Space: 1889

Space: 1889
publication
Author (s)	Frank Chadwick
Original publisher	GDW
Original publication	1988
original language	English
World and system
genre	Steampunk
Basic system	own system
cube	W6

Space: 1889 is a Steampunk - RPG by Frank Chadwick from 1988. The name is a play on the television series Space: 1999 (dt. Moonbase Alpha 1 ). Original manufacturer of Space: In 1889 the company Games Designers Workshop ( GDW ) , which has since been dissolved . Space: 1889 has been published by Heliograph Incorporated since 2000 . A German-language edition has been published by Uhrwerk Verlag since 2012 . In 2019 Ulisses North America acquired the rights to Space 1889. As a result, it became known that Uhrwerk-Verlag no longer had the license.

background

Ether wind

Space: 1889 takes place in an alternative variant of the Victorian era , in which the ether theory has proven to be correct and the other planets of the solar system are also inhabited. Interplanetary space travel using aether propellers is well developed. An important role is played only on the Mars occurring raw flight wood ( Lift Wood ), with the aid of spaceships (and pure aircraft ) within the gravitational fields of the planets can fly without huge helium - or hydrogen balloons to need.

The planet Mars

The focus of the published material is on the British Empire and the Mars it colonized . Although the Martians come from a highly developed civilization, they have long passed their zenith and are hopelessly inferior to the terrestrial colonial powers with their steam engines and machine guns. The game receives many parodic elements by partial ludicrous alternative developments to the real history and the use of stereotypes , such as the Upper Rogue Ravachol .

The villain Ravachol is caught.

history

Space: 1889 was published in 1988. The Ether Society newsletter was supposed to serve as a periodical about Space: 1889 , but it soon became part of the Transactions of the Royal Martian Geographical Society (TRMGS) , a fanzine published by Mark Clark. Eight issues appeared between 1991 and 1994, when the magazine was discontinued. At the end of the decade, the TRMGS were revived by the Heliograph company , which also made many of the original products available to a new audience. In the first two volumes the original eight numbers of the fanzine have been reissued, the third volume contains new material. The TRMGS were then discontinued again for cost reasons . Heliograph published the material for a fourth volume online. In addition, many articles on Space: 1889 appeared in GDW's in- house magazine Challenge , mainly adventures and scenarios for the board games.

From 2005 to 2006, Noise Monster produced four radio plays in the world of Space: 1889 .

In 2010 the setting was finally re-released by Pinnacle Entertainment under the title Space 1889: Red Sands and uses the rules of Savage Worlds . The main focus is on adventure backgrounds on Mars.

From 2011 to 2012 a six-part e-book series Space: 1889 & Beyond was published by Untreed Reads .

In July 2012, Uhrwerk Verlag published a German-language version of Space: 1889 , which uses the Ubiquity system from Hollow Earth Expedition . In terms of content, there are some differences to the original American version. For example, Abraham Lincoln died of typhus in 1862 , with the result that the CSA still existed in 1889. Other historical events have also been changed. B. a French invasion of Belgium initially strengthens the German-British alliance. The set of rules includes the game worlds Earth, Mars, Venus, Mercury and Moon . In contrast to Mars, Venus is dominated by swamps and jungles, in which, in addition to the native lizards, dinosaurs live, and is mainly dominated by Germany.

In 2015 there was crowdfunding for a film Space 1889: The Secret of Phobos - a Victorian Sci-Fi movie . The film was released in 2018 and has been available for free on YouTube since 2020 .

system

six sided dice

Space: 1889 uses a rule system based on six-sided dice . Although the actual dice mechanics are kept quite simple, the number of them is confusing. There are two equally valid dice methods for simple attribute or skill tests. There are also rules for close and long-range combat, heavy weapons, fighting with wild animals and ship against ship, some of which overlap but differ in important points. This shows the age of the system; today's role-playing games would use a central dice mechanism that would be used with little or no adjustments in the situations listed.

The simple but effective method of character creation and the rules for inventions with which the characters can delight the game world are remarkable. A point that otherwise only appears in a few role-playing games.

Although the set of rules derived from conflict simulations was viewed as controversial, the reception of the background was very good, which often led to the fact that the GDW set of rules is often only used as a pure source book and a different, generic system (e.g. D6 by West End Games or GURPS fell back).

The 2010 version of Pinnacle Entertainment uses the rules of Savage Worlds .

The German-language version of Space: 1889 , published by Uhrwerk Verlag in 2012, uses the Ubiquity system from Hollow Earth Expedition . This should shift the focus of the game from tactical combat ( skirmish ) in the direction of narration ( storytelling ).

Published material

In the new edition of Heliograph, two of the (thinner) source books and adventures are combined into one volume, as can be seen in the list by the ISBN.

In 2009 an extended version of the adventure Canal Priests of Mars was published. It contains those parts that were shortened when first published in 1990 for reasons of space.

Rulebooks and source books

GDW and Heliograph

• Space: 1889 (rule book) (GDW, 1988), ISBN 0-943580-80-3 ; (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 0-9668926-9-0 .
• Referee's Screen (game director's screen plus booklet with rule extensions) (GDW, 1989), ISBN 1-55878-015-7 ; the rule extensions are contained in the Heliograph edition of the rule book.
• Conklin's Atlas of the Worlds (GDW, 1989), ISBN 1-55878-024-6 ; (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 1-930658-00-1 .
• Cloud Captains of Mars (GDW, 1989), ISBN 1-55878-043-2 ; (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 1-930658-00-1 .
• Cloudships & Gunboats (GDW, 1989); (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 1-930658-05-2 .

Pinnacle Entertainment

• Space: 1889: Red Sands ( Savage Worlds ), (Pinnacle Entertainment, 2010), ISBN 978-0-9826427-1-9 .

Uhrwerk Verlag

• Space: 1889 (Ubiquity) (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2012), ISBN 978-3-942012-45-4 .
• Space: 1889 - The Venus (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2014), ISBN 978-3-942012-96-6 .
• Space: 1889 - Der Merkur (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2014), ISBN 978-3-942012-56-0 .
• Space: 1889 - Der Mars (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2016), ISBN 978-3-95867-040-2 .
• Das Neue Ätherversum (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2016), ISBN 978-395867-065-5 .
• Luna - Der Erdmond (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2017).
• Das Neue Ätherversum 2 (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2017), ISBN 978-395867-101-0 .
• Edison's Encyclopedia (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2019), ISBN 978-3-95867-184-3 .

Game aids

• Space: 1889 game director's screen (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2013), ISBN 978-3942012-68-3 .
• Space: 1889 dice set (Uhrwerk Verlag).

adventure

GDW and Heliograph

• Tales From the Ether (GDW, 1989), ISBN 1-55878-011-4 ; (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 1-930658-01-X .
• Beastmen of Mars (GDW, 1989), ISBN 1-55878-022-X ; (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 1-930658-03-6 .
• Caravans of Mars (GDW, 1989), ISBN 1-55878-023-8 ; (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 1-930658-02-8 .
• Steppelords of Mars (GDW, 1989), ISBN 1-55878-025-4 ; (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 1-930658-02-8 .
• More Tales From the Ether (GDW, 1989), ISBN 1-55878-028-9 ; (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 1-930658-01-X .
• Canal Priests of Mars (GDW, 1990), ISBN 1-55878-039-4 ; (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 1-930658-03-6 .
• The Complete Canal Priests of Mars (Heliograph, 2009), ISBN 1-930658-11-7 .

3W

• The Liftwood Conspiracy (3W, 1989), no ISBN.

Uhrwerk Verlag

• The Time Traveler (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2013), no ISBN.
• Ether, Steam & Steel Giant (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2013), ISBN 978-3-942012-60-7 .
• Under high pressure (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2014), ISBN 978-3-942012-81-2 .
• The Power of Angahiaa (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2015), ISBN 978-3-95867-004-4 .
• Stranger Earth (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2015), ISBN 978-3-95867-014-3 .
• The Martian Patient (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2015), ISBN 978-3-95867-015-0 .
• The Secret of London Bridge (Clockwork Publisher, 2015), ISBN 978-3-95867-029-7 .
• The Legacy of the Canal Guard (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2016), ISBN 978-3-95867-032-7 .
• Planet of Legends (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2016), ISBN 978-395867-057-0 .
• Colony in the Fog (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2017), ISBN 978-395867-077-8 .
• Paris 1889. In the face of the worlds (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2018), ISBN 978-3-95867-144-7 .
• Phaeton's legacy. On the Abyss of Time (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2018), ISBN 978-3-95867-173-7 .

Strategy and board games

• Sky Galleons of Mars (GDW, 1988); (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 1-930658-05-2
• Ironclads & Ether Flyers (GDW, 1991); (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 1-930658-05-2
• Soldier's Companion ( Tabletop ) (GDW, 1989), ISBN 1-55878-026-2 ; (Heliograph), ISBN 1-930658-10-9
• Temple of the Beastmen (GDW)

Miniatures

• four collections and 16 individual figures from RAFM
• five individual figures from Uhrwerk Verlag

Transactions of the Royal Martian Geographical Society

• Volume 1 (Heliograph, 1999), ISBN 0-9668926-0-7 .
• Volume 2 (Heliograph, 1999), ISBN 0-9668926-1-5 .
• Volume 3 (Heliograph, 2000), ISBN 0-9668926-8-2 .

Computer games

• Space: 1889 (for Amiga , Atari ST and MS-DOS ) ( 1990 , Paragon Software)

Radio plays and music

• Red Devils (Noise Monster, 2005)
• The Steppes of Thoth (Noise Monster, 2005)
• The Siege of Alclyon (Noise Monster, 2005)
• The Lunar Inheritance (Noise Monster, 2006)
• Ether sounds: Music for Space: 1889 and other steampunk role-playing games (Uhrwerk Verlag, 2013), ISBN 978-3-942012-68-3

Movies

• The Secret of Phobos (Orkenspalter TV, 2018)

E-books

• Journey to the Heart of Luna by Andy Frankham-Allen (Untreed Reads, 2011), ISBN 978-1-61187-155-5 .
• Vandals on Venus by KG McAbee (Untreed Reads, 2011), ISBN 978-1-61187-161-6 .
• The Ghosts of Mercury by Mark Michalowski (Untreed Reads, 2011), ISBN 978-1-61187-182-1 .
• Abattoir in the Aether by L. Joseph Shosty (Untreed Reads, 2012), ISBN 978-1-61187-243-9 .
• A Prince of Mars by Frank Chadwick (Untreed Reads, 2012), ISBN 978-161187-270-5 .
• The Dark Side of Luna by JT Wilson (Untreed Reads, 2012), ISBN 978-1-61187-313-9 .

Web links

• Space: 1889 blog by Frank Chadwick (English)
• Heliograph Incorporated - Editor
• Uhrwerk Verlag - publisher of the German-language edition
  • Forum of the Uhrwerk Verlag
• RAFM - Manufacturer of miniatures (English)
• The Space: 1889 Mailing List - English language mailing list
• MS-DOS version of the computer game from 1990  in the  software archive - Internet Archive (English)
• The Secret of Phobos - Feature Film (152 minutes)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ TRMGS Volume Four. Heliograph, accessed April 22, 2017 . 
2. ↑ Michael Wolf: Preview: Space 1889 - Red Sands. In: Stargazer's World. April 1, 2010, accessed July 16, 2011 . 
3. ↑ Mháire Stritter: Space 1889: The Secret of Phobos - a Victorian Sci-Fi movie. Kickstarter.com , accessed April 22, 2017 . 
4. ^ Nico Mendrek: Space 1889 Film: Backgrounds and Plans. Orkenspalter.TV, January 7, 2015, accessed April 23, 2017 . 
5. ↑ Space: 1889 in the Internet Movie Database (English)
6. ↑ Pat Bellavance: Weekend R&R: Space 1889. March 25, 2012, accessed April 22, 2017 (English). 
7. ^ GURPS Space 1889. In: The Pirate Brethren. Retrieved April 22, 2017 (English). 
8. ↑ Space: 1889 Miniatures. RAFM, accessed April 23, 2017 . 
9. ↑ Space: 1889. Internet Archive , accessed on April 22, 2017 (English, computer game from 1990 for MS-DOS).