Our Managing Editor Howard Andrew Jones has been exploring Traveller in a series of occasional articles - most recently on the Netherellsetting and The Third Imperium - but to be honest I always found the setting for Traveller to be fairly generic, at least in the early editions. I’ve been waiting for a science fiction role playing game with a truly rich setting for a long time. That was enough to pique my curiosity, and I ordered a copy. There’s also the downloadable introduction story called “Stowaway” which is designed to be a 20 minute intro to the game that includes pregen characters.Back in August, we reported that Pelgrane Press’s new space opera RPG Ashen Stars had won a 2012 ENnie Award for Best Setting. Pelgrane have updated their Ashen Stars resource page to include black character sheets, tables and charts for download.

The vas mal, former near-omnisicent energy beings devolved by disaster into misshapen humanoid form.

The armadillo-like tavak, followers of a serene warrior ethic.

The kch-thk, warrior locust people who migrate to new bodies when their old ones are destroyed.

They comprise the majority of a typical laser crew.

The humans, adaptable, resourceful, and numerous.

The durugh, hunched, furtive ex-enemies of the Combine who can momentarily phase through solid matter.

The cybes, former humans radically altered by cybernetic and genetic science.

The eerily beautiful, nature-loving, emotion-fearing balla.

Featuring seven new and highly detailed playable species – They balance the immediate rewards of a quick buck against their need to maintain their reputation, so that they can continue to quickly secure lucrative contracts and pay the upkeep on their ship and their cyber- and viroware enhancements.

Amid the ashes of a devastating war, the lasers solve mysteries, fix thorny problems, and explore strange corners of space-all on a contract basis. They’re needed in the wake of a massive retreat by the Combine, the utopian empire that colonized it. In this gritty space opera game, the PCs are Lasers, freelance troubleshooters and law enforcers operating in a remote sector called the Bleed. Laws and draws on the artistic talents of Jerome Huguenin and Chris Huth. The game uses the Gumshoe system by Robin D. It hit the shelves at the start of the month.

Ashen Stars is a new game from Pelgrane Press.

Ashen stars download