The Expanse Roleplaying Game

Last Updated on February 17, 2022 by OoS

Based on the same books and SyFy TV series, The Expanse Roleplaying game is a Kickstarter-funded game that left a lot of players shocked with its amazing experience. Its appearance and feel is the same as its show and books. It’s quite a simple game compared to most tabletop RPGs but it has enough robust portions to make the game seem more inclined to complex players. Even if you are not a fan of the show or any of its books, the tabletop RPG and its board game are quite addictive to play.

 First Impressions 

Might I say, the book looks and feels great. It is quite thick and heavy yet manageable to carry around for long travels. Its paper is made of high-quality material and the stitched binding makes the book look more professional. Skimming through the content, you know you are in for quite a surprise.

 Mechanics 

The opening part of the book includes a Player’s Section where you are introduced with the game’s basic mechanics. It is filled with very simple rules to follow along with some explanation of how the three 6d dice work as modifiers in order to beat the target number.

In order to get your role, you will need to answer a certain test. Knowing your character comes with random tables. That means you will have to make choices that determine the min/max process. Every character is a Concept and includes Focus. A Concept is simply a character you make from your own. Focus simply means the specialty of your character (based on the given Focuses in the intro).

Along with this test is the introduction of Stunts: specific skills for every role. Along with this portion of the book is the Drama Die: rolling 3 dice if you roll a double of the same numbers. That makes the game more flexible in breaking ties, empowering stunts and knowing if your weapon is out of ammo. Fortune points are the vital part of the game. They are considered as the Hit Points of the game and are used to increase the value of one die on a two-to-one stalemate.

 Random Encounters 

The combat rules are more streamlined than the likes of D&D and is quite easy to understand especially for beginners in the tabletop roleplaying genre. Two dice determine your Fortune Points while the 3rd die is your Drama Die to determine your ammo count. There are no statistics provided for vehicular combat however, which is quite convoluted during the highway and getaway scenes.

Stunts determine the action of your character and uses Focus. When it comes to the number of Stunts, The Expanse has a lot of it. Rolling a successful double Stunt will result in Chase, General Combat, Gun, Grapple, Melee and Vehicle. Overall, the Stunt count is 59. Contrastingly, while the combat is simple to understand and focuses more on the fast-paced action, the slow portion of Stunt vs Drama Die halts the momentum. This is a bit polarizing but for us, it’s quite alright.

Along with the action are Investigations: which leads you to progress through the game as long as the GM of your group allows it. Also, there are social encounters in this game too where you have to actually roleplay as your character based on the attitudes given to you by the GM.

 Story 

We will save you from too much of your time because the story of The Expanse is very long. Well, that is what you get for setting the story in space where the gameplay mostly revolves around exploration. Anything can happen in space whether it is finding another planet, tackling against intergalactic pirates or make peace with locals.

 Overall 

The Expanse Roleplaying Game may not be for everyone but for those that wish to begin their hobby of tabletop roleplaying or if you want a fresh take into the world of RPGs, this game might be suitable for you.

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