Spacemaster

[Moracai]

A friend of mine that usually is a player, but has GMed for this group at least once or twice, started half-seriously talking about GMing Spacemaster. He is not a newbie in that system by any metric, so I'm confident that he has all the bit and bobs under control. But what I'm curious is the setting it has. My impression is that it is a 'kitchen sink' type of space opera that can hold pretty much all the tropes one can think of, but what are your thoughts about its 'implied setting', be it through rules, published adventures, splatbooks and so on? I am not sure which edition books he has.

Edit: nevermind, I found this thread

 

[CRKrueger]

A friend of mine that usually is a player, but has GMed for this group at least once or twice, started half-seriously talking about GMing Spacemaster. He is not a newbie in that system by any metric, so I'm confident that he has all the bit and bobs under control. But what I'm curious is the setting it has. My impression is that it is a 'kitchen sink' type of space opera that can hold pretty much all the tropes one can think of, but what are your thoughts about its 'implied setting', be it through rules, published adventures, splatbooks and so on? I am not sure which edition books he has.

Edit: nevermind, I found this thread

The big thing to remember is that there are two Spacemasters.

Spacemaster - built on the Rolemaster II system.
Spacemaster Privateer - built on the RMSS system.

These have different settings. What David Johansen is describing is Privateer. SM II doesn’t have Architects with uplifted animals serving as the races. Instead the alien are mostly pretty damn alien with non-humanoid forms.

Human space is an Imperium, with all planets using an Imperial Currency and garrisoned by Imperial Troops with no standing local armies allowed. Other than that, as long as they pay their taxes, the worlds are generally run as the rulers see fit.

The society is structured along the concept of a Family/Clan/House structure, which isn’t necessarily bound by blood. A Frontier World will usually only be incorporated into the Imperium when there is a dominant form of governance. The most powerful Corporation/Polity/whatever becomes a Minor Clan. Long established Minor Clans or those that come to govern multiple worlds can be elevated to a Royal Family and join the Imperium Nobility.

To form the Imperium however, there were concessions made to have certain independent organizations.
One is the Merchant League of Great Houses (MERLOGH). It functions as the Stock Market/Banking/Credit Rating system for the Imperium, Provinces and Corporations.

Second is the Galactic Court of Humanity (GCH). They can determine cases between powerful authorities and determine if an entity (even the Imperium) is in accordance with Imperial Law.

Third is the Law Enforcement Arm of the GCH, called VegaPOL since they are headquartered in the Vega system. Only data confirmed by VegaPOL is accepted in GCH cases.

As is typical of Rolemaster II, SMII has no central book, but Future Law, Character Law, Blaster Law, etc. Also, every adventure and supplement can add both rules and setting information, so it’s kind of difficult to get a handle on the setting without having a lot of the stuff. Then there’s the Companions which are official, but optional.

 

[Sharrow]

The big thing to remember is that there are two Spacemasters.

Spacemaster - built on the Rolemaster II system.
Spacemaster Privateer - built on the RMSS system.

These have different settings. What David Johansen is describing is Privateer. SM II doesn’t have Architects with uplifted animals serving as the races. Instead the alien are mostly pretty damn alien with non-humanoid forms.

Human space is an Imperium, with all planets using an Imperial Currency and garrisoned by Imperial Troops with no standing local armies allowed. Other than that, as long as they pay their taxes, the worlds are generally run as the rulers see fit.

Provinces run by major clans can and do have their own militaries. Minor clans do not, outside of bodyguards, armed 'police' and so on.

The society is structured along the concept of a Family/Clan/House structure, which isn’t necessarily bound by blood. A Frontier World will usually only be incorporated into the Imperium when there is a dominant form of governance. The most powerful Corporation/Polity/whatever becomes a Minor Clan. Long established Minor Clans or those that come to govern multiple worlds can be elevated to a Royal Family and join the Imperium Nobility.

To form the Imperium however, there were concessions made to have certain independent organizations.
One is the Merchant League of Great Houses (MERLOGH). It functions as the Stock Market/Banking/Credit Rating system for the Imperium, Provinces and Corporations.

Second is the Galactic Court of Humanity (GCH). They can determine cases between powerful authorities and determine if an entity (even the Imperium) is in accordance with Imperial Law.

Third is the Law Enforcement Arm of the GCH, called VegaPOL since they are headquartered in the Vega system. Only data confirmed by VegaPOL is accepted in GCH cases.

The Imperium claims all worlds settled by mankind, plus pretty much all the others that some human might've visited at some time. Naturally the reality is somewhat different.

I rather like the setting. It's a bit more open about all the infighting, etc. than Traveller is about its Imperium, and smaller in scale as well, so there's less feeling that the PCs are just motes of dust being ground down by a vast machine (even though it's probably going to be just as true in a SM2 game).

SM2's tech is fairly space operatic - deflector shields (including personal ones), blasters, disintegrators, and so on. That said, a good old assault rifle still has a fair bit going for it - the vast majority of energy weapons are semi-auto only.

 

[Moracai]

CRKrueger Thanks a lot for the info!


A snippet that the friend shared with me yesterday was that the majority of humans are genetically altered transhumans, and he didn't mention furries, so I'm thinking that the version he has isn't the Privateer one. What he described reminds me of Battletech Clan humans, which differentiate themselves as Trueborn (vat-grown) and Freeborn (you and me), with Freeborn being the lower class of humans (then there's also castes but I won't get into those now).

About the organizations you describe, you don't mention a naval one. Is it supposed that individual planets share their navies with the Imperium totally upon joining, or can the planetary rulers keep a small fleet as a personal bodyguard contingent of sorts?

Is there star system to star system instant communication like in most space operas, or is it non-existent like in Traveller (I think), or is it controlled by a single entity like ComStar in B-tech?

How common are jumpships? Would it be feasible for the PCs to operate one independently?

 

[CRKrueger]

CRKrueger Thanks a lot for the info!


A snippet that the friend shared with me yesterday was that the majority of humans are genetically altered transhumans, and he didn't mention furries, so I'm thinking that the version he has isn't the Privateer one. What he described reminds me of Battletech Clan humans, which differentiate themselves as Trueborn (vat-grown) and Freeborn (you and me), with Freeborn being the lower class of humans (then there's also castes but I won't get into those now).

Based on that, pretty sure it’s not Privateer, at least not setting wise. Old SM had various types of Transhumans, which kind of sounds like the Caste stuff. Your friend is probably doing his own version of SM1/SM2.

About the organizations you describe, you don't mention a naval one. Is it supposed that individual planets share their navies with the Imperium totally upon joining, or can the planetary rulers keep a small fleet as a personal bodyguard contingent of sorts?

The Imperium is everything directly controlled by the Emperor through Governors. All military is Imperial here.

Within the Imperium and bordering it are the Inner Provinces. These are ruled by Royal Families. They are allowed to have their own Provincial Fleets for policing their territory and Defense Forces for securing their planets. They may also have Imperial Garrisons and Imperial Fleets patrolling. The Tithe they pay is directly related to the military power they hold, so most Royal Families prepare for skirmishes with enemies and pirates, not all-out war. Hiding military assets is a good way to get the Imperium to invoke it’s own version of Exterminatus, so no one builds Navies stronger than a couple Capital Ships with support craft.

Outside the Inner Provinces are the Frontier Provinces. They are allowed to have Exploration Fleets, with Imperial supervisors and advisors, and police forces, but no military. Imperial Fleets and Garrisons ensure stability, but they are much smaller than within the Imperium proper.

Is there star system to star system instant communication like in most space operas, or is it non-existent like in Traveller (I think), or is it controlled by a single entity like ComStar in B-tech?

Communication is done via Tachyon Beam, which has a limitation of 10-30 LY I think. So there are set communication stations for transmission of messages. A priority message from the Emperor to the Frontier can take an hour, other communications take longer depending on priority. Most outposts, orbital space stations, etc. have Tachyon Beam communication.

How common are jumpships? Would it be feasible for the PCs to operate one independently?

The FTL travel is called Hypershunt, which basically moves you to Hyperspace where you travel at FTL speeds. As far as PC ships go, sure. There is a one-man transport ship with a rating of 5LY/day where you’re basically sitting in the cockpit the whole time like an X-wing. Then there’s a one-man Scout craft that can go 10LY/day and you have a bed. IIRC the speeds of standard ships max out around 15LY/day for like a 5-man Explorer. Of course Star Strike has a whole design system so you can get a ship with beefed up/higher tech stuff. Neutrino sensors can calculate routes up to 50LY per Hyperspace Shunt.

Now within the RM2 Spacemaster, there were really two games. Spacemaster First Edition and Spacemaster Second Edition. The adventures and supplements don’t really say which version it’s for and there were some minor changes between them. For example some do mention a Precursor race, some don’t. Also, every adventure was really a campaign expansion with more information and rules and I don’t have all of them.

 

[Sharrow]

CRKrueger Thanks a lot for the info!


A snippet that the friend shared with me yesterday was that the majority of humans are genetically altered transhumans, and he didn't mention furries, so I'm thinking that the version he has isn't the Privateer one. What he described reminds me of Battletech Clan humans, which differentiate themselves as Trueborn (vat-grown) and Freeborn (you and me), with Freeborn being the lower class of humans (then there's also castes but I won't get into those now).

About the organizations you describe, you don't mention a naval one. Is it supposed that individual planets share their navies with the Imperium totally upon joining, or can the planetary rulers keep a small fleet as a personal bodyguard contingent of sorts?

Is there star system to star system instant communication like in most space operas, or is it non-existent like in Traveller (I think), or is it controlled by a single entity like ComStar in B-tech?

How common are jumpships? Would it be feasible for the PCs to operate one independently?

Provinces (i.e. Major Clans) have their own navies, potentially quite large ones in fact. The Emperior is in many ways first amongst equals. Think Dune.

As for jump ships - even small shuttles might have a hypershunt, though hypershuttles are miserable outside of short trips.

 

[Sharrow]

Communication is done via Tachyon Beam, which has a limitation of 10-30 LY I think. So there are set communication stations for transmission of messages. A priority message from the Emperor to the Frontier can take an hour, other communications take longer depending on priority. Most outposts, orbital space stations, etc. have Tachyon Beam communication.

Up to 50LY, and relays are common within rich Inner Provinces and between said provinces and the Imperial centre. They can manage real-time video confrencing, but at great expense. High officials and managment are noted to over-use this facility.

The FTL travel is called Hypershunt, which basically moves you to Hyperspace where you travel at FTL speeds. As far as PC ships go, sure. There is a one-man transport ship with a rating of 5LY/day where you’re basically sitting in the cockpit the whole time like an X-wing. Then there’s a one-man Scout craft that can go 10LY/day and you have a bed. IIRC the speeds of standard ships max out around 15LY/day for like a 5-man Explorer. Of course Star Strike has a whole design system so you can get a ship with beefed up/higher tech stuff. Neutrino sensors can calculate routes up to 50LY per Hyperspace Shunt.

Now within the RM2 Spacemaster, there were really two games. Spacemaster First Edition and Spacemaster Second Edition. The adventures and supplements don’t really say which version it’s for and there were some minor changes between them. For example some do mention a Precursor race, some don’t. Also, every adventure was really a campaign expansion with more information and rules and I don’t have all of them.

SM2 mainly improved the combat tables and made the rules clearer.

 

[Triumvir]

The SM2 setting sounds much more interesting than the Privateers/furries setting. I find anthropomorphised animal species boring and a bit ridiculous. I don't particularly like the Aslan or Vargr either for this reason; I would reskin them if I ran the 3I these days.

 

[Sosthenes]

I once thought that the whole "Church of AT&T" aged badly, but, well…

 

[Sharrow]

I once thought that the whole "Church of AT&T" aged badly, but, well…

Yeah. Now it'd be written as the Church of Google. But as its origins are mostly myth and legend at the time of the game, it still works. In some ways, with the Dia Khovaria's massive libraries, etc. it works even better now than when it was written.

 

[David Johansen]

The thing about the Privateers setting is that it was intended to be easy to play. Clear conflict, clear player roles, easy to play races. And I think the races do that admirably and have sufficient depth for the purpose. The setting is massively underdeveloped as ICE dropped the ball. Ah well, might have beens.

I like the Silent Death the New Millenium version of the SM2 universe as the Empire has collapsed so free wheeling adventure is more of a thing. Not to worry, House Colos is still happy to be the bad guys who love to be bad.

As for furry races, the don't bother me any more than Elves or Dwarves do. I did dither about using them in Galaxies In Shadow, but in the end, they're generic and I didn't want to use setting specific races in the core. I've been dithering about re-using the original setting and races in an appendix.

 

[Sharrow]

I still like the Space Opera universe. I guess this means furry races don't bother me.

 

[Bunch]

I still like the Space Opera universe. I guess this means furry races don't bother me.

I like Justifiers. I need help.

 

[Silverlion]

I like Justifiers. I need help.

I like Justifiers too. I'm just fine. (For some definitions of fine.)

 

[David Johansen]

Furry Aliens > Faceputty Aliens

 

[CRKrueger]

I like Justifiers. I need help.

Help like this?

 

[Bunch]

Help like this?
View attachment 68897

Nope. Never really into them that way. I never really got why that was a thing

 

[Gringnr]

Albedo is pretty great, too.

 

[CRKrueger]

Nope. Never really into them that way. I never really got why that was a thing

I blame Cheetara.

 

[Bunch]

I blame Cheetara.

oh.. yeah. ok I can see that.

 

[Sosthenes]

I blame Cheetara.

I thought the Ground Zero moment for the scene was foxy Robin Hood. The second-worst thing that movie contributed to.

I'm still quite fond of the original SM setting and tend to mine it for all kinds of remotely related sci-fi games (e.g. Star Wars, Traveller). The only thing that was a bit weird and which I tended to ignore a lot were the dozen transhuman variants. Which was basically MERP's High Man on gene-spliced steroids.

 

[Sharrow]

Well, half the transhuman variants (Types VI to XII, as I recall) were all from that one neo-Greek province, and so should be dis-allowed outside it, though in the day I allowed a Type VII as a PC (the huge thug type). The lower ones in the series are fairly balanced, so they're specialised and not overall superior, aside from the Type Vs, but they have huge egos, which I'd require a player to RP. Transhumans also get one fewer background option (I'd probably make that two fewer) than normals.

Of course, for real power gaming you should be playing an android.