Monday 6 July 2015

The Decline of Overhouse August


Once a bustling bastion of Overhouse August order in the outer galactic arm, System G33 is now decrepit, abandoned and irrelevant enough to only be known by its solar identification code. Deprived of employment outside of fungal farming and platinum mining, citizens of ambition's only recourse is recruitment to the House Council. Once employed to either House Cog, Spark or Regul agents are tasked with maintaining the Augustan Peace for the meagre population of G33. Tasks are assigned from the decaying and dusty House Council space station, where teams are drawn and combined from each house. While animosity sparking from House loyalty is common, individual bonds formed on combined House missions keep the Council Houses from open conflict. The fear of disapproval and disgrace from the Golden Overhouse August also stifles the emboldenment  of any singular Underhouse. 

Overhouse August extracted itself from the system generations ago, taking with them the plasma fuel required for interstellar travel.  The last recorded visit of an Augustan Emperor (the name for any agent of Overouse August) was decades ago. Regardless, the gold plated Overhouse August station on the outskirts of G33 is dutifully maintained in the hope of an Emperors return. Such an event could help bring the end of  the system's isolation and decline. 

"The Decline of House August" is my bizarro Star Wars campaign. I'm currently using the White Star ruleset because it's dead simple and written more or less exactly how I would transpose Star Wars into a D&D chassis. It's also simple enough to easily chop, change and modulate as many GM's are want to do. These Hungarian Star Wars posters are quite influential to the campaign:



Campaign Rules: Players may create a character using the following classes from White Star rulebook: Mercenary (House Regul Guard), Bureaucrat (House Spark Special Agent) or Pilot (House Cog Engineer). No other classes are currently allowed.  All players begin on the G33 Council Spacestation assuming to have gone through basic training and been rewarded their initial 3d6 x 10 credits recruitment bonus. Equipment and transport required for House Council jobs are provided for duration of said mission. Credits rewarded for completion of House Council missions also grant Experience Points.

Overhouse Augustan Law: Under the enlightened and glorious rule of House August the galaxy has experienced untold aeons of peace, justice and bounty. All citizens of advised to follow the following precepts with the utmost solemnity:

  • Overhouse August is to be your light, guidance and protector. The goodness of Overhouse August fuels your nearest Solar Body. Give daily praise to the Overhouse. 
  • Magic, Sorcery or Psychic Ability of any kind is to be avoided, cleansed and destroyed. Citizens experiencing such things should notify their nearest House Agent. 
  • Non Human Sentient beings are the harbingers of disorder, disarray and disharmony. All Non Human Sentient beings are outlawed. Also outlawed is the communication, sighting, hearing, touching or sensical interaction with such beings by any and all citizens. 
  • Non Human Sentient beings do not exist - citizens should report rumours of their re-existence immediately to their nearest House Agent. 
An Overhouse August Emperor Agent.

The House Council: Made up of the bickering Underhouses left waiting for the return of Overhouse August, the following groups maintain order in the G33 system. Players elect to join one of these three houses when they create a character.

Loyalty to one's house is expected: Overhouse edict states that House agents may only be paid, equipped and rewarded by their chosen house. Ensuring the betterment of one's house is in one's best interest. Overhouse edict also states that council tasks must be approved by all houses and tasked by teams composed of agents from all houses. A staggering array of Overhouse August edicts exist to ensure healthy competition, reward, resentment and division of purpose and power within the Underhouses. Taskmaster representatives from each house are allocated as liaisons for council teams on each specific mission. 

House Regul: Focus on martial conflict and the enforcement of peace via the barrel of a laser pistol. House Regul Guards are the heavy armed peacekeepers of the system.

Regul Commander Corrine Nysyth - her lower face and neck destroyed in battle is replaced  by golden cybernetic plating.
House Cog: Engineers and pilots only just holding together the ageing and decaying fleet remaining in the G33 system. Also in charge of a number of mining and terraforming operations throughout the system. 
Cog Industrial Commander Noven Trumenko - flexing his  cybernetic hands designed specifically to interface with and pilot star ships. 
House Spark: The intelligence arm of the House Council. House Spark make up for the roughness of the other two houses with their ability to charm and beguile.

Spark Head of Intelligence Darius Graydon - his rotating cybernetic eye is rumoured to be a  purely aesthetic non-visually functioning gemstone. 


Additional Campaign Rules: 

CyberneticsAfter a 20 year hiatus, GX33 Council Station once again has a  cybernetics installer (the previous installer was found guilty of working with somewhat mystically, enchanted or otherwise unlawfully magically equipment and was put under Overhouse August arrest). A variety of modifications are available but a consultation session with the installer, outlining your desired augmentations, is required and costs 500 credits. At the end of the consultation you will be provided a quote and general outline of the results your procedure (will hopefully) give you.

Please bear in mind the installer will accept no responsibility for quality and operability differences between quoted and actual user results.

Procedures will cost any where from 500c to 50 000c (exclusive of consultation fee).

Additionally investment in your procedure is recommended (Each additional 500c invested in procedures will decrease chances of gross negligence, operational failure,  poor quality parts and/or other wise shoddy workmanship.)

Links to "The Decline of Overhouse August" stuff:


Non Combat Skill System.
Star Witch Character Class.
Threats encountered in the g33 system.
Khybe Monk Character Class. 
Random Space Encounter Table. 
The Pan System. 
The Shargon, Character Race. 


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