Black Squadron Security Security Officers or Prods oversee the daily toil of the Tracted on behalf of the Corp they work for. Ensuring quotas are met and the work is done gives them their purpose. They exist to ensure that Contracted do not slack off, inflict calamity upon themselves, sabotage their work, or attempt to organize. They serve as the de facto police, supervisors, and in a bloody minded and militant way as the middle management of the dark and twisted life that causes so many to risk their necks before enduring another day under the boot of the Prods. Many corporations prefer to keep their Security Force in-house, but private Security Firms are big business as well. Often there are layers to the corporate security structure, with in-house security being better armed, better paid, and invested in the continued profitability of the corporation they work for. The private Security Firms are employed because they are a much cheaper option. Private Security Officers

“Open revolt. One of the miners in your crew, Trest, has overtaken one of the guards. You had discussed this. You planned for this. The moment is upon you and all those plans are blurred by fear and adrenaline. It’s time to act. A Security Officer moves past you with his shock baton charging towards Trest, demanding that Trest stand down. You step forward and swing your shovel, connecting with the Security Officer’s head. You instinctively anticipate gunfire from the Gunner’s position and drop to the ground to take protection behind a bin and plan your next move.”   Just over a week ago I gave an overview of Stats and Checks. I covered Stats and Checks because they are the foundation that makes it possible for Actions and Interruptions to work. Here's an overview of Actions and Interruptions. Actions Each Character has a number of action points to use. During each Character’s Turn they may perform as many Actions as their Action Point value. Most Characters will be listed

Rule Book, Hand Outs, Equipment Cards, and Initiative Cards. They aren't the prettiest but they get the job done for now. Yesterday I traveled into Next Dimension Games to do some play testing with some new people. I'm trying to get the rules ready for Beta Testing by the public so I want to work out as many kinks in advance as I can. Like the other two play testing sessions I walked away with some valuable information and I'm incredibly thankful to Josh R and Josh from NDG/ChicagoWargamers community for taking the time to play a game with me. Game 1 was with Josh R and he was in control of the Security Officers and I was the Breakers. He managed to really rough up my Breakers. I attempted several risky actions that all blew up in my face and helped maintain his upper hand. You can't win the game if your Breakers are all tripping over each other and lying Prone all over the board, and that's exactly what I did. By the end of the game only one of my Breakers es

Play testing props. Brand new cut and paste weapon cards. They aren't the prettiest things in the world, but we'll see if it helps keep the game simple and flowing. Tomorrow I'm play testing Broken Contract with at least one new person who hasn't experienced the game yet. Thus far, I've lead the charge, showing the players the rules, and telling them what they need to roll, etc. Since I'm going to have a fresh face, I want to have him be able to "figure things out on his own" the best he can without reading the rule book cover to cover. Originally, I had a Weapons and Equipment section of the book that would require the players to reference the book for the info, or consult a comprehensive chart (that I haven't created yet. So for tomorrow, I'm going to try something different. All of the equipment for all of the characters is on the cards I created above. The idea with using cards instead of a Chapter is that I can ensure every player

     “We all size each other up. We look everyone up and down. Work crews, Security Forces, Contract Enforcers, and Steaders – we’re all the same. We ask ourselves who’d have the strength or skill to back us up or take us down in a fight. We know who we’d want to do the talking for us when negotiating our way out of trouble, and we know who’d have the clear head and medical knowledge to patch us up when we get hurt. I know I’ve come to respect the guy who watches everybody’s movement, and their subtle changes in behavior. And someone might look like they are weak, socially inept, or dumb as rocks – but if they have the fervor of belief burning in their heart, they can be your greatest threat. Knowing what a person is capable of is just as useful to our survival as any other skills we may possess.” There are many approaches a game designer can take to Stats. You can keep a game simple with only a very basic mechanic for movement, like one or two squares/spaces, and a rudimen