Space: 1889

Space:1889
RPG published by Game Designer's Workshop
Authors	Frank Chadwick
First Publication	1988

Steampunk Sci-Fi RPG. Only decent thing Games Designer Workshop ever did.

They also started the whole sci-fi RPG genre with an earlier game.

And there's no "punk" to this, just "steam." Notice a lack of goggles.

Maybe it's like Spelljammer without quite so much fail fuckwin.

The premise is all that junk science you see in 19th century magazines and advertisements turns out to be true. The space between worlds is filled with an sparse material called "ether" that you can push against with one of Thomas Edison's patented Ether Propellors or a good Edwardian Ether Screw. Vessels are crafted with the gravity-repelling material of liftwood, and are powered by steam engines with giant magnifying glasses to harness solar energy.

The inner planets are like different time periods: Mercury is a volcanic mire, Venus is a jungle of megaflora and dinosaurs, Earth has it's kings and presidents, and Mars is dried-up canals, ancient ruins and godless heathens that regressed to barbarism. The moon is still dead and airless, but under the surface live Mooninites that are flipping you off as Victorian as they can right now.

Very Edgar Rice Burroughs.