Award-winning author Joseph A. McCullough of Frostgrave fame revealed some more details about his new Stargrave - Science Fiction Wargames in the Ravaged Galaxy tabletop rules. So probably a good time to compile what I found about the upcoming game in terms of the setting, rules, miniatures and artwork.
The Stargrave Setting
"A skirmish wargame set in a dangerous galaxy where players command a small crew of adventurers hunting for loot, while trying not to call too much attention to their activities.
In a galaxy torn apart by the Last War, vast pirate fleets roam from system to system, robbing, extorting, and enslaving. Attempts to organize resistance, or to establish authority over any territory larger than a city, are quickly and brutally crushed. In this dark time, the only way to survive is to be inconspicuous and hope to be overlooked. Amidst this chaos, however, thousands of independent operators--smugglers, relic hunters, freedom fighters, and mercenaries--roam the dead stars in small ships, scratching out a living anyway they can.
In Stargrave, players take on the role of one of these independent operators. Perhaps they are a cybernetic veteran of the Last War, a psion fleeing slavers, or a mystic warrior attempting to preserve ancient wisdom. Maybe they are a bounty hunter collecting blood money, a robotics expert pushing the bounds of current technology, or a biomorph bred in the genetanks of some forgotten laboratory. Having chosen their own background, players must hire a crew for their ship, choosing a lieutenant with their own unique skill-set, and a handful of soldiers, mechanics, hackers, and other specialists. Some captains may even recruit strange alien lifeforms with abilities no humanoid could ever possess.
Once the players' crews are assembled, they are ready to dive into a campaign. Over a series of games, their crews will have the chance to carry out a variety of missions--recovering lost technology, stealing data, freeing slaves, and fighting back against the pirate fleets. In time, as the crews gain experience, they will become more powerful and hire more talented specialists. The more they grow, however, the more likely it is that a pirate fleet will take note of their activities and come after them!"
The Stargrave Skirmish Tabletop Rules
The upcoming Stargrave Science Fiction Wargames in the Ravaged Galaxy tabletop rules are written by award-winning author Joseph A. McCullough. These new rules draw upon many of the basic mechanics found in Frostgrave and Ghost Archipelago, but uses them in a completely new science fiction setting. These rules will be released in April 2021.
In game the players create their own small crew of for example merchants or smugglers, freedom-fighters or wanted criminals, rogue scientists or collectors of alien artefacts. Each crew features two 'characters' a captain and a first-mate, each of whom can choose their own background, such as veteran, cyborg, robotics expert, mystic, rogue or psionicist, to name a few. These backgrounds give access to various powers or abilities that these figures can use during or between games. No solo or coop rules are included in the core rulebook but are planned in future releases.
Another important new part of the rules and background are the space pirates which act like some kind of ‘clock’ on the games, something drives the players to complete their tasks as quick as possible. Eventually, this became the ‘Unwanted Attention’ rule that generally replaces the Random Encounter table for many scenarios, especially those set in a more urban environment. Essentially, the longer a scenario goes on, the greater chance all of that gunfire is going to attract attention. At first, this might be low-level law-enforcement, or gangs, or the like, but eventually, its going to be the pirates. And once the pirates are committed, they won’t stop coming… So, players are going to want to have some miniatures available for this unwanted attention. Here’s the different types you’ll need.
- Ruffians (low level grunts in light armour carrying pistols)
- Pirate Troopers (Standard baddies in heavy armour with carbines)
- Pirate Shock Troopers (Elite baddies in combat armour with carbines)
- Bounty Hunters (Bad News in combat armour with carbines)
You’ll want a good handful of ruffians and pirate troopers, a couple of shock troopers, and maybe a bounty hunter or two. Generally, they only show up in small numbers, but potentially they can keep coming forever… The following official artwork piece was part of the author's original post here
Once the players' crews are assembled, they are ready to dive into a campaign. Over a series of games, their crews will have the chance to carry out a variety of missions--recovering lost technology, stealing data, freeing slaves, and fighting back against the pirate fleets. In time, as the crews gain experience, they will become more powerful and hire more talented specialists. The more they grow, however, the more likely it is that a pirate fleet will take note of their activities and come after them!
The Stargrave Quarantine 37 Tabletop Rules Supplement
The first supplement for Stargrave, the science-fiction wargame from award-winning designer Joseph A. McCullough, introducing new scenarios, soldiers, technology and aliens to the ravaged galaxy. According to Amazon, coming in September 2021.
At the time of its commission, Imperial Research Station 37 held nearly ten-thousand scientist and researchers working on a vast array of biological and chemical projects. Then, six-months before the outbreak of the war, Station 37 went dark. There were no distress messages; no escape pods were launched. Only a solitary, repeating broadcast filled the silence. This station is under quarantine. Do not approach. When the Endwar came, the station was forgotten, left to drift lifelessly in its empty system. Now, with the war over, and the Free Traders roaming the ruins, the station has been rediscovered. Although the station must clearly be approached with caution, the technology it contains is worth many fortunes...
Quarantine 37 is a supplement for Stargrave, in which the players lead their team of Free Traders into an abandoned space station, looking for lost technology as well as potentially unique research and experiments. Unfortunately, a few of those experiments have escaped and still roam the tight, dark confines of the station. Along with a host of new scenarios, this book also contains new technology, soldiers, aliens, and ship options for the players to upgrade their forces.
The Stargrave Miniature Range
The official Stargrave miniature range will be created and sold through Northstar Miniatures in partnership with Osprey Publishing in similar fashion as the hugely popular fantasy Frostgrave miniature range. The new Stargrave range will contain multiple multi-part hard-plastic miniature sets and metal character sets offering a nice selection of usable and affordable miniatures although other miniatures can also be used if desired. The lead designer of the range is sculptor Bobby Jackson
According to Nick, the owner of Northstar Miniatures the style of the new miniatures will be a bit like Star Wars although the weapons will be more near future military than ray guns. In this article you will be able to see some official artwork which might give you an indication of the setting and style of miniatures. Below you can see a low-res preview by Osprey Publishing of a fantastic piece of artwork from Helge C. Balzer. It shows a mercenary standing alongside a biomorph – one of the backgrounds available for your captain in Stargrave.
Below you will find an extract from the book describing biomorphs: "When the old empires fell, so did their laws limiting ‘genetic enhancement’. A few scientists seized this opportunity to engage in radical experimentation. This involved both the genetic manipulation of naturally-born individuals and the creation of wholly new ‘tank-born’ individuals. In either case, those that survived these experiments were often left with unique abilities to control their own bodies, such as realigning their skeletal structure, growing new limbs, changing their skin tones, or even growing additional organs to deal with toxic substances or alien environments. Unfortunately, many biomorphs were also left psychically scarred by their modifications. While the worst of these tend to destroy themselves quickly, almost all carry some form of phobia, psychosis, or other mental impairment. Depending on the abilities of a biomorph, they tend to dress in loose, or very stretchy outfits, or have specialized suits of armour made that take into account their abilities. More than any other background, biomorphs tend to form independent crews because they are on the run – either from those that created them or want to do further experiments on them, or to escape the consequences of some crime (often unintended)."
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