High Frontier

Aerial warfare in the world of 2089 has not changed much from its 20th century origins: bombers still punish targets on the ground or perform reconnaissance, with fighters and interceptors assigned to the multiple function of supporting their flying partners as well as earthbound allies. Stealth technology is common amongst planes but, with improving radar systems and scanners, pilots must still rely on their skill to avoid the worst of anti-aerial batteries while keeping an eye for enemy fighters.

But above the turbulent skies lies humanity’s new hope: space. From the fires of the Armageddon War, a few visionaries extend their hands upward, reaching for the new frontier and taking up the search that governments abandoned in favor of mutual destruction. Yeager Station stands as an example of human tenacity, with Artemis Base as the spearhead in a new era of space exploration. Governments and corporations are engaged in a race to reach the untapped resources of Near-Earth Objects and to exploit the tactical possibilities of orbital presence.

But even in the apparent quiet of outer space the presence of the Armageddon War appears. Satellite missile platforms orbit anonymously, waiting for the signal to deliver a deadly orbital strike to a target below, while their intelligence cousins relay military information to armies and mercenary companies like. While a relatively peaceful environment because of its inherent dangers, near space is beginning to see laser fire between cargo shuttles and defense satellites and stray missiles join the growing ring of space trash surrounding Earth. Space is an exciting frontier beckoning to humanity’s adventurous spirit. Whether it becomes a new hope for the future or simply the next battlefield is quite literally up in the air.

This rules supplement is a comprehensive collection of options to run aerial combat as well as adventures and campaigns set in near space. Aircraft pilots are the original top guns who refuse to surrender their place as the darlings of modern warfare to WarMek officers, and astronauts are once again the embodiment of humanity’s drive to explore. Whether piloting a stealth bomber or a space shuttle, characters can take wing and leave the face of the planet behind, exploring the dangers of Earth’s atmosphere as well as the dangerous environment of space.

The High Frontier opens the way to play campaigns, featuring the fast and furious combat between aircraft as well as going even higher to stage adventures in the dead of space. The first chapter details the state of humanity’s aerospace technology and how it got there, as well as the brand new opportunities and potential of space travel. Space Agencies dives headlong into the organizations that are competing in the space race, their goals, technologies and plans for the future. The Personnel chapter is devoted to new options for characters who wish to become pilots of aerial or orbital craft, with skills, feats and equipment for enduring the rigors of living and fighting in a weightless, airless environment. Living in Space describes the hardships and dire dangers in the new frontier, from orbital debris and solar flares to the subtle and insidious impact of weightlessness on human physiology. The Orbital Neighborhood gives an in-depth look into the satellite networks and space stations orbiting the planet. Aerospace Combat gives detailed rules to run ferocious dogfights as well as hand-to-hand combat in microgravity. The last chapters, Aircraft and Spacecraft, Aerospace Vehicle Creation and Aerospace Technology describe the tools humanity has developed to escape gravity, as well as rules for creating new aerial and orbital craft.