Commentary On The Free Retro Science Fiction Download : Vandals of the Void (1953.Winston) By Jack Vance & The Warriors Of White Light Adventure For Your Old School Space Opera & Star Frontiers Campaigns

Today we're going to be talking about space pirates and an old juvenile science fiction novel called Vandals of the Void. This juvenile science fiction novel came out in 1953 by science fiction and fantasy master Jack Vance. The novel takes place place in the futuristic year of 1985 and the clashes between the Space Navy and the space pirates framed against the life lessons of Dick Murdock. This is the first in a series of loosely related novels set with Vance's Gaean Reach region of space which according to Wiki:"
The Gaean Reach includes all worlds colonized by humans, among which trade and travel flow freely for the most part. Its name apparently means "the range (reach) of [the people from] Earth (Gaea)"; it could also be derived from Old English 'rice' (pronounced reech-e), meaning 'realm' (cf. German Reich). Some of these worlds are advanced and cosmopolitan, such as Alphanor; others, like Thamber, are inhabited by shipwrecked and forgotten people, who have reverted to feudalism. Some, like the world of Wyst in the Alastor Cluster, are undeniably strange in their culture and customs.
The period of the Gaean Reach spans several centuries, if not millennia, at an indeterminate time in the future. Specific dates are given in the early books of the Demon Princes series, but not in the others. The human civilization in the Demon Princes is the Oikumene, which can be seen as a precursor to or variant of the Gaean Reach. The Reach is mentioned in the three Alastor books, the Cadwal Chronicles, Ports of Call and Lurulu. Singleton works are also included, such as Emphyrio, Night Lamp, Maske: Thaery and The Gray Prince, where it is defined as follows: "the Gaean Reach encompasses a perceptible fraction of the galaxy. Trade routes thread space like capillaries in living tissue; thousands of worlds have been colonized, each different from every other, each working its specific change upon those men who live there. Never has the human race been less homogenous.""

Download this right over

HERE

Vandals of the Void (1953.Winston)  Jack Vance is a teen science novel set during the far future of 1985 and outlines the struggles between the space marines of the Space Navy and the struggles of space pirates. There is some rip roaring stuff here to mine for old school gaming.This includes several factions of pirates, NPC's for the Space Navy and more. The plot is classic space opera and if your looking for more then a rip roaring pulpy adventure you might be disappointed.  In fact bits and pieces of Vandals of the Void reminded me of the Star Frontiers module from the Knight Hawks box set called Warriors of the White Light. Your PC is a member of a crew aboard a space patrol vessel hunting pirates and dealing with some major spacer adventure issues.


Vandals takes the main hero into the belly of the beast and takes several minor twists even though this is a young adult book there are several deaths and some very interesting space battles. The novel takes the reader into the heart of the space pirate's operation and while its not widely regarded among certain circles of science fiction fans I found it to be a damn fun read and the pirates are a great adventure hook to use in your own old school games. Personally I would update the novel's plot to Star Frontiers or a retroclone such as Stars Without Number and then set the whole affair loose on my players.

If your going to use Warriors of the White Light as the basis for a campaign touch stone then you can down load that right over here.  Your also going to need the Knight Hawk Rules which can be downloaded from the same web address for free as well.

From Google Books: 

In the Foreword, writing fifty years ago, the author describes his vision of a new space age; he predicts that by 1985 the age of space piracy will begin and that a Space Navy will be established, speculating that some of his younger readers might participate: "I hope that none of you serve with the pirates .. The pay might not be so good in the Space Navy, but you'll live longer".

Much of the material is a great overview of the Space Navy and their ilk. The ideals here are pure science fiction 'boys' goodness. Very much in the vein of the times. But there is some great stuff to mine especially the space ship descriptions, locations, gadgets, and much more.

 Much of the material is incredibly dated but that really is part of the charm of the book. This is perfect retro future gaming goodness. Its definitely written in Vance's style but highly curtailed for his 1950's teen audience. 

 Bits and pieces of it remind me of some WWII like situations that were still fresh in the minds of folks of the time. Gaming wise I can think of several retro science fiction clones that might use this material including : X plorers, Stars Without Number, and even Star Frontiers given the right 'Retro Future' treatment.

 All in all its a very cool little free download and a great piece for mining for gaming.

 Best of all its free!

Merchant Princes, Star Frontiers, and Commentary On The Free Star Frontiers Adventure Dramune Run (Star Frontiers module SFKH1) by Doug Niles

So last night two of our players didn't show up for our Star Frontiers game due to a family emergency. That left us drinking beer and discussing the Star Frontier adventures that were planning on being run as part of an on going campaign. The DM began to delve into the background of the Sathar war and the looming clouds of intergalactic war gathering on the horizon. One of the adventures that kept coming up was the Dramune Run (Star Frontiers module SFKH1) by Doug Niles because the players wanted to make a profit from the rumored war  and set themselves up as merchant princes. Dramune Run was created to be run with the Knight Hawk's rules and takes the PC's into the world of smuggling, trading, and they end up making a cargo run for a man on the run from the Mob.


GRAB IT RIGHT HERE

The advantage to this module is the fact that it takes place on a very well known and more then slightly dangerous intergalactic trade route. This can lead to all kinds of adventure opportunity for the DM if he's willing to plug in and take full advantage of his own campaign's Star Frontier's background.

"Dramune! A system of conflict at the edge of the frontier. Its two life-bearing planets stand poised on opposite sides of an uneasy peace. Only the thin leash of one planet's democratic idealism prevents interplanetary war.
Far across the galaxy, a dying captain carries an explosive secret. In his battered but swift freighter he hides a curious cargo. A cargo that will snap the leash preserving Dramune's peace.
The captain has one last wish: to find a new crew and take his secret home. And he has one great obstacle: a notorious crime czar with a troop of slimy thugs. The odds are against the captain and his new crew, but together they must make this last voyage — the Dramune Run.
Dramune Run is an adventure designed for the STAR FRONTIERS game system, including the original role-playing game, Alpha Dawn, and its space-faring sequel, Knight Hawks. Both games are needed to play Dramune Run, which combines boardgame space combat with mystery, intrigue, and fantastic new characters for a thrilling science fiction role-playing adventure."

Download the Knight Hawk Rules Here

 So why take full advantage of this style of adventure for your old school Star Frontiers game? Because it gives the PC's extra income between adventures and also draws them deeper into this region of space. A perfect set up for extended campaign play for getting them back to the table. Here's why;"Four planets orbit Dramune. In order from the star they are Close Reach, Inner Reach, Outer Reach and Lost Reach. The middle two are habitable. Tendrils extend from the Xagyg Dust Nebula into the system, reaching beyond beyond the orbit of the outermost planets." There a ton of detail right over here on this Wiki. but there are also some major spoilers as well.

This adventure can be set up from the  Mission to Alcazzar (SF4) adventure or back tracked into Dramune Run through the Mob and smuggler contacts in both adventures. This gives a back consistency to the entire intergalactic affair and highlights one of the strengths of the Star Frontier systems. The idea of a dynamic, evolving, and changing sandbox on intergalactic scale set against the backstory of the Sathar Wars.(WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD)

  Is this a perfect module? Not by any means but it does give a nice blueprint for creating your own campaign level adventures set against the backdrop of the Star Frontiers universe. It also has plenty of room to DYI your own set ups and ideas for all kinds of Star Frontiers and intergalactic adventures. Star Frontiers still remains a cult classic intergalactic set of go to old school rpgs.

Character Workshop for The Star Frontiers Adventure - Mission to Alcazzar (SF4) Actual Play Event

So I'm finally back home and I got together with friends to do a quick primer, brush up, and overview of Star Frontiers. Tonight I got together with friends to tackle one of the tougher and more dangerous Star Frontiers adventures Mission to Alcazzar (SF4). This is an adventure to be respected for its plot, tightness of design, and dangerous encounters for Star Frontiers adventurers.
The set up is classic Frontiers ; "You press against the steel hatchway,as the explorer bounds up the river bank, out of the water. Over the: roar of the engines comes the unmistakable whine of a high-performance groundcar. Quickly, you scan the horizon. At first the plain appears empty. Then you see them.
"Bandits at 11 o'clock. Three of them!'7 you shout into your chronocom. Instantly, the driver slams the heavy explorer into reverse, backing down the bank for cover. The rear doors burst open as Rocton dashes out to set up a heavy laser. Harradd, the Yazirian, follows right behind carrying five power beltpacks. Already someone is handing extra ammo up to you.
At 80 kph, those ground cars are closing fast. Targeting the lead car, you squeeze the trigger and a rocket flashes out of the tube. At the same instant a shell streaks past you, exploding in the river and spraying steam into the air.
You came to Alcazzar on a tough mission — it just got a lot tougher.""
Basically what we did was went over the rules, brushed up on any rough spots, set up PC's and gave the whole party background for this module. This module is one part sandbox, two parts plot driven corporate and military adventure and three parts adrenaline rush. This module gives everything the PC's are going to need to get themselves dragged into a planetary cluster hurt with all of the trimmings.


 
The basic idea here was to pull all six players into the deep end of the module to get the players hooked into a party of adventurers right out of the gate. We basically picked PC's together and had the whole group helping each other with generation and application of the Star Frontiers rules. We as both a group and players were pretty damn rusty. But things got off the ground rather quickly and we had to deal with the well organized kitchen sink approach that this module takes. This is in stark contrast to the way the Volturnus series of adventure handles its encounters. This module was a welcome change up, here everything is well organized and concise. This is not a module for the inexperienced or those who want to be hand held through the adventure. This is a wild planet with lots of dangerous encounters for an experienced set of adventurers.


Like many of the other Star Frontiers adventures everything is supplied straight out the gate for PC's with background and more boiled down right in the first couple of pages. Here the DM and players are given everything that their going to need to run and enjoy this module and this includes mission details, equipment, starting pay, and more. Everything in this module shows off the system just like the first series of adventures did but in a more one on one style of focused gaming. This isn't a bad thing at all, this style of gaming keeps everyone focused on the adventure and not really what's happening in the greater universe of Star Frontiers.
By doing a character work shop we do not only the PC builds together but keeps everyone on the same page. This adventure has a nice focus on bringing to the fore the military and corporate war aspect of the Star Frontiers game an aspect that many players seem to forget. But came through loud and clear in the various Dragon magazine articles with the Star Frontiers support.  This adventure takes that old school sand box corporate & military elements and brings them center stage.


So over the next day or so I'll be posting updates and keeping you informed as to this latest venture into old school gaming. But now I'm off to bed, we'll talk in the morning.

Review and Commentary On The Free OSR Download - Frontier Explorer Magazine for Star Frontiers and The Stars Without Number rpg system

Download it For Free
HERE

Star Frontiers is one of the original classic old school  TSR science fiction rpg games that has been release to the wilds of its fans. The game has thrived in the last couple of years. There are a few OSR style support magazines out there from the beloved Star Frontiersmen to this beauty.
Frontier Explorer is a bit different in that not only does it cover the majority of its content with Star Frontiers but it also once in a while throws a bone to other science fiction classic games. This issues covers one of my all time favorites Stars Without Number and notes for converting from Star Frontiers to SWN with easy.
The magazine is well laidout, well edited, and best of all free!
The contents include the following: 

Hello explorers!

The Sathar are coming!  Issue 6 of the Frontier Explorer is now available for download. This issue focuses on the Sathar and provides a wealth of information on how to integrate the sathar into your campaign.  Most of the content is rules agnostic and would allow the inclusion of the sathar regardless of the game system.

Articles include information on sathar society and military organization, an adventure introducing a possible sathar defector, a look at possible interactions with the sathar and the megacorps, and a look at hypnotism.  We also introduce the first of a series of articles looking at converting Star Frontiers material to the Stars Without Number game system.  In this issue we look at converting the sathar attack monsters. 

We also had a complete set of deck plans for a sathar destroyer but it just wouldn't fit.  Look for it coming out as a special "Frontier Explorer Presents" issue in the next month or so.

The issue content (articles) are:

• A Player's Guide to the Star Frontiers Setting
• Yazirian Parajumper
• Truane's Star System Brief
• Sathar Summit II
• Consipracy Theories
• Sathar and the Megacorps
• A Thin Sharp Line
• Extending the Line
• Sathar Military Organization
• Sathar Monsters Without Number
• Exploring Hypnotism in the Frontier
• Cybernuk of New Pale
• A Can of Worms
• Living Expenses
• Got Techno-Babble?
• The Gray Wave
• Grymz Guide Comic #6

Confession time, I love the Sathar! These worm like rat bastard aliens have shown up in many of my games and its only fitting that they get ported over to Stars Without Number. Frontier players hate these guys with good reason. Many players are still sore at them for stranding them on Volturnus!
Many of these same players are now playing Stars Without Number so it only stands to reason that you as a DM should spread the Sathar expansion into your SWN campaigns. These monsters are the perfect way include some of the classic horrors of the Sathar. These things are known to be master manipulators, genetic and cybernetic mad scientists of the highest order, and megalomaniacs of the first degree.
The fact that these classic old school alien happens to be ported over into an old school science fiction classic retroclone based on OD&D is just sauce for the goose. Much of the material in this magazine is fluff but the introduction to the Frontier is worth the down load alone. Now back to the Sathar.
These guys are the perfect foils for the adventurers, rogues, and scoundrels of Stars Without Number. Best of all this issue has a ton of resources to throw at your players. From Weapons systems to the Sathar Military machine its all here and ready to go.
All in all I really enjoyed this issue and will look forward to having my players run into these classic Star Frontier baddies!