Let me start by saying that I blame Michael (aka the Stargazer) for this! He recently started writing about the original Alternity game here and here, and it made me so nostalgic that I began digging through the files for my old campaign. That is where I found the topic for this post. Let me give you some context.
It was 1998. Alternity had been published earlier that year by TSR (which Wizards of the Coast had already purchased). I was obsessed with it. I wanted to run a campaign in a setting I had originally conceived around 1990 and had been tinkering with over the years: the Nirvani Alliance. Alternity felt like the perfect system for it, so I started adapting the rules for the campaign.
In September, I was busy planning my upcoming wedding, which was just three months away. Then, Hurricane Georges hit Puerto Rico! We lost power for days, so I spent nights by flashlight and candlelight, writing the campaign material discussed in this post.
What I wrote were the Alternity system rules for a mystic order of armored religious knights, inspired by various classic sci-fi influences. I eventually typed up the pages and showed them to my players. Naturally, none of them wanted to play one of the knights, so I shelved the rules and didn’t work on them any further.
Below are the rules, written 28 years ago, for an out-of-print game I still deeply love! I made no changes to the mechanics. I cleaned up the text, fixed some grammar, and made a few tweaks for clarity. This is not a professionally written or edited piece; it is a slice of house rules from my old Alternity campaign. I am sharing them purely for nostalgia’s sake, and I hope someone finds them useful.
This post includes an introduction and summary of concepts, rules, and ideas. At the end, you’ll find a link to the Alternity Indomitable Order Rules, an 11-page PDF with detailed information on this Order of warrior-knights. Don’t judge me too harshly, I wrote this almost 30 years ago!
The Age of the Nirvani
Of all the races inhabiting Alliance space, the Nirvani are the only ones not native to this galaxy. Even their name was a gift from the Keriani, who encountered them as they fled the forces of the TukNi-Amak puppet government. These refugees, who called themselves “humans,” claimed to hail from a distant galaxy decimated by a devastating plague.
The Keriani—whose name translates as “born from the womb of Ker”—named the newcomers Nirvani, or “born of no womb”. Though they arrived in the middle of a great interstellar war, the Nirvani were ready to start anew, and their arrival signaled a new order for the galaxy.
The Indomitable Order
The Knights of the Indomitable Order serve as the warrior sect of the Church of the Celestial Canticle. The Order traces its legacy to the foundation of the Alliance and the liberation campaign led by Lord Sparrowhawk. Selected by The Ever Present as a sword of vengeance, Sparrowhawk identified twenty-three soldiers of great faith—the Enlightened, or Saints of War—and bestowed upon them his wisdom and power.
These Enlightened formed the Bloodlines, passing their knowledge and unique abilities to subsequent generations. In modern times, the Order remains the Church’s premier fighting branch, though its influence has waned. Today’s knights survive by breeding strictly within the Bloodlines to retain their diluted, yet still formidable, birthright.
Life as an Indomitable
A member of the Order is born, not chosen. They serve as guardians, fighters, and symbols of the Church’s power. Those who abandon their destiny are branded Fallen, stripped of their heritage through an excruciating process involving power-inhibiting nanites. Those who openly rebel become Renegades, hunted down as enemies of the faith.
The Major Bloodlines
Each group within the Order has its own outlook and specialized abilities:
- The Sisterhood of Heimdal: Traditionalists and keepers of records who use “Bloodsense” to identify a newborn’s destiny. In Alternity terms, they possess the Enhanced Sense mutation.
- Bloodline Gilgamesh: The highly militaristic ground troopers. They receive a +1 to their STR score and a +3 to their Wound rating.
- Bloodline Zeus: Known as the “Scions of Thunder,” these warriors can manifest an Electrical Aura to damage enemies.
- The Conclave of Ra: Progressive tacticians who possess a variation of Energy Absorption, allowing them to turn light into energy.
- The Icarians: Independent and reclusive, these members have an improved DEX score and the Adaptation Gravity (light gravity) power.
- The Fellowship of the Jesesites: The only ordained Bloodline within the Church. They are healers who possess the Enhanced Healing power, though using it on others can cause them to suffer physical strain.
Relics of the Order
For players navigating the Alternity system, the Order’s equipment provides significant tactical advantages:
- Rune & Relic Armor: These suits are powered by the hero’s own bio-field. While wearing them, the specific powers of each Bloodline are augmented—for example, a Jesesite gains Hyper Healing, while an Icarian gains the ability to fly.
- Star Swords: Members of the Order receive a -1 step bonus to their Melee Weapons—Powered weapons skill base situation die when wielding these blades. They can even parry energy attacks.
- The Indomitable Ancestry Perk: A new 3-point Perk that allows a normal Nirvani hero to use Rune or Relic armor, though it costs them fatigue points to do so.
The life of the Indomitable is one of pride and strict adherence to the faith. Whether you are a dedicated soldier of the Church or a Renegade running from your heritage, you are “the chosen among the chosen”.
Want to dive into the mechanics? Check out this file: Alternity Indomitable Order Rules, for my complete notes on the Indomitable Order using the Alternity rules.
Are you ready to wield a Star Sword in your next session? Let me know which Bloodline fits your playstyle!
Writing and reviewing this document really stirred up my nostalgia for the game and for the campaign setting. I hope you find the Indomitable Order concept and its mechanics interesting. Let me know what you think of the application of the Alternity rules, the lore, or the campaign itself.
Would you be interested in reading more about the concepts or the Nirvani Alliance? I’m really looking forward to your comments!
