Space: 1999 the Role-playing Game

I pre-ordered the Space: 1999 role-playing game coming from Modiphius not because I am a big fan of the show (the only complete episode I've seen as an adult I reviewed here) but I do like retro-sci-fi in general, and I am always at least curious about another instantiation of the 2d20 system, which I like a lot in Star Trek Adventures. With my pre-order I got the quickstart and with it a window into what the game is going to be like.

First off, they get the aesthetic right. There is a lot of beige and orange in this pdf. Unlike the Trek books, they use stills from the show in this one, though there is some original art.

Characters are defined by Skills and Attitudes. The Skills (Command, Flight, Medicine, Security, Technical) seem analogous to STA's Disciplines (Command, Conn, Medicine, Security, Science, Engineering), but they also serve an attribute function with the rules telling us Command has to do with "charm" and Flight with "athletics," for example. Attitudes (Bravery, Compassion, Dedication, Improvisation, Mystery, Perseverance) are essentially approaches as used in Fate and other games (the 2d20 Dishonored game calls them "Styles"), though they don't work as well conceptually for me because they seem to be a mix of character traits and traits and motivations, but they probably will work okay. One problem I forsee is that with approaches/styles doing things one way means you probably aren't doing it another way, e.g. if you are Quick you aren't Careful or Sneaky. It's less clear to me that the Attitudes have that sort of exclusivity.

Beyond Momentum and Threat, which are in most 2d20 games, Space: 1999 characters have Spirit which serves the functions of both Determination and Stress in STA.

There are some sample characters in the quickstart and a short adventure, but no real gear, aliens or monsters. Still, from what's shown it looks like a good 2d20 riff on the lower crunch side. I'm looking forward to seeing the full game.

Solar Queen

Our Action Tales system sci-fi game continued last Sunday with the group going aboard the spaceliner, Solar Queen to get the untraceable credit stick to pay a group of pirates for a captured Martian vessel which supposedly contained classified data potentially useful to the Earth freedom fighters. Things didn't exactly go smooth, though, as there were more Ares Corp agents waiting in Chandra Roberts' stateroom.

The battle was in a confined spaced and unorthodox. Zarek and Rusty pushed one agent into the bathroom and beat him unconscious. Ryne flipped a mattress over on another and Ariana stunned him with an electrolaser blast through it. In the end, the agents were defeated and stolen keycards and some fast talking convinced ship security that they party were in law enforcement.

Out at the edge of the spaceport, they found the newly repainted and repaired "salvage" in Bay 11. They turned over the credit stick and took possession of the Rowdy Yates. They did some quick, preflight checks, then blasted off for a 10 hour flight to their rendezvous station. 

They were only a few hours out of Luna when they were hailed by the Martian cruiser Yangwei. Captain Willard Tang demanded they prepare for boarding. 

They party elected not to do that. Hesperos did some fancy flying, aided by the ship's powerful drive, and manged to race out ahead of the other vessel, but the high G maneuvers caused several of the party to lose consciousness. Quickly everyone had had time to strap in.

Xeno-File: Ythnat

Art by Jason Sholtis

The ythnat evolved from omnivorous, beaked homeotherms. They are smaller than most known sophonts being around 1 meter tall on average. They are not above using their size and appearance to ingratiate themselves or at least appear non-threatening to others. It would be a mistake to underestimate them, however. They are "first among equals" in the Interstellar Compact by their own admission. In actuality, the o'omkaro and the hna-hunkpa are essentially client civilizations.

It has been opined that the ythnat have no laws, only obligations. Compared to human cultures, they certainly rely on complicated webs of patronage, referent power, and custom, more so than codified law. The contract, however, is always sarcosanct. The planetary political structure of the ythnat is prone to change to a dizzying degree, but the powerful merchant princes and syndicates effectively control the planetary economy and that of the entire Compact. 

Monorail Station Mosh

Our Action Tales system sci-fi game continued last night with two additional characters meeting up with the crew: Ariana (Mercurian technician) and Rusty Tam (an Earther Smuggler). 

The party had to get back to their contacts room on the spaceliner Solar Queen to achieve the encrypted datachip to pay the pirates who had "salvaged" the Ares Corp yacht. The problem was, Ares thugs had the monorail station staked out, waiting for them.

The crew didn't have many distance weapons, so when the Ares guys pulled electrolaser stunners, all they could do was dodge through the transit station kiosks, making a break for the train. It doesn't go smoothly. There's a lot of tripping and running into each other.

Eventually, though they get on the train and throw out the one thug that managed to get on with them. It's a short trip to the space port where the Solar Queen is in Bay 04. They cross the ramp to the ship, but there's a guard waiting there who demands ID.

Rhyn and Rusty stun him, and the group proceeds inside.

----

From the game running perspective, this adventure shows the Action Tales System tends to end up with a lot of "yes, but..." That's not a bad thing, but care has to taken in choosing what the complications are lest things start to seem comedic, even slapstick. The same sort of thing tends to occur with the Grok?! system too. It's not really a problem for either of my groups, but I could see it bugging some people or perhaps working against certain settings.

Xeno-File: O'omkaro

Art by David Monge Bustista

 O'omkaru are newcomers to interstellar civilization. They are often found accompanying other species from the Compact sphere. 

The word o'omkaro, though used as such by others, seems not to strictly be the species name, but rather denotes the spirit or mentality of the species or the species as an ideal. As best as can be determined, their modern government seems to be via some form of adhocracy, and in their interactions with each other and with other species they seem to place a great value on the debating of options and consensus. This is not to say they are particularly conformist by the standards of other species. To the contrary, they seem to have a great tolerance for eccentricity, displays of emotion and individuality. 

So far as is known they have two sexes. Bidirectional hermaphroditism occurs, so that an individual may switch sex several times in a lifetime. The triggers for these changes are unknown, and it seems to be a topic they are reluctant to discuss with other species. Personality changes occur along with their sex, and o'omkaro society accommodates this shift in its members, altering responsibilities and roles as needed.

Many o'omkaru are followers of cultural fads (especially those from other species) and many are collectors of some sort. Almost any new religion, political philosophy or art form they sweeps known space is guaranteed to count o'omkaro among its enthusiasts. O'omkaro history has been painted but historians of other species as a churn of secret societies, revolutionary ideas, and religious awakenings.

Luna Blues

 

Last night, taking a break from 5e Azurth, we played a gaming using Peril Planet's Action Tales system (kitbashing rules from Star Scoundrels, Neon City Overdrive, and Terminal City) in the Buck Rogers-inspired setting I discussed last week. 

The year is 2979 and the PCs are the (former) crew of a corporate hauler doing a Luna-Ceres run. Finding themselves out of a job when their employer was bought out by Ares Corporation (the Martian baddies), they find themselves sitting in the Tycho City dive called the Free Fall Bar and Grill, listening to bad karaoke and spending their last paycheck. The characters are:

• Hesperos (Tug): Pilot from the Venusian Cloud cities.
• Ryne Ganult (Andrea): Engineer from the Belt.
• Zarek (Bob): Martian ex-soldier with a cybernetic arm.

The group is approached by a woman who gives her name as Chandra Roberts. She's a lawyer who needs a crew to fly a salvaged ship back to Earth. She's offering 1000 Martian Yuan for a one day job. It's good money, so the group says yes, but almost immediately things get complicated.

A guy and some goons come in. The guy claims to be a Lunar cop and places Chandra under arrest. Something smells fun, though, because why aren't these goons in uniform? And why doesn't the leader's uniform have identification? When the group balks, one goon draws a gun.

When Hesperos quick draws his pistol, a fight breaks out. In short order, the thugs are on the ground courtesy of the stunners Zarek and Ganult have, but the real cops are likely on their way.

They flee the bar and as soon as they get a moment, Roberts reveals that she works for ORE, the Organization for the Renewal of Earth, and the ship in question is a stolen yacht that once belonged to Ares Corp chairman, Alexei Loehr-Zau, and seems to contain a drive with sensitive Ares Corp data.

Roberts wants the crew to help her buy by the data (and the ship) from pirates.

TO BE CONTINUED

A Sci-Fi Setting Idea

My recent readings in science fiction and musings on Star Frontiers have given me an idea for a science fiction setting combining some thoughts I've had stemming from both.

The basic idea involves a future Earth controlled by benevolent AI that is something those presented in the novelization to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Stross' Accelerando and a little like Watts' Blindsight. Most people are enmeshed in digital simulations to various degrees and have little, direct human contact. They're content to let the AIs run things. More individualistic, conservative elements of human society, still interested in physical experiences and challenges, have moved to the outer Solar System.

When a wormhole gateway left by a previous intelligent culture is discovered in the Solar System, the AI guides of the human race see the perfect way to channel the more erratic humans of the outer system: they open up the Frontier.

Exactly where in the galaxy (or perhaps the universe) the Frontier is located is unclear, but it's far from Sol. In a relatively small area of space compared to Sol's local environment, it has a number of human habitable worlds--and a few technologically advanced alien species.

Megacorporations are allowed to guide settlement of the region. Both the settlers and the AI on Earth ironically agree that a new society replicating the one on Earth shouldn't be created on the Frontier. To this end, technology is limited and controlled, policed by the Institute. This gives the Frontier a somewhat retro, "cassette futurism"-tinged vibe.

Eventually, the Frontier develops away from corporate rule, but after the unexplained collapse of the wormwhole back to Sol, there is war, and then an economic depression that paves the way for a corporate bailout and a re-establishment of central government via a "special-purpose district." The megacorporations promise to re-establish full representative democratic rule in time for the bicentennial celebration of human arrival on the Frontier. 

Star Frontiers "Appendix N"

Jim Burns

Star Frontiers has a list of "Reading for Fun and Ideas" but (and I'm not the first to point this out) it's really just a grab-bag of good and/or classic science fiction. The relationship between the list and SF's explicit and implied setting and the sort of elements that would show up in a game are elusive. It isn't anything like a "how-to" manual.

So I thought it was worth coming up with a list of inspirational media that is more to the point. This will be my perspective; I make no claims about what works the original authors made in mind. I will, though, at least for the works I dub "core," try to stick to works that could have been inspirations back in 1982.

The Core

General features: A lack of focus on cybernetics, dystopia, interaction with inscrutable aliens, common psi, or space empires. They tend to have generally a more upbeat (at least not brooding or dour) tone and a focus on adventure rather than tech. 

CJ Cherryh - The Pride of Chanur. Interesting but accessible aliens. space trading. 

Alan Dean Foster - Humanx Commonwealth series, particularly the subseries of the Adventures of Flinx and Pip. Strong human-alien cooperation (and with insectoid aliens), conflict with another alien species, unusual planets for adventure.

Andre Norton - Solar Queen series. Corporate-centered space travel and free-trading. Mysteries of previous civilizations on isolated worlds.

Jack Vance - The Demon Princes series. Travel between core worlds and a frontier region, Space criminals and cops. Strange societies.

                     Planet of Adventure series. Stranded on an alien planet after a crash with a lot of weird stuff going on.

Ralph McQuarrie

The Frontier

These works are either post-1982, have fewer elements of homology to the Star Frontiers setting, or both.

Brian Daley - Han Solo Adventures series. fast-paced adventure, human-nonhuman cooperation.

                     Hobert Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh series. friendly aliens, humorous and picaresque.

Edmond Hamilton and others - Captain Future series. space criminals and mad scientists. A smaller number of worlds.

Film/TV:

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. More action pulp than serious sci-fi. Costume design aesthetic of roughly the same era as the game.

Firefly. Smaller setting. ragtag crew like a PC party.

Comic Books/Strips:

Atari Force vol. 2. '80s science fiction aesthetics, friendly humanoid aliens.

Star Hawks. Space law enforcement.

Star Wars. The post-Empire Strikes Back era of the comic has aesthetics not unlike the game, and the comic and comic strip at times have more general Space Opera plots.

Star Scoundrels

 

I mentioned Black Star from LakeSide Games a few weeks ago, but since I've discovered another neat, rules lite, space opera game, Star Scoundrels is from Peril Planet. It's another game clearly intended to play Star Wars without obviously violating the IP and mentioning that. It uses the Action Tales system I've appreciated in the cyberpunk game Neon City Overdrive, which is also pretty much the same system as the fantasy game Dungeon Crawlers and the author's game Hard City for Osprey.

The basic mechanic is a d6 dice pool of Action Die and Danger Die, with graduated success from complete failure to complete success. Dice are added to the pool based on player traits, Threat (enemy) traits, and situational modifiers. All rolls are done by the players. 

Each Danger Die can cancel out a matching result on an Action Die, and uncancelled 6s on Danger Die accumulating Pressure. Pressure gives the GM the ability to make things more difficult for the players when it reaches a certain level. It's like Threat in 2d20 games in that regard but isn't near as much of an economy around it nor as many rules relating to it.

PCs are described by Trademarks (sort of a basic concept, role, profession, and alien species), Edges (specializations or talents linked to a Trademark), Flaws (disadvantages or troubles), gear, Grit (hit points), and Flow (the Force stand-in). Flow can be used to increase the success of roles or use a second Trademark die in a check.

Starships are statted similar to Threats. There are some fairly simple rules given for space battles and a table of random space travel encounters.

There are also random tables for adventure generation, planets, and names.

All and all, it offers the barest bit more crunch (but in places that flesh out a character a bit more) than Black Star while remaining very rules light. Either would be a great choice for a Star Wars pickup game or one shot.

Lost on Planet X

I've been thinking about an alien planet hexcrawl in the vein of my posts about somewhat goofy somewhat gonzo science fiction. The sort of thing that could sit on a shelf next to a Gold Key Star Trek collection:

Of course, a planet in big--particularly a planet (like Vance's Big Planet or Silverberg's Majipoor) that is substantially larger than Earth, but less dense. So I think the way to limit that is a shipwreck sort of scenario, so that travel would likely only be in a limited radius around the "home base" of the ship, at least at first.

The aforementioned Gold Key Star Trek comics would be an inspiration as would the 60s Lost in Space show, the 70s Logan's Run show, classic Dr. Who, the works of Jack Vance and assorted science fiction/science fantasy comics.

5e Hadozee

Another species in my 5e pulp sci-fi game, which will probably be somewhat familiar to those of you that remember Star Frontiers... 

HADOZEE

Hadozee are tall, furry humanoids with manes around their necks and heads and large (sometimes tufted) ears. They evolved from arboreal hunters. Humans sometimes call them "monkeys" because they resemble to a degree simian primates of Old Earth, but this can be considered somewhat derogatory. Two large flaps of skin (a patagium) grow on either side of their bodies, attached along their arms, torso, and legs. A Hadozee can use these as a sort of wing or gliding.

Hadozee have four joints (one more than Humans) on their digits. The inside toe is partially opposable like a thumb, allowing them to grasp things with their feet. The tips of their fingers and toes end in broad, ribbed pads, giving them an excellent grip.

Hadozee communities are divided into large, loosely organized clans. All the members of a clan are related to each other. In the past, clan ties were very strong, and inter-clan conflict was common and often violent. These tendencies have been tempered in the modern age, but hadozee still have a proud warrior tradition.

Homeworld: Verdis 

Average Height: 2.1 meters

Average Weight: 50 kg (male), 60 kg (female)

Phenotypic Variation: Individual hadozee vary in color of their head manes and body fur from glossy black to pale yellow. Their skin color ranges from deep gray to light-tan. Certain colorations tend to run in particular clans or historic geographical groups.

Reproduction: Two sexes, viviparous

Traits:

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Age. Hadozee mature a little faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age similarly though and can live up to 100 years.

Size. You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this species.

Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.

Darkvision. Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.

Dexterous Feet. You can take the Use an Object action as a bonus action.

Glide. If you are not incapacitated or wearing heavy armor, you can extend your skin membranes and glide. When you do so, you can perform the following aerial

maneuvers:

• When you fall at least 30 feet, you can move up to 5 feet horizontally

for every 1 foot you descend.

• When you would take damage from a fall, you can use

your reaction to reduce the fall’s damage to 0.

Languages. You can speak, read and write in Solar Trade Common and Verdisian.

Vrusk for 5e

Another species in my 5e pulp sci-fi game, which will probably be somewhat familiar to those of you that remember Star Frontiers... 

VRUSK

Vrusk resemble giant arthropods, though they have internal skeletons. Eight legs grow from their abdomen, four on each side. Their torso is upright and humanoid, with two arms connected at the shoulders. A Vrusk's shoulders are double-jointed, so they can rotate their arms in a full circle without straining any muscles. They can reach any point on their abdomen or behind their backs easily. Vrusk hands are circular pads with five, evenly spaced fingers around the edge.

Vrusk have a highly regimented society where everyone knows their role and performs it for the good of all. This was not always the case and hive conflict in the past hastened the environmental decline of Marva and nearly drove the Vrusk to extinction. Modern Vrusk are seen as industrious, stoic, and rational. Their Council of Experts advise and oversee the various citizen committees which manage most aspects of Vrusk society. Vrusk consider it their duty to serve their race in whatever capacity required of them.

Of course, Vrusk have their free thinkers and eccentrics just like any other people. Where the Vrusk collective cannot find creative ways to utilize these individuals, they are politely ostracized, and they drift elsewhere in the system.

Homeworld: Marva 

Average Height: 1.5 meters tall, 1.5 meters long

Average Weight: 85 kg

Phenotypic Variation: Vrusk skin and carapace varies in color from dull red-brown to black. Their eyes likewise vary in color. These distinctions to not represent any meaningful groups within Vrusk society so far as humans know.

Reproduction: Two sexes, oviviparous

Traits:

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom scores increase by 1.

Age. Vrusk mature similarly to humans, and have a life expectancy of 175 years.

Size. You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this species.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Ambidexterity. All Vrusk are ambidextrous and gain an ability to use any melee weapon that does not have the two-handed property in either hand. When fighting with two melee weapons at once, you are able to have your ability modifier to the attack in the second hand, provided it is a light weapon.  

Comprehension. Given their complicated, hierarchical society, Vrusks are attuned to intricacies of social dealings. You gain advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Deception) checks.

Educated. The Vrusk education system is second to none, you gain an additional skill proficiency of your choice.

Natural Armor. A Vrusk’s hard carapace provides natural protection. You have an Armor Class of 13 plus your Dexterity modifier when not wearing armor. If there are multiple features available to determine your AC, you choose which one to use.

Poor Swimmers. A Vrusk is a poor swimmer, and you will have disadvantage on Strength (Athletic) checks for swimming.

Languages. You can speak, read and write in Solar Trade Common and Marvanic.

Plasmoids for 5e

A species in my 5e pulp sci-fi game, which will probably be somewhat familiar to those of you that remember Star Frontiers... 

Art by Jason Sholtis

PLASMOID

Plasmoids are rubbery, elastic invertebrates. They can change their shape at will, creating a number of pseudopods as needed. Their skin is a flexible and surprisingly tough membrane. It generally is dull gray and lined with dark veins that meet at the Plasmoid’s two eye spots. The internal structure of a Plasmoid is much more chaotic than other species. Their central nerve bundle or brain and subordinate nerve clusters, numerous small hearts and other internal organs float in proteinaceous fluid with the consistency of pudding. 

Plasmoids are generally good-natured, philosophical and thoughtful. They seem unconcerned with wealth, power or status symbols. They are infamous for their strange sense of humor. They love old jokes and groan-worthy puns. Human comedians who can’t buy a laugh on New Terra can get rich performing on Merkuro, though few are willing to make the trip to that forbidding world.

Homeworld: Merkuro

Average Size: 1.3 m tall, 1 m wide

Average Weight: 65 kg

Phenotypic Variation: Individual Plasmoids are not quite identical, but do not vary in predictable ways reflecting ethnicity or familial relationships.

Reproduction: Sequential hermaphroditism, offspring bud off of mother

Traits:

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age.  Plasmoids are fully mature within 1 year after budding and usually live up to 250 years.

Size. You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this species.

Speed. Your walking speed is 20 feet, though this may be improved by adding additional limbs.

Blindsight. You have blindsight within 30 feet by using your chemical and tactile senses.

Elasticity. You can squeeze through a space as narrow as 1 inch along its narrowest dimension, provided you are wearing and carrying nothing. You also have advantage on ability checks you make to initiate or escape a grapple. 

Grappler. Because of your elastic nature, you have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that you have grappled.

Resilience. You have natural resistance to piercing and slashing damage.

Shape Self. If you are not incapacitated, you can reshape your body to give yourself a head, one or two arms, one or two legs, and makeshift hands and feet, or you can revert to a limbless blob (no action required). You can have a total number of limbs equal to your Dexterity Ability score divided by 2. A Plasmoid needs at a minimum of 2 legs to be able to walk at base speed. A Plasmoid with 3 legs has a walking speed of 25 feet, and 4 legs or more has a walking speed of 30 feet.

As a bonus action, you can extrude a new pseudopod that is up to 6 inches wide and 4 feet long or reabsorb one into your body. This requires concentration until the start of your next turn. If you have three or more arms, you gain one additional unarmed melee attack or grapple as a Bonus Action during your turn when using an Attack action. Also, you can perform a Use Object Action as a Bonus action. You can use this pseudopod to manipulate an object, open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open container, or pour out the contents of a container without the use of a Bonus Action.

Languages. You can speak, read and write in Solar Trade Common and Merkuran.

Salvage in Space

We played the first session of a "rockets and rayguns" pulp sci-fi game using a modified version of Rocket Age for 5e. The characters were:

Jones: human, ex-soldier
Lor' el-Am: Hadozee engineer
Mitchell: another human and ex-Space Marine
Trzkt: Vrusk scientist

All were marking time in Ziszkhar, a minor spaceport and domed city of Marva, when Trzkt was approached by another Vrusk named Niszk Zrnn, who was acting as an agent for an insurance claims for a big New Terran shipping insurance firm. The firm was interested in hiring a crew for a salvage mission in the Belt. Niszk thought Trzkt might know a suitable group. In fact, she did, and they agreed to meet the insurance agent.

Arlik Taine told them that his company was preparing to pay out a significant amount on the Aurora Queen, a new luxury spaceliner that had mysteriously disappeared in the Belt, just days from Marva. It's inaugural cruise with only a small group of passengers had been a cruise out to Kronion's moons. It was coming back when contact was lost. A prospector in the belt had a caught a glimpse of a derelict in the distance that might by the Queen, so Taine was willing to pay to have it checked out.

He added that there was a famous archeologist on board, Dr. Brennan Carter, who was returning from an expedition to one of the nameless moons of Vurania, with a treasure in exotic gems.

The crew was outfitted with an aging but serviceable cruiser, and they set out for the Belt, to the coordinates extrapolated from the prospector's sighting. They find the ship, powerless and tumbling through space. Attaching themselves with a magnetic grapple, they went inside. There was evidence of some bloody conflict in gruesome stains on walls and doors, but no bodies. In the ship's control room they found the bleeding and concussed officer in the uniform of the line, Captain Cyril Falconer. He tells them there is an invisible monster on the ship that has been slaughtering the crew and passengers!

Marva

More about the setting I'm going to use or my 5e pulp sci-fi game...

Marva, fourth planet from the sun, is harsh, desert world, made so by natural processes but also as the result of a long ago atomic war. In ancient times, the advanced science of Marva's native intelligent species, the Vrusk, was bent to the art of weapon-making to wield against the members of rival sociopolitical groups. The Vrusk refer to these conflicts as the Hive Wars. They very nearly led to the race's extinction.

The Vrusk bear some resemble to giant insects in their form, though they actually have internal skeletons and possess eight limbs. Most of the "civilized" Vrusk live within one o several domed cities or the underground structures beneath. Toxins from the ancient wars are still present, so it is prudent to limit exposure the the exterior environment unprotected.

The dwindling resources of their world have forced the Vrusk to develop a fairly regimented society by human standards. Every Vrusk knows their role and performs it for the good of all. Their Council of Experts advises and oversees the various  citizen committees which manage most aspects of Vrusk civilization. Vrusk consider it their duty to serve their race in whatever capacity required of them. Modern Vrusk are seen as industrious, stoic, and rational by most of the Solar Systems peoples--some (like the Hadozee) might call them boring and pedantic.

Of course, Vrusk have their free thinkers and eccentrics just like any other people. When the Vrusk collective cannot find creative ways to utilize these individuals, they are politely ostracized and they typically drift elsewhere in the system.

Rockets & Rayguns

Most of my gaming group got together (virtually) for a character creation session for the pulpy science fantasy thing in 5e. I've been blogging about the setting here which borrows from Star Frontiers, Spelljammer, and assorted works of the pulp era of science fiction. The mechanics are the pertinent bits of Rocket Age 5e on top of regular 5e.

Anyway, so far the the party has a Hadozee Explorer, a Vrusk Scientist, a Human Soldier, and a Plasmoid Scoundrel. 

I'll probably be posting some of the material I wrote up or that in an abbreviated form, and certainly the session reports will show up here.

The Moons of Wanaxar

Art by TerranAmbassador

There are eleven moons of the gas giant Wanaxar. At least four of the moons are habitable due to their large size, the heat from their primary, and the churning of their molten cores. 

Ivo (Wanaxar I): Mud world, third largest of the major moons. It's oceans are kept muddy by the tug of Wanaxar, both it's gravity and the effects of its magnetic field on the metals in the mud. There are no intelligent inhabitants but mini-submarines adapted to its sludgy seas sift mineral wealth from it. There are some ruins in the highland regions and it has been suggested that this was the original homeworld of the Giff.

Halia (Wanaxar II) Fourth largest of the major moons, it is overwhelming covered by ocean. It's inhabitants are an intelligent invertebrate species known as the S'sessu, who look something like a cross between a earthworm and a salamander. The S'sessu do not appear to be native to Halia but don't discuss their origins with other species. S'sessu are widely disliked by members of other species owing to their extremely competitive and self-centered natures, but they pay well with radioactive isotopes from Halia's depths, so merchants from other worlds are willing to overlook their faults.

Ganameen (Wanaxar III): Largest known moon in the Solar System, Ganameen is a volcanic, world, mostly covered by cool forests. There are ruins on Ganameen relating to an advanced precursor civilization, but the main draw is its port, through which most of the goods of the Wanaxar system pass. Ganameen's native race are the dwarfish, hairy anthropoid Ifshnit. They are tolerant and easy-going, but not overly social. They let humans engage in most of the operation of the port, while they take a share of the profits.

Sallista (Wanaxar IV): Second largest of Wanaxar's moons, it was once the home of an advanced civilization, but now it is a scared, toxic ruin. Sallista is home to the Scro, a militaristic humanoid species with gaunt features. It is unknown if the Scro colonized Sallista after the destruction of its previous civilization (perhaps even having caused it) or if they are the mutated descendants of that people. Generally, Sallista is avoided, but the government of New Earth has taken the unprecedented step of using Scro units as troops in its operations in the outer system.

Mothership Adventure Inspiration from the Pulps

The varied worlds appearing in the short fiction of science fiction magazines in the 30s through the 50s have a lot to offer any of the recent sci-fi horror games. Few of these stories are actually horror, but elements of them can easily be viewed through a horror lens. Here are few examples:

"Immortals of Mercury" (1932) by Clark Ashton Smith. Explorers on a tidally locked Mercury have to deal with resentful indigenous people, one a known, primitive, group, and another an advanced subterranean species that would like to wipe humanity off the planet. In many ways, this story is in large part of dungeon-crawl, but the basic set-up could be played all kinds of ways.

"Salvage in Space" (1933) by Jack Williamson. This one is reminiscent of Alien. A down-on-his-luck asteroid prospector finds a derelict ship floating in the Belt and attempts to salvage it. The ship is loaded with jewels, but also taxidermied alien monsters. The crew have all apparently been killed by violence, but the bodies are gone. It turns out the ship had carried an expedition to the Titania, the moon of Uranus, which is covered with "unearthly forests sheltering strange and monstrous life." The miner must discover what happened and find a way to survive the danger still stalking the ship. 

"Parasite Planet" (1935) by Stanley Weinbaum. Weinbaum's Venus is probably the most "ready to be used for horror" setting that isn't already already a horror setting in science fiction. This is how it's described in this story:

A thousand different species, but all the same in one respect; each of them was all appetite. In common with most Venusian beings, they had a multiplicity of both legs and mouths; in fact some of them were little more than blobs of skin split into dozens of hungry mouths, and crawling on a hundred spidery legs. 

All life on Venus is more or less parasitic. Even the plants that draw their nourishment directly from soil and air have also the ability to absorb and digest—and, often enough, to trap—animal food. So fierce is the competition on that humid strip of land between the fire and the ice that one who has never seen it must fail even to imagine it.

Humans have to wear full body suits with respirators least mold spores get into their bodies. And if all that isn't enough it's terrifically hot and humid. "Prospectors" come to Venus to get rich acquiring native plant life with pharmaceutical value.

"Love Among the Robots" (1946) by Emmett McDowell. As the title suggests, this story is light in the way it plays out, but absent the "meet cute" there's an isolated asteroid mining operations with a small human crew testing learning and adapting robots, where the robots begin to gain a bit too much freewill. If it can't be gotten under control, the company will nuke the asteroid.

The Belt

The Asteroid Belt between the orbits of Marva and Wanaxar is the remnant of an ancient, inhabited world shattered in some cataclysm. The nature of calamity is unknown, though an encounter with contraterrene matter is a possibility.

The mineral wealth of the asteroid belt has drawn prospectors from all over the System and the fragmentary remains of the progenitor planet's civilization have drawn scientists and researchers. Despite these visitors, the Belt remains a relatively lawless frontier. Zerene, the largest of the worldlets in the Belt, is famed as the raucous port of pirates and smugglers.

Art by Jordu Schell

A particularly rapacious group of outlaws are the mysterious Gith. A species of folk seemingly native to the Belt, these marauders are fearsome in appearance: skeletally thin, with parchment yellow skin, and emaciated, corpse-like faces. The Gith. seemingly materialize from nowhere, gutting ships and taking no prisoners, then vanish--sometimes while still in the scopes of pursuers.

There are rumors of a related group of beings, the so-called adepts of asteroids, who tend to remain hidden. They are less aggressive, but not much more friendly to outsiders.

It has been suggested that the Gith races are the descendants of the people of the lost progenitor world, but the iconography of large-craniumed, tentacle-mouthed beings found in the ruins on some asteroids is puzzling, if that's true.

Pulp Inspirations: Uranus from Captain Future

Uranus figures prominently in the Captain Future story The Magician of Mars published in 1941. Here are some details on Hamilton's version of Uranus, which is not at all scientifically accurate, but very useful for gaming inspiration. Quotes are provided from the issue of the pulp magazine.

Geography

• Mountains are Uranus's best known feature.
• Mystery Mountains: "And there is one colossal range in the northern hemisphere, called the Mystery Mountains, which have an altitude of at least twenty miles and possibly much more."
• "The Mystery Mountains’ eternally cloud-wrapped upper heights have never been explored. It is believed that strange creatures inhabit those lofty hidden heights, since occasionally men have found grotesque bodies floating down the North River that flows from those mountains toward the Polar Sea."
• Meteor Peak: "In the wilds south of Losor is the remarkable mountain called Meteor Peak. It is not a natural mountain like the other peaks of Uranus, but is in fact a huge meteor which fell there in times past and half -buried itself in the ground. Because of its unique metallic nature the meteor did not shatter, and still rises from the wilds as a great, dome-like mass of metal. It has sometimes been used as a quarry for certain metals, but that has now been prohibited."
• Valley of Voices: "...in the Valley of Voices, sheets of a talc-like material exuded from the cliffs seem to have the power of recording in some way any sound vibrations which fall upon them. These queer talc-sheets, whenever the wind strikes them, give forth all the sounds they have “recorded.” The result is that in the Valley of Voices one can still clearly hear sounds and human voices which are echoing after thousands of years."
• Endless River: "It was a foaming river that roared ceaselessly around the planet in the titanic canyon it had eroded for itself, its current being the result of tidal pull of the four moons."
• Shining Sea: "It is a sea whose waters are so impregnated with radioactive material from deposits in its bed that it glows at night like a great lake of light. The Uranian city of Lulanee is built on the shores of the Shining Sea, and is considered by inter- planetary travelers to possess one of the most beautiful settings of any city in the System."
• The Great Caves: "Beneath the surface of the planet is a natural wonder almost as great as the mountains, the great caves of Uranus. The interior of the planet is honeycombed by a labyrinth of caverns unmatched anywhere else in the System...Men have explored some of the upper caverns. There is a tiny amount of light in them, emitted from the radioactive minerals in which Uranus is rich. And there is a whole range of life-forms that exist in the caverns and never emerge into the sunlight."

Lifeforms

• Floating Flowers: "Perhaps the most distinctive plant-life of Uranus are its Floating Flowers — flowers that drift in the air by means of sacs into which pure hydrogen is exuded, and whose trailing air-roots supply them with water and nutrition from the air."
• "The animal life of Uranus is abundant, and comprises many of the most ferocious carnivores in the System."
• Cliff Apes: "are the most dreaded, being not really apes but huge bear-like animals whose six limbs are adapted for clambering over the sheer precipices."
• Cloud Cats: "haunt the cloud-wrapped up- per heights of the peaks, and stalk their prey in the eternal mists."
• Thunder-hawk: "has vast wings which can shadow a whole village and can carry off huge beasts in its claws."
• Harpies: "Their human-like appearance is mere accident, and they are in no way as intelligent as the Qualus, the famous winged men of north Saturn."
• Uranians: "have yellow skins, dark hair, and small, dark eyes." 
• "they are perhaps the most conservative and tradition-ridden people in all the nine worlds. They revere custom, and practice a suave courtesy that most people find rather wearying."
• "they are perhaps the most skilled miners in the System, due to their long acquairitance with the underground labyrinth of their world."
• People of Darkness: "humans of a primitive kind who dwell in the caves and are known as the People of Darkness. They are presumed to be descendants of Uranian stock who ages ago went down into the caves and developed eyesight capable of seeing well there. These People of Dark- ness never appear on the surface. Intense light dazzles them."