Thrilling Tales Retro Rockets 01, Podreczniki RPG, Thrilling Tales
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Introduction
Welcome to the first installment of
Retro Rockets
,
a series detailing pulp-SF rocket ships for your d20
campaigns.
Science fiction pulps were heavy on the “fiction”
and light on the “science.” Man’s first ventures into
orbit and beyond were still decades away, and many of
the things that we now know about space travel were
merely theories at the time. The writers of the pulps
concentrated on bringing readers fast-paced adventure
tales, liberally seasoned with things that sounded
vaguely scientific, to give the stories a futuristic sheen.
To today’s audience, phrases like “atomic ray pistol”
“electro suits” and “radio rangers” sound absurd, but
to the pulp reader of the time, they were full of won-
der and possibility.
One of the first jobs that a Game Master running a
pulp SF campaign will have to do is to communicate
these sorts of expectations to the players. 21st century
players will have to willingly suspend their disbelief,
and go with the feel of things. Sure, we now know that
there is no use for aerodynamics in outer space.... but
you know what? It doesn’t matter. Wings and fins on a
starship look cool.... and maneuvers like banking,
power dives and barrel rolls are exciting.
These rocket ships are written up as vehicles,
using the standard Modern D20 vehicle format. Game
masters wishing to use the Future SRD can adapt the
vessel with that system’s starship rules – although, as
presented in the pulps, these ships are universally
treated more like traditional aircraft than starships .
Written by
Gareth-Michael Skarka
Illustrations and layout by
Philip Reed
www.roninarts.com
www.adamantentertainment.com
The Lunar Leaper
The Leaper
is the invention of famed science hero
Doctor Erasmus Quinn. It was the vehicle that carried
Quinn and his World Class Irregulars on their voyage
to the Moon (the tale, featuring the theft of the Koh-I-
Noor diamond, a strange woman from the future, and
the deadly return of Hassan I Sabbah, is of course
well-known, and requires no further explanation here).
The vehicle represents a standard exploratory
model, perfect for carrying teams of PCs and their
equipment to far-off locations.
The Lunar Leaper
can
be operated by a single pilot, but on space journeys,
the presence of a navigator to correctly plot the ves-
sel’s course, as well as a co-pilot to assist in opera-
tions, is recommended.
The Lunar Leaper
also has
space for up to 6 additional passengers.
The vessel is lightly armed – carrying a single
laser gun for defense (you never know what you might
find in the darkness of space, after all).
Crew:
3
Passengers:
6
Cargo:
9,000 lb.
Init:
-4
Maneuver:
-4
Top Speed:
325 (32)*
Defense:
6
Hardness:
5
Hit Points:
60
Size:
G
Purchase DC:
35
Restriction:
Mil (+3)
Adventure Hooks
The Lunar Leaper
is invented by
one of the player-characters (or,
barring that, an NPC scientist of
the PC’s acquaintance), in
response to mysterious signals
eminating from the Moon. The
PCs travel to the Moon, and dis-
cover a sinister race of Moon Men
intent upon invading the Earth!
Can our heroes put a stop to the
evil machinations of the Moon
Men?
* This is obviously way too slow to achieve escape veloc-
ity, much less reach the Moon in any reasonable amount of
time. It’s pulp. Get over it.
In a futuristic pulp-SF setting, the
PCs are a group of prisoners, cap-
tured by the evil forces of the
oppressive government. During a
routine transfer between a prison
ship and a penal colony planet, the
prisoners rise up and hijack the
transfer vessel (a
Lunar Leaper
),
using it to escape. They are, of
course, pursued by agents of the
government....and perhaps some
of the PCs are not wrongfully-
imprisoned heroes after all, but
opportunistic criminals – after all,
just because the government is evil
and oppressive doesn’t mean that
there aren’t actual villains in their
jails....
Laser Gun:
The Lunar Leaper
mounts a single laser gun
in a retractable 360 degree turret on the dorsal (top) side of
the vessel.
Damage:
2d8
Critical:
20
Damage Type:
Fire
Range Increment:
120 feet
Rate of Fire:
Single
Magazine:
Unlimited (runs off the atomic reactor that
powers
The Lunar Leaper
)
Size:
Large
Weight:
50 lbs (weapon only – the turret weighs consid-
erably more)
Purchase DC:
included with the vehicle
Restriction:
Mil (+3)
The Lunar Leaper
The Rocket Ranger
The workhorse of Earth’s defenders, the Rocket
Patrol.
The Rocket Ranger
is a single-seat interceptor
and space-superiority fighter, used by the Patrol for
system defense. Squadrons of
Rocket Rangers
are a
common sight patrolling the shipping lanes, keeping a
watchful eye out for pirates, as well as lining the run-
ways of Rocket Patrol bases throughout the solar sys-
tem, ready to launch at a moment’s notice against any
extra-solar threat.
The Ranger
is piloted by a single Rocket
Patrolman. It is armed with two Vortex Cannons
(mounted on wings away from the main fuselage),
making it more than a match for most pirate vessels or
alien invaders.
Crew:
1
Passengers:
1
Cargo:
120 lb.
Init:
-2
Maneuver:
-2
Top Speed:
900 (90)
Defense:
6
Hardness:
10
Hit Points:
4 0
Size:
G
Purchase DC:
45
Restriction:
Mil (+3)
Adventure Hooks
Welcome to the world of the future....
Welcome to 2006! The Earth, unified at
last, has colonized the solar system. From
the waving fields of red wheat on Mars, to
the sky-cities of Jupiter, peace and pros-
perity reign. The guardians of this peace,
the Rocket Patrol, travel the spacelanes in
their gleaming silver rocket ships, defend-
ing the solar system from pirates, invaders
and cosmic disaster. The Player-Characters
are all members of the Rocket Patrol, and
respond to mission dispatches from Rocket
Patrol Central, on the Moon.
Vortex Cannon:
The Rocket Ranger
mounts two of these
weapons, which can be fired separately, or linked together
in a single attack (double the damage, but reduce the top
speed of the
Rocket Ranger
by half for the next two turns).
Damage:
2d12
Critical:
20
Damage Type:
Energy
Range Increment:
200 feet
Rate of Fire:
Single
Magazine:
Unlimited (runs off the atomic reactor that
powers
The Rocket Ranger
)
Size:
Large
Weight:
80 lbs
Purchase DC:
included with the vehicle
Restriction:
Mil (+3)
Missions include:
Defending farmers on Mars from
ancient giant robots that have burst
out of an archaeological dig on
Olympus Mons.
Going into the asteroid belt to hunt
down a secret pirate base rumored
to exist there.
Joining the Pluto Squadron to
form the first line of defense
against a vast alien armada that is
invading the solar system!
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