The Black Campbell

Well, since Margaret Weis and Signal Fire aren’t going to be supporting Battlestar Galactica anymore (Smallville..?  Really?)  I figured I do up a Caprica-inspired retcon for the pages in the core book that deal with the colonies.  Some of this is cribbed from the Battlestar wiki, some from the Serge Graystone Twitter account, some from the RPG core book, and some is spiced from my gaming group’s campaign and extrapolations I’ve made.  Italics in parenthesis are my comments on why I decided to go with these points.  The patron gods are cribbed from the link between the gods and the astrological signs, but I’m not sure it fits the god/colony model from the Tomb of Athena.

Feel free to modify as you need.  After all…these are essentially house rules.

THE TWELVE COLONIES OF KOBOL

The Twelve Colonies of Kobol are twelve distinct worlds, located in a remote part of their home galaxy.  About 2,000 years prior to the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, the last twelve tribes of Kobol left their planet over conflicts with their gods, as well as some sort of calamity.

The tribes settled on twelve worlds some distance away. The tribes’ namesakes and icons originally corresponded to the twelve signs of the ancient tribes, although these names drifted over time.  The early Colonies lived (and fought) more as sovereign nations.  Some (particularly Caprica) prospered, while others (such as Sagittaron and Aerilon) were often considered lessers. By the time of the First Cylon War, the population of the colonies was about 46 billion people.  Forty years later, it is about 36 billion.  (This is my attempt to reconcile the 20 billion and 50 billion numbers quoted at various times in the series.  The original 12 billion was ludicrously low for 12 worlds, in my opinion.)

For peacetime labor forces as well as for wars between each other, humanity created the Cylons. When these early models rebelled, the Colonies unified their governments under the Articles of Colonization sometime before or during the Cylon War as a federal republic known as the Twelve Colonies of Kobol.

The twelve worlds orbit around three different stars, and there is a fourth star that orbits the cluster, as well.  The stars are Cyrannus (the primary, G1V), Helios (G0V), Cimtar (K0V), and Sunna, the outlying M1IV.  (The names of the stars are, of course, not canon, save Cyrannus.  I used Cimtar, which does show up on paperwork in the Miniseries…)

Aerilon
Ancient Name: Aries
Patron God: Athena
Capital: Gaoth
Population: 1.01 billion

Aerilon is primarily an agricultural world. It is considered to be the “food basket” of the Twelve Colonies yet ranked among its poorest members. The planet shares an orbit around Cyrannus with the gas giant Ragnar, orbiting in one of its Lagrangian points.  The world is cool to cold, wet, and verdant. The northern highlands of Eirlan are known for their hardy and formidable people.  The major cities are Gaoth, Arelon City, Glenedon, and Neiran.

The primary exports of Aerilon are foodstuffs and livestock, but there is also a fine tradition of metalworking, jewelry-making, and other craftsmanship.  There is a small high-tech sector, but much of that is imported from other worlds.

The mannerisms of Aerilon’s natives are considered rough and rude, at least by Caprican standards. The people of this world speak with distinctive accents (most of the northern English and Scottish accents are found on our Aerilon.)  Proud, honorable, and honest, Aerilonians have a reputation for being trusting and loyal.  While Athena is the patron goddess of the planet, Demeter and Hestia are also quite popular with the agrarian population.  The tends to be religious, but separates their religious practices from the political system.  Old Aerilonian – their ancient language – has all but died out, save in the northern sections of the planet.

Aquaria
Ancient Name: Aquarius
Also called Aquarion
Patron God: Hera
Capital: No official capital
Population: 250 million

Aquaria is widely known for its vast oceans, and shares an orbit with Ragnar, on the outer habitable zone of Cyrannus.  It is a cold world, stormy and oceanic (84% of the surface is ocean.)  Much of the land masses are volcanic in nature.  The main cities of the world of Trivi, Hatch’s Bay, and Genovia.  Aquaria developed techniques of building floating cities – settlements tethered to underground mountains — although they are difficult to maintain and most were abandoned.

The Aquarian “government” is comprised of representatives from the various city-states around the world.  The central government is small, weak, and this has been used as an excuse for Colonial-level interventions in the Colony’s internal affairs since the signing of the Articles of Colonization.  The city-states are the most influential element in an Aquarian’s life, and most of these either use representative or direct democracy.

Aquarian people are inured to hardship, and have a reputation for being cool-headed and thoughtful.  While Hera is the patroness of this Tribe and the world, Poseidon is the most revered (or feared) god, with Hermes being the most popular.

Canceron
Ancient Name: Cancer
Patron God: Hermes
Capital: Hades
Population: 4.6 billion

Orbiting Cimtar and boasting a range of climates from tropical to sub-arctic, the planet is well known for its beaches.  Hades is the capital city, but the largest metropolis is Argolis.  Canceron is also home to some of the Colonies’ top-security prisons – most located in the massive Nubian desert.  Canceron has a reputation for being a bit run down and impoverished, but that mostly due to the massive sprawl and run-down quality of Argolis.

Canceron citizens are often very poor, having spent much of the last few centuries under the rule of Virgon.  While their world produces a large amount of raw materials – minerals including tylium, and food stuffs (primarily seafood and fruit) – the Canceron economy is still young and still tied to Virgon (to the advantage of that world.)  The population is considered crafty and cheap.

Caprica
Ancient Name: Capricorn
Patron God: Hestia
Capital: Caprica City
Population: 6.5 billion

Caprica is a lush blue-green planet, covered by large oceans and continents.  It is in a prime orbit around Cyrannus, and is gravitationally tied with Gemenon.  The proximity of the two worlds makes for regular tectonic and tidal activity.  Metropolitan areas on the planet include the capital, Caprica City, as well as Delphi – a major hub of culture and communications, Olympia, Thyrea, and Kolos.

Caprica is regarded (by Capricans; Virgonians would dispute this) as the center of Colonial civilization, even long before the First Cylon War. Graystone Industries was one of the Colonies most influential technology developers and had a hand in creating the very first Cylons.  Some 60 years before the Fall, Caprica was also plagued by religious motivated terrorism from Gemenese monotheists.

After the war, the planet was once again “the” seat of politics, culture, art, science, and learning.  It hosts the Colonial government apparatus, although major centers of power are also to be found on Virgon and Picon.  It was also one of the wealthiest colonies.

Capricans tend to be more permissive, religiously, and secularism is most prevalent on this world.  Many Capricans of religious bent will do pilgrimage offworld to Gemenon for training.

Gemenon
Ancient Name: Gemini
Patron God: Apollo
Capital: Oranu
Population: 2.5 billion

Gemenon is an arid and xeric red world that shares its orbit with Caprica. One of the poorer colonies, it is known for its religious fundamentalism, both poly- and monotheist.  Gemenon’s second-largest city, Illumini, is built around a large Pantheon complex, composed of buildings intended to worship and celebrate every deity in the Sacred Scrolls.  Another major city was Kryptos, home of the Kobol Colleges.

The Gemenese are known for their literal interpretations of the Sacred Scrolls, but also for a monotheistic religious movement from the deep deserts, and made infamous by a terrorist group known as “Soldiers of the One.”  Very traditional, Gemenese value family above all else.  Abortion is considered a sin both by the poly- and monotheists of Gemenon.  The strong emphasis on family means many Gemenese homes are multigenerational – with children and grandchildren taking care of the elderly — and polygamy is permitted, but not common.  Extended families tend to be close in a way that Capricans are not.  Gemenese consider Capricans, at best, arrogant and decadent, dangerous and sinful at worst.  There is enmity between the two worlds, as Capricans have held power – both financial and militarily – over Gemenon until the signing of the Articles of Colonization.

High technology is considered to be a bane to society – weakening the self-sufficiency of the individual, and acting as a disruptive force to the family and society.  Old Gemenese, the original language of the colony is alive and well, and was used as a means of symbolic resistance when under the rule of Caprica.

Leonis
Ancient Name: Leo
Patron God: Zeus
Capital: Luminere
Population: 6.5 billion

Leonis orbits Helios and is geographically known for its vast open plains.  Two major landmasses differentiate this beautiful colony, ideal for a variety of outdoor activities thanks to its predictable climate.  Much of the population live in medium-sized towns of 100,000-500,000 people.  Only a few metropolis and megalopolis dot the world, the largest being Deuteum.  Luminere was, at one time, the largest and wealthiest city in the Colonies.  The Colonial Marine Corps’ largest training facility is located near Deuteum.

Leonans are an overambitious and wealthy society that is increasingly isolationist and even xenophobic, making modern Leonan democracy and inter-colony relations deeply troubled.  Much of this is due to the loss of their empire it had build around Helios – having conquered Libran, Scorpion, and Tauron — several hundred years ago.  (Thanks to Terry for providing a bit more from Dave Eick’s blog!)

Leonis is a wealthy world, and rivals Aerilon for food production.  The temperate climate is good for agriculture, and Leonis used this, as well as military prowess to expand their empire.  Currently, their wines are considered without equal.  Also they export a popular energy drink named “Leonis Red”, which was rumored to have amphetamines in it.  Drugs being another major export of Leonis, this would not be surprising.

Libran
Ancient Name: Libra
Patron God: Hephaestus
Capital: None Official (Was Luminere on Leonis)
Population: 800 million

Libran is known for its courthouses and lawyers, and was the home of the Inter-Colonial Court (now the supreme judicial body for the united Colonies.)  The largest city is Themis, home to the ICC.

Librans are known to be long-suffering, litigious, and financially conservative people.  They were, until very recently, a colonized world with their government appointed from Leonis.  While independent, Libran still looks to Leonis for military and agricultural aid, as their world – while rich in minerals and other material wealth, has a relatively small population and an orbit that makes its agricultural seasons short and the yields not plentiful.  However, clever financial and legal minds have slowly turned Libran into the banking capital of the worlds around Helios.  So powerful is the Libran banking establishment that they now are the single largest investors in the Leonis economy, effectively controlling the fate of that world.

While their patron god in Hephaestus, most Librans worship Zeus, Athena, and Themis – gods of justice.

Picon
Ancient Name: Pisces
Patron God: Poseidon
Capital: Queenstown
Population: 1.1 billion

Picon is a turquoise planet, mainly covered by water (80% oceans, rivaling Aquaria.)  The world has an eccentric orbit around Cimtar that makes for long, mild summers, and short, but brutally cold winters.  Most of the population lives in the temperate equatorial band, but some hardy souls live in the more rugged terrain of the lands south and north.

The capital city is Queenstown, a relatively small fishing village.  After the Unification of the Twelve Colonies this world became the seat of the Colonial Fleet Headquarters, based in Pindarus (named for the famous admiral in charge of Colonial forces during the Cylon War.)  Picon was also the home of Picon Laboratories, located in Pailyn, Muritolan.

Known as “Little Caprica”, Picon is one of the most beautiful worlds in the Twelve Colonies.  The locations near Pindarus have a strikingly similar look to the Caprica City area and is frequently used by Piconian film crews as a double for Caprica City.

The world was colonized by Virgon, and the libertine culture of that world clashes frequently with the most straightlaced military types that settled here after the Articles were signed.  Although home of the Colonial Fleet, it is one of the most anti-military worlds in the Colonies.  Nearly all of the wealth of Picon is tied to the military establishment.

Sagittaron
Ancient Name: Sagittarius
Other Names: Sagittarion
Patron God: Artemis
Capital: Tawa
Population: 3.9 billion

Sagittaron was one of the poorest worlds of the Twelve Colonies, orbiting Cimtar.  It was subject to massive exploitation by Virgon, and later by the Colonial government, leading to organized terrorist actions against the other colonies in the years after the Cylon War.

The Sagittarons were traditionalists who practiced a different form of the Kobol religion from the other Colonials. They distrust modern medicine and technology, and are generally unsupportive of the Colonial government and military.  Sagittarons view the other colonies as rife with sin, decadence, and a lack of grace.  They are viewed by most other Colonies as uncultured, violent thieves, sexually licentious…none of this is true, but the image still holds in some places.  (I started to think of the Sagittarons as the equivalent of the Roma…)

The Sagittaron view of religion is different from the fundamentalist views of Gemenese.  Sagittarons generally have more strict rules about food and grooming prohibitions, are stanch monogamists, and have a more spiritual view of the universe.  Sagittaron is still a living language and most inhabitants will speak it to the detriment of outsiders.  While honest with their own people, they are more than willing to bilk unsuspecting outsiders.

Scorpia
Ancient Name: Scorpio
Patron God: Ares
Capital: Celeste
Population: 3.2 billion

Scorpia is known for its lush jungles and hot temperatures.  The world orbits Helios just at the inner edge of the habitable zone, sharing an orbit with Tauron.  The moon that once circled Scorpia has broken up, since before colonization, and the world has a scorpion tail-like half-ring.

Scorpia was part of the Leonan Empire.  Implacable and hard to tame, Scorpia and Tauron were  thorns in Leonis side for centuries.  Recently, Tauron rebelled and won its independence.  Scorpia followed shortly after as Leonis found itself financially strapped from its empire building, and due to pressure from their other colony, Libran, which was already flexing its monetary muscles to free Scorpia and gain access to the markets and raw materials of the world.

While a popular and cheap tourist destination, with unparalleled biodiversity and spectacular vistas, Scorpia has a reputation as a dangerous, trashy place.  The legal system here is highly corrupt, and much of the world works on the idea of bribery – known here as “paying respect.”  Criminal organizations like the Tauronese Ha’la’tha abound, and much of the vaunted canaba and morpha trade of Leonis started with the Scorpians.  In an attempt to improve the economy of the world, the Colonial government constructed the Scorpia Fleet Shipyards here (mostly with Libran capital and Scorpia and Leonan workers.)

Scorpians can be violent people, much like their Tauronese brethren.  Scorpian is a sister language to Tauronese, and both are spoken on this world.

Tauron
Ancient Name: Taurus
Patron God: Aphrodite
Capital: Hypatia
Population: 6.7 billion

Tauron is a barren, arid planet that is was well-known for its agriculture.  It shares it’s orbit with Scorpia, just as Caprica and Gemenon share theirs.  Its capital is Hypatia, and the other major city was Tauron City.

Some 800 years before the Fall,  Tauron was colonized, first by Virgon, and then Leonis.  The people of Tauron liberated themselves, and ever since this world has been known for its troubled and violent history.  Tauron was one of the poorer colonial worlds and the center of a civil war a decade or so prior to the Cylon War.  A few years before the Cylon War, the crime syndicate Ha’la’tha had enormous influence over the planet, which even extended to other colonies, such as Caprica.  The Ha’la’tha was particularly prevalent on Scorpia and Leonis.

After the War, Tauron was known to be a somewhat troublesome colony within the federal system of the Colonies, often disobeying directives decided by the colonies and pushing their luck with the admiralty.  Yet this world was counted among the wealthier of the twelve worlds within a few decades after the conflict.

The people of Tauron are generally thought of as thugs and criminals before the war, with strange by-turns maudlin, by-turns violent personality.  Family and friends are a very important element of Tauronese society, and like the Gemenese, many Taurons live in multigenerational arrangements.  One trait of Taurons is the use of tattoos to chart their lives.  Many get tattoos to mark important life events and relationships – the birth of a child, a marriage, a death.  The darker side is the Tauronese habit of holding grudges: feuds between families, or family members, has led to centuries of bloodshed.  Tauronese is the main language of the colony, although Scorpian is also spoken.

(Looking at the culture of Tauron — a strange mash-up of Russian and Mediterranean [especially the gangster elements] — makes me think that Admiral Cain’s violence toward her XO in Razor wasn’t so strange for her background…  Think about Russian gangster culture, where a man can kill a good friend or family member — feel bad about it — but still do the act because “it was necessary.”)

Virgon
Ancient Name: Virgo
Patron God: Demeter
Capital: Boskirk
Population: 7.9 billion

Orbiting Cimtar in the “sweet spot”, Virgon is well-known for its forests, it’s spectacular architecture, and is considered to be one of the wealthier colonies.  The climate ranges from arctic to tropical, and is remarkably stable.  Like Caprica, Virgon is a modern world with high technology and a mainly secular – or privately religious – population.

A center for the arts, Virgon has a reputation for sexual promiscuity that is well-earned.  The world is the only one of the twelve where polygamy is the norm – with group marriages often acting to spread the wealth for massive extended families.  Art, literature, and cinema are key parts of the Virgonian economy, as is tourism.  The world at one time was the most powerful colony, ruling over all of the worlds of Cimtar and Helios 1000-800 years ago.  When Leonis rose to power 500 years ago, Virgon and Leonis were main rivals for power in the Helios Colonies, before Virgon was pushed back to its own star.  Virgon and Caprica were allies during the struggle.

Now Virgon is known less for war, and more for libertine antics.  While Demeter is the patron goddess, most would agree with the quip that Tauron and Virgon should trade their patroness.

COLONIAL RELIGION
Colonial religion is, by and large, polytheistic, and centered on a belief in the existence of supernatural beings known as the “Lords of Kobol.”  These gods were not the creators of the universe, but were rather the children of the Titans, who did.  These lords of Kobol are believed to have a historical significance, as well, having ruled over mankind (whom they created) on a world known as Kobol.  The Twelve Colonies of Kobol represent those tribes that fled Kobol following a disastrous war with the gods.

The central texts of Colonial religious traditions are the Sacred Scrolls, which record much of the alleged history of humanity, including life on Kobol before the great exodus, and the legend of Earth.  According to the texts, thirteen tribes of mankind lived in peace and harmony with the Lords of Kobol, until a single jealous god demanded to be held above all others.  This led to a war between the gods and men, and a catastrophe known as “the Blaze” (which is sometimes coflated with the single god himself.)  Mankind evacuated (with or without the aid of a few of the Lords of Kobol, depending on the interpretations) and eventually found a home in the star cluster the worlds now reside in.

Most notable among the Sacred Scrolls is the Book of Pythia, also referred to as the Pythian Prophecy. Written 3,600 years ago by the oracle Pythia, they are believed by some to foretell the destruction of the Twelve Colonies and their flight to a new home.  This story is one of several that reveal the “Wheel of Time”, a cyclical pattern of history that is replicated time and again.

The Sacred Scrolls have been seen as an actual, ornate scroll, as well as a book. A shortened volume may be a specialized volume containing prayers and readings specific to a celebrant’s use during temple ceremonies, Services for the Dead, weddings, dedication ceremonies and the like.  Many versions of the Scrolls are handwritten, but print and electronic versions are also popular.  Gemenese and Sagittarons believe that the book should be copied by hand to preserve the spiritual aspects of the Scrolls.

Key phrases from the Sacred Scrolls:
•    Life here began out there…  (These are the first words in the scrolls.)
•    Their enemies will divide them. Their colonies broken in the fiery chasm of space. Their shining days renounced by a multitude of dark sacrifices. Yet still they will remain always together.
•    The gods lift those who lift each other.
•    And the blaze pursued them, and the people of Kobol had a choice. To board the great ship, or take the high road through the rocky ridge.
•    And unto the leader they gave a vision of serpents numbering two and ten, as a sign of things to come.
•    And the lords anointed a leader to guide the Caravan of the Heavens to their new homeland.
•    All this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.

(Big thanks to Steve “Munners” Munro for the Colonial banners!  See more here.)

Watching Caprica, it’s occurred to me that some of the aspects of their retcon universe work well for the role playing game.  While the original idea of the colonies being in one star system was taken from Ronald Moore’s blog posts, there’s no real onscreen stuff to counter the new (and more scientifically sound) idea of the colonies being in a star cluster or multi-star solar system.

I’ve always liked the star cluster idea, myself:  it gives the Colonies a reason to have created FTL systems, for one; it also provides more scientific realism (much as the map of the Firefly ‘Verse from Quantum Mechanix provides a much more believable setting that the original show did.)  There are some benefits, as well, to an RPG setting:

1)  It better explains why some other ships might have avoided contact in the initial Cylon attacks.  They might have been on survey missions, broken down with FTL troubles, or on training missions.

2)  With colonies scattered around a few stars — even if they’re only a few light months apart — there could be weapons caches, fuel depots, and other facilities that the survivors could raid to supply themselves to either run, or attack…

3) It gives surviving ships the chance to skulk about between the stars of the 12 Colonies, collecting intelligence, making hit and run attacks that are hard to track.

Battlestarwiki.org has started to incorporate the information from Serge Graystone’s Twitter account.  It’s worth the look.

UPDATE:  I slapped together a retcon’d “chapter” on the 12 Colonies.

Here is another battlestar group for your roleplaying game’s fleet (and the one we’re using in our campaign.)

The flagship for Battlestar Group 55 (BSG-55) is the Minerva-class battlestar Pleiades, and she is usually deployed with a pair of Berzerk-class gunstars, two Vanguard-class assaultstars, and a Demeter-class tender.  Like Galactica, Pleiades must retract her landing pods for FTL jumps — her FTL sinks are spaced far and the displacement bubble generated is not large enough to handle the pods otherwise.

BATTLESTAR PLEIADES

SHIP DATA:
Class: Minerva     Length: 4777.7′     Beam: 1742′     Draught: 841.5′     Decks: 30     Scale: Spacecraft     Crew: 1500 standard, 10,000 max

ATTRIBUTES:
Agility: d4     Strength: d12+d4     Vitality: d6     Alertness: d8     Intelligence: d8     Willpower: d10

Life Points: 26     Armor: 6W, 4S     Initiative: d4+d8     Speed: 5 [SL/JC]

TRAITS: Formidable Presence (d4), Viper Construction Facilities (d4)

SKILLS:  Heavy Weapons d6, Mechanical Engineering d4, Perception d6, Pilot d4

ARMAMENT:  Heavy Skirmish Range Point Defense System  (d12W Planetary-scale ), 32 Capital-range Heavy Railguns (d12+d2W Spacecraft-scale), 22 Short Dradis-range Heavy Missile Systems (d12+d4W Spacecraft-Scale), 12 Long Dradis-Range Nuclear Missile Systems  (d12+d8W Spacecraft-scale)

AUXILIARY VEHICLES:  110 (4 squadrons and 10 spare) Mk VII Vipers, 25 Raptors, 10 Marine Landing Shuttles, 3 standard shuttles, assorted work vehicles

Orthographics by tanj from scifi-meshes.com.  See more of his spectacular work there.

ASSAULTSTARS DEMOSTHENES and HEKTOR

The Vanguard class is an older model, the original models as old as thirty years in service, but they are nearly all still active as of the attacks. They carry up to a battalion of Colonial Marines for up to three months, which can be deployed using specialized Marine Landing Shuttles (uparmored standard shuttles.)  The MLS can carry 25 marines and either a tank or two APCs or CAWS, or 50 marines in a drop.

SHIP DATA:
Type:     Assaultstar/Escort     Class: Vanguard     Scale: Spacecraft     Registry: DD-72     Length: 1867′     Beam: 360′     Draught: 377′     Decks: 13     Crew: 270 standard, plus up to 500 marines

ATTRIBUTES:
Agility: d6     Strength: d8     Vitality: d6     Alertness: d8     Intelligence: d6     Willpower: d8

Life Points: 16     Armor: 4W, 4S     Initiative: d6+d8    Speed: 6 [SL/JC]

SKILLS:  Heavy Weapons d4, Mechanical Engineering d4, Perception d4, Pilot d4

TRAITS:
Lucky Ship [d4] (for Demosthenes.)

ARMAMENT:  Heavy Skirmish Range Point Defense System (d12W Planetary-scale ),  7 Short DRADIS-Range Medium Railguns (d10W Spacecraft-scale),  12 Short DRADIS-Range Medium Missile Systems  (d12W Spacecraft-Scale) *Can be fired from Railguns.

AUXILIARY VEHICLES:  10 Raptors, 6 Vipers, 10 Marine Landing Shuttles, can carry 10 tanks, 20 APC or CAWS, or a combination for landing with the MLS.

HISTORY:
Demosthenes is part of BSG-55 (Pleiades), but is often released to detached duty for search & rescue and smuggling interdiction missions.  “Old D” was constructed in 35AC, and is one of the older vessels in her class.  She has a reputation for being “lucky.”

Demothenes is the design and property of Rick Snider.  You can find this and other examples of his work on scifi-meshes.com.

GUNSTAR HERAKLES and MEDEA

Berzerk-class gunstars act as protection for main-line battlestars like Pleiades.  These are relatively modern assault craft and require a fairly small crew.  Their computer systems are fully up to date, complete with the Command Navigation Program (unlike the older Vanguard class), and Mk VII vipers.

SHIP DATA:

Ship Class: Berzerk     Ship Type:  Gunstar Escort
Length: 2779.6′     Beam: 709.5′     Draught: 389.4′     Deck: 16
Crew: 600 standard [Includes 90 pilots, 20 marines]

ATTRIBUTES:

Agility:    d6     Strength: d10     Vitality: d6     Alertness: d8   Intelligence: d6     Willpower: d8

Initiative: d6+d8     Speed: 6 [SL/JC]     Life Points: 18     Armor: 3W, 4S

TRAITS:

SKILLS:

Heavy Weapons d4, Mechanical Engineering d4, Perception d4, Pilot d4

ARMAMENT:   Medium Point Defense System [skirmish-range, vehicle-scale]:  d8, Vehicle-scale]; 22 Heavy Railguns: d12 [short DRADIS range, spacecraft scale]; 32 Heavy Missiles: d12 [short DRADIS, spacecraft scale]

AUXILIARY CRAFT:
20 Vipers, 20 Raptors, 10 Shuttles

Lieutenant Marie “Three Point” Auram

Born 27AC in the “Great City of Lydisius” on Virgon, Marie is the second daughter and fourth child to Robert and Caroline Auram.  Her father is an architect of note in the city and her mother an artist of some quality and little note.  Her eldest brother, Robert Jr., works for her father, and her elder sister, Elise, is a union representative for the Virgon Teacher’s Union.  Her younger brother is a contract pilot for Intersun, flying space liners.

Artistic as a child, Marie paints, draws, and is frequently working of crafts.  Somewhere in her childhood, she started building models with her brother Jean.  Her favorite subjects for modeling were past and current aircraft.  She was a gregarious child and was popular in school.  Marie dated both boys and girls in school, having lost her virginity to her best friend Alyssa when she was thirteen.  While mostly heterosexual, she is very attracted to the female form.

She attended the University of Virgon’s illustrious School of Art, with a minor in astronomy.  While there, she modeled semi-professionally.  She also had her first serious relationship with another art student, Don Loga, whom she subsequently binned after a spectacular threesome for the girl they were with, Rachel Nyes.  That relationship didn’t last long, but they stayed friends.  When Marie graduated 49AC, she surprised everyone by joining the Colonial Fleet…and not even on the usual reservist list.
Raised in one of the most beautiful cities on Virgon, Marie is not the usual military-type: she is fond of fashion, has good taste in food and drink, and is an inveterate sunbather.  But Auram had always dreamed of flying something fast and dangerous, and requested pilot training.  She was commissioned after OCS on Picon, and directed not to combat flight training she desired, but to Raptors.  Somewhat disappointed, she nevertheless threw herself into the training.  Her basic flight skills were top notch for a nugget, and she earned the name “Three Point” for her consistent ability to bring a bird in on all skids, every time.  She aced her navigation and electronic operations courses and was finally released into the fleet at the end of 51AC.

She was assigned to the aging Atlantia as part of the Raptor squadron.  She had been aboard the ship for only six months, but quickly gained a reputation for her skill and recklessness.  Auram did so well, she was sent to Delphi’s Combat Flight School in 52AC.  She returned to the fleet as a viper jock on Pleiades, doubling as a raptor training officer.

Her gutsy style and skill has made her one of the ship’s top pilots, and her sexy, playful good humor make her popular with officers and deck gang, alike.  (The player chose Monica Vesela as the face for the character.)

Agility: d10   Strength: d6   Vitality: d6   Alertness: d10   Intelligence: d8   Willpower: d8

Initiative: 2d10   Life Points: 14   Endurance: 2d6   Resistance: d6+d8

Age: 25   Height: 5’4″   Weight: 125 lbs.   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown

ASSETS:  Allure d4 [sexy, more than beautiful], Dogfighter d4, Lady Luck d4, Talented ECO d4 [adds to Tech Engineering/DRADIS and /Electronic Warfare]

COMPLICATIONS: Allergies [mold & mildew] d2, Dull Sense [smell] d2, Gloryhound d4, Wise Ass d4

SKILLS: Artistry d4, Athletics d4, Covert d2, Discipline d4, Guns d4, Influence d6, Knowledge d2, Mechanical Engineering d2, Perception d6, Performance d2, Pilot d6 [Raptor d10, Viper d8], Planetary Vehicles d2, Science Expertise d2, Survival d2, Technical Engineering d6 [Electronic Warfare d8, DRADIS d8], Unarmed Combat d2

Corporal Artemesia Vasco

Artemisia Vasco is the only daughter and youngest of six children to Fred and Madeline Vasco of Turbury-on-Ayl, a small farming community on Arelon.  Born in 32AC, she grew up in a small, quaint village where much of the land was owned by rich men and companies, and most of the people worked the fields and never got more than 20 miles from their home.  As a girl, she dreamed of getting away from the boredom and poverty of her home, where her father worked twelve hours a day in the fields, and her mother tended bar at the local pub.  The only girl in a household of boys, she grew up a tomboy.  She enjoyed sports, liked to wrestle, fight, hunt, fish, and otherwise carried on in a masculine fashion.
Always pretty, she quickly filled out at puberty,and took an immediate interest in boys and frequently entertained herself in fields, barns, and anywhere else she and her latest boyfriend could be alone.  She had a close call at fourteen, but the pregnancy failed in the first month.  She has since been on birth control.  When she was seventeen, bored with school and looking for a way out, the Colonial Marines recruiter came through Turbury.  The day after her graduation from school, she was on a train to Arelon City to the MEPS for her swearing in, and the next day reported to basic training at Sandy Downs on Arelon.

Her father had always told her Artemis had given her a gift: long-sight and a steady aim.  Starting with bows and light rifles when she was young, Artemisia has been shooting since she was a little girl.  In basic training, her tomboy nature came in handy and she excelled in hand-to-hand combat, basic rifle marksmanship, and getting into trouble by having “four feet in a two-foot rack.”  She was given follow-on training as a sniper at the CMC training grounds on Leonis and is a qualified sniper and spotter.

Her first assignment as a marine was in battlestar Atlantia.  Easily bored and a bit lazy, she was soon getting into trouble by sleeping late, making herself scarce when off duty, or fraternizing.  Despite this, her work on search and rescue teams, disaster relief, and other missions allowed her to advance to squad leader and corporal by the time of the Cylon attack.

Vasco is a tough, brash, and somewhat crass woman.  She is a complete hedonist, and is fond of good food, drink, clothes, and sex.  Brave and adventurous, she is willing to fight hard, but she is lazy when it comes to work and things that don’t interest her.  (Player chose Giuliana Marino as the face.)

Agility: d10   Strength: d6   Vitalty: d6   Alertness: d10   Intelligence: d6   Willpower: d6

Initiative: 2d10   Life Points: 12   Endurance: 2d6   Resistance: 2d6

Age:  20   Height: 5’6″   Weight: 118 lbs.   Hair: Brown/Auburn   Eyes: Gray

ASSETS:  Allure d4, Athlete d4, Sharp Sense [Sight] d4, Talented Sniper d4 [Rifles and Perception/Tracking]

COMPLICATIONS: Lazy d4, Loyal d4, Lustful d4

SKILLS:  Animal Handling d2, Athletics d6, Covert d4, Discipline d4, Guns d6, Heavy Weapons d4, Perception d6, Planetary Vehicles d4, Ranged Weapons d6, Survival d6, Unarmed Combat d6

Captain Gaius “Professor” Horvath

Born in Delphi, Caprica in 22AC (After Articles of Colonization), Gaius is the oldest of two boys to Zacarius and Melina Horvath.  He grew up in the second largest city on Caprica and the seat of military presence on the world.  His father is an admiral in the Colonial Fleet and commander of BSG-55 (Pleiades group.)  His mother is a respected lawyer and professor of colonial law at Delphi University, where he would later school.
Both boys, Gaius and his brother Augustus (Gus), grew up without the pampered background of other wealthy families, but he did reap the benefits of a classical education at Delphi Academy – one of the finest private school on Caprica.  He excelled in various sports, but was particularly good at Pyramid – enough so that he won a scholarship, despite his family’s means, to Delphi University.

At college, his main course of study was military science, with a minor in literature.  He finished his basic degree with firsts in classic literature and history.  He continued to his master’s degree in political science at Caprica University, with a specialty in interplanetary security.  After he graduated, most expected him to continue into government.  Instead, he joined the Colonial Fleet as a reserve officer and trained as a flight officer at Delphi, finishing basic flight near the top of his class.  Nicknamed “Professor” for his intelligence and higher education, he was considered by some an elitist snob, but his winning personality and good-humor won him more friends and admirers than not.

He continued to advanced combat training and in 48AAC, he was graduated into the fleet.  His first assignment was aboard Atlantia as a junior lieutenant and Viper jock.  He trained on old Mk II’s, but aboard the flagship of BSG-70, he flew Mk VII’s – the finest space superiority fighter ever made.  He quickly made friends amongst his fellow pilots, and drew the attention of Admiral Nagala himself.  He was promoted to full lieutenant a year later – very quickly!  By 52AC, he rotated onto reserve duty.  It took him three months to realize that he missed the excitement of flying vipers.  His father pulled strings and got him assigned to Pleiades, his father’s ship.  He was promoted to captain and made a squadron leader.

Smart, savvy and charismatic, Professor is a popular officer.  His weaknesses lies mostly in his grandstanding and overconfidence, which have more than once nearly splashed him.  However, he has always managed to pull his fat out of the fire.  A natural leader, most of his peers expect one day he might be an admiral.

When off-duty he can often be found reading, and he is fond of showing off his knowledge to anyone who will listen.  He is a connoisseur of fine wine, whiskey, food, and women – he has a long line of lovers –  and he is particularly taken with the technology and tactics of the military.  His love for his Viper is almost unnatural.  He calls her “Galatea”, after the statue in the Pygmalion myth – more to humor those who think him a bit too fond of the plane.  (Player chose Casper van Dien as the face for the character…)

Agility: d8   Strength: d8   Vitality: d8   Alertness: d8   Intelligence: d8   Willpower: d8

Initiative: 2d8   Life Points: 16   Endurance: 2d8   Resistance: 2d8

Age:  30   Height: 5’11”   Weight: 190 lbs.   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue

ASSETS:  Advanced Education d4, Dogfighter d4, Good-Natured d4

COMPLICATIONS:  Gloryhound d4, Overconfident d4

SKILLS:  Athletics d6 [Pyramid d8], Discipline d6, Guns d4, Influence d6 [Leadership d10], Mechanical Engineering d2, Perception d6, Pilot d6 [Viper d10, Ship Cannons d10], Planetary Vehicles d4, Technical Engineering d4, Unarmed Combat d4

This week I’ll be posting some character portraits from our Battlestar Galactica campaign.  The initial series are from the “second fleet” group (we also had a ground group that will be posted later.)  Enjoy…

Admiral Zacharias “Zack” Horvath

Born 3BAC (Before Articles of Colonization) in Argus, Libran.  He is from a famous line of Libran politicians.  His father was Ferenc Horvath, defense minister of the world prior to the First Cylon War, and later Quorum member.  His mother was a lawyer of some note.  He grew up during the Cylon War.  Five years after the war, he joined the Colonial Fleet and attended Delphi Military Academy on Caprica.

He served as a fighter pilot from 19-26AC, rising quickly to major.  During his time at DMA, he met a Caprican law student, Melina, and married before his first duty assignment.  A son, Gaius, was born in 22AC, and Augustus followed in 26AC.   He attended the War College at Picon HQ, then followed it up with three years at the Defense Ministry HQ on Picon.

Horvath was CAG for the battlestar Galactica from 30-32AC.  He was operations officer in Athena for two years and became colonel and XO for the small batlestar Bellerophon in 36AC.  He succeeded to command of the vessel in 40AC, then took command of the battlestar Acropolis in 45AC with the rank of commander.  In 48AC, he was promoted to rear admiral and took command of the Delphi Spaceport and Colonial Military Base, where he remained for three years.  He took over Pleiades group in 52AC.

Admiral Horvath is a 33 year veteran of the Colonial Fleet and an inveterate politician.  He is known for his connections, savvy, and his rivalry with Fleet Admiral Nagala.  Horvath is a big man, and incredibly strong, with a reputation for his martial arts skill.  At the time of the attacks, he is 55 years old.  (The player chose an older Dolph Lundgren for the look.)

Agility: d6   Strength: d10   Vitality: d8   Alertness: d8   Intelligence: d10   Willpower: d10

Initiative: d6+d8   Life Points: 20   Endurance: 2d8   Resistance: d8+d10

Age: 55   Height: 6’4″   Weight: 230 lbs.   Hair: Dirty Blonde [greying]   Eyes: Blue

ASSETS:  Brawler d4, Formidable Presence d4, Political Pull d6, So Say We All d4, Tough d4

COMPLICATIONS:  Competitive d4, Duty d6, Gloryhound d4, Prejudice [civilian government] d4

SKILLS:  Athletics d6, Covert d4, Discipline d6 [Leadership d8], Guns d6, Influence d6 [Administration d8, Bureaucracy d8], Knowledge d2, Melee Combat d4, Perception d6, Pilot d6 [Vipers d8], Planetary Vehicles d4, Survival d4, Technical Engineering d4, Unarmed Combat d6 [Kickboxing d8]

These wee beasties showed up in Razor, and  thought it was time they got some stats for the Battlestar Galactica RPG.  I looked over the orthos from Eric Chu and it seems all the heavy ordinance is on the weapons/launch pod amidships.  There are eight launch pod-looking greebles on either side of the flight line, aft and fore, and dual barreled railguns on the top of the pod, as well as two forward-facing cannons. There are four turret-like greebles on the head of the gunstar, as well, but they look most likely to be missiles turrets, rather than railguns.  I didn’t include them in the current specs. The big barrel-looking thing on the underside I assumed was a retrofire reaction system.  Feel free to fanboy it into a massive supergun, or something…

The Berzerk-class gunstars act as protection for main-line battlestars.  These are relatively modern assault craft and require a fairly small crew.  Their computer systems are fully up to date, complete with the Command Navigation Program (unlike the older Vanguard class), and Mk VII vipers.

SHIP DATA:

Ship Class: Berzerk     Ship Type:  Gunstar Escort
Length: 2779.6′     Beam: 709.5′     Draught: 389.4′     Deck: 16
Crew: 600 standard [Includes 90 pilots, 20 marines]

ATTRIBUTES:

Agility:    d6     Strength: d10     Vitality: d6     Alertness: d8   Intelligence: d6     Willpower: d8

Initiative: d6+d8     Speed: 6 [SL/JC]     Life Points: 18     Armor: 3W, 4S

TRAITS:

SKILLS:  Heavy Weapons d4, Mechanical Engineering d4, Perception d4, Pilot d4

ARMAMENT:   Medium Point Defense System [skirmish-range, vehicle-scale]:  d8, Vehicle-scale]; 22 Heavy Railguns: d12 [short DRADIS range, spacecraft scale]; 32 Heavy Missiles: d12 [short DRADIS, spacecraft scale]

AUXILIARY CRAFT:  20 Vipers, 20 Raptors, 10 Shuttles

Following yesterday’s post, here’s some ideas to post-attack “second fleet” campaigns for Battlestar Galactica.

Key to this is the idea that another ship or ships survived the apocalypse.  In our campaign, the players’ battlestar and one of its assaultstar escorts survive the attacks on the Colonies because they are out investigating the lack of communications from Armistice Station.  They do run into the basestar there, and they lost much of their fighter group to the CNP attacks.  Fortunately, the assaultstars were upgraded, and the crew of the battlestar figure out the issue quickly enough to save the vessel (barely.)

Returning to warn the fleet, the ship misjumped due to problems related to the Cylon hack, and they were out of action for hours, trying to repair their vessel and get back into the fight.  By the time they do, Galactica and her fleet are gone.

Another idea is an exploration task force, out on patrol on the edge of the Armistice Line (or elsewhere) on a mission to look for Cylon activity, map the surrounding systems, and do science.  We encounter one of these in our campaign that has a science vessel (a Space Park style vessel), and agroship for supplies, and a tanker/tender, in addition to an older battlestar.  It’s a good assumption that there would be a few of these task forces, and that the Cylons might know where they are, thanks to their access to the Colonial Defense Mainframe.  Maybe they were held up on their patrol and aren’t where they’re supposed to be, saving them from attack (or warning them of the attacks when they get hit.)

There are two main storylines you can use here:  1) the ships stage a guerrilla war to free the Colonies, 2)  they haul ass into the Black, looking for a place to live.  If you don’t care about show canon, you could have them eventually find the fleet and aid them in their attempts to find Earth.

Some ideas for the guerrilla war option:

1.  The fleet does a series of dangerous recon missions with raptors to find out what is going on in the Colonies.  The opposition should be big enough that they cannot just go right at the Cylons.  I think we had something like 32-36 basestars (so thousands of raiders), and the Cylons were retrofitting battlestars they captured to fight.

2.  Deep Space Interferometer Telescope.  In our campaign, the SDIT was a series of telescopes rigged together in an interferometer, and controlled by a space station that the Cylons hadn’t discovered yet.  They rescued the crew, and reprogrammed the telescope to take orders from their battlestar.  With it, they were able to get reasonably fresh intelligence on the Cylon movement, and pick up transmissions from the survivors on the surface.  (Works well if you have a ground group, as well…)

3.  A series of search and rescue missions, or recon missions to connect with people on the surface of one or more of the Colonies to organize resistance.  A good twist here is that the survivors are sick from radiation, etc. and the rescuees or crew that liaise with them bring illness back to the ship.

4.  Staging a mission to capture mothballed ships (if you have enough crew to man them), or destroy Cylon bases of operations.

5.  Discovery of Scylla and her fleet.  these civilians have had everything of use stripped off of their vessels by Pegasus and they need help.  Play up the inhumanity of the move by Cain and co. to push the players to moral conundrums.  A good twist:  the fleet was seeded by Cylons with sleeper agents following the Pegasus event, and the ships have signaled the Cylons of the rescue attempt.  Have the Cylons show up right when the SAR is underway and muddies the rescue effort.

Here the key is to give them some hope that their loved one might have survived; having a relative of a character or two be found can heighten this.  Another important element is that they have to constantly move on the outskirts of the Colonies, and occasionally leave the system to hide — leaving them out of contact.  There should always be the element of discovery and a real battle in the offing.

For the Second Fleet idea —

You might start with some of the above and realize at some point that the Cylons are too many and have too tight a hold on the Colonies.  Lighting out into the Black, they come across Cylon fueling bases, mining operations.  A possible idea is that they keep coming across evidence of Galactica‘s fleet, leading them to Kobol, etc.

1.  Some kind of malfunction or sabotage causes the fleet to need water, fuel, or some other material.  Maybe it’s material to make repairs to the vessels.

2.  Murder mystery:  a young girl is found in a 55 gallon drum.  There is little forensics evidence (or no facilities to really follow up on the evidence) and the characters must scour the fleet looking for the killer.

3.  Mutinous Intent:  without hope the crew is trying to force the leadership to return to the Colonies.

4.  Religious Hints:  pick one of the characters and have them get messages from God (the Gods) leading the fleet to their next home.  Maybe they link up with the Galactica fleet and you replay/rewrite the last few seasons to suit your group, maybe they are lead to another world (maybe God wants to hedge his bets…)

5.  Disease — either natural or Cylon-caused.  How far do they have to go to seal off the infection?

There’s a wealth of ideas here to work from.  For my group, they aren’t working with the Scrolls of Pythia, but of Sybil — another oracle who wrote about another cycle of time.   The tale follows the Jericho/Masada/Troy idea of the noble resistance that eventually falls, but those that escape found the next major civilization.

Previously, I had posted some ideas for Battlestar Galactica campaigns preceding the Cylon attacks.  Now here are a few for things post-attack…

For a Ground Survivor Campaign:

One of the things I found effective in my campaign was to have the attacks happen in the middle of an ongoing adventure/mission.  In our case, the Critical Investigations Unit of the Colonial Marshals’ Service was in the process of hunting a bunch of escaped convicts whose bus overturned on slick roads and went down a mountain ravine, not too far from Oasis.  While in the midst of this, they lose comms and hear a strange rumbling.  That was Caprica city getting nuked, only 50 miles away (but they were shielded by mountains from the initial gamma burst.)

They then had 30 minutes to race to usable vehicles and get to Oasis — a small mountain town (think First Blood) — where the nearest fallout shelter was.

Other ideas include 1)  survival in the shelter for the 8 days it will take before radiation levels should drop enough for them to move.  Plumbing problems, tight and darkspaces for claustrophobes, and general fear make this a good environment for the first adventure.  The radio isn’t working for whatever reason, or they can’t get their transmissions out so they get a fragmented and frightening picture of what is happening topside.

2.  After coming out of the shelter, they must forage for supplies — canned foods, bottled water, first aid supplies –anything they didn’t have in the fallout shelter.  Maybe they grab vehicles.  Remember, metal holds radiation — the car hulls will be hot, but not necessarily more dangerous that causing contact injuries.  It’s raining a lot on Caprica after the attacks (we can assume the same on many worlds), so puddle will be dangerously radioactive.  Spice it up with a Cylon attack to get them moving if they dally too much.  (Our campaign lost 20 of their initial 42 survivors this way.)

3.  Hide and seek:  using vehicles in the mountains to avoid the Cylons, the characters try to find survivors and bolster their numbers.  Radiation sickness in the animals can make for an interesting encounter.  Our players ran into bears foraging in garbage dumpsters that were loosing their hair and were on the…upset…side.

4.  Trying to fortify an area.  The players might try to find a defensible spot for raids or to hide.  Another good variation on this is finding the survivalist camp where they can get aid, but perhaps the people are a little too eager to have women here to help repopulate the colony; the military camp where everyone’s gone a bit ’round the bend (ala 28 Days Later); or the religious end-of-the-world cult (possibly even the monotheist Soldiers of the One from Caprica.)

5.  A good ol’ The Road Warrior-style adventure where the characters have to either run the gauntlet through a Cylon platoon or other road gangs.  I added a motocenturion similar to the motorcycle Terminators from the execrable movie.  Also, I figured the Cylons — if they didn’t have their own vehicles — would use what they could or retrofit vehicles with their Cylon brains to fight Colonials using vehicles to do hit & runs.  (Yes, it’s not canon, but it’s more fun.)

6.  A raid on CMC reservist caches.  They’ll will, of course, have to get past the Cylons sitting on the reserve bases.  This should probably be a later adventure, with serious danger, but the rewards being military medical and food supplies, tanks or APCs, guns and ammo.

7.  One group had no pilots, so their goal was to get to the sea and get a small boat out onto the water, hoping to avoid Cylon attention.  Pilots might have the goal of getting a hold of an FTL-capable ship and getting off of the planet.

8.  Something you can string in is the danger of radiation sickness, but also of exposure to other disease caused by the death of animals and plants around them.

9.  The farms.  Have them discover the Cylon Farms.  I made this much more horrifying than the show did, playing up the machine rape element of it with a spicing of Japanimation tentacle/machine porn.  Make it truly disturbing.  We also had healthy men being “milked.”  Yes, disgusting…that’s the point.

10.  The Offensive — the characters have enough followers to stage guerrilla attacks on locations:  farms, bases of operations, etc.  You can do variations on theme until the end of time…or Day 282.  (More about that later.)  Perhaps they find a bunch of planetary guard, or Colonial Marines that have been successfully playing hit and run.  We had a tank battle between the Cylons and CMCR in our campaign.  Eventually, the Cylons just nuked the site from orbit, but it was a glorious battle…

One thing to remember, the Cylons stage a cease fire and leave Caprica on Day 282.  The characters don’t need to know this, but if they can hold out until then they have a chance to possibly rebuild one of the colonies…  Yes, it’s not canon, but we can’t assume that only Sam Anders’ bunch were the only survivors in the Twelve Colonies.

Next time, ideas for a “second fleet” campaign…