You ever have an idea that you just can’t get out of your head? That’s the way it is with me on the idea for a Gonzo Space Opera campaign. I just can’t seem to shake this and it keeps coming back into my little brain and bouncing around. Sort of a mix of Farscape, Lexx, Heavy Metal, Firefly, Fifth Element, Dune, and Star Wars thrown into a blender and seasoned with other nifty ideas.
What I want is something cool, weird and just a bit crazy. Heck, an average party just might look something like this:

And they just might end up fighting a bunch of guys sort of like this:

I want a game that is simple and gritty but still cinematic. Basically, I want the threat of character death there but not so much that the players won’t be scarred to do crazy, outlandish, and cool stuff. I want starship combat to simple and not like a whole separate war game. I don’t want characters to have to min-max in order to fly or participate in shit-to-ship combat. I want an easy way to have just about any kind of alien race that a player can imagine (within reason). I’ve thought about this and have been scribbling down random notes at lunchtime in a little notebook. So here’s the rules that have made the final cut.
1. An OSR Hack: Start off with Machinations of the Space Princess mix in some Hulks & Horrors and generous dose of little bits from other retro-clones. Make it simple and easy. An interesting thought about this option is that there is so much OSR stuff out there that with just a little bit tweaking could go from fantasy to far out space opera. Plus many players are already familiar with the basic mechanics.
2. D6: Really, who doesn’t have some good memories of the first Star Wars RPG by West End Games? Heck, there’s still thriving fan base for the system. I don’t why there isn’t more love about this system. I don’t know maybe it still has to do with the flaming wreckage caused during the death throws of West End Games. I’d probably start off with Antipaladin Games Mini-Six and work from there using the freely available supplements and source books.
3. Savage Worlds: Yes, I love me some Savage Worlds but the folks of my gaming group aren’t that fond of it No biggie. It’s still an option in my head. I don’t have the new SciFi Companion yet (plan on getting it when it hit the shelves of my FLGS) but I still have the old Tool Kits. I probably simplify a few things here and there and start with Daring Tales of the Space Lanes as starting point to throw things together. I grabbed some of the freebies when it first came out and like it.
4. HardNova 2: I’ll admit that I don’t know enough about HardNova 2. But as I did numerous web searches it kept coming up and always in a positive light. This got me thinking seriously about the game. And bonus a new revised and expanded edition is coming out soon. While it may be a new set of rules for many, it still sounds simple and easy to learn.
So those are my thoughts. Tell me your opinions, oh Great and Powerful Internet.