This is a triumph in dark sci-fi sandbox adventuring | RPG Review
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2024
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Because someone has to say it: this sounds a lot like Lethal Company except the company isn't an eldritch horror, just a regular dystopian one.
"We LOVE The Drake Company! The Drake Company...!"
I’m very okay with that lol
It's funny cause I never heard of that game until someone told me about it, and yeah, I can see the similarities. Paranoia casts a long shadow!
The game is very clearly inspired by the novel "Gateway" by Fred Pohl. A lot of the mechanics map directly to the book. Anyone who wants to run this probably should check it out.
Definitely the #1 inspiration, yeah!
@@blackoathentertainment5617 And no problem with that! It won a Hugo for a reason. I only brought it up to give people interested in the game a place to get more context and ideas of the world to set it in.
Gateway is one of my favourite novels of all time, it incurs a sense of dread and uncertainty throughout the book.
ERRATA: There is an online generator up and running for this game! atdw.schinktasia.de/
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That's the old Version. But a new 2.0 Version is in active development with spacemap. But the Release will take a few weeks.
such a bliss to hear that 'you can do with rules as you please' - both from you and the authors. There are SO many rules lawyers and RAW zealots in my online surroundings
whole lot of rules lawyers, not a lot of rules cops. What are you gonna do if I give an NPC 2 weapon fighting AND single weapon fighting, WOTC? You gonna come to my house? Spank me?
@@citricdemon even if they were cops. mama didn't raise no bootlicker
This sounds super cool. I want to smash it together with Stars Without Number and Cities Without Number. Make a super bleak dystopian cyberpunk horror game.
I have some ideas for the future expansions that might go in that direction...
Squeeee! @@blackoathentertainment5617
@@blackoathentertainment5617 Oh yes please :-) I am getting my gf to try this out with me and got some of your other stuff as well :-)
its like sci-fi oregon trail. i already love it.
Fulfillment is on its way. It was so hard not looking at the PDF when I know I want to spend evening after evening sitting on the couch and just read it through. : )
You shouldn't feel guilty reading the PDF. I do it all the time!
@@DaveThaumavore Exactly. I prefer to use my tablet to read pdfs of game books. For actual game play though I prefer having the physical book.
I love it when game developers throw everything (including the kitchen sink) at their games and let the GM decide from there what to modulate for their sessions. Fantastic review!
I haven't had a chance to look at this yet but I backed the Kickstarter. The creator always kept us up to date during and after the Kickstarter campaign. His updates were always fun to read and he seems like a nice guy so I'm so happy you covered this. I'm super excited to read my copy now too. Thanks
Thanks for your kind words!
Second this. Cool product.
I am still eagerly awaiting the arrival of my print copy from the Kickstarter. Hopefully soon!
Dark Sci-Fi is one of my favorite genres, I agree - this sounds like a near-perfect system. Exciting that there is a hex-based skirmish-style ruleset for combat, which I've generally been really intrigued by recently to see how a sort of sim approach could be fun and flow well. What's also a triumph, again, is the quality of your work here. Want to read "Gateway" by Fred Pohl now too.
Tons of effort went into this. Damn.
Very well presented with great audio quality and most importantly: loud enough! Subscribed!
Thanks for the review. I backed this game just based on the premise and setting of exploring random alien worlds. I believe the book is actually on its way to me now and glad to hear you liked it.
Fantastic! Perfect for solitary players. Ordered! Thanks for the very detailed presentation.
Cannot wait for this. Encourage you all to check out his other games as well. Currently running 2 players in another one of Alex T.’s game Sacrifice, a Berserk inspired setting. The rules are streamlined and familiar but with enough meat on the bones for interesting character creation, combat, and exploration.
Alex T. Has got back to me to clarify some rules and seems like a solid hombre.
Just got another one of his games Broken Shores delivered yesterday, a water world apocalyptic setting - it looks like a fantastic d100 system with unreal world building and exploration tables
Thank you so much for your kind words and support!
Berserk inspired setting? Hoho I need to check it out!
Update: Just got contacted by the author (Oct 31st), and pre-ordered my book and free PDF copy. Should be shipped by mid to late November.
Original post: Contacted the author.
I missed the Kickstarter, but he said I’d be on a list to contact when the physical books arrived.
The leveling is reminiscent of old Basic D+D, where you didn't get xp from monster kills. It was based on how much gold you got.
100% my inspiration for it, yeah! It fits the setting; after all, your character is risking their life for profit...
Shades of Pohl's Heechee series!
Absolutely! It was the main influence. That and Alien, of course.
Today I discovered...
@@blackoathentertainment5617 I was listening, thinking "Wait...I recognize this..." It's a brilliant application of the concept. And I have to ask, is the 168 hour transit time a nod to Traveller?
@@noahdoyle6780thank you! And no, I'm afraid I'm not that clever, haha. I own Traveller but I'm more of a fan of Cepheus/Hostile, actually.
I recognize that reference!
I've bene hoping you'd review this one! I can't wait for my physical copy to arrive. I've been dying to play it! I couldn't be happier with how the KS has been run too. I'll be backing more of Alex T's endeavors.
Thank you so much!
A Heechee Saga RPG! Cool!
I absolutely love that we’re getting spoiled with choice in the space horror genre. Just from top of my head we have Mothership, Alien, Death in Space and Vast Grimm
Do you have a favorite space horror game?
I can't say for sure. I need to find time to play all of them thoroughly first.
I like Hostile for Cepheus Deluxe
Try Entity for a solo game.
Hostile Solo, Ironsworn: Starforged, Entity, and I’m currently playing Derelict Delvers.
@@RaymondMillbrae I'm starting Hostile Solo soon, looking forward to it.
Definantly ordering this in print + pdf when available 👍
The pre-order for the hardback just opened a couple days ago: blackoathgames.com/store/across-a-thousand-dead-worlds
Great in depth review Dave. Definitely added to my "snag this list". I could see using a lot of the material for a Traveller game or any other science fiction space based rpg. Good stuff.
Glad it was helpful!
Great review! Definitely going to check this one out!
I'm glad that a review finally came out for this game. Thanks for doing such a good job.
Kickstarted this one. Excited to get it in, but just need to find time. Too many games and not enough hours.
When I was running an ORE game, instead of rolling dice, I had printed sheets of computer generated random numbers 1-10. A GM could do the same thing for this game. Need a number, just choose the next number.
but where is the fun in that
Jesus, I hope they credited Frederick Pohl because this is his Gateway novel/Hechee cycle down to the little details.
Haha yes, I've been very clear from the beginning about how much this is a Gateway ripoff, at least the basic premise. Things get much more Paranoia/Alien as soon as you hop into a ship, but yeah, the initial premise is Pohl's and I've said so in every interview I've given about the game.
This reminds me of Pohl's classic SF novel Gateway.
I hope this game garners a very dedicated player base and finds its way to FoundryVTT. All we need is one or two very motivated people to turn all those tables into rollable modules.
Nothing is stopping you from being one lf those heroes.
@@rosalind1635 I have no idea how to create modules and too many other projects to sit down and learn. I'll leave to the pros.
Great review as always. My wife is going to get upset since everytime you review something, I'm grabbing my wallet to buy! Also as a bibliophile I really hope they release a physical copy for those of us that missed the first run!
We'll have plenty of copies, once the KS is fulfilled! Thank you for your interest!
@@blackoathentertainment5617 Excellent news! I'll keep an eye out on KS and Backerkit!
Sorry!
This looks so good.
Sounds like a Dead Space RPG to me... and I'm allll for it!
Mothership 1E.
Great review.
I had a lot of fun reading this game, but I'm not convinced someone could actually play it. It seems like there'd always be cases of "I'm sure I remember reading a rule for this situation" yet, during actual play, you'd never be able to find it. Felt the same way about Disciples of Bone and Shadow.
It does feel like that initially, but then you realize that the rules are actually very simple, what makes it complex is the gameplay procedures. Fortunately, if you follow the included Rules Reference along, you eventually learn all the different steps. There's a lot of people playing it already, and as long as you remember that you don't need to get it right since the beginning and you focus on having fun, it's all good!
I love it. I wish I could convince my rpg buddies to try this, but even getting them to glance in Traveler's direction was like pulling teeth. I feel like "let's see how bad shit gets" game is getting harder and harder to pitch to people with the trends in gaming lately.
Yeah some folks just don’t want their character to die.
The author markets it as a solo game or a GMless game. So you might be able to do a solo game or a co-op game with someone. Co-op games don't get enough love. I read it the same way Dave did though, it doesn't really feel like it leans any one particular way over another.
@@_mawburnit's definitely written for the solo player in mind. That's why there are tables for enemy target preference, random deployment and cover, etc. It just happens that running it as a GM is super easy, thanks to all these tools.
Awesome!
Excited to play this I have it at home, going to run a Dead Space like short story to get her into it, going to have pre done NPCs and bad guys to fight against so the two of us and me being the GM (I want to make it so by the end we both die no matter what like the story of Dead Space how pretty much everyone was done for by the time Issac and his crew get to the ship) The guys who made this are super talanted and have lots of other games, some short fun semi random games and another one that is a Fantasy setting with this level of detail so pretty much DnD have that one as well as a cool zombie short adventure game.
This one sounds like it would b interesting. I dont usually like most of the space/scifi rpg systems ive seen, maybe other than Mothership, and another i cant think of, maybe martin knights d100 space setting.
Oh eh, the game Notorious? I think was the other one that was kinda paired down scifi adventure.
But this one seems like its set up to play solo not too difficultly.
Can make alien races and stuff is cool.
Great video thanks! I'm curious if attributes have any effect on skills at all? They seem completely disconnected?
Yeah they are disconnected, they're used to make checks by themselves, more in the style of saving throws.
@@blackoathentertainment5617 Ah. Thanks much :)
How would you compare it to mothership or death in space ?
It’s a more substantial product with more for GMs. Though DiS is brutally simple for casual play and MoSh has great GM advice.
Is this coming out on paperback like Ker Nethalas? I picked that one up on Amazon for
So I have to ask with the instant death stuff, why? Like is it narratively interesting to learn "opps we jumped into a red giant, guess we all reroll characters". Like how is that fun?
I know a lot of people will not like it, especially after you set up a whole mission and then your character dies, but I couldn't resist to add it, since it adds to the insignificance of your character and the absurdity of it all. Imagine bickering during weeks with your crewmates in an alien ship you have no control over, irritating each other and wishing to arrive ASAP, only to die the second you enter normal space. You get at the very least one good session out of it, and an ending you'll not forget. Character creation takes minutes so it really isn't like you spent hours crafting a PC only for them to die a second later. But I get it, a lot of people will hate this. It's very easy to just ignore the 2% chance of it happening, though.
@@blackoathentertainment5617I’m with you on this. Your explanation makes perfect sense and while it’s something I would usually hate, if creation is quick and it’s tied to the flavor, I can see myself applauding this event.
Btw great engagement with your sprouting community.
@@MenschWerdeWesentlich glad you see it the way I do! It's been already almost a year since folks have access to the game and so far nobody has complained about this, so I'd say it's all good!
@@blackoathentertainment5617 Sounds good! I’ll have to see, if I can get my hands on a Murgo edition anywhere. I’m getting all the right vibes from the game and the spirit behind it and want to dig in appropriately.
Is there some way to automate most of the gm stuff and creating stuff?
If I want to play a dark near future sci-fi game with mega corporations (gilded age in space), space ship combat and ancient alien artifacts would you recommend the Alien rpg or rather Across a Thousand Death Worlds?
Reminds me of Deep Sky Derelicts (game on Steam).
USD 64 the hardcover book. RPG have become not cheap
Will this be available in print?
Yes, it's already available at my store, and it will soon be for sale in the US as well.
I've got it!
Am I to understand this can be played Solo pretty easily?
Yes it’s heavily supported for solo.
Well, this game is "designed primarily as a solo/co-op RPG" but your review is focused on playing traditionally with a GM. I would like to hear more about how the game plays without a GM. Is it more like a board game or are there oracles, so players have to generate their own story?
There are plenty of oracles and tools to make sure all your questions as a solo player are answered. It was extensively playtested by solo players, so the tools work perfectly fine. If you're familiar with Mythic, you'll be at home here.
I been watching a bunch of Star Field reviews.. fascinated by how the developers seemed to forget to address the problem of how an RPG should work in a massive procedurally generated world before plonking those two things together. Just wondering, do you think this book would offer inspiration to how a CRPG might go about that?
Inspiration, yes. Word-for-word guide to the programming of the game in terms of its content? No.
I've no interest in the Alien / Event Horizon world of sci-fi RPGs ala Mothership and now this, but... the tables alone are going to make this worth picking up for me!
can you play this solo?
Yes it is geared a bit towards towards solo actually.
There seems to be a whole bunch of these space games where death is everywhere and surviving is a miracle, is this supposed to be fun? Who wants to play a game where you will spend more time making up new characters than you will playing the game. No one at my gaming table would want to play these games, Hell it took me months to get my players to even give Call of Cthulhu a chance and even then they demanded rules modifications before they would even try the game. No one I play with wants to play a game where they have no chance, they just don't think it's worth their time to even bother learning a game they won't survive in.
Different strokes for different folks, Douglas. It’s a real phenomenon. Some people enjoy the threat of PC death because it activates their limbic system and registers as having fun.
I totally get your point, but fortunately making a character in ATDW takes 5 minutes tops. And there's even an online character generator! For me, it's about managing to survive against all odds, when you finally break through with a character is a great feeling! That said, the game isn't really that difficult, you just need to be cautious and not jump into combat. I actually wrote it with the idea that, as a civilian, you'll try to avoid risking your life unnecessarily, so if you play it like you're Rambo, you're doomed, because your character is not Rambo.
This sounds remarkably similar to Death In Space.
Lethal Company? ^^
lethal company needs a karum station though. Thats the best part of this game in my opinion. The tables really let you solo build social situations with NPCs.
What I don’t like is the white text on black background. For a print copy the standard format is much better. Imagine if it was glossy.
Next I can’t imagine anyone doing anything but a one-off because it seems geared towards a TPK “game” which most players won’t give a crap about
Not really, no! Most people manage to have more than a few sessions with the game, only if you're reckless or have very bad luck will you have a TPK. Definitely less deadly than Mothership, for example.
I'm not a fan of the stress system. As you say, roleplay could get REALLY annoying using that mechanic. Perhaps it just wasn't covered in the video, or perhaps the game just lacks this, but it seems missing on flavor. With movie, TV and video game licensed sci-fi horror franchises, you have an enticing universe / setting to play in, but this feels more like "flavor light" and a generic toolkit, which makes me wonder how much it actually appeals to a wider audience of players. I really like Warhammer 40k and Aliens, but I would just play a game in that setting. But that's me.
The megacorp isnt my friend? Nooooo
Honestly I'm not willing anymore to read 400 pages to play a game. Just doesn't worth my time.
Nothing more that a 50-100 pages with rules light system.
I don't care how good it may be. Not for me...
I had more of fun with a cheap, few pages and rules light RPG that the more known multiple editions IP games we all know.
Totally fair! The thing is, 80% of this book is gameplay material that you SHOULDN'T read. You only need to read the core gameplay rules, the exploration procedures, and that's about it. I mean, you could read pages and pages of random tables, but that isn't really fun, or makes any sense since it kind of spoils the surprises.
@@blackoathentertainment5617 I was hoping that was the case.
Some rules and lots of tables. I'm glad if it is.
And ofcourse any player can rule out anything he doesn't like in his gameplay.
A lot of people spend time ruling every little detail.
I'm not. I keep it simple. I don't need to know how many people are on a planet or a town or how much atmosphere is there.
Just "Breathing atmosphere Yes/No" and "Population of # about some millions" and such.
My inspiration is Star Trek TOS. You just know the "Need to know" things to complete your mission and objectives.
Like in the series they never bothered with much information like how far a laser gun can fire. Or wear armor or have every tool in the inventory or if a character has 8 or 10 HP left and the damage he can get.
Just "wound or fatal damage?" And go on.
I hope you know what I mean. 😉
@@hariszark7396absolutely, yeah! I do like some level of detail, but when it adds something to the experience, not for the sake of it. The planets and facilities you explore in Across a Thousand Dead Worlds have only details that add either flavor or directly affect the mechanics, I also think that having a huge info dump on the players or GM isn't necessarily good. If you need that sort of detail it's pretty simple to just add it.
@@blackoathentertainment5617 I'll wait for the gameplay videos for sure.
I feel they will be very interesting. 👍
The rules are very unoriginal and outmoded