The Moons of Boria & the Holds of Vendalyr

In this post I'm reviewing two supplements for the N.E.W. role playing game - The Moons of Boria and The Holds of Vendalyr. These focus on two of the races presented as player character material in the N.E.W. rulebook, the dwarf-like Borians and the elf-like Venetians, greatly expanding on the information presented in the rulebook.

The blurb on the back cover of The Moons of Boria describes it thusly - The Moons of Boria - 47 populated moons orbiting a great gas giant in the middle of a dense nebula - are home to the Borian race. Borians are known across the galaxy for their good cheer and technical prowess, but there is so much more to learn!
This fascinating book delves into Borian physiology, culture, technology and more. Discover more about Borian names and language, diet and law. Find the answers to everything you wanted to know about this diminutive species.
This book includes 11 new Borian exploits, a new Borian origin, 3 new Borian careers, a selection of Borian equipment, 3 Borian starships and dozens of Borian starship components and 4 common Borian NPCs.
The supplement was written by Russ Morrissey, who also wrote the N.E.W. and O.L.D. rulebooks, so right from the outset I knew it was going to be well written and informative. With a page count of 29 pages, it covers a lot of ground and it goes without saying that it is an indispensable aid to anyone wishing to play a Borian character. I really have no criticisms to make of this supplement and though I can't imagine Borians appearing very often in my The Ace of Spades Campaign, that isn't to say I'll be completely ignoring them. Indeed, in part 2 of my first scenario featuring the crew of The Ace of Spades, Kimberley received the job offer to help the good folk of the Sterling Agricultural Colony from a friendly Borian named Banderhaven.

This is what the blurb on the back cover of The Holds of Vendalyr has to say - The Venetians are a long-lived race, with an origin far in the distant past. Advanced science, powerful psionics and deadly martial prowess are just some of the traits for which this philosophical race is known.
This book contains never seen before information about Vendalyr, the Venetian homeworld, along with Venetian culture, law, language and society.
Learn about the ancient Venetian martial arts, new technology and more. This book contains 7 Venetian careers, 4 Venetian martial arts, a range of new universal and psionic exploits, 8 unique Venetian technological items, 6 NPCs and 5 Venetian starships.
This supplement was written by Michael Woods and the first thing I noticed about it was that it had a much higher page count than The Moons of Boria, running to 40 pages. I have to admit that this supplement was much more of a "must buy" purchase for me than the Borian supplement. Why? Simply because one of the player characters on The Ace of Spades is a Venetian scout, and she is Danica. Upon reading this excellently written supplement I have made a few changes to Danica's character record sheet, whilst still trying to keep her as close as possible to my original concept of her. One big change is that she has aged more but is still considered young by Venetian standards. This supplement gave me a much greater understanding of what it means to be a Venetian and I was extremely impressed by it. Of all the new races presented in N.E.W. it was the Venetians who fascinated me the most, which is why I wanted to include one in my crew of The Ace of Spades. The Holds of Vendalyr is an indispensable supplement for me and is worth every penny I paid for it.

Both of these supplements are available from Amazon UK. Currently, The Moons of Boria costs £7.14 and The Holds of Vendalyr costs £7.16.

Planetary Police Force 01

In this post I'm showcasing some of my 28mm scale figures that I'm using as Planetary Police Force personnel. These are your basic cops found on most planets that have law enforcement forces. Note that they only have jurisdiction on their planet. Starports are outside of their jurisdiction and they are covered by the Interplanetary Police Agency (IPA) who also patrol the space lanes.

At the far left is Police Corporal Sage Clark. She is a very hard-line cop who never gives anyone the benefit of doubt. She is armed with a Stun Baton and wears a GE33 Stalker Impact Suit, which becomes rigid upon impact. It provides 2 SOAK and 5 SOAK against Blunt attacks. In addition she wears a Blast Shield Helmet. This figure was produced by Citadel Miniatures for when they had the licence for the Paranoia RPG.

In the centre is Lieutenant Lysander Zebulon Mortimer, the leader of this precinct. He is very protective of those under his command and will back them to the hilt. He is also armed with a Stun Baton and wears the same armour as Sage Clark. His figure is one of the Spacelords 3720 Ship's Crew set of six figures, which are sold by Moonraker Miniatures at £10.50 for the set of six.
At the far left is Sergeant Dwayne Dixon. He is deeply distrustful of all politicians. He is armed and armoured the same as Clark and Mortimer. His figure is another one of the Spacelords Ship's Crew mentioned above.

These next four figures are all Constables and all were part of the Citadel Miniatures Paranoia range of figures. At the far left is Volan Litvak, who is suspicious of all non-humans. He is armed with a 10mm Slugger Pistol and wears Riot Armour, which is designed to allow movement while offering maximum protection. It includes padding, blast vest, Kevlar pads on the arms, legs, and knees, and typically, a blast helmet. It provides 7 SOAK.
Next to him is Braden Quinn who is overly fond of junk food. He is the same figure as Litvak but I repositioned his left arm for a very simple conversion. I removed his index finger and re-sculpted it so it was not pointing.

Second from the right is Werner Spanhauer, who is a mild risk taker. He is armed with a 10mm Slugger Rifle and wears Riot Armour. This is also the same figure as Litvak but is more heavily converted than Quinn. I bent his left arm slightly. I remodelled his lower right arm and added his Slugger Rifle.
Finally is young Billy McCluskey, who is full of youthful enthusiasm and is very energetic. He is also armed with a 10mm Slugger Rifle and wears Riot Armour. When I ran my The Ace of Spades Campaign using the GURPS Space rules in the 1990's Billy encountered the crew when they were being hunted by a notorious bounty hunter. The first time that Billy met Kimberley resulted in a most unexpected reaction. He fell head over heels in love with her. He became so lovestruck that he set out to seduce Kimberley. They went out on a date and it went so well that Kimberley hired Billy as a crew member. From starting out as a minor NPC, Billy evolved into a real asset to The Ace of Spades crew. It's funny how things turn out! I could never have predicted that outcome.

Triad Smugglers 01

These four figures that I'm showing here are from my vast collection of 28mm scale sci-fi figures.
These were produced by Acropolis Design/Zap Miniatures for their Andromeda 5 range of figures, now sadly out of production. They were originally known as House Langencoat and I like them a lot because they have a very distinctive look about them. In my The Ace of Spades Campaign, there are many criminal organisations. By far the biggest is "The Organisation" or "Big O" as it is often called. I have covered this vast criminal empire in previous posts. This time I'm looking at one of the many Chinese Triad gangs that exist - the Eight Diagrams Sect.

At the far left is the gang's leader, Zhong Zheng. Note that modern and futuristic Chinese names consist of a surname known as xing, which comes first and is usually but not always monosyllabic, followed by a personal name called ming, which is nearly always mono- or disyllabic. He joined the Triads as a youth and over the years has risen in rank to become the overall leader of the Eight Diagrams Sect. As a teenage thug he was arrested and served six years in jail. Since then he has never been arrested. He will smuggle anything, including slaves, if the price is right. His quirk is he always considers the most subtle way to get what he wants. He is armed with a Tangler Pistol.
His second-in-command is Li Hong, who has proven to be exceedingly loyal and reliable and who has a ruthless streak, making him someone not to be messed with. He finds killing and destruction mildly amusing. He is armed with a Ding Exploration IG66 Zero-Point Hunting Rifle.

Sun Ying is the group's liaison officer, skilled in many languages and diplomacy. She served in the Diplomatic Corps before she was recruited by Zhong Zheng. Now she works full time for Zhong as one of his most trusted officers. She is unfailingly polite at all times. She is armed with a Trans Sun FC33 Firestorm Antimatter Rifle.
Finally, is Qian Gengxin, a computer hacker and technician. He was recruited into the Eight Diagrams Sect at a very young age once his talent for hacking into computers was discovered. He has proved to be a very useful asset. He always monitors any incoming calls he receives before answering them. He is also armed with a Ding Exploration IG66 Zero-Point Hunting Rifle.
Note that they are all wearing Padded Arctic Long Coats, which provide 3 SOAK but 6 SOAK against Cold attacks, cost 50 Credits, weigh 40 pounds and are classed as Medium Armour. They are ineffective against Heat attacks.

Summersun Mercenaries 01

In this post I'm showcasing four mercenary figures who belong to the Summersun Mercenary Co-op, who operate out of Summer IV (Summer) in the Byte starsector. This organisation was originally detailed in GURPS Space Atlas  Volume 1. They were briefly mentioned in my first The Ace of Spades Campaign scenario - Raid on Stirling.
Summer is the headquarters and base planet of the Summersun Mercenary Co-op, the most prominent mercenary company in the Old Frontiers and surrounding starsectors. The entire population of Summer is made up of combat troops, support personnel or dependents. However, well over two million of those "support personnel" are not military at all, but farmers employed by the various mercenary units. And several of the larger units are building up their own arms industry. Thus, the planetary economy is becoming increasingly self-sufficient.
Summersun mercenaries are widely employed throughout the Old Frontiers, serving as corporate security forces on several worlds, including Bollux and Byte, as well as in other private capacities. The Co-op, partly because of its "understanding" with the stellar authorities and largely because of the quality and efficiency of its units, has a virtual monopoly on mercenary services in the sector and many other sectors as well.
Summersun is ruled by the Co-op Council, composed of the commanding officers (or, more often, their representatives) of the mercenary units. Only a couple of dozen units are large enough to be represented on the Council, but there are hundreds of smaller units, whose leaders vote on a single Council representative. The Co-op is currently able to field more troops than many planetary defence forces. Although the majority of Summersun mercenaries are human, several regiments are either mixed human/alien or all-alien in nature, giving the Co-op a wider range of conditions under which it can successfully field troops. Many of the aliens, by their natures, make excellent special-duty troops.
Infantry, mechanised, air-support or ocean-going units can be provided by the Co-op for nearly any condition. Several hostile environment training facilities have been leased on other worlds, so the Summersun units are experienced in a wide variety of environments. Also, the mercs have their own system defence naval force that can be contracted out and that protects Summer itself.
Wherever there is a demand for trained fighting men anywhere in the Old Frontiers or its surroundings, the Summersun mercenaries are ready for action. Although there are a number of different units within the Summersun Co-op, all nominally independent, the Co-op Council considers each hiring offer. Under no circumstances will Summersun enter both sides of the same conflict.

At the far left is Lieutenant Jaren Leveridge, leader of Leveridge's Leathernecks. He is armed with a 12mm Slugger Rifle, two Frag Grenades and a Knife (kept in a boot sheath). He is wearing Vector Armour-Piercing Resistant Body Armour Mk.2 and Helmet with Blast Shield. His unit is just a small force but has a good combat record. Leveridge was born on Summer to parents who were also mercenaries. He is fascinated by military history, particularly the first three Interstellar Wars. His figure is an old OOP Grenadier Miniatures Shadowrun Mercenary.
Next to him is Private First Class Hollis Vanstone who always looks for the worst in people. He is armed with a 10mm Slugger Rifle and a Knife. He wears the same armour as Lieutenant Leveridge. His figure is another OOP figure, this time a Ral Partha Miniatures Shadowrun Mercenary.

Third in line is Private First Class Radnor Aspell who is afraid of insects. He is also armed with a 10mm Slugger Rifle and Knife. His figure is also a Ral Partha Shadowrun Mercenary. The two figures were sold together in a blister pack.
At the far right is Corporal Verrel Siddons who is a sniper for the unit. He does not have a sense of humour. He is armed with a Ballistic Sniper Rifle with Scope-sight and a Knife. He also wears the same armour as his colleagues but has replaced his helmet with a baseball cap, which offers no protection at all. His figure is really old. I think, but am not 100% sure, that he was produced by Asgard Miniatures. If you recognise him please let me know and I'll amend this post accordingly. I converted him by adding his armoured vest, shoulder pads and boot knife, all made out of Milliput.

BRINT Operatives 02

Following directly on from my previous post here are the remainder of my BRINT Operatives. They have all been named and out of the eight shown here, six were sculpted by me many years ago.

At the far left is Commander Steve Kingston who transferred from the UFP Starfleet as a pilot to BRINT seven years ago. He is a thrill seeker who likes to take risks. He has seen a lot of action in the field and is a highly respected and decorated officer. He is firing his MicroCo JO40 Stingfury Tachyon Autopistol in a two-handed grip.
Next to him is Ensign Keith Whitney who is also on his second tour of duty with BRINT. He is keen to advance and always tries to impress. He has the makings of a good agent. He carries his Tachyon Autopistol at the ready.

Second from the right is Lieutenant Owen Nolan, a 44-year old veteran who has spent all of his adult life in the military, serving first as a UFP Starfleet Engineer before transferring to BRINT twenty years ago. He likes to collect starship registries. He is clipping a new powercell into his Tachyon Autopistol.
At the far left is Lieutenant Junior Grade David Connors who worked as a technician with the UFP Starfleet before he enlisted with BRINT. He is fascinated with gadgets. He is using his military scanner to scan for life-forms.

These next four BRINT Operatives are much more heavily armed than the others I've shown and could be ship's security personnel and/or combat troops. At the far left is Lieutenant Alejandro Benson, a combat veteran who served with the UFP Starfleet Marines prior to joining BRINT. He loves to watch combat sports. In addition to his Tachyon Autopistol, he is also armed with a Silver Sun BRA7 Antimatter Assault Rifle with Scope Sight.
Moving on, is Ensign Grant Maddox who is a keep fit fanatic. He is armed with a Laser Sniper Rifle as well as his standard Tachyon Autopistol.

The two remaining figures are the two that were not sculpted by me. The operative second from the right is Ensign Travis Vaughn who strongly respects authority and is fanatically loyal to the UFP. His additional firearm is a Megabreak T81 Bio Thrower, which deals a hefty 3d6+2 Poison damage to its target. His figure is from the Denizen Miniatures Sci-fi Adventurers range and is SF4 Adventurer Advancing, currently available from their webstore for just £1.45.
Last up is Lieutenant Junior Grade Connor Crane, another recruit from the Starfleet Marines. He is equipped with a Jet Pack and is armed with a Blaster Pistol. His quirk is that he will agree to almost anything, no matter how dangerous it is. His figure is an old and long out of production Grenadier Miniatures Secret Agent with Jet Pack.
These are all of the uniformed BRINT Operatives I currently own, but do remember there is another one not shown in these two posts who you have seen before, and that is Jeanette Grey, who is currently working undercover onboard The Ace of Spades.

BRINT Operatives 01

The Bureau of Intelligence, or BRINT as it will be referred to hereafter, is the intelligence gathering agency of the UFP Star Force. BRINT operatives can expect to operate in enemy territory as "spies" and saboteurs, and may be required to organise and train resistance groups on planets occupied by the enemy. BRINT agents also keep a close watch on the Bureau of State Security, whose agents are not part of the Military Establishment and evidence over-zealous Police State mentalities which the military authorities resent and deeply suspect, especially in democratic societies. In totalitarian regimes, BRINT is the implacable foe of BOSS and delights in confounding the incursions of BOSS into military affairs.
Like much of the background material in my The Ace of Spades Campaign, BRINT originally appeared in Fantasy Games Unlimited's Space Opera role-playing game. All of the figures that I'm showing in this post were sculpted by me in the 1980's and 1990's. I'm very proud of these sculpts. All of them are named, but only a few of them have had character record sheets created for them.
Their uniforms are those worn on starships or starbases and are the Moore Stolypin PUK52 Nanosuit, which provides 5 SOAK but if it absorbs damage from an attack, SOAK vs. that damage type subsequently increases to 10 SOAK for one minute. The suit can only adapt to one damage type at a time, so if it takes damage of a different type, the weighted SOAK switches to the new damage type. The standard side-arm for BRINT operatives is the MicroCo JO40 Stingfury Tachyon Autopistol which does 2d6 Heat damage. BRINT operatives use the same ranks as the UFP Starfleet Navy but only go as high as Admiral.

At the far left is Commodore Lloyd Williamson, a long serving officer with a distinguished career. He relaxes by playing the violin and he loves classical music.
In the centre is Admiral Chester McClure who spends a lot of his time at Starfleet HQ on Sol 3 (Terra). He likes to relax by enjoying fine dining and wine. He strongly believes that a large scale pre-emptive attack against the Azuriach Imperium would be in the UFP's best interest, even though it would surely spark off the fourth Interstellar War. An all out war against the Azuriach Imperium is looking increasingly likely in my campaign. It's more a question of when not if. McClure's thinking is one espoused by Judge Dredd after the Sov Bloc invaded Mega City One - "Next time we get our retaliation in first!"

At the far right is Captain Devin Adams, who  has seen a lot of action and is greatly respected by those under his command and his superiors. He is extraordinarily chivalrous, which only heightens his popularity, especially amongst the female crew members.

At the far left is Rear Admiral Ethicus Fioray W'tatha, a beautiful D'Ken officer in charge of BRINT operations in the Phoenix Star Sector. She harbours a deep hatred against the Ilshani race. She originates from Noah 1 (Azrael) in the Phoenix Star Sector, where most of her race resides. The D'Ken are an offshoot of the Malikithi race. D'Ken and Malikithi are humanoids with pitch black skin and white hair. Whilst they do look very similar to humans, their limbs are differently proportioned with higher elbow and knee joints and longer calves and forearms. They have four fingers and two opposable thumbs on each hand. Their eyes have slit pupils, their teeth are needle sharp and their forked tongues flick in and out like a snake's. Malikithi are highly sociable and work well in groups. They rarely develop strong attachments to individuals but family feelings are very strong. They have no need for privacy and have difficulty in understanding that other races may. When this is combined with their insatiable curiosity, humans tend to find them nosy. Unity and harmony are the prime Malikithi virtues. Within D'Ken society this has led to a cooperative, democratic socialism, and the development of close ties with humans within in the UFP. The Malikithi, D'Ken and Ilshani races are detailed in the GURPS Space Atlas 4. Ethicus is mentioned in that supplement and I developed a full character record sheet for her. The whole story of the war between the D'Ken and the Ilshani, who are both very different factions of the Malikithi race, would make for an ideal setting for a long-running campaign.

The other female operatives are all human. At the far left is Lieutenant Commander Pamela Richardson from Sol 3 (Terra). She collects all kinds of trivia and is a keen photographer. When I was running my GURPS Space campaign with a slightly different crew of The Ace of Spades, she had a lot of contact with Kimberley and co. as a liaison officer. She also has a fully developed character record sheet.
Next in line is Lieutenant Junior Grade Lindsay Kennedy who has seen front-line action and is a reliable officer. She likes to keep everything neat and tidy and in its right place.
Finally, at the far right is Ensign Madison Hooper, a young recruit who is on her first tour of duty. At the moment, she is full of youthful enthusiasm but she has yet to see front-line combat action. She likes to solve crossword puzzles and word games.
I'll be showcasing more BRINT operatives in my next post, including a few that were not sculpted by me.