- A dramatic coup upfolds at a corrupt despot's court.
- Warlords rally supporters and hunt down dissenters.
- An ancient biotech facility holds the secret to victory, or destruction.
- Two intertwined campaign arcs lead to a single dramatic conclusion, where the system's factions collide to battle for control of an ancient secret.
- Classic sci-fi dramas mix with unique story arcs, in a rich, evocative setting, inspired by classic Persian literature.
The book provides a setting (everything in one new start system) and a full campaign for sci-fi games. Traveller rules are included (under the Traveller Compatibility license from Mongoose), Coriolis conversion notes will be provided after publication, and the book layout makes it easy to convert to other systems.
The campaign works for existing or new campaigns. And it has been written with the understanding that a lot of sci-fi groups want to play as treaders / merchants / space-truckers, while most campaigns assume agents, mercenaries, or "adventurers for hire": here the campaign works effortlessly for traders or diplomats, since the main campaign thread follows a series of trade negotiations, just as well as for agents, mercenaries, etc. The PCs have a lot of freedom in how they approach the challenges, as different groups can emphasise violence, negotiation, deviousness, etc., as they wish. But what all players will get is a deep, unusual, evocative setting which mixes classic sci-fi with rich themes, events and atmosphere built from Persian traditions.
Who Is Behind This?
The Yosano Studios team is Kevin Hassall (writing and design) and Marija Popovic (visuals). Our last project together was the medieval House of the Crescent Sun, and our collaboration goes back several years including highly praised Coriolis campaigns. Kevin's RPG design experience goes back rather further (including the original Vampire: the Dark Ages, the campaign setting for Ars Magica 3rd ed, work on Robotech and Call of Cthulhu... etc.)
When Will The Serpent Be Published?
The Kickstarter is live now. It was fully funded in 24 hours, so the project is now going ahead. And expected publication for the PDFs and books is July this year.
