Aurora, a new table-top hard science RPGhttp://www.auroragames.com
With many games out there one might ask what makes Aurora different from any other (hard or soft) science-fiction roleplaying game out there?
One you have probably not ever heard of Aurora. Outside of that we have a few answers, listed below.
System mechanics: The Failure Dice system is a radical departure from other task-resolution systems. Players have a much better grip on their characters, since the system removes the sheer luck (good or bad) factor for simple tasks when a character has a high skill, and they can decide when they want to take risks. It provides more than a modicum of control over dramatic moments (as opposed to relying on an "open-ended" dice system that always
seems to give exceptional results at the most inopportune time).
The Hammer and Hammer Immunity: The Hammer provides an interesting social and political backdrop against which to set games, but such a time of chaos is not particularly unique. Hammer Immunity is much more significant. Player characters are unique and special and are still "normal" people, rather than superbeings. Players can design characters who may have had very different lives before discovering they were HI (former housewife, game show
host, plumber), or maybe they continue in their old profession (military, spaceship crew, social or scientific expert) but in a much more exciting world. In theory the Hammer is dispensable, so if you want to play in a universe where the Hammer never happened, you can. But we think it provides an interesting game background and focus for greater flexibility in character creation, and thus better role-play.
Real Science: There are many games on the market (past and present) that have claimed to be "hard science," but they usually have varying claim to the title. We think Aurora goes well beyond any other "hard science" game out there because of the thoroughness of research, as well as the wealth of experience and education in our pool of authors and consultants. Most other games have based all their "hard science" around computer science or
physics, and while we respect the heck out of those games, there are other sciences! Aurora explores other areas of science, areas that you will not find discussed elsewhere in such depth: biochemistry, anatomy, archaeology, sociology, cultural development, language theory. And while we have had to invent many things (this is a work of fiction after all), we have done our best to ensure that everything in the book is plausible.
Aliens and Society: While it is impossible to declare any alien species "better" than another from a player preference point of view, we think that we have made some of the "best" alien species every presented in a role-playing game. These species have all been developed with unprecedented detail. They are all as alien as we can make them, not just in biology, but also society and culture. In fact, they are sufficiently alien that they might
frighten away some less intrepid role-players, though for those people who love exploring new species, they are a delight!
We suggest that beginning role-players stick to the humans and Xor-Nast. More experienced role-players can try their hand at the Jeotsu, A'wahch, or Uhrmina (who all have very different biology or psychology). Only the most experience players and GMs should probably attempt the Milrolk. The difficulty of playing any given species is based on the degrees of difference in its psychology, physiology, lifestyle, motivations, and global interactions from
humans.
We have also found that gamers who have grown a bit cynical about many of the more "popular" RPGs may be attracted to Aurora. Its emphasis on "real world" style play, set in a future world of aliens and advanced science, can be very appealing. Also, Aurora is not a system where "twinks" can easily prevail: the system lacks the +12 hackmasters all to common in other games.
We have made a firm commitment to avoid the source-book one-upmanship that infests many other games, where each supplement (army book, clan book… colloquially known as "splatbooks") trumps all that came before it, introducing ever more power gear, skills, and weapons. Aurora wants to be grounded in reality, and that implies continuity, not a crass attempt to sell more books by promising to make characters tougher. Play smart, not twinky.
You can read more about the rules or purchase a copy on the Aurora Games web site.
http://www.auroragames.com
Thank your for your time and attention.
xor (on behalf of the rest of the Aurora development team)
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Is that a fulltime calendar or a part-time one? I imagine a lot of the development went on while everyone had jobs and lives to maintain, right?