Setting Showcase: Slipstream

Name: Slipstream

Produced By: Pinnacle Entertainment Group

System: Savage Worlds

Genre(s): Science Fiction, Science Fantasy, Pulp, Sword & Planet

Commander Cody. Rocky Jones. Captain Tomorrow. John Carter of Mars. Flash Gordon. Barbarella.

You might know some of these names. You might have seen some of their movies. But, the names you're not familiar with are probably from old Serials. “What are those?” I hear you asking. Good question. Back in the old days of motion pictures, the studios would show parts of a long movie before the feature. It was so you would come to the theater each week to say current on your favorite Serial, even if you weren't excited about the movie. And hopefully you've figured out where the name of these came from by now... Before we go too much further, I do have to mention that not all of these were science fiction. Just the best ones.

Most of these old Rocketship Serials were made in the 1930's, but they continued into the 1950's as TV shows. Back when still stuff started, they didn't have a whole lot of information about space and all that. Or the writers just didn't care. And Slipstream embraces that wholeheartedly.

Slipstream is set in the “exit” of a black hole. Yeah, it isn't so much “soft science” as much as it is “squishy science.” In this area of space, there's mostly breathable air, so you don't have to worry about the vacuum of space.

The area is filled with the remnants of worlds consumed by black holes, pieces large enough to hold an atmosphere and some gravity. These worlds are inhabited by a variety of different races, most based on the humanoid form. There's bird men, lion men, weird blue skinned people, and robot men; just to name a few.

These races ply the space lanes in rocket ships, shoot rayguns, and try to make a living. Several of the “Fragments” (the bits of planets) are inhabited, but a few are devoid of intelligent life. While you can play a handful of aliens, there's a ton more out there, like shark men and spider people, but these are suppose to be enemies, not allies.

Speaking of enemies, Slipstream is under the fist of Queen Anathraxa, a beautiful and deadly ruler. Her forces include her Handmaidens, Primals (ape men), and Minions, who are brainwashed human men. Yeah, we're going there. You see, Anathraxa is a cruel queen, but doesn't pay too much attention to the daily lives of her subjects. Her forces travel from fragment to fragment, collecting taxes... And males. Yep. It's like that. They don't let the players know what happens to the men she takes, but given the setting, it's not hard to guess.

There's also a fair amount of pirates, mad scientists, and other bad things running around in Slipstream. There's even a mysterious alien race that the GM can adapt for their own game, as they're left nebulous for that reason. Plenty to explore and adapt for your game. You can choose to deal with minor threats and the like, ignoring the Big Bads of the setting. It's up to you and your group.

All in all, the setting isn't too different from the source materials. The same elements are there, but updated for modern sensibilities (mostly). If you're not familiar with the genre, you might find it a little weird and out there. If you do, I suggest you give it a shot. The old science fiction stuff was a product of its time, but it can still be fun for modern games as it's the same sort of high action and adventure you want to play. Clearly, this game is an action game, not really an intrigue sort of thing. You have an evil overlord, her despicable minions, and a fair amount of freebooters and pirates. Doesn't mean that you can't do it, but you have to get into the spirit of the genre. Think old time pirates, but in spaaaaaace!

The rules, new Edges and Hindrances, are designed to get into the spirit of genre as well. There's one called “I'm With Him” for your weak science types, for one example. These Edges and Hindrances help you get into the mood of the game and make your characters match up. There's a lot of combat and leadership, of course. It really gives you a lot of options for what kind of dashing heroes you're going to play. Because you're going to be playing Big Damn Heroes. That's the genre. 

Now, I'm going to have to talk about the book itself. It's a hardback, which is really nice, and durable. But, there is a minor problem. The information for the inhabitants of the fragments, their stats, is in the player's section of the book. With a note saying that they're not for players. Then, there's a quick overview of each fragment for players, with a little widget to signify what technology level the fragment has. And then there's a much larger section about each fragments... Um, What? Why waste a page in the beginning with the stats for the creatures and races, when you're going to put in a larger section that has most of the information for it? I don't have a problem with the little overview part... If it was where the stats are in the player's section. I know this might seem like a small beef, but as an experienced GM, I do not like having to look at three different parts of a book when I'm in the middle of a game.

Which reminds me of another problem I have with the layout of the book. In the GM's section, there's a ten part campaign for you to run, dropped pretty early on in this part of the book. A series of adventures that has a massive effect on the status quo of the setting. And then they give you a chart, after all of that, which random encounters and other adventure ideas, that either require you to have run the campaign or will be worthless if you already have. Seriously. Some drop hints about Anathraxa's dark secret... Which the players will already know if they finish the campaign. And others will be like “If you saved this person in this part of the campaign, this adventure should happen.” Yeah... Because players always do things the right way...

All of this said, I do like the book and I like this setting. Since this uses Savage Worlds, it makes for a dramatic and dynamic type of game and that really matches the setting. This genre of science fiction has fallen to the wayside and the people behind this setting are clearly fans of it and tried to do right by it. If you're a fan of Serials, you will enjoy this game. If you haven't watched them, I suggest doing so. MST3K did a few of these during their old days and you should be able to watch them that way.

There's also a Player's Guide for the game, which I haven't checked out yet, as well as some more adventures on Pinnacle's website.