mutual orbit center
Science
of Alpha and Beta Draconis
87
Y X A L A G E H T
PLANET DRACONIS Day: Normal length If you were to drop a resident of Gravity: Normal Earth onto Draconis, the only thing that Climate: Variable would give them a hint they weren’t still (Earthlike—no life at home would be the slightly different support needed) smell of a planet hosting human polGeography: Earthlike lution for two hundred years instead (distinct continents of two hundred thousand years. Even surrounded by salty the local flora and fauna are similar oceans, wide variety to Earth’s. Well over five million peoof landforms) ple live in and around the main city Population: Over one of Prime Landing, which is located hundred million in a wide temperate valley along a large freshwater lake. Many square kilometers of the planet are devoted to agriculture, making the planet self-sufficient for food. A small but growing high-technology manufacturing industry exists on the planet, which would be an important target for any attacker. These situation aspects are suitable for scenes on Draconis: WIDE OPEN SPACES; BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY
88
Things to do on Draconis: DVG pilots don’t get leave often, but when they get a few days off, favorite pastimes include spending a couple days basking on a beach in the planet’s resort towns, hitting the ski slopes, or partaking in Prime Landing’s night life. In the event of a Dominion attack on the planet, Tachyon Squadron will have to defend the new factories springing up outside of Prime Landing or escort shuttles to and from the planet surface.
PLANET ASAMI Day: 61 hours The planet Asami is a frozen wasteGravity: Normal land, with endless ice plains swept by Climate: Frigid, permanent blizzard conditions. The light stormy, breathable of Beta Draconis, an orange dwarf star, atmosphere provides little warmth even in the height Geography: Iceof “summer”—and the other two stars covered plains, a of the Draconis trinary, even mighty few mountains Alpha Draconis, are too distant to be Population: A few more than bright points in the night sky. thousand in mining The air is breathable but equipment to settlements guard against the cold is essential. Most people on Asami are miners working in one of the half-dozen or so mining settlements that have pierced the snow and ice and accessed the planet’s vast mineral wealth. The mines are operated by rival companies Cherenkov Ventures and Deep Space Minerals Inc., but unlicensed wildcat operations pop up from time to time. The only non-mining settlement is Mosilli Outpost, a science station staffed by between 10-20 scientists. These situation aspects are suitable for scenes on Asami: DIM AND DREARY, COLD WITHOUT MERCY, MINERAL WEALTH GOES TO THE STRONG
T H E G A L A X Y
Things to do on Asami: Asami is ripe for infiltration by the Dominion. It’s a big planet with very little human settlement, and millions of square kilometers to hide military activity. The same goes for criminals, pirates, or separatists, and it’s likely that Tachyon Squadron will be called upon to drive away pirates, bandits, or other hostiles at some point.
89
Y X A L A G E H T
PLANET TAKAHASHI Takahashi is an airless, tidally locked world close to Alpha Draconis. It would be unremarkable but for a mine run by Cherenkov Ventures located on the night side; the ships shuttling supplies, workers, and ore to and from the mine must carry heavy shielding against solar radiation. These situation aspects are suitable for scenes on Takahashi: TIDAL LOCKED, LIGHT GRAVITY, NO ATMOSPHERE, RUGGED MOUNTAINS, DEEP CREVASSES, SCORCHING SUN
Day: Tidal locked (permanent day, permanent night) Gravity: Light gravity Climate: No atmosphere, scorched by Alpha Draconis Geography: Rugged mountains, deep crevasses Population: <100
Things to do on Takahashi: In the event of piracy or Dominion raids, the DVG will have to defend the mine and traffic to and from it. Additionally, Cherenkov Ventures’ operations on Takahashi are operating well outside the company’s legal charter and have extensive organized crime links.
KRIPKA ASTEROID CLUSTER (ASTEROID BELT)
Prominent Asteroids: Lopez, Medupe, Shoujing Population: Thousands, scattered across dozens of mining outposts
The Kripka Asteroid Cluster is a giant region dense with asteroids and other debris. The entire region is exceedingly rich in valuable minerals, so a great number of tiny mining outposts and operations have sprung up, most run by Deep Space Minerals Inc. and Cherenkov Ventures, whose intense rivalry sometimes breaks out into violence. Unlicensed wildcat operations add another variable to an already explosive situation. The cluster is the perfect environment for hiding Dominion or pirate outposts. These situation aspects are suitable for scenes in the Kripka Asteroid Cluster: RADIO INTERFERENCE , DANGEROUS NAVIGATION
Things to do in the Kripka Asteroid Cluster: The region is lawless and requires regular patrols. It’s an ideal location for enemies to establish bases, which will require strike missions to destroy.
90
T H E G A L A X Y
DRACONIS STATION (SPACE STATION)
Location: In orbit of the planet Draconis Purpose: Residence, government, commerce, transportation hub, military base Population: Twenty thousand, with thousands of visitors/ travelers daily
Draconis Station is the heart of activity in the system. The system government is centered here—the governor and elected System Council legislature have their main offices here, as does the Draconis Navy and the Customs Service. Many companies have their main system offices on Draconis Station, and thousands of people live here full-time. It’s a fully functional city in space, with extensive residential and retail-level commercial and entertainment facilities, including shopping, restaurants, cinema, sports and recreation venues. A bar called the Spacer’s Rest is the unofficial hangout for Tachyon Squadron pilots and crews; other squadrons in the DVG have their own favored watering holes.
91
Y X A L A G E H T
It’s the transportation hub of the system. The vast majority of interstellar travel originates or terminates at Draconis Station, and facilities exist for up to twenty large ships to be docked at the same time. Bays for many dozen planetary shuttles and system shuttles allow thousands to come and go daily. The headquarters of the DVG is assigned to Draconis Station, so squadrons of starfighters call the station home—and it is the permanent home base for Tachyon Squadron. Not that the station is a rose garden from end to end, of course. It’s big enough to have its share of social ills. The station law enforcement is known to favor peace over justice. Organized crime and corruption are firmly entrenched in certain segments of industry and population—the customs service is notoriously corrupt, which is why the governor sometimes asks DVG personnel to fill in, hoping their outsider’s perspective will help wash out local politics and unlawful arrangements. These situation aspects are suitable for scenes on Draconis Station: BUSTLING CORRIDORS, A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING
92
Things to do on Draconis Station: While stationed at Draconis Station, pilots will fly all sorts of missions—space lane patrols, anti-piracy escort duty, station defense, and search and rescue are all common. There are always at least two starfighters of the DVG in space near the station and another two on alert, ready to take off at a moment’s notice. Outside the cockpit, there are other missions pilots will have to fulfill. Pilots are often asked to assist with cargo inspection and customs enforcement. They have been used as backup station law enforcement, especially against existential threats to the government such as Dominion spies and organized crime figures. Piracy in the system is a major problem, and there are known links between pirate bands and the criminal element on Draconis Station and elsewhere. In their leisure time, many Tachyon Squadron pilots hang out at the Spacer’s Rest. Recreational facilities include all the sorts of things you’d expect in a bustling town: theaters and live music, bars, restaurants, sports (both participatory and spectator), shopping, etc.
IRINGA FIELDS (SPACE STATION)
Location: In orbit of the planet Draconis Purpose: Agriculture and food production Population: Almost one hundred
Iringa is a small agricultural space station a short shuttle hop from Draconis Station. Three small domed pods grow a variety of hydroponic crops mostly consumed by the residents of Draconis Station. Iringa was the first station built upon settling the system over two hundred years ago—it is in dire need of serious renovation or even replacement. These situation aspects are suitable for scenes on Iringa Fields: SHOWING ITS AGE
T H E G A L A X Y
Things to do on Iringa Fields: In the past, Iringa would have been a prime target of anyone seeking to damage Draconis Station’s food supply, but with Habitat Othonoi Prime taking over much of the space-based food production it’s not quite the inviting target it once was. Still, its loss due to enemy action or sheer mechanical breakdown would be a significant short-term problem, so Tachyon Squadron will need to pay a visit sooner or later.
DRACONIS HULL YARDS (SPACE STATION)
Location: In orbit of the planet Draconis Purpose: Ship construction and repair Population: Almost five hundred
A trio of close-proximity stations totaling about half the size of Draconis Station, the Draconis Hull Yards are a shipbuilding facility in orbit of the planet Draconis, operated by Polaris Spacefaring Inc. The Yards produce system ships, and there are rumors that they might begin producing starfighter space frames here. Several hundred construction engineers and technicians live here for monthlong shifts, along with a few dozen military and security personnel. These situation aspects are suitable for scenes on Draconis Hull Yards: HEAVY INDUSTRY, DANGEROUS MACHINERY
Things to do at the Hull Yards: Defending the Draconis Hull Yards is a major strategic goal of the DVG, so Tachyon Squadron pilots will be ordered to defend the station at any cost in the event of attack. Any sign of infiltration and sabotage must be investigated.
93
Y X A L A G E H T
ASAMI PROCESSING STATION (APS)
Location: In orbit of the planet Asami Purpose: Ore processing Population: 300
A space station in orbit of the planet Asami, APS is entirely devoted to ore processing from the mines on the surface. Docking services are for ore shuttles and cargo ships only; unless you declare an emergency or make other prior arrangements, expect your docking requests to be denied. The government of Draconis owns the station and leases processing time and equipment to companies like Deep Space Minerals Inc. and Cherenkov Ventures. Given its military significance, the station has recently had an antiship torpedo battery installed, staffed by a tiny crew of freshly trained Draconis Navy personnel. These situation aspects are suitable for scenes on APS: DANGEROUS EQUIPMENT EVERYWHERE, DON’T DISRUPT THE PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
Things to do on APS: This station represents a major part of the government’s income and industrial production, making it a prime—and militarily legal, under the laws of armed conflict—target. (Not that the Dominion of Unity cares a great deal about the laws of armed conflict.) Defense of APS is a high priority for Tachyon Squadron, and indeed the entire Volunteer Group and fledgling Draconis Navy.
OUTPOST DIYI (FLOATING PLATFORM)
Location: Kalamos Purpose: Gas extraction Population: 200
The gas giant Kalamos is dominated by wide bands of rust-colored and white cloud banks, which provide the home of Kalamos Outpost Diyi. Over two hundred people live and work aboard this floating gas extraction platform that wanders the upper atmosphere. Operated by Lantian Mandarin Chemicals Inc., the outpost gathers and refines a variety of valuable gasses; shuttles fly the refined gas into orbit, where they transfer it to tankers. The outpost hovers at an altitude where workers require supplemental oxygen but not pressure suits. These situation aspects are suitable for scenes on Outpost Diyi: VERY LONG DAYS, HIGHLY VARIABLE WINDS, THIN OXYGEN
Things to do at Outpost Diyi: Investigation of infiltration or espionage aboard Outpost Diyi is vital to system security.
94
ARCOSOLARI KALAMOS (SPACE STATION)
Location: In orbit of the planet Kalamos Purpose: Residential, technical Population: 5000
A residential station orbiting Kalamos, “The Arco” was originally designed as a retreat for people preferring to live in space but not in the bustling Draconis Station. It’s become a hub of loyalist politics, with many of the residents wanting Draconis to return to Dominion rule. These situation aspects are suitable for scenes on the Arco: CRAMPED CORRIDORS, POLITICAL TINDERBOX
T H E G A L A X Y
Things to do on Arcosolari Kalamos: The political situation aboard the Arco is potentially explosive, and there’s a chance that the station could house fifth columnists who will be a vector for Dominion infiltration or outright invasion. This is an issue that will need to be addressed very soon.
95
Y X A L A G E H T
HABITAT OTHONOI PRIME (SPACE STATION)
Location: In orbit of the planet Othonoi Purpose: Agriculture Population: 3000
A complex of space stations orbiting the gas giant Othonoi, “The Hab,” as it’s called, is home to three thousand full-time residents, and hosts the largest orbiting agricultural installation in the system. The five independent sections are connected by flexible tubing that delivers electrical power, communications, and electric zip shuttles between the sections. Dozens of square kilometers of hydroponic fields grow all sorts of crops. Two scoop shuttles occasionally harvest hydrogen and oxygen from Othonoi’s upper atmosphere to provide water for the crops. The food produced on the Hab can easily feed the space-borne population of the Draconis system; only farms on the surface of Draconis itself produce more. These situation aspects are suitable for scenes on the Hab: AMBER WAVES OF HYDROPONICALLY GROWN GRAIN
Things to do on Habitat Othonoi Prime: The Hab is a top defensive priority of the Draconis Volunteer Group, so Tachyon Squadron would be ordered to defend it at all costs against a direct attack or sabotage.
PACZYNSKI STATION (SPACE STATION) Paczynski is a scientific survey station very nearly at the center of the mutual orbit point of Alpha Draconis and Beta Draconis. It’s crewed by two dozen scientists and technicians at any given time.
Location: At the point of mutual orbit of Alpha and Beta Draconis Purpose: Science and research Population: 25
Things to do on Paczynski Station: Paczynski is vulnerable to takeover by any unsavory characters who might want it—a turn of events that Tachyon Squadron would want to disrupt.
96
COMBAT PILOTS AT WAR War quickly brings into very sharp focus exactly what’s important and what isn’t. For pilots, they immediately face severe limitations on material resources and, perhaps more importantly, time.
THE ROUTINE Most days tend to settle into a fairly standard routine. When their duty shift starts, pilots attend a briefing first thing to learn about new threat assessments and missions for the day. They fly a mission and, time allowing, spend a few hours on ready alert in case additional ships need to be scrambled. Once the duty shift is over, pilots can pursue whatever activities they wish. Usually sleep figures prominently in this, but recreation, doing extra maintenance, and such is important too.
97
R A W T A S T O L I P T A B M O C
MISSIONS The pilots’ primary job is, of course, to fly their starfighters. All DVG pilots are assigned an SF-46 D “Blackfish” multirole starfighter—it’s a tough ship that fought with distinction for the Republic in the Great Galactic War, and rarely lets its crews down. There are faster starfighters out there, there are starfighters that look sexier and carry bigger guns, but the Blackfish is a good, solid bird. Fly it with pride and confidence. Attention GMs: Guidelines for running these various missions can be found in “Constructing Engagements” on page 112.
∂
Combat Patrol: Many missions are simple defensive patrols. Defended bases, such as Draconis Station, ensure there are always at least a pair of fighters in the sky at any given time, with another pair on alert ready to scramble. Similar are space lane patrols, which can last for many hours—fighters cruise the common travel routes of commercial and civilian ship traffic, discouraging piracy, intercepting surprise Dominion raids, and rendering assistance when requested.
∂ Search and Rescue: When another ship gets into trouble, starfighters of Tachyon Squadron are often the best positioned to lend a hand. Disabled pleasure yachts, marooned pilots who ejected from doomed starfighters, a cargo ship fighting a major engine fire, or any of a thousand other possible disasters. Get your sensors fired up and keep an eye out for ambushes. Your SF-46D Blackfish starfighter contains a rescue chamber capable of holding a single person.
98
C O M B A T P I L O T S A T W A R
∂
Interception: A group of enemy ships has been detected, and your mission is to disrupt their mission. Wipe them out, scatter them, send ‘em home with their tails between their legs—anything you can do to ensure they can’t carry out their mission, whatever it is.
∂ Strike: There’s your target—maybe it’s an enemy capital ship, or a space station, or an asteroid base. Whatever it is, they’re not paying you to bring home unspent munitions. Take it out.
∂
Fighter Sweep: Your flight is assigned a region of space. Engage and destroy enemy starfighters in this region.
∂
Escort: The job of an escort mission is to ensure that a particular ship (or ships) reaches their destination intact. This may involve elements of the other missions—patrols, interceptions, sweeps, etc.
∂
Customs Inspection: DVG pilots are sometimes asked to perform inspections of freighter starship cargo contents. Generally this only happens when the freighter is carrying material that is pertinent to the pilots’ areas of expertise: ship parts, munitions and weapons, etc. If any contraband is found, the pilots should hold the crew until proper authorities arrive to take over.
∂
Informal Investigations: Several organizations and movements in the system might attempt to infiltrate various facilities around the system, to the detriment of the DVG’s mission in Draconis. These include various pirate organizations, organized crime, loyalist or separatist radicals, and Dominion spies. Pilots of Tachyon Squadron, and their DVG sister squadrons, may sometimes take investigations on themselves if the governmental authorities seem incapable or unwilling.
99
R A W T A S T O L I P T A B M O C
OFF DUTY Once you’re off duty, your time is yours—spend it wisely. Usually there’s only time to perform two of these activities before you need to be back in the briefing room for the next duty shift. Time, material, and money are resources to keep an eye on here. Things that cost time:
∂ Recover from stress: Decompress ∂ Recover from stress: Raise hell ∂ Fix your ship ∂ Go shopping ∂ Nose around ∂ Visit the doctor ∂ Sleep ∂ Other Other activities, such as buying Axion Squadron’s techs a few cases of beer so they’ll fix your ship, meeting with the Skipper to request a few days’ leave, and such don’t cost time—but might cost you some money or other resources or put you under some debt. The GM can make these judgment calls, or players can make suggestions—this might be a good opportunity to compel a troublesome character aspect or two.
100
C O M B A T P I L O T S A T W A R
RECOVER FROM STRESS THROUGH DISCIPLINE (ALWAYS DO THIS!) The first thing to do after a mission—not just a mission, but any scene where you take on stress—is attempt to dispel that stress. Make an overcome roll with Discipline vs. a difficulty equal to the amount of stress you have. The difficulty maxes out at 5, even if your stress track is longer because of a stunt.
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂
If you fail: Keep your stress, or get rid of it at some serious cost. If you tie: Lose half your stress (round down), or you succeed at some mild cost. If you succeed: Remove all your stress. If you succeed with style: Remove all your stress, and take a boost for use in the next scene that reflects your exceptionally chill and unflappable mental state.
This attempt costs you no time at all.
RECOVER FROM STRESS THROUGH DECOMPRESSION Mental tension builds as waves of fear and immense stress wash over pilots. Between missions, it is essential that pilots rest and recover. Blowing off steam in a healthy way is essential. As discussed in “Aspect 2: Decompression” (page 16), stress doesn’t automatically go away. If you can’t clear stress using Discipline, an option is to spend a fate point and describe how you use your healthy decompression aspect to get back to mental and emotional equilibrium, then clear your stress.
RECOVER FROM STRESS BY RAISING HELL It seems that blowing off steam in an unhealthy way works too. Accept a fate point, describe how you’re engaging in the vice defined by your decompression aspect, watch your stress melt away, and describe how it gets you into trouble.
101
R A W T A S T O L I P T A B M O C
FIX YOUR SHIP Tachyon Squadron’s maintenance staff are skilled and resourceful technicians; they’re able to repair up to 6 instances of damage between duty shifts. (Restoring shields is five minutes of work, tops, and doesn’t count.) No need to roll for it, they do their work and they’re done. They do this without pilots needing to spend any time on it. Keep in mind that 6 instances is a grand total—so if you took 4 instances and your buddy took 3, there’s one thing they aren’t going to be able to get to. That’s when pilots might need to take some action. Convincing another squadron’s technical staff to work on your bird might be doable, but you’ll definitely owe them a favor. Usually this sort of arrangement is a quick conversation, and also doesn’t count as one of the two activities a pilot undertakes after hours unless extenuating circumstances come up. If you can’t get someone else to do it, you might have to do it yourself. This requires time and skill—make an overcome action with Technology, and if your result is Fair (+2) or better you succeed in permanently repairing one instance of damage. That’s if you can fix it at all—Tachyon Squadron is on a shoestring budget and the right replacement parts aren’t always available. Can you scrape together the funds to buy a high pressure bypass valve from the civilian maintenance pool? Where are you going to find twenty gallons of neutrino absorption fluid at this time of night? This is how fixing your ship turns into a shopping trip.
GO SHOPPING We don’t mean picking up some groceries. This activity is when you try to obtain really hard-to-find items, usually through less-than-official channels. The squadron is out of Vortex missiles, but you heard a rumor that the mob boss on Draconis Station knows where to get a few. You arrange to meet a guy to import that sweet blaster carbine you’ve had your eye on.
NOSE AROUND The pilots of Tachyon Squadron might need to get curious sometimes, even if—maybe especially if—you haven’t been officially ordered to. Why do flights of Dominion ships always seem to know where your patrols are going? Who’s that guy who keeps snapping furtive pics of you in the corridors? And what’s the deal with Graviton Squadron always getting first dibs on resupply? Go forth and investigate.
102
C O M B A T P I L O T S A T W A R
VISIT THE DOCTOR Combat isn’t safe. Injuries happen. Even if you can still fly with that mild or moderate consequence, it’s a bad idea. Stop in at the clinic and get it checked out. Recovering from consequences follows the rules as outlined in Fate Core System (page 164). Medical facilities typically have a +4 bonus to overcome actions justifying recovery from physical and mental consequences. Characters may attempt to create advantages to help with these rolls as usual. Draconis Station sickbay and major surface settlements such as the city of Prime Landing all have a FULL TRAUMA CENTER, a situation aspect you can invoke in the usual ways.
SLEEP Don’t neglect sleep. Pilots have to be mentally sharp, and the brain fog that results from skipping sleep might get you killed. If you skip a night’s sleep, you gain 2 shifts of damage in the morning that you can’t recover from until you sleep. The second consecutive night you miss sleep, it’s 4, the third it’s 6, and so on until you absolutely MUST sleep.
OTHER Players can describe their pilots doing any other sort of activity— cooking a nice meal, playing video games, working out, spending time with a significant other, etc.—that doesn’t have strong mechanical or even story implications, but requires significant time. Don’t discount the importance of these moments in adding to your pilot’s characterization and enriching their liveliness as characters.
103
R A W T A S T O L I P T A B M O C
Gunner, Nails, and Nok all got shot up something fierce in their last engagement, and have some stress to recover from. Nok has 2 points of stress on her stress track. She makes an overcome action with the Discipline skill: [+0-+ (+1), Discipline skill +2.] Nok gets Good (+3), which is greater than the Fair (+2) she needed to recover from the 2 points of stress. Gunner is carrying 4 points of stress. She tries a Discipline overcome action, but fails. She now has two options: live with it, or decompress. She opts to decompress. Carrie looks at the character sheet and sees that Gunner’s decompression aspect is MY T HERAPIST F IXES ME RIGHT UP/ Y OU THOUGHT I LOVED YOU?. Carrie has a stack of fate points to spend and doesn’t really care to play through a romantic misunderstanding right now, so she spends a fate point. “I think I spend my next couple of evenings talking to my therapist,” she says.
104
Nails got hit hard, and his stress track is totally full (5 points)—which means he needs a Superb (+5) result or better with a Discipline overcome action. Lenny rolls the dice, and it’s not even close. So, he has some options: live with it, decompress, or raise hell. Nails’s decompression aspect is POOL SHARK /HEAVY DRINKER. Lenny looks at the single fate point token sitting in front of him; he doesn’t want to spend that, so he opts to raise some hell. “So, what if I show up at my next duty shift hung over?” The GM responds, “How about you sleep through the briefing while hung over and show up to fly with no idea what’s going on?” and holds up a fate point token. Lenny takes the token. “I am in sooo much trouble…”
C O M B A T P I L O T S A T W A R
LIFE IN TACHYON SQUADRON While assigned to Draconis Station (home base to all three squadrons of the Draconis Volunteer Group), pilots have accommodations other warriors might consider downright luxurious. Each pilot has a private apartment aboard the station, paid for by the government as part of their compensation. Medical care, physical and mental, is free for DVG pilots and staff. Draconis Station is a major commercial and transportation hub, and there are always things going on and things to do when off duty—entertainment of all sorts, restaurants and bars, sports (both participatory and spectator), inexpensive shuttle service to and from the planet’s surface and its luxury resorts for when a pilot can manage to get leave for a few days. Pilots are paid reasonably well—in Republic credits, which merchants aboard the station are eager to accept—and they earn bonuses for confirmed victories over enemy ships. Living is considerably more austere when assigned away from Draconis Station on temporary deployments or on long-range missions. Pilots may need to spend two or three days in the cockpits of their fighters on extremely long-range patrols. Accommodations aboard far-flung stations or fighter tender ships are spartan at best, downright dangerous at worst.
105
R A W T A S T O L I P T A B M O C
MONEY AND COMMERCE Tachyon Squadron pilots are paid monthly in Republic credits (the official currency of the Draconis System). Housing, basic food, basic gear, and medical care are free for squadron personnel. In Tachyon Squadron , we assume that the monthly pay covers routine living expenses plus putting some away in savings. If you want to buy something extra, you’ll need to find the money for it. If you come into a bit of money, you represent it with an aspect like WINDFALL, BONUS, etc. Invoke it to purchase a bit of gear, to pay off a debt, bribe the squadron quartermaster, or to represent some other way you drop a non-trivial quantity of dough. Once you invoke it, it’s gone. You can build up invokes on this aspect like you can any other. Similarly, if you find you owe some money, you might wind up with DEBT—this won’t go away until you discharge the debt somehow. How do pilots make a little scratch when they need it? A BONUS is paid (with one free invoke) when you score your 5th, 10th, 20th, etc. victory. Those with the skill can make a bit of money playing cards or hustling billiards at the Spacer’s Rest or some other watering hole. More than one pilot in military history has had a lucrative side business dealing in smuggled or stolen goods. The DVG’s leadership would look very unkindly on anything illegal, of course.
MILITARY NICETIES Pilots in Tachyon Squadron are not technically military personnel. You are, legally, civilian contractors (the less charitable might call you a “mercenary,” but that’s considered highly impolite) and are not subject to military discipline. There’s no saluting and uniform inspections and many of the other things a military pilot might be used to. That said, the chain of command is still a thing. You’re expected to obey orders in combat and if you have a problem you take it up through your squadron commander, rather than going straight to the DVG commander or Draconis political leadership. Also, local law enforcement won’t hesitate to bust you for getting out of line, and your squadron commander sure won’t be happy about it. The support of the Draconis people is vital to the DVG’s mission. Don’t mess that up.
106
GMING TACHYON SQUADRON To run a good game of Tachyon Squadron, you need to think about the game’s issues and themes, applications of new rules (such as the engagement), and constructing scenes. Lucky for you, this chapter covers all those things.
ISSUES AND THEMES Throwing a handful of starfighters at the PCs isn’t terribly difficult using the mechanics already discussed, but getting them all hanging together as a coherent story works best when using issues and story questions discussed in Fate Core System (page 22 for issues, page 232 for story questions). To get you started, we provide some examples of both here. Additionally, there are some overarching themes that act a bit like Fate Core issues but don’t get resolved the same way issues do. These themes are always there—sometimes one or another comes to the fore, but none of them ever really go away.
107
N O R D A U Q S N O Y H C A T G N I M G
CURRENT ISSUE: DISUNITY AND SEPARATISM Not every resident of the Draconis system is happy with the current political situation. Some people—the loyalists—never wanted to break away from the Dominion, and some of them have taken up arms. Some radicals want to separate themselves completely from any government. Both groups implement terrorism as a favorite tactic, and the loyalists often cooperate with Dominion forces, operating militias and small flights of obsolete starfighters. The example campaign arc, “Defense of Arcosolari Kalamos” (page 165), assumes this issue and several story questions are relevant. LOYALISTS ON ARCOSOLARI K ALAMOS RESENT TACHYON SQUADRON PERSONNEL This aspect assumes that the PCs rotate to a temporary assignment as station garrison. Some story questions that would be relevant include:
∂ How will the PCs confront the loyalists? ∂ Can the PCs stay in Lopez’s good graces? ∂ Can the PCs convince Price to take action against the loyalists? ∂ Can the PCs find the source of the unsanctioned transmissions? ∂ Can the PCs root out the loyalist mole? ∂ Do the PCs aggravate or alleviate political tension with their actions? ∂ Can the PCs prevent intel from going out to the Dominion? ∂ Can the PCs prevent the Dominion attack on the station? IMPENDING ISSUE: PIRACY AND LAWLESSNESS Some troublemakers aren’t at all political and are just out to make a buck. Bands of heavily armed pirates scrape out a living in the far reaches of the system, preying on nonmilitary shipping. They fence the stolen goods, they sell or use stolen ships, and they ransom kidnapped crew and passengers. You’re not even completely safe within established settlements. Petty crime happens across Draconis, just like every other system, but the real danger is organized crime. Well-organized criminal organizations entrenched themselves here during the waning days of Dominion influence in the system, when the rule of law began to collapse. Now, criminal gangs engage in all sorts of smuggling—often bringing in illicit arms and selling them to pirates, separatists, and loyalists. Criminal gangs aren’t likely to send starfighters after you, like pirates and loyalists might, but they can bribe local officials, influence public opinion against the DVG, and cause all sorts of trouble for pilots aboard station and planetside.
PIRATES ARE RAIDING SHIPPING AND TAKING HOSTAGES
108
This issue is addressed in the example campaign arc “The Pirates of the Kepler Valley” (page 159).
FUTURE ISSUE: ORGANIZED CRIME Organized crime is both a problem and a solution. They buy off politicians and cops, they smuggle illicit and dangerous goods, they do business with really unsavory people that the Draconis government wants to put in jail at best. But before you just go arrest them all, remember that they’re the most reliable source for guided missiles when supply shipments don’t come in from the Republic. And they have incriminating info that might bring down the government.
FUTURE ISSUE: MISTRUST AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY
G M I N G T A C H Y O N S Q U A D R O N
What happens when the Draconis government government might want the DVG out? Most Draconis residents are glad to be free of the Dominion, but not all of them are happy that the DVG is in system. “Mercenaries,” they’ll say. say. They point to the trouble DVG pilots cause. They mistrust warriors with, as they see it, no stake in the war’s outcome, who are here to collect a paycheck, gain some glory for themselves, raise hell, and leave. The fact that DVG pilots are generally paid better than the recruits in the fledgling Draconis Navy doesn’t help matters much. Mistrustful locals aren’t likely to attack anyone, but they can make life a real headache for off-duty pilots.
CONSISTENT THEME: UNDERFUNDED UNDERFUNDED,, UNDEREQUIPPED, AND UNDERSTAFFED Officially, the Stellar Republic only supports the Draconis government—and the DVG—with feel-good rhetoric, not with material support. In practice, they send munitions when they can, but it has to go through enough front organizations to maintain plausible deniability. deniability. That means the DVG, including Tachyon Squadron, is constantly short of parts and materials necessary to fight the war. Consider the situation aspect SHOESTRING BUDGET to be in effect whenever pilots need to resupply and repair. It funnels valuable fate points to the players and encourages them to come up with creative solutions.
CONSISTENT THEME: THE GRIND War grinds you down. Mission after mission after mission, with little to no break in between, pushes the pilots to the edge of their endurance.
109
N O R D A U Q S N O Y H C A T G N I M G
CONSISTENT THEME: DOMINION COUNTERATTACKS The whole point of the Draconis Volunteer Group is to preserve the independence of Draconis from the Dominion of Unity, so it’s no surprise that Dominion forces are frequent opposition. The Dominion sends fighter sweeps to engage DVG starfighters. They attempt to establish forward bases on far-flung asteroids and remote planets. They harass civilian shipping and perform economic denial strikes. Their intelligence operatives infiltrate settlements and stations throughout the system. They may even mount a direct assault on Draconis Station or settlements on the surface of Draconis itself. No matter what issue is currently facing the pilots of Tachyon Squadron, the Dominion of Unity is their primary and deadliest foe. Everything— everything—happens everything —happens against a backdrop of impending or currently occurring Dominion attacks.
CONSISTENT THEME: RIVALRIES
110
The DVG is composed of three starfighter squadrons. The PCs are assigned to Tachyon Squadron. Two others—Graviton Squadron and Axion Squadron—also Squadron—also fight for Draconis, but of course a healthy rivalry among the three has developed. Most of the time this rivalry is friendly, confined to taunts and snide comments and some elaborate practical jokes. jokes. But But lately lately there’ there’ss a rumor rumor that that Axion Axion Squadron Squadron will soon receive receive an upgrade to their fighters—a newer model, the SF-48A Mako starfighter. Since that rumor started, a bit of real animosity has crept into things. Crews from other squadrons aren’t a ren’t terribly welcome in other squadron’s favorite hangout bars. Fights have broken out. Thefts of materials and munitions have occurred.
G M I N G T A C H Y O N S Q U A D R O N
ENGAGEMENTS The engagement is the heart of Tachyon Squadron games. Here’s how to get swirling clouds of starfighters spinning in their deadly dance.
COMPONENTS OF THE OPPOSITION Enemy fleets are built from several components:
∂ Starfighters: These represent real threats to the PC pilots. They often come in flights of two or four, and sometimes include an enemy ace.
∂ The Swarm: The swarm is represented by a stack of aspects with free invokes the GM can use to make her attacks more dangerous.
∂ Strike Element: One or more flights of strike fighters, usually in flights of two, that can fire at enemy starfighters.
∂
Capital Ships: One or more large ships—destroyers, ships—destroyers, cruisers, etc.— that directly threaten enemy starfighters.
∂ The Payload: Ships that are targets for enemy action. Maybe this is a cargo ship, an assault shuttle carrying infantry, or some other resource to be protected.
111
N O R D A U Q S N O Y H C A T G N I M G
CONSTRUCTING ENGAGEMENTS Building up enemy forces is the first step in running a good engagement. Consider the type of mission you want and how difficult you want the mission to be, and use that to build the opposition fleet. Stats for all listed ships can be found in Ships to Fly and People to Meet (page 121). In any description, the letter N represents the number of PC pilots in the engagement. In every case, the suggested opposition composition is just a suggestion. To adjust the difficulty, adjust the size of the swarm (or eliminate it entirely), or add additional ships. Add an enemy ace or two—named and recognizable—to make it memorable and difficult. Change Goblins to Gators for an easier time. COMBAT PATROL, FIGHTER SWEEP
A combat patrol is a defensive mission, with pilots patrolling an area (the space nearby a space station or planet, a heavily traveled space lane, etc.) and defending it from attack. A fighter sweep is the flipside of this mission, when fighters are sent to attack a combat patrol.
∂
Composition ∂ Starfighters: N/2 flights of 2 Goblins (round up) ∂ Swarm: 2 * N ∂ Strike element: 1 flight of 2 Gorgons, optional (add 2 starfighters if no strike element)
∂
Difficulty ∂ Easy mode: The starfighter section is Gators ∂ Hard mode: N flights of Goblins ∂ Really hard mode: N flights of Goblins with 1 or 2 enemy aces
The GM wants Nails, Gunner, and Nok to fly a hard fighter sweep. The enemy lineup would consist of:
112
∂
3 flights of 2 DF-112 Goblins (because 3 player character pilots)
∂
A swarm of 6, arranged into 3 aspects each with 2 invokes: HAMMER SQUADRON A, HAMMER SQUADRON B, HAMMER SQUADRON C (total of 6 invokes, because that’s 2 times 3 player character pilots)
∂
1 flight of 2 DA-108 Gorgons (could eliminate this and add another flight of Goblins)
Because no enemy pilots are elite, all the Goblins and Gorgons will use simple damage. Still, this will be a tough fight.
INTERCEPTION
This mission involves intercepting an enemy strike force with the goal of eliminating its strike element before it can attack its target. Remember that the strike element here shouldn’t use its consumable munitions against the intercepting fighters—it’s supposed to use them against whatever its target is.
∂
Composition ∂ Starfighters: N/2 flights of 2 Goblins ∂ Swarm: 2 * N ∂ Strike element: 2 flights of 2 Gorgons armed with fusion warheads
∂
Difficulty ∂ Easy mode: The starfighter section is Gators ∂ Hard mode: N flights of Goblins with 1 or 2 enemy aces ∂ Really hard mode: N flights of Goblins with 1 or 2 enemy aces, a frigate capital ship
G M I N G T A C H Y O N S Q U A D R O N
STRIKE
The PC pilots are to strike at a large target, like a capital ship or installation, ideally destroying it.
∂
Composition ∂ Starfighters: N/2 flights of 2 Goblins ∂ Swarm: 2 * N ∂ Capital Ship: 1 frigate
∂
Difficulty ∂ Easy mode: The starfighter section is Gators ∂ Hard mode: N flights of 2 Goblins, swarm of 3 * N, or capital ship is a destroyer ∂ Really hard mode: Capital ship is a battlecruiser or installation
ESCORT
The inversion of a strike or interception.
∂
Composition ∂ Starfighters: N/2 flights of 2 Goblins ∂ Strike element: 2 flights of 2 Gorgons ∂ Swarm: 3 * N ∂ Payload: 1 cargo ship (friendly)
∂
Difficulty ∂ Easy mode: Swarm of 2 * N ∂ Hard mode: N flights of 2 Goblins, 1 or 2 enemy aces ∂ Really hard mode: N flights of 2 Goblins, 1 or 2 enemy aces, and 1 frigate
113
N O R D A U Q S N O Y H C A T G N I M G
HOW TO USE THE SWARM The swarm is represented by a set of aspects with free invokes. The aspects represent flights of fighters—label them with a squadron name and a flight letter (Dominion squadron nicknames are typically swaggering, overwrought Sturm und Drang stuff). The strength of the swarm is how many total invokes it gets, with two invokes being placed on each aspect. For example, if a Dominion fleet gets a swarm of strength 8, that’s four aspects with two free invokes each. The GM labels the aspects:
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂
DEVIL’S TEETH SQUADRON A Invokes: DEVIL’S TEETH SQUADRON B Invokes: IRON FIST SQUADRON A Invokes: IRON FIST SQUADRON B Invokes:
The GM may use the free invokes on any action except defend actions, and may use no more than two on any one action. Once the free invokes are used, the aspect remains, but as with any other situation aspect it requires a fate point to invoke.
TACTICS Opposition ships are extremely aggressive. They go for quick kills, focusing on particular individuals if they can. Use swarm aspects to get on the tail of your target, and hammer them until they’re gone. Hit as hard as you can. Don’t hold back, don’t pull your punches.
CONCESSIONS Once there is no reasonable hope for the enemy to achieve their battle objectives, think hard about running. This is especially true if there is an enemy ace present—if at all possible, keep them alive as a foil and rival to the PCs. A typical concession might be to allow the PCs to take out remaining non-ace enemy ships but have the rest escape. If the PCs won’t accept any concession at all, drive hard to destroy at least one more ship—then start pushing on the desperation and scarcity themes. They can’t afford to lose ships.
RECURRING VILLAINS
114
Recurring villains, especially enemy aces, make for memorable games. The Dominion broadcasts propaganda into the system and plays up the exploits of its top pilots—make sure the PCs hear about that. Give the ace a nickname, make sure the PCs can identify their ship in combat.
OUT-OF-COCKPIT ENCOUNTERS There’s plenty of things to do aboard the station. Typically PCs can perform two time-consuming actions between missions—see “Off Duty” on on page 100. 100. Here are a few from that list that have particular potential for out-of-cockpit out-of-cockpit encounters:
∂ Go shopping ∂ Nose around ∂ Raise hell
G M I N G T A C H Y O N S Q U A D R O N
Additionally, the Customs Inspection mission is a great opportunity to get pilots out of the cockpit and into the fire. In general, construct these scenes according to the guidelines in Scenes, Sessions, and Scenarios on Scenarios on page 225 of Fate Core System. Here are some ideas to get you started. GO SHOPPING
Maybe the PC is interested in a military grade high-pressure bypass pump, or a not-entirely-legal AI sight for her blaster carbine. Whatever the case, consider where they might get it. What aspects do they have that suggest contacts with “interesting” people? What motivations would those people have? How can you spin that to make life interesting for the PC and their comrades? NOSE AROUND
Maybe the station security chief is riding the squadron’s ass. He’s He’s giving pilots a hard time when they’re out and about off duty, he’s demanding space safety inspections of station infrastructure accessible only from the pilots’ private quarters, he instigates jurisdictional confrontations when they’re on duty. What’s his deal? Is he being paid by a Dominion source to make life difficult? Is it just a turf war with people he considers outsiders? Is he just kind of a jerk? Better investigate. RAISE HELL
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that when you take confident, aggressive young people and put a few drinks in them, sometimes things get rowdy. Pilots love to party. Most pilots drink—some drink a lot . Many pilots sleep around. More than a few pilots have ended their night with sore knuckles, a black eye, and an appointment to answer some uncomfortable questions from law enforcement. A willingness to engage in—no, a craving for —risky —risky behavior is an essential part of being a good fighter pilot. This craving does not always express itself in healthy ways. The pilots of Tachyon Squadron are no exception.
115
N O R D A U Q S N O Y H C A T G N I M G
Most hell raisin’ will occur when pilots are decompressing, trying to get rid of their stress. Push hard on decompression actions. Make them get into trouble to earn the fate point and empty their stress track. Here are some ways to do that:
∂ The Law: The cops on Draconis Station are not starry-eyed civilians easily impressed by tales of derring-do; if anything, they’re eager to take those swaggering fighter pilots down a notch. A night in the brig won’t impress the squadron commander much, and if he thinks a pilot is jeopardizing the DVG’s reputation with the locals and the government, a pilot might find himself assigned as signed to some not-fun duty. dut y.
∂ Terrible Relationships: If a pilot starts breaking hearts across the system, some serious jealousy and revenge might start happening. This could go anywhere from “the locals start to resent the squadron,” as discussed before, to humorous farces where a pilot recruits her buddies to help her make sure her various partners never meet.
∂
Gambling and Debts: There are lots of places to play poker and billiards, and where people are playing cards and shooting pool, they’re drinking and gambling. Drinking doesn’t always lead to the best gambling decisions, and a night of celebrating could lead to a significant debt owed to some unsavory people.
∂
Darker: Groups that want to explore substance abuse and serious depression, anxiety, anxiety, and PTSD can easily find that sort of theme in a war story like this. Just make sure you know what you’re doing (again, take a look at Fate Accessibility Toolkit for for mental illness) and that players are on board.
TAKING STRESS IN DECOMPRESSION SCENES
116
If a PC takes some stress in a bar fight during their hell-raisin’ decompression action, the stress goes away at the end of that scene. They paid in narrative trouble for an empty stress track; don’t steal it from them.
BETWEEN MISSIONS Time is the most important resource the PC pilots have. Make that time extremely valuable—they can only engage in two time-consuming activities between each mission, including sleep. sleep. So if they really want to do two things, they will consider pulling an all-nighter all-ni ghter once in a while. You can use some judgment about what qualifies as time-consuming, but don’t be wishy-washy about it. Push the players hard on this. Force difficult choices—stay up all night to fix your ship, or get some sleep and go into battle with a faulty targeting computer? Carry the tension of yesterday’s yesterday’s battle with you into today’s today’s mission, or go drinking—relieving your stress and earning a fate point, but getting you into potentially serious trouble?
G M I N G T A C H Y O N S Q U A D R O N
FEEDBACK INTO ENGAGEMENTS When pilots interact with each other outside the cockpit, what they do can have ramifications in the cockpit. Many pilots have relationship aspects with each other that can be changed by significant events, if the players both agree the nature of their relationship has changed. Even pilots that don’t have relationship aspects a spects between each other can, through their actions, create temporary ones: annoyance, disruption of trust, etc. Nobody needs to attempt to create an aspect with the create advantage action or generate consequences for each other. If, in your opinion as GM, the PCs have acted in ways that justify temporary aspects describing their attitudes toward each other, just create that aspect. Then compel it in the subsequent scenes and engagement. Make it matter, and force the PCs to reckon with it.
WE BAND OF SIBLINGS (With apologies to the Bard, there are more than just brothers here.) War forges relationships that change in unpredictable ways. The sibling relationship is often a good analogy—they love each other intensely but fight and squabble and rage against each other incessantly. When one PC gets into trouble with the law—drunk and fighting with locals again—how do his friends react? Do they bail him out of the drunk tank? Cover for him with the squadron XO? Or do they let him face the music? PCs have two aspects that point directly at other members of the squadron. Push hard on those. Compel them th em mercilessly. mercilessly. Pressure the players to question and challenge their relationships. Encourage them to modify relationship aspects when appropriate—minor milestones (see Fate Core System, page 256) are a great way to do this.
117
N O R D A U Q S N O Y H C A T G N I M G
RUNNING CAMPAIGNS Tachyon Squadron campaigns are made up of campaign arcs. Each
campaign arc deals with a single issue, and a single Dominion operational objective. Operational objectives are determined by the Dominion’s overall strategy.
RUNNING A CAMPAIGN: THE 30-SECOND VERSION Here are the fundamental steps of constructing a Tachyon Squadron campaign:
1∂ Choose a Dominion strategy and operational objectives. 2∂ Choose a current issue that pairs well with the next logical Dominion operational objective. 3∂ Run game sessions until that issue is resolved or becomes obsolete. 4∂ Go back to step 2, repeat until the campaign comes to a logical conclusion.
CONSTRUCTING A DOMINION STRATEGY Dominion military officers don’t even do the laundry without a detailed plan. They certainly have a grand strategy for retaking Draconis. As you develop it, keep in mind that the Dominion is war-weary and casualty-weary. They don’t want to lose large numbers of troops or material, and certainly don’t want open war with the Republic again. So they’ll try to be smart about this—they won’t just flood the system with dozens of titanic battlecruisers and lay waste to everything. The Dominion will engage in a finite number (from one to four, depending on how long you want the campaign to continue) of distinct major offensives before they give up. Choose a strategic objective for each offensive. Examples include:
∂ Destroy the political center of Draconis ∂ Destroy the economy of Draconis ∂ Destroy the industry of Draconis ∂ Destroy the political cohesion of Draconis
118
Once you have a strategic objective, choose three to five operational objectives that support it.
G M I N G T A C H Y O N S Q U A D R O N
Each of these operational objectives gives you ideas for a scenario, as discussed in Fate Core System, page 226. For instance, establishing a forward base might require destruction of nosy miners who stumble upon the Dominion’s activities, so Tachyon Squadron would be dispatched to investigate, leading to some daring rescues and engagements against Dominion starfighters. OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES FOR DESTROYING THE POLITICAL CENTER OF DRACONIS
This is a strike right at the heart of the system. To do this, the Dominion will need to:
∂ Establish a forward operating base in the Kripka Asteroid Cluster ∂ Lure the DVG away from Draconis with a diversion ∂ Attack and destroy Draconis Station ∂ Bombard the city of Prime Landing OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES FOR DESTROYING THE ECONOMY OF DRACONIS
This involves making large-scale economic activity (especially transportation) impossible.
∂ Espionage and assassination operations against the Navigation Bureau, to prevent mapping of hyperspace jump points
∂ Dominion starfighter raids and attacks against commercial shipping in the neighborhood of Draconis Station
∂ Use of covert agents and local loyalists for harassment of DVG personnel aboard Draconis Station
119
N O R D A U Q S N O Y H C A T G N I M G
OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES FOR DESTROYING THE INDUSTRY OF DRACONIS
If the Dominion can destroy Draconis’s growing industrial sector, they might convince them to lay down their arms.
∂ Establish a forward base on the planet Asami ∂ Strike and capture or destroy the Asami Processing Station ∂ Strike and capture or destroy Outpost Diyi ∂ Strike and destroy the Draconis Hull Yards OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES FOR SUPPORTING THE LOYALISTS
The Dominion might be able to get loyalist militias to do a large portion of their fighting for them.
∂ Support the loyalists aboard Arcosolari Kalamos ∂ Support the loyalists aboard Habitat Othonoi Prime ∂ Capture Arcosolari Kalamos intact, use for a forward base ∂ Capture Habitat Othonoi Prime intact, use for a forward base ∂ Smuggle arms and troops aboard Draconis Station to create and win an uprising of loyalist forces
WHAT’S NEXT? Once you have your strategic objective and operational objectives, when you think about “What will the Dominion do next?” this is your blueprint. Put yourself in the position of a Dominion admiral, think about your objectives, and decide what makes sense. Let the PCs’ victories constrain your next moves, but likewise mercilessly exploit their setbacks. The objective is to have a rational strategy that the players are able to suss out and actively work against. Maybe they learn it from putting together bits of information they get from questioning captured Dominion pilots. Maybe they look at the pattern of attacks, raids, and known espionage and see a pattern. However they do it, they should have a chance to figure out what’s going on.
WHO WINS? It’s tempting to establish firm victory conditions up front, but this is not a wargame. The end goal is a compelling story. Tachyon Squadron is a Fate game, and the PCs can usually succeed in Fate games—the heart of the matter is what cost they’re willing to pay, and how the characters change as they progress through the war.
120
SHIPS TO FLY AND PEOPLE TO MEET Let’s look at the ships—starfighters, cargo ships, shuttles, etc.—that the Tachyon Squadron pilots will fly and fight against, and the people they’ll interact with while they do it. Some ship descriptions contain aspects; treat them as situation aspects relevant to those ships when applicable.
SF-46 Blackfish Multirole Starfighter SF-46 “D” MODEL BLOCK 60 FACT SHEET Manufactured at Sirius IV Astronautics Yards by Polaris Spacefaring, Inc.
STANDARD EQUIPMENT »
»
» »
»
Dual fire-linked axial High Precision Optics (HPO) LF-28R 200 MW repeating multispectrum laser cannons Quad Plane-Senko P-60 reactionless drives, each rated at 2.3 million kilogram-meters per second HPO Hawkeye-C sensor array, firmware version 12.4.1 Ecliptic Systems type 18 avionics and systems computer, firmware version 19.1.1 Alderson Industries type IV defense screen
ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF DVG MODEL BLACKFISH »
»
»
»
Two fully powered Type 12-P Equipment Bays: Allows equipping the Blackfish with Type 1203 equipment modules to customize it for the mission. Mission-capable docking ring and airlock: Pilot may enter and exit the ship during missions without a pressurized landing bay. Inertial suppression units keep the pilot intact while the ship undertakes radical maneuvering. The Blackfish is not equipped with a Chandrasekhar drive, and thus
is not hyperspace capable.
AZOULAY Space Industries
WARFIGHTER FOCUSED • INNOVATION DRIVEN
121
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
122
THE SHIPS OF TACHYON SQUADRON Tachyon Squadron is assigned 22 combat crew, all starfighter pilots. There are 40 repair, maintenance, and technical personnel. Axion and Graviton Squadrons have similar personnel. Each squadron has been assigned 25 starfighters (22 operational and 3 backup) and a tender system ship.
SF-46D BLACKFISH The Blackfish is a multirole starfighter, equally adept at dogfighting enemy starfighters as it is in strike missions against enemy capital ships and surface targets. It’s a venerable old bird, and even the D model has since been surpassed by other ships. Even so, it’s still a potent combatant; all 3 squadrons of the DVG have 25 Blackfish. The Blackfish has been highly popular with its Republic Navy crews for years.
SF-46 BLACKFISH MULTIROLE STARFIGHTER ASPECTS
OLD BUT RELIABLE STUNTS
Well Armed: Gain Weapon:1 to Gunnery attacks Automated Ejection System: Page 46
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
NOTES
Modular equipment bays: 2 Maximum shield rating: 3 DAMAGE
+ Computer System Damage [ Minimize 1 die on Technology actions [ Minimize 1 die on Gunnery actions [ Sensors and targeting systems offline: Minimize 1 die on Technology and Gunnery actions, SHOTS IN THE DARK Flash fire! Punch out! 0 Propulsion System Damage [ Minimize 1 die on Tactics actions [ Minimize 1 die on Pilot actions [ Critical damage to drives: Minimize 1 die on Tactics and Pilot actions, DRIVES READY TO GIVE OUT Catastrophic explosion! Punch out! - Critical Systems Damage [ LIFE SUPPORT DAMAGED [ Cockpit hit, pilot sustains damage equal to the amount the ship sustained in this hit Structural disintegration! Punch out!
123
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
C-14 ATLAS The Atlas is the military version of a venerable cargo system ship that’s been converted to be a starfighter tender. It accompanies Blackfish on long-range missions, allowing the combat ships to refuel and rearm without returning to base. It is unarmed and not terribly fast, so starfighter crews are urged to protect the Atlas as if their lives depended on it—because they probably do. Tachyon Squadron has one Atlas.
C-14 ATLAS NOTES
Defense: The Atlas defends at 0 and always goes in the Special slot in an engagement. Maximum shield strength: 5 Repair bonus: +3 DAMAGE
+0 Hull Damage [ Cosmetic Damage [ Cosmetic Damage [ Fire: Atlas takes 1 instance of damage at the end of its round until this is repaired [ Cosmetic Damage [ Cosmetic Damage [ Fire: Atlas takes 2 instances of damage at the end of its round until this is repaired Structural Integrity Failure: The ship is coming apart, crew abandon ship - Propulsion System Damage [[[ No mechanical effect Catastrophic explosion: Ship lost
124
DRACONIS MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT SHIPS The Draconis Navy, as new as it is, has very little in the way of combat capability, but they’re not completely without vessels.
SF-30 Trainers: Fifteen unarmed trainer starfighters—very old SF-30A Sparks—are based at a spaceport on the planet Draconis. These ships will be used by trainee fighter pilots once their classroom training is complete. Use the stats for the Gator fighter (page 127) if you ever need stats for this.
Cargo and Utility Ships: The Navy has three system freighters and a dozen cargo shuttles suitable for ferrying cargo and troops around the system. Use stats for the C-14 Atlas (page 124) if you ever need stats for a ship like this.
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
Destroyer DNS Lion: The Draconis Navy purchased a decommissioned cargo starship and upgraded it with weapons and defensive systems, armor, and improved propulsion. It’s currently doing short-range cruises to shake out the ship and train the crew. It should be operational in a month or two. Patrol ships DNS Jaguar, Leopard: These system ships are being converted from cargo system ships at the Hull Yards. They’ll be a bit smaller and more lightly armed but faster than the Lion, functionally serving as frigates but without hyperdrive systems. Recruiting and training crews for these ships is underway; Tachyon Squadron pilots might see them engaging in training and shakedown missions.
SR-14 Mariano Survey Ships: The government of Draconis acquired five SR-14 survey ships. Crewed by a pilot and two technicians, Marianos are very fast and are used in search and rescue operations, as well as hyperspace cartography to keep the hyperspace jump points plotted as planets and asteroids move around the system.
125
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
CIVILIAN SHIPS Civilian ships vastly outnumber military ships in the Draconis system. Passenger starliners arrive several times per week, bringing passengers from the nearby Republic systems of Theten and Gamma Corvus. Cargo system ships arrive at and depart from Draconis Station many times daily, laden with refined ore and gas and other materials, and transfer them to cargo starships. Mining ships work the asteroids. Private vessels zip to and from the surface and around the various stations. For large civilian cargo and passenger liners, use the stats for the Atlas (page (page 124) 124) and adjust to your needs.
CIVILIAN YACHT OR PERSONAL SPACECRAFT ASPECTS
UNARMED PERSONAL SPACECRAFT SKILLS
Average (+1): Pilot, Technology NOTES
Tactics: Ship should be placed in Special, assume a value of 0 for other purposes Shields: 1 DAMAGE
+ Computer System Damage [ Minimize 1 die on Technology rolls Flash fire! Ship destroyed.
0- Propulsion System Damage [Minimize 1 die on Pilot rolls Catastrophic explosion! Ship destroyed.
126
HOSTILE SHIPS Draconis is a system at war—the Dominion has promised to retake the system and assert their authority. These are ships that Tachyon Squadron can expect to face in combat.
DOMINION STARFIGHTERS The Dominion has two operational classes of starfighters, the DF-107 (Republic designation “Gator”) and DF-112 (Republic designation “Goblin”). Gators are not terribly dangerous alone, but in large numbers can create problems. The Goblin is a more formidable foe, and is flown by elite and veteran Dominion pilots.
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
DOMINION DF-107 GATOR ASPECTS
DANGEROUS IN GROUPS SKILLS
Good (+3): Gunnery Fair (+2): Tactics Average (+1): Pilot Mediocre (+0): Technology NOTES
Weapon: 0 Shields: 2 SIMPLE DAMAGE OPTION DETAILED DAMAGE OPTION
+ Computer System Damage [Minimize 1 die on Technology and Gunnery rolls Flash fire! Punch out!
0- Propulsion System Damage [ Minimize 1 die on Pilot and Tactics rolls Catastrophic explosion! Punch out!
127
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
DF-112 GOBLIN ASPECTS
MODERN HIGH PERFORMANCE FIGHTER SKILLS
Great (+4): Gunnery Good (+3): Tactics Fair (+2): Pilot Average (+1): Technology NOTES
Weapon: 1 Shields: 3 SIMPLE DAMAGE OPTION ( ) DETAILED DAMAGE OPTION
+ Computer System Damage Gunner y rolls for each [[ Minimize 1 die on Technology and Gunnery Flash fire! Punch out! 0- Propulsion System Damage Tactics rolls for each [[ Minimize 1 die on Pilot and Tactics [ SEVERE DAMAGE Catastrophic explosion! Punch out!
128
ACE-PILOTED GOBLIN ASPECTS
MODERN HIGH PERFORMANCE FIGHTER SKILLS
Superb (+5): Gunnery Great (+4): Tactics Good (+3): Pilot Fair (+2): Technology NOTES
Weapon: 2 Shields: 3
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
SIMPLE DAMAGE OPTION ( ) DETAILED DAMAGE OPTION
+ Computer System Damage [[ Minimize 1 die on Technology and Gunnery rolls for each [ SEVERE DAMAGE Flash fire! Punch out! 0- Propulsion System Damage [[ Minimize 1 die on Pilot and Tactics rolls for each [[ SEVERE DAMAGE, free invoke for each Catastrophic explosion! Punch out!
129
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
DOMINION STRIKE AND SCOUTSHIPS Tachyon Squadron pilots need to be very careful of DA-108 (Republic designation “Gorgon”)—they are long range, heavily armed, and very robust strike ships. Fast and quiet scoutships, DS-104 (Republic designation “Ghost”) stand almost no chance of being caught unless they’re ambushed. If the pilots manage to corner one, it’s trivial to defeat it; no stats are necessary.
DA-108 GORGON ASPECTS
ARMED TO THE TEETH SKILLS
Great (+4): Gunnery Fair (+2): Pilot, Tactics Average (+1): Technology NOTES
Weapon: 2 Armor: 2 Shields: 4 Turret: 1/engagement, may attack any target in the engagement regardless of maneuver chart position Missiles or Fusion Warhead, not both: ∂ Missiles: 2/engagement, may launch missiles to attack a single target at +6 with Weapon:4 ∂ Fusion Warhead: 1/engagement, may release a fusion warhead that attacks a single large target at +4 with Weapon:8 SIMPLE DAMAGE OPTION ( ) DETAILED DAMAGE OPTION
130
+ Computer System Damage [[ Minimize 1 die on Technology and Gunnery rolls for each Flash fire! Punch out! 0- Propulsion System Damage [[ Minimize 1 die on Pilot and Tactics rolls for each [[ SEVERE DAMAGE, free invoke for each Catastrophic explosion! Punch out!
ASSAULT TRANSPORTS The Dominion makes extensive use of transport shuttles that carry heavily armed Spaceborne Infantry. They carry docking rings that can bore through station and starship hulls, creating a sealed entrance for boarding actions.
DA-99T ASSAULT TRANSPORT ASPECTS
25 SPACEBORNE INFANTRY NOTES
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
Tactics: Assault transports like the DA-99T go in the Special section of the maneuver chart Defense: The DA-99 defends at 2 and always goes in the Special slot in an engagement Maximum Shield Strength: 3 Repair Bonus: +3 SIMPLE DAMAGE OPTION ( ) DETAILED DAMAGE OPTION
+0 Hull Damage [ Cosmetic Damage [ Cosmetic Damage [ Fire: DA-99 takes 1 instance of damage at the end of its round until this is repaired [ Cosmetic Damage [ Cosmetic Damage [ Fire: DA-99 takes 2 instances of damage at the end of its round until this is repaired Structural Integrity Failure: The ship is coming apart, crew abandon ship - Propulsion System Damage [ Minimize 1 die on Defense [ Minimize 2 dice on Defense [ Critical Damage to Drives: Minimize 2 dice on Defense, DRIVES READY TO GIVE OUT Catastrophic explosion! Ship lost.
131
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
132
DOMINION LARGE SHIPS Frigates, destroyers, and cruisers are all potential adversaries—a cruiser with escorts would pose a very dangerous challenge to Draconis Station itself. A carrier is necessary for starfighters to appear in the system, and a fighter tender would be useful for missions across the system once they are there. See “Big Ships and Large Targets” (page 54) to review how large targets such as capital ships work.
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
133
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
DOMINION DESTROYER ASPECTS
CAPITAL SHIP SKILLS
Great (+4): Gunnery Good (+3): Tactics Fair (+2): Technology NOTES
Example Names: Glory , Victory , Dominance, Invincible, etc. Destruction: A destroyer is considered “destroyed” when the propulsion is “dead in the water” and the bridge is out of action. Three Gun Emplacements: Each rated Weapon:1 Long-Range Active Defense: +1 Long-Range Shields: Armor:5 Short-Range Active Defense: +3 (Weapon:2) Short-Range Shields: Armor:1 VULNERABLE SYSTEMS
As Dominion Frigate, but with a third gun emplacement and no antiship weapons.
134
DOMINION BATTLECRUISER ASPECTS
CAPITAL SHIP SKILLS
Great (+4): Gunnery, Tactics Good (+3): Technology NOTES
Example Names: Triumph, Ascendance, Adulation, Exaltation , etc. Destruction: A battlecruiser is considered “destroyed” when the bridge and propulsion systems are offline, or the bridge and both antiship emplacements are offline. Four Gun Emplacements: Each rated Weapon:1 Long-Range Active Defense: +2 Long-Range Shields: Armor:6 Short-Range Active Defense: +3 (Weapon:2) Short-Range Shields: Armor:2
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
VULNERABLE SYSTEMS
As Dominion Frigate, but four gun emplacements and two antiship weapons emplacements.
135
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
LOYALIST AND PIRATE WARSHIPS DF-107 Gators were produced by the tens of thousands, and unlicensed manufacture still continues in some places—even in the Stellar Republic, unarmed Gators have found their way into private ownership as sport vehicles. It’s no surprise, then, that loyalist militias and pirate gangs use old DF-107 variants as the backbone of their cobbledtogether fleets of starfighters, bolstered by corvettes mostly built from modified DA-99 frames. The Dominion is almost certainly providing loyalists supplies and intelligence, and who knows where pirate gangs are getting their materials.
IRREGULAR FORCES DF-107 GATOR ASPECTS
DANGEROUS IN GROUPS SKILLS
Good (+3): Gunnery Fair (+2): Tactics Average (+1): Pilot Mediocre (+0): Technology NOTES
Weapon: 0 Shields: 1 SIMPLE DAMAGE OPTION DETAILED DAMAGE OPTION
+ Computer System Damage [ Minimize 1 die on Technology and Gunnery rolls Flash fire! Punch out! 0- Propulsion System Damage [ Minimize 1 die on to Pilot and Tactics rolls Catastrophic explosion! Punch out!
136
DA-99 CORVETTE ASPECTS
PIRATE CORVETTE SKILLS
Good (+3): Gunnery Fair (+2): Pilot, Tactics Average (+1): Technology NOTES
Weapon: 1 Armor: 1 Shields: 5 Turret: 1/engagement, may attack any target in the engagement regardless of maneuver chart position
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
SIMPLE DAMAGE OPTION ( ) DETAILED DAMAGE OPTION
+ Computer System Damage [[ Minimize 1 die on Technology and Gunnery rolls for each (max 2 dice) [ SEVERE DAMAGE Flash fire! Ship destroyed 0- Propulsion System Damage [[ Minimize 1 die on Pilot, Tactics for each (max 2 dice) [[ SEVERE DAMAGE, free invoke for each Catastrophic explosion! Ship destroyed
137
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
DESIGNING NEW SHIPS The GM might want to introduce new ships to the campaign—here are guidelines for doing that.
STANDARD QUALITY STARFIGHTERS A standard starfighter, roughly the equivalent in quality to the Blackfish or a Dominion Goblin, would have the following qualities:
∂ Aspect: MODERN HIGH PERFORMANCE FIGHTER ∂ +4, +3, +2, and +1 bonuses in the four spacefaring skills (PC pilots use their own skill rankings)
∂ Strength 3 shields ∂ Guns of Weapon:1 ∂ Two damage tracks of two slots each for NPC-piloted ships. Each damage track penalizes two spacefaring skills with die minimization. Remember that you can’t minimize more than two dice per roll.
∂ For PC-piloted ships, use the Blackfish’s damage track and give them two equipment bays.
Ace Pilots: Any NPC starfighter can be flown by a high quality pilot. To reflect this, add +1 to each skill, add one slot to each damage track, and grant them a stunt or an equipment module. Extremely dangerous enemies can have +2 added to one of their skills.
LOW AND HIGH QUALITY STARFIGHTERS To build a lower quality starfighter, start with the standard. Reduce each skill by -1; PC pilots in a low quality starfighter suffer a -1 penalty to each skill and they don’t get modular equipment. Set weapons rating to zero and shields to 1. Keep damage tracks the same. Higher quality ships are new ships that haven’t seen action yet, at least not in this theater of operations. The SF-48A Mako is an example of this—it’s the newest frontline starfighter for the Stellar Republic. To design a high quality ship, start with the standard quality ship. Add +1 to two skills (PC pilots gain a +1 bonus to their own skill rankings in those skills). Give the ship the aspect BLEEDING E DGE T ECHNOLOGY or something similar. Choose one of the following:
138
∂ Design a stunt or equipment module the ship always grants ∂ Add +1 to the Weapon rating ∂ Give the ship Armor:1 ∂ Add a third modular equipment bay (PC ships only)
LOW QUALITY STARFIGHTERS AND THE SWARM
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
Aren’t low quality ships just part of the swarm? Much of the time, yes. But if it makes sense for the opposition to be made up entirely of low quality ships, have some of them represented by individual stat blocks and the rest as the swarm—this gives the PCs enemies to focus on without needing the big guns in every engagement. It also gives the GM a way of signaling escalation in the war—the appearance of better ships.
OTHER SHIPS There are plenty of non-starfighter ships that the PCs might encounter. Here’s where the GM needs to get a bit creative—there are no hard-andfast rules, but here are some guidelines:
∂ Strike Ships: Compared to starfighters, strike ships are slow, heavily armed, and tough. As such they likely have lower Pilot ratings but good Gunnery and Technology ratings, with a higher Weapon rating for Gunnery attacks. They often have lots of missiles or other consumable weapons systems intended to strike at large targets.
∂
Cargo and Passenger Ships: Being larger than starfighters, many of these ships have decent shields and armor. Almost all are unarmed, but a few merchant cargo ships carry a gun battery for defense.
∂
Private Yachts, Shuttles, and Scoutships: These ships range from starfighter size to a bit larger. All are generally unarmed. Yachts share starfighters’ maneuverability (Pilot) and sensors (Technology) but not its speed or guns (low Tactics, no Gunnery at all). Scoutships are very fast and maneuverable (high Pilot, Tactics, and Technology) but are unarmed. Shuttles are slow and lumbering but very tough (high shields and armor).
139
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
PEOPLE OF INTEREST Here are some NPCs that Tachyon Squadron pilots might meet.
VIJAY “SKIPPER” KARAN, TACHYON SQUADRON COMMANDER The Skipper is a veteran of the Great Galactic War, racking up dozens of victories and making quite a name for himself. He was aggressively recruited for the job with the Draconis Volunteer Group, and given command of Tachyon Squadron. He’s a big, loud, swaggering man, who leads like he flies—from instinct rather than extensive study or training. It’s hard to argue with the results.
SAKIKO “MAGNET” MARUYAMA, TACHYON SQUADRON EXECUTIVE OFFICER The squadron XO (Executive Officer—second in command), Magnet is the polar opposite of the Skipper. While she is also a Great Galactic War veteran with vast combat experience, her expertise is in optimal tactics driven by relentless training, simulation, and study. She was gravely injured at the Second Battle of Tauri Beta, and lost her legs from mid-thigh. She now uses a hoverchair for mobility and all-hand controls in her Blackfish, with no discernible reduction in her effectiveness as a combat pilot and a leader.
JAMES DUBOIS, HEAD OF DRACONIS STATION SECURITY
140
Dubois is extremely young for the post he currently holds. He began his career only eight years ago, as a patrol officer in the city of Prime Landing, and was one of the first law enforcement officers to sign a loyalty pledge to the new government JAMES DUBOIS when it declared its independence from the Dominion. This guaranASPECTS teed a good job in the new regime— High Concept: SECURITY CHIEF but while he does a good job with Other Aspects: GREEN BUT most day-to-day tasks running a ENTHUSIASTIC; K NOWS WHAT large security service (40 officers HE DOESN’T K NOW and staff), his inexperience often RELEVANT SKILLS shows—he sometimes focuses on Great (+4): Investigate the wrong things (such as bustGood (+3): Athletics, Shoot ing partying fighter pilots), and he Fair (+2): Discipline, has trouble confronting corruption, Empathy, Fight, Rapport organized crime, and espionage. He’s learning quickly, but whether STRESS TRACK quickly enough remains to be seen.
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
VIJAY “SKIPPER” KARAN ASPECTS
High Concept: COMMANDER OF TACHYON SQUADRON Other Aspects: BIG, LOUD, AND SWAGGERING; VETERAN WHO’S SEEN IT ALL RELEVANT SKILLS
Superb (+5): Pilot Great (+4): Gunnery, Rapport Good (+3): Empathy Fair (+2): Discipline, Provoke, Shoot Average (+1): Athletics STRESS TRACK
SAKIKO “MAGNET” MARUYAMA ASPECTS
High Concept: SQUADRON XO Other Aspects: K NOW THE ENEMY, DEFEAT THE ENEMY; YOU THINK MY HOVERCHAIR WILL STOP ME? RELEVANT SKILLS
Superb (+5): Tactics Great (+4): Discipline, Pilot Good (+3): Gunnery, Shoot Fair (+2): Athletics, Empathy, Investigate STRESS TRACK
141
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
KISHA “ADMIRAL” HARRIS, OVERALL COMMANDER OF THE DRACONIS VOLUNTEER GROUP Another former Republic Navy officer, Admiral Harris commanded the entire fighter force, eight squadrons’ worth, of the Republic Navy’s 3rd Fleet. She retired as soon as hostilities ceased and was recruited to build the Draconis Volunteer Group from the ground up. She’s a bit aloof, with her head in Draconis politics (to ensure continued support and funding of the squadrons) as much as in military strategy. Despite the official lack of ranks in DVG, everyone calls Harris “Admiral.”
PENG XIN, GOVERNOR OF DRACONIS STATION Xin was a well known dissident resident of Draconis Station when it was under Dominion control, and she worked tirelessly to pressure the system government (including several arrests and episodes of direct action) to secede from the tyrannical empire. She was elected governor of Draconis Station in a landslide election soon after independence. She doesn’t like that the DVG is present, but accepts them as a necessary evil—for now.
QUINCY FILMON, SUPPLY OFFICER OF THE DVG Filmon, formerly a captain in the Republic Navy, was a logistics officer during the Great Galactic War. He now serves as the DVG’s supply officer, and reports directly to “Admiral” Harris. He jealously guards his little fiefdom and has no patience for pilots or technicians who obtain hardware or supplies outside of his procurement process. Once items or materials are procured, however, he’s looser about how it’s assigned to the three squadrons—rumors abound that he has a price in currency, booze, or favors.
ELIZABETH “CAP” SOKOLOVA, AXION SQUADRON COMMANDER Cap, another Republic Navy veteran, commands Axion Squadron with businesslike efficiency, wasting no effort on bluster or swagger. She is also one of the leading Republic aces from the Great Galactic War and a ruthless warrior in a starfighter. She does not tolerate personnel from other squadrons interfering with her people or her mission.
142
KISHA “ADMIRAL” HARRIS
PENG XIN
ASPECTS
ASPECTS
High Concept: THAT’S “ADMIRAL” TO YOU Other Aspects: SEEN IT ALL; THE POLITICAL IS TACTICAL RELEVANT SKILLS:
Great (+4): Rapport Good (+3): Discipline, Investigate Fair (+2): Empathy, Provoke STRESS TRACK
High Concept: GOVERNOR OF DRACONIS STATION Other Aspects: SKEPTICAL OF THE
DRACONIS VOLUNTEER
GROUP; HATES THE DOMINION RELEVANT SKILLS
Great (+4): Rapport Good (+3): Empathy, Provoke Fair (+2): Discipline, Investigate, Sneak
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
STRESS TRACK
ELIZABETH “CAP” SOKOLOVA
QUINCY FILMON ASPECTS
I PROTECT MINE; IN COMBAT, EFFICIENCY IS LIFE RELEVANT SKILLS
Great(+4): Tactics Good (+3): Discipline, Gunnery Fair (+2): Pilot, Provoke Average (+1): Technology STRESS TRACK
ASPECTS
WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER OUT RELEVANT SKILLS
Good (+3): Investigate Fair (+2): Notice, Technology Average (+1): Empathy, Rapport STRESS TRACK
143
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
CURT “TOAD” SHAFFER, CURRENT LEADING ACE OF THE DVG Toad is a pilot in Axion Squadron who’s been in system and fighting for three months—and already has 15 victories to his credit, leading all DVG pilots. He’s a former test pilot for Azoulay Space Industries, and it’s rumored that his connections might get Axion Squadron upgraded to a newer model of starfighter—the SF-48A Mako. He has a reputation of being a real jerk.
ANO “FOSSIL” BENYAMINA, GRAVITON SQUADRON COMMANDER Being a starfighter pilot is typically a young person’s game. At age 55, Fossil is by far the oldest pilot in the DVG, and was already a respected instructor pilot in the Republic Navy before the Great Galactic War even started. Fossil’s command style is more instructive than the other commanders’, and they are being recruited to join the Draconis Navy in that capacity once that force can stand on its own.
JOE FREEMAN, SMUGGLING/CORRUPTION KING OF DRACONIS STATION Freeman has made a vast fortune smuggling all sorts of goods, from illegal weapons to illicit luxury items. He opposed the secession of Draconis, but now that it’s independent he’d like it to stay that way— stability and predictability are best for his business, moreso than any particular policies. His exploits are not widely known, and even when someone has noticed him he’s managed to worm out of it through bribery, blackmail, or assassination. He has incriminating information on almost anyone who might oppose him—and he thinks very little of the duo of Governor Xin and Security Chief Dubois. You might be tempted to try to take Freeman down, but if you ever need a crate of Vortex missiles, he might know how to get ‘em.
FLORENCE “FLO” BARNES, PROPRIETOR OF THE SPACER’S REST
144
Flo runs Tachyon Squadron’s unofficial officer’s club, the Spacer’s Rest, the best place on Draconis Station to get a drink, play some cards, or shoot some pool. If you’re in Tachyon Squadron. (Those jerks from Axion or Graviton Squadrons better be here by invitation—they have their own hangouts.) Flo has run the Spacer’s Rest for over 30 years now and knows just about everyone on the station. You really don’t want to be on her bad side.
CURT “TOAD” SHAFFER
ANO “FOSSIL” BENYAMINA
ASPECTS
ASPECTS
NATURAL PILOT; I’M THE BEST, JUST ASK ME RELEVANT SKILLS
Great (+4): Pilot Good (+3): Gunnery, Provoke Fair (+2): Athletics Average (+1): Notice, Sneak
PASS ON WHAT I HAVE LEARNED; SEEN IT ALL RELEVANT SKILLS
Great (+4): Pilot Good (+3): Rapport, Tactics Fair (+2): Discipline, Empathy STRESS TRACK
S H I P S T O F L Y A N D P E O P L E T O M E E T
STRESS TRACK
JOE FREEMAN
FLORENCE “FLO” BARNES ASPECTS
ASPECTS
I COULD BE A DEADLY ENEMY; I COULD BE A USEFUL ALLY; I HAVE DIRT ON EVERYONE RELEVANT SKILLS
Great (+4): Rapport Good (+3): Empathy, Provoke Fair (+2): Discipline, Investigate, Sneak STRESS TRACK
NOBODY TELLS ME WHAT TO DO IN MY PLACE; I K NOW EVERYONE; BUY A DRINK OR GET OUT RELEVANT SKILLS
Great (+4): Rapport Good (+3): Empathy, Provoke Fair (+2): Athletics, Fight, Investigate STRESS TRACK
145
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
TOUGH GUY (AVERAGE NAMELESS NPC) Use this for any sort of bar brawl opponent, intimidating tough, etc.
PIRATE OR LOYALIST WARRIOR (FAIR NAMELESS NPC) Use this to represent any pirates or other largely untrained fighter type.
SECURITY OFFICER (FAIR NAMELESS NPC) Use this for law enforcement or security officers.
MARINE (GOOD NAMELESS NPC) Use this for Draconis Marines or Dominion Spaceborne Infantry—disciplined and professional troops.
TOUGH GUY
SECURITY OFFICER
ASPECTS
ASPECTS
TOUGH GUY RELEVANT SKILLS
Average (+1): Fight STRESS TRACK
None (Any hit takes them out)
WARRIOR ASPECTS
YOU THINK YOU’RE TOUGH, NAVY? RELEVANT SKILLS
Fair (+2): Shoot Average (+1): Fight, Notice EQUIPMENT
Heavy Blaster (Optional): Weapon:1 STRESS TRACK
146
RESPECT MY AUTHORITY RELEVANT SKILLS
Fair (+2): Fight Average (+1): Notice, Shoot STRESS TRACK
MARINE WELL TRAINED PROFESSIONALS RELEVANT SKILLS
Good (+3): Shoot Fair (+2): Fight Average (+1): Athletics, Discipline EQUIPMENT
Blaster Carbine: Weapon:1 STRESS TRACK
EXAMPLE PLAYER CHARACTERS JIAOHUA “NOK” KRISTENSEN Nok was born on Sirius II. A trans woman, she was raised as a boy until the age of 14. She excelled at sports, especially long distance running, and joined Republic Navy’s starfighter corps three years before the outbreak of the Great Galactic War. She fought with the 92nd Tactical Starfighter Squadron in the Kapteyn and Aldermin campaigns for several years before leaving the service to fly as a test pilot for Azoulay Space Industries (where she met—and was extremely ticked off by—“Toad” Shaffer, now of Axion Squadron). Nok joined the DVG to get back in the fight for a just cause, rather than for a corporation’s benefit.
∂
Look: Nok has a light complexion and straight black hair that she wears just below the ear. She is tall and lanky, a classic runner’s build, with lean muscle filling out her slender frame. She looks much younger than her 35 years.
∂
Personal: Nok works out regularly, and is frequently seen running through the corridors of Draconis Station, referring to it as her “daily 5k meditation.” She’s also known to play a little poker at the Spacer’s Rest, an activity for which her enthusiasm unfortunately outstrips her skill and budget by considerable margins. She has no spouse or serious partner at the moment, but her squadron mates observe that flirting with good-looking men is an integral part of her enjoyment of poker.
∂
Callsign, as related by squadron mate “Nails” Dakono: “At her induction physical, it took the doc five minutes to find a measurable pulse. ‘Thought for a minute we were going to have to N.O.K. you,’ he said, referring to alerting Next Of Kin. So, ‘Nok.’”
147
T E E M O T E L P O E P D N A Y L F O T S P I H S
JIAOHUA “NOK” KRISTENSEN ASPECTS
High Concept: FORMER TEST PILOT OUT FOR A RIGHTEOUS CAUSE Decompression: I RUN, THEREFORE I AM/CAN’T PASS UP A CARD GAME Relationship: NAILS IS A RELIABLE WORKOUT BUDDY Relationship: THERMIC’S PLAYING AT SOMETHING Other Aspects: THE SQUADRON’S CONSCIENCE SKILLS
Great (+4): Technology Good (+3): Athletics, Tactics Fair (+2): Discipline, Gunnery, Notice Average (+1): Empathy, Fight, Pilot, Shoot STUNTS
Technical Pilot (Technology): Nok uses Technology rather than Pilot to defend against attacks in starfighter engagements. Endurance: Nok’s stress track is 9 boxes, rather than 5. Hand Scanner (Technology): Maximize one die on Technology overcome or create advantage actions when repairing. STRESS TRACK CONSEQUENCES
Mild (2): Moderate (4): Severe (6): REFRESH: 3
148
SERAPHIM “NAILS” DAKANO Nails was born and raised on Ursalis Delta, the capital planet of the Dominion of Unity, and spent much of his youth as an aerospace enthusiast and amateur pilot. He was conscripted into the Dominion Spaceborne Infantry (elite light infantry, similar to the Republic’s Marine Corps) and saw action several times in the Great Galactic War. With his background in aviation, his request to transfer to the Starfighter Corps was accepted and he served with several Dominion squadrons. He had never liked the Dominion’s politics, and he reached the end of his willingness to be part of it about a year before the war ended. He and a few squadron mates stole a ship and ran, receiving political asylum in a neutral system. He jumped at the chance to join the DVG to remove the boot heel of tyranny from one system, at least.
∂
Look: Nails is of medium height and the sort of lean that comes from an abundance of dense, well-built muscle. He goes for a clean-shaven face and head, in keeping with the habits he picked up in the infantry (as is the blaster carbine he habitually carries in place of his standard issue sidearm). His skin tone is a deep brown, almost black.
∂
Disability: Nails was born entirely deaf in his right ear and mostly deaf in his left. He is not a good candidate for artificial cochleae, so he wears augmented reality glasses that project visual representations of sound (including speech-to-text) into his line of sight. He knows a variety of common sign languages, and he can read lips and speak quite fluently.
∂
Personal: Now 29 years of age, Nails has had several boyfriends in the past, but has never contemplated settling down with anyone in particular. He enjoys billiards and is quite good at it, except when he combines it with drinking—he tries to keep a lid on it, but his squadron mates know Nails has a drinking problem that can come out when he’s under extreme strain.
∂
Callsign, as related by squadron mate “Auger” Harahab: “So his first day with the squadron, he comes back from some meeting saying he traded a case of actuator flux to Graviton Squadron for a keg of Jovian Pale Ale. He opens the container and—you knew this was coming—it’s full of rusted carpentry nails, not beer. Thinking about it, if it actually did have beer in it, his callsign would probably be ‘Beerman’ or something, so this was probably a good thing for him.”
E X A M P L E P L A Y E R C H A R A C T E R S
149
S R E T C A R A H C R E Y A L P E L P M A X E
SERAPHIM “NAILS” DAKANO ASPECTS
High Concept: FORMER DOMINION SPACEBORNE INFANTRY OUT FOR REDEMPTION Decompression: POOL SHARK /HEAVY DRINKER Relationship: NOK IS A STAND-UP LADY Relationship: AUGER IS GOING TO GET SOMEBODY K ILLED Other Aspects: AUGMENTED REALITY GLASSES FOR HEARING SKILLS
Great (+4): Tactics Good (+3): Gunnery, Shoot Fair (+2): Athletics, Fight, Pilot Average (+1): Discipline, Provoke, Sneak, Technology STUNTS
One Shot One Kill (Gunnery): Gain +2 to Gunnery attacks made in a starfighter the first time you attack a given target in an engagement. Tough as Nails: Nails gets an extra mild consequence slot. Blaster Carbine (Shoot): Maximize one die on Shoot attacks. The carbine is BULKY. STRESS TRACK CONSEQUENCES
Mild (2): Mild (2): Moderate (4): Severe (6): REFRESH: 3
150
IBRAHIM “AUGER” HARAHAB Auger grew up on Mars, in the settlement of New Padang. He built flit boards for fun, racing them against other youths in highly illegal canyon races that led to more than one fatal crash. After flit boards came aero spinners, then suborbital jumpers. The war ended just before he submitted his application to join the Republic Navy starfighter corps, so when the opportunity to join the DVG came up he signed up immediately. His wealth of natural talent impressed the squadron leadership, who took him on despite his lack of combat experience.
∂
Look: Auger is of medium height and slight build. He has dark hair and medium brown skin. He wears his hair very short and is cleanshaven—not that he could grow much of a beard if he wanted to. He’s young, only 22 years old, and walks with a confident young man’s swagger.
∂
Personal: Auger is Muslim, but not especially devout. Asexual and aromantic, he’s never bothered with dating but does enjoy being flirtatious with the rest of the squadron while socializing off duty. He has an extensive collection of high quality hologames, mostly fighting simulators—his quarters are a popular spot to hang out when pilots are looking for a place a bit more chill than the bars. That said, when he does go out to have a good time with the others, he can be baited into fights more easily than is strictly healthy, and has the broken noses and arrest record to prove it.
∂
Callsign, as related by squadron mate “Gunner” Tsang: “Second day here, he was qualifying on the Blackfish and he flew like a bat out of hell straight toward this moon, and we all thought he was gonna auger in—bore a deep hole, y’know? Then the next day he did exactly the same thing. ‘Auger.’”
E X A M P L E P L A Y E R C H A R A C T E R S
151
S R E T C A R A H C R E Y A L P E L P M A X E
IBRAHIM “AUGER” HARAHAB ASPECTS
High Concept: YOUNG HOTSHOT OUT TO PROVE HIMSELF Decompression: FIRST PERSON UNWINDING/YOU WANTA PIECE OF ME? Relationship: WE CAN’T LOSE WITH NAILS AROUND! Relationship: GUNNER K NOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS Other Aspects: HOW DOES SUCH A NICE K ID GET UNDER EVERYONE’S SKIN? SKILLS
Great (+4): Pilot Good (+3): Rapport, Technology Fair (+2): Fight, Gunnery, Provoke Average (+1): Athletics, Empathy, Sneak, Tactics STUNTS
Instinctive Pilot (Pilot): May use Pilot in the maneuver phase rather than Tactics. Jury Rigger (Technology): Gain +2 to Technology overcome rolls to make repairs outside repair facilities. Stimpack: Once per session, clear a mild consequence as a free action. STRESS TRACK CONSEQUENCES
Mild (2): Moderate (4): Severe (6): REFRESH: 3
152
AMELIE “GUNNER” TSANG Gunner is the daughter of a captain, the granddaughter of an admiral, and the great-granddaughter of a career non-commissioned officer. Military life runs in her blood, and she grew up on military bases and space stations across settled space. She attended the Academy and was assigned to a starfighter squadron (the 77th Marine Strike Squadron) two years before the war ended, during which she saw heavy fighting. Civilian life was not something she had any experience with, so rather than be mustered out with the drawdown in forces, she joined the DVG.
∂
Look: Gunner is 25 years old, tall and statuesque, with a solid build— she is not a slight or delicate woman. She has very light skin and flaming red hair that she usually wears in a bun. She carries a heavy blaster in a conspicuous holster on her left side.
∂
Personal: Gunner is somewhat emotionally detached from others. This combines with her romantic successes to make her a bit of a heartbreaker, with quite a few young men mistaking a night spent together with long-term commitment. This can lead to some occasional awkward social interactions. She regularly visits a therapist to help her keep combat stress in check; she makes no secret of this and advocates every pilot in the squadron do the same.
∂
Callsign, as related by squadron mate “Squid” Krishnamurthy: “She carries that big honkin’ blaster, doesn’t she? ‘Gunner’ is kind of on the nose. And remember that time it accidentally discharged during the mission briefing and blew a big hole in the bulkhead next to the intel guy?”
E X A M P L E P L A Y E R C H A R A C T E R S
153
S R E T C A R A H C R E Y A L P E L P M A X E
AMELIE “GUNNER” TSANG ASPECTS
High Concept: PROFESSIONAL MILITARY PILOT JUST DOING HER JOB Decompression: MY THERAPIST FIXES ME RIGHT UP/YOU THOUGHT I LOVED YOU? Relationship: AUGER HAS POTENTIAL IF HE LIVES LONG ENOUGH Relationship: SQUID IS A CAUTIONARY TALE Other Aspects: DON’T STEAL MY K ILL SKILLS
Great (+4): Tactics Good (+3): Gunnery, Shoot Fair (+2): Pilot, Provoke, Rapport Average (+1): Athletics, Discipline, Notice, Technology STUNTS
Hard to Kill (Pilot): Gain +2 to Pilot defend actions to avoid Gunnery attacks in engagements. Gunslinger (Shoot): Gain +2 to Shoot attacks made with a blaster the first time you attack a target in a conflict. Heavy Blaster (Shoot): Gain Weapon:1 on successful Shoot attacks. STRESS TRACK CONSEQUENCES
Mild (2): Moderate (4): Severe (6): REFRESH: 3
154
LIEN “SQUID” KRISHNAMURTHY Squid grew up in the city of Bogdanov on Tau Ceti IV, raised by recent settlers from Earth. On TC4 she learned to fly dozens of types of aircraft and spacecraft before the age of 18. She joined the Republic Navy as a fighter pilot several years before the Great Galactic War even began. During the conflict she was credited with over 80 victories in 5 years, putting her easily into the top 10 Republic aces—even while surviving ejecting in heavy combat three times, once with an injury that required the implantation of a mechanical replacement heart pump. She was transferred from combat duty to be an instructor pilot at the Navy’s elite flight school, where she taught for three years before she wrangled a reassignment back to a combat squadron. She was directly recruited by the DVG’s commander, “Admiral” Harris, to join the group and provide a veteran’s steady leadership.
∂
Look: Squid is a small, slight woman in her late 30s, with dark skin and short black hair. She almost always wears Republic Navy fatigues when not in a flight suit—years of habit not worth undoing. She frequently looks tired, and not just a veteran’s weariness.
∂
Personal: Squid is almost always the first to help out a young pilot having trouble with…well, anything, really, from a flight maneuver to navigating opaque military bureaucracy. She used to have a partner, a man she lived with for a few months after the war, but it didn’t work out. Squid has a lot of trouble sleeping, and wrestles with anxiety and stress that’s built up over many years of war. She is Hindu and takes that very seriously; performing puja at the small shrine in her quarters is part of her everyday battle to find peace and comfort.
∂
Callsign, as related by squadron mate “Thermic” Moreno: “She had to punch out over the ocean this one time. Right over the ocean, so she went swimming. And when they fished her out of the drink there was this weird tentacle fish attached to her boot, so ‘Squid.’”
E X A M P L E P L A Y E R C H A R A C T E R S
155
S R E T C A R A H C R E Y A L P E L P M A X E
LIEN “SQUID” KRISHNAMURTHY ASPECTS
High Concept: GRIZZLED VETERAN BACK FOR ONE LAST JOB Decompression: DEVOUT HINDU/ANXIETY AND INSOMNIA Relationship: GUNNER COMES THROUGH IN A PINCH Relationship: SAVE US FROM YOUNG OFFICERS LIKE THERMIC Other Aspects: I’VE GOT YOUR SIX SKILLS
Great (+4): Pilot Good (+3): Discipline, Tactics Fair (+2): Gunnery, Notice, Shoot Average (+1): Empathy, Investigate, Rapport, Technology STUNTS
Wily Hunter (Tactics): Gain +2 to Tactics overcome actions staying on someone’s tail, or shaking off a tail. Cool Under Fire (Discipline): Use Discipline, not Athletics, to defend against Shoot attacks. Augmented Spec (Notice): Maximize one die on Notice actions. STRESS TRACK CONSEQUENCES
Mild (2): Moderate (4): Severe (6): REFRESH: 3
156
TRINIDAD “THERMIC” MORENO Thermic grew up in Panama, on Earth, and graduated from the Academy two years before the war ended. They fought as a starfighter pilot until the war’s end, then transferred to the Navy’s intelligence service. They were granted indefinite leave to join the DVG, so Thermic still technically has their commission in the Republic Navy. However, they were ordered—in secret—to deliver regular reports back to Navy intelligence, specifically about the progress of training of the Draconis military forces and the relationship between the DVG and the local populace. Nobody in the Draconis Volunteer Group is aware of these orders.
∂
Look: Thermic is in their mid-20s and has the olive brown skin and dark hair common among Panamanians. They look like a person who takes the trappings of the military life very seriously, with closely cropped hair and ramrod posture. They’re of medium height with an athletic build. Thermic only wears casual clothing when exercising, otherwise they are almost always in a crisply ironed shirt and slacks.
∂
Personal: Thermic took the name “Trinidad” and nongendered pronouns in their early teens after having been raised as a girl. Thermic’s family was accepting of their transition but they were rejected by their best friend, which was the first time Thermic can remember their depression manifesting. Ever since, chronic major depression has been a part of Thermic’s life, and the realities of war make it all the stronger. While at the Academy, they fell madly in love with and married Ana Walker, a civilian Academy employee. Ana accompanied Thermic to Draconis—they share an apartment on Draconis Station. Ana is Thermic’s strength and refuge; their relationship is often playfully described as “nauseatingly sweet” by the other pilots.
∂
Callsign, as related by squadron mate “Nok” Kristensen: “Thermic slagged an engine when they ignored a temperature warning, then overrode the auto-shutdown. Triggered the fire suppression system in the docking bay, for Maude’s sake. Crew chief was not happy, started yelling at them about ‘Might as well have set off a thermic grenade in there.’”
E X A M P L E P L A Y E R C H A R A C T E R S
157
S R E T C A R A H C R E Y A L P E L P M A X E
TRINIDAD “THERMIC” MORENO ASPECTS
High Concept: AMBITIOUS REPUBLIC OFFICER HERE TO K EEP TABS ON THE SQUADRON Decompression: LOVING SPOUSE/CHRONIC DEPRESSION Relationship: I WANT SQUID’S RESPECT, DESPERATELY Relationship: NOK SPENT TOO MUCH TIME IN CIVILIAN LIFE Other Aspects: I K NOW THE RULES AND HOW TO BREAK THEM SKILLS
Great (+4): Tactics Good (+3): Gunnery, Investigate Fair (+2): Athletics, Pilot, Provoke Average (+1): Notice, Rapport, Sneak, Technology STUNTS
Canonical Maneuvers (Tactics): May use Tactics rather than Pilot to defend against attacks from enemy gunnery. I’m Not Buying It (Investigate): May use Investigate rather than Empathy to detect deception in investigative work. High Performance Datapad (Investigate): May maximize one die in all Investigate overcome or create advantage actions. STRESS TRACK CONSEQUENCES
Mild (2): Moderate (4): Severe (6): REFRESH: 3
158
THE PIRATES OF THE KEPLER VALLEY This campaign arc focuses on smashing a group of pirates preying on civilian shipping and holding hostages. It’s suitable for a first campaign. Use “Piracy and Lawlessness” (page 108) as the current issue for this campaign arc. A band of pirates based on the planet Asami have been attacking civilian shipping and taking both prisoners and cargo. They use the equipment and prisoners for illegal mining on Asami, then fence the ore. To defeat the pirates and rescue the prisoners, the PCs have to find the pirates, figure out a way to track them back to their base, and destroy or capture the pirates while rescuing the prisoners. If this is the beginning of your campaign, assume it’s early in the war, where the Dominion hasn’t brought the whole of their power to bear yet. The PC pilots have access to the listed equipment—to obtain additional equipment, the pilots will need to make their own arrangements.
∂ 2 Vulcan’s Hammer missiles ∂ 2 Vortex missiles ∂ 4 Unguided Rocket Volleys (6 if more than 4 PCs) ∂ 1 Inertial Suppression Unit ∂ 2 Shield Boosters ∂ 1 Haymaker Particle Accelerator (2 if more than 4 PCs) ∂ 1 Hawkeye Sensor Booster ∂ 1 Adaptive Computation Node (2 if more than 4 PCs) ∂ 1 replacement Blackfish fighter (2 if more than 4 PCs) If this arc happens after the campaign has already been going, announce that some supplies have arrived—another handful of consumable munitions, another bit of modular equipment or two, a replacement Blackfish if necessary.
159
Y E L L A V R E L P E K E H T F O S E T A R I P E H T
SCENE 1: DEFENSE OF THE NEPTUNE CONVEYOR The scene opens with the PCs in their starfighters, on their way to investigate reports of a non-communicative ship adrift well off the established space lanes. They’re four hours into the mission when they receive an emergency radio transmission from the other direction: “Mayday, mayday, this is cargo starship Neptune Conveyor , we are under attack, request assistance from any able spacecraft in the vicinity—” The coordinates accompanying the transmission are only minutes away from the PCs. Pirates from the base in Asami’s Kepler Valley are attacking the Neptune Conveyor , a cargo starship that jumped into the system six hours previously. Gator starfighters will try to blast out its propulsion systems, then a corvette will bring a boarding party to steal its cargo. They plan to murder the crew if they attempt to interfere with the boarders. Assuming the pilots fly to the rescue, conduct an engagement using these ships, assuming N player character fighter pilots:
∂
Enemy Ships: ∂ Enemy Starfighters: N/2 flights of 2 Gators ∂ Swarm of N, in N/2 (round up) pairs ∂ Objective: The pirate fighters focus entirely on the Tachyon Squadron fighters, planning to resume their attack the Neptune Conveyor if they win.
∂
Draconis Ships: ∂ The Neptune Conveyor : Use stats for C-14 Atlas (page 124) ∂ Each PC flies their SF-46D Blackfish ∂ Objective: Defend the Neptune Conveyor .
Make sure each pilot chooses their modular equipment before the mission begins.
WRINKLE 1: DISTANT SHIPS At the beginning of the engagement, any PC pilot that succeeds with style in the detection phase also detects a group of very far-off signals, the engine signature of a D-99 corvette and two Gators fleeing at maximum thrust. If any of the PCs want to go chase them instead of defending the Neptune Conveyor , run a parallel engagement to represent that.
160
T H E P I R A T E S O F T H E K E P L E R V A L L E Y
WRINKLE 2: THE NORTH STAR If the PCs are able to continue their original mission after they defend the Neptune Conveyor , they can go investigate the drifting ship. They find a passenger starship called North Star , which vanished without a trace two months ago only hours after it jumped into the system from the nearby Republic system of Gamma Corvus. The North Star is sporting significant damage—its engines are destroyed and terrible scorch marks dot the hull, clear signs of having sustained gunfire from enemy ships. The air lock shows evidence that someone forced their way in. There are no life signs on the ship—sensors don’t even pick up the presence of bodies, and there is no sign of the passengers and crew. The ship is abandoned.
SCENE 1.5: DECOMPRESSION, REPAIR, ETC. After the PCs return from their mission, have everyone who took stress make Discipline overcome rolls to try to dispel it. Then, they have time to perform two time-consuming actions before the next day’s mission: sleep, raise some hell, fix their ship, etc.—see “Between Missions” on page 117.
161
Y E L L A V R E L P E K E H T F O S E T A R I P E H T
SCENE 2: BLOCKADE The following day, the squadron commander has a new mission for the PCs: Tachyon Squadron is striking back at the pirates. A scoutship has traced them back to the planet Asami, and they’ve dispatched a major raiding force that the squadron is going to intercept. The PCs represent the backstop—if the pirates try to escape back to their Asami base, the PCs are supposed to destroy them. The PCs take up positions in orbit of the planet Asami. They hear radio chatter from a vicious dogfight, then squadron command orders them to look sharp—fleeing enemy vessels inbound. This engagement occupies two zones: Orbit and Asami’s Atmosphere. All ships start in orbit. Pirate vessels may escape the atmosphere for safety in their landing bay.
∂
Enemy Ships: ∂ Enemy Starfighters: N flights of 2 Gators each, another N flights of 2 Gators each ∂ No swarm ∂ Objective: One of those two collections of N flights attacks the PCs. All other pirate vessels attempt to escape first to the atmosphere, then escape the battle. Pirates who penetrate through both the orbit and atmosphere zones escape to the docking bay of their base in the Kepler Valley of the planet Asami. PC pilots who pursue see them vanish into a huge landing bay, but the bay closes before they can join them.
∂
Draconis Ships: ∂ Each PC flies their SF-46D Blackfish ∂ Objective: Destroy as many pirate vessels as possible.
SCENE 3: RESCUE MISSION
162
Immediately after the blockade battle finishes, the PCs receive a radio transmission from the surface of Asami. A frightened man with a scraggly beard and dirty, torn clothing appears on the view screen. “Hello? Anyone receiving this message, I’m a passenger of the North Star , we were taken hostage, and they’re rigging explosives all around the mine, we need help—” A bright flash, the sounds of blaster fire, and the transmission ends. The transmission came from the suspected pirate base on the surface. Will the PCs wait for orders? Fly to the rescue? Of course they’ll fly to the rescue. The surface of Asami is DIM AND DREARY, and the pilots will be greeted by COLD WITHOUT MERCY.
T H E P I R A T E S O F T H E K E P L E R V A L L E Y
TACTICS AND OBJECTIVES The pirate installation is divided into two levels, each with a number of rooms and chambers. The pirates are holding a number of hostages—30 to be exact—and the PCs probably want to rescue the hostages before the pirates flee the base in the shuttle and activate the explosives. The pirates are trying to escape. The opposition mentioned in each room isn’t static—pirates will move around the base, trying to trap the PCs and slip past them to escape in the shuttle.
∂ Anti-Spacecraft Guns: Any Tachyon Squadron starfighters attempting to directly approach the installation are attacked by a pair of gun batteries with Good (+3) Gunnery and Weapon:2. The PCs can avoid the guns by landing farther away and approaching overland, but they must brave the elements to accomplish that.
UPPER LEVEL The upper level contains 10 pirates (use the warrior NPC stats on page 146). Some are readying the shuttle for departure.
∂
Entrance 1, Landing Bay: CAVERNOUS C HAMBER containing a cargo shuttle, a handful of old Gator starfighters, four frantic technicians.
∂
Entrance 2, Back Door: HIDDEN AMONG BOULDERS a few hundred meters from the landing bay door. Opening the lock requires a Great (+4) Technology overcome action. The door, about three meters wide, slides open to reveal an entryway housing two utility vehicles. An elevator connects this entrance with the Main Mine Shaft below.
163
Y E L L A V R E L P E K E H T F O S E T A R I P E H T
∂
Ore Processing Plant: HUGE C HAMBER containing an ore smelter, rock crusher, and other mineral processing equipment. The room is UNCOMFORTABLY HOT and bathed in a BRIGHT ORANGE GLOW from the smelter. MACHINERY is everywhere. If the PCs look, they might notice the EXPLOSIVE CHARGES. Five hostages are tied up in this room.
∂ Top Level Corridor: This long, BRIGHTLY LIT corridor connects every chamber on this level, and could become a CHOKE POINT if it’s defended by determined opposition. At the far end of the corridor, a freight elevator leads to the Ore Distribution chamber below.
∂
Defense Systems Control Room: COMPUTER SYSTEMS dominate this room, targeting systems for the automated anti-spacecraft guns. If the PCs wish to fly the cargo ship out of the landing bay, they’ll need to disable these systems.
∂
General Systems Control Room: COMPUTER SYSTEMS also dominate this room—the controls for the installations communication, life support, and industrial control systems. The body of the man who sent the message the PCs intercepted is here, blaster wounds obvious. Disabling the communications systems can ensure that the pirates can’t remotely detonate the explosive charges.
∂
Ore Elevator Tube: This long, wide tunnel uses an ARCHIMEDES SCREW to lift raw ore from the Ore Distribution chamber far below into the processing plant. Characters can crawl down the screw with a Good (+3) Athletics overcome action. It is PITCH DARK in the tube.
LOWER LEVEL Another 10 pirates begin the scenario on this level, but might organize a counterattack to the upper level, trying to reach the shuttle, at the GM’s option.
164
∂
Ore Distribution: This is a huge, DIMLY LIT chamber with PILES OF ORE scattered around, and several ROBOTIC F RONT E ND L OADERS parked here and there. Twenty hostages are tied up here. If the PCs look they might notice the EXPLOSIVE CHARGES.
∂
Main Mine Shaft: This long, DIMLY L IT and CRAMPED corridor runs hundreds of meters from the Ore Distribution point, branching out into secondary shafts. Numerous SECONDARY S HAFTS split off from the main shaft. Five more hostages are tied in the main shaft, near an EXPLOSIVE CHARGE. A freight elevator connects the far end of the main shaft to the back door on the surface.
DEFENSE OF ARCOSOLARI KALAMOS Arcosolari Kalamos is a residential space station with five thousand residents in orbit of the planet Kalamos, about 30 hours’ travel from Draconis Station. In this scenario, elements of Tachyon Squadron—the PCs and a handful of maintenance technicians—have been assigned to “the Arco,” as the locals call it, for a month’s deployment. Given its remote distance from Draconis Station, the DVG routinely deploys fighters to bolster the station’s defenses. The Arco is home to the single largest concentration of open Dominion loyalist sentiment in the system, and a few loyalists have turned into fifth columnists, watching for DVG patrols and radioing a secret Dominion listening post in the nearby Kripka Asteroid Cluster. The PCs will have to defend themselves against an ambush, root out the spies, and defend the Arco against a determined strike from a Dominion task force—or pre-emptively attack the strike force themselves.
CAMPAIGN SETUP If this is the beginning of your campaign, assume that it’s early in the war and the Dominion hasn’t been observed returning to the system yet. The PC pilots have access to the listed equipment—to obtain additional equipment, the pilots will need to make their own arrangements.
∂ 4 Vulcan’s Hammer missiles ∂ 2 Vortex missiles ∂ 4 Unguided Rocket Volleys (6 if more than 4 PCs) ∂ 2 Inertial Suppression Units ∂ 2 Shield Boosters ∂ 1 Haymaker Particle Accelerator (2 if more than 4 PCs) ∂ 1 Hawkeye Sensor Booster ∂ 1 Adaptive Computation Node (2 if more than 4 PCs) A spare Blackfish can be delivered if necessary, but it might delay a mission.
165
S O M A L A K I R A L O S O C R A F O E S N E F E D
THE ARCO A small space station, the Arco is more crowded than it’s designed for. A planned expansion didn’t happen before the system government declared independence, and the new government doesn’t have the money to fund new construction. This has led to some discontent, and the Arco was already a hotbed of loyalist politics for a variety of historical reasons. Problems of crowding and political radicalism keep the station police very busy. Given that the station is a POLITICAL TINDERBOX, it is illegal for private citizens to carry blasters on the Arco. The PCs can, but Commander Lopez sure doesn’t like it. Tachyon Squadron pilots are assigned dormitory-style apartments near the docking bay. They’re considerably more cramped than their quarters at Draconis Station, and pilots are required to share apartments, two per. You can use “Disunity and Separatism” (page 108) as the current issue for this campaign arc.
PEOPLE IN THE ARCO Here are some people you might run into on the Arco.
EMERSON PRICE SKILLS
Great (+4): Rapport Fair (+2): Empathy Average (+1): Provoke STRESS TRACK
He immediately concedes if threatened with physical violence.
STATION GOVERNOR EMERSON PRICE
The elderly Price is the STATION G OVERNOR. He doesn’t do a lot of governing (HANDS OFF APPROACH), preferring to leave day-to-day details to his staff (especially Commander Lopez). He won’t hear of any wrongdoing that his nephew James Hartley has done (HOPELESSLY LOYAL TO HARTLEY), and will order him released from the brig anytime he’s taken there, for any reason. SECURITY COMMANDER ANNA LOPEZ
The OVERWORKED AND FRAZZLED Commander Lopez leads a force of eight full-time and six part-time security officers. She is aggressively apolitical and has no love for either loyalist radicals or DVG pilots. She wants PEACE, NOT JUSTICE. JAMES HARTLEY
166
Hartley is a controller at the docking bay and a DOMINION LOYALIST. He’s secretly in contact with the Dominion with a contraband encrypted radio, warning Dominion forces about activities of DVG pilots. Arco techs can detect the outgoing transmissions but not their destination or their content. Hartley is the station GOVERNOR’S NEPHEW. He LOATHES COMMANDER LOPEZ. He makes no secret of his politics, but it’s not illegal to be a loyalist.
D E F E N S E O F A R C O S O L A R I K A L A M O S
JAMES HARTLEY
ANNA LOPEZ
ASPECTS
SKILLS
DOMINION LOYALIST SKILLS
Good (+3): Fight, Provoke, Rapport, Shoot Fair (+2): Discipline, Empathy, Notice EQUIPMENT
Heavy Blaster: Weapon:1 STRESS TRACK CONSEQUENCES
Mild (2): Moderate (4): Severe (6):
Great (+4): Discipline Good (+3): Fight, Provoke, Shoot Fair (+2): Empathy, Notice EQUIPMENT
Heavy Blaster: Weapon:1 STRESS TRACK CONSEQUENCES
Mild (2): Moderate (4): Severe (6):
167
S O M A L A K I R A L O S O C R A F O E S N E F E D
LOCATIONS IN THE ARCO Here are some places the PCs might go on the Arco.
∂
Price’s Office: A receptionist’s desk area leads to Price’s workspace, a small office suite. It has the look of an office whose occupant does more napping and watching of holovids than work, and the furnishings and decor have a cheap, veener-ish quality to them. CRAMPED AND DISORGANIZED
∂
Corridors: Getting around the Arco is mostly done by walking—getting from one side of the station to the other is about a 1km walk, mostly through largely featureless aluminum corridors. Lighting is bright white/blue LED lighting, which lends an air of anxiety to life on the station. Corridors have almost no cover except at intersections, unless you can find an open door. YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE
∂ The Strange Quark: The Quark is the most popular bar on the Arco and is usually LOUD AND C ROWDED. It’s frequented by some loyalist toughs ITCHING FOR A FIGHT who won’t take kindly to the pilots of Tachyon Squadron showing up.
∂ The Park: A two acre OASIS OF LIFE, with strange bluish-purple leaves flourishing under the Gamma Draconis.
DIM R ED L IGHT cast
by the nearby red dwarf
∂ The Brig: Hopefully the pilots won’t find themselves here, but you never know. The Arco’s police force is OVERWORKED AND UNDERSTAFFED, so the brig is limited to use as holding cells and for very short term sentences. Long-term prisoners sentenced to jail terms are generally transferred to Draconis.
∂ James Hartley’s Apartment: If the PCs go to Hartley’s CRAMPED apartment, it has three rooms: kitchen, living area, bedroom. All are CLUTTERED AND MESSY, but behind a false panel in a back cabinet in the kitchen is a radio. Hartley keeps an illegal heavy blaster behind a similar false panel behind his bed.
∂ The Docking Bay: This is a CAVERNOUS pressurized bay that can accept
168
many PARKED SHUTTLES, STARFIGHTERS, AND OTHER SMALL SHIPS. Large bulk carriers are loaded and unloaded with cargo tugs that move SHIPPING CONTAINERS full of materials of all kinds, and a rarely used passenger embarkment corridor can dock with large passenger liners. A CONTROL O FFICE has a large windowed view of the entire bay, with plenty of communications gear and control systems for the various machines and systems in the bay. Access to the bay is restricted to dockworkers and authorized passengers. Some of the dockworkers are ardent Dominion loyalists.
AMBUSH The campaign opens with the PCs on a long patrol mission, halfway to the Kripka Asteroid Cluster, about a five hour cruise from the Arco. They’re set upon by a squadron of Dominion fighters. It’s not hard for the PC pilots to determine that these are short-range fighters, so there must be a carrier or base in this part of the Draconis system somewhere. Run this as a standard engagement with one zone; to flee combat requires a concession or nobody declaring they’d pursue. Dominion fighters carry the markings of the Death Riders squadron—a red skeletal horse and rider.
∂
Enemy Ships: ∂ Enemy Starfighters: N flights of two Goblins each. One of these flights is piloted by elite pilots. ∂ The Swarm: 2N ∂ Objective: The Dominion fighters attempt to destroy every Tachyon Squadron ship they can. They try to flee when reduced to half their (non-swarm) number.
∂
Draconis Ships: ∂ Each PC flies their SF-46D Blackfish ∂ Objective: Survival
D E F E N S E O F A R C O S O L A R I K A L A M O S
169
S O M A L A K I R A L O S O C R A F O E S N E F E D
DECOMPRESSION, REPAIR, AND HARTLEY As usual, allow PCs time for two actions between missions (page 117) before their next duty shift.
∂
Decompression: Chances are at least some of the pilots will need to dump some stress. Unwinding via alcohol or gambling will likely involve visiting the Arco’s best bar, the Strange Quark. Unless they take great pains to disguise themselves as locals, a bunch of loyalist toughs try to rough them up, give them a hard time, and provoke a fight. Any violence draws the police led by Commander Lopez, who arrests those she thinks were taking part in any fighting. James Harley sits in the corner of the bar during all of this, holding court with his fellow loyalists, and yells some taunts at any PCs getting arrested. Give the players a good idea that Lopez and Hartley hate each other. PCs who’ve gotten arrested can get un-arrested in several ways. They could talk their way out with some really inspired Rapport. They could post bail, which might require going into some debt with someone. The other PCs could stage a jailbreak, but this will not go down well at all with the squadron commander—then again, the squadron commander is back on Draconis Station hundreds of millions of kilometers away.
∂
Repairs: Pilots that have ships to repair can let the squadron’s techs do the repairs, but time might require they fix things themselves. If any do, let the pilot in the docking bay with the best Notice see that one of the dockworkers is surreptitiously snapping photos of their Blackfish ship as they’re doing repairs. What action the PC takes is up to their player, of course, but the dockworker is a loyalist whose goal is to turn the photos over to James Hartley, who will send them to his Dominion contacts via his encrypted radio.
THE CRUX OF IT Hartley is using his position as a boss in the Docking Bay control room to collect data on ships’ comings and goings to and from the Arco and passing that info along to his Dominion contacts using an encrypted radio he’s hidden in his apartment. Radio technicians from the Arco occasionally detect these transmissions but can’t pin down their location or destination and can’t decrypt the message.
170
D E F E N S E O F A R C O S O L A R I K A L A M O S
Make sure the PCs have some reason to suspect Hartley is up to no good. If necessary, give them another mission, such as an emergency combat patrol where they scramble to defend a cargo ship being attacked—one where the timing of the Dominion attack is uncanny, it’s as if they know exactly where and when to find the ships they target. If the PCs figure it out, they could go in any of several directions:
∂
Cut Off Transmissions: They do something to prevent Hartley from filing any additional reports. In this case, the Dominion launches an assault on the Arco, hoping to land Spaceborne Infantry aboard and take control of the station.
∂ Send Fake Transmissions: They do something to get Hartley to send incorrect information to the Dominion. In this case, the Dominion waits to launch an attack until reinforcements arrive, or can be duped into launching one while the PCs lie in ambush somewhere. In either case, proceed to the Battle of Acrosolari Kalamos.
171
S O M A L A K I R A L O S O C R A F O E S N E F E D
THE BATTLE OF ARCOSOLARI KALAMOS Depending on how the PCs set things up and what they do about James Hartley’s espionage, this battle could be a desperate defense of the Arco, a pre-emptive attack against Dominion forces, or anything in between. The Dominion has a strike force hidden in the Kripka Asteroid Cluster, and their ambition is to capture the Arco to use it as an initial staging point for retaking control of the entire Draconis System. Start with an Interception mission (page 113), with the following additions:
∂
Dominion Forces: ∂ Additional Strike Element: Dominion Frigate Glory (stats on page 132) ∂ Payload: 1x DA-99T Assault Transport carrying 25 Spaceborne Infantry ∂ In the distance lurks the Dominion Fighter Tender Courage (use stats of C-14 Atlas on page 124)—this ship tries to avoid combat but could be ambushed with good intelligence.
Modify the order of battle as you see fit, taking into account anything the PCs do to distract, feint, or impede the Dominion before the battle— granting bonuses to detection rolls for clever feints, etc.
∂
172
Draconis Forces: ∂ Each PC flies their SF-46D Blackfish ∂ The Arco has one gun emplacement with stats identical to the Glory ’s gun emplacements, if the battle occurs near the station.
INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCES BOOKS Baa Baa Black Sheep by Gregory Boyington, (C) 1958 Wilson Press Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain by Len Deighton, (C) 1977 Alfred A. Knopf Inc. Samurai! by Saburo Sakai with Martin Caidin and Fred Saito, (C) 1957 Ballantine Books Yeager by Chuck Yeager with Leo Janos, (C) 1985 Random House Publishing Group
I N S P I R A T I O N A N D I N F L U E N C E S
MOVIES AND TELEVISION Angels One Five (1952) The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) The Dam Busters (1955) The Battle of Britain (1969) Kelly’s Heroes (1970) Black Sheep Squadron (1976) Midway (1976) Star Wars (1977) Battlestar Galactica (1978, 2004) Outland (1981) Robotech (1985) Top Gun (1986) Iron Eagle (1986) Piece of Cake (1988) Memphis Belle (1990) Flight of the Intruder (1991) Babylon 5 (1994) Space: Above and Beyond (1995) Pearl Harbor (2001) Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) Red Tails (2012) The Eternal Zero (2013) Dunkirk (2017)
173
S E C N E U L F N I D N A N O I T A R I P S N I
GAMES Flight Leader (board game, 1986) by Gary C. Morgan, published by
Avalon Hill Knights of the Air (board game, 1987) by Mike Uhl, published by Avalon Hill
Luftwaffe (board game, 1971) by Lou Zocchi, published by Avalon Hill Rolling Thunder (board game, 1979) by Steve Weiss, published by Commando Wargames Star Frontiers (Roleplaying Game, 1982), by Douglas Niles, published by TSR (especially the wonderful SFKH-0: “Warriors of White Light” and SFKH-1 “Dramune Run,” both by Douglas Niles)
VIDEO GAMES Falcon (especially 1991’s seminal Falcon 3.0 ), 1987-1994 by Spectrum
Holobyte Star Wars: X-Wing, 1993-present by LucasArts and Disney Interactive Studios (also the amazing TIE Fighter from the same publisher) Wing Commander , 1990-2007 by Origin Systems and Electronic Arts While it was not a direct inspiration, if you like Tachyon Squadron you’ll probably love Steve and Cait Bergeron’s tabletop RPG Warbirds , published by Outrider Studios (www.outriderstudios.com )—a great roleplaying game about air combat from folks who really know their stuff.
174
INDEX Action phase, 35, 42, 49, 180, 181 examples of, 56-59, 61-63, 70-76 Action skills, 23, 26-27 distributing in character creation, 19 with equipment, 65 Actions, 49-52, 180, 181 examples in play, 42, 56-59, 61-63, 70-76 Advantage, 35, 38, 82, 180 Archetypes, 18 Arcosolari Kalamos (the Arco, space station), 95 campaign, 108, 165-72 loyalists, 95, 108, 136, 166-68, 170 Athletics, 23, 26 Attack actions, 49-50, 181 large targets, 54-55 with specific skills, 24-30 Axion Squadron, 84, 100, 110, 122 Big ships, 54-55 example of battle, 56-59 Blackfish (multirole starfighter), 121, 122-23, 183-84 damage chart for, 45 Boelcke, Oswald, 82 Bonus for victories, 106 Bug out, 41, 43, 47, 77, 180 large targets and, 55 Callsign, 13-14 Campaign arcs, 118-20 Character creation, 11-22 aspects, 10, 15-17 concept, 11-13 examples of, 147-58 gear, 20 personal details, 20-22 skills, 18-19 stress, 20 stunts, 19
Combat patrol, 98, 112 Commerce, 85, 106 Concession, 47, 47, 55, 114, 180 example, 76 Create advantage non-attack actions, 51 with specific skills, 24-30 Customs inspection, 99 Damage, 44 bugging out and, 47 chart for the SF-46 Blackfish, 45, 123 engagements and, 64, 179 examples of, 57-58, 70, 72, 74-75 flights and, 53 large targets and, 54 personal, 45, 64, 103, 179 punching out and, 46 repairing, 51, 55, 102, 181 simple, 46 Death/loss, 64, 179 Debt, 17, 17, 100, 106, 116, 170 Deceive, 28 Decompression aspects, 16 examples, 104, 170 raising hell and, 116 stress recovery and, 101, 179 Defend with specific skills, 24-30 Defense of Arcosolari Kalamos (campaign), 108, 165-72 Degrade, 43, 180 examples of, 58, 73 Desperate attack, 50, 181 Detection phase, 35, 36-37, 36-37, 180 examples of, 37, 68 Dice, 7 maximizing/minimizing, 33, 138 equipment and, 67 examples of, 56-58, 70, 75 gear and, 34 Disability, 22 Discipline, 23, 28 stress recovery and, 101, 179
175
X E D N I
Doctor visits, 103 Dominion of Unity, 7, 83-85 counterattacks by, 110 disunity and, 108 ships of, 127-37 constructing strategies for, 118-20 Draconis Volunteer Group, 7, 83-84, 109, 110 distrust of, 109 off-duty, off-duty, 88, 91-92, 105-06, 115-17 ships of, 122-24 typical missions of, 98-99 Empathy, 23, 29 End of round, 35, 43, 180 examples of, 58, 73 Engagement(s), 10, 35-43, 180 extended example of, 68-76 impact of relationship aspects on, 117 Equipment (modular), 65-67 designing, 67 Escort mission, 99, 113
Fate Accessibility Toolkit , 22, 116 Fate Core System, 7, 10 actions and, 51-52, 181 bugging out and, 47 creating stunts in, 31 issues and story questions in, 107 milestones in, 117 recovering from consequences in, 103 scenarios in, 119 scenes in, 115 Fight, 23, 26 Fighter screen, 60-63 Fighter sweep, 99, 112 Flights, 53 in engagements, 111-14
176
Gambling, 116, 170 Gear, 20 stunts, 33-34 Graviton Squadron, 84, 102, 110, 122
Great Galactic War, 83-84 Gunnery, 19, 23, 24 Hyperspace, 86 Informal investigations, 99 Interception, 99, 113 Investigate, 23, 29 Issue(s), 107-109, 118 Jargon, 77-81 game mechanics and, 79 Large targets, 54-55 Large Target Target Strike, 50, 181 example, 56 Law enforcement and decompression, 116 Living conditions, 105 Maneuver(s), 35-36, 38-41, 180 terminology for, 80-81 Maneuver chart, 38-41, 43, 48 blank, 182 Mental attacks, 64, 179 Modular equipment, 65-67 designing, 67 Money, 85, 106 Names, 13-14 Non-attack actions, 49, 51-52, 181 Non-player character (NPC) examples, 140-46 Nose around, 102, 115 Nose art, 20 Notice, 23, 36 On their tail, 41, 50, 181 examples, 42, 62-63, 71, 74-75 non-attack actions and, 51-52 Tactics and, 25, 114 Operational objective (gamemaster), 118-20 Opposition fleets, 111-114 Organized crime, 90, 92, 99, 108, 109
Overcome non-attack action, 51 with specific skills, 24-30 Payload, 54, 86, 111 Personal stunts, 31-32 Physical damage, 64, 179 example, 74 Pilot 19, 24, 42 examples 58, 70-72, 74 Pirate(s), 108, 146 ships, 136 Pirates of the Kepler Valley, Valley, The (campaign), 108, 159-64 Player character examples, 147-58 Political instability, 109 Provoke, 23, 28, 30, 64, 179 Punching out, 46 Push, 51, 181 example, 70-71 Raise hell, 101, 115-16 Rapport, 23, 28, 30, 170 Recurring villains, 114 Red Baron, 82 Relationship aspects, 17, 117 terrible, 116 Repair action, 51, 55, 181 example, 58 off duty activity, 102 Technology and, 19, 25, 57 Rescue, 51, 181 after punching out, 46, 47 in The Pirates of the Kepler Valley, Valley, 159-60, 162-63 mission, 98, 119 Rivalries, 7, 17, 110, 114 Run the gauntlet, 47 Search and rescue mission, 98 SF-46D Blackfish, see Blackfish Shake off a tail, 41, 51, 52, 180, 181 examples, 73, 74 Tactics and, 25
Shields, 10, 44, 46 example, 57 on large ships, 54 restoring, 51, 102 Ships designing new, 138-39 examples of, 124-37 in Draconis, 86 opposition in engagements, 111 repairing in combat, 51 repairing while off duty, du ty, 102 Shoot, 23, 27 vs. Gunnery, 24 Shopping, 102, 115 Skills, 11, 18-19, 23-30 lists, 23, 179 unassigned, 19 Sleep, 64, 103, 179 Snap Shot, 50, 181 examples, 62, 70, 72 large targets and, 55 Sneak, 23, 27 Spacer’s Rest, The, 91, 92, 106, 144 Stellar Republic, 7, 83-85 Strategic objective, 118 Stress, 10, 20 concession and, 47 damage and, 45 death/loss and, 64, 179 decompression scenes and, 116 Discipline and, 28 examples, 20, 70, 74 Stress recovery, 101, 179 by decompression, 101 by raising hell, 101, 116 example of, 104 missing sleep and, 64, 179 with discipline, 101 Strike, 99, 113 Stunts, 10, 11, 19, 31-34 refresh and, 10, 19, 33, 34 Swarm, 53 in engagements, 111-13 thinning out, 52, 181 using, 114 victories and, 45 when to use, 139
I N D E X
177
X E D N I
Switch zones, 41, 43, 52, 61, 180, 181 example, 63 Tactical refocus, 52, 181 degrading and, 43 examples, 72-73, 75 large targets and, 55 on their tail and, 50 Tactics, 114 skill, 19, 23, 25 Taken out, 64 concessions and, 114
178
Technology, 8-9 skill, 19, 23, 25 Terminology, 77-79 Thin out the swarm, 52, 53, 181 example, 70-71 Undetected, 35-37, 38, 41, 48 von Richtofen, Manfred, 82 Victory, 45, 79 ace pilot and, 77 bonuses from, 105-06 examples, 71, 76 Villains, recurring, 114
QUICK REFERENCE SKILL LISTS SPACEFARING SKILLS Gunnery Pilot Tactics Technology
ACTION SKILLS Athletics Fight Notice Shoot Sneak
SOCIAL SKILLS Discipline Empathy Investigate Provoke Rapport
PERSONAL DAMAGE Many things can cause damage to your character, not all of them direct attacks.
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂
∂
Mental Attacks: Someone attacking you with Provoke can cause damage depending on the circumstances and your relationship with them—you need to care about what they have to say, have a reason to be afraid of them, etc. Physical Damage: Being hit by attacks in a fight can cause damage. Damage in Engagements: Space combat is terrifying. For each instance of damage your ship takes, you suffer 1 shift of damage. If you happen to be aboard a ship when it’s destroyed and you can’t eject, that’s that. Missing a Night’s Sleep: Automatically suffer 2 shifts of damage for the first night of sleep you miss, 4 for the second consecutive night, 6 for the third consecutive night, etc. You can’t recover from stress if you’ve missed the previous night’s sleep. Death and Loss: The first time you witness the death or severe injury of a comrade, suffer 4 shifts of damage. Each time thereafter, suffer 1 fewer, until you’re sufficiently jaded that it causes zero stress. The GM may compel your relationship aspects to increase this stress as appropriate.
RECOVERING FROM STRESS The first thing to do after any scene where you take on stress is attempt to dispel that stress. Make an overcome roll with Discipline vs. a difficulty equal to the amount of stress you have. The difficulty maxes out at 5, even if your stress track is longer because of a stunt. This attempt costs you no time at all.
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂
If you fail: Keep your stress, or get rid of it at some serious cost. If you tie: Lose half your stress (round down), or you succeed at some mild cost. If you succeed: Remove all your stress. If you succeed with style: Remove all your stress, and take a boost for use in the next scene that reflects your exceptionally chill and unflappable mental state.
If you can’t clear stress using Discipline, an option is to spend a fate point and describe how you use your healthy decompression aspect to get back to mental and emotional equilibrium, then clear your stress. Blowing off steam in an unhealthy way works too. Accept a fate point, describe how you’re engaging in the vice defined by your decompression aspect, watch your stress melt away, and describe how it gets you into trouble.
179
ENGAGEMENTS An engagement consists of four phases: Detection, Maneuver, Action, and End of Round. DETECTION PHASE Determine whether any ships are undetected going into combat. Every pilot and the GM roll overcome actions with Technology. Look at where the GM’s result falls in the range of player results.
∂ ∂ ∂
GM beats highest player: 1 GM ship (or flight) is undetected (w/ style = all GM’s ships) GM between highest and lowest player (including ties): Nobody undetected Lowest player beats GM: 1 PC-piloted ship is undetected (w/ style = all PC-piloted ships)
MANEUVER PHASE Establish which pilots have advantage over others, enabling them to attack. If you want to concede or attempt to disengage, this is the time. If this is the first maneuver phase of the engagement, place a marker representing your ship on the maneuver chart like so (the GM does this for their ships too):
∂ ∂ ∂
If you are undetected, place your ship in the Undetected section. If your ship is a capital ship, a cargo ship, passenger liner, or any other sort of big ship, place it in Special. Otherwise, perform an overcome action with Tactics. Place the marker representing your ship on that number (or lower, if you wish).
If this is the second or later maneuver phase of the engagement, place a marker representing your ship on the maneuver chart like so (the GM does this for their ships too):
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂
If you were on someone’s tail and no longer are (the target was destroyed, the target shook you off, or you chose to break off), perform an overcome action with Tactics as if it were the first maneuver phase. If you shook someone off your tail last phase, perform an overcome action with Tactics as if it were the first maneuver phase. If you are currently in the Undetected slot of the maneuver chart, perform an overcome action with Tactics as if it were the first maneuver phase. If you were in Special last turn because you were switching zones, perform an overcome action with Tactics as if it were the first maneuver phase but in the new zone. If you choose to bug out, place your ship in Special. If you choose to switch zones, place your ship in Special. Otherwise, stay where you are on the maneuver chart based on the end of round phase of the previous round.
ACTION PHASE Make attacks, create advantages, and perform all sorts of other actions. The pilot of the ship highest on the maneuver chart who hasn’t yet gone this round goes next. On your turn, take two actions from the list of available actions: Step 1 and Step 2 (see next page). Play then passes to the next highest ship on the maneuver chart that hasn’t yet gone this round. Once all ships take a turn in the action phase, the phase is complete.
END OF ROUND Degrade your maneuver chart position (slide your ship down one slot) unless an action, stunt, etc. says you should not. Then, return to the maneuver phase. Repeat the cycle of maneuver-action-end until one side is destroyed or disengages.
ACTIONS IN THE ACTION PHASE For all actions, attack with Gunnery and defend with Pilot unless you use a stunt or modular equipment that specifies otherwise.
ATTACK ACTIONS
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂
Desperate attack (full phase): Spend a fate point to climb two slots on the maneuver chart, then attack a ship at or below your new slot. Acquire EASY TARGET. Large target strike (full phase): Attack a large target. On their tail (full phase): Position yourself in the slot directly above your target on the maneuver chart. Attack your target with a +2 bonus to your attack roll, increasing by +1 each round. Snap shot (Step 1): Attack a ship at your level or below on the maneuver chart.
NON-ATTACK ACTIONS
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂
Create an advantage or overcome (Step 1 or Step 2): As standard Fate Core actions. Push (Step 2): Overcome action, Pilot vs. Pilot. If aggressor wins, they push defender down the maneuver chart. Repair (Step 2): Overcome action with Technology vs. Fair (+2) to clear one damage instance. Rescue (full phase): Pick up a stranded pilot. Shake off a tail (full phase): Overcome action, Tactics vs. Tactics. If successful, both reposition in next maneuver phase. Switch zones (Step 2): If in Special maneuver slot, switch to a new zone. Tactical refocus (Step 2): Overcome action with Tactics. Position your ship at or below result on maneuver chart. Do not degrade. Thin out the swarm (Step 1 or Step 2): Overcome action with Gunnery (or another skill if specified) vs. Pilot of defending ships. Eliminate swarm aspect(s) if successful.
MANEUVER CHART UNDETECTED +9 +8 +7 +6 +5 +4 +3 +2 +1 0 –1 –2 –3 SPECIAL
E Q U I P M E N T B A Y 1
D E F E N D
A T T A C K
S t r u c t u r a l d i s i n t e g r a t i o n ! P u n c h o u t !
a m o u n t t h e s h i p s u s t a i n e d i n t h i s h i t
[ [ C r i
t C L c i o I F a c E l k S p S U y i t P s P t h O e i m ,t R p T s i D l D o A a t M s A m u G a s E t D g e a i n s d a m a g e e q u a l t o t h e
C a t a s t r o p h i c e x p l o s i o n ! P u n c h o u t !
0
D
R I V E S
R
E A D Y T O
G I V E
O U T
[ [ [ P r o M C M M p r i u i n i n s n i l t i i i m i m o i m c a i i n i z l z z e d e e S 1 1 y 1 a m d s d t d a i e i e i g e e m o e o o D n t n n T a T o P a m a d i l c a c r o i t t t v a i g i e c c s s c s e a : t i a n d P i l o t a c t i o n s ,
o n s
c t i o n s
F S l H a s O T h S fi I r N e ! T P H E u D n c A h R K o u t !
A u t o m a t e d E j e c t i o n S y s t e m : S e e p a g e 4 6 .
E Q U I P M E N T B A Y 2
-
D E T E C T I O N
E N G A G E M E N T B O N U S E S
M A N E U V E R
S T A N D A R D F G U E a T A T i n R U W E R E e L I S a A p B o L E n : 1 t o G u n n e r y a t t a c k s .
W A s e p l l A e c r : m t O e L d D : B
c R + s e h o c e
[ [ [ C o m M S M M p e i n i n u n n i i t i s m e m o m i r r i i z i z S z s e a e e y 1 n 1 1 s t d d d d e i i m i t e e a o e o D o r n g n n a G T m T e e t u e a i c n n c h g n h g n s e n e o y r o l y l s o t a o g g e c y m t y a s o i a n n c t d o s i o ffl G n u i s n n e n e : r y a c t i o n s ,
t i o n b e l o w .
c k o ff a b o x i n t h e a p p r o p r i a t e
l l 1 d F t o m i t i g a t e 2 s h i f t s a n d
S F - 4 6 D “ B L A C K F I S H ” S T A R F I G H T E R
S Y S T E M D A M A G E
S H I E L D S
P I L O T
