Founders of the Concord: Bolians in Mythic Space

 

Bolians are a humanoid species known for their drive, work ethic, and ability to work well with others, both Bolian and not. This ability to collaborate with others from sometimes wildly divergent cultures has made them a valuable member of the Galactic Concord.

            Physical Description/Biology: Bolains are humanoid about the same general height and weight as humans, but they tend to be slightly shorter and stockier than humans. Their skin ranges in color from yellowish-green to a darker blue-green in shade. Their blood is also high in cobalt, so it is dark blue in color.

            The most distinct feature of Bolians is the ridge that runs from the back of their necks down the center of their aces and ending at the front of their necks. Smaller ridges run perpendicular to the main ridge down the sides of their heads. Many Bolians try to accentuate their ridges by shaving their heads. This draws the eye to the ridge and their ears, which are longer than those of humans. Bolians see a bald head as a symbol of confidence and beauty. Those that decide to grow out their hair usually only do so when they live primarily around non-Bolians. Bolian hair ranges from stark white to a somewhat silvery blonde in color.

            Personality: Bolians are a very friendly and helpful species. As stated earlier, they work well with others and work best in a group. In fact, they put more importance on the success of the group than on individual accomplishments. However, while they do prefer their team to excel, Bolians do strive for positive comments about their performance. Small “atta-boys” go a long with Bolians, far farther than any grandiose trophy or award. In fact, many Bolians will become moody and taciturn if they don’t feel like their contribution is being noticed or appreciated.

            Their desire to achieve success within a team can lead Bolians to “tweak” the group dynamic. This can lead them to appear to be incessant busybodies when all they are attempting to do is subtly nudge the group is a more efficient direction. If their team isn’t performing up to standards, Bolians can become stern critics of the team and its members. Still, they try to find friendly ways to improve performance, which can cause them to look into all areas of their teammates lives, something that not all species appreciate.

            Homeworld: Bolians hail from Bolarus IX in the Bolia System. The planet is covered mostly in water with a scattering of small landmasses.

            Religion: Bolians do not have a true religion, but a set of shared legends and folktales about their ancestral home on the planet of Myrmidon in the Myrroni system not far from Bolia where they call home. Many Bolians will still make a pilgrimage to Myrmidon to hear the tales of the Bolians and the now dead Bolastre and visit the ruins that dot the world.

            Mutations: Bolians do not suffer from wild mutation like humans and many near-humans.

            Cybernetics: Bolians can be installed with cybernetics like most other species. Easily spotted head and facial cybernetics are seen as unsightly and unattractive, but that is the only stigma tied to the use of cybernetics.

            Psionics: Bolians can be psions, though the number in each generation is slightly lower than that in humans and other species.

Bolian Species Traits

·         Team Players: When a Bolian takes part in a Cooperative roll, each success grants them a +2 the roll and a +1 for each raise up to a maximum of 5 (over the usual maximum of 4).

·         Friendly: Bolians are a very friendly and cheerful people, this grants them a +2 bonus to Charisma.

·         Loyal: Bolians are loyal to a fault and start play with the Loyal hindrance. 

Bolian Species Traits (Rogue Space)

Archetypes: Soldiers and Technicians, and add +1 to either Fighting or Repair. 

Friendly: Bolians start play with an additional +1 to Empathy. 

Psionics: Bolians can be espers with Empath being the most common power. 

Founders of the Concord: Betazoids in Mythic Space

Betazoids are a near-human species. They are so like humans that when the two species first encountered one another, the Terrans believed that Betazoids had to be a lost colony of humans. While the two species are very similar in height, weight, and build, there are some notable differences. Notably, all Betazoids are empathic and telepathic. This has caused them to be seen both with fear and suspicion and as an asset by other species. Along with the Asari, the Betazoids are credited with helping the various species that made up the initial Concord find enough common ground to band together against the Illithids.

            Physical Description/Biology: Betazoids are near-humans in every sense of the word. They have the same general height, weight, and builds as humans. The only way to tell the two species apart is by looking at their eyes. Betazoid eyes are black and limpid. Betazoids also do not have the wide range of racial differences as humans. Most have an olive complexion and dark, wavy hair, though they can range to slightly fairer complexions and have light brown hair as well, but there is no other genetic divergence in their species.

            Personality: Betazoids are generally cheerful, helpful, and friendly people. Their natural empathic abilities allow them to sense the emotional state of other beings, even those of high-order animals. They find anger and aggression almost painful to be around, so they work towards avenues that lead to peace and tranquility. Many Betazoids that work with other species find themselves working as ambassadors, mediators, and first contact specialists.

            Betazoids value honesty and integrity. Though they can lie, most rarely do. This can lead them to be brutally honest at times, which can make them appear arrogant or rude to those that are not familiar with this trait. This also means that they expect honesty from others as well. Once lied to, it is very difficult to win back a Betazoid’s trust.

            On their homeworld, and among their own kind, Betazoids communicate mostly via telepathy. It is notoriously hard to lie while in telepathic contact, so their culture has become one that is honest to a fault. Discovering that other species are uncomfortable around telepaths, most only communicate telepathically with other Betazoids while in the company of other species sparingly.

            Homeworld: Betazoids hail from the second planet in the Hainara system, Betazed. There are only four other planets in the system, three of which are gas giants, and the fourth orbits too close to their star to make colonization possible. While they have spread throughout the Alpha Quadrant, they have not colonized any other systems. They were late-comers to FTL travel and found some neighboring star systems already colonized by other species.

            Religion: Betazoids are a spiritual people believing in Four Deities that protected them from the demons of The Great Fire. Many Betazoids still worship these deities and reference them in everyday talk.

            Mutations: Like humans, Betazoids can succumb to wild mutations when subjected to the proper stimuli.

            Cybernetics: Betazoids can have cybernetics installed. However, brain-affecting cybernetics like cyberjacks, intelligence enhancers, and skill chips can make it difficult to to use their psionic abilities; in the most extreme cases, they can lose their abilities altogether. Thanks to this, cybernetic upgrades tend to only be used to replace lost limbs or organs.

            Psionics: All Betazoids are telepathic and empathic. Most do not seek to expand their abilities with further training, but there are those that do. Many of the Betazoids that work for various Concord departments have undergone training at various psionic training institutions.

Betazoid Species Traits

·         Natural Psions: Betazoids start play with two psionic power: Empathic Link and Telepathy. If your campaign uses power points, Betazoids have 5 power points to spend on these powers. If using the default No Power Points rules of Mythic Space, then Betazoids must take a penalty to their Spirit roll equal to their power point cost of the power. Those that choose to purchase the Psionics Arcane Background use the standard rules and have the two above powers as bonus powers. Those using Power Points grant Betazoid psions 5 extra power points.

·         Charismatic: Betazoids carry themselves with an air of peace and confidence, granting them a +2 bonus to Charisma.

·         Pacifists: Betazoids abhor violence and aggression and seek to diffuse situations as peacefully as possible, only resorting to force when all other avenues are closed to them. They start play with the Minor version of the Pacifist Hindrance. 

Betazoid Species Traist (Rogue Space)

Archetypes: Scoundrels or Technicians, and add +1 to either Empathy or Science. 
Psionics: Betazoids all Espers that start play with two powers; Empath and Telepathy. They have access to these powers even if they do not meet the normal Empathy requirement of +2 or more. 

Founders of the Concord: Andorians in Mythic Space

Before the Illithid Invasion, the Andorians were a militaristic and antagonistic species. Most first contact encounters went poorly, and most often ended in threats and a few even ended in bloodshed. They found a quarrel with nearly every culture they came into contact with, and often their positions were based on perceived slights that simply did not exist. However, the invasion of the Illithids into the heart of the Alpha Quadrant forced the burgeoning Concord to reach out to the Andorians with a request for aid in the war. This request made the Andorians feel as though they truly were respected after all. Even though their passion still runs hot, they have become a cornerstone of the Galactic Concord.

            Physical Description/Biology: Andorians are humanoid, with the same general dimorphism between the genders as many humanoid species, though they actually have four genders and require two couples for successful copulation. The most distinguishing features of Andorians is their blue skin that ranges from pale to dark in shade, stark white hair, and the two antennae that sprout from their heads. Their antennae gives them sensory input about the temperature, changes in air pressure and air flow, and even allows them to perceive some sub-sonic sounds.

            Andorians live in frigid conditions and their bodies are designed to help regulate and conserve their body heat. Even though they live in temperatures where the warmest is akin to living at the South Pole of Earth, their circulatory system allows them to be comfortable in all but the hottest of climates.

            Personality: Andorians are passionate, sometimes very passionate. They tend to have hot tempers and are willing to fight and even die to defend their honor and ideals. That said, their history is riddled with disastrous conflicts caused by declaring a bloody vendetta for small slights, and they have learned the error of their ways…to a point.

            Today, Andorians have a clear chain of command in their society. While they are still quick to anger, gone are the days of the vendetta, instead they defend their honor with duels that while often lead to bloodshed, rarely end with the loss of life.

            Although the Andorians are hot-tempered, they also use their passion in other pursuits. Andorians are romantics at heart. They love greatly and they feel deeply and channel those emotions into their art. Andorian writers and artists are popular throughout the Concord and beyond. They are also fiercely loyal to those they lose and respect, be they Andorian or otherwise.

            Homeworld: Andorians hail from the frigid world of Andor (also known as Andoria). It is the fifth planet in the Kuy’va system. They have colonies on two of the other planets in their home system, but have not colonized other star systems.

            Religion: Surprisingly few Andorians are religious, given how passionate they are about nearly every other aspect of life. However, they do have a religion based around a deity known as Uzaveh the Infinite. Even though there are not regular services like those found in many Terran religions, Andorians do follow rituals to mark certain milestones in life from reaching adulthood, to the birth of a child, to death that are religiously inspired.

            Mutations: Andorians can have mutations under the right circumstances, but this is a rare occurrence.

            Cybernetics: Andorians can be outfitted with cybertech. Even though there has long been research into cybernetic antennae, so far there has been no breakthroughs in the creations of synthetic antennae replacements.

            Psionics: Psionics are uncommon among the Andorians, even then, those that do have the potential either do not get trained in their use or live away from other Andorians. They see the use of such abilities as dishonorable and breach upon individual liberties.

Andorian Species Traits

·         Tough Hides: Andorian flesh is tough, almost like a flexible exoskeleton. Add +1 Armor to Toughness.

·         Alert: Thanks to their antennae, Andorians start play with the Alert edge.

·         Redundant Circulation: Andorians can withstand extreme cold temperatures better than other species. When making Vigor tests for exposure to Extreme cold, they only receive penalties to their Vigor checks at every 40 degrees below freezing as opposed to the standard 20 degrees. However, they are more susceptible to poisons thanks to their circulation system and suffer a -1 penalty to Vigor rolls made against poisons.

·         Code of Honor: To Andorians, their honor is everything. Andorians start play with the Code of Honor hindrance. They take offense to any spoken word or action that could in any way be construed that they are not considered at least equal to those they are dealing with. 

Andorian Species Traits (Rogue Space)

Archetypes: Soldiers and Technicians, and add +1 to either Fighting or Science.

Antennae: Andorians gain a +1 bonus to Acquire rolls made to detect atmospheric conditions or to hear sub-sonic sounds. 

Redundant Circulation: Andorians receive a +1 bonus to Fighting rolls made against the effects of extreme cold, but receive a -1 penalty to Fighting rolls made against poisons. 

Psionics: Andorians can be Espers with Telepathy and ESP being the most common powers. 

Founders of the Concord: Aleerins (Mechalus) in Mythic Space

The Aleerins, also known as Mechalus, are a species of humanoids that blend flesh and metal unlike any other species. Orderly and logical, they hide passion in their hearts that strive to keep buried except around those that they fully trust.

            

The Aleerins made first contact with what was then known as the Terran Authority, or the Sol Systems Alliance now, not long after the First Contact Wars. Although relations where cool between the two parties at first, the emergence of the Illithid threat made them realize that it was better to be part of the galaxy instead of trying to survive alone.

            

Physical Description/Biology: An aleerin can be easily mistaken for a human at a distance or in poor lighting, for he bears the general shape and size of a human. Closer inspection, however, reveals veins of circuitry that weave with the aleerin’s flesh and blood to form a totally synthesized body. An aleerin’s hair consists of combined protein strands and filaments of cable and wire. Even the aleerin’s skeleton has been reinforced with super-strong synthetic materials, and bony protective plates cover the bio-organic flesh at the shoulders and across the chest. The aleerins’ appearance has led to humans calling them “mechalus” (singular and plural), and the aleerins don’t seem to mind.

Aleerins are slightly heavier than humans, on average, but their builds are less varied. The average aleerin stands approximately 6 feet tall and weighs 175 to 200 pounds. Aleerins tend to have well-proportioned, athletic frames. Their lustrous turquoise eyes are opaque and have no visible pupils.

Aleerins share an affinity for computers. While they can easily employ standard computer interfaces, aleerins have the ability to personally connect with computer systems. Filaments can extend from an aleerin’s fingers, snake into a computer, and form a solid link between aleerin and machine. This link gives the aleerin speed-of-thought access to the computer system, with more precise control than any manual interface can provide.

Personality: Aleerins have ordered minds, which translates into a highly structured society and an equally organized outlook on life. Although they think with the precision and logic of a machine, they are deeply emotional people who work hard to subdue their negative emotions. They possess the same range of emotions as humans, although they downplay hostility or aggression. Aleerins have demonstrated violent tendencies in the past. Their early forays into space placed them at odds with another warlike race, which the aleerins ultimately annihilated. Appalled by this heinous act and jarred by an unexpected emotional backlash, modern aleerins have made a conscious and consistent effort to suppress or regulate their more primal nature.

In a tense or dangerous situation, aleerins are likely to remain calm and rational. They easily suppress their emotions when they deem such action appropriate or necessary. However, in a climate of relaxation and celebration, their emotional pendulum can swing to the other extreme—to other species, it seems as though they are making a special effort to appear cheerful or jubilant. The aleerins do not consider their behavior at such times to be exaggerated. Strong displays of positive emotion, when the situation permits, afford them the chance to demonstrate that they are not merely machines encased in biological bodies.

Homeworld: Aleerins hail from the highly advanced world of Davck in the Mehal system. They have not colonized other worlds, though they do maintain several space station in the system.

Religion: Officially, there is no religion in Aleerin culture. However, their connection to technology and their continuing desire for technological perfection reaches near fanatical levels. Some Aleerin express interest in the religious beliefs of other cultures, and may even take part in a religion for a while, but few ever stick with it.

Mutations: Aleerins have a very strong genetic makeup that is nearly as rigid as their personalities. Birth defects and genetic disorders are rare and mutation is unheard of.

Cybernetics: Aleerins are born with cybernetics as part of their bodies. There is more of a stigma of not being outfitted with cybernetics than there ever could be about having cybernetics installed.  To them, cybernetics are as common as jewelry is to most other species.

Psionics: Aleerins have little aptitude with psionics. Some individuals do have the ability for psionics, but it has been estimated that as little as .01% of each generation has the ability.

Aleerin Species Traits

·         Hardy: Aleerins start play with a d6 in Vigor.

·         Cybernetic Adaptability: When calculating the character’s maximum strain, treat the higher die (Vigor or Spirit) as one die higher than it actually is to a maximum of d12). Also, when having a Street Doc install and remove cybernetics, Aleerins suffer only a -2 penalty during installation, and a -1 penalty during removals.

·         Computer Link: An Aleerin can make a Computers check to connect to a computer by touch. This connection allows an Aleerin to control the computer via speed of thought rather than relying on manual coordination. This link can be severed by the Aleerin or whenever he cannot reach the computer any longer.

·         Quirk: All Aleerins try to keep their stronger emotions (anger, hatred, frustration, even laughter and love) in check.

·         Rigid: Aleerins tend to be too “stiff” to many other species. When dealing with non-Aleerins, an Aleerin character suffers a -4 penalty to Charisma checks. 

Aleerin Species Traits (Rogue Space)

Archetypes: Soldier or Technician, and add +1 to either Fighting or Science

One with Machines: Aleerins start play with the Brainware implant that allows them to interface with computers easily. In addition, they can install two pieces of cybertech before having to lower their Empathy by the typical -1. 

Psionics: Aleerins cannot be Espers. 

Founders of the Concord: Asari in Mythic Space

Art by Joe Black

The Asari are a humanoid species made up entirely of all single gender. Since Asari look and, generally, sound female, they are generally regarded as, and treated as, females by other species with the standard sexual dimorphism.

            The Asari were the first Concord species to traverse the stars. They discovered the Citadel, and have initiated more first contact meetings than any other Concord member. The Asari Republic has always been the cornerstone of the Concord. Without the Asari, there likely wouldn’t be a Concord.

            Physical Description/Biology: Asari are humanoids standing around six feet tall. They are hairless, save for eyelashes. Asari skin color ranges from pink to light blue to green to dark purple in color (the “father’s” genetics playing a large role into the tone) with some showing patterns or blotches on the skin and others having clear complexions. Asari tend to be lithe or athletic as most take generally good care of themselves with corpulence being a stark rarity in their society. The most distinguishing feature are the ridges that start at the top of their foreheads and sweep to the back of their skulls. These ridges are made of cartilage and cover their small ears.

As stated above, their forms are female, but that is a great oversimplification of their biology. Asari procreate via a form of parthenogenesis. They psychically attune their nervous systems to their mate’s and glean genetic material from the mate to create a child. Asari are mammalian in that they bear live young after a gestation period of about seven months and generally breastfeed their infants for up to a year of more after that. This unique form of procreation allows Asari to not only mate with each other but also with members of other species as well to produce viable offspring. The children born from these relationships are always Asari.

The Asari are an unusually long-lived species. It is not unheard of for an Asari to live to see 700 standard years. 800 is rare, but still occurs, with the oldest known Asari having lived to be 912 years old. They grow up at a rate similar to that of humans, but are not considered adults until about their 30^th year, which is when most Asari hit the first major stage in life: Maidenhood.

There are three major stages in the life of an Asari. Maidenhood is one of restlessness, daring, and the testing of limits and boundaries. Asari usually hit this stage around 30 years old. This is typically the time when an Asari will make her mistakes or take her greatest risks, but also where they go out and begin to discover the world and themselves.

The Matron stage is dominated by the desire to settle down and raise a family. Asari generally hit this stage around their 350^th year, though it can vary greatly.

The final stage is that of Matriarch. Matriarchs tend to get involved in their communities, and seek to share their knowledge. Most Matriarchs return to Asari dominated worlds, and are rarely found away from large populations of Asari.

Asari still largely mate within their own kind, but ever since it was first discovered that they can mate with other species, there has been an ever growing trend for Asari to find mates among other species. They see this as a way to bring in a diverse genetic plate to the Asari “table.” Most see it as only making their species stronger. There are some hardliners in Asari society that feel that only pureblood Asari are true Asari, but seeing as how no one can tell a pureblood from a mixed Asari the movement continues to stay to the farthest fringes of Asari society.

The idea of genetic diversity only got more popular when it was discovered that children of mixed parentage cannot develop the Ardat-Yakshi mutation. Asari with this mutation can overload the nervous systems of their mates, causing intense pain which nearly always leads to death. Ardat-Yakshi are greatly feared in Asari society even though the chances of developing the mutation is about 1 in 500 purebloods. Most of these Asari are discovered early in life through genetic tests done after birth, but in some the mutation does not show up until they hit puberty. Ardat-Yakshi are generally kept cloistered in various communes on Asari controlled worlds away from others. However, some do not wish to be hidden away and go on the run. Most try to lead solitary lives or do not form attachments and certainly never mate, but other revel in the power to kill with pleasure. Those Ardat-Yakshi that do are greatly feared.

Personality: Asari personalities can vary greatly depending on what stage of life they are in. Maidens tend to be carefree, brash, and prone to the wildness of youth. Matrons tend to be more reserved and cautious. Matriarchs are patient, but confident when speaking and carry themselves in a way that tends to command respect. However, these are not hard and fast rules. Some maidens are driven and focused, while some Matriarchs couldn’t give a damn about their communities.

One constant throughout most Asari is that they tend to be patient, even maidens in their “impertinent” years tend to see the big picture, where other species that do not live as long cannot fully fathom. This makes many Asari good listeners, diplomats, and consulars.

Homeworld: Asari hail from the second planet in the Parnitha system, Thessia. They have traveled the stars for over 3000 years, making them one of the most well-versed explorers in the Concord. However, they have only made a handful of other worlds their own. Merlonnia, Loquaint, and Heronna being other Asari worlds.

Religion: Most Asari are atheists, but some still believe in the idea of Siara. Siarists believe that the cosmos has a consciousness, and that when someone dies they return to this pool of consciousness that all life in the universe is drawn from.

Mutations: Other than the genetic defect that makes an Asari an Ardat-Yakshi, Asari do not suffer from mutation and therefore cannot be mutants.

Cybernetics: Like many humanoid species, Asari can be outfitted with cybernetics. There is no cultural stigma to having cybernetics installed, but they are not widely used.

Psionics: Asari are naturally psychic beings, as it is how they mate. However, while most Asari possess the ability to be trained into psions, only a slightly higher percentage do when compared to the norm across the Concord species.

Asari Species Traits

·         Attractive: Asari are generally seen as desirable by a large number of species. They start play with the Attractive Edge.

·         Innate Telepathy: Asari have the innate ability to share thoughts and feelings via telepathy. The target must be willing and it requires great concentration and skin-to-skin contact. There is no real inherent in-game benefit to this power.

New Hindrance

Ardat-Yakshi

Requirement: Asari only.

The character carries the mutation that make her one of the dreaded Ardat-Yakshi. Anytime the character uses her Innate Telepathy ability roll a test of wills between the character and her mate/victim. If the victim loses, roll a Vigor test. If that roll succeeds, then the victim is merely rendered unconscious. If the test fails, then the victim is killed. If the test of wills is won by the victim, contact is broken off between the two and combat can likely ensue.

            Ardat-Yakshi roaming the galaxy is a danger to everyone. Among Asari, an Asari with this hindrance suffers a -4 penalty to any Charisma checks. If the Ardat-Yakshi is dealing with other species that know what an Ardat-Yakshi is (which is possible in any system with even a handful of regular Asari residents), then they suffer a -2 penalty to Charisma. Ardat-Yakshi are hunted by special Asari operatives tasked with capturing peaceful Ardat-Yakshi and killing any who revel in their mutation. 

Asari Species Traits (Rogue Space)

Archetypes: Soldier or Technician, add +1 to either Fighting, Empathy, or Science.

Innate Telepathy: Asari can all use the Telepathy Psionic Power only by touching their target and the target being willing to the joining. If those qualifiers are met, the two can share experiences and thoughts. 

Ardat-Yakshi: If the player desires, the character can have this mutation. When using the Innate Telepathy power, both the Asari and the target make Empathy rolls. If the Asari's is higher, then the target must make a Fighting roll against TN 9 or die. Even then, the target still falls unconscious. If the target wins, contact is broken and then the scene continues to play out. 

Psionics: Asari can become Espers. Most have the Telepathy power, but any are open to them. 

It's Been a Long Time Indeed...

Wow. I can't believe that I haven't posted anything since before the New Year...what can I say? I needed a break. 'Nuff said.

So what's been going on? Well, the Savage Worlds Rifts Kickstarter is about to end with well over $400K raised, which is amazing. I think it's both a testament to the popularity of both the Rifts setting and the Savage Worlds rules. I ended up just backing for the pdf's, but I expect that I end up with hardcovers of the three books in time. I'm really excited to get my hands (well, harddrives) on those books. I can't remember when I was last so stoked for the released of a tabletop RPG.

I honestly haven't done a lot of writing of my own during my break. However, I have written a few entries that will start to appear on the blog (and the setting wiki) about some of the founding members of Galactic Concord for my Mythic Space setting. I did finally finish up my house rulebook for the setting, so I now feel free to devote time to the fun stuff: the details.

Without further ado...I'm going to write about some aliens!

Goings On

It's been a while since I've posted anything, so I figured that since now is as good of a time as any to talk about what's been going on. First off, the video game bug has bit me again. I finally finished my play-through of Dragon Age: Inquisition. It took me over 110 hours to complete the game and the expansion packs. That's an insane amount of content! The story was much better than Dragon Age 2, which is also enjoyed, and it's got me jonesing for the next installment. I then started in on playing The Witcher 3, which so far is easily my favorite installment. The Witcher games have all been good, but falter with lackluster controls and interface, that is not the case in TW3. I highly recommend either game to anyone wanting to play a CRPG with a lot of content and a great story.


On the tabletop side, I'm splitting my time between my White Star Hack and the Savage Worlds/Rogue Space versions of Mythic Space. On the WSH front, I've changed direction a bit and starting at the base mechanics and working back from there. Most of what powers White Star is still there, but I need to tweak skills, how many points are right per class per level and how the Alternity-styled skillset works with creatures and NPC's so that the statblocks are still easy to use and build. I hope to be able to post the Character Creation section soon with the full skillset, classes, and a few example races to boot.


On the Savage Worlds/Rogue Space front, I've been working on a Species of the Concord book that serves as source for the most common species found in the Galactic Concord. I'm standardizing the information presented so that each entry flows well with each other. I've also been toying with the idea of making two sourcebooks, one for SW and another for RS, so that players of either system only have to look at one set of racial information. The fluff will be same throughout both books, however. I want to offer up both as pdf downloads, but we'll see.


In any case, with the holidays right around the corner there's no telling how much time I'll be able to devote to anything until after. Hopefully, I'll get some time to get enough put together to post of teasers.


I've also developed a love of Green Ronin's Fantasy AGE system. I've long had the Dragon Age games, and picked up the collected edition after it was released, but never did anything with it. When the Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook was released, I checked it out as well. It wasn't until I was nearing the end of my play of DA:I that I really started to get into the game. Not saying that I'm going to switch my fantasy system from Swords & Wizardry to FAGE, but I'm wanting to kick the tires on that system to see if it plays as well as I think it does. Just what I need, another game to take up my meager free time!


Lastly, I've also been tinkering with Marvels & Mutants 2 and meshing more of Marvel Superheroes with it. However, I'm toying with the idea of standardizing powers by using ICONS power set with the rules. Both use similar enough systems that it should prove easy to do, and it will (hopefully) make generating powers easier and with fewer one-off powers as is found in MSH. I'm just in the planning stages on this ATM, and unless my oldest boy takes more of an interest in superhero gaming, this is one project that is easily cast to the back burner.

White Star Hack Update: Characters

Now that baseball is over for the year (congrats to my KC Royals!), I'm putting in more time to working on cementing my White Star Hack rules. Today, I'm going to cover how character creation will work.

First off, use the normal attribute score generation method that you prefer. The scale of the bonuses has been changed to
1-3          -3
4-6          -2
7-9          -1
10-12  -/+ 0
13-15      +1
16-18      +2
Ever 3 points after 18 confers an additional +1 bonus

The Attributes essentially cover the same areas that they do in nearly all OSR games. However, the big change is that Intelligence dictates the number of starting skill points that a character has to spend on skills at level 1, so Intelligence will be very useful even to warrior types that typically don't need a high INT score.

Once attribute scores have been generated, you'll select your race. Races are structured much like 3E-era D&D races. There may be bonuses and/or penalties to attributes, special abilities, etc. Each race will also have access to six Broad Skills for free. Broad Skills are the gateways to more specialized skills. Purchasing Broad Skills is expensive, but there are no ranks. By purchasing a Broad Skill, a character can attempt any specialized skill (that can be used untrained) under than umbrella without an Untrained penalty, but they can only apply their attribute bonus to the skill roll.

Once the race is selected, the player then selects a class. There are 5 classes to choose from: Diplomat, Freelancer, Psion, Tech, and Warrior. Make a note of any special notes or abilities for the class and then spend skill points on skills. Each class has a list of skills that are tied to that class. Buying a rank in a specialized skill requires the character to first have that Broad Skill. So a Diplomat can't purchase a rank in Pistol without first paying the cost to purchase the "Modern Ranged Weapons" Broad Skill first, even then that is considered a cross-class skill for a Diplomat, unless the Diplomat's second class is Warrior. Purchasing Broad Skills costs 6 skill points, while class skill ranks only cost 1 point, and cross-class skills cost 2 points.

Instead of Alignments, the player will select a Moral Attitude and some character traits. These don't dictate the way the character is played, but can give the player an idea of how they wish their character to act, and they give the GM an idea of what to expect.

Once skills are set, the player then rolls for starting credits and purchases equipment.

Skills is going to be the most time-consuming part of the character creation process. Even then, compared to Alternity, the process moves much quicker since I've pared down the costs and number of points that are being dealt with.

Next up, I'll talk more in depth about how classes are structured.

Changes

I've got a couple announcements, one minor, one bigger (at least for the direction of the blog that is).

First off, I'll be adding some page tabs to the blog that collect posts pertaining to certain subjects. In case you think you missed something, want to easily find an old post, or want to catch up if you're new to the blog it'll be a lot easier to find what you're looking for.

Secondly, and more importantly, I'm going to take a stab at creating a hack of White Star. For those that don't know what White Star is, it's a sci-fi/space opera game based on the White Box version of the Swords & Wizardry rules. I use S&W for all my fantasy gaming because it's simple and easily expandable. I like White Star as it is for the most part, but there are certain things I prefer in my sci-fi games that WS just doesn't deliver on. Really, from what I've got in mind, only the basic rules will truly be WS with many other parts of the game being greatly changed or expanded to suit my tastes.

Why am I attempting this? Honestly, it's the desire to kit bash a lot of bits and pieces I like from various systems into a cohesive whole. I like fiddling with systems, and ever since I read WS I haven't been able to shake the desire to tear into it and see if I can make something that both I and my group will really like. That desire has really derailed a lot of my other pursuits in other games...which has lead to a greatly diminished post count on the blog.

Work on what I'm going to tag as "White Star Hack" is likely to put the breaks on new Savage Worlds and Rogue Space material, but I'm not giving up on those games. RS still sees a lot of play, and I'm 99% completed with my re-grouping of the SW rules to fit my needs for Mythic Space. In fact, a lot of new material after WSH is done will more than likely sport stats for all three systems.

So what will this hack of WS contain? Here's a preliminary list:

• A skill system modified from the great Alternity rules. In fact, much of the game is going to be geared towards the skill system, but I'm going to change up the points and costs to limit some of the math to keep character generation and advancement flowing quickly. 
• Race and Class separated. Racial Classes have never been a big favorite of mine, so I'm going to divorce the two in WSH. 
• 5 classes: Warriors (I haven't settled on that name, but Soldier, Mercenary, and the like are also being batted around), Rogues (also considering Freelancer and Scoundrel), Diplomats, Technicians (I may just call them "Techs"), and Psions. 
• Variable damage for weapons and gear drawn from many D20 sources like D20 Future.
• Changing around how monster stats are derived. I detailed some of these ideas here in the past. While some things like creature attack bonuses might be modified, much of that will likely stand. 
• Starship rules will largely remain unchanged from what is found in WS. 
• Expansion of Cybernetics rules. There will be more cybergear, rules on the installation of cybergear, and on the loss of humanity. 
• A simple mutations system.
• Skill-based Psionics
• More of a true toolbox feel with less overt Star Wars references. 

All in all, I hope to create something that I want to run and maybe give something that others may want to kick around as well that still feels light and fast and easy to run. While this hack will be crunchier than the White Star standard, I have no desire to bog the system down with over-complicated and over-drawn rules. 

KIC 846285

As I'm sure many of you have heard, the Kepler Space Telescope found something interesting about 1400 light years away. There is an old star that is dimming over 20% at time during the last 4 years of study. Now, when a planet occludes a star, the dip in brightness is usually around 1%, so a 20% + drop is pretty astounding. If this was a young star, then it could possibly be chalked up to debris that will likely eventually become planets, but that's not the case. So what is it? There have been theories from planetary collisions, comet swarms, to Dyson Sphere objects built by an alien civilization.

In case you don't know what a Dyson Sphere is, they are hypothetical structures that would be built around a star to collect all of its solar energy output. It's the kind of thing you'd only see in sci-fi (one was part of an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation).

While the idea of why KIC 846285 is dimming so much being caused by aliens is certainly an attention-grabbing headline, I sincerely doubt that is what's going on there. Still, if it is an advanced alien society building Dyson objects, that would give me hope for humanity for several reasons. One is simply for the knowledge that we are not alone in the cosmos. The ramifications of this would send shockwaves through not only the scientific community, but religion and everyday culture as well. Even if that culture has died out in the 1400 years it took that light to get here, the simple fact that there has been intelligent life other than humans in the cosmos would be amazing to say the least. Plus, since KIC 846285 is so close (cosmologically speaking), it would make the theories of Duncan Forgan, who figures there are anywhere from 361 to 37,964 intelligent species in the galaxy right now, seem like undershots. Out of the 100,000 light years, there are 2 intelligent species within 1400 light years would certainly point that the galaxy may be more densely populated than originally thought. Lastly, it would give me hope that there is a society out there that shows that survival is possible. Survival not just against everything the universe can throw at a little ball of rock, but that survival against the odds we place in our own way can be overcome. All the petty political, social, religious, racial, and financial differences can be overcome to allow not just survival, but also the colonization of the rest of the solar system and maybe beyond. I really do think that if humankind is going to survive into the far future, it will have to be in the rest of solar system. However, we can't seem to see past our own bank accounts, our own gods, even simply the color of our own skin to realize that we're all in this together. That will likely damn us to extinction sooner than another world-killer asteroid.

Since I don't think that it is aliens (I'm leaning more on the side of planetary collision or some other giant mass spreading event), is it really worth looking at KIC 846285? Absolutely. We've found something outside of the norm. Even if alien intelligence isn't the cause that's still exciting and certainly "sexy" from the standpoint of astronomers getting to study something strange that will expand our knowledge of the cosmos. That's exciting, certainly moreso than just throwing "Aliens" into a title to get the clicks.

Still, it is fun to dream...

The Citadel

The Citadel is the seat of power for the Galactic Concord. Resting in the sparsely populated Prome Cloud in the heart of the Concord, the Citadel is an ancient space station still filled with mystery and secrets left uncovered. It is the largest space station in Concord space, not including the Space Hulk, The Aegis of Time.

The Citadel was discovered by the Asari over 300 standard years ago. At the time, it was believed to be an ancient Prothean station. However, since the re-emergence of the Protheans it has been discovered that the Citadel pre-dates even the Protheans, and may be as old as the infamous Space Hulks. Attempts to date the strange compounds that make up the construction of the Citadel have proven fruitless as well.

The Citadel does have a "natural" inhabitant, the bio-mechanical Keepers. These strange creatures are a form of biological insectoid with extensive nanotech upgrades that are as much a part of them as lungs and hearts are to other species. The Keepers have never conversed with anyone, even now that the Citdael is home to millions of workers, security forces, ambassadors, and Senators. They go about their day keeping the Citadel up and running. They take no orders from anyone and ignore all attempts to communicate with them. If they are kept from completing a task, they will simply move on and return at a later time. Attempts to capture and study Keepers have largely failed as well. All Keepers that have been detained for study have gone into a kill sequence that not only destroys the Keeper, but breaks the corpse down into a gelatinous goo of base materials. Doubly frustrating is that all attempts to track the Keepers have failed as well. Their nanotech renders any attempt to track them with technology inert. Attempt to mark their shells wtih paint are also countered by their nanotech as the paint is broken down leaving their shells the original olive green in color. To date, it is unknown what the total number of Keepers on the Citadel actually is. Its also unknown if the Keepers mate or if they are clones, where they live on the Citadel, and if they are truly sentient or some form of bio-mechanical drone controlled by a central computer or even by an unseen being living in the Citadel. What is known is that they are an integral part of Citadel maintenance, and are protected by law from the current inhabitants of the station. Interfering with a Keeper in its duties and causing harm to a Keeper is met with hefty fines and even the threat of incarceration and or banishment from the Citadel.

The Citadel was not originally home of the Concord. When the Great Alliance first formed, the Sol Systems Alliance space station, Babylon 8, was chosen as a headquarters. However, once the Illithid Invasion was broken and the Galactic Concord was established, it quickly became obvious that the aging space station was going to prove insufficient for the duties of the Concord. The Asari offered the Citadel as an option grudgingly at first. The Asari had kept the discovery of the Citadel a secret for many years. Even when word about the Citadel leaked, they kept the station under strict guard, only allowing rigorously vetted science teams access to the facility. As the Galactic Concord grew, and the possibility of any planetary body being a home quickly ruled out, the Asari offered the Citadel to the Concord on the condition that they be granted a permanent seat on the Council.

The Citadel consists of six areas, five wards (Zakera, Kithoi, Tayseri, Bachjret, and Shalta), each spanning an arm of the station and are metropolises in and of themselves, and the Presidium, which houses the Senate. The Wards are each vast cities, complete with neighborhoods, shops, entertainment, and infrastructure (shipping/recieving, waste removal, etc.). The Keepers maintain the overall integrity of the Citadel, but the Concord employs workers to maintain the systems that have been installed to ensure the survival and comfort of Concord member species and visiting delegates from other stellar nations. Each Ward has a population of roughly 8 million people. An artificial atmosphere is maintained at all by the highest floors of the various skyscrapers that dot the Wards, so the streets and thoroughfares are essentially open to the void of space though kept a comfortable temperature and gravitational force for most species. Specialized atmospheres and accomodations for species that do not breathe oxygen or have other environmental requirements are provided in certain areas of each Ward.

Each Ward has its own feel, but there are some constants. Generally, the ringward sides and the edges of the arms hold the most expensive and posh neighborhoods in each Ward. Zakera is widely regarded as the safest Ward. Bachjret is generally regarded as the poorest Ward. However, each Ward has their good and seedy areas. Generally, the deeper into the Ward that you go, both long-ways and under the surface, the seedy the areas get. As it goes in most cities, the further from the light a society gets, the more the criminal element moves in.

The Presidium is the central ring of the station. Most of the buildings here are related to Galactic Concord business. The Senate is housed here in the Spire, the large tower that stretches from the Presidium ring to the center of the Citadel ring. The offices of many of the senators and Concord agencies are also housed in the Presidium, as well as the homes of the Council members. As the Galactic Concord continues to grow, many agency offices and some senatorial offices have moved to the ringward portions of the Wards. The Presidium is enclosed, complete with a holographic sky (set to the Concord standard 20 hour day). The Presidium is also home to the most beautiful park space and highest end shops and restaurants in the Citadel.

Security is tight on the Citadel. C-Sec controls the flow of people coming and going at the customs offices located in several points in each Ward as well as being the everyday police force. As would be expected, the threat of terrorism on the Citadel is high, so keeping close tabs on who and what are coming aboard is a constant concern. The Concord Navy also maintains a presence in and around the Citadel. The Bastion, the headquarters of the Concord Navy, is housed on the far edge of Kithoi Ward. There are also five dreadnaughts, two carriers with full fighter squadrons, and a full battalion of troops are stationed on the Citadel as well. Add in the orbital defenses, the cannon batteries installed by both the Asari and the Concord, and the ability for the Citadel close the Wards in together for maximum protection and the Citadel is one of the most heavily defended installations in the galaxy.

Despite the security, there is a thriving criminal element on the Citadel. The marging of various cultures and societies leads to a veritable smorgasbord of vices and appetites to sake. Various gangs, syndicates, and cartels all maintain a presence on the Citadel. Smuggling in contraband is a full-time job for these organizations. Despite the best efforts of C-Sec, contraband makes it through both by the ingenuity of the smugglers and the bribes given to C-Sec customs officials.

ARISE!!!

I'm not making any promises, but it looks like I'm finally gettin out of both the heavy season of extra-cirriculuar activities and this creative funk I've been in so I should actually be posting something in the very near future.

I've been waffling a bit between Savage Worlds and wanting to take a stab at hacking White Star into something more palpable to what I like. Don't get me wrong, White Star is a great game, but there are certain aspects that don't really grab me like race-as-class and d6 for all damage. However, much like with Swords & Wizardry, White Star is the kind of game that begs to be hacked and molded into something else. I did that with S&W and I like the results, so I've been thinking of doing the same with WS. The only thing holding me back is Savage Worlds scratches my sci-fi itch better. I've never been the biggest fan of classes in sci-fi games, unless they are pretty loosely defined. Plus, I've pretty much finished my re-write/re-grouping of the SW core rules to encompass the Sci-Fi companion and other bits from other SW sci-fi games (finally, and sorry for my and my group's own use only). A lot of work went into that tome, and it's tough to just walk away from that to start on another massive undertaking. Plus, with the Savaged version of Rifts on the horizon, I have a feeling that my thoughts will be going right back to SW once that gets released.

For the time being, unless the lure of tearing apart and rebuilding White Star in my unholy image become too much to ignore, I'm going to stay the course with write-ups for species and creatures for Savage Worlds and Rogue Space. Rather than locking myself into any one set project, I'm going to get back to just writing about whatever I want. Now that the core rules are done I'm into just adding the bits and fluff to the setting, which honestly is more fun. The one thing that will tie all the posts together is that they will be focused on detailing parts of my Mythic Space setting. Some will be about creatures found on various worlds, while others may cover conversions from other systems or from comics or whatever.

I found that when I focused on converting stuff from a single source for too long, I just lost interest (like with the string of Spelljammer conversions). I had more fun when I just focused on whatever I was interested at the time (like when I converted various Marvel aliens). That's not to say that I won't go back and offer another batch of Spelljammer conversions in the future, or finally finish my post on the Tyrant Expanse, but they'll wait until I'm really into it rather than feeling like I need to do it because I said I would. (Really, Beholders are such a mechanical pain in the ass, and I've thought and re-thought about how I want to implement them both mechanically and thematically so much that I just need to step back and look at them again at a later time...maybe much later...)

I should be more active now that the summer is over, and the fall sports season is done for my oldest son. I've been far too lax in my creative endeavors, so I'm looking to exploring the galaxy once again!

Return to the Dungeon Crawl

Last week I bought the Warhammer Quest video game on Steam. While it's plagued with the actrocious idea that everything from characters to monsters to tilesets needs to be its own DLC pack, it is a fairly faithful translation of the classic (dare I say "ultimate") dungeon crawling boardgame. I've been battling my way through dungeon after dungeon in a quest for loot and levels and thoroughly enjoying every second. It got me in the mood again to look at both my own collection of dungeon crawler board games and what is coming on the horizon, not to mention the idea of putting together a dungeon crawler of my own as well.

On the horizon is Dungeon Saga from Mantic Games. It looks a lot like Warhammer Quest, which isn't surprising since Mantic makes a lot of games that are similar to many Games Workshop titles from Blood Bowl to Warhammer 40K and Fantasy. (Seriously, check them out at Mantic Games. They are the anti-Games Workshop with good games, great minis, and a company that really seems to care about their customers.) What really interests me with this game is the Adventurer's Companion that is going to contain rules for creating heroes based on figs from your own collection, no matter who made the mini. You'd never see Games Workshop do that! I'm eagerly awaiting Dungeon Saga's release next month, and I hope that it's quickly carried by a retailer stateside.

I've got a lot of these kind of games from the well known (Heroquest, Castle Ravenloft, and Descent) to the obscure (Dragonfire to an older D&D board game from the early 90's whose name escapes me at the moment) and a ton of minis from those game as well as a vast assortment of other figures from Reaper to Mage Knight to the D&D prepainted minis line. It would be great to draw up on that vast store of figures and dust them off for some crawling action. However, as it's been with deciding on what rules to use for my Mythic Space setting, deciding on which system to adapt my collection to has been tough. With Dungeon Saga still a month away, I think what I'm going to do is adapt the Warhammer Quest system into my own game.

Warhammer Quest hits the sweet spot for me in terms of crunch and ease of play. However, I am going to make a few changes to how the system works. I'm going to D20-ify it a bit. Gone will be thw WS charts. Instead, characters will have a base bonus. The bonus will be rolled against the opponent's Melee bonus +10. Much of the game still runs very much the same, however. I'm also changing up character creation a bit. I'm going with a race/class set up. That way I can have elven rogues alongside halfling clerics and dwarven warriors. Classes have set stats with the races adding in possible modifiers and a racial ability or two. Classes will have a selection of abilties to choose from at start and others for when the characters level up. The Winds of Magic still plays a huge part in both keeping spellcasters in check and adding an extra element of danger to the dungeon.

Monster stats will run in much the same way as well. Opponent spellcasters will often roll on a random table of spells to determine what spell is cast (for co-op or solo games). Many of the monster special abilities will be standardized to make the game flow faster.

I'm still knocking around ideas for how I'm going to handle treasure. I'm thinking I may simplify the charts I use to randomize magic items in S&W (which is modified from the Diablo II rpg sets). However, the idea of having a set of cards to just draw treasure from has a lot of appeal as well, even if is would mean more work on my part.

As for the dungeon creation system, I'm going to largely use my Warhammer Quest sets since that's the rules base as well, but I do have some ideas for using D&D Adventure games tiles as well.

Unlike many other projects, this one seems to be going really fast. It's a nice change of pace to work on a light-hearted, really simple game for a while. That said, I'm starting to feel the itch to get back to Mythic Space. We'll see. If I keep playing Warhammer Quest, I may stick with this for a while...

Fantasy Flight Games Once Again Wants All My Money

Well, it's Gen Con time again and once again it's time for a crap-ton of new game announcements. Now, I'm going to delve into the news that is coming out about Savage Worlds, but since there is so damn much that has come out and is continuing to hit, I'm going to wait to post about that later. Let's just say that Rifts is shaping up nicely (even though it's release has been pushed into early next year) and there is a LOT of great SW material coming out!

In this post I want to focus on Fantasy Flight Games. FFG has always been pretty prolific, and make some really great games. Much of my board game shelf space is made up of their offerings. They have announced a ton of new games and expansions that are going to bust what little game budget I have these days. Not just bust, but obliterate. It will likely be a long time before I catch up with all of these games, but at least there's always something exciting on the horizon!

First off is the next wave of expansions for Imperial Assault. Now, the next wave hasn't shipped yet (should be soon since they've been listed as "on the boat" for nearly 2 months now, and there's a wave in between the one about to hit and the one announced this week, so there's a lot of material in the pipe for IA. This wave will add Hoth-based characters, missions, scenarios, and tiles to the game. the wave will consist of a new small box expansion that will add the tiles, 3 new hero characters (including a Mon Calamarian and a 2-1B Medical Droid), 6 snowtroopers, 3 HK Assassin Droids, 2 Wampas (!), and a SC2-M Repulsor Tank! Just like with the small box expansion that is due out soon, this one will feature a bounty hunter as well, Dengar, who will be one of the figure expansions in this wave. The other figures will be Princess Leia in her Hoth gear, Echo Base Trooper ally pack, and a General Sorin villain pack. I really like IA and hope this trend of numerous expansion waves each year continues.

Next up is new material for Descent 2nd Edition. A new box expansion, the Mists of Bilehall, Unlike other expansion sets for Descent, this one won't offer up an new heroes or expansions of class skill sets. Nope, Bilehall is all about bolstering the strength of the Overlord player. The theme for this set is creepy undead menaces. Along with a new one act campaign, the set will include new rules for Tainted heroes, 12 figures: 6 Reanimates (skeletons), 3 Broodwalkers (disease-ridden zombies covered in bugs), and 3 Bone Horrors (a sort of snake like golem made completely out of bones). This set will also introduce 3 new Lieutenants for the Overlord as well as figure expansions for each. (I've never picked up any of the Lieutenant packs. Never seemed like they added much to the game.)

There's a new edition of Runebound coming out by the end of the year (more likely early next year). The Terrain Dice are still a factor, but the game is touted as being different enough that none of the earlier material will be compatible. Only 4 heroes are included in the base game, which is a big change as well. There will be differing paths that heroes can take on their journey to complete their quest: Combat, Social, and Exploration. A hero can focus on one arena to complete their goals or mix and match the three. The combat is very, very different and one aspect that interests me. Both the hero and the creature toss or roll a bunch of tokens. Depending on how these land each can use them to attack defend power special attacks/spells and so forth. I've had a love-hate relationship with Runebound in the past. The first edition was, well, it just wasn't very fun. The Second edition was much improved, but it still just didn't grab me. I like the idea of what the game is trying to do, but it just hasn't clicked yet. That said, I am interested, which is why I'm posting about it, but this is one that I will definitely wait until I can try it out at the FLGS first.

Finally we come to the "big dog" of FFG's announcements: a new Warhammer Quest. I've been a huge fan of WQ since I first laid eyes on it back in 1996. I now own two base sets, the Catacombs of Terror expansion, and several of the expansion hero packs. That's not even counting the mountains of new monsters and heroes I've either created or downloaded of the net over the years. Needless to say, I'm a big fan of WQ, so seeing the banner across the top of FFG's homepage made me giddy like a schoolgirl. However, my hopes of a new and updated dungeon crawler with a solo component was quickly dashed by finding out this version of WQ is a card game. I should have known. There is little chance of FFG putting out a new version of WQ in the style of the original game when they have the Descent line. While I would vastly prefer the new WQ be more like the old, I am interested in this new game. I've never been one for card games beyond poker and blackjack. They largely don't interest me. However, the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game has shown me that such a game is possible and can be interesting. I have my doubts that a card game will be able to capture the same feel as the original dungeon crawler, but I will be itching to try this out once it hits later on this year (once again, knowing FFG's schedule it'll likely be early next year).