Andromeda 2500 Sci Fi RPG Game Books
Andromeda 2500 Book 1: Character Generation
The Character Generation book explains all the relevant aspects needed to play games as a character in the Andromeda 2500 Sci Fi RPG and provides rules and guidelines to generate your own.
Highlights
- 5 Character Races
- 12 Character Attributes
- 4 Special Ability Categories
- Over 250 Abilities, Enhancements & Implants
- Over 120 Skills
- Over 220 Weapon & Equipment Items
- Contains significant details on life in the year 2500 & the Andromeda 2500 game world
Available Online
Andromeda 2500 Book 2: Combat
The Combat book details all combat and non-combat rules, various technical aspects of the game, game play, and other specific guidelines designed to assist you during play.
Highlights
Part 1: The Player’s Section
- Game Mechanics Combat Rules (individual & Vehicle) Technology of the Year 2500
Part 2: The Game Master’s Section
- Over 20 Pages of Situational Rules & Guidelines
- Robots, Androids, and NPCs
- Almost 50 Pages of Animals, Aliens, & Local Space Data
- Almost 50 Pages of Adventure Rules & Encounter Tables (Including a Random Adventure Generator)
Available Online
Table Top Sci Fi RPG Genesis
Game Origins - Sci Fi RPG v1.0
In the mid to late 1980s, my friends and I were avid tabe top gamers and we would always find flaws with most games that we tried. I would inevitably write supplemental rules or modifications to improve them or just make adjustments while running adventures that began to become common and recurring in nature. By the end of of the 80's, we decided to create our own game - it was called Warzone 2050. Characters with powers and guns in a not too distant Earth, a quasi-sci fi hack and slash special. We played it for years and it grew over time and absorbed some concepts from another friend (James Steimle) and moved way into the future and far, far away. A manuscript of Warzone 2500 was copyrighted in 1993. Authors listed: James Earwicker with John Fee and Steve D.
Game Completion
Several years later in college I still continued to work on the game, but it had grown into a large project and what interested me was the game world that had taken shape - a lot more science and a lot more fiction had been added. The more time I spent exploring the events that would lead to a plausible exit for humanity from Earth to the Andromeda galaxy, the more intrigued I became in the story line. Most of what was left was detailed and tedious work on rules and filling in descriptions for numerous things in both books. I started to write a novel, like everyone else in the world (after all I was a Physics and English major). Before I got very far I had a chance meeting in the early 2000s with David Brin. We had a memorable (for me anyway) conversation at his house where he advised me to finish the game before I bothered with the novel, which he predicted would occupy 10 years of pain and suffering for me. So, I did, in about 18 months. Copyright updated in 2001 officially as Andromeda 2500.
Testing and Publication
After the game was completed in late 2002 it went through a year of testing locally and editing with the publisher. I was working full time, had 2 small children and was doing everything by myself with the game at this time. Many thanks to everyone who play-tested the game and particularly Seth Bradley who provided a lot of guidance. A local college student, Charles Burggraf, at UC Santa Barbara was able to help me out greatly with numerous illustrations over months at a time - I needed to break up the over 400 pages of text in the two books as well as provide some visuals for the characters. The books were set to be done in time for our big reveal at Comic-Con in 2004, but unfortunately the publisher did not have them completed in time. Which is too bad, because interest at Comic-Con was high. David Brin even stopped by our booth to wish us luck since he was presenting at a panel during the conference.
After the game was published in 2004 I asked RPG.net to review it (mistake) and that guy hated it, and me for some reason. I think he lost sight of the fact that I was just trying to publish a game by myself that my friends and I enjoyed when we were younger. To be honest, everyone that I have communicated with directly has enjoyed the game world and liked playing it - and that is all I ever wanted.
This is the typical comment I received via email and the web the last time this site was up (I've been busy the last few years):
“It’s one of the first SciFi RPG's I have seen that is interesting and fun...I love the system and set up. We just started a campaign and the people in our group love it.” - Adam, Montana
I hope you give the game a try and enjoy some time with your friends playing it.
- James