Zapgun On Your Shoulder (Zouave Expansion Pack: Space)

Inspired by some discussion had on the OSR discord, I decided to write some stuff for deus ex parabola's Zouave, expanding it into a sci-fi setting. Many thanks (and apolgies) to the folks of #glog-spillway, especially Vayra & deus. Features 12 Tall Tales, skills and starting equipment, and a fitting version of Respect. Not a full class, view the original Zouave post for the other important bits. Feedback is very much appreciated.

By Diego Gisbert Llorens

You are a SPACE-ZOUAVE, a light infantry soldier specialising in ambush, scouting and long periods in the field. You aren't a rich entrepreneur, but you're no earther either. You offered yourself up to join the Legion and protect your homeworld, to fight back. You used hand-me-down gear, trained in strategy, made our way through the military, became a veteran fighter, overcame the odds with just your zapgun and a knife; and then the war ended, and all was well.

Skills (1d3): xenobotany, field surgery, engineering

Start with: a pompous and outdated uniform (as leather), a vibroknife (as a dagger), a laser-rifle (2d6 damage, minute to reload, fires with disadvantage if you moved last turn, -1 to-hit for every 10 feet between you and the target), old gravity boots, a quality knapsack

Astronomical Exploits:

Some setting-appropriate mostly-true things you say did before you became an adventurer. Roll 1d12 to pick one at random; if you get the same result twice, go for the one above or below it, or re-roll.

1. Captured by a Tlal’ek, Escaped. Once, you were caught in the grasp of a ferocious beast. It trapped you in its lair (or so you claim) and left you there — likely its next meal. As it slept, you fled — getting away with your life, though without your favourite boots.

If someone grappling you is distracted, even just for a moment, you can slip free. You have a 4-in-6 chance of escaping mundane bindings like ropes, chains or trapped limbs, and a 2-in-6 chance for more advanced ones such as space manacles or an aetheric chokehold.

2. Been Everywhere Around. At various points in your life, you've visited each and every back-water planet in the galaxy — and been chased off of more than your fair share of them too. They tend not to like it when you insult the local delicacies or their big hats; you know from experience.

You can read signs and decipher maps in any language, and always know how to ask for directions.

3. Traversed the Frozen Wastes. You crossed the barren ice sheets of one of the coldest planets known to space-zouave, nearly dying several times — crevasses, dehydration, you name it — but you managed to hold out, surviving a snowstorm in the carcass of a whale-worm. Other members of your troop were not so lucky. 

You never suffer the ill effects of the cold, and can always find shelter from extreme weather given 5 minutes. 

4. Through the Endless Asteroid Field and Out the Other Side. Ambushed and with old enemies hot on your tail, you decided to try and shortcut through an asteroid belt. Old Bertha (a freighter you’ve since gambled away, and miss terribly) got you through with a few dents, though some of your comrades weren’t so lucky. 

You, your party, and your ship can travel impassable terrain as though it was rough. 

5. Made the Atbanraat Run in 24 Parsecs. You made it from one end of the galaxy's most important shipping (and most infamous smuggling) route in record time, faster than any other pilot before you. It involved a slingshot and some less-than-legal fuel , but you wear the badge with pride. 

If you wish, you can get to any destination in half the time, but your ship or vehicle will always need 1d100*10 credit's repairs before it can be driven, rode, or flown again. 

6. Smuggled a Saquab Squid. You managed to sneak a large, endangered animal through an imperial blockade of a rebel planet. Even after a thorough search, the guardsmen walked right past it. You received quite a handsome reward for that one. 

If you or your vehicle are searched, you can choose something to not be found, regardless of its size or actual hiding capability. 

7. Took Out a Dreadnought. In an attack on an imperial battleship, your entire company was killed by a batch of unexpected reinforcements, save you. In a valiant last stand, you managed to fire at just the right spot — surprisingly easy, really. Your compatriots didn’t survive to tell the tale, but they surely live on in your memories. 

If you make a successful attack roll, you can choose exactly where your blow hits. 

8. Rode Too Close to a Black Hole. While travelling through the vacuum of space, you got yourself stuck somewhere near a black hole, the ultra-dense corpse of a once-bright star. You were dragged into orbit for what felt like decades — at least 1d6*10 years off your life. 

People will always assume things you tell them are true, unless given a compelling reason otherwise. 

9. Stared at the Sun From 100 Feet Away. You were out doing some regular maintenance on your ship after colliding with some space junk, but turned out to be much closer to a certain star than you first thought. Your visor helped a small bit, but could hardly do anything to really stop its rays. You haven't been quite the same since.  

You can sense heat, even through walls. 

10. Illicit Experimentation. You were the subject of a series of dubiously successful tests run by a very keen and very unlicensed military scientist in an attempt to create a new strain of mutagenic material. 

You have advantage on saves against poisons, mind-altering drugs, all forms of chemical concoction, and anything that might reasonably have been tried on you. 

11. One-Wing Wonder. You were flying away at top speed from some enemies of the Legion when your pursuers took out an engine of yours. Not one to let that stop you, you handed things over to your co-pilot Steve, got out there, repaired it yourself, and lived to tell the tale. 

You can fix anything, given ten minutes, duct tape and a bottle of liquor. It has a 1-in-6 chance of blowing up every ten minutes of use until properly repaired. 

12. Fell Through a Wormhole. You came here from somewhere else, a world far beyond the known. You might refuse to share quite how you got here, but your home world or timeline left its mark.

Due to your altered relationship with reality, you can sometimes perceive things before they happen, or at least get a good idea of potential futures. If you find yourself in a dangerous situation with no easy way out, you can ask the DM a single sentence question about a potential plan you or the party make. They must give a (truthful) single sentence answer, albeit with a 1-in-6 chance they answer randomly instead. This goes up by 1 each time you use the feature, resetting each day.

Respect:

You aren't just another soldier. The title of Zouave means something, and some people are starting to remember that. Militias and similar low-"ranked" warriors will look up to you. Sometimes officials or enterprisers will take notice if you make some noise, though it doesn't mean they'll act on it (save perhaps a punishment). As well as this, NPCs take challenges from you just that bit more seriously. Their response is determined by a d6 and depends on their social level:

Colonist:
1: Disbelief and derision
2-6: Intimidation and apology

Spacer:
1: Loud mockery. Expect their friends to try and beat you up
2-5: They accept. Expect a fistfight or, at best, a choice of two sturdy clubs
6: Intimidation and awkward verbal submission

Capitalist (shitty):
1-2: Taser-beating
3-6: They accept. Name your terms.

Capitalist (even shittier):
1: Guards! Guards!
2-5: Taser-beating, followed by a second, more brutal taser-beating
6: Rad-pistols at dawn