Category: The Frontiers of Space

If you have been reading my recent adventures for Cepheus Engine then you probably can see that things are building up to a conflict between the Olonsean Empire and the Ilsunsi Directorate. These are two alien races that live within the borders of the Sonora sector. The Ilsunsi are a highly intelligent race of beings that is very old. They have extremely high technology and may exist in other worlds beyond the Sonora sector. The Olonseans are a younger and far more aggressive species. They too may exist in other sectors beyond the Sonora. They are eagerly conquering weaker worlds and enslaving them to build war machines for them.

It it is inevitable that these two alien races would come into conflict. The Ilsunsi prefer to stick to themselves. They do not like visitors or intrusions in their space. The Olonseans live to conquer and are going to test those around them to see what they can get away with. Intimidation is part of their arsenal. Indiscriminate use of nuclear bombardment is also one of their favorite tactics to reduce resistance to their demands.

Up to this point both sides have used mercenaries and adventurers to perform hostile acts which would lead immediately to war if the other side could prove who was responsible. This proxy war has been the source of many of my most recent adventures. Soon this will become a hot war and the travelers in the Sonora sector may have little choice but to choose a side.

The Frontiers of Space has had a few updates this year including an expansion of the original sector document. There are many new adventures for the Sonora Sector and many more are planned for the future. I have a very long list of ideas for new adventures and will be doing as many as I can in the coming months.

Time is the biggest problem for me these days. That and health issues. Both have slowed me a down a bit in producing new work. But I will find the time and I will produce more adventures for Cepheus Engine and the Sonora sector. All of my adventures, however, can be played in just about any sector of space. I always set them in the Sonora sector but they can be easily moved.

The Sonora sector itself has not changed much. The Olonsean Empire and the Jorum Family are still the primary aggressors in the sector. Both are grabbing systems as quickly as possible and are destroying anyone who resists them. New enemies from outside of the sector are now being discovered. And other villains are presenting themselves from within the Sonora. These are dangerous times for travelers in the Frontiers of Space.

This article is intended as a free supplement for those people who are using my “Frontiers of Space” supplement for Cepheus Engine. The Frontiers of Space is a sector of space called the “Sonora Sector”. It is a settlement of star systems on the very fringes of human exploration. And more importantly…..it is a pay what you want file on Drive Thru RPG. In fact, all of the Cepheus Engine Products from Old School Role Playing are pay what you want files there. Except this one….of course. This one is free and is published here on our blog.

The Sonora sector has many competing factions. Each is carving out it’s own part of this wild frontier. There are many diverse human groups which have colonized a few systems. There are a few larger empires as well. And there are several alien cultures which have either lay claim to various systems or who have developed on systems long before any humans ever arrived here.

As a result….warfare is not uncommon. Often these wars are small brush fires. Merely one or two systems may be in play. Occasionally one entity makes an all out effort to capture an entire sub-sector. In either case weapons are needed. And some of these weapons are specific to the Sonora sector. For those interested in using the Frontiers of Space the following products are available:

The Frontiers of Space

Aliens of the Frontiers of Space

Library Data

The Olonsean Empire

The Olonseans are an aggressive alien species that is responsible for much of the wars and conflicts within the sector. They are an ambitious and warlike species that believes that it is destined to rule the galaxy. They often engage in small wars and conflicts when they have the advantage over other species in the sector. Fortunately, for the rest of the Sonora sector, two powerful alien species have kept these ambitions in check.

The Olonsean empire is tech level 11. However, they have “acquired” certain items, which are beyond their own means to manufacture. Yet. They have scientists constantly reverse engineering alien technology in order to improve their own abilities to make war against others. How they come across this new alien technology is a mystery. But they have put these new discoveries to use in military applications. Some of these applications will be described in more detail below.

• Anti Gravity Tanks – In some of their more recent aggressions the Olonseans have used anti gravity vehicles armed with Plasma Gun Turrets (PGMP) mounted on them. These tanks were sometimes equipped with small arms weapons as well to deal with infantry. SMGs, Lasers and even Gauss Rifles have been reported. The specifications for this vehicle are: Agility +0, Speed 100 km, Crew 4, Passenger 0, O/C closed, Armor 25. Hull 8, Structure 8, Weapons: PGMP main weapon and various supporting weapons.
• Anti Gravity Personnel Carriers – In addition to these tanks personnel carriers for their assault troops have also been reported. These vehicles have been heavily armored and had supporting weapons such as SMG, Laser turrets and Gauss Rile turrets. Specifications for this vehicle are: Agility +0, Speed 100 km, Crew 1, Passengers 10, O/C closed, Armor 18, Hull 6, Structure 6, Weapons various supporting weapons.
• Armored Air Rafts – Specialized Air Rafts have been reported for use by Olonsean assault troops to drop down on the surface of worlds that they are invading. These rafts are typically armed with supporting weapons such as SMG, Laser and Gauss Rifle turrets. Specifications for this vehicle are: Agility +0, Speed 400 km, Crew 1, Passengers 5, O/C open, Armor 6, Hull 2, Structure 2, Weapons various supporting weapons
• Anti Gravity Mobile Rocket Launching Platforms – For heavy bombardments the Olonseans have reportedly employed anti gravity vehicles sporting several rocket launchers in order to unleash massive amounts of heavy rockets at fixed targets. Specifications for this vehicle: Agility -2, Speed 50km, Crew 4, Passengers 0, O/C closed, Armor 25, Hull 8, Structure 8, Weapons: up to twenty rocket launchers.

The Olonseans are very proprietary about their military technology. Their items are never sold to other species. If anyone, other than an Olonsean military unit is in possession of one of these items, it was either lost in battle or stolen from the Olonsean military.

Of course…..the Olonseans do not always do their own fighting. Robots, Drones and even Battle Meks are often deployed to the worlds that they are targeting. The Olonsean Battle Mek is a fearsome sight. As the Olonseans are known to sometimes have their brains extracted and placed into robotic bodies these battle meks are often fearsome representations of the Olonsean will to conquer other worlds and species. The Olonseans have these brain canisters installed onto battle meks basically making themselves into a weapon of warfare. Of course, their canisters can be removed and placed back on a more useful robotic frame, when not in combat.

Some of their known robotic weapons include:

• Olonsean Battle Drone – These silent killers are rarely seen until they surprise their enemies with a direct assault. They often fly far too high in the sky to be seen until it is far too late to avoid contact with them. Some reportedly have had plasma guns installed on them as well as rocket launchers. Specifications: Strength 12 (+2), Dexterity 10 (+1), Hull 4, Structure 4, Armor 10, Integral System (grav floater), Weapons plasma gun and rocket launcher.
• Olonsean Battle Bot – These weapons are often used as front line cannon fodder. They are dangerous killers that can take a hit and keep on fighting. Specifications: Strength 30 (+8), Dexterity 9 (+1), Hull 6, Structure 6, Intellgence 3 (-1), Education 5 (-1), Social Standing 0 (-3), Armor 18, Specialized Model 1 computer, Weapons: Crushing strength of 4D6, Both arms have rocket launchers built into them, Gauss Rifle as primary weapon.
• Olonsean Battle Mek – These weapons are used by individual Olonseans of high standing such as officers and generals. They have their own brain canister installed on these battle meks and make themselves into a weapon of war. Typically two of the arms will sport plasma guns (PGMP). Two more arms will sport rocket launchers. A grenade launcher or two is often installed as well and fire from front of the robotic frame. Other weapons are often installed to suit the users personal preferences. Specifications: Strength 30 (+8), Dexterity 10 (+1), Hull 7, Structure 7, Statistics are those of the Olonsean who is using it, Weapons various as described above.

As you can see, the Olonsean Empire, poses a threat to many of the civilizations in this sector. They are relentless in their ambitions. And what technology that they cannot discover on their own they will gladly steal or buy from others. They are constantly improving their military technology with one thing in mind. Conquest!

The internet has lots of great and free resources for playing the ultimate 2D6 space science fiction game of all time. Classic Traveller is still the best space pencil and paper role playing game out there. I would love to see an MMORPG based upon Traveller but so far Eve Online was the closest thing that I ever found. 

There are many good links out there and I am probably unaware of some of the best of them. But the best free resources for Traveller that I have personally found are listed below:

• Zhodani Base Random Subsector Generator
• Cepheus Engine 1000001 characters
• Classic Traveller Character Generator
• Donjon Random System Generator
• Donjon Random Name Generator for Sci Fi
• Donjon Sci Fi World Generator

There are many versions of some of the various generators on the web. I have listed only the ones I personally have used in the past. If you know of other great links to include please let me know and I will update this.