Hereticwerks: Rogue Space: An Introduction

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Rogue Space: An Introduction

Rogue Space is a fast-paced, rules-light Science Fiction RPG that was deliberately designed to spur further development and creativity. It is a robust framework within and upon which anyone can build any number of different worlds, settings or scenarios. Rogue Space can handle nearly any time period, era or eon. From intricate feudal interplanetary intrigue in the mold of Dune, to hard-core military SciFi reminiscent of Heinlein's Starship Troopers, Drake's Northworld or Hammer's Slammers, Laumer's Bolo, or Haldeman's Forever War, Rogue Space can go there, do that.

Rogue Space is a great springboard for working-out scenarios and settings that mash-up various SciFi Classics including just about any of Andre Norton's interstellar adventures, or Fred Saberhagen's Berserker series, H. Beam Piper's Space Viking, Leigh Brackett's Mars or her unique Solar System or perhaps even Skaith. Rogue Space could be adapted to serve as the basis of a campaign inspired by the adventures of Eric John Stark, Northwest Smith, The Lensmen, Dorsai or Captain Future. Or you might want to see what happens when you combine Clarke's Rama with Greg Bear's Eon and throw in a dash of Well's War of the Worlds or Van Vogt's Weaponshops of Isher or Simak's City.

Rogue Space is like a stream-lined Basic D&D or TFT specifically geared for the creation of classic SciFi adventures. The system is flexible enough to handle ultra-modern nanotech faux-utopias, storm the outer regions of Dyson Spheres older than humanity, delve beneath post-apocalyptic planets mired in savagery, wage war against invaders from beyond known space, loot forgotten ringworlds, colonize raw new worlds or just about anything else you can imagine. This is a system meant to be hacked, revised, and made over to suit the needs and vision of the GM. Just take a look at what Porky has done with it, or check out Rshomignggu (based on the gonzo Space Fantasy stylings of Needles), the Simian Stars expansion, or the MERS project (a Rogue Space/Mass Effect hybrid game) at Mik's Minis, or the new Mecha rules being developed by M. Jared Swenson. We also have started to maintain a list of Rogue Space links.

You can download the Free Rogue Space RPG pdf from the official Rogue Space blog.

(There are also a few other handy free resources available for Download as well.)

You can also acquire a POD-version of the Rogue Space RPG rules via Lulu.

There's also an eBook version available as well.

A Darker Version of Rogue Space is on the way, fully illustrated by Valerie Brandon, and containing only the bare essentials--that means without any setting or adventure.