Retrostar Rulebook

This 132-page rulebook is your launching point to the world of 1970s sci-fi television! It contains all the rules you need, plus numerous seven ready-to-play series for you to play, details about the tropes of the genre and much more!

• Simple and Elegant Task Resolution: The core of the Intention System revolves around rolling a certain number of six-sided dice (usually between two and four) and adding together either the two lowest results or the two highest results, depending on the rating of the Trait (Adventure, Thought or Drama) being used, the situation at hand and a few other factors. The higher the roll, the better. Based on that total, the character will either fail or succeed, though whether the player has to briefly cede control of the character is also determined here. There are more wrinkles to it, but that’s the gist of how it works.
• Series Creation: The Showrunner creates the Series in which the game will take place and there are full rules and guidelines for doing exactly that. You’ll devise a setting, set up Dials that will help you generate Episodes on the fly, create supporting characters and flesh out all the fun details (terminology, styles, common special effects, etc.). It’s a great deal of fun, without a bunch of complicated rules and number-crunching to bog the process down.
• Time and Budget Management: In order to reflect the time restrictions these shows faced, the players are limited to twelve rolls (called Intents) in a given Act, of which each Episode has five. Characters will receive a certain amount of SFX—the exact amount is determined by the Series’ “SFX” Dial—to spend in order to activate cool effects that would require expenditure of the show’s budget (impressive stunts, special effects and so forth).
• The Spotlight: Just like in the TV shows of old, the heroes are all given a chance to have the spotlight shine on them. In Retrostar, this is represented by a communal pool of Spotlight Tokens that can be spent to showcase an appropriate aspect of a PC and giving them bonus dice for an Intent. For example, if a PC has a phrase in their Background that says “Best friends since childhood with Malcolm (the name of another PC)” the player can grab a Spotlight Token when Malcolm is in trouble.
• Ready-to-Play Series: Inside the rulebook, you’ll find seven full Series that allow you to dive right into the game. The Series are Battleground: Homefront, Earth Squared, Family Nuclear, Galactic Run, Outpost 2015, Space Rejects and WarpCruise-76. Additionally, it includes three Series Seeds that can be fleshed out and customized to suit your tastes.
• Genre Information: The rulebook contains an exhaustive discussion about the 1970s-era sci-fi television shows. It explores the nuances, tropes, styles and even a detailed “recommended viewing” section. By the time you’re finished reading it, you’ll be well-versed in the genre!