I’m interested in running a game in SW’s Slipstream universe, *after* the events in the Slipstream module have happened. Queen Anathraxa has been killed by another group of heroes, but that has left a power hole in the Slipstream universe. Some of the more aggressive and hi-tech races are trying to carve out their little kingdoms in the universe, while Anathraxa’s Handmaidens are trying their best to run business-as-usual without their queen.
This would be mostly a “sandbox” game, I would give you several job offers to choose from, and occasional hints at possible quests to do on your own - as a group, you can choose which of these you’d like to pursue next.
You will need the Slipstream Player’s Guide, but that’s only $5 as a downloadable PDF.
Slipstream is somewhat “pulpy” sci-fi, which means non-hard-science, and pretty lo-tech “hi-tech” gear, as you’ll see in the following description.
For those of you not familiar with Slipstream :
As you can see, things have been set up so that “real-world” science does not apply, so as to not get bogged down in details (such as fuel, space suits, and gravity). However, I could be persuaded to describe the Slipstream “universe” as a globular cluster of several thousand stars all in close proximity to each other, but far from their parent galaxy. Spaceships travel at a speed that gets you between the stars in the cluster in just a few days using little fuel, but travelling to anywhere else would take hundreds of years with the current technology. Do you have a preference?
Gear is also very limited, with hi-tech ranged weapons consisting of “ray guns”, rocket pistols, sonic weapons, stunners, and tangle guns, while “hi-tech” melee weapons include laser swords, vibro blades, and pain sticks.
The armor available is so limited that I’m going to add some more options (more on that when/if there's enough interest).
Computers are lo-tech compared to today, probably operating at the equivalent of computers in 1970 – large, bulky, and only able to do simple calculations. *NOTHING* is “automated” - piloting is done by looking out of the window of the spaceship! (NOTE : the previous would probably change if we switch to the globular cluster version.)
And there’s no AI, virtual reality, holograms, cloaking, ECM, cybernetics, hacking, etc.
There are only 10 kinds of spaceships, with only 4 types of weapons for ship-to-ship combat. As written, ships don’t even have any shields, but I’m considering changing that.
There are 9 different races to choose from, and a create-a-race set of tables very similar to those in SWD. NOTE : For those of you already familiar with Slipstream, *ALL* AB types are available.
If this sounds too restrictive, I’d be willing to consider including some material from Daring Tales of the Space Lanes as well. But that would cost an additional PDF.
Here’s how space combat is going to work : I’m going to use the SWEX Chase rules, which I will publish for everyone to reference when/if the game starts. However, everyone on the spaceship will have skills that apply to space combat, and so everyone will be engaged during space combat, not just the pilot. Each character will have at least two skills in : Piloting (with 6 possible actions to chose from per turn), Gunner (1 possible action), Sensors (4 possible actions), and Engineering (2 or 3 possible actions). Each round, everyone will have a chance to apply one of their skills to the situation. I will publish the details of the skills, and how to create a character with them, when/if there's enough interest.
So, is anyone interested?
I'm interested. Hadn't heard of Slipstream before, but looking at it, it looks pretty easy to get the general concept of. I'm thinking a Flash Gordon, Captain Proton, Treasure Planet, kind of thing; very retro-futuristic. Looks like it could be fun. I'll take a look at the material and come up with a post when I can. (Have to update my Rifts game first...)
It's looking like this is an unfortunate non-starter. Too bad. I wouldn't have minded getting my Flash Gordon on.
Yeah, I suspect all the Savage Worlder's in Paizo are filled up with their other games...