In these trying times, it can be difficult to get your gaming fix. I know I've been struggling over the past couple years. Enter Five Parsecs From Home, a solo adventure wargame! I picked up this book a few weeks ago and have been having a ton of fun with it since. It is DENSE, and there is a ton of bookkeeping, but with a little imagination, you can get a really good story out of it. More importantly, I'd gotten me to actually finish building an old Inquisitor group I've had in cold storage since... well, I don't know how long. Probably about the time the old Ordo codecies came out the first time. To put it in context, and you'll see it in the models below, putting cork on your bases was a relatively new innovation, and considered cutting edge. Yes, most of them are that old!
I'll be detailing a campaign staring my little ol' Ordo Xenos Inquisitor and his band of merry aliens as they stumble their way through a Five Parsecs campaign. I haven't set an ending condition; I'll just play it by ear. I'll go into more detail on the characters in later posts (and as their personalities evolve throughout the campaign), but we'll start with some introductions for the campaign I'm calling:
2nd Parsec to the Right
Dramatis Personae
Inquisitor Zholit al-Nasr
Al-Nasr is a member of the Ordo Xenos with a fairly radical bent. He's obsessed with xenos tech, and in particular that of the Eldar. He's convinced he can find immortality by way of the soul stones the Eldar use, he just has to find the right way to convert them to accept a human soul.
First Mate Ysuranel
Ysuranel is a member of the Aeldari, specifically a former Exodite. He was rescued by al-Nasr after killing a member of his tribe and believes he owes al-Nasr a life debt. Truth be told, in the years that Ysuranel has served wiht al-Nasr, that debt has probably been paid back and forth many times over.
Acolyte Jalen Ren aka VoidStone
A tech-thirsty hanger-on al-Nasr picked up while resupplying aboard a long-haul freighter. The boy is headstrong, though a little wet behind the ears, but he knows his way around a soldering iron.
Quartermaster Gill-on'Tou
Gill is a Kroot hired by al-Nasr after the breakdown of diplomatic negotiations with the T'au prior to an Imperial invasion of one of their worlds. Let's say it was easy to convince him to leave.
Chief Engineer Acetl
Acetl, a Saurian, previously lived on the death world of Theapra as a member of a mercenary group. He was the Sergeant of a escort contingent that was abandoned by the rest of the mercenary group during a mission and left for dead. Al-Nasr found their bodies and was in the process of looting them when he found out some of them were still alive.
Engi Trin Flintfinger
Trin was a member of Acetl's squad and the only other one who managed to survive. He's a wiz at fixing stuff even though he's never had any formal training, and loves to be up to his elbows in engine grease. As is with most others of the Ratter race, he's been known to have rather stickiy fingers whenever the crew gets into an inhabited settlement.
So there's my ragtag band of misfits. If you want something done right, you'd best try someone else. But if they're too busy, call on al-Nasr and his crew. Next post we'll dig into the crew in preparation for the first battle. If you'd like to see more images of the models, you can visit the album here.
