Deep Sky Ballad

Overview

Inspired by legendary settings such as Firefly, Westworld, Borderlands, Trigun or Cowboy Bebop, Deep Sky Ballad is a space western ttrpg where the characters play the members of a Posse - fortune seekers more or less tightly bound to each other who share their resources and a spaceship in search of purpose or wealth.

Description

The game mechanics are based on the Blackjack System, a poker cards based system; it's the same rules system Arcana Familia ttrpg use, and give agency to the player to balance the power and accuracy of an action through what can be considered a subgame. The peculiar solving mechanics of Deep Sky Ballad, the Blackjack System is essentially reduced to a very rapid game of the homonymous card game; a number of cards are drawn and revealed from a deck of poker cards, which are then increased or discarded based on the attributes and skills of the character, in order to bring the sum of their value between a number established by the difficulty of the challenge and 21. This system has been designed to be quick and simple but still guarantee the player maximum control over the test itself, and to distinguish between the possibility and the control possessed by the character. In addition to the Blackjack System, there are an innovative spaceships combat system and the Hardboiled System. The first is a simple, agile and fast mechanic involving all the players; the Hardboiled System, instead, is a system of abilities possessed by the character determined by the interaction that he possesses with his fellow Posse, in order to create dramatic and cinematic scenes such as those presented by the TV series from which Deep Sky Ballad is inspired. Even the starship itself owned by the Posse can be defined as a separate character, even if driven by all players. With its own sheet that defines its characteristics, it can be modified according to the needs of the group in every aspect. And space battles will prove to be a pleasant way to break the pace of the game, through a combat system between spaceships that is quick and easy, but which allows each character to contribute to its progress, regardless of his job or her abilities.
Deep Sky Ballad

Additional links

drivethrurpg.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/it/product/451970/deep-sky-ballad-quickstarter - Quickstarter drivethrurpg.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/it/product/461444/deep-sky-ballad - Core Book drivethrurpg.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/it/product/558874/deep-sky-ballad-kowtown-associates-chronicles-masterless-and-soloplay-adventure-generator - Solo-play/Masterless expansion gamefound.com https://gamefound.com/en/projects/a-game-of-nerds/for-a-fistful-of-seeds - Space Farmer Expansion

Active games and players

No active games or players listed for this system yet.

Videos

Reviews

Sorted by:

No reviews yet.

Login to leave a review.

Other entries

Jolly Rogenerator
Tools & Platforms

Jolly Rogenerator

English
Generators
Free
The Jolly Rogenerator is a set of online tools for the Pirate Borg tabletop RPG, made by FutureHax Development. On the website, players can generate a complete pirate in one random roll or build one step by step, and game masters can organize campaigns, crews, and custom items. The site also browses FutureHax's Foundry VTT modules for Pirate Borg and D&D 5e, includes a Roll Bridge that mirrors website dice rolls into Foundry chat, and has a jukebox of 17 sea shanties for the table.  A companion Android app provides character sheets with on-sheet dice rolling, the jukebox, and invites, and can optionally send rolls to Foundry VTT; it uses the same account as the website. The app has a short demo period, after which full access is a one-time in-app purchase.  The Jolly Rogenerator is published under the PIRATE BORG Third Party License and is not affiliated with Limithron LLC.

Read more

Traveller 2E (2016)
Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Traveller 2E (2016)

English
Sci-fi
Rules-medium
Traveller 2E is a sci-fi tabletop roleplaying game system, that was published in 2016 and updated in 2022, by Mongoose Publishing. It involves the characters adventuring through star systems, engaging in (space) exploration and engaging in battles both on ground and in space. The system it directly evolved from is classic Traveller (1977) Description The characers in Traveller can be humans, robots, aliens or of a genetically engineered species. Each character is distinguished by their occupation - whether they are a civilian, military, a noble, a young cadet or a veteran. Each type comes with their own strengths and weaknesses. To further expand on the sci-fi aspect of the game, some characters are prone to extra-sensory abilities, such as telekinesis, telepathy and others.

Read more

Push the Roll with Ross Bryant
Actual Play & Podcasts

Push the Roll with Ross Bryant

English
Actual Play
Podcast
Join Ross Bryant (Dropout TV, Glass Cannon Podcast) every week for "Push the Roll," an improvised Call of Cthulhu podcast combining cosmic horror, tabletop RPG adventures, and dark comedy. Guided by your Patreon suggestions and tumbling dice, each episode is fascinating and unnerving. Anything can happen, anywhere, anytime.

Read more

Looking for a group?

Find a tabletop group to join or players to invite. Groupfinder is a free looking-for-group platform. By players, for players.