Written by Ken Spencer

WritTen by Ken Spencer
ROCKET AGE
c
on ten t
s
Introduction
Recent History
Rocket Age Species
Neptune
Pluto
Part two: heroes of the rocket age
6
9
15
Part one: tour of the solar system
17
The Solar System
Mercury
Venus
Venusian Highlands
Algontawanala
Fort Washington
Grand Crater
Livingstone Lodge
Roosevelt Station
The Ore Fields
The Moon
Mars
Mars Map
Martian History
A Martian Principality
Wild Mars
Important Locations on Mars
American Martian City States
Principalities in the US Sphere
The Camps of the Warlords
French Mars
Italian Mars
The Freebooter States
His Britannic Majesty's Martian Dominions
Nazi Occupied Mars
The Soviet Client States
The Ruins of Ancient Mars
Independent Mars
The Asteroid Field
Jupiter and the Jovian Moons
Jupiter
Callisto
Europa
Ganymede
Io
Moonlets
Lesser Bodies
Saturn and the Outer Planets
Saturn
Uranus
18
20
22
24
26
28
29
30
31
32
34
36
37
38
41
49
51
51
54
56
58
60
61
64
66
68
69
72
74
76
77
79
80
83
84
85
86
87
87
89
2
90
91
93
Character Creation
1: What Kind of Sophont Are You?
2: What Do You Do?
3: What Can You Do?
4: What's Your Story
Example of Character Creation
Character Sheet Summary
Sophonts
Earthlings
Europans
Ganymedians
Ioites
Martians
Venusians
Occupation
Occupation Packages
Attributes and Skills
Attributes
Skills
Traits
Good Traits
Bad Traits
Equipment
Weapons
Body Armor
Vehicles
Rocket Ships
Europan Saucers
Ancient Martian Technology
Equipment Traits
94
95
97
99
101
101
102
105
105
106
107
110
111
121
125
125
134
134
136
142
144
160
168
169
180
182
187
194
196
200
Part three: game system
205
Making a Roll
Contested Rolls
Cooperation
Losing a Conflict
Example Rolls
Injury and Death
Results of Injury
Mental Injury
Social Injury
Physical Injury
Disease
Poison
206
209
209
210
210
210
211
212
212
213
214
216
ROCKET AGE
Armor
Healing
Story Points
Spending Story Points
Gaining Story Points
Action!
The Action Round
Phases
Actions
Reaction
Combat
Attack and Defence
Range Increments
Aiming
Chases
Pursuit
Psychic Phenomena
Gadgets
Vehicles
Vehicles Attributes
Vehicles in Action
Experience
218
218
219
219
221
221
221
221
222
223
223
223
223
223
224
225
226
226
226
226
227
228
Part four: gamemaster advice
229
Gamemaster Advice
Four Rules of Good GMing
Series Types
Episodes
Beyond the Rings of Saturn
Crash Down on Titan
Drums in the Jungle
Haunted Ruins of the Red Desert
Missile X
Alien Beasts
230
230
230
233
233
234
235
236
237
239
character sheet
252
author's afterword
253
index
254
c
r edit
s
Line Developer: Ken Spencer
Creative Director: Dominic McDowall
Art Director: Jon Hodgson
Writing: Ken Spencer
Cover Art: Jon Hodgson
Interior Art: Paul Bourne, Jon Hodgson and Scott Purdy
Layout and Graphic Design: Paul Bourne
Editing: Dominic McDowall, Nick Robinson
and Matthew Pook
Linguistic Consultants: Daniel Zielke
and Thomas Schichtel
Elite Playtesters: Cory Fink, Jeremy Hedge
and Samantha Parish
Playtesters: Ellison Bauer, Kathy Bauer, Matt Carlson,
Joanne Clark, William Dickey, Nathan Hyrule, Patrick
Gurka, John Kahane, Robert Kennedy, Angela Marsh,
David Matchuk, Moxon Julian, Travis Price, Tammy
Powers, Nick Roberts, Tom Robinson, and Steven P. Ross
Publisher: Dominic McDowall
Dedicated to Charles F. Spencer. You always told me if I
was good at writing I should make a career of it, and that if
I loved role-playing I should make a career of that.
Published by Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd
Riverside House, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
Reg. no 6036414
© 2013 Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd.
Any unauthorised use of copyrighted material is illegal.
Any trademarked names are used in a historical or
fictional manner; no infringement is intended.
Find out more about Rocket Age and
our other games at www.cubicle7.co.uk
Printed in the USA
3
rocket age
rocket age
Welcome to the Rocket Age
To the retro-sci-fi future past
It's an age of Exploration
Of scientific and technological wonders unlike any the Solar System has ever seen
But it's also an age of conquest, of the dark threat of war
It's an age of heroes and villains
Of Earthlings, Martians, Venusians, Europans, Ioites, Ganymedians
Rocket Rangers, Martian Princes, Venusian Harvititori
The Rocket Age is the zap of RAY beams
Sizzle of disintegrators
Roar of rocket engines
Alien jungle drum beats
The smell of Bahmoots under the baking Martian sun
Stench of wet Ioite
Sweet-Spicy aroma of alien spices
A whiff of burned radium fuel
Strap yourself in and go full throttle
You're in the Rocket Age now
In a past that never was, but could have been
A Solar System that isn't, but should be
You'll hunt thunder lizards in the upland jungles of Venus
Battle Ancient Martian killing machines
Explore the deadly skies of Jupiter
Face down disintegrator armed Europans
Bulls-eye mutants in the blasted wastes of Io
Strap on your RAY pistols
Check the seals on your suit's bubble helmet
Ride that radium rocket to the edge of Yesterday
And blast off into Tomorrow
Rocket Rangers, Away!
ROCKET AGE
- R O C K E T
i
A G E -
n t r o du c ti o
n
“ i have learned the secret, my dear nephew, and i may traverse the trackless void at my will...”
-John Carter, from Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Travel to distant worlds! Boldly journey to times that never
were, but may one day be! Combat evil wherever you find
it!
fit on a person’s back, and mass accelerators can be carried
about in the saddle of a bahmoot. Shiny is the standard for
clothing and vehicles, from chrome-plated rockets to silver
lamé uniforms. If it can be polished, plated, or painted,
it’s bright and shiny; if not, it’s at least clean. Except for
engines. For some reason engines and engineers are always
grimy, their faces and overalls stained black and brown.
The entire Solar System lies before you. Mars, Venus and
Jupiter are within easy reach. Should you dare, the more
distant orbs of Saturn, Uranus, or even Neptune await.
This is planetary romance (or retro-sci-fi as it is sometimes
known) in the same vein as the works of Burroughs,
Heinlein, More, Brackett, and Stark. It is pulp-style
adventure, the sci-fi of the early to mid-Twentieth Century.
Rocket Age is space opera drawn from the classic pulp
tropes, with a healthy added dose of pseudo science.
Likewise, heroes should be stylish: part of that glorious
rocket set that all admire. This is not the era of angstridden counter culturists or anti-heroes. Rocket Age is
a story about larger than life squared-jawed heroes and
heroines challenging the bad guys and pushing into the
great unknown. There are dark themes in here, especially
those that revolve around issues of colonialism, racism,
and gender bias, but these are things for the heroes to
fight against because they are wrong, not merely out of a
personal vendetta.
Rocket Age is about ‘Adventure!’ with a capital ‘A’ and
a big bold exclamation point. From the deadly jungles of
Venus to the blasted wastes of Mars, and all points beyond
and in between there is plenty for the player characters
to do, see, find, and fight. Action will drive your games
– if you are stuck, use Raymond Chandler’s advice and
have men (or in this case aliens) with guns burst into
the room. Scenes should take place in the most daring of
environments, and you should not be afraid to push the
bounds of physics and reason. A stand-off on a Jovian sky
island as it crumbles is great, but add a flock of hungry
darters and it becomes a literal cliff-hanger!
The morality of the age is one that may seem naïve to those
of us in the early twenty-first century. However, in Rocket
Age good triumphs over evil because evil is inherently
flawed (though villains do often have redeeming traits).
The good guys abstain from killing unless necessary,
and everyone should have a good laugh at the end. That’s
not to say that every episode of every series needs to be
light-hearted; mixing in some tragedy, especially of the
melodramatic kind, is always fitting. Just keep in mind that
the heroes are not scared, broken people, even after losing
a loved one – they are the sort who pick themselves up,
dust themselves off, and go on fighting.
Style is paramount in Rocket Age, more so than in other
sci-fi settings. If you can add fins to something, do so,
and the same goes for radiators and bubbled fish-bowl
helmets and windows. If a piece of technology would be
bulky in the real world, it is slimmer and more compact in
Rocket Age. Space suits are skin-tight and capped with
fish bowl helmets, a rocket can be made small enough to
Enough talk, we’re sophonts of action, so strap on your
rocket pack, holster your RAY gun, and take off to fight
the good fight!
6
INTRODUCTION
offers a set of story hooks for the game master, as well as
an example of a resident of the area.
rolePlaying games
If you haven’t experienced a tabletop roleplaying game
before, you are in for a treat. They are among the most
immersive gaming/storytelling/social experiences you can
find – and quite unlike anything else. You will be using
your imagination (far better than any movie screen) and
the material in this book to blast into a solar system of
adventure. One of you will act as Gamemaster, setting
the scene for adventure and saying what happens when
the players take actions. Everyone else plays the role of a
Rocket Age character, deciding what that character will
say and do – it’s a movie in storytelling form, where the
Gamemaster is the Director and you are all making up the
script as you go. If you would like more information on how
roleplaying games work, take a look at the information on
our website – www.cubicle7.co.uk
Venus details the jungle planet of Venus, or at least the
explored portions of the Highlands. Come see the home
of the Venusians, find your fortune in the Ore Fields, or
relax at Livingston Lodge. Venus and its mysteries await
the bold, and swallow up the unwary.
Luna comes next: as empty as it seems?
Mars is the scene of the majority of the extra-terrestrial
activity by Earthlings in the Solar System. This ancient
planet and its calcified civilizations have fallen prey to the
more energetic and ambitious invaders from Earth. Long
a scene of internecine conflict, the harsh deserts of Mars
are being daily stained with the blood of natives and the
conquerors who came on gleaming rockets from that bluegreen planet third in line from the Sun. Thrill to the exploits
of native and Earthling, see the Ancient Martian Ruins,
shake in fear at the sight of the Nazi's newest weapons, the
war walkers of the Deutsches Marskorps!
rolling the dice
Rocket Age uses the Vortex System, the game system that
powers Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space and
some of our other games. It uses two six sided dice, the
same kind as most board games. This is often abbreviated
to 2d6 (the first number indicates the number of dice
rolled, the last number tells you how many sides each die
has). Sometimes you’ll have to roll 1d3. This means you
roll one die and halve the result, rounding up, to generate a
number between one and three. So, 1-2 on the die results
in a 1, rolling 3-4 gives you a 2, and 5-6 means you got a 3.
The Asteroid Field reveals the depths of its mines and
ruins.
Jupiter and the Jovian Moons takes you to Jupiter, the
king of planets, large enough to make a small system of its
moons. From these moons, the technologically advanced
Europans threaten Earth and all of the planets with
destruction, the Ioites try to carve out life one day at a time
in the blasted landscape of their once pleasant home, and
the Ganymedian struggle against invaders intent on ripping
out their forests in search of gold. The upper atmosphere
of Jupiter itself is being explored, and great airships sail
though the clouds from one sky island to the next.
what’s in this book?
This book contains the complete Rocket Age roleplaying game – all the rules and setting you need to
make a character and start your journey through the retro
science-fiction solar system of 1938. Here’s a guide to the
chapters:
Recent History details the invention of the Einstein-TeslaGoddard radium rocket drive and their first test flight to
Mars. From there, the Rocket Age begins, leading up to
the year 1938, the start of the main Rocket Age setting.
Although 1938 is the default, there is no reason you cannot
set your own serials at an earlier, or even later, date.
Saturn and the Outer Planets visits the forefront of
Earthling exploration of the Solar System. These planets,
and their systems of moons, are largely unknown and
provide fertile ground for gamemasters and players to
write their own stories, and make their own discoveries.
However, Saturn's moon of Titan holds a surprise for the
first to land there, one that may prove a boon or a blight.
We end our tour of the Solar System with the frozen wastes
of Pluto, and the mysterious faces carved in the ice and
snow.
Mercury is the first of the chapters exploring the Solar
System, covering the forbidding planet closest to the sun.
As with the chapters that follow, each planetary chapter
Character Creation is the place to go for all the rules and
tips needed to create characters. Will you play a Venusian
wanderer, a Maduri Martian warrior, an Europan emissary,
7
ROCKET AGE
or an Earthling rocket ship pilot? Everything needed to
build a character from scratch or make use of ready to go
customizable occupational packages can be found here.
Game System contains the game rules, including ways to
handle situations such as combat, strange environments,
and more.
Alien Sophonts looks at the species that share our Solar
System, from the savage Venusians to the mysterious
Europans. All the six species and seven castes of Martians
are detailed and are available for use as player characters.
Gamemaster Advice provides tips on how to be an effective
Gamemaster, as well as brief episode outlines to build your
serial around. Can our heroes survive a crash on Titan?
What could be the meaning of the Drums in the Jungle?
Can Dr. Foster and his deadly Missile X be stopped? Tune
in next week to find out!
Attributes and Skills describe the building blocks of
Rocket Age characters. Attributes are inherent talents that
the character was born with and has developed over time
– how aware, agile, smart, sociable, stalwart, and strong
they are. Skills are the things the character has learned,
from piloting a rocket ship, to fast talking her way out of
trouble or accuracy with a RAY pistol.
Alien Beasts introduces all manner of strange and nasty
creatures that make their home in the Solar System, from
the quilled lizard of Venus to the mighty Martian ulodont.
Ride bahmoots across the face of Mars, hunt thunder
lizards in the Venusian jungles, or dodge darters in the gas
clouds of Jupiter.
Traits round out a character, describing their advantages
and flaws. Traits add interesting features to a character, as
well as giving them extra options and abilities. Does your
character have Friends? Perhaps she is a Woman of Science,
or one of the few with Psychic Training?
what’s next?
In the future, we will publish further resources for you
Rocket Age game, such as full-length episodes, sourcebooks
that look at the planets in detail (starting with Blood Red
Mars) and handbooks for players and gamemasters that
offer a host of new game options, starting with Heroes of
the Solar System. Be sure to visit the home of Rocket Age
at www.cubicle7.co.uk
Equipment gives you the arms and armor, vehicles and
artifacts, and all manner of equipment needed to explore
the Solar System. Equipment has its own set of traits, and
they are detailed at the end of this chapter. Need a RAY
gun, a rocket pack, and a space suit? Look no further!
8
- R O C K E T
r
ec ent
A G E -
hi stor
The Rocket Age began on April 19th, 1931 when the first
rocket ship, Eagle, lifted off from Nikolai Tesla’s New
York laboratory on its maiden voyage from the Earth to
Mars. This was the culmination of years of work by Tesla,
Einstein, and Goddard working together to develop the
means by which man could travel beyond the bounds of
his home world and explore distant planets.
y
The journey to Mars in the first rocket ship was a long
one, and although incredibly intelligent, Einstein and Tesla
had not worked out all of the details. The ship leaked a
small amount of air, prompting the two geniuses to fully
develop and deploy the first space suits, and Armstrong to
make the first space walk. The vacuum welding apparatus
that had been designed on Earth had to be reworked to
make it function with some efficiency in the cold rigors
of space. In the course of the pioneering journey, minor
discoveries about space travel were made and problems
were encountered and dealt with, but soon the crew of the
Eagle neared the Red Planet.
Tesla and Einstein were able to take part in this historic
journey, but unfortunately Goddard fell ill shortly before
the scheduled lift off. His seat was taken by a young
barnstorming pilot (a better choice to fly the rocket than any
of the three esteemed scientists) named Ray Armstrong.
The three managed to keep the rocket from exploding and
navigate the tricky flight out of the atmosphere.
After two hundred days cooped up in the small crew
compartment of the Eagle, the three Earthlings were excited
9
ROCKET AGE
to finally set foot on an alien world. The descent was
flawless and Armstrong put the Eagle down in a hard sand
bed not far from the city of Jilvar. The arrival of a flaming
silver ship from the sky caused all manner of excitement
and fear amongst the Martians, and the intrepid explorers
were met by a delegation of a junior Silthuri of the ruling
sub-caste and a troop of Maduri, members of the Martian
warrior caste. Although the two races lacked a common
language, the presence of two of the brightest minds Earth
has ever produced helped to bridge this gap. Failing to find
that the Martians understood the universal language of
mathematics, communication was eventually established
in the time-honored method of speaking loudly and slowly
while at the same time making broad gestures and facial
expressions. The Earthling explorers were taken to the
prince, who feasted and fêted them while the three got
their bearings and learned enough of the local Martian
dialect to communicate properly.
Armstrong would go on to partner with Goddard and
found the A-G Rocket Engine Corporation. Tesla returned
to Mars several times, discovering in ancient ruins the plans
that led to the invention of the RAY gun as well as other
wonders of the modern rocket age. Einstein began work
on a trans-relativistic rocket engine capable of carrying
humanity beyond the Solar System. On December 3, 1937
he detached from his orbital workshop in the Intrepid
and ignited the advanced new engines, leaving the Solar
System behind and disappearing into deep space.
the solar system
With the advent of the rocket ship, the people of Earth
have looked upwards to find a new frontier. Humanity
has taken to the stars and pushes the boundaries of the
explored Solar System daily. From the red deserts of Mars
and the steaming jungles of Venus to the far frontier of
Saturn’s moons and the crushing alien vistas of Jupiter’s
upper atmosphere, no place is safe from the probing eyes
and grasping hands of the Earthlings. Even the Asteroid
Belt and the Jovian moons have seen the boot prints of
humanity, and the bravest explorers have their eyes set on
Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, even Pluto is on the list of
places to see, explore, and possibly exploit.
All of Jilvar was amazed at these strange aliens who
came from a distant planet with a message of peace and
goodwill. While Armstrong was given a grand tour of the
principality of Jilvbak, Einstein and Tesla were shown the
Ancient Machinery that provided the city with electricity
and water. The Martians expected the Earthlings to marvel
at the wonders of the Ancients, but instead the pair of
scientists began examining the machines in minute detail,
asking hordes of questions of the Talandri who operated
them and the Kastari who prayed over the devices. After
three days of near constant examination of the machines
(Einstein and Tesla barely stopped to eat, and did not sleep
at all), the Earthlings discovered not just how to repair
some of the broken components, but also how to improve
the design. This shocked the Martians, especially the
Kastari of the city, but Prince Javos was pleased to see
that his people’s water supply was now cleaner, that the
supply of electricity was now more than sufficient to light
the entire city and return power to the Talandri workshops,
and that the locks that lifted ships from one canal to
another were functioning again. All this meant that the
city and its people could focus their energies on increasing
the trade that would enable the principality to grow larger
than its neighbors.
Mars draws the greatest amount of attention as it presents
the best chance of wealth as well as extra-terrestrial colonies
and thus a great deal of national pride. Many see the wealth
of Mars as an easy score, though wresting it from the
hands of the Martians can prove to be troublesome. Some
Earthlings have managed to rise to sit on the thrones of
Martian principalities – a fact that has only further increased
the numbers of treasure hunters and fortune seekers that
have descended upon the Red Planet. The Martians’ strange
and exotic culture, and the often beautiful appearance of
their higher castes, has also encouraged more people to
make the long journey through space.
Second to Mars due to the dangers of her jungles and the
work needed to extract wealth from them, is Venus, a
green and lush planet that seems locked in an earlier epoch
of development. Giant reptiles, not unlike the dinosaurs of
Earth’s past, as well as insects of unbelievable size inhabit
Venus. The native Venusians are much like the fabled
missing link, somewhere between ape and man, but not
fully either. They are intelligent, if primitive, and their
culture is as exciting and rich as any on Earth. The true
wealth of Venus lies in its vast highland jungles and in the
soil beneath, for Venus is rich in gold, diamonds, and the
radium needed to power rocket ships.
Einstein, Tesla, and Armstrong stayed on Mars for six
months, long enough to learn much of the planet and to
broker trade agreements with Prince Javos. Their rocket
ship refueled by the refinery that the Earthlings built
(and which Prince Javos owns to this day), they returned
to Earth and a grand reception, including a ticker-tape
parade in New York and a tour of the capitals of the world.
10
RECENT HISTORY
Third on the list of destinations for Earthlings looking for
fame, fortune, and adventure is the Jovian system, both the
set of moons that orbit the gas giant as well as Jupiter itself.
Only the upper levels of Jupiter’s atmosphere are accessible,
and even that is not thoroughly explored. Rocket ships cannot
safely fly for any distance in the gas giant’s airspace for
fear of igniting a methane pocket, and so specially outfitted
airships are used to ply the upper reaches of Jupiter’s great
depth. No wealth has yet been found there, but a great deal
of national pride is being staked on exploring Jupiter. Of
the many moons that comprise the Jovian System, only
Ganymede has attracted any major interest, and a small gold
rush is underway, hampered only by the natives and their
quest to rid their homeworld of the interloping foreigners.
No discussion of the Jovian System is complete without
mentioning the self-proclaimed rulers of the Solar System,
the Europans. These strange aliens possess technology in
advance of anything known on Earth, and appear to lack
any hesitation in using it for destructive purposes. They
have threatened humanity with extinction, reversed their
decision and allowed Earthlings to pass beyond and into
the Jovian System, and have issued several edicts directing
Earthlings to do everything from make more cheese to live
in peace with one another.
that planet offers little more than blazing heat and freezing
cold, but as technology advances it is only a matter of time
before a relatively safe and profitable means of exploration
is found. Saturn and its moons have been visited by the first
explorers from Earth, and some of these expeditions have
returned. Likewise, Uranus and Neptune have also seen
some exploration, but these three planets are the frontier
of the frontier, open and inviting, yet perilous. Pluto is
yet to see human visitors, but there have been hints that
life may exist on that most extreme outpost of the Solar
System, strange faces appear to be carved into the ice and
snow, yet no sign of advanced civilizations capable of such
monumental feats have been found.
The distances between the planets of the Solar System are
great, but the billions and billions of kilometers to the next
star are hundreds of magnitudes greater. So far rocket ships
do not have the ability to make the voyage to Alpha Centauri
anywhere near feasible, but hope exists that technology,
either from Earthling minds or scavenged from the
Ancient ruins on Mars, may make extra-solar exploration
a possibility. Already Einstein’s trans-relativistic rocket
engine holds out that promise and if, or when, he returns
from his great voyage, no one doubts that humanity will
embark on a greater round of space exploration.
Humanity is pushing out beyond Venus, Mars, and the
Jovian system, exploring and exploiting the rest of the Solar
System at a rapid pace. Prospectors have already begun to
sift through the Asteroid Belt in hopes of striking it rich,
establishing small mining operations despite the danger and
difficulties this entails. Mercury has been largely ignored as
technology
The level of technology in 1938 is greater than that humanity
has ever known, reaching into the lives of every citizen of the
Great Powers, at least those with the means to purchase it,
ASTEROID BELT
MERCURY
VENUS
EARTH
MOON
IO
GANYMEDE
MARS
JUPITER
CALLISTO
EUROPA
11
SATURN
URANUS
NEPTUNE
PLUTO
ROCKET AGE
and even touching those less fortunate or unlucky enough
to be born in one of the impoverished nations. Advances in
transportation, communication, manufacturing, and military
equipment have allowed for a new and unprecedented era
of exploration and progress to sweep the globe and rocket
(literally) mankind to the stars.
the potential for dehumanization and abuse, both nations
and companies are won over by the ability of even one of
these machines to replace, and even perform better than,
hundreds of error prone human clerks.
In the field of military arms and equipment, the past few
years have seen the development of amazing weapons of
destruction. Conventional weapons such as rifles, submachine guns, artillery pieces, and tanks have all seen
improvements. Combat aircraft have evolved from the early
biplanes to more modern designs complete with racks of
bombs and machine guns. Experimental atmospheric
combat rocket ships are in development, though no nation
has yet unveiled a fully functional prototype. Rockets
themselves have become the weapon of choice, and every
one of the Great Powers possesses rockets capable of
projecting their military might well outside their borders,
and in the case of the United States and Soviet Union,
across the seas to other continents as well.
The greatest marvel of this age is the rocket ship, designed
by the unlikely but brilliant team of Nicolai Tesla, Albert
Einstein, and John Goddard. Although the three brilliant
minds that came together to invent the vehicle that has
expanded humanity’s reach beyond the grip of Earth’s
gravity well have long since gone their separate ways, their
pioneering research is being carried on by others. Soon the
followers and one-time apprentices of the greatest minds
humanity has ever produced will be making their own
names.
The rocket engines that power the mighty space ships of
Earth would not, on their own, have produced the current
age. All the attendant technologies, from the seals of
space suits to the power plants that provide reaction mass
for the rocket engines, have done their part to create the
modern Rocket Age. Modified versions of the Tesla-Einstein
electro-radioactive power plant now provide electricity to
cities across the Earth. The advanced materials needed
to construct rocket ships and space suits have been put
to use in construction and medical engineering, as well
as inspiring amazing fashions from Milan and Paris.
Enhanced radio communications are stronger, clearer,
and farther-reaching than their predecessors, allowing
a grandmother in France to talk to her grandson in San
Francisco cheaply and easily. The invention of the RADAR,
or Radio Detection and Ranging, allows for the tracking of
rocket ships, celestial objects, and even airplanes in flight,
greatly easing the dangers of air and space travel. Finally,
the mathematical necessities of projecting the trajectory
of a rocket ship over millions of kilometers of space, space
which is never as empty as one thinks it would be, have
led to the development of a new class of computational
devices that rely on vacuum tubes to process amazing
amounts of information. It is only a matter of time before
these ‘computers’ can be made smaller, for while the most
advanced models take up as much room as a bungalow,
they allow the masses access to a systematic and scientific
means of managing their daily lives.
The most striking development in weaponry to date is
Tesla’s RAY (Radiation Accelerating Weaponry) gun. The
first models were meant to allow for rocket ships to have a
reliable means of defending themselves in the void between
planets. Today, hand-held and tank-mounted versions have
seen use on the battlefields of Mars, and the RAY gun is
the mark of the elite soldier, the special operative, and the
very wealthy explorer. Capable of dealing a devastating
blast of deadly radiation constrained in a tight beam, RAY
guns are lethal in the extreme, but also represent the first
reliable non-lethal weapon deployed to military forces.
Most RAY guns are fitted with a selector circuit that allows
the user to adjust the strength of the beam from its normal
lethal level to one that causes the nervous systems of most
animals to misfire, thus rendering the target unconscious
with little risk to their well-being (some unfortunates who
already suffer from heart or nervous conditions have died,
but such instances are thankfully rare).
the growing conflicts
All is not peace and light in the reaches of space, and the
Solar System sees more war now than it did in the centuries
prior to the Rocket Age. Earthlings battle Martians on the
Red Planet and Ganymedians on Ganymede. They fight
each other in covert wars in the shifting gas storms of
Jupiter, and plot against one another everywhere that Sol’s
light shines. These battles may pale in significance to the
potential threat represented by the Europans, but at least
they keep the fighting off of Earth, and thus shift the cost
of war partially to alien bodies and alien cities.
The systematic and scientific computation of information
allows for nations and industries to better manage their
resources, thus reducing wastage. The same holds true
for their citizens and employees. Although some point to
12
RECENT HISTORY
the great Powers
TIMELINE
The seven Great Powers, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy,
Germany, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the
United States of America dominate politics and economies
both on Earth and throughout the Solar System. All seven
are capable of projecting their military, economic, and
political might into any corner of Venus, Earth, Mars,
or Jupiter, and as explorers push at the boundaries of
Earthling-dominated space, will do so on Saturn, Neptune,
Uranus, and soon even Pluto. At least this is what they
would have others believe; the truth is far less extensive
and far less grand.
Despite their might, the Great Powers often find themselves
opposed or hindered by a variety of factors. First, even
those that are close allies, as the UK and USA have
become in recent years, still have opposing agendas and
goals, not to mention ambitions. The same holds true, but
on a greater scale, for conflicts between the Great Powers,
and all seven are constantly trying to hamper, slow, or
even sabotage each other’s projects. In addition, the lesser
powers play their own roles in the greater international
intrigue, jockeying for position amongst one another and
angling to become the next Great Power. The fall of one
of the seven from its lofty heights would leave a vacuum,
and nature so abhors a vacuum, especially in the realms of
international politics.
Of course, there are other factors besides rivals that limit
the reach of the Great Powers. The non-human inhabitants
of Mars and Venus have their own plans for their planets,
ones that often run contrary to the desires of presidents,
chancellors, emperors, and kings. The Europans pose a
definite threat, but how much is bluff and what their true
goals are is unknown. Powerful corporations are starting
to grow to the point where their own reach and might are
sufficient to prove a threat to the sovereignty of not just
minor nations, but the Great Powers as well.
Finally, there is the issue of resources, the necessar y
money and the web of favors that allow each of the Great
Powers to enforce their will on the Solar System. The
distances between planets is vast, and even a relatively
small world like one of the moons of Jupiter has a surface
area greater than any single nation on Earth. There are
simply too many nooks and crannies for the might of the
Great Powers to fill, despite what they proclaim publicly
and privately tell each other. There is more than enough
room in the Solar System for the secrets and adventure
that the Earthlings bring with them, let alone those
already out there!
13
Date
Event
1931
First Rocket Ship, the Eagle launched.
1931
Based on Ancient Martian designs, Tesla
invents the RAY gun.
1932
The Tesla-Armstrong Lunar Expedition
shows that there is little of interest on
Earth’s closest neighbor.
1933
First Earthling expeditions to Mars from
Germany, France, the UK, and the
USA. The Italians soon follow, as do the
Japanese.
1934
Battle of Hasten Wells, beginning of
American Conquest of Mars.
1934
First exploration of Venus.
1934
Mercury flyby conducted by Dr. Preston
Scott, his report dissuades others from
bothering with the rocky ball.
1934
First expeditions to the Asteroid Belt reveal
a wealth of minerals.
1935
The Lewis and Clark incident brings
Germany and the USA to the brink of war.
1935
Gold and Radium found on Venus.
1936
The Ebb Revolution brings Communism to
Mars.
1936
Issuing of the Europan Ultimatum banning
Earthlings from the Jovian System and the
Far Planets.
1936
Destruction of the HMRS James Cook by
Europan disintegrators.
1937
Suspension of the Europan Ultimatum.
1937
Expeditions to Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune map some of the Outer Planets.
1937
Exploration of the Jovian System begins,
first clandestine airship battle in the upper
reaches of Jupiter’s Atmosphere.
1937
Founding of the Lodge on Venus.
1937
Ganymede Gold Rush begins.
1937
Einstein and his trans-relativistic rocket ship
Intrepid disappear.
1938
Present Date
ROCKET AGE
true with certain groups, such as independent explorers
and adventurers, who must frequently place their trust
and lives in the hands of those that their society openly
condemns as lesser beings. One institution that has shown
itself to be remarkably open to aliens is the US Rocket
Corps and particularly the Rocket Rangers. Indoctrinated
in the belief that all Earthlings are equal and that the
‘American Values’ of liberty, equality, and justice are the
highest virtues in the Solar System, the US Rocket Corps
has become something that its creators did not expect:
living embodiments of these virtues. By teaching tolerance
and acceptance, the US government has built an armed
body of men and women willing and able to enforce these
ideas, even at the expense of their government’s agenda.
That the US Rocket Corps has the unwavering support of
the masses means that they are somewhat insulated from
political pressure, thus allowing them to fly in the face of
official disapproval when they feel that their values oppose
their orders.
ROCKET AGE EARTH
We’re going to concentrate on what’s going on in the
rest of the Solar System – this is Rocket Age after
all! But sometimes you might need to refer to what’s
going on back on Earth. As a rule of thumb, you can
assume that opening up of the Solar System has meant
that all resources and efforts have been diverted in this
direction. The geo-political situation is much the same as
it was during our own early-to-mid 1930s.
soPhonts
–
intelligent beings
Earthlings are not the only intelligent life in the Solar
System. Mars, Venus, and the moons of Jupiter all support
lifeforms at least as intelligent as humanity. That we are
not alone has already had an effect on the human psyche,
driving some to seek the unification of all men and women
as one species without divisions of ethnicity or religion,
while causing others to become even more isolationist and
discriminatory. A growing segment of the population of
Earth is campaigning for the acceptance of alien sophonts
as equal members of the family of the Solar System, while
at the same time mass opinion is of an ‘Earthling first’
mentality, a fear-driven defensiveness mixed with an
opportunist desire for easy conquest. Sadly, some of the
strongest proponents of species wide unity on Earth are
also some of fiercest speciesists on the planet.
Outside of governmental institutions, the Earthling
response to the ‘alien question’ varies greatly. For example,
the response of the religions of Earth to the idea that they
accept non-Earthling sophonts into their faiths has been
mixed. Some have been very accommodating, even going
so far as to set up missions on Mars and Venus. Others
maintain a stance of Earthling exceptionalism, stating
that only Earthlings can join their faith, or even that only
Earthlings have souls. For example, the Catholic Church
has so far been quiet on the subject, other than to say that
it is being studied by a special curia of bishops, cardinals,
and noted theologians. Other Christian denominations,
especially more liberal ones such as the Unitarian and
Methodist churches, are actively involved in proselytizing
across the Earthling held regions on Mars and Venus.
Out amongst the planets, the situation is even direr for
non-Earthling sophonts. Earthling speciesism is rampant,
especially on Ganymede, Mars, and Venus. Part of this is
the expected clash of cultures and the resultant expression
of the darker parts of human nature – greed, hatred,
and xenophobia. A large portion of the blame falls on
the various heads of the Earthling governments, none of
whom recognize non-Earthlings as citizens nor awards
them any rights. This stance supports the conquest and
subjugation of other worlds, something that numerous
Earthling nations and corporations desire. On Mars and
Ganymede, constant warfare with the natives helps to
breed mutual feelings of distrust and a reduction of their
fellow sophonts to the ‘other’ and thus a valid target for
violence and aggression.
Beyond religion, numerous other non-governmental
agencies are active on Mars. The most famous of these
are the Interplanetary Comintern and the Abraham Lincoln
Brigade. Both of which aim to bring freedom to Mars, with
both having managed to gain a foothold after fomenting
violent revolution. The Interplanetary Comintern recently
led a successful Ebb Revolution that replaced the traditional
caste system and governments of five Martian city-states
with Earthling-led communist models. The Abraham
Lincoln Brigade, more commonly known as the Lincoln
Brigade, has conquered the single city-state of Yatharith
and installed a democratic system of government. The citystate, now renamed Emancipation, is the Brigade’s base of
operations on Mars from where it is hard at work trying to
end slavery on the Red Planet through force of arms.
All is not lost, however, and those who find themselves
working alongside of aliens, be they Earthlings working
with Martians, or Venusians working with Earthlings, often
find their preconceptions evaporating. This is especially
14
- R O C K E T
rocket
A G E -
age sPecies
earthlings
Earthlings are the species that invented the radium rocket drive and launched themselves into
dominance, at least in their own eyes. From the steaming jungles of Venus to the rings of Saturn and
beyond, you will find Earthlings exploring, fighting, trading, or simply living. The species from the
third planet have become a ubiquitous sight in the Solar System of Rocket Age.
euroPans
Enigmatic and eccentric, the Europans possess advanced science and technology, as well as strong
psychic abilities. Despite their threats and posturing, they have yet to disintegrate the Earth, just a
few ships here and there. In an effort to better understand the 'lesser species', the Europans have
sent out emissaries to learn and understand by participating in the cultures of other species.
ganymedians
Biologically the strangest of all the sophonts, Ganymedians are a symbiotic organism made up of
different species of plant and fungus. Although primitive, they possess a strong sense of honor and
a fierce loyalty. Just don’t be around when they flower.
ioites
Savage and feral, the Ioites are all that's left of their once glorious civilization. Their homeworld
blasted into an apocalyptic wasteland by the Europans, the Ioites struggle just to survive. Yet, as
disgusting as their eating habits are, they have an intense drive and are incredibly resourceful,
making an Ioite a fine addition to any crew.
martian (chanari)
The nomadic Chanari are the masters of the desert wastes of Mars. Living outside of the caste system of other Martians,
the Chanari are almost a separate species. While the rest of Mars reels from contact with and conquest by the Earthlings,
the Chanari go on as they always have, only now with guns.
martian (Julandri courtesan)
While not as numerous as the laborer sub-caste of the Julandri, the courtesans can be found serving in the retinues of
the higher castes. The level of education courtesans receive during their training only enhances their natural beauty.
Taught music, art, philosophy, and conversational skills from an early age, the Julandri courtesans are the perfect face
for any group of the rocket set.
15
ROCKET AGE
martian (Julandri laborer)
Perhaps one of the most numerous of the Martian castes, the Julandri laborer sub-caste have been bred for strength and
determination, at least the determination needed to work long hours at repetitive tasks. Laborers work in the fields,
carry heavy loads in the factories, and are often treated as two-legged beasts of burden by the other castes. It should be
no wonder that so many Julandri laborers joined the Ebb Revolution.
martian (kastari)
The priestly caste is divided into hundreds of sects, some large like the Orthodox Fellowship, others small but influential
such as the Order of the Sacred Hamaxe. As one of the higher castes, the Kastari enjoy lavish lives of luxury, at least if
you are one of the upper sub-castes. Of all the castes, the Kastari are the only one that promotes its members from one
sub-caste to the other.
martian (maduri)
The warriors of Mars are fearsome and alien, tusked and muscle bound soldiers whose loyalty and
ferocity are legendary. Although beholden to their Silthuri and Kastari masters, the Maduri are one
of the higher cases, and thus should enjoy a luxurious lifestyle. They do not, for such fripperies would
soften a solider and destroy the legions.
martian (Pilthuri)
On Mars the merchant caste is seen as a necessary evil. However, the Pilthuri are more than simple traders, they are the
diplomats and administrators who make sure goods and favors flow across the sands. Often left to their own devices by
their Silthuri and Kastari masters, the Pilthuri are the only caste (excluding the Chanari of course) that regularly travels
the wilds of the red planet.
martian (silthuri)
The princes and nobles of Mars, the Silthuri rule the majority of principalities (the Kastari rule the
balance of the rest). Living lavish lives of wealth and privilege, the Silthuri range from grasping
politicians, magnificent monarchs, to indolent and idle sybarites. At least the upper sub-castes due,
for the lower sub-castes serve as bureaucrats and functionaries who see to the daily affairs of Mars.
martian (talandri)
The craftsmen of Mars have long been constrained by tradition and divided into highly specialized
sub-castes. This has constrained their creativity, and in areas touched by the Ebb Revolution, in
liberated Emancipation, and under the rule of the Americans, British, and French, a renaissance is
underway amongst this lower caste. Earthling minds brought us the Rocket Age, what will Talandri
minds, free to create and innovate, bring next?
venusians
The top species on Venus and the only known mammal native to that jungle world, the Venusians
are a species of hunters and gathers. Their tradition of the Harvititor, or wandering period, has
spread the species nearly as far and wide as Earthlings. Although seen my many to be primitive, the
Venusians have a long tradition of philosophy, oratory, and logic.
16
- P A R T
O N E -
TOUR OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
17
ROCKET AGE
ASTEROID BELT
MERCURY
VENUS
EARTH
MARS
THE MOON
MERCURY
Average Distance from Earth: 149.5 million km
Environment: barren
Native Lifeforms: None
VENUS
Average Distance from Earth: 130.5 million kilometers
Environment: Tropical jungle and savanna
Native Lifeforms: Venusians, various large reptiles and insects
EARTH
Environment: Varied
Native Lifeforms: Earthlings, mammals, reptiles, insects, fish
THE MOON
Average Distance from Earth: 384,403 km
Environment: Thin atmosphere, low gravity
Native Lifeforms: Lichens and moss
18
MARS
Average Distance from Earth: 225 million km
Environment: Arid and warm
Native Lifeforms: Martians, various reptilian,
mammalian, avian, and other lifeforms
ASTEROID BELT
Average Distance from Earth: 305 million km
Environment: varied, largely barren
Native Lifeforms: None
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
IO
GANYMEDE
JUPITER
SATURN
URANUS
NEPTUNE
CALLISTO
EUROPA
JUPITER
Average Distance from Earth: 778 million km
Environment: Hot with high pressures in the depths, moving
sky islands and clouds of dangerous gases
Native Lifeforms: Unclassified lifeforms
EUROPA
SATURN
Average Distance from Earth: 1.5 billion km
Environment: Unexplored
Inhabitants: Possible large flying creatures
URANUS
Average Distance from Earth: 2.86 billion km
Environment: Unexplored
Inhabitants: None predicted
Average Distance from Jupiter: 671,000 km
Environment: Temperate wet
Inhabitants: Europans
NEPTUNE
GANYMEDE
Average Distance from Earth: 4.4 billion km
Environment: Unexplored
Inhabitants: None predicted or encountered
Average Distance from Jupiter: 1.07 million km
Environment: Temperate forests
Inhabitants: Ganymedians and other mobile plants
PLUTO
IO
Average Distance from Earth: 23.3 billion km
Environment: Frozen
Inhabitants: Not likely
Average Distance from Jupiter: 422,000 km
Environment: Toxic wasteland
Inhabitants: Ioites and various mutated monsters
CALLISTO
Average Distance from Jupiter: 1.88 million km
Environment: Arctic wastes
Inhabitants: Yeti, pinipeds, fish
19
PLUTO