Wardogs

by Todd Pote

---

The year is 3329, and the stars are trembling with the angry footsteps of men and machines. Earth has been laid waste -- an act of retribution and defiance committed by the colonies she spawned decades before. Although the horror of her death put a stop to all-out war between the colonies, reinforced by the sullen, crimson glow of her corpse, brother still battles brother. For power; for resources; for some other imagined slight or weakly-rationalized reason: it matters not. They send forth their Wardogs to do battle with their enemies on dozens of worlds and moons in a war that seems endless. Throughout the colonies, people look skywards to see a shooting star not in awe of the cosmos, but in trepidation of yet another battle to come.

Man has always been his own worst enemy.

---

Wardogs puts players in charge of mercenary forces hired by independent colonies, colonial militia, or the military of one of the four burgeoning multi-system nations that exist in the thirty-fourth century. Included in this book are record sheets for three dozen Wardog units, plus eleven standard infantry squad types typically found deployed among the twelve independent colonies and four stellar nations. The rocky road Man has traveled to reach the stars and the events that came after are given in enough detail to provide a feel for this default setting without being so detailed that the players cannot make it their own.

Nor are players limited to the units and timeline provided. Construction rules allow for development of mecha, armored vehicles, aircraft, naval landing and riverine craft, buildings, and infantry types ranging from steampunk to beyond the thirty-fourth century. In addition, players can create almost 900 different planetary environmental conditions in which to do battle with the Hostile Environment rules. Optional rules are also included for infantry morale, pilot skill advancement, and integrating Wardogs with Starmada.