Five Parsecs from Home 3E!

Hol-lee crap!  Five Parsecs from Home got the nod from Modiphius and has come out with a shiny new third edition!  So obviously I had to give it a go.  Maybe this will even be a running thing.

I made a new crew, all Human except for the lone Engineer alien.  The had a pretty good start, too.  Most of my guys had a Reaction score of 2 or 3, which is nice for a starting crew.  The team consisted of Verdun the Captain, Bloo, Flavio, Spiegel, Riek, and the alien Döbler.

Verdun has a sweet Glare Sword and a Hand Laser.  Bloo has a devastating Shatter Axe.

Our ship, the "Profit Margin" is cobbled together out of salvage, but still put us in debt of 25 credits.

Time for adventure!

The Crew: Riek, Flavio, Verdun, Bloo, Spiegel and Döbler

Starting out on planet Aran, (which is in a Null Zone that blocks teleportation), I spend 3 credits of my 13 to pay down my debt.  Then it goes up by one in interest.  Next, I send my guys out on tasks.  Two look for a Patron, and we find a Wealthy Individual who wants us to do a job for him.  Two more go Exploring.  They get noticed by (non-existent) Rivals (so nothing) and sell off a Scrap Pistol for 1 Credit.  Finally, the remaining two crewmembers Trade, selling some cargo for 2 Credits and also buying (and re-selling) some contraband for 6 credits of profit.  Unfortunately, that pisses off some local Pirates, who now become Rivals.

One of my crew came with their own Rumor from their past, so I check for a Quest, rolling a 1 on the D6, and now we have a Quest!  And a Job!  But none of that matters, because here come those Pirates, looking to teach us a lesson!

On the bright side, we see them coming, and get a full Round to act without the Pirates being able to respond.

Lieutenant and Specialist in the front, Hired Killer center,
and three standard Pirates in the back.

ROUND 1

Despite having pretty good Reactions, I roll six dice and only get one die below a 4.  So only one of my guys gets to go.  Döbler scoots forward.  Such a waste.  This will be my luck for the rest of the mission.

That's our ship on the left.  I don't know who parked it,
but I'm filing a complaint!

ROUND 2

Döbler gets into range on the roof and shoots at the Hired Killer, but misses.  Bloo dashes forward into cover.  Nobody else has a line of sight, so the rest of the crew and the enemies dash forward.

I probably should have waited and let them come to me,
but I'm bad at games.

ROUND 3

Döbler finally hits a Pirate with a shot from his Colony Rifle, but she's too tough! That's okay, because Spiegel gets a Critical with his Dueling Pistol against the Lieutenant!  But even with the extra hit, all he does is stun him.  The Lieutenant then fires back with a 6 to hit and 6 for damage, dropping Spiegel!  And Riek is taken out!  And Verdun goes down!  So many sixes!  For what it's worth, Flavio does manage to kill one of the Pirates on the wall, sending another fleeing in panic.

The Player's side doesn't ever roll for Morale, but we
could have faked it.  The Pirates wouldn't know.

Now, in the game's defense, I am horrible at resource management.  Right off the bat, my leader has a point of Luck that he could use to save himself from being taken out.  But I don't use it.  Just lazy, I guess.  Then, I've got EIGHT Story Points that I could use for re-rolls in a pinch, but I forget that they're even there.  Finally, if everything goes wrong, I've got some "star" options that I can use to just plain cheat (once per campaign) but I don't use those either.  So, despite my ridiculously bad luck, I suppose that I have nobody to blame but myself.  Next time!

ROUND 4

Döbler misses again, as does Flavio, but Bloo kills the Hired Killer!  Woo!  Oh, wait.  The Hired Killer has a point of Luck, which save him, like it should have saved Verdun.  I am dumb.  So, not dead yet.  The Hired Killer then understandably kills Bloo, as he was hired to do I imagine.

You just don't underSTAND how many sixes they rolled.

ROUND 5

Every one of the enemy manages to miss! Finally, something goes my way!  Flavio and Döbler both hit the Hired Killer, but can't manage to do any damage!  He's just double-stunned.  Never mind! Still, nothing goes my way!

I actually CHEATED here, because I thought Flavio had
the Shatter Axe.  Still couldn't kill anything.

ROUND 6

Tired of all the missing, Flavio charges the double-stunned Hired Killer for a bonus +2 to hit, and he does! But manages to take a hit in return...  and roll a 1 for damage... and take a 6 from the Hired Killer.  Boo!  Döbler does manage to kill another Pirate, and still another flees in panic, leaving just one more Pirate and the Hired Killer versus a very nervous Engineer.

Dude!  Don't be a hero!  Run away!

ROUND 7

Döbler gets to go first! And misses!  And then the mook Pirate (not even the scary Hired Killer) shoots him down with a pair of sixes, because of course she does.  And that's game!

"Gack!  Human... please delete... my browser history. Ghahh!"

POST BATTLE

Despite the poor showing, there are still rewards to be found after the battle.  The crew finds 4 Credits as well as a Damaged Hot Shot Pack and Damaged Frag Vest.  My Engineer should be good at repairing those, though.

Speaking of repair, how's everybody doing?  Rolling on the recovery table, Verdun gets...

DEATH!

Except he's the Captain and he has Luck, which he loses.  All of it.  Not just spent.  But it does keep him alive for now.  Bloo and Flavio were just KO'd.  They'll be fine. Spiegel actually learned something from the "school of hard knocks" and earns an XP.  On the other hand, Riek and Döbler were killed dead.  Not a great start.  And that was my cool alien, too!

Everybody gets an XP for not being dead (except for the ones who are) [ERR: Failed Portal Allusion], and Flavio gets one for the first kill, but not enough to do anything with just yet.

Next, it's the Campaign Event.  The chart says "Ship Life Support Damaged" which means I can't fly until it's repaired, which will cost 1D6 credits.  And of course now I roll a 6.  Basically undoing my score from the contraband that got me into all of this trouble in the first place.

Then, for the Character Event, Flavio gets a cool scar, which counts as +2 XP.

There's no war going on, so that's it!

It was definitely fun to play, and really all of the events fell together in a way that implies an interesting story.  And so help me, I really want to find those Pirates and kick them in their collective jimmies!  So, I guess tune in next time for what will probably be recruiting some fresh meat and tackling a Quest!

At the time of writing, the game is only available (in a lovely hardback + PDF) from Modiphius.  Check it out HERE!

 Ĝis la revido!

Jason "Ludanto" Smith C;E