Found and downloaded Offworlders, as I’m going to be a player in Jason Cordova’s game, which is using the system to play Mothership: Dead Planet (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/224297/Strange-Worlds-Dead-Planets?term=dead+planet&test_epoch=0). Did a little mini review for people interested. It’s FREE. So if it peaks your interest go get it!
Accessible to new-comers in the hobby without feeling bloated for the more experienced people. An elegant framework based on World of Dungeons, in which you add an attribute (Strength, Agility, Intelligence, or Willpower) to 2d6 with degrees of success. At a cost, full success, or a miss. When you roll with an applicable skill you can re-roll one die.
It seems quick and easy to make a character. Stat block, choose a class (Warrior, Outlaw, Geek, or Psychic), get some gear, name yourself–and you’re on your way. You also make a ship together, which feels like it’d be fun and fast. You need to maintain the ship and you can upgrade it.
I like that money is abstracted like in Powered by the Apocalypse games, I hate bookkeeping but like shopping. So this is for me. Gear is more than just fictional positioning, dictating damage and harm, etc. Supply and travel matter.
GM section seems solid, giving the GM goalposts for the kind of fiction the game is going for. There’s a die of fate, as in World of Dungeons, where, if the GM isn’t sure about something, they can adjudicate it to a die roll and be impartial and be surprised by outcomes just as the players are.
There’s also a job framework, a star map and factions (inspired by Stars Without Number), includes some tables for inspiration, and feels pretty complete. Where World of Dungeons is 2 pages, this is 31 and the additional information is a benefit. The additional design inspirations feel like they’d be in service to the desired fiction.
The layout is mostly great. For a free product, uh, it’s amazing. I don’t like three column but the layout shifts throughout, keeping things easy on the eyes. The font is a little small but on a PDF where you can zoom in–no big deal. There’s way more art than I’d expect in a) a free product b) a 31 page PDF. The art is good, the tone might clash a bit with the text, though; which feels more old-school and dangerous. Whereas the art is pretty light.
Overall it seems like it’d fit together nicely and I’ll nab it in print for sure, I think. So hype to be playing with Jason again, it’s been forever (seemingly).
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/257632/Offworlders?term=offworlders&test_epoch=0
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/257632/Offworlders?term=offworlders&test_epoch=0
Nice art, too
Nice art, too