Air Marshals and Sky Pirates

Good Morning Captain

Chet Parsons watched the sun rise over the cotton ball field of clouds that lined the horizon. He sipped his chicory-flavored coffee, more chicory than coffee, and let his mind wander among the clouds. The wind whipped the steam rising from his cup about in frail little patterns, almost in time with the drone of the HMSACS Shenandoah's engines as the airship cruised the red streaked dawn skies.

Sitting, as he was, in the open cockpit of the airship's docking probe, he was able to imagine himself flying amongst the clouds as though he were a bird, to feel the flow of the wind across his wings and the bite of icy coldness as he dived between tufts of cotton.

He smiled, it was a pleasant start to what may be a very unpleasant day. He sipped his coffee from its insulated cup and wondered what this day will bring. "Red sky at night, aviator's delight," he said, repeating an old rhyme, "red sky at dawn, aviators take warn." It was a very red morning this day.

He checked his watch, noted the time and capped his coffee. He left the docking probe room and made his way along the airship's spine, a narrow corridor of aluminum struts that was surrounded by the fabric from the ballonets. Incandescent lights lit the way, with various warnings for the unwary.

Chet had to lean into a ballonet more than once, hanging from a strut, as his crew went from third watch to first watch. That is, all but the bridge crew.

They were waiting on him.

He finally made it to the bridge access. He resisted the urge to slide down the ladder like any ordinary airshipman would do, but instead deliberately climbed down, giving the sergeant at arms a chance to speak.

"Attenshun!" Gunnery Sergeant Jacobs bellowed. "The Captain is on the bridge."

Captain Chet Parson, of the American Commonwealth Air Marshals, returned his first salute of the day. The bridge was the only place he'd thought appropriate for such protocol. Inside the airship itself, it was too dangerous to take one hand off of a guy wire for a bit of military tomfoolery. But protocol had its place and the bridge was the place for it.

"As you were," he said. The crew visibly relaxed. "Mister Peary, I relieve you."

Lieutenant Charles Peary saluted Captain Parsons then stepped aside from behind the helmsman. "The helm is yours sir."

"So Charles," said Parsons as he strode over to the chart table, "anything interesting last night?"

Peary shook his head, "No sir, nothing interesting other than a thunderstorm 100 miles southwest of us. Saw some nice sprites from that, but nothing else."

The bridge of the Shenandoah was lined with tall floor to ceiling panels of armored glass. In front of the helmsmen's wheel, part of the floor was also made of the thick glass. It would stop gunfire, but 20 mm cannon rounds would go right through it.

"Have we gotten the morning report yet?" asked Parsons.

Peary looked upwards for a moment and then returned his gaze back to the captain. "Not yet sir," he said.

Parsons made a face and swore, "Damnation." The wireless operator, Hanson "Sparks" Johansen was always punctual with the morning report out of Air Marshal HQ in Providence, Colorado. Whenever Sparks was late with the morning report, it always boded ill.

Introduction

Welcome to the campaign world of Air Marshals and Sky Pirates!

Also known as AMSP, you get to play either an Air Marshal working for the crown in the American Commonwealth, or as a Sky Pirate, raiding across the border into California, Rossiyskaya Amerika, or the Commonwealth of America, attacking air convoys and air trains of their precious cargo, and then running back into the Mexican Empire, safe from reprisals, as you pay off the corrupt local governors.

This campaign uses the Savage Worlds' rules, along with the Savage Worlds Pulp GM Toolkit and the Savage Worlds Pulp Gear Toolkit. Characters will start at Seasoned level and the players get to choose which side of the law they will play on.

This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.

Character Creation

When creating your character, decide whether or not you want him to be an Air Marshal, a Privateer, a Sky Pirate or as an ordinary civilian.

Also available are Archetypes that you can use as template or a jumping off point for creating your own version of the same character type.

If you use an Archetype, you can move up to two dice around for the Attributes, but that may lower any skill that was based on a higher base attribute, and you get an extra skill point for each die a skill drops that is based on the Attribute. You can spend this skill point on other skills. 10 skill points were spent on skills, leaving you an additional 5 skill points that you can spend on additional skills as you see fit. You will have to select Hindrances to balance out the Archetypes.

Because of the nature of this campaign world, all new characters will be Seasoned:

1. Create a Novice character from scratch or use one of the Archetype templates.
2. Add 5 experience points and apply an Advancement to the character.
3. Repeat step 2 three more times, until you've applied a total of four Advancements from Novice to Seasoned.
4. You get $100 Commonwealth Dollars to outfit your character. Members of the Air Constabulary get one free uniform. Dress uniforms will have to bought separately. For a price list of gear at 1900 prices, see the Air Marshall Gear List. This is based on the following web site: Early 20th Century Common Gear & Expenses (created by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock). For weapons use the following table:

Item	Range	Damage	ROF	Cost	Weight	Shots	Min Str	Special
Saber	--	Str+d6+2	--	$10	4	--	--	--
Derringer (.44)	5/10/20	2d6+1	1	$6	2	2	--	AP 1
Colt Dragoon (.44)	12/24/48	2d6+1	1	$8	4	6	--	Revolver
Double-Barrel (12g)	12/24/48	1-3d6	1 - 2	$6	11	2	--	Special, see rules
Sawed-Off DB (12g)	5/10/20	1-3d6	1 - 2	$14	6	2	--	Special, see rules
Sharps Big 50 (.50)	30/60/120	2d10	1	$16	11	1	d8	AP 2, Snapfire Penalty
Jericho Carbine (.52)	20/40/80	2d8	1	$7	8	7	--	AP 2
Winchester ‘76 (.45-.47)	24/48/96	2d8	1	$12	10	15	d6	AP 2, uses special .45-.47 long cartridges

Skills

Airship (Agility)

Characters with this skill can handle most any airship in common use in this game. They generally know the ins and outs of airships and how to handle the common day-to-day tasks about such a vessel.

Edges

The following edges cannot be taken in this campaign:

• Arcane Background (Except that Weird Science is considered part of the background, and for NPCs only.)
• Arcane Resistance
• Improved Arcane Resistance
• Holy/Unholy Warrior
• Mentalist
• Power Surge
• Soul Drain
• Wizard

You can also use the Sample Hinderances and Sample Generic Pulp Edges that are listed in the Savage Worlds Pulp GM Toolkit.

There are no Psionics in this campaign, at least not for player characters.

Air Marshals

The history of the Air Marshals

After the formation of the American Commonwealth, the Commonwealth Parliament formed the American Commonwealth Constabulary, a nation-wide police force/militia to protect the American Commonwealth from foes within and without. Not an army per se, that takes Crown approval, but a force that has para-military powers. If an army was needed, the ACC would form the core of said army.

When the first airships were built, the ACC put officers aboard those fledgling vessels. After the first bandits appeared, the Parliament formed the Air Constabulary of the American Commonwealth, (ACAC). Some of the most impressive airships have been built by the Air Constabulary, with the pride of the fleet, the ACS Shenandoah.

Manning these airships are the best of the Air Constabulary. The average airshipman is better educated and in better physical condition than the average person. Beyond them are the Air Marshals, men and women who are the very epitome of law enforcement. There is a story about these legendary men and women. The city of Providence was experiencing a riot, and the mayor contacted the Air Constabulary for assistance. They sent one Air Marshal. When the mayor asked him why they didn't send any other men with him, the Air Marshal asked, "How many riots do you have?" The mayor responded, "Just one." The Air Marshal replied, "Then you only need one Air Marshal..."

Air Constabulary Archetypes

Air Marshall

Your typical Air Marshall is a rough and ready young man or woman. When in flight, they wear their flak jackets to protect themselves. But off ship, they shuck the very heavy gear and trust to their natural abilities to administer the law. After the free Edge was taken, four Hindrance points were spent to raise all Attributes to a minimum of d6. You must take both a Major and a minor Hindrance to balance this character Archetype.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Strength d6, Spirit d8, Vigor d6, Charisma +0, Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 7/9 (+2/+4)

Skills: Fighting d6, Shooting d8, Persuasion d8, Intimidation d6

Hindrances: Loyal

Edges: Steady Hands

Gear: Uniform, Flak Jacket (+2/+4), Colt Dragoon (.44) (12/24/48, 2d6+1), Sabre (Str+d6+2)

Airshipman

The airshipman of the AC are the best recruits from the ranks of the regular AC. When in combat, they wear their heavy flak jackets for protection, but when on liberty, it's their off duty uniform and a pocket full of Commonwealth dollars! After the free Edge was taken, two Hindrance points were spent to raise all Attributes to a minimum of d6. If you take a Major Hindrance, you can spend the additional two points as you see fit. You must take at least a minor Hindrance to balance this character Archetype.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Strength d6, Spirit d6, Vigor d6, Charisma +0, Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 7/9 (+2/+4)

Skills: Fighting d6, Shooting d6, Climbing d6, Airships d8, Notice d6

Hindrances: Loyal

Edges: Level Headed

Gear: Uniform, Flak Jacket (+2/+4), Colt Dragoon (.44) (12/24/48, 2d6+1)

Airshipman: Helmsman

A unique subset of Airshipmen, is the Helmsman. He is the one that pilots the ship and keeps her on course. They also have the most vulnerable position on the ship when it comes to combat. Helmsmen have the highest attrition rate of all the crew aboard an airship. When in combat, they wear their heavy flak jackets for protection, but when on liberty, it's their off duty uniform and a pocket full of Commonwealth dollars! After the free Edge was taken, two Hindrance points were spent to raise all Attributes to a minimum of d6. If you take a Major Hindrance, you can spend the additional two points as you see fit. You must take at least a minor Hindrance to balance this character Archetype.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Strength d6, Spirit d6, Vigor d6, Charisma +0, Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 7/9 (+2/+4)

Skills: Fighting d6, Shooting d4, Piloting d8, Airships d8, Notice d6

Hindrances: Ace

Edges: Level Headed

Gear: Uniform, Lucky rabbits foot, Flak Jacket (+2/+4), Colt Dragoon (.44) (12/24/48, 2d6+1)

Sky Pirates

History of the Sky Pirates

Sky Pirates have their roots in the bandits that used to raid the wagon trains that wended their ways through the Rockies. With the advent of the first merchant airship, the bandits found the pickings thin, until Red Pete captured his first airship. The Raiding Eagle soon became the terror of the skies, swooping in and attacking unarmed airships. Other bandit groups soon followed and the air carnage was massive. That's when the American Commonwealth formed it's first Air Constabulary wing. Two retrofitted airships armed with Nordernfeldt guns and a handful of marines, the newly christened ACS Vigilance and ACS Determination struck out to defend the merchant airships.

The initial battles were bloody and airships on either side where lost. But the tide started turning as the other powers, the New Russians, the Californians, and even the Mexicans, were soon sailing airnaughts and airwarships. And that would have been that, if the governor of the Mexican province of Colorado hadn't been in the pocket of the pirate Don Cesar Verde, his cousin. Soon the province became a haven for pirates and privateers. Since this province held the best routes to New Russia and California, there was no choice but to deal with them. Because the governor, Don Rafael Montero, has claimed sovereignty over the air space of his province and forbids any foreign power to enter.

In response, letters of Marque were issued to "privateers" to seek out and destroy any pirate airship they can find, along with some commerce raiding on merchant airship of the enemy nation du jour.

Privateers

Many so-called privateers from most nations are typically military personnel who were "cashiered" and then provided with an armed airship to hunt down pirates over the Mexican skies. Some are true privateers, ex-pirates who have chosen to take the Queen's/Emperor's/Presidente's/Czar's coin and hunt down their one time fellow pirates. Finally there are the bounty hunters, rich adventurers, and wide-eyed boys and girls, their brains full of penny dreadful stories of Air Marshal Cody and the fictional accounts of the privateer Jack Sparrow, eager to duplicate the stories that they've read.

Most Privateers have better built airships than most pirates, and typically have access to the better military arms and armaments of their respective governments.

Privateer Archetypes

The following are archetypes that you can use as a sort of a template if you're not quite sure how to build an Privateer. You can move up to two dice around for the Attributes, but that will lower any skill that was based on a higher base attribute. 10 skill points were spent on skills, with an additional 5 that you can spend on additional skills as you see fit. You will have to select Hindrances to balance out the Archetypes. You have four Advances to spend to raise the character's rank to Seasoned.

Privateer

The life of a Privateer is a hard one. When in combat, they wear their heavy flak jackets for protection, if they have them. When in port, they shuck their protection and don their finest duds and go carousing. After the free Edge was taken, four Hindrance points were spent to raise all Attributes to a minimum of d6. You must take a Major and a minor Hindrance to balance this character Archetype.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Strength d6, Spirit d6, Vigor d8, Charisma -2, Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 8/10 (+2/+4)

Skills: Fighting d6, Shooting d8, Climbing d4, Airships d8, Notice d6

Hindrances: Mean

Edges: Level Headed

Gear: Ship's clothing, Flak Jacket (+2/+4) (sometimes), Colt Dragoon (.44) (12/24/48, 2d6+1), Sabre (Str+d6+2)

Sky Pirates

A diverse group of scoundrels and ne'er-do-wells ever to grace the sky. Some are fairly aristocratic, such as Don Cesar Verde, and some are the scum of the earth, such as the El Diablos. The "Pirate Code" does not hold sway among these men, the code of the sword and the strong man is more often than not the only code an airship sails under.

Sky Pirate Archetypes

Sky Pirate

When you are a Pirate, you are a wanted man or woman. However, you can fly just about anything that get into the air, and you are the terror of the skies. When in port, you dress the part of a ruthless killer, whether or not you are one. After the free Edge was taken, four Hindrance points were spent to raise all Attributes to a minimum of d6. You must take a Major and a minor Hindrance to balance this character Archetype.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d8, Charisma: +0; Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 6

Skills: Airship d6, Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Shooting d8

Hindrances: Wanted (minor)

Edges: Ace

Gear: "Pirate clothes", Cutlass (Str+d8), Colt Dragoon (.44) (12/24/48, 2d6+1)

Airships of the American Commonwealth

See the following for a listing of the different type of ships that are flying the skies today: Airships of AMSP

History of the World

The history of this world is quite different from that of our time line. There was the War of 1813, led by General Wellington, fresh from his campaign in Europe. The result is a balkanized North America, with 6 different nations instead of 3:

• American Commonwealth
• Lousiana
• Empire of Mexico
• República de California
• República de Tejas
• Rossiyskaya Amerika

For more on the history of this world, see American_Commonwealth_History