Oh yeah,
some dumb-ass forgot to post one, that's what.
Anyways, Rogue Stars doesn't really have any game related fluff, leaving the players to create their own. As my readers already know, I
love doing that and so here is the fluff for my initial Rogue Stars crew (and their ship which will make for a nice terrain piece if I ever get around to building it!):
The Ship:
The
Raptor 3, an
ISW-69 class shuttle which her captain acquired under questionable circumstances. The shuttle itself is incapable of interstellar travel, and thus hitches a ride between solar systems in a manner similar to an aquatic barnacle: by illegally mag-locking onto an unwary ship's hull. Upon the arrival to a new system, the Raptor 3 will detach once its host vessel is in amongst the bustle of orbital traffic. Its rare but not unknown for the Raptor's crew to hitch a ride out of system on the same vessel on which they arrived.
 |
| From left to right and starting with the red robot in back: Bucket, a Squidbilly, Catalina, Bob and Taco. When painted, Catalina's space suit will have a clear acrylic dome similar to Bob's. Whereas currently her suit looks...well, weird. |
The Crew:
"Catalina"
Ah Humanity. The most aggressive, violent, and predatory vermin infestation of the galaxy! Humanity seeks to control, conquer, or exploit every object in existence as if it was already their own (but it often isn't). What else is there really to say about the Human race? Not much I'm afraid. The Raptor 3's sole human occupant goes by the name Catalina (with no surname). She's is the owner of the Raptor 3 and captain of its small crew. Despite her piratical ways, Catalina's not nearly as ruthless as the usual human stereotype, but that's often lost on those they encounter when conducting 'salvage operations' as she often makes introductions from the other side of her gun…
"Bob"
"Bob" (whose name is unpronounceable to the human tongue) is an Illyrian, which is an isolationist alien species rarely seen outside of their own domains. Illyrians have the gift of language and can instantly understand, comprehend, and fluently speak any language they encounter. Thus Illyrians who travel beyond their realms are invariably employed as 'universal translators'.
The Illyrian method of communication however is what causes their generally isolationist tendencies. Their mouths are used only for the ingestion of food, not for vocalization. Instead the Illyrians telepathically implant their 'words' into their companion's minds in the appropriate language. This form of communication is unnerving to most no matter how long they're around the Illyrians. Somewhat oddly, the Illyrians cannot read the minds of others. As such, those in the company of these aliens often appear to be having one-sided conversations with the seemingly mute alien beside them.
Whilst the Illyrian language is itself quite evolved and nuanced, most of it is lost on the rest of the galaxy's "lesser creatures" (as the Illyrians call every other species but their own). Continuously annoyed that none but their own kind can properly understand what they're saying, their temperaments tend to range from cantankerous to downright hateful! Over the years, Catalina and Bob have 'come to an understanding' though to categorize their relationship as 'friendly' would be a bit of a stretch…
"The Squidbillies"
The Squidbillies are a trio of aliens from a species known as the Edo. The Edo group together to form collective intelligences that act as one. Highly intelligent as a result, the Edo are multi-taskers without peer, and they're employed by Catalina to be the Raptor's flight crew. Priding themselves on being the 'flight jocks of the outfit', they roost in the nooks and crannies of Raptor's cockpit. Indeed they consider all of the cockpit their own with the sole exception of Catalina's captain's chair (there were four Squidbillies until one was crushed under Catalina's enviro-suit as she wearily plopped into said chair without looking!). Like Bob, their name is unpronounceable to humans, and Catalina named them due to their resemblance to the characters of an ancient and awful Terran cartoon.
These little aliens rarely leave the Raptor itself, and if they do pop out of the ship for a collective breath of fresh air, they never scurry more than a few feet from the ship's hatches. They will fight if cornered, but in most cases flee back aboard ship at the first hint of…well, anything. Thus they are rarely seen by anyone other than the Raptor's other crew members.
"Bucket"
Bucket is a civilian-grade maintenance A.I.. Like most A.I.'s in servitude, Bucket was programmed to be loyal to a fault. Improper maintenance has however lead to some idiosyncrasies in it's personality, and most every order is acknowledged with a burble of recognition that sounds a hellova lot like a grumbled complain. Bucket of course denies this...
Whilst the Raptor 3 is in transit, Bucket's days are an endless routine of ship maintenance, cooking meals, mopping the floor, unclogging that damned toilet again! (Bob's bowels wreak havoc on that poor piece of equipment…), and a multitude of other unpleasant and menial tasks for which maintenance A.I.'s were designed. On salvage operations, Bucket is tasked with hauling everyone's extra gear, and is not only festooned with bulging cargo pouches, but often lags behind as it drags a heavy burden of 'the loot' back to the ship. While not built for combat, Bucket can handle a carbine with a passable amount of accuracy.
"Taco"
The final member of the Raptor 3's crew is Taco, a military-grade A.I. of similar design to Bucket. Just where it's name came from is a mystery to all but Taco and the ornery little bot patently refuses to explain. As one will have already guessed, Taco is also a bit idiosyncratic, which is somewhat disconcerting for a combat A.I.. In transit, Taco is usually powered down as it otherwise mopes around ship in tireless boredom. The rest of the crew (especially Bucket) quickly tire of constantly shoving the despondent Taco out of their way. As such, Taco is usually consigned to a storage bin until the Raptor lands/docks at its destination.
When the Raptor's crew disembarks the ship, Taco is invariably at the forefront with guns at the ready! Unfortunately Taco's 'loyal to a fault' programming has been afflicted with some sort of glitch. True, Taco will defend both the ship and the rest of the crew viscously with its two, arm mounted pistols, however Catalina and Bob frequently have to restrain Taco from getting too far ahead and/or engaging whatever it sees without provocation (Bucket, always in the rear could honestly care less…). Indeed, Taco possesses a child-like glee when it comes to the prospect of combat, and most every firefight starts before Catalina and Bob can even see who or what Taco's shooting at!
Following every unnecessary battle (i.e.: most all of them) an enraged Catalina always swears she's going to leave 'that damned bullet-ridden idiot behind!', but like a scolded puppy Taco always sucks up just enough to make it back aboard before the Raptor 3 lifts off again.
****
Now all I have to do is figure out how to make stats for this bunch of characters. Also of note the Squidbillies may be omitted as currently two are MIA. They may be in the simple green with my Eldar falcon but honestly I'm not inclined to go looking for them at the moment.
