TTRPG Roll 23-33: Scouring Scoundrels of Brixton SD1: Under a Hard Sun (Jeffery Jones, Adam Kovac, Thatohora; RPG Ramblings, 2023)

As part of the fulfillment of a Kickstarter campaign I backed, I recently took in my physical copy of Scoundrels of Brixton SD1: Under a Hard Sun which describes itself as “A sci-fi setting of crime and conflict.” Scoundrels of Brixton is an excellent 40-page ready-to-drop-in setting for roleplaying game (RPG) campaigns powered by Cepheus Engine, though it works just fine for any 2d6 version of the Traveller RPG too. The price point ($15) is very affordable for a combined digital+digest softcover product and the setting itself is interesting with many potential adventure hooks in the relatively few pages between the covers. My comments here are based on the physical softcover, though many equally apply to the digital version.

The cover of Scoundrels of Brixton is full-color and features a female character dressed much like Captain Mal from the TV series Firefly against a world that looks not too much unlike something from a less-crowded Blade Runner movie set. The cover excellently sets the mood of Scoundrels of Brixton from first glance.

“Can I make a suggestion that doesn’t involve violence, or is this the wrong crowd for that? ” Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburn – Serenity

The background in Scoundrels of Brixton draws upon several tropes that some may feel are overused but I personally never tire of. One dominant trope is, of course, Evil, Inc. and the surrounding “shady governments, corrupt corporations and gangsters who prey on downtrodden inhabitants” (Table of Contents). The authors of Scoundrels of Brixton, Jeffrey Jones (Creator-Designer) and Adam Kovac (Writer-Developer) are very up front when they say that the setting is “An ideal environment for player characters who behave like space-going miscreants” (Table of Contents).

A timeline for Scoundrels of Brixton is given on page 1 and provides the broad political background of the Brixton System. Traveller RPG players who are looking for hooks to the Third Imperium (3I) setting will not find any here directly. That’s because the Third Imperium setting is owned by the Traveller publishing world version of Evil, Inc., Mongoose Publishing, which puts the 3I setting behind a pay-for-play-and-we-own-it non-open license. Scoundrels of Brixton instead uses the much more sharable open game license Cepheus Engine.

For Traveller RPG and Cepheus Engine players who are used to the “standard” 8×10 hex subsector map, the “abbreviated” 5×10 hex subsector map found on page 2 of Scoundrels of Brixton may be a bit of a surprise. The subsector map shows five planetary systems and 11 gas giant systems but no communications routes.¹ The “reduced” subsector does not mean less adventuring opportunities; instead the lower overall tech level which restricts most travel to a single parsec/hex per weeks means adventure might take weeks to move from one end of the subsector to the other with lots of chances for miscreants to misbehave in between. Unfortunately though, the Universal World Profile (UWP) codes for three worlds (Fidea, Brixton, and Biloxia) on the map are the same and obviously incorrect for two of them. This error was present in the digital version and not corrected before printing. Later on we are told that Deluvia, the primary planet in the Brixton System is B851663-9² which makes lots more sense since a tech level of 9 (last position in the UWP) is the minimal tech level for a Faster-than-Light starship drive in the Cepheus Engine rules.

The Brixton System is the focus of Scoundrels of Brixton and full details of the entire system is laid out on pages 4-5. The system description is uses the expanded detail system version with four worlds, an asteroid belt, and two gas giants. There is probably more detail given here than necessary but nonetheless it’s good to see the love Jeffrey Jones and Adam Kovac obviously have for this setting.

The setting history for Scoundrels of Brixton is given in four short pages. Don’t be fooled by the short length; there are plenty of adventure seeds thrown about, especially if you key in on the many tropes used. The history lesson ends with a short section on “Creating Brixton NPCs [Non-Player Characters]” that offers simple templates for quickly fleshing out any locals encountered.

The balance of Scoundrels of Brixton is divided into four sections. The first two present major locations, the dirtside of Deluvia and the floating Sky City, while the later two are mission seeds.

Deluvia. The map for Deluvia in Scoundrels of Brixton is at some dissonance with the rest of the setting. The hand drawn-looking map on page 11 looks more like something I might find in The One Ring or another fantasy roleplaying game. The rest of the Deluvia section, discussing settlements, key players, history and several missions are detailed without being overwrought.

Sky City. The Sky City section of Scoundrels of Brixton has a short description of city areas (but no map!) followed by different “organizations” present in the city. For each some background, strengths and weaknesses, and potential missions are given along with key personalities.

Brixton Missions. In this section, Scoundrels of Brixton presents several missions to system other than Brixton. There is also an NPC presented, “Red Reaper” which is actually the being depicted on the cover. Here we discover Red Reaper is the Brixton System’s most infamous (or should that be famous?) assassin. Could the Red Reaper be an ally, or enemy?

The Annexation War. This section lays out a bit more detail of the history for the Scoundrels of Brixton setting. There is also a section here on Bounty Hunting.

Not listed in the table of contents for Scoundrels of Brixton, the last part of the book present three NPCs that can be a patron, contact, or nemesis.

The Scoundrels of Brixton is clearly laid out to present adventuring opportunities. In very few cases are many details presented, and when they are (see Red Reaper) there is sufficient ambiguity that an enterprising Referee can take the seeds given and expand on them and take an adventure in a direction that best suits the group.

Overall, I am pleased with the component quality of the Scoundrels of Brixton booklet. Sure, there were some minor editing errors that I wish had been caught, but I am equally sure Jeffrey Jones and Adam Kovac will work harder on future Brixton products to catch any issues before print. [Speaking of which, is the art by “Thatohora” or “Thatohara” because both names are used on the cover page.] For $15 I feel definitely got my money’s worth and I am very likely to back future issues.

“Shiny. Let’s be bad guys” – Jayne Cobb, Serenity

Be warned, however, that those looking for a “deep meaning” behind the setting for Scoundrels of Brixton will likely never find one. That’s because Scoundrels of Brixton leans into the “space-going miscreants” theme that it started with up front. Scoundrels of Brixton also leans very hard into the Wretched Hive trope and doesn’t give players many ways out that don’t involve guns or mischief. That works for many of my adventures, though I acknowledge it won’t work for everyone.

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1. Communication Routes “connect some (but not all worlds). These routes serve as a conduit for messages between businesses and between governments as well as between people. They also serve as the basic routes that liners and large freighters travel.” Traveller Facsimile Edition, Bloomington, IN: Game Designer’s Workshop, “Book 3: Worlds and Adventures,” p. 5. ↩︎
2. Read as Starport Type – World Diameter Code – Atmosphere Type – Hyrpographics Percentage – Population Exponent – Government Type – Law Level – Tech Level. A detailed explanation can be found in most any Cepheus Engine or Traveller RPG product (Hexadecimal forever!) ↩︎

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