When thinking of scifi outer space epics, certain tropes leap instantly to mind. Whether a fan of Star Wars or Star Trek, or any of the many other science fiction space operas depicted in movies, TV or literature, fans expect aliens, space ships, high tech gadgets, and lots of strange locales full of adventure.
But there are also some more enticing tropes out there to add to science fiction, inspired by writers like Heinlein and from movies and magazines like Heavy Metal. It’s a gritty universe out there, and it’s also got plenty of potential for a bit more adult themes in science-fiction RPGs.
This year, James ‘Grim’ Desborough released an OSR role-playing game with his Postmortem Studios, bringing every scifi/space opera theme together into one big package. Machinations of the Space Princess has a new take on outer space scifi settings, with a game system inspired by the indie smash Lamentations of the Flame Princess.
Machinations of the Space Princess
Machinations of the Space Princess is a space opera/fantasy role-playing game, set in the universe of the far future. The game manual includes complete rules for creating characters, spaceships, alien species, weapons, planets, and more, including combat rules for persons, vehicles, and ships. The book also includes tips for GMs and players to assist them in getting into the game system, and provides a sample adventure to jumpstart a campaign.
Production Quality
The production quality of Machinations of the Space Princess is excellent, with truly imaginative writing by the author, and a sourcebook layout which is easily accessible to the reader. The headings and text at in a very readable format, and the choice of fonts for the section heading and sub-sections allow for discernment between chapters.
Machinations of the Space Princess is equipped with both a table of contents and PDf bookmarks, and has a short index to reference the main topics of the sourcebook. Navigation through the PDF of Machinations of the Space Princess is therefore a pretty straightforward issue, although some of the section and sub-section titles are a bit eccentric and not completely evident until the reader has given the book a good once-over.
The artwork in Machinations of the Space Princess is generally quite good, and apparently all done by a single artist – Satine Pheonix. Several pieces here were fascinating and often drawn with a provocative sensuality, while other figures in the illustrations could be said to meander into the realm of Rob Leifeld’s unique sense of proportion. I do think the artist’s style suits the swashbuckling and sexy nature of the setting and the game system. My only complaint was that there should have been more illustrations included, as some sections of the book invoke that “wall of text” feeling.
Where Space is Big and Heroes are Badass
The core sourcebook, Machinations of the Space Princess, is roughly divided up into 15 sections, along with an adventure and some reference tables at the end of the book. It has to cover not only character creation and combat rules, but some instructions on how to create and run a whole universe, so there is definitely a lot to cover here.
Thankfully, the author showed some genuine flair when writing Machinations of the Space Princess. His allusions to scifi/fantasy tropes and humorous writing - a bit tongue in cheek and unrepentantly earthy - draws you from page to page through the rules and setting information effortlessly, with a few chuckles along the way. (Even reading the table of contents made me smirk.) It should be noted that Machinations of the Space Princess is dotted here and there with risqué innuendoes and the use of colorful metaphors, which probably suggests this is an NC-17 game - and not something you would buy as “My First Roleplaying Game” for kids.
The game system of Machinations of the Space Princess is based loosely upon the indie game Lamentations of the Flame Princess, which was itself was adapted from the Old School D&D “Red Box”. So while the rules have much of the sensibilities of OSR RPGs, there’s a few modifications here and there borrowed from modern gaming.
The setting for Machinations of the Space Princess is, by the authors own design, implicit rather than explicit. The author defines the setting in just a few pages, being “big, old and full of life” and was once a vast matriarchal empire that fell. The heroes in Machinations of the Space Princess exist in the chaotic aftermath of a fractured empire, petty factions, and open war. The idea for gamemasters is to take the premises of the setting, and expand the setting using the tools and tables the author provides later in the book. To further assist the process, there are blurbs at the bottom of each and every page which drop hints about the nature of the universe and its alien races, various factions and worlds, and even odd bits of mystery – facts which presumably arose in the course of the author’s own MotSP campaign.
In many respects, the setting and play style are best described by the author as “sexy, sleazy,
swords and sci-fi.” He gives his own inspirations of style from Heavy Metal, Métal Hurlant and Star Wars. But inspirational sources such as Buck Rogers, Barbarella, Riddick (et al), and Farscape would likely also apply to this sort of out-there space setting. It’s important to note that the “swords” part actually applies to MotSP, because the author made ranged combat is far less reliable than just closing with the enemy and entering a frantic melee with high-tech hand weapons.
The character generation system has its foundations based in the early D&D system. There are the base 6 ability scores of 3-18 in range, as well as hit points, base attack and ranged attack. MotSP does add a 7th score – Comeliness – as well as a new set of saving throws rolled against ability scores. But where things get quite interesting is in creating the character concept – over which players have much control. Given the scope of the universe and a vast (albeit fallen) interstellar empire, human and alien diversity is nearly limitless. The players can be create their own species, choosing from multiple traits available to certain types of creatures, plants, technology, and more - which even allows for pure humans and human hybrids. Up to five traits can be taken, and from multiple types – so taking traits from the avian, cetacean, and cyborg types could create a new alien species of cyborg flying dolphins or a sentient dolphin fitted with cybernetics and flight gear. The possibilities are endless, and brings the players’ imaginations into creating the universe with their gamemaster.
I should mention that there are only four classes in MotSP - Expert, Killer, Psion, and Scholar – but these classes do a fair job of covering most space opera professions. The author added a simple skill system with a d6 roll to resolve, but the number of skills available is quite extensive, and again covers much of the necessary skills one finds in a scifi/fantasy setting. Psionics is actually a small selection of old D&D magic spells, simplified and re-skinned into psionic powers, and activated by a magic psi point system.
Armor and weapons in the game are also a place where the players can add to the expanding campaign universe. Gear is given a base quality only, but as with alien races, certain traits – here called options – can be added in exchange for money. The options for armor and weapons are quite imaginative and inspired by scifi tropes, and again, allows for the invention of all kinds of diversity. Incidentally, there is no armor class, but instead armor reduces incoming damage by a certain die amount (1, 1d2, 1d3… to 1d12).
The combat system fairly intuitive to anyone who has played d20 based RPGs, with a few modifications for the setting and nature of the game system. Spaceship combat is actually handled the same as personal combat, with each player able to perform skill checks to assist, whether it’s piloting, firing laser cannons, or rerouting power and repairing damage.
The author makes sure to provide resources for the GM and players to ease their transition into the universe of Machinations of the Space Princess. This includes sections on building spaceships, creating star systems, inhabited planets and alien civilizations, and NPCs and monstrous aliens. In the tried-and-true OSR tradition, the GM is gifted with plenty of random charts and reference materials to fill the universe around the heroes with that “sexy, sleazy, swords and sci-fi” stuff. Those blurbs from the author at the bottom of each page often contain little tidbits of knowledge about the universe, which GMs can incorporate into their own campaigns.
There are also tips on running the game for the gamemaster, playing the game as a player, and how to find a group of people to gather round a table to play MotSP. The sample adventure, The Seige at the Proxima Bar, is well-written and looks like a lot of fun to play out – GMs and players can jump right into the game and get into playing a session fairly easily with all the resources at hand.
Overall Score: 4.0 out of 5.0
Conclusions
When you end your reading of a RPG sourcebook with a smile on your face, and a near overwhelming desire to run out and find people to play with, you know you just found a cool new game. And that’s how I felt reading through Machinations of the Space Princess – and still do.
(Hear that, dear gaming group… you have been warned.)
The author’s writing inspires enthusiasm, and the game system itself is a slick adaptation of D&D OSR rules, but enhanced by (rather than bogged down with) a few modern game mechanics. The character generation possibilities are unending, and really offer players a chance to create rather than roll-up a space hero. All the additional tables, charts, and other GM references is true to the heart of what made OSR gaming fun, spontaneous, and a little bit random. While the artwork was sparse, much of it was inspired by the setting, and was well suited to the book.
It doesn’t put much hurting on the wallet to pick up this ingenious space opera RPG, and it’s seems fully capable of providing hours and hours of session time in a wild and rollicking universe setting.
Editorial Note: This Reviewer received a complimentary playtest copy of the product in PDF format from which the review was written.
Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)
But there are also some more enticing tropes out there to add to science fiction, inspired by writers like Heinlein and from movies and magazines like Heavy Metal. It’s a gritty universe out there, and it’s also got plenty of potential for a bit more adult themes in science-fiction RPGs.This year, James ‘Grim’ Desborough released an OSR role-playing game with his Postmortem Studios, bringing every scifi/space opera theme together into one big package. Machinations of the Space Princess has a new take on outer space scifi settings, with a game system inspired by the indie smash Lamentations of the Flame Princess.
Machinations of the Space Princess
- Designer: James ‘Grim’ Desborough
- Illustrations: Satine Phoenix
- Publisher: Postmortem Studios
- Year: 2013
- Media: PDF (244 pages)
- Price: $11.99 (Available from RPGNow)
Machinations of the Space Princess is a space opera/fantasy role-playing game, set in the universe of the far future. The game manual includes complete rules for creating characters, spaceships, alien species, weapons, planets, and more, including combat rules for persons, vehicles, and ships. The book also includes tips for GMs and players to assist them in getting into the game system, and provides a sample adventure to jumpstart a campaign.
Production Quality
The production quality of Machinations of the Space Princess is excellent, with truly imaginative writing by the author, and a sourcebook layout which is easily accessible to the reader. The headings and text at in a very readable format, and the choice of fonts for the section heading and sub-sections allow for discernment between chapters.
Machinations of the Space Princess is equipped with both a table of contents and PDf bookmarks, and has a short index to reference the main topics of the sourcebook. Navigation through the PDF of Machinations of the Space Princess is therefore a pretty straightforward issue, although some of the section and sub-section titles are a bit eccentric and not completely evident until the reader has given the book a good once-over.
The artwork in Machinations of the Space Princess is generally quite good, and apparently all done by a single artist – Satine Pheonix. Several pieces here were fascinating and often drawn with a provocative sensuality, while other figures in the illustrations could be said to meander into the realm of Rob Leifeld’s unique sense of proportion. I do think the artist’s style suits the swashbuckling and sexy nature of the setting and the game system. My only complaint was that there should have been more illustrations included, as some sections of the book invoke that “wall of text” feeling.
Where Space is Big and Heroes are Badass
The core sourcebook, Machinations of the Space Princess, is roughly divided up into 15 sections, along with an adventure and some reference tables at the end of the book. It has to cover not only character creation and combat rules, but some instructions on how to create and run a whole universe, so there is definitely a lot to cover here.
Thankfully, the author showed some genuine flair when writing Machinations of the Space Princess. His allusions to scifi/fantasy tropes and humorous writing - a bit tongue in cheek and unrepentantly earthy - draws you from page to page through the rules and setting information effortlessly, with a few chuckles along the way. (Even reading the table of contents made me smirk.) It should be noted that Machinations of the Space Princess is dotted here and there with risqué innuendoes and the use of colorful metaphors, which probably suggests this is an NC-17 game - and not something you would buy as “My First Roleplaying Game” for kids.
The game system of Machinations of the Space Princess is based loosely upon the indie game Lamentations of the Flame Princess, which was itself was adapted from the Old School D&D “Red Box”. So while the rules have much of the sensibilities of OSR RPGs, there’s a few modifications here and there borrowed from modern gaming.
The setting for Machinations of the Space Princess is, by the authors own design, implicit rather than explicit. The author defines the setting in just a few pages, being “big, old and full of life” and was once a vast matriarchal empire that fell. The heroes in Machinations of the Space Princess exist in the chaotic aftermath of a fractured empire, petty factions, and open war. The idea for gamemasters is to take the premises of the setting, and expand the setting using the tools and tables the author provides later in the book. To further assist the process, there are blurbs at the bottom of each and every page which drop hints about the nature of the universe and its alien races, various factions and worlds, and even odd bits of mystery – facts which presumably arose in the course of the author’s own MotSP campaign.
In many respects, the setting and play style are best described by the author as “sexy, sleazy,
swords and sci-fi.” He gives his own inspirations of style from Heavy Metal, Métal Hurlant and Star Wars. But inspirational sources such as Buck Rogers, Barbarella, Riddick (et al), and Farscape would likely also apply to this sort of out-there space setting. It’s important to note that the “swords” part actually applies to MotSP, because the author made ranged combat is far less reliable than just closing with the enemy and entering a frantic melee with high-tech hand weapons.
The character generation system has its foundations based in the early D&D system. There are the base 6 ability scores of 3-18 in range, as well as hit points, base attack and ranged attack. MotSP does add a 7th score – Comeliness – as well as a new set of saving throws rolled against ability scores. But where things get quite interesting is in creating the character concept – over which players have much control. Given the scope of the universe and a vast (albeit fallen) interstellar empire, human and alien diversity is nearly limitless. The players can be create their own species, choosing from multiple traits available to certain types of creatures, plants, technology, and more - which even allows for pure humans and human hybrids. Up to five traits can be taken, and from multiple types – so taking traits from the avian, cetacean, and cyborg types could create a new alien species of cyborg flying dolphins or a sentient dolphin fitted with cybernetics and flight gear. The possibilities are endless, and brings the players’ imaginations into creating the universe with their gamemaster.
I should mention that there are only four classes in MotSP - Expert, Killer, Psion, and Scholar – but these classes do a fair job of covering most space opera professions. The author added a simple skill system with a d6 roll to resolve, but the number of skills available is quite extensive, and again covers much of the necessary skills one finds in a scifi/fantasy setting. Psionics is actually a small selection of old D&D magic spells, simplified and re-skinned into psionic powers, and activated by a magic psi point system.
Armor and weapons in the game are also a place where the players can add to the expanding campaign universe. Gear is given a base quality only, but as with alien races, certain traits – here called options – can be added in exchange for money. The options for armor and weapons are quite imaginative and inspired by scifi tropes, and again, allows for the invention of all kinds of diversity. Incidentally, there is no armor class, but instead armor reduces incoming damage by a certain die amount (1, 1d2, 1d3… to 1d12).
The combat system fairly intuitive to anyone who has played d20 based RPGs, with a few modifications for the setting and nature of the game system. Spaceship combat is actually handled the same as personal combat, with each player able to perform skill checks to assist, whether it’s piloting, firing laser cannons, or rerouting power and repairing damage.
The author makes sure to provide resources for the GM and players to ease their transition into the universe of Machinations of the Space Princess. This includes sections on building spaceships, creating star systems, inhabited planets and alien civilizations, and NPCs and monstrous aliens. In the tried-and-true OSR tradition, the GM is gifted with plenty of random charts and reference materials to fill the universe around the heroes with that “sexy, sleazy, swords and sci-fi” stuff. Those blurbs from the author at the bottom of each page often contain little tidbits of knowledge about the universe, which GMs can incorporate into their own campaigns.
There are also tips on running the game for the gamemaster, playing the game as a player, and how to find a group of people to gather round a table to play MotSP. The sample adventure, The Seige at the Proxima Bar, is well-written and looks like a lot of fun to play out – GMs and players can jump right into the game and get into playing a session fairly easily with all the resources at hand.
Overall Score: 4.0 out of 5.0
Conclusions
When you end your reading of a RPG sourcebook with a smile on your face, and a near overwhelming desire to run out and find people to play with, you know you just found a cool new game. And that’s how I felt reading through Machinations of the Space Princess – and still do.
(Hear that, dear gaming group… you have been warned.)
The author’s writing inspires enthusiasm, and the game system itself is a slick adaptation of D&D OSR rules, but enhanced by (rather than bogged down with) a few modern game mechanics. The character generation possibilities are unending, and really offer players a chance to create rather than roll-up a space hero. All the additional tables, charts, and other GM references is true to the heart of what made OSR gaming fun, spontaneous, and a little bit random. While the artwork was sparse, much of it was inspired by the setting, and was well suited to the book.
It doesn’t put much hurting on the wallet to pick up this ingenious space opera RPG, and it’s seems fully capable of providing hours and hours of session time in a wild and rollicking universe setting.
Editorial Note: This Reviewer received a complimentary playtest copy of the product in PDF format from which the review was written.
Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)
- Presentation: 3.5
- - Design: 4.0 (Awesome writing style; solid layout; very user friendly; cool use of fonts and charts)
- - Illustrations: 3.0 (Decent art; some great pieces; needed more interior illustrations)
- Content: 4.0
- - Crunch: 4.0 (Cool OSR rules adaptation; fast & easy to learn; awesome random charts!)
- - Fluff: 4.0 (Exciting implicit setting; cool informative blurbs; interactive storyteller-friendly game)
- Value: 4.5 (A very complete space opera RPG in one affordable package!)
