Death In Space: The Starless Tide | campaign | learn-to-play | homebrew | free session zero

About the adventure

As if life wouldn’t be hard enough already, the opaque cloud of black matter, seen coming for long and named the Starless Tide, swept into the ecliptic of the Tenebris system, with more and more of the planets and satellites of the Outer Rim going silent or never sighted again. With a threat of this magnitude at their doorstep and accelerating, the powers-that-be of the far future are forced to send in their scouts. Pick (or roll) from eight major organisations of the Tenebris system to fund your expedition, affecting starting ship, personal equipment, and primary objective. Roll up your crew (maybe your backups as well), check your fuel and oxygen levels, and head right into the unknown of the Starless Tide. Welcome to DEATH IN SPACE, a sci-fi/horror/recyclepunk role-playing game about blue collar contractors and space truckers of the far future racing to do their best against the backdrop of a collapsing universe. DEATH IN SPACE features: ⧫ a streamlined, rules light D20 system ⧫ emphasis on exploration, salvage, repair, and role-play ⧫ quick and easy character generation (complete with quirky origins and flavour tables) ⧫ a hub of your own for your party to start with (spacecraft or space station) ⧫ systems to maintain and repair gear ⧫ systems to maintain and upgrade the hub (spacecraft or space station) ⧫ a compact, tightly packed technological setting with cosmic horror lurking in the static ⧫ lots of space for collective world-building ⧫ some great opportunities to die in space This will be an introductory game to the setting and the system, with no prep required on your side. The campaign will be scheduled weekly or bi-weekly. Session zero is free, we are going to cover ⧫ introduction to the setting ⧫ core rules, ⧫ character and hub generation.

Additional Details

How to prepare

Make sure you can connect to Roll20 audio and video before the game (and please check if your Discord's audio/video is operational, in case we have to fall back to it). Please use earplugs or headphones, and avoid playing from your phone if possible.

What I provide

We will play theatre of the mind, using Roll20 for character sheets, dice, handouts, and some ambient background images.

Gameplay details

Please mind that DEATH IN SPACE is in part a horror game. If you have something to talk about, please bring it up before the game session begins. If you have something to talk about during the session, please do so.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Breaks
Lines and Veils
Open Door
Session 0

How will character creation work

We’re rolling up characters during session zero. The game has a quick and fun method for generating characters, and you’ll be assigned character sheets on Roll20.

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.