Halfway Home

I mentioned in an earlier post that most of my game purchases these days are in the form of pdfs. One of the reasons I like them is the ability to easily (in most cases) cut and paste text. I'm currently going through the various Savage Worlds pdfs I've picked up over the years to build my definitive rulebook for Mythic Space. Instead of having to lug around several books or a binder full of notes, I'll have it all in one spot. Obviously, I can't share this out due to not wanting to have the fine folks at Pinnacle have me tarred and feathered (and rightly so), so it'll have to suffice for my group's eyes only. 

Anyway, that's why things have been quiet out of me recently. I'm about halfway through the building of this tome. Once it's done, it's full on conversion and setting details time. As I'm going through the various books that are getting brought into the main rulebook, I'm making notes about certain things I like about each setting or just ideas that come to me. I'm pretty jazzed about some of them. 

Also, expect to see some conversions from the Marvel Universe. I caught the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy the other night and it got me to re-reading some old cosmic and sci-fantasy Marvel comics from back in the day. Marvel has always had a great gonzo feel when it comes to their space titles. Plus, seeing +Brutorz Bill's work converting Marvel aliens on his blog, showed that they are a great fit in just about any space opera setting. 

Setting Title

I suck at titles. I really have no idea why, but they always end up sounding lame or silly and I feel like it dampens the feel of the game before the die are even rolled. I've gone round and round with names for the sci-fantasy setting I'm working on, but I think I've finally landed on one that while not the greatest, will suffice and is better than the others. So, from here on, or at least until I think of something better, I'll be labeling setting posts as "Mythic Space."

That's really all that I have today. I've been putting together the background rules for the setting as well as gear lists and such. After seeing the latest preview for Mercenary Breed 2.0 (right here), I'm really starting to look forward to seeing the finished product. Looks like even more great sci-fi material for Savage Worlds players.

Stat Updates for Rogue Space Part 2

Time for Collector and Reaper forces to receive the Rouge Space treatment!

(Note that in my campaigns I call the Reapers "Nano-Terrors" since I'm not using the whole kill cycle storyline from Mass Effect).

Collector Drone

DRM: +1 TP: I SZ: A MV: Biped (30’), Fly (40’) AR: M DM: V/M HP: 5 SP: -

Collector drones are armed with Laser Rifles (their claws do M damage)

“Harbinger” Drone

DRM: +1 TP: I SZ: A MV: Biped (30’) AR: V DM: V HP: 6 SP: *

Harbinger Drones are armed with Laser Rifles.

They can unleash a Psychic Blast (as the Psionic power) once every other round.

Harbingers have a bolstering effect to all other Collector drones within 100’ feet and in line of sight of a Harbinger drone, granting them a +1 bonus to all rolls.

Harbinger drones are utterly destroyed by the psionic energy coursing through them after 20 minutes or at the end of combat, whichever comes first.

Collector General

DRM: +2 TP: 1 SZ: A MV: Quadruped (20’) AR: M DM: M HP: 6 SP: *

Collector Generals can assume control of a single Drone, transforming it into a Harbinger Drone. Once either a Harbinger is destroyed by combat or by the psychic energy used to assume control, they cannot create another Harbinger for 1d6 rounds. Plus, while in control of a drone, Generals cannot perform other actions.

Collector Web

DRM: - TP: U SZ: RB MV: Fly (15’) AR: M DM: - HP: 4 SP: *

Collector Webs are only damaged by an attack on the central core. This is a Tiny target and due to the web the core emits, it’s difficult to pinpoint; thus any attacks made on the core suffer a -3 penalty to the roll.

Anyone caught in the 20’ web has their speed dropped by half (round up) and they automatically fail any Fighting rolls made to perform any acrobatic maneuvers. Collectors are immune to this effect.

Praetorian

DRM: +3 TP: U SZ: RB MV: Fly (30’) AR: V DM: X HP: 10 SP: *

Praetorians are armed with Twin Particle Beams.

The Praetorian’s most fearsome attack is its Death Choir. If foes are within 30’ of a Praetorian, it will drop to the ground crushing anyone beneath it for X points of damage that fail a Fighting roll against Difficult (9) to dodge out of the way. After a round of charging up (during which it cannot do anything else), it unleashes a blast of energy that does X damage to all within 30’ of the Praetorian. This energy blast ignores 2 points of Armor as well.

Scion

DRM: +2 TP: U SZ: RB MV: Biped (20’) AR: V DM: X HP: 8 SP: *

Scions are armed with pulse cannons that hit all in a straight path to a range of 150’.

Seeker Swarms

DRM: +1 TP: I SZ: T (singly) RB (swarm) MV: Fly (60’) AR: - DM: - HP: 5 SP: *

When a non-Collector lifeform is in sight, they will swoop in and attempt to sting their target; their venom causing a sort of stasis effect of near complete paralysis with only the victim’s eyes being able to move. Seekers have enough venom for 20 stings, once that venom is used up a Seeker dies.

A Seeker Swarm is a mass of flying seekers. Anything living that comes in contact with a Seeker Swarm is automatically attacked. The swarm’s attack roll ignores the any armor that does not fully enclose the wearer, so flak vests and even open helmed armors does not offer any protection, but most power armor does. Those that take damage from a Seeker swarm sting must make a make a Fighting roll against Tough (11) or become perfectly, and instantly rigid. The victim can move his or her eyes and is totally aware of everything going on around them. Psyker victims are unable to use psionic powers.

A swarm that has taken enough damage to be “killed” doesn’t mean that all seekers in the swarm are killed, but have been scattered enough to not be a threat. However, if there are at least three swarms within 100’ of each other that have been scattered, they will reform into a new swarm after 2 rounds from the scattering of the third swarm.

Banshee

DRM: +2 TP: U SZ: A MV: Biped (25’) AR: M DM: V HP: 8 SP: *

Banshee claws do V damage.

Banshees can use the Psychic Blast psionic power.

Banshees regenerate 1 hit point every round.

They release a shockwave that affects all non-Nano-Terror beings within 30 feet of them after concentrating (and only concentrating) for 2 rounds. This attack does V damage.

Banshees can teleport up to 40’ away once every 3 rounds.

Brute

DRM: +3 TP: U SZ: RB MV: Loping Biped (40’) AR: V DM: V HP: 7 SP: *

Brute claws ignore 1 point of armor due to their sharpness.

Brutes can make a charge attack that slams everyone in a straight line up to 40’ for M damage.

Cannibal

DRM: +1 TP: U SZ: A MV: Biped (35”) AR: M DM: M HP: 5 SP: *

Cannibals are armed with imbedded Laser Pistols in their right arms.

Cannibals who spend a round devouring their fallen comrades heal themselves for 3 HP (up to their max of 5) and increase their armor to V.

Harvester

DRM: +4 TP: U SZ: RB MV: Walk (30’), Fly (60’) AR: V DM: X HP: 10 SP: -

Husk

DRM: +1 TP: U SZ: A MV: Biped (30’) AR: M DM: M HP: 6 SP: -

Husk Abomination

DRM: +1 TP: U SZ: A MV: Biped (30’) AR: M DM: V HP: 6 SP: *

Abominations are Husks that are imbued with explosives that go off whenever they are made non-functional, spreading super-hot plasma over a 40’ area for V damage. Their bite attacks are more deadly thanks to the high temperatures in their bodies making their already sharp teeth exceedingly hot as well.

Marauder

DRM: +2 TP: U SZ: A MV: Biped (40’) AR: V DM: V HP: 6 SP: *

Marauders are armed with Laser Rifles.

If a marauder does nothing for one round all other Nano-Terror units within 20’ have their Armor increased by one level (L to M, M to V, V to X) until they are damaged. Plus, due to the hive-mind that all Nano-Terrors share, any Nano-Terrors within 50’ of a Marauder have their actions coordinated, granting them a +1 bonus to rolls while a Marauder is still in action.

Ravager

DRM: +1 TP: U SZ: A MV: Quadruped (25’) AR: V DM: V HP: 6 SP: *

Ravagers bear egg sacs that spawn swarmers. Unless targeted by a called shot, there is a chance each time a Ravager takes damage that a swamer sack has burst (roll 1d6, on a 1 or 2, an egg sack bursts). Anyone directly adjacent to a Ravager when a swarmer sack bursts suffers L damage from the acid (armor reduces this damage). See the Swarmer entry for details, but each sack holds 3 swarmers. Once 4 sacks have burst all sacks are depleted. If a ravager dies before all sacks have burst, the swarmers are slain with the ravager.

Swarmers

DRM: -2 TP: U SZ: T MV: Quadruped (10’) AR: - DM: L HP: 4 SP: *

Swarmers are not generally dangerous on their own. Their only attack method is to leap at foes and explode (thus ending their existence). Their real danger comes from several leaping at the same foe, which can quickly dwindle armor and health.

Stat Updates for Rogue Space (Part One)

I've decided that I'm going to try some dual-statting of any creatures that I offer up on this blog for both Savage Worlds and Rogue Space. So first off, is going to be updating the stats for the creatures that I've posted so far, mostly foes and creatures from the Mass Effect video game series as well as Soul Hunters from Babylon 5. Just stats for Rogue Space for now, the Savage World stats will come later on.

Soul Hunters

DRM: +1 TP: H SZ: A MV: Biped (30’) AR: L DM: M HP: 5 SP: *

Soul Hunters can sense when someone of importance is about to die. When their target has perished, they place a small, palm-sized piece of unknown tech on the corpse’s forehead. Capturing the corpse’s mental energy takes only a couple minutes. After that point, the deceased “live” on in a virtual paradise conducive to the talents that made them attractive to the Soul Hunters. It is assumed that if the tech or the storage facility is found the deceased’s thought patterns could be extracted and imprinted into and android, essentially allowing them to “live” again, but this has never been attempted and therefore is highly theoretical.

Soul Hunters are typically armed with Laser Pistols.

Adjutant

DRM: +1 TP: K SZ: A MV: Loping Biped (30’) AR: M DM: M/V (claws/energy blast) HP: 6 SP: *

Nanites are injected with a successful claw attack. This forces the victim to make a Fighting roll against Tough (9) or become infected by the Adjutant nanites and therefore become one after an hour.

Adjutant energy blasts also have a taser-like effect. When hit by an adjutant energy blast, the victim must make a Fighting roll against Average (7) or be paralyzed for 1d3 rounds.

Klixen

DRM: +1 TP: I SZ: RB MV: Quadruped (25’) AR: V DM: V HP: 6 SP: *

Klixen attack with fire breath with range M.

When killed, their chemical sacks burst causing them to explode dealing V damage to everyone within S range.

Thresher Maw

DRM: +5 TP: K SZ: ZOMG MV: Burrow (100’) AR: X DM: X HP: 12 SP: *

Thresher Maws can spit toxic fluids that do V damage with a range of L that hits everyone within S range of the initial target.  

Thresher Maws can also unleash a sonic shockwave that deals V damage at a range of M. Anyone caught in this shockwave must make a Fighting Roll against Average (7) or be dazed (-1 to all rolls) for 1d3 rounds. Ear protection negates both the dazing effect and damage. 

Varren

DRM: +1 TP: A SZ: A MV: Quadruped (40’) AR: M DM: M HP: 4 SP: -

Geth Trooper

DRM: +1 TP: H (Android) SZ: A MV: Biped (30’) AR: M DM: V HP: 5 SP: -

Armed with Laser Rifles 

Geth Armature

DRM: +3 SZ: RB MV: Walker (20’) AR: V DM: V HP: 8 SP: *

Task: Sentry +2

Once every 5 rounds, the Armature will fire its siege cannon, which does X damage and has F range.

Geth Colossus

DRM: +5 SZ: RB MV: Walker (10’) AR: V DM: V HP: 12  SP: *

Task: Sentry +2

Once every 5 rounds, the Colossus will fire its siege cannon, which does X damage and has F range. 

Geth Destroyer

DRM: +1 TP: H (Android) SZ: A MV: Biped (30’) AR: M DM: V HP: 6 SP: -

Some Destroyers are armed with Mini Frag Missile Launcher, but most are armed with laser rifles.

Geth Hopper

DRM: +1 TP: H (Android) SZ: A MV: Biped (30’), Leap (20’), and Wall-Crawl (15’) AR: M DM: V HP: 4 SP: *

Hoppers are armed with shoulder-mounted laser rifles.

They can jam communications and security devices. In order to get such tech working again, a character must make a Repair roll against Difficult (9).

Geth Hunter

DRM: +1 TP: H (Android) SZ: A MV: Biped (30’) AR: M DM: M HP: 6 SP: *

Geth Hunters are armed with shotguns.

Geth Hunters are equipped with stealth technology that makes them almost invisible; only a faint shimmering outline is noticeable. Anyone that a Geth Hunter is sneaking up on is allowed an Acquiring roll against Average (7) to be able to notice the Hunter closing in. Once a Hunter has taken damage, the stealth tech is shut down for the remainder of combat.

Geth Juggernaut

DRM: +2 TP: H (Android) SZ: A MV: Biped (30’) AR: V DM: X/V HP: 8  SP: -

Geth Juggernauts are armed with Laser Pulse Rifles with fragmentation rocket attachments. Three rockets are launchable via the attachment.

Geth Prime

DRM: +3 TP: H (Android) SZ: RB MV: Biped (30’) AR: V DM: X/V HP: 10 SP: *

Geth Primes are armed with Laser Pulse Rifles with Fragmentation rocket attachments (carried 5 missiles).

Geth Primes are capable of jamming communications and security devices like Hoppers (though the TN to get past jamming tech is increased to Tough (11)).

Primes also coordinate the attacks of all Geth within 80’, granting them a +1 bonus to all rolls while they are within range.

Next Up: Collector and Reaper Forces!

Land of Mithgarthr: A quick review.

(Full-disclosure: I received a free copy of The Lands of Mithgarthr in return for a review and being put into a drawing for the print edition.)

The Lands of Mithgarthr is a 22 page pdf by Matt Evans of Mithgarthr Entertainment that retails for $1.99 at RPGNow. This is the first in a series of supplements for Labyrinth Lord (though there is little statistical information given in the book so that it can be easily use with any OSR game, or most any Fantasy RPG in general) detailing the Mithgarthr campaign setting. This book gives an overview on the setting with focus on the Kingdom of Karak. The author's stated purpose for this series is to offer up a setting with enough detail to form a solid foundation for a campaign, but not with so much detail that it stifles the creativity of the GM.

First up is a timeline for the lands of Mithgarthr covering important points in history over a 1525 year period. Also offered is the Mithgarthr calendar and the names for the days of the week and the months.

Next up is information on the people of Mithgarthr. The standard fantasy races are all present and accounted for (dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, and two races of humans, Karakians and Nords). There are also rules for what characters are and are not allowed in a Mithgarthr campaign for both standard LL games and for those using the AEC rules. Players wanting to play an elf, will be disappointed since elves are firmly in the NPC category due to the setting backstory.

The Gods of Mithgarthr are detailed next. There are five chief gods each with full detail including special bonuses for Clerics of each faith (things like what kind of weapons are kosher for them to use or special spells or powers). There is also a space for demon and devils, which all fall under the term of "Chaos" with Orcus, the Demon Prince of the Undead, being the chief malefic entity.

The Monsters of Mithgarthr section details the common monster threats in the lands, focusing primarily on humanoid tribes (orcs, goblins, ogres and the like) and dragons. There is one new monster presented here, the Ratten, a race of humanoid rats with a disease transmitting bite.

The final section of the book consists of details on the Kingdom of Karak. Short details are given for the royal city and the surrounding cities in the kingdom as well as details on the churches, holidays, and laws of the land. There is also a hex map of the kingdom.

So, how is the book? Well, I do think the author succeeded in building a setting that won't really hinder a GM's creativity, which I like, however, I do think that more details and possible adventure hooks would serve the book well. As it stands, a GM running this setting will find he can pretty much do as he pleases, but he/she'll also find that there will be more "heavy lifting" to be done to get ready for game night since there aren't many hooks here. That's not to say that there aren't any possible hooks here, just that they are generally a line or two in the history and Kingdoms of Karak town details.

I rather like the backstory, it's nothing earthshatteringly new or original, but it gives the GM something to work toward that is interesting. Plus, the dealings with the Elves will like play a big role as a party branches out from the Kingdom of Karak.

The book as a whole has the feel of the classic GAZ series for BECMI D&D. I assume that each book in the Mithgarthr series will cover a new area of the world replete with it's own rules and nuances to make playing in that new part of the world feel different that other parts. I just wish there was a bit more meat to the book.

So, do I think the book is worth the $1.99 price of admission? Sure. If what you're looking for is a new area as a base for a new campaign or to flesh out an area in an already largely fleshed out hex crawl, you can do far worse that The Lands of Mithgarthr; especially if you like setting books that pretty much stay out of the GM's way so they can do as they please. However, if you want more detail from your campaign setting books, you may want to give this one a pass. For me, I look forward to future titles in the line and hope that Mr. Evans will beef up the content a bit more in future releases.

Bleh and Bah!

Well, it was bound to happen with this warm then cold and then super cold roller coaster, I've caught a cold. Not a major one, but my head still feels like it's filled with concrete every so often. Add in a little dash of craziness in getting my oldest son's first batch of Valentine's Day cards wrapped up, and I haven't had much time to write much of anything lately. Really, I haven't even thought about gaming much this week at all. I hope to change that some this weekend, as long as I don't end up feeling worse.

On the gaming front, I was catching up on my blog reading and I'm seeing a decent bit of buzz about the new edition of Rogue Space. It's great to see an indie game get the recognition it deserves.

C-SEC (Post #150!)

The galaxy is a dangerous place and in need of protection. The Concord Navy protects the worlds of Concord members from major threats like rogue stellar nations and inter-dimensional invaders. What about the petty criminals, murderers, slavers, and so on that are beneath the interest of the Concord Navy? That's where Concord Security (C-Sec) steps in. They are the cops, detectives, and special police forces of Concord-controlled space. They are the front line in keeping the citizens of the Concord safe from the smaller, but no less dangerous, evils of the galaxy.

Concord Security is a multi-species police force first formed shortly after the dedication of the Citadel as the home of Concord politics. At first, they saw to the security of the Council, senators, and various ambassadors and their retinues arriving on the Citadel to do business. After the formation of the Concord Navy, the direct protection of the Council and Senate fell to the Concord Marines. C-Sec was then tasked with policing the rest of the Citadel, the docking stations, warehouses, commercial and residential zones. As the influence of the Concord grew, so did the number of culture-neutral space stations, supply colonies, and various other non-military installations. (Referring to an area as "culture-neutral" means that no one stellar nation is dominant on that installation.) C-Sec was expanded to keep the peace and uphold the law in these areas as well.

In order to have laws to uphold, before C-Sec was founded, and not long after the signing of the Galactic Concord Constitution, a set of standard laws was passed that apply to any cultural-neutral area under Concord control. These are the usual laws against murder, theft, violence, trafficking in contraband, etc. These sets of laws still cause the occasional diplomatic flap as not all cultures see all of these Standard Laws as criminal offences and some cultures don't think there are enough offenses. Lawbreakers are taken before Concord Courts where sentencing is meted out by the standard set in the Standard Laws Code. Again, the length and type of punishment is always agreeable to every society.

On most Concord worlds, the local government typically has their own security forces in place. The only time C-Sec has any authority in these areas is when investigations into the breaking of one of the core Concord laws, usually breaking the edicts against slavery or doing business with stellar nations that practice or support slavery. However, there are Concord members whose cultures have had little need of security forces often find that they do need help once they are dealing with other species on their home turf more regularly. Typically, C-Sec oversees protection and police duties for these member nations as well.

C-Sec is organized similar to Earth police precincts. The head of C-Sec, the Attorney General, answers to the Council. Each sector is then governed by a Commissioner that answers to the AG. Each precinct is under the command of a Captain. Sergeants rank below Captains and are in charge during times that the Captain is off-duty. Detectives are next in the chain of command and are tasked primarily with the investigations of crimes. Officers are the lowest rank of C-Sec and are the standard "beat cop" of the precinct. The number of detectives and officers will vary from precinct to precinct based on the need. Some precincts in areas with high crime rates or high rates of certain types of crimes may have special investigation units that are better trained to handle those certain types of crimes (Narcotics, Slavers, Sex Crimes, etc.).

In addition to protection and investigation, most precincts in high population areas will also have special units trained to deal with high danger situations like terrorism or hostage situations. These Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) units tend are better trained and equipped than standard officers. In some precincts officers may serve double duty as officers and in SWAT units, but that is usually rare.

C-Sec also has a self-policing division called Internal Affairs. This division is highly unpopular as they "police the police." IA investigates and looks for evidence of wrong-doing by C-Sec officials from the AG down to the officers. This division is headed up by the Director of Internal Affairs, who answers to the AG, but in cases involving graft by the AG or his personal staff, the Director then answers to the Council itself. IA consists primarily of agents trained in a variety of disciplines ranging from espionage to accounting. When necessary, they can call upon detectives and officers in a precinct to aid in their investigations.

The third and final division of C-Sec is the Special Investigations Bureau. SIB primarily concerns itself with large threats usually uncovered by precincts like large slave rings and organized crime. SIB also has the authority to investigate crimes of sensitive nature in the Concord Navy (most common crimes are handled by the Navy's own Military Police division). SIB has the authority to take over investigations currently being handled by individual precincts when directed to do so by the AG. SIB agents are typically trained in a variety of areas and are usually very experienced in law enforcement.

Savage Worlds Sci-Fi Resources

When Savage Worlds first hit the scene, one of the comments I regularly heard about the system was that there just wasn't enough support for the sci-fi genre. While you certainly could run a sci-fi game with the core rules, certain things like cybernetics, a good selection of high tech gear, and starship battle rules were sorely missing. Slipstream cam along and filled the gap a bit, but it was still a bit too fantasy for some people and there were still elements missing. Fans, however stepped up and filled the gap with their own rules and settings. Today, there is a wealth of sci-fi resources as the disposal of any GM wanting to run any sort of sci-fi game with Savage Worlds, both fan-made and from Pinnacle and their licensees.

As I'm currently going through my SW library, making notes on backgrounds and such, I thought I'd take some time to list the resources and the bits that I plan to use in my still currently unnamed kitchen sink space opera setting (note that most of these resources are for pre-Deluxe versions of SW, but should work just fine with just some minor tweaking in spots):

Daring Tales of the Space Lanes: I haven't picked up much of this series. However, I do have the freebies and I purchased the Extras Pack that has three pdfs (Starships of the Galaxy, Sector 01, and Combat Hazards). Triple Ace Games does great work and DTotSL is no exception, though some bits are superseded by the new Science Fiction Companion. Much of the goodies in this line come in the form of ships, gear, and new hazards. Starships of the Galaxy is full of example starships, the base Space Pulp Rules has wrist computers, Combat Hazards had a host of strange environmental effects, and there are new Edges and Hindrances in each book, for instance. Sector 01 is a great resource if you're in need of a quick planet for the night's adventures.

Daring Tales of the Sprawl: All I have is the freebie 9 page rules doc, but if all you want is some cybernetics to drop into your game, you can't go wrong here. However, with the new SFC and Interface Zero 2.0, this doc have been overshadowed by a wider selection and Deluxe stats.

Darwin's World: All I have is the Survivor's Handbook, but I go to these rules for the mutation rules for my setting. It's great. Savage Worlds makes for a much leaner and simpler way to explore the wastelands compared to the D20 Modern version, and I say that as a huge fan of the D20 version. The Campaign Guide is on my wish list, but I just haven't gotten around to picking it up yet.

High Space: I just picked up the final version of this game today actually, I'd been check out the beta rules for a while now. There's a ton of great material here from gear to ships. Their race rules group races into categories as opposed to detailing out individual races, not my preferred method, but it works.

Interface Zero 2.0: If you want cybergear, this is the place. There's a lot of setting specific information that's even tied to the cybergear, but it's not tough to strip away if that's what you want. Even the races are easily stripped out from the setting for use anywhere else you may want. Plus, if you want to play a dark and brooding Bladerunner-like game, this setting is really just simply awesome on its own.

MARS: Now, I know that Mars is much more fantasy than sci-fi, but I do use several of the races and many of the creatures, just with new backgrounds. Red Martians became Corvians, recently freed slaves and mortal enemies of the Thorpids (Grey Men).

Mass Effect: There are several fan-made savagings of Mass Effect out there. I use bits of both fan creations by Jim from Exploding Dice and by Evan Kreider. Both of these fan guides can be found at Savage Heroes.

Mercenary Breed: This setting from Mystical Throne Entertainment is another really well done sci-fi setting. I hear it's also getting updated to Deluxe, and majorly expanded this year (with a dedicated Xenobestiary), so there's even more to look forward to. One really cool thing here is that they have a random race generation system using a deck of playing cards. Just in case you really want to mix things up.

Nemezis: This setting is from the folks as GRAmel (beware that the site is in Polish), who also make the great Beasts & Barbarians fantasy setting for Savage Worlds. There's lots here from races to gear to tech. I use the races as both gengineered humans and I modified the backgrounds of the Ashe to be their own "near-human" species.

Savage SLA Industries: This is another fan-made conversion that can also be found at Savage Heroes. Lots of great info here. Just like with most converted settings, you'll want access to the original source material if you want a straight on conversion, since very few of these savaged settings have much more than scant background information. (Thanks to Brutorz Bill over at the Green Skeleton Gaming Guild for giving me a heads up on a newer version than the one I had.)

Slipstream: This is a great setting to turn to for aliens and if you want gear with a very Flash Gordon-like vibe.

Star Frontiers: This is another "savaged" take on the classic TSR game. This is a very thorough conversion as well done by Greg Bruni. The main races, much of the gear, and even a good chunk of the aliens like the Sathar. Also, make sure you check out part 3 of the Crash on Voltrunus conversion for even more creatures to add to your xenobestiary. (This conversion is also found at Savage Heroes.)

Star Wars: Wow! There are a TON of options to choose from here. My personal favorite is Savage Star Wars 6.0 by Mike Glanville (it weighs in at 102 pages, basically everything you need to run the setting), but there are bits and pieces that I use from several of the various conversions. Not to go off the rails, but I've come around to the idea that Savage Worlds may just be the perfect system to use for Star Wars. I say that as a long time roleplayer of each of the Star Wars games (D6 through the D20 games, still haven't gotten the chance to try out FFG's new system). Go check out Savage Heroes and see which one works for you.

Various Other Savaged Settings: Instead of going through each fan conversion I use, I'm going to tell you that I check out any sci-fi setting that hits Savage Heroes. Settings like Farscape, Babylon 5, and other shows where fans have done my "heavy-lifting" for me, is a huge time saver. I may not always agree with the author's take, but it's still easier to tweak than to reinvent the wheel.

I know I'm likely missing a few things, but these are some of the places I go for stats and ideas for my setting. Plus, it just goes to show that there's a LOT of support for science fiction in Savage Worlds.

Next up, I'm going to start detailing some of my evolving ideas on the background of the setting.