• 5150: Free Trader Beowulf
  • Introduction
    • Why?
    • How?
  • Rules Tweaks
    • Fighter Command
      • Hangars for Cargo
    • Urban Renewal
      • Metal Madness (Toxic Build-Up)
        • Toxic Build-Up
          • Increasing Toxic Build-Up
          • Decreasing Toxic Build-Up
          • Social Implications
    • Fighter Command
      • Running Loops
        • Available Loops
  • Ship Designs
    • Civilian
      • Mercantile
        • Free Trader Beowulf
          • Star Navy
          • Fighter Command
  • Character Designs
    • Captain Marlin Rath (Gaea Prime Basic)
      • Urban Renewal
      • Fighter Command
    • XO Uranth-Ta (Ex-Zhuh-Zhuh Empire Gorantha)
      • Urban Renewal
      • Fighter Command
    • Tech Specialist na’Tat Li Mae (Hishen)
      • Urban Renewal
      • Fighter Command
    • Jacker “Zero” (New Hope Basic)
      • Urban Renewal
      • Fighter Command
  • Scenarios
    • Urban Renewal
      • Get the Money and Run (Cargo)
        • The Set-Up
        • The Lead
          • Shady Jobs
      • Spending Time in the Shade
        • Job Descriptions
        • Wages
    • Star Navy
      • Mayday, Mayday
        • Objective
        • Forces
        • Deployment
        • Special Instructions
        • Victory Conditions
    • Fighter Command
      • This Is Free Trader Beowulf
        • Objective
        • Forces
        • Terrain
        • Deployment
        • Special Instructions
        • Notes
  • QRS
    • FC Class to Cargo Multiplier
    • Number of Cargo Bays on Typical Transports
    • Cargo Table
    • Toxic Build-Up Power Table
    • Toxic Build-Up Power Effect Table
    • Toxic Build Up Treatment Table
    • Job Type (Urban Renewal)
    • Shady Cargo Table
    • Oi, What’s All This Then?
    • Wages Per Job Type
    • Mayday, Mayday PEF Movement Table
    • Mayday, Mayday Beowulf Plan Table
    • This is Free Trader Beowulf Opposition

5150: Free Trader Beowulf

Introduction

“This is Free Trader Beowulf, calling anyone …

Mayday, Mayday …

We are under attack … Main drive is gone … Turret number one not responding … Mayday … Losing cabin pressure fast … Calling anyone … Please help …

This is Free Trader Beowulf … Mayday…”

— From the tabletop RPG Traveller

Why?

Because everyone needs a classic science fiction role-playing game that’s spanned decades of enthusiastic fans and a good ten or more major editions to inspire yet more crazy action in one of the best ship-focused tabletop “immersive game” systems in the world.

And because I can. I won’t lie; that’s a great motivator.

The line on the cover of the original Traveller was one of the most compelling pieces of short fiction to ever catalyze old-school role-playing, and it still has the power to forge imagination into action.

What’s going on with the Beowulf? Who are they under attack by? Is there anything you can do? If you try to do something, is it a trap? Are you simply outclassed? Is it pirates? Is it a vast Space Hulk just waiting for you to plunder it? Is anyone going to get out of this alive?

One short piece. One short bit. And yet – one of the most story-forging ideas to get kicked around.

It’s about time someone did an integrated 5150 treatment of Free Trader Beowulf. I make no promises to be able to do justice to Traveller in general, but the Beowulf? Maybe I can give you some things to think about.

How?

You take advantage of the fact that the Two-Hour Wargames game lines include an entire panoply of games in the 5150 setting, their far-flung future which includes games running from the individual/small-party pseudo-RPG scale with Urban Renewal through ground combat with platoons of soldiers in Star Army, through fighter-scale ship engagements with Fighter Command, and full-scale space-based conflict with Star Navy.

With all of those tools at your disposal, how can you now find the fate of the Beowulf something worth pursuing?

Rules Tweaks

Fighter Command

Hangars for Cargo

Assume that Hangars in Fighter Command can be changed out for cargo capacity just as in Star Navy on a 1:1 basis if you’ve access to a capital ship refitting dock. See page 41 in Star Navy for more detail on the value of cargo and how it’s stored.

Fighters, bombers, and assault boats cannot be fielded from within cargo bays (though someone particularly cunning might camouflage their craft bays as cargo bays if they were going pirate-hunting).

Taking a hit to a cargo bay can seriously impact the value of what you’re carrying. If a filled cargo bay is takes a hit, reduce the Cargo Value multiplier by half.

Since Fighter Command doesn’t have ship Classes like Star Navy, we need to build a new table to calculate Cargo Values.

FC Class to Cargo Multiplier

Type	Base Value
Light CapShip (Belter, Runner, Freighter)	3
Medium CapShip (Tanker, Star Liner)	4
Heavy CapShip (Grand Freighter)	5
Massive CapShip (Supertanker)	6

Number of Cargo Bays on Typical Transports

Type	Bays
Belter	1
Runner	3
Freighter	6
Tanker, Star Liner	8
Grand Freighter	10
Supertanker	16

To fully calculate the value of the cargo, you need to know what’s in the bay. For each bay on the ship in question, add 2d6 and consult the following table. (Tankers and Supertankers only roll 1d6.)

Cargo Table

#	Result
<= 5	Commodities (CV 1x)
6 - 8	Goods (CV 3x)
9 - 10	Rarities (CV 5x)
11+	Contraband (CV 10x)

Example:

You’ve managed to waylay a Supertanker on its own, taking out the two pesky medium escort fighters. It has 16 bays, and rolling 1d6 on the Cargo Table for each, you find 3 bays of Goods (CV 9) and 13 of simple Commodities (CV 13), totaling 22 CV, x6 for being Supertanker bays, for a total of 66 CV. Not a bad haul for an easy target almost guaranteed to be carrying goods easy to roll over.

Later, you’ve taken down more likely, if smaller, quarry: three Gaean Runners. Each has 3 bays. The first has 3, 9, 5 for the cargo rolled, 2x Commodities (CV 2) and one of Rarities (CV 5). The second sports 10, 9, 3 for 2x more Rarities (CV 10) and one more Commodities (CV 1). The third is carrying 6, 6, 10, so 2x more Goods (CV 6) and another Rarity (CV 5). 29 CV total, x3 for Runner-sized bays, and that’s a total of 87 CV. Nearly half-way to a straight-out Recruitment Roll1 to add to your little pirate fleet.

Urban Renewal

Metal Madness (Toxic Build-Up)

Metal Madness is a system included in Urban Renewal as a means to limit the use of Enhancements (cybernetic implants), Loops (software that runs on implanted cybernetics), and Stims (performance-enhancing drugs). By those rules, a person with Enhancements runs the ongoing and accumulating risk of losing their minds and becoming a violent psychopath, with no means of managing that descent. Once that spiral begins, there is no real way of stemming the tide, until the character is blood-soaked and dead.

That doesn’t lead to particularly interesting play. There’s no real tension and no real decision-making enabled thereby; its the same old “cyberpsychosis” construct from every cyberpunk game ever. It is, in short, dull.

Instead, replace it with Toxic Build-Up.

Toxic Build-Up

Using Enhancements2 is hard on the body. Replacing flesh and bone with metal and carbon fibre puts strains on the connective tissues, joints, and biological filtration systems that keep the average Gaean Basic alive. Neural interfaces bridge the gap between flesh and metal with synthetic neurotransmitters and electro-stimulation that pushes the limit of what the brain and nerves are capable of. This is no way to treat a body unless you want it to start collapsing on you with very little warning, indeed.

Increasing Toxic Build-Up

Every time you add an Enhancement, add the MM rating to your Toxic Build-Up score. As you add or remove further Enhancements, TBU can increase or decrease. Running Loops in Blended Enhancements can push this up, as the interface between the CPU and a user’s consciousness puts a lot of stress on the neurological interfaces and parts of the user’s body that weren’t designed to be driven like the software commands.

The lowest your TBU can be is equal to the sum of the MM values of your installed Enhancements.

The first time in an Encounter that you use a Physical Enhancement in an extraordinary way, increase your TBU by 1. Use in a way that doesn’t exceed Basic norm doesn’t increase your TBU, but if you’re getting the bonus you’ll accumulate toxins.

Every time you run a Loop, increase your TBU by 1.

Stims increase your TBU by 1 every time you dose. If your next Encounter would trigger rolling on the Toxic Build-Up Power Table, treat REP as -1 for the purposes of referencing the TBU Target Number.

Whenever your character is exposed to stress (significant stress: direct violent conflict, battle, a social encounter that goes horribly wrong), typically at the beginning of an Encounter or battle, compare your TBU to the Toxic-Build-Up Power Table.

Toxic Build-Up Power Table
(TBU Power = (int(TBU / REP))+2 )

Current TBU Compared to REP	TBU Target Number
0 < TBU <= 1x REP	2
1x REP < TBU <= 2x REP	3
2x REP < TBU <= 3x REP	4
3x REP < TBU <= 4x REP	5
4x REP < TBU <= 5x REP	6
5x REP < TBU <= 6x REP	7
6x REP < TBU <= 7x REP	8

Once you have the target number, make a test on the Toxic Build-Up Power Effect Table by rolling the character’s Reputation in d6, looking for successes, compared to the Toxic Build-Up Power in d6, also looking for successes.

Toxic Build-Up Power Effect Table
(REP d6 vs TBU Power d6, counting successes)

# of successes more	If Character has more	If TBU has more
0	+1 to TBU	+1 to TBU
1	no effect	-1 to one Skill (or -1 to REP if not using Skills), +2 to TBU
2	-1 to TBU	-1 to two Skills (or -1 REP if not using Skills), +4 to TBU
3+	-2 to TBU	-1 to three Skills (or -2 to REP if not using Skills), +6 to TBU

The modifiers to Skills and Reputation only apply to the current Encounter or Scene. The increases to TBU are ongoing, and every increase carries with it an ever-increasing chance that the character will be seriously debilitated. Since these things only are checked when the user is stressed, it’s typically the worst kind of time for that to happen.

Decreasing Toxic Build-Up

Toxic Build-Up can be diminished. There are three means by which TBU may be lowered.

• Successes on the TBU Power Effect Table. While this can be fairly effective for low levels of TBU and characters with strong will and self-control, it can be extremely difficult to count on in the long term or with extensive modifications.

• Simply not using Enhancements. Given time to heal, the body flushes toxins. For every Encounter in which no Enhancements are used, roll (REP)d6; each success reduces TBU by 1.

• Medical intervention. A doctor or medic in a well-equipped medical facility can agressively flush the toxins from Enhancements out of the body, but the process is painful and can have long-term repurcussions on the health of the patient. If playing Urban Renewal, you’ll need to find a doctor willing and able to do the procedure3. If in Star Navy or Fighter Command, you may have access to a doctor on a ship or nearby station.

  In any case, one a doctor willing to perform the procedure has been arranged, roll on the Toxic Build-Up Treatment Table.

Toxic Build Up Treatment Table
(2d6 vs REP)

# passed	Result
2	TBU reduced to 2x minimum, REP -1 for In Sight Tests only in next Encounter
1	TBU reduced to 3x minimum, REP -1 for next Encounter
0	REP -1, TBU unchanged

Social Implications

Gaean society looks down on Enhancement and Stim users with no small additional measure of fear. Particularly in the case of Physical Enhancement users in places like New Hope and on the fringes of the Gaean Empire, frequent and skilled maintainance is not really available. While street docs are more than happy to put in slap-dash components that fell off the back of that import/export trader’s ship, fewer of them have the talent to maintain the gear and fewer still have the inclination to maintain the users. As a result, many with Enhancements accumulate near-fatal levels of neurological degeneration sooner or later, giving rise to tales of psychotics on mindless rampages and incredible acts of physical destruction.

The vast majority who waste away, rocking themselves in a corner and mumbling nonsense make for much less gripping reading.

Neither the Gaean Star Army nor Star Navy, despite being the best equipped and best maintained military forces in the Six Circles, engage in Enhancement outside of a few Specialists, generally in data analysis or astrogation. The costs and risks associated with maintaining such an array of medically draining personnel on a wide scale are simply too extensive and such modifications would decrease the uniformity that makes fielding such a large military possible in the first place4.

Continuing stories and news coverage of Enhanced burn-outs going on crime sprees (to finance their dreamed-of toxin purge), violent murder kill-fests (as they reach the breaking point on PEP and/or SAV), and the general disdain by Gaean Basics for the alien and Other solidly maintains a general social exclusion of the Enhanced. By comparison, Stim-users are considered reprehensible but redeemable (not the least reason that they tend to burn out and die in far less obvious ways).

Fighter Command

Running Loops

For obvious reasons, Enhancements tend to be rare amongst dedicated spacers. Between the need for frequent maintainance and medical oversight, their tendency to get damaged, and the difficulty of replacement, Gaea Prime has determined that there’s a much greater return to be had in upgrading the ships and other hardware that their crews are equipped with.

That doesn’t keep everyone from using them. Physical Enhancements are useful in areas like construction and security for habitats with fragile outer shells. For pilots, however, Blended Enhancements provide them with an array of possible advantages if they’re willing to accept the cost.

The basic Enhancement CPU provides jacks for interfacing with specially equipped vehicle computer networks. Once connected, Loops can affect the performance of the pilot by enhancing sensor recognition, expanding the range of action, or guiding weapons without the messy intermediary of flesh. Sometimes Loops are deliberately leaked to the less savoury portions of the 6th Circle populace to act as experimental testbeds for software intended to be added to the control systems of more mainline designs from each of the Empires. Not all of these work as intended.

Loops are generally useless for commanding the crew of a capital ship, though in some circumstances various Data Storage libraries or Loops which boost PEP Tests can be useful in some Skill Challenges.

Available Loops

Loops tend to be more specialized than full-on Pilot Attributes. They add conditions in which the bonus cannot be applied or specific types of target.

Loop	Effect
Evasion	-1 Modifier to result if attack comes from the front arc (Aspects 6, 1, 2) when rolling on the Fighter Damage Table (FC, p27])
Visual Integration	Visual range increases to 6”. Triggering In Sight on another fighter outside their visual range gives them a -1d6 to the In Sight Test
G-Smoothing	Special Maneuvers which involve hard but not complete 180o course changes (High Energy Yo-Yo, Yaw Reversal) get a +1d6 to execute as the Loop smooths the motion arc
Systems Data-Dump	Counts as a Data Storage Loop and thus takes two slots. A deep database on one particular kind of ship (Hishen Light Fighter, PDF Dreadnaught) which allows two rolls on the Fighter Damage Table or Capital Ship Damage Table, picking the result the pilot prefers
Missile Modelling	When taking damage from one kind of missile (FF, IR, Swarmer), roll twice on the Fighter Damage Table and choose your preferred system

Ship Designs

Civilian

Mercantile

Free Trader Beowulf

The Free Trader Beowulf herself is an aging, rickety brick of a ship with more in common with a tug-boat than a squeaky-clean cargo hauler. Which is just fine, because it’s not particularly well-known for being squeaky clean either in cargo or crew. After all, someone has to carry food, weapons, and other less savoury things back and forth within the Outer Rings – and sometimes back in more “civilized” space.

If you’ve got a job, if no one else can help, and you’ve got the money, the crew of the Beowulf can probably see it through.

Star Navy

In Star Navy terms, the Beowulf is a highly modified Merchant Trader5, swapping out half the cargo space for increased engine power and a heavy missile launcher turret on the belly. While this can cut significantly into the ability to move goods, out on the 5th Ring and beyond, being able to fight off a pirate assault – particularly when carrying a gut full of medical supplies, cryo-suspended cattle, or things less worthy of discussion in polite company, can be the difference between living to sell the goods and not living at all.

As specified on Star Navy page 26, the Beowulf suffers a -1 to REP when firing the Guns (that is, they fire at REP 4 with the default Crew).

REP	Class	Thrust	Hull	Shields	Guns	ML	Cargo Bays
5	3	3	4	1	1	1	3

Damage Track

Thrust	Hull	Shields	Guns	Missiles	Cargo
OOO	OOOO	O	O	O	OOO

Fighter Command

Unique ID: GP MerchCarg Heavy Frigate Beowulf
Type: Non-Military
Class: Light CapShip (so designated as an armed and armoured transport)

Shield Value: CSLPS

Speed: 3
Acceleration: 1/2
Turn Rating: 2

Defensive AA Turrets: 1
Main Gun Batteries: 1 Projectile
Torpedoes: 1

Repair Rolls: 1

Crew Reputation: 5

Damage

Max Speed	Thrusters	AA Turret	Projectile Battery	Shields	Hull	Bridge	Cargo
OOO	O	O	O	O	O (-1 REP rest of Mission, cannot be repaired in field)	O (Captain takes Recover From Knock Down, -2 REP rest of mission, cannot be repaired in field)	OOO (treat as Hangar)

Character Designs

Captain Marlin Rath (Gaea Prime Basic)

Male Basic, approximately 1.7m tall, generally physically unremarkable, originally from Gaea Prime itself but after a bit of a run-in with the constabulary over the intersection between another man’s wife (possibly one politically active, wife or husband – hard to say) and a lift-truck full of questionably sourced mood-elevators, thought it prudent to move on out of the 1st Circle.

Getting into piracy was just a temporary thing. Getting into a Zhuh-Zhuh pirate ship that apparently went rogue from their Imperial military – that was an absolute accident. The first chance Marlin had to get out of there, he used his smooth-talking silver-tongued nature to convince the captain of the missile frigate he was on that they had enough to go legit. Mostly. And the Basics generally preferred to deal with other Basics, not “trusted aliens.”

Uranth-Ta conceded the point and when they managed to land a beat-up old Beowulf, they headed to the edges of everybody’s empires and only occasionally looked back.

Urban Renewal

Reputation	FITness	PEoPle	SAVvy
5	3	5	4

Attribute Name	Effect
Ambidextrous	The character ignores the shooter firing with Off Hand penalty when shooting
Smooth	Counts a +1d6 to taking a People related Challenge

Profession: Exotic – Off-World Import/Export (Merc) PEP
Weapons: 2x BAP

Type	Range	Targets	Impact
Type 43 Projectile Pistol (BAP)	12	1 or 2	2

Armour: No (it doesn’t foster trust)
Com-Linked?: Yes
Home: Free Trader Beowulf

Fighter Command

Marlin is a capital ship commander and fighter pilot so takes a Capital Ship Attribute as well as a Fighter Pilot Attribute as his choice.

Personal Attributes

Attribute	Effect
Disciplined Crew	Your ship’s crew is well drilled and responsive. Count a +1d6 when taking the Repair and Ship Down Tests
Poser	Will roll only 1d6 when taking the Received Fire and Ship Down Tests

Crew & Race Attributes

Type	Special Attribute	Effect
Free Company	Risk Adverse	Count a -1 to REP when taking the Ship Down Test

Preferred Fighter

Type	Class	Speed	Acc	Turn	Guns	Hardpoints	Std Load	Decoy
Wasp	Lighter Fighter	5	3	3	2x Rail	2	2x FF	2

XO Uranth-Ta (Ex-Zhuh-Zhuh Empire Gorantha)

Male Zhuh-Zhuh Gorantha, approximately 2.2m tall, broad even for a Goranthan Zhuh-Zhuh. Serving on a Zhuh-Zhuh missile frigate wasn’t his idea of a life’s calling – overall he’d have preferred to go into architecture – nevertheless he gave into the pressure both of his peers and his family in order to secure the -Ta legacy into the future.

Going into piracy definitely wasn’t on the To Do list, but when his entire fleet was wiped out in only a few exchanges of fire with a Hishen battlecruiser, Uranth wasn’t one for foolish sacrifice. Before he could arrange communication with the Zhuh-Zhuh fleet command and inform them of his strategically planned survival, his crew (one of the most species-mixed in the Ring) were already cheering, raising drinks, and trying on silly voices.

He could see which way the wind was blowing, and that way was toward piracy. In a matter of months, he and the tiny Zhuh-Zhuh frigate had turned up a truly uninspiring record of poor piracy. In the mean-time, half the crew had been replaced by even less competent reprobates along the way and Uranth had enough. When Rath suggested getting out of the piracy business and going legit, he jumped at the opportunity, skimmed what little he could off the piratanical takings, and let the fast-talking Basic talk him into going into serious debt to buy the beat-up Beowulf.

Urban Renewal

Reputation	FITness	PEoPle	SAVvy
5	5	3	4

Attribute Name	Effect
Climb	Able to climb trees, walls and along roofs as if moving normally. Muggie-Zhuhs and similar, may attempt to Fast Move.
Natural Armor	The body structure of the Zhuh-Zhuh (not Muggy Zhuh-Zhuhs) allows it to take the Recover From Knock Down Test with +1d6 bonus.
Rage	Counts a +2d6 when in melee.
Resilient	Once during each Encounter the character will treat its first Out of the Fight result as a Knocked Down result instead.
Slow Mover	Normal movement is 6”. Will only roll 1d6 when taking the Fast Move Test, applies to Zhuh-Zhuhs only.
White Knight	May not shoot or melee anyone unable to defend themselves. Not affected by Fear.

Profession: Exotic – Shipping Freighter XO (Merc) SAV
Weapons: Pistol, Synthiron Knockle-Dusters

Type	Range	Targets	Impact
Arson-Luge Elegar Pistol (P)	12	1 or 2	1
Synthiron Knuckle-Dusters (2HW)			+2d6 Melee

Armour: No (he’s tough enough)
Com-Linked?: Yes
Home: Free Trader Beowulf

Fighter Command

Uranth is a pure capital ship commander, so pulls twice from the Capital Ship Attributes. Despite everything, he retains his Zhuh-Zhuh command training, even when in command of the Beowulf on trade runs.

Personal Attributes

Attribute	Effect
Accurate Gunnery	Your ship’s gun crew are veterans of many battles and able to lay down a devastating barrage. Count a +1d6 when rolling on the CapShip Ranged Combat Table.
Disciplined Crew	Your ship’s crew is well drilled and responsive. Count a +1d6 when taking the Repair and Ship Down Tests.

Crew & Race Attributes

Type	Special Attribute	Effect
Zhuh-Zhuh	Superb Reflexes	Counts a +1 to REP when attempting any Special Maneuver Test.

Preferred Fighter
None: Uranth-Ta much prefers the bridge of the Beowulf

Tech Specialist na’Tat Li Mae (Hishen)

Hishen na’ clade, approximately 1m tall, pale for a Hishen. Need someone to manage all the sensors on your ship at the same time, calibrate your engine coils, control energy distribution in combat, maintain your fighter craft, crawl into tight maintainance spaces to plant incindiary bombs, intimidate recalcitrant brokers, find the best deal on replacement parts to fix your broken down hunk-of-junk spaceship in the middle of feces-knows-where, and all while wearing a broad, unctuous smile on their face?

Well, bugger off, because na’Tat isn’t having any of your crap. Oh, she – he – whatever, clone races – can get the job done, no question or hesitation, but that slight hint of a smile on the broad-mouthed, flat face? That’s just the way it’s built. That’s not an emotional response. In fact, ask around, and you might even discover that na’Tat seems to have only two emotions:

Annoyed and pissed-off.

On the other hand, no one can make the Beowulf dance a little jig while eking out a tiny extra bit of thrust like sie can. Just don’t ask if it’s satisfying. The Hishen have a well-deserved reputation for cruelty to lesser races (and everyone’s a lesser race to a Hishen) and a love of enslaving sentients. na’Tat’s room might not have been cleaned in a while and you might end up press-ganged.

Why’s sie the Tech Specialist on the Beowulf? You ever see a Hishen get that good a position in most pirate fleets?

Urban Renewal

Reputation	FITness	PEoPle	SAVvy
5	4	3	5

Attribute Name	Effect
Cruel	Counts a +1d6 when taking a People related Challenge against those with a lower Rep.
Slight	Counts a -1d6 when in melee.
Slow Mover	Normal movement is 6”. Will only roll 1d6 when taking the Fast Move Test.
Sure Handed	Counts a +1 to Skill when taking a Fitness related Challenge specifically involving the use of the hands as the primary factor.

Profession: Joes – Flight Engineer (LWC) SAV
Weapons: BA Pistol, Flashbangs, Enhanced 1HW

Type	Range	Targets	Impact
Tundral Falcon .50cal (BAP)	12	1 or 2	3
Flashbangs (FBG)	6/24	12” circle	N/A
Powered Electro-Active Flanger (E1HW)			+2d6 Melee

Armour: No (they make it that small?)
Com-Linked?: Yes
Home: Free Trader Beowulf

Fighter Command

na’Tat has never had any interest in the command of capital ships and if left in command, by intent or circumstance, has no particular facility for it. Fightercraft, on the other hand, are something sie never found enough time to indulge in and all-too-rarely has access often enough to show off hir inclinations. Fast hands and sharp eyes make a forminable pilot.

Personal Attributes

Attribute	Effect
Exceptional Pilot	Counts a +1d6 bonus when taking the Landing and Collision Reaction Tests and when attempting a Special Maneuver.
Initiative	Counts one REP higher for activation purposes when operating alone.

Crew & Race Attributes

Type	Special Attribute	Effect
Hishen	Slight	When outnumbered by 2:1 or more will count a -1d6 when taking the Ship Down Test.
-	Evil	Never helps or recovers friendly ships or Pilots.

Preferred Fighter

Type	Class	Speed	Acc	Turn	Guns	Hardpoints	Std Load	Decoy
Shuriken	Bomber	3	2	2	2x Mass, 2x Laser, 1 AA Turret Aft	12	1x IR, 1x HARM, 2x Torpedoes	2

Jacker “Zero” (New Hope Basic)

Female Basic, admitting only to being “from” New Hope (despite no one being “from” New Hope), approximately 2m tall, built very much like the front end of a cargo loader. Zero, despite being nowhere near the stature of Uranth is considerably broader than the Basic average. Physicality is the furthest thing from her mind, being on the run from some rather unsavoury types back in New Hope City who were more interested in digging out the data storage in her brain than paying her for carrying it. Not being interested in a low-cost lobotomy, she hired passage on the Beowulf in one of the ship’s earliest tours under current management. She threatens to leave and never come back at nearly every port, but somehow ends up on the ship just before casting off every time.

She may be na’Tat’s best friend in the cosmos. This has led to persistent rumours of weird sexual deviancy, but so far no cameras or other systems have evidence. Yet.

Zero has a couple of Blended Enhancements, and has the unusual payload of two CPU implants (on either side of her skull, behind and beneath the ears). As such, she can usually run 6 Loops at once before needing to check for CPU Overload. Often there is a Data Storage Loop running on each CPU (ship specs, system intel, mission specs, whatever might come in handy to have in hand, along with full sets of identification for the whole crew), along with 1 other Loop, typically Targeting and Imaging when expecting trouble ground-side. If piloting a fighter, these may swap for Evasion and Visual Integration (see Rules Tweaks: Fighter Command: Running Loops).

Urban Renewal

Reputation	FITness	PEoPle	SAVvy
5	3	4	5

Minimum TBU: 6

Attribute Name	Effect
Hard as Nails	Once during each Encounter the character will treat its first Obviously Dead result as a Knock Down result instead.
Tough	Once during each Encounter the character will treat the first Run Away result as a Duck Back result.

Profession: Criminal – Net Runner (LWC) SAV
Weapons: BA Machine Pistol, knives – lots of knives

Type	Range	Targets	Impact
Oozron Tek-7 (BAMP)	12	3	2
Sharpened Data Plugs (1HW)			+1d6 Melee

Armour: Yes (whenever and wherever she thinks she can get away with it)
Com-Linked?: Yes
Home: Free Trader Beowulf

Fighter Command

Zero does everything she can to stay off the bridge of a capital ship with that many people paying attention to her and all their beady little eyes. No, if she has to be out there, she wants it to be just her, jacked head-first into the ship, with Loops giving her the edge over the pure fleshies and the howling solar wind scouring her glass eyes.

Personal Attributes

Attribute	Effect
Rage	Count a +1d6 bonus for attempting Special Maneuvers when behind an enemy.
Drunk (or Druggie) 6	Roll 1d6 at the start of every Mission. If the score is higher than the Pilot’s Rep or a “6” is rolled toss another 1d6 and consult this table: (1 - 2) Takes the Afterburners Test with only 1d6. Will also Side Slip randomly halfway through its move, once per activation. (3 - 4) Performs as if has Slow to React Attribute. (5 - 6) Performs as if has Iceman Attribute.

Crew & Race Attributes

Type	Special Attribute	Effect
Free Company	Risk Averse	Count a -1 to REP when taking the Ship Down Test.

Running Loops: Evasion, Visual Integration, Systems Data-Dump: Pirate Light Fighter – Barracuda

Preferred Fighter

Type	Class	Speed	Acc	Turn	Guns	Hardpoints	Std Load	Decoy
GA-22	Medium Fighter	4	3	3	2x Laser, 1x Rail	4	2x Rockets, 2x FF	1

Scenarios

Urban Renewal

Get the Money and Run (Cargo)

Keeping a Beowulf in the air is no picnic, especially with the cost of provisions, repairs, the occasional loss during percussive maintenance – it all adds up over time to big numbers. That means a crew needs big scores or a lot of tiny scores to keep the sky open. In the Central Rings, that’s mostly tiny courier jobs for mostly shady people, because that’s the only work you can get if you’re not signed up with one of the major shippers or their privateers. Outside the Centrals, though – that’s a very different thing. Oh, there are tentacles of the big boys out in the Outers, but a small cargo with some hustle and a gun or two can make big money if there’s a large hold that needs to go somewhere fast.

If it wants to avoid a little Imperial Entanglement, so much the better.

The Set-Up

The Beowulf’s crew is looking for a little work on New Hope, the place their last fare decided he wanted to get off. (That does have the advantage of leaving the cargo deck relatively clean; no leaky vats of living synthveal this time!) Unfortunately, you show up on New Hope without having a plan, a plan will find you in short order. That finding probably involves the maglev train.

Looking for a job can take many forms. Hanging out at the seedy bar at the Spaceport, drinking drinks until the right little weasley-looking guy skitters off the street. Heading uptown to the high class part of town, to press the flesh, smile vapidly, and seal the deal. Maybe even headed to City Hall itself to cut a little inside action deal with the Gaeans to move something off-planet they’d rather a lot of people never heard about.7

Before that mojo can start being worked, first there has to be a little footwork.

Objective

• Find a lead on a job offer and the hook-up that can provide it.

Forces

• As many of the crew of the Beowulf as desired. (Probably Rath and Uranth-Ta, but go with what you like)

Terrain

• Based on the Lead

Deployment

• Based on the Lead

Special Instructions

• Pick the Day Part
• Determine who’s the Lead and where they’re at
• Decide to follow-up or stop looking

The Lead

There’s a job out there with the Beowulf’s name on it. The real question is who knows about it? Who is The Lead?

Use The Employer table from p95 of Urban Renewal to determine what Circle they’re from. Use the whole Meeting the Employer section there to set up the actual encounter with them. Definitely don’t overlook the Travel Encounters and Defining Moments whenever the crew arrives somewhere. Things can go South in a hurry if a bad situation pops up, so don’t be shy about bugging out and heading back to the ship if things get too hairy. There are always more jobs; there are not always more cheap body parts and long jail sentences can really cut into operating profits.

The Lead will have provided a reference to someone looking to do a little business. The next step is to go back to the top of the Job Offer Encounter on p94 and head back in again from the top, with the following differences:

• Day Part will be (1) the same, (2-3) one later, (4-5) two later. or (6) three later.
• The Job Type Table on p95 is completely changed.

Job Type
(1d6)

Mover: (1-3) Cargo Transport, (4-5) Personnel Transport, (6) Escort
Shaker: (1-2) Cargo Transport, (3-5) Personnel Transport, (6) Escort
Exotic: (1) Cargo Transport, (2-4) Personnel Transport, (5-6) Escort
Ordinary Joe: (1-4) Cargo Transport, (5-6) Personnel Transport, -1 Shady
Criminal Element: (1-3) Cargo Transport, (4-5) Personnel Transport, (6) Escort, +1 Shady

Shady Jobs

Some jobs are Shady; that is, they involve moving illegal goods, illegal people, perfectly legal goods with incomplete or falsified paperwork, spies, assault squads, and generally things someone would rather get off-planet without other folks knowing about it.

Shady Cargo Table
(1d6 modified by Job Type)

(1-4) It’s straight, or straight enough.
(5-6) It’s shady.

Jobs aren’t obviously shady in every case, of course. Sometimes they sneak up. (1-5) The job is exactly what you think it is, shady or not, but on (6) the job is the other way around. What you thought was a nice, easy milk-run of meteoric iron to the sticks turns out to be a cover for high-end enhancements. What you thought was taking a mob boss off-planet under cover of darkness under the cops’ nose turns out to be an Average Joe with a grandiose sense of theater.

Shady jobs always involve a little more care than others. The big problem is, of course, at the Spaceport itself. If it’s a shady cargo, there’s one more Encounter on the way out with the authorities. If the job only appears to be shady, that Encounter still happens.

For extra excitement, only resolve whether the deal is really as shady as thought or not if/when the authorities go over the Beowulf’s cargo.

Spending Time in the Shade

Objective

• Get to the Beowulf and off planet with as little incident as possible

Forces

• As many of the crew of the Beowulf as desired. (Probably Rath and Uranth-Ta, but go with what you like.) Any crew not taken or who didn’t go looking for a job are on board the Beowulf itself and can emerge, armed and armoured if they like.

Terrain

• Set up the table in accordance with the Intersection directions on p51, except each building is a ship on the Spaceport tarmac.
• Ships are treated just the same as buildings, except more likely to be hostile if you come barging in unannounced. (1-4) you can’t get into the ship at all; the doors are locked, ramp up, etc. The Defining Moment is executed as usual except that the PEF being resolved inside is considered Hostile unless you’ve had contact with them before (1-2) and ended on good terms.

Deployment

• Beowulf crew start at the edge of section 8.
• The Beowulf is in the center of section 5.
• (1-2) They’re bringing the cargo in itself on a truck, (3-6) the cargo is already loaded on the Beowulf.

Special Instructions

• PEFs on the tarmac will (1-3) be GP police or customs agents who are naturally paranoid, have an anonymous tip-off, or just don’t like your face, otherwise roll for who they are as usual. When you resolve them, if they’re cops or customs, they’ll head straight for your group, get within 3”, and attempt an Oi, What’s All This Then? Test.

Oi, What’s All This Then?
PEP

Succ	Agents More	Beowulf More
0	Repeat, with another Even treated as +1 PEP for Agent	Repeat, with another Even treated as +1 PEP for Beowulf crew
+1-2	Agents suspicious, but have nothing actionable; treat as +1 PEP for Agents on the next shady cargo Beowulf run on or off New Hope	Beowulf crew look clean and talk a good line; the ship can lift off at their leisure
3+	Agents draw weapons and demand to inspect the cargo; proceed to In Sight with Beowulf crew counted as Active; +2 PEP to Agents on the next Oi, What’s All This Then?	Beowulf crew shake hands, smile a lot, and bid the Agents a great day; +1 PEP to Beowulf crew on their next Oi, What’s All This Then?

On a particularly unlucky day, multiple police groups can emerge from PEFs and force multiple Oi, What’s All This Then? Tests.

The Beowulf crew always has the option of surrender if they get caught out engaging in smuggling or other illegal acts. If so, or they’re rendered compliant by other less voluntary means, p66 in Urban Renewal, specifically starting with the section Justice For All8 will be worth looking at.

Job Descriptions

Cargo Transport

Goods, material, equipment, sometimes even living organisms both flora and fauna, because there’s no telling what someone will pay for out there. Cargos tend to be bulky and hefty – or disturbingly small and lightweight. A much needed genetic sample might only weigh a couple of kilos but be worth chartering a whole ship for. Several crates of heavy construction equipment might make all the difference to an out of the way space station.

Shady cargos run the typical gamut: guns, germs, butter, drugs, stims, enhancements, crates of heavy cargo equipment dodging berthing fees, genetic samples of deadly infectious diseases, interdicted animals which might constitute an eco-catastrophe released on an alien world, alien life forms who’ll hunt you through the corridors of your own ship to infest your still-living flesh with their young – the usual.

Personnel Transport

People want to get off-planet for a myriad of legitimate reasons. Tourism is a surprisingly popular one, especially for cheap no-name haulers on the rim. Business is likewise right up there, because sometimes there’s nothing like sealing a deal with a handshake. Getting out of a bad relationship and running as far away as you can from the pain makes for great bar songs. “Looking for yourself” is a story as old as the first sailors on the salty seas and still just as compelling.

Shady people want to get off-planet for a bevy of perfectly legitimate reasons, too. Crime boss unhappy you schtupped her daughter? That pregnant daughter? Been stealing a little off the top for the last few months? World-weary assassin going to run that last big score so you can buy new eyes for the girl you blinded during a job years ago? Computer engineer taking off to a corporate competitor with the plans of the next big thing in hybrid thrust engines? Psychic murderer kept in a state of suspended animation being escorted back to Gaea Prime by a bounty hunter? Rogue Hishen looking to go home and return to the slave-owning high-life?

Escort

Deep space is never a place where anyone can be alone. Sometimes people need to have another ship ride along, for extra firepower or sometimes just for a distraction or scapegoat.

Shady escorts generally involve running interference for ships involved in untoward dealings, whether that be engaging in the other kinds of shady cargo running or intimidation displays, distractions for criminal operations, or being effective information carriers by escorting other ships on legitimate business but broadcasting a concealed beacon burst on entry to the target system. When the police want to check your ship out for shady escort business, it’s generally going over your flight logs and data systems with a fine toothed comb.

Wages

The crew of the Beowulf only are as good as who they are, whether it be Raith’s fast-talking devil-may-care chicanery or Zero’s dead-lift. They wouldn’t – literally couldn’t – be running the Beowulf unless they were basically covering expenses. As such, there’s no real question as to whether they make enough scratch to keep the ship running. The real question is do they get better at it?

P96 in Urban Renewal talks about the wages you can earn for planetside jobs on New Hope, rendered in terms of the number of possible advancement rolls for Reputation and Skills you can get as a result of succeeding at the job. Unlike working dirt-side, the Beowulf gets paid no matter where they are so long as the cargo gets run safely and effectively; no need to head back to New Hope to get your chit.

Wages Per Job Type
(x2 if Shady; x1.5 if Criminal Element is Employer)

Job Type	Base Wage
Cargo Transport	3
Personnel Transport	5
Escort	4

Carrying cargo out to the rim with no threat? Easy-peasy; 3 advancement rolls (see p57 of Urban Renewal), distributed over your crew however you like. Running guns to Gaea Prime? That’s chancy, but there are a lot of ways to smuggle goods on a spaceship. 6 advancement rolls is hefty, 9 if you’re dealing with actual criminals. Transporting a mob boss out from under the nose of his own organization to give evidence to the GP police? 10 base, 15 if he initiated the contact. Running people is the most dangerous cargo.

Star Navy

Mayday, Mayday

Operating out in the 6th Ring is not safe, by any description. Few of the jobs that run that far out from the inner systems aren’t covered in dirt and sometimes blood. Once out there, plenty of good people need good work done – but there are a whole lot of people who aren’t so good to make their day a whole lot less bright.

The Beowulf is out there in the middle of one such mess, beacon screaming away into the void, looking for some of those good people to come on by and help them out. But it’s the 6th Circle, and as Virgil put it:

Here you will find the heretics and followers of every cult and pagan sect, all buried together, burning in eternal fire.

– Canto X

Pirates, freebooters, military stratagems, and all matter of thing could have snared the Beowulf here.

Nothing is forbidden. Everything is permissible.

Objective

Determine the status of the Beowulf and render assistance, if at all possible. A viable military threat should be driven from the area or destroyed utterly. In the absence of a visible threat, the Beowulf should be repaired in place or towed to the nearest repair facility. A significant bounty will be payed to anyone who provides assistance to a disabled vessel, in accordance with Gaean law.

Forces

• The Beowulf with guns and missile launcher apparently disabled, drive off-line, and 1/2d3 Hull damage streaming atmosphere.
• Choose as many ships as you like, but not less than one squadron. They can be from any available faction:
  
  • Pirates, looking to board and plunder the Beowulf for themselves.
  • Gaea Prime Space Navy, offering legally required aid and defense (though well outside their usual patrol routes).
  • Free Company mercenary forces, looking to help or even recruit.
  • Zhuh-Zhuh patrol group, on their way to offer assistance in accordance with Gaean law.
  • Xeog cultists, looking to press-gang, convert by the sword, or simply plunder the Beowulf.
  • Hishen slavers, popping by to grab a quick and easy snatch from a ship who’ll never be missed.
  • Local Planetary Defense Force, (1-3) looking to provide assistance as best they can – or (4-6) snatch another ship to add to their limited forces; could go either way.
• The contacted other force can simply be chosen or roll on the Contact – Ring 6 table on p39 of Star Navy, with the motivations suggested above. (Of course, just because they’re there to help doesn’t mean that they want help in helping.)

Deployment

• The Beowulf placed in the middle of Section 5.
• Asteroids (Star Navy, p23) are distributed as usual but do not move.
• Your forces may enter at any inclination up to 45 degrees anywhere along your side within 1 foot of the edge, with speed for each ship between 1 and the Thrust of each ship.
• There are no opposing inbound forces.
• Three PEFs are placed in the asteroid field by rolling 1d6 for each and placing one in that Section, out of Line of Sight of the entering force behind an asteroid if at all possible.

Special Instructions

• PEFs activate after the player’s first full set of orders and maneuver without concern for inertia or thrust, according to the Mayday, Mayday PEF Movement Table.
• PEFs resolve within 12 inches of one of your active ships with Line of Sight or 6 inches of one of your active ships without Line of Sight.
• To resolve a PEF, use the Patrol PEF Resolution Table in Star Navy, p 33. Enemy Morale is considered to be 3 for this mission.
• Once any ship comes within 6 inches of the Beowulf, its true purpose will be revealed! Roll for successes on the Mayday, Mayday Beowulf Plan Table.
• Help Is On the Way! (Star Navy, p25) is definitely in play! Of course, it being the 6th Ring, the Controlling faction is the Hishen, and they want slaves. Depending on what forces are involved, this might be considerably more desirable than the alternatives or might be just the additional confusion and cover that the Beowulf needs to get away.

Mayday, Mayday PEF Movement Table
2

Successes	Movement
0	Move 3 inches further from the nearest opposed ship, staying out of LoS if possible
1	(1-4) Hold position, (5-6) move toward nearest PEF
2	Move 4 inches toward farthest opposed ship, staying out of LoS if possible

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Mayday, Mayday Beowulf Plan Table
2

Successes	Status	Effects
0	Dead ship; engines are completely blown	(1-4) Boarding meets no resistance as all on-board are dead or disabled; (5-6) the crew still lives and intends to repel unfriendly boarders though at an additional -1 to the Boarding Table (Star Navy, p16). The ship can be towed by the largest ship in the controlling fleet at the cost of reducing Thrust to 1 and counting maneuverability as the next larger ship Class
1	Disabled but repairable	Everything is just as it appears. A friendly boarding party can get the engines back online in 1d6 turns. Escorting the Beowulf off the edge of the board counts as a victory for those who want to protect and rescue the ship. A successful hostile boarding party can bring the engines back online in 1/2d6+3 turns
2	It’s a Trap!	The Beowulf is the stalking horse for the opposing force. The engines come back online next turn along with the gun turret and missile launcher. 1/2d3 of the apparent Hull damage turns out to be cosmetic only. She joins the opposing force with the intent of destroying or capturing your fleet, whichever fits the motivations of the force.

Victory Conditions

No force wants to see the Beowulf destroyed but certainly may choose to attack it with crippling or lethal intent if they believe an opposed faction will take the prize. Ultimately, victory consists of getting off the board with the Beowulf, either under its own power, under your control, or towed. If all opposing forces are destroyed, you can proceed to do as you will.

If the Beowulf herself ends up being a trap, success can still be achieved by disabling and capturing her. It’s just going to be a little more complicated than expected when you set out.

Fighter Command

This Is Free Trader Beowulf

Carrying cargo through some of the dirtiest, least law-abiding, generally unpleasant parts of the galaxy is a thankless job – except for the huge piles of money that pretty much go right back into maintaining the ship before you start parting out the crew shares and figure out the losses on the last pile of junk you got saddled with and ended up carting about for months in the back of Bay #2.

And the pirates. There’s always the pirates.

Sometimes, they are you.

Objective

The Beowulf has just hit orbit after a rather troubled surface launch involving men with guns and quite a bit of shouting. That isn’t entirely unheard of, but it seems they’ve taken a particular interest in the ship’s departure and have the resources to make it no small challenge. Shady dealings sometimes have awkward repercussions. If the Beowulf can just make it far enough out of the gravity well to engage the FTL drives, there’ll be no catching her.

At least today.

To claw up out of the gravity well, the Beowulf must successfully make it from the edge of section 8 to move off the board in section 2 three times. Should they succeed, they successfully jump out and get away. Should they fail, it might be a fine time to pull out Star Navy and hop over to the scenario Mayday, Mayday in this fine book.

The opposing force wants to capture and board the Beowulf far more than they want to destroy her.

Forces

• The Beowulf and one flight of fighters piloted by any two crewmen. Their prefered fighters are listed with their character profiles. If playing with original characters or none, the flight is made up of one Free Company GA-35 Heavy Fighter and one Free Company GA-22 Medium Fighter as found in the QRS.

• Determine whose interest has been roused by the Beowulf. You can simply choose the List or use the following table:

This is Free Trader Beowulf Opposition
2d6

Roll	Forces
2 – 3	Xeog
4 – 5	Zhuh-Zhuh
6 – 8	Planetary Defense Forces
9 – 10	Hishen
11 – 12	Pirates (or other sketchy criminal bastards)

• Specific enemy forces will be determined in the Special Instructions section.

Terrain

Divide the board into nine equal sectors and generate terrain normally (as on p41).

Deployment

• The Beowulf and her Flight will enter the table from the edge bordering section 8.
• The Beowulf’s Flight will receive one extra 2HP missile per fighter until expended. Docking and rearming will only replace this missile once.
• PEFs are generated and deployed as outlined in the PEF section.

Special Instructions

• Determine the Investment Level of the hunt for the Beowulf (p45). Note the maximum IL for the folks in pursuit. Treat all maximum IL numbers as if Controlling the area.
• There is a chance of Inclement Space Weather (p45). Check every time the Beowulf enters at section 8. Once it begins, it lasts until the end of the mission.
• Determine Intel Level (p45). The Beowulf has Investment Level 5 for the purposes of this test.
• The first time you resolve a PEF use First Contact (p47).
• Subsequent PEFs are resolved normally (p49).
• Random Events (p53) are strongly recommended.
• Neither side receives reinforcements.
• Repeat the above every time the Beowulf enters a new phase and enters in section 8. This may result in the hunt intensifying or fading, or even bad intel leading to being in a very bad situation.
• Play continues until the Beowulf has exited the map in section 2 three times, or is disabled or destroyed.

Notes

• Remember, the Beowulf is playing to get away – body counts are not on the agenda. Using terrain for cover and keeping the speed up while avoiding big threats are the rules of survival.
• The Beowulf has two cargo bays converted to flight bays, allowing it to recover, rearm, and relaunch both fighters at once. Once recovered, the fighters can be relaunched in 1+1/2d6 turns. If rearming both at once, roll individually.
• Good luck! If all else fails, surrender and start sending a request for help into deep space. Someone might help you!

QRS

FC Class to Cargo Multiplier

FC Class to Cargo Multiplier

Type	Base Value
Light CapShip (Belter, Runner, Freighter)	3
Medium CapShip (Tanker, Star Liner)	4
Heavy CapShip (Grand Freighter)	5
Massive CapShip (Supertanker)	6

Number of Cargo Bays on Typical Transports

Number of Cargo Bays on Typical Transports

Type	Bays
Belter	1
Runner	3
Freighter	6
Tanker, Star Liner	8
Grand Freighter	10
Supertanker	16

Cargo Table

Cargo Table

#	Result
<= 5	Commodities (CV 1x)
6 - 8	Goods (CV 3x)
9 - 10	Rarities (CV 5x)
11+	Contraband (CV 10x)

Toxic Build-Up Power Table

Toxic Build-Up Power Table
(TBU Power = (int(TBU / REP))+2 )

Current TBU Compared to REP	TBU Target Number
0 < TBU <= 1x REP	2
1x REP < TBU <= 2x REP	3
2x REP < TBU <= 3x REP	4
3x REP < TBU <= 4x REP	5
4x REP < TBU <= 5x REP	6
5x REP < TBU <= 6x REP	7
6x REP < TBU <= 7x REP	8

Toxic Build-Up Power Effect Table

Toxic Build-Up Power Effect Table
(REP d6 vs TBU Power d6, counting successes)

# of successes more	If Character has more	If TBU has more
0	+1 to TBU	+1 to TBU
1	no effect	-1 to one Skill (or -1 to REP if not using Skills), +2 to TBU
2	-1 to TBU	-1 to two Skills (or -1 REP if not using Skills), +4 to TBU
3+	-2 to TBU	-1 to three Skills (or -2 to REP if not using Skills), +6 to TBU

Toxic Build Up Treatment Table

Toxic Build Up Treatment Table
(2d6 vs REP)

# passed	Result
2	TBU reduced to 2x minimum, REP -1 for In Sight Tests only in next Encounter
1	TBU reduced to 3x minimum, REP -1 for next Encounter
0	REP -1, TBU unchanged

Job Type (Urban Renewal)

Job Type
(1d6)

Mover: (1-3) Cargo Transport, (4-5) Personnel Transport, (6) Escort
Shaker: (1-2) Cargo Transport, (3-5) Personnel Transport, (6) Escort
Exotic: (1) Cargo Transport, (2-4) Personnel Transport, (5-6) Escort
Ordinary Joe: (1-4) Cargo Transport, (5-6) Personnel Transport, -1 Shady
Criminal Element: (1-3) Cargo Transport, (4-5) Personnel Transport, (6) Escort, +1 Shady

Shady Cargo Table

Shady Cargo Table
(1d6 modified by Job Type)

(1-4) It’s straight, or straight enough.
(5-6) It’s shady.

Oi, What’s All This Then?

Oi, What’s All This Then?
PEP vs PEP

Succ	Agents More	Beowulf More
0	Repeat, with another Even treated as +1 PEP for Agent	Repeat, with another Even treated as +1 PEP for Beowulf crew
+1-2	Agents suspicious, but have nothing actionable; treat as +1 PEP for Agents on the next shady cargo Beowulf run on or off New Hope	Beowulf crew look clean and talk a good line; the ship can lift off at their leisure
3+	Agents draw weapons and demand to inspect the cargo; proceed to In Sight with Beowulf crew counted as Active; +2 PEP to Agents on the next Oi, What’s All This Then?	Beowulf crew shake hands, smile a lot, and bid the Agents a great day; +1 PEP to Beowulf crew on their next Oi, What’s All This Then?

Wages Per Job Type

Wages Per Job Type
(x2 if Shady; x1.5 if Criminal Element is Employer)

Job Type	Base Wage
Cargo Transport	3
Personnel Transport	5
Escort	4

Mayday, Mayday PEF Movement Table

Mayday, Mayday PEF Movement Table
2

Successes	Movement
0	Move 3 inches further from the nearest opposed ship, staying out of LoS if possible
1	(1-4) Hold position, (5-6) move toward nearest PEF
2	Move 4 inches toward farthest opposed ship, staying out of LoS if possible

Mayday, Mayday Beowulf Plan Table

Mayday, Mayday Beowulf Plan Table
2

Successes	Status	Effects
0	Dead ship; engines are completely blown	(1-4) Boarding meets no resistance as all on-board are dead or disabled; (5-6) the crew still lives and intends to repel unfriendly boarders though at an additional -1 to the Boarding Table (Star Navy, p16). The ship can be towed by the largest ship in the controlling fleet at the cost of reducing Thrust to 1 and counting maneuverability as the next larger ship Class
1	Disabled but repairable	Everything is just as it appears. A friendly boarding party can get the engines back online in 1d6 turns. Escorting the Beowulf off the edge of the board counts as a victory for those who want to protect and rescue the ship. A successful hostile boarding party can bring the engines back online in 1/2d6+3 turns
2	It’s a Trap!	The Beowulf is the stalking horse for the opposing force. The engines come back online next turn along with the gun turret and missile launcher. 1/2d3 of the apparent Hull damage turns out to be cosmetic only. She joins the opposing force with the intent of destroying or capturing your fleet, whichever fits the motivations of the force.

This is Free Trader Beowulf Opposition

This is Free Trader Beowulf Opposition
2d6

Roll	Forces
2 – 3	Xeog
4 – 5	Zhuh-Zhuh
6 – 8	Planetary Defense Forces
9 – 10	Hishen
11 – 12	Pirates (or other sketchy criminal bastards)

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1. See Recruitment Rolls in Star Navy, p40 and p51. ↩
2. See page 69 in Urban Renewal for the original rules for Enhancements, page 73 for the original Metal Madness. ↩
3. This can be quite the trial in and of itself. See page 94 of Urban Renewal for the Job Offer Encounter as an example, except you’re looking for a Doctor to do the job. For even more detail in such things, see New Hope City PI. ↩
4. In situations where Enhanced Basics might otherwise be considered, the Star Army has no hesitation in deploying synthetic humans, Symons, to do that dirty work. They have the great advantage of being far more resillient and effective than un-Enhanced Basics but require much less maintainance in the long run. (See Star Army page 74.) ↩
5. Page 50 for the original stats in Star Navy. ↩
6. In this case, Zero is not actually on a drug but instead this reflects the effects of a flaky connection between the system’s interfaces and her jacks. ↩
7. How could this possibly go wrong? Never. Obviously impossible. ↩
8. Metallica might have a thing or two to say on the subject. ↩