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Click here for the Ruleset of this game! http://www.scribd.com/doc/45248801/Crimson-Galaxy-Ruleset


“On the move. Stay on the move.”
“Roger. Kill kill kill.”
The Conquistadores trudged forward in the blizzard, their dreadnought powered armor protecting them from the sub-zero temperatures. Thermal imaging allowed the troopers to keep moving forward in the right direction. Mere minutes ago, the Conquistadores had just destroyed a primitive camp and they were moving to the next one. Their orders were to eliminate all primitive forms of life that would potentially hinder strip-mining in the area.
“I’m picking something up.” The captain came up to what looked like a concrete hut and punched through it. The dreadnought armor amplified his strength by many times and the wall came down, revealing several life forms that, in reaction to the cold, began shivering uncontrollably.
“Life form: Hostile. Designation: Kill”
The Conquistadores opened fire with their phasers, turning the primitives into ash.
“On the move. Stay on the move.”
“Roger.”
---------------
Thousands of years after the Nuclear Dark Ages, humanity has achieved what was once believed to be impossible: fast as light space travel. With this humanity could reach for the stars and leave the decrepit, irradiated corpse that is Earth.
Since the Nuclear Dark Ages, humanity has been divided into kingdoms and dominions. These forces all strive for complete mastery over the others and ultimately complete control of the galaxy. Of course, the galaxy is a big place and new planets are discovered routinely and the systems that humanity has under its control pale in comparison to what could be controlled.
Humanity is not what it once was though. It is cruel, vengeful, and borderline sadistic as a result of the Dark Ages. The Dominions are not utopian societies. The emperors of these dominions are power-hungry and blood-thirsty individuals who demand more from their subjects than their subjects are able to repay. Mercenaries and pirates and adventurers roam the stars in search of precious materials and are more than willing to kill to gain it. Primitive races are subjugated and exterminated.
Space is a war zone, the planets are the spoils.
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Note on Humanity in general:
As ugly as humanity is in its soul, it is just as ugly on the outside. Due to the intense amount of radiation that the normal human will have experienced, the chance of mutation is about 90% if both parents are mutated. Even if the human’s parents both lack mutation, the chance of a baby being born a mutant is up to 15%. Often times, those who can afford it get surgery to remove any sign of mutation. In this time surgery is not too expensive, but the farther one gets from the core worlds the more expensive the surgery is, and the rarer it becomes. Many colonists on the farthest away planets must either kill the mutants or drive them away or be forced to live with them.
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Crimson Galaxy is a retro science fiction skirmish game with a gritty underbelly. Think “Star Trek Meets Rogue Trader”. The game is designed to be used in a campaign style system and at the same time can be played as an RPG. Yes, the game is set in such a way that players could just play a game but it’s more fun when there’s meat behind it, when you feel a little sad that trooper Romero was just disintegrated by a phaser.
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This is a game that I've had in my head for a while and now I've finally gotten down to work on it. Luckily, my good friend lanrak is helping me out on the rules portion. It is a D12 system because I like how the D12 works and because of its versatility. The rules are still very WIP, however it will be shaping up to be really sweet. Stay tuned during the next couple of days as I am hoping to roll out the factions.


How I plan to work the game is that there will be factions, yet at the same time I will have a customizable roster so you are able to make your own army/warband. The game will support about 10-30 miniatures a side, so it's really not that big of a deal. I also plan to be rolling out some sketches so that you guys will have some idea of what Dreadnought armor is, or what a Conquistadore is, or the mutant population consists of. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Thanks!
-Vlad

Sounds pretty cool I'll keep checking.

[++The Major Factions of Crimson Galaxy++]
Adventurers: Adventurers are politically neutral rag-tag groups of people who, as their name suggests, adventure. The groups travel to planets in search of artifacts and wealth beyond their wildest dreams. This often puts them into conflict with many of the dominions who are also looking for these same objects.

Arkinians: The Arkinians are primarily a trader society. They have close ties with Adventurer groups only because they are one of the only Dominions not to shoot the poor bastards on sight! The Arkinian dominion is terribly wealthy-its large galleons bring home thousands of tons of ore and other precious material. Despite its trader roots, the Arkinians fight incredibly well. They prefer dreadnought armor for its toughness, though some troopers use nano-suits. Many Arkinian troopers use Pulsars as they favor the weapon’s explosive qualities.

Asharzunipalians: Asharzunipal used to be one of the greatest of all of the Dominions but over time its many wars brought its military to near destruction. It has been recovering ever since. Because of this, they often equip their troops with medium powered armor and sluggers.

Benthons: Often use nano-suits as they prefer guerrilla raids because they are not powerful enough to deal with the powerful Espanian dreadnought armor that the Conquistadores wear. In terms of weaponry, the Benthons prefer sluggers and laisers. The Benthons are a very upstart dominion for being so small, especially since their civil war with the Frenthons. They have a powerful space navy and have charisma but they lack the manpower that the Arkinians and Espannians have.

Espannians: The Espannians use conscripted troops in sealed light powered armor with sluggers, pulsars, or laisers, with the elite Conquistadores wearing powered muscle suits and dreadnought armor, often armed with phasers or bolters. The Espannians are often supported by an (enslaved) native element which are armed with crossbows and muskets and other obsolete weaponry. Perhaps the most wealthy Dominion out there, many commanders have noted that in land as in space that the Espannians tend to have the best equipment and weapons but lack well-trained troops. Most of the officers in the Espannian military have gotten to their position either via nobility or money.

Frenthons: The Frenthons are fairly elite and prefer to use powered muscle suits. They will typically arm themselves with beamers due to their accuracy, but the Frenthons are not beyond using other types of weaponry. The Frenthons are historically allies of the Espannians but at times they have been at odds.

(Note between Frenthons and Benthons: The two Dominions are remnants of the Frebrenion Dominion which used to be an incredibly large and powerful dominion, but as time went by two factions developed which happened to be the antithesis of eachother. One side called themselves the Frenthons, the other the Brenthons. )

Pirates: Pirates are fast, guerrilla forces akin to the Britons, but much more brutal. Even some privateers do not associate with Pirates. For most dominion, anything with pirate codes has a shoot-on-sight order. Pirates are an eclectic bunch and as such do not favor one type of weapon or armor.

Mercenaries: Also known as Privateers, most countries will enlist the use of hired troops to supplement their forces. This also prevents the loss of actual state troops. However many Privateers will turn to the side with the most money or they will run if they don’t believe the battle is worth the money, something that has often backfired in heated conflicts. The Espannians do not hire mercs for these very reasons. Like the Pirates, the Mercs are a random lot and will arm themselves with whatever they have.
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Next time, I hope to post the more minor factions of the game. Though the Brenthons and the Frenthons have hated eachother for perhaps a century, these two minor factions have despised eachother for millennia. That's right, millennia.

Also, next week I would want to have pictures of the weapons and armor that these factions use.

if i'll play, I'll be going for the pirates.

one thing. change Asharzunipalians into something simpler. That difficult name might prevent someone actually playing with them.

I always am eager to see other people's games. I like the pirates too. Nice work so far.

if i'll play, I'll be going for the pirates.

one thing. change Asharzunipalians into something simpler. That difficult name might prevent someone actually playing with them.

A Black Ram wrote:I always am eager to see other people's games. I like the pirates too. Nice work so far.

Interestingly enough, one of my first titles for the game was "Pirates of the Crimson Galaxy"; however I chose to go with something more neutral and focus on the actual Crimson Galaxy as opposed to one particular group.

As to changing the Asharzunipalians, that sounds good. It's an inside joke to myself; I want to keep an Assyrian theme though.

Ashurzurians. That's good.

That being said, as scans of weapons/armor are currently impossible in my current location I am choosing to introduce you all to the two minor factions. In my opinion they're the most interesting because they're so antithetical.

The Knights of St. Abaddon:
A martial order that spans the known galaxy. Its mission is to rid the galaxy of the mutations that plague humanity, and to uphold mankind’s genetic purity. The Knights began many millennia ago, during the Nuclear Dark Ages. However the organization has been declared by the Espannian Council that the Knights are nothing more than an organization of vigilantes and criminals and to some extent this is true as the Knights often will attack Dominions that are known to harbor mutants and will raid their ports and ships. A small number of Knights will go rogue and form jetbiker gangs yet will still keep their heraldry.

The Crimson Legion
A cult with covens all over the galaxy. They harbor mutants and other unsavory characters but are not necessarily pirates or mercenaries. Much like its nemesis, the Knights, the Legion rose in power during the Nuclear Dark Ages of Earth. The organization is well known amongst the higher authorities of the dominions yet kept secret from civilians for fear of rebellions which are already common amongst mutant populations. A military uprising is the last thing that most dominions want, especially on the outer rim where military response is sluggish at best.
-------
Notes on gameplay:

Crimson Galaxy is going to be using an action point system. What does this mean?
All models are going to have a set amount of stamina points which they get per turn. With very rare exceptions, models will have 4 stamina points, and most actions will cost 2. (For example: Shooting costs 2 stamina points, moving costs 2, running costs 4, slow [half] movement costs 1 stamina point)
Commanders then get a variable amount of Command Points, which they may grant to a unit so that the unit may perform more actions.

Each turn has phases that go between player A and player B. Player A gives his units one action, then after they are all finished Player B gives all of his units actions. (Note that I am using masculine form for convenience only)
This goes back and forth until all stamina points have been exhausted or a player chooses not to give his forces any more actions.
Then the turn ends.

Each turn has an initiative, so this gives players an opportunity to tip the balance in their favor. If you need any explanation, let me know.

The characteristics of models are still being fine-tuned so I will post those soon. However it's very cool, there are Skills (Like melee ability, ranged ability) which are used to resolve interactions, then Personal Characteristics, which includes strength and armor.

The game is designed, much like Rogue Trader, to be able to be used in a campaign or RPG setting. I feel that these are a lot more flavorful and I want to develop the rules more towards that end. And again, if you have any questions feel free to ask. This game is still in its infancy and as much as I desire a rich background and atmosphere, all of that means nothing if the rules suck.

-Vlad

Yeah I'm feeling this. I've been working on something a bit like this recently that's kind of based on the Fallout world but also has influences from a load of different Sci-Fi's too. For examples the robots in my post-apocalyptic nightmare wasteland ar based on the 2000AD comic strip ABC Warriors while the Aliens are kind of based on the X Files. I've also been thinking of using action points (AP) and possibly Initiative too. I'll post what i have in a new thread when I've got something a bit more solid dude but thanks for posting this, I'm finding it quite interesting and look forward to seeing more.
In a bit dude.

Diakon wrote:Yeah I'm feeling this. I've been working on something a bit like this recently that's kind of based on the Fallout world but also has influences from a load of different Sci-Fi's too. For examples the robots in my post-apocalyptic nightmare wasteland ar based on the 2000AD comic strip ABC Warriors while the Aliens are kind of based on the X Files. I've also been thinking of using action points (AP) and possibly Initiative too. I'll post what i have in a new thread when I've got something a bit more solid dude but thanks for posting this, I'm finding it quite interesting and look forward to seeing more.
In a bit dude.

For sure, thanks for your interest! It's always nice to read people's approval of your ideas.
Your background sounds pretty interesting, you should compile it sometime and post it.

Initiative is cool because it means that who goes first each turn is subject to change. Since Initiative is chosen by a D12+your commander's Command value, one turn you may be in the lead but the next turn your commander is suppressed (halved skills except Stealth) so his command value is much less, allowing your opponent a much better chance at going first!

Speaking of stealth and command, here is the tentative list of statistics:

Skills:
Mano a Mano (MaM): A measure of the model’s hand to hand prowess
Ranged Expertise (ReX): How good the model is at shooting
Stealth (Stlth): How hard the model is to hit. Also a measure of how large the model is.
Command (Cmd): How good at taking or giving orders the model is. Also used for seeing who goes first in melee combat.
Reasoning (Reas): How smart the model is, and ability to understand complex equipment
Condition (Con): The model's fighting spirit and mental/physical health.

Personal Characteristics:
Mobility (Mob): How fast the model can move in inches
Strength (Str): How strong the model is
Armor (Arm): How tough the model is
Health (Hlth): How much damage the model can take before being removed from the playing field.

I feel like this is a great list for use in RPG's and for a detailed skirmish, this is exactly the level of detail I wanted. I personally have never liked games with small statlines (with the exception of historicals). In a fantasy/sci-fi setting, the more detail, the better!

I should also note right now that this statline has been developed so that there is a minimum of special rules. I have never been a big fan of special rules and virtually all special rules are avoided. I have also done the same to the weapon statline, which will be posted later.

I am currently studying for finals (which are next week! ) so I am not sure how much I will be able to post. However in my next post I want to give some detail on the actions so that the statline makes more sense. I am also currently doing drawings and writing up descriptions for weapons and armor-it takes a while but the detail is going to be worth it!

Until next time!
-Vlad

OK, it's been a while. However to be fair I've had finals. And I've been working on this: http://www.scribd.com/doc/45248801/Crimson-Galaxy-Ruleset-1-1

Yep, it's the ruleset so far. It's definitely in its infancy, however it has a lot of potential. If you need clarification or you'd like me to add something, please don't hesitate.

I'm also taking suggestions for names of Pirate fleets or for any of the Dominions. (This is your chance to be a part of something big!)

Thanks!

-Vlad

Okay, it's definitely been a while, however I have been revamping the rules yet again.

Here they are, with all of the weapons, wargear, and a sample (Human) army list.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/45248801/Crimson-Galaxy-Ruleset

However, even in this very simple army list, there is lots of variety. Go with waves of untested troopers in light armor (or even a horde of civilians!), or perhaps go with an group of hard-as-nails elite troopers in powered fiber suits with phasers and bionic bodies!

Please let me know if you want to try this out, yet you aren't sure on some of the rules.

Can I get a pdf dude so I can read it when I'm offline?

Hey man, glad to see that you're still following this.

There is an option for downloading the document from scribd in a pdf format so that you'll be able to read it offline. By tomorrow I should have a newly updated version, this time with an introductory scenario between the Ashurzurian Imperial Battalion and Dread Pirate Vardriguez's pirates.

Edit: Speak of the devil, the ruleset has been updated. There is more developed background for each of the Dominions as well for the Mercs and Pirates. Also, like I said an introductory scenario. It's pretty balanced, but I imagine that the Ashurzurians have a slight advantage due to the Dreadnought Armor.

And yes, Adventurers and the Knights and the Crimson Legion are still around, I just haven't written more background for them yet. : )

http://www.scribd.com/doc/45248801/Crimson-Galaxy-Ruleset