OSR Commentary - Hostile rpg & The Rising ‘Zhuki’ Menace!

 For me reading through the Hostile rpg is like returning home after a long absence. Why because of the fact that there's so much more to the game then simply another gritty Alien rpg knock off. Because for me Hostile is about exploration, expansion, and more in the face of adversity the likes of which mankind hasn't faced since the age of Exploration. The frontier aspect of the vast blackness of space within Hostile holds lots of potential. There isn't anyone coming to help you within the vastness of space. 

Hostile is a 'lived in' universe that I know & understand this goes a long ways to helping me run a game set within this universe. So over the last couple of years that Hostile and 2d6 Cepheus Engine rpg's have been within my life there's been some excellent experiences at the table top level. Player's PC's are the blue collar guys & there's a tendency for players to get attached to said PC's even though they might not be alive for far too long. 
Mixing & matching various 2d6 Cepheus Engine rpg resources with Hostile has both been very rewarding. Yet in some instances frustrating for players not used to the modular nature of  2d6 games. The easy of these rpg supplements simply being moved into play with some backstory has been interesting to watch as each DM molds Hostile into the game they want and need. 

We recently used Indepence Games's Historical Ships of Clement Sector 1: Trent-class Destroyer. The Trent Class Destroyer is cutting edge within our version of the Hostile universe. The ''Trent Destroyer' is perfectly suited for being a warship within our version of the Zozer universe ; "The Trent-class destroyer is a reaction drive vessel used by the United States Space Navy in the early days of colonization into Clement Sector.  The 1500-tonne destroyer was launched in 2185 to provide security and to protect the United States' fledgling interstellar colonies. The Trent-class was the most capable of the first generation reaction drive interstellar warships" 

 These for us are the most dangerous warships that the corporations that our players are working for can man. The military situations are balanced on a knife's edge, the range of exploration is vast, and the unknown lurk's just outside of our colonies's purview. And the situation has gotten weird as the Soviets have asked for our help. This is because we've used Zozer Games Kosmos 68 to help fill in some of the gaps within our campaign. 

The alien menace within Kosmos 68 is truly alien to humanity and actually a variation of the life forms within Zozer's Alien Breeds. In our campaigns these alien life forms are expanding & have wiped out a number of the Soviet & Americn corporate colonies. This has forced both East & West to pool resources to investigate the issue. Even with psionics the Soviets are still in the dark about many of the alien's abilities & even motives. Humanity is up against the unknown here