Under Pressue

Sorry for the silence, but  have been very very busy right now and I have had little time to focus on game design and production.   I hope to have some time this weekend to get a sector published for you to explore in a sandbox style.

Thanks for your patience and your support!

Updates from Beyond

Just a quick note of thanks to all of the donors, I am looking forward to using the donations at the end of March to

1) Donate 20% to Wounded Warriors Project
2) Buy Mrs B some flowers for all her hard work illustrating Rogue Space...she has more great stuff coming for upcoming issues of the Rogue Transmissions magazine.

Also we will be putting some of her Rogue Space work on some items you can buy. Sure I know my wife and I will be the only buyers, but hey--their could be a long lost cousin out there who wants a mug or mouse pad too.

I am working on two full sector setting samples for Rogue Space and have 2 in mind.  One was is a "darker" frontier setting the promised Nightfall sector, and the second is inspired by the Planet Hulk comic series.  To a certain extent I do regret not including a sample sector  in the full rules book--but I figured it was less essential than a possible setting/adventure combo.

Anyway, work on issue 1 of Rogue Transmissions will start shortly and I should have issue 1 ready in May.  Thanks to the good and talented folks who are donating their creativity and time to issue 1 I think it will be a terrific and varied first transmission.

Thanks again for giving the game a try and I hope you'll be inspired to share of some of your inspirations with the rest of us in Rogue Space.  Check out Sean's Freak Debris for some really interesting NPC's and the first sector write up I have seen so far!

First Rogue Space Review

The first full review of the Rogue Space manual is now posted by Chris Jackson at his blog  A Susurrus In Carcosa.

All in all a very honest and fair review.  Many of the critiques ring true, for example, I probably should have better highlighted the initiative rule of 2d6+current HP.

Additionally, perhaps a 6x9 edition with much less art would better serve my goal to make a more generic "make of it what you will" space game.  I very much appreciate the time, energy and feedback that went into the review and appreciate the constructive criticism.

PredaStar

Origin: Unknown
Size: Varies greatly
Shapes reported: spherical, tubular, trapezoidal, ringed.
Sentient: Unknown
Number: Unknown

For as long as man has explored the Dark Frontier, PredaStar's have been reported.  These massive formations seem to feed on  a star or planet at random and continue their journey through space.  Wreathed in cloaks and tendril of dark matter, an actual physical structure resides within.   Sonic probes have reported a massive physical structure within, but no race claims ownership.  The PredaStars do change direction and seem to be either intelligent or under intelligent control.  All attempts at communication in known languages and mathematics have failed.

Our best known and most widely available image is one of the last transmissions from the scientific explorer Latka.  It's captain Heinz Moktah reported strange transmission from the mass and was closing to try and get a better signal before their transmissions were lost.


Quick...and embarrassing update: the character sheets in the back of the printed book were a test one from waaay back in the design and I'll never know how exactly I managed to stick them in the final copy!  CRAP!  Anyway v2 is up as the purchase book now, so the few who bought v1 with the wonky character sheets-I am sorry.  Character sheets are free downloads...and they are correct! :)

What to make of Rogue Space?

I think one of the best tells to see if your ideas have, at least in someway, hit their mark is by seeing how others interpret them.  Rogue Space, for good and ill, is meant to be a launch pad for your own game.  I prefer, and play it myself, as military sci-fi ala Starship Troopers or Aliens.  Yet it lends itself to pulp sci-fi or really any other kind of game you'd like to play.  If you look at the work done by fellow bloggers you will see some of the wide range possibilities and hopefully be inspired as well.

With that in mind, I was pointed to a recent look at Rogue Space by Chris Jackson on the A Susurrus In Carcosa blog. It is a very well thought out look at the basics of the game (from the sample) and to me most importantly, it looks at what could be done with the rules.  He suggests many changes, things he likes and doesn't like as well how he would make it all work.  That's all good in my book and as far as I am concerned-mission accomplished.  Things are kept basic for a reason and while Warrior and Rogue may not fit a "sci-fi" genre in some folks mind, they do fit as an archetype descriptor--but could easily be changed to Scoundrel and Military or Astronaut or Gold shirt, Red shirt, Blue shirt or whatever fits your game.  I built the launch pad-but what the ship looks like when you leave is up to you!

As work begins on the first issue of Rogue Transmission I hope between generous contributions from some very talented people and my own work, Rogue Space will continue to expand and explore many different possibilities.

One additional note, Chris Jackson appears to have an older Rogue Space sample he is reviewing.  At one time weapon damage and armor were fixed values, but the rules are now random for both doing damage and armor protection.  See the sample download for specifics.

Good luck and Godspeed!

We have lift-off!

You can now order your own copy of the Rogue Space RPG by clicking the cover image to your right!  That's right for a platy $7.10 you can buy your very own complete copy of the Rogue Space RPG.  Use the promo code LASSO and get an extra 15% off!  That is a crazy bargain!  Considering most 64pg books go for $20, it is a steal!    Not sure about purchasing? Well click the download icon to your right and try out the 8 page sample rules set--for free!

Now here comes the hard sell.  I make nothing from sales of the book--not one penny.  Instead, I'd ask you to buy the book, give it a spin, and if you feel you want to see more--then please donate to the Rogue Space Program.

Your donations will determine if we keep exploring the vast outer reaches of The Dark Frontier, or if we scrub the program.

Next for Rogue Space is the first quarterly magazine--and possibly the only one---Rogue Transmissions.  I have received some outstanding contributions already for issue 1 and will include a more fleshed out Rogue Space Skirmish miniatures rules set in the first issue.

You can see the blog roll to your right, and these fellow stalwarts of the blogosphere have had a big hand in shaping and bringing Rogue Space to you.  Space may be a vacuum, but I can assure you cyberspace is very much alive.  My thanks go out to you (you know who you are!) and I look forward to exploring more of The Dark Frontier in the days, weeks, months and years ahead.  

Godspeed!

Now in orbit

The test print books arrived and after a few changes I will have the final files done and Rogue Space will launch tomorrow.  The book will be available for purchase at production cost on lulu.com and I will provide a link on this site.

In addition the donation option will also go up as will the option to purchase branded Rogue Space items.  All in all, I am looking forward to seeing if the Rogue Space Project gains enough support to move forward, or see if it dies a quiet death in the dark frontier.  The Sample pocket rules have been updated as has the Starscope.  The sector Map will be up shortly as well. 

Countdown has begun....