SPACEMASTER:

Issue #5
DATANET ™

December 2006

Table of Contents Introduction

1.0 The Semi-Psychic .................................................. 2 Welcome to the fifth issue of Spacemaster Datanet.
2.0 Port of Call: Helios ............................................... 4 The purpose here is to expand and improve your
2.1 Ruler ................................................................. 4 Spacemaster game, both by broadening the rules and by
2.2 Government ..................................................... 5 deepening the setting details, giving you a richer and
2.3 Capital .............................................................. 5 more fulfilling game and game environment.
2.4 Economy .......................................................... 5 This time we introduce the semi-psychic, a compro-
2.5 Demographics ................................................. 5 mise between a psychic character and another profes-
2.6 Languages ........................................................ 5 sion. Also this issue we begin to examine the worlds of
2.7 The Resistance ................................................. 6 universe in our new segment called “Ports of Call.” We
2.8 Smuggling ........................................................ 6 also begin to outline three campaign plots for those who
2.9 The Underground Railroad ............................ 7 are at a loss about how to begin a Privateers campaign.
2.10 Planets ............................................................ 7 We’ll see an NPC write up for Paraxis, hands down the
2.11 Sites ................................................................ 7 greatest general in the war. Finally, we continue our
3.0 Campaign Plans ..................................................... 9 exploration into black market technology.
3.1 The Military Campaign ................................. 10 Enjoy.
3.2 The Privateer Campaign ............................... 12
3.3 The Criminal Campaign ............................... 13
4.0 NPC: Paraxis ....................................................... 16 WARNING! All Items in this PDF should be
5.0 Black Market Tech ............................................... 17 considered optional and completely unofficial.

Credits
Author: Rob Defendi
Editing: Tim Dugger, Heike Kubasch;
Pagemaking, & Layout: Sherry Robinson;
Proofreading: Tim Dugger, Heike Kubasch & Monica Wilson;
Art: Steven Farris, Alan Fore, Fritz Haas, Jeff Laubenstein, Jennifer
Meyer, Craig Mrusak, Eric Pence, and other artists;
ICE Staff
CEO: Bruce Neidlinger;
President: Heike Kubasch;
Editor/Jack-of-All-Trades: Tim Dugger;
Pagemaking: Sherry Robinson;
Web Mistress: Monica L. Wilson;
Office Cats: Rajah, Pheobe, & Matsi;
Corporate Mascot: Gandalf
Spacemaster: Datanet Copyright © 2006 by Aurigas Aldbaron LLC. All rights reserved. No reproductions without permission. Produced and
distributed by Mjolnir LLC, dba Iron Crown Enterprises 112 Goodman Street, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902.
Web: www.harphq.com and www.ironcrown.com.

Spacemaster: Datanet 1 Issue #5

1.0 THE SEMI-PSYCHIC
This section allows a player to create a character
that is a hybrid between a standard psychic and another
profession. To do this, we must first explain how we
assigned profession costs for psychic abilities.
First, we created a chart listing increasing costs. Then
we assigned each profession a place on that chart. The cost
assigned on the chart became the first psychic category
cost. The second became the next highest cost up the chart,
and so on. The chart for psychic costs isn’t relevant to this
section (as the effects of moving on that chart have already
been figured into the tables below), but that information
might be helpful for people trying to make semi-psychics
of professions they invented for their own games.
In addition, we assigned each profession an MP
Development cost:
Cost Profession
40 Entertainer
20 Criminal
18 Pilot
16 Explorer
14 Recon, Soldier
12 Technician
10 Bystander
8 Scientist
6 Academic
4 Psychic
A Semi-Psychic has psychic development costs
starting as listed below:
Psychic • Category 1 3/3/3
Psychic • Category 2 4/4/4 The first step in creating a semi-psychic is to replace
Psychic • Category 3 6/6/6 the weapon costs of the profession with those listed on the
Psychic • Category 4 8/8 chart below (these have already been adjusted to account
Psychic • Category 5 10/10 for the improved costs). Then, look up the number of other
Psychic • Category 6 12/12 combat categories which must be replaced (again on the
They have an MP Dev cost of 8. To create a Semi- chart below). For every one indicated on the chart, one
Psychic, begin with a non-psychic profession (other than other combat category must be replaced with the cost from
the Scientist, Academic, or Psychic, which gain nothing the Psychic profession. Eligible categories include:
from converting to a semi). Then find their location on Body Development
each chart. Change their development costs as listed above, Combat Maneuvers
but note how many places on the chart they moved. Martial Arts • Striking

Adjusted Combat Category Costs

Soldier Exp Rec Pilot Ent. Crim Bys Tech. Aca Sci Psy
Weapon 1 3/6 3/9 3/9 3/9 6 5/12 3/8 5/12 Na Na Na
Weapon 2 3/8 5/12 5 5 6 8 3/8 5 Na Na Na
Weapon 3 3/9 7 6 8 9 12 5 7 Na Na Na
Weapon 4 3/9 7 6 11 20 12 6 8 Na Na Na
Weapon 5 3/9 7 6 11 20 12 7 11 Na Na Na
Weapon 6 8 11 11 20 20 20 8 13 Na Na Na
Weapon 7 8 20 11 20 20 20 8 13 Na Na Na
Weapon 8 8 20 11 20 20 20 8 13 Na Na Na
Dir. Powers 2/5 2/7 2/7 2/7 2/9 3/8 3/9 5 Na Na Na
# of Cat Changes 1 2 2 3 4 3 0 1 Na Na Na
Spacemaster: Datanet 2 Issue #5
 Martial Arts • Sweeps Martial Arts • Striking .................... 9
Martial Arts Combat Maneuvers (if used) Martial Arts • Sweeps ...................... 9
Tech/Trade • Gunnery Mind Point Development .............. 8
Finally, for each place on the MP Dev cost table the Outdoor • Animal ........................ 2/5
profession must move, one other category must be replaced Outdoor • Environment ............... 1/3
with a higher-cost category from the Psychic Profession. Weapon • Category 5 ...................... 7
Example: Greg wants to make a laser-sword- Psychic • Category 1 .................. 3/3/3
carrying Semi-Psychic, based on a series of pop- Psychic • Category 2 .................. 4/4/4
culture movies. He chooses the explorer, because he Psychic • Category 3 .................. 6/6/6
wants a careful blend of combat, piloting skills and Psychic • Category 4 ..................... 8/8
psychic abilities. He starts with the explorer’s skill
Psychic • Category ................. 5 10/10
costs, then changes the first psychic category to 3/3/3
(this makes the second 4/4/4, the third 6/6/6, etc.) Psychic • Category 6 ................. 12/12
He changes the MP Dev cost to 8. He notes that this Science • Basic .............................. 2/6
is a four-position move on the chart. He changes the Science • Engineering ..................... 6
weapon costs to match those on the Adjusted Science • Medical ............................ 9
Combat Category Costs. He notes the Other Cats Science • Specialized ...................... 11
entry on the chart say he must replace 2 other Science • Technical ......................... 6
combat categories. He rules out Combat Maneuvers Self Control .................................. 2/6
(it has combat pilot) and Technical • Gunnery right Special Attacks ............................. 3/9
away. He needs Martial Arts as well, but not as Special Defenses ............................ 35
much. He replaces Martial Arts • Strikes and Sweeps Subterfuge • Attack ....................... 15
with the costs from the psychic profession. Subterfuge • Mechanical ................ 7
That leaves the other categories, of which he needs Technical • General ...................... 2/6
to replace four (because of the four position shift Technical • Gunnery ................... 2/6
for MP Development). He then swaps all three Technical • Professional ................... 6
Subterfuge categories with the cost from the Technical • Vehicles ...................... 2/5
Psychic (a character based on a series of pop- Technical • Vocational .................. 3/9
culture movies craves not these things). For his Urban ........................................... 2/5
final category, he selects Artistic • Active. The
Weapon • Category 1 ................... 3/9
character’s new costs look like this:
Weapon • Category 2 ................. 5/12
Skills and Skill Categories Weapon • Category 3 ...................... 7
Armor • Heavy .......................... 3/3/3 Weapon • Category 4 ...................... 7
Armor • Light ........................... 1/1/1 Weapon • Category 6 .................... 11
Armor • Medium ...................... 2/2/2 Weapon • Category 7 .................... 20
Artistic • Active ............................ 2/6 Weapon • Category 8 .................... 20
Artistic • Passive ........................... 2/5
Athletic • Brawn ........................... 2/6
Athletic • Endurance ................... 2/5
Athletic • Gymnastic .................... 2/5
Awareness • Perception ................ 2/7
Awareness • Searching .................. 2/4
Awareness • Senses ....................... 2/5
Body Development ....................... 3/9
Combat Maneuvers ................... 4/10
Communication ........................ 3/3/3
Subterfuge • Stealth ......................... 5
Crafts ......................................... 4/10
Directed Powers ........................... 2/7
Influence ...................................... 2/5
Lore • Academic .......................... 2/6
Lore • General .............................. 1/3
Lore • Technical ............................ 2/5

Spacemaster: Datanet 3 Issue #5

 For years, Helios was the center of ISC culture.
2.0 PORT OF While the oorts claimed the right to the ISC Capitol,
CALL: HELIOS nothing could stop the human charisma from spreading
from world to world. And human charisma shone the
Helios, the first contact. Here humans first made it brightest in Helios.
to their oort cloud, laying the prime stone in the Humans build, sometime recklessly, and so its no
foundation of the ISC. Originally designed by the surprise that oort intelligence found a fertile ground in
Architects as an oort or valiesian system, everything the industry of Helios. Helios had been something of a
changed when a comet hit the Yucatan Peninsula, killing powerhouse before gear-up. After gear-up the world’s
off many of the larger life-forms, including the dinosaurs industry seemed unstoppable. Several human businesses
and the ancestor of the braat. thrived and others merged with oort-owned companies.
This makes the Helios humans the youngest human When the dust settled, Helios had rebuilt and retooled
race in the ISC. However, the Architects seem to have and human greed and human drives had put it back on
quickened developing the humans there, fast-tracking top. Oort planets had a head start, but within two-
them to bring them to fire and the wheel quicker than on hundred years, Helios dominated even those worlds.
other worlds. This forced evolution worked too well. In Helios never faded from glory, not until the war, and
fact, if not for a few disasters in Helios history, it might even then the system didn’t fade, it was doused. In 286
have been much faster. Paraxis shattered the defenses of Helios, bombarded the
For instance, the Minoan culture of the Mediterra- military sites in a brilliant siege, and seized the system.
nean had running water before the rise of Rome. If Since then, the birthplace of the ISC has been firmly in
Santorini hadn’t erupted, the Minoans were on schedule Jeronan hands.
to place a man on the moon before the birth of Christ.
That would have placed humans in the oort cloud before 2.1 RULER
the Nicene Council. In the early days of the war, Jeronan planetary
Disasters happen and many think the Architects had governors were invariably Falar. Since the rise of Paraxis,
a firm enough grasp of chaos theory to predict most of things have been better on ISC worlds. The current ruler
these hiccups in developing history. Comets might be of the Helios system is Ralaphel, an oort with advanced
out of their scope, but developing cultures on every degrees in economics, sociology, xenopsychology, and
world have setbacks and problems. Because of this Helios political science. Ralaphel walks a fine line between
made it to their oort cloud just a little before the nearest keeping the Jeronan falar of the occupation in check and
likely competitor. holding the occupied population under control.

Spacemaster: Datanet 4 Issue #5

 It takes a gentle hand as the falar ache for the ways 2.4 ECONOMY
of the past, where they could treat a population little
Helios’ economy is on the rebound. It completely
better than chattel. In addition, the natives take the
collapsed with the fall of the system and unemployment
compassion of the ruler as an excuse to push the bounds
skyrocketed to at least 40 percent. People starved. Homes
of the occupation farther and farther.
burned and the homeless rate soared out of control. The
Add to this the problems of industry. The Helios
first system governor only made matters worse. It was a
nets were databombed in the last days before the
difficult situation Ralaphel inherited.
occupation, the factories sabotaged. Ralaphel has
The Chinese industrial base seemed the easiest to
fought to retool the factories and build up that indus-
repair and it was one of the most powerful before the
trial base. His plans move forward faster than he
occupation, so Ralaphel based his government there,
estimated, and he thinks that within a year he’ll have
where he could have the most hands-on control. His work
the full might of Helios production cranking out
has paid off (the Chinese refer to this as the New Step
Jeronan fighters and small arms. When that happens,
Forward, an old national joke). While North
the Empire might be unstoppable.
America is still on the ropes and Europe a
Ralaphel is a short oort with a higher
smoking ruin, China has rebounded remark-
than average IQ (even for his race). He
ably. Basic utilities and services function. The
genuinely cares about the people he rules
network of transport booths works and the
but he cares about his nation more,
roads and basic factories run. While
especially with people like Bretog and
Ralaphel has yet to build anything truly
Paraxis in charge. He feels this is their
complex, the Chinese have the highest
golden age, and he is proud to be a
standard of living on Earth.
part of it. Because of this, he holds
Unemployment drops.
secret meetings with members of
People have basic housing again.
the planetary Resistance,
Life in China has exceeded
slipping them aid to keep them
subsistence level, which is
from open rebellion. While
higher than most of the rest of
placating them to their face, his
the world. From here, the
spies capture key elements of
economy seems ready to
the Resistance forces, turning
spread, turning Asia into the
them over to the hard-line falar
new Mecca of industry.
military elements (to appease
While the economy is far
them). It’s a careful middle
from recovered, it’s on the
ground he walks, with each side
upswing. The dark times seem to
thinking he favors them while he
be ending, and the planetary
betrays both. If either side finds out,
Resistance has to decide daily between
the barely contained violence of the
attacking the factories and hurting the
system will explode.
people’s methods of survival or
2.2 GOVERNMENT letting them stand and build the
power of the Jeronan occupation.
Helios is a military dictatorship. Ralaphel
is the military dictator and planetary 2.5 DEMOGRAPHICS
governor, commanding the planetary
Ninety percent of the Helios population
commanders, who are both falar. From there
is human. 8 percent are oort, imports who
down the system is a straight military hierarchy.
formerly did most of the big thinking for the scientifi-
The government is rife with corruption, especially where
cally based industries on Earth. Of the remaining popula-
lesser officers are involved.
tion, most of them are falar Jeronan troops. After that, none
2.3 CAPITAL of the races rise to even one percent of the population.
The Planetary Government of Earth is in Colorado 2.6 LANGUAGES
Springs, Colorado where it commands the North
The official language of Helios is the Royal Tongue,
American industrial power base. Ralaphel has placed his
but most of the people on Earth and Mars speak either
system government in Beijing. The Old Capitol in
Human, which is a combination of several Helios
Geneva lays vacant.
languages, or a regional dialect such as Mandarin,
Cantonese, English, or Spanish.

Spacemaster: Datanet 5 Issue #5

 2.7 THE RESISTANCE Jeronan forces against orders even while the leadership
meets secretly in Ralaphel, often unknowingly doing his
In the early days of the occupation, everyone flocked
work for him, taking out his enemies and weeding out
to the banner of the Resistance. The depredations of the
Resistance elements that have gone off the reservation.
first system governor are legendary, over-inflated, and
It’s a sticky mess.
often obvious lies. Still, many take them seriously and
But the resistance is still huge. If they rose as one, they
revel in the fact that in those early days, the Resistance
could devastate the economy and fight the Jeronans back
fought the occupation to a standstill.
to a stand-still, but Ralaphel has played his hand well and
When Ralaphel took over, he slowly put the natives
so far no one suspects he works both sides equally.
to rest with concessions and compromises. The force of
So now the Resistance stands at a turning point and
the resistance dwindled, but the determination of the
internal fundamentalist elements prepare to overthrow
core elements didn’t.
the leadership of their own organization. It’s their plan
The resistance is still active in fundamental cells, but
to take control back and run the Resistance in the old
the overall leadership of the Resistance negotiates with
way. Certain sympathetic elements have been secretly
Ralaphel, much to the chagrin of the more zealous
giving them weapons and aid and they believe these are
elements. This puts the Resistance into something of an
businesspeople who have stashed preoccupation
internal conflict, with the hardest elements attacking
equipment, but this isn’t true. Hard-
line forces within the Jeronan military
supply the fundamentalist forces,
believing that if the Resistance were to
rise in force again, the Jeronans could
wipe them out in one massive and
glorious battle. The falar of the
Jeronans believe they can’t lose. The
fundamentalists believe they won’t.

2.8 SMUGGLING
With any occupied world,
smuggling is a prime pastime of
forward-thinking entrepreneurs with
their own ship and a head for
business. Helios is no exception.
There are dozens of smugglers
working in the Helios system at any
given time. Most of them use one of
three smuggler’s bases in the asteroid
belt. These bases act as sort of a
market for smugglers, allowing
individuals specialize in either
insystem or outsystem smuggling.
Few smugglers do both.
Outsystem smugglers concentrate on
entering the system undetected and
making their way to a smuggler’s base.
Here they sell their goods to insystem
smugglers, leaving immediately,
sometimes with outbound cargo,
sometimes without. The insystem
smugglers then take the goods to
Earth and Mars, where they land and
sell them into the local black market.
While smugglers are outside the
law, Helios is an occupied system and
so many of the smugglers are other-
wise law-abiding patriots. While they
bring in and out goods for the people

Spacemaster: Datanet 6 Issue #5

on Earth and Mars, most smuggling involves weapons, touch with a courier, for free if the person is a common
and these they sell at just a bit above cost plus expenses. citizen, for a price if they’re a spy. Then the person is
They aren’t in this to make money. They are in it to help handed off during the next planetside meeting. The
the populace. In addition, many ships bring in and out person then rides out to the smuggler base, where they
mail and news recordings for free, so they may be copied catch either the first outbound courier or one heading
and distributed through the worlds. in the proper direction.
As we said above, weapons and information are the The Underground Railroad is quiet these days,
highest volume of smuggled goods, but there isn’t much handling less than a person every week.
profit in them to the honest smuggler. Profit comes from
luxury items such as games and entertainment record- 2.10 PLANETS
ings and imported fabrics and foodstuffs and even drugs. Helios has nine planets if you count Pluto, but only
Anything the rich might value but can’t be created in two are inhabited to any real degree.
Helios is a high-ticket item. The first, of course, is Helios III, known officially as
The smugglers divide mostly into two camps, but Terra, but called Earth by everyone insystem. Earth is the
smuggler bases are so temporary, with changing codes major population center and the origin point of the local
and sudden Jeronan raids the two different groups must species (humans). Once populated by eighteen billion,
still mingle. The patriots call themselves couriers, and the war and early days of occupation caused massive die-
the profiteers call themselves freighters. Fights between off, dropping the population to a current estimate of
couriers and freighters happen in every bar almost every 12.9 billion, most of them in China, North America,
night in the smuggler bases. There’s a great deal of bad Australia, and the ruins of Europe. In these locales the
blood between the two. economy and collapsed, but people were able to make
Landing sites for smuggling involve out-of-the-way due and distribute food. In more rural locations, things
locales. They are set up on the fly most of the time reduced to a farmer’s market style economy. In other
because few smuggling ships have high enough passive lands, such as India, die off raged out of control.
EW to guarantee getting in and out unnoticed and so Helios IV, known as Mars, is the other inhabited
they must take their opportunities when the orbital world, with some 1.3 billion people. There wasn’t as
patrols allow. Typically secure tight beam communica- much die off here, as the Jeronan military knew they
tions link the ship with the black market agents, they could destroy all or nothing. Paraxis took the planet with
land at a quick opportunity site and unload and accept care, preserving the planet-wide farm sites, but paying
payment at high speed. Then everyone scatters before special attention to Ares sector around Olympus Mons,
the Jeronan military can find them. The military is were the planet’s main population is centered. Mars has
usually hot on their heels, but the smugglers have been terraformed to the point of a fully pressured
enough active EW to confuse the enemy sensors long atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide, and while the
enough to deal and run. terraformers were sure they’d be able to scrub the CO2
out, they never got the chance. Many plants engineered
2.9 THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD just for that purpose flourish here, but it will take
The Underground Railroad was important in the centuries for them alone to make a difference. Mean-
early days of the occupation. With a brutal dictator and while, people can walk around in winter gear and
many of Helios’ braintrust still insystem, people needed breather masks.
ways to get out. In those early days, most people moving
out through the Underground Railroad were scientists, 2.11 SITES
military men, and spies who needed to get back into There are many locations of interest in Helios, too
friendly space. Since then, most of the sensitive subjects many to fully detail in even a large book. Here are some
have made it out and the rule of Ralaphel has been kind of the more noteworthy, though.
enough to allow the bitterest abuses to stop.
But the Railroad still operates. Spies are still 2.11.1 THE OLD CAPITOL
necessary, especially from the Agency of Military Geneva is a graveyard. Once the home of hun-
Intelligence and the Department of Foreign Intelli- dreds of representatives and the virtual meeting place
gence. Besides that, the Railroad does great work with of thousands more, Paraxis dropped several tamper-
medical patients that could find easy cures in ISC space proof canisters of nerve gas here to prove a point.
but whose illnesses are beyond the scope of Helios in its After they turned out to actually be tamper proof and
current state of near-collapse. Help can still be found in killed about a fifth of the city’s population, everyone
Australia, but the Australian medical system can only surviving evacuated. The first system governor set up
do so much. a quarantine and mines throughout the place and its
The difficult part is contacting the railroad. Once never been reoccupied, but the legless locals can
that’s done, the black market will put the people in testify that people still make forays into the city in an
attempt to scavenge equipment.
Spacemaster: Datanet 7 Issue #5
 2.11.2 THE NEW CAPITAL occupation leadership to meet virtually to discuss
matters. By tacit agreement, no anti-Jeronan activities
Ralaphel has set up his capital (note the spelling
take place here in any real scale. No one wants the
difference, Ralaphel has no legislature) in Beijing, in the
Jeronans to move in a battleship and start peppering the
forbidden palace of the Chinese emperors of old. He
city with plasma.
finds the symbolism fitting. He’s outfitted the place with
all the finest luxuries and technologies, including the 2.11.6 MOGADISHU
Sensenet and Datanet, and while Helios no longer has its
This city is the unofficial center of the Resistance on
connections to the ISC, he’s still found wonders inside
Earth (and therefore in the system as a whole). The city
local caches which survived the databombing.
was mostly leveled in the siege, but the residents have
Beijing itself is the military center of the system now
built it back up again, often with primitive bricks and
and the military has evacuated most of the populace for
mud like their ancestors. Still, there is nothing primitive
their own housing. Paraxis knew there would be a need
about the city under the surface, with working power
for a great many troops here and so he shipped them in
and high-tech communications, Mogadishu serves as the
constantly over the first few months. Now the city is
nerve center for Resistance cells around the globe and
some 100,000 strong, just in infantry. The Resistance
across to Mars.
avoids it at all costs.
2.11.7 SYDNEY
2.11.3 DENVER
Sydney, in fact all of Australia, escaped the siege
Denver was the site of the only apocalyptic weapon relatively untouched. Sydney sends aid to destroyed
used during the siege, a dirty bomb of some size. In the locales around the world and while the Resistance thrives
first blows of the battle for the system, Paraxis came to the here, they present a collaborative front. In return
sad conclusion the Earthlings weren’t taking him seriously Ralaphel allows them to remain the hub of culture for
and the death tolls would be unnecessarily high because of Earth, knowing that to destroy the identity of the
it. Denver was the sacrifice to prove his point. The place is Earthlings would be to invite open rebellion. In Sydney
still awash with fallout to this day and although no longer one can still see an opera or a ballet. In Sydney most of
highly radioactive, a person investigating the crater or the datanet and sensenet nodes remain untouched and
handling metal here can still pick up a few REM in a the databombs are a thing of the past. A great deal of
matter of minutes. Most just avoid the place. smuggling goes on in Sidney, but the Jeronans ignore
2.11.4 NEW DELHI most of it and so the Australians let it happen. It isn’t
surprising. Most freighters find their clients in Australia.
Another veritable graveyard, the
streets of New Delhi are still so choked
with the dead that most people ventur-
ing into the place wear breather gear to
protect their lungs from decomposition
poisons. The city is lost as a population
center, most of them dead because of
orbital bombardment, but among the
ruins certain elements still move. The
Resistance and smugglers both find this
place useful as the lions don’t like the
smell, which clings to them for days after
leaving. Many illicit transactions take
place amid the ruins of the blasted
houses and burned husks.
2.11.5 BUENOS ARIES
This city escaped relatively un-
touched during the war, and while terror
squads roamed the streets under the old
governor, Ralaphel has seen the need for
the locals to have someplace to call their
own. Here the native leaders meet,
planning and working to rebuild the
planet. Sensenet links between here and
the Capital allow the natives and the

Spacemaster: Datanet 8 Issue #5

 imperial pilot. The ‘droid escapes, taking the boy
3.0 CAMPAIGN PLANS away long enough for the Empire to kill his family.
The universe of the Privateers is a big place. The war The boy takes on the mantle of hero and sets off to
is a good hook for many campaigns (including two of deliver the message.
the ones we cover here) but even it is a mighty big Complication: They head to a planet to deliver the
subject for one GM to digest. So how do you run a message. The planet isn’t there and they’re captured
Privateers campaign? Where do you start? by a space station.
If you’d like, you can start here. Full adventures Twist: They discover the person who left the message is
would take too much space for these datanets, and they’d on the space station. Their escape mission becomes a
be too narrowly focused as well. The purpose of this new rescue mission. Everyone is split up and a dramatic
feature isn’t to teach you what to put in an individual chase ensues.
game session. The purpose is to lay out a road map for Reveal: They escape and discover that they hold the
adventure, a full campaign starting at 1st level and secret to saving the galaxy by blowing up the space
continuing until the end, one-way or another. station. We discover that this too was a trap, and
Below, we present three campaigns. Each of these they’ve led the enemy to their door.
campaigns has a different focus and a different feel. In Climax: The dramatic assault on the station itself.
this issue of the Datanet, we give you all the information Falling Action: Men are hugged. Medals are distributed.
you need to start the campaign, such as mood and tone The cast and crew have a wrap party.
and the type of characters appropriate. We also outline a Remember that this is just an outline and you aren’t
first adventure in broad strokes and give you a couple filming a movie. Don’t railroad your players, but let
ideas for follow-up adventures that will get you through them explore things on their own. Player freedom is
to the next issue. Playing like that and filling in to your more important than plot.
group’s taste, you should be able to run a campaign with
enough material for months or even years.
Each adventure below breaks down not by
location, but by dramatic story points. We give
you Setup, Complication, Twist, Reveal,
Climax, and Falling Action. Run through these
six points, and you’ll have a narrative arc.
Setup is the beginning of the adventure,
complete with background, inciting action,
and instructions on how to get the PCs
involved. In the complication,
the adventure takes a painful
turn, upping the threat and
often widening the scope. In the
twist, the story takes off in a new
direction, shaking the character’s
perceptions of the issues involved.
The reveal is the epiphany which shows
the characters what’s going on. The climax is
the final dramatic confrontation. The falling
actions deal with the implications of every-
thing that’s gone before.
Since this is the first issue dealing with
campaign plans, let’s breakdown a popular
culture movie, Star Wars, by this model:
Setup: The Empire has taken over the galaxy.
A tiny ‘droid receives a desperate message.
He’s taken in by a farm boy that would like
to join the academy and become an

Spacemaster: Datanet 9 Issue #5

 3.1 THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN But the analogy to Aliens carries over to other
aspects of tone. The military campaign is often the
This is the most obvious type of campaign for a
darkest aspect of the Privateers universe. At the very
war setting, but the privateering conceit of the Priva-
least, it’s the most desperate. The war has not gone
teers universe allows for a new twist. In this campaign,
well for the ISC and while the privateers may attack
the characters are semi-free agents working for the
where they will and seize what they can, the military
military. While their missions and orders come down
front crews know they are a part of a greater machine,
from on high, when they aren’t marching to the orders
and the failures of the war hit them especially hard.
of a general, they are free of the normal strictures of
With the rise of Paraxis, many feel like the end is near,
military service.
the war cannot be won. The military crews are the
This is the campaign you see in the official fiction of
privateers who feel this the strongest.
the Spacemaster books. It has a long-standing tradition
Players: a military campaign is perfect for characters who
in the current system as it was the first play-test ever ran,
like to play actual soldiers. It allows them to indulge in
back when Spacemaster was slotted as a single
all the military tradition and character they wish while
sourcebook for RMSS and a corresponding genre book.
allowing for the freedom generally associated with
In the military campaign, you play characters who
roleplaying games. Even the most military player can
have “retired” from military service, though they still
feel stifled by military discipline in a game, and this is
draw pay through roundabout methods such as patent
the perfect balance between freedom and structure. It
ownership and investment funds. They have created
has the bonus of allowing the GM to simply brief the
privateer crews on well-armed privateer ships. There are
several of these quasi-military ships operating on the
border and behind enemy lines. In the beginning, these
crews were meant to bolster morale and jumpstart the
privateer legend, but in the intervening years they’ve
proven valuable in other means.
And they got the job done. Daring raids and stories of
prize money and salvage helped drive up the numbers of
privateers in the early days of the war. But the military
found they had other values. Privateers became a close-knit
group and they often excluded “regular military” from their
private meetings. These privateer front groups could
insinuate themselves into the privateer lifestyle without
undo difficulty. From these positions they could apply great
leverage to privateer operations, directing the general flow
of these private soldiers with rumors and stories. Privateers
trust their own in situations where they wouldn’t trust
information leaked directly from the military.
This is now an open secret. Almost all privateers
suspect there are undercover military ships among them.
Some even suspect the right crews. The irony is they
don’t hold it against them. These military crews have
something of a special status among privateers, a
mystique of sorts. Privateers will do missions suggested
by these front crews even though they are military. They
almost seem more willing to do them. The trick is the
privateer front crews must go with them, but any
mission that one of these crews undertakes is rumored to
be a big score. The military has the best intelligence after
all and they wouldn’t risk one of their golden crews on a
suicide mission.
Tone: the tone of the military campaign is a careful shade
between real military rigor and pirate chaos. The
characters are disciplined and earnest, usually a bit
jingoistic, but the absence of rigid structure allows them
to be wilder than a straight military campaign. Think of
the movie Aliens, add more shore leave, and you
probably have the right idea.

Spacemaster: Datanet 10 Issue #5

 characters on the adventure of the evening without wildly beyond anything the ISC can produce. It’s an
forcing them to find their own missions every time. Architect artifact, or rather a piece of one.
This can be a great time-saver. Climax: Just as the characters pat themselves on the back,
Characters: Characters in the military campaign all come they hear explosions above. Racing to the surface, they
from military backgrounds. They should all have see ancient planetary defenses coming on line now the
military TPs to represent this. These crews don’t often PCs have awoken the underground base. The defenses
pick up outsiders, at least not at first. Usually, charac- destroy the privateer ships as they take off. Strange
ters are assigned here. As a general rule, these crews will droids scour the surface and the characters and the
be well-balanced. If there’s one thing the military does remaining privateers must fight these drones and blow
well (at least in theory) is assign and fill quotas. It isn’t up the various surface to space cannons to win. Luckily,
likely one of these crews will be missing a major this wasn’t meant to be a military base (the drones are
ingredient, such as an engineer. Players should coordi- actually geological survey equipment, the lasers radiant
nate to make certain they fill important roles. heat technologies) and the characters are just able to
defeat the forces and destroy enough architect equip-
FIRST ADVENTURE: CRISES AT ALARIARCAS ment to get out alive.
Setup: The Jeronans intend to hit the forward observer Falling Action: The characters have probably fallen in the
base at a small system named Alariarcas. The charac- eyes of the privateers as a whole, but they have part of an
ters are within range to do something about it and Architect artifact. What it does, they don’t know, but it
most traditional military elements aren’t. In addition, responds with power then the player characters handle
a major privateering raid will heighten the privateer it, but not when anyone else does. It’s as if it has a
mystique among the enemy, reminding them the datalock keyed to the characters now. The ISC will hold
military doesn’t always have to respond directly. The it, but there doesn’t seem to be any material technology
wild cards can always get them. in it that’s new (they will hint to the party this isn’t the
The first problem is this crew isn’t well established. first artifact they’ve found, though the party isn’t cleared
They don’t have a reputation to leverage into a to know more.) While the characters don’t have it any
privateer fleet. They need to find privateers and longer, there’s a mystery to it and smart players will
convince them this job will be easy and profitable, know that they will likely have the opportunity to
and that will take charisma and a little chutzpah. unravel more of the mystery in the future.
Perhaps there’s a single, charismatic leader among the Note: It’s an informal law of writing the first
privateers, a pirate king of sorts. If the characters major conflict introduced in a novel is a major
want to get a fleet, all they need to do is convince him, conflict of the story. It’s just as true the first
but that’s easier said than done. adventure in a campaign often sets the tone for the
Complication: Once the characters have their privateer entire campaign. While this isn’t a hard-and-fast
fleet, they travel to Alariarcas to set their ambush. It’s rule, the players expect it, if only subconsciously.
here everything goes wrong. They arrive to find the With the artifact bonded to them, they should
outpost just falling, their intelligence wrong and realize what’s going on with little more than a
communications cut off. They come flying straight into “keep an eye out for more like this,” from their
a shooting war, the Jeronans can see them coming and superior officers. They’ll know what this campaign
half their fleet deserts at once. It will take fast-talking to is about, even if they haven’t figured out yet if their
get the rest to attack, which leads to a major space war. own government are the good guys or the bad.
Twist: When the battle for space is ended, the characters
prepare for a ground assault. A transport ship has Follow Up Adventures: In the next issue of Datanet,
landed and taken the post, but the characters have we’ll outline a new adventure. Meanwhile, some fill
taken out the space defenses. Just when they prepare adventures will work wonders for flushing out the
to land, the post explodes, many of the Jeronans still campaign. At the end of this adventure, the relation-
inside. It seems that they intended this all along but ship between the characters and other privateers is
had to rush. Still, the Jeronans have won. On landing, strained at best. A good follow up would involve the
however, they find plenty of ground troops still alive, party rescuing a group of Privateers after falling to a
sifting through the rubble. The characters fight and Jeronan ambush. A couple good runs on Jeronan
come to the conclusion the Jeronans are looking for shipping would start to build them a reputation of
something. Something under the post. success, and if the damage to their equipment isn’t
Reveal: They find a cavern under the base, revealed by the bad, it will help to build the confidence of others in
explosion. Whatever’s inside, the Jeronans wanted it their mission choices. Another good adventure would
enough they were willing to blow up their own men to have them raiding a damaged Jeronan ship and
get to it. Inside, they find a base with greenhouses filled stealing their shipping records. With these, they could
with alien (actually alien) plant life. In a central chamber, doll out some prime raids to other privateers.
they find a strange, palm-sized piece of technology,
Spacemaster: Datanet 11 Issue #5
 3.2 THE PRIVATEER CAMPAIGN Jeronan ambush descends on them. They take off and
find themselves flying into a major Jeronan fleet.
The Privateer campaign is the default of the setting.
The battle is joined and it seems like a blood bath, but
Here, the characters have a ship, say a small freighter or
the character’s fight on, not sure what else to do.
stripped out gunship. The government approves their
Twist: As the battle seems to become hopeless, a
license and installs a mark 10 laser cannon on their ship.
malfunction on the enemy carrier disables it,
They then press out into the universe to attack Jeronan
throwing the enemy into disarray. With this turn the
shipping and help the war effort.
battle itself is just winnable, but at the end of it the
In this type of game, the characters touch base with
enemy carrier still drifts, relatively undamaged.
their pirate roots. They live large, attack fast, and loot.
Llewelyn puts out a call for boarders, and hopefully
The Privateer campaign is about bold actions and living
the characters respond.
on the fringe, about wild fights and daring adventures.
Reveal: It’s only then the characters discover this was
This is typically the most uninhibited type of game.
Llewelyn’s plan all along. Having previously infil-
Tone: The tone of the Privateer campaign is free-form
trated a supply ship, Llewelyn managed to place the
and relaxed. They prey on targets of opportunity and
high-tech equivalent of an EMP charge in the engine
take on big and outlandish endeavors. Privateers live
room supplies for the carrier. He then gathered men
fast and hard and the less ethical of them might turn
and leaked this meeting to known Jeronan informers.
to out-and-out piracy when things get tight. Priva-
Climax: The characters assault the carrier, taking on
teers live hand to mouth and there are often lean
countless troops but catching them off guard and
times, but as long as they keep finding better stuff
without life support. With the only troops available to
(ships, armor, weapons), the players shouldn’t resent
the hard times.
Players: Most players would enjoy a Privateer campaign.
It’s well suited to a roleplaying game, with characters
expressing independence and initiative. It’s fun and
free and exciting. It’s easy to crank up the difficulty of
a Privateer campaign and easy to give them milk runs,
allowing you to tune the metabolism of the game to
your liking. This game is particularly suited to players
who enjoy playing characters who refuse to conform
(those that are wildly destructive for instance).
Characters: All character types find their way into
privateering, but the groups as a whole has more than
its share of misfits. Privateer groups are more likely to
be lopsided, so this is perfect for groups that tend to
unbalance in the profession selection (those that favor
too many soldier-types, for instance).
FIRST ADVENTURE:
THE QUINTARAN BLOCKADE
Setup: A privateer personality, sort of a futuristic
Harry Morgan, calls a meeting of privateers in a little-
known system named Quintara. The characters hear the
call and answer, knowing this character (a man named
Jack Llewelyn) has the golden touch. They arrive at a
secluded system with no inhabited worlds, but several
good rocks.
They set down on one of these and meet in a pressur-
ized field-pavilion. Here fifteen captains and their
associated crews gather to discuss a major privateer action.
Complication: As the meeting gets into full swing, they
see several flashes of light. Looking out, they see
Llewelyn’s portable point defense cannons blasting
incoming warheads out of the sky. The point defense
cannons won’t last long, but they just give the
characters time to get into their ships as a massive

Spacemaster: Datanet 12 Issue #5

 all), there’s still many other things going on in a nation
the size of the ISC.
The Criminal Campaign is grittier and more skill-
tension oriented. There’s less combat (although still
some, especially during the climax). The entire thing is
more about he big score than the sooty battlefield.
This campaign is mostly a series of heist stories. The
type you’ve seen forever, like The Great Train Robbery or
Sneakers or Ocean’s Eleven. Because most role players like
a little combat, we’ve put a little in, but if your players
aren’t the combat types, feel free to substitute it for
straight up heist tension.
Tone: The Criminal Campaign is about smart people
doing smart things to obtain money that isn’t
rightfully theirs. It’s about living the good life while
hovering on the edge of society. People say crime
doesn’t pay. The Criminal Campaign proves them
wrong. This type of story typically involves a contrast
of high society and low contacts, where characters will
move from a high-glamour fashion show straight into
the backroom of the sleaziest fence. The tone is a
veneer of the elite spread over the rotting underbelly
of society.
Details matter in a Criminal Campaign. A pen left out
of place can mean discovery. A guard with a stomach
problem can cause an entire plan to crumple. The
wrong brand of paper can lead to capture or death.
It isn’t for everybody, but when it works, it works
the enemy those in space suits, the battle is desperate, like gangbusters.
but winnable. In the end, they take the ship and most Players: In a good heist story, players need to think
of the escorts are destroyed or escape. They are too far on their feet. A proactive NPC can take care of
behind enemy lines to get the carrier back for salvage much plotting in a Military or Privateer Campaign,
so they loot the working equipment and escape. because those stories rely on daring fights to carry
Falling Action: Llewelyn has all ships and equipment the tension and to provide much of the entertain-
repaired and any medical and death benefits paid out ment. In those stories, a sudden reveal from and
before they divvy loot. The characters can either take NPC can be amazing, but in a Criminal Campaign
a healthy cash sum or gather several new guns for (at least one of the type we’re describing here) the
their ship. In the end, despite Llewelyn’s deception, joy comes from springing the reveal yourself. In
they make out well. Roleplay any final character this type of game, the players know many of the
moments and move on. secrets because they planned them and it’s the
Follow Up Adventures: In the weeks that follow, allow marks and the cops in the dark. There’s still room
the characters to spend their loot or try out their new for surprises, (as Tim Powers would say, no one
weapons. A few relatively easy adventures (not too wants to read a story of a man changing a tire
easy to be boring) will help cement the character’s competently), but the players should be the one
view that following Llewelyn’s adventure hooks is a holding the big secrets, not their boss.
good thing. A couple chance meetings with the man Characters: Obviously, a Criminal Campaign is
in bars, perhaps with a good fight or two, will help set going to have many criminal types, but others fit
up future events with the man. as well. A Psychic is invaluable in distracting
security and can double as a doctor without
3.3 THE CRIMINAL CAMPAIGN raising questions about the campaign’s realism
In the criminal campaign, we head off into different (having a doctor in a criminal crew would be a bit
territory. While most games in the Privateers universe odd). Every heist needs a tech guy and most need
involve the war (it’s the biggest source of conflict, after a wheelman (or hover man). A face man is usually
necessary as well, and every crew seems to have at
least some bit of muscle.

Spacemaster: Datanet 13 Issue #5

 FIRST ADVENTURE: DATA HEIST easy skill rolls, allowing them to feel like they are at
Setup: Sotheby’s Auction house is one of the oldest and the top of their game.
most respected financial organizations in the ISC. But when the access Heathton’s datapad where he
Dating back to precontact Helios, this auction house left it in his office, they find none of the data there.
has handled some of the most notable antiquities and Computer Maneuvers reveal that he still has access
object d’art of all-time. They escaped just before the commands built into the datapad, but they access
siege of Helios. The branches are ironclad against remote data through a hard link. Heathton has the
theft, with one of the most advanced and active actual data on a secure server, one not online. He
security systems of all-time. Yet that doesn’t mean plugs his datapad into a docking station to access it
that a person can’t make illicit money from Sotheby’s. and has Ministry-of-Defense-grade scrubbing
Sotheby’s is steeped in tradition. There are only a programs that wipe all residual data from memory.
few high-end auctioneers and one of them, a gentle- The old man is more tech savvy than he looks.
man from Helios name Heathton, handles all the If the party clones the entire datapad onto one of
biggest auctions. Although Sotheby’s conducts its their own, this will make matters easier. If not, they’ll
auctions on the Sensenet these days, it refuses to have to come back later. Heathton, returning home
conduct the bids electronically, both for security and early would put some nice time pressure on the group.
for reason of tradition. After escaping Heathton’s apartment, hopefully
It’s an age-old tradition to underbid a product; undetected, the characters will need to research.
that is bid on a product that you don’t want to buy Datamining public files shows he’s rented office space in a
to drive up the price. Because of this, many bid high-security office, likely at the behest of Sotheby’s or one
methods are secret, the buyer arranges them with of his clients. He conducts all his auctions from here now,
Heathton in advance and the old man is far too with his datapad plugged into its station for easy reference.
honorable to tell. The crew will need to either break into his office with a
But his memory isn’t perfect. He keeps records. cloned datapad so they can plug in and hack his server, or
If someone were able to steal the database from they’ll need to somehow hijack his mind during an
this man’s house they could spot every underbid- auction (to read the information directly). Since the latter
der. They could determine who bought what, seems unlikely without breaking in, they’ll probably need
hitting the buyer’s car or home to steal. A person to foil the office’s security.
with a good bidding system could even influence Twist: Heathton is a high-level Bystander and
the auction prices. forcing him to do things psychically would be
The person hiring the characters thinks that they difficult, but a little psychic manipulation of those
are just that sort of person. But it needs to be discrete. around him wouldn’t be a bad idea. This new
If anyone knows that data was stolen, a few embar- assault is difficult. The security here is intense and
rassed Sensenet calls would cause it all to change, most of it can’t be accessed remotely (at least not
rendering it worthless. by starting level characters). The characters will
The characters must find a
time when Heathton isn’t at home
but his data is. They must break in
and copy the data, then get away
with no one the wiser. Heathton’s
house has minimal security. It
seems like a cakewalk.
Complication: And it is. Heathton’s
high-tech apartment isn’t that high-
tech at all. Characters can foil
security with remote datanet access,
trick cameras, the works. The
guards are lax enough the character
can drug them or avoid them or
just stun them into oblivion. The
locks are foiled by simple security
bypasses. Essentially, the character
can beat everything quickly and
easily, using nothing but minimal

Spacemaster: Datanet 14 Issue #5

 need to get on-site and patch in directly to out in the lobby, stairs, and elevators of his office
perform most of their jobs. This will take savvy building. As he does his work on the Sensenet, a
cons and quick thinking. Spatial puzzles should be strange ballet of violence circles, unknown, around
a good part, such as figuring out how to get past him. The characters prevail and the security
sensors or trick guard patterns. Of course the company guarding the office gets the credit. The
sensors can all see through walls, so the characters characters withdraw and their data’s confirmed at
will probably need to get encrypted friend or foe the auction by their client.
transmitters to even begin to move around. Falling Action: Alls well that ends well. The characters
This taxes the characters to their utmost and they get a hefty finder’s fee and it should pay for all the
should hit several minor disasters along the way, such equipment and the wear and tear they suffered during
as changing guard patterns or planned random the adventure, with a bit more to boot. They can
system reboots to foil hackers. The characters get their upgrade their equipment and maybe their lifestyle.
cloned datapad into the docking station (hopefully For a time, they’ll live the high life.
they got one, because the hack should be almost But money doesn’t last forever.
impossible if the server thinks something’s wrong Follow Up Adventures: In the weeks that follow, the
with the docking). When they finally cut through the data from Heathton could be the source of many
IC software and access the data, they should think adventures. Targeted buyers could end up the
they just weathered the climax. victims of jewel heists, under bidders could be
It’s then that an astute character will notice the tiny tracked down and robbed for their illicit money,
bomb under the chair. Someone’s trying to kill and characters could hijack vans leaving Sotheby’s,
Heathton, and if they succeed not only will the perhaps even make pickups for items they didn’t
characters have stood by and done nothing, but the buy, if they had the right data to fake the proper
data will be worthless as well. credentials. This should get the campaign through
Reveal: The characters hopefully dismantle the bomb to the next installment, where the character’s
and take it with them. Through their shady under- adventures will continue.
world contacts they track it back to a small orga-
nized crime family. It seems that they’ve been trying
to up their profit by blackmailing Heathton, but he’s
refused to play ball, even when they actually have
something on him. They’ve moved up to assassina-
tion, but they want it just obvious enough that his
successor will be more open-minded.
The characters will need to make a moral
decision here. Are they willing to watch an
innocent man die? If so, are they willing to
lose all their profit on the deal (the data
has to be confirmed before full payment,
and he’ll probably die before the next
auction ends)?
Hopefully either morality or greed will
drive them, likely a blending of both. The
mob will move at the next auction. They’ll
need to stop it then.
Climax: The easiest way would be to com-
pletely replace security in the office, using
psychic mind tweaks to make the guards
think that another shift handled the prob-
lem. The guards aren’t high-level anything,
diligent or not. With the right hypnotic
drugs or psychic tricks, even a low-level
party should be able to work something out.
The final climax comes off like the
climax of a Godfather movie (but with the
characters as the heroes). As Heathton
runs his auction a violent firefight breaks

Spacemaster: Datanet 15 Issue #5

 4.0 NPC: PARAXIS
Age: 42 Eyes: Brown. Hair: Black. Build:
Imposing. Height: 182 cm. Race/Sex: Human.
Skin: Fair. Demeanor: Strong, in charge,
disciplined. Dress: Neatly tailored military
uniform. True Attitude: Worried and beset.
Home: Flagship Terrible Fear.

Hits: 175. Melee: 168 Dueling Sword. Missile:

170 Marrrif Tock Medium Plasma Pistol.

AT(DB): 1(27). Shield: Energy (117), Projectile

(97), Melee (87), Missile (97)

MP: 6.

Lvl: 50. Profession: Explorer. Stats: Ag-100(+12);

Co-85 (+6); Me-91 (+7); Re-83(+5); SD-89(+6);
Em-88(+6); In-70 (+3); Pr-100 (+12); Qu-
94(+9); St-99(+11). AP: 79.

Skill Bonuses: ArmH 25 (ComArm 39,

PowArm 39); ArmL 25 (BalArm 40); ArmM
25 (KinArm 39); ArtA 3; ArtP –6; AthB 1; AthE
11 (Dist4 48, Sprint 51, Swim 48); AthG 56
(Acrob 163, Climb 70); AwarP 9 (Alert 13,
SenAmb 15); AwarSch 43 (LieP 119, Observe
95, Track 95); AwarSen 44 (Situational Aware-
ness: Scouting 142, Situational Awareness:
Space Combat 117); ComMan 31 (Zero G 147,
ComPilot 149, SupprFire 137); Comm 28 (The
Royal Tongue Spoken 8 Written 6, Imperial
Human Spoken 6 Written 5); Cra 19; DP 3; In
53 (Dip 133, Dup 133, Int 136, Lead 185, Pub 133);
he had to prove and reprove himself constantly to gain
LorA 18, LorG 30 (CultL 34); LorT 42 (VehL 114);
and maintain the highest positions among pilots.
MASt 8; MASw 8; OutA 13; OutE 49 (Surv 127); SciAB
Inevitable because there have been few humans better
14 (BMath 22, Res 23); SciAE –3; SciAM –3; SciAS 12
at the game.
(OrbMech 110); SciAT –3; SCon 49 (Stun 112); SpecA
When the war started, he commanded a third of the
23 (GunAmb 121); SpecD 0; SubA 3; SubM 0; SubS 50
fighters attached to the Terrible Fear. In the early days of
(Hide 22, Stalk 23); TechGen 23 (SenA 98); TechG 60
the war, his rise was meteoric. His use of tactics brought
(HEP 167, Miss 160, ProjGun 167);TechP 12 (MilitOrg:
on repeated accusations of cowardice and these led to
Ground 104, MilitOrg: Navy 104); TechVeh 82 (AFV
duels, both of the personal and promotion variety. By
155, Atmo 164, FTL 117, Ground 155, Marine 112,
the end of the first wave, Paraxis commanded his entire
Space 120); TechVoc 10 (Admin 104, Tactics 134); Urb
flotilla, holding a rank equivalent to admiral.
0; Weap1HE 64 (Plasma Pistol 98); Weap1HF 13;
His successes only increased from there and eventu-
Weap1HM 63 (Dueling Sword 168); Weap2HE 14;
ally he earned the trust of his subordinates. While they
Weap2HF 13; Weap2HM 13; WeapMT 13; WeapS 13.
can’t understand why he seems to run from some fights
and not others, they finally came to the realization he
Powers: Directed Powers OB: 0 (no power). None.
was anything but a coward. Now his underlings handle
Paraxis was born to a noble human family of the accusations of cowardice themselves.
minor note. He lived his early life on Turan until he Now Paraxis is Lord High Marshal of the Jeronan
joined the military as a teenager. He earned his place war machine. The ISC has fought him to a stop but while
in the cockpit by skill and a couple lucky duels against the ISC war machine is now hitting full production, the
full-grown Falar. From then on, things were both Jeronans will just keep getting and better as they retool
incredibly difficult and unavoidable. Difficult in that captured ISC factories.
Spacemaster: Datanet 16 Issue #5
 Paraxis is a driven man, a workaholic. He studies But what about when those guards wake up? If you
battles constantly, refining his tactical skills and spends got a psychic insect, you can just tell them you ain’t the
time in the simulator every week. He spars constantly as ‘droids they’re looking for, but what if you’re psychically
well and spends time on the shooting range. Still, most challenged? Bribes? Babes? Bennies? Good ideas, but
of his skills apart from leadership haven’t progressed a maybe they’re rich, and female (and straight), and they
great deal since he gained his current position. He leads a got great employee’s discounts all over town. Hell, maybe
war machine. That’s all he does. they’re just honest.
Paraxis is a man of tremendous honor. He refuses to Well I’ll tell you what my therapist does when I’m in
bend, and although he considers military trickery a part the corner, deep in flashback, saying please stop, daddy,
of tactics there are lines he won’t cross, such as storing please stop.
weapons in hospitals and torturing prisoners (although He gives me hypnodrugs.
some of that certainly goes on behind the scenes). He And you know, maybe I swiped a few on the way out
considers war the highest calling and he will not ever of the office. Maybe I got a supplier. You don’t need to
corrupt it by sullying the symbols of peace. know my back end. All I got to say is if you gots the skillz
Paraxis has no psychic abilities, in fact he has a to use them, I gots the drugs for use.
tragic lack of ability in that area. He relies on his Game Mechanics: These drugs can be used to
prodigious skills achieve most of his goals. He doesn’t place a person quickly into a deep hypnosis. It
even seek out custom-made gear to increase his deadli- takes one minute for these drugs to take effect.
ness, still carrying a stock pistol and normal if ornate After that, another person can perform normal
dueling sword. Paraxis has the Commanding Demeanor hypnotic tasks with Routine Hypnosis Maneuvers.
talent and some say even the Falar know fear when The GM should feel free to adjudicate most of
they’ve crossed him. these however seems reasonable at the time, but
Using Paraxis in a game is up to the GM, but he we’ll detail the two most common uses below.
probably shouldn’t directly oppose the players. He great
as a boogeyman and even better as a surprising ally if a To use this effect the hypnotist can give a sugges-
matter of honor brings his interests in line with a party’s. tion. The target must make an RR to resist vs. half
Paraxis is a solid and likable opponent and played right, the number of ranks the hypnotist has in his
the players will like him more than their allies. hypnosis skill, rounded up, plus five (so a
He cuts an imposing figure with a large frame and character with one rank causes RRs against a 6th
fit build. He has black hair, just starting to salt and level poison.) The target must be able to under-
pepper with penetrating brown eyes. He dresses in fine stand the suggestion. The difficulty is dependent
uniforms and always carries a sword and pistol. He on the complexity of the suggestion. Placing a
carries nothing else, not even a communicator, allowing simple suggestion is Routine (you’re hungry), a
his aides to handle such things.

5.0 BLACK MARKET TECH

The following data is hot off the most carefully
concealed black market site. It is classified FOUO (For
Office Use Only).

INTRUSION TECHNOLOGY
We know what it’s like, kiddies. All the bad people
are locking up your stuff, or at least stuff that should be
yours. How dare they. They post security guards, set
tactical scanners, and generally try to put all this technol-
ogy between you and your things. The nerve.
Don’t worry, kiddies. I’m here to help.
HYPNODRUGS
So let’s start with the little bit of gear that’s the least
intrusion oriented. We know that sometimes, especially
when data is concerned, you don’t want anyone to know
you were there. It’s easy enough to stun all the guards
and reprogram all the cameras, and hey, maybe you’re
good enough to not leave any fingerprints in the data. It
could happen. I don’t know any better.

Spacemaster: Datanet 17 Issue #5

 slightly complex suggestion is Easy (you hate Bill FRIEND OR FOE TRANSMITTERS
and will sabotage his efforts to get a promotion), a If you don’t know what these are, kiddies, you
very complex suggestion is Light (I want you to watch too many crime dramas and not enough actual
memorize this mail address. The next time you’re crime. It might be all fine and dandy to hack in or
at work you will feel compelled to e-mail me all sneak in to a place, but tactical scanners can see through
the following data. . . .), and an extremely walls. Can’t sneak around them. So how do those
complex suggestion is Medium, (enter the guards walk around? Well some really high-tech places
following building, walk forward fifteen steps to do skeletal scans and have everyone on record, but if
the guard station, tell the guard your name is they ain’t the military and they ain’t a billion-dollar
Emily and show him these credentials, then tell museum, they probably have little do-hickies that tell
him he’s had a disaster at home, sit down, and the sensors they’re supposed to be there. How do you
enter the following password. . . .). Something the get you one of them?
character wouldn’t normally to do increases one I’m glad you asked.
step of difficulty. Something that they’d hate
doing increases three. Something that’s completely Game Mechanics: These tiny transmitters send
against their nature increases five. If the hypnotist a friend signal to local sensing equipment. The
fails, the suggestion fails, regardless of RR. The problem is programming one. Most guards don’t
hypnotist usually won’t know success or failure take theirs home with them and every signal is
until the suggestion is triggered. unique. If the character can get close enough to
record the ID transmission, he can recreate it with
This drug also allows the hypnotist to alter the an Absurd Cryptography check (the signal is
memories of the target. This can be used to encrypted with a private key). It’s up to the
change a memory slightly (a Routine Maneuver), character then to figure out a way to not have two
erase a memory (a Medium Maneuver), change a identical signals at the same time and even then
memory greatly (a Very Hard Maneuver), or they might set off an alarm if the sensors are
restore a memory (A Sheer Folly Maneuver). If programmed with schedule data, but those are
the target wants to resist, the RR is determined as story issues and a good character can usually find
with suggestions above. someone with round the clock clearance.
Base Cost: 1000 per dose.
DATAPAD CLONE
Hey, kiddie, I know datapads are great, but you
know what’s better than your datapad? Someone else’s
datapad. So what if you need their data but you don’t
have time to crack all their magic? Well, you copy the
entire thing. It’s quick, easy, and then you can spend
months decrypting, if that’s what it takes. This little baby
has everything you need. It’s a top of the line datapad, so
you know it’s got enough space. On top of that there’s a
tiny subprocessor and storage for holding the cloning
software. Just plug this in and start it up. The
subprocessor acts as a third-party, copying everything
without interfering with the resulting image in the main
storage and processor space. I know it sounds complex,
but you just plug it in and it works. Unless theirs is
protected from cloning, but that’s easy to crack.
Game Mechanics: This operates as a normal
datapad and it can copy info from another in 1-15
minutes, depending on the data volume. Most
datapads aren’t protected against copying, even if
they have security software, but if they do have
copy protection, merely copying the data grants the
hacker a +30 bonus over actually hacking the data.
Base Cost: 10,100.

Spacemaster: Datanet 18 Issue #5