TEXT: BY ALAN BAHR
  by alan bahr
  
  1
  Author: Alan Bahr
  Interior Art: Nicolás Giacondino
  Cover art: Michael Leavenworth
  Editor: Alana Joli Abbott
  Book Design & Layout: Robert Denton III
  Micro-setting authors: Tobie Abad, Alana Joli Abbott, Elizabeth 
  Chaipraditkul, Steve Diamond, Dianna Gunn, John D. Kennedy, 
  Melanie R. Meadors, William Munn, Dan Wells, Drew Wendell, 
  Wendelyn Reischl, Ben Woerner
  Psionics by Alan Bahr, based on ideas from Mario Cordova
  Based on the game Tiny Dungeon by Brandon McFadden
  Revised First Edition
  Published by Gallant Knight Games, 2018
  Tiny Frontiers: Revised, Tiny Frontiers,  and TinyD6 are trademarks 
  of Gallant Knight Games. ©2018 by Gallant Knight Games. All 
  rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission 
  of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes 
  of reviews, and for the blank character sheets, which may be 
  reproduced for personal use only.
   
   Gallant Knight Games, Ogden UT 84404 
  To Erin Bahr. This time, you don’t have to share the dedication.
  
  2
  Table of Contents
  Introduction ............................................................4
  How to Play ..................................................................6
  Tests ............................................................................6
  Obstacles ....................................................................7
  Save Tests ...................................................................7
  Combat .......................................................................8
  Optional Rule: Zones ...............................................12
  Hit Points ..................................................................14
  Hiding & Sneaking ...................................................15
  Xenotech ..................................................................16
  Optional Rules: Experience & Character Growth ...18
  The Rules Don’t Cover That! ....................................19
  Explorer Creation ....................................................20
  Heritages ..................................................................23
  Expanded Heritage List ...........................................30
  Trait List ...................................................................38
  Cybernetic Trait List ................................................43
  Psionic Disciplines ...................................................44
  Weapons ...................................................................46
  Items and Equipment ..............................................46
  Depletion Points .......................................................47
  For The Game Master ...............................................48
  Enemies ....................................................................52
  Bestiary ....................................................................64
  Optional Rules ..........................................................65
  Hacking ....................................................................65
  Optional Combat Rules ............................................66
  Appendix: Starship Rules ........................................68
  
  3
  Micro-Settings
  The Amazing Galaxy Race by Tobie Abad ............. 79
  The Pinkerton Interstellar Detective Agency 
  by Alana Joli Abbott ................................................ 86
  The Blood Arks by Elizabeth Chaipraditkul .......... 92
  Fixers by Steve Diamond ........................................ 96
  The Station by Dianna Gunn ................................ 102
  Of Crowns and Scales by John D. Kennedy ......... 108
  Best Tasting Home Fries in the Galaxy 
  by Melanie R. Meadors ......................................... 115
  Bears. In. Space. by William Munn ..................... 121
  The Venture by Dan Wells .................................... 130
  Warped by Drew Wendell .................................... 137
  The Grand Archive by Wendelyn Reischl ............ 142
  Tristar! by Ben Woerner ...................................... 148
  
  Basic Rules
  4
  Introduction
  Tiny Frontiers: Revised is a minimalistic table-top roleplaying 
  game that delivers a satisfying gaming experience without 
  books upon books of rules and options. You will not find 
  classes, levels, or experience points in Tiny Frontiers: 
  Revised—instead, you create organic characters that grow 
  through roleplaying. While Tiny Frontiers: Revised does 
  assume its players are familiar with table-top roleplaying, 
  newcomers and veterans alike should be able to easily 
  understand the basic mechanics of the game.
  
  Basic Rules
  5
  Getting Started
  You will need at least two players: one to act as the Game 
  Master, and one to act as an Explorer. It is highly recommended 
  to have at least three players acting as Explorers in a game. 
  Each player will also need three six-sided dice, or d6, called 
  a Dice Pool. You can make do with 1d6 by rolling it multiple 
  times, but it’s easier to have three to roll at once when needed. 
  Besides, d6 dice are easy to come by.
  You should also have some paper and a pencil to write 
  down your Explorer’s information and notes. A plain index 
  card generally has enough space on it to be an adequate 
  Explorer Sheet, which simply lists all of your Explorer’s 
  information, gear, and notes.
  Game Masters will usually require more paper to keep 
  their thoughts and plans in order, as well as information 
  on Non-Player Characters, or NPCs, the 
  Explorers will encounter.
  Finally, Tiny Frontiers: Revised is 
  truly a pen and paper game in the 
  classic sense; however, maps 
  and miniatures do assist in 
  visualizing where things 
  are so that everyone 
  is on the same 
  page. While maps 
  and miniatures 
  aren’t required, 
  they do have 
  their place at 
  the table.
  
  Basic Rules
  6
  how to play
  Before you create your Explorers, it’s time to get down to 
  the nitty-gritty of playing the game.
  Roleplaying games are about story-telling, and Tiny 
  Frontiers: Revised is no different. Most of the game is 
  played simply by describing your Explorer’s actions to the 
  Game Master. When describing these actions, relay what 
  you want to do, or what you’re attempting to try. It is the 
  Game Master’s job to react to these actions and describe 
  the outcome. Simple actions are typically resolved with 
  just the Game Master’s consent.
  Tests
  The core mechanic that runs Tiny Frontiers: Revised is 
  called a Test, which is a roll of 2d6 from your Dice Pool. For 
  complex actions, the Game Master will usually require you 
  to make a Test to determine if you succeed at what you’re 
  doing. Tests are successful if you roll a 5 or a 6 on any of 
  the dice rolled in your Dice Pool, unless otherwise noted by 
  the Game Master.
  The Game Master, and certain Traits selected at Explorer 
  Creation, can grant you Advantage in situations. This will 
  allow you to roll 3d6 from your Dice Pool instead of 2d6 for 
  that particular Test, increasing the odds of success!
  Other situations, at the Game Master’s discretion, may put 
  you at a Disadvantage. When at a Disadvantage, you will 
  only be able to roll 1d6 to resolve your Test. It is important to 
  note that if the situation, trait, Game Master, or any source 
  imposes Disadvantage in a situation, even if you would 
  normally have Advantage due to a particular Trait, you still 
  roll 1d6 for that Test. Xenotech items that grant Advantage 
  are the only things which supersede this—if a Xenotech item 
  grants you Advantage, you will always have Advantage for 
  that situation. Why? Because alien science. That’s why.
  
  Basic Rules
  7
  The long and short of it: Disadvantage overrides Advantage 
  (unless the Advantage is granted by a Xenotech item.) That 
  means if you have Disadvantage on a roll, and Advantage 
  on the same roll, you only roll 1d6.
  Obstacles
  Obstacles are challenges 
  that usually require you to 
  make a Test to overcome. 
  Obstacles 
  may 
  include 
  attempting to barter with 
  a shopkeeper, pick a lock, 
  search a room for a hidden 
  item, or resolve a conflict 
  with words rather than 
  blasters. The Game Master 
  may 
  determine 
  your 
  roleplaying 
  is 
  sufficient 
  in overcoming the Obstacle and grant you an immediate 
  success without having to Test; however, in most situations, 
  a Test will be necessary to determine the outcome.
  Save Tests
  Obstacles may arise that require you to make what’s called a 
  Save Test to prevent something from happening to you. For 
  example, you need to successfully leap out of the way as a a 
  reactor explodes, or you’re climbing a starship tether when 
  it snaps and could potentially fall. Save Tests are also used to 
  stabilize yourself if you begin a turn at 0 Hit Points. Save Tests 
  are just like regular Tests, and unless otherwise noted by the 
  rules or the Game Master, you roll 2d6 to resolve your Test. 
  A 5 or 6 on any of the rolled dice represent a successful Save.
  Some Save Tests can be a life or death scenario—these are 
  called Save or Die Tests. Should you fail the Save Test, your 
  character is killed. Period. There is no preventing it. Game 
  Masters are advised to keep these situations few and far 
  between.
  It might appear (especially 
  when you get to the 
  section with enemies), that 
  Advantage can take you 
  up to 4d6. That is not the 
  case. All rolls in TinyD6 are 
  made with 1d6, 2d6 or 3d6. 
  If you have 3d6 on a roll, it’s 
  likely Advantage is already 
  calculated in for you, and you 
  can’t increase it.
  
  Basic Rules
  8
  Combat
  The Game Master will usually announce when Combat is 
  about to begin by requesting an Initiative Test. Explorers will 
  roll a standard 2d6 Test and add up the total of their rolls. 
  Likewise, the Game Master will roll Initiative for any enemy 
  combatants the Explorers will be facing. The highest roller 
  will have the first turn in the Initiative Order, followed by the 
  next highest, and so on. If there is a tie between an Explorer 
  and an enemy, the Explorer always goes first. If there is a tie 
  between two or more Explorers, the tying Explorers reroll 
  for that position until the tie is broken.
  Combat is strictly turn-based to keep things running 
  smoothly. A round of combat begins at the top of the 
  Initiative Order, and ends at the bottom. The next round of 
  combat then begins, starting again at the top of the Initiative 
  Order. This continues until the Explorers have defeated 
  their enemies, completed some objective determined by the 
  Game Master, or until 
  the 
  Explorers 
  have 
  been killed or routed. 
  While it can take some 
  time to get through 
  an entire round of 
  combat, 
  in-game, 
  a 
  full round of combat is 
  equal to roughly five or 
  six seconds.
  During your turn in 
  the 
  Initiative 
  Order, 
  you have two Actions. 
  You 
  can 
  choose 
  to 
  move, 
  attack, 
  and 
  generally not be useless 
  with these Actions. If 
  you move, that is one 
  Action. If you attack, 
  that is one Action. You 
  
  Basic Rules
  9
  can use both Actions to move, or use both Actions to Attack 
  if you wish. Other Actions include holstering or drawing a 
  weapon, grabbing an item, and giving an item to an ally.
  Movement is defined by announcing your intentions 
  to move from one location to another; the Game Master 
  determines whether you can cover enough ground to get 
  there with that Action. This is where miniatures and maps 
  come in handy, as they will assist in determining distance. 
  It is also assumed that each Explorer can move just as 
  far as any other Explorer with a single Action, unless the 
  Game Master says otherwise. A good rule of thumb is to 
  assume your character can move approximately 25 feet in-
  game with a single Action, so long as there isn’t anything 
  hindering their movement. If you are using a combat grid, 
  25 feet is 5 squares. 
  Attacking is the most important aspect of Combat. First 
  and foremost, if you are attacking an enemy, you must 
  be within range of your enemy to do so. Your stun-baton 
  may be long, but it isn’t going to hit that malfunctioning 
  battlebot that’s 25 feet away from you. Getting within range 
  will require you to move if you are using a melee weapon.
  Once you’re in range, you can attack! Attacking is just 
  another type of Test, and the Obstacle is your enemy. 
  Usually, you’re going to be using the weapon you have 
  Mastered to attack. Any weapon type you have Mastered 
  allows you to roll an Attack Test with Advantage, or 3d6. 
  If you are simply Proficient with the weapon you’re 
  wielding, your Attack Test is a standard 2d6 Test. You have 
  Disadvantage for Attack Tests while wielding weapons you 
  are not Proficient with—this includes unarmed combat 
  and improvised weapons.
  On a successful Attack Test, you deal 1 of point damage to 
  your enemy, regardless of your weapon, unless your Game 
  Master says otherwise. Game Masters are encouraged to 
  reward roleplaying at all times, so a particularly detailed 
  description of an attack may score more than 1 point of 
  damage to your enemy, if the Game Master so decides.
  
  Basic Rules
  10
  Two special Actions you can perform in Combat are 
  Focus and Evade. When you choose to Focus, the next time 
  you attack, your Test is successful on a roll of 4, 5, or 6, 
  increasing your chances of hitting the enemy. Your Focus 
  Action remains in effect until you choose to attack or until 
  the end of combat, so the Action can carry over to other 
  turns. There is no benefit to stacking Focus Actions.
  When you choose to Evade, until the start of your next 
  turn, you can Test 1d6 when you are successfully hit by an 
  enemy. If your Test is successful, you evade the attack and 
  do not take damage.
  Tiny Frontiers: Revised adds third and fourth special Actions: 
  Suppressing Fire and Cover. Suppressing Fire lets you make 
  an attack at Disadvantage every time an enemy enters the 
  area you’re suppressing.
  When you take Cover, all enemy attacks from one direction 
  gain Disadvantage.
  To recap combat Actions, you can:
  • Evade
  • Focus
  • Test for an ability
  • Attack
  • Move
  • Suppressing Fire
  • Cover
  There are four categories of weapons in Tiny Frontiers: 
  Revised—Light Melee, Heavy Melee, Light Ranged, and 
  Heavy Ranged. You can still attack while unarmed, or even 
  with improvised weapons such as a barstool or a rock, but 
  these are not classified as weapons.
  Both Light and Heavy Melee Weapons have the benefit of 
  being reliable and never running out of ammunition. Light 
  Melee Weapons have the benefit of only requiring one hand 
  to wield. This frees you up to do other things with your other 
  hand, such as grabbing a med kit, injecting a stimpak, or 
  holding an armshield. You must be adjacent to an enemy, or 
  within 5 feet, to attack with a Light Melee Weapon.
  Examples of Light Melee Weapons include tasers, stun 
  batons, laser swords, and mundane knives or daggers. If 
  it’s a weapon you can swing with one hand, it’s probably a 
  Light Melee Weapon.
  
  Basic Rules
  11
  Heavy Melee Weapons require you to wield them with both 
  hands due to them being cumbersome or just so… heavy. 
  The benefit of this is that you can attack your enemies with 
  these weapons from 10 feet away, as they have a longer 
  reach than Light Melee Weapons.
  Examples of Heavy Melee Weapons include shock-staves, 
  drills, dual-sided laser swords, or mundane greatswords 
  and staves.
  Light Ranged Weapons can be held and shot in one hand. 
  You can also take one hand off your weapon freely, as with 
  Light Melee Weapons. Examples of Light Ranged Weapons 
  include handguns, laser pistols, throwing knives, shuriken, 
  hand-crossbows, or anything you could reliably shoot or 
  throw one-handed.
  Heavy Ranged Weapons require you to wield them with 
  both hands due to them being cumbersome. Examples of 
  Heavy Ranged Weapons include rifles, automatic weapons, 
  grenade launchers, rocket launchers, and bows. Heavy 
  Ranged Weapons have bigger ammo clips, so you can reroll 
  a failed Cinematic Ammo Test 
  once per mission.
  Cinematic Ammo: At the 
  end of every fight, have 
  each player make a Test 
  for each ranged weapon 
  they used. Anyone who 
  fails is out of ammo until 
  they do something to refill 
  their supply. Explorers who 
  share ammo with allies 
  who have run out must 
  Test for Cinematic Ammo 
  with Disadvantage.
  
  Basic Rules
  12
  Optional Rule: Zones
  In combat, characters occupy one of three zones. Zones 
  represent areas close to the fight. There are three zones 
  during combat: Close, Near, and Far. In each zone you can 
  attack with different weapons:
  In the Close Zone, you can attack with:
  • Light Melee
  • Heavy Melee
  • Light Ranged
  In the Near Zone, you can attack with: 
  • Heavy Melee
  • Any Ranged
  In the Far Zone, you can attack with:
  • Any Ranged
  If you’re using psionics or Xenotech, they can be used 
  from any range.
  Note: The included Zone sheet also includes Evade and 
  Focus sections, so you can mark which characters have 
  Evaded or Focused each round, and which have not.
  CLOSE
  NEAR
  FAR
  • Light Melee
  • Heavy Melee
  • Light Ranged
  • Heavy Melee
  • Any Ranged
  • Any Ranged
  • Focus
  • Evade
  • Cover
  • Supressing Fire
  
  Basic Rules
  13
  When combat begins, enemies are all in the Close Zone. 
  Enemies can use any attack from their Zone (ranged, 
  psionic, melee), with no penalties. The Zones should 
  viewed from the Explorers’ perspective. “I’m staying back 
  at a Ranged Distance” or “I’m closing to Close Range” is the 
  way to view it. Enemies don’t move between Zones, instead 
  staying “stationary” as the explorers move around them.
  Think of it as the enemies are the eye of the storm in 
  combat, and everything swirls around them. Obviously, this 
  is an extreme abstraction, and the GM should remember 
  that enemies actually move, and describe it as such. Zones 
  are meant to abstract relative distance and provide a quick 
  play aid. 
  It takes a Move Action for an Explorer to move between 
  zones. There’s no limit. An Explorer can spend a Move 
  Action and move from Far to Close, or from Close to Near. 
  When other abilities or powers (such as creatures, or 
  prestige traits) refer to distances, that Close Zone is within 
  5 feet of the target, and the Near Zone is within 10 feet of 
  the target.
  Therefore, if a creature can attack everyone with 10 
  feet, they can attack everyone in Close and Near zones. 
  Knocking something back 10 feet would move them from 
  Close to Near, or from Near to Ranged.
  In the end, Zones are an abstraction designed to help make 
  combat a little easier to engage in.
  
  Basic Rules
  14
  Hit Points
  Now that you know your way around the basics of Combat, 
  it’s time to discuss Hit Points. Hit Points are determined by 
  your selected Heritage, and they reflect the punishment 
  your body can take before you lose consciousness. In 
  Combat, every successful hit deals 1 point of damage 
  unless otherwise noted by the Game Master. Your choice 
  of weaponry does not alter this. Other game systems 
  generally have you roll for the damage you deal or have 
  different weapons deal different amounts of damage. Tiny 
  Frontiers: Revised does away with this, because a well-
  placed, mundane dagger can be just as deadly as getting 
  dismembered by a laser sword. Ultimately, the final blow 
  is the one that counts.
  Sleeping
  You need at least 6 in-game hours of uninterrupted sleep 
  every day to regain your strength. If you manage to obtain 
  6 hours of uninterrupted sleep, you will fully restore any 
  lost Hit Points to your maximum. You otherwise regain 1 
  Hit Point for every hour of sleep.
  When asleep, Explorers are unconscious. If something 
  is going on around them, they are less likely to be aware 
  of it, and have Disadvantage when making a Test to see if 
  something wakes them up.
  Death
  The dying process begins when you’ve taken enough 
  damage to reduce your Hit Points to 0. Hit Points cannot be 
  reduced below 0. At this point, you’re knocked unconscious, 
  and without further assistance, you could succumb to your 
  wounds and die.
  
  Basic Rules
  15
  If you are at 0 Hit Points at the start of your turn in Combat, 
  you can only make a Save Test to stabilize yourself. A 
  successful Save Test will bring your Hit Points up to 1 and 
  ends your turn. If you fail this Save Test, you get one last 
  chance at surviving on your own—at the start of your next 
  turn, make one last Save Test, at Disadvantage. If you fail 
  this final Save Test, your Explorer dies.
  While you are unconscious, any ally can attempt to stabilize 
  you by making a Save Test as an Action on their turn, 
  providing they are adjacent (or Close) to you. On a success, 
  you are restored to 1 Hit Point and your next turn would 
  start as a normal turn. Additionally, any items or abilities 
  that could potentially heal you while you are unconscious—
  such as the Medical Savant Trait, med kits, or stimpacks—
  can be used by allies to bring you back from the brink.
  Should you die, don’t worry too much. There are usually 
  ways for the dead to be brought back to life, and hopefully 
  one of your companions will be willing to drag your useless 
  corpse to a cloning vat where you can be resurrected. Of 
  course, this probably won’t be cheap.
   Hiding & Sneaking
  Attempting to hide or sneak around is performed simply by 
  making a standard Test with 2d6. If the Test is successful, 
  you are hidden, or your actions went unnoticed.
  Note that you can’t simply hide in plain sight, so you need 
  some sort of cover or concealment to hide. It is up to the 
  Game Master to determine if you are in a situation where 
  you could potentially hide.
  Allies and enemies alike can also make a standard 2d6 
  Test to locate someone—or something—that is hidden.
  Hiding during Combat uses an Action, as does searching 
  during Combat. These Tests can only be done during your 
  Turn while in Combat.
  
  Basic Rules
  16
  Xenotech
  Xenotech is any technology that is useful, rare, and difficult 
  to find. Most Xenotech is almost impossible to recreate 
  because it’s made of unknown materials, has anomalous 
  properties that can’t be explained by modern science, the 
  fuel that powers it is so rare, or some mad scientist made it 
  and wrote really poor documentation. Xenotech is coveted 
  by Explorers because it is both useful for exploration, and 
  valuable if you need to sell it.
  Xenotech comes in two major categories: Simple and 
  Complex.
  Simple Xenotech is easy to use: you can drink a vial of 
  medicine, apply items from a med kit, inject a syringe or 
  stimpak into your arm, aim a gun, swing an axe, wear a 
  suit of armor, or press a button on a box.
  Complex Xenotech is trickier, you might need to speak a 
  passphrase, hum a tune, spray a certain perfume on it, flash 
  colored lights at it, psychically project emotions at it, or flip 
  a bunch of switches and press buttons in the right order. 
  Complex Xenotech can only be used by Explorers with the 
  proper training. If you’re lucky, you can find a manual for the 
  item which requires about an hour to read, but experimenting 
  and researching carefully on your own can take days or even 
  weeks. Explorers with the Xenotech Expert trait can activate 
  any complex Xenotech without trouble, but are no better at 
  identifying what it does before they use it.
  Most Xenotech can only be activated a few times before 
  it is exhausted; anything that can function perpetually 
  is extremely valuable. Some Xenotech may be helpfully 
  labeled (or unhelpfully mislabeled) by the last Explorer 
  who found it. Some Xenotech may have strange or harmful 
  side effects. Safely identifying Xenotech may require Tests 
  or finding specialists who can answer questions about it.
  On well-funded missions, each Explorer may be issued a 
  piece of Xenotech necessary to complete the mission. In this 
  case, each Explorer will be given the necessary training to 
  use their Xenotech. 
  
  Basic Rules
  17
  Here are some examples:
  • A crystal that makes water within 20 feet breathable 
  like air. It only works for 24 hours.
  • An energy knife that can cut through anything, but 
  once it has cut something it can never cut anything 
  made from the same material again.
  • A complex gadget that will make every gun within 
  its line of sight shoot at it (up to and including orbital 
  weapons platforms).
  • A mask that is programmed to mimic a specific person’s 
  face and voice. It fools electronic systems perfectly, but 
  any person within 15 feet can see a telltale flickering.
  • A black cube that transforms any surface into a vacuum-
  safe, intangible barrier 8 feet wide that Explorers 
  can pass through without causing any catastrophic 
  decompression. After an hour the cube and the barrier 
  evaporate completely, leaving an 8-foot-wide hole 
  which may cause catastrophic decompression.
  • A grenade that banishes anything in its radius from 
  the timeline. Everything destroyed by it retroactively 
  never existed.
  • A pill that can be eaten to learn one language for a 
  month. The user loses the ability to read their native 
  language until it wears off.
  • A visor with complex controls that let the wearer see 
  radio waves. The wearer can’t see visible light, which 
  may hinder simple tasks (like walking).
  • A lamp with beautiful flashing pattern that hypnotizes 
  certain species of predators for 15 minutes before it 
  burns out.
  • A tablet that has complex touch commands and a 
  bunch of wires that can be hooked up to a person to 
  repair bullet holes and deep lacerations.
  Xenotech items of all kinds may be acquired during 
  adventures. It is up to the Game Master to determine 
  exactly what these items do, how easy it is to use them, and 
  what sort of benefit, if any, they provide. Remember, not 
  all Xenotech is good, and some items that seem harmless 
  could potentially be harmful.
  
  Basic Rules
  18
  Optional Rules:
  Experience & Character Growth
  Gaining experience is one of the most exciting and fun 
  parts of a roleplaying game. Much like everything in Tiny 
  Frontiers: Revised, the rules for growth and leveling are 
  fairly simple and straightforward.
  To that end, we’ve presented two systems that the GM can 
  choose to use if they wish.
  The Minimalist Advancement
  To advance your characters with the minimalist advancement 
  track, simply gain 1 new trait every 3 sessions. A character 
  can never have more than 7 traits. If you would gain a trait 
  past 7, you may instead swap out a non-Heritage trait for a 
  new trait. 
  Experience Points
  At the end of every session, the GM will award experience. 
  You may buy upgrades with the following costs.
  • 6 Experience = a permanent increase to your HP of 1.
  • 8 Experience = a new Proficient or Mastered Weapon.
  • 10 Experience = a new Trait.
  For the GM: Players should receive 1-3 experience per session, 
  awarded “to the group as a whole,” meaning everyone in the 
  group gets the same amount of experience for their individual 
  character. Experience is generally awarded as follows:
  • 1 for the group as a whole for good roleplay. 
  • 1 for the group as a whole for defeating enemies (not 
  per enemy, just if they defeated any enemies).
  • 1 for the group as a whole for advancing the plot and 
  their goals.
  • 1 for the group as a whole if players contributed to the 
  out of game enjoyment of the session (snacks, music, 
  carpooling, hosting at their home). 
  
  Basic Rules
  19
  The Rules Don’t Cover That!
  Tiny Frontiers: Revised is a minimalist rule set and it 
  provides only a framework for gameplay. There are a lot 
  of scenarios that could happen in a game that these rules 
  don’t cover—but neither do the epic tomes that other game 
  systems use.
  If a situation arises where an Explorer is asking for a ruling 
  that these rules don’t provide an answer to, it is up to the 
  Game Master to provide a ruling. This is known as Game 
  Master Fiat. Ultimately the Game Master has final say on 
  how the game is played and how the rules are enforced. 
  The key is simply to be consistent.
  We’ve included lots of optional rules you can use to 
  simulate the various pieces you might (or might not) like 
  from other RPGs, 
  but in the end, it’s 
  your job to make 
  Tiny 
  Frontiers: 
  Revised your own. 
  Use whatever pieces 
  you like, and discard 
  the ones you don’t!
  
  Explorer Creation
  20
  explorer 
  creation
  Creating your Explorer is a quick and easy process. You 
  don’t necessarily need to follow this specific order, but it 
  serves as a nice outline.
  • First, select a Heritage from the Heritage List
  • Then select three unique Traits from the Trait List
  • Select a Weapon Group to be proficient with
  • Select Family Trade
  • Select Belief
  When you choose 
  a Heritage, you gain 
  abilities 
  that 
  are 
  particular to that 
  Heritage, as well as 
  giving your Explorer 
  a starting point for 
  their 
  worldview. 
  Choosing a Heritage 
  first helps give you a 
  sense of where your 
  Explorer fits in the 
  universe.
  Instead 
  of 
  pre-
  defined classes, Tiny 
  Frontiers: 
  Revised 
  uses Traits to express 
  what your Explorer 
  excels at doing.
  Next, you’re going 
  to pick a weapon 
  group 
  you 
  are 
  Proficient with. There are four groups of weapons; Light 
  Melee, Heavy Melee, Light Ranged, and Heavy Ranged, 
  which are discussed in more detail in the Combat section.
  You might wonder why we 
  shifted our terminology from 
  Race to Heritage. Previous 
  TinyD6 games (and the original 
  Tiny Dungeon) used the term 
  Race to distinguish between the 
  various playable species that 
  exist in the game.
  Race, however, is an inelegant 
  word. Connotations aside, 
  Race fails to account for 
  the full spectrum of cultural, 
  environmental, familial, and 
  genetic heritage. Using Heritage 
  allows us to recognize and 
  embrace diversity within groups 
  as well as create new groups on 
  broader grounds than genus and 
  species.
  
  Explorer Creation
  21
  From this group, you select one specific type of weapon 
  that you have Mastered. For example, you can select Light 
  Melee Weapons as your Proficient group, and from that, 
  you can select stunners as your Mastered weapon. Your 
  Explorer will start with one weapon of your choice, ideally 
  the weapon he or she has Mastered. Don’t be afraid to 
  be creative—you may have chosen to be Mastered with 
  stunners, but there are many different types of stunners 
  you could arm your Explorer with, such as stun batons, 
  blast knuckle stunners, tablet stunners, or mini stunners 
  disguised as pens or cosmetics.
  It is assumed that your Explorer is already wearing the 
  standard armor or clothing of their choosing—be it leather 
  armor, a vaccsuit, or just clothes—as armor serves no 
  Starshipnical function in the game. You may eventually 
  come across Xenotech armor and wearable items that 
  grant special benefits during your travels, but for now, just 
  note what you’re wearing.
  You also start with 10 GalCreds and an 
  Explorer’s Kit, the content of which is 
  described in the 
  Explorer’s 
  Kit 
  section.
  This next part 
  is going to be 
  the 
  hardest, 
  because these 
  aren’t options 
  you 
  select 
  from a list. 
  You’re going 
  to 
  want 
  to 
  name 
  your 
  Explorer and give 
  him or her a little 
  bit of a backstory. 
  Going along with 
  that 
  backstory, 
  another 
  reality 
  is 
  
  Explorer Creation
  22
  you weren’t born 
  an 
  Explorer. 
  No, 
  really. You weren’t. 
  Growing 
  up, 
  you 
  were 
  probably 
  exposed to a Family 
  Trade. Perhaps you 
  learned your way 
  around an engine 
  room 
  from 
  your 
  father, 
  who 
  was 
  ship’s 
  mechanic. 
  Maybe your mother 
  was 
  a 
  software 
  programmer 
  and 
  taught 
  you 
  how 
  to 
  write 
  simple 
  codes. Whatever it 
  was, you picked up 
  some 
  knowledge 
  of this craft and 
  gain Advantage in 
  situations you can 
  put it to use. Choose 
  some sort of Family 
  Trade 
  for 
  your 
  character; 
  your 
  Game Master will 
  then decide how it 
  will be applicable 
  during gameplay.
  Finally, Explorers all have a driving principle called a 
  Belief that you will want to write down. This Belief is a 
  simple statement used as a guiding force for your Explorer. 
  Your Belief may be, “I’ll always find a diplomatic solution,” 
  “GalCreds can buy happiness,” or “I let my blaster do 
  the talking.” This Belief is not etched in stone, and can 
  be changed or added to with the approval of your Game 
  Master.
  Game Masters: While this is 
  going on, you should be thinking 
  about what type of scenario you 
  will be placing the Explorers 
  in. It is the Game Master’s job 
  to create a convincing setting 
  and story for the Explorers, 
  which includes locations to visit, 
  enemies to fight, and NPCs to 
  interact with. Is this going to 
  be a one-off adventure? Or are 
  you planning to create an entire 
  galaxy for your Explorers to 
  explore? You can put as much 
  or as little effort into this as 
  you like, but keep in mind it’s 
  your job to keep everyone on 
  track and entertained. One-off 
  adventures can be planned with 
  a few minutes of preparation; 
  however, if it is your goal to have 
  a larger campaign in mind, this is 
  going to take some work on your 
  part to plan. Take some time to 
  look through the For The Game 
  Master section.
  
  Explorer Creation
  23
  Human
  Humans are the most prolific Heritage due to their extreme 
  adaptability and determination. Humans are capable of 
  living in punishing conditions, from icy tundra to blistering 
  deserts. They can produce glorious cities or live simple 
  lives as nomads.
  Humans are just as varied as the places you can find them 
  in. They come in all shapes and sizes and temperaments. 
  On average, they are between 5 and 6 feet tall, with males 
  tending to be taller than females.
  Human Attributes
  • 6 Hit Points
  • Humans select an 
  additional Trait from the 
  Trait List.
  heritages
  
  Explorer Creation
  24
  Gens
  Built as genetically modified humans, extensive time in 
  the space-lanes and on other planets has led to a divergent 
  evolution where these former super-soldiers have created 
  their own culture and civilization. They are by nature a 
  secretive people, and it can be difficult to earn their trust.
  Gens consider themselves genetically superior to baseline 
  humans in just about every way. They’re taller, have 
  perfect skin, are always in shape, and are frequently smug 
  about it. 
  Gens Attributes
  • 6 Hit Points
  • Gens start with the 
  Heritage Trait Master 
  of Warfare.
  Master of Warfare: 
  You have Mastered 
  an additional weapon, 
  and have Advantage 
  when using it. Select a 
  weapon, just like you 
  would at character 
  creation. This is 
  in addition to the 
  Mastered weapon 
  chosen at Explorer 
  Creation.
  
  Explorer Creation
  25
  Autoborg
  Autoborgs are intelligent artificial constructs. They are 
  built en masse in factories, and then implanted with 
  artificial intelligences designed to serve whatever role they 
  are built for. Autoborg society is heavily influenced by a 
  strong sense of purpose and responsibility. Because of this, 
  they are viewed as being trustworthy, but impossible to 
  reason with.
  On average, Autoborgs stand 6 feet tall, and have broad, 
  metallic bodies. Autoborgs tend to weigh more than an 
  average human their size, and are often found integrating 
  bits of technology and such to improve their form.
  Autoborg Attributes
  • 8 Hit Points
  • Autoborgs start with 
  the Heritage Traits Dark 
  Vision and Robot.
  Dark Vision: You are 
  able to see around you 
  in total darkness.
  Robot: You don’t 
  need to eat, sleep, 
  or breathe. However, 
  any Test to heal you 
  must be made at 
  Disadvantage. 
  
  Explorer Creation
  26
  Khalumra
  Khalumra are a diminutive species of three eyed aliens. 
  They live on asteroids that they have retrofitted into mobile 
  communities, and they wander the galaxy as traders and 
  purveyors of goods. Their behavior, even in adulthood, is 
  childlike. They are inquisitive by nature and somewhat 
  mischievous, although their antics are rarely malicious. 
  Khalumra are also easily distracted by new experiences, 
  and particularly are fascinated with the larger races. 
  Standing just over 3 feet tall, Khalumra are on average 
  very scrawny and have wide, oblong heads with protruding, 
  floppy bat-like ears. They have three eyes each, and their feet 
  and hands both have three prehensile “fingers” that they 
  can use interchangably. They are notoriously quick, and due 
  to their compulsive fascination 
  with everything, are viewed as 
  unreliable and easily distracted. 
  Despite their appearance and 
  impish nature, Khalumra are 
  usually good-natured creatures 
  that enjoy the company of anyone 
  who can tolerate them.
  Khalumra Attributes
  • 4 Hit Points
  • Khalumra start with the 
  Heritage Trait Incredible 
  Agility.
  Incredible Agility: You 
  can Test 1d6 whenever 
  you are successfully 
  hit by an enemy. If your 
  Test is successful, you 
  evade the attack and 
  do not take damage. 
  You gain no benefit from 
  taking Evade Actions.
  
  Explorer Creation
  27
  Salimar Attributes
  • 5 Hit Points
  • Salimar start with one of two Heritage Traits: 
  Pyrothermic Healing or Cryothermic Healing.
  Pyrothermic Healing:  Any damage that would be 
  dealt to you by a source of natural (non-Xenotech) 
  fire instead heals you for that amount.
  Cryothermic Healing: Any damage that would be 
  dealt to you by a source of natural (non-Xenotech) 
  cold instead heals you for that amount.
  Salimar
  Salimar have earned a reputation for 
  being hard-nosed, but fair merchants, 
  preferring to live in aquatic or wet 
  climates, as suits their amphibious 
  nature. They are highly intelligent 
  and dignified creatures with a 
  great respect for—and interest 
  in—culture. 
  In 
  Salimarian 
  culture, being well-dressed is an 
  absolute must, as it is symbolic of their 
  wealth and stature. Their skin is glossy 
  black and smooth with patches from 
  their head to their tail that range from 
  snow white, to silver, to dark grey. 
  On average, Salimar stand roughly 
  4 and half feet tall; they have 
  elongated bodies with somewhat 
  stumpy legs and thick tails. 
  It is widely known that 
  some Salimar are not only 
  immune to fire, but are 
  actually healed by it; it is 
  less widely known that a 
  divergent branch of the 
  Heritage is immune to cold and healed by it.
  
  Explorer Creation
  28
  Invex
  Invex are individual members of an alien species that is 
  insectoid by Terran standards. They’ve earned a reputation 
  as tough, hardy mercenaries and deep space explorers, and 
  it is well deserved. They’re tenacious, and often display a 
  single-minded focus on a particular problem that borders 
  on fanatical. 
  A normal Invex stand roughly 7 and half feet tall; they 
  have elongated, and armored bodies with multiple thin 
  legs, and claws or limbs. The armored “skin” of an Invex 
  is a densely compacted form of bio-carbon that is as hard 
  as some metals or stones. Coloring varies, ranging from 
  mottled chitinous shells, to smooth, reactive camouflage 
  that hides the Invex in 
  plain sight.
  Invex Attributes
  • 5 Hit Points
  • Invex start with the 
  Chitinous Armor 
  and Reactive Camo 
  Heritage Traits.
  Chitinous Armor: 
  When rolling to Evade, 
  you succeed on a 4, 5, 
  or 6.
  Reactive Camo: Gain 
  Advantage on Sneaking 
  or Hiding Tests.
  
  Explorer Creation
  29
  Tyranax
  Tyranax are members Tyranus Imperious, a spacefaring 
  alien empire found deep in the darkest reaches of space. 
  They often travel throughout the galaxies, serving as 
  soldiers and bounty hunters or, rarely, assassins. Violence, 
  might making right, and domination are often the watch 
  words of the Tyranax.
  Tyranax stand about twice as tall as the average human, 
  and have four arms protruding from their torsos. They have 
  rough scaled hides and favor weapons that require them to 
  close with their enemies. Ridged spines protrude down their 
  back and arms, giving them a truly fearsome appearance. 
  Their lower arms are smaller and underdeveloped, only 
  good for dexterous work, not for combat, and are often 
  kept folded tightly against their bodies. 
  Tyranax Attributes
  • 5 Hit Points
  • Tyranax start with 
  the Unending Rage 
  Heritage Trait.
  Unending Rage: 
  When attacking with 
  a melee weapon, 
  you deal +1 damage 
  on an attack roll that 
  has a die showing a 
  face of 6.
  
  Explorer Creation
  30
  expanded
  heritage list
  Below are new Heritages, created for Tiny Frontiers: Revised.
  Ilvian
  Ilvians are one of the more advanced races out there in 
  the dark. Loners by nature, Ilvians are techno-gnostics, 
  searching after universal enlightenment, which, as a 
  culture, they believe can be accomplished via cybernetic 
  modification and technology. 
  Ilvians are about the same 
  sizes and shapes as humans, 
  but with light blue skin, milky 
  white eyes, and hairless bodies. 
  They tend to be drawn to 
  professions around technology 
  and are almost always found 
  with cybernetics throughout 
  their body.
  Ilvian Attributes
  • 6 Hit Points
  • Ilvians start with 
  the Heritage Trait 
  Cybernetic Savant.
  Cybernetic 
  Savant: Ilvians 
  select an additional 
  Trait from the 
  Cybernetic Traits 
  List. They may have 
  up to 3 Cybernetic 
  Traits. 
  
  Explorer Creation
  31
  Jkheri
  Hailing from an unknown and hidden star system, the Jkheri 
  are mysterious and secretive individuals. They have no gender, 
  instead taking whatever persona, gender, or identity appeals 
  to them at a given juncture. The only immutable feature about 
  a Jkheriis their personal name, which they deem essential to 
  retaining their true identity. They tend to hide information 
  about their culture, and no one really knows why they leave 
  their homes.
  Jkheri have no hair and four eyes on a humanoid form. 
  They’re around 7 feet tall and tend to be lithe and thin. Their 
  skin is sand-colored, allowing them to blend in with whatever 
  sandy terrain is around them.
  Jkheri Attributes
  • 8 Hit Points
  • Jkheri start with the 
  Heritage Trait Secretive.
  Secretive: You gain 
  advantage whenever 
  you attempt to evade 
  or dodge questions 
  or attempts to gather 
  information about you 
  or your activities.
  
  Explorer Creation
  32
  Splinters
  No one really knows where the Splinters come from; 
  scientists are pretty clear that they’re not from our galaxy, 
  but that’s about as far as science has gotten. There’s no 
  evidence of how they arrived in our galaxy in the first place. 
  Since no one knew what to call them, they tossed out the 
  nickname of Splinter and it seems to have stuck. Even the 
  Splinters themselves use it.
  Standing just under 3 feet tall, 
  Splinters are bizarre aliens who 
  outright unsettle most folk who 
  look at them. All weird angles, 
  strange clothes, and no sensory 
  organs you can spot, they tend 
  to just show up and be around.
  Splinters Attributes
  • 5 Hit Points
  • Splinters start with 
  the Heritage Trait 
  Unsettling.
  Unsettling: You are 
  unsettling to deal with. 
  You gain Advantage on 
  any rolls to intimidate, 
  threaten, or unsettle 
  others. You also gain 
  one reroll per day.
  
  Explorer Creation
  33
  Nain
  Nain were among the oldest of starfaring races, and have 
  established themselves as a large portion of the populace 
  in the galaxy. Nain are clever and mechanically inclined, 
  pioneering new forms of cybernetics, starship drives, 
  weapons, armor, and more, working to improve various 
  components of life in the universe. 
  On average, Nain stand 4 feet tall, and have broad, stout 
  bodies. They tend to have violet or blue skin and appear to 
  be heavily over muscled. Nain tend to weigh more than an 
  average human and are often found in workshops or repair 
  shops.
  Nain Attributes
  • 7 Hit Points
  • Nain start with the 
  Tinkerer Trait.
  Tinkerer: You gain 
  Advantage on tests 
  to modify or enhance 
  technology.
  
  Explorer Creation
  34
  Ahleghiri
  Ahleghiri appear human from a distance, until you get one 
  close up, and you see the creature for what it is. Red skin, 
  hooves, and curling horns tend to conjure up images of 
  demons and devils from old Terran history. Luckily, they 
  aren’t abominations from the pits of some ancient religious 
  punishment, but aliens evolved to use photosynthesis and 
  light better than most... along with some extra features, 
  because evolution is weird.
  On average, Ahleghiri stand roughly 6 and half feet tall, and 
  weigh about as much as a big human. Curled horns, hooves, 
  and red skin often frighten new folk, but Ahleghiri are very 
  friendly and helpful, and have charming demeanors.
  Ahleghiri Attributes
  • 6 Hit Points
  • Ahleghiri start 
  with the Suneater 
  Heritage Trait.
  Suneater: When 
  standing in direct 
  sunlight and taking 
  no Actions, an 
  Ahleghiri will heal 
  1 Hit Point per ten 
  minutes. 
  
  Explorer Creation
  35
  Holograms
  Holograms are just that: AIs who use hardlight projections 
  to interact and wander around the galaxy. A small floating 
  orb projects the AI’s image of itself into the world, while the 
  AI itself is housed inside the orb. They’re somewhat rare, 
  but common enough most folk will know one when they see 
  one. The hardlight construct can interact with anything just 
  like regular folk, so no problems there.
  A Hologram will look exactly like whatever it wants, just a 
  slightly translucent version of that image. They’re a little wavy 
  and shaky if you squint and look hard. If they’re charging, they 
  just look like a floating silver ball of metal—which they are.
  Hologram  Attributes
  • 8 Hit Points
  • Holograms start with 
  the Hardlight Heritage 
  Trait.
  Hardlight: Holograms 
  can’t be healed by 
  any Test or equipment 
  and must recover their 
  Hit Points naturally. 
  Holograms must 
  recharge daily (use 
  the Sleeping rules). 
  Twice per “day,” 
  Holograms may Test 
  with Disadvantage to 
  recover 1 HP.
  
  Explorer Creation
  36
  Grunka
  Grunka are big, brutish, violent aliens that tend to work as 
  enforcers, thugs or outlaws for hire. They like to settle down, 
  establish their dominance over a town, and then basically 
  fall into a ritual of gang warfare against other Grunka in the 
  town. No one really likes Grunka... not even other Grunka. 
  Grunka are big, grey skinned, elephant looking things, 
  minus the trunk, tusks, four legs, tails, and bits that make 
  an elephant nice. Vaguely humanoid shape keeps them 
  from being too outlandish, but their massive build gives 
  Grunka away pretty easily.
  However, they do have that whole “never forgettin’” 
  memory thing. But the only thing they seem to remember 
  are grudges.
  Grunka Attributes
  • 7 Hit Points
  • Grunka start with 
  the  Grudge-bearer 
  Heritage Trait.
  Grudge-bearer: 
  Grunka must attack 
  something that 
  damaged them on 
  their next Action, 
  unless they pass a 
  Save at Disadvantage. 
  This forced attack 
  deals +1 damage.
  
  Explorer Creation
  37
  Bilks
  Called Bilks (as a demeaning slang term), these aliens hail 
  from various regions of deep space, where atmosphere is at 
  a premium. Comprised of a bizarre psychic entity that found 
  itself a host to bond with, Bilks are generally misunderstood. 
  Their aura of psychic projection is uncomfortable for most 
  travelers, and their limited ability to see upcoming events 
  makes them very unwelcome at casinos and other gambling 
  establishments, as they tend to win... a lot. 
  Bilks tend to gravitate to human hosts, as they find it’s 
  the easiest to plug themselves into such a mutable form. 
  Regardless, the intrusion of the psychic entity tends to 
  hamper any innate genetic abilities or powers the host form 
  has, and as the two minds 
  merge, a Bilk becomes a 
  uniquely different lifeform.
  Bilk Attributes
  • 5 Hit Points
  • Bilks start with 
  the Precognition 
  Heritage Traits.
  Precognition: 
  Whenever a Bilk 
  rolls a “1” on a dice 
  during a Test, they 
  may lose one Hit 
  Point to set that 
  dice to a “6” facing, 
  allowing them to 
  succeed.
  NOTE: Bilks can look like any 
  other Heritage, but do not 
  have that Heritage’s hit points or traits.
  
  Explorer Creation
  38
  Trait List
  Acrobat: It’s up there? No problem! You gain Advantage 
  when Testing to do acrobatic tricks such as tumbling, long- 
  distance jumps, climbing, and maintaining balance.
  Ambush Specialist: Keep your eyes on your six… You gain 
  Advantage on Tests to locate, disarm, and detect ambushes and 
  traps. You also gain Advantage on Save Tests to avoid traps.
  Armor Master: Your paltry weapons cannot pierce my iron 
  hide! You have mastered wearing armor like a second skin. 
  When wearing any form of armor, you have an extra 3 Hit 
  Points that must be lost before you take physical damage. 
  These hit points cannot be healed, and must be restored via 
  repairing your armor. It takes a full 8 hours to repair all 3 
  Hit Points. 
  Armshield Trainee: I’ve got you covered. While wielding 
  an armshield in one hand, Test with 2d6 instead of 1d6 to 
  Evade. If you choose this Trait, your Explorer gains a shield 
  at Explorer creation.
  Barfighter: Funny how you always fancy yourself a drink, 
  right on Unification day. You can select Improvised Weapons 
  as a Weapon Group. You do not get to pick a Weapon 
  to Master. Instead, when fighting with any Improvised 
  Weapons, you get one extra Action each turn. 
  Beastspeaker: What is it, boy?! The captain’s speeder got hit 
  by a meteorite?! You are able to communicate with animals. 
  This form of communication is primitive and very simplistic. 
  Beserker: RAAAAAGH! When attacking with a Melee 
  Weapon, you can choose to attack with Disadvantage. If you 
  do and succeed, you deal 2 damage instead of 1.
  Born Fighter: I’m always ready for a fight. When combat 
  starts, you may immediately take 1 Turn (2 Actions) before 
  initiative is rolled.
  Brawler: Everybody has a plan until they get punched in 
  the face. If you are fighting Unarmed, you Evade with 2d6 
  (instead of 1d6.)
  
  Explorer Creation
  39
  Charismatic: I can get what I want without even asking. 
  You gain Advantage when attempting to convince someone 
  of something or otherwise influence them.
  Chemist: Comet dust has many uses. It’s also great on 
  salads! Provided the right reagents and recipes, you can 
  mix medicines, elixirs, chemical bombs, and poisons. You 
  also gain Advantage when identifying unknown liquids and 
  other useful substances.
  Cleave: I will bathe in the blood of enemies! If your attack 
  drops an enemy to 0 Hit Points, you may immediately make 
  an extra attack with Disadvantage. 
  Dark-fighter: Who needs eyes, when I have all the other senses? 
  You do not suffer Disadvantage for having your sight impaired.
  Defender: I’ve got your back. When an adjacent ally is hit, 
  before Evade Tests are made, you may choose to have that 
  attack hit you instead.
  Detective: I always get my man, woman, or alien. When 
  searching for clues as to an identity, whereabouts, or 
  motives, you gain Advantage.
  Diehard: I’m not going down that easy. When an attack 
  would reduce you to 0 Hit Points, it instead reduces you to 2 
  Hit Points. You can do this once per day.
  Ecologist: We go left. I can tell by some of the moss and 
  from these space rodent tracks. You gain Advantage when 
  attempting to find your way through natural environments, 
  and when attempting to identify dangerous alien creatures.
  Educated: I didn’t go to academy for four years for nothing. 
  You gain Advantage when checking to see if you know 
  specific information. If you don’t know something, you do 
  know the best place to find it.
  Eidetic Memory: You remember that guy in that city? Who 
  did that thing? I remember exactly what he said.  When Testing 
  to recall information, you have seen or heard previously—
  even in passing—you succeed on a roll of 4, 5, or 6.
  Engineer: I fix what y’all break down. When you are 
  maintaining, managing, or repairing equipment, you gain 
  Advantage. Once per day, you can make a Test with Advantage. 
  If successful, you can restore 1 Depletion point to any object.
  
  Explorer Creation
  40
  Fleet of Foot: Running away is always a valid option. Your 
  speed increases from 25 feet to 30 feet.
  Ghost in the Machine: Clear my schedule for the evening 
  and put on some classical music, please. Oh, and don’t forget 
  to download my holonet shows tonight. You have a sentient 
  holographic digital assistant to make your life easier. You 
  can order it to competently manage your digital presence 
  on your behalf, such as setting appointments, managing 
  your electronic messages, or posting photos and videos of 
  your latest adventures to social media. Twice per session, 
  if you are unprepared for a situation, you may Test at 
  Disadvantage. If you succeed, your companion provides 
  you with information that allows you to be prepared. 
  For example, if you are lost, your companion might have 
  previously downloaded a map for you.
  Hacker: Master of the Matrix. As an Action, you can Test 
  to electronically hack a cyborg, AI, computer, or digital or 
  robotic construct. If your Test is successful, they must make 
  a Save Test. If they fail, they lose all Actions until they make 
  a successful Save Test at the start of their turn (in which they 
  can act again). If they succeed, they lose one Action the next 
  time they would act.
  Heavy Weapons Expert: There is never enough dakka. As one 
  Action you may attack with a Heavy Ranged Weapon to hit one 
  target, and also the two targets nearest to your initial target (ally 
  or enemy). All of these attacks are made with Disadvantage.
  Insightful: Stop pulling my leg… You gain Advantage when 
  Testing to discern whether someone is telling the truth or lying.
  Learned: Look, these here compu-books contain the total 
  sum of Grunkian Property Law, as of the treaty of XXXIVVIX. 
  If you ever need a piece of information and you can’t find 
  the answer, you can test with Disadvantage. If successful, 
  the GM will give you a tidbit that will aid you. 
  Lucky: Whew! That was close. You may reroll one Test per 
  session.
  Marksman: The odds of hitting your target increase 
  dramatically when you aim at it. When using the Focus 
  Action, your next attack with a Ranged Weapon is successful 
  on a Test of 3, 4, 5, or 6.
  
  Explorer Creation
  41
  Martial Artist: Be like water, flowing through cracks. You 
  can select Unarmed as a Weapon Group to be proficient with. 
  You must select a martial arts style as your Mastered Weapon. 
  Medical Savant: I’ve seen worse, son. You’ll pull through. 
  As an Action, you can Test 2d6 to heal a creature other 
  than yourself. If the Test is successful, the target creature is 
  healed for 2 Hit Points. This Trait can also be used to cure 
  poison, disease, and other physical ailments within reason. 
  You must be next to the creature to heal it.
  Nimble Fingers: I could have sworn I left it right here! You 
  gain Advantage when Testing to pick locks, steal, or do slight-
  of- hand.
  Opportunist: One man’s failure is another man’s opening to 
  stab the idiot who failed. If an enemy within range fails to hit 
  with an attack against you, you may immediately make an 
  attack with Disadvantage against that enemy.
  Outlaw: Everything I want, I have to steal or have to win. 
  You gain Advantage on Tests to avoid detection or capture 
  by “the Law.”
  Perceptive: What has been seen cannot be unseen. You gain 
  Advantage when Testing to gain information about your 
  surroundings or find things that may be hidden. You gain 
  this even while asleep. 
  Psionic: Also, I can kill you with my brain. You have psionic 
  talent because of your species, an ancestor who had powerful 
  talent, or a neural implant that amplifies your latent abilities. 
  AIs, Autoborgs, or Holograms cannot take psionics. Psionics 
  is separated into multiple disciplines. Pick one Discipline 
  when you select this trait. You gain that Discipline. When 
  you gain a Discipline, you gain all the powers located under 
  it. However, each time you use a Power, you must make a 
  successful Test or the Action is wasted. You may select this 
  Trait multiple times (each time giving you a new Discipline). 
  See Psionic Disciplines.
  Quick Gun: Fastest gun around. When rolling initiative, you 
  roll 3 dice and take the 2 highest for your Initiative score. 
  Your first Ranged Attack of the combat has Advantage. 
  
  Explorer Creation
  42
  Quick Shot: Pew, pew, pew! As one Action you may make 
  2 attacks with a Light Ranged Weapon. Both Tests are at 
  Disadvantage.
  Resolute: I will not be a casualty of fear. You gain Advantage 
  on all Save Tests.
  Shield Bearer: I’ve got you covered. While wielding a shield, 
  Test with 2d6 on Evade Actions instead of 1d6. If you choose 
  this Trait, your Explorer gains a shield at Explorer creation.
  Sneaky: Hey, did you hear something? You gain Advantage 
  when Testing to hide or sneak around without others 
  noticing you.
  Strong: Stand back, I’ll kick it in! You gain Advantage when 
  Testing to do something with brute force.
  Survivalist: These berries are safe to eat… I think. You gain 
  Advantage when Testing to forage for food, find water, seek 
  shelter, or create shelter in the wild.
  Tough: I have not journeyed all this way because I am made 
  of sugar candy. You gain 2 additional Hit Points.
  Tracker: These prints are fresh. He went that way. You gain 
  Advantage when Testing to track a person, creature, or 
  animal in the wilderness. While outside, you can also locate 
  true north without Testing.
  Trapmaster: It’s a trap! You gain Advantage when Testing 
  to create, locate, and disarm traps. You also gain Advantage 
  on Save Tests against traps.
  Vigilant: Better to stay ready than to get ready. You gain 
  Advantage on Initiative Tests.
  Xenotech Expert: Did you try reading the manual first? 
  You have spent years learning the tricks, traps, uses, and 
  language of various Xenotech from dead civilizations. You 
  gain Advantage to identify the primary function of any piece 
  of Xenotech you find, and you can always activate complex 
  Xenotech without training. (See Xenotech, page 16.)
  Xeno-Hunter: If it ain’t like me, I can kill it. You have spent 
  years learning how to hunt, kill, and trap other creatures. 
  You can spend an Action to attack an enemy that is not your 
  Heritage at Disadvantage. If you succeed, you deal 1 damage 
  and gain Advantage on your next Test or attack against them.
  
  Explorer Creation
  43
  Cybernetic Trait List
  Cybernetic Traits represent fleshy bits of yourself being’ 
  replaced with fancified metal ones. A character can only 
  have 2 Cybernetic Traits.
  Augmented Reflexes: Your nervous system has been 
  rewired. When you fail an Evade Test, you may re-Test with 
  Disadvantage.
  Built in Hard-Drive: Got a database right here. When 
  Testing to see if you know something, if you fail, you can re-
  Test with Disadvantage. 
  Cloaking Field: Surprise, pardner. All Tests to locate you 
  when you are hidden are at Disadvantage.
  Cyber-Arms: I got a high-tech appendage where my graspin’ 
  limb used to be. When you are Testing to lift, carry, or budge 
  something, you gain Advantage. 
  Cyber-Eyes: Ain’t no hiding, these cyber-eyes. When you 
  fail a perception related Test, you can choose to re-Test it 
  at Disadvantage. 
  Cyber-Legs: I get around a lot better than I used to. You 
  gain Advantage on any Test related to jumping, running, or 
  moving around.
  Hidden Weapon: Never “disarmed.” You always have a 
  weapon no-one knows about. As an Action, you can deploy 
  it. You gain Advantage on the first attack each combat with 
  this weapon. Select either Light Melee or Light Ranged for 
  this weapon.
  Imbedded 
  Ammo-Clips: 
  You 
  feelin’ lucky? Whenever you fail 
  the Cinematic Ammo Test, you 
  may immediately re-Test with 
  Disadvantage.
  Subsurface Armor: Best defense 
  is one that ain’t known. You gain +2 
  Hit Points. If you have the Diehard 
  Trait, you can use it one additional 
  time per day.
  
  Explorer Creation
  44
  Psionic Disciplines
  TELEKINESIS focuses on using the power of the mind to 
  move things, often at damaging or high speeds.
  • Blast: Test to deal 1 damage at Range. This Test is 
  subject to all the rules of an attack. You may Test with 
  Disadvantage to deal 2 damage instead. 
  • Hurl: As an action you may move any object weighing as 
  much as you without Testing. To hurl it violently, you must 
  make a successful Test. To hurl any object heavier than 
  you, you must make a successful Test with Disadvantage.
  • Shatter: Test with Disadvantage. If you are successful, 
  all enemies you can see take 1 damage.
  • Shield: Test. If successful, you may Evade until the start 
  of your next turn. If you choose to Test with Disadvantage 
  and are successful, you Evade with 3d6 on your next turn.
  TELEPATHY uses the power of the mind to influence 
  emotions, feelings, and thoughts.
  • Communicate: You may communicate via distances to any 
  being you are aware of. If the being is within sight, this does 
  not require a Test. If the being is not within sight, you must 
  make a successful Test. If they are not on the same planet, 
  you must make a successful Test with Disadvantage.
  • Quell: Test to quell the negative emotions in a target. If 
  successful, you gain Advantage on your next roll against 
  that Target.
  • Timeview: Test. If successful, gain one detail about the 
  history of an object or location you can touch or see.
  • Unmake: You may Test with Disadvantage. If you are 
  successful, one enemy suffers Disadvantage on all Tests 
  until the start of your next turn.
  
  Explorer Creation
  45
  BIOMANCY unlocks the innate powers of the physical form.
  • Bio-Organic Shock: Test to deal 1 damage at Range. This 
  Test is subject to all the rules of an attack. If you make 
  this Test with Disadvantage, this Test deals 2 damage.
  • Enhance: Test. If successful you gain Advantage on your 
  next Test. By Testing with Disadvantage, you can grant 
  this to an Ally.
  • Fast: Test. If successful, you gain two additional Actions this 
  turn. At the end of these two Actions, you lose 2 Hit Points.
  • Heal: Test. If successful, restore 2 HP to one target. If 
  you Test with Disadvantage and are successful, you can 
  restore 4 HP to one target.
  CRYOMANCY uses the power of the mind to unlock chilling 
  powers.
  • Chill: Make an Attack Test. If successful, the target takes 1 
  damage, and Disadvantage on their next Test.
  • Coldsnap: Make an Attack Test. If successful everything 
  within Close range (5 feet) suffers 1 damage. 
  • Freeze: Make a Test. You may cause one inanimate object 
  that is about half your size or smaller to shatter and break.
  • Glacial: Make a Test. You cause one target to lose an Action 
  on their next Turn. 
  PYROMANCY uses the power of the mind to unlock raging 
  infernos of power.
  • Burn: Test to deal 1 damage at Range. This Test is subject to 
  all the rules of an attack. 
  • Ignite: Make a Test with Disadvantage. If successful, you 
  can cause any object roughly your size or smaller to burst 
  into flames. Anyone who touches these flames suffers 2 
  damage for the round. To put out the flames, they must 
  successfully Test with Disadvantage. 
  • Extinguish: Make a Test. You may cause any flame or heat 
  based action to cool and cease.
  • Conflagration: Make a Test with Disadvantage. Everything 
  within arms’ reach (or one zone) of you takes 3 Damage. 
  You take 1 Damage.
  
  Explorer Creation
  46
  Weapons
  There are four weapon categories: Light Melee, Heavy 
  Melee, Light Ranged, and Heavy Ranged. These categories 
  include a variety of individual weapons, and the listed 
  weapons provided can be supplemented with additional 
  weapons with approval from your Game Master.
  Prices are suggestions and represent an average cost for 
  basic weaponry.
  Weapon
  Cost
  Light Melee (Axe, baton, brass knuckles, chainsaw, 
  fencing sword, hammer, knife, laser sword, taser)
  1-5 
  GalCreds
  Heavy Melee (Two-handed maul, claymore, piston-
  hammer, shock-staff, drill, dual-sided laser sword)
  1-15 
  GalCreds
  Light Ranged (Hand crossbow, laser pistol, needle 
  pistol, revolver, shuriken, sonic stunner, throwing knives)
  1-20 
  GalCreds
  Heavy Ranged (Automatic rifle, frag grenades, 
  flamethrower, goo grenades, laser rifle, longbow, missile 
  launcher, plasma cannon, railgun, stun grenades)
  10-25 
  GalCreds
  Items and Equipment
  As an Explorer, you start with a basic kit of 
  items from the Items and Equipment list 
  to help get you going.
  The Explorer’s Kit includes the 
  following items: foil sleeping bag, 
  lighter, belt pouch, fanny pack, 
  electric lantern with 72 hours of 
  charge, water purification pills, 50 
  feet of strong cord, 7 days of nutrition 
  pills, and a plastic poncho.
  Other items are left to the GM to 
  determine availability and cost.
  
  Explorer Creation
  47
  Depletion Points
  All items in Tiny Frontiers: Revised have a unique modifier 
  called “Depletion.” Each item is assigned 6 Depletion Points 
  upon purchase. These points represent how sturdy the item 
  is, and how long it lasts. 
  Every time you use an item outside of combat, after you’ve 
  finished using it, roll a d6. If the result on the d6 is a one, 
  reduce the Depletion by 1. If you used it in combat, roll at the 
  end of the combat. Once Depletion hits 0, the item is used up 
  and can no longer be used. 
  Depletion points cannot normally be restored (though the 
  Engineer Trait allows some restoration). These are some 
  categories of items that experience Depletion:
  • Rations
  • Torches, electric 
  lanterns, and 
  chemical 
  lanterns
  • Waterskin
  • Oil
  • Flint & Steel
  • Weapons
  
  For The Game Master
  48
  for the  game 
  master
  Do you think being an Explorer is hard? Well, the life of 
  a Game Master isn’t easy, either. You’re expected to tell 
  a compelling story, play the roles of multiple non-player 
  characters, create enemies, run combat, be an arbitrator of 
  the rules… the list goes on. But don’t sweat it. Tiny Frontiers: 
  Revised is here to help.
  The sections that follow are dedicated to you, the Game 
  Master! They provide additional information to assist you 
  in running a game, such as building an adventure, crafting 
  enemies, and other useful tips. The Game Master should study 
  this part of Tiny Frontiers: Revised before character creation.
  Running Adventures
  This is undoubtedly the hardest part of being the Game Master, 
  but luckily, you have options. Tiny Frontiers: Revised is a setting-
  neutral sci-fi game system—meaning that you generally should 
  be able to take the fluff and story of an already established 
  setting, even from another game system, and run the Tiny 
  Frontiers: Revised rules within it. This may require you to make 
  some changes to the rules to ensure everything fits, but it’s the 
  quickest way to get things started. There list of supplemental 
  gaming material out there for premade characters, plot hooks, 
  missions, and campaign settings is unending.
  But before we get too deep, ask yourself this question: is 
  this going to be a one-off mission that just lasts for one game 
  session, or do you have a larger campaign in mind?
  If you are planning a one-off session, then things aren’t going 
  to be too difficult, even if you plan to create the adventure 
  yourself. One-off missions generally do not require a significant 
  amount of world-building—meaning you do not need to spend 
  time creating the rich history that larger campaigns require. 
  One-off missions present your players with a single main 
  objective or quest to complete in the game session.
  
  For The Game Master
  49
  For example, perhaps you plan to have your players’ 
  Explorers approached by an individual who wants them to 
  retrieve an alien relic from an abandoned starbase. Your 
  job is to create a motive for this individual. Who is this 
  person? Why do they want the relic? Let’s assume it’s for 
  some nefarious purposes. You should engage your players 
  in a bit of roleplaying where you are playing the role of this 
  prospective client trying to hire the Explorers. Obviously if 
  this person is a bad guy, he or she isn’t going to reveal that 
  initially. Your goal is make sure the Explorers take on the 
  job; otherwise you don’t have much of a game session.
  Now what Explorer doesn’t want GalCreds? Your nefarious 
  villain has convinced the Explorers to take on the job of 
  finding this relic for a large reward. Now your job is to 
  plot the course of the Explorers to the abandoned starbase. 
  Perhaps on the way, they are attacked by space pirates, 
  or they are presented with a side-quest. Maybe things go 
  smoothly, and they end up at the starbase with few to no 
  issues. It’s really up to you and how much time you wish to 
  spend. Keep in mind, one-off sessions may last as little as a 
  couple hours, or as long as an all-day event.
  So next your Explorers find the starbase! You will need to have 
  planned out the inside of this installation a bit beforehand. 
  How many levels are in the starbase? Are there traps or 
  puzzles that need to be solved? Are there enemies lying in 
  wait? You should plan these obstacles in a way that ensures 
  that each member of the party has a chance to contribute 
  meaningfully, even modifying your plans if necessary.
  Whatever you plan, the Explorers need to make their way 
  through to their final destination and retrieve the relic. This 
  is a good spot to point something out about players: they will 
  rarely do what you expect them to do.
  Having found the relic, the Explorers may decide they don’t 
  want to return the relic to their client, and would rather keep 
  it for themselves. Hopefully they won’t, and they’ll bring 
  the relic to their seedy client. But you can’t expect them 
  to do what you want! That can’t be stressed enough. If the 
  Explorers aren’t acting according to your plan, it’s your job 
  to go with the flow and see where they take you. Try not to 
  
  For The Game Master
  50
  railroad players into making their Explorers do things they 
  don’t want to do. They are just as much of the storyteller as 
  you are, and the story is all about them.
  Assuming they’re true to their word, the Explorers return 
  to their client with the relic in hand, and now you can 
  decide whether or not this individual is an enemy. Once 
  given the relic, perhaps the villain reveals him or herself 
  to be a slave trader, and the relic is a powerful tool that 
  can mind control a certain species of peaceful alien, or the 
  villain wants the relic because it’s a doomsday device that 
  can hold an entire planet hostage.
  Now the final battle can begin!
  Your other option is building a campaign setting. This 
  basically strings a bunch of adventures together into an 
  overarching plotline, where there is a main goal to achieve, 
  but smaller challenges must be overcome first across 
  multiple sessions. 
  Campaigns will require more thought be put into the 
  worlds the Explorers occupy; this means you will have to 
  create numerous locations such as outposts and planets, 
  name them, and create the history of the galaxy itself.
  This is a big challenge, and we recommend working at it slowly. 
  If your aim is to create a campaign, it’s best to create a general 
  history, and then describe the first settlement the Explorers find 
  themselves in. From there, it’s a matter of building upon what 
  you’ve already established, and this really lessens the burden 
  of trying to write a vivid, living world before your game even 
  gets started. It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but creating 
  an enjoyable campaign setting of your own is one of the most 
  rewarding things a Game Master can do.
  Just remember, whether you are running a one-off session 
  or a campaign, be flexible, but be consistent. Let your 
  players work with you to tell the story, but never forget their 
  actions. If they deviate in an unexpected way, go with it. But 
  if they do something that wouldn’t make sense within the 
  game’s world, such as killing someone they were meant to 
  protect, or even accidentally destroying an item they were 
  meant to retrieve, the Explorers should potentially face in-
  game consequences for those actions.
  
  For The Game Master
  51
  Enemies Chart
  Threat
  HP
  Description
  Fodder
  1
  Fodder enemies are people or animals 
  that have virtually no combat ability. They 
  can be used to throw additional enemies 
  into combat for a more epic feel.
  Low
  2
  Low threat enemies may represent wild 
  animals or average criminals.
  Medium
  3-5
  Medium threat enemies can begin to 
  be dangerous in small groups, and 
  can represent skilled combatants or 
  predatory creatures.
  High
  6-8
  High threat enemies are just as 
  dangerous as a skilled Explorer. They are 
  often leaders of Low threat or Fodder 
  threat enemies. Since they’re usually 
  leaders, they often have unique abilities 
  that bolster their minions.
  Heroic
  9-14 Heroic threat enemies are easily more 
  skilled than your average Explorer. 
  Provide two or three unique abilities for 
  Heroic enemies, and several Fodder 
  enemies to protect them.
  Solo
  15+
  Solo threats are enemies that require 
  an entire party to engage with them. 
  This is the realm of giant monsters, 
  city-leveling war machines, and reality-
  warping entities. These creatures often 
  have a wide variety of abilities to defend 
  themselves from attackers.
  
  For The Game Master
  52
  Enemies
  The enemy chart is to assist the Game Master in crafting 
  challenging fights. As a Game Master, you want to be sure 
  your Explorers feel threatened. The goal isn’t necessarily to 
  kill your Explorers, but the danger of death should always be 
  present and possible. Explorers should never feel as though 
  they are above running to save their hides if need be.
  Enemies can serve many roles. The most basic role of enemies 
  is to justify calling in Explorers to complete a mission that 
  would otherwise be easy for ordinary people (such as fighting 
  through some dangerous wildlife to flip a switch and reboot 
  a terraforming system). You can also use enemies to make 
  a seemingly mundane and simple task become extremely 
  complicated. Enemies may actively try to prevent the 
  Explorers from completing their mission. It may be possible 
  to negotiate with 
  some 
  enemies, 
  although they will 
  certainly 
  have 
  wants and goals 
  of their own. A 
  mission’s sole goal 
  may be to find and 
  defeat an enemy or 
  group of enemies.
  
  For The Game Master
  53
  Enemies can also have unique abilities, either selected 
  from the Traits List just like an
  Explorer, or unique abilities the Game Master feels 
  appropriate. You should choose abilities that would be 
  appropriate for the type of enemy, such as basic combat 
  training for a guard, or multiple weapon attacks per round 
  from a war machine. When the Explorers are on a planet 
  with a harsh environment, native lifeforms may have 
  abilities that make them well-adapted to the environment.
  Enemies can have specific weaknesses for Explorers to 
  exploit. This weakness may be something that disables 
  one of the enemy’s abilities, instantly defeats that enemy, 
  or forces the enemy to flee from the Explorers. An entire 
  mission may revolve around the Explorers finding a 
  weakness that allows them to deal with an enemy or 
  species of enemies. A dangerous alien monster might be 
  vulnerable to freezing temperatures, or it may be possible 
  to shut down a combat drone’s shields by transmitting the 
  right deactivation codes. Sometimes this may be a social 
  task, such as finding evidence to blackmail someone, or 
  obtaining research from someone who has been studying 
  the enemy’s biology. A particular piece of Xenotech may 
  be the key to finding an enemy’s weakness, or it may need 
  to be reverse-engineered and mass-produced to deal with 
  the entire species. When designing a weakness, make sure 
  that the Explorers have ample opportunity to learn of its 
  existence before they try to fight the enemy.
  Dread and tension can serve a large role in introducing 
  more powerful enemies. Once Explorers have rolled 
  initiative, a lot of the tension goes away because now they 
  can just shoot it. If Explorers keep hearing the monster, or 
  seeing blurry video recordings of it, or finding its victims, 
  or learning about its bizarre biology, or hearing tales and 
  rumors from NPCs, then when they finally meet it they 
  will understand that it’s not just another encounter, but a 
  dangerous adversary. If you are running a campaign, you 
  may want to spend multiple sessions seeding rumors about 
  a Solo-level enemy and giving the Explorers opportunities 
  to learn its weaknesses.
  
  For The Game Master
  54
  Game Masters should try to vary enemy types to keep 
  things interesting (unless the entire mission has a reason 
  for similar enemies, like stopping an army of killer robots). 
  Here are some varieties of enemies you can use:
  Random Enemy Generation (2d6 roll)
  2d6
  Result
  2
  Giant ameobas or blobs of runaway nanites.
  3
  Undead corpses animated by technology, like 
  nanite-virus zombies or corrupt holographic ghosts.
  4
  Mutants or genetically modified creatures.
  5
  Robots that may or may not have been designed 
  for combat.
  6
  Hostile alien lifeforms that resemble common or 
  mythological Terran animals.
  7
  People and generally humanoid aliens.
  8
  Vehicles like tanks, small aircraft, or Mecha.
  9
  Carnivorous flora that is rooted in place, using 
  pheromones or other means to lure in its prey.
  10
  Cyborgs with combat enhancements.
  11
  Psionic-based lifeforms made of pure energy.
  12
  Highly symbiotic species that rely on each other 
  for survival.
  
  For The Game Master
  55
  Random Planet Generation (3d6 roll)
  3d6 Description
  Mechanics
  3
  Molten Glass 
  Rain
  Any character outside without proper 
  (extensive and expensive) protection 
  takes 3 damage a round. Ships without 
  custom built protection can only last 
  for a short time before damage starts 
  to set in.
  4
  Frozen Tundra
  Any character outside without proper 
  protection takes 2 damage a round.
  5
  Abandoned 
  Battlefield
  The planet is covered with craters, 
  fields of glass, dud munitions, and 
  broken vehicles.
  6
  Excessive Heat
  All rolls to survive in the wild are at 
  Disadvantage without proper equipment.
  7
  Hostile 
  Vegetation
  When in terrain with vegetation, all 
  damage taken is increased by one, or 
  once per round, a random player takes 
  an attack from the vegetation that 
  deals 1 damage. 
  8
  Toxic 
  Atmosphere
  All organic lifeforms must wear 
  masks to filter the air on this planet. 
  If the mask is removed, the character 
  takes 1 damage a round. 
  9
  Dead Planet
  All resources and sentient life on this 
  planet are long gone and dead, and it is 
  filled with archaic ruins and technology.
  10
  Heavily 
  Populated
  The planet is full of sentient life and 
  thriving civilizations. Technology ranges 
  from primitive to FTL.
  11
  Dustball
  The 
  planet’s 
  surface 
  is 
  mostly 
  uninteresting rocks and dirt with no 
  atmosphere. Something else about the 
  planet makes it interesting, and it may 
  not be immediately obvious what this is.
  
  For The Game Master
  56
  3d6 Description
  Mechanics
  12
  Waterworld
  Most of the planet’s surface is 
  covered with deep oceans.
  13
  Mixed Planet
  Roll Twice and combine those two 
  results.
  14
  Garden World
  The planet’s climate is pleasant. 
  Food is plentiful and made of easily 
  digestible sugars and minerals. It’s 
  impossible for an Explorer to starve 
  to death, and checks to navigate are 
  made with Advantage.
  15
  Mudball
  Rain carries extreme mineral deposits, 
  layering everything with a crust of 
  lime. The unstable terrain is complex 
  layers that change every time it rains 
  and hinder movement when it floods.
  16
  Toxic Life
  Climate is tolerable, and wildlife is 
  mostly docile. However, everything 
  is toxic and will cause a slow, painful 
  death if eaten.
  17
  Ladder Climate
  The 
  climate 
  varies 
  based 
  on 
  elevation. The lower atmosphere is 
  thick and sulfurous, and the upper 
  atmosphere is cold and scoured by 
  high winds. Only a narrow band at a 
  certain altitude is habitable.
  18
  Planet of Terror
  The 
  plants 
  on 
  the 
  planet 
  are 
  often small appendages of large 
  carnivorous fauna. Anytime anyone 
  is near vegetation, they are attacked. 
  Roll one extra time on the trait table. 
  
  For The Game Master
  57
  
  For The Game Master
  58
  
  For The Game Master
  59
  Random Settlement Generation (2d6 roll)
  2d6 Result
  Mechanics
  2
  Theocracy
  A religion (or philosophy) dominates 
  the settlement’s schools of thoughts, 
  and influences their every action.
  3
  Seedy Port
  A wretched hive of scum and villainy.
  4
  Intolerant
  A fairly reasonable philosophy that 
  addresses one of society’s ills is 
  taken to an extreme, resulting in an 
  inconvenient cultural custom. Anyone 
  who doesn’t conform is an outcast.
  5
  Dictatorship
  A cruel leader maintains order through 
  military power. Members of the 
  resistance are hunted and rehabilitated 
  using the best technology available.
  6
  Harmony
  The people living here have used genetic 
  manipulation to survive comfortably 
  in the planet’s environment. The 
  settlement is sparsely populated to make 
  it easier to live in touch with whatever 
  passes for nature on this world. 
  7
  Educational
  The settlement has galactic-class 
  training facilities for a highly specific 
  trade or profession. May be publicly 
  advertised, or a closely guarded secret.
  8
  Research 
  Outpost
  Most of the population are scientists 
  studying a specific field of research. 
  Their work is either unique to a 
  research topic only found at this 
  location, or purely theoretical.
  9
  Trading Post
  The local sector is sparsely populated. 
  Lone settlers, miners, and other 
  independent types visit to sell their 
  goods and buy things they can’t find 
  elsewhere.
  
  For The Game Master
  60
  2d6 Result
  Mechanics
  10
  Abandoned 
  Research 
  Facility
  This remote research facility was working 
  on secret research, but was abandoned 
  for some reason. Old security systems 
  and former experiments may be woken 
  up by Explorers.
  11
  Ancient Ruins
  Old ruins have been picked over by 
  archaeologists and treasure hunters. 
  Anything valuable left behind is either 
  extremely well hidden or extremely 
  dangerous to uncover.
  12
  Abandoned 
  Civilization
  Large and well-organized cities are 
  completely devoid of sentient life 
  for an unknown reason. Years or 
  decades of nature have begun to 
  reclaim things.
  Stellar Frontier Enemy Generation (2d6 roll)
  2d6
  Result
  2
  Formerly peaceful worker robots gone rogue!
  3
  Outlaws!
  4
  Misguided Lawmen (or maybe not so misguided!)
  5
  Frontier Horrors
  6
  Thieving gamblers
  7
  Angry drunks
  8
  Posse mistaking you for someone else
  9
  Void Spiders
  10
  Grunka mercenaries
  11
  Scorned lover
  12
  Bounty Hunter
  
  For The Game Master
  61
  City Enemy Generation (2d6 roll)
  2d6
  Result
  2
  Formerly peaceful worker robots gone rogue!
  3
  Gang Members!
  4
  Corrupt Law Enforcement
  5
  Sewer Ullugoths
  6
  Secret Alien Incursion
  7
  Resistance Fighters
  8
  Corporate Security
  9
  Speeder Thieves
  10
  Mercenaries
  11
  Someone from their past
  12
  Rivals
  Space Station Enemy Generation (2d6 roll)
  2d6
  Result
  2
  Sentient Clouds of Noxious Gas
  3
  Pirates!
  4
  Space Station Security
  5
  Asteroid Colonists
  6
  Smugglers
  7
  Military Detachment
  8
  Rouge AI
  9
  Something is trapped in the walls...
  10
  Assassin Robots
  11
  Bounty Hunters
  12
  Infiltrating Alien Menace!
  
  For The Game Master
  62
  Deep Space Enemy Generation (2d6 roll)
  2d6
  Result
  2
  Massive Alien Menance!
  3
  Pirates!
  4
  Enemy Fleet
  5
  Asteroid turning into mobile weapons platform
  6
  Stowaways
  7
  Ion Storm
  8
  Derelict Ship
  9
  Terrifying Space Monkeys
  10
  Nebula Corsairs
  11
  The PCs from the Future!
  12
  New Alien Species
  
  For The Game Master
  63
  
  For The Game Master
  64
  Bestiary
  Frontier Horror
  HP: 6 (High)
  Description: A malicious, 
  predatory creature, who 
  haunts stellar frontier 
  planets preying on lost or 
  unsuspecting settlers. 
  Traits:
  • Claw (Melee Attack): Test 
  2d6 against an enemy 
  within 5 feet of you.
  • Fleet of Foot
  • Sneaky
  • Tracker
  Noxious Cloud
  HP: 6 (High)
  Description: A massive cloud 
  of toxic gas, imbued with 
  some awful sentience. 
  Traits:
  • Overwhelm (Melee 
  Attack): Test 2d6 against an enemy within 5 feet of you.
  • Immune to Damage: A Noxious Cloud is immune to 
  damage from normal weapon attacks. 
  • Sneaky
  Void Spiders
  HP: 4 (Medium)
  Description: The dark colored spider can exist in the vacuum 
  of space or in atmospheric conditions.  
  Traits:
  • Poison Shot (Ranged Attack): Test 2d6 against an enemy 
  within 5 feet of you.
  • Bite (Melee Attack): Test 2d6 against an enemy within 5 
  feet of you.
  A Small Bestiary?
  The original Tiny Frontiers 
  had no Bestiary. That 
  was a deliberate attempt 
  to encourage the GM to 
  create their own enemies 
  and scale them to the sort 
  of game their players were 
  telling. Science Fiction is a 
  big genre, and there’s room 
  for a lot of things.
  You might find inspiration 
  in Tiny Dungeon 2e, Tiny 
  Wastelands, Mecha & 
  Monsters or forthcoming 
  TinyD6 books. We’ve 
  provided some basic 
  enemies here for inspiration, 
  but most soldiers, pirates, 
  and similar will be created 
  like Explorers.
  
  Optional Rules
  65
  optional 
  rules
  Hacking
  These Hacking Rules are less than minimalist, but they help 
  accentuate the feeling of Hacking in this game.
  There are three components to a Hack: Firewall Strength, 
  Feedback, and Response.
  Firewall Strength measures how hard the target is to Hack. 
  There are three levels of strength: Weak, Medium, Strong.
  • Hackers gain Advantage when Hacking a Weak Firewall.
  • They gain no Advantage or Disadvantage when Hacking 
  a Medium Firewall.
  • They gain Disadvantage when Hacking a Strong Firewall.
  Feedback determines the penalty if the Hack fails. Feedback 
  comes in three dosages: Low Dose, Medium Dose, High Dose. 
  If a Low Dose Hack is failed, the Hacker takes 1 damage.
  If a Medium Dose Hack is failed, the Hacker takes 2 damage.
  If a High Does Hack is failed, the Hacker takes 3 damage.
  Response determines what happens if the Hack is 
  successful. This is the reward that the Hacker will gain after 
  the Hack is completed successfully. The GM will inform the 
  Hacker of the Response. 
  New Hacking Traits
  LEET: You are among the best of hackers. Before you start 
  a Hack, you may Test. If successful, you can choose to know 
  either the Feedback or the Firewall Strength of the Hack. 
  One with the Matrix: No one hacks like you. If you have LEET, 
  you gain Advantage on your Test for that trait. Additionally, 
  if successful, you may know all three components of the 
  target of the hack.
  
  Optional Rules
  66
  Optional Combat Rules
  The following rules are written to enhance or allow extra 
  options around combat. These rules do tend to break the 
  streamlined nature of the game, so use them carefully.
  Criticals
  Critical Hits: If all the dice rolled for an Attack Test come 
  up with a “6” on the face, you have achieved a Critical Hit! 
  Increase your total damage by 1. You can only Critically Hit 
  with a weapon you have Mastered and if that attack does 
  not have Disadvantage.
  Critical Miss: If all the dice rolled for an Attack Test come 
  up with a “1” on the face, you have a Critical Miss on your 
  hands! The GM will choose what happens, but it probably 
  won’t be good. Some options involve weapons breaking, 
  allies being shot instead, or you dropping the weapon. 
  There’s no end to the potential here.
  Variable Weapon Damage
  Light Weapons: When you successfully attack with a Light 
  Weapon, you deal 1d2 +1 damage. (Roll a d6. If the result is 1-3, 
  deal 2 damage. If it’s 4-6, deal 3 damage.)
  Heavy Weapons: When you successfully attack with a Heavy 
  Weapon, you deal 1d3+1 damage. (Roll a d6. If the result is 1-2, 
  deal 2 damage. If it’s 3-4, deal 3 damage. If it’s 5-6, deal 4 damage.)
  Armor and Damage Reduction
  Here we introduce some rules for streamlined armor and damage 
  reduction. These rules necessitate some additional traits, which 
  you will find below. If you wear armor without the appropriate 
  Trait, you suffer Disadvantage on all rolls.
  
  Optional Rules
  67
   Light Armor: Reduce the damage you take by 1, to a minimum 
  of 0.
  Medium Armor: Reduce the damage you take by 2, to a 
  minimum of 0.
  Heavy Armor: Reduce the damage you take by 3, to a minimum 
  of 0.
  Note: These rules should only be used opposite the variable 
  damage rules.
  New Traits for Armor: 
  Light Armor Training: You are trained in using Light Armors. 
  You gain a suit of Light Armor and may wear Light Armor. 
  Medium Armor Training: You are trained in using Medium 
  Armors. You gain a suit of Medium 
  Armor and may wear Medium 
  Armor. You must already have Light 
  Armor Training.
  Heavy Armor Training: You are 
  trained in using Heavy Armors. 
  You gain a suit of Heavy Armor 
  and may wear Heavy Armor. 
  You 
  must 
  already 
  have 
  Medium Armor Training.
  
  Optional Rules
  68
  Appendix: Starship Rules
  One of the best parts of science fiction is watching exciting 
  space battles, and growing attached to the starships that 
  are like characters in their own right. In Tiny Frontiers: 
  Revised, we treat ships like characters, but we use Systems 
  in place of Traits. 
  Using starships is an optional rule in Tiny Frontiers: 
  Revised. In a one-shot mission, the Game Master should 
  decide whether the Explorers will need to use their starship 
  for any complex Tests or combat to achieve their mission. 
  In a long-running campaign, the Explorers will probably 
  need a starship for travel at some point.
  The Explorers should own their starship (or effectively 
  own it if they answer to a larger organization), and the 
  Game Master should give the Explorers a strong warning in 
  advance if anything might happen that would cause their 
  starship to be destroyed or lost. The size of the starship is 
  up to the Game Master because piloting a small ship with 
  half a dozen crew is effectively the same as captaining a 
  large ship with hundreds of crew. When designing enemies 
  for starship encounters, use the normal Enemy rules.
  Explorers design their starship together, helping to form it 
  as a complete character.
  Repairing and   
   
   
  Refueling Starships
  For each point of Structure damage your Starship takes, you 
  need one hour of repair. No Test required, just the downtime 
  and access to appropriate resources and facilities. Any other 
  situation will be adjudicated by the GM.
  Fuel is recovered at one point an hour, just like Structure. 
  However, most Starships have renewable energy sources 
  (nuclear, electromagnetic, or other types), and do not 
  require facilities to recover Fuel, just down time.
  
  Optional Rules
  69
  Starships and Zones
  When using the Starship rules, Zone combat is the preferred 
  method to handle engagements.
  Starship Creation
  Creating your Starship is a longer, but still fairly quick, 
  process. You don’t necessarily need to follow this specific 
  order, but it serves as common flow for the process (there 
  are more details after the checklist).
  • Select a Chassis
  • Select systems as dictated by your Chassis 
  First, select a chassis from the Chassis List. This will give 
  you a chassis system (which is unique to your chassis) and 
  your Structure.
  Then select unique systems from the system List. Tiny 
  Frontiers: Revised 
  uses systems to 
  express what your 
  Starship excels at 
  doing. Each chassis 
  dictates how many 
  systems of each 
  type you can have. 
  You can only select 
  each system once, 
  and you get a 
  certain number of 
  systems.
  
  Optional Rules
  70
  Chassis List
  Striker-Class
  Strikers are the nick-name for lithe, mobile, and agile chassis. 
  They tend to be exceptionally quick, and serve as fighters or 
  nimble attackers. They are often connected directly to their 
  pilots via neural link. This allows for speed of movement and 
  reflexes that you often cannot find in larger Starships. This 
  benefit comes with a drawback: Strikers tend to be less sturdy 
  than the larger, more armored Starships.
  Structure: 6
  Fuel: 10
  Crew: Up to 12
  Chassis System: Agile Dodge—Passive: Whenever the Striker 
  is hit by a Ranged attack, they may roll a Test at Disadvantage. 
  If they succeed, 
  they negate all 
  damage from the 
  attack. This does 
  not stack with the 
  Evade action. 
  Other Systems: 
  • 1 Sensor
  • 2 Weapon
  • 1 Defense
  • 2 Movement
  
  Optional Rules
  71
  Scout-Class
  Scouts are the all-purpose 
  Starship, designed for everyday 
  and all-situation usage. They 
  tend to be moderately tough 
  and have a good variety of 
  systems. They also have the 
  benefit of being dramatically 
  cheaper to produce than other 
  types of Starship, so you see a 
  lot more of them. They tend to 
  be a little on the small side, but 
  are tougher than the average 
  Striker. 
  Structure: 8
  Fuel: 8
  Crew: Up to 150
  Chassis System: Adaptable Build—Passive: Scouts gain 1 extra 
  system when building their chassis.
  Other Systems: 
  • 1 Sensor
  • 2 Weapon
  • 2 Defense
  • 1 Movement
  Cruiser-Class
  A Cruiser is one of the biggest ships you can find. Often serving 
  as battlecruisers, Cruisers form the backbone of military fleets.
  Structure: 10
  Fuel: 6
  Crew: Up to 500
  Chassis System: Buffered Shielding—Passive: When a Cruiser 
  is hit, they may disable one system to ignore the damage. The 
  disabled system can no longer be used until the Cruiser has a 
  chance to repair.
  Other Systems: 
  • 1 Sensor
  • 3 Weapon
  • 2 Defense
  • 1 Movement
  
  Optional Rules
  72
  Carrier-Class
  The largest form of ship, Carriers are often the flagships and 
  centerpieces of interstellar navies or fleets. 
  Structure: 12
  Fuel: 4
  Crew: 500+
  Chassis System: Flagship—Passive: When attempting to 
  gain an advantage in Diplomacy or Intimidation, the ship’s 
  reputation provides its crew with Advantage.
  Other Systems: 
  • 1 Sensor
  • 3 Weapon
  • 3 Defense
  • 1 Movement
  System Lists
  There are 5 types of systems for Starships: Basic, Sensor, 
  Weapon, Defense, and Movement. As the name might imply, 
  they tend to impact or affect certain aspects of the Starship.
  All Starships have all Basic systems. The rest may be selected 
  at character creation. Unless otherwise noted, systems Tests 
  resolve immediately and don’t last.
  Basic Systems:
  • Weapons: Basic weapons (such as small lasers) are 
  useful for breaking up asteroids or cleaning the hull 
  of a capital-sized ship. Action: Test at Disadvantage to 
  attack an enemy ship.
  • Scanners: Basic scanners can show live camera footage 
  of things nearby your ship. Action: Pick one enemy ship 
  and make a Test at Disadvantage. If you succeed, all 
  your ship’s attack rolls against that ship gain Advantage 
  this round.
  • Thrusters: Basic thrusters get your ship anywhere in 
  the galaxy, but will not protect you from long, boring 
  interstellar trips. Action: Each time an enemy attacks 
  your ship for the rest of the round, you may Test at 
  Disadvantage to Evade the attack.
  
  Optional Rules
  73
  • Shields: Basic force fields protect your ship from 
  sand-and-gravel-sized space debris. Action: Test at 
  Disadvantage. If you succeed, the next attack to hit your 
  ship is negated. The shield dissipates after two rounds if 
  it hasn’t taken a hit.
  • Life Support: Basic oxygen recycling systems keep you 
  and your crew alive and protect you from the cold of 
  deep space. Action: Make a Test at Disadvantage. If you 
  succeed, repair 1 point of damage to your ship.
  • Reactor: A basic nuclear reactor keeps all your ship’s 
  systems online. Action: Pick one of the other five systems 
  and make a Test at Disadvantage. If you succeed, all 
  rolls with that system and special systems of the same 
  type lose Disadvantage this round. If they don’t have 
  Disadvantage, they gain Advantage this round. 
  • Docking Bay/Transporter Bay: All ships have some sort 
  of area that allows for embarking and disembarking. 
  This slot is a reminder about that. Your GM will tell you 
  which your ship has based on their game and universe. 
  Sensor Systems:
  • Long-Range Scanners: Sensitive scanners that can 
  detect enemy Starships from lightyears away. Passive: 
  When you Search, you Test with Advantage.
  • Jamming Array: A sophisticated sensor array that can 
  jam enemy communications. Passive: Spend 3 Fuel to give 
  an opponent Disadvantage on a Test before they Test.
  • Holographic Emitters: A hardlight disguise, allowing 
  you to disguise your Starship as another Starship or 
  artificial object up to twice as large. Action: Make a Test. 
  If you succeed, your next attack Test gains Advantage.
  • Interior Scanners: A high-resolution electrical scanning 
  system that is sensitive enough to locate biological 
  nervous systems and electronic handheld devices, 
  allowing the Starship to intelligently reroute power when 
  it takes damage. Action: Make a Test with Disadvantage. 
  If you succeed, you may choose one System and your 
  target may not use it until your next turn.
  
  Optional Rules
  74
  Weapon Systems:
  • Antimatter Missiles: Dramatically unreliable hard-
  hitting missiles. Action: Spend 2 Fuel. Make an Attack 
  Test. If you succeed, you deal 1d6 damage to a target. 
  (Roll a d6 dice. The number showing is how much 
  damage you deal.)
  • Armor Piercing Multi-cannon: A rapid-fire high 
  velocity weapon designed to pierce armor and 
  puncture plating. Action: Make three Attack Tests with 
  Disadvantage. Each successful test deals 1 damage. This 
  damage cannot be reduced. 
  • Plasma Cannons: Rapid-firing melty guns. Action: 
  Make two Attack Tests, the second one at Disadvantage. 
  Each attack does 1 damage. If both attacks are successful, 
  the Disadvantaged attack does 2 damage. 
  • EMP Mines: Bombs that disrupt electronics. Action: 
  Make an Attack Test against a target with electronics. If 
  you succeed, choose one system, and your target cannot 
  use it until your next turn. 
  • Charge Cannon: Action: Spend 2 Fuel. If you take no 
  other actions this turn, you may make an Attack Test 
  with Disadvantage. If you succeed, deal 6 damage to 
  your target. This system cannot benefit from the Focus 
  Action or be used in consecutive rounds. 
  • Devastation Cannon: A large, powerful, and destructive 
  cannon, often outlawed in civilized systems. Action: 
  Make an Attack Test that deals 3 damage. 
  • Rapid Fire Lasers: A massive burst of multiple lasers. 
  Action: Perform an Attack Test with Disadvantage. If 
  the first attack misses, no other attacks can be made. 
  If the attack hits, you may make an extra Attack Test 
  with Disadvantage (with the same benefit), to a limit of 
  3 Attack Tests.
  • Main Cannon: A reliable long-range weapon is mounted 
  on your Starship. Action: Make an Attack Test. If 
  successful, deal 2 damage. If you fire on an immobile 
  target, this attack has Advantage.
  
  Optional Rules
  75
  • Automatic Cannon: Your Starship has multiple 
  automatic weapons and plenty of ammunition. Action: 
  Perform 2 Attack Tests against the same Target.
  • Armor Piercing Shots: Heavy, single fire shots designed 
  to crack enemy armor. Action: Perform an Attack 
  Test. This attack deals 2 damage if it hits, and ignores 
  anything that reduces damage (but the attack can still 
  be Evaded).
  • Swarm Missiles: A ridiculous number of independently 
  seeking missiles. Action: Make 6 Attack Tests at 
  Disadvantage. If all 6 Tests succeed, deal 1 extra Damage. 
  • Gravity Cannon: A unique weapon, that relies on 
  gravity manipulation to deal damage. Action: Make 2 
  Attack Tests at Disadvantage. Each deals 1 damage. If 
  both hit, you may move the target one zone.
  • Warforged: This Starship is built to be a mobile 
  weapons platform. Passive: You gain 2 additional 
  Weapons systems, but lose 1 Defense System.
  Defense Systems:
  • Mining Shields: 
  Shields designed 
  to hold up against 
  a barrage of heavy 
  space debris cover 
  your Starship. 
  Passive: If you are 
  attacked by a Test 
  that makes multiple 
  rolls, reduce the 
  total damage taken 
  after all rolls by 1 
  (minimum 1).
  
  Optional Rules
  76
  • Multi-phase Shield: Several force field emitters allow for 
  fine manipulation of everything around your Starship. 
  Passive: When Evading, you test with 2d6.
  • Cloaking: A light-bending field makes your Starship 
  almost invisible. Passive: When you Hide during combat, 
  you Test with Advantage.
  • Reinforced Materials: Massively sturdy and dense 
  metals make up your Starship’s chassis. Passive: 
  Permanently increase your Starship’s Structure by 4.
  • Repair Drones: Robots assist in repair tasks. Action: 
  Spend 3 Fuel. Restore 2 Structure to either your Starship 
  or an adjacent Starship.
  • Armor Plating: Thick armor plating covers your 
  Starship, protecting you from damage and shock. Passive: 
  Permanently increase your Structure by 2. When at Near 
  Zone, reduce total damage by 1 (minimum 1).
  • Titanium Shield: You’ve welded a massive amount of 
  plating onto your Starship. You can use this to protect 
  your Starship and prevent damage. Passive: Any attack 
  action against your Starship deals 1 less damage. This 
  system costs both a Weapons and Defense system slot.
  Movement Systems:
  • Stealth Engines: Engines that have no detectable 
  exhaust. Action: Spend 2 Fuel. You may Test to Hide 
  without taking an action this turn.
  • Fuel Tanks: Massive reservoirs of fuel. Passive: 
  Permanently increase your Starship’s Fuel by 4.
  • Gravity Engines: A reactionless engine that is very 
  efficient for long missions. Action: Spend 2 Fuel, and 
  then move. You may use an Attack System (giving your 
  Test Disadvantage) at the end of the move.
  • Microfusion Reactor: A high-yield reactor that packs 
  a punch. Action: Deal 2 damage to every enemy in the 
  encounter and 1 damage to your Starship and every 
  friendly. Using this action disables this system for the 
  rest of the mission.
  
  Optional Rules
  77
  • Emergency Power: Redundant power systems that 
  are resistant to damage. Passive: When you would be 
  reduced to 0 Structure, spend 3 Fuel. You instead are 
  reduced to 3 Structure (effectively repairing 3).
  • Power Core: An energy-dense reactor that can be used 
  as a makeshift explosive. Action: Spend 1 or more Fuel 
  and roll a Test. If you succeed, deal 1 damage per Fuel 
  spent, to every enemy and ally in the encounter. Any 
  non-reinforced buildings within 1 kilometer of your 
  Starship are leveled or catch fire. Using this action 
  disables your Starship for the rest of the Fight. 
  • Bodyguard Protocol: You have fast-reaction boosters 
  that allow you to aid your allies. Passive: If it is not your 
  turn and an ally would take damage, spend Fuel equal 
  to that damage. You move adjacent to that ally, and the 
  damage is applied to you as though you’d been hit by 
  the attack.
  
  Optional Rules
  78
  Crew Positions
  On a Starship, the Explorers will serve as the crew. 
  Frequently this puts them in command positions. Crew 
  positions are determined at the start of the game and rarely 
  change throughout the game (though they can, and should).
  Each Crew position provides that crew member a benefit 
  they can use as an action 
  during space combat. 
  Captain: The Captain can 
  forgo both their actions to give 
  any other Crew member an 
  additional action on their turn.
  Helm: The Helm can reroll one 
  failed Evade Test per round. 
  Communications: The 
  Communications can reroll 
  one failed Sensors system roll 
  per round.
  Doctor: When in their med-
  bay, the Doctor always helps 
  to heal 1 extra Hit Point on a 
  successful Healing Test.
  Engineer: When in their 
  Engineering Bay, the Engineer 
  can forfeit both their actions to 
  bring a disabled system back 
  online or restore 1 Structure to 
  the Starship (no test required).
  Tactical: When making an 
  attack with a Weapons system, 
  Tactical may forfeit one action 
  on their turn to increase 
  damage dealt by 1.
  Captaining Ships
  Each Explorer will have a role 
  on the starship, either from 
  their Explorer background 
  or based on which special 
  system 
  they 
  chose. 
  The 
  most coveted and dramatic 
  position on a starship is the 
  captain’s seat. Unfortunately, 
  this can cause problems 
  if higher-ranking Explorers 
  decide to boss around lower-
  ranking 
  Explorers 
  against 
  their wishes, or lead the 
  Explorers into trouble that 
  nobody wants to deal with.
  The Game Master should 
  encourage all of the players 
  to 
  contribute 
  equally 
  to 
  completing their mission. A 
  wise captain listens to advice 
  from their competent and well-
  trained crew. You may want 
  to make the youngest or least 
  experienced player at the table 
  take the role of the captain, so 
  that more experienced players 
  can take an advisory role for 
  the newbie. The rank and roles 
  of the Explorers shouldn’t 
  get in the way of the players’ 
  enjoyment of the game they 
  are playing. Remember, it’s just 
  a game.
  
  Micro-Settings
  79
  the amazing 
  galaxy race
  by Tobie Abad 
  “I didn’t come here to make friends. I’m here to win it! I don’t 
  care if others start calling me an Autoborg wannabe, or if 
  the Tyranax fanbase try to sabotage my ship to help their 
  contestant. I’m gonna show them all that being short and 
  fast is all that… that…  whoa just look at that! The whole 
  planet is actually made of wood!”  
   
   
  ~ Jodor Skyow – Khalumra pilot of the Cicada
  Introduction
  The Amazing Galaxy Race is the longest running reality 
  game show broadcast through subspace transmat to over 
  seven thousand audience planets (and is also available 
  on PsychNet Pay Per View in some systems). Created by 
  Lesie “the Dog” Ieri and Bert “the Van” Munsr, the original 
  series first aired in Ahleghiri holovision over two hundred 
  years ago and has been a galaxy-wide phenomenon. 12 
  Contestants, who race around the galaxy in their personal 
  starships, strive to be the first to reach “Check Point” 
  planets and succeed in various challenges. Be last to reach 
  an Elimination Point and you are removed from the race. 
  Your characters have been invited to take part in this once-
  in-a-lifetime experience. Do you have what it takes?
  The Race
  Each race is a series of challenges that the 12 Contestants 
  must overcome. No one knows how many “steps” are present 
  in a race (and previous episodes have shown the number has 
  changed each season) but each step falls under one of the 
  four possible kinds of Planet Stops.
  
  Micro-Settings
  80
  Each player is a Contestant in the Amazing Galaxy Race. 
  The GM will have NPCs to represent the other contestants. 
  Everyone should have their own backstories; why they 
  joined the race, or where they need the money.
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  Odd
  Kill 
  someone
  Get Rich
  Escape 
  Prison
  Medical 
  Needs
  Last 
  Wish
  Prove 
  Oneself
  Even
  Love
  Be 
  Famous
  Pay 
  Bills
  Thrillseeker
  Owe 
  Mob
  Ruin 
  Show
  Use this table to quickly generate a backstory for each NPC. 
  Feel free to reveal their backstory through expressions, 
  actions they take, or even the way they portray their focus 
  to the race.
  Route Planets 
  Contestants receive clues that suggest this planet is the 
  next destination.  The clues to this may be given in a cryptic 
  manner and are permitted to use any resources, such as 
  information gained through the use of technology, psychic 
  powers, or coercion. It is not uncommon for the clues to 
  also include any restrictions or caveats on the manner of 
  transport that will be used. 
  A race can be as short or as long as you want it to be. For 
  one-shot games, the race can simply be represented as 12 
  stops long, but only the “key stops” are played through 
  as game scenes.  For longer sessions or a full campaign 
  focused on this race, it can last many more stops. Given 
  the 12 Contestants, you will want to make sure there are 
  enough Elimination possibilities to reduce their number. 
  Or just make sure some NPC Contestants are removed from 
  the race due to accident or injury and the like.
  To track the race properly, create a grid for each Contestant. 
  Each column should represent a Stop in the race.  When 
  resolving a Stop, write in the appropriate cell the number 
  of tests the contestant had to make (not counting tie 
  breakers). The total number of tests determine the order 
  in the race, with the lowest totals being those in the lead.  
  
  Micro-Settings
  81
  Ties are always broken by having both Contestants roll 
  1d6. The lower number wins. If the tie is against an NPC, 
  the PC automatically wins.
  Check Point Planets
  In these planets, the Contestants that arrive compete in a task 
  to be allowed to be the first to leave for the next Route Planet. 
  Like the Challenge Planets, these determine the sequence 
  of characters in reaching a stop. All Contestants must 
  succeed in three test rolls, which can represent various 
  unexpected twists or events during the race.  The total 
  number of attempts to roll three successful test rolls is then 
  their value for the race this Stop.
  In Check Point Planets, ties do not need to be broken. Also, 
  when starting from a Check Point Planet, it is assumed that 
  there was enough time to rest and recover. All Contestants 
  should be allowed to heal back to full health, barring 
  specific grievous injury that would not permit that.
  Finally, Check Points reset the “values” of each Contestant 
  to zero after they leave. So everyone still in the race is 
  “back” in the race as anyone can end up back on the lead.
  Detour Planets 
  These Planet stops typically offer the Contestants a choice 
  between two tasks, “each with their own pros and cons.” The 
  two tasks have, at times, lead to some Contestants teaming up 
  in order to accomplish the given task sooner, or to eliminate 
  a particularly strong competitor. Detour planets are usually 
  the most popular episodes for the viewing audience. Failing 
  to accomplish a task can penalize a contestant with either 
  delays in starting the next leg or with “Technical Troubles” 
  where a device or system is deactivated or withdrawn from 
  the contestant’s resources.
  Detour Planets should be the meat of this kind of a game. 
  Detour Planet challenges should require Tests and Save Tests 
  to resolve.  You can break each challenge down to requiring a 
  number of rolls to be made, to reflect the incremental number 
  of tasks or the growing difficulty of tasks that need to be 
  
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  Challenge Generator 
  Choose between Easy, Tricky, or Crazy (or roll 1d6 to 
  determine.) Then roll 1d6 to generate the Challenge 
  keywords.  Each Challenge can be set on a planet, in outer 
  space near a planet, or in any location within a planet. 
  They do not all have to be the same planet.
  For Crazy, any further “Crazy” results become Tricky 
  instead.
  d6
  Tricky 
  [1]
  (two Test/Save 
  rolls to pass)
  Easy
  [2-4]
  (one Test/Save 
  roll to pass)
  Crazy
  [6]
  1
  Reconfigure 
  something
  Disarm a device
  Roll twice
  2
  Track something 
  between planets
  Build or craft 
  something
  Roll once, but it 
  has to be done 
  twice
  3
  Smuggle 
  something
  Locate 
  something
  Roll once, but it 
  has to be done 
  twice)
  4
  Acquire 
  something 
  contraband
  Decode 
  something
  Roll thrice, and 
  they have to be 
  performed in that 
  sequence
  5
  Access a 
  guarded location
  Transfer 
  something
  Roll thrice, and 
  they have to be 
  performed in that 
  sequence
  6
  Navigate a 
  dangerous 
  location
  Perform 
  something
  Roll twice
  
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  Example: 
  The GM decides the Contestants have a Crazy challenge. 
  For the first one, she rolls a 4, and that gets “Roll thrice, 
  and perform in that sequence.” She gets 1, 2, and 6.  The 
  6 (Crazy) is treated as Tricky instead.  So the Challenges 
  are (Tricky), (Easy), and (Tricky).  She rolls 2 for Tricky:  Track 
  something between planets. She rolls  for Easy: Transfer 
  something.  And finally, a 4 for Tricky: Acquire something 
  contraband
  The GM determines the contestants have to Track a 
  comet that flies between two planets, get close enough to 
  gather some comet dust, then trade the dust at Adnarra, 
  an artificial planet made of wood, for Flawed Diamonds, a 
  contraband object. The Tracking Challenge requires two 
  Tests to clear. The Gathering might require a single Save 
  to do without damaging the ship. And the final trade can 
  require a Test and a Save, or two Tests to clear.  
  For the second one, she rolls a 2, which is “Roll one, but 
  it has to be done twice.” She rolls 2 (Easy) and it is a 3: 
  Locate Something.  This needs to be done twice, so that’s 
  2 Tests to clear.  She decides the challenge is to locate a 
  hidden ship in an asteroid field.
  She decides to call the first one Star Dust and the second 
  one Rock Dust.  Players will be asked to choose between 
  “Star Dust” or “Rock Dust” as this Stop’s challenge.
  Failed Rolls and Delays
  Each failed test or save means that Challenger is running 
  behind. Each Contestant who clears the Challenge without 
  needing extra rolls completes it in order.  To break ties, 
  have both roll 1d6 and the finished in ascending value. If 
  there still are ties, both can roll a Test that seems narratively 
  appropriate to break the tie.
  Thankfully, for Challenges, there are no eliminations. But 
  track the order they finish, as that determines the order 
  they leave as well in the next stop.
  
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  accomplished without having the character simply outright 
  fail. Assign Advantages and Disadvantages when they seem 
  appropriate given the Contestant’s concept and background.
  First use the Generator to generate the two Challenges. 
  Both must be of the same difficulty.
  Then after rolling them, come up with a fun name for the 
  players to choose between them.
  Each Contestant chooses one of the two Challenges 
  (without knowing what they will entail) until the challenge 
  actually begins.
  Elimination Planets
  The last to arrive at an Elimination Planet is removed from 
  the race. On the rare case that two or more contestants 
  arrive at the same time in last place, a Sudden Death battle 
  match is used to resolve the matter.
  On an Elimination Planet, the Contestants have to get three 
  successful Tests or Saves. As before, failed rolls mean they 
  take longer to reach this Planet.  Upon getting there, their 
  total is once again reviewed (but note that earlier Check 
  Points should have reset values) to see who placed what 
  in the race. NPCs should be eliminated during the first few 
  Stops, just so the players have more chances of fun. But once 
  there are the same number of NPCs with PCs, anything goes.
  If the Contestant has the highest total when they reach an 
  Elimination Planet, they are Eliminated from the race.
  Finish Line
  Once there are only 3 Contestants left, the next planet is 
  considered a Finish Line Planet. The winner of the race 42  
  Million GalCreds. 
  This is it! The final Stop! Make sure to pull out all the stops 
  and make this be the most exciting moment in the game.  
  Even better, be sure to always have a Check Point planet 
  before the Finish Line, so all three Contestants feel like 
  anything can happen. 
  The winner is the first one to complete five Tests or Saves. 
  
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  The Rules of the Race
  Contestants are prohibited from asking assistance for 
  friends, family members, other Contestants, or from people 
  they meet during the race.
  In theory, no one should help. But then again, if a Contestant 
  can get away with it, they probably would. A Save roll can 
  be utilized to get help from such without being caught, with 
  failure having the cheat being caught or aborted.
  Destruction of property, violence, Xenotech use, and bio 
  enhancement is strictly prohibited during the race.
  Again, this is more theory than actual. Saves can be used 
  to represent hiding the use of such. Blaming another 
  Contestant can work too, if it seems plausible.
  Contestants cannot alter, hinder, or sabotage the attempts 
  of other Contestants to go through the race. 
  As above. In fact, be sure to have the NPCs use such tactics 
  to add to the drama and excitement of the game! Who 
  knows, maybe the race is rigged? Maybe it’s just being used 
  as a front to hide an assassination attempt?
  Teleportation and warp technology is expressly prohibited 
  from being used during the race.
  NPCs using such should be made to fail spectacularly.  If 
  any PC opts to use such tech, remind them that the race 
  organizers likely made sure of keeping an eye out for such 
  ever since the contest began. It should be the last resort, if 
  it was even considered being used.
  K’ne vell
  An Ahleghiri who won the last year’s AGR after the last 
  five Contestants had to back out of the race due to intense 
  migraines. His youngest daughter, Esme Vell, has just been 
  chosen for this year’s race. And K’ne is not going to let 
  anyone get in her way.
  
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  The Pinkerton 
  Interstellar 
  Detective 
  Agency
  by Alana Joli Abbott 
  Birdie Edwards looked at the body in distaste. “I can’t 
  immediately see how he ended up in so many...”
  “Pieces?” Alyx suggested helpfully, his voice resonating 
  behind his respirator. The khalumra’s eyes were tracking in 
  three different directions, trying to put together the puzzle, 
  and Birdie couldn’t look at him.
  “I was going to say locations.” Birdie pinched the bridge of 
  her nose. There seemed to be too much body in the room, and 
  not enough of it attached. The science building was sealed 
  after dark to allow the cleaning ‘bots full access to sanitize 
  all empty surfaces. Somehow, the killer had not only been in 
  the building, but left, and left this... mess behind them.
  “Still nothing on the security cams,” Alyx noted, checking 
  his datapad. “Captain Morrie sent the rest of the files, too.”
  Birdie knelt, wishing her own respirator were a little less 
  bulky. Neither humans nor khalumras were made for the 
  atmosphere drop during sanitation. The Tyranax scattered 
  across the floor around them wouldn’t have been able to 
  breathe in it after lock down either. So how in the galaxy...
  “Alyx, do you count five hands?”
  Alyx’s large ears fluttered in irritation. “I was trying not to 
  count them at all,” he admitted. “But Tyranax only have...”
  “Four, I know,” said Birdie. She stood. She could feel the 
  headache coming on.
  “We really ought to take this to—”
  “Don’t say it.”
  “—Holmes for analysis,” Alyx continued, ignoring her 
  interruption.
  
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  Birdie sighed and took out a hand scanner, one of the 
  Agency’s most advanced. “You’re not wrong,” she admitted. 
  “But Holmes will want a scan of everything. And I’m not sure 
  it’s in our budget.”
  “If we let it play violin, we’ll get a discount,” Alyx said 
  cheerfully.
  She started scanning. “You couldn’t pay me enough to listen 
  to that again...”
  History
  The Pinkerton Agency got its start on Earth in the 1800s, 
  but it has long since outgrown its one-time ambition of a 
  private security firm and has become one of the preeminent 
  agencies of private investigators in the known galaxy. With 
  the rapid expansion of human colonization that took place 
  in the 2300s, the Pinkertons, too, found their way to the 
  edges of human civilization, solving crime and working 
  with local police investigators and law enforcement to 
  bring murderers, forgers, and industrial spies to justice.
  As humans intermingled with other species in the galaxy, the 
  Pinkertons expanded their own forces to include a diverse 
  array of investigators. Because frequently Pinkerton agents 
  must go undercover to bring down a conspiracy, having 
  members of many different heritages has opened doors to 
  investigations that might have once remained closed. Thus, 
  any given office of the Pinkertons, and any field team, is 
  likely to be comprised of a mixed group, though humans are 
  still the dominant species within the organization.
  In the Modern Galaxy
  It’s the 2470s by the Old Earth calendar, and the populated 
  galaxy is as large as any sentient species has ever known. 
  While the Solar system and other star systems within 
  the mid-range of the dense eye of the galaxy bask in the 
  light of civilization (which, as per usual, means overlarge 
  bureaucracy and governmental intrigue, all with the best 
  
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  technologies the galaxy has to offer), 
  the far arms of the galaxy often fall 
  beyond the reach of strong legal 
  protections. The Pinkertons work 
  from the eye to the outer extent 
  of the arms, and their jobs are as 
  varied as their employees.
  Eye 
  jobs 
  frequently 
  involve 
  corporate 
  and 
  government 
  espionage. There are currently no 
  spoken wars in the eye regions, but 
  various governments are frequently 
  at odds with each other, and the 
  Pinkertons are known for their work 
  untangling 
  cyberterrorism 
  and 
  holospying. Two of the coolly feuding 
  governments are the Commonwealth 
  of Sgra, which is formed from a 
  number of space stations near the 
  exact galactic center, and features 
  Kepler University one of the largest scientific institutions in 
  the galaxy, and the Republic of Zaku, based on a planet where 
  the home offices of MagneTech, one of the widest-spread 
  corporations, are located.
  The mid-ranges of the galaxy are vast, but include the Solar 
  System, where the home office of the Pinkerton Interstellar 
  Detective Agency remain in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the 
  base of the University of Michigan’s space elevator. Director 
  Kate Wahrn resides on planet and keeps a close tab on the 
  company’s operations. Wahrn is a huge fan of zero-g college 
  football and is well known for her support of the University. 
  She is also well-known for staying out of politics, and 
  continues to uphold the original, honorable Pinkerton Code.
  Mid-range jobs are the bread-and-butter of the agency 
  and involve the type of undercover and detective work 
  the company is best known for. Breaking up gangs and 
  criminal agencies by joining those agencies in order to 
  gather evidence; solving odd murder cases where the local 
  law can find no answers; tracking down notorious outlaws, 
  The Pinkerton Code, as used 
  by the actual Earth company 
  beginning in 1850, includes 
  these rules:
  • 
  Accept no bribes
  • 
  Never compromise with 
  criminals
  • 
  Partner with local law 
  enforcement agencies
  • 
  Refuse divorce cases 
  or cases that initiate 
  scandals
  • 
  Turn down reward money
  • 
  Never raise fees 
  without the client’s pre-
  knowledge
  • 
  Keep clients apprised on 
  an on-going basis
  
  Micro-Settings
  89
  smugglers, and pirates; and unmasking conspirators 
  behind propaganda are among the types of work Pinkerton 
  agents find in the mid-range.
  In the outer reaches of the arms, law is a little messier, 
  and the Pinkertons can sometimes be called in not only to 
  solve crimes, but to enforce order. Though the Pinkertons 
  are not a military agency, they have been known to stand 
  between settlements and hostile wild creatures, to serve 
  as seven agents against bandits attempting to take over 
  a forgotten town, or to track down ships that have gone 
  beyond the reaches of communication and into the vast. 
  Some of those Pinkerton Agents’ names have been written 
  on the walls of the agency headquarters, as they have been 
  lost beyond the boundaries of the galaxy.
  221B Bakerstar
  In the Perseus Arm of the galaxy, there is a small station 
  called, tongue in cheek (if the owner had a tongue), 221B 
  Bakerstar. There, Pinkerton Agents have been known 
  to contract an artificial intelligence known to them as 
  Holmes to help them analyze data. Holmes is one of the 
  most advanced AI in the galaxy, has no physical body, and 
  has disconnected—or so the Pinkertons have been led to 
  believe—from all systems to make itself impervious to 
  viral or systematic invasions. Thus, in order to get Holmes’s 
  expertise, Pinkerton Agents must provide the AI with all 
  their evidence, and even then, the AI is just as likely to give 
  clues as it is to actually give answers.
  Holmes has a flair for the 
  dramatic, enjoys violin music 
  (which it pumps through the 
  station), and is desperately 
  expensive.
  
  Micro-Settings
  90
  Copies
  The Pinkerton Agency has recently been experimenting 
  with short-term cloning technology that would allow it to 
  make copies of its Agents to send into dangerous situations 
  in order to gain intelligence. Copies have half the hit points 
  of their original agent but gain the trait Eidetic Memory. 
  Copies may be sent on assignment, allowing the Agent to 
  be in two places at once; once returned to their original, 
  the copy’s memory is reabsorbed into the Agent.
  Adventure hooks
  • Dr. Korma Wynn, an Ilvian scientist at Kepler 
  University, has hired the Pinkerton Agency to unravel 
  the theft of her data—but when the agents arrive, 
  Wynn has disappeared as well. 
  Though plenty of clues point 
  to MagneTech spies trying to 
  steal Wynn’s latest research, 
  there’s a possibility that one of 
  her colleagues, jealous of her 
  success, is actually behind her 
  disappearance. The agents have 
  to 
  wade 
  through 
  university 
  bureaucracy, very real corporate 
  spies, and black hole science 
  to discover Wynn, while the 
  scientist is still alive, to keep the 
  Pinkerton reputation intact.
  • Scandal erupts on Earth when 
  a University of Michigan zero-g 
  football player is discovered to 
  have been replaced by a Pinkerton 
  Agency copy on the field. Where 
  is the real player? How did he get 
  access to Pinkerton technology? 
  
  Micro-Settings
  91
  Local police have arrested Director Wahrn, and it’s up 
  to the agents to clear her name—unless Wahrn really 
  was involved in the web of zero-g Big Ten football 
  gambling the investigation begins to uncover...
  • Ornata 5 is a resort planet in the Cygnus Arm, well 
  beyond the reach of any government besides its own. 
  On the surface, it is a paradise, a playground for the 
  wealthy, a vibrant planet with habitable locations 
  spanning its small globe, and double sunsets courtesy 
  of its binary star system. But while many of the 
  wealthy truly do go only to play and please themselves, 
  there’s an underside to Ornata 5 that few ever see... 
  and the illicit dealings that take place on the planet 
  have impacts that span the galaxy. The agents are sent 
  undercover to discover the ringleaders behind the 
  Ornata 5 organization, and to see if they can discover 
  the major players in systems across the galaxy.
  For more inspiration
  The Pinkerton National Detective Agency is a real agency 
  operating in the modern United States, primarily as a 
  security firm, but they have a long history as the inspiration 
  behind dime store novel private eyes from the 1800s and 
  beyond; they appear prominently in Arthur Conan Doyle’s 
  Sherlock Holmes novel The Valley of Fear. Two excellent 
  science fiction private investigator novels are Kiln People 
  by David Brin (which inspired the idea of the copies) and 
  Red Planet Blues by Robert J. Sawyer.
  
  Micro-Settings
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  The Blood 
  Arks
  by Elizabeth Chaipraditkul  
  Destiny Written in Blood
  “Child of the greatest house in the Milky Way, you were born 
  into tradition. You will live your life in service of your family. 
  You will drink deep your enemies failures. You will spread 
  the glory of our house to the ends of the known universe and 
  conquer all who stand in your way. So says the Captain.”
  Earth is dead. Humanity took to space in search of a new 
  home and found nothing. Six large Arks (ships) sent to 
  different corners of the galaxy all came back to home-space 
  empty handed. Over the years each evolved, developed 
  their own culture, totally changed by their time in the 
  emptiness of space. The difference could not stand and so 
  there was war.
  Now, there are six Great Houses on the Milky Way. 
  Each with families numbering in the thousands, each a 
  pool of avarice and greed.  Poverty is a thing of the past 
  and Companions, sentient service bots, deal with all of 
  humanity’s menial tasks leaving the houses to focus on 
  what they do best – plot against one another.
  House Above All 
  Every person is born into a Great House, which are named 
  after the first Arks launched from earth – Pompey, Still 
  Water, Sanctum, Luna, Sol, and Terra (known as the Lost 
  Ark). Within each Great House there are various families 
  who intermarry in order to improve their position. The 
  ruling family of the house and its captain are descend from 
  the captains of the first Arks and are considered near holy. 
  Only the House of Pompey, has an ‘impure’ captain a fact 
  which is the cause of a considerable amount of scandal. 
  
  Micro-Settings
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  Oil Sport
  Outright aggression is passé. Wars are fought on the ground 
  of distant planets by Companions and their bodies recovered 
  when the fight concluded. If two members of differing Great 
  Houses want to fight they do it through Oil Sport.
  The Oil Sport Arena is located on 7th Great Ark, built as a 
  neutral ground where the Houses could port in and meet 
  with one another. Each Companion who works the Ark is 
  programmed to be utterly neutral – programming which has 
  been known to be exploited in order to spy and backstab. 
  The Arena itself seats 55,000 people and has individual 
  private quarters for the captains of the six Great Houses.
  Within the arena Companions fight for the glory of their 
  house. Fights don’t stop until the crowd ‘sees oil’ and 
  the bots slick blood pools on the crystal floor. Houses pit 
  Companions against one another in Oil Sport for glory, 
  sport, and to settle grudges – the losing side out thousands 
  of creds for their destroyed Companion and publicly 
  humiliated for  their shameful loss.
  Companions
  Companions are ever present in Ark life. Indistinguishable 
  from humans aside from their jet black eyes, tears, and 
  blood they care for every need the Great Houses have from 
  waste to pleasure. Unwilling to live with cold creatures 
  who could not feel, the houses programmed them with 
  emotions. Companions are keenly aware of their position 
  in life, but are bound by countless codes preventing them 
  from harming a human without commands from another. 
  That is, except for the Companions of the Fifth Sanctum...
  
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  The Six Great Houses
  Within the cosmos there are six Great Houses, three are the 
  largest and most prosperous – the House of Pompey, the 
  House of Still Waters, and the House of the Fifth Sanctum. 
  Below them three other houses vie for dominance, hoping 
  to one day overshadow the larger houses – the House of the 
  Lost Ark, the House of Luna, and the House of Sol.
  The House of Pompey
  A viper’s nest in a galaxy set on tearing itself apart, the 
  House of Pompey views itself as the purest house in the 
  galaxy. Strict breeding rules and an enshrined class system 
  within the House ensures every person knows their place 
  and position is only gained through acts of unspeakable 
  tragedy. Captain Maximus III gain his position through 
  murdering the last captain’s entire family right down to the 
  last child – ensuring they would never be able to challenge 
  his family’s right to leadership.   
  The House of Still Waters
  A house of inventors, hackers, and technoheads the House 
  of Still Waters could be considered a ‘friendlier’ house at 
  least from within. With the ability to spy on one another 
  through virtually any surface within their numerous arks, 
  plotting against one another for increased position within 
  the Ark is virtually pointless. Instead, the House of Still 
  Waters focuses their efforts on the other houses, making 
  ships go dark and life support system fail. 
  The House of the Fifth Sanctum
  Captain Lucinde runs the House of the Fifth Sanctum. In 
  a blood red cape, matching suit, and crimson gloves she 
  cuts terrifying figure no matter where she goes. The dark 
  obsidian walls of her lead Ark help instil this fear as does 
  the Companions she elevated to ‘human’ status. The house 
  garnered the nickname ‘heretics’ when they freed their 
  
  Micro-Settings
  95
  Companions after suffering startling losses on the Battle 
  of Mars. Worshipping Lucinde as a god the inhabitants of 
  the Fifth Sanctum, human and Companion alike,  form the 
  most brutal Ark in the galaxy.
  The Houses of Sol, Luna, and the 
  Lost Ark
  Each of the three smaller houses are no less rife with 
  scheming than the larger three. Sol and Luna have been 
  feuding since the Arks took to exploration and many believe 
  they would be the largest houses if their feud would subside. 
  The hate stems for a soured love affair, or so the story goes, 
  and many believe a successful marriage between the two 
  houses (something which has never happened with any 
  house) is the only thing that would solve the problem.
  The House of the 
  Lost Ark was the last 
  Ark (called Terra) to 
  arrive back at the 
  rendezvous 
  point 
  so many years ago. 
  Many 
  believe 
  they 
  touched the edges of 
  our galaxy and the 
  experience 
  turned 
  their 
  people 
  into... 
  something else. Most 
  members of the house 
  wander through life 
  between dreams and 
  reality 
  addicted 
  to 
  toxic 
  inhalants 
  to 
  enhance their dream-
  like state.
  
  Micro-Settings
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  Fixers
  by Steve Diamond  
  Possible Themes: 
  Con Artists, Adventure, Heists, Seriously-Anything-Stop-
  Thinking-So-Hard
  Inspired by: 
  Leverage, Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick, The Expanse 
  by James S.A. Corey, Oceans Eleven, Guardians of the 
  Galaxy, Matchstick Men, SKIN GAME by Jim Butcher, The 
  Italian Job, etc.
  The Concept:
  Who doesn’t love a good heist film/novel?
  A motley crew of con artists and mercenaries are thrown 
  together—sometimes by choice, sometimes by force—to do a 
  job. One last job? Yeah. Just one more. What could go wrong?
  “Fixers” is a setting that can be used on its own, or as a 
  skin put on top of any other micro-setting in Tiny Frontiers.
  Look, the galaxy is a huge place. Countless people from 
  countless species on countless planets. But do you know 
  what they all have in common?
  They all have problems.
  Everyone needs something, and usually—be sure to check 
  the fine-print of the contract—they want to pay you for it.
  It. Such a broad word. The “it” someone wants could be 
  an actual item. Maybe a missing person. Lost reputation. 
  Revenge. Love. A whole damn planet. The needs are as 
  varied as the clients they come from. This is where you 
  come in.
  You’re a Fixer.
  Your job is to simply—again, please read the fine print of 
  the contract as your job may not, in fact, be simple—get your 
  
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  client what they want. You can be one of those ethical Fixers, 
  and only take on clients who have the moral high-ground. 
  Or maybe getting your hands dirty is irrelevant, as long as 
  you can make rent, payroll, and feed you and your crew.
  Use your connections. Make new connections with every 
  job you finish. You have a certain set of skills, and you 
  should fill your crew with other licensed Fixers who make 
  up for your deficiencies.
  Just remember you aren’t the only Fixer in the galaxy, and 
  clients rarely care who take care of their problems.
  Setting Fluff:
  “I already told you. I don’t do that sort of thing anymore.”
  People never listen. No matter how many times I tell ‘em, 
  they always ask. They want the old Ezekiel. The young Ezekiel. 
  A few old souls even want violent Ezekiel. I’m not that guy 
  anymore. He died with his wife. His two children. His dog.
  “Listen, Zeke—”
  “You don’t get to call me that,” I interrupt, but the Ursan 
  keeps on talking. The propensity for ignoring social queues 
  is a hallmark of their species. This is why I drink alone. 
  Conversation is exhausting.
  “—I’ve been trying to tell you this isn’t a normal job. It’s a 
  sure thing—”
  “There’s no such thing as a ‘sure thing’ anymore.”
  “—and 
  the 
  best 
  part? 
  We 
  would 
  be 
  crippling 
  TakomakiCorp.”
  The galaxy stopped.
  TakomakiCorp. The interstellar shipping corporation 
  responsible for the death of my family. They hadn’t 
  properly checked the seals on their cruise-liner. My family 
  suffocated to death.
  I downed the rest of my drink, and carefully set the glass 
  back down. It was real, Earth-made crystal. Worth a fortune.
  “Ok,” I told the Ursan. “You have me for one, last job. But 
  I’m going to need a team…”
  
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  ***
  Fixers are one of the galaxy’s oldest professions. Right 
  up there with soldiers, preachers, and politicians. As the 
  known galaxy expands, the need for problem-solvers 
  grows right along with it.
  All that said, it isn’t easy to become a Fixer.
  In the old days, a few centuries ago, anyone could say they 
  were a Fixer. But that led to too many fakes showing up and 
  fleecing old-folks out of their retirement—one of the oldest 
  cons in the galaxy. One of those grandmas happened to be 
  a princess from Taurus Prime. The Tauren royal family—
  yes, they are a race of bull-people—got pissed, and went to 
  war with everyone.
  This siege on the galaxy lasted decades. The Taurens killed 
  trillions, including complete xenocide on the species from 
  which came the fake Fixer. But they didn’t stop there. 
  Surely the fake Fixer didn’t work alone. Surely others were 
  involved. Someone else was guilty. And if not, they would 
  be by the time the Taurens were done with their crusade.
  They only stopped when the entire galaxy assured the 
  Taurens that all Fixers would be licensed from that moment 
  on. Miraculously, the Taurens became one of the most 
  peaceful galactic civilizations after the treaty...or maybe 
  everyone was just too scared to even consider screwing 
  them again.
  The process for having your application reviewed and 
  approved is, in the words several female Fixers, “A million 
  times worse than giving birth…while on fire…with clowns 
  menacing you.”
  It’s also idiotically expensive. And the yearly dues are brutal.
  This makes a Fixer’s reputation the most important asset 
  they own. The more known, reliable, and trustworthy, 
  they more likely work is to be sent their way. Or, the more 
  ruthless, conniving, and dangerous, the more likely “other” 
  work is desired.
  Overtly screw other Fixers? Your license will be revoked.
  Which is a polite way of saying the Fixer’s Guild will have 
  you executed.
  
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  This isn’t to say you can’t ever mess with other Fixers. On 
  the contrary. If you aren’t screwing with other Fixers, you 
  aren’t doing your job well enough.
  Just make sure you don’t get caught.
  Sample Adventure Hooks:
  “Fixers” can be as simple or complex as you want it. The 
  goal of these sample hooks is to make the players stars of the 
  show. Roleplaying flashbacks to show how awesome your 
  plans really are? Yeah, that’s encouraged. Making sure the 
  players are put in difficult situations? Always recommended.
  After all, where’s the fun in a heist story if it’s never 
  difficult?
  I. One last job. The dreaded words that haunt every Fixer. 
  Just when you think you’re out of the game, you get yanked 
  back in for one final job. Everyone knows how these sorts of 
  jobs go. You’re probably gonna die.
  Being a Fixer is a dangerous job. Most don’t make it to 
  retirement…at least not the kind where you spend your days 
  on the artificial vacation planet, Eden 1.
  Maybe you can beat the odds.
  It’s just one last job.
  You can quit any time.
  What’s this last job? Well that’s up to the players. But it 
  better be personal, because that’s the only way you get a 
  “retired” Fixer back in the game.
  Maybe your family was murdered, and this is payback.
  Maybe you get a new lead on that case you took that you 
  couldn’t fix.
  Maybe the money is soooooo good, you can buy your own 
  planet with it.
  Or maybe…maybe the client is the type that a wink and 
  smile gets your knees weak.
  The point is, like all “one last jobs,” this is going to go 
  poorly. Disaster, betrayal, intrigue, and even comedy are 
  the themes of this hook.
  
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  II. It’s time for a heist. 
  Fixers in the galaxy are 
  always stealing—ahem, 
  REACQUIRING goods for 
  their clients.
  Who doesn’t like a good 
  heist? The point of this 
  hook is to put the players 
  in a situation where 
  they get to do their best 
  intergalactic 
  Ocean’s 
  Eleven, or Italian Job. 
  Each 
  player 
  takes 
  a 
  different roll in the crew. 
  The great part of this 
  hook is the potential for 
  rival Fixers to come in 
  and screw you over. Or 
  even your client screwing 
  you…just because.
  This isn’t your first rodeo. Or, frankly, your tenth,
  Your crew of Fixers has developed a knack for breaking 
  in and…liberating…goods that “belong” to the clients. Try 
  not to ask too many questions about the strict ownership 
  of the goods.
  Your latest client, one of those idiot scientists from Acturus, 
  needs you to “get back” his “stolen” research.
  Here’s the rub:
  It’s being stored on Ares Station back by Old Earth. 
  Ares Station is a science station guarded like a military 
  installation. That’s probably because the science they do at 
  Ares is weapon development.
  If you can get by the long-range sensors (which you can’t), 
  and get by the weapons platforms (you won’t), and get 
  inside (sure, have fun), then you’ll just have to get by all 
  the armed guards, security death-traps, and all that stuff 
  you don’t even know about…
  Simple smash-and-grab job. Right.
  
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  III. This one is simple. You screwed up. You didn’t read the 
  contract carefully enough. There’s a big difference between 
  capture and kill apparently. Your client doesn’t just want you 
  dead, he wants your existence erased.
  Maybe…maybe you shouldn’t have trusted that translation 
  app.
  The Mantid Queen—she looks just like you expect—didn’t 
  want her enemy killed. Well, she did. Sort-of. But not by 
  you. Other Fixers have warned you from taking on jobs 
  for the Mantids, as their contracts tend to revolve around 
  context, nuance, and a bunch of other things no one quite 
  understands.
  So yeah, you’re in breach of contract. Yay.
  You need to run. And you need to get out of this contract 
  somehow.
  Trust me, you don’t want to see what angry Mantids do to 
  other species…
  
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  the station
  by Dianna Gunn  
  The R-7 research station orbits an uninhabited gas giant 
  in Salar, home system of the Salaran Empire. Originally 
  intended for researching alien life forms, it has now been 
  repurposed to study and create biochemical weapons for 
  use in Salar’s war against their former colonies.
  The base consists of two separate rectangular sections 
  connected by a short cylindrical elevator and repair passage. 
  The Experiments 
  At this time all of R-7’s resources are focused on researching 
  the dehificus virus.
  The Dehificus Virus
  The dehificus virus kills humans and most water-based life 
  forms in 12-24 hours by absorbing their internal liquids. 
  The first symptoms of the disease are fever and extreme 
  thirst. Once the virus has absorbed enough liquid it bursts 
  through the skin in the form of wet, puss-filled boils. Bodies 
  of dehificus victims are extremely contagious and must be 
  incinerated immediately.
  The dehificus virus can only be cured with morentus, a 
  rare herb that only grows on the Salaran home planet. 
  Morentus must be used within the first two hours after 
  symptoms appear in order to be effective.
  The Experiments’ Objectives
  R-7’s current experiments focus on weaponizing the 
  dehificus virus in the following ways:
  • To shorten kill time to under five minutes
  Current Status: Kill time of the weaponized dehificus 
  virus is at four hours
  Assigned Staff: Five scientists + Assistants
  Assigned Labs: Laboratory one 
  
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  • To create a gas version of the dehificus virus
  Current Status: Gas created, but too unstable to be useful 
  outside of heavily controlled environments
  Assigned Staff: Four scientists + Assistants
  Assigned Labs: Laboratory two
  • To create a portable dispersal method for the dehificus gas
  Current Status: Building a prototype dispersal method 
  roughly the size of a small suitcase
  Assigned Staff: Five scientists + Assistants
  Assigned Labs: Laboratory three
  The Base
  Living Sections
  One living section is dedicated to staff, and one is dedicated 
  to the prisoners. The staff living area encompasses floors 
  one through three. Prisoners live on floors five and six. 
  Experiments are conducted on floor four. 
  The Staff Section
  The scientists and their assistants live on floor one, as far 
  away from the prisoners as physically possible. The primary 
  shuttle bay is also on this floor, along with a storeroom for 
  emergency supplies and weapons.
  Most of floor two is dedicated to the kitchen, mess hall, 
  and recreation areas. It also holds several storage rooms 
  and a small medical bay.
  Security guards, maintenance workers, and cooks live 
  on floor three. This is also the location of the elevator 
  connecting to the prisoners’ section.
  The Prisoners’ Section
  Half of floor five is devoted to prisoners’ cells. The other 
  half is devoted to a mess hall, a small recreation area, and 
  shared showers for each gender.
  Floor six is dedicated entirely to prisoners’ quarters. Designed 
  for alien life forms, these chambers are significantly bigger 
  
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  than chambers on floor five. As a result prisoners are often 
  forced to share cells.
  There are a total of forty cells on the station, twenty on 
  floor five and twenty on floor six.
  The Laboratories
  Floor four is mostly devoted to the station’s three 
  laboratories and several storage rooms. There are three 
  main laboratories, each with two containment/observation 
  cells and four storage rooms. All labs must be accessed 
  through airlock-style doors. 
  Lab one is dedicated to reducing the dehificus virus’s kill 
  time. Experiments are run at least once a week, sometimes 
  twice. Four prisoners are experimented on at a time. 
  Prisoners do not return from these experiments. Lab one 
  contains an incinerator for processing infected corpses.
  Lab two is dedicated to creating a gas version of the 
  dehificus virus for weaponized dispersal. Experiments are 
  run once every two weeks. Six prisoners are experimented 
  on at a time. Most prisoners are returned to their cells after 
  one week of recovery and decontamination.
  Lab three is dedicated to creating a portable dispersal 
  system for the weaponized dehificus gas. Experiments are 
  run sporadically as new dispersal systems are created. Five 
  prisoners are typically used for this experiment, one to 
  use the dispersal system and four to experience its effects. 
  Most prisoners return to their cells one week after these 
  experiments.
  The Elevators
  The two main sections of the R-7 have their own internal 
  elevators, and a separate connection to the primary 
  elevator shaft between sections. 
  Internal Elevators
  Each internal elevator has access to all three floors of its 
  section. All internal elevator entrances are constantly 
  guarded by two human security guards. 
  
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  External Elevator
  The external elevator only connects to floors three and 
  four. Two human guards and two security drones are 
  placed at each entrance at all times.
  The external elevator can be sealed at both ends in the 
  event of contamination.
  The Shuttle Bay
  There is only one shuttle bay on Station R-7, located on 
  floor one. It’s large enough to hold up to three shuttles. One 
  shuttle permanently resides in this bay. It has powerful 
  sublight engines for quick transport within the solar 
  system, but no hyperdrive.
  Security
  Station R-7 has a variety of security measures in place.
  Security Stations and Patrols
  Two guards are always stationed at every elevator entrance, 
  excluding the internal elevator on floor two. The shuttle 
  bay is guarded by two drones and one human at all times. 
  An additional pair of guards patrols each floor three times 
  a day. Patrols start on floor one and happen at 6:00hrs, 
  12:00hrs, 18:00hrs, and 22:00hrs. 
  The Venting System
  The entire prisoners’ living section will vent its contents into 
  space in the event of a disease outbreak or other security 
  breaches.
  The Staff
  At any given time Station R-7 carries the following staff:
  • 14 Scientists + 1 assistant for each scientist
  • 1 Cook + 1 assistant
  • 2 Maintenance workers + 5 maintenance robots
  • 1 Chief of Security
  • 20 security guards 
  • One purely medical doctor + 2 robotic assistants
  
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  NPCs
  Dr. Sharosa: Primary Scientist, 
  Lab Two
  Dr. Sharosa was one of the first scientists assigned to the 
  dehificus experiments. They work as both a scientist and 
  an administrator, and are rarely seen outside of the lab.
  After sixteen months of trying to perfect this weapon, and 
  seeing the devastating effects the experiments have on 
  prisoners, Dr. Sharosa believes the weapon is too cruel to 
  be used. They are now sabotaging the experiments.
  Dr. Sharosa will help prisoners who reach the laboratory 
  level on their own escape the base altogether. 
  Torken Marleno: Security Guard
  Torken is the guard most consistently assigned to watch 
  the elevator on floor five between 14:00hrs and 20:00hrs. 
  He regularly smuggles goods, mostly recent news media 
  and small personal items, into the prison for a price. He is 
  even open to helping prisoners escape, for the right bribe.
  The Prisoners
  At any given time there are between 50 and 80 prisoners 
  on Station R-7. Roughly half of these prisoners are war 
  criminals from the former colonies. The other half are 
  draft dodgers, mostly from the Salaran home world.
  The Shipments
  Every four weeks a heavily armed shipment comes to 
  Station R-7. This shipment brings a variety of supplies 
  including food and medical supplies. It also brings prisoners 
  in groups of twenty or thirty at a time. 
  The entire base goes into high alert on shipment days and 
  no experiments are conducted. 
  
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  Potential Scenario:   
   
  Escape or Die
  Designed to be played in 2-4 hours
  Rules for this Scenario:
  • Anyone who comes within arm’s reach of you or your 
  cellmate will be infected
  • Once someone is infected you can choose to bring 
  them with you to find the cure, kill them, or let them 
  die from the disease
  • All prisoners start the game without weapons
  The Story
  You’ve spent the past three months imprisoned on the R-7 
  base, living in one of the shared cells on floor six. Five 
  days ago your cellmate was selected to participate in an 
  experiment. You assumed you would never see them again.
  Today they were returned to your cell, looking exhausted 
  but healthy. They went straight to bed.
  An hour later they woke up and threw their blankets off, 
  complaining about how hot it was. A quick hand to their 
  forehead revealed an intense fever. Your cellmate has a 
  mutated form of the dehificus virus. Based on the current 
  state of the dehificus experiments, your cellmate will die 
  if the cure is not administered within two hours (GM 
  can modify the time limit for shorter or longer games).
  The contamination sensors haven’t detected the disease 
  yet, but they may detect it at any time (at the discretion 
  of the GM). If the contamination is detected, or the guards 
  push one of the outbreak buttons, you and all the other 
  prisoners will be jettisoned into space. 
  You must reach Laboratory Two, where the refined 
  version of the morentus herb is stored, within two hours to 
  save your cellmate. 
  If you reach Laboratory Two within the allotted time 
  the GM can choose to expand this scenario by having Dr. 
  Sharosa or Torken Marleno help you reach the shuttle bay. 
  
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  of crowns 
  and scales
  by John D. Kennedy  
  Possible Themes: 
  An Old World Made New, Ancient Monarchies, Hope of Rescue
  Inspired by: 
  Dinoriders, Dinosaucers, John Carter 
  The Arrival 
  “Duke Darzan! Duke Darzan! The wormhole’s finally 
  destabilizing!” The anxious helmsman gripped the steering 
  wheel of the stellar liner Majestic so hard  that his fingers had 
  gone numb. He was exhausted, as was the rest of the crew, 
  as they had been forced to stay at their stations ever since 
  the enemy fleet had forced them to make a random jump 
  into light speed to escape them. Forced to travel through an 
  unstable anomaly, they had no idea where they were going or 
  even if they were going to make it at all. With a sudden shock, 
  the maelstrom of colors that lined the sides of the wormhole 
  disappeared and the fleet was thrown back into real space. 
  Crew stations exploded in a flurry of spark and debris and 
  passengers found themselves thrown about their cabins as 
  the make shift flotilla found itself spiraling through space. 
  The duke, who had taken control of the stellar liner after 
  its captain had been killed, was the first to reach his footing. 
  As he gazed out of the view screen of the vessel, his eyes 
  beheld something as grand as it was frightening.
  “What planet is that?” 
  On Sklarr, the messenger hurried down the streets of 
  Trecacia City. His heavy footsteps stomped on the pebble 
  streets as he hurried towards the grand golden dome at the 
  edge of the city. Raising a four fingered hand to the door, he 
  knocked repeatedly until it was flung open violently.
  
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  The figure at the door was an imposing sight, with his 
  brownish red scales covered in numerous tattoos and 
  markings denoting him of royal birth. The horns on his 
  head sported numerous rings and a heavy pair of spectacles 
  sat upon his eyes. His nostrils bristled as he looked at the 
  intruding servant as one would a Flargus Mite digging into 
  their scales. “Yes?” Magister Cantor’s voices echoed in his 
  entry way. “Why do you bother me at this hour?”
  “You have been summoned to a meeting, my lord.” The fin 
  on the servant’s head drooped a bit as he feared a formal 
  reprimand from talking to one of much higher station than 
  he. “The Barsai has summoned you personally.”
  “Hmm, yes, yes,” intoned Magister Cantor solemnly. “The 
  Barsai must have received my note I sent him earlier this 
  evening about my…observations.”
  “Observations, my lord?”
  “Yes.” The aging seer draped a thick blanket over his 
  shoulders while walking towards the royal palace. “It 
  appears we have many more stars in the sky above us than 
  we did before. And they appear to be getting closer…”
  The World of Sklarr
  Over six thousand souls ended up in the refugee flotilla after a 
  fleet of strange aliens appeared on the edge of Known Space. 
  They attacked without warning, and though the Imperial Navy 
  was mobilized to defend the Empire, hundreds of vessels were 
  caught in their path. A small flotilla of ships consisting mainly 
  of passenger liners and cargo transports was attempting to 
  get to safety when they were forced to make an unplanned 
  jump into hyperspace. Though the fleet managed to survive, 
  they did not arrive at their intended destination. 
  The fleet appeared above Sklarr, a planet ruled by 
  dynasties of reptilian overlords whose forms mirrored 
  dinosaurs from the throne world of Earth’s history. These 
  dynasts, who were engaged in a state of near constant 
  warfare with each other, viewed the humans as invaders, 
  and several used their access to Sklarr’s barely functioning 
  planetary defense systems to shoot the fleet down. 
  
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  Now humanity exists in small colonies scattered around 
  an area they’ve called the Bad Lands, where the ancient 
  bones of Sklarrans lie in the sun among the relics of their 
  civilization. The dynasts have sent scouting parties to see 
  what humanity wants, but for the most part keep their 
  distance. Some have even invited human beings to their 
  courts to see what the strange creatures have to offer them, 
  or even to broker alliances with them in the hope that they 
  can get an advantage over their opponents. 
  Led by the Captain’s Council headed by Duke Darzan, 
  humanity has spent the past five years building New 
  Terra City. The city itself is full of intrigue and politics as 
  several factions within the city try to seize control over 
  mankind’s dwindling resources, while visitors from across 
  Sklarr watch the city with great interest. Several factors 
  will determine the fate of humanity and the Sklarrans. 
  The first is whether key pieces of technology necessary 
  for interstellar flight can be replicated and allow mankind 
  the chance to leave the planet. The second is whether the 
  squabbling of the dynasts can be set aside long enough for 
  them to decide to crush the upstart mammals or aid them 
  in their goal of leaving their planet.
  The third is that at the edge of the Sklarr solar system, a 
  strange storm is appearing in space, and all too familiar 
  ships appear as harbingers of an even greater threat. 
  The Courts of Sklarr
  The Sklarrans are descended from great sauria in the same 
  way that humanity is descended from apes but where as 
  mankind found one common form, the Sklarrans found 
  a multitude of different tribes based upon their needs. 
  Though some kingdoms are based around one or two 
  breeds of Sklarran, several of the larger kingdoms and 
  alliances incorporate dozens of different breeds. Some 
  are united by a common philosophy, such as a unifying 
  religion or creed that binds them together to form one 
  nation. Others are descended from ancient empires that 
  have existed for centuries and are steeped in tradition and 
  obedience to their monarchs. Though they are referred to 
  
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  as dynasts by mankind, their royal titles differ as greatly as 
  praetor, president, barsai, and even grand emperor. 
  Although warfare is a constant threat to the Sklarran 
  way of life, the next great obstacle they must overcome is 
  dwindling resources on their planet. Their food supplies 
  cannot sustain their great population, and as modern 
  medicine extends their life span into centuries, the 
  Sklarrans continually fight over arable land and herds of 
  domesticated animals used for food. Though most Sklarrans 
  descended from carnivores were able to accommodate 
  vegetables and fruits into their diets, they still needed 
  large quantities of protein and certain herbivorous kinds 
  of Sklarrans are unable to digest meat. 
  As New Terra City starts to form alliances of their own, they 
  have come into contact with three of the larger alliances 
  on Sklarr. These power blocs are only interested in what 
  humanity has to offer; if they could obtain all of mankind’s 
  resources and then crush them utterly, they likely would. 
  It is only the advanced technology of the humans that have 
  kept them safe so far, which is a fact that most human 
  adventurers try to keep safe. 
  The three largest power blocs on Sklarr are:
  The Hokota League, which is made up completely of 
  herbivores and omnivores willing to forego the majority of 
  their carnivorous habits. They are able to prosper due to 
  the size of their population, but the vast majority of their 
  workforce is used to grow crops needed to feed their people. 
  Their courts differ greatly among their fellow dynasts as 
  each as the widest variety of Sklarrans but the dynasts of the 
  Hokota League are the suspicious of outsiders as they have 
  had to endure centuries of predations by their neighbors. 
  They would love most to see humanity driven from the face 
  of Sklarr, but few are united on how to do that. 
  The Triumvirate of Vra is the strongest alliance to be 
  made up of the fewest nations. Led by the God Kings, 
  the Triumvirate is ruled by a loose alliance between the 
  Pharaoh of Hekkion, the Tyrant of Breze, and the Empress 
  Salkara II. These leaders rule their realms with an iron claw 
  and though they have welcomed human ambassadors to 
  
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  their court, they rule with near absolute authority. Though 
  many have hoped to splinter their alliance, their rulers are 
  united in their conquest of Sklarr. They see humanity as 
  a means to break their stalemate with the few kingdoms 
  around them that have managed to resist their rule. 
  The Society of Akkarlesh is the third strongest alliance 
  in the world and perhaps the strangest. An archipelago 
  located in the center of the Great Ocean, it is made up of an 
  alliance between Sklarrans descended from ocean dwelling 
  and flying sauria. These Sklarrans have managed to take 
  control of the world’s oceans, and their floating courts are 
  the height of decadence and excess with the numerous 
  luxuries they are capable of offering visitors. Few possess 
  the might to challenge the Akkarlesh Royal Navy, whose 
  flyers backed by fleets of submersible sauria make them a 
  potent threat. 
  Of Man and Sklarran
  The survivors of the flotilla have managed to salvage as 
  much technology as they can from their ships, only half of 
  their fleet is capable of flight and even then they are kept in 
  New Terra City. Most of the ships having formed the buildings 
  that make up the city, and despite the best efforts of the New 
  Terran Engineering Corp, the city is always short on supplies. 
  Adventurers heading forth from the city explore the Bad 
  Lands with the hope they can uncover new resources for the 
  city or meet traders willing to do business with the city. 
  What the New Terrans discovered shortly after landing 
  on the planet was that not only had Sklarr once had a 
  golden age of technology that had surpassed even the great 
  sciences known to man, but that some terrible incident 
  had devastated the planet in centuries past. This incident, 
  known only as The Great Shroud, saw half of the planet 
  devastated by a large explosion that covered the planet 
  in debris and dust. Though the Sklarrans survived, their 
  society never recovered, and the remains of their great 
  cities dot the landscape. In the Bad Lands New Terran 
  explorers discover ancient bunkers and buried cities full of 
  technology and treasures, though they are often guarded by 
  
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  automated defenses or tribes of Sklarrans who protect their 
  homes fiercely. The Sklarrans themselves are armed with 
  primitive laser weapons and blades of tempered obsidian 
  that resist shattering when striking at an opponent and 
  which sometimes glow with great heat. 
  Sample Adventure Hooks:
  Each one of these hooks have the same goals: To make the 
  player characters central to the unfolding story, to create 
  a vehicle for interpersonal drama and mystery, and to 
  reinforce the themes of the setting, be they adventure, 
  horror, politics or some mix of the three. The secondary 
  goal is to challenge the players to make difficult choices.
  I. The sound of trumpets heralds the group’s arrival from 
  the distance, and soon the adventurers encounter a grand 
  procession of Sklarrans riding great sauropods covered in 
  royal blankets and great tapestries. 
  Made up of over one hundred 
  Sklarrans, they are a royal party that 
  has been sent to invite the adventurers 
  to the court of Barsai Zu’kuum. But 
  as the player characters travel with 
  them, they notice the group is acting 
  strangely, and that these nobles may 
  have sinister intentions as their 
  worship of a banned sun god marks 
  them as outsiders even among the 
  Sklarrans. 
  “Greetings, great leaders of humanity! 
  Our great and mighty Barsai, Zu’kuum 
  the Sunblessed, has heard of your 
  great deeds and would invite you to 
  his temple! If you follow us we shall 
  share our feast with you and our 
  bottles of spicy hot wine. Our great 
  Barsai would like to discuss a deal of 
  great providence and wealth with you 
  if you would but just follow us.”
  
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  II. An explosion rocks through New Terra City. The reactor 
  of the Harrigan, one of the few warships available to the 
  New Terrans, was sabotaged and explodes, killing twenty. 
  Security footage reveals that the saboteurs were possibly 
  human, and graffiti is discovered nearby linking to a radical 
  group that wants mankind to give up the dream of leaving 
  and conquer the neighboring Sklarran kingdoms. But who 
  is really to blame?  
  “We need your help. Between radiation leaking from the 
  damaged ships around where the Harrigan exploded and 
  trying to keep people under control, we have angry Sklarran 
  ambassadors demanding an audience with the Captain’s 
  Council. The Duke has requested that you help with the 
  investigation, and any information that you can find about 
  the perpetrators of this act would go a long way towards 
  calming everyone down.”
  III. Grand Chief Farian’Dushann’Elegorr is dead. His 
  kingdom, in the center of the Briar Forests, has invited 
  representatives to attend the funeral and witness the 
  transition of power. But an attempted assassination of his 
  son leads to the entire kingdom being locked down, and 
  the fact that a human weapon was used puts suspicion 
  on the outsiders. The real assassin must be found or else 
  the kingdom may switch its alliances towards the nearby 
  Triumvirate of Vra.  
  “Did you hear? The new Grand Chief was badly burned by a 
  human weapon! If I were you, leatherskins, I’d find a way out 
  of here. I can shelter you for now, but I’m afraid the Royal 
  Guards are arresting any humans they find. If we cannot get 
  you out of the country soon, then you might find yourselves 
  locked in the deepest, darkest dungeon.”
  
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  best tasting 
  home Fries in 
  the galaxy
  by Melanie R. Meadors  
  Possible Themes: 
  Stranded, Revolution, Fighting Against the Man, Superheroes, 
  Rescue, Escape
  Inspired by: 
  Firefly, Outlaw Star, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun
  Crash Landing!
  Klaxons are screaming, lights are flashing. You have no 
  idea what happened. All you and your crew were trying 
  to do was make a perfectly safe and routine jump to your 
  home planet to cash in on your last venture, and BOOM—
  you were pulled from light speed and all heck broke loose.
  Are you being drawn in by some sort of tractor beam? Are 
  you crashing of your own accord? You might be able to tell by 
  looking at one of the various instruments and control panels 
  on your ship, but suddenly everything falls silent. The lights 
  go out, all sensors stop their measurements. The only source 
  of light is the window in front of you, which shows a planet 
  getting closer…and closer…
  Luckily, you have an ace pilot on board with you who has 
  gotten your crew out of countless jams before. Will his 
  luck hold? Or will you be pulverized on the surface of the 
  planet—or vaporized in the atmosphere?
  
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  The Good News…
  You’ve landed safely, somehow! You check to see if the rest 
  of the crew is in one piece. After all, you have no idea what 
  resources this planet has or even if you can breathe the air…
  Oh, wait. You must be able to breathe the air, because upon 
  closer inspection, you just noticed the hull of the ship has been 
  breached. Yep, that is most definitely bad news, since you 
  have no idea where you are or if this place might have parts 
  you need. You don’t even know if they speak your language! 
  The Lay of the Land
  Upon stepping out of your ship, you and your crew discover the 
  air to be clear, comfortable to breathe, and the temperature, 
  while on the hot side, is still tolerable. Your ship has landed 
  on a sandy patch of desert-looking terrain. You can see some 
  rocky formations off to the distance in all directions.
  If you have a really good navigator in your party, perhaps 
  he can tell that you’ve crash landed on the planet Cores, in 
  the Dibet system. Cores is a name that sticks out in memory, 
  because it is a penal planet. The entire planet is a prison 
  for criminals and shady characters. At least, it started out 
  that way. The original prisoners started having children, 
  and now there is a new generation of people who didn’t do 
  anything to earn the harsh life on this mining planet. 
  Of course, if your navigator relies on a computer or digital 
  device to get his information, rather than his vast knowledge, 
  he’s out of luck. Any one who tries to use electronics 
  discovers they are completely worthless due to the constant 
  electromagnetic pulses satellites of the planet produce. This 
  is in order to prevent the residents from creating tech that 
  would allow them to escape from the planet somehow. It’s 
  also to prevent large scale communications that would lead 
  to coups and conspiracy. The only places protected from 
  the EMPs are at the poles of the planet, which are also the 
  locations of the only launchpads on the planet. Once per 
  
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  week, a ship lands at the North Pole and drops off supplies 
  and food for the residents, since the desert climate doesn’t 
  allow much food to grow. The Warden of the prison planet 
  and his flunkies live in a compound at the North Pole, and 
  supervise these shipments. It’s rumored that he keeps 
  the best goods for himself and forces the residents to eat 
  whatever is left.
  The residents of the planet work at the mines, located 
  throughout the planet. There is an ore here that is taken 
  elsewhere to be processed into something usable—and very 
  secret. Maybe it’s used to make weapons. Maybe it’s traded 
  with an alien race in order to gain favor. Who knows? The ore 
  is shipped off planet using the launchpad at the South Pole. 
  To the south of your landing site, you see some ramshackle 
  buildings. Nothing that suggests a high level civilization, but 
  hey, maybe there is someone there who can help, or who 
  knows more about the planet so your crew can fix the ship 
  or find a new one and get back to business!
  The Town of Harmony
  At the edge of town, you see a sign which reads: “Welcome 
  to Harmony.” Only, all the letter of the sign are crossed out 
  except for the H. Someone wrote “Hell” beneath the original 
  word. Your eyes drift the something dangling under the 
  sign, and you notice it’s an arm, dangling from a chain. In 
  the hand of the arm is a can of spray paint.
  Moving on? Brave folks will see that town consists of what 
  can only be tenements, shacks, and even tents. In the middle 
  of it is a building, no less dilapidated than the rest, but where 
  people are actually hanging about. Across the side of the 
  building says, “Double D’s Diner.” There isn’t any glass in 
  the windows, so you can see plainly there are people sitting 
  inside, eating.
  
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  Some Interesting 
  Characters and Possible 
  Adventure Hooks:
  Sully, Owner and Chef   
   
   
  at Double D’s Diner
  Behind the counter you see a bald, dark-skinned man 
  wielding a spatula. He’s cooking up eggs and home fries and 
  bacon like nobody’s business—and it’s a good thing, because 
  every table in the place is full. When he hears the jangle of 
  the bells on the door that signal it’s opened, he looks up with 
  steel-gray eyes. “Sit anywhere there’s room,” he says in a low 
  growl. You notice when he walks, it sounds like step-THUD 
  step-THUD. If you look carefully, you can see that he has one 
  cybernetic leg, and an ill-working one at that. If there is a 
  mechanic in your party, he can tell that the leg just needs 
  some simple repairs. Everyone who comes into the diner 
  greets Sully by name, as if everyone knows everyone else 
  here. He doesn’t take orders—everyone who sits down has 
  a plate put down in front of them containing the same meal: 
  eggs, bacon, and nuclear-orange home fries. Does he get that 
  food from the Warden? Seems awfully nutritious and fresh. 
  He yells at people who don’t eat their food, some for wasting 
  food, others for not taking care of themselves. He’s gruff and 
  cranky sounding, but why would he be chastising folks if he 
  didn’t care? Maybe someone can figure out what his deal is 
  if, say, they offered to fix his leg. 
  Loner Kid in the Corner Booth
  Sitting alone in a corner booth of the diner is a dark-haired 
  boy, kind of thin, who moves in a strange, jilted way. When 
  you make eye-contact, you notice his dark eyes are weird 
  and glassy, yet he seems alert. He keeps looking at Sully, 
  
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  watching his every move. After observing him for a while, 
  you notice he routinely brings a hand to the top of his ear, 
  almost like he’s going to push his hair behind his ear, like 
  he’s done it a million times before, but his hair is cut short. 
  He only orders coffee. Cup after cup. If someone from the 
  party approaches him, to ask for directions or help, he 
  scowls, but looks guilty. “I wouldn’t hang around here if I 
  were you,” he says. Unlike everyone else in the place, he’s 
  wearing all black street clothes rather than mining clothing. 
  He keeps his hand in his pocket at all times. Would anyone 
  in the place know who he is? Since he’s a bit more refined 
  than others in the place, maybe he would know where to go 
  for help.
  Bubbly Waitress Droid…Isn’t She?
  The waitress is wearing a pink dress with a white apron, 
  much like in ancient times. Her long golden wavy hair 
  is pulled back in a pony tail, and she has an ever-present 
  smile. She’s perfect in every way—at least, she is if you listen 
  to the marketing people of the company that sells this model 
  of droid. Yet when she looks over at Sully, you notice that 
  her gaze lingers on him. If a customer complains, and Sully 
  notices, her eyes shift as if embarrassed to have made a 
  mistake. But droids can’t feel shame, right? Neither can they 
  have crushes on people, but all it takes is one look to see 
  she has feelings for Sully. What’s up with that? Are droids 
  on this planet more advanced than elsewhere? Or is there 
  more than meets the eye to this one? How do droids work 
  with the EMPs? 
  Other Folks at the Diner
  Everyone at the diner seems to be wearing the same sort 
  of jumpsuit, except for the loner kid and the waitress. Even 
  Sully is wearing a version with torn off sleeves. Cleanliness 
  does not seem to be a virtue in this place. Dirty faces, 
  clothes, hands. It looks like everyone just got off from a shift 
  at work, only there weren’t any factories or even buildings 
  that looked large enough to be a place where all these folks 
  could work in town. Everyone seems tired, worn down. You 
  
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  get a couple glances when you enter, and you realize your 
  party stands out. Even after crashing and trudging through 
  the sand, your clothes are cleaner and less worn, and you 
  definitely have more energy. Are you at risk here? What are 
  these people’s stories? Some are younger, and were probably 
  born here. Have they ever thought of acting out against the 
  unfair ways here? 
  Butch, the Cabbie
  After a while, you notice some people leave, and others arrive. 
  You look out the window and see a wagon with benches on 
  it, and people hopping on and off of it with tool bags. An old 
  timer with a thick gray mustache sits at the front, wearing 
  a cap with a brim to shade his face and a pair of goggles. 
  He drives a pair of animals the likes of which you’ve never 
  seen before. They have six legs a piece and are brown and 
  woolly with tusks protruding from their mouths. Word is, he 
  brings workers to and from the mines from this town every 
  day. Can he bring you somewhere of use? Does he work for 
  the Warden? Or is his friendliness toward the regular folks 
  genuine? How can he help or hinder your party?
  Is there anyone here who can help your party get back into 
  space where you belong? Or, perhaps, is there any way you 
  can help them, if you think they might deserve it?
  
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  bears. in. 
  space.
  by William Munn  
  Possible Themes: 
  Exploration, Survival, Colonization, First Contact
  Inspired by: 
  Star Trek. Swiss Family Robinson. The Muppet Show. Bears 
  everywhere.
  The Rise of Intelligent 
  Animals & Ursus Exploration
  Humanity is poorly suited for the rigors of deep space 
  exploration and colonization on the fringes of the civilized 
  galaxy. Proper cryostasis is risky for homo-sapiens without 
  great expense, so we turned to genetic advances in the 
  animal kingdom.  Ursus Exploration came to be because 
  bears and other animals have better tools for exploring 
  the galaxy and preparing the way for humanity. Animal-
  sapiens, as intelligent non-humans are colloquially known, 
  have naturally supported or genetically reawakened 
  hibernation and an omnivorous diet well-suited for long 
  journeys to undeveloped worlds where food is sparse. Their 
  superior physical attributes (including immense strength, 
  sense of smell, and the natural sprinting ability of up to 60 
  MPH) are key to managing the unknown. Of course, a built-
  in defense system using their claws and jaws also doesn’t 
  hurt. Human genetic engineers have uplifted multiple 
  species into the new terrestrial-based sapiens heritages:
  
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  Tirhu
  The survivalist brown bear (tirhu-sapiens) get along well 
  with humans and other species when they must, but retain 
  some of their solitary nature. 
  (Suggested stats: 6HP, Heritage Trait: Natural Survivor 
  [some form of advantage in survival situations])
  Awrla
  Dexterous and clever (and not technically a bear, but chosen 
  for the preceding reasons) the red panda (awrla-sapiens) 
  are precocious and are prone to infighting with each other. 
  May be prone to playing tricks on crewmates.
  (Suggested stats: 4HP, Heritage Trait: Climbing Maestro 
  [some form of advantage in climbing/balance/agility])
  Karhu
  Wise, methodical, and deadly, the polar bear (karhu-
  sapiens) is often a chosen leader for their general stability 
  and trustworthiness. Karhu respect all uplifted animals as 
  equal. Don’t underestimate their claws in a fight.
  7HP, Heritage Trait: Powerful Claws
  Humhu
  The long-tongued and curious sloth bear (humhu-sapiens) 
  tend to only go into space with other heritages. Left to their 
  own devices, they wouldn’t do much. Humhu don’t tend to 
  respect authority but otherwise, bear no grudges.
  (Suggested stats: 6HP, Heritage Trait: Heightened Senses 
  [some form of advantage in sense-based awareness])
  Ursus Exploration gives the assignments, and space-
  faring ships of animal-sapiens large and small take them 
  on. Crews may include the occasional human, gen, or 
  autoborg, or even the rare friendly non-terrestrial person. 
  The animal-sapiens heritages aren’t openly hostile to any 
  particular group without just cause. The human race 
  regards their creations with feelings ranging from curiosity 
  and gratitude to fear and even open hostility. Many regard 
  UE as heroes of the planet and yet are still terrified in the 
  presence of a giant intelligent polar bear.
  
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  Adventurers take on the role of the crew of an Ursus 
  Exploration ship, colonists preparing a planet for future 
  habitation by the other sapient earth species, or making first-
  contact with the other intelligent races of the galaxy. Think 
  Star Trek on the Millennium Falcon with Ursus Exploration 
  in place of the Federation. Some leaders of UE are animal-
  sapiens, but most are humans and gens. The habitable 
  planets nearest to Earth are inhabited by human, gen, and 
  animal-sapiens, and lines of trade are established with many 
  alien heritages throughout the galaxy. Meanwhile, animal-
  sapiens continue to push the boundaries of exploration 
  farther and farther from the earth— what will they find?
  What Derelict?
  Thunder had a methodical way about her odd for her 
  Awrla heritage. She was inclined to use her head in tight 
  situations, including hurling objects at her enemies with 
  her overpowered brain. The world of computers, robots, 
  and AIs trembled at her resounding presence, and the nets 
  and webs closed their doors in vain. She also excelled in the 
  healer’s art. Aboard The Minor, an Ursus Exploration ship, 
  Captain Resolve was always kind to Thunder, even turning 
  the other way when she got into tiffs with her sister. Resolve 
  was a patient Karhu. And I bet he isn’t even thirty, Thunder 
  thought, he’s too young to be this cool and collected.
  As it happened, the fourth crew-member onboard the 
  UES Minor, a Humhu named Gordon, was one of the 
  trickiest tests of patience Thunder has seen her captain 
  deal with. Somehow the gengineers on Earth had messed 
  up Gordon’s hibernation DNA markers, and now he had an 
  unfortunate tendency of lapsing into partial hibernation 
  at inopportune moments. The captain was often asking 
  Thunder to administer stimulants to the sloth bear during 
  tricky assignments where falling asleep could be hazardous 
  to him or the rest of the team. It was her least favorite duty 
  because Gordon complained constantly, and he smelled like 
  sardines. Today was no different.
  
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  “But, I’m tired,” Gordon said. “Can’t you just tell Cap you 
  gave it to me?”
  “It’s duty, Gordon. Can’t have you dozing off in the middle 
  of q-manip maintenance. We’d all end up in quantum bits.” 
  Resolve replied from a nearby compartment where he could 
  overhear the exchange.
  “Aww, I wouldn’t let anything that important slip,” the 
  Humhu said with all the petulance of a two-year-old cub 
  getting kicked out of her mother’s den.
  “Here on the edge of civ, everything’s critical,” Resolve 
  chided, “even the trash compactors.”
  “Yeah!” Lightning said leaning around the navigator’s chair 
  to chime in down the main hall of the ship. “We all have to 
  be one-hundred percent sharp.” While her back was turned, 
  the ship’s proximity alarms klaxoned, and she promptly fell 
  out of her seat. With a terrified look, she scrambled up to 
  navigate the vessel around a piece of what looked like debris.
  The polar bear captain did his best to hide his amusement, 
  but Gordon showed no such restraint and rolled his eyes so 
  hard they moved his entire head in a circle.
  Lightning yelped, “What in the name of my furry hide was 
  that?” The sisters, Lightning and Thunder, were as different 
  as it was possible for two Awrla to be. Lightning was quick, 
  nimble, and brilliant. No surprise there. The purple of her 
  laser sword cast its glow in the wake of multitudes of her 
  fallen enemies. She was also a bit jumpy and tended to act 
  or speak before thinking.
  “Scanning—looks like it used to be a ship,” Thunder replied 
  breathless from her rush back to the bridge.
  “Strange all the way out here. Are there records of any 
  failed Ursus missions to Beta Orionis?” Resolve asked.
  “No sir, we’re the first,” the Thunder replied.
  “We should check it out!” Lightning said and grabbed an 
  away-bag from the wall and started stuffing bite-sized 
  eucalyptus bales into it.
  The other three crew members stared at her while she 
  crammed the bag full of snacks pausing only to shove one 
  in her mouth several times and gulping each one down. 
  
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  “What?” she asked catching a half-chewed bite that fell from 
  her mouth as she spoke.
  The other three laughed out loud. This was so Lightning.
  For her part, Lightning looked a little sheepish, then 
  giggled too.
  The Captain was the first to settle down and said, “Alright, 
  Lightning. Look over the wreckage. Take Gordon—Gordon 
  you’ll need more go-juice before you leave.”
  “Whatever you say, sir. Anything to get off the Minor for a 
  few hours.”
  Thunder scooted into her sister’s seat at the helm and 
  turned the Minor around and expertly sidled her up next 
  to their discovered junk heap. It only vaguely resembled a 
  ship. Lightning isn’t the only one who can fly, she thought 
  with a certain smugness. 
  Then, caught off-guard, she gasped audibly as The Minor’s 
  automated docking protocols perfectly synced up to the derelict 
  and the readings showed that its atmosphere and artificial 
  gravity were both operating within acceptable parameters. She 
  mentioned as much to Resolve, and he took a moment to ponder.
  It wasn’t long before he decided to suit up as well and 
  walked with Lightning and Gordon to the docking bay. The 
  three of them had weapons drawn, and Lightning’s laser 
  sword snapped to life.
  Thunder watched the video feed from the captain’s 
  helmet. When the three of them set foot on the other ship, 
  its lumen system automatically lit the hallway before them. 
  The hallway was pristine—undamaged. Nearly perfect, 
  outside of a few scuff marks on the shiny floor. Odd. The 
  readings from Captain Resolve’s suit beeped the safety of 
  the environment, and he unsealed and removed his helmet. 
  Thunder heard him take a deep breath. “Smells antiseptic. 
  Like a human ship,” Resolve said.  
  Strange, what would humans be doing this far out? Thunder 
  thought.
  She didn’t have time to ponder. There was a loud crash, and 
  away party’s video and audio feeds went to static.
  Oh no, Thunder thought. Pirates.
  
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  NPCs
  The Crew of the Minor
  Resolve
  Heritage: Karhu
  HP: 9
  Heritage Traits: Powerful Claws
  Traits: Strong, Tough, Diehard
  Weapon Proficiency: Heavy Melee
  Weapon Mastery: Claws, Greataxe
  Family Trade: Ursus Lobbyists
  Belief: All intelligent creatures are equal regardless of how 
  they obtained their intelligence.
  Ship Rank: Captain
  Lightning
  Heritage: Awrla
  HP: 6
  Heritage Traits: Climbing Maestro 
  Traits: Tough, Born Fighter, Charismatic
  Weapon Proficiency: Light Melee
  Weapon Mastery: Laser Sword
  Family Trade: Extraction specialists (thieves)
  Belief: I’m invincible!
  Crew Rank: Tactical/Helm
  Thunder
  Heritage: Awrla
  HP: 4
  Heritage Traits: Climbing Maestro 
  Traits: Psionic - Telekinesis, Psionic - Biomancy, Hacker
  Weapon Proficiency: Light Ranged
  
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  Weapon Mastery: Laser Pistol
  Family Trade: Extraction specialists (thieves)
  Belief: Some problems can’t be solved with a laser sword 
  or gun.
  Ship Rank: Communications/Medical
  Gordon
  Heritage: Humhu
  HP: 6
  Heritage Traits: Heightened Senses
  Traits: Engineer, Marksman, Educated
  Weapon Proficiency: Heavy Ranged 
  Weapon Mastery: Laser Sniper Rifle
  Family Trade: Truffle hunters
  Belief: Space exploration is almost as critical as my nap.
  Ship Rank: Engineer
  The UES Minor
  Chassis: Striker Class
  Structure: 6
  Fuel: 14
  Crew: Up to 12
  Chassis System: Agile Dodge - Passive: Whenever the Striker 
  is hit by a Ranged attack, they may roll a Test at Disadvantage. 
  If they succeed, they negate all damage from the attack. This 
  does not stack with the Evade action. 
  Other Systems: 
  Jamming Array: A sophisticated sensor array that can jam 
  enemy communications. Passive: Spend 3 Fuel to give an 
  opponent Disadvantage on a Test before they Test.
  Armor Piercing Multi-cannon: A rapid-fire high velocity 
  weapon designed to pierce armor and puncture plating.
  Action: Make three Attack Tests with Disadvantage. Each 
  successful test deals 1 damage. This damage cannot be 
  reduced. 
  
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  Main Cannon: A reliable long-range weapon is mounted 
  on your Starship. Action: Make an Attack Test. If successful, 
  deal 2 damage. If you fire on an immobile target, this attack 
  has Advantage.
  Repair Drones: Robots assist in repair tasks. Action: Spend 
  3 Fuel. Restore 2 Structure to either your Starship or an 
  adjacent Starship.
  Gravity Engines: A reactionless engine that is very efficient 
  for long missions. Action: Spend 2 Fuel, and then move. You 
  may use an Attack System (giving your Test Disadvantage) at 
  the end of the move.
  Fuel Tanks: Massive reservoirs of fuel. Passive: Permanently 
  increase your Starship’s Fuel by 4.
  Adventure Starters
  Winter’s End on Slojo
  Players are part of a colony ship settling UEP22741, also 
  known as Slojo. Slojo is the 4th planet from the binary stars 
  in the center of the system. As a frontier planet conditions 
  are somewhat rustic, and in some ways resemble the old 
  west, if the old west had laser pistol toting animal-sapiens. 
  The colony ships landed only ten earth years previous, and 
  the first winter in that time has now passed (3 EY long). Now 
  that the snows are melting, strange structures can be seen 
  north of the main colony settlement. The marshal asks our 
  heroes to investigate, and they discover that the structures 
  were built to shelter someone, or something, from winter. 
  They apparently were made with tools, but the builders are 
  nowhere to be found. They must unravel the mystery, and 
  discover if there is more sentient life dwelling on Slojo, and 
  what to do about it.
  
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  First Contact With The Salimar
  Ursus Exploration has been in contact with a new sentient 
  species who call themselves the Salimar. A strategic 
  alliance with this trading, space-faring civilization will be 
  a boon for both sides if only we can come to a mutually 
  beneficial agreement. Players are part of an envoy escorting 
  UE diplomats to make first contact. The problem is, the 
  diplomats never showed up. Now our heroes must try to 
  find the missing ship of diplomats, but the galaxy is vast, 
  and time is running out. Who will meet with the Salimar if 
  all other options run out?
  Dead Planet Hunting
  Throughout UE’s exploration of the galaxy, we’ve stumbled 
  upon more than one “dead” planet. Even Mars in our Solar 
  system once held burgeoning life. UE leadership has decided 
  to devote resources to catalog such planets and determine 
  what wiped out their life (and in infrequent cases, their 
  civilization). After several instances of meteor strikes and 
  other mundane causes wiping out single-cell life on dusty 
  rocks like Mars, our heroes come upon a planetary system 
  were not one, but three planets were once colonized by a 
  civilization where now only lower life-forms remain. The 
  hunters must brave the violent indigenous species to gather 
  evidence solve the mystery.
  Home No More
  The crew of the UES Dayglider returned to earth for 
  refueling and reassignment, and they wander out of the 
  UE containment area to a local human bar. After a ruckus, 
  several humans are dead or wounded, and the crew 
  is missing. Local authorities insist the explorers are to 
  blame, but UE sends a group of investigators (the Players) 
  to determine what happened and find the missing crew. 
  Tensions mount as the investigators find growing evidence 
  pointing to the guilt of the crew of the Dayglider. They 
  have to find answers quickly before all UE operations and 
  animal-sapiens are exiled from Earth indefinitely.
  
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  the venture
  by Dan Wells  
   The human race colonized dozens of systems and hundreds 
  of worlds, but as their civilization grew, civil government 
  was superseded by the rule of private corporations, grabbing 
  resources and claiming territory until every citizen of the 
  galaxy was an employee of one company and an enemy to all 
  others. This left the corporations with no customers and no 
  market for growth, resulting in a bloody conflict called The 
  Market War, which lasted for three decades before a group 
  of CEOs was able to broker a peace. They recognized that 
  they could not survive without an open market and healthy 
  competition, so they created the Joint Venture: ten systems, 
  comprising dozens of planets, in which every business 
  is allowed to operate freely. The businesses themselves 
  were consolidated into seven super corporations, called 
  Syndicates, each with its own multiplanetary fiefdom, and 
  each with a representative on The Bureau, which rules the 
  Venture as a Board of Directors. 
  The Venture is the only thing keeping the Syndicates from 
  tumbling back into open war, so the Syndicates and the 
  Bureau have worked for two centuries to keep it functional, 
  stable, and safe. Each Syndicate has a specialty, but they all 
  have their fingers in a bit of everything, putting them in 
  constant competition; some of this is handled with cutthroat 
  but legal business practices, and some of it with hackers, 
  spies, covert infiltrators, black ops, and even assault troops 
  when the situation calls for it. The Consumers--the people 
  of the Venture--are completely oblivious to this shadow 
  war, even though most of them work for a division of a 
  division of a Syndicate. The Employees, though--the people 
  born and raised on Syndicate worlds, who identify with 
  their corporate brands as deeply as any patriot--will stop at 
  nothing to see their company come out on top.
  
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  The Venture
  Homeworld: Capitol
  Focus: The Venture is kind of like a wildlife preserve, where 
  ruthless corporations keep naive consumers well-fed and 
  well-employed, all so they can watch the right ads and buy 
  the right stuff. Money cycles in and out of the Venture like 
  water through a filter, and each Syndicate is doing everything 
  they can to get more back out than they put in.
  • Operatives: Venture operatives keep the peace and 
  enforce the trade laws, punishing violations where 
  necessary.
  • Police: Street-level cops fighting street-level crime.
  • Venture Interplanetary Security (VIS): Space cops, 
  patrolling the open space between planets. 
  • Bureau Agents: Agents who investigate the Syndicates 
  directly, watching for violations.
  • Enforcers: Armed to the teeth with advanced, 
  computerized gear, the Enforcers are a physical threat big 
  enough to make even the tough Syndicate soldier pause. 
  Agri-Max
  Homeworld: Carilon
  Cultural Focus: Victory Through Discovery
  Description: Agri-Max is a tight conglomeration of food-
  science corporations, with sidelines in oil-based bio-fuels, algae-
  based batteries and solar cells, and even genetic engineering, 
  including efficient plants, custom pets, engineered work 
  animals, and human augmentation--though human DNA mods 
  are illegal, so they keep these technologies top secret.
  Operatives: Agri-Max has older gear, but maintains their 
  edge through genetic augmentation, animal mounts and 
  companions, and an extensive suite of drugs called Boosts.
  • Newmans: An engineered super human, using 
  everything from heightened reflexes and healing to 
  gills and claws and more.
  • K9s: A commando who works in conjunction with an 
  engineered animal companion.
  
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  • Outriders: Soldiers with larger animals used as 
  mounts: raptors, cats, bears, and sometimes even birds 
  or cetaceans.
  • Boosters: Agri-Max’s best infiltrators and spies use a suite 
  of hidden drugs to turn from a mild-mannered nobody 
  to a devastating powerhouse in only a few heartbeats.
  Wheelhouse Unlimited
  Homeworld: Vostok
  Cultural Focus: Get in, Get it Done, Get Out
  Description: Wheelhouse is the Venture’s primary supplier 
  of both water and energy, including the Beranium ore that 
  makes FTL drives possible. Through this, they also control a 
  huge number of planetary and asteroid mines, many of them 
  operated by advanced robotics, and are a major producer of 
  spaceships, airplanes, hovercraft, and wheeled vehicles.
  Operatives: WHU’s military strength lies in speed, power, 
  and drones. They favor high mobility and energy-based 
  weapons.
  • Bruisers: Arguably the most powerful heavy insertion 
  troops in the galaxy.
  • Daredevils: Peerless stunt drivers with some of the most 
  advanced cars, motorcycles, and ATVs in the galaxy.
  • Razorwings: Equipped with flight packs, precise 
  cutting lasers, and advanced cybersecurity suites.
  • Toymasters: Gadgeteers equipped with short range 
  defense drones, long range attack drones, palm-sized 
  assassin bots, wasp-sized recon bots, and more.
  Magniplex Studios
  Homeworld: Magniplex Prime
  Cultural Focus: If You’re Going to Do it, Do it Big
  Description: Magniplex has its finger in every branch of the 
  Venture’s entertainment, from movies to publishing to sports to 
  news to virtual reality. They have TVs, phones, game systems, 
  and fashion, and they have the advertising muscle to sell it all. 
  
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  Operatives: Magniplex agents lean toward the lighter, 
  less combat-oriented end of the spectrum.
  • Holo-Men: Advanced holographic technology and cyber-
  projectors can make them look like anyone they want.
  • Drama Queens: A deep cover con artist of immaculate 
  skill.
  • FX: Covert technicians who excel behind the scenes, 
  coding and hacking and manipulating everything from 
  data to signals to cybernetics to thoughts.
  • Bouncers: Start with a big brawler, use bionics to 
  make them bigger, then give them a nice suit and an 
  overpowered gun.
  Arroyo, Inc.
  Homeworld: Sadec V
  Cultural Focus: Everything Is Part of the Whole
  Description: Arroyo builds everything, from tiny consumer 
  devices to massive construction projects and interstellar 
  vessels, and all of it is visually branded and seamlessly 
  integrated into the Arroyo SmartLife network. This ecosystem 
  of networked technology could not function without an 
  amazing level of anti-hacking measures, and thus Arroyo has 
  become the leading expert in cybersecurity.
  Operatives: Every Syndicate uses branded arms and 
  armor: smooth curves, white panels, soft glowing lights, 
  and a user-friendly interface.
  • 
  Cubos: Cubos have no bodies: their minds have been 
  uploaded to secure, portable hard drives, from which 
  they can be transferred in and out of almost any 
  computer system in the galaxy.
  • 
  Espadas: Soldiers using a dedicated suite of networked 
  technology, functioning as a single extension of the 
  operative’s mind.
  • 
  Caballeros: Drivers and fighter pilots partnered with 
  limited AI sidekicks.
  • 
  Ojos: Among the best surveillance experts in the galaxy.
  
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  Najima Telecommunications
  Homeworld: Altura
  Cultural Focus: Wherever You Go, We’re Already There
  Description: Najima builds and maintains the infrastructure 
  for phones, Internet, and more, including a vast satellite 
  network with deep space repeaters, enabling convenient 
  communication even between solar systems. Every Syndicate 
  has their own encryption and usually their own infrastructure, 
  but Najima’s is the best and most Consumers in the Venture 
  use it. If someone doesn’t use an Arroyo phone, they probably 
  use a Najima.
  Operatives: Najima has more rivals than most, because they 
  use their leverage to compete in every industry they can.
  • Alsuqur: Armed patrols, protecting satellites, repeaters, 
  and space lanes.
  • Albaraqa: A failed cable technology became, with 
  tweaking, a devastating weapon called the Lightning 
  Whip, used for movement and combat, and easily 
  concealed for covert missions.
  • Alzilal: Spies and assassins, armed with cybernetic 
  senses and weapons.
  • Wahush: Heavy infantry with advanced electronic 
  warfare suites.
  Fúxiâo Enterprises
  Homeworld: Jiā
  Cultural Focus: Only We Have Secrets
  Description: A chemical company that sells cosmetics, 
  pharmaceuticals, batteries, solvents, solar cells, and more. 
  Fúxiâo is about science, at every level and in every market, 
  and within their area of specialty there is virtually nothing 
  they can’t analyze, reverse-engineer, and improve upon. 
  Operatives: Fúxiâo uses subtle methods with a deceptive, 
  underhanded flair.
  
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  • Lâohû: Hard combat troops with a toolbox array 
  of 
  chemical 
  weapons: 
  tranquilizers, 
  paralytics, 
  hallucinogenics, acids, and more. 
  • Guí: Black ops combat hackers armed with sniper rifles 
  and deadly blades, all fully plastic and impossible for 
  enemy security systems to detect.
  • Kāihuā: Poison experts who use subterfuge and 
  seduction to get close to their targets, learn what they 
  can, and kill who they must. 
  • Dà Shû: Biologically enhanced nightmares who 
  can chew through anything, resist deadly toxins, 
  and survive for weeks in pits and sewers and other 
  environments no sane operative would get into at all.
  Paladin Enterprises
  Homeworld: Morolia
  Cultural Focus: Appearance Is Everything
  Description: A healthcare company focusing on hospitals, 
  pharmacology, and cybernetics, with expansions into 
  genetics, hospitality, private security, and the best public 
  relations in the Venture. All of their divisions present 
  themselves as sincere, caring companies, but they will 
  betray anyone to protect their bottom line, and arrange 
  things so they still look like the heroes.  
  Operatives: Maintaining their reputation requires both 
  highly visible soldiers and hidden black ops commandos.
  • Protectors: A well-trained, well-groomed army that 
  always makes sure that they look like the good guys.
  • Persuaders: Cybernetically enhanced security teams, 
  capable of blending in or standing out as the situation 
  requires.
  • Hosts: A cybernetic spy equipped with hidden ports 
  containing autonomous minidrones.
  • Nevers: Ragtag warriors with no uniform and no 
  standard-issue equipment; used when Paladin wants 
  to keep its fingerprints far away from a sensitive job.
  
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  Independent Businesses
  Homeworld: Planets, stations, and asteroids throughout 
  the Venture
  Cultural Focus: Fight for Every Penny
  Description: The Venture is designed as a capitalist 
  paradise, but independent business are outlawed. If you’re 
  not a Syndicate and you want to make a buck, you need 
  a careful balance of publicity, secrecy, forgery, and armed 
  force.
  Operatives: There is no set group or style of Independent 
  operative, though they do tend to fall into four basic 
  categories.
  • Techrats: Coders, hackers, and information specialists.
  • Mercs: Armed muscle, plain and simple.
  • Faces: Con artists, liars, moles, and more.
  • Ronin: The Ronin is unique, even among Independents: 
  they seek not to feed a corporation but to make the 
  world, or the Venture, or even the Galaxy, a better 
  place. Some are lone wolves, fighting injustice 
  wherever they find it, while others are teams or even 
  mini corporations of their own, pooling their resources 
  to take down bigger targets.
  
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  warped
  by Drew Wendell  
  Possible Themes: 
  Exploration, Rebellion, Empire Building, Diplomacy, Piracy, 
  and Megaverse Altering Events.
  Inspired by: 
  Ancient Aliens, Star Trek, The Harlock Saga, Quantum 
  Break, Battleship Yamato, Foundation, and YouTube 
  Conspiracy Videos.
  The Past:
  It didn’t take long. It was bound to happen. Newton worked 
  out gravity, and less than three centuries later we put a man 
  on the moon. Einstein worked out space-time, and just less 
  than four centuries, we figured out how to warp it. 
  It all started with orichalcum, a rare, red metal with a faint 
  glow found in the depths of the Earth and on Mars. We 
  didn’t know quite what to do with it until Dr. Tannhauser 
  plugged some into a fusion reactor and bent space. I don’t 
  know the science of it, but if you run enough juice through 
  it, orichalcum can fold space. Suddenly, we could travel 
  faster than light, and the eggheads had just started debating 
  whether we could use the T-Drive to hop dimensions when 
  someone answered the question for us. That’s when things 
  got weird.  
  It’s hard to explain without falling into conflicting theories 
  of religion, history, and just about everything else, so I’ll 
  stick to the absolute facts. 
  Orichalcum is special stuff, maybe the most important 
  stuff in the megaverse; and everyone wants it, especially 
  the Mighty.
  
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  The Mighty are the name we’ve given to the first or most 
  powerful sentient species to start dimension hopping and 
  collecting orichalcum.  They’re still collecting it, hording it, 
  and fighting each other over it, like we used to do with gold 
  or oil. The Mighty, and their Servitors, have been meddling 
  in Earthly affairs for a long time; thousands of years if you 
  believe the conspiracy nuts, who don’t look quite as crazy 
  anymore. I have to say some of it’s pretty convincing: the 
  Mighty setting themselves up as gods, getting their devoted 
  followers to mine orichalcum, and making their human 
  pawns do the heavy lifting for the massive machines the 
  Mighty use to purify the stuff. Just who or what from 
  history was the work of the Mighty isn’t certain, but the 
  conspiracy buffs smelled something rotten; they called the 
  puppet master “Aten.” 
  What we know for sure is they’d set up a base inside 
  the moon. We found this out when an Ahleghiri fleet 
  arrived. While humanity was busy coming to grips with 
  the apocalypse, the Aten scrambled its fleet, which poured 
  out of false craters on the dark side of the moon. By the 
  time the two motherships locked in combat, the militaries 
  of Earth came up with a fleet of their own and a typically 
  human solution. We nuked everything and everybody that 
  wasn’t us. Amazingly, it worked. I suppose it wouldn’t occur 
  to other intelligent races to detonate thousands of nuclear 
  warheads in the middle of a space battle, poisoning a huge 
  swath of the sky and creating an orbital shotgun blast of 
  debris the size of a continent, travelling at 17,500 mph. 
  We’re special like that.
  With all the commanders blown to bits, both sides just 
  stopped fighting. For a moment, there was silence. First we 
  waited, and then we came up with a surprisingly human 
  solution: we started to talk. Turns out, neither side wanted 
  to be fighting in the first place. The Gens, Aten’s genetically 
  engineered humans, and the Ahleghiri, got us up to speed 
  pretty quick. 
  We learned orichalcum shows up predominantly in 
  planets with sentient life, or which once had sentient life. 
  
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  Some people say sentient life creates orichalcum, but we 
  can’t prove that. Other people say we’ve got it backwards 
  and sentient life only shows up on planets with orichalcum 
  because it causes sentient life to develop. We can’t prove 
  that either.  All we know for sure is to get orichalcum, 
  you’ve usually got to take it.
  The Mighty generally get their orichalcum, or “ori,” as 
  it’s now commonly known, by influencing or enslaving 
  sentient species and getting them to dig the stuff up. Some, 
  like Aten, work subtly; others, like Al-Gal, who ruled the 
  Ahleghiri, openly rule as god-kings. Still others, like the 
  Horde Fleet, wander space, ripping planets to shreds and 
  processing the scraps for ori. A handful of Mighty seem 
  benevolent and enlightened, but even they have to defend 
  their territory by force. 
  The Ahleghiri helped us build the T-Gate just beyond 
  the moon, to send them back home, and the Heliopause 
  Disruptor Field, to keep unwanted guests from showing up 
  on our doorstep. When they left, the truth sunk in: if we 
  wanted to keep our freedom, we’d have to fight for it.  
  The Present: 
  All that was three centuries ago. About two decades ago, 
  our brainiacs noticed the disruptor field was weakening. 
  Every time ori works its magic, a little burns off; sometimes 
  just molecules, sometimes kilograms, depending on the 
  use. The ori fueling the HDF was running low and we 
  didn’t have a lot lying around; we’d used most of it for ori-
  tech, weapons and ships capable of fighting off the next 
  invasion. The only way to get the ori we needed was to go 
  out and find it. 
  For twenty years, we’ve sent out fleet after fleet. We 
  discovered the Axis, an ancient, enormous way station 
  between dimensions and central meeting point for species 
  with ori-tech. Some negotiated trade deals, others found 
  ruined worlds to explore, and still others hired themselves 
  out as mercenaries. Some made allies among the other 
  
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  sentients, some made a lot of enemies. Some came back 
  laden with ori, some never came back at all. Pirates, 
  explorers, petty despots, merchant princes, villains, and 
  heroes; we can be whatever we want out there. Get rich, 
  save the world, or do a little of both. So what do you say 
  kid? Got it in you?    
  Adventure Hooks
  1. Retrograde – Your oriscope detects a ruined world 
  covered by a vast, abandoned cityscape. Within metal 
  ziggurats and pyramids, the ancient, automated machines 
  of the Mighty still churn, refining the last kilograms of the 
  planet’s orichalcum. Twisted and deadly creatures lurk 
  in the deep shadows and dark alleys of the city. Among 
  these are savage but vaguely intelligent humanoids, loping 
  and grunting, clad in scraps of animal skin. Are they the 
  remnants of a once great civilization? Did the Mighty 
  strip them of sentience when they stripped the planet of 
  orichalcum? What happens if the you take the rest?
  2. Ancient Astronaut Hypothesis – In a far corner of 
  the megaverse, you discover a world in turmoil. Two of 
  the Mighty have spent a century at war over the planet 
  and their battles have rained advanced tech, including 
  weaponry, down on the Bronze Age cultures below. With 
  their armories depleted, the Mighty enlist the planet’s 
  denizens, who worship them as gods, to continue the 
  conflict. The arrival of even a single starship could swing 
  the balance to one side… or in favor of the oppressed but 
  well-armed populace.
  Ori-Tech
  Orimeter/Oriscope: This piece of kit can be hand held 
  (orimeters) or built into a ship (oriscope); either way it 
  detects orichalcum. Orimeters provide precise locations 
  in the immediate vicinity; oriscopes detect large amounts 
  from parsecs or dimensions away. 
  
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  Warp-Tech
  Warp-Tech uses orichalcum to bend space. It’s more an art 
  than a science, and requires the Warp Wizard Trait to use. 
  When selecting the Trait, pick two of the abilities below. 
  These abilities do not require a test to activate, though 
  some abilities require tests to use successfully. 
  • Displacement: When rolling one die to Evade, you 
  succeed on a 4, 5, or 6.
  • Slide-Step:  On a successful Evade, you may move [units]
  • Teleport: Spend an action to move any distance within 
  line of sight.
  • Curve-Bullet: Sacrifice 1 Hit Point to do an additional 
  1 damage on your next successful Ranged attack.
  • Redirect: Spend an action. The next time you are 
  successfully attacked, Test with Disadvantage. If successful, 
  the attack hits a target of your choice as well, dealing full 
  damage to the target and half damage to you (minimum 1).
  Chrono-Tech
  Chrono-Tech uses orichalcum to alter the flow of time. Doing so 
  requires years of disciplined training and the Chronomancer 
  Trait. When selecting the Trait, pick two of the abilities below. 
  These abilities do not require a test to activate, though some 
  abilities require tests to use successfully.
  • Tempus Fugit: Reroll 1’s on initiative.
  • Slow Motion: Test to deny a target one action on her 
  next turn.
  • Overclocked: Sacrifice 1 Hit Point for an additional 
  action on your next turn.
  • Interupt: Sacrifice 1 Hit Point to take one of your actions 
  after any action in the round, regardless of whose turn it is.
  • Speed Force: Sacrifice 1 Hit Point to add 1 Damage to 
  your next successful Melee attack.
  Note: Warp and Chrono Tech take a toll on the mind and 
  body. Characters with Psionics or Cybernetics cannot take 
  the Warp Wizard or Chronomancer Trait.
  
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  the grand 
  Archive
  by Wendelyn Reischl  
  Humanity has lived amongst the stars for millennia. For 
  nearly a thousand years they have collected the memories 
  and genetic codes of their forebearers with a drop of blood 
  collected in the moments before death. These treasures, 
  more valuable than any other resource, are stored in a 
  fortified space station at the hub of human occupied space; 
  it is known as the Grand Archive.
  The Grand Archive
  This state of the art space station is the bastion of humanity 
  and all of its collective knowledge. Not only does it serve as 
  a storage vault, it also houses the assembly of the Central 
  Human Authority, and is the birthplace of the Progeny. 
  There are scientific research facilities, training facilities, hab 
  units, and the command headquarters for humanity’s vast 
  military and exploration fleets. 
  There is nowhere in human occupied space that is more 
  important or better defended than the Grand Archive. 
  Citizens who seek to board the Grand Archive are heavily 
  scrutinized before they are admitted. The genetic vault 
  itself is sealed except to the Antiquarians, the collectors and 
  caretakers of the genetic memory. The elite Vault Guardians 
  are the only people allowed to carry weapons aboard the 
  station. The Vault Guardians are trained to fight in a style 
  that specifically does not shed blood in order to protect 
  against genetic contamination.   
  
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  The Archive’s Progeny
  Many of humanity’s explorers and soldiers are born as the 
  Archive’s Progeny, human genetic constructs that combine 
  both the physical characteristics and the genetic memories 
  of their forebearers. All of the Archive’s Progeny are born at 
  the Grand Archive. To best leverage the genetic memories 
  they possess, each Progeny’s path is selected for them prior 
  to gestation. They are cultivated with rigorous physical 
  training regimens among others who share their destiny. 
  The Progeny also submit to an educational program known 
  as Anamnesis – the process of “re-remembering” -- their 
  forebearer’s experiences.
  The Archive’s Progeny are a step ahead in development 
  and their bodies are supplemented to grow faster than their 
  natural counterparts, reaching full physical and mental 
  maturity at age 15. Though this accelerated growth can 
  cause early organ failure, the Progeny program is deemed 
  worthwhile by the Central Human Authority (CHA). While 
  each Progeny has their own thoughts and feelings, it can be 
  a challenge to suss them apart from their bred-in memories 
  and biases from prior lifetimes. 
  There is a divide among the Progeny. Some of them embrace 
  the past, falling with ease into living as a forebearers, 
  sometimes even taking an old name and living as if they 
  simply were that person. There are those with stronger wills 
  who seek to understand themselves as individuals, separate 
  from their forebearers, but with an added layer of insight 
  and experience. That is the harder path to take, requiring 
  hours spent in meditation and self-reflection. 
  Certain factions within the CHA have concerns that the 
  Progeny program could be subverted to produce types of 
  children with specific or implanted memories as a form of 
  deep manipulation. For example, using an extreme loyalist 
  as a forebearers for a unit of soldiers could cause a shift in 
  the power structure, or even lead to a coup. 
  
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  The Void’s Children
  People who are born naturally across the reaches of space 
  are known as Void’s Children. These children grow up with 
  what is considered an archaic or traditional childhood raised 
  by their families with a galaxy of choice spread out before 
  them. They do not carry with them the genetic memory 
  of their parents. Per the regulations, the more politically 
  minded are tapped as high ranking diplomats and military 
  officials. While others among the Void’s Children prefer to 
  live simple lives as creatives, many of whom crave autonomy 
  from the strict CHA system.
  While the Void’s Children are conceived naturally, previous 
  human genetic conditioning has enabled coupling to spark 
  life without the restrictions of previously imposed by 
  gender. Any person can carry a child with their lover. While 
  no instances have been recorded, it is possible for humans to 
  have offspring with other sentient species across the galaxy.
  Unlike the Archive’s Progeny, the Void’s Children do not 
  have the echoes of memories ringing in their minds. They 
  see themselves as pure and natural, without the concern of 
  ingrained manipulation that haunts the Progeny. Whereas 
  the Progeny see themselves as superior, the next step in 
  human evolution. They derisively refer to the Void’s Children 
  as “Devoid” because they lack inherited knowledge of prior 
  lifetimes. However, this is why many top ranking officials 
  are required to be Void’s Children in order to prevent undue 
  influence or manipulation at the genetic level.
  The Galdan:
  These extremely long lived beings hail from a different 
  galaxy and have much to offer humans in the way of 
  technology that is far superior to their own. While they 
  make themselves appear in a humanoid form, their natural 
  state is far outside the realm of human acceptance. Some 
  courageous and curious Galdan seek to leave the fleet and 
  live among the humans to learn about humanity first hand. 
  
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  The Progeny especially interest the Galdan as they contain 
  lifetimes worth of experiences more on par with the lifespan 
  of the Galdan species. 
  The Galdan’s appearance at the edge of human occupied space 
  is a mystery. While they have a small fleet, they are not overtly 
  hostile to humanity. The overall sense is tense, as if the Galdan 
  did not expect to find humanity in their path. The Galdan, or at 
  least this faction of the species, are a dying species and seek a 
  way to preserve themselves or reverse their decline.
  One of the most important recent changes to interstellar 
  politics is a budding alliance with the Galdan species. They 
  have travelled into Central Human Authority space with 
  a small fleet and only a few thousand of their people. The 
  linchpin of the alliance is a point of enormous contention; 
  they require access to the Grand Archive and wish to store 
  their own genetic memories alongside humanity’s own. The 
  Central Human Authority does not believe they can defeat 
  the Galdan in open war and there are strong indications 
  that the alliance will be formed. 
  The origin, innate abilities, and natural appearance of the 
  Galdan species is left specifically vague. Perhaps this species 
  ties in with the Bloc’s discovery (see below) but it could 
  be completely separate. Game facilitators and players are 
  encouraged to work together to better define this species.
  The Antiquarians:
  A select few of the most trusted people in humanity are 
  sent to the far reaches of the void to collect the blood of the 
  fallen to bring back to the Grand Archive. Sometimes they 
  physically collect the sample themselves, especially when it 
  is critical to ensure the blood is not contaminated, more often 
  they retrieve vaults of samples collected by medical staff. 
  The most important members of CHA society are assigned 
  an Antiquarian as a constant companion to ensure proper 
  sample collection when they die. The Antiquarian’s goal is 
  to have a complete record of the human experience going 
  forward, and as such no one is exempt from submitting 
  blood. This duty to humanity is paramount beyond all else.
  
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  High ranking Antiquarians travel in the best ships and are 
  shown the highest respect where they travel. However the 
  lower level Antiquarians, accompanied by guards, are sent 
  to warzones and the dangerous reaches beyond humanity’s 
  control to salvage what they can of the record for return to 
  the Grand Archive.
  The Myth of Legacy: 
  The Antiquarians have a theory that someday a Progeny will 
  be born that can contain all human experience recorded in 
  one single being called “Legacy.” There is a secret program 
  currently in place testing the feasibility of Legacy, called 
  the Heir program. The Heirs are unknowingly implanted 
  with more and more genetic memories throughout their 
  lifetime to see how many people can be contained within 
  one body. The results have not been positive in most cases, 
  but testing continues.
  The Bloc
  Elsewhere in the galaxy, there is a branch faction of 
  humanity known as the Bloc that has broken off from the 
  CHA. The Bloc primarily consists of Void’s Children who 
  claim that they want autonomy and to be left alone to 
  live out their lives. Thus far it has been a cold war. Their 
  relationship with the Galdan is unknown, In general they 
  are a destabilizing element trying to run raids on the 
  Vault, infiltrate the CHA, and generally keeping things fluid 
  and unpredictable. Rumors swirl that they have made a 
  monumental discover that they are keeping from the Grand 
  Archive. No Antiquarians have returned from the Bloc in 
  more than a decade.  
  
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  Some questions
  to explore in game
  • Is an entire blood sample is used to create a Progeny, 
  if not how many can be created? How does this impact 
  the use of blood samples, are some more valuable that 
  others? Who decides when samples are used?
  • Are there Void’s Children and Archive’s Progeny that 
  are genetic siblings?  
  • What are the factions within the Central Human 
  Authority and what divides them? What are relations 
  like between Progeny and the Void’s Children? Does one 
  group have more power than the other?
  • Is anyone seeking to destroy the genetic vault within 
  the Grand Archive? Is there only a single genetic vault? 
  Does humanity (or the Galdan) have the technology to 
  duplicate the vault?
  • Is the Progeny program a valuable upgrade to 
  humanity or it is too easily manipulated? Who might be 
  manipulating the Progeny and to what end?
  • What is the Bloc keeping from the rest of humanity? 
  • Will the Central Human Authority allow the Galdan 
  access to the Grand Archive? What happens if they do? 
  What happens if they don’t?
  • Why are the Galdan trying to enter Central Human 
  Authority space? Are they fleeing something or 
  searching for something? Did they come specifically for 
  the Archive?
  • What happens if Legacy is successfully created? Can 
  Legacy be contaminated? What happens if Legacy dies 
  or is captured?
  
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  tristar!
  by Ben Woerner  
  Tropes: 
  Space Westerns, Asteroid Mining, Shootouts, Aliens
   “This asteroid ain’t big enough for the both of us Reid! And 
  I’m disinclined to hand over this here chunk of agua fria to 
  you and your precious band of Rangers. If you want to tussle 
  over this little chunk of eludium then I think you best be 
  touching iron or get blasted to Hell!” 
  - Hexus Red’s last words before his cyborg body was 
  destroyed for the fifth time by John “Silverhorse” Reid, Lone 
  Star Ranger
  Introduction 
  The system of Tristar is a boomtown. The rarest of elements 
  and a key ingredient in powering FTL  jumpgates, Eludium, 
  was discovered in massive quantities in the vast asteroid 
  fields that circle the trinary of red, blue, and yellow stars. 
  Tristar is part of the New Frontier: an area once colonized 
  by various galactic races, but lost contact with the rest of 
  the civilized galaxy after the Starnish-Adastracan Wars. 
  During the wars FTL via jumpgates was discovered and let 
  the Adastracans dominate and win the final war. 
  The various species throughout the galaxy soon gained 
  access to the FTL jumpgates and the galaxy is in the throes 
  of a colonizing expansion boom. Robot ships travel at near 
  relativistic speeds to every corner of the galaxy to connect 
  known systems with jumpgates or rediscover old ones. Tristar 
  is part of the rediscovered New Frontier of star systems. 
  When the gate arrived and new folks began streaming 
  into the system they discovered several surviving bands of 
  species living amongst the asteroids in Tsé Bit’a’í Ships (giant 
  O’Neill style cylinder ships with hollow interiors that use 
  centripetal force to create artificial gravities and open arable 
  
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  land and water). The planets were either gas giants or nigh 
  uninhabitable. Leaving the original inhabitants alone the 
  new arrivals quickly set about terraforming the six rocky 
  planets by bombarding them with icy asteroids and heating 
  them with space mirrors brought from other systems.
  Despite the five new terraformed planets there wasn’t 
  much interest in Tristar, for several decades, until a 
  prospector discovered eludium on Jefferson. A small rush 
  began, but when little more was unearthed the rush faded 
  until two years later a cartographer realized that all the 
  eludium discovered was at sites where the terraformers 
  had launched asteroids into the planet. A real boom began 
  in earnest and the system was flooded with asteroid miners, 
  outlaws, asteroid mining suppliers, massive spaceship 
  casinos, brothels, luxury resorts, preachers, bandidos, 
  revolutionaries, con-artists, bounty hunters, and lawmen.
  Eludium is near impossible to detect, but one property it 
  has when it mixed with water is to raise the melting point 
  of the water several hundred degrees. Miners use this 
  quirk to detect eludium rich asteroids 
  by heating them up, if the ice water 
  doesn’t sublimate then the asteroid 
  is an “agua fria” and contains 
  eludium. Miners will collect large 
  groups of agua fria asteroids using 
  small automatic robot thrusters and 
  guidance systems that they mount 
  onto each rock. Once they have a 
  large enough collection they drive 
  them, like the cattle of the old west, 
  to one of the many space stations that 
  orbit the six planets of Tristar. There 
  the refineries and transport ships 
  send the eludium out of the system to 
  the rest of the galaxy.
  Mining would be straightforward if 
  not for the bands of roving outlaws 
  that hide amongst the vast asteroid 
  fields and wait for the right moment 
  
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  to steal the asteroids out from under the noses of the 
  drovers and miners. The colonists got serious about the 
  outlaws once a band calling themselves the Cowboys 
  whipped out the entire space station Cochise. Each planet 
  has approached the problem from a different angle, but 
  Marshals, Rangers, and various private bounty hunter 
  groups patrol the asteroid fields looking to put an end to 
  the banditry.
  Things are complicated by several revolutionary groups 
  that use asteroid rustling to fund their campaigns, and 
  they aren’t alone. The original inhabitants, often called 
  Nonpake, an Starnish word, though they don’t call 
  themselves that, also claim various areas of the asteroid 
  fields for themselves and while eludium isn’t a primary 
  goal for most Tsé Bit’a’í Ships, several enterprising ships 
  have taken on mining eludium for themselves in areas 
  that, of course, the various powers claim. The planetary 
  governments are using both the revolutionaries and the 
  Nonpake as stalking horses against each other as they try 
  to gain dominance in the system. This makes the job of the 
  various lawmen harder or easier depending on their views 
  on the rights of the Nonpake.
  Factions of Tristar
  The six main planets of Tristar make up the largest 
  governments and populations within the system, but beyond 
  them are multiple smaller groups that wield significant 
  power.
  The Nonpoke
  The inhabitants of the Tsé Bit’a’í Ships (O’Neill Cylinders) 
  call themselves, “The People,” in the various languages 
  spoken by the multiple species of aliens and humans that 
  mix together. They do have a common language of Diné 
  Dihil, or Space Navajo. This language developed hundreds 
  of years ago during the Early Diaspora when multiple 
  
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  Native American nations took to the skies and established 
  new homelands on new planets and in some cases built 
  traveling homeworlds via the earliest successful O’Neill 
  Cylinders. Starnish, Tarasque, Mongol, Diné, Cree, Daili, 
  and many other human and alien species have joined 
  together in creating these mobile societies living amongst 
  the asteroid fields of Tristar. They mine the asteroids for 
  water and rare minerals needed to sustain their agricultural 
  systems within their ships.
  The largest and best known is Wickiup. It is the seat of the 
  Tsé Bit’a’í ship government and where all great meetings 
  and government business is handled that concerns all 
  of the Tsé Bit’a’í ships. The boom and massive influx of 
  colonists has been both a welcome opportunity and a blight 
  for the Nonpoke. They wish to continue on with their style 
  of living, but the encroachment of the eludium miners and 
  various government, bandit, and rebel groups has made 
  life difficult. 
  Enterprising ships like the Wipila Wiki, Thunderbird, 
  and Garuda have armed their ships and begin mining and 
  trading in eludium while the ships Goyahkla, Hotamétaneo’o, 
  and the Yazidi have taken to claiming specific areas of the 
  asteroid fields and drive off or killed any who might enter 
  their territory.
  Jefferson
  The largest and most Earth like planet in Tristar is also the 
  original source of the eludium rush and thus has an orbit 
  filled with the largest number of mobile space stations, 
  mining concerns, and various groups both legal and illegal. 
  It also boasts the largest settled population and the oldest 
  settlement of Nonpake original inhabitants of the four 
  armed Tyranax aliens of the Daili Empire. After some 
  early tensions they are now a major part of the Jefferson 
  government. Their familiarity with Tristar allowed them 
  early access to some of the richest deposit sites.
  
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  The Gumsham Coalition is the largest mining coalition in 
  the entire system and wholly owned and operated by Daili 
  descended Tyranax. The planet is nearest to one of the 
  smaller, but richest eludium asteroid belts. To combat the 
  various unsavory factions they have employed the services 
  of the Pinkerton Detective Agency to drive out all unwanted 
  groups of criminals, revolutionaries, and various miner 
  unions.
  New Deseret
  A religious colony founded by Space Mormons. They are a 
  break-off sect of the Earth based Church of Jesus Christ and 
  Latter Day Saints who believe that to rule over their own 
  planet they must go and find one and literally rule it. New 
  Deseret is situated closest to the Tristar jump gate, and 
  while the government on the surface and in orbit forbid all 
  the popular vices of the miners and boomtown hangers on, 
  the strategic location of the planet near the gate makes it 
  the primary location for the largest shipyards for shipping 
  eludium out of Tristar.
  The Space Mormons run what has become known as the 
  Parley & Prattle shipyard and space station, although they 
  insist it is technically called the Parley Pratt Space Station 
  of Latter Day Saints. As it is a neutral location and the Space 
  Mormons have focused on the shipping of refined eludium 
  out of the system, Parley & Prattle has become a hub for 
  business deals and sober negotiations between hostile 
  parties including a truce and eventual peace between Lone 
  Star and Nuevo Mexico after their short range war over the 
  asteroid fields.
  Nuevo Mexico
  Founded by original colonists from the country of Mexico 
  on Earth, Nuevo Mexico has not prospered from the 
  eludium boom like the other planets. Stuck between the 
  orbits of Tombstone and Lone Star without an intervening 
  asteroid belt, the planet seems to be a backwater compared 
  to rest of the system. Initially, a military style junta set up 
  
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  control of the planet and engaged in a war over control of 
  the asteroid fields nearest Lone Star, but after a bloody and 
  protracted war the population of Nuevo Mexico revolted 
  against their own government and replaced it with a more 
  peaceful Republic.
  Since then the colonists have spent the recent years 
  sculpting the surface of the planet and turning it into 
  what might be the single largest art project and commune 
  anywhere in the galaxy. Now a center of art, culture, 
  religious and social experimentation both philosophically 
  and chemically, Nuevo Mexico has attracted a massive 
  number of learned intellectuals and spiritualists from 
  around the system and across the galaxy. It is home to 
  the New Frontier Art School and the popularity of the art 
  produced by these people has brought massive wealth to 
  the planet from auctions and sales of various art pieces.
  Tombstone
  is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. A planet of vast 
  deserts, craggy mountains, endless windstorms, and one 
  shining domed jewel of a city: Phoenicia. Phoenicia was 
  founded by a motley group of alien outcasts from across 
  the galaxy, and languished as other planets began to benefit 
  from the eludium boom. That is until Deh’rahn Jehonis, a 
  former commander of an AdAstracan Imperial outpost 
  base on the planet, struck it big when on asteroid patrol he 
  discovered the single largest agua fria to date. He resigned 
  his commission, sold the agua fria to the Daili Consortium, 
  and bought the entirety of Phoenicia and the surrounding 
  lands with the proceeds.
  He has slaved to turn the city into a place where all are 
  welcome. To drive off the bandidos and asteroid rustlers he 
  hired retired lawman Wellheart W’yatts to run his Sheriff’s 
  office and staffed it with former Imperial soldiers. Beyond 
  the city though, the badlands of Tombstone are beyond all 
  civilization and only the desperate, criminal, or worse call 
  the dust choked terrain home. 
  
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  New Vegas
  is a dwarf planet that sails around the Tristars cutting a 
  wake down the middle of the Colorado asteroid belt or belts, 
  depending on if you’re from Lone Star who claim the inner 
  ring as their own territory. New Vegas was uninhabited until 
  the jumpgate arrived and the Vegas Trading Company or 
  VTC set up shop on the lunar-like surface. The President of 
  the VTC, Rand Galt the III, believes in a state of ultra liberty 
  free of all government oppression and offered anchorage 
  in orbit around the dwarf planet for small monthly fees to 
  any and all takers, while the planet surface remains the 
  exclusive private property of the VTC.
  Casino ships, brothel stations, private luxury resort cruise 
  ships, military contractors, and industrialists all call New 
  Vegas orbit home. The system only works though due to the 
  endless supply of goods, food, and water that flow to New 
  Vegas to sustain the house of cards that is the lurid neon 
  soaked skies of New Vegas. The VTC employs Blackstar 
  Security to patrol around the planet and terminate any 
  criminal elements with extreme prejudice. Complaints 
  about Blackstar’s methods to the Adastracan government on 
  Comanche has fallen on deaf ears as the owner of Blackstar 
  is a cousin of the Imperial Secretary of Communication.
  Comanche
  is the coldest of the main planets with a rocky and 
  mountainous surface that was snow covered until the 
  dropping of asteroids heated the planet up. Now it is only 
  snow covered during the winter. Massive crater seas, deep 
  fjords, and a single lowland ocean basin cover the planet 
  during the rest of the year. Of course, winter lasts for 
  half of Comanche’s orbital year. It’s name comes from the 
  original inhabitants of Comanche people from Earth who 
  colonized the planet during the Early Diaspora. Most of the 
  new inhabitants are species of aliens or transhumans that 
  prefer cold weather, but even still most live in large tunnels 
  under the endless mountain ranges. This has created a 
  
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  culture of experienced miners. Some of the best mine and 
  refinery bosses are born on Comanche.
  The Comanche government has strong ties to the 
  Adastracan Imperial government going so far as to grant 
  them an orbit to house a large military space dock and 
  training base. The local Adastracan Imperial government 
  also has their headquarters here located next to the space 
  dock. The presence of military destroyers, frigates, cruisers, 
  and even the occasional carrier tend to scare off most space 
  based criminal elements. Besides providing expert miners 
  Comanche is also known for growing high quality nip in the 
  warmer valleys of the planet. Nip is a popular psychoactive 
  drug and non-addictive painkiller used throughout the 
  galaxy, but especially loved by the Khanzi, an alien people 
  who look remarkably like large (about 4 feet tall) upright 
  Terran house cats. It’s official name is cannacaea nepetus, 
  but most call it catnip, Khanzi nip, or just nip. 
  Lone Star
  is a massive gas giant protostar that never lit. Twice the 
  size of Jupiter, the red, white, and blue striped giant sits 
  next to the largest asteroid belt. One massive white storm 
  sits deep within the dark blue bands of the planet and is 
  one possible origin of the planet’s name. The planet itself 
  provides only certain gases from its highest orbit, but the 
  numerous moons that ring the planet and the literal rings 
  of the planet are what make Lone Star so important. Not 
  only is it situated close to the Colorado asteroid belt, but the 
  planet’s own rings are rich with eludium and many of the 
  moons are large enough to have their own atmospheres 
  that have been terraformed. The Republic of Lone Star is 
  a federation of all the moons and stations within the orbit 
  of Lone Star. 
  Unlike Jefferson, Lone Star had few large organizations of 
  miners or locals when the boom struck, and with the close 
  proximity of agua fria the Republic has exploded in size 
  and criminality.
  
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  To combat the lawlessness the Republic created a band of 
  lawmen and women called The Lone Star Rangers. These 
  Rangers travel in heavily armed single crewed Mustang 
  ships.  Mustangs are equipped with limited autonomous 
  AI functions. Rangers patrol the vast Colorado belt, the 
  rings, and the upper atmosphere of Lone Star itself. They 
  have powerful armored and augmented space suits and 
  carry plasma rifles and pistols. It isn’t uncommon to see a 
  single ranger in a gunfight against a band of rustlers on the 
  surface of an asteroid. 
  Bandits and Rebels
  Difficult to distinguish between most rebel groups engage 
  in active banditry within the system and most bandits 
  hail from Starnish, from minor conquered star nations, or 
  remnants of the Adastracan Civil War rebels that ended 
  just before the Starnish-Adastracan Wars kicked off. These 
  groups dig themselves into large asteroids, usually mining 
  eludium rich asteroids and leaving the iron or basalt cores 
  as a platform for their 
  hidden 
  bases. 
  Then 
  they begin robbing and 
  killing anyone who gets 
  too close and rustling 
  agua fria asteroids that 
  travel 
  along 
  routes 
  near their bases.
  
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  The most notorious leader of these gangs is Hexus Red. He 
  and his gang have employed remote drone cyborg bodies 
  to control while rustling and hidden their base deep within 
  the largest asteroid fields near Lone Star and New Vegas. 
  They can attack without impunity or fear for themselves as 
  if their remote drone body is destroyed they simply deploy 
  a new one. They vigorously defend the location of their 
  secret base, and while Hexus Red always employs a distinct 
  looking cyborg, no one except maybe Silverhorse, the Lone 
  Star Ranger, has glimpsed the real body of Hexus Red.
  Other infamous bandit and rebel groups include the Euskadi 
  (A Starnish rebel group), the Cochise Cowboys (infamous 
  for their destruction of Cochise station), The Banes (a Duros 
  gang), and Quantrill’s Killers (they only ever leave one 
  survivor who is blinded after witnessing the atrocities and 
  left with enough supplies and a beacon so they can be found 
  to spread the tale of the Quantrill Killers).
  Tristar Marshals
  The Tristar Marshals are a collection of law-enforcement 
  personnel from across the system that have joined into a 
  loose collective to fight lawlessness in the Tristar system. 
  Started by William Dillon and Rachel Givens a month after 
  the destruction of Cochise Station. The Marshals grant 
  membership to law-enforcement members and registered 
  bounty hunters of the various governments so that they 
  might travel beyond their borders to pursue criminals and 
  arrest them for trial. 
  The Marshals are fighting an uphill battle. While that have 
  been able to pass legislation to create their organization 
  no one nation wishes to fund the Marshals. Chronically 
  underfunded, most credits come from the 5% donation for 
  any bounties or rewards won by the members in pursuit 
  of criminals and various groups. The saying, “Marshals 
  have tin stars because they cannot afford brass stars,” is a 
  common saying in the Tristar system. 
  
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  Of course, when the Marshals band together to hunt 
  down a group or individual, nothing short of an army 
  can stop them. In fact, the only instance of the Marshals 
  being thwarted is when the Adastrican fleet stopped the 
  Marshals from pursuing one of their officers back onto 
  a base. An officer involved in espionage and clandestine 
  activities against the Jefferson Gumsham Coalition (she 
  was training rebel groups to attack Gumsham shipments 
  enroute to Parley & Prattle).
  That isn’t to say all Marshals are of one mind. Many 
  Marshals have found themselves on opposite sides of an 
  issue. Most issues are about leniency and whether or not 
  certain criminals are better brought in dead or alive. 
  Optional Rules
  Duels
  Facing off against a bad guy in the middle of a dusty 
  asteroid tunnel at Solar noon is a common occurrence in 
  Tristar. Here are some optional rules to help you run a duel 
  between two characters.
  First, a duel only happens between two characters. A duel 
  can be one round and then devolve into general combat, 
  or last several rounds and only ever include the two 
  characters. The two characters decide first what weapons 
  and where they are going to meet. “Your current weapon,” 
  and, “Right now, in the middle of this battle,” are acceptable 
  answers. They decide on how to determine the winner: 
  First blood, touch, to the death, to the pain. After that, they 
  decide on the stakes, some of them, like death, are obvious, 
  while other stakes can be anything: the winner owns this 
  asteroid, the winner gets 100 credits, the loser gives the 
  winner their Silverhawk spaceship.
  Second, the two duelists face off. They both roll to size up their 
  opponent. Whoever wins gets to know their opponent’s traits 
  and if they are proficient with their current weapon. If you 
  lose you get to know if your opponent has the Duelist Trait.
  
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  Third, either opponent can now concede the duel by 
  acknowledging the other as the winner of the Duel. If the duel 
  is to the death, they will then let the winner cut them down. 
  The winner decides whether or not to grant them mercy.
  Finally, if neither concedes, the two duelists attack either 
  other. First, they both roll initiative.  If either has the Duelist 
  Trait they gain advantage on their roll and their opponent 
  is at disadvantage. If both have the Duelist Trait they cancel 
  each other out and roll as if neither had the trait. Other 
  traits may apply to this initiative roll. The same Duelist 
  rules apply for the attack roll. Whoever wins the initiative 
  attacks first and applies their damage immediately, if they 
  hit. If their opponent can return the attack they do so now 
  and apply any damage now if they hit. One, both, or neither 
  character can be injured or killed at this time.
  If both characters wish to continue (the winner hasn’t 
  been decided, or their passion/hatred isn’t quenched) they 
  may continue fighting by entering combat.
  New Trait: 
  Duelist
  When you are in a duel 
  you gain advantage 
  and your opponent 
  gains 
  disadvantage 
  on your initiative and 
  attack rolls. If your 
  opponent 
  also 
  has 
  this Trait your traits 
  cancel each other out 
  and you fight as if 
  neither of you have 
  this trait. This does 
  not 
  prevent 
  other 
  Traits from applying 
  to any of your rolls. 
  
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  New Trait: The Law!
  “I’ve shot people I like more for less.” You are a legitimate 
  law-enforcement being. When executing your duties, 
  you are not charged with any crimes that are accepted 
  as standard law-enforcement actions (ex: If you shoot a 
  criminal wanted dead or alive you are not charged with 
  their murder, but if you shoot an unarmed bystander you 
  will be charged). You gain advantage on any action to 
  convince law-abiding citizens to help you and disadvantage 
  when asking for help from the less savory. 
  Inspired by
  Shows like: BraveStarr, Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars, 
  Cowboy BeBop, Guardians of the Galaxy, Firefly, The 
  Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, Trigun, Star Wars: Clone 
  Wars (specifically characters like Cad Bane). 
  Music like: A Tribe Called Red, Roy Rogers, Johnny Cash, 
  Marty Robbins, Ennio Morricone, Blues Saraceno, Chingon.
   And games like: Wild Guns, StarCraft, and Borderlands
  
  Tiny Frontiers: Revised is here! All new 
  art, expanded and revised rules, and all 
  new micro-settings come together with the 
  minimalist TinyD6 rule system for a revision 
  of the bestselling minimalist space opera 
  roleplaying game!
  Powered by the TinyD6 engine, with streamlined 
  mechanics that utilize only one to three single 
  six-sided dice on every action, characters 
  that can be written 3x5 notecard, and easy to  
  understand and teach rules, Tiny Frontiers: 
  Revised is great for all groups, ages, and 
  experience levels!
  So grab some dice, some pencils, some friends, 
  and get ready for some minimalist, straight-
  forward, space opera roleplaying!
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Deduped  Shit/Tiny Frontiers/Gallant Knight Games - Tiny Frontiers Revised [2018].pdf