Mark Sabalauskas
Explorer
Sharing that I’ve just released Return to the Stars: a hopepunk space opera RPG powered by Fate.
The players of Return to the Stars are a new generation of geeks — makers, genetically enhanced cosplayers, scientists, and pop culture enthusiasts setting out on an adventure of exploration and discovery as they strive to reconnect the lost worlds of humanity.
If you already enjoy Fate it has some fun new subsystems that you can enjoy in Return, or adapt to your existing games and settings:
Bringing Fire is an introductory adventure designed to help new gamemasters and players learn the game while also putting the PCs at the center of world shaping events. Part of my goal here was to scaffold in core concepts to help people new to the Fate system get up to speed with the game.
Rouge One is the most important cosplay tournament in known space, but this year the stakes are even higher, as pop culture collides with political machinations to determine the fate of the galaxy.
And I’ve been tweeting daily story prompts and worldbuilding ideas [MENTION=10776]ninja[/MENTION]_festive since 2017—that’s already over 450 threads you can weave into your own sci-fi campaign! (Even if you don’t get Return this can be a useful resource for your SciFi campaign!) It is also supported by a quarterly 'zine.
To celebrate this hopepunk space opera tabletop RPG's launch, we're running an introductory weekend sale, and also have a deeply discounted bundle price when you buy the game with the Stellar Beacon 'zine, containing more adventures and pop culture insights!
The players of Return to the Stars are a new generation of geeks — makers, genetically enhanced cosplayers, scientists, and pop culture enthusiasts setting out on an adventure of exploration and discovery as they strive to reconnect the lost worlds of humanity.
If you already enjoy Fate it has some fun new subsystems that you can enjoy in Return, or adapt to your existing games and settings:
- Character Arcs Often in fiction a protagonist has a problematic way of interacting with the world. Eventually, they learn they need to change and grow. Character arcs are a structured way to spotlight how someone grows past their Trouble.
- Competitions Competitions are a type of contest in which the drama comes as much from trying to perform at the limits of your ability as it does from overcoming the opposition.
- Space Opera Skills and Stunts Skills tailored to tell science fiction stories—play as a scientist or an academic rather than someone with “lore”. Hack into computer systems, change your genetics on the fly. Over 100 fun stunts, including many novel ideas you could adapt as templates for other campaigns.
- Downtime Tinkering Creative options that players can have fun with between sessions to make the game richer for everyone.
- Props Return to the Stars is a game about who people are not about the stuff they carry. Still, loot makes players happy. Props are gear that you can have fun collecting but which are only used a single for a dramatic effect. Like an intriguing prop in a well-made science fiction movie it provides a moment of cool that shakes thing up and advances the story, and then you don’t see it again.
Bringing Fire is an introductory adventure designed to help new gamemasters and players learn the game while also putting the PCs at the center of world shaping events. Part of my goal here was to scaffold in core concepts to help people new to the Fate system get up to speed with the game.
Rouge One is the most important cosplay tournament in known space, but this year the stakes are even higher, as pop culture collides with political machinations to determine the fate of the galaxy.
And I’ve been tweeting daily story prompts and worldbuilding ideas [MENTION=10776]ninja[/MENTION]_festive since 2017—that’s already over 450 threads you can weave into your own sci-fi campaign! (Even if you don’t get Return this can be a useful resource for your SciFi campaign!) It is also supported by a quarterly 'zine.
To celebrate this hopepunk space opera tabletop RPG's launch, we're running an introductory weekend sale, and also have a deeply discounted bundle price when you buy the game with the Stellar Beacon 'zine, containing more adventures and pop culture insights!
