Thousand Suns RPG

[Finarvyn]

The other thread was more theoretical, and I really didn't want to hijack the discussion over there, so I'm starting a new thread to discuss Thousand Suns.

Aug 13, 2009 17:17:30 GMT -6 Pierce Inverarity said:

This would be very nice, and it hasn't been done yet.

Perhaps you haven't seen Thousand Suns by Rogue Games, written by Grognardia's own James Maliszewski (with Richard Iorio). Picked this up at GenCon yesterday and I'm about halfway through it. I'm becoming a big fan!

Aug 14, 2009 13:00:47 GMT -6 coffee said:

But now you've got me curious. How would Thousand Suns go down with an old Traveller fan, in your opinion?

Thousand Suns is not Traveller.

To me, Traveller is kind of a tough, gritty, hand-to-mouth SciFi where you have to take out a 30-year loan if you want to own your own starship. Traveller is Han Solo, it's the new Battlestar Galactica. Traveller is Firefly, where you load up that six-shooter and go out to get the job done.

Thousand Suns ‘aint that at all.

Thousand Suns is Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon. It's E.E.”Doc” Smith’s Galactic Patrol and other Lensman books. It’s space opera with big heroes, big villains, and big starships. It’s cinematic rather than realistic.

Thousand Suns seems to be rules light and setting vague. James and Richard have presented a “toolbox” model where you put in the elements of a game you like rather than trying to run someone else’s setting. Reminds me of my own campaigns from the 1970’s, where I used to put phasers and lightsabres and “the spice” all into one homebrew game and made up half the setting as we went along.

Anyway, that’s what I’m getting from my first reading. I’m about 2/3 of the way through and haven’t had a chance to playtest, but I explained the basic 12^o model to my son and he’s excited about its simplicity and wants to play a SciFi game.

So far, I really like what I'm reading.

[coffee]

Well, that's good to know. I'll probably get the pdf the next time I order from RPGNow. Although, if it's out in hard copy -- how much is it?

One of my standard references for science fiction games is BESM Space Fantasy, again by James Maliszewski (prolific fella, ain't he?) So I know he understands the genre. I'm just not happy with the GDW Third Imperium, so I'm looking for an alternative.

Anyway, thanks for the mini-review. And for the record, I don't think this is a bad idea; reasons in the notification post.

[Finarvyn]

Some TS discussion in a thread here, if anyone is interested.

[Deleted]

It's interesting to see how different people project influences onto the same canvas. To me Thousands Suns is nowhere near the pulp Sci-Fantasy of a Buck Rogers or a Flash Gordon. To me TS is old school SF. Hari Seldon of the Foundation, R. Daneel Olivaw hot on the case, First Contact ala Little Fuzzy or conversely A Mote In God's Eye, human splinter cultures ala Dorsai!. Serious Men in a Serious Universe discovering Serious Things.

Clearly, your mileage may vary

[Deleted]

A new revised edition has been announced for May 2010.
12-degrees.net/thousand-suns-rulebook/

[Finarvyn]

Very cool! Will add this to my "must buy" list....

[Deleted]

Any word on the new edition of THOUSAND SUNS? I recently bought the old edition and then read this thread, only the link doesn't work. (Naturally, I buy one and then they make a better one. Story of my life. )

[Finarvyn]

I don't remember, actually, so I posted something on one of the message boards for Thousand Suns. I'll find out and report back to you....

[James Maliszewski]

Here's the scope on the revised edition: as I worked on it with an eye toward releasing it this past May, I realized the book needed more than a more correction of the typos and clarification of some unclear bits of text; it needed to be reorganized and, to do that, I needed to take my time and do it right. That means the revision has been pushed back till early 2011. I don't feel too bad about this, because the original book, while flawed, is still substantially the book I want it to be, especially now that Starships has been released and the biggest rules hole has been filled.

I'm not changing the tack I took with the revision before. It'll still be 95% compatible with what's been printed to date, but the book will be clearer, better written, and better organized. My goal is to present the same material in fewer pages and to do so in a way that's more appealing to people not already steeped in Imperial SF literature. I've made some great headway so far and I expect the draft to be done in September or thereabouts. When it is, there will be a call for playtesters, so you'll likely have a chance to take a look at it if you're interested.

[Finarvyn]

Aug 4, 2010 19:21:34 GMT -6 James Maliszewski said:

I expect the draft to be done in September or thereabouts. When it is, there will be a call for playtesters, so you'll likely have a chance to take a look at it if you're interested.

(Raises hand) You know I'll be onboard!