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Game Master Introduction
You are the story teller and the keeper of apocalyptic
knowledge. You know what happened to human
civilization during the apocalypse, and why. It is your
duty and pleasure to take the simple serfs of ancient
Egypt and walk those characters through Thebes,
Camelot, and Chicago, and on into the galaxy.
This basic set includes rules for low-level characters.
With this basic set, you and your players can explore
and have adventures in the three Lunar domes that
survived the alien attack: ancient Thebes, Camelot,
and 1920s Chicago. Your first game will take place
in Thebes. Future expansions introduce more areas
to explore, more options for characters, and more
powers and abilities characters can develop.
You want your characters to have great adventures, to
solve challenging puzzles, and to face deadly danger.
Some of these dangers would make normal people
give up, but the player characters aren’t normal
people; they’re heroes! Heroes thrive on unraveling
complex mysteries and facing overwhelming odds.
Your fun comes from devising the puzzles your players
must solve and from creating a galaxy filled with the
ruins of mankind’s empire.
Although characters will become great heroes in time,
they start out with little more than ambition and pluck.
Their first steps should be small, and so should yours.
Don’t try to fill up all 77 Worlds and outer space with
aliens, monsters, and strange technology in the first
month of play. Start by fleshing out the adventures
characters are sent on by the five temples to the gods
in Thebes and by adding your own ideas to the map of
the Egyptian dome.
Beginning characters have no idea that they are not
exactly what they appear to be: citizens of ancient
Egypt facing a bizarre threat. They know nothing about
the alien invasion, brain chips, advanced technology,
that they are living on the Moon instead of on Earth,
or even that they live inside an immense dome. As
they explore their world and face its dangers, they
gradually uncover the truth and encounter a universe
that is far larger—and far deadlier—than they ever
imagined. Before long, they will leave Thebes and
travel to Camelot for more adventures, and then to
1920s Chicago for even more high-stakes action.
When you’ve exhausted the possibilities of those
three settings—which should happen about the time
characters reach Patron rank—you’ll be ready to leave
the Moon and begin really exploring the 77 Worlds.
Play proceeds at the pace set by you and your players.
Because Apocalyptic Space is a roleplaying game,
players have complete freedom to do what they like
and to go where events and curiosity lead them. We
envision characters traveling from Thebes, to Camelot,
to Chicago, but your players might choose a different
path. They might miss the clues leading to the other
domes and proceed straight to Earth! Maybe they find
a way to strike a bargain with the aliens on the Moon
and curtail huge amounts of bloodshed. Anything
can happen in a roleplaying game; that’s what makes
this type of play so enjoyable. Once you get started,
Apocalyptic Space is your game. You’re succeeding as
a Game Master as long as your friends are enjoying
themselves and continuing to play your adventures.
Player Introduction
(This introduction can be read aloud to players at the
start of your first gaming session.)
You are a simple farmer living along the Nile River
near Thebes. For the first 15 years of your life, you’ve
learned about farming and the seasonal cycles of the
mighty river. You’ve also heard the local priests speak
about the godbattles that take place in the sky above
your home. The shock of actually seeing such a battle
changed your life. You saw great ships without sails
soaring high through the air and blasting each other
out of existence with spears of light and bursts of
flame whose heat you could feel from far away on the
ground. In times past, people from your village have
been crushed by pieces of destroyed ships falling from
the sky or incinerated by those awful lances of light
that char buildings and humans alike. The silver ships
that the priests say are crewed by the true gods were
nearly all destroyed before Ra’s own vessel arrived and
turned the tide.
The awesome vision inspired you to move from your
humble farming home to Thebes, the greatest city of
the land. You don’t know yet what you will do when
you get there or how you can bolster the forces of Ra,
but the only way you will learn is by making the journey
to Thebes. You and your friends gathered together at
the river, built a reed boat, and paddled down the Nile
toward your bright new future.