The Crew [WIP]

This post will detail the crew of the Last Parsec.

The Ship
Gifted to the core six members of the crew, The Last Parsec is an older freighter vessel (classification: light) that had been converted into a research vessel by the enigmatic weird scientist R. Originally a gift from the U.C. after it had been deemed largely unusable, R. sunk some of her own resources to make it almost as good as the day it was made. The ship has been exposed to strange 'upgrades' over the years from R. as a result of her research, obsession, and travels involving ancient civilizations.

Allei
Allei looks and plays the part of the disaffected college slob: lazy, malnutritioned, and unmotivated. She's 'curvy' to one step beyond what might be considered 'healthy,' she still has mild skin issues, and her dark red hair retains this slightly stringy quality due to an improperly-executed purple dye job and lack of proper healing minerals afterwards.

Even with all of these issues, the potential in appearance is still apparent- she has a radiant smile, brilliant green eyes, and an aura of life about her. She's currently dressed in soft brown leather boots, beige leggings, brown shorts, and a white dress shirt with a brown vest.

AUW
The ship's doctor is best described as a cyborg dog. He is larger than most breeds of earth canine, though, standing at 4'0" at shoulder height and 5'1" long. He is covered in graying, brown fur and has golden eyes. Of course, the most striking feature (and one possessed by his entire species) is a pair of large, mechanical arms attached to his shoulder blades. They resemble industrial equipment and are made of a gray composite metal, possessing three "fingers" and a "thumb" to manipulate object and tools.

Various plates of similar composite are grafted to his body, mostly covering vital areas or protecting joints. His paws are also reinforced with the material, and two plates jut slightly from his haunches so the arms can fold back and rest. He isn't wearing anything you'd call "clothing", though he does have a backpack. When the others start approaching the dock, his eyes fall on them, though his expression remains blank.

Crow
The ship's first mate looks anywhere between his twenties to thirties it depends on the time of day you catch him and his mood. He is the sort that always seems serious and contemplative until you talk to him and then he is lighthearted and jovial. Unless yer on his bad side. He stands about 5' 10" and is well built. He is athletic and toned, and has a look that says he is a bit of a scrapper. The scar across the bridge of his nose cements this point.

He has short-messy sandy blond hair or maybe it's brown could be either depending on the light. He has light brown eyes that are always regarding the area around him. Right now he is wearing a long dark brown coat. It looks well worn. It's not trench coat length but long enough and sits on him well. Underneath that he has a white button up shirt that looks like it was really nice once. Brown casual pants complete with pads and twin belts. The loops is where he keeps his gun holstered. Underneath the clothing you suspect he has body armor. He is currently watching those who are arriving.

Nikki 
The ship's pilot and resident computer expert is a girl in the wheel chair was a terran girl of slender, almost unhealthy, build with black hair that sort of hung messily down her back or in her face. She wore a bodysuit of some kind that covered her whole body from neck to feet. She held a cup on both hands shakily, and was sipping whatever drink she had almost nonstop with a straw. Her eyes were tired looking with bags beneath them, but full of curiousity as her gaze darted here and there at random.

Every now and then she'd point at something and comment about it that she had heard of it before, unless she was asked to stop she'd keep doing that. She also had a strange habit of commenting on what species someone they went by was. ... in fact she did do that, to every one else present at the table. She had been friendly enough and spoke to people who spoke to her, but for the most part she didn't really talk except to point something out to Remek.

Remek
The ship's engineer is a simian male, standing at 3'8" and carrying himself lightly. He has a bright, upbeat expression most of the time, and there's hardly a moment when his prehensile tail isn't swaying about or wrapping around anything nearby, including his own limbs or the legs of those he knows. His hair is brown and wild, like someone set his head on fire and then petrified the flames. His fur is a little less unkempt, covering his nose, lower arms, legs, and tail, with the tail accented by rings of black. His eyes sparkle with energy, and that energy is also conveyed by an inability to sit still -- it's like he begins his day with 10 pots of coffee.

TAMIT
TEXT

Vela
Vela a slim, athletic woman of medium height with yellowish skin bearing darker brown stripes. Her hair is a few shades darker than her skin, but otherwise of similar hue. She's dressed in a halter top and shorts of olive color, along with several pouches, and wears what looks like a pair of knives crossed behind her back with the hilts poking up over her shoulders.

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CLINT
TEXT

Wacha 
TEXT

Session 31 - Horst and the Expedition

• The crew of the Last Parsec opted to meet with Horst Tappelkhirre, a high-ranking official within JumpCorp who they've assisted in the past. 
• Horst is in charge of the Veiale Expedition which will consist of a team of scientists and laborers (guarded by a security force) that will explore the wilds of Dysnomia, a moon which orbits Eris.
• Dysnomia's major geographical features consist of expansive polar ice caps and oceans. The main body of land is divided into two hemispheres: one consisting of desert with an acidic atmosphere that makes it impossible to fly in and another that is made up of marshes, beaches, and swamps. 
• The dangers on Dysnomia consist mainly of the infamous Crag Men - a primitive species that has a few psionic shamans in their ranks. Another danger is the spineworm which burrows into a person--driving them insane before killing them.
• Dysnomia is a part of JumpCorp's plan to turn this area of the frontier into a major player within the Known Worlds - Dysnomia has numerous settlements and outposts: the largest of which is the Blacklung Ore Processing Station. 
• The pirate, Torgis Brevin, is said to be hiding out on Dysnomia. He has recently killed a clerk at Blacklung and stolen antimatter containment units.
• He wants to hire the group to be that security force in exchange for $3,000 each.
• Horst is afraid that whatever "Leak" within JumpCorp that wants him dead will sabotage his mission - hence why he wants to contract an outside group that has proven to be reliable. 
• Horst has opted to seek out protection internal affairs agent Maruul Soteeg.
• The group ultimately agreed to working with Horst.
  Horst put Allei on equal footing with the expedition leader. 
• 
  
• Horst explained some of the details of the expedition...
• The team...
• 10 laborers. 
• 2 scientists.
• 2 archaeologists - this will be the pair leading the expedition.
• 2  exploration vehicles containing survival gear.
• The Last Parsec Crew and whatever they take with them.
• The goal...
• Recover historical data and items of interest in the quest to learn more about the subsector's early history.
• Vela seemed to take the implication that they would be looking for information on the famed Voids Men.
• Upon arriving at the Last Parsec after the meeting, Allei briefly had a strange episode that she wrote off as being linked to her monthly time.
• The Last Parsec went to the Space Station on Dysnomia.
• The JumpSec guards that checked them into the planet made them consent to identification chips that acted as visitors passes.
• The space station consisted of a seedy bar, a filthy restaurant, and a vermin infested flophouse called Ghaeum. A shuttle here could transport people to Blacklung Ore Processing Station while a local also had decommissioned attack helicopters that he could transport in.
• The group located their Jumpcorp Science Team and introduced themselves...
• Ban Veiale is a middle-aged man with dark brown hair that is starting to gray. He wears a brown felt fedora with a long sleeved jacket, a white undershirt, and khaki tactical pants. He has a 5'oclock stubble and keeps a bag of archaeologist tools close - with his sniper rifle being held closer. Ban is confident, boisterous, and too curious for his own good. 
• His assistant, Tert Auknatt, is a dark-haired woman in her late twenties with a skin tight black and white space suit. On her hip, she carries a light slug thrower pistol and has a similar archaeology bag. She tends to be more reserved, but has a wild side. Despite her mentor's quirks, she is steadfastly loyal to him.
• Next time, the Last Parsec's crew and the JumpCorp Science Team leave on their expedition...

Expedition Information

(2) Exploration Vehicle
This “crawler” is equipped for prolonged ventures across hostile landscapes. The extra space is used for miniature labs, samples, and high tech survey equipment.

• Super Heavy Vehicle
• Size 8, Acc/TS 3/5, Toughness 28 (6), Crew 18, Cost $177K, Remaining Mods 3
• Notes: Amphibious, 2×Crew Space, 5×Living Space, Sensor Suite, 3×Reinforced Chassis, Tracked
• Weapons: None

Equipment (divided evenly between the two vehicles):
2× binoculars, 8× camouflage suits, 4× commlinks, 2× medi-gel, 10× energy sheets, 10× energy tents, 1,200× nutribars (20 days’ worth per person), 2× water purification filters, fuel (20 days’ worth), 5× shovels, 5× pick-axes, excavating gear. There are also four survival packs (see page 9) in case of emergency.


(10) Miner
Working in an asteroid belt or a planet rich in minerals but with a deadly atmosphere, miners are grizzled, hardy, and always seeking the big find that will enable them to retire.

• Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
• Skills: Driving d6, Fighting d4, Gambling d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Piloting d4, Shooting d4
• Cha: +0; Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5
• Hindrances: —
• Edges: —
• Gear: Matter remover.

(2) Scientist
Scientists analyze the cosmos and attempt to put order to it. They’re experts in a particular field and most of its related studies as well.

• Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6 
• Skills: Knowledge (Biology and Linguistics) d8, Notice d6, Repair d8, Shooting d6,
• Cha: +0; Pace: 6; Parry: 2; Toughness: 5
• Hindrances: Quirk, Stubborn
• Edges: Mr. Fix It, Scholar
• Gear: Commlink, personal data device. 

Ban Veiale
A middle-aged man with dark brown hair that is starting to gray. He wears a brown felt fedora with a long sleeved jacket, a white undershirt, and khaki tactical pants to go with it. He has a 5'oclock stubble across his face. He keeps a bag with archeologist tools slung around him along with a ballistics sniper rifle. 

• Attributes:  Agility  d6, Smarts  d8,  Spirit  d8, Strength d6, Vigor d8
• Skills: Driving d6, Fighting d4, Knowledge (Archeology), d8, Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Piloting d6, Repair d6, Shooting d6, Survival d8, Tracking d6
• Cha:  +0;  Pace:  6;  Parry:  4; Toughness: 8 (2)
• Hindrances: Curious
• Edges: Woodsman
• Gear: Smart suit, commlink,machete, personal data device, survival gear, sniper rifle, archaeology tools

Tert Auknatt
A dark-haired woman in her late twenties with a skin-tight black and white space suit. She carries a light slugthrower pistol holstered on her hip and has a similar bag as her mentor. Tert Auknatt acts as Ban Veiale's personal assistant in most matters. 

• Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6 
• Skills: Knowledge (Archaeology) d8, Notice d6, Repair d8, Shooting d6,
• Cha: +0; Pace: 6; Parry: 2; Toughness: 5
• Hindrances: Loyal
• Edges: Mr. Fix It, Scholar
• Gear: Commlink, personal data device, Light Slugthrower Pistol

Session 30 - Night's Conclusion

• Remek...
• The engineer managed to give his tails the slip by ditching the two PSE spies with some Weird Science and quick thinking.
• He escorted his date to her hotel where she kissed him good night - thanking him for an exciting night and desiring to see him again.
• She let the standing offer to visit her on Leviathan remain.
• On the ship...
• With the bounty hunter (Crow) having finished his security work, he opted to return to the Last Parsec where he ran into Nikki. 
•  CLINT had been trying to relate to Nikki about her 'family' issues, but the situation seemed above his pay grade. He did talk about R briefly - how she had a 'game' figured out before the first move was made. CLINT shared that R likely had an interest in the research being done at Paragon Science Equipment, and in Nikki.
• Nikki and Crow met on the Last Parsec - the two sharing how their nights went. Remek soon joined them as well.
• With the danger of Nikki's sisters present, the three of them on orders of Allei pulled out of Harmonia Station and went out into spare.
• During the down time, CLINT and Crow watched a movie that CLINT claimed was based partially on Crow's father.
• Remek and Nikki worked on Nikki's secret project.
• While in space, the group ran into a magnetic anomaly that threatened to leave them stranded in space. Through some quick thinking and careful maneuvering, the group was able to escape from the effected area. They hovered outside Harmonia Station; waiting for the rest of the group.
• At the party...
• Allei ran into an old acquaintance of hers from the U.C. Academy. Nicole Portner was a prodigy under the U.C. and trained under Allei's father. She was well known for her tactical planning and environmental awareness. She did a tour with the U.C. before leaving and entering the private sector with JumpCorp where she easily climbed the ranks and became in charge of event planning and finances. Her record is nearly spotless, but she is dogged with rumors of being a member of a religious cult.
• Vela stumbled into the hall where a raffle drawing was being done for the attendants. She was lucky enough to be called down by Rob Rorker, a kalian host who was over-excited, but found it difficult to work with Vela. He offered her a choice of prize and she of course picked the mystery box. She ended up walking away with the frame of a Power Armor which appeared in a HoloPlay.
• AUW after touching base with Horst, ran into a beetle-insectoid called coleopteras. This person was named Koleos and had an interest in AUW since he had never met one of his kind before, but had heard plenty about them and their penchant for cybernetics. Koleos considered himself to be a cutting edge cyber-tech designer and wanted to offer AUW a free enhancement - a pro-bono affair that would allow him to see what it was like to work on an AUW and see how his work fared on the field. AUW agreed and set-up an appointment time. 
• Tamit ran into Ssssal (a will executor for JumpCorp) and his assistant Bigfoot. Tamit decided to engage him in conversation and lured him to his hotel room under the pretense of sex. She was able to learn the following information, but ultimately did not engage in any activities with him - leaving him nursing a potential grudge (if he'll remember it after all the alcohol).
• Ssssal is at Harmonia Station to oversee the clusterfuck that is Horst's estate as he was declared dead and his will was executed. So he is attempting to repair that. He had to attend the charity event out of obligation to the corporation. 
• His personal goal was to drink heavily and get lucky with some action. However, his business goal was to increase his standing among Maruul Soteeg, Nicole Portner, Chanx Oblios, and Horst Tappelkhirre. 
• He didn't seem to know R. personally, but was aware that JumpCorp likely had outstanding interests in her given her history with them if she was in fact still alive.
• Tamit then inquired about various rumors floating around among Ssssal's personal contacts.  

• The group reunites...
• Everyone shared their intel with each other and contemplated how to deal with Nikki and Remek's hunters and which missions to pursue with JumpCorp.
  
• The next task on the dossier is to meet with Horst Tappelkhirre privately and then choose a task to pursue.

Custom Items

Hi everybody!

I try to be flexible and accommodating to my players in all games. This includes all aspects of the game - edges, powers, and what not. If you feel like your character should be able to do something, or you want them to be able to do something, and its not somehow covered in the existing ruleset for Savage Worlds -- well that's what homebrew is for.

With that in mind, I try to keep all my resources and creations on this blog as it maintains a record of it (presuming Blogger never goes down). I'm going to use this blog post to list some custom items I and others have worked on for Savage Worlds.

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Basically, one of the things I've been looking at lately is Power Armor, Walkers, and more because those are all interesting concepts to me and we're getting to the point in the campaign where they may begin to open up for the PCs.

The first concept is a "Super Heavy" power armor -- so a bigger power armor than the ones listed in the book.Several of my players brainstormed this one.

Power Armor - Super Heavy: Size: 4 | Armor: +14 | Mods: 14 | Pace: 8 | Weight: 400 | Cost: 4M
7/14 Mods
 Weapon Mount (2) - 5k x 2 = $10k
Medium Vehicular Laser (2) - 500K
Targeting System (1) - $20k
Propulsion Jets (1) - $5k
Sensor Suite (1) - $5k
Anti-Personal System (1) - $5k
Total Cost - 4.545M

Next, we have a "Very Light" Walker - basically a smaller version of the smallest Walker listed in the book. A player of mine and I brainstormed this.

Chassis: Very Light
Size: 4
Pace: 30
Strength: d12+2
Toughness: 15 (4)
Mods: 9/15
Crew: 1
Base Cost: $500k
Mods:
AMCM (1): $5k x 4 = $20k
Deflector Screens (2): $10k x 4 = $40k
Jump Jets (2): $100k x 4 = $400k
Dual linked Medium Laser (2): $500k x 2 = $1M
Targeting System (1): $10K x 4 = $40k
Sensor Suite (1): $50k
Total Cost: $2.05Mm

Next up, I played around with the sizes again -- this time a Size 3 walker.

Chassis: Very Very Light
Size: 3
Pace: 10/30
Strength: d12+1
Toughness: 16 (5)
Mods: 9/10
Crew: 1
Base Cost: $375,000

Mods:
JumpJets (1): 100,000 x3 = $300,000
Shields (1): 50,000 x3 = $150,000
Targeting System (1): 10,000 x3 = $30,000
Sensor Suite (1): $50,000
Deflector Screens (2): $10,000 x3 = $30,000
Dual Linked Light Lasers (1): $100,000 x2 = $200,000
[1] Armor (1): 10,000 x3 = 30,000 [factored in to above stats]
[1] Reinforce Frame (1): 10,000 x3 = 30,000 [factored in to above stats]

TOTAL COST (W/MODS): $1,195,000

This last one is a credit to one of my players who came up with it on their own - its an attempt on a similar concept, but on a downscale level so that it functions like 'regular armor' instead of Power Armor.

- Armor: +4/+8 vs. Ranged Attacks, Negates up to 4 points of AP from ballistic Weapons.
- Toughness: +4
- Parry: +2
- Weapon: 50/100/200 Range, Ballistic, 2d10 Damage, AP 4, RoF 1, HW
- Raises Shooting by 2 Ranks
- +2 Shooting, Additional +2 against Medium, Long, and Extreme Range targets.
- +2 Notice
- 50x Magnification, Thermal Vision, Low-Light Vision. Additional +2 to Sight-Based Notice. Eliminates illumination penalties.
- +2 Pace, increase Running die by one step.
- Raises Climb by 1 rank, Can climb any surface with no penalty
Total Cost: 110,000 Credits.

That's it for now, but expect more down the line!

Session 29 - Charity Event

REWARDS

• Allei can purchase one ULTRA TECH item 50% off with DM APPROVAL.
• AUW: $2,000 contract bonus.
• TAMIT: Collectible Hoverboard ($3,500)

SESSION NOTES:

• TAMIT
• Continuing to interrogate Cavalry, Tamit ultimately got the girl to question working for Paragon Science Equipment. She revealed what she knew about Remek and Nikki to Tamit in exchange for being able to walk away. At the end, she revealed she possessed psionic abilities like teleportating. Tamit left her information with Cavalry, and took hers as well. 
• CROW
• Crow reached out to Wacha for specific information pertaining to his sister. The two surmised that Cyclops was indeed his sister and that Wacha would do more direct research into her in exchange for a face-to-face meeting with Crow's superior officers. 
• Crow made arrangements through the Marshal to be part of the security at the charity event. He kept to a camera room where he observed protestors - he was able to diffuse the chanting crowd and get the situation back to normal. 
• REMEK
• Opting to go on a date with his companion, Sanaa, Remek left and met up with her at a high profile Kalian restaurant that cooked at tableside for guests. It was on the spicy side.
• Dining at the same table, a Rakashan family that kept to themselves and two young girls roughly Nikki's age. 
• The date went well, though Remek felt a little touchy upon revealing his past employment history. 
• Remek learned that the two girls were spying on him and had connections to Paragon Science Equipment. After eavesdropping on them, he left the restaurant with his date while being tailed by the two girls... 
• NIKKI
• Rather than go with the group, she opted to begin work on a secret project aboard the Last Parsec.
• CLINT was with her and remarked that it felt familiar to be back on the ship.
• Nikki revealed a little bit about herself, and the secret she had unlocked aboard the Last Parsec to CLINT.
• Jewel and Gem, 113 and 114, were experts in gene therapy and sent to track down Nikki and Remek by Paragon Science Equipment.
• Nikki was able to get the upper hand on the two woman by taking control of their drone.
• She gave them a message to take back to the Doctor and his security chief. 
• Allei made contact with Maruul Soteeg. The JumpCorp Internal Affairs Executive agreed to meet the group at a charity event for Void Sickness. 
• Tamit, Vela, AUW, and Allei reached out to their fashionista: Daisy. She provided the group recommendations on what to wear. 
• Crow tagged along, but kept to handling security. See above.
• Upon arriving at the event, their photographs were taken, but they declined an interview.
• Fayt Lannar, the holoplay star, was on the red carpet and pulled the group in for a quick impromptu interview. He seemed pleased that they were willing to participate. 
• He mentioned a new play in the works: Space Cowboy (Out On The Frontier).
• While mingling, Allei made contact with a JumpCorp executive in high level R&D. The two of them struck it off and he made a promise to "hook her up" with something down the line.
• AUW made a pharmacy-tech salesman and made arrangements with his company. He'd receive a bonus from his employers for the lucrative contract he helped seal.
• Vela ran into some bigots, but she was able to scare them off by psionic-muscle flexes. 
• Tamit ran into Pro Hoverboard Skater: Brony Eagle. He seemed to fancy her and provided her with a signed hoverboard.
• Maruul Soteeg would find the group at their dinner table during the event.
• AUW revealed that he had Void Sickness - part of the reason he was interested in attending.
• Allei provided Maruul with the data they had required from Groid's Rock.
• In exchange, Maruul revealed that she would have two more jobs for the group if they were interested:
• Deliver a shipment to the prison planet of Lethe. This would let them get another crack at Groid.
• Go undercover on a JumpCorp Vessel to root out potential saboteurs who plan to blow it up.