"Space: 1909 or Space: 1939???" Topic

Weird War stuff really isn't my thing, nor is Victorian Sci-fi but I'm curious. Has anyone taken the Space:1889 setting and moved it forward to WWI or WWII? Martian soldiers fighting for the Kaiser? Rommel leading panzers on Mars?

Just wondering…

There were a few articles in either Heliograph's TRGMS or GDW's old Challenge mag concerning that subject, IIRC.

You buy the figures and put on the game, I will play.
Heck, you can even borrow any FoW units I have if needed.

Not the 1889 setting, but some friends and I made a few abortive attempts at doing some War of the Worlds 2 gaming, with the Axis allied to a second Martian invasion force, one that had innoculated themselves and weren't such pushovers. Landed in 1938, as Orson Welles told us all, but that also kicked off the war. The eventual plan was to do an Allied Earth Expeditionary Force striking back at Mars in 1949 or so, but as often happens with group projects, it fizzled before then.

Hard Vacuum from Fat Messiah Games is all about alt-WW2 space combat between the Earth powers in orbit and on the Moon. Worth a look – they had some neat ideas, including a great vector movement system and real differentiation between different countries' technology.

Harry Turtledove's "Lizards" books would be good inspiration, if you can get past his writing. Great ideas, miserable… Oh, I have written enough about this.

What the OFM said, great ideas bad execution.

On the topic at bar, I plan to run my VSF Venus games as being set a bit later as in early 20th century or that WW I starts earlier. So more of an Edwardian Science Fiction if you will. But again the OFM has it spot on you set up the game they will come.

Majestic 12's Iron Stars is Edwardian scifi spaceship combat, set following the HG Wells' Martian invasion.

A little known fact of history – After a successful campaign in Crete, 7th Flieger Division was diverted from the active fronts in Europe to launch a surprise attack on British forces on the moon, in operation Saturn.

The moon's lower gravity allowed for the fallschirmjager to jump with body armour and heavy weapons, including light 10.5cm field howitzers.

Taking the British garrison unawares, the fallschirmjager were able to take control of the moonbase in the Sea of Tranquility after a short but desperate struggle.

Those extra heavy weapons became critical to the battle, since the space stuka was something of a failure for the Luftwaffe, being unable to dive with any precision in the non-existant atmosphere of the moon. However the new Hannebu-I combat support craft were first used during the invasion, and proved invaluable platforms for mass parachute drops over the lunar surface.

The Axis lunar expedition retained control of the moonbase for the duration of WW2, but was largely ineffective because of difficulties in establishing reliable communications with Vrill command in Neu Schwabenland.

The german paras – still occupying the moonbase eventually surrendered to the Russians in 1949, as part of the secretive Potsdam technology transfer agreement.

There is quite a wealth of information available on this campaign in archival records … but its just somewhat unfortunate that mainstream media (such as The History Channel) fail to cover this important campaign in any significant detail.

Paul Westmeyer wrote an article entitled "The Great War on Mars". Very good stuff and something I'm working towards gaming.

I like the way you used 1909 as the possible date for the Great War – I've often thought of how likely things would accelerate the time line towards war, and the additional flash points of the Scramble for Mars point to this.

Regards,
Keith F.

Steve64 wrote:
<…but its just somewhat unfortunate that mainstream media (such as The History Channel) fail to cover this important campaign in any significant detail.>

In all honesty, having watched some of their content, I am amazed they have not.

… but its just somewhat unfortunate that mainstream media (such as The History Channel) fail to cover this important campaign in any significant detail.

That's because they're too busy covering Pawn Kings and Ice Truckers…

My personal project is SPACE:1959 with 60's era British kit, taking on treen on Venus, Martians on Mars (Wellsian ones) etc.

Have a look at the graphic novel series by Ian Edginton and D'Israeli:

War of the Worlds
Scarlet Traces
Scarlet Traces: The Great Game

It goes from classic War of the Worlds up to 40s.

Also

"Ministry of Space" by Warren Ellis – British space program after WW2.

Second the recommendation for Hard Vacuum.

I toyed with a project of 'Space 1745' -a trick to:
- have efficient dirigibles ('Lacepunk' link / link , if The OFM does not object ):
YouTube link

- use Bronze Age and Tin Man 'NOT-Barsoomian' minis (and possibly Shadowforge 'Tribals' and Maidenhead 'Babes that Time Forgot')
with human War of Austrian 'quasi-historical' small expeditionary forces, without changing the nature of warfare on Earth….

Aliens in the twentieth century have usually been dirty little secrets or powers behind the scenes.

Hard Space, Iron Stars, Leviathans are all flying suggestions, but the thread is definitely started with gropos in mind.

While I think I've seen several home brew attempts with various rule systems (wasn't there a Martian FoW somewhere?), I have this weird feeling A Very British Civil War might make a good start.

Also, I'll be doing some searches on Lead Adventure Forum; this whole thing has started an inch in my brain as if a bit of deja vu.

if The OFM does not object

Aerial porcine units in sight?

Doug

wasn't there a Martian FoW somewhere?

There was (and probably still is) one on the company site as a free download, but it was more campy 1950's style little green men with saucers and death rays tahn an extension of Victorian memes.

One idea I was kicking around was the success of the 'Philadelphia' experiment in teleportation. So, you send a rocket to the Moon or Mars, it sets up a transmat grid, you teleport troops and supplies, establish a VietNam-style artillery/special forces/support base and expand from there. Altering WWII tanks and infantry for the Moon&Mars would be easy-assume a rare-ifed atmosphere, kitbash figures in winter clothing and gas masks for respirators. Take a Pz II, put a PzI turret where the cupola is, mount nebelwufer rockets where the side turret doors are and change the 50mm gun into a particle accelerator or a 60mm rocket assisted HVMS. You can trick out other vehicles similarly. Now you can destroy that alien staging area on Luna or fight over the ruins of Mars.
And don't forget the girls with guns.

And don't forget the girls with guns.

And preferably not much more: