No Man’s Land is the first campaign sourcebook for the Battlelords of the 23rd Century sci fi RPG published by SSDC Inc.
It’s a soft cover book that weighs in at 139 pages, including the index.
Before I get into it, let me say that I wish all game supplements were as useful as No Man’s Land. All of the information contained in this book has proven relevant in my game and has served me well.
No Man’s Land (referred to in the rest of this review as NML) describes, in detail, Sector 3, Quadrant 1 of the Fornax Galaxy. Essentially the Wild West of the Galactic Alliance. Here, PC’s will deal with the frontier mentality of settlers, smugglers, mercenaries, hostile aliens and a host of others. The long arm of Alliance law doesn’t have a firm grip here, and often, the only law is that of the pulse laser. A perfect setting for your average group of heavily armed and armored PC’s looking to make a fast credit.
The first chapter is an introduction to NML. It briefly discusses the stereotypical types one will find out on the rim. Gunslingers and settlers and bounty hunters. All have a place out there.
Chapter 2, entitled Major Group Encounters, focuses on the plethora of organized groups that PC’s may come across in the region. Organized crime, mining away teams, arms dealers, terrorists and loads of others are all covered. Not to mention a dozen or so alien races to be found in NML. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read with many story ideas scattered through out.
Chapter 3, Race Expansion, introduces three new races that can be used as PC’s. They are:
-Aeodronians: Militant humanoid bipedal reptiles who try to use technology to exist in harmony with nature.
-Misha Dream Merchants: An odd species that can see the future when they dream, and so are often used as seers and guides.
-Sye Men: A race that has a hauntingly similar physiology to the Zen ( one of the founding races of the Galactic Alliance. Look like walking skeletons.), they are a cryptic and seem to know secrets about the Zen they would rather not have broadcast.
Chapter 4, Deep Space Wayfarers, is all about space pirates. I confess that this is one of my favorite sections of the book. It discusses how one joins a pirate clan, their ranking system, life as a pirate and the many ways they steal or hijack ships in deep space. A very fun read for both GM’s and players. Oddly, the last page of the chapter touches on the myth of Atlantis, and hints that perhaps the ancient Atlanteans may have been a space faring civilization that left Earth long ago, and may soon make another appearance to the Alliance at large. An odd addition to be sure, but it opens some interesting gaming possibilities.
Chapter 5, Spaceport Services, and Chapter 6, Structures, are both extremely interesting and very frustrating reads. Here’s why: These chapters go over the many services that are available on planets and star bases in NML. Everything from clonic reproduction and cybernetic repair stations, to assassination services and slave auctions. Dyson spheres, cloud cities and other neat sci fi staples are also covered. So why is it frustrating? Because among other things, these chapters cover guidelines for starship refits and refueling, and discuss ship’s graveyard and shipyards. All very cool stuff. Except for the fact that, except for a quick blurb in the Hell’s Kitchen supplement, NOWHERE in the Battlelords product line do they have rules for starship design and combat rules. It’s the one thing that’s missing from an otherwise great game. And the fact that NML goes to the trouble of mentioning these services is commendable, but also serves to remind the reader of the fact that he can’t put any of this stuff to good use in the game.
Chapter 7, Planetary Defense, is an even more frustrating read than the previous chapters. Again, the book’s writers should be patted on the back for a very interesting chapter. It covers the composition of the various Alliance fleets, how one species fleets differs from the others, gives the names of the various ship classes, guidelines for the frequency of system patrols, stats for ground based defense systems and killer satellites, defense screens and orbital mines. All really cool stuff that a GM would love to use. But again, there are no rules for ships!!!! So all this great information is of no use. Still, one can continue to hope that SSDC will come to it’s senses and make starship rules are priority. Overall, an excellent chapter that makes for some fascinating reading.
Chapter 8, Sector Layout, is the “prep phase” for what’s to come. It describes the Icons used on the subsector maps, discusses the various astrographical features like ion clouds, asteroid fields and so on. Next is a rundown and charts on planetary codes used later in the book. It lets you know how to read a planets population size, weapon laws, government and other aspects. Also included is the galactic stock index. This is a simple, but very effective way of figuring out what resources a given planet has lots of, and which are needed. With this simple device, players who want to try their hand at trade or smuggling can get started quickly by picking what goods they want to deal in, where they want to buy them and where they want to sell them. Of course, it would have been helpful to have some STARSHIP CONSTRUCTION AND COMBAT RULES.
But I digress…
The chapter goes on to explain the 3 main faster than light systems used by the Alliance. These include Hyperspace engines and Warp engines. Each behaves quite differently, but they both work well in the game setting. The third is the stargate, massive structures built by the Mutzachan, the most technologically advanced race in the Alliance. Again, a good read, but since there are no ship rules, largely of no consequence to the game.
Chapters 9, 10, 11 and 12, each cover one of the Subsectors. They are The Industrial Province, The Denderon Hemisphere, the Plains of Desolation and The Voidlands, respectively. Each subsector describes each planetary system in a brief, but concise manner. Each system has a rundown of the most important planet, it’s defenses, it’s population size and what services of note it offers. In the text, any goings on of interest is mentioned, and it is here that the region takes on a life of it’s own. There are sooooo many plot hooks and ideas floating around that a GM will never run out of things for his players to do. This book is worth it’s weight in gaming gold just for this section alone. It’s well written, the hex/space maps given at the start of every subsector chapter make it a snap to find each planet’s location and the sheer amount of stuff going on means that there’s no shortage of adventure and opportunity for PC’s.
The final chapter gives a few guidelines on contacts and information networks. A very welcome and useful section that I have found becomes more important as the game goes on.
The book itself end with a few appendixes and an index. Always a welcome sight when dealing with a book so packed with info as this.
This is a book worth having. Even if you don’t actual play Battlelords, this a book worth having. It’ll serve brilliantly for any sci fi game you play. And for those of you who DO play Battlelords, if SSDC ever decides to publish starship rules, it’ll be even more worth having.
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