Copyright Notice

All rights reserved under the Universal Copyright Convention. Documents available on this site may be printed and distributed on an individual basis, as long as no money is made in any form or manner through said distribution. With exceptions as noted in the previous statement, no material on this site may be reproduced in part or whole, in any form or by any means, except for brief quotes for use in reviews.

All artwork is copyrighted. All rights reserved by each artist. NO artwork may be printed or published in any form, for any reason. The use of this artwork, in any product not produced by the author is a Federal crime! Offenders will be pursued in Federal Court.

By downloading any material on these pages, you implicitly indicate an understanding of and agreement with this copyright.

What is Frontier Horizons?

Frontier Horizons is a science fiction role-playing game. Instead of moving pieces around a board, players control “characters” or personas, and the “board” is an imaginary setting described by the Referee (or Game Master, or DM, or whatever title he chooses).

The game provides ways to describe each player’s character, in the form of numbers representing different physical and mental characteristics of the character, as well as skills the character knows and equipment the character carries.

Players use the rules (also called “game mechanics”) to resolve various types of situations that have various possible outcomes, such as trying to shoot someone (the character may hit or miss) or trying to reprogram a robot (the character might succeed or fail). Of course, the nature of a role-playing game is also to help define what happens in the “gray” areas. What happens when that character fails to reprogram that robot? Does it shutdown? Does it go berserk and attack the character? Does it start quoting Shakespearean literature?

Players can have their characters do anything imaginable, from piloting a starship to saving the world (or solar system or galaxy), from settling a planet with a new colony to starting a business, to anything imaginable.

Features

Frontier Horizons features a great number of concepts common across science fiction genres (as well as some uncommon concepts), including:

• Aliens: Many original and unique character species.

• Archetypes: Dozens of character archetypes or 'classes,' from the gun totin' smuggler, to the cyborg spy.

• History: An indepth history generation system. Don't just play a hero, play a hero with a dark and secret past with skeletons in the closet and family enemies!

• Blaster Action: A percentile based ranged combat system. Grab the weapon of your choice and step through the airlock and into space stations with confidence.

• Blazing Sword Fights: A fun and involving melee weapon system. Arm your hero with laser swords, proton staves, electro pole-arms and more.

• Kick-ass Chop-socky Action: An innovative martial arts combat system allows combinations, special maneuvers and counter attacks.

• Cybernetics & genetics: Play a cyborg with combat reflexes, or a genetically engineered hero.

• Specialization: Skill specialization and skill focus options allow characters to focus their training not just in weapons and combat, but also in science, athletic and technical skills, as well as other areas.

• Psionics: Unleash the power of the telepath by blasting enemies with raw psychic power, or subvert them by directly manipulating their own mind.

• Career Training: Easy and intuitive career training and multi-career possiblities.

• Customisation Galore: Fully customisable EVERYTHING. From weapons to vehicles, to cybernetics, etc.

• Robots: An advanced robot design system allows complex robots to be designed and purchased by characters, as well as character robots and artificial intelligence.

• Vehicles: Many types of vehicles, from hover cars to bipedal bikes to anti-gravity trucks.

• Black market: An "availability" scheme covering the aquisition of exotic and dangerous items, make contacts with shadey underground arms dealers or buy common weapons and items at the local Star-Mart.

• Gadgets: Run amok with over one thousand different weapons, armor, energy screens, scanners, and other techno-gadgetry.

• Alien Genetics: Genetic enhancements for the alien species of the game. Not just humans!

• Alien Cybernetics: Cybernetic enhancements (or their equivalent) for the aliens.

• Dynamic Species: Variable characteristics for each alien species (including humans), allowing every species to be "different" in each and every campaign, yet maintain stability across adventures and throughout the game system.

• Tactical Integration: A fluid and logical integration of the role-playing game with the companion tactical systems. Frontier Horizons seemlessly integrates with Fusion Death (giant robot combat game) and Parsec (tactical space combat game).

• Research & Development: Guideline mechanics for characters wishing to do research into various technology and developments.

• Collaborative Research: Integration of multiple scientist research.

• Developing History: An innovative "News" and "Life Event" system to generate adventure opportunities as well as provide the characters with "real world" situations.

• Alien Creatures: A sophisticated animal and creature generation and design system addresses predator-prey differences, creature adaptability and probability of evolution of special characteristics, as well as animal physiology.

What do you need to play?

The rulebook, Adobe Acrobat (to view the files), a couple sets of dice (d4, d6, d8, 2d10, d12, d20), a calculator, some paper and pencils, an adventurous spirit and an imagination.

[All files can be printed for personal gaming use.]

Useful files to download:

Game Rules Character sheet

If you have questions, feel free to email me.

Additional Material

Here are rule sets and background material that may be of use. All material here is in various stages of polish. I've tried not to post any incomplete rules or material here, but much of it is fairly rough.

If you are interested in starship to starship combat, boarding actions, pirates, blackholes and other exciting interstellar adventure, download Parsec. You can use it as a tactical board game, or as a role-playing expansion to Frontier Horizons.

If you are interested in giant robots, tanks and power armor combat, download Simple Bots. It is a fun tactical boardgame and can also be used as a role-playing expansion to Frontier Horizons.

For original character names, download DM Tools, Names for an excellent file on creating authentic names for most of the species. Not all the species are represented, but those that are there are complete.

Most of the other stuff still needs heavy revision. But, it is available for your use in your gaming. I hope you enjoy!

DM Tools, Names The Names sourcebook provides a series of guidelines for creating authentic names for many of the species in the game of Frontier Horizons. It does not cover all the species yet. Currently, it covers Graff, Slen Boraka, A'Ghuu, Meylor and Voix. More will be added. Lightyear: Basic Starship Rules This system covers basic role-playing with starships as well as role-playing starship combat. It provides information on the types of things characters can do during a battle (besides the pilots and gunners), but does not provide for tactical play with maps and counters. Lightyear also provides a rudimentary construction system for starships. Lightyear is intended to provide the information neccessary for DM's to use starships as backdrops and plot devices. It is not intended to be used as a game itself. Parsec: Advanced Starship Rules This advanced system is based on Lightyear and further develops the ideas introduced in it. Parsec includes a detailed construction and combat system for starships, as well as rules and guidelines on other common starship activites, such as boarding actions and grappling. The system allows players to design and fight their ships on a tactical map, and includes rules for such space terrain as stars, comets, nebula, black holes, asteroids, dust and gas fields, and more. Parsec also addresses the process of getting and keeping a starship, using it to make a living, and common space hazards. Parsec can be played separately as a tactical board game, or used as an expansion to Frontier Horizons. [Alternate download here.] Simple Bots Revised! Basic combat and design rules for giant robots, tanks, hovercraft, power armor, etc. The system works as a stand alone boardgame or as a tactical supplement for Frontier Horizons. It also servers as a trainer for the concepts that are further developed in Fusion Death. The book includes 20 original combat scenarios, 21 pages of sample units, special rules, and a combat record sheet good for all types of units. Pocket Empires An Empire management meta-sytem for use with any role-playing game. This system can be used as a way for characters to manage their "empires" while adventuring, with each turn in Pocket Empires representing a week, month, year, decade, whatever, all depending on the scale of the game. The system provides simple, easy to learn rules that address population, industrial capability, foreign relations, espionage, waging war, etc.. [3 pages of rules, 1 page empire tracking cards]

Under Development

All of the material here is currently in development. Some of it is downloadable in its current form, some of it is not. As each piece of material is finished, it will be uploaded to the net and a link will be provided. Until then, perhaps the ideas presented below will be enough to spark your creativity.

• Settings
  There will be a number of setting sourcebooks released. Each sourcebook will cover a completely different setting or realm. Each sourcebook will provide maps, history, governments, current social and political issues, as well as sample characters, character archetypes, background, background and more background.

• Source Material, Corporations
  SM, Corps is a sourcebook that describes a number of large corporations that can be easily integrated into any Frontier Horizons universe. It also includes a rule system to generate "webs" of corporate interdependance and intrigue. Currently in development, this source book may have additional material when it is completed, such as corporate and related Occupations, corporate vehicles, gadgets and devices commonly used in the corporate world, stats for prominant corporate figures, and whatever else we think of to cram in here.

• Source Material, Guilds (Brief notes)
  This sourcebook is currently little more than a page of notes on the major guilds that might be common to any Frontier Horizons campaign. When complete, this source book will feature much of the same type of information as SM, Corps, but relating to Guilds.

• Making Adventures
  This brief file will be expanded. It currently covers the basics behind making a multi-path adventure, as well as notes and tips on how to help visualise the settings and how to describe them to players in an interesting and stimulating manner. When complete, it will also feature a number of small adventures, each illustrating the points made within, and a final adventure that will include everything into an interesting adventure that illustrates all of the points in the book.

• DM Tools, Treasures
  This source book is currently in development. When complete it will include all sorts of valuable and random things for the characters to find. Of course, not everything will be valuable to everybody, and this will be covered as well. The sourcebook will also address such issues as what types of "treasure" a given area or opponent will have and why they might have them.

• DM Tools, NPCs (Notes on NPC creation)
  This sourcebook will address the issue of making interesting NPCs that players will remember. It also addresses the purposes of NPCs, and what needs to be known about an NPC to fulfill that purpose, i.e., combat stats for NPC's that will be fought, etc.

• DM Tools, Cargos (Just tables)
  This sourcebook is similar to the Treasures sourcebook and will cover the types of cargos likely to be found on a starship. Largely complete, this sourcebook consists of little more than a number of tables. Eventually, it will be expanded a bit and the tables fleshed out. But, if you need to find out just what is in that box, this is the place to do it.

• Fusion Death: Giant Robot Combat Rules
  This system further develops the rules in Simple Bots. It focuses on additional combat flexibility (more types of special maneuvers and actions), as well as a very advanced construction system. This system does not cover power armor, however. The book is complete, but isn't laid out very nicely. I'm also not very satisfied with some portions of the rules. Once the system has been polished up a bit, it will be downloadable.

• Capitol Class Vehicle Rules

• Fusion Shock
  Battlefield Power Armor Rules. This system will be an advanced version of Simple Bots as well, except the focus will be on the design and combat of battlefield power armor.

• Distant Suns
  Rules for additional alien species and their background.

• < Insert Title Here >
  Always more toys. A technical source book featuring gadgets, vehicles and starships.

• Plenty of other stuff, too
  Source books featuring campaign settings, special planets, adventures, plot ideas, DM advice, and more.

Illustrators and Artists Wanted!

PLEASE contact us! We are looking for illustrators to provide material for the Frontier Horizons game rules.

Subject Matter: We are looking for art that contains mostly people, aliens and robots. We also need vehicles and weapons, too. Basically, everything one might find while role-playing. We also need starship illustrations (everything from broadside attacks in space, to fighters dog fighting, to boarding actions, to ships blowing up / self destructing). Currently, there is a list of must have pieces that will be our priority. If you are interested, we can send you the list and you can choose anything you want to do from it. With a few exceptions, there is a very wide lattitude for artistic license in the images.

Style: The art style needs to be "realistic." There is a lot of leeway here in what is "realistic," but basically we're not looking for anime' style, or disproportionate features (common in anime' and "graffiti art"). We prefer serious pieces, but humourus pieces will be considered as well.

Medium: Medium does not matter. We like a variety, including pencil sketches, oil paintings, digital work, pen & ink, water color, etc. The game is about variety and the artwork should reflect this as well. If it's good, we want it.

For more information, including a list of desired art, click here.

Check out these awsome illustrators that are currently working on this project!

[Featured Artist Gallery]

Your EMail

I post email I get pertaining to the game, specifically, questions people have on rules and their interpretation. Of course, it is the nature of a role playing game to be subject to interpretation, modification and out right elimination of any rule that seems vague, inaccurate or unneccessary. So, feel free to do just that. BUT, should anyone have a question on what the Honest-to-Goodness Genuine Author meant by a particular rule, this is the perfect place to ask. I know there were many questions I always wanted to ask the writers of the other games I used to play. Naturally, any question that is sent to me (and of course posted here) will also have a highly useful, informative and completely official answer posted right behind it. :-)

If I get comments that are not rules-interpretation / clarification, etc., more than likely the comment won't be posted here. The reason is because usually those comments do not have specific answers. Comments such as those are being used to revise the game system itself into a more playable, intuitive and fun system. As such, usually the answer or discussion required to do such a comment justice has not been completed to our satisfaction as of yet. So, keep sending your comments and questions. Questions will be answered and posted. Comments will get an email in response and will be kept and addressed in the next release. Thanks!

• See what other people have to say. Enter Here (Updated )

• Posted characters.

• Campaign Settings.

Playtesters Wanted!

Specifically, we need intelligent, articulate playtesters. All levels of experience are welcome, from veteran to newbie. We would like any and all feedback you have, no matter how trivial. If you think the font is to small, if you think it should have a purple cover, if you think the examples don't help, if something isn't clear, if you find contradictions, if you never use a particular set of rules, if you wish there was more or less depth to another set of rules, etc. Whatever you have to say, we want to hear it! You don't need to contact us to playtest out material. Just download it, use it, and make notes when you play. Then, send us the notes you made, along with any explanation you feel is neccessary (such as the context of what was going on when you needed to roll the Impossible MAG check to prevent the cyber-rodent from eating the poison berry that would cause the pin to get pulled from the mega-sonic grenade, and why you thought this did or did not make sense).

Local Gamers Wanted!