What We Found Beyond the Stars + complimentary PDF (via online store)

What We Found Beyond The Stars is a GMless Roleplaying Game about cooperation and discovery on alien worlds. There is no combat, though dangerous situations may arise.

You are a small research crew, sent out to the stars as part of the Studies of Proactive Panspermia of Celestial Bodies for the Cosmic Alliance.

Through unity, we persevere. Through perseverance, we learn.

How It's Played

What It Uses

Played with a standard set of 7 polyhedral dice and a 78 card Tarot deck.

Skills & Skill Tests

There are a total of 11 skills that you can use as you conduct your expedition, each having their own uses for particular tasks: Astrophysics, Biology, Bioscience, Chemistry, Engineering, Geology, Linguistics, Medical, Nanotechnology, Navigation, and Robotics.

As an Event is pulled, 2d8 are rolled to determine how long this task is focused on. (alternatively a d20 is used to count down on) Each day, each crewmate rolls one of the corresponding skills found with the drawn card's text.

Tests that a cosmonaut performs are done with 3 main dice:

• A d12 for rolls you are an Master in. You are a Master in 2 Skills.
• A d10 for rolls you are an Expert in. You are an Expert in 2 Skills.
• A d8 for rolls you are not proficient in. All other Skills you have fall under this.

Skill tests are done against a sliding scale of progress. Having proficiency in any particular Skill will give you a greater chance of completing a task completely.

If you fall short of your key performance indicators, it doesn't mean outright failure. It reflects poorly on your crew, with the task not being completed optimally or simply abandoned for more pressing issues.

If you complete a task with 4 or more successes, each cosmonaut is granted a singular reroll for one skill test for the duration of the next task, taking the higher roll of the two.

Twists About the Crew

Each cosmonaut brings with them a dark truth. From forged qualification paperwork to the cause of tragedy on your last expedition, from being a doppelgänger to being an alien in the facade of being human. These twists are revealed throughout your expedition.

Set a Destination

Once your cosmonauts are ready, you collectively find the celestial body you will be exploring. This covers the type of star system you find yourself in, alongside the basic features the celestial body has.

Exploring the World

With each card drawn the world before you is fleshed out. From the landscape itself to ecosystems. Each suit has a different focus.

Suit of Cups

This suit focuses on the ship in orbit, and the internal happenings of the crew. When these cards are drawn there are minimal trips to the celestial bodies surface, the crew instead performing maintenance of the ship and getting downtime on the mission.

Suit of Pentacles

This suit focuses on exploring the wider world, and finding remnants of life. When these cards are drawn the crew finds natural—sometimes strange—features on the celestial bodies surface, the dregs of past life and geographical history.

Suit of Swords

This suit focuses on the technological advancements you stumble upon, and deciphering the hardware and culture left behind. When these cards are drawn the crew spends time analysing the history of those who once called this place home.

Suits of Wands

This suit focuses on exploring parts of the celestial bodies ecosystem. When these cards are drawn the crew may be setting up camp, or finding local flora and fauna, these encounters tend to be with life that doesn't have the capacity to communicate verbally.

Major Arcana

This suit focuses on a singular larger issue or encounters. When these cards are drawn dangerous events may happen. Each card in the Major Arcana acts as a climaxing event, with the final major card that is drawn being the breaking point for the mission's conclusion.

What Did You Find Beyond the Stars?

Once the expedition concludes, all the cosmonauts talk to come to a consenus about what is happening here, piecing together a final report for the Cosmic Alliance. 

No AI was used in the creation of this TTRPG