Rom Space Gypsies 01

In the past I have showcased a lot of space pirates who are all part of The Organisation, a vast criminal empire, but not all pirates are members of The Big O, as The Organisation is also known as. They could be independent operatives, or members of the Triads or Yakuza, for example. In GURPS Space Atlas 4 there is brief mention of the Rom Space Gypsies. Based in the Mandragora system's Phoenix Nebula, they follow the codes and traditions of the Romany wanderers of old Earth. Their caravans of brightly-painted tramp starships are frequent visitors at starports across human space, carrying small cargoes, selling trinkets gathered from across the galaxy, and telling fortunes. The Patrol and startown cops distrust them as petty thieves, con-artists and smugglers, a reputation which, while exaggerated, is not totally undeserved.
The Rom are a secretive people with little interest in the doings of non-gypsy "Gaje" and none of their laws. But for those who have earned their trust, space gypsies are both good friends and an excellent source of information about the events in human space.
I thought that they would make for a perfect encounter with the crew of The Ace of Spades. I created stats for a small crew of a scout ship called The Speedy Pearl, captained by Skender Skutnik, a smuggler of some renown. I have a collection of very old Citadel Miniatures produced for their Rogue Trader game, the first edition of Warhammer 40,000. I'm showcasing three of them in this post and another three in my next post. All six characters are Jovian humans from the same planet - a high gravity (2.50G) barren world called Midget in the Phoenix Nebula. The figures I chose all have a very squat appearance, making them perfect for the Jovian subset of humanity.

I start with Skender Skutnik, a reckless Jovian human Rom Space Gypsy smuggler captain who enjoys stargazing. I gave all of the crew of The Speedy Pearl the Traveller origin, because space gypsies like to travel a lot and rarely settle down on a planet for long. Also, because they spend most of their lives onboard starships, their first job is most often a space jockey. Skender then went on to train as a pilot, which lasted for seven years or two tours of duty. At the age of 23, he was given his own starship to command. For the past twelve years, he has worked as a smuggler, slowly building up his reputation amongst the Rom. He has a roguish charm, and his crew are very loyal to him. He very much lives up to the stereotype of the Rom space gypsy, an unsavoury and untrustworthy character for the most part. He is armed with a Trans Sun FC33 Fireswarm Antimatter Rifle and a Highfarer SFR58 Antimatter Cutlass. He wears a GE33 Stalker Impact Suit under his clothing. He is rank grade:8 with a 7d6 dice pool.

Next in line is Darius Trelles, a tough as nails Jovian human Rom Space Gypsy burglar who collects antiques. Darius became a street thug during his teenage years. He then went on to become a scout for the Rom, checking out potential targets in starports. It was during this time that he developed his fascination for antiques. Most reputable dealers refused to deal with him, so he turned to burglary, stealing the items he particularly wanted. He found a home on board The Speedy Pearl, having known Skender Skutnik all his life. The two became very close friends and Darius is now second-in-command on The Speedy Pearl.  To aid in his illegal activities, which often took place at night, he had both eyes replaced with Night Vision Retinal Implants. He is armed with a High Quality Bolt Rifle, a Phaser Pistol and a High Quality Knife. He has an Exceptional Quality Thieves Toolkit, which was bequeathed to him by his father. He does not wear any armour, for the simple reason that he doesn't need to. He has incredibly tough skin which grants him a natural +7 SOAK. He is rank grade:7 with a 6d6 dice pool.
Last in line is Varujan Ganea, a rugged Jovian human Rom Space Gypsy engineer who enjoys singing karaoke. After spending 16 years as a traveller he became a space jockey in the engineering section of his parent's spaceship. He spent two years going wild as a street thug before embarking on his current career as chief engineer on The Speedy Pearl, a post he has held for the past 13 years. He is normally quite dour and taciturn whilst on duty, but when off duty he likes nothing more than singing karaoke in starport bars. He is not a good singer by any means, but he is always enthusiastic. He is armed with a Laser Rifle and he wears a Kevlar Vest. He is rank grade:6 with a 6d6 dice pool.
The names for these characters came from the excellent Fantasy Name Generators website. I was hoping they had a section for gypsy names but they didn't. However, they did have a section for Romanian names, which were perfect for what I was looking for. As soon as I saw the name Skender Skutnik, I knew I'd struck gold! In my The Ace of Spades Campaign, these Rom could be a help or a hindrance to Kimberley and co. As always, creating them was a lot of fun.