1

ANOTHER STAR
Welcome to the first supplement for Five Parsecs From Home.
Within these pages, you will find an assortment of options to further flesh out your games, enhance
your narrative and make for richer worlds to play in.

Much of this can be viewed as “background” or “fluff” but in a narrative campaign, it's the visions and
the imagery that makes it so fun.

As always, use what you like, ignore the rest.

Happy hunting and don't feed the hulker after midnight.

• World generation
• Local society
• Settlement events
• Starship events
• Background events
• Bounty hunting
• Tax collection
• Military action on the fringe
• Boarding actions

DESIGNERS COMMENTS:

As always, using every single available option can turn your game into a sprawling mess, especially if
you are just starting out and are still getting your bearings.
Always progress at your own pace, use the options you like the sounds of and ignore the rest.

If you feel your campaign has gotten out of hand, scale things back a little. In most cases, things can
be moved in and out without really breaking anything.

As usual, all efforts have been made to ensure this product gives you as much gaming material as
possible, while making it inexpensive to print out the tables you want.

If you have comments, suggestions, feedback or questions, don't hesitate to get in touch
runequester@gmail.com or search for the “Five Men in Normandy” community on Google+.

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 WORLD GENERATION
The main rules do not go into much detail about the worlds you are exploring, leaving it to player
imagination.
With this supplement, you now have a way of generating interesting details about the worlds as you
land on each. Over a long campaign, you may end up with a small encyclopedia of worlds to
adventure on, which may spur further scenarios, adventures, side stories and exploits.

Roll on each table in turn, following the instructions and recording the results. As this is mainly
background detail, feel free to modify results as you see fit.

WORLD TYPE

This determines the overall climate of the planet, particularly as regards temperatures. Generally,
warmer planets will tend to be more arid and colder ones less so, but many situations could exist
providing unusual environmental situations.

Populated worlds are assumed to be of roughly earth-like gravity with minor variation.

Roll World
1-5 Frozen
Large areas of the planet are covered in ice. Settlements must be environmentally sealed.
6-20 Cool
While a variety of climates do exist, the planet is relatively cold by Earth standards.
21-40 Moderate
Moderate, pleasant climate from an Earth human perspective.
41-70 Varied
Particularly wide variation in temperatures and climates
71-85 Hot
World is hot, either due to proximity to star or from atmospheric conditions.
86-90 Scorched
Exceptional heat and arid conditions. Protective environments required for habitation.
91-95 Peculiar
Strange or unexplained environmental phenomena. Often harmless.
96-100 Unstable
Climate changes relatively quickly and to great extremes.

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ATMOSPHERE

One of the greatest impacts to visitors is the local atmosphere. Most alien species have similar
atmospheric requirements as humans, though exceptions do exist.

Creative players may wish to have separate “suited” figures for hostile environments or may simply
set games inside suitable environmental domes and force screens.

Roll Atmospheric type

1-5 Beneficial
The atmosphere is beneficial to organic life
forms. Each campaign turn a character rests,
roll 1D6.
On a 1 or 6, they can reduce recovery times
by an additional turn. Such planets are often
popular tourist resorts.
6-14 Breathable, limited
The atmosphere is breathable though long
term exposure is not recommended for
health reasons. Workers and travellers often
wear filter masks or require regular doses of
medication.
After 3 missions, off-worlders must roll 1D6
after each mission. On a 1, they fall sick and
must miss the following encounter.
15-63 Breathable, extensive
No special equipment or precautions
needed.
64-68 Haze
Breathable but the planet is shrouded in a
strange haze. This limits visibility to 12” in all
cases, unless encounters take place in-doors.
69-73 Toxic
Breathing apparatus must be worn at all
times. Buildings are usually sealed and have
integrated air supplies.
74-78 Hostile
Full environmental protection suits must be
worn at all times. Any figure that takes a
weapons hit during a game must miss the
next mission due to sickness.
79-83 Thin
Atmosphere is benign but too thin to be
breathable except for very short moments.
Oxygen supplies must be worn.
84-86 Exotic
While breathable, the atmosphere has
unexpected effects on off-worlders. These
may include strange emotional states, minor
hallucinations, increased appetite or almost
anything else. Harmless in most cases.
87-95 Non existent
No atmosphere present. Appropriate space-
faring gear must be worn.
96-100 Alien
Strange chemical interactions in the air. Non-
native aliens exposed must roll 1D6. On a 1,
they fall sick and must miss the next
campaign turn.

POPULATION LEVELS

Despite hostile conditions, with sufficient technology, determination and bad luck, sentient creatures
will settle almost any world that isn't entirely populated by Zinorian Razorworms.

Roll Population level 68-83 Wide spread population

1-17 Single outpost A variety of larger cities and small
Only a single populated installation exists. settlements and outposts. Population
18-51 Small settlements centres exist throughout.
A number of small settlements exist some 84-93 Heavily populated
distance apart. They're likely concentrated in Several large population centres dominate
one region of the world. the landscape. Few remote regions.
52-67 Single large city 94-97 Massive population
The population is concentrated in one, large Densely populated cities. Likely to be heavily
city providing a variety of services (and industrialized.
trouble). 98-100 Mega-city
The population is choked into a single
behemoth of a city, stretching mile after
mile.

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BIOSPHERE

The animal life and particularly plant life of a planet will inform your terrain set ups. Planets with very
limited biospheres will tend to have only few plants and are unlikely to have forests or extensive
growth.
On the other hand, some planets may resemble world-spanning jungles.

Note that planets with no atmosphere will not often have biospheres though exceptional organisms
have been encountered on the very edges of human space. Roll three times and pick the lowest result.

Roll Biosphere
1-10 Non-existent biosphere
No significant plant or animal life exists.
11-35 Limited biosphere
Plant and animal life is limited and sparse. Large organisms are unlikely.
36-70 Moderate biosphere
Wide spread plant life with large variety of animals.
71-90 Extensive biosphere
Almost entire planet harbours some form of life. Great biological variety.
91-100 Uncontrollable biosphere
Biosphere aggressively overwhelms any attempts at controlling or manipulating it.
Settlements are often mobile or require constant work to avoid being overgrown or destroyed.

TERRA-FORMING

Colonists often attempt to adapt the planet to their own needs, with varying degrees of success. If
terra-forming was performed, it has resulted in the planet having its current characteristics.
From a gaming perspective, this influences how earth-like conditions should look. The less terra-
forming, the more alien and weird plants should be.

Roll Terra-forming
1-40 Planet in natural state
However unpleasant or liveable the planet may be, it has not been the subject of any terra-forming efforts.
Alien plants are common. Be creative with your gaming tables.
41-60 Low tech terra-forming
Limited terra-forming has taken place near major population centres, to introduce a more earth-like
environment.
61-75 Extensive terra-forming
The planet has been extensively manipulated to make it more earth-like. Battle field terrain should be
earth-like in most instances.
76-80 Planet-shaping
The world barely resembles a natural environment any longer. This is often done to worlds intended
primarily for resource extraction.
81-95 Ecological disaster
Early colonists inflicted massive ecological damage through ignorance carelessness or disaster.
Environmental suits recommended.
96-100 Runaway chain reaction
Terra-forming efforts triggered an unexpected result, resulting in unpredictable weather patterns,
aggressive seismic activity and rampant mutation in the local animals and plant life.
Almost any combination of features can be found.

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 LOCAL SOCIETY
Each colony visited is a potential home base for the adventuring party and fleshing it out further can
inspire countless game ideas. Role play inclined players may also enjoy the additional detail.

Simply follow the tables, generating each result in turn. Adapt results as you find appropriate but bear
in mind that the Fringes are a pretty chaotic place. Almost any combination of social and economic
situations can be found on some world.

These details are more likely to be of benefit to players who take a bit of a role playing approach and
like to invest custom missions and details.

FACTIONS IN THE AREA

Any given colony or settlement will have factors vying for control. Sometimes they work in relative
harmony, other times they are at each others throat.
Knowing what factions are operating in an area can help inform events in the campaign.

A small settlement may only have 1 or 2 while a huge city will have plenty. On average, 3 factions are
a good start.
These factions may not be located in the settlement itself but are close enough to influence it.

Roll Faction 56-59 Philosophical movement

1-9 Local authorities 60-66 Aliens
10-16 Merchant coalition or guild 67-71 Nomads
17-24 Mercenary group 72-77 Corporation
25-35 Bandits 78-85 Charismatic leader and followers
36-43 Cultists 86-93 Mining or other industry
44-49 Popular movement 94-100 Interest group (use main rules
50-55 Unity authority character tables to generate focus)

Faction strength:
Players who are interested in a more politically oriented game may determine the strength of each
faction by rolling 1D6, with higher scores indicating more relative strength.
A strength difference of 1 point between two factions means they are fairly evenly matched.
A 2 point difference means a significant gap in capabilities and influence.

If a mission or quest would directly benefit or harm a faction, roll 1D6. On a 6, the faction increases or
decreases its strength by 1 point as appropriate.

Faction war:
While a future supplement may detail more in-depth systems for faction conflict, if the story lines of
your campaign dictates a conflict between two factions, it can be resolved in the following manner:

Each campaign turn, roll 1D6 for each faction. If one faction rolls equal or under its strength and the
opposing faction fails, the opposing faction loses a point of strength.
Factions reduced to 0 are annihilated. Most factions will negotiate, flee or otherwise safe themselves
before this happens.

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SOCIAL MODEL

Virtually any imaginable social systems can be found somewhere on the Fringes in some form. While
most worlds exhibit a variety of systems, in most cases, one will come to the fore.

Roll Social model

1-6 Informal democracy
Important matters are decided by people affected.
A few public figures but government functions on a need-to-exist basis.
7-13 Bureaucratic democracy
Extensive democratic machine with rules and structures.
14-19 Regressive bureaucracy
A self-perpetuating bureaucratic maze.
20-23 Technocracy
Government by specialists in a given subject matter.
24-26 Relegated technocracy
Specialist government relegated to a superior source, usually some type of AI system or simulation.
27-32 Strong leader
A single ruler or ruling group, by virtue of power, influence and often fire power.
37-38 Charismatic leader
As above, but much less likely to be assassinated and enjoys wide support.
39-43 Autocracy
“Traditionalist”, military or outright fascist regimes.
44-47 Benign dictator
Strong man in charge with very few limits to power. Currently acting for the good of most.
48-52 Brutal dictator
Strong man in charge who've realized exactly how few limits to power there are.
53-55 Minimal government
Government existing only to facilitate basic legal protections.
Prone to quoting long-winded 20th century authors.
56-61 Corporate interest
Largely or entirely run according to business interests. May be a cartel or similar organization.
62-66 Affinity group
Society dominated and run by particular group. May be religious, class based, ethnic or similar.
67-72 Bureaucratic communism
Extensive bureaucracy ostensibly aiming at the betterment of all.
73-75 Enlightened anarchy
No gods, no masters. Relatively few bullet holes.
76-79 Cooperative
Strong sense of community and social coherence drives mutual aid.
80-86 Disinterested democracy
A democracy where no one can be bothered whether due to propaganda, apathy or lack of impact to the self.
87-94 Unstable
In perpetual flux. Roll again to determine current style.
Every campaign turn, roll 1D6. On a 6, generate a new social model.
As explained by Professor Hart's “Theory of critical Social entropy”,
such societies will never achieve an equilibrium.
95-100 Complete chaos
Things change by the minute, each city block runs by its own rules and there's as many leaders, causes,
departments and rulers as there are people. How does anyone get anything done?

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PROBLEMS

A good source for missions and campaign ideas, every settlement has issues that plague it. A typical
settlement should have 2-3 problems to solve. Problems may be tackled as a Quest or through
custom-built scenarios which the player may take on at any point after they've completed 3 missions
in the settlement.

If the group returns to a planet later in the campaign, add a new problem. If there are four or more
problems, no patrons may be sought out until at least one has been solved.

Roll Problem 50-55 Faction war

1-6 Raiders 56-59 Unstable economy
7-11 Slavers 60-65 Loss of vital resource
12-16 Mutant gangs 66-71 Loss of export resource
17-22 Dangerous cult 72-76 Alien threat
23-27 Local warlord 77-81 Infiltration by external force
28-33 Political terrorists 82-86 Social disorder
34-37 Missing water chip 87-93 Criminal cartels
38-43 Mad scientist 94-100 Ruthless corporation
44-49 Out of control tax collector

NOTABLE EXPORTS

Mostly for flavour, most worlds are renowned for at least one common export commodity.

Roll Exports 41-44 Knowledge

1-4 Electronics 45-54 Raw resources
5-9 Heavy industry products 55-61 Mercenaries
10-15 Manufactured products 62-63 Clones
16-21 Military goods 64-66 Alien artefacts
22-27 Consumer goods 67-76 Illegal goods
28-34 Food 77-86 Incidental or minor goods
35-37 Art 87-100 Nothing whatsoever
38-40 Slaves

INDIVIDUALS OF IMPORT

To flesh out the role playing aspects of a campaign, a settlement can be populated with a few
important characters.
These can be drawn on for a variety of purposes as the campaign continues.

A typical settlement might have 2-4 important individuals. Use the tables in the main rules book to
generate their overall nature.

If using factions, it's suggested that each faction receives one important individual with the rest being
unaligned or independent.

A more actively role play oriented game can easily use these individuals as potential sources of jobs
and trouble.

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 SETTLEMENT EVENTS
To enhance the role playing narrative during the campaign turn, you can use the Settlement Events
table to create an ongoing story for each settlement. These make an excellent source for possible
scenario ideas as well as give you a general idea of what the local situation looks like.

Roll Event
1-4 Faction gains strength.
Add +1 to the strength of a random faction.
5-8 Faction loses strength.
Modify a random factions strength by -1. If this reduces it to 0, the faction ceases to matter.
9-13 Two random factions improve relations.
If the factions are currently enemies, a truce is established. If they are currently neutral, they
become aligned.
14-18 Two random factions worsen relations.
If the factions are currently aligned, they become neutral. If they neutral, they become enemies.
19-23 New faction emerges or arrives.
Randomly generate a new faction and assign it 1D3 points of strength.
24-27 Individual of import dies or leaves.
Randomly remove a non player character from the campaign.
28-31 New individual of import arrives.
Create a new non player character by any desired means.
32-37 New problem.
The settlement experiences a new problem. Generate randomly. If an existing problem is
duplicated, the result can be viewed as separate instances or an increase in threat.
38-43 Crime spree.
Violent gangs, robbers, raiders or cartels.
44-47 Period of calm.
Peace and quiet for a change.
48-51 Dangerous weather or natural phenomena.
Any number of weather, biosphere or planetary phenomena that may present risk or trouble.
52-54 Interesting visitors.
The settlement is visited by strangers causing some stir.
55-58 Natural disaster
Earth quakes, meteor strikes and other disasters.
59-62 Bustling economy.
Money is flowing. Boom times.
63-66 Stagnant economy.
The economy is slow or in crisis.
67-72 New political or philosophical idea takes root.
With time, this may become a faction or problem but for now, it's just local colour.
73-75 Spread of disease.
Unexpected pandemic. Keep your masks on.
76-80 Political disorder.
Street protests, infighting, instability and general chaos.
81-85 Political stability.
Things settle down for a while as everyone agrees things are pretty okay.
86-88 Change in social model.
Randomly generate a new social model. This may happen peacefully or not at all.
Each faction has a 1 in 6 chance of being wiped out and replaced with a new faction.
89-91 Increase in Unity authority.
Unity makes its presence felt.
92-96 Feud between families, clans or guilds.
Some feuds only result in a bit of vandalism, others become full-blown range wars.
97-100 Resource find.
A new raw resource has been located, no doubt attracting prospectors and corporates.

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 STARSHIP EVENTS
A fair amount of the time in a campaign is spent travelling from one world to another and in the
typically worn and battered ships available on the Fringe, this rarely goes without incident. This
system can be used to make life among the stars a little more exciting.

Whenever the crew decides to travel, roll on the Events table to determine what happens along the
way. Starship events are in addition to any personal events that may take place.

Many events will require repairs. Up to two characters can work on repairs, each campaign turn
accumulating one point of repairs per turn. A character conducting repairs may also guard the ship
while doing so.
If the repair requires components, one roll on the Loot table may be traded for a component.

Roll Event
1-6 Engines make a weird sound
No effect for now but after the next trip, roll 1D6. On a 1, apply the Engine Difficulty event.
On a 6, apply the Engine Breakdown event.
7-12 Minor hull damage
Minor damage to the exterior. Will require 1D3 repairs to fix before the ship is ship worthy again.
13-16 Need mercury for the fluid links
Seems like a convenient excuse but a Quest must be completed to find a suitable supply.
17-21 Navigation systems out of alignment
1 component and 1 repair required to recalibrate.
22-26 Ship encounter: Inspection
Upon approach to the world, the ship is inspected.
1 random item in the armoury is confiscated as contraband or as a fee for entering the system.
27-30 Ship encounter: Unity officials
If the crew has trouble with Unity law, this turns into a boarding action. Otherwise, roll 1D6.
On a 1, a random item in the armoury is confiscated.
On a 6, a random character is held for questioning (3 campaign turns).
31-35 Ship encounter: Pirates
The ship is boarding by 1D6+3 pirates. If they are defeated, receive 3 rolls on the Loot table.
36-39 Solar flare
Roll for each droid. On a 6, they are destroyed.
40-45 Engine difficulty
The engine is not having a good time. It will require 1D6 repairs before the ship can fly again.
If flown before then, the ship makes the jump and then suffers an Engine breakdown.
46-49 Software burnout
Blue holograph of death. Requires 1 component to replace.
50-54 Engine breakdown
As the ship touches down, the engine makes a puking down and goes dead.
This requires 1D3 components and 1D6 repairs to get working again.
55-58 Drifting
A navigation error causes the ship to drift through space for some time.
Generate a personal event to pass the time and then roll again.
59-63 Time to waste
Generate a personal event instead.
64-67 Escape pod
An escape pod drifting through space. It can be opened, giving a randomly generated new character
or can be sold off for a roll on the Loot table.
68-71 Debris
Various junk floating through space. Roll on the Trade table twice.
72-77 Maintenance overhaul needed
One component needed to fix the ship up again.
78-81 Time to tinker
While en route, all damaged items are repaired and one unreliable item may lose the status.
82-86 Jump sickness
A non-droid character gets sick. They will require 1D3 turns of rest to recover.
87-91 Accident
A random character must roll on the injury table.
92-94 We didn't even know that could break
A complex system has broken down. 1D3 components are required to replace it.
95-100 Completely without event or incident
Nice view though.

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 BACKGROUND EVENTS
Character creation is quite detailed but players who enjoy creating elaborate stories about their
characters will find this table of benefit.

Roll 2-3 times for a character to determine events that have occurred in their past. These can be taken
chronologically, tied together or otherwise treated as the player sees fit.

For robots, aliens and other weird characters, results will have to be adapted a bit.

1-3 Betrayed by a friend 49-51 Illness or injury

4-6 Lost love 52-54 Strong family ties
7-9 Failed in a task 55-57 Saved someone
10-12 Fell out with family 58-60 Solved a crime or injustice
13-15 Death of someone 61-63 Championed a popular cause
16-18 Framed for a crime 64-66 Had a lucky break
19-21 Sided with unpopular cause 67-69 Peaceful
22-24 Lost wealth 70-72 Travelled
25-27 Met hero 73-75 Nearly died
28-30 Mysterious event 76-78 Committed a crime
31-33 War 79-81 Memories suppressed
34-36 Made a great friend 82-84 Carried out a project
37-39 Found love 85-87 Pointless drudgery
40-42 Succeeded in a task 88-90 Living without a care
43-45 Contact with aliens 91-93 Crushing poverty
46-48 Captive 94-100 Run in with authorities

If you are generating multiple characters at the same time and roll the same event for two (or more),
you may elect to link them together somehow. This can help build up the explanations for why the
crew is together and may well suggest friendships (or rivalries) between the characters.

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 BOUNTY HUNTING
Steady paying jobs that don't involve farming are hard to come by. Many sentients on the Fringe have
a natural disposition towards violence which makes bounty hunting work an ideal option.
The difference between bounty hunters, simple assassins and mercenary outfits is that bounty
hunters are usually expected to bring the target in alive and are usually hired by a local community,
though corporations and other sponsors are not unheard of.

As long as the payment is good, someone will do the work.

FINDING WORK:
Bounty hunting is not too different from finding a paying patron. Any crew member may look for
bounties during the campaign turn if they do not take on any other missions.
If the crew has no reputation, a bounty is available on a D6 roll of 6.
If the crew is reputed as bounty hunters, a bounty is available on a roll of 1 or 6.

Only one crew member may look for bounties per campaign turn.

The player may roll up the target and the payment (see below) before deciding whether to accept the
mission or not.

DEVELOPING A REP:
After a mission where the fugitive is brought in alive, roll 1D6. On a 6, the crew now has a reputation
for bounty hunting, which will make future missions easier to obtain.
On a 1, the crew gets a reputation and makes a new Enemy (some type of criminal or associates of the
last fugitive).

The reputation is usually limited to one planet though the above roll may be made whenever the crew
lands on a new world. If successful, their reputation has followed them.

If the crew has succeeded in capturing their prey alive in the last 3 bounty missions, they will receive a
bonus roll on the Trade table when accepting a mission (Payment for expected expenses)

THE TARGET:
The fugitive is generated using the normal rules for non player characters. Fugitives always have one
unusual trait, whether a skill, alien trait or psionic ability.
Other opposition will accompany the fugitive as per a normal mission.

The mission is always played out as an attack on a building, camp, stronghold or similar, occupied by
the fugitive and their henchmen. Note that fugitives will hang back, letting the henchmen do the
fighting where possible. If half the henchmen are incapacitated, the fugitive will attempt to make a
run for it.

A fugitive managing to leave the table must be tracked using the Quest rules.

On a roll of 1 or 6, the mission is fought using the Stealth rules.

THE PAY OFF:

Capturing the fugitive by defeating them in a Brawl and either carrying them off the table or driving
off their henchmen is a success. If the fugitive goes out of action from weapons fire, an injury roll is
made to determine their fate.
A dead fugitive is worth a single roll on the Trade table (to cover expenses).
A captured fugitive is worth a roll on the Loot table.

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 TAX COLLECTION
An organization the size of Unity has expenses that dwarf any concept of monetary wealth a person
could possibly imagine. In Unity space proper, taxes are mostly handled automatically as part of any
and all transactions, being a rare case of efficiency.

On the Fringes however, this is not the case but that does not alleviate Fringe inhabitants from being
subject to taxation. Attempts at setting up efficient tax agencies have tended to be met with extreme
(and heavily armed) displeasure on worlds that are not under immediate alien threat and instead,
Unity authorities have solved the problem in a more subtle way.

Any Unity official of at least L3 ranking is permitted to conduct tax collection on behalf of Unity itself,
at their own discretion provided they can show reasonable suspicion that the subject owes back taxes.
Given that nobody on the Fringes actually pay taxes to begin with, this is an easy suspicion to justify.

The lack of currency on the Fringes mean that in most cases, any wealth confiscated for back
payments will be in material goods. Sending piles of tin cans and proximity mines back to a Unity HQ
is not likely to be of particular value, so confiscated goods are usually utilized by the official for their
own missions, particularly for field agents.

Since tax collection carries a significant health risk, it's very common for field operatives to farm out
the job, hiring on dependable adventurers (or brutal thugs) to do the collection part though this rarely
endears the hired hands to the local population.

RULES AND REGULATIONS:

A few qualifications are required to apply for a tax collection job:

The crew must not have any Unity enemies.

There must be at least one unmodified (psionic, mutated or otherwise manipulated) human in the
crew.

The crew must fill out an application and be approved. It takes a campaign turn to fill out. Roll 1D6.
On a 6, the application is approved and the crew can now undertake tax collection jobs.
If the application is not approved, roll again each campaign turn with a 6 indicating approval and a 1
indicating the form was rejected. Once rejected, the crew cannot attempt again on the same world.

Applications are always specific to one planet. Crews that have a Unity patron on the planet receive an
additional roll for approval during the turn the application is filed.

THE CASE FILE:

As everyone owes taxes on the Fringe, potential jobs aren't hard to get though to prevent excess
animosity, collectors usually only go after “serious cases” (targets that are wealthy enough to be worth
the shake-down but not quite important enough to have a large, private army)

An eligible crew has the option every campaign turn of taking a collection job instead of any other
mission leads.

Roll up a random character as the subject of the collection.

Roll 1D6 below to determine how valuable the subject is.

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1 Simple dead-beat
1 Loot roll. Has 1D3+1 guards.
2-4 Owes quite a bit
2 Loot rolls. Has 1D3+3 guards. Target has 1 talent or ability.
5 Class of their own
3 Loot rolls. Has 1D6+3 guards. Target has 2 talents or abilities.
6 Chance of a life time
5 Loot rolls. Has 2D3+4 guards. Target has 2 talents or abilities, plus a second in command with 1
talent.

COLLECTION:
Before tax collection is legal, the target must be served with the proper documentation. The player
may elect to meet the target in public or deliver the warrant to their home / hang out.

If approaching in public, roll 1D6. On a 1, the subject decides to make an example of you. Set up the
leader of the players crew and the subject 6” apart. Each may bring one associate. Determine
randomly who goes first.
On a 6, they decide to offer a bribe of 1 Loot roll if you don't pursue matters any further.

If the subject does not attempt to pick a fight, they'll return to their home. Next step is to show up at
the door step.

The raid may be carried out by stealth or by force. Set up any guards and play out the mission using
the Stealth rules if you want.

Place a number of markers equal to the Loot owed around the battle area. These can be picked up
and acquired during the mission. Once fighting breaks out, the enemy guards will attempt to carry the
packages off to safety. Any package transported to within 3” of the table edge has been removed.

Note that tax collectors are forbidden from firing upon the target unless attacked first by the target
specifically. Henchmen and guards may be disposed of once any of them have opened fire or
attacked.

If the target is rendered out of action from gun fire, the crew forfeits all possible loot.

CONSEQUENCES:
Anyone collected from will automatically become an Enemy in the campaign. This can add up quite
quickly.

DESIGNER NOTE:
Observant players will notice that the tax collection rules can also be applied for a heist with very little
conversion.

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 MILITARY ACTION ON THE FRINGE
Large scale military actions are rare on the Fringes, perhaps somewhat surprisingly considering the
general level of anarchy.
However, there are significant stabilizing forces at play. Many corporations have extensive resource
extraction operations (and the occasional questionable research station).

Likewise, Unity takes a very dim view of any military action within its boundaries and tends to move
quickly to pacify unruly parties.

MILITARY GAMES:
In most cases, a military game will not fit into the normal campaign structure though players can
adapt elements as they see fit. You could move characters in and out of a military action as you find it
fits the story.

Your crew may sign up for militia duty and ship out to fight an alien threat. Later, they muster out and
resume normal campaign adventures.

Other players may simply set up individual military scenarios to play out as they see fit. With the
FiveCore rules, a scenario can be played through quickly and a small number of figures means that
things move quickly and fluidly.

The biggest challenge is adapting to the type of action that can reasonably be fought with 5-8 figures
on each side.
The mission generator below can be used to find missions. The generator only provides broad
keywords. You will have to fit the pieces together and make sense of it all.

ASSEMBLING FORCES:
If you do not have a particular force in mind, take a glance below for some inspirations. In many
cases, players will have a particular scenario in mind already. If not, the following guidelines can be
used:

BATTLE-HARDENED PROFESSIONALS:
3-5 figures. Well equipped with support weapons and armour. Multiple skills and abilities.
As many of these units are quite small, they tend to have informal platoon structures. A few heavily
armed teams operating under a stern leader is the norm.

Miniatures:
Professionals should look the business and often tend to have bright coloured or striking uniforms, relying
on shock and terror as much as stealth and field craft. Fully enclosing armour is the norm, though some
units will wear lighter gear. Berets are common head wear in light armour.

Battlefield notes:
Professional troops tend to advance methodically, eliminating opposition as it appears. If an unexpected
threat shows up, they will redeploy to suppress and neutralize it before resuming their mission.

Teams tend to stick together with enough dispersal to avoid grenade casualties.

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TRAINED REGULARS:
5-8 figures. Typically all armed with a main weapon but may have one or two support weapons.
Armour tends to be light, if present.
Two or three figures may have skills or unusual abilities.

A standard platoon has 2-4 squads depending on the finances of the organizing body, typically with a
few specialists, such as a pair of rattle guns, a sniper or a couple of power armoured assault troopers.

Miniatures:
Fringe regulars look like your average mid-to-high tech soldiers. Fatigues, some armour and a pretty
uniform appearance. They are often pretty dirty and muddy with a few mismatched pieces of gear. A unit
looking in pristine condition is either inexperienced or very well paid.

Battlefield notes:
Regulars are generally following orders. They will be assigned an objective to either advance to, storm or
hold. If they are prevented from doing so, they will find a nearby place to hunker down, fight off any
attackers and wait for a leader to come sort things out.

Heavy losses will tend to deter them.

IRREGULAR MILITIA:
6-10 figures. Armaments often very basic and uneven, with no armour. Irregulars who've managed to
raid a weapons depot may carry some heavy weapons but lack of maintenance means they tend not
to last long.
Assign one figure as a boss or leader with a few skills.

Large scale organization is essentially a mob, splitting into 2 or 3 roughly equal sized groups upon
contact with the enemy. Several charismatic leaders are responsible for driving the unit forward.

Miniatures:
Plain clothes and whatever guns they could scramble. Many 20 th century figures can be pushed into service
as Fringe militia.

Battlefield notes:
Form up a mob with someone in charge directing them. The mob advances on the enemy until they've
been broken up or faced with decisive enemy forces, at which point they head to the hills, to try again later.

UNITY TROOPS:
5 man teams with 1 support weapon. Team leaders carry a melee weapon.
One member of the team is always a psionic with some level of ability.

3 such teams, plus a 2 man scout team and a platoon leader makes up a ground platoon. Unity
regulations forbid deviating from this organizational format except in approved emergencies.

Miniatures:
Unity troops are well paid and equipped according to regulations. Meticulous, identical uniforms and
helmets are the norm. Visors are common, giving a somewhat disconcerting appearance.
Black or grey uniforms are approved for all combat environments, while camouflage requires prior
authorization.

Battlefield notes:
Unity soldiers tend to stick together, advancing on their designated objectives cautiously. They tend not to
be overly aggressive, preferring a measured approach to attacks.

Unity doctrines explicitly value men over material, and they often appear casualty averse as a result. An
attack that bogs down is often abandoned to be resumed by reinforcements or from another route.

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MISSION OBJECTIVES:

Objectives for each side can be rolled on the table below.

Roll Objective
1-11 Hold random terrain feature
12-18 Destroy terrain feature
19-26 Drive off enemy forces
27-35 Cross battlefield
36-41 Acquire object from battlefield
42-47 Deliver object to terrain feature
48-54 Prevent enemy mission
55-61 Investigate terrain features
62-69 Reach multiple points on battlefield
70-75 Inflict significant losses while preserving own force
76-80 Escort character to terrain feature
81-85 Acquire character and escort off table
86-90 Keep enemy away from area of battle field
91-95 Roll again for two objectives
96-100 No immediate objective. Roll again after three turns

WHY ARE WE FIGHTING?

If you want some more context for the conflict, the table below can be used to determine the nature
of the overall action.

Roll Conflict
1-10 Territory
11-18 Resources
19-22 Ethnic or religious strife
23-26 Alien infiltration
27-31 Human infiltration
32-35 Ancient hatreds
36-38 Accident
39-43 Peace keeping
44-48 Rebel or separatist
49-52 Suppress dissidents
53-59 Galactic politics
60-64 Bureaucratic mistake
65-67 No one remembers
68-69 No one cares
70-74 Holy war
75-82 Corporate conflict
83-88 Raid
89-92 Extermination
93-100 Political struggle

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 BOARDING ACTIONS
On the Fringes, most ship combat tends to be in the form of boarding actions taking place near jump
points. The reasons are two fold:
First, a well functioning ship represents a lot of money, often far more than any cargo it might be
carrying.
Secondly, Unity patrols take a very dim view of unauthorized armed vessels. Any civilian captain may
fill out the requisite forms for a shipboard defensive armaments license but even assuming all 47
forms are submitted correctly (on three separate administrative planetary districts) the wait time is
likely to exceed the lifespan of the captain.

As such, ship combat for the purposes of a Five Parsecs campaign means boarding action.
To play boarding actions you will need a specialized terrain set-up. Options include floor plans drawn
or printed on paper, special floor tiles or even just terrain arranged in a suitable fashion.

If you don't have an easy way to depict corridors and rooms, the game can take place inside a cargo
bay or similar.

FLOOR TILES:

Many players will use floor tiles to play boarding actions. Many board games and role playing games
have featured these and making your own is not terribly hard.

Tiles are usually marked into a square grid and if the group prefers, translating movement distances
to grid movement is not difficult.
In most cases, using regular movements on the tiles is preferable as it makes it easier for figures to
fire from door ways, peek around corners and otherwise move and fight normally.

THE LAYOUT:

For the purpose of raids while on-planet and boarding actions while travelling, players should take a
few moments to lay out their ship and record the general floor design.
Assuming floor tiles approximately 3-4” long or wide, 8-10 tiles is usually sufficient.

Some players will enjoy designating what each room is for, but this isn't necessary for game play.
The exception is the bridge of the ship. Whoever controls the bridge can inflict irreparable damage to
the ship. As such, when the bridge is captured, most crews will surrender. (The fact that from the
bridge, the airlocks can be opened no doubt plays into this fact as well)

COMBAT:

Star-ships are quite fragile and high powered weapons are not advisable.
Slug throwing weapons may be used as they can be fitted with specialized ammunition. Energy and
beam weapons will easily penetrate the hull and are not used.

Explosives are not permitted.

Due to the cramped conditions, hand to hand fighting is quite common and many aliens do very well
in such situations.
To enter a brawl, the attacker must move into the space occupied by the target.

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ZERO G:

Normally, artificial gravity will be sustained during boarding actions, however this is not always the
case (and many vessels will only enable it in crew and habitation areas to save power).

Interior walls have handholds to enable easier movement. Even with these, it can be rather
challenging and movement is limited to 3” per turn with no rushes possible.

A figure may launch themselves off a wall instead of moving normally. Roll 1D6” to determine the
speed of the launch. The figure will continue moving in the same direction at the indicated speed each
turn.
To stop requires contacting a wall or obstacle. Drifting figures can attempt to latch on to a handhold
but must roll a 1 or 6 to do so. Doing so allows them to stop or reduce their speed as they desire.
Figures adjacent to a wall may kick off against it even if they are already drifting, rolling again for
distance.

A figure drifting at a speed of 4” per turn or more will knock anyone they hit sprawling. This makes
them drift in a random direction at 2” per turn.

Any figure that flinches or bails in zero G will launch themselves to get away and into cover. The
exception is flinching figures on a corner or similar who may pull themselves into hiding.

Any figure that fights a brawl in zero G must spend their next turn orientating themselves before they
can take any actions.

Firing accurately in zero G is not as easy as it sounds. For this reason, snap shots are only taken within
2” rather than the normal distance.

SKILLS:

Most combat and movement skills are not applicable in zero G environments unless specially trained
to do so.
After each boarding action, roll for every skill a surviving combatant has. On a 6, the skill is now “zero
G capable” which permits it to be used in such environments.

SUIT FRACTURES:

During space ship battles, it's assumed that all non-robotic characters wear suitable protective gear
capable of rapidly sealing and self-repairing punctures. As such, weapon hits do not tend to cause
additional effects.

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