Nexus 14
Pirates! The Scourge of the Galaxy! It is 1985 and Nexus #14 has just been released. This issue focused on the Star Fleet Universe¸ Starfire¸ and History of the Second World War. Battlewagon¸ Musketeers¸ East Wind Rain¸ and 4th Reich also have materials included. And "Arrgghhhh! Here there be pirates!" is a thread running through the issue. Starfire has an article on what is euphemistically called "commerce raiding." Added to that is an article so players can be pirates. Then there is a story and a set of scenarios involving the Tangri. Finally there is a short campaign for novice players in the New Empires setting. The game History of the Second World War gets an article on Switzerland during World War II. Following that is the background and a scenario for Battlewagon: Convoy PQ-17¸ the Convoy that Died. This was written by David Weber. Musketeers adds rules and scenarios to allow players to encounter pirates. The scenarios include a surprise boarding of a vessel anchored in a lagoon in the West Indies¸ a prepared vessel against a boarding party¸ and another of a mutiny situation. "Storm in the Pacific" includes variant rules and scenarios for East Wind Rain. 4th Reich gains some variant scenarios. The Star Fleet Universe section starts with information about the company. It includes an Academy article based on the Orion Pirates. A page and a quarter of Term Papers also is included. There's a short article on tactics for frigate squadrons. The shipyard report focuses on Orion ships and has a map of the cartels' areas of operation. There is information on advanced drones. Finally¸ there was also the inevitable (at the time) collection of addenda. This PDF is provided by Amarillo Design Bureau¸ Inc. with the kind permission of Allen D. Eldridge. It includes ads and offers from 1985; these are no longer valid.