STALKER7

Chris ‘The Axe” Abel dropped by the game room this past Saturday to run through the tutorial mission in the Scrapjacks Quick Start Guide. (Which is free at WargameVault)

The team is tasked with securing two sections of a damaged space station – the Orion Spur Station 7E.

Level 1 job. Two sections, aka ‘Modular Habitation Units’ or ‘Mews‘. 4 Points of Interest and 1 Objective in each section.
Stabilize – Secure – Extract. (and grab any salvage while they’re there)

MHU-01

The crew of the ‘Late Fee’ breaches the first section, spending 2 Aircharge – the first to enter, the second to restore power and get the lights back on. Restoring systems can be done at any POI and is separate from clearing a location.

They fan out and start to pry or hack their way into crates and cabinets, pulling items and valuable salvage. (The Sweep Phase)

Their intrusion doesn’t go unnoticed. The wreck responds; a sudden bloom of Void Mold erupts across the deck and walls. The Patch and the Yarddog do an awkward space dance and avoid the caustic growth, but the Torch and Rigger aren’t as nimble. Suit Breaches. The hiss and plume of leaking air…

Scrapjacks activate and slap patch kits on the tears, wanting to avoid any additional loss of Aircharge at the end of this phase. They spend the rest of their actions moving to new POI, popping crumpled lockers and bypassing e-locks, scrounging for more loot. The Rigger has his priorities straight and is working on the sector Objective. 50% complete.
The crew has some success, but their activity has drawn the attention of a pod of damaged Repair Bots that view all organics as foreign matter to be eliminated. Thankfully, the Bots aren’t too effective and only the Patch is injured in the ensuing melee.

Scrapjacks activate again and it’s Coil Pistols, Riot Guns, and Vibro-Knives (oh my) The Yarddog takes down one of the ‘Bots attacking the Rigger, then spends an Aircharge to Push (reactivate) and drops the other.

The Patch Med Kits himself, then jabs his Vibro-Knife into one of the Bots. It folds onto the metal deck, but the other one persists on trying to weld his legs together. Scrapjack activation over.

Another Hitch Phase, this time a Hull Shift. A huge groan of metal and the entire section lurches sideways. Everyone/everything tries to keep their footing. The Scrapjacks succeed – especially the Torch – but the faulty servos on the last Repair Bot fail and it collapses in a shower of sparks.

The crew clears the last POI, finishes the Objective, and moves to the exit airlock. MHU-01 Success. Four Aircharge remaining. (Yarddog spent one on the Push, but they found more at the POI)

MHU-02

Second section. Here the crew has to plant a Recovery Beacon on the far side of the room for a follow-on team. Again, two Aircharge spent: one to enter, the other to restore gravity.

Zero-G is common in deep space wrecks and abandoned facilities, and it allows for faster movement. Trouble is that also usually means there’s lots of loose, drifting objects in the area, all of which might not have ‘weight’, but still have mass. With the danger of more Suit Breaches from bad move actions and a low crew supply of Aircharge, Chris decided restoring power to MHU-02 was a priority.

Again, the crew fans out toward the closest POI. But wary of any imminent danger.

Good thing. Hitch Phase roll results in Raiders: low-life space scum who will steal your air, your gear, your ship, and leave you stranded. The spawn, start firing their Coil Pistols, and suddenly there’s a lot of metal bits zipping around.

The Torch, the Patch, and the Yarddog all take hits. (Good thing the Rigger was ducking behind that massive Comms Center)

The Crew activates, applies MedKits to staunch the bleeding, then starts fighting back. The Yarddog’s 10-gauge Riot Gun makes a big, messy hole in one Raider. He’s gone. She spends a valuable Aircharge and Pushes; racks that bang and drops the other one.

Meanwhile, the freshly bandaged Torch hefts his Wrecking Bar, steps up to the Raiders menacing him, and takes them both out with a solid Swing upside their helmets. (Wrecking Bar may be a simple tool, but it’s very handy) They go down hard.

Watching all this, the Rigger bobs and weaves his way to the Objective, and despite it not being his core skill, starts pulling on a wall panel, trying to make room for the Recovery Beacon.

The crew lucks out on the next Hitch Phase and rolls ‘Uneasy Silence: Nothing Happens – For Now’

In space, everyone can hear your huge sigh of relief over the comms channel.

The team clears one more POI, then moves to assist the Rigger and finishes the task. MHU-02 done. 1 Objective and 3 of 4 POI cleared. One Aircharge remaining. Time to Extract.

***

And that’s how you do it in the Void.

Scrapjack miniatures from the always awesome, Anvil Industry.

Floor tiles made under license from Dave Graffam. A set of six, printable MHU tiles, suitable for Scrapjacks, will be available separately when the core rule book is released.

Thanks for stopping by and remember the Scrapjacks Quick Start Guide is free at WargameVault.

Good hunting.