Avenger Enterprises
venger Enterprises is owned jointly by Martin J Dougherty and William Anderson, and serves as an umbrella for a variety of activities ranging from freelancing to martial arts and fighting with swords. The company is best known in the games industry as a publisher of materials for the Traveller RPG and for creating the '1248' and 'Far Avalon' game settings.
Avenger also publishes fiction and sources freelancers for other publishers' products. Outside the games industry, Avenger's personnel are involved in mainstream publishing and television as well as a number of other industries. We also destroy stuff. Many of Avenger’s staff are experienced martial artists, fencers and the like, and are extremely active in the martial arts/self-defence sector.
Avenger Enterprises started out in 2005 or so, while I was working for (a games company that still owes me thousands of dollars). We made our name producing sublicensed adventures and supplements for the Traveller RPG, and Avenger continues to produce Traveller-compatible materials such as Far Avalon and the current Starships books.
Avenger’s current non-Traveller projects include the ‘QADVentures’ (Quick-and-Dirty Adventures) series. This includes the QADVentures rules set, the QADVerse worldbuilding rules, and various adventures and supplements which can be used with the QADVentures rules or with any other rules set.
Due to various factors, Avenger is in the curious position of being the only third-party publisher allowed to publish game materials for the Official Traveller Universe (OTU). There are numerous reasons why we no longer do, but we can. We also have a license to publish fiction set in the OTU.
Avenger also publishes fiction and sources freelancers for other publishers' products. Outside the games industry, Avenger's personnel are involved in mainstream publishing and television as well as a number of other industries. We also destroy stuff. Many of Avenger’s staff are experienced martial artists, fencers and the like, and are extremely active in the martial arts/self-defence sector.
Avenger Enterprises started out in 2005 or so, while I was working for (a games company that still owes me thousands of dollars). We made our name producing sublicensed adventures and supplements for the Traveller RPG, and Avenger continues to produce Traveller-compatible materials such as Far Avalon and the current Starships books.
Avenger’s current non-Traveller projects include the ‘QADVentures’ (Quick-and-Dirty Adventures) series. This includes the QADVentures rules set, the QADVerse worldbuilding rules, and various adventures and supplements which can be used with the QADVentures rules or with any other rules set.
Due to various factors, Avenger is in the curious position of being the only third-party publisher allowed to publish game materials for the Official Traveller Universe (OTU). There are numerous reasons why we no longer do, but we can. We also have a license to publish fiction set in the OTU.
Avenger Products
The Actions of Many (Military/Naval SF Novel)
Cut off from the Home Worlds, the Bora Rina Colonial District is riven by civil war. As the Newly-created Grand Republic tightens its totalitarian grasp over the region, rebel worlds and warships fight for their independence. Pirates, patriotic traitors and a broken hero find themselves aligned against the might of the Grand Republican fleet.
A Brevet For The Guillotine (Historical/Military Adventure Novel)
It is 1796, and the young General Bonaparte leads the armies of France on his career-making Italian Campaign. Among them is Victor Hevry, a young officer trying to keep ahead of a court-martial that will send him to the guillotine. His only chance is to find the man responsible for the fiasco that wiped out Victor’s unit, and somehow bring him to justice.
Victor is pitted against the rampant corruption of the French army, an enemy who is a powerful superior officer, and the dangers of the campaign. From the fortress assaults at Mantua to the bloody slugging-match at Rivoli, Victor fights battles of his own amid Bonaparte’s masterpiece.
Starships and Spacecraft Book 0: Cawthorne
Starships and Spacecraft Book 0: Cawthorne details the key concepts and design features underlying the designs presented in the series. These include new weapons (plasma carronades, point-defence lasers, mass driver cannon and torpedo grapples), emergency FTL drives and pod-based cargo handling systems.
Also featured is the Cawthorne class survey sloop, a rugged vessel designed to operate on the fringes of explored space. Cawthornes can be encountered in the hands of explorers, mining companies, and researchers and are sometimes pressed into naval service. Used models can sometimes be picked up cheap, for a variety of reasons…
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/97802/Starships-and-Spacecraft-Book-0%3A-Cawthorne
Starships and Spacecraft Book 1: Vendetta
Starships and Spacecraft Book 1: Vendetta presents a range of vessel designs, ranging from humble utility boats, shuttles and resupply ships to frontier traders and passenger vessels. These ships were designed with the Far Avalon background in mind but can be used in any SF gaming setting.
The featured design is the Vendetta class light assault ship, a popular vessel with small mercenary forces and corporate security units. Examples have also been converted for use as an extremely well protected trading vessel, or as a pirate or planetary raider.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/99098/Vendetta-Ship-Book-I
Starships and Spacecraft Book 2: Lamerton
Starships and Spacecraft Book 2: Lamerton presents a range of craft designs optimised for efficiency and flexibility. These include modular vessels capable of changing configuration or role by swapping out their module fit, and the Draken and Glipen corvettes. The Draken is a tough combat or patrol ship, while the Glipen is a complimentary design intended to provide operational or combat support. These ships were designed with the Far Avalon background in mind but can be used in any SF gaming setting.
The featured design is the Lamerton class tug-corvette. The Lamerton’s central section can be swapped between roles depending on what is carried on its towing arms. With gunships aboard, the Lamerton is a patrol craft; with assault shuttles it is a landing ship. For operational support, the Lamerton can swap some or all of its craft for cargo pods. Designs for gunships and assault shuttles are also included.
Starships and Spacecraft Book 3: Chevalier
The Starships and Spacecraft series from Avenger Enterprises presents an array of spacegoing vessels for use in science-fiction roleplaying games. All designs are compatible with the Traveller RPG from Mongoose Publishing, but offer a different take on interstellar travel that will open up new adventure possibilities.
Starships and Spacecraft Book 3: Chevalier presents a range of primarily military vessel designs including single-seat interceptors, torpedo-armed V-boats and small patrol or picket vessels. In support is a multipurpose supply/support ship which can also function as a troop transport or even the command vessel for a small task force. These ships were designed with the Far Avalon background in mind but can be used in any SF gaming setting.
The featured design is the Chevalier class heavy corvette. This ‘pocket cruiser’ is optimised for in-system patrol and defence work, and is sometimes carried as a gunship by larger craft. Favoured by cash-strapped navies for its deterrent capabilities, the Chevalier mounts the firepower of a significantly larger vessel and forms the backbone of many minor naval forces.
Starships and Spacecraft Book 4: Da Vinci
The Starships and Spacecraft series from Avenger Enterprises presents an array of spacegoing vessels for use in science-fiction roleplaying games. All designs are compatible with the Traveller RPG from Mongoose Publishing, but offer a different take on interstellar travel that will open up new adventure possibilities.
Starships and Spacecraft Book 4: Da Vinci presents a range of vessel designs, ranging from orbital defence forts and in-system cargo barges to patrol ships for law enforcement and system security. These ships were designed with the Far Avalon background in mind but can be used in any SF gaming setting.
The main focus of the book is on the ‘Standard 50’ cargo pod system and vessels designed to use it. These range from a simple hold/pod freighter to the Da Vinci class Multimission Sloop, which makes use of the Standard 50 pod system to tailor the vessel to a variety of roles. Also featured is the Fallback class pod/lifeboat, which allows a suitably equipped vessel to trade cargo space for an emergency escape capability.
Far Avalon
Far Avalon is a complete science-fiction game setting created by Martin J Dougherty.
Far from the Home Worlds, the Far Avalon region was for many years an underdeveloped backwater. Now, it may be the only enclave of humans left in the universe. With the inexplicable failure of the Lubeck Conduit, the people of Far Avalon must find their own future. Some seek to build empires, some search for a way home, while others have less obvious plans.
Far Avalon is a region in turmoil, a place where a handful of daring individuals can make a distance. A new order may emerge, or chaos may descend. Perhaps some external threat is about to fall upon the people of Far Avalon… or it may be that the greatest danger comes from within.
Far Avalon Book 1: Background and Spacecraft
Far Avalon Book 1 details the history of the region and its power structures today. From the gangs of First Landing Starport to the bitterly divided remnants of the Fleet; from the emergent empires to the mysterious but benevolent First Church of Humanity Arisen, this book presents their capabilities, intentions and motivations.
Book 1 focuses on the world of Far Avalon itself. Once a centre of commerce, a base for the colonisation of the region, it has suffered economic collapse and disasters, becoming a hotbed of political machinations as the city-states of Far Avalon strive for dominance and the chance to reclaim their era of greatness.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/96330/Far-Avalon%2C-Book-1%2C-Background-and-Spacecraft
Far Avalon Book 2: Star Systems
Far Avalon Book 2 is an Atlas of the Far Avalon region, detailing the star systems of the region and their worlds. Many systems have several inhabited worlds and moons, and many worlds have multiple distinct societies. All are presented in detail, each with its own unique flavour.
Book 2 details habitable Green and Brown systems, harsh Rockballs, borderline Gray worlds and lethal Hell Worlds. A wealth of other adventure settings can be found on moons, asteroid belts and even in supposedly empty Barren systems.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/96329/Far-Avalon%2C-Book-2%2C-Star-Systems
Far Avalon Book 3: Traveller Conversion Book
The Far Avalon setting is internally consistent and can be used with any rules system. This volume allows the use of the Traveller rules from Mongoose Publishing in the Far Avalon setting. It presents variants to the character creation, starship design and combat rules tailored to the unique Far Avalon background, and ties in with the Career Books from Spica Publishing.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/96328/Far-Avalon%2C-Book-3%2C-Traveller-Conversion
QAD (Quick-and-Dirty) Game Rules System
The QAD (Quick-and-Dirty) series includes game rules, supplements and tools that can be used together or with any other rules set. As the name suggests, the QAD series is all about getting a quick result that will not slow down play or require a degree in mathematics to use.
QADVentures (Quick-and-Dirty Adventures)
QADVentures is a set of gaming rules for running fast-paced adventure games. Narrative rather than simulationist in style, QADVentures allows players great freedom to personalise and develop their character, with an infinite number of special abilities. The rules emphasise a cinematic or narrative style of play, resolving actions quickly without becoming bogged down in excessive rules or dice-rolling.
QADVerse (Quick-and-Dirty Universe)
QADVerse presents a quick and simple set of rules for building a game universe, from star systems to local political systems. The system uses simple rules of thumb to create a plausible setting with a minimum of effort.
QADVerse can be used to create an entire setting, or to fill in details when the players suddenly decide to wander off the map or into uncharted territory.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/98953/QADVerse
Adventures
These adventures are compatible with the Far Avalon background, and use locations detailed in the Far Avalon books. However, they are self-contained and include all setting information necessary for use. These adventures are easy to transplant to another game universe or to run as a self-contained one-off.
Counterweights and Measures
Predatory corporations, backed by the political, legal and military might of the Trade Worlds, are encroaching on new territories and displacing local businesses in a classic economic conquest. Direct opposition is doomed to failure, but it may be possible to play the Trade Worlds at their own game. If enough local political and business leaders unite against them, the Trade Worlds expansion can be stalled or made too expensive to proceed with.
A band of adventurers sets out to find allies against the Trade Worlds. They will face dangers along the way: the acid clouds of a hell world, a workers’ riot on an outsystem mining station, a clash of cultures in the desolate wastelands. But the greatest danger is from those who recognise the power of the idea the adventurers carry, and who will stop at nothing to silence it.
Infinity Lost
Long ago, holy seekers found an incredible place, a well of infinity through which the souls of mortals could touch the infinite. The Infinity Well has been lost for centuries, the subject of forlorn searching by generations of believers. Now it has been found, and along with it a terrible secret.
At a time when unity is vital, the adventurers stumble upon a truth that could divide the people of the Far Avalon region and perhaps even start wars. Threatened by those who would bury the Infinity Well forever, the characters are forced to choose between actions that – according to some – will damn the souls of all humanity and a hopeless fight on behalf of a faith they do not share.
Other Projects
A number of Avenger Enterprises products are available through the Mongoose Publishing or Flaming Cobra imprints. These include Crowded Hours, Project Steel and Sector Fleet. The rest of the Avenger-written Traveller materials such as the Bowman Arm and the New Era/1248 books are currently unavailable.
Cut off from the Home Worlds, the Bora Rina Colonial District is riven by civil war. As the Newly-created Grand Republic tightens its totalitarian grasp over the region, rebel worlds and warships fight for their independence. Pirates, patriotic traitors and a broken hero find themselves aligned against the might of the Grand Republican fleet.
A Brevet For The Guillotine (Historical/Military Adventure Novel)
It is 1796, and the young General Bonaparte leads the armies of France on his career-making Italian Campaign. Among them is Victor Hevry, a young officer trying to keep ahead of a court-martial that will send him to the guillotine. His only chance is to find the man responsible for the fiasco that wiped out Victor’s unit, and somehow bring him to justice.
Victor is pitted against the rampant corruption of the French army, an enemy who is a powerful superior officer, and the dangers of the campaign. From the fortress assaults at Mantua to the bloody slugging-match at Rivoli, Victor fights battles of his own amid Bonaparte’s masterpiece.
Starships and Spacecraft Book 0: Cawthorne
Starships and Spacecraft Book 0: Cawthorne details the key concepts and design features underlying the designs presented in the series. These include new weapons (plasma carronades, point-defence lasers, mass driver cannon and torpedo grapples), emergency FTL drives and pod-based cargo handling systems.
Also featured is the Cawthorne class survey sloop, a rugged vessel designed to operate on the fringes of explored space. Cawthornes can be encountered in the hands of explorers, mining companies, and researchers and are sometimes pressed into naval service. Used models can sometimes be picked up cheap, for a variety of reasons…
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/97802/Starships-and-Spacecraft-Book-0%3A-Cawthorne
Starships and Spacecraft Book 1: Vendetta
Starships and Spacecraft Book 1: Vendetta presents a range of vessel designs, ranging from humble utility boats, shuttles and resupply ships to frontier traders and passenger vessels. These ships were designed with the Far Avalon background in mind but can be used in any SF gaming setting.
The featured design is the Vendetta class light assault ship, a popular vessel with small mercenary forces and corporate security units. Examples have also been converted for use as an extremely well protected trading vessel, or as a pirate or planetary raider.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/99098/Vendetta-Ship-Book-I
Starships and Spacecraft Book 2: Lamerton
Starships and Spacecraft Book 2: Lamerton presents a range of craft designs optimised for efficiency and flexibility. These include modular vessels capable of changing configuration or role by swapping out their module fit, and the Draken and Glipen corvettes. The Draken is a tough combat or patrol ship, while the Glipen is a complimentary design intended to provide operational or combat support. These ships were designed with the Far Avalon background in mind but can be used in any SF gaming setting.
The featured design is the Lamerton class tug-corvette. The Lamerton’s central section can be swapped between roles depending on what is carried on its towing arms. With gunships aboard, the Lamerton is a patrol craft; with assault shuttles it is a landing ship. For operational support, the Lamerton can swap some or all of its craft for cargo pods. Designs for gunships and assault shuttles are also included.
Starships and Spacecraft Book 3: Chevalier
The Starships and Spacecraft series from Avenger Enterprises presents an array of spacegoing vessels for use in science-fiction roleplaying games. All designs are compatible with the Traveller RPG from Mongoose Publishing, but offer a different take on interstellar travel that will open up new adventure possibilities.
Starships and Spacecraft Book 3: Chevalier presents a range of primarily military vessel designs including single-seat interceptors, torpedo-armed V-boats and small patrol or picket vessels. In support is a multipurpose supply/support ship which can also function as a troop transport or even the command vessel for a small task force. These ships were designed with the Far Avalon background in mind but can be used in any SF gaming setting.
The featured design is the Chevalier class heavy corvette. This ‘pocket cruiser’ is optimised for in-system patrol and defence work, and is sometimes carried as a gunship by larger craft. Favoured by cash-strapped navies for its deterrent capabilities, the Chevalier mounts the firepower of a significantly larger vessel and forms the backbone of many minor naval forces.
Starships and Spacecraft Book 4: Da Vinci
The Starships and Spacecraft series from Avenger Enterprises presents an array of spacegoing vessels for use in science-fiction roleplaying games. All designs are compatible with the Traveller RPG from Mongoose Publishing, but offer a different take on interstellar travel that will open up new adventure possibilities.
Starships and Spacecraft Book 4: Da Vinci presents a range of vessel designs, ranging from orbital defence forts and in-system cargo barges to patrol ships for law enforcement and system security. These ships were designed with the Far Avalon background in mind but can be used in any SF gaming setting.
The main focus of the book is on the ‘Standard 50’ cargo pod system and vessels designed to use it. These range from a simple hold/pod freighter to the Da Vinci class Multimission Sloop, which makes use of the Standard 50 pod system to tailor the vessel to a variety of roles. Also featured is the Fallback class pod/lifeboat, which allows a suitably equipped vessel to trade cargo space for an emergency escape capability.
Far Avalon
Far Avalon is a complete science-fiction game setting created by Martin J Dougherty.
Far from the Home Worlds, the Far Avalon region was for many years an underdeveloped backwater. Now, it may be the only enclave of humans left in the universe. With the inexplicable failure of the Lubeck Conduit, the people of Far Avalon must find their own future. Some seek to build empires, some search for a way home, while others have less obvious plans.
Far Avalon is a region in turmoil, a place where a handful of daring individuals can make a distance. A new order may emerge, or chaos may descend. Perhaps some external threat is about to fall upon the people of Far Avalon… or it may be that the greatest danger comes from within.
Far Avalon Book 1: Background and Spacecraft
Far Avalon Book 1 details the history of the region and its power structures today. From the gangs of First Landing Starport to the bitterly divided remnants of the Fleet; from the emergent empires to the mysterious but benevolent First Church of Humanity Arisen, this book presents their capabilities, intentions and motivations.
Book 1 focuses on the world of Far Avalon itself. Once a centre of commerce, a base for the colonisation of the region, it has suffered economic collapse and disasters, becoming a hotbed of political machinations as the city-states of Far Avalon strive for dominance and the chance to reclaim their era of greatness.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/96330/Far-Avalon%2C-Book-1%2C-Background-and-Spacecraft
Far Avalon Book 2: Star Systems
Far Avalon Book 2 is an Atlas of the Far Avalon region, detailing the star systems of the region and their worlds. Many systems have several inhabited worlds and moons, and many worlds have multiple distinct societies. All are presented in detail, each with its own unique flavour.
Book 2 details habitable Green and Brown systems, harsh Rockballs, borderline Gray worlds and lethal Hell Worlds. A wealth of other adventure settings can be found on moons, asteroid belts and even in supposedly empty Barren systems.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/96329/Far-Avalon%2C-Book-2%2C-Star-Systems
Far Avalon Book 3: Traveller Conversion Book
The Far Avalon setting is internally consistent and can be used with any rules system. This volume allows the use of the Traveller rules from Mongoose Publishing in the Far Avalon setting. It presents variants to the character creation, starship design and combat rules tailored to the unique Far Avalon background, and ties in with the Career Books from Spica Publishing.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/96328/Far-Avalon%2C-Book-3%2C-Traveller-Conversion
QAD (Quick-and-Dirty) Game Rules System
The QAD (Quick-and-Dirty) series includes game rules, supplements and tools that can be used together or with any other rules set. As the name suggests, the QAD series is all about getting a quick result that will not slow down play or require a degree in mathematics to use.
QADVentures (Quick-and-Dirty Adventures)
QADVentures is a set of gaming rules for running fast-paced adventure games. Narrative rather than simulationist in style, QADVentures allows players great freedom to personalise and develop their character, with an infinite number of special abilities. The rules emphasise a cinematic or narrative style of play, resolving actions quickly without becoming bogged down in excessive rules or dice-rolling.
QADVerse (Quick-and-Dirty Universe)
QADVerse presents a quick and simple set of rules for building a game universe, from star systems to local political systems. The system uses simple rules of thumb to create a plausible setting with a minimum of effort.
QADVerse can be used to create an entire setting, or to fill in details when the players suddenly decide to wander off the map or into uncharted territory.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/98953/QADVerse
Adventures
These adventures are compatible with the Far Avalon background, and use locations detailed in the Far Avalon books. However, they are self-contained and include all setting information necessary for use. These adventures are easy to transplant to another game universe or to run as a self-contained one-off.
Counterweights and Measures
Predatory corporations, backed by the political, legal and military might of the Trade Worlds, are encroaching on new territories and displacing local businesses in a classic economic conquest. Direct opposition is doomed to failure, but it may be possible to play the Trade Worlds at their own game. If enough local political and business leaders unite against them, the Trade Worlds expansion can be stalled or made too expensive to proceed with.
A band of adventurers sets out to find allies against the Trade Worlds. They will face dangers along the way: the acid clouds of a hell world, a workers’ riot on an outsystem mining station, a clash of cultures in the desolate wastelands. But the greatest danger is from those who recognise the power of the idea the adventurers carry, and who will stop at nothing to silence it.
Infinity Lost
Long ago, holy seekers found an incredible place, a well of infinity through which the souls of mortals could touch the infinite. The Infinity Well has been lost for centuries, the subject of forlorn searching by generations of believers. Now it has been found, and along with it a terrible secret.
At a time when unity is vital, the adventurers stumble upon a truth that could divide the people of the Far Avalon region and perhaps even start wars. Threatened by those who would bury the Infinity Well forever, the characters are forced to choose between actions that – according to some – will damn the souls of all humanity and a hopeless fight on behalf of a faith they do not share.
Other Projects
A number of Avenger Enterprises products are available through the Mongoose Publishing or Flaming Cobra imprints. These include Crowded Hours, Project Steel and Sector Fleet. The rest of the Avenger-written Traveller materials such as the Bowman Arm and the New Era/1248 books are currently unavailable.
