Stargrave "Misery Cluster Campaign" Mission 01: Botched Deal at Lonely Jack's

Despite being situated smack dab in the middle of the galaxy at the crossroads of numerous trade lanes the Misery Cluster was considered a bit of a backwater.  Home to numerous agricultural worlds and mining operations the worlds of the cluster are home to numerous tiny settlements with only a few larger cities.  One such outpost is "Lonely Jack's" situated on a small moon orbiting a gas giant of Johnson's Star.  

The mercenary crew of the "Hellhound" and the spacer crew of the "Cometary Blaze" have both been invited to bid on some valuable data and other goods but instead of the smugglers they were expecting the town had been taken over by the Bloodborn pirates.  Instead of a bidding war a desperate shootout breaks out.    

One of the Pirate ruffians is taken out early as the crew move in.  Another of the "Bloodborn" rushes into the streets and fires at the captain of the "Hellhound" crew but misses.  

More "Hellhound" crew members move into the outpost talking up a strong position behind a wall with their carbines laying down covering fire.  

Viper Eyes captain of the "Hellhound" crew cuts down a pirate quickly and efficiently before the drunken bastard can get any more shots off.    

As the crews move towards their objective a Grenadier from the "Hellhound" is stunned by a shot from a Pathfinder of the "Cometary Blaze".  Another pirate is shot and stunned by the Troopers from the "Hellhound".  

Angel the first mate of the "Hellhound" advances to cover their stunned Grenadier.  The manage to shoot and stun the Pathfinder that injured their comrade.  

Moving from building to building to avoid the carbine fire of the mercenaries some of the spacers move in on a location they believe has some data to be retrieved.  

Two more crewmen of the "Cometary Blaze" move in on the communication station where the deal for the data was to take place.  

                                      

Two spacers drag their crewmember into a nearby building after the Pathfinder was shot by Angel and his mercenary comrades.  

Kole of the "Cometary Blaze" and Velma of the "Hellhound" surprise each other inside the com station where they were suppose to meet up with the hacker who offered both crews the data.

 

Responding to Velma's distress call Viper Eyes burst into the com station and attack Kole.  The Tekker first mate manages to deploy a drone but get's cut up pretty bad by the mercenary captain.

Another spacer is dropped by the accurate fire of mercenary carbines.  Lying unmoving in dirt it doesn't look like he will be making it back to his ship.  

A Code Breaker from the "Cometary Blaze" enters the clinic to retrieve some data and kills one of the pirates wounded by the mercenaries.  However another pirate guards the clinic.  

More crewmen of the "Blaze" enter the clinic and a shootout ensues over the medical data stored there.

With Cole stunned Velma is able to download the data in the communication station's main computer.

Angel and his troopers secure another data station and download it's contents for the mercenaries after taking out a crewmember from the opposing crew.  

The spacer's manages to secure a recipe for combat drugs from the clinic's medical computer.  

Instead of downloading the data that the crews were looking for Velma manages to download a fat stack of credits instead.

After driving the spacers into cover Angel and his mercs are able to easily download data from the salvage station computer.  

Things were not looking great for the spacer crew of the "Cometary Blaze" so they decided to bug out with their stolen data.  The mercs managed to gather the rest of the loot before heading back to their ship with no real casualties.  

All in all the day went better for the mercs than the spacers but neither crew got away empty handed.  

In Search of Adventure: Session 0, The Road to Threshold

 Dara the Lawbringer, Rosco, Benzy, and the halfling Putzstaff set out from the small logging town of Riverside in the Black Peak Mountains bound for the town of Threshold.  The Lawbringer outpost in Riverside had seen better days and the village was in decline so the group had decided to seek better opportunities.  

It was early in Spring and storms had ravaged the area leaving the roads muddy and difficult to traverse.  though they were less than 16 miles from Threshold the journey would be difficult.  On their first day out they came across a creek that was flooded out of it's banks with a fast current.  They managed to get across but Dara and Benzy were nearly swept away when the log they were using to ford the river snapped under their weight.  Fortunately they had tied off a rope between two trees to aide their crossing.  Soaked through from their crossing they managed to find shelter in a rocky overhang where they could build a fire.

They set out the next day in a heavy rain.  Rosco was getting sick from the weather and Dara wasn't looking too well either.  Fortunately they found an abandoned camp at the junction in the road near some old ruins.  No one was in camp but there were two empty tents and a smoldering fire.  The road to the ruin seemed to have been cleared and the abandoned camp seemed suspicious but they didn't have much choice.  Benzy and Putzstaff decided to split the watch while their companions slept.

About an hour before dawn Putzstaff was keeping watch the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.  He knew he was being watched.  Scanning the area he saw a pair of glowing red eyes watching the camp from a wood across the road.  He started waking his companions but the eyes had vanished.  

At the crack of dawn the goblin made their attack.  First a large force came down the road to the ruins and attacked the party then another charged up the road from the direction of Threshold.  Dara caved in one of the goblins skulls with a shot from her sling but within moments they were surrounded and fighting for their lives.  

Roso and Benzy killed several of the creatures who were having a hard time finding openings in their heavy armor.  Dara brought down another two with her sling but several of the archers shot her and she passed out.  Eventually two of the goblin archer got behind Rosco and stabbed him in the back with their crude knives.  Roso fell as the goblins continued to work their blades between the gaps in his plate.

Benzy and Putzstaff managed to drive off the goblins.  They revived Dara but Rosco was done for.  After performing the funeral rights of the Lawbringers Rosco was buried and the three remaining travelers pushed on to Threshold.

After getting settled in at the Rowdy Rottweiler Inn and discussing their options travelers met a mercenary named Dieter who was also looking for work.  During the evening meal the Baron and Patriarch Sherlane Halaran arrived at the tavern with a contingent of town guards.  He invited them to be healed and provisioned the next morning to discuss an expedition to investigate reports of a renegade cleric named Elwyn who was gathering a raiding party of Orcs to the East.  With no better prospects the companions agreed.  

My gaming group has been exploring older editions of Dungeons and Dragons lately.  Having played several 2nd Edition AD&D games I have decided to run our group through the "In Search of Adventure collection" B1-9 for the Basic Dungeons and Dragons rules.  I will be running these on again off again when my group has a chance to play them.  

  

Star Wars Shards of the Empire Season 02 "Restore the Faith" Episode 01 "The Force Is With Me" Part 1 "Life Debt"

Star Wars Shards of the Empire Season 02 "Restore the Faith" Episode 01 "The Force Is With Me"

Part 01: Life Debt

Balyn Tosh and Tracker Tam stood on the outskirts of Niima Outpost watching their YT-1300 freighter "The Rusty Gundark" take off from the "New Republic" outpost headed for who knows where.  A day before the New Republic had commandeered their ship to transport supplies off Jakku.  "You know last year I was fighting terrorist above Endor and now those same people are taking off in our ship" Balyn sighed.  "Yeah strange galaxy.....  Was that part of the engine flaring flying off?"  replied Tam.  The Zabrak looked over at her companion "Hey the voucher they gave us if they don't return the ship is worth more than that hunk of junk."  "Only if we can find someone to honor it" replied the ex-imperial.  

Back at their camp a curious sight awaited them.  Their shipmates Anno Sune and her B2 battledroid companion 00-C were talking to a Wookie.  Sune's head tails twitched like they always did when she was negotiating a deal.  "I wonder what she's getting us into" Tosh mused.  "Hey guys this is Jondara.  He says he needs our help rescuing a clone trooper captain called Stalker" the orange Twi'lek explained.  "Well I thought this day couldn't get any stranger but I seem to be wrong" replied Tam.  "The pay is a thousand creds and a trip off this rock" the Twi'lek said hopefully.  "Guess we got nothin better to do" Balyn agreed.  

    

Jondara explained that his friend "Captain Stalker" had rescued him from a Separatist attack on his home world during the Clone Wars but he was wounded in the process.  After being medically retired from the service the two had joined an order of monks called "The Guardians of the Whills" on a planet called Jedha.  The Guardians had taught Stalker to use a Kyber Crystal and force meditation to control his accelerated clone aging.  After the destruction of the Holy City the two had joined the rebellion but since the fall of the Empire Stalker had been trying to get help to liberate Jedha from the Imperial Warlord Moff Korrath.  The New Republic had declined to help liberate the planet so Stalker was looking to recruit a resistance.  They had traveled to Jakku to look for former rebels who might help them.  Unfortunately Stalker had been tricked by a bounty hunter working for Moff Korrath and captured.  During the fight his Kyber Cristal had been destroyed.  The bounty hunter had sold Stalker's armor to a band of Jawas in Scrapper Town and was waiting there at a comm station for his partners to pick him up.  The Wookie was adamant that they needed to rescue Stalker and his armor.  

Upon reaching the outskirts of Scrapper Town Jondara insisted that they recover the captain's armor from the Jawas first.  Although the crew didn't understand this logic they decided not to argue.  Everyone knows it's not wise to upset a Wookie.   

 

As they made their way down the dusty street towards the Jawa's bunker four old B1 Battle droids emerged from the structure.  "Halt!  By order of Clan Ooo'dora that Wookie is not allowed in Scrapper Town!" all four droids proclaimed over their metallic vocabulators.  

 

With a Wookie battle cry Jondara charged one of the droids and sliced it's arm off with his vibro knuckler.  00-C charged towards another of the B1s.  "By order of Separatist Alliance directive 062-386-1138 you are ordered to remand yourselves to the command of a superior model." the super battle droid said as it smashed it's hand accuator into the head of the lesser droid.  "Roger, Roger by your command" the other droids replied in unison.  

    

Unfortunately 00-C's crewmates cut one of the B1 droids down in a hail of blaser fire while the Wookie literally shook the one he was facing to pieces even as the poor droid exclaimed "Ssssammmme side! Same siiiiiiiiiide...." out of it's broken vocabulator.  

Three Jawa emerged from a hatch on top of the bunker and began taking shots at 00-C with their Ion rifles.  One scored a direct hit causing arks of Ion energy to flash across the droids shiny surface for several seconds.   

  

00-C moved towards the bunker firing his wrist mounted repeating blaster .  One of the scavengers was struck but not killed.  The Jawa returned fire and another blast hit 00-C "Systems operating at twenty eight percent initiating self repair protocol.....  Systems restored to seventy five percent efficacy" the droid explained as he trudged on.

    

Unfortunately for the super battle droid it marched right into a Jawa ambush.  Blue energy sparked across the droid's armored structure.  00-C dropped to the ferrocrete floor with a loud clang.  

Under the covering fire of the crew and their new droid allies Jondara leapt and vaulted over the top railing of the bunker.  With a roar he picked up the last rooftop Jawa and threw him over the railing into the side of an adjacent building.  The poor creatures scream was cut short as his body hit the building with a thud then fell to the ground dead.  

 

Anno and Balyn moved up and engaged the Jawa inside the bunker wounding one but the creatures fired back taking down one of the B1 droids.  

A heavy blaster shot hit the ferrocrete bunker just above Anno's head.  She turned and spotted an armed figure firing from the roof of the town's comm station.  "Sniper!" the Twi'lek yelled.

Inside the bunker 00-C's system rebooted.  "System online.  Operating at minimal efficiency" the droid intoned.  Standing in one sudden movement the massive droid stepped over and smacked one of the Jawa over the head with it's metallic fist dropping the creature just as Jondara was finishing off the other.  

As the rest of the party moved against the sniper Balyn Tosh's R5 astromech droid "Blooper" began repairing 00-C.  "Bloop, bloop!" the little droid chirped.  "Systems restroed to ninety eight percent efficiency."  reported the B2 droid.  "Good work R5-B4".  "Bloop, bloop" the astromech replied.  

  

Balyn, Anno, Tracker, and Jondara moved down the street towards the comm station trading fire with the Bounty Hunter on the roof.  As they reached the building the Wookie began climbing the wall.   

 

The Bounty Hunter turned and shot Jondara as he pulled himself onto the roof.  Undaunted the Wookie charged the man an hurled him off the roof to his death.

   

Inside the building sat a man who's face matched those on countless Republic propaganda posters from the Clone Wars sitting cross legged on the floor.  Over and over the man repeated a simple mantra "The force is with me.  I am one with the force".

Game Master Notes: This was the first session of my 2nd Star Wars Shards of the Empire campaign set just after the fall of the Empire.  In the first campaign former Rebel Alliance pilots were hired by the Queen of Naboo to help her pirate Ally Nym destroy a dangerous squadron of TIE Advanced pilots known as "Storm Squadron" out of the Lok system.  This campaign follows a more rag tag crew of smugglers as they are drawn into a war between a power hungry Imperial Warlord and the followers of various Force based faiths on the holy moon of Jedha.   

     

Cavaliers and Roundheads Episode 5 Skirmish at the Old Mill Ford

November 8th, 1642.  Captain Hewitt had heard that not all the supplies had been recovered from the Royalist camp at Edgecote.  Of particular note were two large barrels of powder and several hundred lengths of match cord that had been stashed in a small barn.  He decided to dispatch Sargent Osbury and Mable banks with a few men to gather the supplies and bring them to Banbury Castle to add to the garrison's stock.  

The supplies were easy enough to find and after loading up the supplies on donkeys and an oxcart they headed back towards Banbury with the intention of crossing the river Cherwell at Cropredy Bridge. As they approached the town they saw a gentleman riding towards them at full gallop.  The man brought his horse to a stop and demanded to know who the Royalist were for.  Charles replied "For the King!"  "Then you should know that Cropredy Bridge is being held by at least 30 Parliamentary militia.  I've just barely escaped from there myself." replied the man.  At that the gentleman spurred his horse on and disappeared down the road.  

Mable spotted a wooded ravine about a hundred yards off the road so the Royalist party decided to hide there until they could decide what to do.  As they were discussing their options a farmer heading towards the town seemed to have spotted them so they decided to move south along the river to look for a fording.  

 

They found a ford about a half mile south of the bridge near an old ruin that looked to be some kind of mill.  Mable scouted ahead and didn't discover any problems so they decided to chance a river crossing.  Sargent Gryffon and three musketeers took up a position on a hill overlooking the ford while the rest crossed with the supplies.   

Things were going well until suddenly two troops of Parliamentary soldiers sprung from their hiding places. One group was hiding among the trees on the opposite bank and another among the ruin.  

 

One of Sargent Gryffon's musketeers was shot down in the first exchange as the Roundheads advanced on their position.  

Sargent Osbury, Plunket, and Towne were caught in the open crossing the river.  Towne was hit but only lightly wounded.  The Royalist returned fire but had little success against their enemies well covered positions.  

One of the Parliamentarians advancing up the hill was shot down by Gryffon's men but they still had an almost two to one advantage.  

 

Charles spurred his horse onto the bank and charged one of the Roundhead musketeers running him down with his charger.  He discharged his pistol and wounded another.  Two of the enemy retreated up the hill.  

Continuing his charge Charles cuts down another trooper but he is shot by his companion.  The wound is not serious however.  

Towne is able to reach the opposite bank and reload.  He then shoots another enemy trooper killing the man instantly.  

Mable Banks abandons the oxcart and moves to aid the musketeers holding the hill.  She fires her crossbow at one of the trooper hitting him but not seriously.  The trooper turns to fire at her but misses.  Sargent Gryffon makes a desperate charge down the hill wielding his partisan and wounding one of the enemy musketeers.  

  

After finishing off the Parliamentarians on the hill Sargent Osbury charges down the hill at the others.  Plunket makes it to the bank and both he and Towne take down another Roundhead.  Plunket is however shot down himself.  

After cutting down two foes Sargent Gryffon is knocked out of action by enemy musket fire. Things are looking bad for the Royalist on the hill.  

  

Mable Banks falls back as one of the Roundheads chases her wounding her lightly in an exchange.  Eventually he gives up the chase and returns to his fellows.  

The last three Parliamentary militia men manage to take up the rest of the Royalist musketeers on the hill but not before all three were wounded.  

Charles runs down the last of the Parliamentarians on his side of the river.  Towne manages to staunch Plunkets wounds saving his comrade.  After securing the Western bank Charles turned and charged back across the river on his horse.  Towne turned and drew a bead on of of the Parliamentarians who had retreated into the ruin.  Despite the cover and range he shot the man dead.    

 

Mable Banks and Sargent Osbury killed the trooper that had been chasing her the moved to engage the last of the enemy.  The man threw down his musket and surrendered.  

After tending to the wounded amazingly only one of the Royalist had been killed.  One of the other Parliamentarians had only been knocked unconscious so with their two prisoners they set off towards Banbury.  

When they arrived and told Captian Hewitt of the Parliamentarian forces at Cropredy Bridge the Captian was quite concerned.  "We'll have to deal with them soon of they will become a thorn in our supply lines" he said.  

Notes:  I've just received an order of Swashbucklers from Brigade Games which is good because I'm running out of ideas on how to keep using my small 17th century collection.  I have a much larger order in route from Warlord Games including their English Civil War starter army so I can do some much bigger skirmishes. Level progression in the campaign is going fairly slowly but that is fine by us.  D&D characters can get pretty powerful for historic games even when they don't have magic.  So far it's working fairly well though.