I've had an idea buzzing in my head that I want people's opinions on, it's something I think would be pretty fun and have already started scribbling out concept notes for.  Let me know what you all think, I want to know if it's an idea worth pursuing.  For now this is just concept info, no system info.

The Enferi are a powerful race from light years away who have initiated holy war to cleanse the galaxy of all civilization but their own.  Obviously, the other races are not keen on this idea coming to fruition and they have banded together to fight off this race that is superior to them all in both numbers and technology and is devasating civilized space.  Brave soldiers do battle on distant planets, skilled pilots dogfight in the inky blackness of space to a background of massive capital ships pounding each other with heavy weapons.  But these are not your stories, these are not your fights.  Your battlefield is your home, your enemies are crime, disease, and chaos.  You are first responders, emergency personnel, you are heroes.

In this game players will not be the brave space jock, the daring smuggler with the fast cargo ship, or the alien warrior wielding mighty weapons.  Instead the players are going to be policemen, firefighters, EMTs, search and rescue personnel, etc.  To more effectively run their emergency management efforts with so many natural disasters and Enferi caused ones, as well as a dissatisfied public that are prone to demonstration, both civil and riotous, the allied races have placed Law Enforcement, emergency response, and other civil concerns all under one organization's control.

Players will group together in squads made up of various personnel, the EMTs are healers, Police are fighters, etc.  I'm thinking of adding in mechanics for Bravery and Heroism and things like that, but there will be little direct contact with the actual war for the PCs, they are meant to be hometown heroes who stop riots and save children from burning buildings.  Expansions might open up participation in the war but I think an idea like this would be a really fun start, kind of showing the personal and human side of these grand space operas where mighty fleets devastate entire planets.  You get to play the poor bastard who cleans it all up.

Let me know what you all think!  Thanks!

That's the kind of story I'd be more interested in playing.

The space opera hero has been done to death. It'd be nice to see some exploration of this.

V

Hi John,

Please do this.  This sounds most excellent.

Characters in a meaty situation that involves triaging your own neighbour, or arresting your own brother for civil disobedience?

Uh, yeah, that would be really, really good.

Cheers,
Darcy

V and Darcy,

Nothing gets my creativity flowing like seeing other people interested in my ideas.  I think Red Alert! is going up next in the queue after Ember has reached publication, so I'm gonna get working on it in my spare time.  I will definitely keep you all posted on my ideas so you can give me your opinions.

John Grigas
Headtrip Games