Offworlders Rules Lite; Science Fiction; Space-Western; Low Prep; Quick-Play; Classless; Exploration-Driven; Streamlined
At-a-glance: World of Dungeons/PbtA lineage • 2d6 tests • 2–5 + GM • Low prep • Rules-lite • 1–3h sessions
Theme and Setting
Offworlders puts a small crew and their ship at the rough end of the galaxy. You’ll fly between frontier worlds, take dangerous contracts, and try to keep the reactor fueled while dodging pirates, customs, and hungry void things. The tone sits between scrappy space Western and blue-collar sci-fi, with plenty of room for heists, salvage, and back-alley deals.
Core Mechanics and Rules
The system streamlines Powered by the Apocalypse style play through a World of Dungeons lens. Roll 2d6 when the outcome is risky: 10+ succeeds cleanly, 7–9 is a success with a cost, and 6- pushes danger forward. Characters are fast to build and classless, selecting concise abilities that shape how they solve problems rather than filling long feat lists. Starships and foes use minimalist stats so you can adjudicate on the fly.
What Makes It Unique
Offworlders keeps prep low without losing structure: clear GM procedures, job/crawl scaffolds, and ship-minded complications make it easy to spin up a session in minutes. It embraces rulings over rules, leaning into fiction-first calls, consequences, and momentum. The result is quick scene framing, punchy conflicts, and fast advancement tuned for short arcs.
Target Audience and Player Experience
Best for groups who want fast, cinematic sci-fi without crunchy subsystem overhead. If you like the improvisational feel of PbtA but want OSR-style tempo and risk, this lands in the pocket. New players can grasp it in a page; veterans can hack it freely for sector crawls, salvage ops, or episodic jobs.
