Welcome to the latest series from our Youtube channel, our new video series shows the Battle Systems team taking on the fearsome First Born campaign from their game Core Space: First Born.
We’ve rearranged our filming space closer to something that resembles an actual studio! So, this means we can setup and take down games much easier. Giving us the ability to create Core Space and Maladum gameplay with the team here at least once a month throughout 2026!
To kick things off, the team will be taking a Rookie Crew. A group of inexperienced Traders with basic equipment, and it will be up to them to develop their skills and find new gear as you play through the missions. Rookie crews do not start with any Career advancements and will have their starting statistics. They can be equipped with a starting budget of 15UA to spend on equipment. Any of this budget left unused is lost.
In this article, we’re going to spend a little bit of time meeting the players and their Traders before stepping into the exploratory mission.
Meet the Players
Wayne – Keeper of Broken Pencils and Writer of Lore
As co-creator of the game we can expect lots of insights and interesting Lore drops that we might not have gotten in the final cut of the rulebook. But having worked on projects like Maladum, and the others that Battle Systems have ticking over in the background, will he have retained the tactical advantage his knowledge holds over the First Born? Or like an ancient time traveller, will his perception of reality start to bend the boundaries of Core Space around him?
Michael – Graphic Artist
A purist and a perfectionist in his work. Michael has predominantly played D&D (with occasional rounds of UNO thrown in for family game night). But having worked in the industry for over a decade on titles such as Age of Sigmar, 40k, Wild West Exodus, Solomon Kane, Partisan and Heroes of Thargos to name a few. So whilst being a the rookie trader on the crew, is certainly not without some existing experience he can draw upon.
John – Trade Sales Manager
An experienced board gamer, with a background in heavier Euros and a fondness for Core Space First Born before even starting with Battle Systems so will likely be looked to for guidance and leadership as the crews captain.
James – Operations
Although not taking part in the first few episodes, James was eager to get in on another video series and will be making an appearance as Hopper. If an when the crew are able to rescue him.
In his day to day James handles data, accounts, and spreadsheets behind the scenes. Relatively new to tabletop and board gaming in general, so this is expected to be a steep learning curve. Although perhaps not so much of an incline now that he has spent some time in the Dungeons of Enveron.
THE CREW OF THE EIDOLON
JOHN – CAPTAIN CASSIE PELTIER
Name: Cassiopeia Peltier; Species: Human; Age: 32
Cassie has an ex-military background serving in the militia of her home world. After a short stint as a mercenary she stumbled across the Trader’s life and hasn’t looked back since. She served as support for a number of different Trader ships before leasing her own ship and assembling her own crew. Her combat suit is a remnant from her military service and gives her enhanced strength and speed and is equipped with shoulder mounted cannons. She is a fair and equitable captain and doesn’t believe in taking unnecessary risks.
Wayne – Wade
Name: Wade Gentry; Species: Human; Age: 36
Wade is in it purely for the money. Although he
looks gung-ho he just sees Trading as a job, nothing more. He would much rather work in a less dangerous environment but he’s good at what he does and job opportunities are thin for a man with his poor education. He’s good at improvising weapons but he’s more of a tinkerer and hasn’t quite got the skills to be a Technician. He has no ambition to be a ship’s captain and is content to just punch a clock and let someone else make the hard decisions. Wade met Cassie when they were working as mercenaries and both agreed they didn’t think much of the job and quit.
Michael – Balcor
Name: Balcor; Species: Nerind’ar; Age: 60
Balcor is a skilled engineer, the role he signed on for, but increasingly suspects he was chosen for his size rather than his skills with a spanner. He is considerably taller and stronger than a Human and outweighs nearly any creature he encounters. His ranged skills are average but he makes up for it in close combat and will often fight unarmed. He has a prosthetic arm, the result of an engineering accident, that he has modified to suit his purpose. His one regret is that he didn’t get the other one done at the same time!
Balcor is by nature quite timid and would rather strip
and rebuild an engine than go stalking around a
derelict ship. However, he is a good fighter when his
crewmates are in danger, which is pretty much all
the time.
James – Hopper
Name: HoP-PA99; Species: Machine (Human origin); Age: 12
Originally designed as a host protocol machine for the more affluent parts of the Galactic Heartlands Hopper was stolen and reprogrammed by an enterprising Trader. Modified and filled to the brim with useful (and some not so useful) protocols Hopper now functions as ship Tactician, devising strategies to the crew’s advantage. Not particularly strong in combat skills Hopper makes up for it with hacking, negotiation and intelligence skills. What Hopper doesn’t know about Machine systems is immaterial – because it knows everything about Machine systems. Hopper is also an excellent ego-free negotiator and has talked its crew out of some sticky situations.
The Eidolon
Even by Trader standards the Eidolon is an old ship, constructed when space travel was still novel. Originally a pleasure clipper designed for short inter-system trips it was only later retrofitted for Core Space travel. It is a ship designed by an alien mind with graceful Art Nouveau lines blended with an otherworldly aesthetic. Although ancient it has been well maintained by its various owners and is currently leased to Captain Cassie Peltier who treats it with the love and due diligence this beautiful ship deserves.
Starting Crew & Equipment
The goal of these games is ultimately to have as much fun as possible. But we also aiming to showing what the players choices are between games to change equipment and level up their characters. These insights can either help lead your next decision, or act as a cautionary tale that, that skill won’t work for your you.
That’s the setup for the campaign. Episode 1: Exploratory Mission is now live on our YouTube Channel, so all that’s left is for you to watch what happens!
Until next time, Happy Gaming!
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