Death In Space Review (Tabletop)

Here we sit at the table to play and report back our Death In Space Review. Civilization is dying, gems carry no meaning, communities and planets are fractured and yet no one can escape it. The dying stars have warned us, the vast blackness of space is collapsing into eternal nothingness. We must assemble a team of explorers and do whatever it takes to survive in this anarchy-filled, war-torn world or just give up and Die in space, floating forever on the curtain of darkness. Join us, won’t you… 

Death In Space Review Pros:

• The opening few pages set the story with a brief history and in-depth yet light description of the current world situation. 
• The Tenebris system is your starting location. 
• The rules allow and encourage you to create your own systems and planets to inhabit your Gameworld. 
• Contains full instructions on how to create your own character. 
• Introductory scenario. 
• Tone, setting, and general atmosphere are discussed and agreed upon by the table. 
• The Iron Ring – a massive structure where your new team begins, it’s made of old space crafts and tech, filled with danger and adventure. 
• Beautiful art throughout the book. 
• Four abilities – Body, Dexterity, Savvy, and tech. 
• To get an ability value it uses the two d4 mechanic whereby you subtract the second dice amount from the first. 
• Clear easy to understand origin descriptions. 
• Six default origins – carbon, chrome, punk, solpod, velocity cursed, and void. 
• Character details are – background, trait, drive, and look. 
• Details are listed in tables and you can roll dice or choose a specific option. 
• Past allegiance allows you to craft how your characters will act or react. 
• Allegiances were formed in the great Gem War. 
• Hit points and defense ratings are simple and easy to work out. 
• The book uses short to the point sentences. 
• Holos is the most common currency. 
• Starting gear and bonuses are straightforward and give another layer of customisation to your character. 
• Optional personal trinket. 
• Hub creation – this is your team’s home and you can have a spacecraft or a station. 
• The hub is fully customizable and you can upgrade and expand it. 
• Each hub has a starting condition and fuel capacity amount (determined by dice) and this gives you a defense rating or frame integrity score. 
• Even your hub had a background story which again is random or chosen. 
• Hub Quirk is where you roll for S random quirk to happen or be present. It’s a cool simple little addition that adds a lot. 
• Important must-know rules are put in red boxes. 
• Capital letters are used to show quick information usually what dice to roll. 
• Items take up slots with bigger or heavier items taking up more slots. 
• The whole advantage and disadvantage modifiers are in effect. 
• You can get encumbered and have a disadvantage modifier on all actions. 
• A lot of clear easy-to-use tables for actions, items, etc. 
• Void points – earned when you fail An action, these can be cashed in for a cosmetic mutation or an advantage on an action roll. 
• Void corruption can happen which means nothing is guaranteed. 
• Some funny and obscure void corruptions. 
• COSMIC mutations are a step further where you can communicate with technology or put thoughts into people’s heads. 
• Objects in the world have a condition value that also indicates the object’s technical sophistication. 
• Ship systems can fail. 
• Find and repair objects. 
• Dismantle objects for parts. 
• The game encourages teamwork. 
• Sophisticated EVA suits (space suits) are light and heavy and display air etc and allow you to go off-world. 
• Allows intricate actions like attaching a suit to a power/air source if the suit is empty. 
• Full vehicle use is a thing, both space/air and land vehicles can be sourced. 
• Handy travel time graph. 
• Combat is handled in rounds with each participant allowed action and movement. 
• Roll to hit then roll to damage is used. 
• Characters can indeed die. 
• Dark, twisted, and funny death description table entries. 
• Full vehicle and spacecraft combat. 
• Earn EXP at the end of a session and then spend it on abilities and modifiers. 
• The World is one of function, it’s broken and almost a step back. 
• The game encourages you to use dice to solve issues and if no failure can be had then talking and deciding on the next course is advised. 
• They paint a really good if somewhat dark world to explore. 
• Space maps and solar system maps are in here and they look really cool. 
• You get a full rundown of the other planets in the system along with an image of them. 
• Full description of the cults that inhabit the system including info on their goals, their habits, and any keywords or leaders. 
• For the example mission, you get an italic text to read out and set the scene, maps of everything explained, and handy text boxes for important info. 
• Wide range of weapons from grenades to machine guns and flame throwers. 
• There is a table or a chart for everything from encounters to substance abuse and locations. 
• Handy cheat sheet. 
• The scenario example has a choice attached that allows multiple runs of the scenario.

Death In Space Review Cons:

• Doesn’t open with what is needed in order to play like sheets, printouts or dice, etc. 
• Always irks me a bit when Rulebooks open with lists of items. 
• Despite talking and giving info on time, it never really feels like it has a purpose other than filler. 
• Very daunting with lists and tables everywhere. 
• Your first few games will have you checking the manual like mad and unless you have digital, It can be a pain when you are in a rush.
• It’s a game that requires a lot of the player’s imagination. 
• For all the world-building and setup, the example mission is very tame and kind of worn out. 

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Published by:

Free League Publishing

Store Links –

Drivethru RPG