I'm interested in a campaign set in a far future where a crew of explorers, thieves, bounty hunters, con-artists, mercenaries, spies, junkies, and deadbeats work together to man a starbase hideout and plan daring scores on the fringes of a human starfaring empire. It will feel like Traveller with a less “hard science” and a more of a science-fantasy “Star Wars” or “Warhammer 40K” technology vibe. Each episode in the campaign will follow a loose formula starting with planning and executing an initial job. This first encounter will lean on flashback scenes and cut directly to the most interesting moments of the action. That could be anytime that the plan goes sideways such as an ambush, bluffing their way through security, or dealing with complications of their success. Once the opening job is complete, a period of downtime will be followed by player-directed free play that will follow our traditional “sandbox” format.

Player characters are expected to work together for the collective benefit of the crew of rogues, but there is no reason why tempers may flare in the face of incompetence or selfishness. Any crew member who actively betrays the party would probably leave the game and become an NPC. I expect the crew to stand together in most cases - particularly when threatened collectively.

We'll use Savage Worlds as a basis for rules. I've created custom rules for gear, as well as a brand new supplement for ship-to-ship combat rules that make starships more like characters in the story themselves. Ships can “level up” and provide opportunities for PCs to each participate meaningfully in a space battle - even if they are all on one ship.

Let's discuss some assumptions about the campaign here

• Faster than light travel - Any ship may carry an FTL drive which can be powered by vessel of just about any size. A jump to light speed allows travel at 1 light year per 1d4 hours.
• Faster than light communications - Messages must be sent by courier like Traveller.
• Psychic Sensitives - Yes.
• Androids - Yes, and most of them look WAY too human like Blade Runner.
• Mutants - Yes, but less like the X-men more like zombies or monsters.
• Cybernetics - Absolutely, with a chance of some body horror thrown in.
• Aliens - Very rare. The official policy of the “Civilized” governments is that there are no intelligent alien species. Any creature that seems to be such is actually a human or animal mutant, a robot or android, or the product of illegal genetic manipulation by outlaw scientists.