Scenario 1 : Hit and Miss (110/2350)

Background :

One of MKM's favorite pastimes, is trying to find leverage on Chrisjen Avasarala, which seems an easier way to deliver her the fatal blow than actually trying to find her.

Someone talked, and MKM have become aware of a group of her aging allies, that were no longer up to fighting on the run, and were thus settled down under aliases on Ganymede, in Dome 19.

Their interrogation was entrusted to MKM subsidiary CPM Security Corporation, who are not known for their subtlety.  They were foolish enough to leave too much time between two interrogations, leaving a couple of their victims, somewhat the worse for wear, time to tip off Avasarala.

Intending to nip this attempt in the bud - for there are people in the Ganymede group that have quite valuable information - Avasarala sends in her best counter-espionage unit, the all-female team known (unofficially) as Avasarala's Angels.  They are to gather information on the CPM operatives, eliminate them if necessary, round up and evacuate the "Ganymede Group", and discover who is the traitor among them.

The Scenario :

One player represents Avasarala's Angels.  His or her opponent runs a group of CPM Security Corporation thugs.

 
Players' Briefing :

CPM Security Corporation :

Your unit has been on Ganymede for eight years, providing security to Dome 19.  Three weeks ago, a list landed on your desk.  It is rarely a good thing to be on such a list.  However, nobody was telling why the list existed; there was however a list of questions to ask those on it.  This was to be an undercover operation.  None of this really made much sense until your men began to get a few answers.

 

The next name had been picked out for a visit this very day.  She turned out to be quite talkative, a sixty-something ex-UN diplomat, apparently a bit of a hotshot in her day.  In any case she filled out some important gaps, and all of a sudden you are scared.  You have a pretty good idea now of what is going down.  This is big and if you blow it, it is pretty obvious that someone in MKM will turn up, to bury what is left of you somewhere that only archeologists would look to dig.

You've left some good men - well, perhaps not good, but the best you have - around the area watching the diplomat, to make sure she doesn't go ratting, and are heading back to company HQ, to send out the intel to the bigwigs via a tight-beam.  Are you absolutely sure you are not being followed ?

Avasarala's Angels : 

A covert op on Ganymede, which is something like MKM's armpit.  Getting killed is possible but not an option.  Everybody will in any case deny your existence.  Business as usual, then.

Pretending to be part of the crew of a Pur N Kleen ice hauler got a section of the Angels into Ganymede with an excuse to stay for a couple of weeks.  Ganymede is however Black Sky turf, and like all strangers you were flagged, and some OPA goons have been on your heels ever since.  Either Black Sky can't spare any decent manpower, or they are arrogant enough not to bother hiding their interest; in any case you know all four of their team by now, and are certain there is nobody else lurking in the shadows.

 

All this attention has prevented the Angels from identifying any but the leader of the CPM unit that, undercover, is working the Dome 19 list. You have been on his tail for the last couple of days : he is as subtle as a brick, and as filthy as a pig.  Typical CPM then.  He was the sort of person that did for Eros.

Concentrate however on the task at hand.  After a little fishing, the CPM leader has made a Category 1 contact and a comms tap gave you the time and location.  The meet has just taken place.  The job is to now follow the CPM turd, and also interrogate the contact.  If she is liable to tell CPM more than they already know, kill her. This has to be done without drawing Black Sky attention, which means any dead bodies will have to be neatly disposed of.   The Pur N Kleen ship leaves orbit in a few days, and you are either on it or forced to go to ground on Ganymede until someone comes up with an extraction plan.  Double rations of suicide capsules, then...

 

Setting up :

0m90 x 0m90 gaming surface, portraying a residential sector of one of the Ganymede domes, refurbished by MKM after the fall of the mirrors.  The gardens and the greenery are just amazing, but not enough to cover up the whiff of decay.

 

Combat in The Expanse can be deadly, so there should be plenty of cover.

Anything physically placed on the table offers some cover.  Small elements of scatter terrain, or bystanders, are soft cover.  Walls and buildings provide hard cover; doors and windows are always WYSIWYG. A character can climb up a surface if there is physically portrayed some way of doing so (even a drainpipe to shimmy up), or if the obstacle is under 40mm tall.

Cover is defined as "concealing" if a character could lay down behind it, either from choosing to go prone, or having to go to ground.  This includes all doors and windows and corners of walls, as well as any terrain feature which is either at least 15mm tall and 15mm wide, or of any height but at least 30mm wide.  Obviously, concealment is dependent on direction of LOS and it should always be obvious on what side of the cover a figure is.

Note : plenty of such cover allows characters with Move and Shoot weapons, which are common in this setting, to "stand, fire and duck back", and therefore also rewards well chosen overwatch tactics.


The CPM player builds a 300 pt force, inspired by but not limited to, the Local Security Forces Roster, and/or the Ceres OPA Roster.  The highest points value figure is the CPM Team Leader.

The Angels choose a 360 pt force from their roster.

Environment :

Gravity : Ganymede is a moon with 0,146g.  Any characters with the "No Low-G" penalty trait increase their Q by 1 during the rest of the scenario if they cause a turnover during an activation for which they used 3 dice.

Oxygen : The Ganymede domes have normal oxygen levels.

Spin : Ganymede is not spun up.

Deployment and First Player :

The ex-UN diplomat's dwelling is at the middle of one board edge.

The CPM Team Leader sets up in the street, within 10cm of that dwelling.

All but one of the Angels now set up anywhere on the board; except no more than one figure may be placed within 30cm of the OPA Team Leader (vertical distance is however counted).

Two Black Sky OPA goons, using the Hitman profile from the Ceres OPA Roster, set up each within 5D6 cm of a random Angel, the direction from her determined at random (use a dispersion die or spin a D10).

The rest of the CPM team now set up, anywhere on the board.  They are undercover operatives, so should ideally be dressed in civilian clothes.

Finally, the last Angel deploys, with the same restrictions as her comrades.

The Angels player goes first, then CPM, and finally Black Sky OPA take their (automated) turn.

 

Rerolls

Both sides may make two rerolls during the game.  Rerolls may normally only be used on activation dice; all dice must be rerolled and the new result must be accepted.

Special Rule 1 : Anybody who's anybody... 

Black Sky OPA have identified two of the Angels, chosen by the Angels' player, but not the others.

The Angels have identified both Black Sky OPA, and the CPM Team Leader.

The CPM have not identified anyone.

A character may only interact with (and thus engage) an adversary that they have identified.  As far as this scenario is concerned, Black Sky OPA and CPM are adversaries.

A character may use 1 Action to identify another figure in line of sight.  He or she rolls 6 dice, less Q (hence a Q6 character cannot identify).  One success is needed for each M stick between spotter and target (hence a Q4 character can normally identify at 2 x M).  

If a spotting character has already moved during this Activation, he must reroll any successes. 

If a spotting character is at least one level (one building storey) above the target, he or she counts the target as 1 x M closer, 2 x M if he or she has the Sniper special rule.  

 

If the target has the Camouflage special rule, he or she counts as 1 x M further away.

A character can make additional spotting attempts if they have available Actions.

Once a member of a team has spotted an enemy character, that character is identified for all team members, for the rest of the game.

 

Special Rule 2 : Bring on the Goons  

Black Sky OPA take an automated turn.  They will roll 3 dice.  They will always make one attempt to identify the closest unidentified character in line of sight if that is possible as their first action.

They will then randomly select one of the three closest identified characters.  If that character has performed a combat action at some point in the game, they will shoot at him if within L (and in line of sight, of course).  Otherwise they will move towards him, seeking the best cover and stopping to shoot if the previous conditions apply.

If they come into contact with the enemy character (which generally implies he or she has so far taken no combat actions during the game), they will attempt to put him or her down : hand-to-hand combat that if won, sees the enemy character handcuffed.

A Black Sky operative with a handcuffed opponent will spend all Actions to exit with him by the closest board edge.

Special Rule 3 : I'm sure I saw that woman earlier

Unless the CPM Team Leader has an Angel that his team has identified within line of sight at the beginning of his activation, or has been the target of any combat Action at an earlier point in the game, he can use no more than 1 Action for movement, and may not use any Special Rule that allows him to move faster.  Once within L of the board edge opposite the diplomat's dwelling, at least 1 Action must be used for movement, and all permitted movement must be towards that board edge.

Special Rule 4 : Talking tough
 

The ex-diplomat is in her dwelling and does not move.

An Angel within her dwelling can kill her for 3 Actions.

An Angel within her dwelling can interrogate her, rolling 1 die vs Q for each Action.  A character with the Engineer or Hacker Special Rule may roll an extra die.  Any successes are retained.  Once 3 successes have been obtained, the diplomat spills the beans on everything she told CPM.  Once 6 successes have been obtained, the diplomat will have revealed exactly what CPM was asking, which will provide the Angel's with useful clues as to who is the traitor.

 

Game Over

The scenario ends instantly if the CPM Team Leader leaves the board or is put Out of Action or worse; or if all the Angels are Out of Action or worse; or all the CPM except the Team Leader are.

Victory Conditions 

Each side is awarded VPs :

 

Angels

1 VP for killing the ex-diplomat

2 VP for the diplomat revealing everything she knows

4 VPs for the diplomat revealing everything CPM asked

1 VP if the scenario ends because the CPM Team Leader is Out of Action or worse, unless that was done by an Angel identified by the CPM

3 VPs if the scenario ends because all CPM except the Team Leader are Out of Action (or worse)

3 VPs if the scenario ends because the CPM Team Leader exits the playing area, and at least one Angel was within L of him when he did so (she'll get him down a side alley)

2 VPs if no Angel attacked a Black Sky character during the scenario (a defense roll in hand-to-hand combat initiated by Black Sky does not count as "attacking")

 

CPM 

2 VPs if no CPM attacked a Black Sky character during the scenario (a defense roll in hand-to-hand combat initiated by a Martian does not count as "attacking")

1 VP for each Angel identified, or 3 VPs if that Angel is Out of Action or worse

2 VPs if the scenario ends because the CPM Team Leader exits the playing area, and no Angel was within L of him when he did so.

 

The side with the most VPs wins.

 

Post-scenario bonuses

Don't Call me Angel is a campaign, which means that the characters involved can acquire advantages or suffer penalties for future scenarios.  Only named (recurring) characters are concerned by this.

Any character that suffered a Gory Death result is permanently dead, and cannot be used again in the Campaign.

Any character that was put Out of Action may not gain Renown.

Any character that was Killed in Action is Dead on a D6 roll of '1', otherwise is considered as Out of Action.

All characters eligible for Renown gain it as follows :
+2 if on the winning side

+2 if undetected at the end of the scenario

 

Renown
Renown has no actual in game impact, but serves to measure the importance of the character in the Expanse universe and affects their storyline.  For each 10 Renown gained by a character, something special should happen to him (promotion for a soldier, a ship hand on a pirate vessel getting their own ship as a captain, and so forth...)

OPA Combat Group Roster

 Flying Lead Roster (670 pts, 10 figures, 228 Personality Points (34%) and 442 Warrior Points (66%))

;OPA Combat Group

Nesaie Alkè;122;4;2;true;-CCW Weapon : Energy,-Spitfire,Leader,Momentum,Relentless;;

Carlota Z Kowalsky;63;4;2;false;-Combi Rifle,Acrobat,Solitary;;

Eretria Windrey;52;3;1;true;-Assault Pistol,Hacker 3,No Earth-G;;

Nurse Karoline;54;3;2;true;-Pistol,Fearless,Medic 3,Poor Shot,Steady Under Fire;;

Zoé;75;4;2;false;-Combi Rifle,Fireteam,No Earth-G,Relentless;;

Moriarty;68;4;2;false;-Contender,Fireteam,Robot,Swift;;

Mary Problems;68;4;2;false;-SMG,Danger Sense,No Earth-G,Swift;;

OPA Alguacil;56;4;2;false;-Combi Rifle,No Earth-G,Slippery;;

OPA Alguacil;56;4;2;false;-Combi Rifle,No Earth-G,Slippery;;

OPA Alguacil;56;4;2;false;-Combi Rifle,No Earth-G,Slippery;;

This is a representative combat group of OPA operatives, running police or terror operations, or deciding on armed defense of a block or docks area against a rival group.  They are sufficiently well-armed to stand even against regular MCRN or MKM troops if they can use guerilla tactics, although they lack the training and coordination to survive on an open battlefield.

Nesaie Alkè is typical of an OPA elected leader, committed to the cause she is fighting for and inspiring those around her.  Fighters such as Karoline, Zoé and her robot Moriarty, and juveniles like Mary Problems are as courageous as they are tough, and along with the Alguacils, or "Sheriffs", form the backbone of their faction effort, which all believe must be ultimately victorious.

Avisarala's Angels Team Roster

Flying Lead Roster (678 points, 7 figures, 499 Personality Points (74%) and 179 Warrior Points (26%)) 

;Avasarala's Angels

Carrie "Zulu" Mathison;144;3;2;true;-Spitfire,Drugs 5,Hero,Leader;;

Avicenna;86;4;3;true;-CCW Weapon : Energy,-Pistol,Assassin,CQB Specialist;;

Jane "One Shot" Kano;90;4;3;true;-Sniper Rifle,Climber,Sniper;;

Misericordia;92;3;4;true;-Viral Pistol,Acrobat,Fear;;

Irmana Adhinos;87;4;2;true;-Boarding Shotgun,Force Field 3,Hacker 4;;

Dart;84;4;2;false;-CCW Weapon : Energy,-SMG,Camouflage,Sprinter;;

Kanren;95;2;2;false;-Rifle,Cool-headed,Solitary;;

Ex-Deputy Under-Secretary Krisjen Avasarala, who headed up the covert operations branch of the sprawling UN Intelligence Agency, used her political skills over time to weave an almost impenetrable web of allies.

 

Avasarala escaped the nuclear strike on Earth and fled to Luna, where she became General Secretary.  Obsessed with exacting revenge on MKM, she did not pay enough attention to domestic affairs, and her government was overthrown by a UNN-backed putsch.  Avasarala fled to the Belt, to continue the fight against MKM, and many of her allies followed the rebellion of this very charismatic leader.

 

Amongst them were an all-female elite group of covert operatives, whose key task in the UNIA had been counter-espionage.  Among the rebel movement, they have become known (unofficially) as "Avasarala's Angels".

Carrie "Zulu" Mathison is their team leader, unflinching in the tasks set her, no matter how high the cost.  That cost can be to others, but more often is to herself, self-sacrifice which ensures the absolute loyalty of those she commands.

Avicenna is the specialist in covert infiltration and proximity assassination techniques.  If she does her job right, no-one sees her go in, and no-one sees her come out.

Despite being a rogue element, prone to doubt and introspection, sniper Jane Kano can go anywhere, and from there, hit anything.  If you can get her to watch your back, there is not much that can go wrong.

Misericordia is the antithesis of her name : a ruthless killing machine, a clinical psychopath.  Her cold hatred hangs around her like a mantle of death, creating a terrifying aura.  Once the fighting is over, however, she is intelligent and witty; an "acquired taste", as Irmana dares to calls her to her face. 

The young Irmana Adhinos is the tech specialist, expert in killer hacking techniques, data extraction and demolitions.

Dart is what the jargon calls a "cleaner".  She provides close support for extraction, then moves in to clean-up, quickly and efficiently ensuring that there are no loose threads, and making the Angels' operations look like something they are not.

Kanren provides all-round support,a task that on paper seems somewhat unglamarous.  What the Angels appreciate, however, is that Kanren is always...there.  Somehow she just knows what the others need, often before they do.

Scenario 4 : So which OPA are you fighting for ? (85/2335 - After Action Report)

The scenario is here.

Fiday and Ashlee went down the main street, amidst the jostling crowds, and three OPA affiliate henchmen coming towards them.

Ashlee definitely had some sort of history with one these thugs, as the usually ice-cold calm starship pilot savagely knifed him on the streets of Ceres, leaving him in a pool of blood (-1 pt for the Tears of Corruption crew).  Fortunately Fiday and Ashlee quickly blended back into the crowd, and without encountering any further trouble, made it to the streets around Beckercoiler's shop.

As for Mercy, she was escorting Fred Johnson's OPA hacker, Eretria Windrey, through a less savoury part of town, where two OPA hitmen were awaiting.  Mercy beat up one of them, but Eretria was in danger from the second.  Other thugs were coming in off the street to back them up.

Fortunately, Fiday and Ashlee had moved round their position.  Whilst Ashlee climbed up scaffolding and put herself on overwatch, Fiday blocking the narrow alleyway leading to the main street.  She was however jostled at an unfortunate moment and stunned by a blow from her enemy (+1 for the Zig Ochoa OPA).  Fortunately Eretria was now within range and began extracting data from Beckercoiler's system (+1 for the ToC crew, for a total of 0).

 

The Zig Ochoa were now getting desperate as the dataflow looked to accelerate (+1 for the ToC, for a total of +1).  Pistols and shotguns came out and some really fierce fighting broke out in the back alley.  Star Helix reacted, and moved in to prepare to arrest an OPA hitwoman and the local agitator leading them all.  Fiday was in the thick of the fighting, breaking jaws and making sure people stayed down.

Pressure slowly mounted, nonetheless, on Eretria.  Ashlee decided to pull out her pistol and take down the Guard Bot in front of Beckercoiler's shop, drawing the attention of Star Helix to her, and she couldn't stop another OPA thug reaching the hacker and stunning her with a blow to the head.

 

Mercy, the ToC's combat medic, charged in to the fray but had to take the risk of drawing her energy blade.  Unfortunately for both of them, the Zig Ochoa gangster clumsily got her own head sliced clean off, a gory death which sent the other OPA in the back alley running, but this was not how things were supposed to go (-2 for the ToC, for a total of -1).

To make matters worse, Eretria took too long to recover from the blow to her head (+1 for Zig Ochoa OPA, for a total of +2).

The attempt to pirate the data came to an untimely end (due to the 3 pt difference of +2 to -1), Star Helix now swarming into the area.  The ToC crew managed to get away, and drag Eretria Windrey with them, but the results of this attack were disastrous.  With the Zig Ochoa counting two dead, one in particularly brutal circumstances, and looking for revenge, Fred Johnson was forced to tone down his assets on Ceres, leaving Anderson Dawes with a totally free hand in the years to come.

As for Fiday Cylus and her crew, they could forget about any help from Tycho Station and, being no longer welcome at Ceres, and hunted by the Martians, are in for some unpleasant and dangerous times.

Last of all, Fiday's failure, and the fact that Beckercoiler was found dead in his shop two days later, his datacores fried, meant that the OPA had learned nothing about the mysterious bio-weapon.  For the time being, it faded from memory...

This was a victory for the Zig Ochoa OPA, and no characters gained any Renown.

Ceres OPA Roster

 ;Ceres OPA
Ceres OPA Agitator;65;4;2;true;-Assault Pistol,-CCW Weapon : Basic,Leader,No Earth-G,Relentless;;
Ceres OPA Hitman;48;3;2;false;-CCW Weapon : Basic,-Light Shotgun,Cool-headed,No Earth-G;;
Ceres OPA-Affiliated Gangster;23;4;1;false;-CCW Weapon : Basic,-Pistol,Danger Sense,No Earth-G;;
Ceres OPA-Affiliated Criminal;8;5;1;false;-CCW Weapon : Basic,Drugs 5,Momentum,No Earth-G;;
Ceres OPA Guard Bot;38;4;2;false;-Contender,Robot;;

 

Ceres OPA range from hardcore operatives, right down to "street-trash" claiming affiliation and wearing tats to give some luster to their criminal activites.

Eretria Windrey

 

Eretria Windrey, OPA (TMEC) Combat Hacker
Q3 C1
Hacker 3, No Earth-G
Assault Pistol

Born 070/2298, on Ceres in the Belt

Like many Ceres Star Helix operatives, Eretria was recruited locally and, with OPA popularity slowly rising in the Belt, made only half-hearted attempts to hide her sympathies.  This pretty much condemned her to spending the rest of her life in the Belt, not that that was unusual for Belterlodas anyhow...

Her electronics and computing skills made her, nonetheless, a valuable asset and Star Helix, which is allied to most other security companies in the Solar System, regularly hired her out to them.  Hence Eretria Windrey was in the vicinity of Anderson Station when the Belter mutiny broke out there in 2327.  She was quickly roped in to help provide cyber-security for A-HCIG, Anderson Station's owner, and through a series of incidents and coincidences, ended up doing the same job for the UNN Forward Observation Team that had been sent in ahead of Colonel Frederick Johnson and his UNMC marines.

It was during this mission that she realised that the attempts by Anderson Station to surrender were not being relayed to Colonel Johnson.  Disgusted by the needless loss of life, it was Eretria that informed the Colonel of this fact, but too late to prevent the massacre.

This new proved a life-changer for the "Butcher of Anderson Station".  When he finally managed to move on, and set up shop on Tycho Station, he did not forget Eretria and asked her to join his OPA organisation.  She is now part of his inner circle, and has taken part in many sensitive missions.

 

Among them was the attack on Pandora-A prison alongside Carlota Kowalsky, to break out Fiday Cylus, the only remaining hope for Fred Johnson to find out more about a mysterious Martian bio-weapon.  She then continued to work alongside the captain of the Tears of Corruption to assist her during an information gathering stunt on Ceres, although that particular mission went sideways, leaving the OPA in the dark about a mysterious bioweapon, which would have unexpectedly devastating consequences in the future.

 

Renown :

2335 : +0

 

Eretria Windrey;52;3;1;true;-Assault Pistol,Hacker 3,No Earth-G;;

Carlota "Z" Kowalsky

 

"Zig Ochoa" OPA Infiltration Team Leader
Q4 C2
Acrobat, Solitary
Combi Rifle

Born 015/2313, on Pandora in the Saturn F-Ring

(Background Here)

 

In 2335, a few days after the "Phoebe Incident", which saw the mysterious destruction of an MCRN Research facility off Saturn, Carlota was ordered by Zig Ochoa, one of the OPA bigwigs on Ceres, to form up a combat group and head to Pandora to lay hands on some mysterious vials, a possible Martian biological weapon.  They were to take orders directly from the legendary Frederick Johnson.  A first attempt by two of her men having failed, Carlota had to infiltrate Pandora-A's prison to break out the captain of a pirate vessel, a certain  Fiday Cylus.  The mission was a success, building a stronger alliance between Fred Johnson and Zig Ochoa, and gaining the trust of a pirate ship of no little repute among Belters, the Tears of Corruption.

 

Renown :

2335 : +3

 

Carlota Z Kowalsky;63;4;2;false;-Combi Rifle,Acrobat,Solitary;;

Scenario 4 : So, which OPA are you fighting for ? (85/2335)

Background :
 

It turns out that the mysterious OPA commando that busted Fiday out of Pandora-A prison is from a faction allied to retired UNMC Colonel Frederik Johnson.  The infamous "Butcher of Anderson Station" is the current head of Tycho Station, where he is overseeing the construction, for the Mormons, of the gigantic colony ship Nauvoo.

Fred Johnson learned through back-channels that some sort of biological weapon had been smuggled off Phoebe Station, and the sudden Martian lockdown further increased his vigilance.  He cannot, however, risk being directly linked to OPA activity using open force, hence his reliance on his allies.

Through Fiday, Johnson learns the identity of the buyer on Ceres, Carl Beckercoiler.  He is a known front man for Anderson Dawes, the OPA strong man on the asteroid, so it is pretty likely Dawes is also showing interest in the new weapon.

Anderson Station's surrender had deliberately not been relayed to then Colonel, and it was only afterwards that Fred Johnson learned what he was unwittingly guilty of.  The medal pinned to his chest for his actions only made it worse.  He quit the UNMC and was slowly dying of alcohol abuse when Dawes picked him up and recruited him into the OPA.

Dawes and Johnson thus go way back, but their methods are not the same; Dawes is betting on terrorist methods to win the OPA cause, whilst Johnson firmly believes in a political solution.  The Tycho Station Chief decides to send his strike team into Ceres to find out what Dawes actually knows about the Phoebe weapon.  Obviously wishing to avoid both detection and bloodshed, he offers Fiday a small fortune for her assistance.  She takes the price that the Ceres buyer was going to give her, but refuses the rest of the payoff in return for a future unspecified favour, which Johnson accepts.

The Scenario :

One player represents the crew of the Tears of Corruption.  His or her opponent runs a team of Ceres Station OPA, and potentially some Star Helix intervention forces.

 
Players' Briefing :

Tears of Corruption / Zig Ochoa OPA :

You have spent an entire life running for one OPA affiliated crime faction or another, but this is something else.  These are the politicians, the people that will run this entire shit show if, someday, they manage to kick Earth and Mars back to where they came from.

You don't really care which OPA faction should have their hands on whatever weapon has been manufactured in Phoebe, whichever does it will be chaos, and chaos is your business.  Since you don't care, you'll run with Fred Johnson, since having him owe you a debt, is like having dibs on the first delivery straight out of a sparkly new gold mine.  

This has been talked over with the crew and most of them agree, this attack is a necessary evil.  It is not as if the Tears of Corruption had never had run-ins with the OPA before; there is always someone wanting a better cut.  These are Belterloders, however, and the fight must be as bloodless as possible.  Fred Johnson was straight up on that himself; he and Dawes don't see things the same way, but they are wary friends, not bitter enemies.

Here you are on Ceres station after an 18-day burn from Pandora-A.  You've spent a few days checking out the location, and are ready to move in.  You are going in hot, to tell the buyer that goddamn Martian IS was no your back; he surely suspects by now that you are empty handed, but confirming that is not going to make him any happier, and that will be a perfect excuse to start a fight.  The hard bit will be getting into his information system, and that is why you have an OPA hacker in tow.  She must however be protected and extracted at all costs.

Ceres Station OPA : 

It is business as usual, keeping the careful balance between criminal activities, keeping the OPA tipped off and well nourished, and making sure Star Helix are around the corner when you need them, and down the street when you don't.

The word has it that the Tears of Corruption has moored at Ceres.  You learned that Cornelius Groot is dust, and word has also come in from Pandora that Fiday had a spell in jail before her crew daringly bust her out, so you are not expecting her to deliver the goods.  However, you have learned not to underestimate neither this pirate nor her crew.  A friendly but expensive call from Star Helix lets you know she is coming down the street, and you decide it would be better to ensure that she comes alone...

 

Setting up :

0m90 x 0m90 gaming surface, mostly portraying a bustling street in downtown Ceres, 30cm wide, with plenty of civilians.

Combat in The Expanse can be deadly, so there should be plenty of cover [although, for this particular scenario, it is less necessary].

Anything physically placed on the table offers some cover.  Small elements of scatter terrain, or bystanders, are soft cover.  Walls and buildings provide hard cover; doors and windows are always WYSIWYG. A character can climb up a surface if there is physically portrayed some way of doing so (even a drainpipe to shimmy up), or if the obstacle is under 4cm tall.

Cover is defined as "concealing" if a character could lay down behind it, either from choosing to go prone, or having to go to ground.  This includes all doors and windows and corners of walls, as well as any terrain feature which is either at least 15mm tall and 15mm wide, or of any height but at least 30mm wide.  Obviously, concealment is dependent on direction of LOS and it should always be obvious on what side of the cover a figure is.

Note : plenty of such cover allows characters with Move and Shoot weapons, which are common in this setting, to "stand, fire and duck back", and therefore also rewards well chosen overwatch tactics.


The Tears of Corruption player choses a 275pt force from their roster, which must include Fiday.  To this they add Eretria Windrey from the OPA Infiltraton Team roster.

The Ceres Station OPA player chooses a 275pt force from their roster.

All characters may retain their CCW Weapon or, as a choice, replace it with a CCW Weapon : Basic.  The only other weapons that may be carried are : Pistol, Assault Pistol, Viral Pistol, Contender, Light Shotgun.  Each character must replace his standard firearm with one of these of equal or lower cost, and reduces his points cost by this amount.

Environment :

Gravity : Ceres is a spun-up asteroid, with 0,30g.  Any characters with the "No Low-G" penalty trait increase their Q by 1 during the rest of the scenario if they cause a turnover during an activation for which they used 3 dice.

Oxygen : Ceres is a domed asteroid with normal oxygen levels.

Spin : Thanks to the dome, the spin of Ceres is imperceptible.

Deployment and First Player :

The Tears of Corruption crew set up first along the left board edge; Fiday must enter along the street but other crewmembers can deploy as they see fit.  Carl Beckercoiler's shop is placed 60cm away from this edge, him within it, and his OPA team are then placed inside the shop or within 20cm of it.

Two patrols of two Star Helix security guards, Q5+, C2 armed with a Contender are placed at opposite ends of the main street.

The Tears of Corruption player goes first.

 

Rerolls

Both sides may make two rerolls during the game.  Rerolls may normally only be used on activation dice; all dice must be rerolled and the new result must be accepted.  In this specific scenario, rerolls may also be used during combat.

Special Rule 1 : Let's keep this bloodless... 

The Ceres OPA gain +1VP at the end of each enemy turn, if at least one Tears of Corruption character is currently Shaken.

Either side loses -1VP if an opponent is put Out of Action, and -2VP if Killed in Action.  Fiday and Johnson want to keep this as bloodless as possible, whilst Star Helix can only turn a blind eye to so much.

This includes results that are transformed because of the target being Shaken.

Characters can always choose, for each combat, not to use a CCW weapon available to them, but both protagonists must make and reveal their choice simultaneously.  Bare fisted attacks are made at -2 to combat rating and inflict, at most, a Shaken result.

 

Special Rule 2 : It sure is crowded...  

Every time a character uses a movement stick on the main street, unless their move ends in contact with the closest opposing character, or inside a building, they may be slowed or jostled by the crowd.  Roll a directional die and 2D6 for the distance in cm, to determine their random movement from their ending location.

Special Rule 3 : Star Helix on patrol

Each pair of Star Helix officers will move forward 1D3 Slow Moves at the beginning of the Ceres Station OPA turn.

If any of the following events occur, each they must immediately make a Q test on three dice, needing one success to activate :

- 1)  Any combat occurs within M of them

- 2)  A firearm is used, and the firer or the target are within S of any civilian figure

If activated by a combat that does not involve a firearm, the Star Helix officers will be controlled by the Ceres OPA player.  If activated by a combat that involves a firearm, they will be controlled by the opposing player to the one who opened fire.

Star Helix officers can only engage characters who caused their activation.  They can handcuff a Shaken character for one action, that character and the Star Helix officer are then removed from the board.  The owning player loses -1 VP.

A Star Helix officer tracking a firearm user will also track any figures of the same side that also use a firearm under the same conditions. If a figure of the opposing side uses a firearm, the Star Helix Officer will only test if that figure is currently closer than any current valid target.  A Star Helix Officer can only pursue firearm-using characters from one side, but different Officers may pursue characters from the other side.

If a Star Helix officer causes a turnover with no valid target within M, he is deactivated, will return to the main street by the quickest route and then patrol either up or down it (determined randomnly).

Special Rule 4 : Star Helix to the rescue
 

The Ceres Station OPA can call on Star Helix for assistance.  Three Q dice are rolled for each officer remaining on board, upon two or more successes the player takes permanent and full control of them; otherwise the Star Helix officer is removed from the board.

The Ceres Station OPA player forfeits -2VP for this choice.

 

Special Rule 5 : The Hacker

Once the Hacker is within L of Beckercoiler's shop, she may start to gain access to his system.  This requires use of the Hacker skill, the system counting as one target.  Each two successes on one Activation are worth 1VP, up to a total of 3VP.

Game Over

The scenario ends instantly if :

-  There is a difference of more than 3VP between the two players

-  The Hacker has obtained 3VP from hacking Beckercoil's systems

Victory Conditions

The player with the highest VP score wins.


Post-scenario bonuses

Tears of Corruption is a campaign, which means that the characters involved can acquire advantages or suffer penalties for future scenarios.  Only named (recurring) characters are concerned by this.

Any character that suffered a Gory Death result is permanently dead, and cannot be used again in the Campaign.

Any character that was put Out of Action may not gain Renown.

Any character that was Killed in Action is Dead on a D6 roll of '1', otherwise is considered as Out of Action.

All characters eligible for Renown gain it as follows :
+2 if on the winning side

+1 if no enemy character was Killed in Action during the scenario

 

Renown
Renown has no actual in game impact, but serves to measure the importance of the character in the Expanse universe and affects their storyline.  For each 10 Renown gained by a character, something special should happen to him (promotion for a soldier, a ship hand on a pirate vessel getting their own ship as a captain, and so forth...)

Scenario 3 : Get out of Jail Free (62/2335 - After Action Report)

The scenario is here.

 

The sleepy prison complex : no one is expecting a visit...

The OPA Infiltration Team did a pretty good job of getting into the complex.  Thanks to a fritzing drone (and above all to some excellent hacking) two operatives reached the vehicle in the south-west corner, from where they quickly drove off LSF grunts once the shooting started.  Another OPA fighter, and the combat hacker, were positioned near the landing bays.  The squad leader, Carlota "Z" Kowalsky, had to lay flat on the medical hut whilst soldiers patrolled the ground nearby and a drone suspected her presence.

The alarm eventually went off, bringing the SWAT team into action.  They initially made straight for the secure area, but decided to double back and try and take out one wing of the OPA attack force.  An unfortunate OPA activist was cut to pieces by their close-range fire (Gory Death).  His colleague fled the scene, but fortunately recovered quickly.

On the opposite side of the battleground, a third OPA activist hung in tight despite receiving two direct hits from a drone's Contender [he obtained three successes on his "second shaken result" morale test, and then obtained three successes to bring him bck into the action, ndlr].

Eretria Windrey, the OPA combat hacker, proved to be a valuable asset.  During the infiltration, she zapped two drones allowing her comrades to run over exposed ground and get into position.  Directly threatened by another drone, she took it down with a pistol shot, then went on to hack the second.  Whilst her colleague fought it out by the landing pad, he shouted to her to make a run for Fiday's prison hold.

Eretria was wounded by SWAT team fire, but her valuable contribution allowed the OPA to see off most of the LSF forces, who skedaddled when Carlota took out their officer.  The SWAT team, whilst a dangerous adversary, was no match for three OPA fighters and went down guns blazing.

Fiday was convinced by Carlota of their cause, then successfully extracted; the wounded Eretria was evacuated and only one dead OPA member had to be left behind.  Pandora security forces lost their SWAT team, an Officer and two soldiers.

 

This was a victory for the OPA and the Tears of Corruption.

 

Renown is gained as follows :

Carlota Z Kowalsky : +3

Eretria Windrey : +0 as Out of Action.

Fiday Cylus : +1

Najjar

Ship's Engineer 
Q4 C2
Engineer 5, Fireteam
Rifle

Born 235/2304, on Ceres Station in the Belt

Good engineers are much sought after in the Belt, but they have little means with which to work their art.  One day, after watching yet another miner's body drift off into space, after an accident that a few spare parts would have avoided, Najjar threw in the towel.  Blind drunk a few hours later, he got into a nasty bar brawl that might have cost him his life, had Mercy Gilmore not objected to his aggressor knocking her glass over. One thing led to another, and Najjar wound up on Tears of Corruption.  Holding a pirate vessel together is no easy task, but it is paradise compared to the engineer's former life.

After his captain, Fiday Cylus, was captured, Najjar volunteered to join the ambush meant to take out Martian IS and get back the bargaining chip to free her.  The ambush went pear-shaped, but Najjar nonetheless played an important role.  Not only did his Engineering Bot cause havoc to the Martians by jamming their comms, Najjar also took down the Martian IS operative, Green Zed, with a well aimed shot (+1 Renown).

 

Renown :

2335 : +1

Najjar, Engineering;65;4;2;false;-Rifle,Engineer 5,Fireteam;;

Scenario 3 : Get Out of Jail Free (62/2335 Earth Standard Calendar)

Background :
 

Fiday being the only person in the solar system who knows where the mysterious glowing blue vials were to be taken -  Cornelius Groot's hole-in-the-wall having been thoroughly cleaned out by MCRN-IS and then burnt to the ground - the OPA decide they have no other choice now than to break her out of prison.

Such a late decision to help "one of their own" might surprise some, but it obviously means that whichever faction of the OPA is behind this operation, it is not one that Fiday has run with in the past. 

When the lights go out all over Pandora A-dome, and the only illuminations are the rays of light pulsing behind the filthy windows of low-grade bars and seedy strip clubs, those on-planet OPA teamers who were not playing "fake merc" two days ago, sneak into the loosely guarded prison compound.

The Scenario :

One player represents a team of OPA agents and Fiday, captain of the Tears of Corruption.  His or her opponent runs the Pandora prison guards and an on-site on-call team of SWAT agents.

 
Players' Briefing :

OPA :

The inner circle tried to play a sleight hand, and look what that came to.  Fiday is a Class A bitch that cannot be trusted any further than her ship's AI can spit, but you don't believe she is truly loyal to any particular OPA faction.  She is just a Belter who hates Earth and Mars, which is what the OPA is supposed to be about, until politics and egos get involved and make everything messy.  Fiday will run with you, as long as you explain what is, and explain it quickly.  Anyway, if it takes too long, it'll have to be a bullet to her brain and out quick, 'cos Pandora just can't know that an OPA covert ops team is working under their dome.  The Solar System isn't ready for that, not yet. 

After the excitement caused by the firefight in town 6 days ago, the prison guards have slumped back into suicidal boredom, but the maximum security section, in which Fiday is held, is protected by drones.  Drones as their name implies, never sleep, but they can be hacked.  It'll be a race against time, and if the athletes are too slow, the on-site SWAT agents will get an electronic kick up the butt and come running.  This is all about being quiet and being quick.

Pandora Security Forces :

In elder days, pirates like Fiday were hung from yardarms; then came more civilised times when such executions were done humanely and behind closed doors.  Thank the Nine Heavens that such silliness is also a thing of the past.  If she is convicted, and she will be, the lady will be taking a long walk outside the dome with an almost empty oxygen tank, and the bets will be on to see how it will end.

The terrorists got their ship away before it was impounded, but they are still hanging about, as those creepy MCRN spooks found out the day before last.  There is no honour among thieves, but you have put the prison drones on double duty, despite the tech guys whinging about the impact on their reliability.

No point pretending that your men are amped up and ready to go, they are only doing this job because they couldn't keep their previous one down.  Let's hope that the on-site SWAT team are a little more enthusiastic, apparently they do like an excuse to use their firearms.

 

Setting up :

0m90 x 0m90 gaming surface, portraying a run-down prison on a remote moon.  On one side of the board, half-way down the board edge, is the barracks which houses the SWAT team.  On one of the two board edges to which it joins, again half-way down the board edge, is placed the maximum security block with Fiday placed inside.

Combat in The Expanse can be deadly, so there should be plenty of cover.

Anything physically placed on the table offers some cover.  Small elements of scatter terrain, or bystanders, are soft cover.  Walls and buildings provide hard cover; doors and windows are always WYSIWYG. A character can climb up a surface if there is physically portrayed some way of doing so (even a drainpipe to shimmy up), or if the obstacle is under 4cm tall.

Cover is defined as "concealing" if a character could lay down behind it, either from choosing to go prone, or having to go to ground.  This includes all doors and windows and corners of walls, as well as any terrain feature which is either at least 15mm tall and 15mm wide, or of any height but at least 30mm wide.  Obviously, concealment is dependent on direction of LOS and it should always be obvious on what side of the cover a figure is.

Note : plenty of such cover allows characters with Move and Shoot weapons, which are common in this setting, to "stand, fire and duck back", and therefore also rewards well chosen overwatch tactics.


The OPA player plays an OPA Infiltration Team (300 pts).

The Pandora Security Forces player draws the following 433 pt force from the Local Security Forces roster : three LSF Support Drones, one SWAT Team, one LSF Officer and five LSF Grunts.

Environment :

Gravity : Pandora is a spun-up moon, with 0,68g.  Any characters with the "No Earth-G" penalty trait increase their Q by 1 during the rest of the scenario if they cause a turnover during an activation for which they used 3 dice.

Oxygen : Pandora A is a domed city with normal oxygen levels.

Spin : Thanks to the dome, the spin of Pandora is imperceptible.

Deployment and First Player :

The Security Forces player places all SWAT units in the barracks.  He then deploys all other figures as he wishes, except no more than two figures inside the maximum security block, and only drones can be within 15cm of the building.  All human figures have an orientation, for drones it does not matter.

Drones however are chosen to be either "Fixed" or "On Patrol".

The OPA player notes the side of the table opposite the maximum security block, chooses a corner and rolls a D20.  A 2cm wide breach is placed at this distance from the corner along the table edge.  From this spot he rolls 2D20 and places another breach, and so on until the result would place a breach off-table.  A "breach" is a weak spot in the prison wall, for example a gate opened thanks to a bribe, a sewer pipe, a wall whose barbed wire has been cleared off, or an area that nothing is lighting up.

The OPA player places his characters in any or all of the breaches he wishes.

The OPA player goes first.

 

Rerolls

Making a daring and surprise attack, the OPA commando may make up to three rerolls during the game.  Rerolls may only be used on activation dice; all dice must be rerolled and the new result must be accepted.

Special Rule 1 : At least walking keeps me warm...
 

On the Security Forces turn, any unalerted human guard not inside a building will patrol before any activations take place, in the order of the owning player's choice.  Roll 2D6, one white, one coloured.  The white die represents the distance (1 = None, 2 = Medium; 3, 4 or 5 = 2 x Medium; 6 = 3 x Medium).

The coloured die represents the direction (1-2 = current facing; 3-4 = turns 90° left (if a 3) or right (if a 4);  5 = turns to face closest enemy character or 90% max, 6 = the owning player chooses facing).


Special Rule 2 : Drones don't walk, they zip

Any drone designated as "On Patrol" does the same thing, but rolls a coloured die three times, moving Long each time.  If two dice out of three are of equal value, the player may then designate this drone as "Fixed"; or instead designate any "Fixed" drone as now "On Patrol".  Note that if all drones are placed as "Fixed", it will be impossible to use this special rule to put them "On Patrol".

A drone that has been successfully Hacked rolls one less die for each current -1 to his Q value.


Special Rule 3 : Intruder Alert

If, at any point during their activation, a guard or a drone is within L of an enemy character, they might spot them.  They stop immediately, and roll a Q check with 3 dice, which is unaffected by Leader bonuses.  1 success is needed if the enemy character is standing in line of sight in the open; 2 successes if the enemy character is behind cover but in line of sight; 3 successes if the enemy is out of sight.

If the guard or a drone was already within L, they only stop and make the spotting check if their movement would bring them closer.

Should the spotting check succeed, the defenders are alerted.  All characters (including the SWAT) can now activate as normal.


Special Rule 4: You can't always go where you want...

As long as the defenders are not yet alerted, any OPA player who activates must indicate if he is moving and, if so, to where, and without any pre-measuring of course.  The first successes on the die roll must be used to move at normal rate (unless the character has indicated he is crawling there), and in the direction of the arrival point.

The character obtains 1 free success if no enemy is within L, but can only use it for movement.

Special Rule 5: If you shoot me, you betta kill me dead...

If an OPA character opens fire, the defenders are alerted, unless the result of the shot is at least an "Out of Action".  Firing whilst the defender is not alerted always counts as an Ambush.

A character using Hacker will not, however, put the defenders on alert.

 

Special Rule 6: Maximum Security..for Pandora. 

All the OPA agents are carrying equipment that allows them to open the doors to the Maximum Security building for 1 Action.  It is once inside that the hard graft begins, that of convincing Fiday to follow them out.

Make a 3 dice opposed Q roll, Fiday's successes cancelling those of an OPA character.  The OPA player gets an extra die for each 1 Action spent. Each uncancelled die represents a convincing argument.

Once Fiday has received 3 convincing arguments, she will follow her rescuers.  Count her as now being armed with an Assault Pistol.  Her Leader skill cannot be used on the OPA characters.  The defenders may not optional "Target Priority" rules to shoot at Fiday, as both the shadows from the harsh lights and the confusion make it difficult to pick out targets.

 

Game Over

The scenario ends instantly if Fiday exits the playing surface by any of the breaches in the wall, or if she is killed.

Victory Conditions

The OPA win if Fiday exits the playing surface; the Security Forces win if she is killed.


Post-scenario bonuses

Tears of Corruption is a campaign, which means that the characters involved can acquire advantages or suffer penalties for future scenarios.  Only named (recurring) characters are concerned by this.

Any character that suffered a Gory Death result is permanently dead, and cannot be used again in the Campaign.

Any character that was put Out of Action may not gain Renown.

Any character that was Killed in Action is Dead on a D6 roll of '1', otherwise is considered as Out of Action.

All characters eligible for Renown gain it as follows :
+1 if on the winning side
+1 for each enemy the character put Out of Action or Killed in Action
+1 if the character finally convinced Fiday to come with them

 

Renown
Renown has no actual in game impact, but serves to measure the importance of the character in the Expanse universe and affects their storyline.  For each 10 Renown gained by a character, something special should happen to him (promotion for a soldier, a ship hand on a pirate vessel getting their own ship as a captain, and so forth...)