Rogue Stars - first game report

I have now played a game of Rogue Stars.  After having read the book twice, read multiple reviews, and watched a couple videos, I was confident enough to at least give it a shot.  I wish I had waited on the QRS that will be available soon, but I survived nonetheless and the book isn't damaged from too much flipping.

So I had two teams ready to go, both from the Infinity Operation Icestorm box set.  The Panoceania are the Star Cops and have the tactical discipline of Determined.  The Nomads are Pirates and have the tactical discipline of Hard to Kill.

The Nomads rolled highest on initiative so became the Attackers and rolled for the "Make it to the Ship Alive" Mission.  Panoceania are the Defenders and rolled for the Location of "Space Port" (very fitting) and the Complication of "They Said It Might Rain", then rolled for the Weather which turned out to be "Cold" (which only affects Reptiloids, so no big deal).

Here is the "Space Port" which oddly enough looks like the terrain from Infinity Operation Icestorm.  It mostly has the appearance of some large docking station.  The left side baseline is where the Attackers (Nomads) begin and must reach the spaceship gate on the far right side.

Here are the two Nomad troopers and their leader.

Here is the Nomad Ninja and Sister Soldier.

The Panoceania Star Cops positioned themselves to receive the naughty Pirate Nomads.

The Nomads tried to push towards the center.  The Star Cop trooper on the rooftop is pinned and loses his gun and the other trooper is knocked prone from a hail of fire.

The Panoceania Knight valiantly attempts to cut down the foes, but is sadly defeated by the deadly Ninja.

The Nomads keep running, trying to spread the Star Cops out and allow others to escape.

Deadly shooting fells two of the Pirate Nomads.

A Nomad trooper and the Ninja sprint for safety even as gunfire chases them.

Despite the best efforts of the Panoceania Star Cops, two of the Nomad Pirates escape in their starship.

After the Game:  The Nomad Pirates lost three of their teammates along the way.  Although when playing Star Cops you could declare them captured instead and play a Rescue mission to free them, I doubt the two remaining Pirates would have much luck.  So the three OOA characters are officially dead and they will be clones in the future.  The two surviving Nomads each received 3 XP; the Ninja spent his to upgrade to Weapon Master 3 and the trooper is banking his.

The Panoceania were able to stabilize their one OOA character, the Knight.  They received 9 XP for causing three OOA on the Nomads.  Both troopers gained Fast 1 and the remaining 3 XP is stored for the future.

In Conclusion:  In the beginning of the game there was a steep learning curve as to be expected.  As things went along I was able to pick up the flow easier.  It is a challenge playing solo, having to keep track of Reactions and all the markers can be a bit daunting, but I think with practice things will smooth out.  A QRS would help cut down on most of the book flipping, and a decent sheet that shows all your characters and their gear and for holding Stress/Pins/Wounds would be nice.

I lucked out on the Mission/Location/Complications.  I'm not sure if I could design some of the more bizarre choices listed.  But that would give me the excuse to do it.  Also the NPC creatures, I hope I have some suitable options.

And yes I do believe I will be playing it again.  It will be joining the other honorable mentions in my collection (ITEN, FUBAR, One Page Rules, etc.)  It just takes a bit more preparation, but I think it can be worth it.