Those Dark Places: Industrial Science Fiction Roleplaying (Osprey Roleplaying)

Product Information

B: What are some of the fun moments you've had when playtesting Those Dark Places and running/being a part of games? If all this lore sounds a little intimidating, there’s no need to worry - the Star Trek Adventures core book comes with guidelines for newer players as well as veterans. The most important thing about Star Trek Adventures is that it provides a gateway for fans to explore the world of the franchise, including the Federation, as well as Alpha, Beta and Gamma Quadrants. Be prepared to face off against some classic villains such as the Cadassians, Borg, Romulans and, of course, the Klingons. Or even, in the case of the recently released Klingon core rulebook, play as one yourself. Trekkies will be able to indulge in their passion for the franchise with this genuinely good RPG adaptation.

Alien may have its very own official RPG now - which Rich heavily praised in our review - but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of other roleplaying games taking cues from the beloved horror franchise. Those Dark Places is a rules-light RPG, meaning that it’s a little more straightforward to play than something like D&D 5E, that focuses on the scarier parts of space-living. Players become crew members with different roles and personalities, such as the pilot or a shady corporate shill, who will venture into cramped space stations and the surfaces of eerie planets in the hopes of carving out a decent life for themselves. Those Dark Places Horror and sci-fi merge in this Alien-inspired RPG about the desolation of outer space Those Dark Places wears its inspirations on its sleeve. Pathfinder is considered to be one of the most popular RPGs out there, especially since the release of its recent second edition. It’s unsurprising that Pazio, the game’s publisher, thought to take the mechanics of its classic fantasy title and translate them into a science-fiction game. Hence Starfinder, an adventurous RPG that promises players a host of exciting escapades across the stars. As sci-fi roleplaying games go, Starfinder is definitely more of the space opera kind, with a wide selection of different species to play as - including androids, rat people called Ysoki and even futuristic elves - and an arsenal of abilities and weapons to wield. The book rounds out with a sample scenario outline - The Argent III Report. This sends the characters off on a retrieval mission for Cambridge-Wallace Inc, nearly 12 light-years away from Earth. They're sent to the Proycon system to recover an engineering team who have been decommissioning an old orbital station. It's a straightforward and reasonably linear scenario which should serve as a simple introduction. Space is a hell of a thing but you need to be sure that this is what you want. Like, what you really want. The idea of space exploration to further the frontiers of mankind is noble, but let's not kid ourselves – it's really all about furthering the profit margins. There's money to be made and out there is the place to make it, but you hear all kinds of stories… equipment malfunctions, strange discoveries, crewmembers going insane... You'll be out there in the reaches, alone, for months or years, breathing recycled air and drinking recycled water, with nothing but a few feet of metal and shielding between you and certain death.Combat is initiative-based and works on the exactly the same premise. Damage is deducted directly from your Strength score. At 0 you fall unconscious; from -2 onwards you start dying. As an example, a punch causes 1 damage, while a pistol causes 3. Most horrors in other mediums rely on 'jumpscares' to make their point but these are fleeting and don't always work, so building atmosphere is the primary goal, I feel. If you can get the players invested in the situation then they respond emotionally to situations and themes, and if you can make them uncomfortable as well as make them concerned about their character's safety (and sanity) then that's half the battle. The buildup is the key, you only have to watch Alien to see how that works. Lasers & Feelings A simple RPG about travelling through space using either your head or your heart Players will have their own spaceship to command on their journeys in Lasers & Feelings. The book begins with an introduction by the author, telling us what inspired him to write this book (SURPRISE! It was Alien and a few other films and video games), a little bit about what "industrial sci-fi roleplaying" means, and then small sections to tell both players and GMs what to expect. Mercifully, there is no "what IS a role-playing game?" section.

So, what does that mean? It means that space is not the domain of noble-bright explorers. It is the domain of corporations and their peons. Ships are utilitarian. Their designs are boxy, almost ugly. Corridors are cramped. Technology looks like it came out of a 70s Sci-fi movie because it's easy and cheap to repair. People are left in the cold dark reaches of space for years at a time with little company, living on stale recycled air and food. It takes a toll. Players create characters based on several potential archetypes - such as the alien or hot-shot - and select a role for them to play on the ship itself. They then select a number between two and five as their set target number. Whenever players want to perform an action, the GM determines whether they think it concerns lasers or feelings - with the player needing to roll over their target number for feelings and under for lasers. This means that players who are more empathetic will be looking to use persuasion or compassion to their advantage, whereas more scientifically-minded characters are better suited to smarts or knowledge. Having such a simple system makes Lasers & Feelings the perfect sci-fi themed RPG for fresh-faced roleplayers. JH: My two favourite moments were from a very early playtest and from a recent session I ran for Garblag Games on their channel. The playtest situation resulted in one fully functional player character trying to drag a half-dazed player character from an unconscious player character as a space station collapsed around them. The rolls just did not go their way and the panic was palpable as the D6 just kept on bringing up 1s and 2s. Starfinder Embark on an epic journey across space in this adventurous sci-fi RPG Yes, that is a rat person in this image. | Image credit: Paizo Ben: First off, could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about what you do and how you got started in the industry?

Reviews

Even though 'Those Dark Places' is inspired by movies and games like Alien and Dead Space, it's more the aesthetic and design I've taken my cues from. If anything, it's more a thriller like Outland - but you can add whatever strangeness you want. My only minor complaint is that some of the information in the GM system could have been clustered together instead of separated. None of it is separated by much distance, but I would put the Appendix N stuff right next to the setting material, interpreting the die roll along with the "how to handle conflict" stuff, and the notes on Pressure right next to the Episode information. Space is a hell of a thing but you need to be sure that this is what you want. Like, what you really want. The idea of space exploration to further the frontiers of mankind is noble, but let's not kid ourselves--it's really all about furthering the profit margins. There's money to be made and out there is the place to make it, but you hear all kinds of stories… equipment malfunctions, strange discoveries, crewmembers going insane... You'll be out there in the reaches, alone, for months or years, breathing recycled air and drinking recycled water, with nothing but a few feet of metal and shielding between you and certain death.

Those Dark Places is a rules-light, story-focused roleplaying game about the darker side of space exploration and the people who travel the stars in claustrophobic, dangerous conditions. Starships, stations, and outposts aren’t havens of safety with clean, brightly lit corridors – they’re potential deathtraps, funded by budget-conscious corporate interests and running on stale, recycled air and water. The stars may be the future of humanity, but they are also home to horrors and terror the human mind cannot comprehend." The universe of the upcoming RPG is described by publisher Osprey Games as being “a grim, dark, claustrophobic setting that constantly hints at danger”, with the storytelling game seemingly tailored for a “highly thematic” and atmospheric experience seeped in dread.

Inspired by the movie Alien, Outland, Silent Running, and Moon, Those Dark Places: Industrial Science Fiction Roleplaying game is a rules-light, story-focused roleplaying game that uses paranoia, claustrophobia, and isolation to induce tension and suspense—horror survival in space. There are no high-tech weapons or alien technologies to rely on. It’s you, your fellow crew members, and your ship of dials, switches, and levers to quell your fears.

The ‘GM Simulation Expansion’ is a free short book that gives the General Monitor a few more options to play with in a game of Those Dark Places. In the core rulebook there were plenty of adventure hooks and ideas to get a game going, as well as the adventure ‘The Argent III Report’, and in this supplement there will be a few more ideas for different kinds of games… B: The artwork from Nathan Anderson is particularly stunning in the book. Did you have much input on this side of things and help with this process? Venture into the darkest corners of the galaxy in Those Dark Places, an upcoming sci-fi horror RPG inspired by the likes of Alien and Dead Space. Shadowrun A fantasy and cyberpunk-infused RPG about the clash of magic and technology The world of Shadowrun is filled with all sorts of odd and interesting characters.The rules are incredibly simple (although it's fair to say that Fria Ligan's Alien game is not significantly more complex). You roll a six-sided dice and add an attribute (ranged from 1 to 4). If you have an appropriate crew position, you can add +1 or +2 depending on how strong it is. Success is achieved if you roll 7 or more. In some circumstances, this may be reduced to a target number of 6 or increased to 8. If you are in opposition to someone, you roll an opposed roll where you look for the highest roll instead.