Ralf Schemmann produced this schematic map, a snap shot really, of the translight corridors connecting The Bleed, the “region” of space where the PCs – lasers – undertake their contracts in the Ashen Stars game. From Ashen Stars: Translight corridors are not fixed in space. They orbit through the universe, just as the rest of […]
Search Results for: Ashen Stars
As I discussed in Pelgrane Biz Part 1, it’s expensive and risky to print books by offset litho, even though the results are gratifying, and the rewards, if the sales are high enough, are excellent. But there is every chance that Trail of Cthulhu is a one-off success, and won’t be repeated. That said, I […]
We’ve got 25 playtest groups who have jumped through the first hoop – answering a simply questionnaire. I haven’t had this level of participation since Trail of Cthulhu. Ashen Stars is very different to Trail, with starship combat, high-tech equipment, multiple races, the necessity of earning enough from contracts to stop your equipment falling apart […]
Wanted: Playtesters for Ashen Stars (GUMSHOE Space) System: This is a stand-alone game using the GUMSHOE system. Who are the PCs: The PCs freelance law enforcement officers called lasers contracting their services to a central authority weakened by stellar war. They investigate kipdnappings, deliver cargoes, chase fugitives, collect debts, but they must keep careful track […]
You saw Jérome’s rough sketch for the Durugh, one of the alien species in Ashen Stars. This is a fleshed out version. What do you think?
In Ashen Stars (formerly GUMSHOE Space), every PC has a warpside role and a groundside role. Warpside, you can take on the role of pilot, gunner, erngineer, comms, stratco or medic, doubling up where necessary. During starship combat, each role has an important part to play and meaningful choices to make. As well as the […]
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This now out-of-print convention exclusive book features two adventures for Ashen Stars, now collected in print & PDF format in The Justice Trade:
Tartarus
In a devastatingly hostile environment, hard-bitten lasers – who know enough not to touch the gooey stuff or take off their helmets in an untested biosphere – investigate the demise of a survey crew doomed by the above mistakes.
Terra Nova
The Terra Nova, last of the great luxury liners from the Combine’s heyday, is dead, a victim of disaster now drifting in the space between worlds. The last of the survivors clutch desperately to life, waiting for rescue. All but one; who waits only for a chance to finish the job, uncovering a secret which the Terra Nova has kept hidden for decades.
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A new adventure for Ashen Stars from Robin D Laws.
In this scenario of exploration and confrontation in a devastatingly hostile environment, hard-bitten lasers, who know enough not to touch the gooey stuff or take off their helmets in an untested biosphere, investigate the demise of a survey crew doomed by the above mistakes, and more.
The interstellar corporation Shrawley-Gosha Industries offers a contract for an extraction operation on a notorious Bad Planet called Tartarus. A recent SGI survey mission went awry there, with all hands presumed lost. The company seeks a crew to retrieve DNA samples from the dead team members, to see if they were exposed to an experimental viroware treatment, and, if so, whether it contributed to the mission’s failure. As a secondary objective, the lasers are to gather enough evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to whatever catastrophe destroyed the original team.
Tartarus is also available as part of The Justice Trade collection in print and PDF.
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The Terra Nova, last of the great luxury liners from the Combine’s heyday, is dead, a victim of disaster now drifting in the space between worlds.
Her final call echoes across the Bleed. The last of the survivors clutch desperately to life, waiting for rescue.
All but one, that is. One of them waits only for a chance to finish the job, uncovering a secret which the Terra Nova has kept hidden for decades.
The price of that revelation will be paid in blood.
Terra Nova is an adventure for Ashen Stars by Leonard Balsera, author of Profane Miracles and co-author of the smash hit Dresden Files. It features a novel use of GUMSHOE where the culprit isn’t set in stone in the adventure’s text.
Click here to see all reviews of this product.
Terra Nova is also available as part of The Justice Trade collection in print and PDF.
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This edition of Fear Itself has been supplanted by the new 2nd Edition
The Roleplaying Game of Personal Horror
Fear Itself plunges ordinary people into a disturbing contemporary world of madness and violence — and inexorably draws them into confrontation with creatures of the Outer Black, a realm of alien menace. GMs can re-create all the shudders and shocks of the horror genre at their table, whether they use the game’s distinctive mythology or one of their own choosing.
Powered by the GUMSHOE investigative roleplaying system, Fear Itself is ideal for one-shot horror games (where few, if any, of the protagonists are expected to survive) or ongoing campaigns in which the characters gradually discover more about the disturbing supernatural reality that hides in the shadows of the ordinary world. Will they learn how to combat the darkness? Or spiral tragically into insanity and death?
Read what reviewers are saying about Fear Itself.
“I have given this product 5 stars: 4 because it delivers everything it promises; is written to a standard that I, as an ordinary gamer, cannot find fault with; and the 5th star because it brings truly new and innovative content to the industry. If you want scary and investigative – get this.”
– William G., DriveThruRPG
“This is very much a game of personal horror — so be prepared to be even more creeped out than usual here. …If you want to go off the well-beaten path and want to try something different, then this game is for you. It emulates the cinematic horrors of everything from Scream to Twenty Eight Days Later. You could even recreate the classic ghost stories of literature or the J-Horror of The Ring or horror Manga like the Lovecraft-esque Uzamaki if you so wished.”
– Dave Lai, RPGnet
GUMSHOE is the groundbreaking investigative roleplaying system by Robin D. Laws that shifts the focus of play away from finding clues (or worse, not finding them), and toward interpreting clues, solving mysteries and moving the action forward. GUMSHOE powers many Pelgrane Press games, including Trail of Cthulhu, Night’s Black Agents, Esoterrorists, Ashen Stars, Mutant City Blues and Fear Itself. Learn more about how to run GUMSHOE games, and download the GUMSHOE System Reference Document to make your own GUMSHOE products under the Open Gaming License or the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution Unported License.