No Port Called Home
A downloadable game
Down planetside they say that space is silent, that without atmosphere there is no roar of engines, no clatter and clang as stray bits of metal bump against one another, and spin, catching beams of lamplight.
No one whose actually been out there would call it silent though. There’s always the crumpling sound of suit fabric. The click-click-hum of the air circulator. Your stomach. Your heartbeat. The sound of your partner’s breath, coming through the radio.
The only time you’ll ever hear silence out in the black is if you’re dead. If every single one of the machines dedicated to keeping you alive has shut down.
No Port Called Home is a sci-fi Tabletop RPG. Together you and your teammates will tell the story of a rag-tag crew, and their adventures up and down the system.
There's robots, genetic engineering, spaceships, terrifying God AI's, pirates, and more terrible engine disasters than you can shake a stick at.
For Players:
The core mechanic of the game is this: each player picks three classes and mashes them together.
You want to play a wily smuggler? Sure- combine Pilot, Con-artist and Gunslinger.
Prefer to play as a surly detective? Perhaps Infiltrator, Bodyguard and Brute will be a fit.
The game has builds available for diplomats, scientists, explorers, hackers, thieves, and a million and one other character combinations.
Also we made Engineering awesome, because engineering is a critical part of sci-fi , and needs to be more interesting than "I roll a repair check until its fixed".
For GM's:
We also made a GMs guide! It's got two possible starting adventures, a bunch of monsters, lore, equipment lists, spare NPC's and locations... and also advice on GMing ship combat, mechanical disasters, and various other things which are unique to Sci-fi settings.
If you want to build characters, you can do so on the character building app. You can open it on phone or computer.
And finally, a big thank you to Zonked-Eye and Evan Dahm, who made the fabulous art you can find throughout the rulebook.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Monster Manual addedJun 12, 2023
Comments
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The mechanics is indeed very fun and easy to learn. Cool game, NineGardens team!
Thank you kindly! Hope the game leads you to many wild adventures!
Home gives you exactly what you would want out of a Sci Fi adventure. The tri class system is a joy to play around with, if your interested in playing start by building some characters.
Highly Recommended.
(and not just cuz I've been playing since before release)
Right, not going to get anything as in depth as bzm3r, but character concept:
Rozynn, Hearthseeker of Stormsend
Nix Tinker Calibrist Ranger
Ro has always been good at making things. Anything really, but especially things made of metal and movement, wire and circuits and clever mechanisms. She would have been happy to stay in her workshop forever. Then her clan's Matriarch got into a power struggle with the wrong Queen. What's left of the Stormsend clan is scattered across four separate stations. Their future rests in the hands of half a dozen Hearthseekers sent out alone to look for a place the clan could make a new home. Ro is one of these, with nothing to rely on but her trusty rifle, a bag full of junk... and maybe some friends?
Level 1 feats: Caution, Bulletsmith, Prepared for Anything
Party role: Ro is a good shot, but might rely on teammates to keep enemies at a safe distance. Familiar with various forms of tech, she could act as either engineer or pilot in a group that lacks a more specialized person for the role - and of course she's likely to be the group's scout/guide. She's not the most social individual, but is pretty good at defusing tension.
Thought process: I really like gageteers and gearheads, so Tinker and Calibrist caught my eye. Ranger's Prepared for Anything looks like a lot of fun, plus the Craft bonus will be nice with Tinker and the rifle bonus will be nice for Calibrist. For race while I could go for Jotunn (nice and practical) or Fae (flair and charm), I'd like a Will save bonus and I kinda like the communal mindset of the Nix.
Great game!! With a couple house rules, I think it'll be perfect for my group. Any estimate on when the example NPC (and hopefully guidelines for creating your own) section of the storyteller's guide will be finished? It looks like it's currently absent. Thanks for writing this and sharing it!
Hey Chucklemaster: glad you've enjoyed so far.
For example NPC's... in theory it should all be there already *goes and checks*....
....
...
And I commented out an entire chapter by mistake. :|
My Bad.
Thank you for spotting!! Much appreciated.
Okay, have updated the document and its all there now, if you re-download then you should have an entire chapter of monsters and NPCs, along with some tips on running combat.
Dream Character.
Race: Homunculi. Why? "Because they showed up, and they are insistent enough that no one knows how to get rid of them." These buggers know how to live---and live well---regardless of how others feel about them. As far as I am concerned, that's a superpower.
Name: The Fifth, Gardener. (Actual name, to be uncovered in campaign, it is not known to them at the start.)
Backstory: The Fifth, Gardener (Fifth for short, amongst friends, or at a Cavalcade; Gardener for short, if we are to be formal) does not know their name. They are the fifth member of a small group of Homunculi (8 confirmed members, 3 thought to be deceased or otherwise missing) known as the Unwise Friends. Like most members of the group, Gardener has a working name that is closely related to something they do: in this case, taking care of a Hearthoak Seed.
Class 1: Hearthoak Seed. Why? The Unwise Friends like throwing parties, like any self-respecting association of Homonculi, and great parties need great food. The Hearthoak Seed provides that food. Also, isn't it curious that the Hearthoak Seed can provide food that provides bonuses to mechanoids? That it can heal mechanoids?
Class 2: Seeker. Why? They seek to uncover their name, and they seek to find out how a Hearthoak Seed works, and why it is that one can provide benefits to both organics and mechanoids. A major goal for this character would be to apply the Sufficiently Advanced Tech feat to their Hearthoak Seed.
Class 3: Calibrist. Why? Pairs well with Seeker, story-wise. I think there's a lot of potential in tying Calibrist's Personal Touch with Seeker's research notes (particularly materials science/technology related ones). Would require some negotiating with the GM, as it is not clearly laid out in the rules itself. But, you know, potential. Plus, the ornate Personal Holster is great for parties. Gardener thinks it is immensely sad (and therefore, immensely funny) that bullets they make know their names.
Curious to hear your thoughts!
Really neat character concept! What Seeker specialities do you think you'd start with? Biology - Plants and Material Science - Bullets and Explosives both seem to fit. Maybe also Systens - Food Economics?
I really don't think Personal Touch is intended to work with Seeker - did you have something in mind for how you'd like to see it work?
Also Fifth, the Gardener doesn't seem to be the best shot (at most +2 attack) so maybe it would be helpful to pick up Improved Muzzle pretty soon.
> What Seeker specialities do you think you'd start with?
Starting four seeker specialties:
* I didn't think of Systems Analysis: Food Economics! That's freakin' brilliant.
* I think Systems Analysis: Ecology might also be a good one, since I imagine the Hearthoak Seed's Garden is a rather complicated ecosystem (with the Hearthoak) being the central organism ---- but maybe this should be swapped out for a custom Technology feat (see concern below) maybe called "Bioinformatics"....something relevant to the engineering of organisms like the Hearthoak Seed?
* Biology: Plants, and
* Materials Science: Bullets and Explosives are no-brainers
(Concern: I worry that since a goal of the character is to unlock Sufficiently Advanced Tech for the sake of the Hearthoak, it seems like it would be a good idea to get started on Technology somehow, but none of the existing specialties under Technology necessarily vibe well with Hearthoak... )
> I really don't think Personal Touch is intended to work with Seeker - did you have something in mind for how you'd like to see it work?
Yeah, this is a super fair concern, and two less out-there solutions might be: 1) admitting that Personal Touch doesn't work well, and not targeting that for a feat, and 2) choosing some other combat utility class that is not Calibrist (strong possible alternatives that keep a similar vibe: Gunslinger (see possible interactions Fractured Focus), Sharpshooter (see possible interactions with Nothing Personal), Wardog (for a general smattering of upping combat utility)).
But if we were to stick with Calibrist, and stick with Personal Touch, I was wondering if success using the Analyze Sample feat provided by Seeker might allow one to either: a) convert (material) samples collected to be used as (a limited number of, maybe 2?) bullets with special stats (similar to how biotech/nanotech classes can "imbue" a bullet with touch attacks) or b) take data from combat/trial usage of the signature weapon, and turn it into a bonus for the weapon that can be applied Tinker-style.
With feats like Trial and Error or Analyze Sample, Seeker is just begging to interact more deeply with Calibrist, no?