Military Roleplaying in the Cluster
Flying Mice's StarCluster and In Harm's Way game lines are merged in this game. You play members of the SaVaHuTa military involved in hot spots around the Cluster
* Play Navy, Army, Marines, and Planetary Defense characters
* Compete against other player characters for promotion
* Cooperate with other player characters to get the job done
* Use spaceships, planetary vehicles, personal armor, flyers, and small craft
* Play Honorable or Practical Characters - Either choice can get you ahead
* Create your own Cluster, Systems, and Worlds
* Create your own Aliens
* Create your own Spaceships and Vehicles
* Two different Space Combat systems
* Three different Task Resolution sub-systems
In Harm's Way: StarCluster is a toolbox, filled to bursting with creative tools.
The New Cluster
In the game of In Harm's Way: StarCluster, you play an active member of the SaVaHuTa armed forces. You could take the characters in this game and use it to play mercenaries in the Cluster, but that is not the intent of the game.
The League of Sastras, Vantors, Humans, and Tagris - or SaVaHuTa - is a military-trading alliance, not a nation. Its members are worlds, not people. Members can leave the alliance at any time, and sometimes do, though this is not at all frequent, as there are enormous infrastructure costs attendant on such a move. Alien worlds can possibly be members, but the group or GM must decide how common this practice is.
Navy
The SavaHuTa Navy is responsible for offensive actions in space between systems. The Navy operate Jump Ships, which cross the gulfs of space between systems via Jump routes, naturally occurring wormholes between the suns of the Cluster. Due to the impossibility of synchronizing Jumps made with different ships, Navy ships must be self-contained to a remarkable degree.Larger ships are always one of three types - Ship plus Rider ships, non-Jump capable smaller ships carried through jump by the main ship; Carriers, with their attendant fighters and attack craft; and massive Jump Tugs capable of carrying several large craft, particularly non-jump PDS ships, through Jump.
Marines
The SaVaHuTa Marines ride on all Navy ships. They are responsible for security, boarding other ships, and landing parties. They are also operated as elite landing shock troops in larger numbers. Marines consider themselves at least the equal and probably the superior of any Army or PDG soldier, fostering their self-image as elites, and most of the populace thinks of them the same way.
Army
The SaVaHuTa Army is responsible for long-term taking and holding of ground. They work on planets of vastly different physical properties, their job to take and hold land, and deny it to the enemy. The Army is also responsible for defense in the atmosphere and the oceans of the various worlds.
Planetary Defense Space
The PDS is comprised of the various State Space Navies of the member worlds. PDS ships do not have to be Jump capable, though some are - generally those of Colonizers whose colonies are in other systems. The main function of the PDS is to protect their home system, and possibly that of their colonies, from aggression. Since PDS ships are not required to Jump, with it's consequent loss of synchronicity, more emphasis is placed on Fleet maneuvers and specialization than in the Navy. You find a much larger variation of ship type and quality among the PDS forces than in the Navy.
Planetary Defense Ground
The PDG is comprised of the various State Armies of the member worlds. They are generally used on their own homeworlds and colonies, though they are sometimes committed to extra-system duties. PDG forces vary in quality and type much more than the SaVaHuTa Army, and are usually deployed in larger formations. The PDGs include forces responsible for air and sea-based operations, like the SaVaHuTa Army.