Back in the 1990s I GM'd a Hero System Space Opera campaign. I recently found my notes. Here's my campaign plan.
This is a science fiction role-playing game campaign set in 2592 A.D. There are all the usual trappings of space opera, including starships, blasters, psionics, and anthropomorphic aliens.
Our heroes are the crew of a privateer starship. They'll start out pretty small time. They will perform such missions as repo'ing a ship, running guns to the rebels, or smuggling operatives. In the tradition of the space opera genre, things will get out of hand before you know it . . .
Campaign Tone
In the tradition of space opera, Good Guys are always Good, and Bad Guys are always Bad. Player characters will be mostly good but a little grungy. To spice things up we add a couple of cyberpunk and espionage novel bits. You just can't tell whose side some people are on; some people switch sides on you.
This is a rather romantic, unrealistic campaign. There will be many classic Space Opera 'bits'. Some of the most obvious space opera cliches we'll use will be anthropomorphic aliens, faster than light travel, huge spaceships, and loud ray guns.
Naturally, our heroes will face (and overcome) great adversity. Some may die along the way. There will be at least one major act of treachery, balanced by one big break.
Description of Setting
The setting of this campaign is adapted from Fantasy Games Unlimited's Space Opera (1980) role-playing game and their Space Marines miniature rules. Some interesting bits were liberated from other sources, and some I made up myself.
Known Space is dominated by several vast militarist interstellar empires. They include:
The Federal Systems Union is liberal, multiÄspecies democracy. Its Capitol is Terra. For the purposes of this campaign, they're the good guys.
The Empire of Man is a fascist, Human Supremacist, quasi-mystical merit oligarchy. Its Capitol is near Deneb. They think War is fun. Aliens are inferiors. Genocide and slavery are the Imperial way of dealing with them. The Empire is dominated by a Warrior cult, with bizarre rituals and traditions.
The Mercantile League is a human-dominated commercial alliance of corporations and individuals. They hate "Statist" governments. They'll trade with anybody, even nations they're fighting.
The Councilate is a very old, very eccentric multi-species government. They are very stuffy and bureaucratic. Some Councilate races have been running around interstellar space for thousands of years.
The Optimized Social Republic was a human-dominated Commie state. The Republic was building the "perfect" society through social and genetic engineering. It collapsed after losing a war with the Councilate and their Mercantile League allies. Former Republic worlds are suffering from many problems, including civil wars, Mercantile occupation troops, Federal "relief missions" and Imperial marauders. Strange mutants and hybrids are escaping from Republic labs and government servitude. They aren't always forgiving or merciful.
Larvae (A.K.A. "The Bugs") are a species resembling giant insects and the monsters from the movies Alien and Aliens. Each larvae clan has a "group mind", with individual larva linked telepathically. They have a nasty habit of migrating in mass to other folk's planets uninvited.
IRSOL are a Humanoid species. They wander the Galaxy in giant CityÄShips. The IRSOL are a very old, very sophisticated, and very private race. IRSOL are allies and sponsors of the Federation, which they seem to be manipulating. They are rivals of certain Councilate races.
Power Levels
Skill Rolls 11 to 20
Speed 2 to 5
Dexterity 10 to 23
Combat Values 3 to 10
Campaign Rules
Do not use hit location.
Do not use Knockback rules; use Knockdown instead.
Do not use longÄrange endurance rules.
Do use Limited Push; Must make Ego roll to push powers.
Campaign Plan
Starting Year: 2592 AD
The rate of time passage varies. It will speed up during long travel periods.
Campaign Type: Swash-buckling Space Mercs
Known Alien Races: Too many to list. Humans and variants are common.
Base world: Terra, Sol System
The frequency of Good worlds: Scattered. Exploration is Ongoing and widespread.
Technology
Power Sources
Anti-matter and Fusion reactors are common and relatively cheap and reliable. Solar arrays and power satellites are also in use. Major planetary power grids use redundant room temperature superconductor lines.
Transportation
Countra-grav vehicles are common for personal planetary travel. Rail systems and surface ships are used for bulk transportation. Wheeled and tracked vehicles are used for agriculture and mining.
Spacecraft use a Hyperdrive for interstellar, faster-than-light, travel. This allows speeds of 1 to 10 Parsecs per day. Complex calculations are required before entering hyperspace. A ship in hyperdrive cannot affect or be detected from normal space. It can be affected by storms and creatures which exist in hyperspace. A hyperdrive is reliable, given regular maintenance. Malfunctions can result in odd time dilation/expansion effects and/or emergence in normal space far from the intended destination.
It is not safe to prematurely drop out of hyperspace; it places great stress on the Ship and personnel onboard. It usually takes at least a week to recalibrate the hyperdrive after a premature drop.
A jump drive is known, but not widely used. It requires a specially talented Psi adept.
Spacecraft use a reactionless "Thruster" drive. This drive seems to violate or bend many laws of Relativity physics. Typically, a ship will be rated at 10 -100 mt/sec/sec acceleration. Some "barge" or racing vessels will be outside this range.
Teleportation devices, including stargates, are known but not understood. All existing examples are unreliable and dangerous ancient artifacts from forerunner cultures.
Communications
Faster-than-light communication is possible using either a Tachyon transceiver (TTR) or a Hyperspace pulse generator (HPG). A Tachyon transceiver is limited to about 5 to 10 light year range but is reasonably small. A Hyperpulse generator (HPG) has a range of several thousand light year, with an effective speed of transmittal of about 256 light years/day. It is a large, bulky device, (several thousand tons) which is usually deployed as a space station.
Tachyon transceiver relay buoys are deployed by explorers and military expeditions to extend their communication ranges.
Remote Sensing
Tachyon emissions from thrusters, hyperdrive engines, gravity control devices, or ship weapons can be detected at ranges of several hundred light seconds.
Very large optical and radio telescopes have been built. These allow detection of habitable planets at ranges of hundreds of Lightyears.
Medicine
General purpose antiÄantibiotics, antiÄagatics, slow-time, and limited regeneration drugs are available. Regeneration tanks are available.
Bionics are available, reliable, and comfortable. Elective bionics are rarely seen, particularly since implants are no longer required for direct mental interfacing with computers. Powered exoÄskeletons have replaced most combat bionics.
Genetic engineering, cloning, and brain-taping are available but restricted. Genetically engineered humans are common in some parts of the Republic and the Mercantile league. The Republic was building the "New Soviet Man" and supersoldiers for their wars with the Empire and the Councilate.
Civil Engineering
Large sspace tructures, such as L5 colonies and floating cities are common. Union technology has not yet developed the capability to produce starcities, but could if there was a good reason to do so. The IRSOL and some Councilate races do build starcities.
Most cities cover a small area but are densely populated. They frequently consist of giant buildings or large underground facilities. Such cities have less impact on ecosystems and are easier to defend from space attacks. Extensive suburbs and road networks are avoided.
Agriculture
Food is cheap and easily obtained, for the most part. Advances in transportation and robotics have helped a great deal. Interestingly, several colonies on Jupiter and Saturn's moons are noted food sources; a monument to agricultural engineering.
Computers and Robots
It is possible to build a computer with effectively human (or superior) intelligence and creativity. Slavery of any intelligent, sentient being is illegal almost everywhere except the Empire; this includes computers as well as biologicals. Free-willed AI's can be dangerous. Their motives are not the same as those of biologicals. Free-willed AI devices, including sentient robots, are rare.
Nanotechnology has rendered implanted "hardwired" manÄcomputer interfaces relatively safe and convenient.
Weaponry
There is an extensive variety of energy and projectile weaponry available for ground, sea, air, and space combat. To counter these threats advanced armor and forcefield systems are available. Electronic camouflage and counterÄmeasures have advanced to match advances in sensor technology.
Nuclear damper field technology has spread throughout known space. The damper effectively neutralizes nuclear weapons. As a bonus, it reduces the destructive effects of large meteor strikes. Unfortunately, chemical and biological weapons still work all too well. The Imperial scum developed some "interesting" applications of microwaves and radio-active dust; the Xenon damper doesn't stop these weapons.
Magic or Psionics
Several elder races have supported the rational development of Psionic talents. True adepts are rare and require extensive practice to develop their skills. Most physical effects require some sort of amplifying matrix.
