JACK ROCKET: SOLO EDITION ACTUAL PLAY #1
The Penumbra Actual Plays
Tesseract Engine’s official Second Engineer Chip Penumbra has written Actual Plays for an entire SEASON of JACK ROCKET: SOLO ED play sessions! YAY!
Here’s the first one! Enjoy.
SEASON ONE
EPISODE ONE
“THE SHADOW IN THE STATIC”
CHIP PENUMBRA: I’m choosing to roll Episode One fresh, not use the Starter Adventure. This is the pilot proper.
STEP 1. CREATE THE AGENT
I’m going to play Jack Rocket himself, because this is Episode One of a season and the game leans into that archetype hard.
STATS (4D6 drop lowest, in order)
STR: 6, 6, 3, 2 → drop 2 → total 15 → +1
DEX: 6, 5, 5, 1 → drop 1 → total 16 → +2
GRT: 5, 4, 4, 3 → drop 3 → total 13 → +1
WIL: 6, 3, 3, 2 → drop 2 → total 12 → 0
CP: That feels right. Capable pilot, not especially introspective.
HP
D8 + GRT
Roll: 5 + 1 = 6 HP
CP: Slightly fragile. Noted.
GEAR
Standard kit plus Vanguard extras.
Trinkets (roll 2):
Roll 1D12 → 3: Pocket holo of someone you shouldn’t miss, but do
Roll 1D12 → 10: Faded launch patch from a mission nobody talks about
CP: Excellent. Both are pure emotional shrapnel.
CLASS
Rocket Corps™ Vanguard
Ability: Push the Engines!
Passive: Heroic Presence
Special: Atomic Overload
Charges: 0
STEP 2. ROLL THE EPISODE
Episode Oracle (D66)
Tens: 1
Ones: 3
→ 13: “THE SHADOW IN THE STATIC”
A coded televisor message warns: “Rocket Corps™ compromised.” Find the source of the transmission.
CP: Perfect pilot material.
The ‘problem’ summed up in a single sentence:
CP: Okay, let’s go for...
Someone inside the Rocket Corps™ is broadcasting a warning. Either they’re a traitor, or they’re about to be silenced.
Tension: 12
Clock: 0 / 5
SCENE ONE
FRAME THE SCENE
Location (D20): 6
→ Televisor relay station
Threat (D20): 12
→ Corrupted Rocket Corps™ officer
Complication (D20): 6
→ Televisor static pulse causes confusion
CUT TO:
A squat relay station hanging over Earth, all blinking lights and humming vacuum tubes. Televisor screens flicker with snow and half-formed faces.
REVEAL:
A Rocket Corps™ officer steps out from behind a console, silver uniform scorched and eyes unfocused.
COMPLICATE:
A surge of static rolls through the room. Voices overlap. I can’t tell if the message is incoming or looping.
OBJECTIVE:
CP: Here’s the really important I need to decide. In this case, I want to:
Discover the source of the warning message.
ENGAGE THE SCENE
Action 1:
I stride in confidently, helmet under one arm, playing the hero card.
CP: This is me deliberately invoking Heroic Presence for +1 on my first Save.
I start questioning the officer, trying to read his reactions while accessing the console logs.
This feels like WIL. Mental pressure, conflicting signals.
Save: D20 + WIL + Heroic Presence
Roll: 9 + 0 + 1 = 10
Target: 12
❌ FAIL
CP: Ah hell. Right out of the gate. Never mind! THIS is the game!
Failure consequences:
Clock +1 → 1 / 5
Tension +1 → 13
I decide the complication worsens:
The static spikes. The officer clutches his head and screams, “IT’S NOT JUST ME!”
He collapses. The console locks itself.
CP: I briefly consider using CUT TO COMMERCIAL, but… no. Pilot needs grit.
Action 2:
I crack open the console manually, brute-forcing past the lock while rerouting power.
This is STR.
Save: D20 + STR
Roll: 15 + 1 = 16
✅ SUCCESS
Result:
I access a partial data trail. The signal is bouncing, deliberately obscured.
It’s coming from inside the Corps network, but not from this station.
CP: That resolves the objective! Happy with that! Let’s rock!
END OF SCENE
Success? Yes
Gain +1 Charge
Tension –1 → back to 12
Charges: 1
SCENE TWO
FRAME THE SCENE
Location: 5
→ Rocket Corps™ hangar deck
Threat: 3
→ Dominion infiltrator
Complication: 11
→ Ally betrays you
CUT TO:
Hangar deck. Rockets on gantries. Camera crew hovering like flies.
REVEAL:
A technician waves me over urgently. Then I clock the red stitching in their glove.
COMPLICATE:
My assigned ground chief levels a pistol at me from behind.
OBJECTIVE:
Survive and Escape the hangar.
CP: I’m choosing two objectives knowingly. Risky. Might bite me.
ENGAGE THE SCENE
Action 1:
I dive for cover as the infiltrator fires. This is DEX.
Save: D20 + DEX
Roll: 17 + 2 = 19
Natural 17, not 20, so no Tension shift.
✅ Success.
I skid behind a fuel cart.
Action 2:
I return fire with my silver pistol.
Ranged attack = DEX Save to hit.
Save: 7 + 2 = 9
Target: 12
❌ FAIL
CP: Right, mistake incoming:
I almost apply damage automatically, then catch myself. Enemies don’t have HP. I must succeed to defeat them. Good catch.
Failure consequence:
Clock +1 → 2 / 5
Tension +1 → 13
The infiltrator advances. The traitor shouts for security.
Action 3:
Reckless move. I sprint across open ground and leap into a half-fuelled rocket cockpit.
This is DEX, and absolutely reckless. I’m angling for a Vanguard Charge if I live.
Save: 12 + 2 = 14
✅ Success.
I slam the canopy shut as shots spark off the hull.
END OF SCENE
Objective Escape achieved. Survive achieved.
+1 Charge → now 2
Tension –1 → 12
Charges: 2
And yes, that reckless sprint counts. I note it explicitly.
SCENE THREE
At this point, I choose to trigger a Noir Twist. Pilot episode needs one.
🎲 Noir Twist (D20): 6
→ THE SECRET ORDERS
High Command sends new instructions that directly contradict your mission.
Tension +1 → 13
Next Scene objective will be warped by this.
FRAME THE SCENE
Location: 1
→ Chrome-plated control room
Threat: 12
→ Corrupted Rocket Corps™ officer (again)
Complication: 19
→ Doors lock automatically
Orders received:
“Jack. Stand down. The transmission is classified. Return to base immediately.”
OBJECTIVE:
Expose the truth OR Obey orders?
I choose Expose. This defines Jack Rocket.
ENGAGE THE SCENE
This turns into a confrontation.
Action 1:
I accuse the officer directly, forcing them to respond.
This is WIL again. Risky with my flat 0.
Save: 14 + 0 = 14
✅ Success.
They crack. Admit the Corps is compromised at command level.
That’s a major truth.
Scene ends successfully.
+1 Charge → capped at 3
Tension –1 → 12
Clock remains 2 / 5
FINAL SCENE (I’m choosing to confront now)
CP: I could keep noodling Scenes, but this feels right. Pilot structure says go big.
FINAL SCENE ENGINE
Final Scene Type (D6): 3
→ Infiltration of the Villain’s Lair
Villain (D12): 8
→ Corrupted Rocket Corps™ Officer
Weakness (D6): 5
→ Exploit the set wall flaw
Countdown (D6): 6
→ Media broadcast deadline
ESTABLISH THE SCENE
Deep in a sealed broadcast control chamber, a senior Rocket Corps™ officer prepares to air a falsified transmission branding Jack Rocket a traitor. The walls hum thinly. Cameras roll. The truth is cardboard-thin.
Countdown: 3 rounds
ROUND ONE
I charge across the set, literally punching through a visibly flimsy wall panel to reach the broadcast controls.
That’s STR.
11 + 1 = 12
Meets Tension exactly.
✅ Success.
Weakness exploited once.
Villain action (D6): 1
→ Monologue.
Good. I get Advantage next roll.
Countdown → 2
ROUND TWO
I rip cables free, sparks everywhere.
DEX, with Advantage.
Rolls: 4 and 16 → take 16 + 2 = 18
✅ Success.
Second weakness hit.
Countdown → 1
ROUND THREE – FINISHING MOVE
I swing the loose wall flat into the officer, knocking them out of frame as the transmission cuts to static.
Final Save: DEX
13 + 2 = 15
✅ VICTORY
EPISODE END
Rewards:
Scene successes: 3
Final Scene confronted: 1
Major truth revealed: 1
Capped at 3 Charges.
Long Rest triggered.
ADVANCEMENT (must spend 3 Charges)
I choose: +1 Level
And: +1 HP
Max HP now 7
EPISODE ONE END CREDITS
CP: Jack Rocket is framed… but the static tells another story! Ace!
TO BE CONTINUED…!
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