Science Fiction Roleplaying on Occupied Earth.
Shortly after Mars was colonized in 2030, a comet was discovered to be on a collision course with Earth. Several hundred seeding ships were launched in the hope of keeping the human race alive.
An alien vessel arrived just in time to save Earth, but an intense electromagnetic debris field was created as a byproduct. Space travel was now too dangerous to attempt and communication between Earth and Mars was lost.
Several years later, Earth refugees arrived on Mars with a fantastic story of alien invasion and a search began for the lost seeding ships.
It is the year 2099 and the Martians are planning to take back Earth with the help of The Colonies.
The Technology
Biotech (genetic engineering, gene tampering, and tissue growth)
Nanotech (microscopic machines which operate within man and machine)
Implants (bio-mechanical replacement parts)
Autonomies (intelligent computer programs which operate independently)
Exotech (heavily armored and self-powered suits)
Research & Development (Create and design biotech, nanotech, implants, autonomies, exotech, guns, and more)
Includes: Bookmarks, hyperlinks, index, rich character backgrounds, extensive list of weapons and technologies, and useful charts and tables.
The Colonies features a simple yet comprehensive set of game mechanics which uses 2 (or more) 6-sided dice. A character's ability and skill, along with varying degrees of difficulty (ranging from simple to impossible), bonus dice (keep the 2 lowest dice), and penalty dice (keep the 2 highest dice), affect the outcome of a task. These mechanics are very flexible and also reduce the need to roll dice in many situations.
The Colonies is also available as a game world for BTRC's EABA, which is an open-ended d6 system. There is no limit to the number of dice you can theoretically roll (though you're unlikely to ever need more than 8d6). But, you only get to keep the best three results, which puts an upper limit on the total you can roll, so even super-powered adventurers can find tasks beyond their reach. EABA is heroic in scale, but still realistic. Easy to learn, advanced enough for the most experienced gamemaster.
This version requires the EABA rulebook by BTRC. Click
here for more information.
"Go buy this game!! I just read most of the book and I have to say it's right up there with CP2020 [Cyberpunk] and Blue Planet as my fave sci-fi games."
"First off, this is one of the most professional products that I've seen in pdf format. The mechanics are elegant and reasonably flexible... Character creation is quite fast and, though I'm not entirely versed in the nuances of the system, seems to result in balanced characters with useful skills. The sidebars are a really great feature that helped me navigate through each chapter... the Experience section gives definite rewards for specific acts in the game, and is something that can help steer the campaign in the right direction. There is a lot of good material here, and the writing is elegant and not at all wasteful, but it's still a good 70 pages." 
