| Alzrius |
(Note: I am not affiliated with this company or their Kickstarter campaign. I'm posting this here purely to raise awareness of it.)
Changeling Games is relaunching their Kickstarter for Galloping Stars, the pony-inspired sci-fi RPG! With a more modest goal, this game already has more than half of its funding secured, and is running until September 3rd. For more about Galloping Stars, I'll repost their campaign information below:
WHAT IS GALLOPING STARS?
Simply put, Galloping Stars is a pony-inspired tabletop RPG set in an original sci-fi universe!
Designed by a team of creative minds that have been playing RPGs of all sorts for years, we feel confident we're able to build upon and innovate off that experience in order to bring you a fantastic tabletop experience.
Developed using our in-house MAGICAL system, we bring a unique set of attributes to the table:
- Magic
- Agility
- Grit
- Intelligence
- Courage
- Allure
- LuckIts mechanics make use of a standard set of RPG dice (d4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 20) in an way that doesn't hold you back from doing what you want to do. Each race has its own array of these dice, ranging from d6 to d12, that only affect your capability to roll high, but they aren't a limit to what you can do.
Obviously, some races will be more adept at certain things than others, but (with the exception of flight), your race should not prohibit you from making the character you want! Dedication and determination can overcome adversity here. By spending experience, your character can build up his skills, attributes, and talents in order to overcome the racial dice he or she is given. In addition, our dice system features limited exploding dice, so even a character with a d6 in their Grit (strength) has a chance to, with enough determination, overpower an adversary rolling a higher base dice.
There are also no classes. Your characters can be whatever you want them to be! Be a pilot, or be a scientist. Be a pirate, or be a bounty hunter. Be a soldier, or be a smuggler. The galaxy's the limit in Galloping Stars!
And finally, our system features a Luck Point mechanic. In Galloping Stars your character starts each session with a number of Luck Points based off of their Luck Rank. These points can be spend to reroll and manipulate dice. They can be used to barter with the GM to manipulate story elements. And your Luck Rank itself can be used as a bargaining chip with death; offering a semi-permanent Luck Rank drop in order to "negate" an untimely demise.
This may seem like a lot of power, but trust me, the universe is an unfriendly place for little ponies. Your character will need Lady Luck on their side during their journey...
On top of a full character-based system, basic rules will also be included for vehicles and starships, with a much more in depth rule system for these things planned to follow in an expansion book, if the campaign is successful.
ABOUT THE UNIVERSE
The world of Galloping Stars is vast and filled with life. Equus, Galloping Stars' equivalent of Earth, is home to the three main species of ponies. However, they are not the only sentient species out there. Our core rulebook, as it currently stands, includes 9 unique playable races, all from different backgrounds and homeworlds. These are as follows:
Terrequines
The ground-bound ponies of Equus. They are strong and capable of enduring hardship compared to the other races.
Unicorns
The magic-wielders of Equus. Unicorn horns give them a natural foci for casting spells, and they tend to be the more powerful magic users.
Pegasi
The flyers of Equus. Being capable of flight means the sky's the limit for these ponies. They aren't the strongest flyers in the galaxy, but their natural ability to manipulate weather makes them very versatile.
Twilightborne
Hailing from a tidal-locked world of perpetual twilight, known only as Harmony, this race's lives are anything but harmonic. A dynastic civilization, every Twilightborne either belongs to the Imperial family, or to one of four Houses. Intrigue, stealth, deception, and diplomacy play an integral role in their culture.
Zebras
The Zebras of Sphinxonia have probably the hardest life of any of the races. Their backstory is one of enslavement, rebellion, and then surrendering to being a working caste. They are now the servants of the Sphinxes, despite having rebelled previously, and losing. Some do find their way free of the shackles they bear, though. They are dedicated workers, and have a natural attunement to any environment they find themselves in.
Sphinxes
The Sphinxes are the ruling class of Sphinxonia, and the Sphinxian Empire. They rule over the Zebras, their subjects, with an iron will. While their populace is much less numerous than that of their servants, they are greatly advanced in the ways of law and are great at keeping order. Having the magic of the "Gods" on their side helps, too.
Starhounds
The bipedal race of canines, hailing from Aschere. Their race primarily forms the Starhound Syndicate, a great mega-corporation with a hefty percentage of the galaxy's gem deposits under its control. While, on the whole, not the brightest race in the galaxy, they've certainly developed some fantastic technology using those gems. Their Arcano Tech's simplicity is what has made their magic technology the most widespread.
Cervidaens
The Cervidae hail from the lush alpine planet of Cervidas, where great forests and sprawling meadows cover much of the landscape. Their society is governed by a geniocracy (problem-solving, creative intelligence and compassion as criteria for governance). They utilize the materials of their natural surroundings to great effect in everything from their buildings to their weapons. Also capable of producing magic through the natural foci of their antlers, they are not as potent as the Unicorns, but they have more control.
Griffons
A race of strong flyers, the Gryphons no longer hail from their original home planet (it was destroyed by an astral collision a long time ago). Now they call the nearby gas-giant planet of Salacia home. They have learned to harness the natural forces of their planet not only as they are, but in a miniaturized version, in order to produce their own gems, and thus competing with the Starhounds.
Lore and Additional Content
In addition to all of these races, there is an ever-evolving lore surrounding the universe. This will reflected, not only in the core rulebook, but in future expansion books if the Kickstarter is successful. The core rulebook will include an introduction to the lore of the universe, starting with the home planets of the included races. It will also include a handful of creatures in a starting bestiary. Future expansion books will look into other planets, technology, races, and stories that will, together, build the full universe of Galloping Stars.
There are currently two days left to get the $50 reward tier for only $35! I've already pledged, and I can't wait to see the finished product!