Space:1889 was published by GDW in 1988. It was steampunk before any of us knew the term steampunk- but don't let that put you off it. This was an amazing game setting, written by some of the greats of the GDW team lead by Frank Chadwick. Just check out this back cover copy:
So, let's get this out of the way- some of the mechanics in this game are a bit clunky. But therein lies some of the charm. Space:1889 was not just an RPG, there were wargames and miniature games developed for the setting that were integrated in various manners with the RPG, which may explain why some of the rules had a very wargame feel to them.
But holy hell does this game drip with atmosphere. The faux history meshes seamlessly with the real, creating a Victorian era where the reader often has to stop and think to see where reality ends and the fiction begins. Real world figures are woven into the fantastic world of liftwood and Martians and Ether Flyers and Venusian dinosaurs. Thomas Edison himself invented the Ether Propeller, with a competing design by Graf von Zeppelin.
Let's dig in and create a character...
Character Creation System:
Space:1889 by default uses a system in which there are six Attributes, and the numbers one through six are each allocated once between them. This creates characters that are superb in one area, and lacking terribly in one area, with shades between in the four others. Alternately, a player can roll 1d6 for each, or allocate 21 points, but lets' go with the default suggested system.
The attributes are Strength, Agility, Endurance, Intellect, Charisma and Social Level.
As with many games, our choices of career will be limited by our attributes. Many have minimum scores- and some, like Criminal, have maximum scores. After all, a common thief wouldn't be too high on the social ladder in Victorian England. The cost of purchasing skills, and indeed the initial level of some skills, are also dependent on the attributes, so the choices we make here will be vital to the success of our character.
Once attributes are decided upon, a character takes on one or two careers that give the character skills, and sometimes other bonuses. General skill points are then spent to round the character out. Those general skill points go further if buying skills that fall under a very high attribute, which adds some matters for thought to the placement of the attributes and the benefits of only taking one career and having more general skill points to spend. Money is based on Social Level, and is sometimes modified by career.
And... that's almost it. Attributes, Careers, Skills, Money. But it doesn't have to end there- many characters in Space:1889 have the potential to invent fantastic devices or substances or build incredible machines. Our character will do a bit of this, to show how it works.
Since we're allocating the attributes ourselves, we can plan what kind of character we're going to make before we go to the skills and careers step. Characters may take one career and then spend six skill points on other skills, or take two careers and have only two general skill points to spend. Noting this, and having a concept in mind of a British naval engineer who tinkers with his own inventions, we'll go with two careers, Navy Engineering Officer and Inventor. A Navy Engineer needs a Social Level of 3 or 4 - officers must be well off, but if the character is too well off, they wouldn't be getting their hands dirty as an engineer. Inventors need an Intellect of 4 or more, and an Agility of 3 or more.
So how about this:
- Strength 1
- Agility 4
- Endurance 2
- Intellect 6
- Charisma 5
- Social Level 3
Our engineer is not a very physical fellow, he was quite bookish in his youth and while a wizard with steam engines not quite as hardy as his naval superiors would have liked. Still, he was quite likeable and seemed to have a knack for naval engineering, and was allowed to design and improve things. After retiring from the Navy, he continued to tinker with machines.
So, at this point, our engineer receives his default skills. The first skill listed on the character sheet under each attribute is automatically given a level of the attribute's rating minus one. This gives him Fisticuffs 0 (oops), Throwing 0, Stealth 3, Wilderness Travel 1, Observation 5, Eloquence 4, and Riding 2. Now we move on to his first career.
In the Navy he learns Leadership 1, Mechanics 2 (steam), Science 1 (physics), Close Combat 1, Marksmanship 1, and Piloting 1. Moving to his inventor career, he learns Science 2 (physics), Engineering 2 (naval architecture), and Mechanics 2 (steam). The duplicates add together, for final ratings of Mechanics 4 (steam) and Science 3 (physics). The parenthesis indicate what the game calls cascade skills, or master skills with specialties under them. A character has other specialties rated at half their highest specialty. Mechanics 4 (steam) means 4 for all steam-related tasks, and 2 for any other Mechanics task.
We can now spend two general skill points, and spend one point to raise Science (Physics) to 6, and another point to raise the cascades Science (Chemistry) and Science (Biology) to 4 each.
With a Social Level of 3, Middle Class, we roll 2d6x50 and begin the game with (2,1) 150 pounds sterling. All other things being equal, we could buy equipment and be done- ready for and adventuring career. Now, in some of our 31 Days characters we'll buy all our equipment in the article, but Space: 1889 has a LOT of equipment. And it uses the arcane Victorian-era British monetary system. Sufficient to say, 150 pounds sterling is a fairly nice sum. By way of example, a doctor's bag runs £3, a full camping outfit with tent, stove, pots, toilet facilities, etc. runs £2. The top-of-the-line Lee-Metford bolt-action rifle will cost you £2, while a horse and tack costs £15, and an African Queen-sized steam launch £10. £150 will go a long way. But our character is an inventor, what did he invent?
A character has research dice based on their skills, and one die for each point of Intellect. A player may roll research dice to build up a character's understanding of a research area, then roll dice to make an invention happen. So, let's look at a couple of things our engineer may have invented. As an Engineer, he's probably interested in power production. He allocates his Mechanics 4 (steam) dice to Power Production and rolls 17 (6,4,4,3). At this level, he uses one of his Physics dice to try to invent a Solar Boiler. It has a difficulty of 1, he rolls a 3, and invents a Solar Boiler with a Reliability of 2 (3-1). This means his Solar Boiler has a maximum power output of 2, since the power output is equal to reliability. He rolls another Physics die to try to improve the device, rolling a 6! He now has a Reliability 6 Solar Boiler. This can be used to power an interplanetary Ether Flyer! He can also license the patent for income. And there are a lot more dice to roll... our engineer might just be able to design and build his own Ether Flyer. As it is, we'll assume he licensed the Solar Boiler to the Navy, and roll 2d6x10 for the yearly royalties.
We need a name- Commander Desmond Boothroyd, Royal Navy (Retired.)
The Character:
Commander Desmond Boothroyd, formerly of Her Majesty's Royal Navy, has spent years as a steam engineer aboard the cutting-edge vessels of the Empire's mighty fleet. When the British reached for the stars, he contributed by inventing the Boothroyd Pattern Solar Boiler, used on some of the smaller Ether Flyers plying the space between the worlds. Not content to sit on his accomplishments in a quiet retirement, the good Commander has searched out his friends in the Royal Geographic Society to lend his mind to exploration beyond the confines of the Earth. His age is a bit troublesome, as he tires easily and cannot heave about heavy equipment as he did in his youth, but as a Queen's officer, that's what the Other Ranks are for. He can display a cutting wit, and is sometimes a bit too critical of those he sees as unable to understand his creations, or unwilling to see their value. Still, his expertise may prove critical to the RGS' effort to uncover the mysteries of the universe.
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