Xenolith is a microgame about a multi-species crew responding to crises caused by the ancient relics that made galactic civilization possible. It is an unabashed homage (but in no way officially connected) to Mass Effect, one of my favorite video game series. And it won't be my last Mass Effect homage for 2400, because I am that kind of nerd. This one offers some rules for constructing alien species—20 obviously useful traits + 20 cosmetic traits, with some familiar sample combos—and later on, I hope to do a more detailed take on "powers."

This also marks 2400 as a submission to the September 2020 Monthly Micro Jam, with the theme, "Like a Moth to the Flame." I actually had a tough time deciding which 2400 module in the pipeline to use for this; just about every story about going into space is a potential tale of glorious self-immolation. In this case, the flame is a more literal technology, and the burn comes much later than expected. 

I should add, too, that this may be the module that will most challenge you when considering whether 2400 represents a single setting. It could! But belonging to an active, diverse, galaxy-spanning alien civilization will feel pretty different from wondering whether we're alone in the universe. Also, while rolling up a character in Xenolith, you could randomly determine that you're the last human in existence, other modules be damned. So there's that.

I'm looking forward to hearing how people run this one, and what's on the other end of that strange signal from darkspace.