5PH: Campaign Turn 2 - Militant Isolationists

The Immortal Children get hired to deal with militant isolationists who are planning to blow up a local power station.

Preface

We're slowly introducing more and more mechanics to the campaign turns. Before this scenario, the Immortal Children had a chance to do a bit of preparation and downtime activities.

The story blurb talks about crashing our ship on Terseus-9, during which we lost a lot of old gear. We haven't yet talked about the planet we are currently on, and I'm excited to flesh it out with more details later down the line. Our current goal is to get the ship running again so it only makes sense that we'd still be on that planet.

Before the battle

Crew Tasks

Each crew member can choose one crew task (p.76). For now, we are limited to the following options: Train, Trade, Recruit, Explore, and Repair your Kit.

Captain Latus Edaro
Explore: (53) I don't have a gambling problem! | Discard one item from the character's equipment or crew Stash. (I removed the Analyzer from the crew Stash)

XO Brimus Janidri
Trade: (1) I know a good deal when I see one | Roll on the Trade table: (61) Your choice of a Handgun, Colony Rifle, or Shotgun (I chose Shotgun)

UR-25 'Urtz'
Explore: (85) Offered a small job | Select a random enemy this battle; get 2 credits if you kill him (running away doesn't count).

Steven Bramlet
Explore: (14) Had a nice chat | 1d6+savy. 5+ gain 1 story point. Success

Koah Keot
Trade: (42) Trade Goods | We can sell these on other planets (1d6 credits)

Selek Marfi
Trade: (35) Gun Upgrade Kit | Receive your choice of Laser Sight, Bipod, or Beam Light (I chose Bipod)

All of these encounters could be fleshed out and used as plot hooks. For now, I'm going to gloss over them because I want to make some progress with the campaign.

Assign Equipment

The newly bought Shotgun gets handed over to Selek Marfi so she has a ranged option. The bipod is put on Brimus Janidri's military rifle. Everything else stays the same.

The Setup

The Board

I originally talked about an industrial zone, but during setup, that concept started to morph into more of an old and remote power plant that was already merging with the surrounding landscape.

The battle mat is from the Core Space First Born Starter Set, the road is from Deep-Cut Studio, the shuttle is from Battle Systems, and the rest is all from Games Workshop.

The starting sides were randomly determined, so it was a coincidence that the road became this no man's land partition.

The Enemies

The story blurb only talks about 'isolationist colonists that have turned militant' so I'm picturing rural civilians that violently oppose the encroaching corporations. I make note of that in my OneNote document about the current planet, but I don't think we need to know more about them at this point. If they ever come up again, we can generate more about them as needed.

The Battle

Deployment Condition: Slippery Ground (-1 movement)

Objective: Patrol (be withing 2" of 3 randomly determined large terrain pieces to win the scenario) I chose the reactor and rolled the red and the yellow container.
I see this as checking the reactor and its surroundings for any explosives or sabotage.

Seize the Initiative: Fail

All the objectives are on the opposite side of the board and the road will be difficult to cross with the -1 movement from the slippery ground.

Urtz and Keot quickly moved up and took some long range shots. Keot's hunting rifle found its mark as the hulker once again proved his marksmanship.

The first kill

Everyone scrambled for cover as the shots started to fly across the entire battlefield. The enemy had good cover, but the Immortal Children had better range. Nonetheless, our crew had to push forward to get to the objectives.

Half of the crew pushed toward the right flank, and XO Janidri managed to set up his bipod on a rusty barrel, which allowed him to take out the militant creeping up behind the red container.

Captain Edaro and Scientist Bramlet took the chance to sprint across open ground in order to reach the safety of the reactor on the other side of the road. Seeing this charge, the enemy heavy gunner turned tail and ran away from the battlefield.

Running through the open like that, they made the perfect target, and the militant with the orange beanie took full advantage. Steven Bramlet wore a camo cloak to battle, that gave him cover even if he was only nearby and not directly behind it. Sadly, it didn't make a difference this time. The shot hit him in the leg and he fell down screaming.

Enraged, Captain Edaro charged further and came face to face with the enemy leader. His close range shot instantly killed the handcannon wielding enemy, after which Edaro quickly ducked behind the reactor.

Meanwhile, on the left flank, Selek Marfi dashed from cover to cover and tried to stay out of sight until she was in range. Seeing her Captain kill the enemy leader, she saw her opportunity to strike. Stepping out of cover, she slung her shotgun from her back and easily shot her target.

Seeing her remaining allies get slaughtered like that, the last enemy (the one who shot Bramlet) turns around and runs away.

Captain Latus Edaro looked down at the corpse of the enemy leader. Just a civvy with an old gun. What the hell were they thinking? "Check on Bramlet and then make sure that these bastards left no surprises behind. I don't want any dumb accidents after the job is already done, get that?"

After the Battle

I actually forgot to randomly determine an enemy for the 2 credits rewards from Urzt's Explore Crew Task. Let's just say that it was the last enemy that got away because it adds another reason to go after them (future story hook).

Get Paid: 6cr | The maximum, nice.
Battlefield Finds: 1 Stim Pack | Always good to have.
Gather the Loot: Cargo Crate worth 6cr | The maximum credits again, very nice.
Injuries/Recovery: Steven Bramlet - Minor Injuries (Miss 1 Campaign Turn)

XP and Upgrades

• Captain Latus Edaro: Combat to +2 (7xp)
• XO Brimus Janidri: Speed to 5 (5xp)
• Koah Keot: Reaction to 2 (7xp)
• Selek Marfi: Toughness to 4 (6xp)

Purchase Items
Ship Upgrade: Cargo Hold for 15 credits (13+2 from owned ship component)
Roll on Gear table for 3cr: Bipod (Given to Captain Edaro's Infantry Laser)

Campaign Event: (15) Friends among locals | +1 Story Point
Character Event: Steven Bramlet (95) Melancholy & Despair | Gain no XP during the next Campaign Turn | Lucky roll because he has to spend the next Campaign Turn in the sick bay.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, a fun Campaign Turn. The -1 movement really made it difficult to advance on the battlefield, and the crew got lucky that they didn't suffer any more casualties.

My only criticism remains that the battles feel way too short and simplistic. The mechanics are too streamlined for my taste, and it feels weird to spend more time setting up the scenario than actually playing it.

For the next Campaign Turn, the Immortal Children leave the planet and fight against corporate mercenaries. I'm going to paint a few mercenaries, so it will be a bit before the next post is done.

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