Solstice savings!

Hey a fine fellow (Christopher Bernardi) let me know there is a code to get 20% off on Lulu for a limited time!  

Through June 23, save 20% on Lulu.com's premium and standard print books with promo code JFS20.

The Fermi Paradox

Image Source Adam Altenderfer

Try promo code MEMORIAL25 to get 25% off through May 28th.

Wikipedia--

The Fermi paradox (or Fermi's paradox) is the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilization and humanity's lack of contact with, or evidence for, such civilizations. The basic points of the argument, made by physicists Enrico Fermi and Michael H. Hart, are:

The Sun is a young star. There are billions of stars in the galaxy that are billions of years older;

some of these stars probably have Earth-like planets which, if the Earth is typical, may develop intelligent life; presumably, some of these civilizations will develop interstellar travel, a technology Earth is investigating even now, such as that used in the proposed 100 Year Starship; at any practical pace of interstellar travel, the galaxy can be completely colonized in a few tens of millions of years.

According to this line of thinking, the Earth should already have been colonized, or at least visited. But no convincing evidence of this exists. Furthermore, no confirmed signs of intelligence (see Empirical resolution attempts) elsewhere have been spotted, either in our galaxy or in the more than 80 billion other galaxies of the observable universe. Hence Fermi's question, "Where is everybody?

Get it!

Issue 4 was great and hot on its heels, Suspense & Decision 5 is out..and its free!

Check out that cover and get ready for some awesome inside!!

Suspense & Decision #4

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I wanted to pint you to a cool PDF magazine called Suspense & Decision. The new issue has a nice promo for Rogue Space in it including the sample the free sample rules!

Thanks for the call out Charles, I hope your readers enjoy it and maybe decide to explore the dark frontier!

Things & Stuff

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Eli just posted a really cool new race for Rogue Space called The Skeevs. Man the possibility with this races is really cool, and their ship types (Barques and Cutlasses) are really cool concepts.  The image to the left is kind of what I thought of when Eli described the Barques. Anyway, if you need a cool new race as friend, foe, or fodder, The Skeevs are it!

Second bit of news, Charles from Play By Mail.net, is going to do a include an ad for Rogue Space and the pocket mod sample rules in his magazine Suspense & Decisions #4.  You can check out the current issues for a good read! I appreciate greatly Charles' interest in including Rogue Space for his readers to check out. It's not the usual fare for his readers so I appreciate greatly his taking a chance on the Dark Frontier!

Most of all, I just want to say thank you fellow explorers and skelonauts! Thanks for giving the game a spin, thanks for creating so much killer content, and thanks for always making the game more interesting and fun with your creative new ideas.  Game on!

Did you see this?

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Holy awesomeness Rogue Spacers...Giles has created not one, but two posts worth of alien beings and assorted baddies to populate Rogue Space with.  Sincerely this is the kind of awesome you print out as a Referee and keep as a constant reference for making adventures with, populating space ports, or creating bounty hunter adventures with...especially if you have down loaded Mik's Mass Effect Rogue Space conversion (MERS).  Trust me you NEED what Giles has created!

Damn great work Giles, and thanks for bringing new life into the Dark Frontier!

Go get yourself some of the awesome Giles laid out!

Spotted in Rogue Space

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Three new alien races have been discovered in Rogue Space, courtesy of  Eli , Eli again, and Brutorz Bill.  Proof positive you never know what...or who...might appear on the Dark Frontier.

The Play is the Thing, just ask Jupiter Zeus!

Burtorz Bill at Green Skeleton Gaming Guild has posted a series of posts about his adventure, with Jupiter Zeus Space Simian, using Rogue Space!

Below are links to the adventure and his post game wrap up and thoughts:

Rogue Space Mini-Review
Jupiter Zeus Stats
Adventure pt1
Adventure pt2
Epilogue

Thanks Bill for having a go with Rogue Space, and for posting your session notes and giving the game a fair shake.  I really appreciate it and hope others get inspired too!

Game on!

UPDATE Green Skeleton & Curmudgeon both speak!

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Straight from Brutorz Bill at the Green Skeleton Gaming Guild is a mini-review of the new edition of Rogue Space.

I appreciate his review, feedback and the kind words for my wife's art!  I think the contrast between her work style and that of Luigi "Artkid" Castellani in the rules fits the Toolbox/anything goes idea behind Rogue Space.

OSR notable great illustrator and gamer, Steve Zieser of Curmudgeons & Dragons fame, also has some nice things to say about Rogue Space!  More importantly, he also has a great Simian illustration to check out so go ape and see it!

Stargazer took a quick look at the new edition of Rogue Space and gave it favorable marks and is another good read.

So if you are still unsure about venturing into the Dark Frontier, take a look at these reviews and that of Giles as well!

Konnichiwa Usagi-san

I absolutely LOVE Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo.  I started following Usagi back when he first appeared in Albedo comics and have continued to marvel at Mr. Sakai's artistic talent and story telling these many many years.  If you have not read any of Mr. Sakai's works...well you are in for a treat as you follow the Ronin Rabbit through a unique samurai era landscape.

One of the fantastic ventures that many fans may not have read are the SPACE USAGI tales.  Yes our Ronin Rabbit adventures in the far future!  So for Rogue Space fans this is a fantastic and fun resource to mine with tons of potential!  The good news for us is, someone may have already begun! 

I received an email today letting me know that someone may be carving out a section of the Dark Frontier inspired by Space Usagi!  A themed character sheet could be the start of something special!  I am excited to see if the project takes shape and hope you will lend your voice and support by commenting here to inspire our mystery creator to undertake the mission.

Domo Arigato

First review

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Giles has published the first review of the new edition of Rogue Space!

If you are curious about the new edition of Rogue Space, Giles' review of the original and the new edition are a great resource.

In addition if you are curious about trying it, the downloads link on this page (over to your right) has a pocket mod mini version you can download and try...that's really how this whole thing started with that little 8 page booklet.

I am thankful that your interest and support led the 8 page little game into this larger and expanded edition. I am also happy that the game mechanics are no more complicated to play and it retains the simplicity and flexibility even with the additional chrome and options.

It is very gratifying to see the additional works created such as Mech Rules by M. Jared and his Star*Drive conversion, or check out the cool Mass Effect conversion by Mik...and if you are really adventurous, check out whole creatures and explore a sector created by Hereticwerks!

It is a "mission accomplished" for me personally to see the core simplicity of the rules allowed flexibility and ease of translation to become a little engine inside these other fellow gamers outstanding and inspired creations!

Check out what they have made, listen to Mik's podcasts of their Mass Effect Rogue Space sessions and maybe you'll get inspired to carve out your own homeworld in the Dark Frontier.

Godspeed and Good luck!

Explore the Dark Frontier

 It's been a long strange trip to get the revised and expanded edition of Rogue Space complete! Thanks for your faith, support and patience, it's now available for sale! You can click and use the image on this post on your blog as a link back to this site or just to show your support for the game.  My lovely wife made it, and yeah I think it rocks! (just like she does)

I'd like to make special thanks to those who continued to support the game and play it while it was undergoing its overhaul.  In the end there are no major changes at all.  The only change of any real significance is simplifying the NPA (Non-Player Aliens) down to a simplified DRM (Dice Role Modifier) stat instead of the old Technical and Physical values.

So it took me this loooong just to make that wee change?  Nope not exactly.  Obviosuly I have been very busy with my fantasy game (a mash up of TFT and Moldvay edited D&D) Heroes & Other Worlds.  In addition we played around with a number of play test changes to the RS system...and while it enhanced the granularity of rules...it did not make them any better. So the pattern evolved of test and chuck...test and chuck... over and over.  Only to find that the original Keep It Simple Spacemonkey design was all that was needed.

So I went the other route...adding stuff.  The example playable alien races got fleshed out, add in magic, cybernetics, specialized skills, ship interiors, trade, adventure creator ideas, ship naming, character personality charts, and other little bits here and there.  So in the 114 page 9x6 digest sized book the rules did not change much in this edition, but instead I hope you will find a lot more interesting options, charts and ideas that will make the game a more fleshed out and complete edition.


Here is the great thing about the new fleshed out edition.  You instantly have LOTS of additional material to add in.  Check out the ROGUE SPACE RESOURCES links!  You'll find MECH rules and a Star*Drive setting conversion by M.Jared, a whole sector to explore, LITHUS, on Hereticwerks and a conversion of the video game Mass Effect to Rogue Space on MIK's site.

Still not enough? No problem.  Check out the Rogue Space downloads link. You will find two issues of Rogue Transmissions ready for you with Vehicle rules by Porky and more interesting stuff! You will also find a converted weird sci-fi adventure from Needles Sword & Stitchery site ready to play!

So what's the future for Rogue Space?  Well that is up to YOU.  The revised rulebook is my magnum opus for Rogue Space.  Ideally I'd like to do more Rogue Transmission magazines (for free PDF download) but that means YOU need to also create, write and send me stuff to publish for other Dark Frontier explorers to enjoy!  Alien races, starships, planets, adventures, crazy critters, the strange, the mutated, the hard sci-fi, I am open to any of it and fortunately the Dark Frontier can contain all of it!

Whether this is the only new transmission from Rogue Space, or the start of an ongoing exploration of the Dark Frontier is up to you!  Thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy the game!

You can email me direct at fenway5@1791.com

Stay on target

Here is the cover! Although this images is pixelated, the actual cover will not be.

I added in a number of new details and option charts to better flesh out some areas...and have spent the last 4 hours laying out the whole damn thing again.  UGH.

I am going to spend the rest of the day editing the text for the bazillionth time it seems...and I keep finding crap to fix!

So my best estimate is Rogue Space will launch tomorrow and be available for purchase as a PDF or 9x6 printed paper back via lulu.com

If you are curious about the rules or just hearing of Rogue Space for the first time, check the downloads for an 8 page pocket mod PDF that will give you the basic core rules and character creation!

Boba Fett...The Movie?!

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In case you are not up to date, Disney's plans with their newly acquired Star Wars franchise is to do a new trilogy of films..and to insert "character films" in between each film of the trilogy.

Rumors are out now that a Boba Fett film will be one of the character movies. I think this is an important (and of course lucrative move) for Disney, but really it is a new hope for Star Wars Fans.

The current 6 SW films deal with one overarching story line: Sith v. Jedi with the universe in the balance.  Sure its great (well honestly only Ep. 4 & 5 are great IMHO) and presents lots of memorable characters. Sadly these characters only serve to play their part in moving forward the over arching Sith v. Jedi story line. So for a guy like me who was wondering just what the hell is IG-88 all about anyway? Sorry kid he has nothing to add to Sith v Jedi, just buy the figure and make it up yourself.

Now that we get films that look at individual characters and their story?  What a damn great opportunity to really explore the SW universe broadly and bring some depth to characters we like but may not know very well.  I am hoping for an IG-88 movie or maybe this Boba Fett  thing becomes a full blown bounty hunter movie...but time will tell.

Okay so I yammered about the BF film so what's my point? Why is it important to gaming?  I think as a Referee there is a tendency (given to us from movies like Star Wars or even Star Trek) where the characters are the center for saving the universe.  Damn that is a tall order to Referee and script out, let alone as a character figure out how to do it.  Second its tough for all the characters to figure out what their special and important role is in saving the universe.  And if you the Referee can't help the lost player feel important? It's curtains for the campaign.

Frankly it is a tired and pretty crappy game experience, especially for those of us who can't spend every weekend in a gaming marathon for months on end.  Sure when I was 12 that was fine, but now? If I can get in 2 good games in a month its banner month...(and yes if I quit creating and publishing game stuff, that might help too. )

Anyway the point I am getting to is, a good adventure needs to focus on the characters...not on the story.  The story will develop as you play and the story does not have to be "save the galaxy" to be interesting, fun, or worth your time.

The two best (and most remembered/discussed) adventures I ever created and Refereed were Pizza Delivery in Cyberpunk 2013 and The Great Tobacco Caper in my homebrewed TFT.  Nope I won't bore you with "my great adventure story" so it is safe to read on, but I will tell you why I think they standout. What distinguished both of these adventures is using something common/mundane to create an opportunity for the characters to be the focus of the game, not the story nor a quest.

There was no princess to save, no galaxy to liberate, no secret weapon/magic item to uncover and no dungeon or hidden lair to murder hobo your way through for fun and profit.  Yet both adventures shined and are still talked about all these years later because the characters (players) alone were really the focus. They got to use their crazy ideas and schemes only to benefit themselves in getting through odd situations.  There were "personal challenges" that mattered to the character's and the lack of story gravitas helped liberate the players to have more fun because it was just all about them.

So this gets back to the (maybe) Boba Fett the Movie. I think making a SW universe story that may have only vague reference to (but no part in) the Sith (Empire) v. Jedi (Rebellion) would be an extremely liberating experience for SW fans and the entire SW franchise.   It expands the possibilities and interest in a wider and universe and the possibilities become much broader, more rich and frankly a hell of a lot more interesting than the simple (and simplistic) quest to save the universe story we had for 6 films.  The same is true for your own game. You don't need an epic story line, what you need is an interesting story focused on your characters and letting them be the star.

Don't let the players be props to tell a story, let the players be stars that create a story.

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The end is beginning

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The print samples arrived for the revised edition of Rogue Space!

The bad? The covers (note this image in the post is NOT the cover) always come out about 20% darker then I expect, so that needs to be changed but the inner stuff looks good!

Now I have some additional bits to insert that I made over the waiting period and tweak some bits...so it probably won't be ready until Sunday....but we are almost at the end of the revision!

Thanks also for voting, the PDF will have the art!

Better with time?

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Well not necessarily better, but certainly more detailed. As I await the Rogue Space print test...I have continued to tinker away and add some more bits.

None of the additions are earth shattering nor epic in scope, but instead are I hope, little bolts, screws, and bits that  will further make the rule set complete and provide more of what I hope you need or will enjoy in your games of Rogue Space. 

A question for you.  Would you rather have the rules PDF include all the printed book's art or rather have the PDF without the book art?

Note the PDF without art would be cheaper of course and you have time to vote! Thanks for your feedback.

Test Flight

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Well the test print is ordered and hopefully will be back to me for review in a week!

Now comes the waiting which is one of the most difficult parts!

Thanks for your kind words and support, I know its been a long strange trip to get this revised edition done, but I think it will be worth it!  Thank you again for your patience and continued support! 

I have uploaded a new version of the sample rules in Pocket Mod format and have changed he hosting site for Rogue Space files to Mediafire. This is a safe site so no worries about strange software.  

Below is a look at the table of contents for the new edition. Stay tuned space fans!

...and if you download the pocket mod but are not sure how to fold it up, here is the how to!

Final Prep

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I am nearly done with layout (98%) and then just a final double check before a print test is ordered!  So at this point I'd expect to have Rogue Space up and ready for sale around Friday of next week.

Once I have the print test ordered I'll post the table of contents so you can see what's coming.  There are quite a number of new things and fleshed out bits included but the bulk remains the classic you like!