Jovian Chronicles is a science fiction game setting published by Dream Pod 9 since 1992. It introduces a complete universe for role-playing and wargaming space combat, featuring giant spacecraft and epic tabletop space battles. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A game is a (often, but not always recreational) activity involving one or more players. ... Dream Pod 9 (also known as DP9) is a Montreal-based Canadian game publisher. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... In role-playing, participants adopt characters, or parts, that have personalities, motivations, and backgrounds different from their own. ... This article is about the military exercise and civilian hobby. ...

The setting was first published in two volumes in 1992, as a licensed supplement for the Mekton role-playing game. This first edition is known as the "Green Edition" because of its covers. The game was re-published in 1997, this time using Dream Pod 9's in-house rule system. This edition, and all subsequent ones, are known as the "White Edition." 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Mekton is a role-playing game which centers around the conventions of mecha anime and science-fiction (although it can easily enough be adapted to other genres like police drama or high fantasy). ... A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create narratives. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dream Pod 9 (also known as DP9) is a Montreal-based Canadian game publisher. ...

The Setting

The game world shows one possible future, a time in which Mankind has expanded and settled the solar system, going as far as terraforming Venus and Mars. The colonists living around Jupiter are at odds with the government of Earth, driving much of the series' intrigue. The game features a blend of action/adventure and hard-science space colonization facts. The books are based on plausible technical details to maintain a realistic hard science fiction setting. Mankind may refer to: Human beings and their society An alias of professional wrestler Mick Foley The MMORTS Mankind The morality play Mankind. ... Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system comprises our Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ... Artists conception of a terraformed Mars in three stages of development. ... (*min temperature refers to cloud tops only) Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 9. ... Amongst the findings from the Opportunity rover is the presence of hematite on Mars in the form of small spheres on the Meridiani Planum. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 70 kPa Hydrogen ~86% Helium ~14% Methane 0. ... Earth, also known as Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third-closest planet to the Sun. ... A game is a (often, but not always recreational) activity involving one or more players. ... Hard science fiction, or hard SF, is a subgenre of science fiction characterized by an interest in scientific detail or accuracy. ...

Mercury: a small settlement, whose main exports are high quality electronics and metals. Mercury is the headquarters of the powerful Merchant Guild, an association of companies which provide most of the transportation throughout the system. Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms ions (cations) and has metallic bonds, and metals are sometimes described as a lattice of positive ions (cations) in a cloud of electrons. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure trace Potassium 31. ...

Venus: terraformed by a consortium of corporations, Venus is now a marginally habitable planet. The Venusian upper class and their workers live in polar arcologies, surrounded by terraforming processors. Artists conception of a terraformed Mars in three stages of development. ... Arcology is a term invented by architect Paolo Soleri, and is a portmanteau of architecture and ecology. ...

Earth: damaged by centuries of overpopulation and civil wars, the motherworld is home to the Central Earth Government and Administration (CEGA), a bureaucratic planetary government that believes the Earth should lead the solar system. Overpopulation occurs when the population of a living species exceeds the carrying capacity of its ecological niche. ... ... In sociological theories, bureaucracy is an organizational structure characterized by regularized procedure, division of responsibility, hierarchy, and impersonal relationships. ... Earth, also known as Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third-closest planet to the Sun. ...

Orbital Colonies: the salvation of many who fled Earth, these are huge O'Neill stations parked at the Lagrange points. Orbitals are peaceful people who follow CEGA's lead for protection. Earth, also known as Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third-closest planet to the Sun. ... ONeill (also spelled ONeil) is a common surname of Irish origin. ... In celestial mechanics, the Lagrangian points, (also Lagrange point, L-point, or libration point) are the five stationary solutions of the circular restricted three-body problem. ...

United Solar Nations: evolved from the old United Nations to provide a neutral arbiter between the various settlements. It has a private peace-keeping army, the USN Guard, and an interplanetary law enforcement agency, the Solar Police (SolaPol). The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ...

The Moon: CEGA's industrial center, its inhabitants are living in huge complexes buried beneath the soil. Many of Earth's heavy industries were moved there long ago.

Mars: a divided planet, home to the Martian Free Republic and the Martian Federation. Border clashes between the two are frequent.

The Belt: the asteroids are populated by mobile nomad communities, each a micro-society of its own. Asteroids is a popular vector-based video arcade game released in 1979 by Atari. ...

Jupiter: home to refugees from Earth. The enormous space stations of the Jovian Confederacy were the first to develop and field exo-armors. Thanks to the ressources of the Jovian sub-system, the Confederacy is the richest nation in the solar system. A space station is an artificial structure designed for humans to live on in outer space. ...

Titan: the largest moon of Saturn is the farthest human settlement. It is the main source for complex hydrocarbon compounds and plays an important role in the industries of the solar system. Adjective Saturnian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 140 kPa Hydrogen >93% Helium >5% Methane 0. ... Hydrocarbons are refined at oil refineries and chemical plants In chemistry, a hydrocarbon is any chemical compound that consists only of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). ...

Anime Inspirations

Many recent Western cartoon shows and games have anime styling. Jovian Chronicles also features anime-inspired artwork, though most of the technical elements (ships, stations, equipment, etc.) are illustrated with computer art.

Exo-armors are the main macguffin of the series. They are personal mecha, big armored space suits with weapons. The main source of inspiration for the game was Gundam, but also included Robotech. The Labors of Mobile Police Patlabor were a visual inspiration for the Jovian Exo-Armors as well. This article is about the plot device; a MacGuffin is also a block cipher named after the plot device. ... The title mecha RX-78-2 Gundam from the popular anime Mobile Suit Gundam In some works of science fiction, mecha (singular or plural, less frequently meka) or mechs (singular: mech) (sometimes referred to as giant robots) are piloted or remote-controlled limbed vehicles. ... Gundam is one of the longest running meta-series of anime featuring giant robots. ... Robotech is an 85-episode science-fiction television series about three successive extraterrestrial invasions of Earth. ... Patlabor The Movie DVD cover Patlabor usually refers to the anime franchise known as Mobile Police Patlabor (機動警察パトレイバー; Kidō Keisatsu Patoreibaa) , which was originally created by the collective group Headgear. ...

Game Rules

Jovian Chronicles is based on the Silhouette game engine, a streamlined set of rules that is already described in Heavy Gear, Dream Pod 9's other successful science fiction game. It can be played as either a roleplaying game, a tactical wargame, or a hybrid integration of both. Heavy Gear is a tabletop tactical wargame, a role-playing game and a lesser known combat card game published since 1994 by Canadian publisher Dream Pod 9. ... Dream Pod 9 (also known as DP9) is a Montreal-based Canadian game publisher. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... In role-playing, participants adopt characters, or parts, that have personalities, motivations, and backgrounds different from their own. ... A game is a (often, but not always recreational) activity involving one or more players. ... Wargaming can be one of number of ways of exploring the effects of warfare without actual combat. ...

The latest edition of the Silhouette rules is sold separately as a book titled Silhouette CORE Rulebook, which is needed to play the Jovian Chronicles roleplaying game. The wargame uses the Lightning Strike II Miniature Rules, also available separately. The latter is played using miniatures and tabletop terrain, although some players prefer to use hex maps and paper counters.

Both the RPG and miniature games are built on the same basic rule mechanics. Silhouette is a realistic, simulationist system that defines characters in terms of 10 base attributes (agility, knowledge, etc.), 5 derived attributes (health, etc), and a variety of skills. Skill rolls make up the backbone of the system, which focuses on effect-based speed of play over grainy detail. The core mechanic involves rolling a number of 6-sided dice, taking the highest result and comparing it to a set threshold number. If the result is higher than the threshold the test is a success; if it is lower the test is a failure. The margin by which the test succeeded (Margin of Success, MoS) or failed (Margin of Failure, MoF) helps to determine the final outcome. Combat is handled by the same system, with characters taking penalty-inflicting wounds rather than depleting a set number of health points. As a result, the system can be lethal, especially on inexperienced characters.

External links

• Official Site
• Dream Pod 9
• Marc A. Vezina (Original Designer)
• Ghislain Barbe (Lead Conceptual Artist 1993-1999)