Space: 1889
Encyclopedia
Space: 1889 is a role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

 of Victorian-era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 space-faring,
created by Frank Chadwick
Frank Chadwick
Frank Chadwick is a multiple-award–winning game designer and New York Times Best Selling author.-Beginnings:Frank Chadwick, along with Rich Banner and Marc Miller, were members of the Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal Games Club. They used their club funding to design war games...

 and originally published by Game Designers' Workshop
Game Designers' Workshop
Game Designers' Workshop was a wargame and role-playing game publisher from 1973 to 1996. Many of their games are now carried by other publishers.-History:Game Designers' Workshop was originally established June 22, 1973...

 from 1988 to 1991 and later reprinted by Heliograph, Inc. in 2000 and 2001.

The name is both a parody of the television show Space: 1999
Space: 1999
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...

and a continuation of the GDW naming convention applied to two of its previous role-playing games, Twilight: 2000 and Traveller: 2300 (the latter of which was later renamed 2300 AD
2300 AD
2300 AD is a hard science fiction role-playing game created by Game Designers Workshop, originally offered as an alternative to the space opera portrayed by the company's leading science fiction role-playing game, Traveller...

), though neither previous game had any connection to the Space: 1889 universe. The name Space: 1889 is a registered trademark belonging to Chadwick.

Setting

The game presented an alternate history in which certain discredited Victorian scientific theories were instead provable and have led to the existence of new technologies. In the setting, Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...

 invented an "ether
Aether (classical element)
According to ancient and medieval science aether , also spelled æther or ether, is the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere.-Mythological origins:...

 propeller" which could propel ships through the "luminiferous aether
Luminiferous aether
In the late 19th century, luminiferous aether or ether, meaning light-bearing aether, was the term used to describe a medium for the propagation of light....

" (the universal medium that permeates space, based on a now outdated scientific theory), and traveled to Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

 in 1870 accompanied by Scottish soldier of fortune
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...

 Jack Armstrong, where they discovered that the planet was inhabited. By the time of the game's setting in 1889, the great power
Great power
A great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength and diplomatic and cultural influence which may cause small powers to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions...

s have used Edison’s invention to extend their colonies and interests to the inner planets of the solar system. Venus and Mars have been colonised by Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia, Belgium (Mars only), and Italy (Venus only), whilst Japan and the USA maintain economic and scientific enclaves on Mars. There are no colonies or bases on the Moon. Only Great Britain maintains a (scientific) base on Mercury.

The inner planets reflect an evolutionary progression, the planets nearest to the sun being younger than those farther out. All planets have life, and most bear native sentient species. Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...

 is primeval, tide locked and possesses only rudimentary lifeforms. Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...

 is a vast swamp world dominated by hulking reptiles and lizard men. The Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

 is an airless dead world, but with mysteries hidden deep beneath the surface. Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

 is an ancient desert planet in decline, divided into warring decadent city-states clinging to a failing system of canals. Vulcan
Vulcan (hypothetical planet)
Vulcan was a small planet proposed to exist in an orbit between Mercury and the Sun. In an attempt to explain peculiarities of Mercury's orbit, in the 19th-century French mathematician Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier hypothesized that they were the result of another planet, which he named Vulcan...

 has died and become the asteroid belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...

. Due to limitations in technology the outer worlds remain unreachable and unexplored. There are also hints that some worlds may have terrain hidden beneath their surface.

One of the treasures that spurred the Europeans to Mars was "liftwood": a rare cultivated plant with anti-gravity
Anti-gravity
Anti-gravity is the idea of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to balancing the force of gravity with some other force, such as electromagnetism or aerodynamic lift...

 properties that allowed for the construction of giant floating ships. While the Earthers used Martian
Martian
As an adjective, the term martian is used to describe anything pertaining to the planet Mars.However, a Martian is more usually a hypothetical or fictional native inhabitant of the planet Mars. Historically, life on Mars has often been hypothesized, although there is currently no solid evidence of...

 sky galleons at first, they later constructed their own armored, steam powered
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

 flyers.

Since wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...

 was not invented yet in 1889, communication between Earth and Mars is handled by orbital heliograph
Heliograph
A heliograph is a wireless solar telegraph that signals by flashes of sunlight reflected by a mirror. The flashes are produced by momentarily pivoting the mirror, or by interrupting the beam with a shutter...

 stations.
The game contains much more detail on the flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...

, fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

, and peoples of the planets. The majority of the published material is centred on Mars.

Publications

  • Space: 1889 by Frank Chadwick. The core rulebook for the role-playing game.
  • Tales from the Ether (ed) Frank Chadwick and Loren Wiseman. Five adventures set on the planets and the British orbital heliograph station.
  • More Tales from the Ether (ed) Frank Chadwick and Loren Wiseman. More short adventures on Mars and Venus.
  • Beastmen of Mars by Lester Smith. A campaign dealing with debased Martians, liftwood, and some mysteries of the planets.
  • Canal Priests of Mars by Marcus Rowland. A campaign that begins on the Earth, includes a voyage by ether liner to Mars, and concludes with a twist ending. The published version cut about a third of the author’s manuscript; Heliograph finally published the complete adventure as a PDF in July 2009, with a printed version to follow in August 2009. The Complete Canal Priests of Mars restores all of the original text and has new illustrations throughout.
  • Steppelords of Mars by John Theisen. Source book on Hill Martian tribe
    Tribe
    A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...

    s.
  • Caravans of Mars by Ed Andrews. Source book on Martian caravan
    Convoy
    A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

    s and merchant
    Merchant
    A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...

    s.
  • Cloud Captains of Mars by Frank Chadwick. Details on the sky pirates and privateers of Mars.
  • Conklin’s Atlas and Handy Manual of the Worlds by Frank Chadwick. A gazetteer to the planets, including maps and information on Earth.
  • Soldier’s Companion by Frank Chadwick. Rules for colonial ground warfare using miniatures, including detailed army lists, as well as rules for tripods and land juggernauts.
  • Ironclads and Ether Flyers by Frank Chadwick. Rules for surface naval combat, including detailed information about Earth’s navies and flyers. The rules are a simplified version of Sky Galleons of Mars (see below).
  • The Liftwood conspiracy (published under license by 3W) Scenario involving liftwood poaching, and the bestial High Martians.
  • GDW's house magazine (Challenge) also contained material for the game.
  • Heliograph's magazine Transactions of the Royal Martian Geographical Society provided additional game material.
  • Space 1889: Red Sands A Savage Worlds
    Savage Worlds
    Savage Worlds is an award-winning, universal generic, role-playing game and miniatures wargame, written by Shane Lacy Hensley, and published by Great White Games doing business as Pinnacle Entertainment Group...

     Plot Point Campaign to be published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group as a full-color hardback. The campaign "pits a desperate band of heroes against the Inner Circle of the Brotherhood of Luxor. The Brotherhood, led by the mysterious Kronos, King of the Titans, plots to bring about the end of all worlds." The expected release date is October, 2010, with a Gen Con debut in August.
  • Space 1889 & Beyond - a new, fully licensed series of eBooks, will be launched in June 2011, from Untreed Reads Publishing. This new series will be spearheaded by Andy Frankham-Allen, who wrote for the short lived audio drama series produced by Noise Monster Productions in 2005/6.

Boxed games

  • Sky Galleons of Mars
    Sky Galleons of Mars
    Sky Galleons of Mars is a board wargame designed by Frank Chadwick, Marc W. Miller and Loren Wiseman, published in 1988 by Game Designers' Workshop. It is set in an alternate Victorian Era where the major nations of Earth are extending their colonial interests on Mars and Venus...

    : Boxed game of aerial combat on Mars. It included large scale maps, ship miniatures, and rules.
  • Cloudships and Gunboats: Role playing game supplement with mini-scale deckplans, cardstock miniatures, rules, and ship diagrams.
  • Temple of the Beastmen: Boxed modular board game which never plays the same way twice.

Heliograph reprinted the rules portions of Sky Galleons of Mars and Cloudships and Gunboats, but did not reprint the boxed games themselves.

Miniatures

GDW released a range of 25mm miniatures sculpted by Bob Murch of RAFM. These sets were collectively called Adversaries, and included Soldiers of the Queen (a "company" of 20 British infantry), Legions of Mars (a warband of 20 Martians), Kraag Warriors (20 High Martians, 10 each flying and walking), and Victorian Adventurers (10 diverse personalities, as seen in Temple of the Beastmen).

All of these miniatures are currently available directly from RAFM, although the composition of the Victorian Adventurers set has changed. In 2002, RAFM released Martian colonial infantry, cavalry & artillery crew, as well as new gashants (a Martian cavalry mount), Hill Martians and Canal Martians.

On 1/25/08 RAFM opened a forum to discuss expanding their 1889 line of miniatures. You can view the forum here: http://www.rafm.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro

Computer Game

A computer game adaptation by the same name
Space: 1889 (computer game)
Space: 1889 is a computer game developed by Paragon Software in 1990 for the PC/MS-DOS.-Plot:Space: 1889 a science-fiction role-playing adventure based on the Space: 1889 role-playing game by Game Designers' Workshop...

 was also released in 1990 at the height of the game's popularity. It was developed by frequent GDW licensee Paragon
Paragon Software Corporation
Paragon Software Corporation or just Paragon Software was a video games developer that was founded in 1985 by Mark E. Seremet and Antony Davies. Paragon released its first game in 1987 and is primarily known for their work on CRPGs based on Marvel Comics franchises and GDW role-playing settings...

 for the Amiga, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...

 and PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...

 platforms.

Audio dramas

In 2005/06, Noise Monster Productions, run by Big Finish
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...

 stalwart John Ainsworth, released four full-cast audio adventures
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...

 on CD. These were produced under exclusive license from Frank Chadwick
Frank Chadwick
Frank Chadwick is a multiple-award–winning game designer and New York Times Best Selling author.-Beginnings:Frank Chadwick, along with Rich Banner and Marc Miller, were members of the Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal Games Club. They used their club funding to design war games...

. The first three released stories are now commonly referred to as The Mars Trilogy, and the fourth release The Lunar Inheritance is a stand-alone tale. Each was released on a single CD with a running time of approximately 70 minutes.

As of 2006 the stories released have been:
  • Red Devils by Jonathan Clements
    Jonathan Clements
    Jonathan Clements is a British author and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Koxinga and Qin Shihuangdi , as well as monthly opinion columns for Neo magazine...

  • The Steppes of Thoth by James Swallow
    James Swallow
    James Swallow is a British author and scriptwriter. He is the author of several original books and tie-in novels, as well as numerous audio dramas and videogames....

  • The Siege of Alclyon by Marc Platt
    Marc Platt
    Marc Platt is a British writer. He is most known for his work with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC...

  • The Lunar Inheritance by Andy Frankham-Allen & Richard Dinnick
    Richard Dinnick
    Richard Dinnick is a British writer, who has written for many media including novels, audio dramas, short stories and comic strips. He works in the science-fiction, fantasy and thriller genres. He has written for several SF franchises including Doctor Who, Stargate, Sapphire & Steel and Space 1889...


eBooks

In September 2011, Untreed Reads Publishing launched a new series of eBooks called "Space: 1889 & Beyond", edited by Andy Frankham-Allen. The first series is based, loosely, on the gaming book Tales from the Ether and introduces the key concepts of the series; the characters, the setting, the aether, the planets, and the politics. The first series is due to run until December 2011, with a possible second series in 2012.
The stories of series one are:
  • Journey to the Heart of Luna by Andy Frankham-Allen
  • Vandals on Venus by K.G. McAbee
  • The Ghosts of Mercury by Mark Michalowski
    Mark Michalowski
    Mark Michalowski is the editor of Shout!, "Yorkshire's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender paper", as well as being an author best known for his work writing spin-offs based on the BBC Television series Doctor Who...

  • Abattoir in the Aether by L. Joseph Shosty
  • A Prince of Mars by Frank Chadwick
    Frank Chadwick
    Frank Chadwick is a multiple-award–winning game designer and New York Times Best Selling author.-Beginnings:Frank Chadwick, along with Rich Banner and Marc Miller, were members of the Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal Games Club. They used their club funding to design war games...

  • The Dark Side of Luna by J.T. Wilson

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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