Description

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  2- 6 Players

SETTING
In a once-united galaxy, war and hatred have taken everything away, leaving only blackened ruins behind. Where once were interstellar nations and an advanced culture, ideology and jealousy have inflamed people souls, dividing them – opposing factions faced each other, while order and security stood against freedom and self-interest. Dissent became conflict, and any reluctance was soon abandoned, until the irreparable happened – an unstoppable force was unleashed, a force that made no distinction between its creators and its adversaries, eliminating all traces of digital technology. It would have destroyed all human knowledge were it not for the desperate action of a few desperate men.

Despite this, humanity survived this catastrophe, albeit enormously weakened. With tenacity and versatility, they have reconstructed part of what they have lost. They charted once again the depths of space, though still isolated and disorganized. With a pioneering spirit, fleets of settlers explored virgin worlds and planets lost to the catastrophe, in search of a place they to call home in what is now a boundless frontier, free from the influence of supraplanetary governments and organizations.

In these skies without laws and obligations posse of adventurers, explorers, fugitives and misfits travel on their spaceships from planet to planet, in search of a future or simply wealth. They face the horrors of the past, the terrors hiding in the drifting ships, in the void and ruins of alien civilizations – or simply the greed and wickedness lurking in their neighbors.

GAME SYSTEM
Inspired by legendary settings such as Firefly, Westworld, Borderlands, Trigun or Cowboy Bebop, Deep Sky Ballad is a space western genre 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. 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.

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, with which the interactions between the characters of the Posse can create bonds of all kinds, will unlock various game options and unique abilities.

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.

the Hardboiled System 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. The levels of three emotional axes, Loyalty/Rivalry, Affection/Hatred and Trust/Grudge, are in fact determined on the basis of the feelings demonstrated by the characters. Each of these confers peculiar abilities that can be used for a limited number of times per session, which can range from simple modifiers in the challenges to the appearance of the character within the scene, interrupting the actions in progress to intervene, even if he was theoretically elsewhere . These levels do not depend on experience points or similar, but only on the interpretation of the character, so be careful what you do during the game!

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.

This choice is for the PDF Core Book and fillable character sheets.

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