Machinations of the Space Princess — Colour Print Edition

Sexy, sleazy, swords and sci-fi—in glorious full colour.

Machinations of the Space Princess is a complete science-fantasy roleplaying game mixing old-school adventure with science fiction, magic, psionics and extravagant space opera.

Its inspirations lie closer to Métal Hurlant and Star Wars than 2001: A Space Odyssey: a universe of space pirates, alien princesses, living planets, robot hordes and blasters at noon.

This is a game of strangeness, danger and fun.

Style is not an optional extra.

Opportunity in a Collapsing Galaxy

The mighty Urlanth Matriarchy is falling apart following the death of its empress.

Her ninety-nine daughters are competing to succeed her, constrained by political and economic rules that encourage intrigue, manipulation and indirect conflict rather than a straightforward war for the throne.

For ambitious, unscrupulous or simply desperate adventurers, the collapse offers work.

Characters may find themselves involved in:

• Smuggling.

• Espionage.

• Bounty hunting.

• Salvage.

• Theft.

• Treasure hunting.

• Piracy.

• Schemes connected to the struggle between the Urlanth princesses.

The old order is dying.

Somebody is going to profit from the wreckage.

Kick-Ass Heroes

Machinations of the Space Princess puts the player characters at the centre of the game.

They are rogues, killers, scholars, pilots, psionic adepts and other adventurers attempting to survive and prosper in a violent, unstable universe.

The rules have old-school foundations, but they are adapted to support science-fantasy characters with access to:

• Skills.

• Psionic powers.

• Cybernetics and other enhancements.

• Advanced weapons and armour.

• Alien traits.

• Starships and vehicles.

• Retainers and hired specialists.

The game retains the danger and directness of old-school play while providing more tools for customising characters and the universe around them.

Create Your Own Alien Species

Rather than limiting the setting to a short list of fixed races, Machinations of the Space Princess provides a flexible system for constructing aliens.

Species and cultural traits can be combined to create the inhabitants of your own universe. These options can represent biological differences, unusual cultures, cybernetic populations and more exotic forms of life.

Reviewers have repeatedly singled out this system for praise.

One described the mix-and-match racial traits as elegant, smart and enjoyable to use, providing plenty of options without adding much complexity during play. Another noted that the core book could cover almost any alien race a group might want to create.

Build the Technology You Need

The book supplies straightforward tools for designing and modifying:

• Weapons.

• Armour.

• Vehicles.

• Starships.

• Monsters.

• Adversaries.

• Alien races.

Equipment begins with a basic form and can be altered with additional qualities and capabilities. The same modular approach extends to vehicles and ships, allowing groups to create anything from a customised freighter to a heavily armed warship.

A detailed review praised these systems as clever, flexible and easy to use, noting that they could reproduce a broad range of familiar science-fiction equipment without excessive difficulty.

Starships That Involve the Whole Crew

Starships are treated as more than transport between adventures.

The construction rules allow ships to possess their own qualities and modifications, while the space-combat system gives different members of the crew something to contribute.

One reviewer particularly praised the ship rules for being simple while avoiding the common problem of everybody sitting idle while the pilot resolves the battle.

Build a fast courier.

Arm a merchant vessel beyond all reason.

Keep a beloved wreck flying through repairs, improvisation and misplaced confidence.

Your ship may be the most important character in the campaign.

Science-Fantasy Without the Textbook

The game includes rules and guidance for space and planetary exploration, but its purpose is adventure rather than hard-science simulation.

The hazards of hostile planets, space travel and the void remain important without turning the game into a technical examination.

This is science fiction built for play:

• Strange new worlds.

• Ancient ruins.

• Lost technology.

• Unexplored planets.

• Space battles.

• Psionic powers.

• Swords beside blasters.

• Monsters that do not care whether their biology is entirely sensible.

The universe is dangerous enough without requiring everyone to show their calculations.

Advice for Players and Games Masters

Machinations of the Space Princess contains substantial advice for both sides of the table.

The book discusses:

• Creating characters suited to active adventure.

• Working well with the rest of the group.

• Running an entertaining game.

• Establishing the desired tone.

• Constructing adversaries and monsters.

• Building original equipment and spacecraft.

• Finding people to play with.

• Keeping the game focused upon excitement and fun.

Reviewers have praised this material for addressing not only how the rules operate, but how players and Games Masters can help make a campaign enjoyable.

Praised for Its Energy and Flexibility

Reviewers have consistently highlighted the game’s sense of fun.

The Other Side praised its character-centred approach, colourful commentary and combination of space opera with old-school rules, concluding that few science-fiction games possess a greater sense of fun.

Welcome to the Deathtrap described it as satisfyingly detailed without becoming bloated, praising its ship combat, modular construction systems, humour, conversational writing and useful guidance for players and Games Masters.

Of Dreams and Dragons called the underlying design elegant and smart, praising its alien-creation system and describing the game as a genuinely joyful space-opera RPG.

Another reviewer simply said that it radiates cool.

That is difficult to improve upon.

Inside the Book

Machinations of the Space Princess includes:

• A complete science-fantasy roleplaying game.

• Old-school foundations combined with newer design ideas.

• Character creation for science-fiction adventurers.

• Skills, psionics, cybernetics and enhancements.

• Flexible alien-species creation.

• Weapons, armour and equipment.

• Rules for constructing vehicles and starships.

• Space and planetary exploration.

• Starship combat involving the whole crew.

• Tools for creating monsters and adversaries.

• An implied setting centred upon the collapse of the Urlanth Matriarchy.

• Advice for players and Games Masters.

• Character and starship sheets.

• A full-colour interior throughout this edition.

The Galaxy Is Falling Apart

The empress is dead.

Ninety-nine princesses are manoeuvring for the throne.

The trade routes are failing, criminals are becoming kings and the ruins of the old order are waiting to be looted.

Find a ship.

Recruit a crew.

Load the blasters.

Make your own Machinations of the Space Princess.

This listing is for the physical colour-print edition of Machinations of the Space Princess, written by James Desborough. It is a 239-page, full-colour A5 perfect-bound paperback. ISBN: 978-1-291-48828-9. Dice and other ordinary gaming materials are not included. Contains mature themes and sexualised science-fiction imagery.