Hulks & Horrors Retroclone Space Opera Indie Go Go

Sue me I love gonzo space opera rpgs & I've been seeing this one all over the place. The artwork is by some awesome artists & it looks solid.
The only problem that I'm currently seeing is that there are 17 days left to get this one off the ground. The Indie Go Go site for this is Here
The concept is very  old school. Yeah I'm a dyed in the wool Stars Without Numbers guy but really can we have too many options on the table for this style of gaming? Here's some of the highlights of this system: 
Set in a galaxy left almost stripped of sentient life by an ancient and horrific plague, in Hulks and Horrors players take on the role of troubleshooters and private explorers called "surveyors," contracted to explore distant worlds, and given full license to kill and loot whatever they find there. Players in H&H will encounter a host of dangerous foes, from plague horrors, to indigenous beasts, to rogue surveyor crews.

Hulks and Horrors takes its inspiration from the classic science fiction and fantasy roleplaying games of the 70s and 80s, particularly the works of Gygax, Moldvay, and Ward, as well as the pulp science fiction of comics, TV and film, and artistic works from the likes of Rodney Matthews and Roger Dean, and magazines like Heavy Metal and 2000AD.

The H&H Core Set rulebook offers the following features:

•Rules for 7 character classes up to level 6: Pilot, Scientist, Soldier, Psyker, and the alien Hovering Squid, Omega Reticulan, and Bearman.
•An extensive equipment list covering a range of science-fiction weapons and armors.
•A simple combat system designed for easy and quick resolution, with surprise and morale rules, so that fights need not play out to the death
•Easy to use stat-based non-combat resolution system that forgoes the need for long skill lists
•Extensive but easy-to-learn rules for building your own custom starships, and a simple abstract system for handling spaceship combat. 
•Optional rules for using grids and miniatures for both space and ground combat
•THAC0!
•Rules and tables for generating whole sectors of space, and the systems within them, to provide easy backdrop for your campaigns.
•Random map generation rules for a variety of dungeon environments common in the galaxy
•Rules for generating all manner of ancient weapons and armor and other valuable loot to be found in the ruins of lost civilizations
•An extensive monster section, detailing a number of monstrous creatures as well as guidlines for DMs to create their own
•Sections for roleplaying and DM advice
•Old-school inspired rules that are easy to convert to other editions of the world's most famous fantasy roleplaying game

I've seen some of the comments from John Berry about the plague that plays part of backdrop of the game which I find kind of cool & sort of weird: 

Seriously, though, this is discussed briefly, but it was partly through the way plagues spread in our own world beyond their origins, through the transportation networks.

But also there is a brief mention that at some point, the plague, whatever its nature, somehow evolved the ability to drift through space and even subspace. The plague seems to have been no ordinary bacterium or virus, and the only thing that stopped it was simple starvation as far as anyone can tell.
  

So I'm good with this because it sounds like something that we'd see in an AD2000 program/comic. The other plus with this in my book is that it will work with existing retroclones or my OD&D game books. Being able to plug in Arduin is a plus & perhaps gasp Empire of the Petal Throne? There are questions that I've got about the system. 


Yes that's a giant Squid in the background with two blaster pistols & hell yes this is a character class which is a giant plus in my book. When I first saw the listing for this game I thought "Oh My God a Rogue Trader" rpg retro clone.Believe it or not that's not something that I need at all. The fact that this game actually has its own plot & some intriguing races also a plus.
I was hoping to have an interview with the author but he's busy this weekend & so its going to have to wait a bit. 
 A bit more on the basic plot is this: 

Centuries before mankind and its new allies reached the stars, a great galactic plague wiped out all sentient life, leaving the galaxy littered with the ruins and wealth of entire civilizations.  But the plague also left behind the plague horrors, terrifying creatures twisted by the mutagenic plague into atavistic monsters that crave only the flesh of other life.  

Characters take on the role of one of seven classes: the battle-hardened Soldier, the brash and dextrous Pilot, the clever genius Scientist, the meditative master Psyker, and their alien allies, the tribal Bearmen, the brilliant ameoboid Omega Reticulans, and the nimble Hovering Squid.

The core rules are inspired by the classic editions of the world's most popular roleplaying game, and easily convertible to and from most major retroclones.  Core resolution is based on a simple roll-under system, designed to keep the old-school flavor of the game mechanics while streamlining them for a newer generation.  

Omega Reticulan, by Evan Palmer

Extensive DM tools are included for designing spaceships, dungeons, monsters, and whole sectors of space, as well as ideas for optional house rules, and a generous selection of monsters ready made for your campaigns.

Hovering Squid, by Evan Palmer

I  personally feel that we need another science fiction based retroclone besides the ones that have come out. There is so many things that can be done mixing backgrounds & flavors. Fantasy and science fantasy needs to get together. I mentioned Rogue Trader before. & one of the most interesting things about the original Rogue Trader first edition from Games Workshop was the mix of fantasy & science fantasy.
I'm not interested in number crunching as a Dungeon Master but interested in keeping my games fun, my players entertained & having fun.
This looks like a blast & deserves to be funded. 

The official website for this excellent looking game can be found right Here

Pilot, by Evan Palmer