clarence

Most people probably associate RPGs with violence rather than compassion. But in a new blog post, Alex Greene explores how you can use empathy as a game mechanic in Odd Soot: http://www.frostbytebooks.com/blog/compassion-in-roleplaying-games

Have you seen Ashen Stars? It’s based on the Gumshoe system and was created for investigative play. I haven’t read it in a while but I think a few scenarios have been published as well. You could also try the Elevation campaign I released for M-SPACE in July. The free intro scenario is a short murder mystery and the follow-up scenarios include quite a bit of investigation.

I’m happy you like it! Sorry that the shipping took so long.

Looking forward to sending my PCs deep into Tantrevalle.

The Lyonesse preview is fantastic! Do you have an ETA for the full book?

It looks very useful.

We have three winners in the giveaway! First Prize: Vile, Hong Kong, wins a print copy of Elevation. Second Prize: Alistair Clamp, UK, wins a PDF copy of Elevation. Third Prize: Katelyn Greenlee, US, wins a PDF copy of Elevation. Congratulations, all three. I will send the book and download links as quickly as possible. Download Free Conversion Sheet For everyone else, as a gesture of my gratitude, here's a little gift for you. I'm offering the Traveller to M-SPACE conversion sheet as a free download. It contains a nifty way to convert Traveller scenarios on the fly. Which means, the GM can take almost any adventure for Traveller or Cepheus Engine and run it with M-SPACE. No extra preparations needed. Download the cheat sheet here: https://bit.ly/2ALktEp Thank you all for joining. Don’t let winter get you down. Clarence Redd

Thanks for joining! Elevation was released early in July.

Today is your last chance to join the Elevation giveaway! It's closing down at midnight between Friday and Saturday. If you forgot to join or stuff got in the way, make sure you sign up now: https://gleam.io/V2h3N/elevation-mspace-campaign Three winners will be announced tomorrow.

Thank you for your kind words @prinz.slasar!

Hi Fred, Yes, shipping for the colour print is expensive, unfortunately. I have brought it up with the printer several times, but they are not very interested. They thrive on the Swedish market and ignore everything else. Now, the black and white version is quite nice though. I have optimised the artwork as much as possible and it looks surprisingly good. And Lulu’s print quality has improved much over the years. In time, I will move the M-SPACE colour POD to DriveThruRPG. I cannot say when, but hopefully sometime during 2020.

Just a quick reminder that we’re halfway through the Elevation giveaway! You can still join here: https://gleam.io/V2h3N/elevation-mspace-campaign To give you a feeling for the setting, you can download the introductory scenario for free on DriveThruRPG. The Triton Incident, a 36 page scenario, is a freestanding murder mystery that introduces the players to Elevation. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/280146/The-Triton-Incident Winners are announced on Saturday. Good luck!

The Companion is coming along nicely. Most of the chapters are written, with only two remaining to hammer out some final details. I’m very happy with how cybernetics and robots have turned out. They use a modular system similar to starships and allow a lot of flexibility without being complicated. I’ve also found Scott Crowder’s contributions very useful. Planning for artwork is underway and there will be some really cool illustrations. And I probably can’t stop myself from making a few as well. And thanks for joining the giveaway! I would have preferred to skip from October directly to December. Why can’t they just remove November?

If it wasn’t for my birthday at the end of the month, November would probably grab the top spot as the worst time of the year. To brighten up this dreary month, I’m having a book giveaway featuring Elevation, the M-SPACE campaign I released this summer, written by Michael Larrimore. Check out reviews here: EN World and Runeblogger. The giveaway starts today and runs until Friday. Three winners will be announced on Saturday. First Prize: Softcover of Elevation. 172 pages, black and white print. Shipped anywhere in the world. Second and Third Prizes: PDF of Elevation. 172 pages. Sign up for the giveaway below and make sure you spread the word: https://gleam.io/V2h3N/elevation-mspace-campaign Clarence Redd

The circus is coming to town! Football elephants, boxing kangaroos and the funniest clown in the world - what else could anyone need?

I happily accept works based on M-SPACE. As Loz says, we’ll work out the licensing together.

It’s on the drawing table! Cybernetics will be included in the M-SPACE Companion. In the meantime, Luther Arkwright, Worlds United and After the Vampire Wars - as already mentioned - are probably the easiest to use/convert. Let us know how you resolve it!

EN World just published a favourable review of Elevation! 'Elevation is a well written and concise RPG with art, rules, and maps that provide concrete direction and detail. The setting is unique, the stakes are high, and the challenges are tough. Elevation is worth getting even if you don’t play M-Space for the clever ideas that will spark a GM’s imagination.’ Charles Dunwood Read the full article here: https://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?6480-Stay-on-Budget-Search-for-New-Life-in-Elevation

Thanks Runeblogger! Very thorough and balanced.

And we are off to a great start! After 24 hours we hit No.1 in Hottest Small Press.

I’m very happy to announce that Elevation has been released today! Into the Unknown Elevation was a proud organisation of brave explorers, seeking new worlds and alien species. Now, 40 years later, its founder has been lost in space. Funds dwindle, outdated equipment falls apart and Elevation’s few remaining starships barely work. But a small team of die-hard explorers refuse to give up. The search for new aliens ready to join the galactic community is much too important to leave to greedy corporations and criminals. Elevation is a new setting for M-SPACE created by Michael Larrimore. It features new worlds, alien species, organisations and a three-part campaign. Book and PDF Release The book is 174 pages. The first half contains setting details while the second half presents a three part campaign - four parts, if you include The Triton Incident. Early reviews have been very positive: ‘Up front, let me say I like it and want more!’ Michael Beck ‘The setting is well thought out with lots of background information and story hooks. It feels easy to get into the world and start a campaign.’ Rickard Falk ‘Overall a very solid, and well written exploration adventure.’ Robert Graves 15% Launch Discount We have two versions available on DriveThruRPG: print and PDF. To buy them, just follow the links below. The discount lasts until Friday, so you need to be quick. Elevation Print $19 $16.15 PDF $10.95 $9.30 The Triton Incident Print $5 $4.25 PDF Free If you want to know more before committing, you can still download The Triton Incident as a free PDF (use the link above). And make sure you get the player’s kit as well - the link is in the PDF. Clarence Redd

It sounds like you have a lot of details for the system already. That’s good - but it will be much harder to find a system that can harbour it. My best advice is to design your own system from scratch. You have done much of the work already. If you need help, people here and on Design Mechanism’s forums are often happy to contribute. There’s also a fan-made magic system that’s very flexible and somewhat similar to Ars Magica. I can’t remember who made it or what it’s called, but I’m sure someone else does.

Psychepunk sounds interesting! I can see that the magic in M-SPACE might not be a good match for you though. But you can easily replace the magic chapter with almost any other Mythras/BRP magic system. The Mythras core book has five to choose from and Luther Arkwright takes a different approach to psionics. Or you can use the magic from Stormbringer, Elfquest or even Call of Cthulhu.

Greed is not good. But it’s the perfect ingredient for good stories : )

The ultra-greedy Ferengi have no direct counterpart in Elevation. But interstellar trade is controlled by a fiercely competitive species. And the worst sides of human greed - often mentioned as the inspiration for the Ferengi - is alive and kicking.