(This post was originally published on my previous blog and includes an affiliate link to DriveThruRPG where you can buy the Genesys Core Rulebook)
Some of you know that I not only write fiction, but also material for tabletop role-playing games (including a 5e one-shot you can buy here). I only have the one-shot at the moment, but it’s settings and campaigns that fascinate me.
I have two of those in the work- one for 5e/5.5 and one for the Genesys system. I haven’t talked much about Genesys, but it’s essentially the generic, updated mechanics that Fantasy Flight Games developed for their Star Wars games- Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebellion, Force & Destiny. The main mechanic is a dice pool based on attributes for base die, skills for die upgrades, and then additional d6s for boosts and setbacks.
More importantly, it’s a generic system (Generic System, in fact) designed to be modular and easily adapted. It makes a little more prep for the game master, but they have some really good resources and systems to help make that easy. I’ve played a decent bit of the Star Wars ones and run Edge of the Empire quite a lot, so I have a decent sense of the basic mechanics. Fortunately, one of the official setting guides is Embers of the Imperium– a space opera based on the Twilight Imperium board game.
That is helpful because it gives a significant foundation that I can spring off for Iron Horizons. I initially tried to create Iron Horizons as a 5e-compatible setting, but it was overwhelming to try and make such a drastic change. Fundamentally, I’m not a huge fan of 5e mechanics, but it is the most popular. Genesys fixes the issues I had with it.
So, I’ve talked about Iron Horizons a little bit in the past (last November, to be precise). I’ve done a bunch with it since then. I’ve outlined and started a novella, which I might aim to finish during NaNoWriMo this year or otherwise after the scuba diving season wraps up.
Worldbuilding has been part of it- especially the region of space that I’m trying to focus on. It’s a neighboring sector to the Aldottorai Republic and Vanaeran Corporate Space, so close enough to the setting that the novellas and game setting should be complementary. Granted, I’ll need to make sure the timelines work right.
The interesting difference between the novella and RPG worldbuilding is the differences they tend to emphasize. The RPG worldbuilding has been much more about the nitty-gritty details: equipment, currency, specific locations, NPCs, and stuff that can help create an immersive experience. The stuff for the novellas has been more on what’s critical to the narrative. The stuff for the RPG has given me a lot of stuff to work with in the novella, and I’m hoping it will work both ways.
At this point, the biggest challenge is determining the scope. It’s so easy to get lost in the worldbuilding. I came up with more twenty different factions of various sorts- ranging from multi-system governments to labor unions to rebels to pirates to organized crime and political activists. In reality, I could be looking at dozens of inhabited planets in this one sector. That’s a black hole (no pun intended) that will be too easy to get lost in.
The other challenge is I want to add in some rule systems that aren’t in Genesys or its Expanded Player’s Guide. One is focused on interstellar trade to emphasize the sort of maritime-mercantile style that’s a huge influence on the setting. To build on that, I also want to work on developing something for privateering/piracy. Some of the advanced rules have a mechanic they call Heat, designed for running heist games, that I think I might be able to adapt pretty efficiently.
For now, the plan is to have the setting guide finished and published by the end of next summer. If I figure out my project management process, I might be able to coordinate the first novella and the setting guide. Which, thinking about, perhaps I should make the setting guide and novellas overlap more directly. That way they can really build off each other. I don’t know! What do you all think?