Review And Commentary On The Free Old School Science Fiction Download - Rocket Jockey (1952.Winston) - Philip St. John For Your Old School Space Opera

 

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Need a fast overview of a retro future nineteen fifties style tour of the solar system? Complete with a real settlers of the solar system vibe. This book was part of the Winston series of science fiction books for boys and girls back in the 50's. They make a great addition to a DM's arsenal of books that can be turned into instant adventures simply add water or monsters! The plot according to Wiki :

The story follows the heroic efforts of young man Jerry Blaine in his efforts to win the famous rocket race, the Armstrong Classic. Rocket Jockey is a part of the Winston Science Fiction set, a series of juvenile novels which have become famous for their influence on young science fiction readers and their exceptional cover illustrations by award winning artists.

Most often these novels are man vs man sorts of affairs of science fiction while sneaking in some science 'facts' about the planetary locations featured in the books.  Believe it or not these books are great for OSR games like X plorers or Stars Without Number when you don't have a lot of time for doing preparation for a campaign. 

Believe or not this one was by Lester Del Ray under the pen name of Philip St. John. It had a few reprints and its worth taking a look at. The story is pretty well done. The situations, ideas, and overview make a solid campaign.

 In depth Plot Overview(With Major Spoilers) according to Wiki : 

Jerry Blaine, a young man studying at the Space Institute, is kicked out just after his second year exams at the request of his brother, Dick, in order to help him get his ship, the Last Hope ready for the 18th Armstrong Classic. Jerry is initially bitter, but realizes that how he conducts himself in the classic will go a long way toward proving himself as a spaceman, and eventually being readmitted to the institute.

The Last Hope is a refitted asteroid mining ship using the Jerry and Dick's father's experimental fuel which is supposed to be a radical improvement upon existing technologies. Their parents were both killed in the first test of the fuel however, and it is only now, years later, that improvements in materials and engine design will allow the fuel to be tested again safely.

Just before liftoff, Dick is injured when fuel splashes in his face, temporarily blinding him. Jerry is forced to take control of the Last Hopewhile his brother is incapacitated below decks. The qualification run to the moon is begun, and Jerry is racing against 10 other ships from earth for the right to represent their home planet in the classic proper. Jerry manages to win, but only after he witnesses the first fatality of the classic; a fellow earth pilot pushes his engines too hard and his ship overheats and is destroyed.

After some political wrangling on the Moon that puts Jerry officially in charge of the Last Hope despite his brother's seeming recovery, they head out to touch on the 4 Galilean moons, Mars, and Venus. Heading for Mars first they make good time and land with high spirits.

The Martians are not happy to see them, however. There has always been a bitter rivalry between the two worlds, and Mars has a reputation for winning the classic at all costs and through any means, scrupulous or otherwise. When they try to refuel the Last Hopethey discover their shipment of fuel has somehow disappeared from the warehouse in which it was stored. A long drawn out search finally locates the missing fuel in a pile of garbage that was ready for destruction. Jerry, Dick, and Tod all believe that Mars was intentionally responsible for the delay of 18 hours searching for the fuel. They take off from Mars and head towards Jupiter.

Halfway however, Jerry discovers that Dick has not fully recovered from his injuries. He becomes sick and delirious, and they are forced to turn back to Mars to get Dick the medical care he needs. By the time the Last Hope leaves Mars for the second time, they are nearly 100 hours behind schedule, and their carefully planned course is now useless.

En route to Jupiter for the second time the Last Hope loses power due to a blockage of the rocket tube. Losing more time, they coast while making repairs. Unfortunately, they coast so far, they no longer have the distance necessary to decelerate to rendezvous with the Jovian moons. Jerry is forced into a nearly suicidal braking maneuver into the Jovian atmosphere known as the "Dead Man's Orbit". Despite Jerry's vague recollections, such a feat had never before been accomplished, and he receives admiration and applause upon arrival on Io.

After visiting the other 3 Jovian moons and experiencing an unfriendly reception on Ganymede, considered by many to be a puppet of Mars, the Last Hope set course back to the inner planets: Venus, Mercury, and Earth. While approaching the asteroid belt, they intercept a distress call, and come to the aid of what appears to be the Martian racers. After rendering assistance and parting ways, Jerry realizes his asteroid chart has been stolen. He must now navigate the belt by memory and luck.

After some close calls and an actual impact with a small pebble, the Last Hope makes it through the belt relatively unscathed. Because of the delay with the decoy Mars racer, they are no longer in a position to rendezvous with Venus. Mercury is now their best stop.

Once  Again Wiki: 

As a part of the Winston Science Fiction set, Rocket Jockey has helped lay the foundation for many young science fiction readers. The dust jacket was illustrated by Alex Schomburg, a prolific comic artist, and Hugo award nominee for Best Professional Artist in 1962.

 The plot concerns a desperate race against odds put against the backdrop of interstellar politics and spacecraft. The book is well written and a fast read. The ideas still ring well and the book isn't that well known at all today. So borrowing plot elements for old school campaigns is a breezy.  It  would also make a great campaign for the old Buck Rogers T$R era game or for Star Frontiers as well.

Rocket Jockey takes a realistic scientific look at rocketry and space navigation, utilizing technologies that were understood at the time of publication. It extrapolates the advancement in chemical rocketry to a point where constant 1-2g acceleration is possible, making travel through the solar system a matter of days rather than years.

All in all I was pretty happy to have stumbled upon this one while doing some research for an upcoming game!

Free Charlton Comic Classic Download - Out of This World Issue #011 For Your Old School Campaigns

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Out of This World was one of those great old fashioned anthology comics that the boys from Derby,Ct seemed to accel at. This issue is a mixed bag of part science fiction yarns, a few science fantasy pieces, and a bit of the supernatural horror stuff all right under the covers.
 We begin with the 'Time Chamber" a yarn about messing with the time stream and its issues. The time machine at the end is still available with hardly any years on it and might make a perfect one man NPC lead in for an old school sci fi game. With a few minor adjustments this story could be used as a hook for a modern supernatural game such as Call of Cthulhu.
 'Hammer of Thor' might actually make a great little lead in for an old school super hero style game where the origin point for another version of Thor is needed.
'Strange Journey' is a great lead in for an encounter in a horror game, not too complicated and just the right amount of creep thrown in. The dolls could be very nasty indeed. This one is more of an encounter then full adventure.
' Victory Viceroy ' this could be a nice lead in for an old school space based adventure. Again not a full adventure but a lead off for an encounter for a game like X porers or the like.
 'Council from The Spirit', this one is a nice little yarn that could be used as a Call of Cthulhu lead or as an introduction to a full blown NPC such as someone right out of Trey's Weird Adventures campaign.
The next story also fits into the same mold, 'Dreams of Fortune' might need that extra D&D trope twist but its right there for adding in as an old school encounter.
 The Careless Man is perfect fodder for a Weird Adventures encounter. All of the elements of this one are right on the mark for an encounter in the City in my opinion.
All in all this is a pretty solid issue from Charlton, nothing that will shake the rafters but a great issue to use as fodder or as a jump off point for your own DYI old school campaigns. 

Review of 100 Dark Fantasy Mutations From The Amazing List of Things For Your Old School Science Fantasy Campaign

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There are times when a science fantasy needs a bit of an extra kick and something a bit more out of the ordinary and  slightly twisted in an epic sort of way.  This list is an old school throw back to some of the more horrifying and weird pulp mutations that one finds in Lovecraftian works and Edgar Allen Poe style stories. This is another offering from The Amazing List Of Things folks whose works we've seen before. This is a four page pdf that sells for a dollar. The material here is top notch and very twisted. The authors mutations are weird and slightly jarring in a dark fantasy sort of way. This is a purely system agnostic offering which will work for everything from a science fantasy game all the way through a space based science fiction campaign with Lovecraftian overtones.
The list is concise, generic, and very well thought out for a dollar. The authors seem to pull on everything from classic horror literature to the last Clive Barker style films for inspiration. Here's the blurb from Drivethrurpg: 

100 Dark Fantasy Mutations contains a list of one hundred mutations and other terrifying alterations suitable for a dark fantasy or horror campaign.

Some examples:

52. Moves with no sound but the sound of insects

53. Never sleeps but still dreams

77. Skin can come off and move around on its own

89. Tongue is an eel

Using The 100 Dark Fantasy Mutations
For Your Old School Science Fantasy Campaign

The material in this list is very well done and has a myriad of uses for old school games. Much of the contents of this list would seem to be aimed at NPC's or vile villains but this might only be my bias with using this great list. With a little work on the DM's part the uses for this list are pretty much limitless. For instance what happens if your PC's are exposed to some nefarious Lovecraftian super science device? Roll on the tables in this list and find out. Many of these mutations will have far reaching effects on life, limb, and sanity. Need something special for that out of town assassin for your old school space opera or space based game? Here's an opportunity to introduce something bizarre and weird right into your science fiction campaign.
Need brand new wrinkle on that undead lich or vampire? Here's the list to twist the monster in a brand new direction.
How about a whole new angle on those lands that have been blighted by Chaos or Entropic fallout in your post apocalpytic games? Here's that list that can send your mutants in a brand new direction! What about some truly twisted mutant villains to torture your PC's with in the wastelands? Here's the list to do it with.
 Need a new wrinkle on a wizard overlord for your latest barbarians in your Thundarr based game? Here's that list again
What about that 'Failed Colony' or space station exposed to the forces of Hell? Here's the list that could generate that vile villain in the best of the Barker or Lovecraft tradition. All this for the price of something off of the dollar menu at McDonalds and I guarantee that this supplement will have repeated use without the after effects of fast food. All in all this does exactly what it says on the title page of the pdf. Dark Mutations for your old school games just add in your favorite little rpg system. 

All in all I was pretty damn pleased to get my hands on this little pdf and will be using it to torture PC's for years to come! 

Free Comic Book Classic - From Sgt Rock 338: Future War by Rick Veitch For Your Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaigns

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I was a huge Sgt. Rock fan back in the 80's and one of the weird things about the comic book was the number of backup stories that appeared in the DC pages. Whist scrambling around the interwebz I stumbled upon a story that I haven't seen for many years. The always excellent 'Mars Will Send No More' blog posted 'Future War'back in May 2011  a cautionary tale with some excellent art work by Rick Veitch and a great script by Bill Kelly. Steve Bissette wasn't credited on the art as well. That happened quite a bit back in 1980. And still does in the comic industry.
 Well according to the 'Mars Will Send No More' blog :

"Before taking on Swamp Thing and moving on to careers producing their own works, artists Steve Bissette andRick Veitch drew stories for DC’s Sgt. Rock. This week we’ll look at a few of their back-ups for DC’s once-popular war comic."
The artwork is pure DC science fiction and the story is one part science fiction, one part Roller Ball movie action plot, and a whole lot of post apocalyptic goodness. The visuals are great and are a perfect vehicle for a Mutant Future or Mutant Epoch game. The whole thing is like a step back in time to the 1980's. Many of the elements would appear in later science fiction yarns by DC and the pens of  the artists.
All in all the plot could be lifted whole cloth for a quick one shot convention style adventure or as a jump off point for a post apocalyptic campaign. It was really nice to see this little yarn after all these years. More Atomic age madness to come!
Special thanks to the 'Mars Will Send No More Blog' and as always this blog post is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant as a trade mark or copyright claim or infringement on the artwork or story . This is simply meant as a trip down memory lane.  

Review On 'The Pay What You'd Like' The 1000 Items Scavenged in the Post-Apocalypse From The Amazing List of Things

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This product does exactly what it says on the outer label, 1000 items for a post apocalyptic campaign. Any PA dungeon master knows that you can't ever have enough items or artifacts to throw into the mix. This isn't a bad little mix of stuff. The problem is that its simply more artifacts. How its used is strictly up to the DM and that's not so much a problem as it is a question of imagination. 

1000 Items Scavenged in the Post-Apocalypse contains an assorted collection of items both strange and ordinary, both dangerous and useful, that a scavenger might find in the ruins of civilization.

Some items you might scavenge:

301. False teeth

375. Gravy boat

567. Mummified hand

783. Six-pack of beer

The Amazing List of Things is dedicated to bringing you quality lists for randomly generating campaign content.

This product is system agnostic and can be used in any campaign with any game system.

This product is truly system agnostic and we'll get more into that below.

Using The The 1000 Items Scavenged in the Post-Apocalypse

For Your Old School PA Campaign 

                                 

There are a number of applications for this material, one as an alternative item and artifact chart for your favorite PA system, as random item generator for your favorite failed space colony, or as an item generator for an 'alternative Earth' adventure. The variety is solid and interesting but there needs something a bit more behind this supplement but that on the DM's part not the writer and designer. This is a nice go to generic list and item generator. The fact is that the writer and designer created a perfect product for DYI old school gaming. And it does its job and its a perfect filler for your system. This is really one of the reasons why this product is true system neutral and its made to fit any post apocalyptic gaming campaign. 

If you need an additional PA item generator and true system neutral old school artifact generator look into this one. 

Free Charlton Comics Classic - Doomsday+1 Issue # 2 1975 As Resource For Your Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaigns

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I'm incredibly fond of this wonderful little gem of a post apocalyptic comic book series. Issue two picks up with the action and really ramps up the action. The three cornered love triangle and balance between the comic encounters is well done. There's lots to mine in this series. 
According to Wiki:
 Doomsday + 1 was an American post-apocalyptic comic-book series published by Charlton Comics in the 1970s.

It is best known as the first original, color-comics series by artist John Byrne, who would go on to become a major industry figure. Byrne had previously drawn three unrelated, anthological short stories for comics, as well as the first three issues of a Saturday-morning cartoon licensed comic book before co-creating this original series.

Doomsday + 1 originally ran six issues, cover-dated July 1975 - May 1976. Two years after its cancelation it was revived as an all-reprint series with issues #7-12 (June 1978 - May 1979), reprinting the contents of the first six issues.^[1]

The series was created by writer Joe Gill and penciler-inker John Byrne for the small, Derby, Connecticut-based publisher Charlton Comics, under editor George Wildman. Byrne, who also served as letterer, used the pseudonym"Byrne Robotics" for issue #4-6 (reprinted as #10-12). The credits for issue #5 credit the artwork as "Art: Byrne Robotics with technical assistance from Patterson-75", a pseudonym for Bruce Patterson, who provided some degree of inking.^[2]

Byrne drew the covers of issues #2-6, with the cover of issue #1 variously credited to Byrne^[1] and to Tom Sutton.^[3]Issues #7 and #11 featured re-colored reprints of Byrne covers, while issues #8-10 and #12 featured "new" covers created by blowing up panels of interior artwork from the stories.^[1]

Stories ran 22 to 23 pages, with most issues also containing a two-page text backup — either a story featuring the main characters or a non-fiction featurette. The backup in issue #5 consisted of two comics pages, drawn by Steve Ditko, of "real world" paranormal vignettes.^[1]

One additional 22-page story was produced by Gill and Byrne, but was not published in the original series. It appeared in two parts titled "There Will Be Time, Part One: Time-Slip" and "Part Two: The Man from Elsewhen" in publisher CPL/Gang Publications' Charlton-sponsored comic-book/fanzine hybrid Charlton Bullseye #4-5 (April & Sept. 1976).^[4]

Sales of the 1978-79 reprint issues began strong, and editor Wildman assigned Tom Sutton to write and draw a 15-page story scheduled to run as issue #13. As sales of the reprint series tapered off, the project was canceled. While the script became lost, Sutton's pencil-and-ink art for the story, "The Secret City," eventually surfaced, with the cover and the first page published in the magazine Charlton Spotlight #6 (Fall 2008).^[5]

The basic plot reads like a Mutant Future or Gamma World Shadow Years Tale, once again wiki has a pretty solid plot write up : 

The series takes place in a near future in which a South American despot named Rykos launches his sole two atomic missiles on New York City in the U.S. andMoscow in the U.S.S.R. The two superpowers, each believing the other has launched a first strike, retaliate. By the time American president Cole and a Russian premier with the first name Mikhail have realized their errors, their fully automated nuclear-missile systems can not be countermanded.

Only hours before the apocalypse begins, a Saturn VI rocket launches bearing three astronauts: Captain Boyd Ellis, United States Air Force; his fiancée, Jill Malden; and Japanese physicist Ikei Yashida. Weeks later, after the post-apocalyptic radiation has subsided to safe levels, their space capsule lands upon a melting Greenland ice field, where the three ally themselves with Kuno, a 3rd-century Goth revived from his ice-encased suspended animation.

The four encounter a Russian scientist/cyborg in Canada, where they commandeer a futuristic jet plane; undersea dwellers; and brutish U.S. military survivors, among others.

There more about the comic series right over on wiki :
HERE

Free Charlton Comics Classic -Doomsday+1 Issue #1 1975 As Resource For Your Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaigns

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DOOMSDAY+1 #1 JULY 1975

COVER:pencils and inks: John Byrne

THEY LIVE AGAIN: pencils and inks: John Byrne

Doomsday +1 has everything I'm looking for in a post apocalyptic comic book for a Saturday. From the Planet of the Apes inspired cover to the curvy astronauts in the metallic space suits. Its pretty much how I remember it. The book had a 'reborn Ice Age' theme about it coupled with the barbarian vibe of a pre Thundarr adventure to boot. There was the inevitable love triangle in the center and more rolling through this first issue and plenty of fodder for your old school post holocaust DYI gaming material. The art was great for a boys from Derby,Ct. product and the writing was fast paced. As the comic went on there was lots of material to pull from for Mutant Future or other game. The comic was well done for '75 and there were lots of interesting and sort new concepts in the background. The comic has remained an old resource and I've got to dig my issues out of the archives. But its nice to see the first issue which brings back so many memories.
The artwork, writing, and post apocalpytic vibe were well done and a nice easy read from Charlton back then and now.

Using Doomsday +1 As Fodder For
 Your Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaigns

Everything about this comic screams Mutant Future or Gamma World from the main characters to the barbarian NPC in issue one. The total world has lots of PA action in it including many of the usual suspects that we would seen in Gamma World first edition including robots, androids, clones, and more astronauts. The plot line, standards and backgrounds of the comic are easily transported to your favorite old school post apocalyptic campaign with lots of room for your own DM expansions.
If you wish to add in another astronaut or two to the world of Doomsday +1 the route of the original Planet of the Apes movies can be used with a convenient crash landing and exploration of the +1 world. Add in your favorite mutants and your about ready to go. Doomsday +1 remains a great comic by the tireless folks from Charlton. And it remains a favorite relatively forgotten (until now resource) to pull from. 

Free Comic Book Science Classic Download - Space Adventures # 11 1954 As Fodder For Your Old School Science Fiction Campaigns

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Another Carlton comics download this one has a bit of everything for that science fiction or science fantasy campaign. All the usual suspects are here in this issue.
 'Inter planetary Safari' is a perfect set up for an Xplorers game or even better a retrofuture Stars Without Numbers campaign. The ideas here in this story are bold and very solidly done with some great 1950's style artwork.
'You Are The Jury' is a well thought out yarn that makes a nifty intermediate encounter for an old school science fiction style campaign. Very nicely done actually. 

'Machine vs Mars' is easy to adapt to any number of games and resounds quite nice as a quick little add in for a game like Stars Without Number. Interesting stuff in the usual 1950's two pager. 

'Dead Reckoning' is a great little quick number that has some echoes with both Stars Without Number and as a post apocalyptic style encounter. A little implied sex, romance, murder, and the pay off go a long way as a quick set up for an adventure encounter!
 'Legions of Atlantis' is the real gem of this issue and perfect for Mutant Future when you need a fast start or kick off style adventure! Very well done in my opinion and a perfect set up for a lead in for a game! All in all this is a perfect issue to lead in with a group of players not expecting things done in the old styles of the Carlton Comics tradition.

What Is Space Adventures?


According to Wiki: 

Space Adventures (sometimes cover-titled Science Fiction Space Adventures, Space Adventures Presents Rocky Jones and other variations for particular issues) was an American science-fiction anthology comic book series published sporadically by Charlton Comics from 1952 to 1979. Its initial iteration included some of the earliest work of industry notablesSteve Ditko, Dick Giordano, and Tony Tallarico, and at least one story by EC Comics mainstay Bernard Krigstein.

In 1960, a second iteration introduced the superhero Captain Atom by writer Joe Gill and artist Ditko, shortly prior to Ditko's co-creation of Spider-Man for Marvel Comics. Space Adventures, a science-fiction anthology comic book from the Derby, Connecticut-based Charlton Comics, was initially published for 21 issue (cover-dated July 1952 - Aug. 1956). Issues #9-12 (Winter 1954 - Aug. 1954) were cover-titled Science Fiction Space Adventures. The following two issues were cover-billed Space Adventures Presents The Blue Beetle, and featured reprints of the defunct publisher Fox Comics' superhero, from 1939. Issues 15-18 (March-Sept. 1955) carried the rubric Space Adventures Presents Rocky Jones, and featured that children's television character in licensed TV spin-off stories. These were primarily illustrated by penciler Ted Galindo and inked by, variously, Dick Giordano, Ray Osrin, or Galindo himself. Giordano penciled at least one "Rocky Jones" story, "Gravity-Plus", inked by Jon D'Agostino, in issue 18. Issues 19 and 21 reverted to Space Adventures, interspersed with another licensed tie-in, Space Adventures Presents First Trip to the Moon — a retitled reprint of writer Otto Binder, penciler Dick Rockwell and inker Sam Burlockoff's adaptation of the movie Destination Moon, from Fawcett Comics' 1950 one-shot of that name.^[1]

Space Adventures #10-11 (Spring-June 1954) contained two of Steve Ditko's first half-dozen comic-book covers.^[2] Issue 16 (May 1955) features a six-page story, "Jealousy on Kano", by artist Bernard Krigstein, one of EC Comics' acclaimed creators in one of his small handful of non-EC stories during that publisher's 1954-55 heyday

Free Comic Download - Mysteries Of Unexplored Worlds 002 (1957) For Your School Science Fiction Campaign

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Mysteries Of Unexplored Worlds Is a great old school Carlton Comics title, more of an anthology title then simply straight science fiction or fantasy. There's a bit of everything in this issue and the artwork is strictly old school Fifties comic book stuff. Very well done and interesting as well as easy on the eye. This title isn't well known among gamers at all.
'Dark Side Of the Moon' is 'an alien exploitation' story with delusions of a businessman to exploit an alien pilot  who crash out in the Midwest someplace near a minor urban area. His quest with the alien's technology, saucer, and artifacts might make an excellent hook,line, and sinker for a party in an X plorers game or better yet a post apocalyptic encounter during the Shadow Years of Gamma world or Mutant Future.
 'Behind the Eight Ball' goes into some really nasty business with a very interesting race of little grey men. And a variation on the 'Size Matters' theme. Simply imagine the PC's finding themselves along with these little fellows and well you've got a nasty if brief encounter. 

'The Night The Grand Canyon Disappeared' is a pretty nice little gem with potential here for a mini campaign and in my opinion is one of the gems of this issue. The aliens here are near human and rather nasty along with their collaborators. Nice artwork and a good post apocalyptic potential encounter. Some really nice UFO encounter potential in this one.
'Dangling Beam' is a two pager without art that were common in the 50's. A nice little yarn that could be used as a mid encounter with any old school science fiction game.
'The Yodler of Yognasi' is a three pager with some crossover between a modern or post apocalyptic game and an old school OD&D style encounter. This is going to be a very brief encounter but there's lots that can happen with this one.
'Objective Moon' is solidly done and is a perfect encounter mission for Xplorers or Stars Without Number if the group of players wants an old school retrofuture game! This one has the potential for a mini encounter if the players want to play with the elements of this story. A bit of dungeon crawling, Nazi's and more here!
 The Tiny World is a  very brief story and its got potential if  the DM is willing to work around the 'High Moral' ground in this one. We find that the Earth is only a colonial experiment  of some higher power here. But the question is which one? And could this story be used as a jump off point for an OD&D/Mutant Future cross over or perhaps Xplorers? 

1d10 Random Lovecraftian Deep Space Encounters Table For Your Old School Space Opera

1d10 Random Lovecraftian Deep Space Encounters Table

1. A servant of 'Atlan Natc The Spider God' looking to suspend and secure the foundation webs of his mistess upon this plane. He's also looking for prey to feed his abiding hunger for humanoid souls. He rides the solar winds upon a space envelop. 
2. A demensional shambler moving through the planes whose happened upon your space craft. His hunger knows no bounds and you are prey. 
3. A priest of Cthulhu in an ion driven craft in suspension moving across the stars. He travels to give hope to a colony of the faithful that they will be eaten first. He is a 2nd level wizard and Deep One hybrid. 
4. A Spar Spawn of Cthulhu encased in a solid block of Crystal ice. What might have done this. The thing is still alive and angry but trapped within itself. 
5. A swam of Fungai From Yuggoth are on a mission for one of their countless gods and need prey. Your ship looks like a meal. There are 1d20 of these horrors. 
6. A Elder Thing bio ship moves across the cold depths of space. The thing has 1d8 living occupants on board for an alien mission. There are living missiles that will be used in a terraforming mission. A shaggoth accompanies them as an escort. There are strange objects moving next to them. 
7. A 500 pound piece of Shub Niggurth living material is on a collision course with a nearby E type planet. The thing is living and wreathed in colours beyond human understanding and its purpose is unknown. 
8. A moon beast black ship moves just outside the local time space continuum. Their holds are filled with slaves and they radio out that they are open for business. 1d8 fighters filled with their servants is nearby to pick up any stray slaves they can. 
9. A time ship of the Great Race signals out into the depths of space for unknown purposes and there are life forms aboard. Do you investigate? 
10. Ithaqua himself moves between the cold dead space between the stars. There is a 40% chance of him noticing you and taking action. What do you do? 

1d10 Valentine's Day Random Encounters From Beyond The Pale Table For Your Old School Space Opera Campaign

1d10 Valentine's Day Random Encounters From Beyond The Pale Table 

1.  A love lorn mutant from a non existent time continuum is seeking his one true love who has been lost to time itself. He needs your help to track down his old post apocalyptic universe. 
2. A band of 1d8 Amazons is trying to track down the savoir of their race who has taken their messiah for true love. They are ruthless and without pity. 3rd level fighters and armed with energy weapons. 
3. A lone cyborg is stalking across the planes for his true love. She is hiding nearby disguised is one of the locals and doesn't want to be found. She's a third level fighter/magic user. 
4. A lone lorn cosmic alien blob is looking for a mate. He will consume he/or her in a fiery mess to give birth to an new batch of alien horrors. 
5. A lone decaying astronaut with a decaying alien gem seeks to pass on his love and the cursed piece of weird alien jewelry. 
6. A strange alien robotic unit houses the brain of a lone housewife and is looking for someone to accompany her throughout eternity. She needs a group of adventurers to help her in a mission of true love. 
7. A strange alien cloud holds the forgotten knowledge and souls of a group of heart broken aliens who are looking to strip the hearts and minds from others. Count as shadows ala the Monster Manual 
8. A group of cursed undead adventurers must find true love in order to be free of their curse of undeath or walk eternity as soul less things forever. 
9. A  space princess with a broken heart  seeks her true love but she is already in the arms of another. The princess is looking for adventurers for a kidnapping plot. 
10. A Spawn of Cthulhu is part a curse to destroy a planet for 'true love' and the PC's must help stop this horror from happening! 

1d10 Random Lovecraftian Race Encounters At The Space Station Table For Your Old School Space Opera

1d10 Random Lovecraftian Race Encounters At The Space Station Table

1. A group of 1d8 Elder Thing time travelers, one of whom is wounded and bleeding very badly. The wounds were made by a shaggoth and its now following in the wake of its former masters. They are armed with four bio weapons but it might not be enough. They are looking for help. 
2. 1d6 Deep One Space Pirates who fight as 2nd level fighters. They are looking to unload a shipment of stolen Yithian technology and have only recently arrived on station. 
3. A Great Race time traveler/scientist looking to recruit adventurers for a new forbidden technological/occult venture. He is armed with a Great Race energy projector and time traveling beckon. 
4. 1d6 ghoul slave traders accompanied by 2 ghast bodyguards looking to sell a 1d20 random slaves and looking for a trade representative. Their leader is a dream merchant 7th level wizard. 
5. A gaggle of Star of Dagon cultists looking to recruit a new cyberpriest for their church. They are lead by a Deep One hybrid who is looking for a suitable cyborg for the job. They are also looking for new recruits for their 'faith' as well. 
6. A hunting horror in pursuit of a bounty for his dark master. The fool has teleported upon the station and the horror may assume a human appearance in order to hunt down the wizard. 
7. Three Fungi From Yuggoth surgeon castes who are selling living humanoid brains in brass containers for navigation purposes. They are looking for likely candidates to restock from as well. 
8. A long ghoul astronaut/space pilot who has just been infected with ghoul plague. He has recently broken through quarantine and needs to be hunted down but has a grave secret to tell. 
9. A wizard priest of Tindalos is trying to summon a pack of hounds to wreck the station and drag it to his master's side as a sacrifice. He is a 6th level wizard and very evil. 
10. An artifact capable of summoning a dimensional shambler is nearby and its being followed by one. Anyone handling this thing will be targeted by the horror and attacked. 1d4 people have already disappeared within the last thirty hours. 

1d10 Random Robotic Assassin Encounter Table For Your Old School Space Opera

1d10 Random Robotic Assassin Encounter Table
 

1. 1d20 robotic scorpions programmed to seek out any relic or ruin explorers, these bots will sample and seek out anyone they come across. They have stats similar to their real life counter parts but are immune to all mind related spell like effects. They are programmed to be ruthless and heartless killing machines. 
2. A group of  1d10 medibots that has been reprogrammed by the so called Apocalyptic virus. These things will end your life in anyway they can. These horrors act friendly and trade DNA as well as RNA samples with local clone masters for unknown purposes. 
3. A nanite assassin swarm capable of rendering a man down in seconds and disassembling his molecules. These things retain the memories of their victims to make them more efficient killing machines. 
4. A lone cyborg assassin looking for a target that has been dead for a million years. He is may be hired as a retainer. Fights as a 4th level fighter but will replace damaged tissue with his victim's flesh. 
5. A small translator style droid is actually a disease vector bot capable of unleashing plagues on species as it was programmed to do about ten thousand years ago. There are cave paintings of this thing doing such vile acts. 
6. An energy being of very complex matter and antimatter matrices held together by an evil will. This thing is a probe of an alien assassin race given form and it is seeking to end a nearby universe. 
7. This multi tendril horror is actually an alien runaway on the lamb from a formidable alien assassin bot created from the brain matter of a thousand extinct life forms of whose visage this thing can be come. 
8. This small assassin bot is seeking adventurers for a  strange adventure involving the recovery of its master from a black hole. 
9. This iron giant of a horror carries with it the heart of a small girl it once loved. The thing wants revenge for her killing by criminal syndicate. It seeks help or revenge. 
10. This swarm of insectoid bots shares one mind and seeks a subject to pass on their ancient knowledge and martial prowess to. Your group has been chosen.