Space Aces

The New Guidebook

Adventure
Awaits!
 Table Of Contents
How To Play Space Aces
Core system & GM tips.
Mission Generator
Make your missions here.
Episode Events
Encounters, challenges & more.
Galactic Guidebook
Planetary generator & hex crawler.
“Space is big. You just won’t
pg. 2 believe how vastly, hugely,
mind-bogglingly big it is.”
-Douglas Adams
pg. 6
Enjoy this toolbox of toys
for endless adventures in a
pg. 7 universe that is by far and
away more enormous &
more ridiculous than most
pg. 8 of us could have imagined.

Star Hulks & Space Ruins pg. 10

Procedural dungeon diving.

Starship Shenanigans pg. 12

Starship generator & space scuffles.

Hyperspace Hubris pg. 14

Space travel & sector generator.

Friends & Frenemies pg. 16

Character generator.

Gizmos & Gadgets pg. 17

Rare & special item maker.

Mechs & Monsters pg. 18

Mighty mechs & Massive monsters.

Besties & Beasties pg. 20

Gotta catch em all...

Backstory Baloney pg. 21 Dedicated to:

Roll up a Space Ace with baggage.
The Lab
Optional Rules, ideas & leftovers.
MacGuffin Maker
For moving things along...
Character Sheet
All they need to know, on one sheet.
My wife, my hero & forever
adventuring companion.
pg. 22 Special thanks to:
Jacob DC Ross & the 766
Kickstarter backers who
pg. 23 made this possible!
© 2021 T-Rex Consulting, LLC
pg. 24 All rights reserved. v 0.91.
Inner cover art © Dean Spencer
Icons provided by game-icons.net
How To Play Space Aces:
Space Aces is rooted in a love of all
things campy sci-fi. It is a tools over
rules system that supports GM-led
and GM-less (solo or co-op) play.
The generator tables are crafted to
provide a minimalist and evocative
“hard edge” for players and GMs to
crystallize their ideas on. The fun of
Space Aces is often in interpreting the
results together.
Safety Tools:
We all have our limits & boundaries.
At any time players may state, no
questions asked, their Lines & Veils.
Lines: Lines determine what bound-
aries we do not cross. Lined topics do
not exist in the game, they are not
part of a backstory, they won’t be
dealt with at the table, at all, ever.
Veils: Veils cover things we don’t look
at. They may happen off-screen, but
they never get the spotlight or the
focus. The camera fades to black,
pans away, the scene ends.
The goal is to create a safe environ-
ment where everybody can enjoy
themselves. Remember: Be kind, for
everyone is fighting a battle you know
nothing about.
2
Rolling The Dice & Heat:
Two dice are rolled every time a risky,
dangerous, or uncertain action is
taken: A 20-sided (D20) Action die and
a 6-sided (D6) Complication die. If a
situation is neither risky, dangerous,
nor uncertain... don’t roll.
Setting the Difficulty: The GM takes
into consideration the player’s posi-
tioning in the fiction, their approach,
previous Benefits or Costs, Skill, and
Style adjectives then asks “How hard
would it be to do this?” The action is
then assigned a Difficulty of Easy (5),
Tricky (10), Hard (15), or Epic (20).
Determine the Stakes: If something
is risky, ask the players: What they are
risking? If something is dangerous,
ask: What could go wrong? If some-
thing is uncertain, ask: What happens
if they fail? This short conversation
helps with adjudicating the results
and setting expectations.
Action D20: The players roll when
Acting or Reacting to the world. Play-
ers describe their desired action, roll
their D20, add an appropriate Stat,
and compare the results to the
Difficulty. If the result is equal or
higher the player Succeeds! If it is
lower they Fail. A rolled 20 is a critical
success. A rolled 1 is a critical fail and
the player also marks an Ailment.
Complication D6: The Complication
D6 allows for major or mixed results &
Stakes mitigation. It even allows for a
super critical success or failure!
Costs: When a 1 or 2 is rolled, the
player suffers a Cost. Regardless of
success or failure, determine a nega-
tive consequence of the action and
raise the Heat Level by 1.
Benefits: When a 5 or 6 is rolled, the
player gains a Benefit. Regardless of
success or failure, determine a posi-
tive consequence of the action.
Costs & Benefits may be mechanical,
tactical, social, physical, emotional...
Do what feels right in the moment.
Heat Level: Heat helps to adjudicate
consequences of Costs. Every Cost
that is rolled turns up the Heat Level
for the whole party by 1 during the
mission. The higher the Heat Level
the bigger the consequence of the
Cost. Roll a Cost at 1 Heat? You might
stub your toe. Roll the same Cost at
20 Heat? You might lose that toe...
Character Stats, Skills & Style:
Players rank their stats +3, +2, +1, 0, and
-1. How a player approaches a prob-
lem determines which Stat they will
use. Skill determines their specialty
and allows for rolling twice and taking
best result. Style is for flavor and fun.
Moxie: Represents tackling a prob-
lem head on and head first.
Smarts: Represents approaching a
situation brains first.
Wiggles: Represents approaching
from an angle and with your wits.
Pockets: Represents how well your
character is equipped. Need that
crucial piece of gear? Roll +Pockets vs
Difficulty to see if you have it. Your
main Skill will often dictate how likely
it is that you have an item. Perhaps no
roll is even required to check.
Friends: Represents your connec-
tions & your charm. Roll +Friends vs
Difficulty to see if you “know a guy” or
are trying to charm your way out of a
tight spot.
Gumption:
Gumption is your will to stay in the
mix. As with superheroes and Satur-
day morning cartoons, characters can
shrug off almost any amount of
damage, but if you break their will to
fight… that’s another story. This way
non-lethal encounters can also carry
risk. A failed task, bad news, or a well
aimed insult can lower your Gump-
tion. Players start with 6 Gumption. If
their Gumption ever reaches 0 they
are Taken Out like yesterday’s blue-
berry space bagels!
3
Recovering Gumption: Gumption
can be regained in a number of ways.
An encouraging pep talk, a well timed
hug, your favorite Cool Ranch
flavored snack... all could conceivably
restore some of a character's Gump-
tion. A player may also Steel Them-
self, mark an Ailment on their sheet,
and recover 2 Gumption.
Using Grit:
Our plucky heroes have Grit, up to 5 of
it actually. Every failed roll they can
mark 1 Grit and eventually they can
grit their teeth, spend 5 Grit, and turn
a Failed roll into a Standard Success.
Note: There is room for abuse of this
mechanic. It's up to the GM and their
players to decide how much abuse of
this will be allowed and if doing an
otherwise impossible action comes
with an additional consequence...
Scuffles:
Scuffles come in all shapes and sizes.
A dance off, a pie eating contest, and
yes even fisticuffs can qualify as a
Scuffle. Players should think outside
the box before starting a Scuffle and
utilize any tactical advantage they
can to gain the High Ground.
In general, most PC & NPC standard
attacks will cause 1 Harm to Gump-
tion. Bigger bad guys may hit for 2 or
3 Harm. Items or rolled Costs & Bene-
fits might modify that number as well.
Dynamic Difficulty: Difficulty is not
fixed! It is modified dynamically by
the fiction. If a player misses a hit on a
Baddy but rolls a Benefit... perhaps it
puts their team in a better position,
dropping Difficulty for the next attack.
4
General Difficulty guidelines:
Small baddies: Causing them Harm
or dodging their attacks is Easy (5).
Medium baddies: Harming them or
dodging their attacks is Tricky (10).
Big baddies: Harming them or dodg-
ing their attacks is Hard (15) or higher.
Difficulty Levels:
E J O Epic
T
Easy Tricky Hard
Gaining The High Ground:
In a Scuffle, players roll to act against
or react to the Enemy depending on if
the player has the High Ground or not.
When a Scuffle begins:
1. Decide in fiction if the players or
enemies start with the High Ground,
and the order the players will go. After
the Scuffle starts, players may gain or
lose the High Ground individually.
2. If a player has the High Ground:
they can roll to act against the enemy.
If the player has lost the High
Ground: they can only roll to react to
their enemy’s actions.
3. A player gains the High Ground on a
rolled Benefit. A player loses the High
Ground on a rolled Cost.
4. Players take turns, ‘acting upon’ or
‘reacting to’ the Enemy depending on
who has High Ground. The player is
always the one rolling, never the GM.
Whichever side runs out of Gump-
tion or waves the white flag is now at
the mercy of the victor. Ruh roh...
Crafting An Episode:
Space Aces plays best episodically,
each episode encapsulated in itself.
To build an Episode: Roll & interpret
the Mission as a group. Then work
together to develop a 3-step plan to
pull it off. This plan becomes the
framework for the episode. Roll some
Episode Events to slot in as needed.
Finally, roll a Difficulty Event to start ‘in
medias res’ and you’re good to go!
When in doubt, Ask the AI.
Heat Level As A Clock: Heat Level
can also function as a kind of clock,
and the GM may wish to determine
what kind of challenges could
happen at various Heat Levels.
The Snag: Typically a Snag is a twist
dropped by the GM at an opportune
moment during the mission to make
the story more fun and surprising.
Snags In GM-Less Play: It is hard to
surprise yourself with a twist... As an
option, when a failed Action also has
a Cost, compare the Action roll to the
current Heat level. If the result is less
than the Heat Level, roll on the Snag
table. The Snag triggers immediately
or at the next possible moment. It is a
ticking time bomb in your mission...
sometimes literally.
Complex Task Challenges:
Sometimes it’s fun to turn a Complex
Task into a Challenge. To do this: First
figure out the Difficulty of the Task.
Then determine the Complexity
Level: Simple (2 steps), Involved (3
steps), Complex (4 steps). Finally
decide on the Fail Conditions of the
Task: 3 Failures and you’re out.
Do-or-Die when failure isn’t an option.
For time sensitive tasks, only so many
attempts are allowed. Or use a fuel
gauge where each Success raises it
by 1 and each Failure reduces it by 1,
the Task fails if you go below empty.
To pass each step, state what you try
to do, determine the stakes, and roll
D20+Stat vs Difficulty. Also roll Com-
plication D6. A Cost raises Difficulty by
1 and a Benefit reduces it by 1.
Finishing & Advancing:
Upon completing a mission success-
fully players may choose to Increase
their Gumption by +1 automatically or
attempt to Enhance a Stat. To
Enhance a Stat they must tell a story
about what they do to train that
particular Stat, then roll a D6. If the
result is higher than the current Stat
number, they may enhance it by +1.
The Last Word:
Fun > Rulings > Rules. Decide togeth-
er how to handle new situations by
asking: What is most fun? If you can
determine that, then there's no wrong
way to play Space Aces.
Have fun. Show respect. Keep playing
pretend. Adventure Awaits!
5
 Roll 1D6 on each table.
Mission Generator: Interpret together.

Faction: The Mission:

1 Order of Shadow (stay hidden) 1 Destroy or Defend
2 Galactic Congress (maintain control) 2 Deliver or Steal
3 Stellar Alliance (stop oppression) 3 Capture or Escort
4 Freetrader Syndicate (defy authority) 4 Aid or Investigate
5 Explor-A-Corp (boldly go) 5 Save or Negotiate
6 Species 4774 (who knows...) 6 Retrieve or Infiltrate

The Objective: The Location: Location Aspect:

1 Friend or Frenemy 1 Planet or Deep Space 1 Enclave (congregate)
2 Gizmo or Treasure 2 Station or Colony 2 Archive (contain info)
3 Discovery or Beasty 3 Starship or Shipyard 3 Fortification (protect)
4 Massive Monster 4 Asteroid Field 4 Den (harbor danger)
5 Message or Secret 5 Badlands or Nebula 5 Wonder (inspire awe)
6 Space Hulk or Mech 6 Strange Anomaly 6 Ruins (hidden things)

The Opposition: Their Agenda: The Snag:

1 Pirate or Bounty 1 Sow Chaos 1 Tough Decision or Trap
2 Monster or Invasion 2 Gain Wealth 2 Creature or Enemy
3 Friend or Rival 3 Increase Power 3 Theft or Abduction
4 Time or Puzzle 4 Infest & Spread 4 Mistaken or Manipulated
5 Viral or Corporation 5 Enact Revenge 5 Countdown or Betrayal
6 Environment or Law 6 Destroy Enemy 6 Disaster or Malfunction

6
 Choose or Roll to generate
Episode Events: an Event as needed:
1-4 See Below
5-6 Complex Event (combine 2 elements)

1 Scuffle: Tactic: 2 Social: Bearing:

1-3 1D6 Minions 1 Destroy 1 Harbinger or Hero 1 Hostile
1 Gumption & 1 Harm 2 Weaken 2 Guardian or Gossip 2 In Peril
4-5 1D3 Goons 3 Capture 3 Trickster or Sage 3 In Need
3 Gumption & 2 Harm 4 Deceive 4 Hunter or Authority 4 Shifty
6 Big Baddy 5 Steal 5 Seeker or Outcast 5 Nervous
6+D6 Gumption & 3 Harm 6 Hunt 6 Outlaw or Shadow 6 Friendly

3 Encounter: 4 Difficulty:
1 Danger (imperil) 1 Overcome or Aid
2 Obstacle (slow) 2 Rescue or Protect
3 Barrier (prevent) 3 Endure or Choose
4 Passage (advance) 4 Outwit or Restore
5 Resource (enable) 5 Survive or Avoid
6 Refuge (refresh) 6 Escape or Hinder

Flavor For Locations, Difficulties & Encounters:

1-2 3-4 5-6
1 Captured 1 Protected 1 Exotic
2 Abandoned 2 Volatile 2 Fragile
3 Advanced 3 Beautiful 3 Civilized
4 Monolithic 4 Deceptive 4 Hidden
5 Endangered 5 Shattered 5 Active
6 Treacherous 6 Savage 6 Moving

Ask The AI: D20 Result: D6 Result:

• Ask Yes/No question Likely: Yes if over 5 But... : 1-2
• Determine likelihood Possibly: Yes if over 10 And... : 5-6
• Roll D20 & D6 Unlikely: Yes if over 15
7
 Galactic Guidebook
Explore strange new Planets, meet new Species & interesting Cultures, and
review their Features Of Interest. Go where no Space Tourist has gone before.

Exploring:
1. Roll to determine Planet
Type, Species, Culture &
Planetary Pickle.

2. Land at the flag &

roll 1D6 for an Event.

3. Every new hex you

enter, roll for a new Event
until all hexes have been
explored.

Event:
1-2 All Of A Sudden...
3-4 Feature Of Interest
5-6 Double Trouble (both)

All Of A Sudden...
(Roll on tables in parentheses for this Event)
1 Red Alert! You’re attacked! (Scuffle + Tactic, pg. 7)
2 You find some kind of... (Encounter + Flavor, pg. 7)
3 You discover a... (Location Aspect + Flavor, pg. 6-7)
4 There is a problem... (Difficulty + Flavor)
5 You meet a... (Social + Bearing. pg. 7)
6 The plot thickens... (Snag, pg. 6)
8
Planet Type: Species Prefix: Species Suffix:
1-2 1-3 4-6 1-3 4-6
1 Desert 1 Bork 1 Botano 1 ...poid 1 ...shroom
2 Jungle 2 Mew 2 Xeno 2 ...onian 2 ...bear
3 Oceanic 3 Dino 3 Merma 3 ...saur 3 ...chilla
4 Frozen 4 Geo 4 Plushy 4 ...bot 4 ...bug
5 Volcanic 5 Octo 5 Gorillo 5 ...mera 5 ...nicorn
6 Junkyard 6 Birdo 6 Robo 6 ...whal 6 ...golem

3-4
1 Artificial Culture:
2 Hollow
1-3 One Culture 4-5 Two Cultures At Peace
3 Sentient
6 Two Cultures At Odds
4 Metropolis
5 Paradisiac 1-2 3-4 5-6
6 Dark 1 Primitive 1 Outlaws 1 Steampunk
2 Pacifist 2 Psionic 2 Cyberpunk
5-6 3 Medieval 3 Wild West 3 Xenophobic
1 Shattered 4 Utopian 4 Merchant 4 Suburbia
2 Gaseous 5 Scientific 5 Monastic 5 Subterfuge
3 Mountain 6 Warrior 6 Hospitality 6 Aristocratic
4 Swamp
5 Tropical
6 Roll Twice
Feature Aspect:
1-2 3-4 5-6
1 Stylish 1 Diverse 1 Legendary
Planetary Pickle: 2 Dangerous 2 High-Tech 2 Dramatic
1-3 No Pickles 3 Adorable 3 Flamboyant 3 Terrible
4-5 One Pickle 4 Enigmatic 4 Rejuvenating 4 Orbital
6 Jar O’ Pickles 5 Colossal 5 Floating 5 Volatile
(roll twice) 6 Miniature 6 Crystalline 6 Desirable
1 Corrupt Leadership
2 Resource Scarcity Features Of Interest:
3 Natural Disaster 1-2 3-4 5-6
4 Plague or Unrest
1 Food & Drink 1 Plantlife 1 Artifacts
5 Raiders or Invaders
2 Resorts 2 Landscape 2 Ruins
6 Darkverse Incursion
3 Recreation 3 Population 3 Monsters
4 Palaces 4 Phenomena 4 Markets
5 Art & Music 5 Architecture 5 Academies
6 Wildlife 6 Technology 6 Weather
9
 Star Ruins & Space Hulks
Outer Space is brimming with Labyrinthine Star Ruins & Space Hulks chock full
of Valuable Loot, Monsters & DANGER. Can you find the Treasure and Escape
alive? Probably not... but the pay is good and you are just dying to try!

Step 1: Determine the Type, Aesthetic, Purpose, Danger Level,

Depth (how much Progress is needed to reach Goal) & Looming Threat.

Type: Aesthetic: Purpose:

1 Starship 1 Monolithic or High-Tech 1 Transporting or Powering
2 Asteroid 2 Primitive or Crystalline 2 Extracting or Venerating
3 Colony 3 Fractured or Flooded 3 Computing or Strange
4 Station 4 Organic or Luxurious 4 Recreation or Guarding
5 Caves 5 Pitch Black or Toxic 5 Creating or Learning
6 Ruins 6 Bizarre or Volatile 6 Living or Storing

Danger Level: Depth: Looming Threat:

1-2 Miniature, 3 Progress 1 Rival Team
E J O 3-4 Sizable, 5 Progress 2 Being Hunted
Milk Perilous Death 5-6 Gargantuan, 10 Progress 3 Structural Failure
Run Trap
4 Radiation Levels
Step 2: Navigate the labyrinth, confront the 5 Rogue AI
Dangers, manage your Supplies, make Progress 6 Insanity
to the Goal & Escape with the Treasure!

Navigating & Escaping: Supplies:

Choose who takes the lead this time.
Describe what they do & roll D20+Stat
vs Danger Level if Navigating or roll
D20+Stat vs Heat Level if Escaping.
D20 Success: Make 1 Progress or Escape
D20 Failure: 1-3 Hazard 4-6 Monster!
D6 Benefit: Find something Useful or Valuable
D6 Cost: Lose 1 Supply & Increase Danger by 1
Begin with 4 Supplies for the
entire party. Check off 1 Supply
each time a Cost is rolled when
either Navigating or Escaping. If
totally Out Of Supplies lose 1
Gumption instead each time.

10
 Monster Type: Monster Aspect:
Usually only one Monster Type infests a Ruin or Hulk,
though the Monsters may manifest with a different
Monster Aspect each time.
1 Reptilian or Crustacean 1 Armored or Intelligent
2 Cephalapoid or Slimoid 2 Toxic or Regenerating
3 Macroviral or Arachnoid 3 Spawning or Stealthy
4 Mechanoid or Insectoid 4 Artificial or Huge
5 Xenomorph or Beastial 5 Fast or Phasing
6 Silicoid or Plantoid 6 Ferocious or Small

Bearing: Monster Size:

1-4 Hostile 1-3 1D6 Small (1 Gumption & 1 Harm)
5 Confused 4-5 1D3 Medium (3 Gumption & 2 Harm)
6 Friendly 6 Large (6+D6 Gumption & 3 Harm)

Hazard:
1-2 3-4 5-6
1 Turret 1 Sealed 1 Forcefield
2 Sentinel 2 Ravine 2 Sleepy Gas
3 Zero-G 3 Painfield 3 Spike Ball
4 Lasers 4 Vacuum 4 Chompers
5 Flames 5 Darkness 5 Acid Pool
Treasure: 6 Alarm 6 Blocked 6 Malfunction

Aspect Feature Form

1 Trapped 1 Crystalline 1 Egg
2 Venerated 2 Precursor 2 Artifact
3 Preserved 3 Xenomorph 3 Archive
4 Forgotten 4 Dimensional 4 Weapon
5 Unstable 5 Temporal 5 Technology
6 Phasing 6 Cybernetic 6 Intelligence
11
 Starship Shenanigans

Small: Medium: Large: Huge:

Agile & Fragile All-Rounder Slow & Armored Huge & Powerful
Shields: 2 Shields: 4 Shields: 8 Shields: 16
Reactor: 1 Reactor: 2 Reactor: 4 Reactor: 8
Damage: 1 Damage: 2 Damage: 3 Damage: 4
Speed: Fast Speed: Average Speed: Slow Speed: Plodding

Starship Quirks: 1-3 Shiny (1 Quirk) 4-6 Scuffed (2 Quirks)

1-2 3-4 5-6

1 Vintage Model 1 Sticky Floors 1 Needs Organic Fuel
2 Smoke Trail 2 Weird Paint Job 2 Jumpy Self-Destruct
3 Infamous 3 Faulty Lighting 3 Smells Of Chowder
4 Space Fleas 4 Strange Sounds... 4 Too Many Buttons
5 No Seatbelts 5 Uniforms Ride Up 5 Check Engine Light
6 Finicky Gravity 6 Secondhand AI 6 Surly Sonic Showers

Starship Perks: 1-3 Economy (1 Perk) 4-6 Luxury (2 Perks)

1 2 3
1 Bowling Alley 1 Zero-G Gym 1 Separable Saucer
2 5-Star Autochef 2 Comfy Chairs 2 Carpeted Corridors
3 Bigger On Inside 3 Holodeck 3 Manipulator Arm
4 Smuggler’s Hold 4 Lens Flares 4 Chameleon Plating
5 Extensive Library 5 XL Cargo Bay 5 Calming Engine Hum
6 Stylish Uniforms 6 Party Mode 6 Aftermarket Spoiler
4 5 6
1 Farscanner 1 Medical Holo 1 Gravity Tractor
2 Omega Drive 2 Repair Bot 2 Tactical Droid
3 Afterburner 3 Plasmazooka 3 Morphing Hull
4 Supercomputer 4 Autopilot AI 4 EM Torpedos
5 Posh Quarters 5 Starshielding 5 Starbug
6 Ram Scoop 6 Decoy Buoy 6 Red and Blue Lasers

How You Got It:

1 Don’t Ask... 4 Eccentric Uncle
2 Loan Shark 5 Finders Keepers
3 Card Game 6 Fair-n-Square

12
 Starship Scuffles:
Phase 1: Battle Stations!
Determine who has the High
Ground, generally smaller ships start
with the High Ground. Players
announce what station they will be
manning. More players manning a
single station make tasks at that
station easier. One player manning
multiple stations makes tasks
harder. Stations include: Helm,
Engineering, Ops, Tactical.
Phase 2: Make It So!
Each crew member attempts an
action at their station. Actions at
station may include: Helm (maneu-
ver, evade, flee), Engineering (boost,
repair, hyperdrive), Ops (scan, hack,
target), Tactical (pew pew pew).
Crew may spend a Reactor Point to
roll twice & select best result. Points
recharge after the Scuffle.

Phase 3: Damage Report!

Resolve Damage in logical order. Damage goes to Shields first.
After shields depleted roll 1D6 to determine Damage allocation.
1-3 4-6
Ship Systems Damaged Asploding Consoles
Roll 1D6 per Damage to determine Roll D20 to determine which
which Systems are Damaged and Station’s console asplodes and
inoperable until Repaired. Harms crew member manning it.
1 Sensors 4 Shield Generator
2 Weapons 5 Reactor Core A- E Helm
3 Engines 6 Hyperdrive
(If all Systems are Damaged, your
F- J Engineering
ship is Disabled.) K- O Ops
P- T Tactical

13
 Hyperspace Hubris
1. Sector Travel: 3. Space Encounters:
Traveling up to 2 squares costs 1 Fuel. Roll D6 to determine Conditions
Your ship has 3 Fuel. An already & Type of Space Encounter
traveled course costs half fuel. 1-2 Space Weather
3-6 Smooth Sailing
2. Navigating: 1 The Opposition
2 Distress Signal
When traveling in space 3 Another Ship
Roll +Stat vs Distance x 5. 4 Space Creature
If successful, you arrive without issue. 5 Onboard Issues
Otherwise, roll for Space Encounter. 6 Strange Encounter

Distress Signals: Space Weather:

1-2 It’s A Trap! 3-6 Not A Trap
1 “Out of Fuel”
2 “Damaged, Need Repairs!”
3 “Halp! Under Attack!”
4 Escape Pod SOS
5 Nothing But Debris
6 Abandoned(?) Derelict
1 Solar Flare (Sensors blinded)
2 Energy Wave (Computers offline)
3 Meteor Shower (Engines clogged)
4 Ion Storms (Weapons backfire)
5 Dark Matter Field (Reactor offline)
6 Supernova (Hyperdrive disabled)

Another Ship: Ship Status:

1-3 4-6 1-3 4-6
1 Luxury Liner 1 Bounty Hunter 1 Drifting 1 Running Silent
2 Space Pirate 2 Battle Cruiser 2 Hailing You 2 Docked With...
3 Merchant Ship 3 Smuggler Craft 3 In Battle... 3 Sending SOS
4 Patrol Vessel 4 Diplomatic Envoy 4 In Pursuit... 4 Abandoning Ship
5 Colonist Ship 5 1D6 Swarm Ships 5 Fleeing... 5 Dumping Cargo
6 Prison Convoy 6 Refugee Ships 6 Salvaging 6 Attacking You

Space Creatures: Onboard Issues: Strange Encounters:

1-2 Friendly 1-2 Major 1 Rogue Planet
3-4 Hostile 3-6 Minor 2 Drone Swarm Hive
5-6 In Peril 3 Stuck In Time Loop
1 Disagreement
4 Mysterious Outpost
1 Void Kraken 2 Stowaway
5 Doppelgängers
2 Astro Shark 3 Infestation
6 Dark Matter Comet
3 Space Whales 4 Sickness
4 Pulsar Piranhas 5 Bad News
5 Galactic Turtle 6 Malfunction
14 6 Stellar Jellyfish
 Sector Mapper 1 2 3 4 5 6

Roll D6 for map Object.

Roll D20 & D6 for Coordinates.
A
Populate sector to desired level.
B
Object: C
1 Planet
1-3 Single Planet
4-5 Twin Planets
D
6 1D6 Planetoids
2 Outpost E
1-2 Asteroid Colony
3-4 Space Station
5-6 Shipyard
F
3 Nebula
(Roll for Size. Half fuel costs) G
4 Asteroid Field
(Roll for Size. Double fuel costs) H
5 Badlands
(Roll for Size. Damaging to ship)
6 Strange Anomaly...
I
(Roll on Strange Anomalies table)
J
Size: K
1-2 Small 1x1
3-4 Medium 2x2
5-6 Large3x3
L
Strange Anomalies:
M
Roll 3 times, combine & interpret N
AArtifact KBehemoth O
BDead LDarkverse
CVast MTraveling P
DGate NValuable
EZone OStructure Q
FArtificial PConscious R
GSwarm QSanctuary
HGrowing RSignaling S
IOrganic SInhabited
JHostile TWreckage T 15
 Friends & Frenemies:
Give your Players & NPCs real character with a Notable Quirk, Demeanor,
Desire & Object, Helpful Forte, Exploitable Flaw, and a juicy Secret. Cap it
off with a memorable Catchphrase and you’re done!
Intensity
1-2 Slightly 3-4 Somewhat 5-6 Extremely
(Combine with Quirk, Demeanor, Forte, or Flaw for more character depth)

Notable Quirk: Helpful Forte:

1-2 3-4 5-6 1-3 4-6
1 Formal 1 Mumbles 1 Vocal Fry 1 Brave 1 Connected
2 Hums 2 Rambles 2 Know-It-All 2 Wealthy 2 Powerful
3 Twitchy 3 Squeaky 3 Anecdotes 3 Loyal 3 Generous
4 Terse 4 Prankster 4 Perma-Smile 4 Educated 4 Sneaky
5 Drawl 5 Awkward 5 Monotone 5 Technical 5 Tactical
6 Yells 6 Narrates 6 Evil Laugh 6 Skilled 6 Inventive

Demeanor: Exploitable Flaw:

1-2 3-4 5-6 1-3 4-6
1 Show-off 1 Logical 1 Charming 1 Greedy 1 Unstable
2 Confused 2 Intense 2 Suspicious 2 Naive 2 Infamous
3 Nervous 3 Bleak 3 Distracted 3 Paranoid 3 Temper
4 Serene 4 Wild 4 Sarcastic 4 Cowardly 4 Imposter
5 Arrogant 5 Irritable 5 Confident 5 Indebted 5 Addicted
6 Carefree 6 Positive 6 Menacing 6 Vain 6 Spiteful

Goal: Object: Secret:

1 Give or Seek 1 Knowledge or Love 1 Identity
2 Help or Hinder 2 Power or Justice 2 Agenda
3 Create or Destroy 3 Friend or Enemy 3 Information
4 Hide or Reveal 4 Fortune or Object 4 Ability
5 Save or Escape 5 Secret or Obligation 5 History
6 Achieve or Defeat 6 Peace or Conflict 6 Resources

16
 Gizmos & Gadgets
Roll to generate an item’s Type, Prefix, Form, Effect & Aspect, and Durability.
When a Cost is rolled while using this item, it suffers -1 Durability.
When Durability reaches 0 this item is broken and must be repaired.
Item is permanently destroyed if a 1 is rolled on the D20 while using it.

Type: Prefix:
1-2 1-3 4-6
1 Ancient Collect Them All: 1 Sonic- 1 Robo-
2 Organic Carrying multiple 2 Void- 2 Flux-
3 Miniature Gizmos with the 3 Blink- 3 Bio-
4 Unstable same Prefix provide 4 Ray- 4 Nano-
5 Crystalline a +1 to the roll for 5 Mega- 5 Multi-
6 Glowing each item in the set. 6 Hyper- 6 Holo-

3-4
1 Sentient Form:
2 Notorious
1-2 3-4 5-6
3 Awkward
1 Saber 1 Guitar 1 Goggles
4 Oversized
2 Blaster 2 Towel 2 Augment
5 Symbiotic
3 Ring 3 Skates 3 Bazooka
6 Cybernetic
4 Staff 4 Armor 4 Spanner
5-6 5 Droid 5 Injector 5 Knuckles
1 Ramshackle 6 Watch 6 Lasso 6 Boomerang
2 Resonating
3 Experimental Effect:
4 Autonomous
5 Collapsable 1-2 3-4 5-6
6 Overpowered 1 Obscure 1 Enhance 1 Asplode
2 Locate 2 Deflect 2 Convert
3 Reduce 3 Attract 3 Transfer
Durability: 4 Reflect 4 Control 4 Speak To
1-3 Two Durability 5 Warp 5 Absorb 5 Remove
4-5 Three Durability 6 Create 6 Focus 6 Scan
6 Four Durability

Upgrading Gizmos: Aspect:

When a 20 is rolled on the D20 1-2 3-4 5-6
while using this item, upgrade 1 Light 1 Motion 1 Fauna
it one level. Each level adds +1 2 Heat 2 Feelings 2 Sight
to item’s Max Durability up to 3 Cold 3 Flora 3 Sound
3 levels. When all 3 levels are 4 Liquid 4 Scent 4 Metal
achieved, roll twice and 5 Energy 5 Thought 5 Time
choose best when using item. 6 Gravity 6 Memory 6 Charm
17
 Mighty Mechs
Mech Modifiers:
Mech frames augment their
pilot’s natural Stats.
If Shiny, add +3 to roll.
If Dinged, add +2 to roll.
If Damaged, add +1 to roll.
Beyond that, Mech is Disabled.
Building Mechs:
When building a Mech, players
get 4 slots to spend on rolling for
Weapons, Systems, or Reactor
Points (Spending Reactor Points
lets the Mech take another action
immediately).

Weapons:
1-2 3-4 5-6
1 Gatling Canon 1 Laser Discerang 1 Impact Hammer
2 Ion Accelerator 2 Blazing Sword 2 Shock Net
3 Photon Burst 3 Razor Claws 3 Blitz Turret
4 Neutron Ram 4 Power Gauntlet 4 Arc Blaster
5 Missile Battery 5 Plasma Spikes 5 Thermal Harpoon
6 Beam Rifle 6 Electro Whip 6 Radiant Spear

Systems:
1 2 3
1 Jump Jets 1 Energy Barrier 1 Kinetic Absorbing
2 Grapple Cable 2 Shrike Armor 2 Graphene Shield
3 3D Printer 3 Deepscanners 3 Holoprojector
4 Stealth Cloak 4 Sprint Jets 4 Siege Mode
5 Robodog 5 Blip Displacer 5 Nano-Musculature
6 Onboard AI 6 Repair Nanites 6 Overclock Hack
4 5 6
1 Power Siphon 1 Aerial Upgrade 1 Gravitic Beam
2 Sentry Drone 2 Agility Upgrade 2 Cargo Pod
3 Precog Algo 3 Tactical Array 3 Multi-Targeting
4 Adaptive Armor 4 Self Destruct 4 Beast Mode
5 Modular Frame 5 Static Jammer 5 Boring Drill
6 Extra Limbs 6 Berserk Mode 6 Reactor Charger

Interlock Activation:
A rolled Benefit charges Interlocks one level. When two or
more Mechs have fully charged Interlocks, they may combine
into one Mega Mech. Add bonus modifiers together
for each combined Mech.

18
 Massive Monsters
1-2 3-4 5-6 Ultimate Attack:
Class I: Class II: Class III:
Size: City Bus Size: House Size: Sky Scraper
Gumption: 10 Gumption: 20 Gumption: 30 Skip turn to charge
Ultimate Attack one level.
Ability: 1 Abilities: 2 Abilities: 3
When full, may unleash
Nature: 1 Natures: 2 Natures: 3
MEGA attack combining
all Abilities together.
Type: Form:
1-3 4-6 1-3 4-6
1 Ultra 1 Arachno 1 Shark 1 Vulture
2 Mecha 2 Infinity 2 Crab 2 Leviathan
3 Astro 3 Giganto 3 Saur 3 Goliath
4 Razor 4 Muta 4 Beast 4 Kraken
5 Thunder 5 Veloci 5 Kong 5 Scorpion
6 Inferno 6 Hydra 6 Bat 6 Dragon

Ability Element: Ability Type:

1-3 4-6 1-3 4-6
1 Meteor 1 Sonic 1 Screech 1 Wave
2 Acid 2 Atomic 2 Smash 2 Drain
3 Void 3 Gamma 3 Storm 3 Claws
4 Arctic 4 Lightning 4 Blast 4 Portals
5 Gravity 5 Magma 5 Barrier 5 Web
6 Burning 6 Psionic 6 Quake 6 Aura

Monster Nature:
1-2 3-4 5-6
1 Flight 1 Amphibious 1 Modular
2 Burrowing 2 Summoning 2 Telepathic
3 Ultraspeed 3 Intelligent 3 Camouflage
4 Ultratough 4 Telekinetic 4 Knows Kung Fu
5 Ultrastrong 5 Parasitic 5 Wields Weapon
6 Regenerates 6 Warping 6 Sharp-n-Stabby

Weak Spot: Motivation: Incursion Zone Effect:

1 Head 1 Wonton Chaos 1 Acid Fog (harm Gumption)
2 Chest 2 Hunting A Target 2 Dense Dark (inhibit Wiggles)
3 Back 3 Spawning 3 Broken Physics (inhibit Smarts)
4 Legs 4 Invasion 4 Ion Field (Weapons backfire)
5 Pilot 5 Hungry 5 Hurricane (inhibit Moxie)
6 Ego 6 Fleeing 6 Lava Flows (raises Heat) 19
 Besties & Beasties
Outer Space is full of Beasties just waiting to be your Besties if you can Woo
them on your next Spacefari. To Woo a Beastie roll vs their Gumption+15. If
successful they are now your new Bestie, set your Bond to -3.
When your Bestie Acts or Reacts roll +Bond vs Difficulty to resolve.
Beasty Size: 1-2 Small 3-4 Medium 5 Large 6 Hugemongous
Gumption: Appearance: Personality:
Gumption = 1D6 Roll 1D6: 1-4 Single Species (choose 1) 1 Aggressive
+1 if Small 5-6 Hybrid Species (choose 2) 2 Fearful
+3 if Medium 1-2 3-4 5-6 3 Protective
+5 if Large 1 Octopod 1 Birboid 1 Plushian 4 Aloof
+8 if Hugemongous 2 Kittonian 2 Plantoid 2 Raccoonian 5 Curious
3 Gerblin 3 Slothoid 3 Dragosaur 6 Friendly
4 Fishapod 4 Rockoid 4 Puppalonian
5 Bearoid 5 Bugoid 5 Blobonian
6 Ponycorn 6 Craboid 6 Bunnypoid

Notable Trait:
1-2 3-4 5-6
1 Armored 1 Spiked 1 Bedazzled
2 Talks 2 Invisible 2 Hungry
3 Robotic 3 Swims 3 Extra Limbs
4 Floatey 4 Flies 4 Extra Eyes
5 Jumps 5 Digs 5 Oversized Feature
6 Glowing 6 Climbs 6 Undersized Feature

Special Ability:
1-2 3-4 5-6
1 Defending 1 Hiding 1 Electrifying
2 Bonking 2 Speeding 2 Illuminating
3 Sensing 3 Charming 3 Telekinetic
4 Finding 4 Burning 4 Teleporting
5 Poisoning 5 Freezing 5 Weakening
6 Unhurting 6 Thiefing 6 Telepathy

How To Train Your Beastie:

When your Beastie is acting and a
natural 20 is rolled, you may Train it.
To Train your Beastie roll 1D6:
1-3 = +1 Gumption
4-5 = +1 Bond
6 = Bestie gains additional Ability
20
 Backstory Baloney
Roll steps 1-6 to generate an origin story baloney for your Player Characters &
NPCs. Write down & interpret the results.

Step 1: Place Of Origin Step 4: First Steps

1-3 Planet (Planet Type & Culture pg. 9) You worked for a Faction (pg. 6)
4-5 Space Station (Location Aspect pg. 6) Roll on How’d It Go?
6 Starship (pg. 10)
Step 5: And Then...
Step 2: Personality You worked for a Faction (pg. 6)
Roll for Quirk & Demeanor (pg. 16) Roll on How’d It Go?

Step 3: Early Life Step 6: Skill

You grew up with a Goal (pg. 16) Now you’re a Space Ace with
Roll on How’d It Go? baggage & a Skill (pg. 22)

How’d It Go?
1 Terribly (Roll twice on Woe...)
2 Poorly (Roll once on Woe...)
3-4 Interesting Event (Roll on MacGuffin Maker pg. 23)
5 Pretty Well (Roll once on Woo!)
6 Tremendously (Roll twice on Woo!)

Woo!
1 Developed A Forte (pg. 16)
2 Made A Friend (pg. 16)
3 Faction owes you favor (pg. 6)
4 Acquired A Gizmo (pg. 17)
5 Woo’d A Beasty (pg. 20)
6 Acquired A Mech (pg. 18) or Ship (pg. 12)
Woe...
1 Developed A Flaw (pg. 16)
2 Made A Frenemy (pg. 16)
3 Indebted To Faction (pg. 6)
4 Injured (-1 Max Gumption)
5 Robbed! (Lose a Woo!)
6 Imprisoned For 1D6 Years

21
 The Lab
Not all ideas are created equal... What follows is a list of maybe interesting,
probably unbalanced, possibly fun & completely optional rules one might
wish to include in their game. Or not. It’s up to you, so don’t blame me...

Wandering Omnipotent Entity: Player Professions:

If the rolled D20, D6, & Heat Level Roll D6 & D20 and combine for Skill:
are all the same an Omnipotent 1 Fired
Entity is summoned and proceeds to
ACat Burglar
2 Jaded BPsionic Bartender
put your team to the test with one of 3 Retired
the following: CSpacefari Guide
4 Notorious
1 Brain Transference 5 Maverick
DSuper Spy
2 Back To The Future 6 Ace
EComet Wrangler
3 Mirrorverse Mixup FAstro Mall Cop
4 Honey I Shrunk The PCs GSpaceball Star
5 Deadly Board Game HMad Scientist
6 Benjamin Buttoned INet H@ck3r
JArcheologist
“Assimilate This”: KXeno Veterinarian
Saying your character’s catchphrase
LSpace Cowboy
gives you a bonus to your roll. The MRocket Racer
amount depends on how well it is NChrononaut
said and how appropriate the phrase OLive Streamer
fits. Useable once per session (to PRedshirt Sidekick
avoid it becoming a cliche...). QStellar Knight
RKid Detective
Ripping The Uniform: SGalactic Food Critic
Rip your uniform to avoid Harm to
TEscaped Experiment
your Gumption one time, must
repair uniform or get a new one Shark Jumper Mode:
before you can do this again, and If you roll a matched miss on the
others may react differently to you D20 & D6 “The Shark” is jumped
now that your uniform is ripped. and you must roll on the
MacGuffin Maker (pg. 23)
Exploding Pickles:
When rolling for Planetary Pickle roll
a D20 to determine when the pickle
will “explode” on Heat Level track.

Hard Mode:
When Gumption is 6 or less, mark
one Ailment for every Harm taken.

22
 MacGuffin Maker
Drop a D6 die onto this page to make a MacGuffin.
Interpret the result combining the icon underneath & corresponding question.
Wouldn’t It... 1-2 Stink If...? 3-4 Be Interesting If...? 5-6 Be Great If...?

23
 You: Difficulty:
Space Aces Skill:
When invoked roll twice, take best.
E JO T
Easy Tricky Hard Epic
How To Play: Style:
When Acting or Reacting, determine Stakes: Answer before rolling...
the Difficulty & Stakes then roll 1D20 Fortes, Flaws. etc... that describe you. If Risky: What do you risk?
+ Stat vs. Difficulty. On a failed roll If Uncertain: What happens if you fail?
mark 1 Grit and face the music. Stats: Rank your stats +3, +2, +1, 0, -1 If Dangerous: What could go wrong?
= Suffer a Cost If None Of The Above: Why roll?
Also 1-2
3-4 = Standard Outcome
Roll1D6 5-6 = Gain a Benefit Grit:
Moxie Smarts Wiggles Spend 5 Grit to turn a failed
When a 1-2 is rolled, determine roll into a Standard Success.
the Cost / Complication & raise the
Heat Level for the whole party +1.
Ailment: Suffer -1 to all rolls for each.
(When a 1 is rolled on D20, or as
Higher Heat = more severe Costs. narratively appropriate, mark one)
Friends Pockets Shaken Confused
Gumption: “I know a guy.” “I’ve got that.” Stressed Frightened
Start with 6 Max Gumption. Frustrated Exhausted
Reduce when you Suffer Harm.
At 0 Gumption you are Taken Out. Gumption: Steel Yourself: Mark one Ailment
Regain Gumption with a Long Rest. in order to regain 2 Gumption.
Current Max
Heat Level 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20!
 In Outer Space, there’s TONS of stuff to
do. When you have a thing that you want
done, contract the Space Aces! We are
mostly competent, heavily in debt, and
highly motivated!