STALKER7

A Blue Collar Future

Regular people doing tough jobs in a grubby, cold place, with a boss and deadlines and make-do equipment, far, far from home. (talk about a long commute) Oh, and as if work wasn’t tough enough, there’s aliens and explosive decompression, oxygen leaks and deep space psychosis to deal with.

I remember seeing Alien and then the Sean Connery movie, Outland, and not really getting it. Things looked grimy and dim. Patched up. None of the actors looked or acted like a typical action hero. (Sean Connery was definitely NOT being Bond, James Bond) It took a few years and some real-world job experience to appreciate those films.

Now, gritty sci fi is its own sub-genre: The Expanse, Pandorum, Looper, Elysium, Upgrade, and my favorite, District 9. Even though I’m not a Star Wars aficionado, I think Andor and Rogue One are in that neighborhood too.

Truth be told, I find that gritty, spec-future timeline more engaging, more interesting – more realistic, if you will – than the bright and shiny one. So as a gamer, I was very pleased with Osprey came out with Jonathan Hicks’ rules-lite RPGs, Those Dark Places, and the latest, Pressure about living, working, fighting, and trying-to-not-die, in just such a future.

Firmly anchored in the industrial science fiction genre, both the original TDP and the new, harder-edged Pressure, are nonetheless open-world rule sets where your crew of contract labor misfits can visit any moon, space station, or asteroid facility your recycled oxygen-deprived imagination can conjure.

And yes, your game group is more likely to race against time to prevent a reactor meltdown or brawl with thugs than fight bio-engineered alien killing machines, the setting offers more than enough intrigue, treachery, danger, and combat to satisfy even the most calloused adrenaline junkie. (They’ll just be wearing greasy coveralls and patched combat armor rather than pressed earth-tone Jedi robes.)

CASE

Built on a solid, simple system, each character has four main stats – Charisma, Agility, Strength, and Education – valued 1-4, the particular added to a D6 roll when making a corresponding Social, Physical, or Intellectual test. Tests are made against a Difficulty Rating, a target number usually between 6 and 9, depending on the difficulty of the task. Specific skills can provide further boosts to stat rolls for certain tasks. (Shooting, Piloting, Brawling, Mechanical Repair, Medical, etc.) Add in a simple but effective, pressure mechanic to account for inevitable trauma and stress, and you’ve got everything you need to work the Big Empty in your rugged and battered deep space vessel. You got bills to pay, remember?

Our group has run several sessions exploring doomed spaceships, asteroid mining facilities, and cramped, seedy orbitals where everything is for sale from stolen spaceship parts to black market cybernetics to low-g fabricated drugs. They’ve battled corporate corruption, psychotic loners, company goons, and organized criminal thugs. The game so easy to learn, to remember, to play, and to GM, it’s our stand-by for “in between” sessions. Last I checked, Mr. Hicks even has a number of one-shot missions available to help get you started.

Bottom Line: Highly recommend. Click the links below and treat yourself and your game group.

Thanks and good hunting.

https://www.ospreypublishing.com/us/those-dark-places-9781472840950

https://www.ospreypublishing.com/us/pressure-9781472858979