On the Radar: Pelgrane Press's Ashen Stars (Stellar Nursery Edition)

I'm not that clear on the details, but apparently the Stellar Nursery edition of Ashen Stars is the same as the Pre-pre-order edition. In any case you can check out the details here.

But what is Ashen Stars? Well, it's an RPG (system: Gumshoe) of a Science Fiction bent that's been mentioned by others as inspired by Babylon 5, Firefly, and Farscape. Here's the official spiel:

In this gritty space opera game, the PCs are Lasers, freelance troubleshooters and law enforcers operating in a remote sector called the Bleed. They’re needed in the wake of a massive retreat by the Combine,  the utopian empire that colonized it. Amid the ashes of a devastating war, the lasers solve mysteries, fix thorny problems, and explore strange corners of space—all on a contract basis.

They balance the immediate rewards of a quick buck against their need to maintain their reputation, so that they can continue to quickly secure lucrative contracts and pay the upkeep on their ship and their cyber- and viroware enhancements.

Featuring seven new and highly detailed playable species -

• The eerily beautiful, nature-loving, emotion-fearing balla

• The cybes, former humans radically altered by cybernetic and genetic science

• The durugh, hunched, furtive ex-enemies of the Combine who can momentarily phase through solid matter.

• The humans, adaptable, resourceful, and numerous. They comprise the majority of a typical laser crew.

• The kch-thk, warrior locust people who migrate to new bodies when their old ones are destroyed.

• The armadillo-like tavak, followers of a serene warrior ethic.

• The vas mal, former near-omnisicent energy beings devolved by disaster into misshapen humanoid form.

Ashen Stars also contains extensive, streamlined rules for space combat, 14 different types of ship, a rogues gallery of NPC threats and hostile species’ and a short adventure to get you started in the Bleed.

I'm curious to see what it'll be like when it comes out. It'll be oh-so-minable for Fading Suns, I'm sure. :)