Play any sub-genre or style of science fiction from gritty cyberpunk to epic planetary romance with this customizable Tabletop RPG Powered by O.G.R.E.S., the same rules as Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars and Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age.
Thirteen Parsecs: Beyond the Solar Frontier is the latest tabletop role playing game project from Elf Lair Games, producers of Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars and Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age. It forms the third of our trilogy of core games - we've given you modern and fantasy, and now we bring sci-fi to the forefront with the same rules, completely customizable and ready for you to build exactly the type of science fiction gaming you want. As always, it's your game your way when it's Powered by O.G.R.E.S.!
Thirteen Parsecs (or 13P) is envisioned as a softcover book, roughly 288 pages, 7.25" x 9.25", and black and white. Within you will find all the rules you need to run any sort of science fiction campaign from gritty cyberpunk to outer space war dramas to science fantasy in the grand planetary romance tradition, to hard sci-fi, isolationist starfaring horror, and beyond! Whether your jam is Asimov, Lucas, Roddenberry, Larson, Bradbury, Clarke, Dick, Gibson, Heinlein, or any other, 13Pwill do the job!
It uses the O.G.R.E.S. rules, the same as our other flagship titles, so it will seamlessly integrate with either of our games. Care to run a game of Lovecraftian horror in the dead of space? Combine it with Night Shift: VSW. Looking to have an elvish imperium battling the orcish empire deep within the stars, with heroes at the helm of spell-slinging starfighters? Combine it with Wasted Lands: TDA and go!
Inside the pages of Thirteen Parsecs you will find:
New and re-skinned character archetypes ready to take on the stars or hack into any computer system. These include the Augmented, Blaster, Bounty Hunter, Diplomat, Merc, Mystic Knight, Psychic, and Slicer.
Unique starship creation and combat rules that focus on the systems of your vessel (engines, offensive, defensive, maneuverability, sensors, AI, etc.) and cover everything from tiny shuttles to full space stations and beyond, plus combat from fighter-craft dogfights to crewed vessels where everyone gets a chance to use their unique talents to shine!
Rules for alien species including the Android/Robot, Canis, Decti, Felis, Grey, Jalex, Remoni, Saurian, and guidelines for creating your own original species.
Cultural backgrounds to give your characters a history and differentiate them from others, including the Archaeologist, Colonist, Corporate or Underworld, Craft, Desert, Jacked, Mining, Scholar, Space Runner, Transhumanist, and others!
Fate Points to give your players some extra agency - escape hits, make saves, and even engage in minor scene edits!
Career Training to supplement your die rolls
Complete skills system to customize character abilities
A gear chapter outlining various weaponry, equipment, and ships of different types of sci-fi
Psionic and mystical powers
Rules for creating custom equipment, psionics, and powers
Heroic Touchstones, an option for those who want to build campagins around heroes with true destinies
Several mini-settings detailing what lies within and beyond the 13-parsec Solar Frontier.
A complete GM chapter discussing various sub-genres of sci-fi and how to use them in game
A bestiary of alien threats
and more!
The New Class of Old School takes on the Solar Frontier! Are YOU game?
Elf Lair Games' flagship products are Powered by O.G.R.E.S. This rules system is inspired by the earliest days of tabletop role playing, but has been codified and streamlined in such a way as to demystify those rules and offer a fast-playing, intuitive system that fades into the background, encourages creative play, and is ultimately so user friendly that it's ideal for family play or introducing new players to the game.
Even better, the O.G.R.E.S. system is supremely customizable in every aspect of play. Many of the rules come with options for gritty, normal, or cinematic play that you can mix and match to create just the style of game your table likes. Even better, if you prefer a different mechanical core, O.G.R.E.S. can be customized to that mechanic. For example, if you prefer point-buy, you can convert from class-and-level to a point buy system. If you prefer a straight percentile roll-under or a unified d20 roll-over, guidelines are here to allow it. Fan of a dice pool system? It can be done, and none of it requires any changes to the internal mechanics or character sheets.
You can take a character using the standard O.G.R.E.S. system and bring them to a friend's table who is running a dice pool table, and your character will still work with no changes.
The Core Mechanics
At its base, O.G.R.E.S. is a class-and-level system that uses three core mechanics. These are as follows:
Class Abilities: Class abilities such as the Bounty Hunter's ability to track, or a Psychic's psionic powers use a straight percentage roll (roll under your percentage) for success.
Attribute Checks: Attribute checks (including combat and saves) use a twenty-sided die, adding bonuses, and trying to score 20 or better.
The Rule of 2: The rule of 2 is generally reserved for the game master and allows for quick adjudication of any scenario not otherwise covered by the rules. Not sure what to do? Pick a die, roll it, and on a result of 1 or 2, something happens.
That's it! You now know how to play a game that's Powered by O.G.R.E.S.!
Yes, in fact, it should be Twelve, and originally our intent was to name the game Twelve Parsecs. Alas, there are several other gaming companies and products already using that name, and while none were specifically using it for a tabletop RPG, we wanted to avoid confusion in the marketplace. The idea of calling the game Thirteen Parsecs started as something of a cheeky joke in-house between myself, Tim, and Derek, but the more we used it, the more we liked the sound of it.
We then came up with the idea that Thirteen Parsecs was the Solar Frontier of the title. We decided that in every one of our settings, that's the farthest humankind has made it in terms of exploration. 13 Parsecs, or just in the neighborhood of 42 or 43 light years - no one has breached that barrier. Why? Each setting will have its own explanation. Some may be horrific, some may be technological, or some may simply be that nobody's pushed out that far.
Of course, in your games you're welcome to ignore that. Certainly many sci-fi properties have entire galaxies and beyond at their disposal. We just liked it as a linking element in our mini-settings, and it worked to add a bit of distinctive flavor, all tied up with a wink and a nod to the fans out there.
"Why should I back this?" is a question just about everyone asks in a crowdfunding campaign, and it's a valid one. At Elf Lair Games, we fancy ourselves The New Class of Old School, and we seek to revitalize the old-school style of gaming by bringing modern design sensibilities to it. Our games are something of a Rosetta Stone for the original rules that drove gaming in its early days - 0e, 1e, B/X, and the others.
It is our opinion that the reputation those games have for being arcane and complex is incorrect, but the games were never codified properly to make it clear how simple they are. With O.G.R.E.S., we have done that: given you the mechanics that have driven gaming since those early days, properly spelled out that anyone can grasp them. The rules, in turn, get out of the way and let you focus on your characters and their adventures.
Beyond that, the games are supremely customizable, letting you build precisely the rules you want and need for your game. It is our belief that allowing your game to be Powered by O.G.R.E.S. means you're getting the most customizable rules set on the market today.
Between our three games you have everything you need to play any game of any style in any genre imaginable. When your table is Powered by O.G.R.E.S., it's your game, your way, and you may never need another system again.
Finally, and certainly of great import as well, is that you are supporting a small publisher manned by designers that have decades of experience at this, and who genuinely care about our fans and the hobby. We are trying to make a go of this, and it's important to understand that every dollar you spend supporting a small publisher makes a huge difference. We deeply appreciate our fanbase. We do this for you, and we can't do it without you. Thanks in advance!
We expect to deliver the game in September 2024. It's worth noting that we have always delivered our crowdfunding campaigns on time, and Wasted Lands fulfilled early! We have a strong track record of delivering what we promise on time.
We have some amazing things planned for Thirteen Parsecs! Here's what you can expect if we reach various campaign goals.
$1,500 - Funded! The game will be produced and delivered with our eternal gratitude!
$5,000 - New Solar Frontier! We will include a new mini-setting in the book.
$7,000 - HARDCOVER PLUS LEATHERS! This is the big one - Thirteen Parsecs will be produced as a hardcover book to match our other books, and all print pledge levels will be automatically upgraded to receive the hardcover book. In addition, at this level we will unlock a new pledge level for genuine leather versions of the hardcover books! These will be along the same lines as those for our other games, but will include ribbon bookmarks in addition to the leather binding.
$9,000 - Art Budget! At this level, we will up our art content with original artwork by some fantastic industry artists.
$12,000 - GM Screens! We will produce print GM screens with a GM Toolkit booklet along the lines of those we produced for Night Shift. Any pledge level that includes POD screens will receive a FREE UPGRADE!
$15,000 - FULL COLOR! At this level, Thirteen Parsecs will be produced as a full color work. All print pledge levels will receive a free upgrade.
$18,000 - Adventure Module! At this level, we will produce a PDF adventure module for the game to get you off and running with a bang! All pledge levels at $40 and above will receive this reward.
$20,000 - We will produce a second PDF adventure module for the game. All pledge levels at $40 and above will receive this reward.
$23,000 - VTT Support! We have been wanting to offer support for Foundry for our games for years, now. If we hit $23,000, we will deliver on this desire!
Shipping will be charged during the Pledge Manager stage at the end of the campaign and will be based on the current costs available through EasyShip. It is likely that U.S. shipping will be between $6 and $8 for the main book, and maybe a few bucks added if you get add-ons,
International shipping unfortunately ranges anywhere from $30 to in excess of $40 and possibly even higher depending on where in the world you are located and what add-ons you get. It guts us that international shipping is so high, but there isn't much we can do about it. Please also be aware that international customers may be required to pay import and VAT taxes at their postal location before picking up the package. We thank you for your understanding.
Because of that, however, we are offering a PoD option for international print backers. During the survey at the end of the campaign, you will be given the choice to obtain an at-cost PoD code for your hardcopy from DriveThruRPG, instead of having it shipped overseas. This is a recent development that we're glad to provide, with the caveat that PoD is often of lower quality than traditional print. But it will allow you to circumvent international shipping and VAT charges.
Risks and Challenges
Elf Lair Games is not new to the crowdfunding game. We have successfully funded three campaigns at Kickstarter, and Jason has been involved in over a dozen with Troll Lord Games. our campaigns always fulfill on time and our latest fulfilled early!
That said, the biggest risks are things that are out of our hands like printer issues or shipping delays. While we cannot account for every factor in the equation, we are confident in our ability to deliver this on time.
