[Free RPG Day 2025] The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition Quickstart

Now in its eighteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2025 took place on Saturday, June 21st. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Thanks to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham, Reviews from R’lyeh was able to get hold of many of the titles released for Free RPG Day.

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The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition Quickstart is the introduction to, and quick-start for The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition, which is an update and expansion to The Expanse Roleplaying Game. Both roleplaying games are published by Green Ronin Publishing, and both are based upon The Expanse series of Science Fiction novels by James S.A. Corey, and the television series of the same name. However, where The Expanse Roleplaying Game is set during the events of Leviathan Wakes, Caliban’s War, and Abaddon's Gate, the first three novels, The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition moves the action on to the Transport Union era, the thirty-year period between Babylon’s Ashes and Persepolis Rising, the sixth and seventh books in the series. The events of the series to date have taken place across a settled Solar System with tensions between the United Nations of Earth, the Martian Congressional Republic, and the Belters of the outer planets, which would lead to the establishment of the Outer Planets Alliance to protect their interests. The discovery of a strange molecular technology on Phoebe, a moon of Saturn, would lead to radical changes across the Solar System. The Protogen Corporation, the corporation assigned by the Martian Congressional Republic to study it, branded it the Protomolecule and conducted experiments which would kill millions and ultimately threaten the Earth. Fortunately, there were some who could direct the threat away from the Earth and towards Venus, where it would radically transform the planet beyond all understanding. Further conflict would arise with the discovery of the first ring gate, but the establishment of the Transport Union has placed the Belters on an equal footing with the United Nations of Earth and the Martian Congressional Republic, and given them access to over a thousand worlds beyond the Solar System.

The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition uses what has become known as the ‘AGE’ or ‘Adventure Game Engine’ was first seen 2010 in Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5, the adaptation of Dragon Age: Origins, the computer game from Bioware. It has since been developed into the Dragon Age Roleplaying Game as well as the more generic Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook and a more contemporary and futuristic setting with Modern AGE Basic Rulebook.

A Player Character in The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition is defined by his Abilities, Focuses, and Talents. There are nine Abilities—Accuracy, Communication, Constitution, Dexterity, Fighting, Intelligence, Perception, Strength, and Willpower. Each attribute is rated between -2 and 4, with 1 being the average, and each can have a Focus, an area of expertise such as Accuracy (Gunnery), Communication (Leadership), Intelligence (Technology), or Willpower (Courage). A Focus provides a bonus to associated skill rolls and, in some cases, access to a particular area of knowledge. A Talent represents an area of natural aptitude or special training. A Player Character also has a Background, Social Class, and Profession, plus a Drive, Resources and Equipment, Health, Defence, Toughness, and Speed, and Goals, Ties, and Relationships. Instead of Hit Points, a Player Character has Fortune Points, which can be used to alter the result on the Drama Die or withstand damage, reflecting the Player Character’s luck being used up or running out.

Mechanically, the AGE System and thus The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition, is simple enough. If a Player Character wants to undertake an action, his player rolls three six-sided dice and totals the result to beat the difficulty of the test, ranging from eleven or Average to twenty-one or Nigh Impossible. To this total, the player can add an appropriate Ability, and if it applies, an appropriate Focus, which adds two to the roll. Where the AGE System gets fun and where the Player Characters have a chance to shine, is in the rolling of the Drama die and the generation of Stunt Points. When a player rolls the three six-sided dice for an action, one of the dice is of a different colour. This is the Drama die. Whenever doubles are rolled on any of the dice—including the Drama die—and the result of the test is successful, the roll generates Stunt Points. The number of Stunt Points is determined by the result of the Drama die. For example, if a player rolls five, six, and five on the Drama die, then five Stunt Points are generated on the Drama die. What a player gets to spend these Stunt Points on depends on the action being undertaken. In the original 2010 Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5, the only options were for combat actions and the casting of spells, but subsequent releases for the roleplaying game and then Modern AGE and The Expanse Roleplaying Game, have expanded the options. Now they include not just combat options, including firearm-related actions of all kinds, but also movement, exploration, and social situations, plus, of course spaceship operation and combat.

The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition Quickstart explains all this in twelve pages and provides everything needed for the accompany scenario, ‘Lost, But Not Alone’. The Player Characters are the crew of the Miriam Makeba, bound for Castila, when they pick up a faint distress call coming from a moon orbiting one of the outer planets. Following the signal to its source reveals the Ratel, a cargo hauler that appears to have crash-landed after being attacked. Further investigation locates the crew in a nearby series of tunnels. Unfortunately, only one has survived, the others having been attacked by something in the tunnels. The lone survivor will be able to tell the Player Characters what happened, but now they find themselves also at the mercy of what killed the surviving crew. ‘Lost, But Not Alone’ is a survival horror scenario, which takes place in a complex built by the same species which built the rings that give access to so many extra-solar system planets. It is a classic Science Fiction survival horror scenario, so not too demanding for either the Game Master or her players.

The scenario does include options for adding it to a campaign or beginning one if the Player Characters have no spaceship. There are ways—legal and illegal—included to make some money as well. Six pre-generated Player Characters are also included with the quick-start. These consist of Cho Ha-Neul, an engineer with a zest for life who’s good at fixing things and making friends; Koa Garcia, a former MCRN engineer seeking adventure and opportunity; Marcus Toussard, an ex-UN soldier who survived the devastation of Earth during the Free Navy Conflict; Olivia Anand, a former combat medic who has seen their fair share of pain and suffering; Phoenix Wu, a hotshot pilot who is still haunted by their involvement in the Free Navy Conflict; Titiana Osun, a natural leader and activist from the Belt who seeks to help those still suffering from the depredations of war and disparity.

Physically, The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition Quickstart is cleanly presented, illustrated throughout in full colour, the artwork nicely depicting the future of The Expanse, as well as its various characters. In places, it is perhaps slightly too busy in terms of its layout, sometimes making it less than an easy read. However, it is well written and an engaging read, especially the background and the advice for the Game Master on running a game.

The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition Quickstart is a serviceable introduction to what is the second edition of The Expanse Roleplaying Game. The accompanying scenario is well presented and easy to slip into a campaign, but just feels a bit too familiar.

An Expansive AGE

Several hundred years from now, mankind has spread far out into the Solar System. Tensions between the Martian Congressional Republic, based on the greatly terraformed planet of Mars, and the United Nations of an Earth restored through the use of the same terraforming technology, have almost driven the Solar System to war. Ultimately what prevented conflict was the Martian government sharing details of the Epstein Drive, a new technology which would open up the frontier in the asteroid belt and the outer planets beyond. Like every frontier before it, prospectors raced out in search of new resources—metals to support industries across the Solar System and water to support the new and growing habitats and settlements—with colonists behind them. A growing sense of resentment at their exploitation would see the Belters set up the Outer Planets Alliance protect their interests, though the Earth-Mars Coalition would brand them terrorists. The discovery of a strange molecular technology on Phoebe, a moon of Saturn, would lead to radical changes across the Solar System. The Protogen Corporation, the corporation assigned by the Martian Congressional Republic to study it, branded it the Protomolecule and conducted experiments which would kill millions and ultimately threaten the Earth. Fortunately, there were some who could direct the threat away from the Earth and towards Venus, where it would radically transform the planet beyond all understanding.

This is the setting for The Expanse, the series of Science Fiction novels by James S.A. Corey, and the television series of the same name. It is also the setting for The Expanse Roleplaying Game, published by Green Ronin Publishing. The novels and the television series run to nine books and six seasons respectively, so The Expanse Roleplaying Game is set between the events of Leviathan Wakes and Caliban’s War, the first and second novels. The Player Characters can explore the setting of The Expanse, perhaps with their own spaceship, get involved with the conspiracies and politics of the setting between governments and corporations, and more.

The Expanse Roleplaying Game uses what has become known as the ‘AGE’ or ‘Adventure Game Engine’ was first seen 2010 in Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5, the adaptation of Dragon Age: Origins, the computer game from Bioware. It has since been developed into the Dragon Age Roleplaying Game as well as the more generic Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook and a more contemporary and futuristic setting with Modern AGE Basic Rulebook. This is the basis for The Expanse Roleplaying Game. It comes with rules for creating Player Characters, including enough focuses, talents, and specialisations to take the Player Characters from First to Twentieth Level, handling fast-paced action built around action, combat, exploration, and social stunts, spaceships and spaceship combat, background setting, advice for the Game Master, plus more... That more includes a new short story, ‘The Last Flight of the Cassandra’, by James S. A. Corey, stats for the cast of the novels, a beginning scenario, and advice when to set a campaign.

A Player Character in The Expanse Roleplaying Game is defined by his Abilities, Focuses, and Talents. There are nine Abilities—Accuracy, Communication, Constitution, Dexterity, Fighting, Intelligence, Perception, Strength, and Willpower. Each attribute is rated between -2 and 4, with 1 being the average, and each can have a Focus, an area of expertise such as Accuracy (Gunnery), Communication (Leadership), Intelligence (Technology), or Willpower (Courage). A Focus provides a bonus to associated skill rolls and, in some cases, access to a particular area of knowledge. A Talent represents an area of natural aptitude or special training, and is rated either Novice, Expert, or Master. For example, at Novice level, the Pilot Talent, the Player Character is quick to start a vehicle and make appropriate tests as minor actions; at Expert level, he gains a bonus to all rolls involving speed; and at Master level, the character’s player can reroll failed rolls, bit must keep the second roll, plus as long as the vehicle is moving, it receives a bonus to its defence. As a Player Character goes up in Level, he can acquire Specialisations, such as Ace or Executive, which grant further bonuses and benefits. A character also has a Background, Social Class, and Profession, plus a Drive, Resources and Equipment, Health, Defence, Toughness, and Speed, and Goals, Ties, and Relationships.

To create a character, a player rolls three six-sided dice for each Ability—assigning them in order, but can swap two. He then rolls his origins and native gravity, which is either a Belter, an Earther, or a Martian. After that, he rolls for Social Class and an associated Background and Profession. A Background provides an Ability bonus, a choice of a Focus, and a choice of a Talent, plus randomly determined Focus or Talent, whilst a Profession provides a pair of Focuses and a pair Talents to choose from, plus a resources score and starting Fortune. The player selects a Drive, such as Achiever or Networker, which grants another pair of Talents to choose from as well as an improvement to a Relationship, a Reputation, or Resources. The process itself is fairly quick and results in a reasonably detailed character. Alternatively, and with the permission of the Game Master, a player can pick these options rather than roll for them. This is a good choice if the players need to decide what their characters are and what they do as a team or a crew, for example, that of a spaceship as in the novels.

One stats missing from a Player Character is that of health or Hit Points. Instead he has Fortune Points. These serve two primary functions. First, they can be expended to alter the value of a die (which costs more for the Drama die), and second, they work as the equivalent of Hit Points. In effect, their use sort of reflects the Player Character’s luck being used up or running out.

Our sample Player Character is Jadamantha Holland, who grew up in a klade of indentured labourers and crafters out in the belt. Renowned for her outspoken attitude she was elected its negotiator after she complained at the poor deals being bargained for their labour with the corporation they were indentured to. She stuck to her guns and got a better deal, year on year, and then for other klades as she fomented a drive for them to unionise. She was successful, but the corporations would ultimately rig the elections and ensure she did not win. Consequently she hates the corporations and supports the Outer Planets Alliance, often moving from location to location, negotiating workers’ rights. When that does not work out she is an invertebrate gambler and often she can turn her hand to most things. Her often obstinate views on authority get her into trouble. 

Jadamantha Holland
Background: Belter
Social Class: Lower Class (Labourer)
Occupation: Negotiator
Level: 1

Accuracy 0
Communication 3 (Bargaining, Gambling)
Constitution 1
Dexterity 2 (Crafting, Free-fall)
Fighting 0
Intelligence 2
Perception 2
Strength 1
Willpower 3

Defence 12 Toughness 11 Speed 12 Fortune 15
Talents: Carousing (Novice) Improvisation (Novice), Oratory (Novice)

Drive: Rebel
Resources: 2

Mechanically, the AGE System and thus The Expanse Roleplaying Game, is simple enough. If a Player Character wants to undertake an action, his player rolls three six-sided dice and totals the result to beat the difficulty of the test, ranging from eleven or Average to twenty-one or Nigh Impossible. To this total, the player can add an appropriate Ability, and if it applies, an appropriate Focus, which adds two to the roll. For example, a group of Outer Planets Alliance terrorists have been tracked to a belter station in the belt and the Earth-Mars Coalition is preparing a Marine Corps strike team. The Player Characters could sneak onto the station to find out what is happening there or they could negotiate with the Marine Corps strike team commander to wait before she sends her team in. The former would involve a player rolling the three six-sided dice, applying the Player Character’s Dexterity Ability, and if the Player Character has it, the Stealth Focus. The other option would be to roll the three six-sided dice, apply the Player Character’s Communication Ability, and if the Player Character has it, the Bargaining Focus.

However, where the AGE System gets fun and where the Player Characters have a chance to shine, is in the rolling of the Drama die and the generation of Stunt Points. When a player rolls the three six-sided dice for an action, one of the dice is of a different colour. This is the Drama die. Whenever doubles are rolled on any of the dice—including the Drama die—and the result of the test is successful, the roll generates Stunt Points. The number of Stunt Points is determined by the result of the Drama die. For example, if a player rolls five, six, and five on the Drama die, then five Stunt Points are generated on the Drama die. What a player gets to spend these Stunt Points on depends on the action being undertaken. In 2010, with the release of Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5, the only options were for combat actions and the casting of spells, but subsequent releases for Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying expanded the range of options on which Stunt Points can be spent to include movement, exploration, and social situations. This has been carried over into Modern AGE and The Expanse Roleplaying Game and expanded and expanded.

So, what can stunts do? For example, for one Stunt Point, a player might select ‘Whatever’s Handy’ and grab the nearest improvised weapon, which though clumsy and possibly fragile, it will do; for five Stunt Points, select ‘Spray and Pray’, which applies an attack to everyone in a five metre radius, though they all get a Defence bonus; and for each three Stunt Points spent, ‘Hull Breach’ reduces the target vehicle’s Hull rating by a point. In an Investigation, ‘Flashback’ costs a single Stunt Point and reminds the Player Character of something he forgot, whilst in a social situation, ‘From the Heart’ costs four Stunt Points and enables the Player Character to express wholeheartedly a belief such that it temporarily grants a Willpower Focus and a bonus to the roll to use it.

For example, Jadamantha Holland gets herself captured by the Marine Corps strike team readying itself to attack the belter station where the commander suspects there are some Outer Planets Alliance terrorists. Her loud mouth easily persuades the sergeant to take her before the commander by claiming that she has information about what is on the station. Jadamantha wants to persuade the commander to wait and let her colleagues find out what is happening on the station before the marines go in all guns blazing. Brought before the commander, Jadmantha tells her that she should not go in yet and that if she does, she sill have another Fred Johnson situation on her hands and there’s her career gone. 

The Game Master sets the base Test Difficulty at Hard or fifteen because the marine commander is determined to send her team in. Jadamantha’s Reputation as an Outer Planets Alliance sympathiser counts against her and so increases the Test Difficulty to seventeen or Formidable. Her player will roll the dice, add Jadmantha’s Communication Ability and +2 for the Bargaining Focus. In addition, Jadamantha’s player gives an impassioned speech warning about the danger of another Fred Johnson affair. This grants another +2 bonus. So altogether, the player is adding a total of seven to the roll. 

Jadmantha’s player rolls five, three, and then five on the Drama die. This means that she has succeeded and her player has five Stunt points to spend. Her player first chooses ‘Let’s make deal’, which enables Jadmantha’s words to benefit another person present, who now owes her a favour, if only begrudgingly. This is the marine sergeant, who is now concerned that his commander is going in hot. This costs three Stunt points and Jadmantha has successfully persuaded the commander to stay her hand.

Another use for the Drama die is to determine how well a Player Character does, so the higher the roll on the Drama die in a test, the less time a task takes or the better the quality of the task achieved. The main use though, is as a means of generating Stunt Points, and whilst Stunt Points and Stunts are the heart of the action in The Expanse Roleplaying Game, there are a lot of them to choose from. Now they are broken down into categories, and that does limit what a player can choose from. However, upon initial play, a player is not only going to be faced with an abundance of choice, but in making that choice can slow play down. In combat that is a real problem because it is meant to be exciting and dynamic. Ultimately, this should lessen as players get used to the system and find out what Stunts work best with their characters, and as they get used to these choices, which is when they will find that the array of Stunts available do reflect aspects of the setting and story of The Expanse.

In addition to covering action, combat, exploration, and social scenes, The Expanse Roleplaying Game covers rules for handling resources (money), reputation, technology and equipment, and more. There is a solid guide to the latter and what is clear is that beyond the Epstein Drive for spaceships, technology is not overly advanced. Beyond that, the highest piece of technology listed is power armour, which is rarely to be found in possession of the Player Characters. In covering lifestyle, communications, food, and more, The Expanse Roleplaying Game begins to impart a feel of the future it depicts. Some players may be disappointed by the treatment of the technology in terms of weaponry, the differences of which are determined by various Qualities and Flaws. Mechanically this is effective, but it does feel flavourless in terms of the setting.

In comparison, The Expanse Roleplaying Game goes into some details about how space travel and spaceships work in its future. This includes a discussion of motion, mass, spin, and velocity, all of it surprisingly technical. This is not built into the rules though, which means that a calculator and an understanding of mathematics is not required to play the roleplaying game or handle a spaceship. Instead, it supports the roleplaying game and setting as a hard Science Fiction setting, rather one of just pushing the button and the ship goes., and should instead be used to flavour and inform the narrative in play. Various types of spaceships are detailed from a lowly shuttle all the way up to large freighters and battleships. These are all relatively simply defined with Hull points, crew size and competence, sensors, weapons, and Qualities and Flaws, if any. They are illustrated, but no deck plans, at least for the types of spaceships the Player Characters would have access to, which again is disappointing as that again would have imparted a stronger feel for the setting. (That said, Ships of the Expanse does include those deck plans as well as other information.) In general, whether or not the Player Characters own or have a spaceship will be down to the type of campaign being played or the narrative.

Spaceship combat builds on the core mechanics and has a fluid feel to it. Primarily, it adds another table of Command Stunts for the captain to choose from if he rolls well at the beginning of each round. This can flavour and influence the course of the action from round to round, so that ‘Guidance’, which costs one or more Stunt Points, gives bonus points to assign to combat tests throughout the round, or ‘Set-up’, which costs four Stunt Points and is used to maneuver an opposing ship into a hazard, whether that is into the range of a weapon with a shorter range, a debris field, or even an asteroid. Reflecting the harder feel of its Science Fiction, the spaceships do not have shields, damage being done directly to the hull, and weapons are all kinetic, whether that is Point Defence Cannons, rail guns, or torpedoes. The rules for spaceship combat are supported by a good example of play—the best in the book.

The guide to the future depicted by The Expanse, essentially the background to the setting, does not appear until over halfway through the book. This covers the history of setting all the way up to the first two novels, as well as background on Earth, Mars, the Belt, and the Outers beyond that. It also includes full details and stats of the main members of the cast—Chrisjen Avasarala, James Holden, and more. This would allow the players to take them as characters if they wanted to. Perhaps fans of the television series and the novels may be underwhelmed by the lack of background, but The Expanse Roleplaying Game is not intended to be the  definitive sourcebook for either. Overall, it is a good solid introduction to, and overview of, the setting.

The Game Master is really only given one more mechanic. To aid her handle and increase tension, she is given Churn. Reset at the beginning of each adventure, this ticks up and is tracked whenever a player rolls a six on the Drama die, spends more than four Stunt Points, a player spends Fortune, or the Player Characters overcome an encounter or hazard. When the thresholds are exceeded at ten, twenty, and then thirty points, the Game Master checks for a ‘Churn Over’ which can result in a minor, major, or epic setback or turn of events which in some way impedes the Player Characters. Other than this, the section for the Game Master is dedicated to solid, well written advice on running the game and adjudicating the rules, plus creating adventures, GM styles, and knowing your players—the latter particularly well done. It also includes adversaries, both mundane and outré, potential rewards for the Player Characters, and a discussion of the themes to be found in The Expanse and how to use them in the game. It suggests several campaign or series frameworks, including freelancers, military, political, rebellions, Protomolecule, and other series. It even discusses how to run Parallel series with two or more groups and a series exploring the setting of The Expanse beyond the story depicted in the fiction. All come with plot hooks and there are some concepts for taking beyond the canon too. It even plots out Leviathan Wakes, the first novel, as a plot arc.

Lastly, ‘To Sleep, Perchance To Dream’ is an introductory scenario which a Game Master can run as a one-shot or beginning of a campaign. In the Player Characters are hired by the Mormons on Tycho Station to investigate the disappearance of two scientists. The plot of the scenario is not connected to that of the novels, so it has the feel of there being other things going on other than the threat posed by the Protomolecule. The scenario will bring them into contact with one of the major characters of the setting, but only tangentially, which is a nice touch for fans of the series. Plus as written it should all end with a cinematic climax.

Physically, The Expanse Roleplaying Game is cleanly presented, illustrated throughout in full colour, the artwork nicely depicting the future of The Expanse, as well as its various characters. In places, it is perhaps slightly too busy in terms of its layout, sometimes making it less than an easy read. However, it is well written and an engaging read, especially the background and the advice for the Game Master on running a game and choosing a series framework.

From its inception in 2009 with Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5 to the publication of The Expanse Roleplaying Game in 2019, the AGE System has evolved from an elegant and easy way to handle cinematic fantasy into something which is both complex and comprehensive. It still retains its core elegance, but it is no longer as easy, having more choices and more crunch. This is unavoidable though, given the hard Science Fiction of The Expanse setting, and to be fair, The Expanse Roleplaying Game explains and handles it very well. The core elegance of the AGE System means that the Player Characters can get to do exciting, even cinematic action and interaction, in what is a hard Science Fiction setting, and so have a chance to shine. The Expanse Roleplaying Game is an impressive adaptation of the start of The Expanse setting, one which fans of hard Science Fiction roleplaying will enjoy as much as fans of The Expanse.

In the Modern AGE

What has become known as the ‘AGE’ or ‘Adventure Game Engine’ was first seen 2010 in Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5, the adaptation of Dragon Age: Origins, the computer game from Bioware. It has since been developed into the Dragon Age Roleplaying Game as well as the more generic Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook and a more contemporary and futuristic setting with Modern AGE. Published by Green Ronin Publishing, it covers every era from the Industrial Revolution to the modern day and beyond, and able to do gritty action or high adventure, urban fantasy or a dystopian future. In addition to providing a ‘Classless’ iteration of the AGE System, the Modern AGE Basic Rulebook provides sufficient focuses, talents, and specialisations to take the Player Characters from First to Twentieth Level, fast-paced action built around action, combat, exploration, and social stunts, both arcane magic and psychic powers to elements of the outré and so do Urban Fantasy, solid advice for the Game Master—whether new to the game or a veteran of it, and a sample introductory adventure, all ready for play. All of which comes packed into a relatively slim—by contemporary standards—hardback.

The Modern AGE Basic Rulebook is divided into two sections. The first and slightly longer section is for the players, its chapters covering character creation, basic rules, character actions, equipment stunts, extraordinary powers, and so on. The second is for the Game Master and covers her role, mastering the rules, provides an array of adversaries, rewards for the Player Characters, settings, and the scenario. It does not come with its own setting, but explores a number of ideas and genres including historical, steampunk, gothic and cosmic horror, Film Noir, and more. It lists a number of inspirations in each case and together these should provide enough inspiration for the Game Master to conduct further research and come up with a setting of her own.

A character in Modern AGE is defined by Abilities, Focuses, and Talents. There are nine abilities—Accuracy, Communication, Constitution, Dexterity, Fighting, Intelligence, Perception, Strength, and Willpower. Each attribute is rated between -2 and 4, with 1 being the average, and each can have a focus, an area of expertise such as Accuracy (Assault Rifles), Communication (Gambling), Intelligence (Astronomy), or Willpower (Courage). A focus provides a bonus to associated skill rolls and, in some cases, access to a particular area of knowledge. A Talent represents an area of natural aptitude or special training, and is rated either Novice, Expert, or Master. For example, at Novice level, the Burglary Talent provides a Player Character with extra information about a security system or set-up when studied and an Intelligence (Security) test is made; at Expert level, a Dexterity (Sabotage) test to get past a security system can be rerolled; and at Master level, a Perception (Searching) test can also be rerolled. As a Player Character goes up in Level, he can acquire Specialisations, such as Agent or Performer, which grant further bonuses and benefits. A character also has a Background, Social Class, and Profession, plus a Drive, Resources and Equipment, Health, Defence, Toughness, and Speed, and Goals, Ties, and Relationships.

To create a character, a player rolls three six-sided dice for each Ability—assigning them in order, but can swap two, and then rolls for Social Class and an associated Background and Profession. A Background provides an Ability bonus, a choice of a Focus, and a choice of a Talent, plus randomly determined Focus or Talent, whilst a Profession provides a pair of Focuses and a pair Talents to choose from, plus a resources score and starting Health. The player selects a Drive, such as Achiever or Networker, which grants another pair of Talents to choose from as well as an improvement to a Relationship, a Reputation, or Resources. The process itself is fairly quick and results in a reasonably detailed character.

Our sample Player Character is Dominic Grey, a journalist specialising in military affairs. He grew up a military brat and attended military college, but did not serve in the armed forces following a training exercise. Instead he currently combines a part-time junior post at a local university with freelance journalism, both roles specialising in military affairs. Although in good health, his injuries prevent from taking too active a life and he occasionally walks with a cane.

Dominic Grey
Race: Human
Social Class: Lower (Military)
Occupation: Professional
Level: 1

Accuracy 2
Communication 2 (Expression)
Constitution 3
Dexterity -1
Fighting 3 (Brawling)
Intelligence 3 (Tactics)
Perception 1
Strength -1
Willpower 2

Defence 09 Toughness 3 Speed 10 Health 18
Talents: Expertise (Tactics) (Novice), Knowledge (Novice), Self Defence (Novice)
Drive: Judge
Resources: 6, Membership (Rank 1)

Mechanically, the AGE System is simple enough. If a Player Character wants to undertake an action, his player rolls three six-sided dice and totals the result to beat the difficulty of the test, ranging from eleven or Average to twenty-one or Nigh Impossible. To this total, the player can add an appropriate Ability, and if it applies, an appropriate Focus, which adds two to the roll. For example, if a Player Character comes to the aid of a car crash victim and after pulling him from the vehicle, wants to render first aid, his player would roll three six-sided dice, apply the Player Character’s Intelligence Ability, and if the Player Character has it, the Medicine Focus.

However, where the AGE System gets fun and where the Player Characters have a chance to shine, is in the rolling of the Stunt die and the generation of Stunt Points. When a player rolls the three six-sided dice for an action, one of the dice is of a different colour. This is the Stunt die. Whenever doubles are rolled on any of the dice—including the Stunt die—and the result of the test is successful, the roll generates Stunt Points. The number of Stunt Points is determined by the result of the Stunt die. For example, if a player rolls five, six, and five on the Stunt die, then five Stunt Points are generated on the Stunt die. What a player gets to spend these Stunt Points on depends on the action being undertaken. In 2010, with the release of 2010 in Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5, the only options were for combat actions and the casting of spells, but subsequent releases for Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying expanded the range of options on which Stunt Points can be spent to include movement, exploration, and social situations. This has been carried over into Modern AGE and expanded. Combat covers firearms, grappling, melee, and vehicles, as well as basic combat stunts, whilst Exploration stunts cover exploration, infiltration, and investigation, and Social stunts cover social situations, attitude (of an NPC towards another NPC or Player Character), and membership and reputation stunts.

So, what can stunts do? For example, for one Stunt Point, a player might select ‘Whatever’s Handy’ and grab the nearest improvised weapon, which though clumsy and possibly fragile, it will do; for five Stunt Points, select ‘Break Weapon’, which forces an opposed melee attack roll and if successful, disables the opponent’s weapon; or with a firearm, choose ‘Called Shot’ at cost of four Stunt Points, which turns the damage from an attack into penetrating damage. In an Investigation, ‘Flashback’ costs a single Stunt Point and reminds the Player Character of something he forgot, whilst in a social situation, ‘From the Heart’ costs four Stunt Points and enables the Player Character to express wholeheartedly a belief that it temporarily grants a Willpower Focus.

For example, walking home at night, Dominic Grey is spotted walking with his cane by two muggers, armed with baseball bats, who decide to take advantage of him. Dominic’s player makes an initiative roll for him, whilst the Game Master rolls for the muggers, a straight roll modified by their Dexterity Ability. Dominic’s player rolls eleven, modified to ten, whilst the muggers get a total of sixteen, so the order is the Muggers and then Dominic. The Muggers have Fighting 1, Fighting (Brawling), Dexterity, and Defence 10. Both the Muggers get a Major and a Minor action each round. Mugger #1 makes a Move as his Minor action, followed by a Charge as his Major action, which grants him a +1 bonus to his attack roll. The Game Master rolls three six-sided dice, adds +1 for Mugger #1’s Fighting Ability and +1 for the Charge action bonus, plus the standard +2 bonus for the Short-Hafted Weapon Focus. The Game Master rolls two, three, and five for a result of ten, plus the bonuses for a total of fourteen—enough to beat Dominic’s Defence of nine. The Game Master rolls for damage and Dominic suffers seven damage. The Game Master then rolls for Mugger #2, but rolls one, one, and two, which although it includes doubles, means that he misses.

The miss by Mugger #2 triggers Dominic’s Self Defence Talent, which allows him to use the Grapple Stunt, which normally costs a Stunt Point, for free. This requires an opposed Fighting (Grappling) test. The Game Master rolls two, four, and six for Mugger #2, plus his Fighting Ability for a total of fourteen. Dominic’s player rolls three, four, and six, plus his Fighting Ability for a total of sixteen. This is more than the Mugger and means that Dominic has a hold of him and he cannot move. It is now Dominic’s turn and his player rolls four, four, and six on the Stunt die. This beats Mugger #2’s Defence and generates six Stunt Points. Dominic’s player first spends two of these with the Hinder Stunt. Up to three Stunt Points can be spent on this, reducing damage taken from your opponent by two for each Stunt Point spent until Dominic’s next action. His player spends two Stunt Points on this. The remaining four are spent on Hostage. This requires another opposed Fighting (Grappling) test and enables Dominic manoeuvre Mugger #2 into a vulnerable position. If the Mugger #2 does anything other than a free action on his next turn, or if Mugger #2 attacks Dominic, he can make an immediate attack with a bonus. The Game Master rolls one, four, and five for Mugger #2, plus his Fighting Ability for a total of eleven. Dominic’s player rolls four, four, and five, plus his Fighting Ability for a total of sixteen. Dominic now has Mugger #2 in his grip and as Mugger #1 moves to attack, he manoeuvres Mugger #2 into the path of Mugger #1’s swing of his bat…

Another use for the Stunt die is to determine how well a Player Character does, so the higher the roll on the Stunt die in a test, the less time a task takes or the better the quality of the task achieved. The main use though, is as a means of generating Stunt Points, and whilst Stunt Points and Stunts are the heart of the action in Modern AGE, there are a lot of them to choose from. Now they are broken down into categories, and that does limit what a player can choose from. Nevertheless, there is potential here to slow play down as players make their choices and work what is best for their characters or the situation. This should lessen as players get used to the system and what Stunts work best with their characters.

In addition to covering action, combat, exploration, and social scenes, Modern AGE covers rules for handling resources (money), reputation, equipment, and more. In particular, the more is comprised of ‘Extraordinary Powers’, divided into Arcane and Psychic powers, for example, Gremlins and Arcane Hack are effects which are part of the Digital Arcana and Kinetic Strike and Levitation are effects part of the Telekinesis Psychic Power. Each Arcana or Psychic Power is a Talent, which can be swapped out with a starting Talent during character creation or selected when a Player Character rises in Level and is eligible to choose a Talent. Depending, of course, if they are part of the Game Master’s campaign. Each Arcana and Psychic Power has its own Focus and both are fuelled by Power Points, the cost ranging between two and ten Power Points, depending on the effect. Tests are required to use an effect and so can generate Stunts Points just as with any other test. The list of Power Stunts available will be familiar to anyone who has played a mage in Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying. The use of Arcane and Psychic powers is entirely optional, but opens Modern AGE most obviously to the Urban Fantasy genre, but they could be mixed into a variety of different campaign settings.

The second half of Modern AGE is devoted to the Game Master and provides advice on how to run a game, game and scene types, play styles, frame particular tests, and so on. For example, it explores how to frame a breach attempt with various examples, like infiltrating a gang or hacking a computer. It does this for chases and combat as well, along with sample hazards. Other threats are presented in the form of adversaries, ranging from Assassin, Brainwashed Killer, and Cat Burglar to Psychic, Rich Socialite, and Smooth Operator—with lots in between, all of them human. Although most of the discussion of campaign types is in the Game Master section, the actual mechanics for campaigns are back at the beginning of the players’ section and run right through it. This is because they directly affect the roleplaying game’s mechanics. Modern AGE can be set in one of three modes—Gritty, Pulpy, and Cinematic. In Gritty Mode, a Player Character can be almost as easily injured as people in real life and one bullet is enough to put him out of action, and whilst he might get more skilled, a Player Character does not get tougher as he gains more experience. Stories in the Gritty Mode tend towards realism. In Pulpy Mode, the Player Characters are more obviously heroic and grow both tougher and skilled, and stories involve more action. In Cinematic Mode, the Player Characters are tough and heroic and only tougher and more heroic. Throughout the Modern AGE Basic Rulebook there are colour-coded sections which denote which rule applies to which mode, for example, Toughness works slightly differently in each mode, not all of the roleplaying game’s Stunts are available in each mode, and the adversaries have different Health, Defence, and Toughness depending upon the mode being employed. Each of the three modes makes for a different game and type of story, but no less action or success orientated with the generation and expenditure of Stunt Points.

The Modern AGE Basic Rulebook discusses a wide array of genres, from adventure and alternate history to procedurals and urban fantasy, along with various ears, running from the Age of Reason and the Victorian Age to the Cold War and the Present Day (and beyond). It devotes roughly a third to half a page to each, along with suggested further viewing. None of the discussions are overly deep, instead they do serve as a solid starting point for the Game Master, from which she can conduct further research. Rounding out Modern AGE Basic Rulebook is ‘A Speculative Venture’, designed for First Level Player Characters. The latter attend an exclusive party held by the wealthy CEO of a technology giant to remember the legacy of a cutting-edge inventor who died the year before. When a new technological break-through is revealed—the exact nature of which is left up to the Game Master to decide—it all takes a nasty turn as masked gunmen crash the party, take hostages, and it is all up to the Player Characters to come to the rescue. Involving a good mix of social and action scenes, ‘A Speculative Venture’ is a relatively short adventure, but should serve to introduce the players to the rules and what their characters are capable of.

Physically, the Modern AGE Basic Rulebook is cleanly presented, illustrated throughout in full colour, using the same cast of characters, which gives it a pleasingly consistent look. The book is also very easy to read and the rules easy to grasp. In terms of content, it is difficult to find actual flaws in the Modern AGE Basic Rulebook. Although it discusses a lot of settings, these are done in the broadest of terms, so perhaps its might have been useful to have included one or two more detailed and worked out settings, with one of them including the use of the roleplaying game’s Arcane and Psychic powers. Thus, giving the Game Master and her players something a bit more detailed to play in. The Modern AGE Basic Rulebook is designed to cover any period from the Industrial Age to the modern day, and beyond, but what that beyond is, is never really explored. Is it Urban Fantasy, is it something else? It is not Science Fiction, as that is too beyond what the Modern AGE Basic Rulebook covers. To be fair though, these are minor issues, if they are issues at all.

When Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5 was published in 2009, it not only presented a setting based on a popular computer game, it also presented a simple, playable set of rules that enabled a group to play straightforward fantasy with cinematic action. For the then Dragon Die and Stunt Points mechanics proved to be both elegant and easy—and above all, fun. In the form of the Stunt Die and Stunt Points, the Modern AGE Basic Rulebook retains these same elements, but expands them to encompass another genre—two including Urban Fantasy, and provide options and actions which allow them to shine in a variety of different situations. It is ably supported by solid advice for the Game Master for both running the game and setting up a campaign. Overall, the Modern AGE Basic Rulebook packs a lot of punch in supporting action aplenty in its mechanics and the chance for the Player Characters to shine.

Free RPG Day 2019: Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold

Now in its twelfth year, Saturday, June 15th was Free RPG Day and with it came an array of new and interesting little releases. Invariably they are tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. The release for Free RPG Day 2019 from Green Ronin Publishing is Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold. As its title suggests, this is a quick-start for Modern AGE, a roleplaying game which updates the AGE System first seen in Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5 to do gritty action, high adventure, urban fantasy, or dystopian future. Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold presents a slightly simplified version of the Modern AGE rules, a lengthy three part scenario which introduces a new setting for the Modern AGE rules, and five pre-generated characters, all of which comes in a forty page, full-colour booklet.

At the core of each character in Modern AGE are eight abilities—Accuracy, Communication, Constitution, Dexterity, Fighting, Intelligence, Perception, Strength, and Willpower. Each attribute is rated between -2 and 4, with 1 being the average. They will have ability focuses, areas of expertise such as Accuracy (Assault Rifles), Communication (Gambling), Intelligence (Occultism), Perception (Searching), and so on that add a +2 bonus to appropriate rolls. Characters can also know Weapon Groups, Talents, and Specialisations and these are worked into and explained in the five pre-generated characters, although they are not explained in Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold. This is intentional, since it is not designed to cover character creation, but rather showcase the mechanics and the new setting in play.

Mechanically, Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold uses the same basic mechanics as Modern AGE and Fantasy AGE as well as Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying before it. Known as the AGE System or Adventure Gaming Engine (AGE) System, this requires the use of just six-sided dice, both to handle actions as well as effect—such as damage, time taken, or to generate Stunt Points. To undertake an action, a player rolls three six-sided dice to beat a target, the average being eleven. To the roll a player also adds the appropriate Ability and if one applies, a +2 bonus for any Focus. For example, Trace needs to find the location of a gate to their next destination and believes that it can be found in the library of Cardinal House, home to the Sodality’s governing body on the Otherworld of Akavastu. The Game Master sets the target to eleven. Trace has an Intelligence of 3 and a Focus of Research, which gives him a bonus of +2, thus enabling to add five to the roll. Trace’s player rolls the dice and gets a result of 4, 4, and 2, for a total of 10—just not quite enough for Trace to succeed and find details of the location he is sure is noted in the records. Fortunately, with the addition of the appropriate Ability and Focus—Intelligence and Intelligence (Research)—the total is actually 14 and so Trace finds the information he needs.

Now of the three six-sided dice, one is a different colour to the other two. This is called the Stunt Die. Typically, it acts as an effect die, measuring how well a character does or how quickly an action takes, but in the basic rules, particularly in combat, the Stunt Die does much, much more. Whenever a player rolls doubles on two of the three six-sided dice and succeeds, he gets a number of points equal to the result of the Stunt Die to spend on Stunts, which come in four types—Combat, Exploration, Social, and Power. Thus, Knock Prone or Vicious Blow are Combat Stunts for use in melee or missile combat, Powerful Manifestation or Fast Use are Power Stunts when casting magic, Speed Demon or With a Flourish are Exploration Stunts for general actions, and Impress or Class Clown! are Social Stunts.

To continue the example, Trace’s player rolled 4, 4, and 2 on the successful research attempt. Since he rolled doubles, the Stunt Die is activated and as this was 2 result, Trace’s player has just two Stunt Points to spend. Looking at the Exploration Stunts, the most obvious option is ‘Speed Demon’ which cuts the time it takes to complete the test in half. The Game Master decides that as a consequence, Trace and his fellow team members will get to the gate before the main enemy operations team does, though they may be chased by a small band of scouts.

Overall, whatever the iteration of the AGE System, the mechanics are easy to grasp and easy to play, providing an enjoyably cinematic play experience via the rich choice of Stunts and Talents. Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold explains the mechanics in just ten pages, including the use of magic, serving either as a quick refresher for anyone familiar with the AGE System or as a solid introduction to the basics of the mechanics.

In addition, Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold also introduces a new setting for Modern AGE—The Metacosm of Threefold. The Earth is but one world in the Metacosm, all connected by a series of gates. The Earth is a tech-world, although its highest technology—experiments into time travel and the manipulation of parallel worlds—are controlled by a conspiracy of inhuman intelligences known as the Peridixion. Otherworlds vary widely, from worlds where islands float on endless seas to worlds ruled by Optimates, the demigod children of gods. Collectively they rule a Divine Empire, whilst another power, the Vitane, promotes peace and the dissemination of knowledge. The Sodality is an independent organisation of explorers, diplomats, and warriors. Beyond this, there is a third power, the Netherworlds, places of nightmares ruled by archdemons whose subjects are damned souls. Earth is the first layer in the Metacosm, the Otherworlds are the second, the Netherworlds the third, whilst the Divine Empire, the Vitane, and the Netherworlds are first, second, and third powers. Thus three layers, three powers, and a tripartite secret behind it all—hence Threefold.

Thus what you have in Threefold is a cross-parallel, planet-hopping setting which mixes genres. So technology and magic mix to varying degrees from parallel to parallel as do the genres, including fantasy, science fiction, conspiracy, cyberpunk, and more. Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold primarily showcases elements of these in the five pre-generated characters. So the five includes a bruiser with the ability to locate gates between worlds, an ex-combat medic, a broker and dealer also with the ability to locate gates between worlds, an investigator able to identify things not of the Earth who has been augmented with cybernetics for different skill foci, and an Arcanist who cast magic to access electronic devices, track people and objects, and if necessary blast them! All of them are decently done, though the ex-combat medic may feel somewhat mundane in comparison to the others. All though, begin the scenario with knowledge of the Macrocosm and the fact that there are more worlds than just the Earth. None of the characters have their age, appearance, or agenda predetermined and theirs are free to set these as they want.

The scenario in Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold is ‘Burning Brighter’. The player characters begin in New York City at the Blake Clinic, a free medical clinic that is also a front for Aethon, the Peridexion’s paramilitary and espionage arm. When a man suffering from strange symptoms is brought into reception and the clinic is attacked by offworld, hi-tech agents, then the player characters know that something is amiss. This is confirmed when they are recruited into a joint Peridexion-Vitane task force and informed that an agent has gone rogue and may well be spreading the disease that the man was suffering from. The player characters are tasked with tracking down and dealing with the damage that this agent has done—someone else will go after the agent.

Divided into three acts—plus prologue—‘Burning Brighter’ will take the player characters across multiple Otherworlds and along the way will encounter a mythical beast, an Optimate with a mythic backstory and a van, members of a warrior band, the Nighthost, invaders from the Netherworlds, and more, showcasing various parts of the setting, how its factions interact with each other, and how some technology might not work on every world. Along the way, the players  should get a chance to show off their characters’ talents and abilities, get used to the Modern AGE mechanics, and perhaps uncover a secret or two. The scenario does end with almost everything resolved, but there is room for the Game Master to develop further adventures once she has a copy of Modern AGE and the Threefold setting supplement.

Physically, Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold is very nicely presented with a bright, clean layout, full-colour painted artwork throughout, and decent writing. If there is an issue with physicality the quick-start it is that the cover is underwhelming and if there is an issue with Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold as a whole, it is that hilst the rules are easy to learn and impart, the same cannot be said of the background which conversely is potentially overwhelming for the players  should the Game Master attempt to impart it to them, Especially for a one-shot. That said, it might be helpful for the Game Master to put together a cheat-sheet for the background as well as the mechanics when preparing to run ‘Burning Brighter’.

Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold is easy to read, the rules are easy to learn, and the scenario, ‘Burning Brighter’—which feels like a  more fantastical version of the television series, Sliders—should provide two session’s worth of decent play. Overall, Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold is solid introduction to both Modern AGE and the Threefold setting.

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Modern AGE Quickstart: Threefold will be available to download from the Green Ronin Publishing website from Monday, July 1st, 2019.