Rogue Stars

My recent foray into pulp sci-fi with the wonderful Bombshell Miniatures figs has had me paying a lot more attention to sci-fi wargaming. So it is with great interest that I have been reading about the upcoming Osprey Wargames set of rules...Rogue Stars by Andrea Sfiligoi of Song of Blades and Heroes fame.

Here's some info from the Rogue Stars Facebook page:

Rogue Stars: Skirmish Wargaming in a Science Fiction Underworld. Rogue Stars is a character-based science fiction skirmish wargame, where players command crews of bounty hunters, space pirates, merchants, prospectors, smugglers, mercenary outfits, planetary police and other such shady factions from the fringes of galactic civilisation. Crews can vary in size, typically from four to six, and the character and crew creation systems allow for practically any concept to be built. Detailed environmental rules that include options for flora, fauna, gravity, dangerous terrain and atmosphere, and scenario design rules that ensure that missions are varied and demand adaptation and cunning on the parts of the combatants, make practically any encounter possible. Run contraband tech to rebel fighters on an ocean world while hunted by an alien kill-team or hunt down a research vessel and fight zero-gravity boarding actions in the cold depths of space - whatever you can imagine, you can do.

And some more:

The authors' notes on his Rogue Star game:

Character-driven firefights in a far future setting. Characters combine huge firepower with the mobility of futuristic ninja. The protagonists are Pirates, Cyborgs, Star Cops, Bounty Hunters, Merchants, Mercenaries, Miners, Militias, Dark Cultists, Psionic Knights. A point system lets you stat up any human, alien, or robot. Small table (3x3’) 4-6 figures per player. Minimal book-keeping is conducted by placing tokens on the characters’ profiles. The game uses an unusual activation system to represent the chaos of combat. in addition to the characters’ distinctive Traits and equipment, squads have unique Themes (what they are and what motivates them) and Tactical Disciplines (how they fight). Figures are highly mobile: jump-packs, flight packs, personal teleportation devices and even psionic jumps all play a role. No coherence distance between figures is enforced. There is no facing: figures can move, spot targets and fire in a 360° radius.

I have to say this sounds right up my street. Simple skirmish rules with a narrative, character-driven focus and the freedom to make up pretty much any kind of warband you want. 

Northstar will also be doing a Nickstarter for it with some wonderful looking figures already being previewed...

In October 2016, Osprey Games will release the Science Fiction Game 'Rogue Stars'. At the same time, North Star Military Figures in partnership with Osprey will release a range of metal miniatures to accompany the game. The first release of figures will be based on the artwork of Johan Egerkrans, the rest of the figures will follow our designers take on the world of Rogue Stars. Mike Owen and Mark Copplestone are the two figure designers who have contributed to the range so far.

I'm already saving my pennies!