The Bank Job: Satellite Reign by Way of FiveCore 3e

I really enjoyed the cyberpunk skirmish RTS “Satellite Reign”, but having finally beaten it, I wanted more. I’ve also been wanting to do more miniature skirmish gaming, in particular Nordic Weasel Games’ “FiveCore” system. Peanut butter, meet chocolate. I decided to continue my adventures on the tabletop.

In “Satellite Reign”, you’ve got a team of four members: the Soldier, the Hacker, the Infiltrator, and the Support. Each has a variety of synergistic upgrades unique to their class, and an array of weapons, gadgets and cybernetics that can be used by anyone. Stealth is usually key, but in theory you can just shoot your way through missions. Also, death isn’t a career-ending injury, since your consciousness can be downloaded into a new clone.

Conveniently, “FiveCore” supports a class structure with class specific advances and more general upgrades. I took apart the existing classes and cobbled together my own skill lists. I also made a few house-rule adjustments to fit the campaign concept, like accounting for the above-mentioned clones, and allowing for endless reinforcements for the corporate side. Despite all of this preparation, for now at least, my team of agents are agents in name only, mooks, “goons” in game terms. They’ve got no special skills and are essentially interchangeable except for their weapon choices.

Meet the agents: The red Soldier, green Hacker, Yellow Infiltrator, and blue Support.

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Soldier(Assault Rifle), Hacker(Pistol), Infiltrator(Pistol), Support(2 Pistols)[/caption]

The agents are new in the City, and short on resources. They’ve already hacked a slew of ATMs to siphon fractional remainders into their accounts, but to truly optimize the algorithm, they need to get into the headquarters of the local Haughstuen & Haasen Global compound and run some code on their servers. As long as they’re engaging in illegal systems access, they might as well steal some larger sums to get things started. In game terms, I’ll get to pick a free equipment upgrade if I’m successful.

Here’s the H&H Global compound. Please forgive the incomplete paint job. I’m working on it. The server building, and the agents’ target, is in the upper left corner, watched over by a stationary guard. The other two guards will wander around. There are two more guards that will join the fray if the alarm sounds.

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W&W must be renovating…[/caption]

Despite the above photo, the agents don’t start in the corner. Instead, the Infiltrator comes in from the bottom right, and the rest rush up from the bottom left.

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ZERG![/caption]

Those invisible guys are “noise” markers, in this case for running into position instead of sneaking. The sentries will probably head right for them. Meanwhile, the Infiltrator finds himself trapped in his corner. Thinking quickly, the Hacker makes a racket, distracting the sentry and luring him away from his post, and allowing the Infiltrator to slip by.

Meanwhile, the Soldier and and the Support have also painted themselves into a corner. That guard hears them, and is going to come find them. Desperate, the Soldier charges around the corner and tries to break the guard’s neck, but the guard stomps him dead. The Support follows after, though, and gets the job done. Somehow, the sentry at the HQ door doesn’t notice the two dead bodies and the sneaking Support, but she’s not taking any chances. She grabs her team-mate and drags him back around the container out of sight.

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The Soldier gets himself geeked.[/caption]

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Smoke break![/caption]

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Drag, drag, drag…[/caption]

The Infiltrator moves as quickly as he dares, trying to get behind the sentry and take him out before he notices his dead friend, but it’s too late. The sentry sounds the alarm! Klaxons blare! Flashers flash! Booted feet can be heard running through corridors!

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Sneak, sneak, run…[/caption]

Meanwhile, the Hacker circles around a pair of power stations and gets the drop on the guard that he’d lured earlier. The firefight lasts for several exchanges before the guard finally takes a bullet to the faceplate.

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Sneak attack![/caption]

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Pow! Pow! Ghahh![/caption]

Back by the target, the Infiltrator shoots down another guard, but is in turn taken out by two guards emerging from a sentry station behind him!

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Bang! Got ‘im! Ack![/caption]

Time is running out! The Support makes a dash for the target, dodging reaction fire and diving behind a receiver dome and out of sight so she can steel her nerves and rush past a hail of gunfire and through the doorway! The seconds seem like hours for the Support as she successfully installs the virus into the bank’s system. On the other hand, time goes by for the Hacker in a blur as he shoots it out with the guards and drops another one.

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Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive… Dodge.[/caption]

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A lull…[/caption]

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Hurry up in there![/caption]

With the deed done, and the compound on full alert, the two surviving agents flee for the exit to get lost in the thronging crowds of the City streets.

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Run away![/caption]

Obviously, the two dead agents will have to be downloaded into new clones. They’d lose a skill in the process, but they’re already at rock bottom, so no big deal. The Hacker, however, gained an advance and used it on the “Drone” skill. He now has a personal attack drone that follows him around and shoots at his enemies. This give him a constant die of support fire, even during reactions! Cool! The Support spends the money from the heist on a set of light armor. Hopefully she doesn’t get herself killed and lose it.

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Mission Complete![/caption]