Elegy Chapter One: Introduction

Why should I deign to speak to you, Terran?	Ja'lra nai ha jaqtalanmaksle durai, Terran'hra?
This myself I do not know.	Ma ni'ik va ni'hra.
For I have seen your kind, and I know your ways.	Ta ni'dya aiyk ri'thi'hra, maks ni'ik ri'di'i.
You and your kind do not know of honor.	Raimaksri'hra'ik va ergrakh.
What it is and what it means.	Ja'lhu gar'ha maks gar'si.
Some of my people once felt that your kind had the Warrior Spirit;	Mang'ni'hra baktahek duchur mas ri'hra'dyakzaga;
I doubt you will find that is the case now.	Nai k'baktahe ri'h'asis mas'habalan eshma.
For eleven long years have we languished in the throes of our defeat.	Ta kesthai'ma'ga oktre ek'dya chodyapakalk'k dukalkthrak erg ek'toth.
Eleven years have we suffered at your hands.	Kesthai oktre ek'dya chodyapakalk'k du ri'de'i.
Eleven years have you considered us as nothing.	Kesthai oktre ri'dya sakai takhk'g'hu.
We are not nothing.	Ek'hav k'g'hu.
We are Kilrathi, and we deserve better.	Ek'ha Kilrathi, maks ek'rashsdudyak kiga.
How can I make you understand our plight, honorless one?	Ja'l ni'h'in darai bhakil ek'balanag, k'rakh'hra?
How can I teach you of that which you obviously don't know?	Ja'l ni'h'in gathik du rai erg mashu mas ri'ik va aiyvargs?
Perhaps I shall tell you a tale,	Ni'h'as lebalek'kor k'gris durai,
A tale of what happens when a kil's honor is suddenly taken away from him,	Lek'kor'ja'lhu balan ja'lesh rakh'kil'ha bhatalan k'rathrgs aqgar,
A tale of one whose actions you have deemed criminal,	Lek'kor'uni'hra ja'lra'i ko'i ri'dya jaqwinhalkduxals,
criminal enough to execute him as though he were nothing more than a common thief.	duxals dyahu dugugar ja'lg'esh gar'ha'k k'g'hu gara xha'hraro.
A tale of one who did what was necessary to redeem his honor.	Lek'kor'uni'hra ja'lhra a'k ja'lhu ha'k rathrg'k dubhadu gar'rakh.
Yes, Terran - I shall tell you the tale of my teacher.	Hagai, Terran'hra - Ni'h'as leba lek'kor'ni'gathig'a durai.
His name is Krahtagh hrai Talmak laq Qith'rak.	Gar'hus'ha Krahtagh hrai Talmak laq Qith'rak.
You may have heard of him -	Ri'h'indya el rasgar -
he is also known as Bloodeye the Pirate,	gar'ha ik maks takh Kayi Ke'hra,
whose death you have asked me the great misfortunate to witness.	ja'lra'i gu ri'dya rathkrai k'mothrak du'aiy.
The finest Kilrathi I ever knew.	Kilrathi'dikiquxithrak ni'iq g'esh.
This is his tale.	Mas'ha gar'lek'kor.

---

This is An Elegy for Sivar, a campaign setting designed for use with The Wing Commander Role-Playing Game Core Rules.

This guide is designed as fully-encapsulated campaign, a set of individual adventures that are linked together to tell an on-going story. Campaigns, their structure and guidelines for running them are discussed in Chapter 11.3 of the WCRPG Core Rules. This guide also serves as a campaign setting, or a backdrop for adventures set in a specific time and place - in this case the setting is Epsilon Sector in the year 2680. Some experienced role-players may refer to a specific campaign setting as a "world", which has been filled with nations, corporations, peoples, noteworthy characters, diverse places and the like. The Epsilon Sector campaign setting also serves in this regard, though in this case the "world" is in fact a full Sector of space containing over sixty star systems and nearly a hundred communities as well as a diverse plethora of factions and peoples. There are plenty of adventures that might occur given the place, the year, and what is going on with the various factions - the main campaign is merely one of the stories that could be told and enough information is contained in this guide for players and GMs to have many, many more adventures of their own design.

Note that this guidebook, while it does contain a few additional rules over those in the WCRPG Core Rule book, is not a rules guide in and of itself. To play An Elegy for Sivar (also known as Elegy for short), you’ll need the following equipment:

• A copy of the Core Rules to The Wing Commander Role-Playing Game; the wiki, PDF or hard-copy version (whichever is most convenient for the GM) is fine. A copy of the "light version" rules from any previously existing published adventure or campaign (such as Prelude to Goddard, Enyo or Vespus) is not recommended, as there are some ship statistics that Elegy utilizes that are not referenced in any of these previous adventures.
• At least two ten-sided dice (2d10) for each player. One of these should show multiples of 10 (a d10x10). If one is not available, the dice should be distinguishable from one another with one of them designated as the “d10x10”.
• Pencil and paper. Pencil is preferable to pen, as it is far easier to erase and modify. Note and record-keeping (particularly on the part of the GM) is an important part of the game.
• Some kind of screen for the "gamemaster" (GM) used to conceal the results of some of their rolls.
• While not strictly necessary, some GMs may prefer to have a calculator handy in order to help with more complex calculations.

Campaign Background

The main Elegy campaign revolves around the Kilrathi pirate Bloodeye, whose activities and eventual fate are both mentioned in the documentation to Wing Commander: Prophecy, a guidebook known as Waypoint!. The passage in that guide reads as follows:

"Thirty-six Kilrathi convicted of piracy, murder, extortion and malicious disorder were executed 2681.014 at Valgard. Included in the mass execution was the pirate’s leader, Krahtagh N’Ryllis, AKA 'Bloodeye.' The executions were carried out at 0700 at the Valgard Military Prison complex. The prisoners were executed as a group by flash incineration.

The Kilrathi Provisional Council protested the executions. Although the Kilrathi did not dispute either the guilt of the accused nor the appropriateness of the sentence, they argued that the pirates should have been turned over to their own people for execution by traditional methods.

Sector Governor Stella Lee issued the following statement in response to the Kilrathi protest. "While the government of this Sector appreciates the eagerness of the Kilrathi to assist in the process of justice, we strongly feel that it is important that these bloody murderers should meet their well-deserved fate at the hand of those they so brutally victimized. Therefore, we must respectfully refuse Kilrathi assistance in the execution of this sentence."

N’Ryllis and his followers, the so-called "Demon’s Eye Pack," terrorized colonists and disrupted space traffic in Epsilon Sector for almost five months last year, until their base was taken by Confed Marines. Of the estimated 400 Kilrathi living in the pirate base, at least 300 were killed and the rest taken prisoner. Fifty-four females, children and slaves were released into Kilrathi custody, while Bloodeye and 35 followers were charged in a high-profile trial that resulted in capital convictions for all the accused." -- Waypoint!, page 76.

Aside from this brief narrative, Bloodeye is not referenced and makes no other appearances anywhere else in the Wing Commander Universe. The Elegy campaign will tell his tragic tale - why he made the choice to become a pirate, what he and the Demon's Eye Pack that earned all of them the ire of the Confederation, and what was the ultimate consequence of the choices they made.

The year is 2680, exactly one year prior to the events of Wing Commander: Prophecy, seven years since the events of Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom and eleven years since the end of the Terran-Kilrathi War. The story takes place in Epsilon Sector, a region rimward of Vega Sector where the bulk of the events of WC4 took place. Since their successful bid for independence from the Confederation, the nascent Union of Border Worlds controls much of the "civilized" portion of the region. Having lost most of their actual territorial holdings in the area, the Confederation's influence is still felt largely due to a group of corporations that hold a near-monopoly on commerce throughout the Sector as well as the continued presence of the Confederation military. The home territory of the Firekkans is in the region; they control a very small area but their forces are potent and their influence is definitely quite strong. The Kilrathi Empire collapsed at the end of the War and in its place are dozens of small states controlled by local warlords whose personal fiefdoms have grown as they've been able to conquer the forces of their neighbors, with worlds changing hands on a daily basis in some areas. The Kilrathi Assembly of Clans, the formally recognized successor state to the Empire, has largely taken control of most of the Kilrathi systems in Epsilon Sector. Notable exceptions to KAC rule include the world of S'Thran H'hra in Corsair (known to the Terrans as "Chloe"), which is under the control of Largki lak Agga, and a region in the rimward/anti-spinward portion of Tr'L Rass Quadrant, which is de facto controlled by a well-organized Kilrathi pirate clan known as the Crimson Claw, itself led by the notorious Kilrathi pirate Naragh "ko Thrakhaxal" N'Caxki. Ragark lak Haka, ruler of the Hralgkrak Quadrant of the Landreich Sector, is attempting to reclaim control over a few systems in the rimward/spinward region of Antares Quadrant, though his forces have not yet truly recovered from the raid on Baka Kar a decade ago. Things for the Kilrathi have largely settled down in the Sector, though like many living in the former Empire, the daily reality of most Kilrathi is bleak, with disease and famine rampant. Fundamental concepts such as honor, loyalty and duty still exist among the Kilrathi and are still held in the utmost regard in what remains of their society, but these high-minded concepts are oftentimes co-opted due to the demands of mere survival. Those Kilrathi living under KAC dominion are for the most part under the jurisdiction of a Confederation organization, the Broken Claw Agency, that despite their mandate to serve and protect the Kilrathi people and to provide a voice of representation before the Confederation government is largely indifferent to their ongoing plight. The group was formed along with a series of "reservation worlds" in the year following the end of the War, whose purpose was to provide a place of refuge for those displaced by the destruction of Kilrah and for those looking to escape the chaos of the ongoing civil wars ravaging the former Kilrathi Empire. At this point, there are only three reservations left - and they have been horribly mismanaged by the Broken Claw. At the very beginning of the campaign, Bloodeye is a resident of one of these worlds.

The player characters are members of Bloodeye's Demon Eye Pack, originally residents of an overcrowded military salvage yard in the T'Kon H'hra system, and the action will begin once Bloodeye along with his initial group of followers makes their attempt to purloin a mostly-intact craft from among the warships present at the yard. Their main task will be to support the goals of the Pack, to try and create a fresh start for the Kilrathi people, and to try to restore their personal honor.

It's probably worth mentioning that regardless of all other factors, the player characters are Kilrathi. Terran'hra'ha ukta ki...

How to Use This Campaign Guide

Since this guidebook is much more detailed than any existing published module for the Wing Commander Role-Playing Game, this section has been included instead of a more general "Campaign Preparation" section. Most of the same campaign preparation guidelines from previous modules still apply - the GM will need a copy of the Core Rules and should take the time to review them thoroughly. They should also try to familiarize themselves with as many of the details of a specific adventure - characters, settings and vehicle statistics - before attempting to play through that adventure with their players. Elegy contains a great deal more information than other previously published campaigns and it would be impractical to ask a GM to familiarize themselves with all of the information for the entire campaign all at once. There are a couple of noteworthy exceptions to the Core Rules that apply specifically to the Elegy campaign, which are discussed in the sub-sections below. In specific adventures, any text that appears in italics is information designed for the players, which the GM can read aloud or paraphrase as appropriate. Underlined text contains information specifically meant for the GM; this information in general should remain confidential unless and until it becomes relevant to the players. Plain text acts as a guide for the GM so that they may know what is intended to happen with each of the various encounters. In addition to text found in the individual adventures, the campaign also includes a series of "cutscenes", which are generally present in the sixteen specific missions that comprise the main plot as a way of setting up exposition for those adventures and advancing the plot. Elegy is unique in that these scenes are presented as a parallel text - written in English in plain text and in the Kilrathi language in italics. The GM is welcome to use whichever translation of the cutscenes they wish to present to their players - though the English is generally recommended unless all of the players in the GM's group are willing to learn the language (which should make for a truly immersive role-playing experience).

Prior to the start of the campaign, the GM will need to sit down with each player and have them either select a member of the Demon's Eye Pack as listed in Chapter 7.1 for them to portray or for them to create a character of their own - remember, if the players are playing through the main Elegy campaign, their character must be Kilrathi. Players should take the time to read the full bio of their characters in Chapter 7.1 of this guide, or to prepare a detailed biography of their character, one that includes the following elements:

• A brief description of their basic personality, including what they value the most, their basic view of the universe, amd their outlook/philosophy about life.
• Their birth caste - either utak (untouchable), kilrah'hra (commoner), thrak'hra inra (lesser nobleman) or thrak'hra gara (greater nobleman). Characters of the thrak'hra rag'nith caste (the Imperial Family specifically) are not recommended for the campaign story - it's only through very specific circumstances that the few thrak'hra gara in the story follow Bloodeye. No member of royalty could realistically be expected to follow a mere commoner like Bloodeye. Besides, they're almost all dead at this point in the history of the Wing Commander universe...
• What kind of community they grew up in and whether or not they suffered any childhood traumas.
• Major events of their adult life, including battles fought, friends or enemies made, loves won and lost, significant illnesses, arrests, etc.

This campaign in particular does not come with a dedicated "What's Next" section. This is largely due to two factors: the story's finale does not readily lend itself to a sequel, and due to the wealth of data presented in this guide. Player groups may want to do any number of different types of adventures, such as:

• A Privateer-style campaign where the characters are just trying to make a living by plying Epsilon's spacelanes.
• An adventure where the players are flying from a military base such as Farragut Station, or perhaps from a Border Worlds cruiser.
• Or perhaps an adventure located in one of Epsilon's communities, perhaps to solve a mystery, or perhaps to try to do a better job managing a Kilrathi reservation.

The possibilities for further play are limited only by the imaginations of the players, and any number of adventures could readily be created. Additional materials for use in home-brew adventures and campaigns may be found with the WCRPG Core Rules, which are available at http://wcrpg.wikia.com.

This guidebook is separated into two "parts". The first section contains the Elegy campaign, the group of adventures that tell the tale of Bloodeye and his assembled crew. Players should not read through this section of this guidebook if they are going through the main campaign while they are playing through it; to do so may spoil some of the adventures, which will in turn force the GM to do some additional work to switch things up or to skip things. In particular, reading through the plot is not recommended; you'll get there, don't spoil it for yourself. The first section contains four Chapters starting with Chapter Two. Chapter Two, entitled Nistalan, is the introductory portion of the Elegy campaign, and details the start of the Demon's Eye Pack. Chapter Three, Vu'sa'guk, chronicles the activities of the Demon's Eye Pack immediately following their establishment and the beginning of the group's conflict with the military as well as with the Crimson Claw pirate clan. Side-plot adventures in this Act are generally lighter and less generic than those found in the following portion of the plot. Chapter Four, K'la Maks K'rakh, chronicles the group's latter months, the resolution of their conflict with the Crimson Claw and the personal struggles of each member of the Pack. The final Chapter in the first part is Chapter Five, Gaththrak, which details with the Pack's final days, the fulfillment of Bloodeye's quest and his final sacrifice for the good of all Kilrathi.

The second part of this guidebook contains the Epsilon Sector campaign setting; this part of the guide is primarily meant for those player groups that would like to have an adventure or two in Epsilon but who do not necessarily want to play through the main Elegy campaign, though there is plenty of information available herein for those who are going through the main campaign. GMs should note that all of the text contained in Chapters Six through Eight is intended to be readily accessible to any player at any time. There are three Chapters in the second section beginning with Chapter Six. Chapter Six largely deals with navigation, and includes general backgrounds, community data and navigational information for every star system in Epsilon Sector. It also contains background information on every faction present in the region. Chapter Seven is a miscellanea chapter, containing information on characters in the main campaign, statistics on craft that appear exclusively in this guide and the revised commodity tables. GMs should note that the craft listed in Chapter Seven have been balanced for the post-WC3 era, with the effectiveness of their weaponry multiplied times five as per the guideline presented in Chapter 9.3 of the Core Rules; GMs should not apply the multiplier a second time. Finally, Chapter Eight contains a full discussion of the Kilrathi lexicon, including grammatical rules for its usage, vocabulary lists and a large sample of phrases of varying kinds.

Navigation and Encounter Tables

Unlike most of the previously published adventures, Elegy has been set up such that any craft that may make an appearance in the campaign can - given the correct circumstances - be utilized by the players. There are over forty different craft present in the campaign, and given that there are some star systems in Epsilon Sector with close to a dozen nav points, listing out the time of transit and fuel expenditure for each combination of source nav point, destination nav point and craft would generate a great deal of text that might never be utilized. The job of calculating time of transit and fuel expenditure has therefore been left up to the GM. Sufficient data to conduct this task is present with the general profiles for every star system in Epsilon, located in the various sub-chapters of Chapter Six.

The data on each star system in Epsilon Sector includes both a "Nav Point Reference" and a table of "Distances between Major Points of Reference". The Nav Point Reference section will contain a list of every Nav point in the system, the coordinates of that given nav point and data on what may be found at that nav point. The distance from each nav point to every other nav point in a given system is included in the Distances table. Bear in mind that while the data may exist for transits between two specific navigational points, the case may exist where a direct transit between those two points is not possible (such as what may happen when there is a "Hidden Nav Point" between two Nav Points.

For an example of how to use this data, let's say the characters will be flying an Origin 325a - which has a top speed of 600 kps - through the Ayer's system from Kabla Meth to Canewdon. The data for the Ayer's sytem looks like this:

Nav Point Reference

• Nav 1 (32x4): Jump to Kabla Meth System.
• Nav 2 (80x10): Jump to Nav 4 / Asteroid Field.
• Nav 3 (89x46): Nav Point.
• Nav 4 (78x78): Jump to Nav 2 / Asteroid Field.
• Nav 5 (1x85): Jump to Canewdon System.
• Nav 6 (11x55): Minefield.
• Nav 7 (35x39): Ayer's Rock / Asteroid Field.
• Hidden Nav 1 (65x67): Minefield between Nav 4 and Nav 7.

Distances between Major Points of Reference, Ayer's System (km)

	Nav 1	Nav 2	Nav 3	Nav 4	Nav 5	Nav 6	Nav 7	Hidden Nav 1
Nav 1	0	483,735	708,025	871,321	867,295	551,543	351,283	711,196
Nav 2	483,735	0	371,080	680,294	1,089,312	823,772	535,350	589,406
Nav 3	708,025	371,080	0	338,378	962,549	785,175	544,518	318,904
Nav 4	871,321	680,294	338,378	0	773,175	708,378	580,517	170,294
Nav 5	867,295	1,089,312	962,549	773,175	0	316,228	572,014	664,831
Nav 6	551,543	823,772	785,175	708,378	316,228	0	288,444	553,173
Nav 7	351,283	535,350	544,518	580,517	572,014	288,444	0	410,366
Hidden Nav 1	711,196	589,406	318,904	170,294	664,831	553,173	410,366	0

From the Nav Point Reference, we have a fair bit of information - there are Asteroid Fields to negotiate at Navs 2, 4 and 7 and a Minefield at Nav 6. Due to the Hidden Nav Point between Nav 4 and Nav 7 (an extension of the Minefield), a direct transit from Nav 4 to Nav 7 isn't possible, despite the presence of the data necessary for just such a transit. It's lucky for the players that they won't be heading in that general direction - they're coming from Kabla Meth, and according to the reference table the jump point to Kabla Meth is at Nav 1. Their destination - the jump point to Canewdon - is at Nav 5.

Armed with the navigational data, the players indicate that they want to fly directly from the Kabla Meth jump at Nav 1 to the Canewedon jump at Nav 5. Checking the data, the GM decides that the players will pass close enough to the Minefield at Nav 6 for it to count (and possibly give them opportunity for an extra encounter), so rather than use the single transit distance from Nav 1 to Nav 5, the GM decides to break it into two transits - from Nav 1 to Nav 6, and then from Nav 6 to Nav 5. Checking the distance table, the GM sees that the distance from Nav 1 to Nav 6 is 551,543 km, and that the distance from Nav 6 to Nav 5 is 316,228 km. To get the time of transit, the GM just divides the distances by the speed of the ship, 600 kps. It will take 551543/600 = 919.24 seconds to make the transit from Nav 1 to Nav 6 (just over 15 minutes), and it will take 316228/600 = 527.05 seconds (just short of nine minutes) to make the journey from Nav 6 to Nav 5. All told, the players will spend 24 minutes in Ayer's, not counting the fun they'll have with that Minefield and assuming they don't have any encounters at any point along the way...

The data for each system also includes an encounter table, with which the GM may choose to generate a pseudo-random encounter at any nav point. Players should feel free to act as they so choose during these encounters - if they encounter pirates, they might engage them in battle to try and curry favor with Epsilon's corporations or to try and collect the bounty on them. They might ignore merchant marine traffic, or engage in acts of piracy if that's what they wish to do. They might encounter a known enemy and have to choose whether to fight or flee if they can. Really, the point of these encounters is to make the process of getting from point A to point B all the more interesting, and possibly to give the players something to do in between missions; there is nothing wrong with a "mission" where the goal is to raid the first commercial transport they come across before heading home. It is generally assumed during the main Elegy campaign that the GM will roll for pseudorandom encounters, but again the choice of whether or not to utilize these encounters is solely up to them.

Each encounter table includes a "probability" along with a list of possible encounters for each nav point in the system. To determine what encounter (if any) will take place, the GM will roll d%; if the result of the roll is greater than or equal to the probability factor, no encounter will occur. Otherwise, the GM will look at the "ones-place" die of their roll and reference the encounter table to determine which encounter will occur, which will be located at the intersection of the one's place die result and the appropriate nav point. Players may then make Stealth Checks if they so choose to attempt to avoid the encounter generated. Each player piloting their own craft will have to make their own Check; should any player fail their Check, the encounter indicated will occur. The GM may choose to award surprise rounds to any player character whose Stealth check succeeded.

For example, upon jumping into the Ayer's system from Kabla Meth, the GM rolls for an encounter at Nav 5, which has a probability of 80. The die roll is 69, so an encounter is indicated and the GM checks for the one corresponding to a result of "9", the one's place die, for Nav 5 - the encounter will therefore consist of a well-guarded AMQ convoy under attack by a small group of Jezebels, with KAC forces out of Kabla Meth lending assistance. Depending on their relationship to these three groups, the presence of any of them might trigger a threat warning and prevent the players from engaging their autopilot, so they can either sit back until the offending group(s) have been dispatched or join in the fight to speed things along. When they reach the Minefield at Nav 6 later on, the GM rolls against the probability of 84; the result is 28, so the GM references "8" for Nav 6 and finds a well-guarded Guinterin convoy under attack by a group of Retros, with Border Worlds forces lending a hand. The players are flying for Guinterin, so it's almost a given that they are a target for the Retros and that they're expected to lend assistance - which may be very interesting due to the presence of the Minefield. Still later on, the players arrive at the jump to Canewdon at Nav 1, which has a probability of 89. Here the players catch a break - the GM rolls a 93, so no encounter occurs.

Revised Commodity Tables

The Elegy campaign features a revised list of commodities in Chapter 7.3, which is designed to replace the general commodity tables presented in Chapter 5.5 of the Core Rules. There are several reasons for a new set of commodity tables, but the main reason is that Elegy has multiple factions, of which not all are of Terran origin - there are also Kilrathi and Firekkans in the Sector and what counts as a commodity for one does not necessarily count for another (take Grain as an example - to Terrans it's a basic foodstuff, but to the Kilrathi its useless plant matter and to the Firekkans it's probably a Luxury Food). There are also different technologies each race has developed - Terran electronics are fundamentally different in form and function from Kilrathi electronics, which in turn are different from Firekkan electronics. The presence of three different species, five different governments, eight different corporations and various guilds, pirate clans and paramilitary organizations has opened up the door to substantially widen the amount and types of goods available for trade. In changing the commodities lists, the opportunity was created to simplify the process by which the production of particular commodities at any given community took place. Every base and community in the Epsilon Sector has been assigned a "base type"; there are twenty unique base types in Epsilon Sector (more than the number of unique base types in Privateer and more than the number of planets present in Privateer 2). Base Types are listed with a community's population data and immediately follows the community's categorical size based on its population. As an example, here is the community data for the Demon's Eye Pirate Base:

• Demon's Eye Pirate Base (Population: 7,640 (Small Town; Kilrathi Pirate); 58.71% Kilrathi, 29.35% Terran (UBW), 11.94% Other; Government: Anarchy; ECON -15; CLTR -15; ORDR -65; INFO +10; CRPT +25; Qualities: Anarchy, Infamous; Item Limit: 12/¤1,690; Buy-Back Limit: ¤9,750; Meals: Moderate Quality; Lodging: 2-Star; Medical: Minor Surgery; Repairs: Vehicle; Major NPCs: 1/500, 7/400, 14/200, 28/100).
  • Guild Offices: Thieves Guild
  • Corporate Offices: None
  • Outfitters: Weaponry, Armor, Clothing/Containers, Tools/Wilderness Gear, Communication Technologies
  • Other Facilities: Clinic, Ship Dealer, Bar
  • Kilrathi Clan Representation: nar Caxki, nar Kur'u'tak, nar Kiranka, nar Sutaghi, nar Sihkag.
  • Available Commodities at Campaign Onset:
    • Sexware - ¤27, 21 units
    • Non-Synthetic Organs - ¤287, 57 units
    • Slaves - ¤397, 33 units

Demon's Eye has a base type of Kilrathi Pirate, and so would use that category for determining what goods will be produced there.

The reviewed commodity tables should be fully compatible with all of the guidelines and rules presented in Chapter 5.1 of the Core Rules. This includes the rules for Dynamic Events and adjusting prices based on Supply and Demand, if the GM wishes to utilize those rules. Each community in the campaign comes with a pre-defined trade good list, which is meant to serve as an "initial status" for a given community; the pre-defined list is intended to be used upon the characters' first visit to the community's Commerce Exchange in order to save the GM the trouble of having to generate a list of their own. The pre-defined list should not need to be updated until after the community has been visited at least once. Generation of new commodities for purchase in Elegy follows the same set of rules as the list of goods for Privateer in the Core Rules in all respects, with the sole exception being an additional adjustment to the final price of the goods dependent upon whether the community in question has any Qualities that adjust Item Limit Values. If the community does have such Qualities, the percentages of every Quality in every district should be summed together and the price of goods adjusted by the final indicated amount.

Faction Reputation

As has been mentioned more than once, the Elegy campaign includes a number of various factions, representing various governmental, mercantile and piratical interests within the Epsilon Sector region. There are 28 such factions in the campaign. These factions have a diverse set of interactions with one another; factions may or may not consider themselves allied with some other factions, competitors with others and downright enemies with more others. The actions of a character group towards any given faction will not only have a direct impact on what the members of that faction think of them, but it will also may affect what a number of other factions think about them based on that faction's relationships. In the Elegy campaign setting, keeping track of what a faction thinks about a character group is handled via a scale known as a reputation score, which is simply a value that ranges from 0-200 points. The higher a group's score with a given faction, the friendlier the members of that faction will be towards the group (and vice versa).

Each faction has a number of reputation factors associated with it, which determines how that faction will respond to certain actions. The five reputation factors are as follows:

• Faction Object Factor: This indicates the number of reputation points that will be lost when a group captures or destroys an object belonging to that faction; in most cases, this will either be a capital ship or fighter. Note that attacking a faction object will cause a group to lose one point with that faction automatically; if a group attacks a target, switches targets and then returns to the same target again during the same encounter, no additional points will be lost. A faction will automatically treat a group as openly hostile for the duration of the current encounter should they attack one of their objects, regardless of the group's reputation score with that faction.
• Mission Score Factor: This indicates a number of reputation points that a group may gain by agreeing to perform a mission for that faction. These points are gained automatically upon acceptance, and there is no penalty involved in refusing to conduct the mission once offered to the group. Should the group succeed in the mission, they will earn an additional ten bonus reputation points with that faction. However, should the group fail, they will lose ten reputation points instead.
• Allies: This lists the faction's nominal allies. When a group's score with a given faction changes, there will be a corresponding change in the score of that faction's allies. The amount of the change will equal one-half the change (rounded down) of the main group, in the same direction.
• Competitors: This lists the faction's main competitors. Corporations generally have competitors, as do pirate groups. Competitors are treated somewhat like a faction's enemies, though the two factions aren't generally openly hostile towards one another. When a group's score with a given faction changes, there will be an corresponding inverse change in the score of that faction's competitors equal to one-half the number of points applied, but this is only applied when the faction object factor or mission score factor is utilized; no adjustments are made when a competing faction's objects are attacked, nor when a group receives a bonus for completing a mission for a competing faction (and vice versa).
• Enemies: This lists factions that are actively hostile towards the faction in question. When a group's score with a given faction changes, there will be a corresponding inverse change in the score of that faction's enemies. The amount of the change will equal one-half the change (rounded down) of the main group in the opposite direction.

A player group's score with a faction will determine the behaviors of that faction with that group, as follows:

• 160-200: The faction considers the group a strong ally. If the faction is a corporation or paramilitary group, faction fighters will be available for purchase at ship dealers in communities where that faction is present.
• 120-159: The faction will be generally friendly towards the group. There's a 25% chance that military and police groups will make scans for Contraband, or that criminal groups will attempt to demand cargo.
• 81-119: The faction will be generally indifferent towards the group. There's a 50% chance that military and police groups will make scans for Contraband, or that criminal groups will attempt to demand cargo.
• 41-80: The faction will be generally unfriendly towards the group. There's a 75% chance that military and police groups will make scans for Contraband, or that criminal groups will attempt to demand cargo.
• 0-40: The faction considers the group major enemies, and will be openly hostile towards the group. They will fire on the group on sight, and the group will not be allowed to land on bases where the faction has a presence.

If through the group's actions their reputation score with a particular faction would be reduced below zero, it is simply set to zero; likewise, it is set to 200 if their score would exceed 200. Any remainders are lost in either case. The effect on the score of that faction's allies, competitors and/or enemies will still be based upon the full original value of the point change (excepting, again, the situations where such a change would put the group's score with that allied/competitive/hostile faction outside the 0-200 range).

Should the possibility of a cargo scan be indicated, the GM will simply utilize the result of the same roll they made to determine whether or not an encounter occurred at a given nav point. If the result of the d% roll is greater than or equal to the indicated threshhold, the scan will not occur; otherwise it will. The roll is applied equally across all factions encountered. Should the characters be hauling Contraband and are scanned by members of a military or police faction, they lose five reputation points automatically with that faction, and are given thirty seconds (five rounds) to drop their cargo. Should they fail to do so, the military/police faction will open fire with the goal of disabling the group's ship, seizing the illicit cargo by force and arresting all those aboard. Similarly, if they are scanned by a criminal group and are carrying any goods, they will demand that the group drop whatever they are carrying the most of (should the group be carrying equal amounts of two or more goods, the GM may select one of them at random for the criminals to demand). They'll have thirty seconds to comply; should they fail to do so, the criminal group will open fire - it is at that point that they will lose five reputation points with that particular criminal faction.

If the GM so chooses, a group's reputation score with a particular faction can be used to induce a Reputation trait specifically with that faction for all characters in the group, with the strength of the trait dependent upon this formula:

Reputation Trait Score = (Faction Reputation Score + 30) / 0.3

GMs should round the result to the closest integer, and may choose whether or not to further round the result to the closest multiple of five or not. Note that this will create a multitude of Reputation scores; it may be easier for the GM to keep track of these scores for their player group as a whole rather than have each member of the player group record the values individually. Should an individual member of a group have their own separate Reputation score with a faction, the effects of their personal Reputation score will stack directly with the group's. Character groups will always be denied permission to land at bases where a faction that is openly hostile towards them has a presence, regardless of whether or not there are other factions there with which they are on friendly terms. In these cases, the group has two options for attempting to gain entry to the base: they may attempt to contact a representative of any faction at the base with which they are strongly allied in order to ask them to negotiate a fee to allow entry, or if they are members of the Thieves Guild, they may attempt to contact the local chapter (if one exists) and arrange for entry. If the group is not strongly allied with any faction present at the base and/or they can't utilize the services of the Thieves Guild, that's it - they're not getting in. Otherwise, the GM will make a d% roll with a difficulty determined by the following formula:

Chance of Success  = 100 - (2 * Hostile Faction Reputation Score) 

This formula is utilized regardless of whichever method is used to attempt to gain entry. If the group utilizes a representative and the representative is successful, there's is the additional requirement of an "entry fee", which the group must pay before they will be allowed to access the base; the fee equals 1000 times the computed difficulty class of the entry Check. If they cannot pay the fee, they will still be denied access. The Thieves Guild method is cheaper - only 10 times the computed difficulty class - though it is generally understood that at some point the group might be asked to "return the favor" with a mission for the Guild at a later time. A group will have to make checks for every faction with which they are hostile at a given community, and any success in entry will be good only for their next visit; if the group wishes to visit the same base in the future they will either need to improve their standing with the hostile faction in the interim or go through the whole process again. Even if the group gains access to a base where a hostile faction has a presence, they will still be denied access to that faction's facilities.

For the main Elegy campaign, members of the Demon's Eye Pack will begin with the following set of faction reputation scores:

• • 125 points: KAC Police, Thieves Guild.
  • 75 points: Confederation Navy, ISS, Merchant's Guild, Mercenaries Guild, Guinterin, Hurston, Bartok, Rondell, AMQ, Paulsen, Persotech.
  • 50 points: Outerworlds Naval Reserve, Border Worlds Militia, Broken Claw Agency, Scavages, Morgans, Jezebels, Despoilers, DeathHeads, Crimson Claw.
  • 25 points: Firekkan Defense Force, Landreich Navy, Black Lance, BlackFire Flock.
  • 0 points: Retros.

For the general Epsilon Sector campaign setting, the initial scores are 100 points with all factions, with the following adjustments made:

• If the members of the player group are affiliated with a particular faction:
  • Their score with the faction is set at 200.
  • They receive a 25 point bonus with all of the faction's allies.
  • They take a 25 point penalty with all of the faction's competitors.
  • They take a 75 point penalty with all of the faction's enemies.
  • If the faction in question is any faction other than the Retros, set their reputation score with the Retros at zero. If the faction in question is the Retros, set their reputation scores with all other factions to zero.
  • Kilrathi characters take a 75 point penalty with the Black Lance, Landreich Navy, BlackFire Flock and Firekkan Defence Force, and a 50 point penalty with the Broken Claw Agency, Borderworlds Militia, and Outerworlds Naval Reserve.
• If the members of the player group are not affiliated with a particular faction:
  • 25 additional points are awarded with the military and police factions corresponding to the nationality of the group's leader (for example, a group will be awarded 25 extra faction points with the KAC Police if their leader is Kilrathi).
  • Their reputation with all criminal groups is set at fifty, except for the Retros - which is set at zero. If the character group is Kilrathi, they take a 75 point penalty with the Black Lance.

Here's an example of how the reputation system works. Let's go back to our Origin 325a flying through Ayer's between Kabla Meth and Canewdon. The 325a is a one-man craft, so in this case our "group" has one member, presumably a main player character. It doesn't have a big cargo area by any stretch of the imagination - 2.83 meters, enough to haul 2 units of trade goods - but lets say the player picked up one unit of Pleasure Droids and one unit of Amusements while they were stopped at Kabla Meth (probably just to augment the money they're getting from a certain run; 2 units of any good aren't going to generate a massive profit regardless of what the actual good is). Let's further say that the ship's master is unaffiliated with any faction and that he originates from the Border Worlds; by the guidelines above, his reputation score is 125 with the Border Worlds Militia and Outerworlds Naval Reserve, 50 with all pirate clans, zero with the Retros and 100 with everybody else.

So, our character jumps into Ayer's from Kabla Meth; as you may recall from earlier, the GM rolled a 69 for the encounter so an encounter is indicated - an AMQ convoy under attack by Jezebels with KAC forces lending a hand. The character's scores with the groups in the encounter are 100 with AMQ (neutral), 50 with the Jezebels (unfriendly) and 100 with the KAC Police (neutral). The roll result of 69 is less than the 75% threshhold for scanning indicated by an unfriendly criminal group, so the Jezebels will scan the player's hold and they'll find his recent porn-shop purchases. Since he has equal amounts of each, the GM selects the unit of Amusements for the Jezebels to demand from the player. Naturally, the player is loathe to give up their goods, so they decide to toast the Jezebel group - which consists of 2 Gladii, a Claymore and a Caernaven-class Frigate - a job made easier by the presence of the KAC forces and the AMQ convoy's Broadsword escort. The player toasts the Claymore and one of Gladii during the ensuing combat action and fires on all four craft at one point or another.

At the end of the playing session, the GM re-tabulates the player's reputation scores (the GM could've just as easily done this while the encounter was ongoing but decided to wait to do all the book-keeping all at once). The Jezebels have a Faction Object Factor of 4. Since the player attacked four objects and destroyed two objects belonging to the Jezebels, his reputation score with them is reduced by twelve points (four points per destroyed object and one per attacked object), moving his reputation score with the Jezebels down to 38 points - into openly hostile territory. The Jezebels are allied with Bronte Corporation and the Thieves Guild, so the GM adjusts their scores by half of the amount applied to the Jezebels; the player's reputation with these factions goes down by six points. The Jezebels are competitors with the Despoilers, BlackFire Flock and the Demon's Eye Pack. Since only objects destroyed affects competitors, the GM adjusts the player's score with those factions upwards by four points (half of the eight points that were applied to the Jezebels score due to objects destroyed - the four points the player lost for objects attacked isn't factored in this case). Finally, the Jezebels are enemies with all military and police factions, the Mercenaries Guild and the remaining Epsilon Corporations; the player's reputation with these factions goes up by six points. This is all the adjusting the GM needs to do on account of this single encounter; as far as the KAC Police and AMQ forces in the encounter are concerned, the player's reputation with them doesn't change any more than it already has - this despite the assist to the AMQ convoy. The GM will continue the process of adjusting reputation scores based on the player's actions during the rest of their voyage.

Other Faction Information

In addition to information on the reputation factors, each faction profile contains a brief overview and history, a list of their disposition of forces (essentially a list of what craft that particular faction operates), and a dropped commodities table specific to the faction in question.

The disposition of a faction's forces includes craft in the categories of Capital Ship, Escort Ship, Transport, Strike Craft, Heavy Fighter, Medium Fighter and Light Fighter. Each of these categories is further broken down into Standard and Elite craft. Standard categorical craft are just that - ordinary craft operated by the faction utilizing the normal crew statistics for such a craft as listed in Chapter 7.1. Elite craft are operated by the very best pilots/crews in the employ of the faction; they will use elite crew statistics instead. Moreover, in cases where the same craft is utilized as both the standard and elite craft for any given category, the GM may choose to increase the SHP and AHP of elite craft by up to 25% of the normal values.

The dropped commodities tables for each faction function in a manner similar to the tables in Chapter 9.3 of the Core Rules. When any craft is destroyed in combat, the GM should roll d%; if the result of the roll is greater than the final amount of Core Damage points the craft had sustained when it was destroyed, it has the potential to throw out "loot". Fightercraft (a Strike Craft, Heavy Fighter, Medium Fighter or Light Fighter) will only throw out a single commodity. Larger ships (Capital Ships, Escort Ships and Transports) may eject up to three different commodities; the GM may either select the specific number of commodities at random or make a d10 roll and use the table below.

Number of Commodities Dropped by Destroyed Transports via d10 Roll

d10 Result	Number of Commodities
0-3	One
4-6	Two
7-9	Three

If the craft was carrying specific goods, it should eject some of them. If, however, the craft's specific cargo manifest is unknown (or if the GM prefers), they may either select specific commodities ejected at random or perform a d% roll for each commodity dropped and refer to the specific faction's table. Should the result of the roll not correspond with any results for that faction's table, no commodity will be dropped as a result. For example, let's say a Demon's Eye Pack affiliated craft has destroyed an AMQ Barque. That's a transport ship, so the GM rolls a d10 to see how many commodities it will drop; a seven results, so the transport will drop three commodities and the GM rolls d% three times. The result of those rolls are 01, 20 and 58. Checking AMQ's table, those results correspond respectively to No Drop, Factory Equipment, and Gravity Pure Crystals, so the transport will drop Factory Equipment and Gravity Pure Crystals; the third result is ignored. As per Chapter 9.3 of the Core Rules, the GM would then roll d10 to determine the exact number of units of cargo the transport dropped.

All faction profiles are listed in their entirety in Chapter 6.0.

Trapdoors

Due to the fact that Elegy is a full campaign, it generally follows the guidelines presented for Campaigns as presented in Chapter 11.3 of the WCRPG Core Rules. One of these guidelines covers what to do with a player character in the event that the player controlling them cannot continue the campaign for whatever reason. To handle this eventuality, several of the side-plot adventures in Chapters Three and Four have a feature called trapdoors. These trapdoors are designed to give a character a way out of the campaign. To utilize a trapdoor for a specific character, the GM will need to find the adventure that contains the trapdoor for that character and run the players through that adventure next. When the appropriate time comes in the adventure, the GM will simply steer the plot down the character's trap door path. Note that trapdoor text is meant to be shared between the GM and the specific player; this is intended to serve as a prompt for the player, to make sure and explain why their character is making a grand exit in the event that the player has been portraying the character in a way that is somewhat contradictory to the given reason why their character will be taking their leave. Trapdoors in Act II usually include conditions that would enable the character to return to the group later on (in the event that another player wants to take a crack at controlling the character or that the original player finds the opportunity to return to the group). Those in Act III, however, have a tendency to be more final, though not necessarily due to the character's death (for example, the Act III trapdoor for Ku'a K'le, Mo and Qith'rakoth involves them returning home to take their rightful place as community leaders and to rebuild their world). As the main character, no such trapdoor exists for Bloodeye himself; in the event that the player portraying Bloodeye needs to quit the campaign, the only real option available is to either assign the character to a different player (and perhaps sending the character they were controlling through the trapdoor) or for the GM to portray Bloodeye themselves.

Character Role References

The story-line of the Elegy campaign in general assumes that A) all players are portraying members of the Demon's Eye Pack, and B) their characters will survive through to the story's conclusion. Random probability, however, would make this relatively happy state of affairs an unlikely event at best. To accommodate the possibility that a main character will die, or that a player is portraying a character of their own design, characters within the storyline that are intended to take certain actions will be referred to using a complex "tagging" system consisting of that character's nickname and their role within the group. The specific tags are as follows:

• Gux'a P'nt/XO
• Thrakyaga/Quartermaster
• Knav'qith/Ship's Pilot
• Ku'a K'le/Negotiator
• Irgu/Machinist
• Najekh/Scout
• K'chodyapaki/Navigator
• B'de/Engineer
• Dya'a'ji/Infiltrator
• Le'a'he/Warrior Bard
• Mo/Doctor
• Nagkilin/Pirate
• Qith'rakoth/Scholar
• Naj'bakdor/Pilot
• Qith'raklerx/Priest

Using this system will allow a GM to make reference to a replacement character fairly easily; all they should need to do is make whatever changes are necessary to the story such that the scenario fits the new character's overall personality. Instances where what a character is feeling or thinking have been deliberately kept to a minimum within the story specifically for this reason (generally within cutscenes), but it wouldn't be possible to remove such references entirely, and in those instances the GM will have to put forth the most effort. In actual gameplay, when a missing character is called upon in a mission to perform a certain task in order to move the story along, their optimal replacement should be able to be dropped in with very little fuss. Again, Bloodeye does not have a replacement; in the event of his death, the GM's options are either to end the campaign early (the least desirable option), have Bloodeye miraculously escape death (which is an option but one that must be exercised delicately so as not to violate suspension of belief) or to re-do the scenario in which Bloodeye was killed. The character of B'Harg also does not have a replacement; B'Harg is intended to serve as a "disposble extra" NPC, and can simply be replaced with yet another instance of the same character if necessary.

How to Deal with Prisoners

It is possible during the course of an adventures for the group to take any number of prisoners, or find themselves in a position where such a group is a position where they could be captured so readily that it could be considered a fait accompli. For example, it's possible for the group to take the lone Terran occupying the refueling shuttle prisoner during the Station's Flight Deck encounter of the first mission, or for the Terran guards to still be aboard when the ship gets under way. In these circumstances, the characters will need to decide what to do with any prisoners take, which can make for some pretty interesting role-playing and will have a bearing on the tone of a given campaign for varying player groups.

While the particulars may vary, in the end the characters have seven general options when it comes to dealing with those that find themselves in their involuntary custody, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages:

1. Let Them Go: Though some might see it as a boring option, the characters to opt to allow their prisoners to go free, no questions asked. The advantage of this is that it's unlikely to cause any moral dilemmas with any members of the player group that the other options are likely to cause, but it's also probably the most un-Kilrathi of the options (i.e. it's not really good role-playing). Note that this option generally entails letting the prisoners go into an environment where their continued survival is at least somewhat assured; "letting them go" out the nearest airlock more closely falls in line with the next option...
2. Kill them: Prisoners could be killed outright. This saves the group the hassle of having to care for their prisoners on a long-term basis. It leaves the problem of proper disposal of the corpses, but that shouldn't be too big of a problem for a group of starfaring pirates with a nearby airlock. On the other hand, killing prisoners will reduce their reputation in the area once word gets out, and it doesn't provide much in terms of practical benefit for the group, which brings us to...
3. Eat them: Prisoners could become food for the group, or prepared as rux'fra for future consumption. This does at least give the death of the prisoners some purpose and benefit to the group, though it will almost certainly give the group a bad reputation throughout their zone of influence if word of their activities gets out, particularly if the prisoners in question happen to be Kilrathi. If the group wants that kind of reputation, though, that's there choice.
4. Keep them as slaves: Prisoners could be forced to perform labor for the group on a semi-permanent or permanent basis. This does present a few problems - slaves will have to be housed and fed occasionally if they are to be made to work. There's also the problem of security; a slave will make every effort possible to them to escape or revolt, which could lead to significant problems if these efforts succeed (particularly if a large number of slaves successfully revolt all at once). A slave that fails in an escape attempt is usually put down, leading to a loss of labor. Even if they don't rebel or attempt to escape, personnel will have to be detailed off to watch over slaves to make sure they do their work; if there isn't sufficient such labor available, keeping slaves in line is an unlikely prospect. Balanced against all of these concerns are the possibility of gaining access to the skills of individuals, as well as leaving the group with the possibility of picking another option at a later date.
5. Keep them as hostages: Prisoners could be held until such a time as someone comes forward to pay for their safe return. This avoids the morally questionable practice of slavery while still retaining the potential for (likely significant) profit. Most of the same set of problems the group would face with keeping slaves applies to them keeping hostages - they may need to be housed and fed for an indefinite period of time, and personnel will have to be assigned in order to ensure that the hostages don't escape. There's also the risk of being double-crossed whenever the time comes for the hostage's bounty to be collected.
6. Keep them as prisoners: Prisoners could be kept on a semi-permanent or permanent basis. The same set of security, housing and feeding problems with slaves presents itself here, and while the group avoids the moral dillema of keeping slaves, the prisoners are not gaining the group anything of benefit. The main reason why the group should at least consider keeping prisoners this way is to be able to offer someone in exchange in the event that one of their own number becomes incarcerated themselves.
7. Trade them as slaves: Sapient trafficking is an option for the group, one that avoids most of the headaches involved with keeping slave labor around on a long-term basis; the prisoners are sold off to a commodity exchange, at which point what happens to them is no longer the concern of the group. The potential profits are not insignificant. The big problem with this option is that most non-Kilrathi (including, perhaps, the players) find such activities morally reprehensible, not to mention illegal as all hell. The practice is gradually declining in the Kilrathi spheres of influence as well, though there are still some communities that have a thriving slave trade. Pirate bases will also generally accept slaves in trade.

The player group may make whatever decision they choose when it comes to dealing with prisoners, though they should remember that Kilrathi have been established in the Wing Commander Universe as having no moral compunction about killing and eating sapient lifeforms, nor do they have any issues with slavery...

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