[From the Mailbag] Planetary Transmissions #1 Received!

Unless you've been living in a cave--or have been ignoring your OSR gaming feed--you've heard in the past couple months of the new system: White Star: White Box Science Fiction Roleplaying from Barrel Rider Games. I've been looking for a good Sci-Fi system for a while--collecting them, really--and grabbed up White Star as soon as it was released. (I'm actually anxiously awaiting the dead tree version.) I haven't had a load of time to peruse the PDF, but I like what I've seen: simple, elegant, and ultimately customizable.

This last is borne out in the sheer volume of third-party stuff that's been put out since the release of White Star. Heck, they've already had a little online controversy of their own, which will not be rehashed here or given any more print space. Suffice it to say, the system is kinda blowing up all over.

Enter Planetary Transmission by Leviathan Publishing. Issue #1 was released back at the end of May 2015 and Issue #2 is just about ready to be released. Just yesterday I got my hands on a copy of Issue #1 and ... HOLY COW.

This is some good stuff.

I think one of the marks of a good 'zine--or a good supplement of any kind, really--is its application to other settings/systems. It's why I try and stack a boatload of system-neutral stuff into The Stronghold. Well, Leviathan did it with Issue #1.

Just on my first read-through, I could see how both the new creature (the Dreg) and the creature template (the Strain) could be taken from the stars and translated to my 3.x campaign. The articles on "Allegiances" and "Contacts" spark some ideas for organizations and guilds in my campaign world, as does the article on "Armor Options." I'm already framing some of my own armor options and modifiers based on appearance, utility, etc.

The Death table easily transports to a fantasy setting for adventure hooks and quest ideas, and the Merchant table provides a useful NPC background for a fantasy bazaar. Granted, the Necro-sword would take some tweaking and the spaceships don't do much for a fantasy setting, but they are still cool ideas for a sci-fi campaign.  (I just need to convince my group to play some sci-fi, dang it all.) OH! Paper minis, too! BONUS!

All in all, a terrific first 'zine. I can't wait to get my hands on Issue #2....which should be hitting the printers any day now.

Do yourself a favor: Grab your own copy ASAP.