spaceships in space

Main Gameplay Mechanics

Focus Tokens

Focus Tokens are earned when rolling a fiasco.

Crew members and the starship can have up to 3 Focus Tokens each.

Spend Focus Tokens to improve dice rolls or perform a system shunt.

Starship Configuration

CORE Systems

  • CPU – Communicate, detect, compute
  • HUL – Resist, sustain, survive
  • NAV – Navigate, avoid, manoeuvre

Dice mapping

  • 6 dice assigned to CORE systems (Min 1 each)
  • Reassign dice with System Shunt

Systems can be shunted...

  • ...after a critical success roll
  • ...by spending a Focus Token after any roll
  • ...at any time by spending the Engineering Token
  • ...during downtime between action scenes

Modules

  • Numbered: #1, #2, #3, #4
  • See Module Types section

Tokens

  • Life Support:
    • When lost: Crew becomes Exposed
    • Can be spent to heal the whole crew:
      • Down and Out crew members regain consciousness and return to 3 vitality
      • Other crew members can choose to return to 3 vitality or repair one of their suit systems
  • Integrity:
    • Lost on first damage taken
    • Spend to automatically critically succeed on a ship roll instead of rolling
  • Engineering:
    • All ship rolls are desperate when lost
    • Spend to...
      • ...repair a destroyed module
      • ...jury-rig a module, changing it's functionality
      • ...automatically succeed on a ship roll instead of rolling

Taking damage:

  • Earn a Focus Token (up to 3)
  • If the ship has the Integrity token, lose it
  • Otherwise, roll d6
    • 1 - 4: Destroy numbered module
      • Already destroyed: Wrecked!
    • 5 - 6: Safe!

If the ship is Wrecked, the mission is over.

Module Types

Specialised CORE Capabilities

Unique tools or upgrades tied to a core system.
+1d6 for appropriate rolls.

e.g:

  • BIOSCANNER (CPU): Detect lifeforms
  • AFTERBURNERS (NAV): Powerful straight-line acceleration

Additional Capabilities

Allows for bespoke capabilities
Usually limited-use (1, 2, 3, or 6)

e.g:

  • MICROJUMP: Teleport up to 100km, 3 uses
  • CLOAK: Become invisible while motionless, 2 uses

Passive Modules

Minor upgrades with passive effects.
Continues to function even when marked as destroyed.

e.g:

  • MEDBAYS: Easier medical procedures
  • CRYOBUNKS: Crew can enter long-term stasis
  • CARGOHULL: Expanded storage capabilities

Crew Loadout

Vitality

Start with 3 vitality

Suit systems

  • Life Support: Crew rolls are desperate if Exposed
  • Primary Tool: +2d6
  • Secondary Tool: +1d6

Equipment Examples

  • IMPACT DRILL: Breach reinforced materials
  • THERMAL LASER: Cut standard materials
  • SUPERMANOEUVRE KIT: High agility + dodge
  • MEDKIT: Patch up allies

Taking Damage

  • Earn a Focus Token, and roll d6
    • 1–2: Lose life support system
    • 3–4: Lose primary tool system
    • 5–6: Lose secondary tool system
    • If system already lost: lose 1 vitality

At 0 Vitality: Become Down and Out

When Down and Out, crew members are Incapacitated. They can still participate in conversations, but are unable to move by themselves or perform any kind of physical or expert actions.

If the entire crew is Down and Out, the mission is over.

Healing a crew mate

  • When out of danger, spend a Focus Token and make a Crew Roll:
    • Critical — crew mate regains 2 Vitality (up to 3)
    • Success — crew mate regains 1 Vitality (up to 3)
      • w/ Consequence: Spend another Focus Token or Take Damage
    • Fiasco — Spend another Focus Token or Take Damage

Exposed

A crew member is Exposed if they are not in an environment that supports life.
e.g:

  • On a space walk
  • Life support systems are offline
  • There is a fire or other dangerous environment

Rolls & Outcomes

Rolling

  • Determine number of dice to roll
    • Ship: take dice from the appropriate CORE system (CPU, HUL, or NAV), and add specialised CORE capability modules if appropriate
    • Crew member: take dice equal to Vitality, and add dice from equipment if appropriate
  • Roll dice
  • Optional: Spend Focus Tokens to increase the value of dice, one for one.
  • Read the highest value:
    • 1–3: Fiasco, earn a Focus Token. If the roll was Desperate, take damage.
    • 4–5: Success w/ drawback
    • 6: Success
    • Multiple 6s: Critical Success

Group Roll

Everyone rolls separately, outcome affects everyone

  • Everyone rolled Critical: Critical
  • At least one Critical: Success
  • Everyone rolled Success: Success
  • At least one Success: Success w/Drawback
  • Everyone rolled Fiasco: Fiasco

Narrative Mechanics

Tables, Decks, and Clocks are the main mechanisms available for structured narration.

These mechanics are designed to help in improvisational play, and keep the tension high throughout the session.

The outcomes can be purely narrative, but they may also have mechanical effects too, like awarding Focus Tokens, or making the ship Take Damage.

Tables

Lists of events, situations, items, or prompts.
Typically with 6 entries (d6), or 36 entries separated into 6 sections (d66).

When appropriate, roll dice to select an entry from a table.
For a d66 table, roll a d6 to select a section, and another to select an entry.

Tables are typically pre-written, and may be completely hidden from the players. This book contains a number of useful tables for a wide range of situations.

e.g:
Derelict space station status:

  1. Abandoned, intact
  2. Abandoned, ruined
  3. Crew dead, intact
  4. Crew dead, ruined
  5. d6 surviving crew detected, ruined
  6. Non-human lifeforms, intact

Decks

A collection of cards with events, situations, items, or prompts.
Typically around 6 cards.

Used when exploring or searching. The contents of the deck may be known, partially known, or completely secret to the players.

Decks are typically composed during session preparation or on the fly depending on the Navigator's needs.

Decks can also be composed collaboratively. Start with a deck of four negative cards, then the players may add desirable cards to the deck. The Navigator adds a negative or neutral card for each player-added card.,

When players explore or search, randomly pick a card from the deck.

e.g:
Looking for survivors:

  • Found the survivors.
  • Found some dead bodies.
  • Accidentally cause a life support failure. The crew is now Exposed.
  • Found the station layout: from now on, pick two cards and choose which to keep, return the other card to the deck.
  • Found the med bay, if power is restored, can be used once to heal the crew and survivors when found.
  • Found the generator, can be reactivated to restore power. When power is restored, exploring is no longer Desperate.
  • Hull breach, you are vented into space.
  • Radiation anomaly, radio communications offline.
  • Fire! Start a 6-segment death clock: All rolls are Desperate for the duration of the clock. The station explodes at the end of the clock.
  • Found some veil-touched materials.

Clocks

Ongoing events can be represented as clocks.
Have a certain number of sections:

  • Short: 4
  • Normal: 6
  • Long: 8
  • Extended: 10 or 12

Sections get filled in depending on their type, when completed, the narrative advances.

Typically, the crew is informed of what the clock's outcome will be.

Clock types

Push clock

Desirable outcome.
Advances when the players succeed on actions to progress the clock.

  • Success: +1
  • Critical: +2

e.g: Repair the airlock, 4 segments, allows the crew to escape the space station when filled.

Catastrophe clock

Catastrophic outcome.
Advances when the players run into trouble.

  • Success w/ drawback: +1
  • Fiasco: +2

e.g: Unstable power core, 6 segments, irradiates the space station when filled (crew becomes Exposed).

Death clock

Catastrophic outcome. May also have an effect for the duration of the clock. Can typically be cancelled or delayed by the players.
Advances with time.

e.g: Collision course, 4 segments, starship collides with the asteroid when filled (ship Takes damage).

Augury clock

Narrative outcome, maybe be desirable, catastrophic, or neutral, but things will change.
The outcome is typically partially unknown to the players.
Advances with time.

e.g: The source of the mysterious signal is approaching, 8 segments.

Advancement

Crew Advancement

After a mission, successful or not, crew members are allowed to advance.

  • Choose Upgrade or Mission Prep
  • Upgrade:
    • Choose quality or suit upgrade.
    • If you do not already have an item from that list, choose freely.
    • If you have two items, choose one to lose.
    • Roll d6, if it lands on a new item, acquire it, otherwise, choose freely.
  • Mission Prep, choose one or roll twice (next mission only):
    1. 3 Focus Tokens (can go over maximum if rolled twice)
    2. Ingenuity Token, spend before rolling a Standard roll to automatically Succeed
    3. Foresight Token, spend to turn a Desperate roll Standard
    4. Care Token, spend to automatically Succeed on a roll to Heal a crew mate
    5. Willpower Token, spend to fill or empty a single segment of a Clock
    6. Sheer Dread, earn an additional Focus Token on Fiasco crew rolls

Qualities

  1. Resourceful — You always roll 3d6+tool, regardless of Vitality
  2. Relentless — When Down and Out, you can still take actions at 1d6+tool. Take Damage: You die, burn your crew sheet.
  3. Expert — Choose an expertise, like "hacking" or "biology", gain +1d6 when it applies.
  4. Forceful — When you spend Focus Tokens, instead of increasing values, pick dice to reroll. The new results are final.
  5. Defender — When a nearby crew mate Takes Damage, you may spend a Focus Token, and roll Vitality:
  • Critical: Nobody Takes Damage.
  • Success: You Take Damage instead.
  • Fiasco: You both Take Damage.
  1. Reckless: Instead of rolling, you can Take Damage for a Success.

Suit Upgrades

  1. Auxiliary Arm — Add a +1d6 tool to your Life Support system.
  2. Oversized Systems — Secondary Tool gives +2d6 instead of +1d6.
  3. Adaptive Plating — When Taking Damage, spend Focus Tokens to bump the die to hit a different system.
  4. Ablative Armour — Gain a personal Integrity Token, lost when first Taking Damage.
  5. Limiter Override — All of your crew rolls are Desperate, and you gain +1d6 on all crew rolls.
  6. Recirculation Kit — Earn an extra Focus Token on failed crew rolls.