Looking for test-players for a Sci-Fi/Fantasy RP

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for some test-players for a Science Fiction / Fantasy game I've developed with a few friends of mine.
I would prefer if someone would volunteer as Game Master, although I’d gladly assist with anything you may need help with.

In March 2012 we plan to release our New Horizon Roleplaying Game Compendium - 2nd Edition. It will be a 340 page book in Letter size, and we’ll print 1,000 copies of it to start with. Any group of people who’d be willing to test play the game for us would get their names put into the book (under Credits for Test Players). But you’d have to test play the game in a forum (like this one) and give me your thoughts about the game and system afterwards.

I would like to know what you think is most fun with the game, but also what’s the worst thing about it in your opinion and what you think should be improved for future updates. It is enough that the assigned GM provides me with this information. The assigned GM will be credited as a GM and awarded afterwards. The GM must also inform me who test played the game (the names to be put into the book) and a link to the forums where I can see where you played it.

PS! We will only put your name in the book if you provide us with your real name (given name + surname/family name). We also require permission from you to put your name in our book.

You can also contact me at michal[at]newhorizonrpg.com

Allow me to give you a small introduction to New Horizon to show you what kind of game you’ll be dealing with!

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Introduction

New Horizon is mankind’s new home among the stars. It’s the world which became their new home after leaving Earth. The settlers are surrounded by bizarre alien creatures that are often as deadly as they are amazing. Their lives are filled with the wonders of technology, but are held together by the strength of their resolve. Mankind walks this new world hand in hand with wafans, their sister race of sentient living machines, designed during the darker days of humanity’s past.

New Horizon is not a game where you win and that's the end. Because of the different experiences and imaginations of every individual that comes to the game, New Horizon has an endless variety of stories and experiences for the characters. The game is typically played among a group of friends, usually face to face around some type of gaming surface, but occasionally across the internet at places such as our forums.

The entire endeavor is the creation of a collaborative story between the players and the GM. Players take on the role of an individual on New Horizon, known as their character or a PC (Player Character). They design the character's background story, looks, mannerisms, physical and mental abilities and any other little quirks they can think of to add. The GM takes control of the rest of the world, from animals and governments to weather and Non-player characters (NPCs),and sets the general direction of the story. This general idea may drastically change depending on the players. The GM sets obstacles or opportunities in the path of the players, and the story evolves depending on how they react to each circumstance.

Many things in the game follow common sense, but dice are utilized when there is a chance for success or failure. The New Horizon Roleplaying Game uses the Volt system, which requires just two 20 sided dice (D20's). These dice are rolled and then compared to information on the character's record sheet that is calculated during character creation.

Further information on the Volt system can be found here: http://www.voltsystem.net/doku.php

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Many things about New Horizon make it unique. One such example is ‘wafans’, who are often confused with droid robots but who are in reality living beings. There are also medeans, who are the next evolution of humanity, and something both new and unique. They are humans who have been “merged” with the unique fauna of New Horizon and they are truly exceptional. The unique wildlife of this moon is yet another thing that makes New Horizon stand out. We also have the alien flora found all over the world, and the inexplicable phenomenon known as Volitaires, Moai, Motes and Whorls.

On Earth, humans reached what could be called a technological pinnacle. They had everything. They even created wafans. When they came to New Horizon, things changed. On Earth, humans had allowed their technological evolution to grow one step at the time. Everything was slowly but systematically evolving, for the better and for the sake of advancement. But when they came to New Horizon, certain things took a huge step back. Cities like Avalon felt little change. The capital of New Horizon is as modern as anything ever found on Earth, but cities like Trapper Town did not have the proper equipment to become a modern city to the same extent.

When Trapper Town was first created, people had to use the materials and equipment that they had with them. Any transportation for larger cargoes was at that time not widely available. This is not to mention that raw materials were still hard to come by. Mining had begun, but not to a great enough extent to make a large difference, and only a few companies existed which were able to do something useful with such raw materials. Most of the things that were created went directly to Avalon, Warhead, Xanadu and Glacier Run City, so the rest of the world was still far less advanced.

Nowadays, many towns and cities in the Walk of Man look like something from the old Wild West or worse, but always with a certain touch of high technology. For similar reasons, many places on New Horizon look like something from either the Middle Ages in Europe or the 19th century in the USA. Certain things are state-of-the-art, but most of the rest is simply old and obsolete. New Horizon is much like the old west, if someone had accidentally teleported it into the future.

New Horizon is a world of action and adventure, where people can explore enormous areas from the great heights of the Azuremar Mountains to the dark depths of the Narehlian jungles, from the frozen plains of the Aquilon’s Reach to the lifeless deserts of the Neo Titanian landscape. Adventurers are encouraged to explore every available part of the world, but know that not all places are easily attainable. Trains and planes exist, but only between major cities. Smaller cities and other areas which are more out of the way are usually harder to reach and sometimes even unattainable.

The world also exhibits a somber side. Not all adventures end happily, even if some do. However, some individuals are still humorous enough to sprinkle the world with some rays of happiness.

New Horizon is unique in many ways. Even though it is a science fiction type of world, it creates the feeling of being a fantasy type of world instead, where people are required to run all around the world on foot, explore forests, mountains, caverns and deserts. If it hadn’t been for the wafans and certain technologies, it would have been seen as a fantasy world instead.

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Getting Started

1) Fist, you need to set up a group of players, and one of you would have to volunteer to be the Game Master (GM). Post here if you want to announce that you want to play. The GM can of course start up other threads more suitable to his/her needs. Don’t be afraid to volunteer as a GM. Playing this game is not much unlike playing any D&D game, so if you’ve done that then it won’t be hard for you to run the game as a GM at all.

2) The next step would be character creation. We have a free Starter Guide as PDF at our website which will give you the basics, (and please forgive us for any spelling errors you may find, we will release a new Starter Guide in Q1 of 2012).

However, the fastest way to create a player character is to use this Character Creation website: http://www.newhorizonrpg.com/volt/chara ... /index.php
You need to specify your number of Geodites (New Horizon money) and number of Points (for Attributes, Traits, etc.) This number is usually decided by the GM. If you want the players to be average Joes then I recommend 45,000 Geodites and 45 Points. If you want them to be experienced adventurers, then I recommend 60,000 Geodites and 60 Points.

3) Then the GM must set up a campaign. Learn about the different places of the world from our website. Go to “Planet” and read about the different places where you can play your game. Choose anything from the wild-west inspired Trapper Town to the ice-cold tundra around Glacier Run City or the wild jungles around the Port of Narehl.

Additional RPG materials can be found here: http://www.newhorizonrpg.com/games_rpg.php

The D20 system we use is called Vo|t and it only requires two D20 dice. For forum games we normally use a digital dice which you can find here: http://www.newhorizonrpg.com/volt/index.php

But remember, normally you only need to use Vo|t when you cannot decide fairly the outcome of a battle, or a specific choice or action. However, most encounters can usually be decided without making a dice roll. For this reason, you can choose yourself how to play your game. You can make dice rolls for everything single action in the game or very seldom and only when no other option is available to make a fair decision. The choice is yours!

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So, do you think it would be possible for me to find some test players at these forums?

So, is anyone interested?

Please help out if you can...
And let me know if I did something wrong by asking...

How do you prepare a game for the New Horizon setting?
When you are preparing for a game of New Horizon, first and foremost you need players and a GM. If you do not have these, then go out and kidnap some if you have to. At this point, the players can sit back for a moment and let the GM do the work. If you are the GM of the group you are responsible for deciding the overarching story of the game. This story can be anything that want it to be, and is only limited by your imagination. We all know how hard it is sometimes to come up with an idea for a game, so here are a few pointers.
If you have no idea what story you want, you may get some ideas by checking out the different areas around New Horizon where players may find themselves. Assuming you are familiar with the Campaign Setting Guide, you can chose any place you like. If you aren't familiar with this guide, we will give you a few examples. More information can be found on our site.

Selecting a location
Are you interested in exploring the mountains and caves of the Azuremar Mountain Range, or do you have a soft spot for western styled action? Then you should start your adventure in the Walk of Man, a collection of cities such as the capital city of Trapper Town, Crane Hill, City of Cork, Bleeding Hill or perhaps Red Feather's Rest. Each has a western style with their own unique locations.

If you want to explore the ice cold regions of the north, to feel the harsh bite of the freezing northern wind, and discover the mysteries hidden away in caves, forests and the ice cold tundra, then you can start your adventure in Aquilon's Reach. There is the capital city of Aquilon, buried deep within the ice of the perpetua glacier, the surface city of Glacier Run City, Beloreas Port or any of the Five Towns of Rime Cairn. These cities vary from ultramodern affairs, to places with what seems a blending between Norse and Inuit cultures. All are united by the trials of the frozen land.

If you yearn for jungle adventure, wanting to explore the deepest jungles of the world, finding unknown and perhaps alien ruins, or discovering hidden and amazing treasures, then look into the Narehl Jungle. You could start your adventure in The Port of Narehl, or any of the other jungle towns such as Hermes Drowning, or even Owl City.

Designing Characters
While the GM is designing the adventure, the players are responsible for designing the characters that they will play throughout the course of the game. Some GM's want a party with close connections such as friendship, occupation, or place of residence. Other GM's are open to almost any concept under the sun. When designing a character, it is wise to check with the GM first and see if they have any stipulations. Perhaps your character can have a background event that connects them directly to the adventure the GM is planning, or any other little quirk they think of.

Characters come in all types. They are differentiated by the six races, and further defined by their chosen occupations. There are soldiers, hunters, Knights of Narehl, spies, rogues, assassins, and many more. GM's will set the starting values for characters, giving them a set number of geodites (New Horizon money) and points. A recommendation is 50,000 geodites and 40 points.

Select an adventure for your players, or make one up yourself
You can create different kinds of adventures, e.g. exploring mountains and deep and dark caverns, infiltrating the stronghold of a rogue and former Warhead general, searching out the secret hideout of the Sphecius Assassins, or helping a town protect itself from raids from the crazy Faenorr's or the fearsome and vile Wildways.

Additional Material
A helpful tool for designing characters can be found on the New Horizon site. We have gone to the trouble of designing a character generation tool that takes care of all the legwork. You simply plug in the values you want and it does the rest. http://www.newhorizonrpg.com/volt/charactercreation/index.php
There is a sample adventure available here. . . I would say link to PDF with the Train adventure.
The Website also has more information on the world, the people in it, and the game in general.

Open for input

The Ghost Train

Background: News often travels slow in the Walk of Man once one gets outside the boundaries of the larger cities. Most news comes in the form of rumors brought in by train passengers and hunters returning home after expeditions on the plains. The latest rumors have taken a dark turn. Smaller settlements across the Walk have been found deserted. Most look as if the people just packed up and left. Nothing of value has been left behind, except for the larger permanent buildings. Three towns have disappeared so far with no one left dead or alive, and no one seems to have any clue as to what is going on. Smaller towns are getting scared, and the citizens are arming themselves more than usual against whatever strange events are taking place.

Story: The adventure begins just after the disappearance of a fourth small town. This time there were witnesses. A few people were on their way to the town when they caught sight of an unmarked train. The train itself was an older model, the kind that went out of commission at least fifty years ago. There are no markings on the train, and no sign of a driver. Witnesses claimed the passenger compartments were black as night, and strange smoke billowed out of the wheels. Some witnesses claim that the train wasn't even following the railway.

Where to start: The most likely spot for this adventure to begin is in Trapper Town. Disappearances of this scale always find their way back to the local law enforcement. Players can hear about the disappearances in any number of ways. The rumors are spreading through the town in everyday conversation, with wildly exaggerated stories that run the gamut from attacks by the Rusty Stars to grim stalker. However they find out about the disappearances, the players should eventually make their way to Berrik the local Rail Marshall who will direct them on their way. The two most likely paths to Berrik are talking to Alabaster or Kaleb. Alternatively, the players may just decide to seek out Berrik on their own. See the NPC section for information on these three individuals.

Alabaster: As High Marshall of the Walk of Man, Alabaster is concerned for the safety of his people. These strange disappearances threaten to put people in a panic, something he doesn't need right now since he is already dealing with the everyday issues of enforcing such a large faction and dealing with the Rusty Stars threat. He can be found at the sheriff's office where he will give as much information as he can to anyone willing to help. His information consists mostly of population size and possible armaments in the towns that have disappeared. Alabaster doesn't know what to believe about the rumors of a ghost train and supernatural phenomena. He admits there is a possibility, but would rather see this as the work of criminals. He will eventually send the players to talk to Berrik for more information.

Kaleb: As a former outlaw himself, Kaleb has no doubt in his mind that this is the work of some very clever outlaws. Though he can't guess as to what their overall plan is, he applauds the ruse, and in fact may seem a little envious. Kaleb can be found at Captain Booze's Bar where the local color is constantly discussing the disappearances. Kaleb doesn't have much information beyond what the players can get from Alabaster, but he does mention that there are a lot of old rails out in the foothills that lead to dead towns and mines. He will eventually send the players to talk to Berrik for more information.

Berrik: Berrik lives a few blocks from Captain Booze's Bar, in a house that is entirely decked out in train memorabilia. The front door has a sign taken from an old train depot and the inside is home to a massive model train set that runs through every room in the house. Berrick can be found sitting at a table in an outfit reminiscent of old train conductors back on earth. He is meticulously constructing a new train set. Berrik is a friendly, though socially awkward, individual. He is nervous around females, but can talk forever about anything related to trains. The information he has to give involves the train in question.

There was a project at one time for automated trains, allowing them to be guided by transmitted signals. The project didn't meet with wide success as there were too many variables without linking the entire train network wirelessly. A few of the prototypes were bought by private collectors, and have since disappeared from most people's knowledge. The system can be rigged to take commands from a short wave radio transmission.

As they talk, the conversation should eventually turn toward the towns which have disappeared. At this point, Berrik will point out that his model set is a scale replica of the entire Walk of Man rail system, complete with every rail line that he knows. Examination of the towns that have disappeared shows that they are all within radio range of an abandoned line that leads off into the foothills of the Azuremar mountains.

On The Trail: Players can take the next train and get off a day's trek from the abandoned rail line. The GM is free to change their method of transportation to whatever they wish, and possibly sprinkle in some side adventures along the way. Possible encounters include a run in with ravagers. If the GM feels like throwing in a sign the players are on the right track, the ravagers can be feeding on the remains of settlers from the towns that disappeared.

Whatever happens along the way, the players eventually find themselves at the end of the rail line, or at least the original end. It appears that sometime recently, someone has added new rails and extended the line into the hills. Following the line leads to what appears to be a mining camp. Portable buildings, probably taken from the towns, serve as shelter and living space. The mine looks new, with fresh ore and tracks out front. The Ghost Train is currently absent.

At the mine: If they can stay out of sight, the players will be able to see that the people who disappeared have apparently been chained together and forced to work in the mine. The individuals holding them hostage look like a ragtag band of paramilitary types and rabble-rousers. The GM is free to extend this scene as much as they wish. The more guards they put around the place, the harder things will be for the players. Different areas where encounters may happen include: Narrow streets between the buildings, in areas of new construction with dangerous unfinished work, the mess hall, labor barracks, guard barracks, and the mouth of the mine. There can also be multiple levels in the mine, each with guards watching the workers. Freeing the workers may result in some help for the players.

Ending the Mission: When the Gm wants to end the mission, they simply have the Ghost Train make it's appearance. The train is back from harvesting fresh workers, and brings with it the brains of the operation. The final encounter will likely take place on the train itself, and can vary from in the cars to outside on the ladders or upper railing. The entire operation is masterminded by a vanir by the name of Rykus. If the players manage to stop him without killing him, Rykus confesses that he and his men were once Rusty Stars, but they defected when they found a rich charonium deposit and decided to go into business for themselves. If Rykus is killed, players can find out this information from a different source, such as a soldier or someone's journal.

Rewards: Standard criminal bounty, plus daily wage of 100 geodites, plus a completion bonus of 1,000 geodites.

NPCs: Listing for Alabaster, Kaleb, Berrik, Rykus, Generic Bandits and maybe some of the workers that are willing to fight back if freed.

Monsters: Listing for ravagers

Moving this to the Interest Check thread.

In the future, post these kind of Interest Checks in the proper forum, not in the play-by-post.