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Return to the Stars, a tabletop science fiction role playing game, helps players create their own stories in an optimistic space opera setting.
Return to the Stars is designed to allow the creation of characters that evoke the best elements of geek culture. In the far future hyperspace travel gave easy access to countless worlds, and humanity sorted itself into like-minded communities. One such society was the Convention Authority, founded to celebrate the now classical arts of science fiction, fantasy, and gaming.
One day, without warning, the stellar beacon that illuminated hyperspace went silent rendering galactic travel impossible. The systems of the Convention Authority stayed connected thanks to a replica fleet of early starships. Now, after more than a century of effort, a long-range exploration craft has been built. Its purpose: to return to the stars and reconnect with lost civilizations of humanity.
The players of Return to the Stars are a new generation of geeks - makers, genetically enhanced cosplayers, scientists, and pop culture enthusiasts setting out on an adventure of exploration and discovery.
If you enjoy tales filled with optimism and hope, where players can paint a better future in bold primary colors, then you should prepare to Return to the Stars!
Easy to Learn, Simple to Play
Return to the Stars is powered by the popular Fate Core SRD, an indie game system that helps you tell rich stories without a lot of preparation or calculation.
Return to the Stars comes with an adventure specially designed to teach the core concepts of the game. In playtests at many different conventions, new players have been up and running and having a good time after ten minutes of explanation.
Our goal: if you love anime or games or science fiction or cosplay, and have thought about trying roleplaying games, you can get Return to the Stars, read it, and play.
Cool New Tools
If you already love games powered by Fate, we've added some fun new subsystems that you can enjoy in Return, or adapt to your existing games and settings.
Character Arcs Often in fiction a protagonist has a problematic way of interacting with the world. Eventually, they learn they need to change and grow. Character arcs are a structured way to spotlight how someone grows past their Trouble.
Competitions Competitions are a type of contest in which the drama comes as much from trying to perform at the limits of your ability as it does from overcoming the opposition.
Explore Ideas and Ideals
Return to the Stars is episodic by design: players travel to reconnect the lost worlds of humanity, and have adventures with strong science fiction hooks: adventures that can only happen because of technological or social progress. Player characters bring their ideals and abilities to face the unknown.
The game's themes:
Optimism: humanity can be better in the future thanks to science, cosmopolitanism, diversity, and humanism.
Space Opera: space battles, pulpy melodramatic adventures, romance, and risk-taking
Pop Culture: your heroes come from a post-scarcity society of enthusiasts enjoying and thinking critically about the media they love. Imagine Worldcon, if it were an actual world.
Hopepunk: Kindness doesn't equal weakness, and that in the face of cynical oppression caring is a political act. An act of rebellion.
Paint a better future in bold primary colors-get Return to the Stars!
About the author
Mark Sabalauskas is the author of the Return to the Stars, an optimistic science fiction role playing game and the publisher of the Stellar Beacon, a semi-pro 'zine about gaming and pop culture.
