The portals are dead. Ship City is dying.
But there is still hope.
You are explorers of a dangerous world. You’ll do the work few others will. The enigmatic ruins of the Great Dark is shunned by most, but not by you. You seek them out, to delve into their shadowy depths and uncover their secrets. The Blight — the cataclysmic scourge that spreads from the ruins — makes others wary. For you it’s a beacon: where there is Blight, there are artifacts to find and mysteries to solve. Ship City is dying, but you and your fellow explorers can find a way to a better future.
So don your delver suit, step aboard a mighty Greatship and venture down the Slipstream towards the unknown. Your creed: explore or perish!
Inspired by 19th century expeditions, deep sea diving and pulp archeology. Coriolis: The Great Dark is a roleplaying game about exploration and intrigue were you’ll join dangerous expeditions, navigate the byzantine schemes of Ship City and hunt for the keys that unlock the mystery of this Lost Horizon.
In Coriolis: The Great Dark, you and a crew of fellow explorers set out on expeditions and delve into ruins of The Lost Horizon. You all have your separate backgrounds and homes in the meandering asteroid-metropolis of Ship City.
You are employed by a small guild – The Explorers Guild, to undertake dangerous sojourns into deep ruins on desolate moons or take part in long expeditions travelling to other star systems in search of resources and artifacts. Delving into the ruins, will bring out the best of you all, as you take on the roles of true explorers. You’ll have to overcome physical obstacles, beasts from the dark as well as endure the ubiquitous Blight, a space plague affecting both mind and body. But other crews of explorers will also become your opponents as you vie for the same artifacts and knowledge.
In the metropolis of Ship City, you may take on missions and investigations to help your guild and build your crew’s reputation with the other major players of the city – The Navigators Guild, the Machinists Guild and Gardeners Guild.
The rules of Coriolis – The Great Dark are based on the latest iteration of acclaimed Year Zero Engine, used in award-winning games such as the ALIEN RPG, the Blade Runner RPG, the Tales From the Loop RPG and The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Game, but specifically tailored for this new game.
As a core mechanic, you roll a number of six-sided dice decided by the value of your base attribute and your talents. The more competent you are, the more dice you get to roll. Any roll of 6 indicates a success, and multiple successes trigger bonus effects. Rolls can be pushed, i.e. re-rolled, at the risk of losing Hope that you will ever survive the horrors of The Great Dark.
The Core rulebook includes rules for quick character generation, combat, shuttles & trekkers, exploration and expeditions. The rules are designed to blend seamlessly with the story, and let you focus on your explorer's endeavours while pushing the themes of the game to the forefront.