Mega-Dungeons of Space: Hulks

Image by deviantart user, PavellKiD

Derelict spacecraft are truly the dungeons of space, and the Space Hulks are the truly legendary dungeons of the stars. They are ancient, titanic starships that were built by an unknown species that possibly predates the Prometheans. This massive starships either drift through space or randomly jump in and out of space time via some unknown method. As far back into the records of even the oldest space-faring species, Space Hulks have been cataloged, studied, boarded, and explored. While some corporations have made their fortunes and reputations from the tech scavenged from these ancient wrecks, even more corporations and far more explorers, scientists, and mercenaries have lost everything: their credits, their lives, and their sanity on these ships.

There are 16 known Space Hulks, but it is theorized that this may not be the total number of hulks in the galaxy. It has also been theorized that there may every well be many other hulks in the cold dark of space between galaxies, since there are several researchers that believe that the space hulks originated from another galaxy, be it Andromeda or another nearby dwarf galaxy. Every hulk is gigantic, large enough to generate their own gravity and atmosphere in many cases, but each one is now far larger than they originally were. Over the eons, these ships have collected other spacecraft (likely predominantly the ships of explorers and scavengers that have been lost on their endeavors) as well as asteroids and other space debris that have become lodged into the hulls and therefore have become part of the craft.  They are not unlike museums drifting through space and in an out of our reality. Thanks to their nigh-unimaginable age, they hold untold treasures of technology, history, genetics, and weaponry; all ripe for the picking should an enterprising crew happen to find one.

Most Hulks, save one, either drift through space or (more commonly) shunt into and out of reality seemingly at random. The means by which these immense starships do this is completely unknown. One moment, the Hulk is sitting in space, and then comes a building of energy and the ship appears to slip sideways into a tear in the fabric of space and is gone. That hulk may reappear on the other side of the galaxy within days or not for centuries. There so far has been no pattern that can be discerned from the comings and goings of a Space Hulk. They simply appear and disappear at random. Even the most widely accepted theory on their method of travel (dimensional shunting) has not been proven. All that is certain, is when the ship disappears, it's not as if it is cloaked; it simply isn't there anymore. The few that have been on a Hulk as it traveled in this manner state that space is different. It ripples ever so slightly as if the Hulk were suspended in a calm body of water. The alignment of the stars are wrong, and some will wink in and out as if someone is turning them on and off like a light. A strong feeling of disorientation and "wrongness" permeates this other dimension or reality, so much so that over 85% of those that have entered this other realm have been driven insane by the experience.

Out of the 16 known Hulks, two have been destroyed, one by altering its course into a nearby star, which nearly killed the star in the process (Devastator), and the other by it re-entering our reality too close to a black hole (H-13). Even though there are many that would risk their companies, their nations, and their lives to study and plunder the secrets of a Hulk, everyone fears the appearance of one of these mammoths in their system. This fearful reputation is well deserved. It was the Space Hulk, Tyrannus, that introduced the worlds of the Concord to the Tyranid menace. The Hulk, Primal Necropolis, carries a plague parts of its interior that kills with 99% effectiveness and those that survive and typically driven insane by the ravages of the disease. Alien horrors and virulent plagues are only two of the dangers of a Space Hulk. Explorers must also be wary of unstable bulkheads that can open out into the vacuum of space, still active internal defenses, pirates and other not-so-noble explorers, and disappearing into some unknown reality whenever the Hulk decides it is time to leave. Hulks have earned their infamy for all of these reasons and more, but the rewards for those who can plumb the depths, even ever so shallowly, and escape with not just their lives, but with artifacts or data have made the fortunes of many.

Below is a list of the known Hulks and a few details about the more (in)famous hulks.

Devastator was the first Hulk in recorded history to be destroyed. This Hulk housed an army of mutated marauders known as Death Knights. These humanoid creatures donned armor that appeared to be a conglomeration of their own armor and pieces scrounged from the inside of the Hulk. Wherever Devastator appeared, these vicious and bloodthirsty beings would swarm out of the hulk and lay waste to any nearby worlds. The Death Knights appeared to know when Devastator was about to disappear, as they would break off attacks to return to the hulk even when they were on the cusp of domination over the defense forces of a local system. The Protoss Collective finally ended Devastator's reign of terror by using mass drivers to hurl enough asteroids and proto-planets into the hulk, forcing it on a collision course with the star Ainuri, which nearly caused the star to destabilize and go super-nova far sooner than it would have naturally. Sadly, the increased solar radiation burned off much of the third planet's atmosphere, killing billions of Protoss citizens in the process.

Tyrannus is infamous for being infested with the insectoid-like beings, predominantly the dreaded Genestealers. Genestealers propagate their species by using barbs at the end of their long tongues to inject their genetic material into a host. Over time, the hosts DNA is re-written into that of a Genestealer. This process typically take a week or two, but there are some tales of Genestealer infections transforming a victim in only hours. The Concord issued Emergency Decree #18 after Tyrannus appeared in the Moltanik system and the Hive swarmed forth, completely wiping out three colonies in the system and destroying a space station. The decree states that if any Concord member detects the presence of the Hulk, Tyrannus, that the Concord Navy is to be contacted at once and emergency war-time defense strategies should immediately be enacted.

Primal Necropolis is largely an enigma. Of all the known Hulks, save the Aegis of Time, it holds more derelict ships on its hull. The disease known as the Primal Curse hangs in the air. No one can explain how a disease that live for so long without a host, but the effects are clear: hemorrhaging, hallucinations, loss of muscle control, and finally death are all effects of the disease. As said above, this plague has a 99% kill rate in those infected. The disease is also very virulent outside of the Hulk. There is a crater on the planet Farson III, where a colony was obliterated from orbit due to the rapid spread of the disease. So little of this hulk has been explored, but those that have entered it say that the hallways are littered with the bones of those that attempted to plunder the Hulk, some of the species were totally new to researchers. Primal Necropolis is another hulk that is off-limits to citizens of the Concord by Emergency Decree.

Aegis of Time is an anomaly among Space Hulks. It orbits the star of the Ylindril system between the fourth and fifth gas giants in the system. It has orbited Ylindril for at least the last 500 years thanks to evidence found among the remains of those that explored the hulk before an exploration ship re-discovered it 52 years ago. This hulk is also an anomaly for being far less deadly than any other hulk. It still has its dangers, but the Aegis of Time has been deemed safe enough to house a full time science team. Over the last couple of decades the hulk has turned into a sort of space station in the sector. Even though this hulk has been studied non-stop for the last 52 years, only 36% of the craft has been properly mapped and explored. There are still vast areas of the craft that are closed off in spite of the best efforts of Concord scientists and military forces. Thanks to the artifacts and remains found in the corridors and rooms of the Aegis of Time, 15 new species of intelligent life have been discovered (although the age of the remains and the lack of any other confirmed sightings leads researchers to believe that most of those species may no longer exist), technological discoveries have lead to more efficient power packs for weapons and gear, and that's not even mentioning the various historical artifacts in the forms of vids (taken from the remains), data-chips, and pads.

Fordham's Folly is the latest Hulk to be discovered. It appeared deep in the Oort Cloud of the Sol System. Commander Travis Fordham of the Sol Systems Alliance Navy fought hard to lead a team of scientists and soldiers to explore the Hulk as he has always been enthralled by the legends of these craft and therefore desperately wanted to explore one. The team was only on the hulk for two hours before it shunted away. The team was feared to be lost when the Hulk reappeared in the same location just minutes later. A frantic call for help was received from the hulk and an extraction team was sent in. Commander Fordham was the only person found, alive or dead, although his armor was caked in blood. Cmdr Fordham couldn't explain where his team was and appeared to have no recollection of the time the hulk had disappeared. All he would say was that "the shadows" over and over. He was deemed to be suffering an extreme case of PTSD and was placed into psychiatric care at Bethesda Medical on Earth. Cmdr Fordham would become suddenly violent and killed three staffers, forcing him to be placed into solitary confinement. The once storied career of Cmdr Fordham came to and end 10 years to the day after his rescue from the Hulk. He was discovered in his cell with a snapped neck. It was assumed that he somehow committed suicide, but signs of a struggle suggest he was murdered. The vid feed in his cell showed Cmdr Fordham suddenly becoming agitated and frightened. The vid goes slowly dark, although there was nothing wrong with the lighting or the vid feed, until nothing can be seen. All that is heard is a scream and a crack and the feed suddenly clear up to show Fordham dead in the corner of his cell.
     As for the Hulk, after the extraction team rescued Cmdr Fordham, it disappeared. It has only reappeared one other time (that anyone is aware of), in the Wrinlovex System three years after its appearance in the Sol System. It was monitored for for a few minutes until it disappeared again.

The Curse of Khaine is a hulk first encountered by the Eldar in their home system. Details are sketchy, largely in part because the Eldar do not speak of their home system except in riddles and half-truths, but the Eldar feel the appearance of the Curse of Khaine directly lead to the downfall of their society. Exarch Tolis of the craftship, Eleshaar, gives the best depiction of the Curse of Khaine and why his people fear it so much: "The Curse of Khaine brought forth the blight that ended the Eldar Empire and sent us on our exile to find a new home in the cosmos. It was manned by the damned and it spells the doom for all that encounter it. Do not search for the Curse of Khaine, but know that the day will come when it will appear and all of us will have to peer in the darkness and see the terrors that await us." As far as is known, the Curse of Khaine has only be witnessed by the Eldar, so it's possible it's just a metaphor for something whatever was plaguing Eldar society at the time of their fall, but since the Eldar are so secretive about their origins it must be left up to pure speculation until now.

Danar'sidai is the only hulk that has never shunted for as long as it has been tracked by any of the Concord societies. It plods along at a rate of about 6 AU's per year. Danar'sidai is the name given to the hulk by the Minbari, who discovered (well, the first of the Concord species to discover it, that is) it back in the early days of their baby-steps into the Cosmos. The name mean "Deathbringer." The Minbari have tried to destroy the craft many times, but have so far been completely unsuccessful. Out of all of the Hulks, only the Aegis of Time has been more thoroughly explored, however, no map of Danar'sidai is useful. The interior of the craft seems to shift and change with time. A map that may have been perfectly good 12 years ago, may be virtually worthless now; a quality that has baffled every scientist that has ever studied the hulk. The hulk is a hotspot for explorers, pirates, and plunderers though looking for ancient relics and tech thanks to its predictability. That appears to be where much of the danger stems from: other explorers. However, the Minbari that first explored the hulk ran into strange alien beings who had the appearance of having lived on the hulk for a long time. In fact, teams of raiders and other explorers have gone missing in the depths of the hulk. It is possible that these lost folk have met with others, and possibly have built their own colonies inside the hulk; with the strange occurrences surrounding these titans of space, it appears that anything is possible.

The other eight hulks have never been explored by Concord members. Other cultures may have names for these other hulks, but none of that information has been made available to Concord historians and researchers. What is known is that if any of these other hulks enter into Concord space and are discovered, that it is Concord law that the Navy be notified immediately and that the local security forces secure the hulk until the Navy can arrive to properly assess the situation. With the myriad of dangers that these starcraft can house inside of them, it is no wonder that the Concord wants to keep foolhardy explorers plumbing the depths and unleashing unknown horrors upon the Concord, and the galaxy at large.

The New Canon and Another Death

The news that many of us expected was coming down (well, I expected it at least) finally arrived: The Star Wars Expanded Universe is essentially null and void. I completely understand and respect the decision. After all, vast swaths of the Expanded Universe material was less than stellar (although I did enjoy much of it...a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine) and why tie down the new movies to canon of questionable quality. However, I hope that this doesn't mean that we'll never see Mara Jade, Grand Admiral Thrawn, the young Skywalker and Solo kids, and the characters from the EU that were bright spots. Supposedly, the novels and such will continue, but the current timeline of the novels are a different "what if" reality of Star Wars and not the real thing. (You can read the official announcement here.)

Also in geek news today, Marvel has announced that they are going to kill Wolverine. That's right, the big kahuna of the Marvel Universes is going to bite the big one. Although I have some major doubts that Marvel will kill off one of, if not the, most popular character in their universe with the intent of Wolvie staying dead for longer than 4-year old's attention span lasts, I do hope that Wolverine will stay dead longer than Superman. After all, if you're going to have the brass cajones to kill off one of the big dogs, have the same level of cajones to keep 'em dead long enough for rigor mortis to set in. Not sure how I feel about this one, but Marvel has made it quite a habit of having grand, far-affecting, events and then retconning them a month or two later, so I doubt that one of my favorites will be gone for very long.

Another Quiet Week...

...at least it has been quiet on the blog that is. I am still kicking and I am still working on a few things, just not a lot of time to write up anything for here. Sorry about that. I do hope to get some stuff I've got on the burners finished up once a few things on the homefront calm down. Possible changes in employment can kind of throw a monkey wrench into plans for creativity. Plus, it's been freaking gorgeous outside, so we've been taking advantage of it before the weather turns stormy or too hot.

Here's an update on my current projects:

Mythic Space: I'm still working on the main rulebook. It's coming along pretty well. Really, it's pretty much done, but I'm constantly finding things to tweak and add to the book. Once that's done, I'll be posting more setting material and write-ups on the various species, systems, ships, and creatures. In fact, I've got a post of Farscape species for Rogue Space already queued up, I'm just waiting to get the Savage Worlds side of the statblocks wrapped up before I post it.

S&W Setting: When I started tossing together some ideas for a setting for Swords & Wizardry using the Known World/Mystara setting as a base, I thought I'd be able to keep it focused on primarily Mystara. However, it has since blossomed into another wide-ranging setting drawing material from across the D&D/OSR/D20 spectrum. I wouldn't expect anything too concrete on this beyond snippets here and there, as this is more of a fall back project that I work on when I want to get away from Sci-Fi for a bit.

Dungeon Crawler Board Game: This project kind of took off on its own. I sat down one night to put together some ideas of things I thought might work and ended up writing a lot. I've got some monster cards and character cards already worked up, and I think I'll be playtesting this shortly. It's largely based off of the Talisman system, but tweaked liberally to make it work for a dungeon crawler. I think it's going to harken back to Hero Quest and Warhammer Quest once I get it into a playable state.

Life in the Galaxy

Life in the 24th century isn't a Utopia, but compared to today it looks like it in many ways. On Earth, very few are hungry and those that are are in that state largely due to their own vices. Disease is largely eradicated, and those that still exist are (again largely) easily managed with medicines and gene therapies. Energy is plentiful, as is drinking water. The environmental disasters that loom on the horizon today, and became a reality in the late 21st Century are a thing of the past. The politics of 24th century Earth deal mostly with matters pertaining to the Concord and not between rival Terran nations. We've abandoned the machismo and arrogance of today's society because we had to as a species when we joined the galactic community. There are still wars, rogue states, spying, greed, avarice, fanaticism, and violence, but such problems rarely affect the lives of those living on Earth and its established colonies in the time of the Mythic Space campaign.

Life for most humans in the future isn't much different than it is today. Sure, energy is abundant and you don't generally have to worry about where your next meal is coming from, but there are still jobs to do and bills to be paid. Corporations are even more massive, some are virtually stellar nations in their own right. These corps are split into various subsidiaries and are bought and sold almost constantly. Most people working for these companies rarely know exactly who they are working for, and frankly most don't care as long as the credits keep getting deposited. The biggest difference is that without the need to run to the grocery store or the gas station or bother with any number of "fixer-up" jobs, people have more time to devote to their hobbies or to entertainment. This is more pronounced on established worlds. Out on the colonies of the frontier, life can be a bit more focused on survival rather than catching up on the latest vid or working on perfecting your cloud painting technique.

The forms of entertainment are wide and varied, but they still tend to boil down to a few key areas: Movies ("vids" as they are called now), Games, Music, Art, Theater, Literature, and Sports. Whenever different cultures interact, there is an inevitable blending and sharing between the two; such has been the case since humanity was a collection of various tribes and city-states and so it continues to be now that humanity is part of a cosmopolitan galactic society. Not long after the humans and fraal joined forces, fraal art and music became all the rage on Earth. Even the fraal took to certain aspects of Terran culinary techniques and fashion. These blendings between cultures only increase further the more species are introduced into the mix.

Musical interests have always been nebulous and hard to predict. That is even moreso now. The music of the 24th century isn't that much different at its core compared to today, but the influences of other cultures and the exposure to new instruments and approaches to making music certainly have their effect. Not to mention the aspect of art imitating life. What would be likened to the Country music of today deals less with tractors and big-rigs, but rather with life on the stellar frontier. Still there is the elements of love, honor, heartbreak, and having a good time that are essentially timeless and are carried through into the 24th century.

The biggest change is how mankind has embraced its place on the galactic stage. Alien artists are booked and sell out packed arenas on Earth continuously. Earth isn't any different that most other members of the Concord, and partaking in the bounties of a shared society does have it's perks. It's nothing to go hear a Klingon opera one night and then a couple days later go hear an Ithorian singer open for the latest human diva.

Sports have been blended in much the same way. Baseball, football, basketball, soccer, and hockey are still played even in the future. As more species become part of different societies, they also bring their sports with them or want to try their hand at the sports of the natives as well. There are various leagues to the "good ol' human games" throughout the Concord, though primarily in areas with larger human populations. There have been rules implemented by each league to mitigate injuries due to special circumstances of various species playing together and the prevalence of genetic modification and cybernetics. After all, it would be dangerous to play basketball with a 12 foot tall being that weighs half a ton. Sports, and gambling, are one of the main areas where humans quickly made in-roads in dealing with other species. If anything, humans love a contest. Vid sports channels on Earth and many Sol Alliance colonies carry a wide array of sports from many worlds. It's nothing to see a kid going to school with a ballcap of his favorite baseball club and the logo of his favorite alien sport team on his backpack.

Movies, television, and games are far easier to get immersed in. Virtual Reality became a reality in the early 22nd century. Holodecks followed about 50 years later. Vids are still largely shown on a 2d surface, but games are largely offered up only in VR. There are some vids, primarily sports, that are offered in VR, but few movies go to the expense to offer on that platform...except in the realms of, ahem, adult entertainment. Even the VR offerings for sports only offer choice seats, and don't allow the viewer to be in the game, unless they are playing a VR simulation.

Libraries are largely all digital. The wave we see now of moving away from physical mediums only continues in the future. The works of authors from across the Concord and beyond are available from most libraries. Plus, the digitizing of classic works from the whole of human history are available as well from most institutions. There are still libraries in the classical sense that seek to preserve the physical copies of books and scrolls, and the trade of these tomes is very active in both legal and illegal avenues. Libraries have largely merged on most worlds as getting from one side of a planet to another is nothing like it is today. It's nothing for someone living in Baton Rogue to spend and afternoon pouring over books at the Terran Library of History in New York and be back home by supper.

Art of many worlds is quite popular as well. The various art galleries in Rome, New York, Moscow house classic works of human artists to up-and-comers from the Terran colonies and members of the Concord as well. Much like the trade of literature, the sale of art is lively both legally and illegally, even moreso in most regards. The black market for antiquities both human and alien has been booming for some time now. This is one of the reasons that when ruins are discovered on alien worlds, the Concord does its best to try and protect the sites from plunderers looking to cash in on the history of a fallen species.

International Tabletop Day

Happy International Tabletop Day! I hope you all were able to play (or are still playing) some game today. My 5-year old and I played some Talisman (4th edition) today, we're going to continue tomorrow. We started off with Castle Ravenloft, but he just' not quite ready for such a reading-intensive game just yet. He was really enjoying playing his knight for a while until he rolled a 1 on the City's Enchantress Table. Let's just say he wasn't happy about being turned into a Toad... My Troll wasn't faring much better as I kept drawing tough Psychic Combat encounters, which are really, really hard when you only start with 1 Craft.

While playing Talisman, I think I've found how I want to build my own dungeon crawler game. The mechanics will be very similar to Talisman. Characters start with a base score in four categories. These numbers can be raised (and lowered) by various means. These totals are added to a single D6 roll against a certain target number. Characters are built as static classes that can be modified a bit with the player's selection for the character's race. Characters won't level-up beyond the gear they get. This seems to fly in the face of what I've mentioned in other posts, but the way I have it working in my mind even spellcasting characters would get a chance to learn new spells that they find in the dungeon. After the dungeon, there will be events and places to visit that will offer more opportunities for stat changes.

There's still a mountain of details to iron out, but the way it's working out in my head is a game that has some depth, but still plays quick and easy like Heroquest. We'll see how it goes.

ADD Strikes Again

Thanks to all of the Diablo 3 I've been playing lately and my 5 year old interested in playing the D&D board games, I've been batting around the idea of building my own dungeon crawling game again. I've tried my hand at this a few times in the past, but it always seems to fall apart. This time however, I think I may be onto something. I'm going to use a parred down form of 4th Edition D&D. Why 4E? Well, it already plays very much like a tactical board game, so much so that I think WotC was onto something when they came out with Castle Ravenloft. So why not just play Castle Ravenloft/Wrath of Ashardalon/Legend of Drizzt? I do, and especially while my son gets his "sea legs", so to speak, I will continue to do so as the games are pretty easy to grok. However, my only real gripe with the games is that they simply aren't very deep. One of the reasons I love Warhammer Quest is that there are 10 levels of play. The D&D games really don't have a good set of campaign rules. There are variants up a Board Game Geek, but they only go so far. Plus, I've got a crap-ton of 4th Edition material collecting dust. I want to find a reason to get them down off the shelf!

D&D 4E does have some issues, however, that need to be ironed out. First off is speed of play. Combat in 4th edition can be a boring, drawn-out affair. It really doesn't need to be that way. Hit Point totals for characters and monsters will need to be reigned in. I'm not going the route of the board games and only having a hit point or two for HP totals, but there's no need (or fun) in hacking away at a beast with 500 hit points.

I'm tossing out skills...maybe. The focus of this game is largely going to be about killing things and taking their stuff. Plus, I intend to keep the co-op mode of play, so a lot of things are going to be essentially automated by the game. If skills still play a role in the game, the skill lists will be greatly truncated and probably won't play a huge role in the game.

Feats are possibly out as well. I need to do some more brainstorming on that.

So what will the characters consist of then? The six core stats, their gear, and their powers. Powers will break down as Class and Race powers, and those powers will break down into the usual At-Will, Encounter, and Daily groups. Daily powers can only be used once per adventure. I'm thinking of making each class start out at a static point (stats set, gear bought) with the player needing only to select a race and powers in order to start play. The character and race lists will likely be the standard fare.

Treasure will be random. Not sure how I'm going to do that yet, whether by cards or by charts...

I'm going to pull monsters in from the D&D board games, Hero Quest, Descent, D&D Minis, Warhammer Quest, and a few others I have in the collection. I want a game that will utilize what I have on hand.

As for dungeon generation, I'm not sure yet. I'll likely go with either Warhammer Quest's card and tile based system or with CR/WA/LoD's tile draw.

Not sure yet how I'd generate quests. I like Warhammer Quest's system, but it would have to be greatly expanded to to keep the game feeling fresh. I still need to ponder this.

So, is this just another idea doomed to failure? Probably, but I do think it could work.

Now, I realize I haven't posted much of anything about Mythic Space in a while. I promise to get back to that shortly. I've got a few posts in various stages of completion. I just haven't felt inspired to write much lately, and I really don't want to churn out crap for the sake of keeping up a post count. So never fear, sci-fi will return to this blog soon.

After a Week...

I'm calling it. Diablo 3 might just be the best comeback story I've ever seen. The expansion, Reaper of Souls hit Tuesday (well, Monday night around 11 for those that pre-ordered the digital release). The loot system, which was the main thing dragging down D3, was overhauled prior to RoS's release and got me hooked. I had uninstalled the game, thoroughly disgusted, but reinstalled it after all the great buzz about 2.0 Loot. RoS took all that goodness and expanded it. It added an Act V to the game, that while seeming to be short, was very atmospheric and well done. It also added Adventure Mode, which is where the real fun lies.

Once you beat the game with a character, you can either decide to run through another playthrough of the main game with that character or go into Adventure mode. Adventure mode still utilizes the main areas of the game, but applies 5 bounty quests for each Act. These quests range from clearing levels of a certain dungeon or killing a specific creature. At higher difficulties, the quests become harder like "Kill the Skeleton King in 45 seconds or less." Yowch. You get a shot a good loot, and get lots of XP and gold for completing the quests. You also gain Keystones, which one you have five will allow you to open a Nephalem Rift to a randomized dungeon. The point of these dungeons is to fill your kill meter so that the Rift Keeper appears so you can then kill it. This gains you treasure and XP, but you also get Blood Shards which can be traded for a random magic item of the slot of your choosing. I've been having a blast doing bounty runs and Nephalem Rifts.

Diablo 3 is actually worth the price of admission now. After it's boring vanilla game, and the blatant money grab of the Auction House, it's good to see that Blizzard still listens to the fans and wants to make a great game that players will want to keep installed for quite some time to come. Well done, Blizzard, well done.

Reaper of Souls and a General Malaise

Another weekend has slipped past with really not a damn thing to show for it. I tried to get into the zone, to get some writing done, I really did. However, the words just weren't coming and my ideas felt, well, dumb, so I said to Hell with it for the moment and played some Diablo 3 instead. I hate writer's block. Not to get too disgusting, but it's like my brain is constipated. There's ideas and imagery there that wants to get out, to find it's way onto paper/screen, but it...just...can't...  I just wasn't in a sci-fi frame of mind no matter how much I wanted to be.

What my mind did wander to was fantasy. I suspect it was all the demon-slaying in D3 and likely the binge of Game of Thrones Season 4 previews my wife and I watched. Combine that with my 5-year old's desire to try out the new D&D boardgames (Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, and Legend of Drizzt), and all the ideas that kept coming up were tied to fantasy gaming. Nothing wrong with that, but I'm already trying to write some sci-fi material! Blast this gamer ADD.

At any rate, Reaper of Souls, the expansion pack to D3 hits tomorrow. It'll be one of those days in which I just want to get home so I can start a new Crusader, which will make the workday an even more painfully slow slog than usual. It will also likely keep me pulled away from Mythic Space for a bit longer as well. Hopefully, the ADD will swing me back around again before my writing completely switches gears again.

I Have a Dream...

No offense meant to the late, great, Dr King, but that title felt fitting even though I'm going to talk about video games.

I love the Action RPG genre. It all started with pumping quarters into Gauntlet (Red Warrior sadly needed food badly a lot...) then it exploded into a full bore obsession with Diablo and all the various games that it spawned. While I love the never-ending quest for more loot and harder challenges, I'm often left wanting when it comes to the world. These type of games scream out for an larger, more open world like those seen in other more traditional RPG's and MMORPG's. What I would love to see is a sandbox-style Action RPG.

Here me out. You travel across a hex map. In each hex there's a chance of an encounter. If that encounter is monsters, then you zoom into a random map based on the environment that you're travelling in to fight or flee with the creature(s) you've stumbled upon. If that encounter is uncovering a forgotten tomb or a cave entrance, then you go into a dungeon (randomized like the early Diablo 1 levels or what you see in Torchlight II these days). There would still be set landmarks to tackle like the crypt of an ancient lich, or the castle of the evil warlord, or the den of a dragon or demon or some other such monstrosity. There could even be quest strings that lead you along an adventure path of sorts, but the choice of where to go and what to do is up to you. Not interested in tackling the Swamp Dragon? Go fight the giants of the North instead, or just explore the world. The loot system would stay like what is seen in Action RPG's, random and tailored to level and somewhat to class.

The base game would cover a set area, but it would be expandable. A new area might even include new classes, monsters, quests, and rewards tailored for that area. You could even create planar levels for super high-level content.

I wish I had the skills to do something like this, but I don't have the coding savvy and I certainly don't have the artistic ability and rendering know-how to pull something like this off. This could be a huge idea in the hands of the right company. I know I would buy such a game in a heartbeat. Then again, I may be the only person that something like this would appeal to.

Anyway, that's my dream. I dream of an Action RPG that keeps giving me more to explore rather than having to run through the same quests over and over in my search of fortune and glory. It may not be the grandest dream ever, but dammit it's mine!

It's quiet...too quiet...

I haven't had much time to do much of anything lately, writing-wise. I am kicking around a fluff piece about sports and/or entertainment in the future pertaining to my Mythic Space setting. I'm just got a few random ideas so far, nothing really all that concrete. I hope to have something ready to post soon.

One thing that I'm surprised slipped past my radar that I found out about tonight is Pathfinder Pawns. Cardboard stand-ups of various creatures and NPC's from the four Pathfinder Bestiaries and from several of their Adventure Paths, as well as an NPC Codex. While I'm not a Pathfinder player, I do convert their creatures to S&W and the NPC's would be great to have as well. This is an excellent idea, and I'm likely going to snatch up copies as I find them. I loved the old Basic D&D cardboard stand-ups, and still use many alongside minis to this day, but I wish they were scaled to a size other than Medium/Man-sized, so these Pathfinder pawns are perfect.

I'm still playing a bit of Diablo 3, but I'm easing up a bit with Reaper of Souls due out this time next week. I don't want to get burned out before new content is released!

Diablo 3

I've been pretty quiet this week because I gave into the foul beast that is Diablo 3. I reinstalled the PC version the other day after reading that the latest patches leading up to the release of the expansion pack, Reaper of Souls, had greatly improved the game. On top of that, Blizzard is shutting down the thrice damned gold and real money Auction House, which made me insanely happy.

I had given up on the PC version when the reviews of the PS3 version came out saying it was a much better experience. I picked that up and really liked it. The drop rates for gear were much more in line with what was seen in Diablo 2 and that made for a much more enjoyable experience. The 2.0 patches for D3 PC have made it fall in line with that of the PS3 version, even better actually. I still haven't found any set gear yet, but seeing as how I'm about level 60, I would expect that my chances on seeing some set gear will greatly improve. Where I rarely ever saw a legendary item drop, I've had several now. All of these changes have made me feel good enough about D3 that I went ahead and pre-ordered the expansion.

I still wish that the character builds were more in line with that of D2, or better yet Path of Exile, but once I hit level 60 and can start amassing Paragon points, I may feel a bit differently about the character progression.

I hope that this isn't the end of what we'll see for D3. D2 only had 1 expansion though, so I'm not going to hold my breath.

At any rate, I've been feeding the addiction lately, but I will likely take a break once I get my barbarian to 60 so I don't get burned out before RoS hits. Plus, it'll give me a chance to finish my rulebook and start doing some serious work on the setting and converting aliens and such with reckless abandon!

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. 

And the winner is...

I've decided to shift gears into continuing development of my gonzo kitchen sink sci-fi setting with Savage Worlds...until gamer ADD rears its ugly head again. Why? Well, I already have a ton of stuff ready to go and I like the way it feels from guns to mutations to psionics to cybernetics. Conversion to SW is rather easy, both by using a pre-set formula and by simply eyeballing it. Plus, SW has a pretty nice medium between ease of play and granularity. Lastly, for sci-fi games, I rather like there not being any classes. Let the player build their character the way they want. There's also a lot of great sci-fi material due out for SW this year.

Now that said, I'll still work on my mash-up of Alternity and Stars Without Number, and I do plan on putting out the occasional tidbit to support Rogue Space, not to mention my occasional forays back into fantasy-land with Swords & Wizardry.

So, what now? Well, some of the rules have changed from the old Sci-Fi Toolkit to the new Sci-Fi Companion, not to mention that much of the rules I put together were done with the Explorer's Edition, so there are a few things I need to up date with me using Deluxe. Once I make those changes, I'm going to go through my library and add in new bit and pieces from other settings and games. As far as the background of the setting goes, I've rethought a few things that I wrote before, so I'm going to make those changes as well.

So there you go, after much soul-searching and gut-wrenching moments of waffling, I finally made my decision. Stick around and see what's next!

Print or PDF?

There was as question on one of the G+ communities I follow on what others prefer: print or pdf for their gaming books? For me, it's been pretty lopsided towards pdf for a while. I still pick up core rules in print, but I tend to buy all of my supplement/splat books in pdf anymore. It doesn't stop there, ever since I bought a Kindle, I buy nearly all of my books in electronic format nowadays. I've even replaced many of my print books with the electronic editions and sold/traded off the print copies. With laptops and tablets, I can carry around all the books I'll ever need for a game without breaking my backpack...or back for that matter. Now, I will say that unless the tablet is of a sufficient size, trying to read a rulebook on one is an eye-straining affair. Another big reason for my switch to ebooks: price. Most of the time, though not always, the e-edition of a book are much cheaper, which stretches my meager gaming budget that much farther. Not to mention that even if a harddrive crashes, I can re-download my collection from Lulu, RPGnow, and the other e-sellers I purchase from.

The downside of electronic medium is that brick and mortar shops don't see as much of my business as they did before. That's why I try to make it a point to buy any physical medium, be it rulebooks, dice, battlemats, minis, boardgames, etc. from my FLGS. It doesn't really match what I spend on e-books, but I still want to give them my business as much as I can because local shops are still the lifeblood of the hobby. Sure, you can find everything you want cheaper online, and can even find groups and play online, but in my experience some of the best groups I've encountered were through the old bulletin board at the LGS. Where else but a game store can I walk in on a week night with some assorted games and have pretty damn good luck in finding a pick up game, be it rpg or a board game?

Not much else to say beyond that tonight. Just a few thoughts as I work on my setting...which appears to be switching gears to Savage Worlds...at least until the damned gamer ADD sets in again!

Happy 40th Birthday, D&D!

Today is the 40th birthday of Dungeons & Dragons (well, as near as anyone can figure). I've been playing for roughly 22-23 of those years. Not all those years have been devoted to D&D, in fact, only a handful of them have been, but thanks to the work of Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson I've got to enjoy over two decades of fun with friends and family playing all sorts of roleplaying games. Sure, there's a damn good shot that someone would have put out something that would have ignited the roleplaying hobby if D&D hadn't come along, but D&D became the big dog first and deserves the credit. So again, thanks to Gary, Dave, and all the others that have made this hobby an excellent way to pass the time. Here's to 40 more!

Savage Worlds Sci-Fi Companion and Choices, Choices, Choices...

I've read through my e-copy of the Science Fiction Companion and I've got to say that it is good. If you're looking for a good set of tools to use in your Savage Worlds sci-fi games, don't hesitate in picking this up. Not only are the rules updated to be in line with Deluxe, they are better than the first edition (not that the first SF Companion was bad). There are rules for creating new races, loads of new gear, rules for environmental hazards and salvage/trade, lots of cybergear, rules for robot creation, and a great system for building and customizing starships, mechs, and other vehicles. The bestiary section brings back the critters from the original SFC and adds a few new entries to boot. The only surprising omission was there was nothing about psionics. However, I can see how there really isn't anything you couldn't already do with the core rules as written for just about any psionic power you can think of. There's also the possibility that one could use the Super Powers Companion to further add some "oomph" to psionics if you really wanted to. All in all, I really can't recommend this book higher to anyone running a sci-fi game with Savage Worlds.

Now, this leaves me with a decision to make. I want to focus my energies on a single set of rules to write my sci-fi setting around. However, there are several systems vying for my attention right now:

Stars Without Number (My hacked up version): There's a lot here that I like. There are rules for mutations, cybernetics, armor, weapons, and so forth that even with hacking it up to remove the setting from the rules and bolting on bits and pieces from other games (rework some of the classes, add Alternity-style skills and psionics, gear and other items from D20 Modern/Future, and so on) there's not that much work that needs to be done to make it feel right for me. Plus, since it's an OSR game I can easily use a vast wealth of books to draw upon from D&D sources to virtually any of the retro-clones.

Rogue Space: It's light, easy to play, and fun to run. I would end up having to write up the most info for this game, but the rules are light enough that creating stats for races, creatures, mutations (though I suspect that the fan rules modifying Alternity mutations to the previous edition of RS would still work), and vehicles really won't be much of a chore to do so at all. I do like a little crunch in my sci-fi games though, and I just don't know that RS would have enough to keep me fully involved. I need to spend some time writing up some material for RS to find out...

Savage Worlds: The setting material I already have written was developed with the Explorer Edition in mind. There's not that many huge changes from Explorer to Deluxe, just some tweaks here and there. While I would have to create a lot of material wholecloth, I do have a lot written and there are a lot of licensed and fan resources out there to draw upon. Plus, out of the three, SW comes closest to the feel that I want from the whole package.

Decisions, decisions, decisions....