Worlds Beyond

[Jason D]

Can anyone give me a name and e mail address at Chaosium so that I can inquire about contacting Mr Shewmake? Since this thread shows that there is a (small) amount of interest in contacting the author I may as well try to do so. At the least we may get an interesting interview with Mr Shewmake out of it.

dustin@chaosium.com is the guy to talk to.

I know from him that Chaosium has the rights to reprint WB, but I don't know what other rights they may have or be interested in procuring.

[Dredj]

Dredj, before you do that you may want to contact Frank Shewmake to ask if it is okay.

Come to think of it Mr Shewmake might still have the missing chargen tables still knocking about in a file somewhere. It would also be interesting to ask him if he intended to publish any more products for Worlds Beyond.

Can anyone give me a name and e mail address at Chaosium so that I can inquire about contacting Mr Shewmake? Since this thread shows that there is a (small) amount of interest in contacting the author I may as well try to do so. At the least we may get an interesting interview with Mr Shewmake out of it.

I will dig out my book, today. But I'll hang on, since I'd rather not get into any legal issues.

[Conrad]

dustin@chaosium.com is the guy to talk to.

I know from him that Chaosium has the rights to reprint WB, but I don't know what other rights they may have or be interested in procuring.

Many thanks for that link and information.

Edited July 20, 2008 by Conrad

[Conrad]

I will dig out my book, today. But I'll hang on, since I'd rather not get into any legal issues.

Dredj, are there any questions that you may wish to ask Mr Shewmake, if I manage to collar him ( this question applies to anyone else interested in Worlds Beyond)?

[rust]

Yep, I have a question, or perhaps a proposal:

It is quite possible that Mr. Shewmake and / or Chaosium are not interested

in publishing an updated print version of Worlds Beyond, for example because

it would be a lot of work to do, or because a commercial success is conside-

red unlikely.

In this case, could it be possible to publish Worlds Beyond as an e-book PDF

for downloading it, for example from the Chaosium website ?

This approach has been used for a couple of older and less popular SF RPGs,

for example FGU's Space Opera, and it seems to work quite well, and to earn

the author at least some money ...

[Shaira]

I think it would also be interesting to contemplate a SF sourcebook for BRP which combines the best elements of Ringworld RPG (minus the Ringworld-specific content) with things like space combat and world generation from Worlds Beyond. That would be up there with the "magic book" as priority items for BRP rules expansions!

Cheers,

Sarah

[rust]

I think it would also be interesting to contemplate a SF sourcebook for BRP which combines the best elements of Ringworld RPG (minus the Ringworld-specific content) with things like space combat and world generation from Worlds Beyond.

Yes, a very good idea !

[Guest Vile Traveller]

I agree wholeheartedly. While I'm comfortable with the 2D hex map used by Traveller, I would love to use a real 3D world generation system which doesn't need shaky after-the-fact handwaving about "the shape of jump space" to excuse itself.

I'd never heard of Worlds Beyond until now, and I have to say that I didn't know how poor I was until I heard of those riches ...

[Dredj]

Yep, I have a question, or perhaps a proposal:

It is quite possible that Mr. Shewmake and / or Chaosium are not interested

in publishing an updated print version of Worlds Beyond, for example because

it would be a lot of work to do, or because a commercial success is conside-

red unlikely.

In this case, could it be possible to publish Worlds Beyond as an e-book PDF

for downloading it, for example from the Chaosium website ?

This approach has been used for a couple of older and less popular SF RPGs,

for example FGU's Space Opera, and it seems to work quite well, and to earn

the author at least some money ...

The question about it becoming a pdf would be my question, too.

Also, the book does have some editing issues. If they were to reprint it, those would probably have to be taken care of.

[FunGuyFromYuggoth]

Any Browncoats here?

Edited July 13, 2008 by FunGuyFromYuggoth

[Conrad]

I think it would also be interesting to contemplate a SF sourcebook for BRP which combines the best elements of Ringworld RPG (minus the Ringworld-specific content) with things like space combat and world generation from Worlds Beyond. That would be up there with the "magic book" as priority items for BRP rules expansions!

Cheers,

Sarah

This is a fantastic idea. If I can contact Frank Shewmake I would like to ask him if he'd allow the ship building/space combat and world generation rules from WB to be published in a chaosium BRP supplement. If being the operative word.:ohwell:

Edited July 20, 2008 by Conrad

[Conrad]

I'd never heard of Worlds Beyond until now, and I have to say that I didn't know how poor I was until I heard of those riches ...

All the more reason for us to try to get the game, or sections of it, published by Chaosium in some form. As Dredj says,there are many typos and some editing to be done if it were to be republished.

However in the interim can I recommend Cthulhu Rising. It is free and has starships and starship combat that would not be out of place in any space opera.

Here it is:

[ CTHULHU RISING: Game Downloads ]

Enjoy:D

Edited March 19, 2010 by Conrad

[Conrad]

Any Browncoast here?

Is Browncoast anything to do with Firefly?:confused:

[NickMiddleton]

Is Browncoast anything to do with Firefly?:confused:

Think he meant Browncoat, which is definitely a Firefly reference. *sigh* and now I'm going to get all depressed again that it got cancelled I didn't get to watch the plot play out properly over several seasons... ;-(

Excuse me whilst I high-jack my iTunes to replay the sound track...

Nick

[Guest Vile Traveller]

As Dredj says,there are many typos and some editing to be done if it were to be republished.

I can spellcheck! I can edit! Just let me at it!

[ORtrail]

Any Browncoast here?

I actually went and saw Serenity before getting the DVD collection of Firefly and watching them. The wife and I instantly feel in love with the show/characters.

I'm used to, or at least always expect now, that any show I really like will get the axe.

On the plus side, I did get the Serenity RPG (didn't get into the actual game system) and maybe someday I'll get to run a quick campaign.

[Aramone]

Would Serenity RPG be easy to convert to BRP. Firefly is a great show and its to bad it was axed.

[Dredj]

I can spellcheck! I can edit! Just let me at it!

The biggest typo that stuck out for me, is the section that explained space travel (the one I want to type out on this forum) The explanation was clear, but none of the maps displaying what they were saying had anything to do with the examples in the text.:shocked:

Edited July 13, 2008 by Dredj

[rust]

Would Serenity RPG be easy to convert to BRP.

Serenity uses the Cortex System. Here a short descrition from Book Rags:

The Cortex System

The Cortex System is based on the Sovereign Stone System. The system described here is as it appears in the Serenity book. Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd has stated they plan to release a refined and expanded version with their Battlestar Galactica game. The dice used in the system are d2, d4, d6, d8,d10, d12.

The system uses a variation of the dice pools system used by many different role-playing games. The primary variation arises from the use of different types of dice rather than increasing or decreasing the quantity of dice. The system has the potential to roll more than two dice, however, rolling more than six is incredibly unlikely. The primary mechanic of the game rolling a die based on one of your "Attributes" and one of your "Skills" and then adding the total. Complications or Bonuses are reflected by "steps" which change the die type involved by one for each step. (e.g. A d10 with a 2 step penalty becomes a d6.) The game uses a system of Disadvantages and Advantages to provide flavor to characters, as well as giving them various bonuses and penalties for dice rolls. This borrows from the Merit and Flaw system used by many role playing games including White Wolf in its World of Darkness line prior to its conversion to the Storytelling System, or in Steve Jackson Games Gurps system of Advantages and Disadvantages, Hero System, or Pinnacle Game's Savage Worlds game, which the Serenity system greatly resembles. To increase the survivability of characters in the game as well as give players some impact on the game, the Cortex System uses plot points. These serve to allow the players to gain an extra die to roll or modify an existing roll. They can also be spent to try to influence the course of the story if the Game Master allows. These points are also used as a source of additional "Advancement Points" which are the same as experience points in other games.

I would find it difficult to "translate" such a system into BRP.

[FunGuyFromYuggoth]

Sorry about the typo. I was on a PDA and its harder to catch errors when I'm on it.

In any case, I'd love to see a set of science-fiction rules that covered:

* Gritty science-fiction with interesting archetypes

* Trade betwen worlds in a frontier of an empire

* Spaceship combat

* Use of "old tech" like projectile weapons, etc.

If it happened to resemble "Traveller" or "Firefly" I'd be happy.

[Jason D]

Would Serenity RPG be easy to convert to BRP.

I've actually done some writing for the Battlestar Galactica RPG, which uses the same Cortex system Serenity uses and I've run about a dozen or so sessions between the two games.

My gut feeling is that while it would be an immense amount of work to try to "translate" the Serenity RPG to BRP, it would be rock-bottom simple to just play a Serenity/Firefly game using BRP, if you get the distinction I'm making.

For example, if you were to pick the professions for the crew of Serenity, here's how they might match up:

• Mal - Mal's a seasoned Soldier, skilled with weapons and command, extremely tough (like an 18 or 19 CON)
  
• Zoe - another Soldier with some stealth type skills
  
• Wash - a Pilot extraordinaire
  
• Jayne - a Warrior with a lot of gun skills, high STR, SIZ, and CON
  
• Kaylee - an Engineer with mad Repair and Technical skills
  
• Inara - an Entertainer with a few other skills, high APP and Status
  
• Book - a Priest with extensive experience of some unknown type, perhaps (as theorists will spin) as an Assassin or a Spy
  
• Simon - a Doctor with high Status for his privileged upbringing
  
• River - a "create your own profession" character most likely ("Test Subject"), with a wide variety of military and physical combat skills, and some Psychic Powers. I'd give her the following: Danger Sense, Eidetic Memory, Intuition, and maybe Precognition. Her DEX and POW would be extremely high. If I were using Sanity as an optional system, hers would be fairly low from her past experiences.
  

I'd probably use the Total Hit Points option to separate the heroes from the mooks, and would everyone's weapons would likely just be standard firearms with a few extras and the occasional laser pistol or energy weapon showing up for variety.

Serenity herself would be a Space Vehicle, Transport as described on pages 270 and 271, though without FTL or energy shields.

Depending on how you want to play them, Reavers would be the equivalent of Orcs (p346), Maniacs (p363), or I'd make up a set of stats for them.

Note that while I'm not saying you'd need to copy the show's characters, this is just an example of how you'd translate it to BRP.

Edited July 14, 2008 by Jason Durall

[Shaira]

Sorry about the typo. I was on a PDA and its harder to catch errors when I'm on it.

In any case, I'd love to see a set of science-fiction rules that covered:

* Gritty science-fiction with interesting archetypes

* Trade betwen worlds in a frontier of an empire

* Spaceship combat

* Use of "old tech" like projectile weapons, etc.

If it happened to resemble "Traveller" or "Firefly" I'd be happy.

I think it would also be interesting to "push the envelope" a bit on SF too. It's great to have all the old Traveller space opera stuff covered - it's easy to play - but one of the great buzzes for me when *reading* SF is picking up on the author's ideas of what humankind is going to become in the future, ie not the 1970s in space! Possibly Perry Rhodan type stuff makes for a better and more easily accessed game, but I'd be interested to see game material derived from (off the top of my head) Peter Hamilton, Cordwainer Smith, Larry Niven, Stephen Baxter.

Things like:

i.) The impact of extreme longevity on humankind

ii.) Ubiquitous and cheap AI

iii.) Easy geneering

iv.) Ubiquitous PSI or pseudo-PSI*

v.) Stop being impressed by computers - the future probably won't even perceive them as discrete objects, they'll be everywhere and invisible

vi.) Heaps of artificial lifeforms, and blurring of distinctions.

vii.) Dimensional technology, including instantaneous travel in certain cases, harnessing of gravity, as yet unknown tech, a la Rudy Rucker

viii.) Relativistic effects meaning temporal integrity is not required in societies - people may be out travelling for 10 years whilst 1000 years pass locally. Different evolutionary / technological levels constantly clashing, returnee culture shock, etc.

ix.) Extreme evolutionary, social, philosophical and linguistic divergence as humanity spreads out over millennia. Not just Asimov-type divergence, but *major* freakout stuff.

x.) Money as an interstellar lingua franca, but not really used within societies themselves.

*This is pretty much round the corner right now. Some of the brainwave-reader control interfaces for PCs, contact lens sized HUDs, direct optical nerve transmission, and spatial interaction interfaces mean that transmitting messages or control directions by thought and receiving data, imaging, etc, directly into the optic nerve are probably less than a decade away. I'd expect a half-decent SF setting to be wayyyyy ahead of this.

All of the above would blow the Traveller OTU out of the water, which is as it should be as the OTU is very 70s-retro. I'd really like to see a SF RPG which sets its sights *ambitiously*. We should be able to play something which raises the same issues - and allows you to play through them - as a good SF novel. We demand as much from fantasy**, so why not SF? :thumb:

Cheers,

Sarah

** chainmail bikinis, aryan elves, archers in tights and Wizards of Mass Destruction excepted

[Conrad]

IThings like:

i.) The impact of extreme longevity on humankind

ii.) Ubiquitous and cheap AI

iii.) Easy geneering

iv.) Ubiquitous PSI or pseudo-PSI*

v.) Stop being impressed by computers - the future probably won't even perceive them as discrete objects, they'll be everywhere and invisible

vi.) Heaps of artificial lifeforms, and blurring of distinctions.

vii.) Dimensional technology, including instantaneous travel in certain cases, harnessing of gravity, as yet unknown tech, a la Rudy Rucker

viii.) Relativistic effects meaning temporal integrity is not required in societies - people may be out travelling for 10 years whilst 1000 years pass locally. Different evolutionary / technological levels constantly clashing, returnee culture shock, etc.

ix.) Extreme evolutionary, social, philosophical and linguistic divergence as humanity spreads out over millennia. Not just Asimov-type divergence, but *major* freakout stuff.

x.) Money as an interstellar lingua franca, but not really used within societies themselves.

I'd like to see a BRP SF rpg with ships that are alive, can change their colour (and shape) so that they strobe madly when going into combat. I'd like to see an option to be able to play living space craft as well.

I'd like to see a space opera game where there are no baseline normal everyday humans. Every character would have some sort of enhancement.

[Conrad]

. I'd give her the following: Danger Sense, Eidetic Memory, Intuition, and maybe Precognition. Serenity herself would be a Space Vehicle, Transport as described on pages 270 and 271, though without FTL or energy shields.

Note that while I'm not saying you'd need to copy the show's characters, this is just an example of how you'd translate it to BRP.

I kept thinking " Do I really need the new BRP book? I already have lots of rules to cover space opera games". Then I read the quotes above and realised how much better my games would be with rules for eidetic memory etc. Now when is that darned rulesbook gonna hit the shores of Britain?

Edited July 14, 2008 by Conrad

[Shaira]

I'd like to see a BRP SF rpg with ships that are alive, can change their colour (and shape) so that they strobe madly when going into combat. I'd like to see an option to be able to play living space craft as well.

I'd like to see a space opera game where there are no baseline normal everyday humans. Every character would have some sort of enhancement.

Yes! That's the sort of thing. SF should be able to be mind-blowing. Definitely agree with the "playing an intelligent shapechanging starship" direction!