Gaming Reflections with some New & Old (but new to me) Sci Fi RPG Goodies!

     Due to some truly sad stuff my gaming group is no more.  It just didn't feel right to continue after what happened.  I spent the holidays and surrounding weeks taking a break from gaming, and just reflecting on life and things.  My friend and I had been working up a joint 5E game, with his passing, I just don't even want to look at my notes about it. Maybe one day I will return to what we were working on.  I do however, find myself in the mood to game again, I decided I wanted to do something new and different.  With the gaming group dissolved, I have started a new quest to rebuild/create a new gaming group and to play something different from what I have done in the past. I've played and DM'd a ton of fantasy over the years and a lot of P.A. gaming, but my experiences with GMing Sci Fi has been limited ( a bit of Traveller in High School, does Rifts count as Sci Fi??) So I am looking at the Revised Edition of Stars Without Number. I posted a good bit about Stars Without Number (original version) several years ago. But other than one game at a con I never got a chance to GM a session. With some Christmas money I purchased the hardcover rules for SWN and the new Codex of the Black Sun, which gives you the option of tossing some magic into your Sci Fi.   I had wanted to give Starfinder a try, but goodness that is way to much crunch for my schedule these days.  The new books are sweet!  I'm digging into the core rules and then will delve into Codex of the Black Sun.

      I also recently picked up Hard Nova II and Core Command Armory book for an unbelievably great price.  I will likely see if I can adapt some things from both HN II and CC Armory to use in my hopefully upcoming SWN Campaign.  Hard Nova II seems to be a rules lite system and Core Command has conversion rules to 3.0 OGL, so I should be able to work it out. SWN is fairly rules lite so it shouldn't be too hard to extrapolate some conversions.
     I intend to start posting here again semi-regularly, I had migrated to G+ but that is soon to be no more, so back to the blog it is. I am on MeWe, but I like having stuff available on my blog for others to view, so blogging it is. 

Stars Without Number : Codex of the Black Sun

I recently learned about a new release for the Revised Stars Without Number RPG

Codex of the Black Sun!
Insterstellar Sorcery and Magic for Stars Without Number!
Now this sounds right up my alley!
I haven't picked it up yet, due to an unexpected plumbing expense, right here before Christmas, but I will be getting this asap.
You can get it HERE
I haven't posted much about SWN in awhile, but did a good bit of stuff for the original version. Played a session of it at a Con awhile back.  I can't wait to see what goodies are in this latest release.
If you have this, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts about it!  Kevin Crawford does great work. 

Rogue Space The Devacryl

One thing I like in my Sci Fi is different aliens.  As a further testing of the Rogue Space rules I thought I'd work up an alien race for my game, based solely on the below picture I found on the internet.  So here goes!

Devacryl

Archetypes: Technician or Scoundrel, add +1 to Science or Acquire (the vast majority are Scoundrels)

Abilities: Never without a Lock pick: Devacryl can pull one of their Quill-Feathers and use it as a Lock pick with a +1 bonus to their lock picking attempts.

Master Manipulators: Devacryl are master manipulators and schemers.  They are quite skilled at reading those around them, particularly when they are "working a target" they gain +1 to persuasion based rolls.

Description: Devacryl are a humanoid race, averaging  5 1/2 to 6' tall.  They tend to be slightly more slender than humans with large ears and quill-like feathers instead of hair. 

Planet

Devac , the planet of the Devacryl, is a temperate world slightly smaller than earth with a thick but breathable atmosphere.  They tend to not permit outsiders on their homeworld so little else is known about it.

Technology

The Devacryl spend their time developing technologies to help them one up the other races.  This consists of a great deal of theft.  Again why spend years developing a technology that you can steal from others.  They will then sell this tech to other races at a hefty profit.  They particularly enjoy outmaneuvering the Aelfar.

  Culture and Laws

This is a race of schemers, connivers and manipulators.  Why work hard at something when you can trick someone else into doing it for you.  Even Devacryl technicians spend much of their time "acquiring" the technology of others. Devacryl are also quite vain, the average Devacryl spends at least an hour every day primping, preening and making sure their Quill-Feathers are just right.  To a human the quill-feathers look no different after this primping, but to other Devacryl the changes are quite noticeable. It is even rumored that Devacryl have a secret code based on the positioning of their quill-feathers, Devacryl neither admit nor deny this rumor.

Weaponry

Devacryl prefer to be subtle.  Big heavy guns, Cannons, grenades etc.  are crude and obnoxious to the refined (at least in their eyes) Devacryl (although they have NO issues with selling such weapons to other races).  They prefer slender elegant weapons, needlers are very popular with the Devacryl .  They have developed several neuro-toxins to coat their needlers with.  To add insult to injury they have developed a special Needler that humans have dubbed "Barbies"  these Barbed Needlers have wicked barbs on them that require surgery to safely remove.  Non-surgical attempts to remove these barbs cause an L damage (which armor obviously doesn't absorb).  While the barbs are imbedded the victim suffers a -1 to any rolls involving physical exertion attempts, due to the barbs painful digs into the soft tissue.

Ships

The Devacryl prefer small, fast ships well armored, but not so heavily armored that they sacrifice speed.  Their preferred combat tactic in space is to try to either talk or flee at top speed.  They often will try to manipulate other races to do their fighting for them.

Relations to Humanity

Humans don't trust the Devacryl, but find that they can often acquire certain technologies and information that would otherwise be unavailable to them.  The Devacryl see humans as just another ripe race to use to their own devices.

Using them in Rogue Space

The Devacryl make excellent rogues and tricksters, but can also be an excellent source of information, weapons and technology, just watch yourself when dealing with them! 

Rogue Space Session 1 Epilogue

The last post in my Rogue Space Playtest Series
Mini-Review
Intro
Rogue Space Post 1 
Rogue Space Post 2
Jupiter Zeus Character Stats

Epilogue

Elsewhere

Mang entered the dark chamber, silken curtains covered the walls.  A aelfar female approached nodding submissively.  You did well my apprentice.  The female responded, "but master the Clawtron was destroyed?"  Mang smiled, "yes… it was, but I learned much".  He nodded and said no more. 

Back on Persephone Station

Jupiter Zeus knew the Aelfar alien had messed with his mind.  The whole thing had been a set up… a test of some kind.  He'd get back at her and that bastard Mang, but he needed a patron of his own, someone just as connected and diabolical as Mang.. .He needed the Phantom of the Space Opera!

 

Jupiter smiled as he drank his Rigellian Green Whiskey, sure the drink would turn his fur green for a few days, but it was worth it…

Game Notes

This was my first time playing Rogue Space; I had a lot of fun.  As I've said before in other posts it is a rules lite system.  This session ran very smoothly, the rules faded into the background and didn't get in the way of the story at all.  For the story I used Rory's Story cubes random dice rolls and grabbed some toys (er.. I mean collectibles) from my shelves and went to it!  I did kinda pause when the vehicle part came up in the game, I was looking for a Driving skill or agility or something, but there wasn't one, I just went with a Fighting roll and after checking with the author today, he indicated that is what I was supposed to do.  I did also run into a situation where there were several rounds of misses between Jupiter and the Android, they were both closely matched stats-wise (my intention) and both had high Fighting skills so they kept being able to avoid one another's hits. I allowed my character's force screen to stack with his natural armor and vacc suit, not sure I did that right, but it worked and didn't seem unbalanced.  Once I finally scored a serious hit that the Clawtron couldn't avoid the combat was over quickly.  A few times I wondered if I needed more rules, a bit more crunch if you will.  I don't want much, certainly nothing like Pathfinder.  It's quick and easy and doesn't get in the way with the fun.  I really love the open toolbox feel of it.  There is no setting really there.  That was one of my issues with Stars Without Number there is an implied setting and while you can ignore it, it is built into the game to some degree.  I would like to see some alien abilities listed out to help you create your own races and maybe a more expansive bestiary, along with a few vehicles stat'd out, but that can be done yourself, so it's definitely not a deal breaker for me. I am probably going to look at the Savage Worlds Sci Fi Compendium before I decide for certain, I recently picked up Savage Worlds Deluxe.  But for now Rogue Space is a top contender for my Sci Fi game time, especially if you're looking for a quick game to knock out with your buddies.  

Good Gaming -B