The base game for Core Space starts you out with two complete crews; the crew of the Black Maria and the crew of the Ion Hope. Of course you don't have to play with those crews out of the box. There is a point system so you can switch things around to keep it interesting (or even make your own characters with the deluxe rules!) but how do they all break down? I thought I'd do a bit of a rundown of the two crews and point out what makes each of their members unique and special snowflakes.
Note that all of these characters have one base ability, and most of them have a second ability in their armor slot. These second abilities are lost when the character dons armor. For clarity, I have mentioned all of their base abilities first, with the second armor slot ability second. If there isn't a second ability mentioned (I'm looking at you Roykirk and Tirgarde!), then they don't have one!
Crew of the Black Maria
Jace: Fitting for his military background, Jace has the base ability of counter shot at level (1). This means that after he is targeted with a ranged attack, Jace can react by making a ranged attack against the attacker. While he needs to spend a skill point to activate this, it does give him a reaction attack which I can see being handy. Sure you have to be shot at first, but this gives you a chance to make sure your attacker only does this to you once. On top of this, he also has the additional base ability of close combat (1), meaning he gets a close combat attack with no weapon. While this might not sound like much, most characters have no natural close combat value so I can see this being useful in the early game.
Beck: Slightly off track from his background as the ship's quartermaster, Beck has the base ability of disrupt at level (1). This lets him block tech skills or temporarily disable nearby Purge which could be a very handy skill to have in a pinch. On top of this, he also has the additional base ability of distraction also at level (1). This ability makes the target lose an action on its next turn in addition to any damage that it takes which I can also be as quite useful. You only need to attack to activate this skill which means you can even slow down some of the tougher Purge. Got a Live One getting too close? Attack them and use distraction to suck up one of it's actions!
Lars: Fitting for the skilled technician, Lars has the base ability of hack at level (2) which lets him remove low level Purge from the board just by spending a skill point or locking doors to slow them down. He also has the base ability of camouflage at level (1) which is great for an unarmored character. Are the Purge closing in? Just blend into the background for a round and hopefully they go after a more tempting target!
Renton: Another military man, Renton has the base ability of close combat (1) giving him some teeth in close combat with just his bare hands. Fitting nicely with his background, he also has reflexes at level (1) which lets him ignore all hits scored during a close combat.
Crew of the Ion Hope
Arianna: Captain of the Ion Hope, Arianna has the survival edge of reflexes at level (1), potentially keeping her safe in close combat. Add in her additional base ability of move (1), and you have someone that can zip around the board, dodging blows as she goes.
Gak: While Arianna is about dodging the blows, Gak is focused on delivering them to his opponent. He has the highest close combat ability of the starting traders at level (2), letting him hit like a Mac truck. Combine this with his additional ability of kata at level (1) and he will be rolling four dice between his two close combat attacks!
Roykirk: A man with a silver tongue, Roykirk has the base ability of persuasion at level (1) giving him the chance to talk enemy traders into standing around and contemplating their navel. A handy skill if you have a Purge on your heels!
Tirgarde: Described as being cold blooded towards others, the ambush ability at level (1) is perfect for Tirgarde. Get into cover, wait for them to get close, then shot them when they least expect it!
On top of these base abilities, you also get the class abilities which is where you get to customize the characters. You select the class abilities by assigning career points which is where you can customize your character to what you need.
Of course just because these are the listed crews, it doesn't mean that you have to play them that way. Each character has a point value assigned to it so you can mix and match as you want, especially once you add in more expansion packs. The only limits are you can only have one captain, and you have a max crew size of six. That's it!
Another thing that I really like is that you can hire more than just members of the official crew packs. All of the civilians and gangers also have a crew side, giving you even more options. If the three civilians in the base game are any indication, they look like they don't have as much potential for growth as the traders but it's great to have them in there as an option. Now I just have to deal with the most challenging question ever; which expansion should I buy first?!? In the meantime, I think it's time to break out the primer and get to work on these guys. Until next time...
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