Hostile Sun Playtest: Scandal on Demeter VI

The tabletop RPG I am developing, Under a Hostile Sun just had its first recorded playtest (the game as a whole and individual mechanics from it have been tested prior to this one). My good friends Arwynn, Amara and Dennis had a great time testing this system and I hope clicking through this video makes […]

Crisis of Faith

Written by Sp’Rark, Cultural Editor of the Martian Muckraker Nothing shook the religious foundations of Ancient Mars more than the discovery of Earthlings. For generations Martians regarded Mars as an Oasis in an otherwise uninhabited universe. Then scientists started hearing the transmissions from Earth. Two planets, Mars and Earth. Practically sisters. Each oblivious to the […]

G-Forces

“Hello Muckrakers, this is Technology & Space Cruiser Reporter Sp’Rark!” “And this is Editor-In-Chief C’therax!” “And this sweet ride is the new and improved NeonNebula Optimex!” Sp’Rark said. “AHHHHHHHHH!!!” As Sp’Rark said the name of the starship, she fired its fusion thrusters, causing a sudden and heavy wave of G-forces to crash into C’therax. “CUT!” […]

Military Standoff Ignited by Space Station Social Media

Students were asked to stay away from the student center of the University of Northern Mars today as several hundred refugees were expected to meet there to receive services from doctors, psychiatrists, religious leaders and immigration experts. By the days’ end every doctor we spoke to looked exhausted and even a little worried. Earlier this […]

Ecological Purity or Tyranny?

F’vrel, a renowned Martian Xenobiologist, has been arrested on Silkweave, home planet of the eight-legged Venomite people. Official records list his crimes as “trafficking invasive species and corrupting the ecosystems of Silkweave.” The arrest was done in traditional Venomite fashion: by completely cocooning the alleged criminal in webbing. Enraged Martian diplomats have arranged for F’vrel […]

Game “Earthlings and Epics” Sparks Galactic Controversy

Gamemaker Cri’tevel is at the center of an interplanetary diplomatic spat after his game “Earthlings and Epics” was used by the Earthling government as an example of “alien contempt for our ways.” “I was not trying to offend,” Cri’tevel said, “Heck, I even based the ability system on an old forgotten Earthling game about dragons. […]

Can You Own A Moon?

Almost every known planet with sentient lifeforms has a legal standard prohibiting the ownership of that world’s moons. Most of these customs are quite ancient, being written before the rise of faster-than-light travel when colonizing a moon was impossible anyway. However, as the cost of trans-galactic vehicles continues to plummet, more and more companies are […]

Martians Abuzz for Interplanetary Composer

Trebbuske Lunaria, or just Trebble as he is known by his millions of adoring fans, is one of the most famous composers in the galaxy. “Buzzardlies [the proper name for Trebble’s species], love music. We value our sense of hearing much, much more than our sense of sight. Music is how we worship, how we […]

Unchained

“Martian sentiment has turned sharply against the C’rululian Empire,” the soldier stammered out to General Vikiper. Vikiper enjoyed the tremor in the soldier’s body as he spoke, but not enough to offset the seriousness of the news. “Continue.” Vikiper ordered. “Several soldiers with ties close to the Empire have been relieved from duty in the Martian […]

Post Hallowtide

Sarah remembered that when she was little, people would dress up as ghosts, witches or goblins for Halloween. Now Martians were all the rage. People would smear themselves in all sorts of gross green makeup and try to add strange appendages to themselves. Modern trick-or-treaters never got the green of real Martians right. Martian green […]