ThreeRocketeers

The World at Large

Interstellar Imperia: One arm of a spiral galaxy has been heavily colonized by four great powers - Gallia, Britannica Solaria, Arastilla, and The Holy Roman Stellar Empire. The four powers maneuver and scheme against one another in an effort to increase their power.

Gallia: Think France. Bastion of civilization for the last 1000 years, the height of sophistication in culture, art, dress, architecture. Le Capitale is the most beautiful city in known space. Home of the Rocketeers.

Britannica Solaria: Think Britain. Multiple colonies that united under a single flag only 100 years ago. A mostly aquatic homeworld with the people living on mountain tops due to wide tidal swings.

Holy Roman Stellar Empire: Think Germany. A military powerhouse of the 4 Imperia. Emperor Matthias XLII assumed power 3 years ago and hasn't stopped rattling sabers ever since, but the in-fighting among his Kingsprinz' have checked his ambition. Known for their heavily industrialized cities and extensive mining operations throughout their territory.

Arastilla: Think Spain. The most expansive and populated of the 4 Imperia, famed for their exploration. Arastillan wine and racing sloops are highly prized.

The Church: Religion in Interstellar Imperia has almost completely consolidated under one organization known simply as The Church. Led by Star Pope Regulus IV, The Church has been less strict that it has in the past.

Being a Rocketeer

Rocketeers have 5 aspects: High concept, Trouble, Family/Class, Fencing Style, and then 1 free one. Your issued equipment is armor and a force blade. Additionally, your Fencing Style consists of 4 special categories that provide some minor bonus.

Rocketeers have served with honor for centuries as the personal bodyguards/agent of the Gallia King or Queen. Their ranks are populated by men and women who have proven themselves in battle and who embody the three aspects of the organization:

• • Honor of a Gentleman

  • Valor In All Things, All Times

  • Fidelity to the Rightful Ruler of Gallia (or just the Queen?)

Any Rocketeer in good standing can invoke those aspects as if they were their own. This are intrinsic values to each Rocketeers, but something that comes from the title. Break those vows and you lose the ability to invoke those aspects.

NPCs

Queen Marie Helene

Aspects: Young Ruler trying to do Good

Story: Assumed the throne of Gallia at the age of 7. Her regents have ruled for the last 11 years, doing a decent job but mostly enriching themselves in one way or another. On fully assuming the throne, Queen Marie has clawed back some of the throne's power that was lost and put an end to some of the corruption. She has made many enemies in the process. With Lenay's demotion, she currently has no regent.

Lemay Bruchon (former regent)

Aspects: Detached Visionary

Other: Became main advisor to the queen with the removal of Cardinal Richlieu. A science/tech person eager to breaks eggs to make a better space omelette. Disgraced when he tried to smuggle in particle guns and was demoted as regent.

Cardinal Richlieu (former regent)

Aspects: True Believer

Other: Was the primary regent for Queen Marie until she reached age 18. Uncle Clairmont convinced his niece to remove the Cardinal as the main advisor and instead install Regent Bruchon. The Cardinal remains a member of the court and offers input, but his stature is much diminished.

Uncle Clairmont

Aspects: Can’t Say No to His Bunnykins

Other: Favored Uncle of Queen Marie. Everyone calls him Uncle Clair. Tried to buy Royal Wine from a smuggler. Skirt chaser and bumbler.

Major Astrid de Treville

Aspects: Too Honorable for His Own Good. In Over His Head with Court Politics.

Other: Captain of the Rocketeers. Has served as the embodiment of the Rocketeers for the last 30 years, but is getting older and is in over his head in palace intrigue matters. He is highly respected by the Rocketeers.

Duchess Marquerite Feron

Aspects: Better than my Half-Sister

Other: Rival claimant. Half-sister of Queen Marie, a bastard of her Father. She has a little too much support from the noble class and was thus removed from court by the Queen & Cardinal when she was 16. She is the ruler of planet Arguil and retains the title of Duchess, but is no longer welcome in court. Swings a mean wrench. Killed her regent, Cardinal Rostenov, who tried to kidnap the Queen. Welcomed back to court for this.

House Rules / Equipment

Force Blades: A weapon, usually a sword of some type, with an energy emitter fitted into the handle. When activated, the emitter surrounds the blade with an infinitesimally thin cutting edge, dramatically improving cutting power and hardness. A force blade can be defended with Athletics or Fighting only and are Weapon:2.

Rocket Packs: Small, self-contained rocket packs revolutionized war with the troops able to rocket around the battlefield. While not capable of space-flight, rocket packs have enough fuel for about 8 hours of flight. Rocket packs don't bank worth a damn so are used mostly for straight-ish travel. They also can't hover. They allow 2 stunts:

Fly By: With a pilot roll (difficulty 1+number enemies), a rocket pack lets you leave a zone without an enemy being able to stop you.

Activate Boost! (stunt): With a pilot roll, can move up to 2 zones and still take an action or move to any zone in the map.

Armor: The future has made amazing strides in armor. Armor:2 is light, flexible and can be worn with normal clothes. Heavier armor exists, but is generally not used outside of military troops. There are still times when a Gentleman does not wear armor, but Rocketeers wear armor the majority of the time.

Guns: As an enlightened culture. Gallia outlawed guns centuries ago. Even the government, with the exceptions of times of war, does not use them (hence the need for Rocketeers). While criminal elements will occasionally try to use them, the government of Gallia makes it very difficult and the users are harshly punished. The use of any other ranged weapon is beneath the Honor of a Gentleman.

Warp Drives: The science of bending space has been established for centuries now and can fit even on small spaceships. A light-year can be covered in 2 days. Trips between star systems take about a week.

Communication: While there is FTL travel, there is not yet FTL communication.

Healing: A few tweaks to the healing rules:

• • First consequence heals 1 hour of story time after a successful Lore check

  • Second consequence heals in one day of story time after a successful Lore check

  • Third consequence heals in one week after a successful Lore check

  • A sci-fi medical facility, if visited within 1 hour of the injury, moves the consequence down to the next lower spot.

Skills

Same default skill list as Fate Core with a couple notes:

• • Burglary: Includes computer hacking

  • Craft: Covers any sort of repair or building of science things. Operating science stuff falls under Lore

  • Drive: Renamed as Pilot, but used for all types of transport - starships, horseback, rocket packs. etc.

  • Investigate: A failed investigate roll can always be turned into a success with a Fate spend

  • Lore: Will cover operating all things sciency. Also healing.

  • Notice: Covers the ability to see things - the mook sneaking up on you or the hidden door. Seeing something AND realizing it is a clue falls under Investigate.

  • Rapport: Includes courtly manners as well as most romance/seduction. Though some damsels certainly fall for a rake with a high Provoke.

  • Resources: The ability to pull equipment out of your butt

  • Shoot: Do we have any ranged weapons? Certainly on ships at least, but not sure we'll have much ship to ship fighting. Are guns part of the setting?

Episodes to Date

Season 1

To Kill a Queen: While the Rocketeers are distracted, a former Rocketeer (LeFavre) murders the Asst Director in the Office of Protocol. Through sleuthing (Nikka's Nasties, chasing LaFavre to Arguil), the players learn that an assassination attempt is going to occur during Pope Regulus' visit to Le Capital. The players rush back, stop the assassination by Maga the cyber-enhanced ape, and then kill Cardinal Rostenov (the Duchess' regent) as he tries to make off with the Queen. They've saved the day but was the Duchess involved with the plot (she caved in the Cardinal's head so couldn't be questioned)? And who warned LaFavre that the Musketeers were closing in?

Smuggler's Blues: An old friend of Gerard's, a smuggler named Maurice Devaile, returns to Le Capital. Maurice is involved with multiple sketchy deals which the Rocketeers help with:

• • Honor Spoiled: Maurice has gotten a young noblewoman, Simone Tome (former flame of Gerard's) pregnant. The Lord demands satisfaction and Gerard stands in as Maurice's champion to defeat their brute.

  • Counterfeit Wine: Uncle Clar has hired him to smuggle in Royal Arstrallian wine. Duchess Marguerite is not fooled and Maurice is imprisoned.

  • Particle Guns: Regent Bujon has hired Maurice to smuggle in particle guns to study them (he says). Cardinal Richlieu is on to this and tries to get them, but the Rocketeers get them first. Maurice is hung for this crime while Brujon is demoted from his Regent position.

Bastard's Tale: We knew that King Phillip had a bastard - Duchess Marguerite. Turns out there were actually twins - Marqurite has a disabled, 2 minute older brother named Lonny. Lonny and his mother (Michel Aldophus, an older sister to Antoine which he never knew about), have been secretly living in church convents. This news gets out an multiple factions are trying to track Lonny (Richlieu, the Duchess, and Antoine & Gerard working against Major Trevile's direct orders). The Rocketeers find them first and safely bring them back.

-- Actually wrap-up of this depends on what we want to do for season 2.

Season 2

Antonine has gone with his half-sister to Arguile and has been named the Duchess' head of security. With Captain Trevail betraying her, the Queen needed a new Captain of the Rocketeers and chose her loyal servant, Gerard. For the Queen, danger seems to come from every quarter: The nobles that think she is too young and naïve to rule, from the corrupt merchants who no longer profit due to the Queen's oversight, to many on Arguile who see Duchess Marquirite as the true heir to the throne and the more capable ruler.

Negotiations: Gerard and Antoine accompany their respective teams to resolve a trade dispute on a mining astroid on the Arguile frontier. They thwart a rebel group of miners who weren't keen on paying taxes and their leader is arrested and sent to Arguile. The negotiations go terribly for Le Capital with the Duchess negotiator, Crnakus, benefitting from hidden knowledge, an informant in Uncle Clairmonth's retinue, and the Queen's negotiator falling apart and being replaced. (Personas: Roxanne, Uncle Clairmont's "personal assistant". Crankus, Duchess negotiator. Baxter, leader of the miner rebellion. Lord Daltanus, Queen's negotiator. Pearl, new negotiator when Daltanus removed.)

Hostage: The diplomats meet to discuss Baxter's interrogation and revelation that a group of nobles are trying to bring down the Queen. They are all taken hostage in Chateau Fortenac. Gerard and Antoine break into the Chateau, dispatch security, and rescue the hostages. Gerard frees first Pearl, then Crankus, and lastly Lord Clairmont. Antoine disables a bomb in the palace. Investigations reveal that they had inside help, but the security tapes were destroyed so they don't know who it was.

Side Note: Gerard brings charges against Roxanne and bullys a judge into sending her to the Bastile.

Escapee (4/21): Gerard and Antoine are tasked with tracking down and capturing Baxter. Pearl discovers Baxter was communicating with the yacht of Astrallian diplomat and a local nobel, Pierre Cashgiri. Baxter came to them after escaping, collecting his girlfriend, and set out on the lam. They go to the girlfriend's family farm where they are ambushed by an assassin. The family tells them of the milk truck they loaned Baxter and they track that to an office tower. The assassin again arrives shortly after their arrival but is defeated. Baxter however is dead. With quick work the heroes determine that the girlfriend, in the employee of Pierre Cashgiri the entire time, killed Baxter and stole a data drive detailing the plans of the rich nobles to overthrow the Queen. Antoine and Gerard capture the girlfriend and get the drive of incriminating evidence.