This game is going to begin at about the midway point of Leviathan Wakes (the first novel of The Expanse series), or the end of season one of The Expanse T.V. Series.

The player characters will begin the game on Eros, shortly before the ‘Eros Incident’ which will serve as an introduction/prologue adventure that will focus on bringing the player characters together as a group.

After escaping Eros, the player characters will get a hold of a ship (i.e. legitimate salvage, or maybe not!). At that point the player group can begin working for themselves or on behalf of one the major/minor factions present in the books and/or T.V. series. From there while I have a campaign in mind player character choices will determine a lot of factors in regards to how it plays out.

The primary canon used will be a combination of the novels and T.V. series. While the player characters will not be able to change major events that occur, they may be involved or participate in the major events. The campaign I intend to run after Eros is something that occurs in the background of the canon storyline. There will be more protomolecule samples in this gaming universe then just the one the crew of the Rocinate is aware of.

You will need a copy (or PDF) of The Expanse Role Playing game, published by Green Ronin which uses the AGE (Adventure Game Engine) system to play in this game. I will also be using the Ships of the Expanse source book. I may also use material from the Modern Age Rule Book, and Modern AGE Companion but if I do so I will list the material and reference the page number within he game.

As the GM I see my primary role in this game is to create an environment where the players can be creative. Recommendations and constructive criticism by players is encouraged and will be thoroughly considered. Please don't decide that my game sucks and just quit. Tell me why it sucks and what I can do to make it better. Please don't be afraid to question my rulings in a private message if you think I have been unfair, inconsiderate, or generally ignorant. Also, if you feel the need to question a ruling in the OOC thread by all means do so. I won’t ban you from the game just because you post a disagreement in the OOC thread, or have been very critical of me in a PM. In fact, only time I have banned players is because they refused to interact with another player’s character in game.

Please answer the following questions in your request to join post.

1. What is your experience with the AGE (Adventure Game Engine) system?
   
   
2. Have you read the novels by James S.A. Corey? If so which ones or all of them?
   
   
3. Have you watched the T.V. Series? If so which seasons/series, have you seen?
   
   
4. Why do you like The Expanse?
   
   
5. How do you feel about using RPOL’s language group feature?
   
   
6. How do you feel about player vs player conflicts? What if a player vs player conflict that was completely played in character, led to the death or serious injury of either your player character or another player character? I am asking this because we do see some instances where the main characters in The Expanse have conflict and that conflict results in one character pointing a gun at the other characters head.
   
   
7. What character concept do you have in mind?
   
   
8. What role(s) would you like to serve aboard the ship the player characters will acquire? The following are roles that need to be filled, and a character should feasibly be able to carry out two or maybe three of them. Player characters should also know how to handle firearms so as to be able to handle any potential boarders or when boarding an enemy vessel.
   • Captain and Executive officer: As we have seen in the TV series and from reading the novels the character who commands a space vessel has to make tough decisions from time to time. As the GM I expect a little bit more from a player whose character is in a leadership position then one who isn't. If you want to play a character who is in a leadership position keep in mind that your character may find themselves in a position/situation where your orders (good or bad) might get another player character killed.
   • Pilot You ‘fly’ the ship.
   • Navigator Could also serve as the backup pilot in case of emergency
   • Gunner There could be 2 gunners, one to assist PDC’s and another to guide torpedoes.
   • Electronic Warfare Operator Hacking other ships/missiles, will jam enemy sensors.
   • Engineering/Maintenance Will make repairs during combat, and may have to move around during high G maneuvers.
   • Medic Probably best if this is a secondary role
   • Security Probably best of this is a secondary role, if your needed because the ship is being boarded somebody else (except maybe the medic) must have seriously messed up.
   • A role not listed I may have forgotten a crewman role.

As the GM it is only fair that I answer the same questions I am asking of you, a potential player in this game.

1. What is your experience with the AGE (Adventure Game Engine) system? I am/was in another Expanse game here on RPOL. It is my only other experience with the AGE (Adventure Game Engine) system. I have both The Expanse RPG core book and Ships of the Expanse. I also have the Modern Age book rule book, and Modern AGE Companion to potentially draw additional material from.
   
   
2. Have you read the novels by James S.A. Corey? If so which ones or all of them? I have read all the books and novellas except the novella Drive and the forthcoming final book in the series, Leviathan Falls. Once book nine and the novella compilation (Memory's Legion) come out I will be purchasing all of the books in physical form.
   
   
3. Have you watched the T.V. Series? If so which seasons/series, have you seen? I have watched all five seasons of the expanse.
   
   
4. Why do you like The Expanse? I am a big fan of hard/naturalistic sci-fi and military sci-fi in general. But what makes The Expanse so different is that there is no faster than light method of travel.
   
   
5. How do you feel about using RPOL’s language group feature? As a GM I really like the language groups, it allows some player characters to carry on a private conversation or say things others don’t understand out in the open.
   
   
6. How do you feel about player vs player conflicts? What if a player vs player conflict that was completely played in character, led to the death or serious injury of either your player character or another player character? As a player and GM if the death of a player character by another player character is purely because of in character actions/consequences then I am ok with it. You can’t just arbitrarily decide to kill another player character for no reason. If you’re going to kill another player character you BETTER have a good reason why you are going to such an extreme. Also be aware that such an act will most likely have some sort of in game consequence occurring. So, if the rest of the player group wants to toss your character out of an airlock after murdering another player character...

Please try to login and post a few times a week. But we all know that real life takes precedence, so if one week life is kicking your ass and you just get a short one liner in, and an OOC post that your busy with RL that’s cool. It happens to me too, so I am not going to play any games and keep track of such things.

That said the pace of the game will sometimes be fast (well fast for a PbP game), or slow to a crawl.

Please PM me and say you are leaving the game. I don't need to know why.

Also, if real life is getting busy and you can't post as much, or need to go on a hiatus, let me know, we'll figure something out with what to do with your character. I have had some players deploy to the Middle East and come back to the game 6-9 months later.

Inactive players: If a player is inactive for over a month and has not contacted me regarding an absence from RPOL their characters will be put into NPC status. If the hiatus occurs during combat there will be no promises that the character(s) will suffer a serious injury or be killed. But I may keep these characters around as NPC’s and assign them to another player.

Player absences: If a player does contact me regarding an absence, I will place the player’s character(s) in NPC status and semi write them out of the game. When you return, I will try my best to get you back into the game ASAP. I do not need to know the reason for the absence, but a good idea of when you will be coming back would be nice to have.

Ways to contact the GM

• Make an OOC post
• Send a PM to me here in game
• RPOL Rmail
• Regular Email (if you have my contact info)

This game is rated mature; therefore, it is ok for there to be some intimacy in the game. Just make sure that any interaction beyond kissing in the game is dealt with in a 'fade to black' manner. I see no reason to role play sexual encounters, and do to so would make this an adult game.

Player character sexual orientation: As the GM I have no issue with a player running a LGBQT character.

Non-Player characters as significant others: It is ok if your character has a significant other. You can even create a background for them if you wish. Just realize that I will not role play your significant other in romantic situations.

Can and will occur in the games I run here on RPOL. If your character is killed or seriously injured where they may be unplayable for some time in game you will be allowed to make a new (or second character), or take over an NPC or abandoned character. This will allow you as a player to still participate in the game instead of just sitting on the sidelines.

I have a number of abandoned characters, and NPC's I have made that are available for players new to the game.

• Zimo Sen/Shaved Head (3rd lev) Male Belter Outsider/Outcast/Scavenger[list]
• Focuses: Rifles (3), Stamina (4), Free-fall (5), Stealth (5), Demolitions (6), Evaluation (6), Self-Discipline (4)
• Talents: Fringer (N), Expertise (Demolitions) (E), Demolitions Training (E)
• Crew Role(s): Boarding Party/Demolitions/Damage Control

[*] Kaeya Suputayaporn (1st lev) Female Belter Middle Class/Tagalong/Pilot

• Focuses: Free-fall (4), Piloting (4), Navigation (5)
• Talents: Contacts (N), Pilot (N)
• Crew Role(s): Navigator/Pilot /

There is also a number of unnamed NPC's (they have placeholder names the players gave them during game play) who do not have character sheets made yet. I did make rolls to determine some aspects of these characters, but we can retcon them.

• Woman w/wounded arm – Female TBD
• Ashli Hachem (Eros Refugee) – Female Belter (18-20 yrs old)

The character cast will also soon be reaching a port, and be able to take on extra crew. It should be noted that these extra crew are just crew and will not be partial owners of the stealth ships if they are deemed a legal possession of the character cast.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:05, Thu 04 Apr.