HYPERLANES provides the tools you need to play action-packed science fiction games using the latest, lightest edition of D&D.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Constructing Species in HYPERLANES
almost 10 years ago
– Tue, Dec 13, 2016 at 08:06:49 PM
Races, which we refer to as Species, serve as an important way to give sci-fi flavor to a character. While being a human is still a great way to blend in and work within the established systems, playing an alien, robot, or android can really be a blast. It can be a truly rewarding experience to cast your mind into a totally alien mindset, and unusual beings are a staple of the genre.
In some ways we’ve done more with Species than D&D does at core with Races. Instead of laying out sets of Races for play, along with a few sub-races for a handful of more elaborate peoples, we provide a system for designing Species yourself.
A Species is a combination of a physiology, such as Avian or Cephalopoid, and a culture, such as Spiritual, Tech-savvy, or Psychic. So, you can end up with groups that are interesting and sometimes contradictory combinations like Ruthless Amphibians and Honorable Fungoids.
We’ll be using a similar system, that’s still in development, for allowing robots and other synthetic beings as playable characters. They’ll have all kinds of idiosyncratic elements in a galaxy filled with other technologies as well as innovative technologists. Expect to be able to upgrade, self-repair, and self-modify. Expect to get hacked and stunned by anti-robot weaponry. And don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of example species already fleshed out and ready to plop down into your campaign as needed. If you’re bringing in new players with little experience and you’re concerned about letting them design something like a Species, you can just show them the examples and you’re good to go.
We think that with this more modular, trusting system for Races as Species that DMs will be able to have a greater hand in their setting and players will have more fun portraying non-humans characters.
A Little Class
almost 10 years ago
– Fri, Dec 09, 2016 at 11:07:07 PM
One of the first things we thought about when designing HYPERLANES was how we’d adapt classes over. Races and backgounds are fairly straight forward, but with D&D’s heavy emphasis on magical power and melee combat we needed to really think out how we’d be dealing with character class.
After coming up with our Gambit system we had the core of how to adapt the magic. We decided we wanted to rely heavily on existing knowledge of power balance, so we’d be changing over existing classes into the HYPERLANES framework. However there was no need to go so far as to create a sci-fi version of literally every class, particularly since some classes are in many ways thematically altered versions of other classes, such as with druid/cleric and ranger/paladin.
Here are our core classes. You’ll notice there’s not much of an equivalent of a Star Wars Jedi/Sith. That’s partially because those kinds of supernaturally focused characters fall better within the lines of fantasy. We’ll have a section in the book for mystical characters, but it will be essentially a set of slight alterations to D&D classes to make them work. For instance, oaths for following the Light and the Darkness will be provided, as ways of allowing Paladins to serve as mystical space-age knights.
Ambassador. Based on the bard class. The face of the party, skilled at social maneuvering of all kinds. Diplomats, rabble rousers, concubines, and lying scoundrels all fit the bill. Archetypes: Con Artist, Entertainer, Provocateur.
Genius. Built on the wizard class. Specialists in one area of intellectual pursuit, but capable of exploring all manner of Gambits. Archetypes: Engineer, Doctor, Splicer (computer hacker), Tactician.
Muscle. Adapted from the fighter class. Those who like to face their foes head on and close up. Some use elegance and speed; others brute force and intimidation. Archetypes: Duelist, Martial Artist, Thug.
Pilot. Crafted using the sorcerer class. Adventurers skilled behind the yoke of a starship or other flying vehicle; particularly adept at taking a rote set of maneuvers and twisting them to fit the conditions they find in the heat of battle. Archetypes: Ace, Racer, Smuggler.
Soldier. Utilizing the mechanics of the cleric class. Fearsome warriors who draw upon their experience and training to command the battlefield. Archetypes: Commando, Medic, Scout.
Sneak Preview: The Outlaw Class
almost 10 years ago
– Tue, Dec 06, 2016 at 06:07:26 AM
First off, thanks to everyone who's pledged so far. We're only a few days in and already making headway towards our goal!
We've gone ahead and put together a little preview of the Outlaw class. Outlaw is the HYPERLANES version of the Rogue from D&D. At its core it's pretty similar. Things start to diverge at we look at archetypes. From the fearsome Bounty Hunter to the deadly Gunslinger and the cunning Saboteur, Outlaw runs the gamut from mere scoundrel to political dissident. What unifies the class is its constant need to work outside the order of the galaxy, breaking rules and noses along the way.
If you'd like to have a look you'll find the preview here:
Chases, Crashes, and Dogfights
almost 10 years ago
– Sat, Dec 03, 2016 at 02:59:47 PM
Cinematic sci-fi gaming has need for one important element missing in D&D: teamwork-based vehicles rules. This has been central to our design so far, in that we knew that players were going to want to have use of their special powers when in space or chasing each other down on flying motorcycles.
So, the first thing we did was account for a large vehicular scale in much of the language of the class abilities. While some powers only affect a certain specific distance, others are measured in more abstract “squares”. We did the same when we designed the over 200 Gambits, designating which could be used in personal combat, which in vehicular combat, and which in both. We’ve found ways to get quite a few to work in both. In this way we’ve made sure that most characters have a chance at being crafted to take to the stars, wreaking havoc behind the controls of a ship weapon or when commanding the bridge of a starship.
For those who don’t opt to grab up such abilities, we’re having battle stations themselves convey a power or two for characters to take advantage of. Simply fumbling at the controls is boring; we want everyone to have a chance at helping out in some interesting way depending on the role they’ve chosen to take up.
Just as critical, we’ve begun the task of creating rules for vehicles themselves. We want the opportunity for specialization and high level tactics, but we also want fights to move fast without being bogged down by too many systems. We want player characters to be able to shoot down enemy ships dramatically, but not lose their own ships to a single stray laser bolt. We want vehicles to feel like they have momentum as they move, but we don’t want DMs to need massive grid maps to account for all the movement and maneuvering going on.
These are all careful balancing acts and to be honest they’re the part of the rules we’re still tinkering with. This is the heart of the genre and we need to get it just right.
The Challenges of Converting Rules
almost 10 years ago
– Fri, Dec 02, 2016 at 03:30:39 PM
The rules found in your Player’s Handbook, or more accurately for us the D&D SRD, are relatively light. Relatively is the operative word here. D&D 5e could hardly be confused with a rules light story game. But the edition does emphasize simplicity in many important ways, such as by introducing the Advantage/Disadvantage system and assuming the “theatre of the mind” style of play. While D&D is pretty easy to work with these days, that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges with converting it to a difference genre.
Yesterday we talked about how we’re replacing spells, a core element of the D&D Class system, with Gambits. Gambits don’t just fill the same niche within the rules. They actually simplify the game in some ways. While spells tend to be lengthy, requiring the spellcaster to have the spell’s page open and already studied, Gambits are simple. We’ve written them to be 2 or 3 sentences long at the most, with elegant effects that are easy to understand. In this way players can usually remember what their Gambits do, they can jot down the basics on their character sheets, and they can even get Gambit cards we’re providing in this Kickstarter.
Simplicity is important because we want adventures in HYPERLANES to go as fast as the movies, comics, and shows they’re based on. No stopping in the middle of combat to look up the specific effects of that spell. Let’s have our sci-fi adventure games slam to life with quick resolutions and creative application of Gambits. Let’s have shining moments where characters get to do their thing and take center stage with a minimum of fuss. You’ll see this imperative in the Gambits system. You’ll also see it in the simple ways we design monsters and enemies. Simplicity is key to keeping things light and fast.
Character creation in general is a major topic when it comes to conversion. For instance, where D&D has characters each built with a Race which provides innate abilities, stat bonuses, and culturally supplied proficiencies, HYPERLANES works to build something bigger. As a generic system made to accommodate all sorts of settings, we’ve gone ahead and made a modular system for Species design. The DM, or a trustworthy player, can mix and match cultures with physiologies to craft an all new Species. It’s easy, fun, and works to allow nearly any setting to be converted into the system.
Our challenge is to adjust the existing rules base to cover the different needs inherent to sci-fi without layering on new systems that obscure the beauty of the original system. As a general purpose tool, HYPERLANES needs to be accommodating to multiple potential settings, but still identifiable as D&D at its heart.
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