Starset RPG: Fight For Hope In A Dark, Dystopian Future – LIVE On Kickstarter
Starset RPG is inspired by Arcane, Dune, and Game of Thrones and tells unique stories about reclaiming hope from the sci-fi grimdark.
Fans of grimdark, sci-fi, and horror storytelling have never played a game like this. Starset RPG, 2nd Edition is packed with backstory-based character creation, a death-spiral d6 system, and simultaneous action resolution for nail-biting storytelling. The fully written, 426-page tabletop RPG creates hopeful, horrifying, and thought-provoking stories staged in the dystopian future.
Character Creation in Starset RPG
What if backstories mattered?
One of the perennial challenges of character creation in roleplaying games is character backstories. Players either write pages of lore DMs reluctantly tinker into stories, or players write almost nothing and have little flavor—because why bother?
Starset: The Great Dimming is a new tabletop RPG on Kickstarter with an innovative twist to building characters: narrative character creation. Starset’s narrative character creation roots skills, items, finances, and faction affiliations to events in characters’ past rather than choices from lists of options.
Players start by picking from one of five ORIGINS:
- Combat; Character is a soldier fighting an illicit war on the edge of civilization.
- Common; Character is an everyday soul trying to make the most of daily life.
- Exploration; Character is an explorer surveying or settling wild lands.
- Mercenary; Character is a bounty hunter or grunt hired for a job.
- Slave; Character is a prisoner beholden to a master.
Each origin in In Starset RPG means different life events, and the character will suffer different perils. Players then roll against tables of 40 events unique to their chosen origin. The resulting event gives players with a difficult choice, and their decision directs players to a brief narrative explaining the impact of the decision and the skills, items, faction reputations, or keywords gained—or lost. It may even direct them to start a new Origin!
The process continues until players either elect to stop, or die via injuries, starvation, or old age. Characters can die in character creation, but the likelihood depends on the Origin characters come from and characters’ ages. Pushing backstories by making more plot decisions creates older characters with more developed skills—while increasing the odds characters’ pasts catch up to them.
Characters who survive are a product of these backstories. They carry their own grudges, scars, memories, and kit. These include keywords, which tag characters with certain experiences that change the outcome of backstory decisions and change how their character progresses through levels. Past trauma may take root and corrupt a Starset character over time, or a small mercy may open their eyes to a life of kindness and generosity.
By the end, Starset players have characters deeply knit into the game world with their own motivations and life experiences.
