Defend Terra and its Colonies in Starships & Soldiers - A Mothership 1e Toolbox
With the power of artillery, willpower, and systemically-earned democracy, you too can emulate Helldivers 2 in one of the most popular sci-fi TTRPGs today!
LISTEN UP, MAGGOT!
You wander into my system, into MY planetary space, and try to get by saying "You got lost", and "Our jump drive failed", and "the captain sacrificed himself so we didn't get eaten by a space jellyfish"?
BULLSHIT! Sounds like deserter-talk to me!
Get your rifles, sack up, and get ready to drop. You're in the army now!
FOR SYSTEMICALLY-EARNED DEMOCRACY! FOR VILANTIS!
Welcome to Sector 86, the bloodiest in the Mid-Worlds! Your crew has wandered here after a jump gone wrong, or by thinking you could finally get your asses out of the Outer Rim. The problem is that the only viable way back towards Earth (or Terra, if you're a Soltist) is Sector 86, a collection of systems under constant turmoil and war both within and without. Meet some of the people you'll be killing or joining!
Vilantis - The most militarized planet Rimward of Earth. Vilantis has been under constant siege for decades, and despite its paradisaic appearance, its crust is brimming with barracks, bunkers, and bombardment apparatuses.
Halg - A planet of former humans that have adapted to their new planet of choice, growing strong, squat, and authoritarian, the Halgian Ghasts despise Terra and Vilantis, and will fight tooth and nail to gain freedom...or die trying.
Takolm - A rock of a world nestled far to the edge of Sector 86 and mostly forgotten, a lost mining fleet alerted Vilantis - too late - to its subterranean dangers. Now, the Bugs on en route, looking to spread their interplanetary hive to the most fertile world around.
Rhuk - A fungal world of intertwined mycelium species, from this primordial jungle come parasitic fungi that have enslaved the world's creatures as hosts for their future interstellar empire. They are the Rhukali, and they are coming. The only thing standing in their way: billions of human hosts for them to claim.
Starships & Soldiers is meant to be a toolkit for creating battlefields either to observe or be thrown into. Without a linear narrative within, the zine serves as the ultimate toolkit for Wardens, filled with:
- New species to kill
- Objectives to complete (either in-battlefield or around the universe)
- Air-support and obtainable asset rules
- A full planetary/stellar system generator for randomly rolling your way through the universe
- Rules for PCs to retire from the Outer Rim and have a (hopefully) happy ending!
The zine is heavily influenced by Starship Troopers (movie and book), Helldivers 2, Warhammer 40k, Killzone, Halo, and Gears of War.
Some say war is hell, but how does it compare to the awful terrors of the Outer Rim? Only one way to find out!
Art from HodagRPG is incoming, but let's be honest, you're here for the writing and all the raw tables within!
Some rewards include:
- Digital-only and Physical Zine tiers
- A Deluxe Edition with temporary tattoo, Vilantin Military patch, 11"x17" poster for use as a battlefield for your players, AND a solo-play pamphlet by Violet Ballard of RV Games!
- In limited quantity is the Stargod Bundle - Get the last few copies of Graveyard of the Gods in a bundle with Starships & Soldiers and complete your collection (thus far!).
