Whether you know it or not, September 13 is the 50th anniversary of Breakaway Day. Today we memorialize the day the Moon blasted out of Earth’s orbit with the 311 inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha.
Oh, you didn’t know that? That obviously means you are not a fan of the TV series Space: 1999.
Space: 1999 premiered in 1975. The series is actually one of, if not the, first TV series I remember watching. The pilot episode, “Breakaway,” is still a favorite of mine. A later Season One episode, “Dragon’s Domain,” may look a bit cheesy by today’s standards but—trust me—it was incredibly frightening at the time.
Fifty years after Space: 1999 premiered Modiphius Entertainment is bringing to market Space: 1999 – The Tabletop Roleplaying Game. As a recent article on gerryanderson.com relates:
Our Space: 1999 Roleplaying Game will be available to experience soon with the forthcoming release of the core rulebook. This co-production between Anderson Entertainment and Modiphius thrusts you into the world of Space: 1999 and allows you to create your very own cosmic adventures with fellow Alphans!
https://www.gerryanderson.com/space-1999-rpg-datafile-1-what-is-an-rpg/
The Space: 1999 RPG is going to use the Modiphius 2D20 game engine that powers the very popular Fallout RPG and Star Trek Adventures. I have said it before and I will say it again that I am not the greatest fan of the 2D20 engine. The publisher’s blurb for the 2D20 system reads:
The 2d20 System is a toolset for creating and playing games that emulate and celebrate action-packed, story-driven fiction. It thrives when paired with a setting or theme where competent, determined, often larger-than-life protagonists face tense and perilous situations, and where collaboration and teamwork are vital to success.
It aims to pair the action of the story with a degree of mechanical impact, so that what happens in the narration has direct consequences in the game, and vice versa, and relies on players and Gamemaster alike being active participants in both the fiction and the gameplay.
DrivethruRPG for the 2D20 SRD
I am also not overly impressed with the example characters that gerryanderson.com is using to advertise the game. Like Green Ronin did for The Expanse, the characters seem, well, almost too plain.
Fortunately, I am well prepared to take what Modiphius offers up as “canon” and expand it to meet MY campaign setting.
The reality is that I will not be able to stay away from the Space: 1999 RPG, 2D20 be damned. The core rulebook goes on pre-order today, September 13. I will be ordering my copy. (Update – Ordered…but releasing in January 2025. At least the QuickStart in pdf is sent immediately…)
Feature image courtesy Modiphius Entertainment
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