Other upcoming OpenD6 settings from Port Nova Media

In addition to our Astral Empires products for OpenD6 we are planning to also release several non-science fiction settings.  The first two are both fantasy settings, one more of a general high fantasy setting (called "Terra Generis") and the other a more specific epic naturalistic fantasy setting entitled "Saga of Cambrya".  In addition, we have a superheroes setting called "Megaheroes" with the first sourcebook "Megaheroes of the Roaring 80s" to be released at or around the same time as the core book comes out.  Lastly, we are planning for two Zombie-related products "Sundown-Tales of the Zombie West" and "Braineaters-A Game of the Zombie Apocalypse".  We're hoping to have these completed this Summer and Fall if all goes well (check out some of the covers below):

Finally... An update!

Hey everyone,
So, so, so sorry that I've been offline with this blog for a while.  Real life issues and all that....
Anyway, I just submitted the Lightspeed RPG for Mongoose Traveller to my publishing partner along with the first expansion book.  I'll briefly describe them below:

Lightspeed for Mongoose Traveller:

Already a fan of the Lightspeed RPG by Christian Conkle? Looking for something special to expand your play options with the Mongoose Traveller system?

Well now you can have both....

Presenting Lightspeed for the Mongoose Traveller system! Now you can play as a proud member of StarForce, or set your sights on the mysterious worlds of deep space as one of the vaunted Colonial Rangers.... Experience the terror of combat as one of the powerful felinoid Mronians, or face off in ship to ship battle against the evil Pan-Solar Empire... Whatever path your adventures take you down you can enjoy exploring this expansive universe offering many of the popular themes and elements of modern cinematic science fiction together in a single setting!

This handy science fiction gaming book contains everything you need to integrate the original Lightspeed setting with the widely-respected Mongoose Traveller rules. (NOTE: To maximize use of this book you will also want to have both a copy of the Mongoose Traveller Core Rules available from Mongoose Publishing as well as the original Lightspeed RPG available from Comstar Games and Port Nova Media.)

95 pages

Includes black and white/color illustrations

Also includes 68 color ship counters (to print for this or other games)

Also, the first expansion book which adds three additional "threat" races: the terrifying Saure, the mysteriously efficient Hunters and the dastardly Robot Nexus:

Lightspeed for Mongoose Traveller-Ranger Threat Assessment Guide

They are the dark threats that wait for us out in the depths of space.... Killer robots.... Deathwielding predatory aliens... The things that nightmares are made of...

This 32-page add-on book for Lightspeed-The Mongoose Traveller edition contains background information on the Colonial Rangers and some of their fiercest adversaries: The deadly Saure xenoroaches, the nomadic Hunters, and the machines of the Robot Nexus! In addition, various story ideas and plot leads are included to both flesh out the Lightspeed universe and give GMs and players some fun ideas to work with.

Illustrated in Black and White/Color

With any luck they'll be on sale soon at Drivethrurpg.com and other fine online game sites! :)

Coming Soon!

Hey there,
I've been offline with Astral Empires for a month or so due to my work on emergency preparedness/disaster readiness issues which, since the recent events in Japan, have been at the forefront.  We are in the process of releasing the next batch of Astral Empires products so "stay tuned"! :)

New Ship Guide: Venture-T Class Transport

I have submitted the file to the distributor for a new ship book for Astral Empires.  Containing stats for use with our upcoming D6 roleplaying game, this vessel is based on the idea of taking a decommissioned military cruiser of the late 02200s and converting it for use as a cargo vessel by using extensive automation (so that a player group of five or so can crew it).  It is (obviously) an homage to popular science fiction, but with unique and original twists including some interesting scenario ideas.  The original military design this ship is based on is found in our 02200 AD era "Bravely Venture" RPG and wargaming materials.

Virus Issue?

Dean over at Star-Ranger.com just emailed me to let me know that someone encountered a virus when they came to visit this blog.  This is just a very basic Google "Blogger" site so I'm not sure what the issue might be and I haven't noticed any problems at all myself when I visit the site either to post or just as a reader (logged outof my account), but I apologize if anyone has had issues.  If you have encountered any problems please let me know by emailing astralempires AT gmail.com and I'll try to figure out what's going on.
Again, my apologies.

New Starship Guide Book for Astral Empires

Along with the new fleet book we just published for Battleshift, and the upcoming Astral Empires RPG I'm also working on completing our second Starship Guide Book.  This one is inspired by a piece of visual media that many of you will be familiar with, and I hope this book will be a marked improvement from the first guide I did when I was just starting out on this whole new adventure.
Here is the cover:

And here are a couple of sample pieces:

Three New Fleets Books in the Works for AE: Battleshift

This weekend we should be completing work on the two fleet books for Battleshift, one for the human powers mentioned in the game and one for the xeno, or alien powers.  In addition, once those are completed we will be finishing up a fleet book for the core 10,000 AD era in honor of the launch of the Astral Empires RPG which is based in that era.  Here are the cover workups for each of the three books:

Open D6 "How the Game Works" pamphlet

I posted over at the WEGFan forums that I had worked up this two-page guide to Open D6 from an earlier WEG resource.  It's obviously geared towards sci-fi play like our Astral Empires game but should still be helpful for people new to the system or who want to understand Open D6 better.  I plan to include it with each of our games and sourcebooks.  (PLEASE NOTE: This is not a final version but just a sample workup I did that will be reworked with the OGL in mind.  However, I wanted to see what the visual look would be...)

Astral Empires Open D6 Edition Complete

I'll be finishing up the final editorial touches and graphics work this weekend, depending in part on what I hear back from a couple of freelance artists, but I'm excited to say that the Open D6 Edition of Astral Empires is complete!  The basic set will include the Core Rules, a Galaxy Master's (GM) Guide, and a Technology book totaling about 420-450 pages.  These are all based on the D6 Space rules along with additional material added in to describe the setting, add numerous character and species templates, and attempt to tie the "feel" of the game back to the old Star Wars RPG of yesteryear.  The hope is to soon after this comes out publish the first sourcebook (The Great Galactic Wars-10,000 AD) and a sourcebook for the Lightspeed RPG (which formerly used the Fuzion rules).  I'll be posting here when each of these products are available through RPGNow and Drivethroughrpg.

The initial three-book .PDF set:

The first sourcebook:

And if all goes well, the second sourcebook will be the classic Lightspeed RPG (formerly of the Fuzion system) brought to the Open D6 system*:

(*Note: This may not be the final cover design for Lightspeed D6)

Also for Astral Empires RPG-Retro 6!

Recently I posted about the (now complete and ready for publication) Astral Empires: The Roleplaying Game.  Based upon the Open D6 System it is a compilation of numerous Open D6 Space materials built around the Astral Empires 10,000 AD setting with numerous new character types and species templates.
Another project that goes right along with AE: The RPG is a settings book that strives for a classic "throwback" game feel.  Astral Empires: Drifters and Derelicts is based upon the Retro 6 ruleset we've created for some of our Open D6 settings.  It hearkens back to the games of the 1980s and early 1990s and uses an adaption of Open D6 that more closely parallels the old Star Wars RPG from West End Games of that era.  The idea is if you liked the ol' SW:RPG game back in the day this is an attempt to capture that same feel.
Set in the Long Interregnum of the 07000 AD era of the Astral Empires universe, Drifters and Derelicts describes a time period between major galactic empires when independent transports and freighters plied the great deep searching the thousands of abandoned vessels left over from earlier interstellar conflicts for loot and plunder...  and just plain survival*.  It was a hard time to be alive in the galaxy in many ways, but with an adventure around every corner who could really complain?

Coming soon from Port Nova Media!  

(NOTE: *It is probably also obvious that this is an attempt to transpose classic gaming dungeon crawls into deep space with some fun new twists). 

Current cover of AE: Drifters and Derelicts

Also along the same lines is our first sourcebook for Astral Empires, the 10,000 AD Great Galactic Wars.  Here is that cover (using the Retro-6 system as well):

 

 

Coming Very Soon-Astral Empires the RPG Open D6 Edition

As much as I like Traveller my favorite sci-fi rpg has always been D6, mostly because of the pop culture variants of the rules that were around during my middle school and high school years.  Many an afternoon was spent at the local comic book/game store pouring over those books (which I could usually not afford to buy until years later).  Now, thanks to the graciousness of Eric Gibson (the owner of WEG) in releasing the Open D6 system under the Open Gaming License I'm joining other publishers in getting my chance to put out material for my favorite system.

So keep an eye out for Astral Empires-The Roleplaying Game Open D6 Edition!   Created as something of an homage to the sci-fi games of the 70s, 80s and 90s and powered by the new Open D6 system the Astral Empires RPG is turning out to be something rather cool (if I may say so) and the best exploration of the AE universe I could imagine.  I'll let you know when it's available at RPGNow.com, Drivethroughrpg.com, etc.  :)

Current front cover of AE: The RPG Open D6 Edition

Rear Cover of AE: The RPG Open D6 Edition

Just Released: Astral Empires: Battleshift!

Big space battles are one of the coolest sights in science fiction movies and television, but there aren't many rules systems that really do it right. Most top out at running ten or so ships effectively, a few make it to twenty, but none of the other available rule sets really let you drop a couple hundred on the table and decide the fate of the galaxy!

Battleshift does....

Battleshift was born in a thread on The Miniatures Page. People were looking for a fast, enjoyable space game that would let them field real fleets. Not just a dozen ships, but scores or hundreds of ships.

That's what Battleshift is....

"Battleshift" refers to ships shifting into and out of battle through hyperspace. It allows units of ships to disappear from the table, and then re-enter the battlespace a few turns later making maneuver important, as fleet commanders can't just focus on what's on the table.

Battleshift also features a suppression system, which causes squadrons to lose accuracy as they take fire. Suppression has traditionally been critical in battle. In naval gun engagements, near misses on enemy ships were still useful as they made crews flinch, rocked the ship to spoil aim and obscured targeting. Few starship miniature games have even looked at suppression's effect on a battlefield.

Battleshift does...

Included are:

* 50 page core Battleshift rule book
* 32 page book of Battleshift appendices including scenarios, setting background, additional ship counters

It is available at DriveThruRpg.com: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_i ... s_id=88213

Solar Ecliptic Ships

I just finished a "ship book" for the ASTRAL EMPIRES: Solar Ecliptic 02100 AD era.  It contains about 140 counters for ships from different fleets.  Here are a few samples:

There's also some new artwork:

NEW RELEASE: SOLAR ECLIPTIC 02100 AD

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=87930

Now available through various RPG/Wargaming sites is the first of the ASTRAL EMPIRES era modules:
Solar Ecliptic 02100

It is the near future of mankind...  Humanity has finally left the cradle of Terra and slowly begun the move out into the Great Dark, into a massive galaxy they will one day dominate.  Spread thinly throughout the Solar System various factions of Old Earth vie for power and control of the vast natural resources of the inner and outer planets.  Still, for the time being, Mankind is all alone.... 

Or maybe not? 

Solar Ecliptic presents a complex political situation with numerous supernations fighting over dominance of Old Earth and its fledgling colonies all the while under the observation of distant alien intelligences pondering the rise of this new power.  There are many opportunities for adventure in this era of turmoil.  For in times of conflict come times of great opportunity...  And the chance to be present  during Man's first ascent to the stars....

Also available: here and here...  

Some sample material from AE: Solar Ecliptic 02100 (click on a picture for a larger view):

AE Ship Designs for sci-fi rpgs

Port Nova Media will be releasing (through Avalon Game Company) a number of ship modules for use with ours or any other rpg.  Each of these detail a ship design (or two) for use with roleplaying and are drawn from the different eras in the ASTRAL EMPIRES universe.  Here are a few pics from our first book available now at RPGNow.com and Wargamesvault.com:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=87886
http://www.wargamevault.com/product_info.php?products_id=87886

Marcher I and Cimmaron class vessels

Marcher I class floorplan

Cimmaron class vessel in gunship configuration (note forward dorsal weapon mount)

Cimmaron class basic floorplan

Sample material from AE: NOVA COMMAND

For those of you considering making a purchase of the NOVA COMMAND rules at either RPGNow.com or Wargamesvault.com here are a few more pictures of ships and materials available in the package (which I should mention consists of three different books).

They are available here:
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=87885&src=FrontPage
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=87886
and at Wargamesvault:
http://www.wargamevault.com/product_info.php?products_id=87885
http://www.wargamevault.com/product_info.php?products_id=87886.

AE: NOVA COMMAND Core Rules

AE: NOVA COMMAND Appendices

AE: NOVA COMMAND-Ships of the Galaxy Fleet Book (Five fleets)

Merchanteer's Alliance Capital Ship Counter

Felinoid ship counters (can be used with any game system)

Contact markers (can be used with any game system)

Technocracy cruiser.

Technocracy starship in orbit of Terranova.

Vorwin Star Viking ship with escorts (not in first fleet book).

Barony attack craft firing fusion missiles.

Technocracy Capital Ship Counters (for use with any game system)

Technocracy Security Fighters (for use with any game system)

Felinoid capital ship with fighter escorts.

Qajari Writh fleet on the warpath.