The Rise an fall of Klaarg Tordenzme Dwarves in fantasy roleplaying, especially in the modern sense, have become stereotypes. Loosely based on Gimli from Lord of the Rings, it's a common shorthand, found in several fantasy settings beyond Middle Earth. Dwarves are short, bearded, stocky, gruff, capable of holding grudges across generations, masterful artisans and miners. Some sources describe Dwarven women as having beards, (like Xindi and Xandi on the masthead), others describe Dwarven women as lacking facial hair (like Disa from Rings of Power) and often Scottish coded.

Using Setting Events in Life Path Character Generation Many of my favorite Role Playing Games feature a Life Path character creation mechanic. I dig this because it creates characters with a backstory that is determined from the dice. It also results in a variety of character ages. Of course, this works best in games and settings where the adventurers experience moderate advancement over their careers.

Psionic Potential Among Sentients In Traveller, there are mechanics for characters to realize Psionic Abilities. As a phenomenon, Psionics are widespread in charted space. It's pretty safe to deduce that unless psionic abilities are specifically defined as being absent with a given species, at least some portion of the population has psionic potential. Still, with the exception of the Ancients (who are not around in the setting), the Droyne (who are what the surviving Ancients became over the last 300,000 years), and the Zhodani (who the Ancients kept as "pets" the longest, …

Electric Head, Cannibal Core, the Television Said.. Most Tabletop Roleplaying Games feature humans as the dominant species in the setting. The reasoning is straightforward, Players, being humans themselves, can most easily identify with their characters when they are human as well. It also saves on lore-overload. With humans, whether they're from Earth, Corellia, Rigel IV, or Vland do not require an essay explaining what they are.

No, you got Traveller in my Battletech! Two of my favorite games over my long gaming career are Traveller and Battletech. I've been playing both for over 40 years. Since I've recently moved to a new city, on a new coast of the US, and The 50th Anniversarry of Traveller is right-around-the corner. I'm starting a new campaign. With Battletech enjoying a renaissance, I've been throwing a healthy amount of Big Stompy Robots in my Science Fiction Adventure in the Far Future.

Heists during the Year of Peace - 3051 The Clan Invasion of 3050-52 was interrupted by an unexpected pause in 3051. The "year of Peace" provided more than a reprieve and a strategic opportunity for the Inner Sphere. While the leaders of the Great Houses were all on Outreach training for when the invasion begins again, Survivors, Mercenaries, Outlaws, and Pirates took advantage of a special set of circumstances…

Space food by Tech Level Out in the vastness of empty space, Your crew still needs to eat. Whether it's food-in-a-tube from TL 6, or TL 15 replicated food. Eating also adds (dare I say) "flavor" to an otherwise boring series of downtime activities. The Life Support portion of the monthly Running Costs of operating a Space Ship or Starship covers the most basic nutritional needs for each person on board the ship.

The Mazynik of Arjenvís The most recent “species” to emerge in Arjenvís are the Mazynik. The Mazynik are a clockwork, machine people made possible through many of the engineering discov…