Starhold Handbook - Dark Mode

Page |1
STARHOLD
Copyright © 2020 by S.M. Noble
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by
any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior
written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and
certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Exception: You have express permission to
photocopy and distribute the character playbooks and quick reference sheets for personal use with your game
group. For inquiries, please visit StarholdRPG.com or tweet us @StarholdRPG.
1|STARHOLD
Page |2
2|STARHOLD
Page |3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION…… 6 The Diplomat…… 30 Assist…… 59
GETTING STARTED …… 7 The Shepherd…… 31 First Aid…… 60
About the Setting…… 7 THE MUSCLE…… 32 Get a Feeling…… 61
What You’ll Need…… 7 The Ex-Marine…… 34 Inflict Harm…… 62
Narrative as Play…… 8 The Miner…… 35 Influence Someone…… 63
The Speaker and the Players… 8 The Security…… 36 Keep Your Head Down… 64
Types of Games…… 8 THE SCIENTIST…… 37 Protect Someone…… 64
SPACERS…… 9 The Biologist…… 39 Sabotage…… 64
Archetypes and Variants…… 9 The Chemist…… 40 Countering a Sabotage… 65
Ability Ratings…… 11 The Medic…… 41 Survey the Scene…… 67

THE SPECIALIST…… 42 Use or Repair an Advanced Item
Moves…… 13
Introductions…… 13 The Academic…… 44 ………… 68
Connections (Cx)…… 14 The Pilot…… 45 ADVANCED MOVES…… 69
Make Your Spacer …… 15 The Weapons Expert…… 46 EXPERIENCE & IMPROVEMENTS 72

THE STOWAWAY…… 47 Leveling Up…… 72
THE PLAYBOOKS…… 16
The Criminal…… 49 Improvements Explained…… 73
THE AUGMENTED…… 17
The Kid…… 50 PLAYBOOK MOVES…… 75
The Almost-Human…… 19
The Survivor…… 51 Changing Playbooks…… 75
The Construct…… 20
THE TECHNICIAN…… 52 Secondary Player Characters… 76
The Cyborg…… 21
The Engineer…… 54 OTHER PLAYBOOK ELEMENTS…… 77
THE CIVILIAN…… 22
The Hacker…… 55 Intuition…… 77
The Entertainer…… 24
The Mechanic…… 56 Stress…… 78
The Homesteader…… 25
GAMEPLAY BASICS…… 58 Harm and Scars…… 79
The Merchant…… 26
THE DICE…… 58 Take a Moment…… 80
THE LEADER…… 27
The Commander…… 29 BASIC MOVES…… 59
Act Under Fire…… 59
3|STARHOLD
Page |4
COMBAT, GEAR, & GEAR Ratings and the Script Change THE FIRST SESSION…… 143
Toolkit…… 113 Game Timeline…… 143
POINTS…… 81
X-Card…… 114 REFLECTION & CRISIS XP…… 147
COMBAT…… 81
The Door is Open…… 115 CONTINUING THE GAME…… 148
Improvised Weapons…… 82
Breaks…… 115 PREMADE GAMES…… 152
EVA SUITS, VEHICLES, AND
Debriefing…… 115 EVENT HORIZON…… 153
DOGFIGHTS…… 83
Suit and Vehicle Stats…… 84 CRISIS EVENTS…… 117 LEECHES…… 157
GEAR…… 86 THE CRISIS…… 118 THE REVOLT…… 161
Your Gear…… 86 THE HOOK…… 118 ALTERATIONS &
New Gear with Gear Points… 87 THREAT AND THREAT MOVES… 119 SUGGESTIONS…… 165
Gear Tags…… 87 Ex. Threats & Threat Moves… 120 IMPORTANT NOTES…… 167
Custom Gear…… 87 NEW LOCATIONS…… 121 CREDITS…… 167
0-armor/0-harm…… 87 NONPLAYABLE CHARACTERS… 122 Acknowledgements…… 178
Armor & Non-Armor Defeating 88 THE COUNTDOWN…… 123 Personal Thanks…… 179
GEAR TAGS TABLE…… 89 Example Countdown Clock… 124 Special Thanks…… 170
Weapons Table…… 91 INCORPORATING SCARCITY…… 125
INDEX…… 172
Armor Table…… 92 RUNNING A GAME…… 126
GEAR POINTS PRICE LIST…… 93 WORLDBUILDING…… 132
THE SPEAKER…… 95 Choose a Setting…… 133
THE SPEAKER’S AGENDA…… 95 Map It Out…… 134
THE SPEAKER’S PRICIPLES…… 95 Determining Scarcity…… 135
ALWAYS SAY…… 103 Allies…… 136
SPEAKER MOVES…… 104 Aliens…… 137
SAFETY & CALIBRATION TOOLS 111 Tone…… 139
Session Zero…… 112 Pacing…… 140
Content Warnings…… 112 ALT. SETTING: THE DEEP…… 141
Lines and Veils…… 113 PLAYING THE GAME…… 143
4|STARHOLD
Page |5
5|STARHOLD
Page |6
INTRODUCTION
Space is vast, inhospitable, and unforgiving, and we—
Well, we’re fragile.
So we build. Havens of metal and glass, lead-lined walls to protect us from radiation, armored shells to stop
bullet-fast debris. Out here we’re on our own, and we make do with what we have. But what protects us also
makes us vulnerable. When disaster strikes, when there’s nowhere to run, our shelter can become our prison.
But we keep going, because we—
Well, we’re determined, too.
Starhold is a game about survival. You play a group of spacers struggling on the fringes of the last great
frontier, scraping by in a cold universe. Out here even the smallest mistake can mean extinction, and help is a
long, long way away. Pick your spacers, map your base, and buckle in.
This is gonna be one hell of a ride.
6|STARHOLD
Page |7
GETTING STARTED
About the Setting
One of the keywords used while developing Starhold was “claustrophobia”.
Inspired by scifi settings like the Nostromo, Serenity, Deep Space Nine, Ceres Station, Battlestar Galactica,
the Hab in The Martian, and others, Starhold is a game about living in the cramped, crowded margins of
space. Day after day you see the same people, the same places, eat the same food, work the same job, and
walk the knife’s edge between sheer boredom and utter terror. And when things go bad, they go real bad.
But it’s not all terrible. There are moments, brief and devastating, when you catch a glimpse of the stars
outside and remember why you went to space in the first place.
What You’ll Need
To get started, you’ll need at least one Speaker and one player. At least one person will need this handbook
and a good grasp of the rules. Everyone should also have printouts of the character playbooks (included here
as well as in a separate free PDF for easy download), the appropriate quick reference sheet for their role
(Speaker or spacer), something to take notes with, and two 6-sided dice. Dramatic background music and
sound effects for atmosphere are also recommended but not necessary.
7|STARHOLD
Page |8
Narrative as Play
Starhold was created using the Powered by the Apocalypse system developed by D. Vincent Baker and
Meguey Baker. The driving force behind many PbtA games is “the conversation”. Unlike crunchier systems,
Starhold leans heavily on the narrative to create an engaging experience. While playing Starhold, think in
narrative, not numbers. It might not be the smartest choice for your character to run out into the void with
nothing but an EVA suit and a vague plan, but if it makes sense from a character and narrative perspective,
then play it honestly. Play the characters like they’re real, because for a few hours at the table, they are.
The Speaker and The Players
The Speaker is there to help build the narrative with the players and occasionally throw a wrench in the
works. They’re not there to dictate, railroad, or direct the game. They’re the mediator between the players
and the world and between the players and other players. Players on their part are there to discover the
world together, to incite events and react to them, and to have fun.
We’ll get more into the roles of each later, but that’s the basics.
Types of Games
Starhold can work as a one-shot or a full campaign. Some adjustments to certain rules and ability ratings
might need to be made depending on the length of the game, so we’ve included suggestions in this handbook
on what to change depending on the type of game you’re playing. But remember: it’s your world, and you
can play it as you wish. What starts as a one-shot might turn into a regular campaign, so be willing to adjust
accordingly with your players.
8|STARHOLD
Page |9
SPACERS
Who are they? What are they doing out here? What are their goals and hopes? Their fears? Who do they
love, adore, revile, or hate? What’s waiting for them out in the void? What do you want out of this game?
These are just some questions to think about while making your character. For the most part the playbooks
are self-explanatory. Use them as a guide to help you bring your character to life. Some things are solid (like
ability ratings and moves) but others are really just suggestions (like names and appearances), so feel free to
make your character your own.
The only hard and fast rule is play them like they’re real.
ARCHETYPES AND VARIANTS
In Starhold, player characters are called spacers. Maybe they’ve lived in space their whole life, or maybe this
is their first time out in the void, but however they got here, they’re a spacer now.
Spacers are based on an Archetype, and no two players can play the exact same Archetype. This includes
variants— if you’re using a playbook, the entire playbook is yours and yours only. Remember, your character
is unique in the world. There might be many leaders out in the universe, but in Starhold you are the Leader.
There are many scientists, but you’re the Scientist. See?
There are eight base Archetypes. Players can choose to play an Archetype straight with no additional moves
from variants, or they can start as an Archetype’s variant first. Each Archetype has access to the basic moves
common to all players, plus 2 unique moves available only to their Archetype. More moves are made available
as the spacer levels up, if the player chooses to take them.
9|STARHOLD
P a g e | 10
Variants are sub-archetypes within the base Archetype. Players can choose to specialize in one variant from
the start, or they can choose to take moves from different variants of the same Archetype later when they
level up. For example, someone playing The Leader must take their first two moves from The Leader
playbook but can later choose their next moves from any of the Leader’s variants. When you start as a
variant your first two moves are picked for you, but you can choose from any of the Archetype’s other moves
when you level up.
When taking moves from variants within an Archetype, players must pick one title for their character, even if
they continue to take moves from other variants as they level. So if a player decides to take the Diplomat’s
title, even if they later take most of their moves from the Commander, they will still be considered the
Diplomat. Players should look over each Archetype and variant carefully and consider the type of character
that they want to play before they commit to a title.
To be clear, there’s no rule against changing your Archetype or variant title. However, we encourage you to
consider such a change something significant and important in the game narrative, as appropriate.
10 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 11
ABILITY RATINGS
Your character’s ability ratings help describe what your character can do and how well. There are five main
ability ratings in Starhold, plus a sixth we’ll mention later:
• +Head (mental)– intelligence, solving puzzles, knowledge, etc.

• +Hand (physical)– combat, health, feats of strength, etc.
• +Heart (emotional)– stress resistance, loneliness, empathy, etc.
• +Group (social)– persuasion, bartering, intimidation, networking, etc.
• +Tech (technical)– repair/use tech, perform first aid, hacking, etc.
Stat rolls are used to help determine the success or failure of a move or general action. For example, if your
character tries to budge a stuck door, the Speaker might have you roll +hand to determine how well you
manage to muscle it open. You would then roll 2d6 dice and add your +hand stat to the result to see how
well you are able to open the stuck door. Example: if you have a +2 in +hand, and you rolled an 8, your
result would be a 10 (lucky!) and you would be able to open the door unless other circumstances prevent it.
P a g e | 12
In Starhold, some ability ratings also serve a secondary purpose or have additional restrictions. These are the
+hand and +heart ability ratings.
• Your +hand bonus dictates the kind of weapons and body armor that you can wear. Think of it like a
constitution buff— the stronger you are, the heavier your weapons and gear can be. Negative +hand
ability ratings add nothing and are considered a zero for gear purposes. See “Gear” (p. 86) for more.
• Your +heart stat temporarily protects you from stress. See “Stress” (p. 78) for more.
In general, ability ratings can be ranked as such:
• +3 is amazing
• +2 is pretty good
• +1 is decent
• 0 is average
• -1 is terrible
No character will be great at everything, and they shouldn’t be! Embrace your character’s weaknesses as
much as their strengths and use them to help build an interesting narrative.
P a g e | 13
MOVES
Moves make things happen. Not your normal, day-to-day stuff of course. If anyone could reasonably do it
with little effort, then you just do it— you don’t need to roll to make a bowl of cereal or walk down the hall.
Moves are there to help determine the outcome of the unusual moments, the uncertain ones, or the
dangerous ones. Some moves are basic and common to all players. Some moves are unique to your
Archetype. And some moves are for the Speaker only (though they’ll never tell you when they use them).
Moves are often triggered by certain situations, which are described in the move’s information. You can also
ask to perform a move when you feel appropriate, and sometimes the Speaker will ask you to perform one as
well. For more information about moves see “Basic Moves” (p. 59).
INTRODUCTIONS
At the beginning of the first session, once everyone’s made their character, be sure to introduce them. Have
everyone at the table take a turn to describe their spacer: their name, Archetype, appearance, and attitude.
Let them be as detailed or as taciturn as they want, but make sure that everyone gives at least that much
basic information. Be sure to take notes too: you’ll need that info when you put together your Connections.
An important note about the group’s characters: in Starhold, it’s assumed that everyone knows everyone to
some degree. They don’t have to be super close friends, but at the very least they know about one another.
Introductions and Connections allow us to skip the awkward ice breaker scenes and get right to the heart of
the good stuff, so use this time to help flesh those out!
P a g e | 14
CONNECTIONS (Cx)
The 6th stat mentioned earlier is your Cx. In your character’s playbook will be a place for you to fill in your
Connections (Cx) with other characters in the game. After introductions, go around the table again and start
establishing your Connections by asking the other players a few of the questions listed under your Cx list, or
think up a few of your own that would matter to your spacer. Most of your connections will start as Cx+0, but
a few spacers will have stronger ones. The Cx question values listed on your spacer’s sheet are suggestions,
but you should have at least one Cx+3 or -3 with another player character. These ratings can change later
based on certain moves or at the end of a session during the reflection questions.
• Cx+3 is an important, positive connection

• Cx+2 is an amiable connection
• Cx+1 is an alright one
• Cx+0 is neutral
• Cx-1 has some issues
• Cx-2 has some bad blood
• Cx-3 is an important, negative connection
It’s important to note that no one starts off as your enemy. While some characters might have a negative
connection, these are more in the line of rivals, exes, or annoying family. Update your connections as you
play based on what happens in game. Once you have your connections settled, spend a little time fleshing
those connections out with the other players. Keep this brief—the majority of this work can be done in-game
with narrative. But you should make sure you’re both on the same page before the game begins.
P a g e | 15
MAKE YOUR SPACER
To create your spacer, do the following:
• Pick an Archetype playbook

• Pick their ability ratings from the list included in the playbook
• Pick your variant (if applicable) and your first two unique moves (if not a variant)
• Name your spacer
• Describe them: appearance, clothing, and their general attitude
• Introduce them to the other players and the Speaker
• Determine their Connections (Cx) with the other spacers
A note about creating a variant: if you choose to play a variant first, you don’t get to choose your first two
moves. Rather, each variant has two unique moves already assigned to them, and a variant special. Each
variant has a unique special, so make sure to read up on them before you make your choice. You can also
take a variant special as an option during a level up for most playbooks.
Remember, things like attitude and appearance can change. At the beginning, naming these aspects is to
help you get into the mind of your spacer, but you might find them changing as you learn more about who
they are. Just don’t forget the most important thing in the game:
ALWAYS PLAY THEM LIKE THEY’RE REAL
P a g e | 16
P a g e | 17
SPACE MOVES
OBSERVATION DECK – a place to look, Pick two:
to wonder, to feel small, to contemplate  With Your Special Eyes: They
Sometimes you need a little extra to get
definitely had your brand when you
you going, to put you ahead of the
upgraded your visual input. With your
competition, or just to feel pretty. INTUITION
augmented eyes, you can see in near
Remove an Intuition to change a roll to
Intelligence, total darkness, and get a +1 when
HEAD planning
a success or to avoid all harm in one
surveying a scene in bad lighting.
event.
 Volume Control: People talk, and
Strength,
HAND combat
Good        Done For you listen. You can control your hearing
to hear very quiet sounds or to filter out
Empathy,
HEART stability HARM & STRESS
very loud ones within 100 feet.
 Zoom Zoom: You paid for the latest
Mark a harm when you’re injured. At 5 light-weight skeletal upgrades because
Networking,
GROUP negotiation harm you are unstable. you just gotta go fast. You can move
Use items, Healthy     |    Dying very quickly and get a +1 to Act Under
TECH abilities Fire when dodging enemy attacks.
Mark a stress when directed. Erase a  Fursona: The latest augmentation
NAME & PRONOUNS: mark after you Take a Moment. After techniques enhance your skin to
the 5th stress mark, you are exhausted. withstand dangerous temperatures. If
Alright      Exhausted you pick fur, you are impervious to cold
APPEARANCE:
down to -30°F. If you pick scales, you
SCARS are impervious to heat up to 120°F.
Facial reconstruction to match augment
Note any Scars you acquire,
ATTITUDE: choice included.
location/type, & how it affects you:
P a g e | 18
STATS GEAR IMPROVEMENTS

Choose one set of ability ratings: Choose your gear from the handbook When you level up, pick an
 Head 0, Hand +2, Heart 0, list and write it here: improvement. Once you’ve leveled up
Group +1, Tech +1 five times, you can also pick from the
 Head +2, Hand +1, Heart 0, Advanced Improvements.
Group -2, Tech +1  Add +1 Head, max +3
 Head +1, Hand +2, Heart -1,  Add +1 Tech, max +3
Group 0, Tech -1  Add +1 Hand, max +2
 Head -1, Hand +2, Heart -2,  Add +1 Group, max +2
Group +2, Tech 0  Take another Augmented/var. move
 Head +1, Hand +1, Heart 0,  Take another Augmented/var. move
Group +1, Tech 0  Take one (or another) Trouble with
pro & cons from an augmented variant
C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx) EXPERIENCE  Take one (or another) Trouble with

Mark an experience when you fail a pro & cons from an augmented variant
In your game journal (or other note
move. After you reach five, you level  Take a move from another playbook
area) make a list of all the player
up. Pick an improvement, then clear  Take a move from another playbook
characters. Then on your turn during
the Cx phase, go around the table and the boxes and start again.
ADVANCED IMPROVEMENTS
ask each character some or all of the   Add +1 to any stat, max +3
following:
 Advance 3 basic moves, your choice
• Do you accept me? Cx+/-2
 Advance 3 more basic moves,
• Do I unsettle you? Cx+/-1
your choice
• Do you distrust me because of
 Create a new character to play
my abilities? Cx+/-2
 Retire this character to safety
For everyone else, mark Cx+0.
 Change this character’s Archetype
P a g e | 19
AUGMENTED|VARIANTS
To make a variant, fill out the character sheet above, but write in your variant title above the Archetype name.
TROUBLE
There’s something not quite human about this one, but no one Sometimes your abilities get you in to trouble. Pick a unique
can really pinpoint why. Whatever their true identity, they aspect about your abilities that you like, but two consequences
struggle to gain the trust of those around them. that it has had on your daily life. Choose from the lists below:
Positive (pick one):

MOVES
 Experienced (+1 to +head when you Get a Feeling)
◼ Looking for Me?: Sometimes the best way to get by is to
 Empathetic (+1 to +tech when performing First Aid)
blend in, and you have the uncanny ability to do it at will.
Whenever you need to hide in plain sight, roll +tech. On a
Consequences (pick two):
10+, you disappear to all senses and sensors until you move.
 Sometimes you can’t shut out the noise –machines, radio
On a 7-9, you’re mostly hidden. On a miss, you think you’re
waves, thought patterns—and it overwhelms you
hidden, but you’re not.
 You don’t understand why people find your abilities
◼ Mind Trick: You can’t explain it, but sometimes you can
frightening and it pains you
sense what people are thinking. Roll +head instead of +heart
 When you look at the stars, you feel a deep, terrible longing
whenever you try to Get a Feeling from someone.
that you can’t vocalize or explain
 You’re so used to hiding that you’re not sure you know who
you really are anymore, and it scares you
P a g e | 20
TROUBLE
They were never human to begin with. Whether they’re an AI Sometimes your abilities get you in to trouble. Pick a unique
in a robotic body or a lab-grown experimental being, they aspect about your abilities that you like, but two consequences
share little in common with their human compatriots, except that it has had on your daily life. Choose from the lists below:
maybe their goals.
 Integrated (+1 to +tech when Using an Advanced Item)
MOVES
 Perceptive (+1 to +head when Surveying a Scene)
◼ Live Long and Kick Ass: You were made to survive. You
take +2 base armor from the materials your body is
constructed with, and anyone meleeing you takes 1-harm. This
 Sometimes you forget to simulate breathing, and people find
does not stack with other armor.
it uncomfortable to be around you
◼ Unnatural: Humans can heal on their own, but you’ve got
 You lose track of time because you get caught up in your
nanites for that. You are impervious to disease, and once per
own digital world
crisis you can instantly heal yourself for up to 3-harm.
 Your care and maintenance need an expert, and it’s costly
 You struggle to understand the complexities of human
nature, and it leaves you feeling like an outsider
P a g e | 21
TROUBLE
One or more major part of this person has been replaced by Sometimes your abilities get you in to trouble. Pick a unique
tech. This has many benefits, but also some downsides. aspect about your abilities that you like, but two consequences
that it has had on your daily life. Choose from the lists below:
MOVES
◼ Two by Two: What’s better than two hands? Four hands!
 Impressive (+1 to +group when Influencing Someone)
Melding the human body with machine, you gave yourself an
 Sturdy (+1 to +heart when Protecting Someone)
extra pair of arms to help in your daily tasks. You have +1
extra gear (non-armor) and cannot be restrained.
◼ Resistance is Futile: You’re the one everyone calls on
 Things are not made with your body in mind, and you
moving day. Your machine-like strength is due to, well,
struggle to find important things like EVA suits that fit
machine-like muscles. You are able to lift and move objects up
 You sometimes underestimate your strength and end up
to 500lbs. You can do 2-harm when meleeing someone
breaking things or hurting people unintentionally
barehanded.
 People talk about you behind your back because of your
abilities, and it has a toll on your confidence
 Sometimes people want to test their strength against yours,
and you frequently get challenged to fights you don’t want
P a g e | 22
SPACE MOVES
COMMON ROOM – a place to gather, to Pick two:
bond, to play, to relax, to reassure  Bigger on the Inside: The universe
Just your everyday citizen enjoying daily
is constantly surprising you, and that’s
life out in the universe to the best of their
what you love about it. When you find
ability, and despite the frequent set-backs. INTUITION
yourself in a new or surprising place,
Intelligence, roll +heart. On a 10+, the Speaker will
HEAD planning
tell you two important facts about it.
event.
On a 7-9, they tell you one.
Strength,
HAND combat
Good        Done For  Run!: Sometimes the best solution to
a problem is to run away. When fleeing
Empathy,
a dangerous situation, roll +heart
instead of +hand to act under fire.
Mark a harm when you’re injured. At 5  I Trust You: When you are about to
Networking,
GROUP negotiation harm you are unstable. do something incredibly dangerous, ask
Use items, Healthy     |    Dying the person you have the highest Cx
TECH abilities with what you should do. If you follow
Mark a stress when directed. Erase a their advice take a +1 forward.
NAME & PRONOUNS: mark after you Take a Moment. After  Back Off!: You might not be much of
the 5th stress mark, you are exhausted. a fighter, but you do what you need to
Alright      Exhausted to protect your friends. Roll +group
APPEARANCE:
instead of +hand when Inflicting Harm
SCARS after a nearby companion becomes
unstable.
ATTITUDE:
P a g e | 23
STATS C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx) IMPROVEMENTS

Choose one set of ability ratings: In your game journal (or other note When you level up, pick an
 Head +1, Hand 0, Heart +2, area) make a list of all the player improvement. Once you’ve leveled up
Group 0, Tech -1 characters. Then on your turn during five times, you can also pick from the
 Head 0, Hand +1, Heart +2, the Cx phase, go around the table and Advanced Improvements.
Group 0, Tech -1 ask each character some or all of the  Add +1 Heart, max +3
 Head 0, Hand 0, Heart +2, following:  Add +1 Group, max +3
Group +1, Tech +1 • Are we good friends? Cx+/-2  Add +1 Tech, max +2
 Head -1, Hand -1, Heart +1, • Do you think I’m a liability?  Add +1 Hand, max +1
Group +2, Tech 0 Cx+/-1  Take another Civilian/var. move
 Head +1, Hand -2, Heart 0, • Do you use my services? Cx+/-2  Take another Civilian/var. move
Group +2, Tech +1 For everyone else, mark Cx+1.  Take one (or another) resource to
barter with from a civilian variant
GEAR  Take one (or another) resource to

barter with from a civilian variant
Choose your gear from the handbook EXPERIENCE
 Take a move from another playbook
list and write it here: Mark an experience when you fail a
move. After you reach five, you level
up. Pick an improvement, then clear
the boxes and start again.  Add +1 to any stat, max +3
  Advance 3 basic moves, your choice
your choice
P a g e | 24
CIVILIAN|VARIANTS
SERVICES
Even the toughest crew needs some entertainment to keep You’ve got what people want, and can use it to barter for
them sane, and that’s what they’re here to do. Whatever their favors, items, and other necessities. Pick two positives and one
reasons for being out here, their talents are undeniable. negative about your services. Take a +1 to Influencing
Someone when you barter with your services. Choose from the
lists below:
MOVES
◼ Killing Them Softly: You usually try to talk yourself out of a
Positive (pick two):
bad situation, but sometimes it doesn’t work. Roll +heart
 You have clients in high places
instead of +hand when trying to Inflict Harm on someone that
 No one else can do what you do
you failed to Influence.
 Your good reputation precedes you
◼ Oh, I’m Good: It’s always a confidence boost to see your
 You’re always ready to perform
hard work pay off. Take a +1 forward on your next +group roll
when you successfully Influence Someone.
Negative (pick one):
 People see your job as frivolous and overpaid, and are quick
to turn on you in a time of crisis
 Not everyone approves of what you do, and it causes
contention between you and certain groups
 Everyone thinks they know you, and your privacy is
constantly being invaded against your wishes
P a g e | 25
FRESH|FOOD
Earth is too crowded, and they’re looking for a better life or a You’re the only source of fresh food to supplement MRE
fresh start somewhere else. Hopefully they’re not just leaving rations, and can use it to barter for favors, items, and other
necessities. Pick two positives and one negative. Take a +1 to
one problem to find another.
Influencing Someone when you barter with your food. Choose
from the lists below:
MOVES
◼ Resilience: You’re a long way from home, but you’ve got Positive (pick two):
ways to make things work. When you fail a roll affected by  You have a wide variety of produce growing (stock)
resource scarcity, you can roll +group. On a 10+, you find a  You maintain a source of fresh meat & eggs (stock)
way to avoid complete disaster. On a 7-9 things aren’t as bad  Your stock grows very quickly
as they initially appeared. On a miss, take a stress.  Your stock is pest resistant
◼ Country Comfort: Life is harsh, and you’ve learned to cope.

When you reach exhaustion, roll +heart. On a 10+ you avoid Negative (pick one):
exhaustion and reduce your stress by one. On a 7-9 you put  Your stock takes an incredible amount of water to maintain
off exhaustion for a little while, but it makes things worse and this puts a strain on the water recycling system
when it happens. On a miss, you are exhausted twice as long.  Your stock is extremely susceptible to stress and refuses to
reproduce during times of crisis, limiting your yield
 Your space is limited, so it’s difficult to quarantine stock
SPACE when disease breaks out, and you risk losing it all in the event
GREENHOUSE – a place to grow, to tend, to thrive, to enjoy, to of an outbreak
remember, to hope, to survive
P a g e | 26
GOODS
Commerce is alive and well in space, and they’re here to make You’ve got what people need, and can use it to barter for
the most out of supply and demand. You demand, they favors, items, and other necessities. Pick two positives and one
supply... for a price, of course. negative about your goods. Take a +1 to Influencing Someone
when you barter with your goods. Choose from the lists below:
MOVES
Positive (pick two):
◼ Waddaya Buyin’?: People have needs, and you have the
 You have more than plenty
answer. If somebody needs something unusual, roll +group.
 What you have is in demand
On a 10+ you have what they need in stock and can sell it at a
 It never goes bad
reasonable price. On a 7-9, you don’t have it but you know
 You’re the only one who has it
where to get it, and it’s going to be costly.
◼ Underground Market: Money’s not the only thing you trade
Negative (pick one):
in. When you are in desperate need of information or an item,
 It takes up a lot of storage space and is a constant source of
roll +group. On a 10+ you call in a favor to find what you need
contention between you and the leadership here
immediately. On a 7-9, you’ll find it but you’ll owe someone big
 It’s illegal and you have to be very careful about who knows
time. On a miss, you’ve called in one-too-many favors and
about your stock, or else you risk losing it all
your contact is pissed about it.
 It needs to be kept at a certain temperature and power
fluctuations or blackouts could destroy your stock
SPACE
GENERAL STORE – a place to gather, to trade, to sell, to
gossip, to barter, to buy, to touch, to smell
P a g e | 27
SPACE MOVES
HEADQUARTERS – a place to command Pick two:
from, to plan, to gather, to regroup  Respected: When you try to gain
Well-rounded individual. Not always the
someone’s trust, roll +group to have
brightest or the fastest, but somehow
someone vouch for you. On a 10+ the
inspires confidence and loyalty in others. INTUITION
target believes you unconditionally. On
a miss, they refuse to work with you.
Intelligence,
HEAD planning
event.
 Moving Speech: Sometimes people
just need to be reassured. When
Strength,
HAND combat
Good        Done For someone is exhausted, roll +heart to
cheer them. On a 10+ they will stop
Empathy, being exhausted. On a mixed success,
HEART stability
HARM & STRESS
the consequences will be less severe.
Mark a harm when you’re injured. At 5 On a miss, you make it even worse.
Networking,
GROUP negotiation
harm you are unstable.  Take Me Instead: Sometimes being
Healthy     |    Dying a good leader means taking the hit for
Use items,
TECH abilities
Mark a stress when directed. Erase a
your team. When you try to protect
someone you can roll +head instead of
NAME & PRONOUNS: mark after you Take a Moment. After +heart.
the 5th stress mark, you are exhausted.  Figurehead: When you give a group
Alright      Exhausted a dangerous command, roll +group to
APPEARANCE:
see if they follow. On a 10+, they do it
SCARS without question. On 7-9, they’ll do it
but only if you take the risk with them.
ATTITUDE: On a miss, they revolt.
P a g e | 28
STATS IMPROVEMENTS EXPERIENCE

Choose one set of ability ratings: When you level up, pick an Mark an experience when you fail a
 Head +2, Hand 0, Heart 0, improvement. Once you’ve leveled up move. After you reach five, you level
Group +1, Tech +1 five times, you can also pick from the up. Pick an improvement, then clear
 Head +2, Hand 0, Heart +1, Advanced Improvements. the boxes and start again.
Group 0, Tech +1  Add +1 Group, max +3

 Head -2, Hand +2, Heart -1,  Add +1 Group, max +3
Group +2, Tech 0  Add +1 Head, max +2
 Head +1, Hand 0, Heart +2,  Add +1 Heart, max +2
GEAR
Group +2, Tech -1  Take another Leader/var. move Choose your gear from the handbook
 Head -1, Hand +2, Heart +2,  Take another Leader/var. move list and write it here:
Group -1, Tech 0  If you have no crew or no flock,
take a crew or flock (pick one)
C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx)  If you have no bodyguard, take one

the Cx phase, go around the table and
 Add +1 to any stat, max +3
ask each character some or all of the
following:
• Do you trust me? Cx+/-2
your choice
• Would you lie to me? Cx+/-1
• Are you a trusted confidante?
Cx+/-3
P a g e | 29
LEADER|VARIANTS
ALLIES:CREW
An individual with confidence forged in the fires of combat and As the Commander, you’ve gained the trust of a few loyal allies
hardship. They might not always be the nicest individual, but that will follow you through hell and back if you ask. Create a
they look out for their crew. group of three individuals to act as your crew. Write down their
names, appearances, and your history with them. You can
command them as a unit and roll +group for the results.
MOVES
◼ I Should Go: Sometimes even the best made plans can fail.
The crew takes harm as a unit. When they reach 7 harm, one
Whenever you take part in a tactical retreat, you can command
of them will die and the harm meter will reset. The Speaker
some of your crew to cover you. Roll +group. On a 10+ your
chooses which crew member dies. Your crew regains all health
crew successfully covers your exit before falling back to safety.
between Crisis events and can be healed like other spacers.
On a 7-9, you get away at a cost. On a miss, the crew take 2
harm and your retreat is exposed.
Healthy     |    Dying
◼ Hold the Line: You’re the only thing standing between your
crew and the enemy, but they won’t get past you. At the start
of a combat encounter, roll +heart. On any success you get a
+1 ongoing to your +hand rolls until the end of the fight. On a
mixed success, you get a +1 forward to your next +hand roll.
On a miss, you lose your nerve and things go terribly wrong.
P a g e | 30
ALLY:BODYGUARD
A politician by nature, with a hidden agenda that they might As a Diplomat, you’re entitled to your own personal
argue is for the greater good. Charming and intelligent but not bodyguard. Give them a name and describe their appearance.
always trustworthy. They will never leave your side. They get one light weapon of
your choice and 1-armor of gear. They cannot perform any
moves except Inflict Harm and the results for a Diplomatic
MOVES
Immunity roll. They don’t get stressed, but they can take harm
◼ Diplomatic Immunity: People think you’re an easy target,
and die. They can be healed like other spacers. List their
but they’re wrong. When someone tries to harm you, roll
name, weapon, and mark their harm here:
+group to see if your bodyguard will save you. On a 10+, your
bodyguard knocks you out of the way safely. On a miss, both
Name and pronouns:
you and your bodyguard have to deal with the consequences.
Appearance:
◼ Skilled Negotiator: Not everything is answered by a fight.
Weapon:
When you try to negotiate a peaceful solution with a sapient
hostile force, roll +head. On a 10+ they’ll halt their attack...for
now. On a 7-9, they’ll need proof of your intentions before Healthy     |    Dying
they’ll stand down. On a miss, things turn out worse than if
you hadn’t tried to negotiate at all.
P a g e | 31
ALLIES:FLOCK
Dedicated to the spiritual health of their flock, they are the The flock is your spiritual community. They look to you for
outspoken moral compass of the group. They depend on their guidance, and in turn you look to them for strength. With the
own faith and the faith of their flock to survive. Speaker, decide on the size of your flock based on the size of
your map. The number should be divisible by three. When
needed and when possible, you can call on up to three flock
MOVES
members to assist you as allies, depending on your Faith.
◼Blessed: You always tell your flock that if they believe, then
The Speaker might ask you to roll +group to see if they
it will be provided. When making a roll affected by scarcity, you
achieve their tasks.
take a +1 forward if you are at full Faith.
◼Maker’s Will: Your faith carries you through difficult times.
When you fail a roll, you lose Faith and a third of your flock
Once per Crisis when you fail a roll you can use your Faith like
leaves you. Any time you roll a 6 or less, mark off a Faith and
an Intuition point. Your roll will become a success, but you will
reduce your flock’s number by 1/3rd. If you lose your entire
lose all your Faith until the next Crisis.
flock, you cannot regain them as allies again until the next
Crisis. You gain one Faith when you roll 12 or over, and you
SPACE regain all Faith at the start of a Crisis. You do not gain
RETREAT – a place to rest, to meditate, to think, to pray, to additional Faith if your Faith is full.
contemplate, to debate, to discuss, to question, to hope
Flock size:
Faith:   
P a g e | 32
SPACE MOVES
TRAINING AREA – a place to work out Pick two:
in, to move, to strengthen, to fight  The Ol’ One Two: You’ve been
If it needs punching, kicking, moving, or
around the block once or twice, or
blocking, they’re your person.
maybe you just lifted it. Either way,
INTUITION
whenever you do 3+ harm to
Intelligence,
HEAD planning
something in one hit, you can follow up
with a bonus attack. Do an additional
Strength, event.
HAND combat
Good        Done For
1-harm if they’re within melee range.
 Come at Me, Bro: Roll +hand when
Empathy, you want to draw aggro in a fight. On a
HEART stability 10+ all eyes (and target sights) are on
HARM & STRESS
Networking, you. On 7-9, you need to convince
GROUP negotiation
Mark a harm when you’re injured. At 5 them you’re a threat. On a miss, things
harm you are unstable. go very badly for you and your allies.
Use items,
TECH abilities
Healthy     |    Dying  What, Like It’s Hard? Once per
Crisis, you can solve a minor puzzle,
NAME & PRONOUNS: Mark a stress when directed. Erase a problem, or overcome an obstacle in a
mark after you Take a Moment. After moment of genius, whether it makes
the 5th stress mark, you are exhausted. sense or not.
APPEARANCE:
Alright      Exhausted  Unflinching: Whenever you would
take a stress, you can choose to take a
SCARS harm instead.

ATTITUDE: location/type, & how it affects you:
P a g e | 33
GEAR C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx) IMPROVEMENTS

Choose your gear from the handbook In your game journal (or other note When you level up, pick an
list and write it here: area) make a list of all the player improvement. Once you’ve leveled up
characters. Then on your turn during five times, you can also pick from the
the Cx phase, go around the table and Advanced Improvements.
ask each character some or all of the  Add +1 Hand, max +3
following:  Add +1 Hand, max +3
• Would you have my back in  Add +1 Head, max +2
an unfair fight? Cx+/-2  Add +1 Tech, max +2
• Are you afraid of me? Cx+/-1  Take another Muscle/var. move
• Do you appreciate my  Take another Muscle/var. move
protection? Cx+/-2  Take one (or another one) of
STATS
For everyone else, mark Cx+0. the variant’s specialties
Choose one set of ability ratings:
 Take one (or another one) of
 Head 0, Hand +2, Heart +2,
EXPERIENCE the variant’s specialties
Group -2, Tech 0
 Head +1, Hand +2, Heart 0, Mark an experience when you fail a
Group 0, Tech -1 move. After you reach five, you level
 Head +2, Hand +1, Heart 0, up. Pick an improvement, then clear
Group -1, Tech -1 the boxes and start again.
 Head -1, Hand +2, Heart +2,  Advance 3 basic moves, your choice

Group +1, Tech -2  Advance 3 more basic moves,
 Head +2, Hand 0, Heart -1, your choice
Group +2, Tech 0  Create a new character to play
P a g e | 34
MUSCLE|VARIANTS
SUBORDINATE
They’ve seen some shit, maybe done some shit. And when shit Most people would hesitate to try and tell you what to do, and
goes down, they know how to handle it. Maybe. for good reason. But there’s one person you trust to make
decisions for you. During the first game session when it’s your
turn to do your Cx, pick one of the other characters to be your
MOVES
Ex-Marine’s “boss”. This does NOT have to be The Leader. It
◼ Have Fun, That’s an Order: Once per fight, if you cause 5
can be a romantic partner, a close friend, or just someone that
or more harm in a single fight, mark off a stress. If you have
you trust. Make sure it’s ok with the other player first. Mark
no stress, add a temporary +1 ongoing to your +heart stat
Cx+3 for this character.
until you take a stress (max +heart +3).
◼ The Nod: Sometimes violence is necessary, but you’re not
Whenever they roll to influence or assist you, they get a +3 to
sure when. Ask your “boss” (see your special) if they think a
their roll, regardless of their own Cx with you. Whenever they
difficult or dangerous situation warrants extreme violence or
are kicking ass and you are nearby, you can ignore all
not. If you do what they suggest, take a +1 on your next roll
reasonable obstacles between you in your attempt to help
going forward. If you go against their suggestion, take a +1 to
them (particularly if it means barrel rolling through fire or
your next +hand roll, but your Cx with that person goes down
knocking out someone about to land a blow on them). Take a
by -1 until they forgive you.
+3 bonus to your first roll related to helping them. Be sure to
high five when you’re done.
P a g e | 35
SOFTIE
Years of hard work has made them strong, but mining is also a You’re big and tough, but you’ve got a soft heart, and when
technical job, and they combine their technical skills with their they make that face, it’s hard for you to say no. During the
sheer muscle to get the job done by doing it smart. first game session when it’s your turn to do your Cx, pick one
of the other characters to be your Miner’s “soft spot”. This can
be romantic, platonic, or just generally feeling like they need
MOVES
extra protection. Make sure it’s ok with the other player first.
◼ Kowlting Gut, Bosmang: You’ve got a sharp eye, and a
Mark Cx+3 for this character.
nose for dangerous situations. When someone else rolls to
survey the scene, roll +hand to help them out. On a 10+ they
Whenever they roll to influence or assist you, they get a +3 to
get a +2 bonus to their roll. On a 7-9, they get a +1.
their roll, regardless of their own Cx with you. Whenever they
◼ Birds of a feather: Miners stick up for miners, because no
are in danger and you are nearby, ignore all reasonable
one else will. When you encounter a hostile human force, roll
obstacles between you in your attempt to rescue them (even if
+group. On a 10+, someone in the hostile force is a former
it means having to lift fallen beams or breaking a captor’s
coworker, and they switch sides to assist you (you gain a
hold). Take a +3 bonus to your first roll related to saving
permanent ally). On a mixed success, they don’t know you
them. Make sure they’re alright later.
personally but have heard of you (you gain a temporary ally).
On a miss, you two have some bad blood and they want
revenge.
P a g e | 36
SHOWOFF
Hired help. They lack some of the discipline of the Ex-Marine Most people don’t like you, and that’s fine by you. But some
but make up for it in their organizational abilities. people just get under your skin. During the first game session
when it’s your turn to do your Cx, pick one of the other
characters to be your Security’s “pain-in-the-neck”. This can be
MOVES
a professional rival or just someone who enjoys pushing your
◼ Shame: You gotta admit, sometimes there are moments
buttons and making you look bad. Make sure it’s ok with the
when you get to be a real badass. Too bad you can never think
other player first. Mark Cx-3 for this character.
of any good one-liners when it happens. When you roll a
10+hand roll, add 1-harm to your damage while saying a
Whenever they roll to influence or sabotage you, they get a +3
witty/corny/terribly punny one-liner, and take pride in making
to their roll, regardless of their own Cx with you. Whenever
the rest of your team groan.
they are in danger and you are nearby, ignore all reasonable
◼ Patrol: You spend a lot of your time patrolling, and it’s given
obstacles between you in your attempt to rescue them
you a good idea of the best places to plan from in any given
(especially if it means fighting off two enemies at once or
space. Take a +1 bonus to Survey the Scene when you’re
kicking down a locked door), and take a +3 bonus to your first
familiar with the current area.
roll related to saving them. Be sure to rub it in their face later.
P a g e | 37
SPACE MOVES
LAB – a place to investigate from, to Pick two:
hypothesize, to test, to experiment  Am I Vibrating? You thrive on
An individual that retains a boundless
coffee substitutes, stimpacks, and
curiosity about the natural universe, which
anxiety. Take a +1 to any +head rolls
can sometimes lead them into trouble. INTUITION
when you have 3 or more stress.
Intelligence,  Breakthrough: When you’re stuck
HEAD planning
on a problem you can’t solve, roll
event.
+head. On a 10+ the Speaker must
Strength,
HAND combat
Good        Done For answer one question to help you. On a
mixed success, they give you a hint. On
Empathy,
a miss, your problems get worse.
 It’s Around Here Somewhere: Your
Mark a harm when you’re injured. At 5 lab is like a rat’s nest, if rats were
Networking,
GROUP negotiation harm you are unstable. scientists. When you know you don’t
Use items, Healthy     |    Dying have a needed item, roll +tech. On a

TECH abilities 10+ it mysteriously appears from
Mark a stress when directed. Erase a somewhere in your lab. On a 7-9, you
NAME & PRONOUNS: mark after you Take a Moment. After don’t find it but find something similar.
the 5th stress mark, you are exhausted.  Technobabble: No one knows what
Alright      Exhausted you’re saying, but they know it’s smart.
APPEARANCE:
Once per Crisis you can throw together
SCARS an item from any nearby scraps to help
get yourself out of a sticky situation. It
ATTITUDE: breaks afterwards.
P a g e | 38

following:  Add +1 Head, max +3
• Do you respect my methods  Add +1 Head, max +3
even if they’re unconventional?  Add +1 Heart, max +2
CX+/-2  Add +1 Tech, max +3
• Would you let me help you in a  Add +1 Tech, max +3
STATS crisis? Cx+/-1  Take another Scientist/var. move
Choose one set of ability ratings: • Are we intellectual rivals? Cx+/-2  Take another Scientist/var. move
 Head +2, Hand -2, Heart -1, For everyone else, mark Cx+0.  Take one (or an additional) variant
Group +1, Tech +1 Field Kit (your choice)
 Head +2, Hand 0, Heart -1, EXPERIENCE  Take a move from another playbook
Group +1, Tech +2  Take a move from another playbook
Mark an experience when you fail a
 Head +1, Hand +1, Heart 0,
Group -1, Tech +1 ADVANCED IMPROVEMENTS
 Head 0, Hand -1, Heart +2,  Add +1 to any stat, max +3
the boxes and start again.
Group -1, Tech +2  Advance 3 basic moves, your choice
 Head -1, Hand +1, Heart +2,   Advance 3 more basic moves,
Group -1, Tech +2 your choice

P a g e | 39
SCIENTIST|VARIANTS
FIELDKIT:BIO
Specializes in terrestrial and (when applicable) alien biology, A good scientist always comes prepared, and you’re the best.
with a vast knowledge on their subject. You’ve got everything you need, and sometimes things you
don’t. The Biologist specializes in understanding living things,
whether they’re familiar or alien in origin.
MOVES
◼ Party Suit: Sometimes contaminants happen. Good thing
Pick three of the following for your field kit:
you’re always prepared. When a disease outbreak is spreading,
roll +head to see if you have your hazmat suit on hand. On a
 A means of capturing small creatures for study
10+ you avoid getting contaminated or sick thanks to your
(+1 hand when attempting to capture a small creature)
suit. On a 7-9, you have the important pieces (gasmask,
 A guide covering all known alien flora
gloves). On a miss, you don’t think you’re sick...
(+1 head when trying to learn about unknown flora)
◼ Wire in the Blood: When you suspect something is alien in
 A guide covering all known alien fauna
nature, roll +head to see if you can learn the truth about it. On
(+1 head when trying to learn about unknown fauna)
a 10+ the Speaker will tell you something important about the
 Sample containers
alien. On 7-9 the alien learns something important about you,
(+1 tech when using equipment to contain unknown fauna)
too. On a miss, you reveal a vital vulnerability to it and learn
 A copy of your latest journal article
nothing.
(+1 group when trying to Influence a fellow scientist)
P a g e | 40
FIELDKIT:CHEM
If they can keep their lab in one piece, they are capable of A good scientist always comes prepared, and you’re the best.
making an incredible amount of useful concoctions. You’ve got everything you need, and sometimes things you
don’t. The Chemist specializes in understanding the very
fundamental reactions of the universe, and how to make things
MOVES
go “boom!”
◼ Never Lick the Spoon: You have a wide variety of chemicals
at your disposal, and most of them are deadly. You regularly
apply a coating of them to your weapons. Add the “poison” tag
to any melee weapon in your possession.
 A set of common, useful chemicals
◼ Part of the Precipitate: Sometimes things need blowing up.
(+1 head when attempting to do science on the fly)
When you need to create some explosives, roll +head. On a
 A small pack of highly explosive materials
10+, you make the amount you need with no problems. On a
(+1 tech when trying to blow something up safely)
7-9, you can only make one. On a miss, it blows up in your
 A pair of safety goggles
face and things go badly for you.
(+1 armor when something would harm your face)
 Totally Not Drugs
(+1 group when trying to trade for something you want)
 A copy of your rival’s latest journal article
(+1 head when trying to solve a scientific problem)
P a g e | 41
FIELDKIT:MED
Perpetually tired. The lives of everyone they know are on their A good doctor always comes prepared, and you’re the best.
hands in a time of crisis, and they hope they’re up to it. You’ve got everything you need, and sometimes things you
don’t. The Medic specializes in healing the harmed and curing
the sick.
MOVES
◼ Deforrest Station: After med school you did your residency
at the best station hospital in the solar system. Whenever you
try to heal an unstable patient, roll +head. On a 10+ you
 An advanced First-Aid kit
stabilize the patient and heal 4 harm. On a 7-9, you stabilize
(+1 tech when using First Aid)
them and heal 1 harm. On a miss, you make it worse.
 A medcorder
◼ The Real McCoy: Years of medical practice has prepared
(+1 head when trying to Survey the Scene)
you for stress, but at what cost? At any point, you can erase
 A small flask, full
an experience point to avoid becoming exhausted.
(+1 heart when going through a stressful situation)
 A surgical mask
SPACE (+1 hand when trying to avoid being contaminated)
INFIRMARY – a place to help from, to heal from, to look after,  A copy of a random journal article
to administer, to diagnose, to medicate, to triage (+1 head when trying to solve a medical mystery)
P a g e | 42
SPACE SUBJECT
RESEARCH ROOM – a place to solve Pick any specific subject you think your
They don’t know much, but what they do from, to learn, to grow, to assist Specialist would be an expert in
know they know extremely well. (besides the ones listed for the
variants). It cannot be something
INTUITION
Intelligence, general like “aliens”, but instead
HEAD planning Remove an Intuition to change a roll to
detailed like “exofauna on inhabited
asteroids”. Write it here:
Strength,
HAND combat
event.
Good        Done For

Empathy,
HEART stability GEAR
Networking, HARM & STRESS Choose your gear from the handbook
GROUP negotiation Mark a harm when you’re injured. At 5 list and write it here:
harm you are unstable.
Use items,
TECH abilities Healthy     |    Dying
NAME & PRONOUNS: Mark a stress when directed. Erase a
mark after you Take a Moment. After
the 5th stress mark, you are exhausted.
APPEARANCE: EXPERIENCE
Alright      Exhausted Mark an experience when you fail a
SCARS up. Pick an improvement, then clear
Note any Scars you acquire, the boxes and start again.
ATTITUDE: location/type, & how it affects you:

P a g e | 43
STATS MOVES IMPROVEMENTS

Choose one set of ability ratings: Pick two: When you level up, pick an
 Head +2, Hand 0, Heart -1,  Sounds Plausible I Guess: Most improvement. Once you’ve leveled up
Group -1, Tech +2 people don’t know enough about your five times, you can also pick from the
 Head +1, Hand -1, Heart 0, area of expertise to argue with you. Advanced Improvements.
Group 0, Tech +2 Whenever you try to influence someone  Add +1 Head, max +3
 Head +2, Hand +1, Heart 0, about your subject, roll +head. On a  Add +1 Head, max +3
Group -2, Tech 0 10+, they believe you without question.  Add +1 Tech, max +2
 Head 0, Hand +2, Heart -2, On a miss, they believe that YOU  Add +1 Tech, max +2
Group 0, Tech +2 believe, but don’t buy it.  Take another Specialist/var. move
 Head -2, Hand +2, Heart +1,  Collector: You collect things related  Take another Specialist/var. move
Group +1, Tech 0 to your subject, and sometimes they  Make a custom special item (or
help jog memories. When you need to another if playing the Academic)
C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx) Survey the Scene about something  Make a custom special weapon (or
related to your subject, take a +1 another if playing the Weapons Expert)
bonus.  Take a move from another playbook
 You’re a Little Intense...: Your  Take a move from another playbook
ability to block out distractions comes in
handy. Whenever you need to act ADVANCED IMPROVEMENTS
under fire, roll +head instead of +hand.  Add +1 to any stat, max +3
following:
 Oooh Neat!: It’s rare that you learn  Advance 3 basic moves, your choice
• Do we get along? Cx+/-2
something new, and really cool when  Advance 3 more basic moves,
• Can we talk shop? Cx+/-1
you do. Mark an experience whenever your choice
• Have I impressed you?
you roll a natural 12 while Surveying  Create a new character to play
Cx+/-2
the Scene.  Retire this character to safety
P a g e | 44
SPECIALIST|VARIANTS
SPECIAL|GEAR
If you’re looking for obscure knowledge or a detailed historical In addition to your normal gear, create one extra specialized
explanation of the current mission, this is where you’ll find it. item for you to carry on your person. You can roll +tech to use
Whether you want to hear it or not. it. On a miss, the item’s cons affect its use. Choose from the
lists below:
Type (choose one):
MOVES
 Data tablet
◼ Research Beckons: The prospect of a long night searching
 Communications device
through your academic collection for the perfect answer
sounds like your kind of fun. When you take some time to do Pros (choose two):
research, take a +1 to your next roll to Survey the Scene.  Encrypted (prevents hostile attempts at hacking)
◼ Punk-Ass Data Jockey: Not everything you read is theory  Discreet (prevents attempts at stealing item)
and rhetoric. Some of it’s actually pretty useful in a fight.  Fortified (prevents attempts to destroy item)
When you try to Inflict Harm, roll +head instead of +hand.  Spare (if lost or stolen, gain another immediately)
Cons (choose two):

 Temperamental
 Old battery
 Prone to dropping
 Broken speaker
P a g e | 45
SPECIAL|GEAR
Your ace in space. They can fly just about anything and run You’ve spent a lot of time customizing your fighter ship. In
rings around the competition. And they know it, too. addition to a fighter’s normal stats, create one extra
specialized modification. You can roll +tech to use it during a
dogfight. On 10+, the effects last for the whole fight. On a 7-9,
MOVES
they last for a short time. On a miss, the item’s cons affect its
◼ Nothin’ But the Rain: It’s oddly satisfying to look out on a
use. Choose from the lists below:
field of debris and know it’s there because of you. Whenever
you destroy some hostile fighter forces in a dogfight, remove a
Type (choose one):
stress. If you have no stress, take +1 +heart until you gain
 Engine Booster
your next stress (max heart+3).
 Shield Booster
◼ Don’t Tell Me the Odds: Sometimes you gotta just take a
chance, the math be damned. Whenever you try to pull a risky Pros (choose two):
maneuver in your fighter ship, roll +tech. On a 10+ you pull it  Armored (+1 armor to ship)
off like a pro. On a 7-9, there’s some hitches. On a miss, it  Durable (cannot be interrupted)
doesn’t go as planned.  Lightweight (+1 ongoing to Act Under Fire)
 Quick Recharge (once effect finishes, no wait to use again)
SPACE Cons (choose two):

HANGAR – a place to fly from, to attack from, to flee to, to  Flimsy
protect, to escape, to dream  Unpredictable
 Doesn’t quite fit
 Flammable
P a g e | 46
SPECIAL|GEAR
Knows every weapon available to the group and how to use it. You’ve spent a lot of time building the perfect weapon. In
Keeps their favorite weapon under their bed where they can addition to your normal gear, create one extra specialized
grab it if they need to. weapon for you to carry on your person. Describe the weapon
type using the normal tags in addition to these pros/cons. Use
it like a normal weapon when rolling Inflict Harm. On a miss,
MOVES
the item’s cons affect its use. Choose from the lists below:
◼ Bianca: If anyone ever asks, you love all your weapons
equally. But you know the truth— there’s one you love more
Type (choose one):
than the rest. Pick one of your normal weapons and give it a
 Melee (2-harm)
name. This is now your favorite weapon. Take +1 to your
 Distance (2-harm)
+hand rolls whenever you use it during a fight.
◼ My Other, Smaller Gun: You know those cartoons when Pros (choose two):
people have to disarm and they just keep pulling out weapons  High Impact (causes damage to nearby objects)
from increasingly unlikely places? That’s you. Whenever  Concussive (deafens target)
someone tries to disarm you, roll +head. On a 10+, you  Bright (blinds target)
managed to stash a weapon where they don’t find it. On a 7-9,  Brutal (nearby enemies are intimidated)
it’s very small. On a miss, they don’t find it but neither do you.
Cons (choose two):

SPACE  Painfully loud
ARMORY – a place to stockpile, to defend, to engage, to ready  Unwieldy
up, to attack from, to survive  Breaks easily
 Extremely dangerous to handle
P a g e | 47
SPACE MOVES
SECRET ROOM – a place to hide, to Pick two:
plot, to escape, to maintain, to store  Rat’s Nest: You’ve learned to put
Whether by accident or on purpose, you’re
things away for a rainy day. When you
stuck in this place now and you’re going to
need a small item quickly, roll +head.
have to make the best of it... if they don’t INTUITION
On a 10+ you have it on your person.
throw you out the airlock first. Remove an Intuition to change a roll to
On a 7-9, you have it but not on you.
 Don’t Mind Me: People usually don’t
Intelligence,
HEAD planning
event.
ask questions if they think you belong
Good        Done For there. When you are trying to access a
Strength,
HAND combat
restricted area, roll +head. On a 10+
you get in and out without issue. On a
HARM & STRESS
Empathy, 7-9, you get in. On a miss, you’re
HEART stability Mark a harm when you’re injured. At 5 caught and there are consequences.
harm you are unstable.  Like a Fox: You’ve got a nose for
Networking,
GROUP negotiation Healthy     |    Dying danger and an eye on the exits. Once
per crisis, you can immediately escape
Use items,
TECH abilities
Mark a stress when directed. Erase a
mark after you Take a Moment. After
a bad situation unharmed. If the
situation has no obvious escape, then
NAME & PRONOUNS: the 5th stress mark, you are exhausted. you can escape the most immediate
Alright      Exhausted danger into limited safety.
 Rogue: If you are attacking someone
APPEARANCE:
SCARS or something from behind, you can roll
+head instead of +hand to Inflict Harm
on the target.
ATTITUDE:
P a g e | 48
STATS GEAR IMPROVEMENTS

Choose one set of ability ratings: Choose your gear from the handbook When you level up, pick an
 Head +2, Hand 0, Heart +1, list and write it here: improvement. Once you’ve leveled up
Group 0, Tech -1 five times, you can also pick from the
 Head 0, Hand +2, Heart +1, Advanced Improvements.
Group -1, Tech -1  Add +1 Head, max +3
 Head -1, Hand +1, Heart +2,  Add +1 Hand, max +3
Group 0, Tech -1  Add +1 Heart, max +3
 Head +2, Hand 0, Heart +2,  Add +1 group, max +1
Group -1, Tech -2  Take another Stowaway/var. move
 Head 0, Hand +2, Heart -1,  Take another Stowaway/var. move
Group -2, Tech +2  Take one (or another) keepsake
 Take one (or another) keepsake
EXPERIENCE  Take a move from another playbook
C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx)
Mark an experience when you fail a  Take a move from another playbook
up. Pick an improvement, then clear ADVANCED IMPROVEMENTS
the boxes and start again.  Add +1 to any stat, max +3
ask each character some or all of the 
following:
your choice
• Will you welcome me? Cx+/-2
• Are you angry I’m here? Cx+/-1
• Do you think I should leave?
Cx+/-3
P a g e | 49
STOWAWAY|VARIANTS
KEEPSAKE|CHARM
Whether it was to escape the law or head out to enact a new You might be superstitious, you might not be. All you know is
scheme, they’re up to no good. But that doesn’t mean that that when you have your charm on you, things tend to go
they can’t be useful or even welcome, if the circumstances better. Pick two tags from the list below and add your charm
work out. to your gear list. Once per Crisis, as long as you have your
charm with you, you can use it like an Intuition point. Roll
+head. On any success, the charm can be used again in the
MOVES
next Crisis. On a miss, the charm breaks permanently. You
◼ Sticky Fingers: There’s a mark born every minute. When
cannot use Intuition to avoid this.
you try to steal something, roll +hand. On a 10+, it’s yours.
On a 7-9, you can get it but there will be a cost. On a miss,
Pick Two Descriptive Tags:
you’re caught in the act.
 Gross
◼ Renegade Option: When you Influence Someone, you can
 Smelly
use +hand instead of +group to make your roll, as long as you
 Fragile
do it in an intimidating manner.
 Tiny
 Personal
 Obvious
 Uncomfortable
P a g e | 50
KEEPSAKE|COMPANION
You don’t know how they got on board or what you’re going to You don’t have a lot of the comforts that most kids get, but
do with them, but their tenacity and annoyingly adorable face you do have your companion. It can be a real animal or a toy
means that the crew loves them (well, most do). of some kind. Pick two tags from the list below and add your
companion to your gear list. As long as you have your
companion with you when you take a stress, you can choose to
MOVES
roll +heart. On any kind of success, you don’t take the stress.
◼ Escape Hatch: You know all the vents and crawlspaces of
On a miss, something happens to your companion, and they
this place like the back of your hand. When you need to make
are unavailable for the rest of the Crisis.
a quick escape in a non-combat situation, roll +head. On a
10+, you get out with no issues. On a 7-9, you’ll leave
something important behind. On a miss, you’re caught in the
 Delicate
attempt.
 Old
◼ Get Away From Them!: You don’t want anyone to get hurt
 Ugly
because of you. If someone is trying to protect you from an
 Expensive
enemy, you get one free hit on the enemy that inflicts 1-harm.
 Loud
 Large
 Easily Lost
P a g e | 51
KEEPSAKE|MEMENTO
Something happened, and they were the only person left alive Whatever terrible thing happened in the past still haunts you,
before they ended up in this place. Now they’ll have to use but it also drives you to survive. You’ve kept a small memento
those same wits to survive again. from that time, and you use it to keep yourself moving
forward. Pick two tags from the list below and add your
memento to your gear. As long as you have this on your
MOVES
person when you take a harm, you can choose to roll +heart.
◼ Calculated Risk: You’ve learned how to pick your battles,
On any type of success, you take -1 less harm. On a miss, your
and it’s helped you survive. Before you decide to Inflict Harm
memento is lost until the next Crisis.
on someone or something, you can roll +head. On a 10+, the
Speaker will tell you exactly what could go wrong. On a 7-9,
they’ll give you a vague idea. On a miss, you read things
 Fragile
completely wrong.
 Large
◼ Boy Am I Bad at Math: When you fail a roll while Acting
 Heavy
Under Fire, you can choose to immediately change the result
 Difficult
into a mixed success and give the Speaker 2 hold over you to
 Perishable
be used on any roll except Act Under Fire. The Speaker’s holds
 Valuable
can stack and can be held indefinitely.
 Broken
P a g e | 52
SPACE MOVES
WORKROOM – a place to repair, to Pick two:
If it needs repairing, taping, whacking, or rebuild, to design, to destroy, to work  Whack It: Sometimes things just
fixing, this is who you call. won’t work. Once per Crisis, when you
fail an important +tech roll you can roll
INTUITION
Intelligence, again. On a 10+, this “magically” fixes
HEAD planning Remove an Intuition to change a roll to
the problem. On a 7-9, you barely
succeed. On a miss, it’s even worse
Strength,
HAND combat
event.
than before.
Good        Done For  Chaotician, actually.: You thrive on
Empathy,
HEART stability
chaos, and somehow think better under
pressure. Take a +1 bonus when
Networking, HARM & STRESS
GROUP negotiation Mark a harm when you’re injured. At 5
attempting a +tech roll during a
stressful situation but take a -1 to
harm you are unstable. +tech when things are peaceful.
Use items,
TECH abilities Healthy     |    Dying  Science the Sh*t Out of This: You
feel a certain kind of glee when facing a
NAME & PRONOUNS: Mark a stress when directed. Erase a tough challenge. Remove a stress when
mark after you Take a Moment. After you roll a 10+ while Acting Under Fire.
the 5th stress mark, you are exhausted.  I Could Have Done That: You’re
APPEARANCE:
Alright      Exhausted competitive, and nothing drives you like
wanting to be the best. If another
SCARS spacer gets a 10+ on a +tech roll in
your presence, you gain a +1 forward
ATTITUDE: on your next +tech roll.
P a g e | 53

ask each character some or all of the  Add +1 Tech, max +3
following:  Add +1 Tech, max +3
• Do you let me geek out about  Add +1 Head, max +2
tech to you? Cx+/-3  Add +1 Group, max +2
• Do you listen to my professional  Take another Technician/var. move
advice? Cx+/-2  Take another Technician/var. move
• Have you ever broken my  Take one (or another one) of the
STATS equipment before? Cx+/-2 variant’s space upgrades, your choice.
Choose one set of ability ratings: For everyone else, mark Cx+0.  Take one (or another one) of the
 Head +2, Hand 0, Heart -1, variant’s space upgrades, your choice.
Group 0, Tech +2 EXPERIENCE  Take a move from another playbook
 Head +1, Hand -1, Heart 0,  Take a move from another playbook
Mark an experience when you fail a
Group 0, Tech +2 move. After you reach five, you level
 Head +3, Hand -1, Heart -1, ADVANCED IMPROVEMENTS
Group 0, Tech +1 the boxes and start again.
 Head +1, Hand +1, Heart +1,
  Advance 3 more basic moves,
Group 0, Tech 0
your choice
 Head -2, Hand +1, Heart +1,
Group 0, Tech +1
P a g e | 54
TECHNICIAN|VARIANTS
SPACE|UPGRADES
If it’s useful, then they’re probably the ones that made it. They Your space is your sanctuary, and you keep all the things you
excel at coming up with solutions, even if the solutions are too need in it. Pick two from the following list to upgrade your
bloated to be of any real use. Workroom:
 A clean-room
MOVES
(+1 to +tech when Repairing an Advanced Item in your
◼ Givin’ All She’s Got, Captain: You tell the captain that
workroom)
you’re getting 100% out of things, but really it’s probably more
 An extensive database
like 80%. Gotta hold something back for emergencies, right?
(+1 when trying to Assist in your space)
Whenever you’re trying to make an escape in a ship or vehicle,
 A portable space-ready work kit
roll +tech. On a 10+ you coax enough out of the engine to
(+1 to +tech when Repairing while wearing an EVA suit)
escape unscathed. On a 7-9, it’s a choppy ride. On a miss,
 A VR room
something breaks that needs fixing immediately.
(+1 to +group when trying to Influence Someone in your
◼ Bouncy Graviton Particle Beam: You just make shit up,
workroom)
and somehow it works. You can choose to immediately
succeed on a Use/Repair an Advanced Item roll, but the
Speaker will change one of your future +tech rolls to a fail.
P a g e | 55
SPACE
What they do is not always legal, but if you’ve got computer SERVER ROOM – a place to connect from, to integrate, to
problems, then they probably have answers (if they didn’t bypass, to decode, to encrypt, to block, to maintain
cause the problems in the first place).
MOVES SPACE|UPGRADES
◼ Knock Knock: You’re really good at getting into places that Your space is your sanctuary, and you keep all the things you
you shouldn’t. Whenever you’re trying to hack into a secured need in it. Pick two from the following list to upgrade your
system or place, roll +head. On a 10+, you break in without server room:
triggering any alarms. On a 7-9, you can get in but it’s only a
matter of minutes before they’ll notice you. On a miss, you’re  A wall of monitors
locked out and they know where you are now. (+1 to +head when trying to Survey a Scene from your space)
◼ Bite Me: Your system is impenetrable. Well, almost. But just  Advanced cooling system
in case anyone manages to get in, you’ve got a secret weapon. (+1 to +tech when repairing broken computer parts)
Whenever an enemy tries to hack into your system, roll +tech.  The latest software
On a 10+, your secret weapon succeeds at destroying their (+1 to +tech when Use an Advanced Item in your space)
computers and stopping the attack. On a 7-9, you protect your  A gaming console
secrets but it’s going to cost you to do so. On a miss, they get (+1 to +group when trying to Influence Someone in your
exactly what they’re looking for before destroying your stuff. server room)
P a g e | 56
SPACE|UPGRADES
Master of all things vehicular, from ships to rovers. Just don’t Your space is your sanctuary, and you keep all the things you
ask them anything about the computer, they’re strictly need in it. Pick two from the following list to upgrade your
hardware. workroom:
 A jeweler’s bench
MOVES
(+1 to +tech rolls when repairing small mechanical items)
◼ Come On You Bosh’tet: You’re a mechanical genius, even if
 A repair bay
no one else appreciates it as much as they should. Whenever
(+1 to +tech when repairing vehicles)
there’s a mechanical failure of some kind, roll +head. On a
 Modification station
10+, you suss out the problem quickly and know how to fix it.
(+1 to +tech when attempting to modify a mechanical item)
On a 7-9, its going to take you some time to stay and examine
 A minifridge
it first. On a miss, you definitely think you know how to fix it.
(+1 to +group when trying to Influence Someone in your
◼ Mine’s the Nicest: You put a lot of effort and love into the
workroom)
ships and colonies you maintain, and you know them like the
back of your hand. Roll +tech instead of +head when you
Survey the Scene on your own ship or colony.
P a g e | 57
P a g e | 58
GAMEPLAY BASICS
THE DICE
In Starhold, we use a set of two 6-sided dice (often referred to in shorthand as 2d6). When rolling for a
move, the outcome tiers are as follows:
• 10+ is a success
• 7-9 is a mixed result
• 6 and under is a failure
Every move that requires a dice roll will usually outline the possible results for a success, a mixed result, or a
failure. Sometimes a move doesn’t have one of those, such as moves where a failure doesn’t cost the player
anything, and sometimes none will be listed, such as when you don’t have to roll at all.
Occasionally a move will omit the suggested results for a mixed success but list success/fail options.
The idea is that a mixed success is somewhere in the middle, and it’s up to the Speaker to determine the
appropriate response to a mixed result.
Sometimes the Speaker will have you roll a stat. For example, they might say “roll +hand” during a test of
strength, or “roll +head” to gauge your knowledge. These rolls are not associated with any moves but are
used by the Speaker when necessary. When this happens, you roll 2d6 and add your stat like normal. The
Speaker will decide the success, mixed success, and failure consequences of the roll, if any.
P a g e | 59
BASIC MOVES
ACT UNDER FIRE
Danger surrounds your spacer, and it takes a combination of resilience, cunning, skill, and luck to survive it.
Acting under fire can be any situation that requires a special kind of grit to get through, from trying to pull a
fast move and avoid getting hurt to attempting something outside of a person’s daily exertions. For example,
if your spacer was trapped outside their ship in an EVA suit without a tether and attempting to jump to the
nearest door, the Speaker might have you roll Act Under Fire to see what happens.
When you Act Under Fire roll +hand:
• On a 10+, you achieve your goal

• On a 7-9, the Speaker will give you a worse outcome, a hard choice, or a price to pay
• On a miss, things go horribly wrong
ASSIST
Sometimes people just need a little help from their friends. When you or the Speaker think the situation calls
for it, you can roll Assist to help another spacer with a move they are trying to make.
Add your dice results plus your +Cx with that spacer.
• On a 10+, they can reroll their lowest dice (highest number is used)
• On a 7-9 they get a +1 to their roll
• On a miss, you make things worse for both of you
P a g e | 60
FIRST AID
Taking a harm can have serious consequences, especially if its left untreated. First Aid can be used for light to
moderate injuries, but anything worse is going to require serious treatment (see “Harm” p. 79). In addition,
in some situations the Speaker may require you to Act Under Fire before you can use First Aid. For example,
trying to sew up a deep cut during a fight is far more stressful than waiting to do it after, hence an Act Under
Fire roll.
When you use First Aid, roll +tech:
• On a 10+, they are stabilized and heal 1 harm

• On a 7-9, they heal 1 harm
• On a miss, you cause them grave harm
P a g e | 61
GET A FEELING
Sometimes you just get a feeling about someone. When you want to try and gain some insight into
another spacer or an NPC during an important or dangerous moment, roll +heart in order to ask some
questions. You can use your holds to ask questions immediately or space them out (“hold them”) to ask
questions as you go, as long as the roll remains relevant to the situation.
On a 10+ you can hold 2. On a 7-9, hold 1. Choose from the following questions:
• Are they being honest?

• What are their intentions?
• Are they hiding anything important?
• What do they really want?
• What do I notice about them that’s important?
• What would give me leverage with them?
When you try to get a feeling about an NPC, the Speaker will answer these questions. However, when you try
to get a feeling with another spacer, then the spacer must answer them.
If someone is asking you questions from this move, you must answer to the best of your ability within the
context of the situation and how the question is being asked. For example, if a player asks you if your spacer
is being honest, and if your spacer believes that what they’re saying is true, then they are, even if the
information is wrong. Don’t answer from a player’s understanding, but from the framework of what your
character knows or believes instead.
P a g e | 62
INFLICT HARM
For more information on how combat works in Starhold, see “Combat” (p. 81).
When you want to hurt someone or something, then you are trying to inflict harm on them. Harm is
calculated by figuring weapon damage minus armor. For example, if you have a 3-harm weapon and your
enemy is wearing 1-armor, then the harm you inflict on a success will be 2-harm.
You can also choose to do non-lethal harm if you want to attempt to incapacitate someone or something.
Just tell the Speaker first that that’s your intention.
Fighting always has a cost, though. In Starhold, that cost is stress. When you Inflict Harm, no matter the roll
results, you take a stress (see “Stress” p. 78)
On any success (7 to 10+) you inflict harm but take a stress.
To Inflict Harm, roll +hand:
• On a 10+, choose one additional effect:

o You inflict extra harm (+1 harm)
o You don’t suffer any stress
o You impress, intimidate, or frighten your enemy
o You force them where you want them to go
o You or an ally take a +1 forward on your next roll
• On a 7-9, you inflict harm but open yourself to harm in return.
• On a miss, things go terribly for you. You suffer harm and take a stress without inflicting any back.
P a g e | 63
INFLUENCE SOMEONE
Sometimes asking nicely isn’t enough. In that case, you might need to try and influence someone in order to
get your way. You can’t just bully your way through this with a dice roll, however. You need to explain your
reasoning and what kind of resources or actions you’re going to use to accomplish this task.
Important note: you cannot Influence monsters, hostile enemies, or hostile animals.
When you want to Influence Someone, roll +group:
• On a 10+, you’ve convinced them to do it if they can. If you’ve asked for a lot, then they’ll let you know
what they’ll need to do it. If it’s too much, they’ll tell you.
• On a 7-9, they’ll do it for a price, if they can. If you’ve asked for a lot, then the price will be steep.
• On a miss, you’ve damaged your relationship with them, and they won’t help you right now.
You can also try to influence another spacer, but players will always have a choice on whether or not they
want to comply, regardless of your dice roll. When you want to try and influence another spacer, roll +Cx:
• On a 10+, you both get a +1 forward on your next rolls related to the influencers request, regardless of
whether the other spacer agreed to be influenced or not.
• On a 7-9, you gain a +1 forward if they agree to your request.
• On a miss, they get to decide how they’ll react, if this changes the relationship (Cx) between the two of
you, and what it might cost you (within reason). They get a +1 forward on their next roll against you.
P a g e | 64
KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN
When you want to try to hide during a dangerous moment or cross a space without being noticed, you
can try to keep your head down and avoid notice.
To Keep Your Head Down, roll +head:
• On a 10+, you are able to avoid notice.

• On a 7-9, your cover is easily blown, fragile, or short-lived.
• On a miss, you draw dangerous attention to yourself immediately.
PROTECT SOMEONE
When someone is in danger of suffering harm and you’re able to act, then you can try and protect them.
To Protect Someone from harm, roll +heart:
• On a 10+, you take the harm instead and pick one additional effect:
o You take less harm (-1 harm)
o You inflict harm back (1-harm)
o You can grapple the opponent or push them back
o All the opponent’s attention is on you now
• On a 7-9, you take the harm instead
• On a miss, both you and the target take harm and things get much worse
P a g e | 65
SABOTAGE
Sometimes a player might want to interfere with another player or an NPC. When you or the Speaker think
that the situation calls for it, you can roll Sabotage to interfere with another spacer or an NPC. It might
be while they’re making a move, or as a precaution, or revenge, etc.
Add your dice results plus your +Cx with that spacer. If you are rolling against an NPC, assume your Cx
with them is +0 unless the Speaker states otherwise.
• On a 10+, you do what you intended to do

• On a 7-9 it works but the Speaker will give you a hard choice or a price to pay
• On a miss, something goes terribly wrong for you
COUNTERING A SABOTAGE
In some situations, a spacer can attempt to counter another spacer’s sabotage. When you are countering,
roll your +Cx with the sabotaging spacer.
• On a 10+, you successfully counter their sabotage and get to choose one of the following:
o Respond with a successful Sabotage of your own
o Expose them to the other spacers
o Hold a -1 to a single roll to give to them on a future roll of your choosing
• On a 7-9, you mitigate the damage of their sabotage
• On a miss, your spacer is unaware of the sabotage and the results remain
P a g e | 66
Not all situations will allow a spacer to counter a sabotage. When a spacer is attempting a sabotage against
another spacer that is currently not present in the scene, the target spacer cannot usually counter it (since
that would be metagaming and not true to the events of the world). Here are some examples of when you
can counter and when you cannot:
Example of a sabotage that can be countered: After she realized that The Leader was not going to allow
her to make a rescue attempt, The Augmented decided to take matters into her own hands. She waited until
The Leader was busy in his quarters and tried to lock him inside. She had a mixed success, and the price was
that The Leader heard her while she worked. The Leader decided to try and counter the sabotage. He
succeeded on his roll with a 10+ and managed to get the door wrenched open before she could finish. Then
he called for security to come and take her to the brig, dragging her through the very busy common room as
they did in order to show the colonists what happens when you commit insubordination.
Example of a sabotage that cannot be countered: The Scientist, realizing what has happened to The
Augmented, decides that she is going to find a way to get her out of the brig so that they can attempt the
rescue that night. She decides to sabotage the security team’s weapons. She sneaks into the weapons locker
when no one is around and succeeds on her sabotage roll with a 10+. She makes it so that the stun guns will
shock the person using them, therefore causing the security team to unknowingly stun themselves instead.
As you can see in the second example, The Scientist was attempting a sabotage when there were no other
spacers around. NPCs cannot attempt a counter against a successful sabotage even if they are present, and if
another spacer is not in the scene in some way then they cannot counter the sabotage either, even if the
results affect them.
P a g e | 67
SURVEY THE SCENE
When things seem dangerous or uncertain, you can try to survey the scene. Be sure to let the Speaker
know how you’re surveying things, as how you do it will affect what you can learn.
To Survey the Scene, roll +head:
• On a 10+, you can ask the Speaker two questions from the following list:
▪ What happened here?
▪ What can hurt me?
▪ What can help me?
▪ How can I get out of here?
▪ Who’s in charge here?
▪ Who knows something?
▪ Who’s in the most danger?
▪ Would I know anything that’s related to this?
▪ Is there something important that I’m missing?
• On a 7-9, you can ask the Speaker one question.
• On a miss, you lose a tactical advantage or reveal a weakness to the enemy.
On any success, you also gain a +1 ongoing for any moves that utilize the information you learn from your
survey for as long as it remains relevant. The Speaker is going to answer your questions as honestly as they
can in regard to how you chose to survey the scene. Some things might show up with one technique or
perspective that wouldn’t be apparent with another.
P a g e | 68
USE OR REPAIR AN ADVANCED ITEM
Some items can be used by everyone, but some things need a special understanding to be used. Your
Speaker will decide what constitutes an advanced item. Advanced items include basic vehicles, some
advanced machinery, sophisticated hardware, alien technology, and the like.
To Use or Repair an Advanced Item, roll +tech:
• On a 10+, you can use/repair the item without problem

• On a 7-9, you can use/repair it but there’s several issues (pick 2 issues)
• On a miss, something goes terribly wrong and it’s gonna be bad
ISSUES:
On a mixed success, pick two issues from the list below. The Speaker will decide how those issues play out
for you in the game.
Pick two:
• You break it after using it

• Something happens that causes you 1-harm
• It doesn’t work for as long as you need it
• It’s going to need something that will cost you
• There’s an ongoing negative side effect
• It will take a long time to work with or fix
P a g e | 69
ADVANCED MOVES
After you’ve leveled up at least five times, you can choose to advance some basic moves. To advance a basic
move means to give it an extra possibility for the results when you roll a 12 or better. Below is the list of
advanced improvements for each basic move.
ACT UNDER FIRE
On a 12+, nothing fazes you. You can choose to do what you want completely perfectly, do it with such
suave that it becomes legend, or things work out even better than you had imagined they would.
ASSIST
On a 12+, make a choice: either their roll is treated like a natural 12 regardless of their actual results, or they
can reroll their lowest and you can add +1 to your Cx with that spacer (max +3).
FIRST AID
On a 12+, you’ve got the healing touch. The patient stabilizes and heals 3 harm.
GET A FEELING
On a 12+, you can either ask any question you want (not just the ones listed) about the person you’re trying
to read, or you can ask 3 questions from the list for the target and one for another person in the room.
P a g e | 70
INFLICT HARM
On a 12+, pick one of these advanced effects:
• Cathartic: you suffer no stress and actually lose -1 stress in the process
• Control: you can forcibly restrain them without suffering harm
• Devastating: inflict double your weapon’s damage, ignore armor
• Fear: your enemies run from you in terror
• Inspire: you and all nearby allies take a +1 forward to their next Inflict Harm roll in the fight
INFLUENCE SOMEONE
When you SUCCEED with a 12+ against an NPC: You completely convince them to do what you are
asking, no reservations. You also gain them as a new permanent ally (see “Allies” p. 136).
When you ATTEMPT a roll against another SPACER: add both your +group AND your +Cx ratings to your
roll against them. If one of those is a 0 or under, treat it as a +1.
KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN
On a 12+, pick one advanced effect:
• Misdirection: cause the enemy to leave the area with a remote distraction
• Set Traps: set a trap in the path of an enemy and then hide safely
• Stealth Op: you can bring one other spacer with you safely
• Thief: take something off of a hostile humanoid enemy without their notice
P a g e | 71
PROTECT SOMEONE
On a 12+, you take no harm and can pick an advanced effect:
o Retribution: you inflict terrible harm back (3-harm)

o Redirect: you can turn their attack against another nearby enemy
o Draw Aggro: they will only attack you from now on
SABOTAGE
On a 12+ against another spacer, they can only counter your sabotage with a matching 12+.
SURVEY THE SCENE
On a 12+, you can ask three general questions and ask the Speaker for one secret related to your survey that
wouldn’t be revealed with normal questions.
USE/REPAIR AN ADVANCED ITEM
On a 12+, you can successfully use or repair the same type of item in the future without making a roll for it
for the rest of the current crisis.
P a g e | 72
EXPERIENCE AND IMPROVEMENTS

Failure helps us learn. Literally. In your playbook are five tick boxes listed under “Experience”. When you roll
a six or less on any move, you gain experience. You can also gain experience from moves that grant it when
achieved successfully, and at the end of a Crisis (see “Reflection and Crisis Experience” p. 147).
When you fail a roll, mark experience. After five failures, you level up! Leveling up can help you improve in
the future through stat boosts and new moves. Leveling up five times also unlocks advanced improvements,
which are even stronger abilities. Check your spacer’s playbook to see what kind of improvements are
available to your character.
Note: If you’re playing a one-shot with friends or at a convention, the Speaker might have modified the
experience ceiling. In that case, you’ll level up after two failed rolls instead of five.
LEVELING UP
If you level up in the middle of the game, you can choose to take an improvement right then or save it for a
time that feels more narratively appropriate. After you’ve chosen your improvement, the experience bar
resets to zero and you start over again.
There are two types of improvements: basic improvements and advanced improvements. Basic
improvements are available from the beginning, while advanced improvements can only be unlocked after
you’ve marked off at least five basic improvements first. Once you mark off any kind of improvement, you
cannot use that one again. You can only take an improvement that you haven’t taken before.
P a g e | 73
IMPROVEMENTS EXPLAINED
ADD +1 [STAT], MAX +X

Take another point in the named stat, up to the max listed for that playbook.
TAKE ANOTHER [CURRENT PLAYBOOK] MOVE

Pick another move from your current playbook, including variants.
TAKE ONE (OR ANOTHER) [VARIANT SPECIAL]

Pick a variant special from one of your current playbook’s variants.
Variant specials are the text block located to the right of the variant moves list.
They allow you to do something that only that particular variant can do.
TAKE A MOVE FROM ANOTHER PLAYBOOK

Pick a move from another playbook that is not currently in use.
ADD +1 TO ANY STAT, MAX +X

Take another point in a stat of your choosing, up to the listed max.
ADVANCE 3 BASIC MOVES, YOUR CHOICE

Choose three basic moves to make into advanced basic moves.
ADVANCE 3 MORE BASIC MOVES, YOUR CHOICE

Choose another three basic moves to advance.
P a g e | 74
CREATE A NEW CHARACTER TO PLAY

Create another spacer using a different playbook. You can play them simultaneously with your current
character, or in another plotline, etc. Discuss it with your Speaker.
RETIRE THIS CHARACTER TO SAFETY

Retire your current main spacer. They are safe from all future Crises and cannot be harmed or killed by the
Speaker. With your approval, the Speaker might use them as an ally NPC.
CHANGE THIS CHARACTER’S ARCHETYPE

Change your spacer’s playbook to one that is not being used. You lose all your current moves, but retain your
gear, experience, Connections, and Intuition. You start with the new playbook with half of your current
improvements, rounding down. Choose your new moves, new improvements, and narrate how and why your
spacer has changed.
P a g e | 75
PLAYBOOK MOVES
Playbook moves are moves that are unique to your spacer’s playbook.
Only ONE spacer may have a unique move at a time (with an exception)! This means that if you want to
take a move from another playbook during an advanced improvement, that move cannot currently be on any
other spacer’s move list and cannot come from a playbook that is currently in use. For example, if you want
to take the move “I Trust You” from The Civilian playbook, but another spacer already has it or is playing The
Civilian, then that move is unavailable. This restriction includes variants within a playbook. However, events
like changing a playbook or a PC death can free up previously held moves.
The exception mentioned earlier concerns secondary player characters (see “Secondary Player Characters”
p. 76).
Changing Playbooks
One of the advanced improvement choices for spacers includes changing your character’s Archetype. When
this happens, a player can pick a playbook that is currently not being used by any other player. Changing the
playbook means that you will lose all previously-held unique moves and relinquish them to the unused
playbook pool. Improvements and advanced improvements do not carry over to the new playbook. You will
need to choose new moves and improvements as outlined in on page 74.
P a g e | 76
Secondary Player Characters
Another advanced improvement involves creating a secondary spacer. How this fits into the game is up to the
Speaker and the players? One suggestion is to create a “B-team” of characters that follow their own stories
and plots with minimal relation or contact with the primary PCs. Another possibility is to use them as an
advanced kind of ally. However your group makes it work, secondary characters should take a back seat to
primary ones if they are included in the “main” game. Try to avoid situations in which your two characters are
talking to each other, since this doesn’t make for great collaborative storytelling with the other players.
Secondary characters are also the only exception to the unique moves rule mentioned above; a secondary
character can share playbooks and unique moves with other spacers. However, in line with keeping the
secondary characters secondary, then if they are using a playbook that another spacer is already using, the
primary spacer gets priority in a scene. For example, if a player is playing The Leader and you create a
secondary character using The Diplomat variant, then the player who was using The Leader archetype first
will have priority in that scene for any unique moves related to The Leader playbook.
P a g e | 77
OTHER PLAYBOOK ELEMENTS

INTUITION
Sometimes things just need to work, regardless of what the dice might say. Sometimes you have to lean on
your Intuition to tell you how to make it out of a situation successfully. When you roll poorly, you have the
option to use your Intuition to retroactively make it a success. Each spacer gets a set amount of Intuition,
based on the type of game that they’re playing. For a campaign, spacers get the full 7 Intuition indicated on
the character sheet. For a one-shot, Intuition is capped at 1 slot for the whole game.
Using Intuition has a steep cost. Once you’re out of Intuition, your spacer is “done for” and living on
borrowed time. At that point, two things happen: one, you permanently mark off three stress boxes,
which can never be recovered. Two, the Speaker will treat every failed roll harshly, and will use hard moves
against your spacer. Also, you can’t escape your fate. Your spacer carries their Intuition over, even when they
change playbooks.
P a g e | 78
STRESS
It’s important to note that stress is not a sanity meter. We are not using the games mechanics to mimic the
very real, very devastating effects of mental illness, because it’s neither accurate nor helpful to reduce mental
health difficulties down to a calculable metric. While stress is also a complicated issue, it’s something we all
have to deal with on some level, and it can be emotionally and physically taxing. The physical effect of stress
is what we’re concerned with in Starhold. Spacer’s lives are stressful and can be exhausting, and the stress
mechanic is there to reflect that aspect of the game.
When a spacer is exhausted, their next three rolls are all bumped down by a tier. This means that all
successes become mixed successes, and all mixed successes become failures. After three rolls, the spacer
goes back down to 4 stress.
STRESS AND THE +HEART SHIELD
Your +heart shield acts as a temporary shield against stress, and it refreshes after you Take a Moment or
between Crisis events. Your shield can absorb stress equal to the amount of your +heart stat. If your stat is a
negative, then your +heart shield is a zero (0). Think of your +heart shield as an emotional buffer between
your spacer and the terrible events around them. The stronger it is, the better they can deal with stress
before it really starts to get to them.
Example: if your +heart stat is +2, then your +heart shield absorbs two stress before breaking, and then
you start to take the stress yourself. Once your shield breaks, it’s gone until you Take a Moment. If your
+heart stat is -1, then you have no shield to absorb any stress, and you just take it as it comes at you.
P a g e | 79
HARM AND SCARS
Harm is more than just stubbing your toe or punching someone. Harm is a broken bone, a pulled muscle, a
puncture wound. Harm is serious, and if you take too much of it, you’re in trouble.
At five harm your spacer becomes unstable and takes a scar, and they will continue to gain harm at
intervals determined by the Speaker until they’re treated. Think of it like this: if you’re running around with a
stab wound, it’s only going to keep getting worse until you see a doctor.
Your spacer gains a scar every time they become unstable. Scars can be mental, emotional, or physical based
on the manner in which they were gained. When you gain a scar you permanently reduce one stat by -1
for the duration of a Crisis. You can choose which stat to reduce based on the situation that you gain the
scar in and what feels narratively appropriate. Scar effects are healed between Crisis events, so you regain
your normal stats at the beginning of a new Crisis.
Example of a spacer taking a Scar and the effects on gameplay: During a fight with a rogue android, the
Stowaway was shot in the arm and became unstable. While she was later stabilized, the muscle in her arm
was damaged from the wound. The Stowaway gains a scar on her arm, and her +hand stat is brought down
from a +2 to a +1 because her arm has lost some mobility. After the Crisis is over, the Stowaway takes some
time to regain her usual mobility, and her +hand stat returns to normal by the next Crisis.
P a g e | 80
TAKE A MOMENT
Even in the middle of a crisis, it’s important for people to take a moment and decompress when necessary.
Take a Moment is when your spacer takes a breather and attempts to destress. It’s also the moment that
you, as a player, can make some space in the gameplay to engage with other aspects of the narrative or
characters that might not be immediately important during more tense or hectic scenes.
When you Take a Moment on your own, your spacer reduces their stress by -1.
You can increase the amount of stress that taking a moment reduces by including other spacers in on the
scene, if they agree to join you. All spacers included in a scene reduce their stress by the same amount.
Spacers reduce their stress by an additional -1 for each other spacer included in a scene (max -4
total).
Take a Moment is a great excuse to have a conversation that you’d been meaning to have with another
player character, take a moment to unpack and decompress after an intense scene, or just to goof around
with the other players for a while.
I really encourage you to use Take a Moment as a way to check in emotionally with your spacer and the other
player characters. It doesn’t need to be a long, intense roleplay session where you talk about feelings
(although it can be, if everyone at the table consents). Take a Moment can just be as simple as two people
sitting down to drink a cup of tea quietly in the mess hall, just happy to still be alive together.
P a g e | 81
COMBAT, GEAR, AND GEAR POINTS

COMBAT
Unlike crunchier systems, combat in Starhold is narrative based, sometimes with an emphasis on cinematics
(describing what you want to happen and how you hope it looks). This means that there aren’t a lot of rules
for combat encounters. However, there are still some basic guidelines, as you can see below:
• TURN ORDER- generally, turn order is based on who takes the first move. If the situation allows the
players to initiate combat or ambush their enemies, then they can decide who will act first among
themselves. Turn order is flexible and can change dynamically with the combat.
o Combat with larger groups: for larger groups (4+), rolling initiative for PCs might be helpful just
to keep track of what’s happening. It’s easier for players to get lost in the shuffle when the
Speaker is trying to do too many things at once. Initiative can help fix that.
o NPCs and Enemies: Speakers are not subject to any turn order and can take moves against
spacers when and where they see fit, based on the narrative and the player’s rolls.
• HARM- the harm that you inflict and that is inflicted upon you is based on the type of weapons being
used and the type of armor available to your spacer. See “Gear” and “Weapons” below.
• NON-FIGHTERS- not every character is the fighting type, and that’s ok! There are other moves and
actions that you can take beside trying to inflict harm in combat situations. Embrace your strengths!
P a g e | 82
Improvised Weapons
Sometimes your spacer will end up in a situation where the only weapon they have is whatever is close at
hand. Improvised weapons include unarmed fighting, since no respectable spacer would willingly end up in a
situation where they only have their bare fists to fight with. Usually.
When you need an improvised weapon, use the following list to determine the kind of damage it might do.
• Punching and kicking: 0-harm

• Light-weight, blunt, or otherwise pretty ineffective items: 0-harm
• Hefty, sharp, or otherwise somewhat dangerous: 1-harm
• Large, heavy, or otherwise definitely dangerous: 2-harm
• Massive, unwieldy, or otherwise definitely deadly: 3-harm
A note on 0-harm: some might ask why we include attack or weapon options that do no damage. The answer
is simple— if you roll a 10+ on Inflict Harm, you have the option of doing +1 harm in extra damage. So
there’s always the potential that that punch you’re throwing will get that extra oomph it needs to really hurt.
P a g e | 83
EVA Suits, Vehicles, and Dogfights

Living and travelling in space requires a lot of specialized hardware. Vehicles and EVA suits are community
items that can be used to get around in hostile environments. They don’t take up a slot in your personal gear.
The availability or use of vehicles and EVA suits can be affected by scarcity.
When in use, each item has a shield level that acts as an item’s health bar.
During combat or in a dangerous situation, vehicles and EVA suits will take damage first before spacers do.
They can take damage equal to their shields, after which the item is damaged or destroyed. Once the item is
damaged beyond use, the spacer will start to take damage instead. The protection offered by an EVA suit
stacks with the shields of a vehicle.
The order of damage when wearing an EVA suit in a vehicle is: vehicle > EVA suit > spacer.
Some vehicles can be operated by all spacers without a roll, while others can only be operated by a Pilot or
will require a Use Advanced Item roll to see if the spacer can use the item successfully.
Dogfights are fights between fighter ships. You win a dogfight by surviving. There are no rules except to
either destroy your enemy or escape from them. In general, a dogfight is the same as any other combat,
except that some playbooks have special moves that only activate during dogfights.
P a g e | 84
STATS AND WEAPONS FOR VEHICLES AND EVA SUITS
Ship-to-ship (STS) Transport Ground Transport

• 2-shields • 2-shields
• Requires a Pilot or Use an Advance Item roll • Requires a Pilot or Use an Advance Item roll
• Requires fuel • Requires fuel
• Transports up to 6 people • Transports up to 6 people
Fighter Ship Ground Escort

• Requires a Pilot • Requires a Pilot or Use an Advanced Item roll
• Can only be used in space • Requires fuel
• Requires fuel • Weapons:
• Weapons: o Forward canon [3-harm far mounted]
o Forward guns [3-harm far mounted] o 360 Turret [2-harm versatile quick]
o Rear guns [2-harm midrange mounted]
Scout Ship Rover

• Requires a Use an Advanced Item roll • Can be used by anyone, no roll
• Requires fuel • Requires fuel
• Weapons: • Weapons:
o Minigun [1-harm quick mounted] o Front canon [2-harm close forceful]
P a g e | 85
EVA Suits
• 1-shield
• Can be used by anyone, no roll required
• Requires oxygen
P a g e | 86
GEAR
Your gear should be carefully chosen based on what you can use and what you need it to do. It should be
noted that there is a difference between “gear” and general items. If you can go down to your local space
market and buy it without a license, then it’s probably just an item, and should generally be simple to acquire
unless a scarcity or other narrative issue comes into play. Examples of general items include bandaids,
blankets, dishware, and socks. Gear, on the other hand, is usually specialized tech, weapons, or armor—
things that you’re not going to find easily and that you’ll need to use Gear Points to obtain.
All spacers are allowed two weapons and one piece of armor at the beginning of the game.
The type you can use is based on their +hand ability modifier. You can take any gear that is at your +hand
level or lower. Choose or create your weapons and armor and write them in your playbook.
The modifier types are as follows:
• +3 – GIANT
• +2 – HEAVY
• +1 – MEDIUM
• +0 – LIGHT
Treat any negatives to your +hand ability as a +0 for gear weight.
P a g e | 87
Getting New Gear with Gear Points (GP)
Gear in space is a closely guarded resource, and getting new stuff is going to cost you. Gear Points are
currency accrued at the end of each Crisis that allow you to purchase new gear (see “Reflection and Crisis
Experience” p. 147). Each item type is worth a certain amount of Gear Points, which can be spent between
Crises to buy new weapons and armor. See “Gear Price List” (p. 93) for more on the price of gear.
Gear Tags
“Stats” on weapons and armor is determined by gear tags. A gear tag will tell how it can be used, what it
does, any downsides, and what secondary effects it creates. Tags are enclosed [like this]. For example, a
Shotgun might have the tags [2-harm, two-handed, close, messy]. This would mean that it does two points
of harm, requires two hands to operate, is only effective at a close distance, and makes a mess when used.
Custom Gear
It would be impossible to include every kind of weapon, armor, or other gear that a player can imagine in this
book. But that’s ok, because it’s easy to make your own custom gear. Collaborate with your Speaker about
what you need, how many Gear Points it will cost, and what restrictions might be placed on it. Use the tag list
below to add three tags to your new gear, or make your own tags as needed.
0-ARMOR AND 0-HARM WEAPONS
You’ll notice in the gear list that some armor and some weapons are listed with zero harm or zero armor. If
they don’t protect you or they don’t do harm, then what’s the point you might ask. Well, as noted earlier, in
the explanation for Inflict Harm, one of the 10+ bonuses include the ability to do 1-harm extra. So a 0-harm
P a g e | 88
weapon still has the potential to do harm. They might also include other tags like “poison”, which inflicts
1-harm at regular intervals as decided by the Speaker. So a 0-harm weapon is not useless.
Similarly, if gear lists 0-armor but includes a tag like “insulating”, “barrier”, or “resistant”, then that gear
offers 1-armor against that type of harm (and that type of harm only).
“ARMOR DEFEATING” VS “NON-ARMOR DEFEATING” DAMAGE
Armor defeating damage is damage that ignores your armor. You might have 2-armor but if you take 2-harm
armor defeating, then your armor doesn’t protect you from it. Below you’ll find a list of damage based on
whether it is armor defeating or not. Some tags will protect you from specific types of damage that may
otherwise be armor defeating, so pay attention to your tags!
Armor Defeating Damage Non-Armor Defeating Damage

Burning Biting
Chemical Blunt force (short fall, punching, kicking)
Electric Crushing
Falling/forceful (long fall, inhuman/extreme force) Projectile (non-piercing)
Freezing (exception: EVA suits) Slashing
Piercing Stabbing (non-piercing)
Poison
P a g e | 89
GEAR TAGS TABLE

• Advanced: an advanced tech item. Repairs are difficult.
• AoE: Area of Effect. Targets an area or radius and affects everything within that area.
• Awkward: difficult to hold and wield.
• Barrier: provides cover that protects against piercing damage.
• Burning: adds burn damage to target, restricting movement.
• Close: effective within a close range. Effectiveness drops off dramatically beyond that.
• Delicate: made of delicate components or materials. Handle with care.
• Disguised: is altered or designed to look like something mundane.
• Far: effective at a distance. Effectiveness drops off dramatically as distance closes.
• Fire: ignites flammable targets. Difficult to control.
• Forceful: may cause target to be moved in a specific direction.
• Gas: creates a cloud of gas or smoke that obscures the area.
• Hand: must be within arm’s length of target.
• Inflammable: cannot be set on fire.
• Implant: implanted in user’s body. Cannot be lost. Repairs require a specialist.
• Inorganic: only effective against inorganic targets.
• Insulating: protects against electric shocks.
• Intimate: need to be as close as possible to use, even arm’s length is too far.
• Loud: generates a very loud noise when used. Draws attention.
• Many: user has a lot of these.
• Messy: imprecise and destructive. Creates a mess of its target and anything nearby.
P a g e | 90
• Midrange: effective within a medium-sized range.

• Mounted: mounted or placed in a fixed location. Very difficult to move.
• MP: Multipurpose. Item has other uses besides as a weapon or armor.
• Old: the tech on this item is outdated and needs regular care and maintenance to work properly.
• Organic: only effective against organic targets.
• Piercing: ignores light armor and thin cover.
• Poison: adds poison effect to target, inflicting +1 harm at intervals until target is healed or dead.
• Quick: able to use this almost immediately, giving user a chance to attack first.
• Quiet: makes little to no noise when used.
• Rare: a rare item that is difficult to replace.
• Refuel: uses energy/fuel and may need refueling after use.
• Reload/Recharge: requires ammunition or energy, and may need reloading/recharging after use.
• Resistant: protects from most chemical attacks, like acid sprays.
• Remote: can be activated, used, piloted, or controlled from a remote distance.
• Restraining: holds or ensnares the target.
• Slow: requires significant preparation to use for each attack.
• Stun: stuns target for a limited time.
• Touch: requires user to maintain physical contact with target during use.
• Two-Handed: requires using both hands to wield.
• Versatile: can be wielded at both close and far distances.
• Volatile: the item or its components are dangerous or unstable. Handle with care.
• X-Armor: indicates the amount of harm that the armor protects the user from, where X is a number.
• X-Harm: indicates the amount of harm that a weapon does, where X is a number.
P a g e | 91
WEAPONS
LIGHT [+0-hand] MEDIUM [+1-hand]

• Baton [1-harm hand quick] • Blast Rifle [2-harm versatile recharge]
• Blowtorch [1-harm hand fire] • Crowbar [2-harm close MP]
• Bow Gun [1-harm far quiet] • Disruptor Rifle [2-harm inorganic midrange]
• Bowie Knife [1-harm hand messy] • Electric Whip [1-harm midrange stun]
• Brass Knuckles [1-harm hand stun] • Gauss Rifle [2-harm close reload]
• Cyberglove [0-harm inorganic stun touch] • Plasma Rifle [2-harm midrange recharge]
• Dagger [1-harm hand piercing] • Tactical Flashlight [1-harm hand MP]
• EMP Grenades [1-harm inorganic messy] • Magnum [2-harm loud reload]
• Folding Knife [1-harm intimate quick]
• Gamma Gun [1-harm organic burning] HEAVY [+2-hand]
• Garrote [1-harm intimate quick] • Blast Cannon [3-harm midrange recharge]
• Mini Sentry Turret [1-harm mounted remote] • EMP Cannon [2-harm inorganic AoE]
• Needle Gun [0-harm versatile poison] • Flamethrower [2-harm fire volatile AoE]
• Plasma Pistol [1-harm versatile quick] • Sniper Rifle [3-harm far piercing]
• Smoke Bombs [0-harm gas many] • Portable Turret [2-harm mounted remote]
• Stun Gun [0-harm midrange stun]
• Thermal Knife [1-harm hand burning] GIANT [+3-hand]
• Tangle Gun [0-harm versatile restraining] • Rocket Launcher [4-harm two-handed AoE far]
• Gravity Grenade Launcher [2-harm rare
restraining slow]
P a g e | 92
ARMOR
LIGHT [+0-hand] HEAVY [+2-hand]

• Boots [0-armor insulated] • Arc Flash Suit [2-armor insulated]
• Coveralls [1-armor MP] • Full-Face Helmet [2-armor barrier]
• Half-Helmet [1-armor] • Metatarsal Boots [2-armor resistant]
• Jacket [1-armor MP] • Reinforced Gloves [2-armor inflammable]
• Metal Mesh Bodysuit [1-armor] • Tactical Vest [2-armor barrier]
• Needle Gloves [0-armor barrier]
• Respirator [0-armor resistant] GIANT [+3-hand]
• Rubber Gloves [0-armor insulating] • Hardlight Shield Generator [2-armor advanced
AoE hand]
MEDIUM [+1-hand] • Mechsuit [4-armor advanced recharge slow]
• Power Gauntlets [2-armor 2-harm forceful]
• Ceramic Arm Guards [1-armor barrier] • Graphene Bodysuit [3-armor barrier]
• Ceramic Leg Guards [1-armor barrier]
• Flight Jumpsuit [1-armor inflammable]
• Heavy-Duty Leather Boots [1-armor insulated]
• Open Face Helmet [1-armor barrier]
• Rubber Bodysuit [1-armor insulated]
• Thick Gloves [1-armor MP]
P a g e | 93
Gear Points Price List

PLEASE NOTE: you can only buy gear that matches your current +hand limitations. Standard gear has
some overlap in harm inflicted/blocked, but when making custom gear the limits are as follows:
Light: 1-harm inflicted/blocked

Medium: 2-harm inflicted/blocked
Heavy: 3-harm inflicted/blocked
Giant: 4-harm inflicted/blocked
Standard Weapons – 2GP: Standard weapons are weapons listed on the weapons table. You can also
customize a new standard weapon or modify one of your current standard weapons using Gear Points.
Customizing Equipment - 2GP: Costs +2GP for each additional point of harm added to a weapon, to swap
out a tag, to remove a hindrance tag, or to add an additional beneficial tag to the weapon. You can use these
guidelines when designing custom gear with your Speaker as well.
Tactical Gear – 4GP: Tactical gear are specialty items that are difficult or impossible for normal civilians to
come by. This includes items like gas masks, night-vision goggles, etc.
Armor – 6GP: Armor is any outerwear that can offer protection to the user. Armor cannot be stacked for
increased effect. You can customize and reinforce standard armor in the same manner as standard weapons.
It costs an additional 4GP to add a beneficial tag to armor. Negative tags are free.
P a g e | 94
P a g e | 95
THE SPEAKER
THE SPEAKER’S AGENDA
You are the Speaker, the Lorax for the universe. Players speak for their spacers, and you speak for everything
else. It’s the player’s job to dictate the wants, desires, and actions of their characters. The Speaker’s job is to
narrate how the universe reacts to those actions and the player’s rolls.
The Speaker’s agenda is simple:
MAKE IT REAL.
MAKE IT INTERESTING.
BUT DON’T MAKE IT.
Note that the title is “Speaker”, not “God”. You’re not here to dictate. This is very important. While some
basic prep is involved in creating the Crisis hook, the point of Starhold is for all players (yes, even the
Speaker) to build the universe together and discover the story as you go. The game is a collaborative creation
between you and your players, and when you try to control the narrative for your own purposes then you
lose an essential element of what collaborative play is about.
So. Don’t make it! But do make it real and interesting. Help your players become invested in the world and
make their character’s lives exciting! Make the universe feel solid and alive, like it exists beyond the small
scope of the spacer’s ship or colony, relentlessly moving forward and bringing dangerous, exciting encounters
with each new day. If you don’t know how to do this, don’t worry. This chapter includes all the tools you need
to help follow the Speaker’s agenda and bring the game’s universe to life.
P a g e | 96
THE SPEAKER’S PRINCIPLES

If the agenda tells you what to do, then the Speaker’s principles are the framework that shows you how to do
it. When playing, always keep the principles in mind and at hand to help guide you in the moment.
The principles are:
• Speak to the spacers, not the players.

• Be a fan of the characters.
• Immerse yourself in the universe.
• Name everyone and make them real.
• Bring terror and awe to the mundane.
• Nothing is safe and no one is immune.
• Think off-screen.
• Keep track of the game’s story and lore.
• The moves always work.
• Ask interesting questions and build on the answers.
• Give your player’s what they earn, but not always what they want.
• Use your moves, but don’t use their names.
• It’s doesn’t have to be your decision.
P a g e | 97
Speak to the Spacers, Not the Players
Speaking to the characters directly instead of their players helps keep everyone immersed in the narrative at
hand. So for example, instead of saying “Sandy, what does Nigel do about the hull breach?”, the better option
is to address Nigel directly and ask “Nigel, what do you do about the hull breach?” Don’t talk about dice rolls
or moves when you’re describing actions or consequences. Speak like you’re narrating events as you see
them in front of you and talk to the spacer like they’re there with you in person.
Be a Fan of the Characters
While being the Speaker means sometimes playing the spacer’s enemies, it doesn’t mean that you’re their
adversary. The characters are the stars of this story, and like all good stories you should be invested in their
lives— in the ups and downs, the successes, the failures, the little moments, and the grand ones too. Find
ways to help them shine as character’s, give them opportunities to use their moves and show off their skills,
and communicate with your players to help build towards the kind of story that they want to tell with their
character.
Immerse Yourself in the Universe
The only way to make the world seem real is to live in it. Think about it from the inside, imagine what it
means to live in it every day. What does it look like? What does it sound like, smell like, feel like? Don’t worry
if it’s realistic by our current standards. If the world your building together has ships with gravity generators
and faster than light speed travel, then think like someone who lives in a universe where that’s not only
possible, but mundane. Use your imagination to really see it, and then use that understanding to help make it
real for your players.
P a g e | 98
Name Everyone and Make Them Real
Everyone is the hero of their own story, and this is true for NPCs as well. When your spacers meet someone
for the first time, give them a name. Take a moment to imagine what they look like, what they speak like,
what their motivations might be. There are no nameless shopkeeps or faceless quest givers in Starhold.
Remember that everyone has their own reasons for going to space. Use this to help make them real.
Bring Terror and Awe to the Mundane
Here’s a secret than not everyone knows: even the most dangerous and terrifying situations can grow routine
when you live in them long enough. It’s your job to bring the terror and awe of the universe into the
character’s lives, to break the illusion of safety, and to make the mundane awe-inspiring. Think of interesting
elements to bring into the world, conflicts and dilemmas that the character’s might face, and questions about
the world that you want your players to explore. Remember that you’re not plotting or planning anything. But
keep in mind the universe outside of your spacer’s small stronghold as you all play together and imagine
interesting ways that it might intrude on their lives in accordance with the narrative.
Nothing is Safe and No One is Immune
Hold nothing sacred. Let nothing be above destruction. Save no one. This means that you shouldn’t keep any
object, place, or NPC out of harm’s way just because you like them, because you made them, or because the
characters rely on them. Remember that everything under control of the Speaker is fodder for the story and
can be subject to the consequences of a roll. Blow up the resupply ship that the spacer’s have been waiting
for so desperately. Allow the Muscle to kill the Broodmother that’s been terrorizing the colony. Let the NPC
doctor get blown out of the airlock during a meteor barrage, never to be seen again. Always play within the
P a g e | 99
rules and according to the tone, setting, and safety measures agreed upon by the players, and don’t be a jerk
just to be a jerk. But don’t protect anything just to protect it either.
Think Off-Screen
The universe is vast and endlessly moving. The PC’s stories are only a fraction of what’s happening in the
world, and the story should reflect that. Think about what’s happening off-screen while the characters are
going about their business. What things will be affected by their actions (or inaction), and how? What events
are in motion elsewhere that might touch upon their lives soon? Have NPCs heard about the spacers, and if
so is the information reliable? Truthful? How would they react to meeting them? What about things like
storms, cosmic events, aliens, or the unexplained that might be heading their way? Try to think about these
things while playing, in order to help build a narrative with your players that feels natural and organic within
the universe that your group is creating.
Keep Track of the Game’s Story and Lore
Whether you’re playing a one shot or a campaign, it’s important to keep track of the story that your group is
building and the universe lore that you’re creating. Cohesive, consistent lore and a good understanding of the
story as it progresses will help you make the world and its inhabitants seem real. That doesn’t mean that you
need to develop a detailed calendar system, explain every bit of magic-like technology, or have in-depth
backstory written for each NPC. But even just simple notes will help you keep everything straight as you play,
and that goes a long way to keeping your players immersed in the world that you’re building together.
P a g e | 100
The Moves Always Work
If your player succeeds on a roll, then they succeed. Don’t try to be technical, or slippery, or clever. Don’t
cheat them out of their success, for any reason, because usually that reason is just your own ego or a desire
to control the outcome. Don’t do it. If you’re not sure how to make a move work, then find a way or ask your
player how they think it should work. Example: the Stowaway rolled an 11 on Rat’s Nest, meaning that they
have a small item that they need on hand (a wrench, in this case). They’re currently wearing an EVA suit
while spacewalking across the busted hull of the crew’s ship. It doesn’t matter if EVA suits don’t have
pockets, or if they aren’t carrying a backpack. Find a way to make it work. Maybe the wrench just happens to
float by. Maybe the Stowaway suggests that they forgot the suit has a small toolkit tucked into a pouch on
the leg, and only just remembered. Point is, the move works and it’s your job to make it happen.
Ask Interesting Questions and Build on the Answers
Always keep in mind that this is collaborative play. You are building the world together and playing to find
out. This means you should be asking questions frequently and using the answers that your players give you
to further flesh out the world and the events, places, and people in it. Ask about big things and little things.
Ask the spacers how they decorate their ship cabins, what the navigation deck looks like, and what they see
when they look out the starport at night. Ask them how they’re doing their actions, what it looks like, what
things they’re using or elements that they’re examining. Most importantly, ask them what they do after you
take a move. Give them a chance to help shape the world, and once they do, take what they’ve made and
run with it. Add on to their descriptions, expound on their actions, call back on what they’ve built later on
down the line, and use their answers to help make your own moves or to generate new questions.
100 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 101
Give Your Player’s What They Earn, But Not Always What They Want
The moves work, but that doesn’t mean that the characters automatically get everything that they want.
You’re a player too, and this is how you throw your own wrench into the works, how you contribute to the
story as its being built, even when the characters succeed. Maybe the Stowaway from the last example found
the wrench that she needed, but the door she’s trying to open will only budge halfway. She might be able to
squeeze through, but the Muscle definitely can’t, and he’ll be running out of oxygen soon unless she finds
another way into the ship for him to use quickly. Use your imagination and knowledge of the lore and story to
add your own touch to it, and to make things interesting. It’s okay, though, to give characters exactly what
they want or more every now and then. Just keep them on their toes and guessing as to when.
Use Your Moves, But Don’t Use Their Names
When using your Speaker moves, remember that the first goal of the Speaker is to “make it real”. That
means that while you might be intentionally using one of your moves on the characters, you shouldn’t say so.
Instead, when using a move you should describe what’s happening narratively. Maybe you’re going to turn
their move back on them when they fail a roll, but don’t SAY that. To go back to our previous example,
maybe the Stowaway found a way into the ship but there’s a group of intruders between her and the airlock
where the Muscle is waiting, so she tries to use Act Like You Belong but rolls a three. Instead of saying “I’m
going to turn that move back on you,” say something like “you start to walk through them but one of the men
stops you, and –mistaking you for one of the pirate crew-- tells you there’s loot that still needs to be loaded
onto their ship. Then he pushes one of the boxes from the cargo bay into your arms and shoves you down
the corridor away towards their ship’s umbilical link, away from the airlock.”
101 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 102
It Doesn’t Have to Be Your Decision
Not everything is on your shoulders. Sometimes your players can, or should, decide the outcome of
something. Sometimes it’s based on what the NPC would do. Sometimes the decision is made for you by the
countdown clock. Sometimes the result of a move is what forces a decision. Whatever the manner, there will
be times when you want to or should put a decision in someone (or something) else’s hands.
So, taking from our example earlier: the Muscle has been left on the outside of the ship’s hull waiting for the
Stowaway to open an airlock and let him in, but it doesn’t look like she’s coming back. He can continue to try
and force the hull door open enough to let him in, but it’s going to trigger a lockdown procedure that will trap
a friendly NPC on the pirate ship, where she’ll likely be found and killed. This is a choice that you should put in
the player’s hands. Does the Muscle open the door and trigger the lockdown (dooming the NPC), or does he
try to find another entrance before his oxygen runs out? Whatever the decision, play it honestly and
remember the Speaker’s principle that nothing and no one is safe.
102 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 103
ALWAYS SAY
This game is a conversation. The players say what their characters do or think or feel, and you say the rest.
When it’s your turn to speak, you should always say:
• What the principles demand.

• What the rules demand.
• What the prepared Crisis, scarcity, countdown, and setting demand.
• What honesty demands.
The principles help guide you through the game. Keep them in mind when speaking and use them to build
your narration. When a move is used, be sure to follow what it says honestly and consistently and use it to
guide your actions after its use. Be true to the events and consequences of the Crisis. This includes any
resource scarcities, Crisis countdown events, and established reality of the setting as its been built by you and
the players. And finally, be honest and truthful with your players. Don’t use what they can’t possibly know
against them—instead, make things clear to them in the moment and don’t ever lie to them. If you know that
your player’s Technician would know that the computer panel that they’re trying to access is just powered
down and not broken, then tell them that. If you’re giving them an option, make their choices clear and
detailed so that they can make an informed decision. This doesn’t mean that you can’t keep any secrets, but
don’t keep them from the characters when they should know them or have earned the answer.
Remember, you’re their fan not their adversary. Play with integrity, follow what the game demands of you,
and be honest and consistent in how those demands and rules are met.
103 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 104
SPEAKER MOVES
Whenever there’s a break in the conversation, when the players seem stuck or unsure of what happens next,
or when they roll a mixed success or a failure, do one of these:
• Reveal an impending threat.

• Reveal an off-screen threat.
• Separate them.
• Make them make a move.
• Turn their move back on them.
• Inflict harm or stress, as established.
• Put someone in danger.
• Take away an advantage.
• Make them get stuff.
• Use their tags.
• Give them a difficult decision to make.
• Offer them options, with or without consequences.
• Tell them the possible consequences and ask questions.
• Use a Crisis or threat move.
• Ask them “what do you do?”
104 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 105
Reveal an Impending Threat
Bad things are coming. It might be in a couple days or it might be in a few seconds. This is the move you’ll
likely use most often, possibly in response to a successful Get a Feeling roll, or when someone fails an Act
Under Fire, or maybe just because it’s the right time. However the threat might appear, let your players know
that it’s coming, and give them a chance to react.
Violet, you lose grip on the wrench and it goes spiraling through the air and smashes into one of the escape
pods windows. The window was damaged during the explosion already, and now you can see the glass
starting to spiderweb where the wrench hit it. There’s a hiss as air starts to leak out into the void. You have
maybe two minutes before it shatters and the pod decompresses. What do you do?
Reveal an Off-Screen Threat
This is very similar to revealing an impending threat, except that it’s already happening, just somewhere else.
Tell the spacer’s that something’s happening and ask them what they’re going to do about it.
Elena rushes back into the cargo hold carrying Jack by the shoulder. Behind them you can see smoke pouring
into the hall, and the ship’s VI starts to sound the fire alarm. What do you do?
Separate Them
There are a lot of ways people can get separated during a crisis, especially in space. You can use this as an
opportunity to put the spacers in danger, but also as a way to give them a moment to shine, or just to make
things more interesting.
105 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 106
The three of you are climbing along the ridge, following the pod’s beacon, when suddenly the dirt starts to
crumble under Jack’s feet and he rolls down into the gully nearly 30 feet below. The gravity is low enough
that the fall doesn’t hurt, but the cliff is too sheer and delicate to climb back up from here.
Make Them Make a Move
When the players do something important, like talk to an NPC to gather information or attempt a difficult
task, it’s your opportunity to help move the narrative along by making them make a move for the results. If
they walk into a room and ask what’s in it, ask them to roll Get a Feeling. If they want to pull someone out of
harm’s way, make them Protect Someone. If they want to get into a safer spot away from immediate danger,
make them Act Under Fire. If no move feels appropriate, ask them to roll + the stat that you feel is most
fitting in that situation. The possibilities are endless.
Meredith is standing on the other side of the doorway, looking pissed. If you’re going to try and get
information out of her, Nigel, then you’ll need to roll Influence Someone first.
Turn Their Move Back on Them
When a spacer fails a roll, you can turn their attempted move back on them and use it against them. Maybe if
they were trying to Protect Someone, then now both of them are in severe danger. Or maybe if they were
trying to Influence Someone, that person felt they were being manipulated and becomes angry about it.
Whatever they were trying to do, turn it back on them and let the irony of the situation sink in.
Nigel, you try to convince Meredith to turn over the data that she found on the alien ship, but she scowls at
you and tells you that she’s tired of being patronized. She’s selling the data to your rivals instead.
106 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 107
Inflict Harm or Stress, As Established
Harm can be inflicted when a situation calls for it, or when the spacer is in danger and nothing is done to stop
it. It’s important that the harm inflicted fits with what’s previously been established in the scene. If the spacer
is hit by a speeding rover, then the damage they take should be consistent with what would happen when
being hit by a vehicle. If they’re hurt while fighting an enemy, then it should be consistent with the weapons
that the enemy is using. Keep it consistent in the narrative and within the game’s rules.
Remember that spacers always gain stress when they use Inflict Harm. They may or may not also take
harm as the situation and roll calls for it, but combat is always stressful.
The Broodmother takes a swipe at you, El, and catches you on your left arm with it’s razor-sharp claws,
tearing through your EVA suit to the flesh beneath. You take 2-harm, non-armor defeating.
Put Someone in Danger
Putting someone in danger means placing them in a situation that needs a spacer’s immediate attention. It
can be a spacer that’s in danger or an NPC, and the danger doesn’t always have to be a threat of physical
harm. Sometimes danger can be psychological, or social, or emotional. Sometimes the danger can be to an
objective or goal. Whatever it is, it’s immediate and the spacer’s reaction will be important.
Raven, you’re in the middle of shoving the package from Fairview Colony in the hidey hole under the loose
floor panel when the station manager walks in with the cargo inspector and a handful of rentacops. They
haven’t seen you yet, but you’re trapped and they’re turning everything over while looking for contraband.
What do you do?
107 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 108
Take Away an Advantage
Spacers have a lot of advantages—tech, vehicles, tools, weapons, and armor are some of the more obvious
ones. Take one of those away. Maybe the batteries die on their communicators. Maybe their toolbox gets
turned to slag by an enemy. You don’t have to take it away forever if you don’t want, but use this as an
opportunity to shake things up.
Violet, you reach for your gun and your hand finds empty air. You look down and realize that your holster
must have broken during the scuffle with the intruder and fallen off somewhere down the corridors when you
were running. It’s somewhere behind you, but the intruder is between you and it. What do you do?
Make Them Get Stuff
This one’s a little tricky. Travelling or living in space means being self-reliant and being prepared for the
future. If you don’t have something important with you, then you’re probably screwed. A key element of
Starhold is that the spacers are barely scraping by on the margins of space, one bad day from extinction. If
they could run down to the nearest Spacemart and pick up what they need, then that anxiety would be gone.
However, one thing you can do is require that a spacer get something that would likely exist on the ship or
colony but that they don’t have on them in the immediate moment and for which the retrieval will be tricky.
Use the moves you have to your advantage and make a mundane trip down the hall dangerous.
The three of you are at the hangar. Elena, you try to start the rover but the engine just sputters. After taking
a look under the hood, you realize that the fuel cannister is cracked and the spark plugs need to be changed.
You can’t find a new cannister or plugs in the hangar, but you know there’s some in your workshop. You’ll
have to go through the contaminated zone to get them.
108 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 109
Use Their Tags
Many moves and variant specials have negative tags attached to them, as does the spacer’s gear. Use these.
Nigel, you bring up the flamethrower to try and drive off the Broodmother, but a stray blast from one of the
crew behind you hits one of the fuel tanks on your back and it explodes. You’re knocked forward by the blast
and take 2-harm armor-defeating as the explosion burns through the jumpsuit on your back.
Give Them a Difficult Decision to Make
Maybe two threats are happening at the same time. Maybe the crew has to choose between two warring
factions. Maybe they only have enough room in their cargo for a crate of coffee OR a crate of chocolate. Life
is full of difficult decisions, and the life of a spacer is no exception. Make them make difficult and time-
sensitive choices that have consequences after they’ve been made.
Violet, you can hear Jack yelling for help down the hall, but you’re the only one who can open the hangar
doors for the rest of the crew before the bullethail hits. If you leave the crew will be trapped outside until the
storm passes in a few hours, if the rover lasts. But Jack sounds like he’s really hurt. What do you do?
Offer Them Options, With or Without Consequences
Let them know some of their options in a scenario. You can tell them the possible consequences, figure the
consequences out after they choose, or not attach any at all if it fits the situation.
You can see Meredith through the doorway. She’s humming to herself and genuinely looks happy for once.
Now might be a good time to go talk to her about dinner, but it might kill her mood. Do you?
109 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 110
Tell Them the Possible Consequences and Ask Questions
This is not the same as offering them options. When you offer options, you are volunteering information.
When you tell them the possible consequences, you are letting them know what might happen if they
continue with the action or path that they’re currently pursuing. This is a good move to use to help convey
the gravity of a situation with honesty, as required by the Speaker’s agenda.
You start to turn the hatch to the airlock and hear a slow but insistent hiss. The inner seal has cracked and
now only the outer door keeps the shuttle sealed. If you open this door, you’re going to lose a lot of the air in
the shuttle before you can close it again. Do you continue?
Use a Crisis or Threat Move
Every Crisis has its threats, and those threats have their own special moves that can be used against the
spacers. Take a look at the moves available to the threats in the current Crisis and see what might apply to
the situation. For more information on threat moves, see under “Threat Moves” (p. 119).
Ask Them “What Do You Do?”
This is your go-to question. You should be saying this so often you start asking it in your sleep. After every
Speaker move, ask the spacer’s what they do next. You can phrase it differently as needed, but the basic goal
behind the question should always be the same: to provoke a response and drive the narrative forward.
110 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 111
SAFETY AND CALIBRATION TOOLS

When we talk about safety in tabletop games, we are talking about making space for everyone at the table.
We are talking about being conscientious of the fact that everyone has different needs, experiences, histories,
and boundaries. It’s about setting up guidelines that ensure that everyone at the table have the best
experience possible and leave the game feeling good.
This is a game. As much as we emphasize “making it real”, it’s still a game. Because the setting and themes
of Starhold have the potential to include some dark or disturbing materials, it is extra important that everyone
at the table not only be on board with the content, but also be fully informed and familiar with the tools at
their disposal to help navigate and calibrate the game to be an engaging and fun experience for all.
Remember, the Speaker is also a player! These tools are there for you to use as needed too.
Safety tools are simple to use, and they can actually help enhance the experience of everyone involved by
ensuring that all participants are 100% on board with the experience and are communicating clearly with
each other and the Speaker. Even if you know everyone at the table it’s still good practice to use safety tools
because you never know if someone needs them but just hasn’t said anything about it.
Below you’ll find some really great tools to utilize in your game. You don’t have to use all of them at once.
Experiment and find out what work best for your group. This list is not comprehensive, so please look into
other methods as fits your group’s needs. The original creators or designers have been credited here, and
links to their sites included on the Credits page at the end of this handbook.
111 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 112
Session Zero
When possible, if you know ahead of time that you’re going to be playing a game, then it’s always a good
idea to plan a Session Zero. Session Zero is a time for the players to discuss their expectations, goals, and
boundaries for the game without the added pressure of playing at the same time. Discuss the tone and
setting of the game, and clearly communicate expectations for behavior and participation guidelines from all
parties. If you are unsure of what to discuss, there are a number of session zero checklists compiled by the
TTRPG community online that can help guide you. Make sure that you let your players know that they can
approach you privately to discuss any concerns or needs that they might feel uncomfortable expressing in
front of the other players. Remember that the Speaker is also a player and take your own needs into
consideration as well when discussing the content and materials that might come up during a game.
Content Warnings
Fact: there’s simply no way to prepare comprehensive content warnings for everything, especially when it’s a
game that’s created as its played. However, it’s still incredibly important to include content warnings for your
players when you know (or strongly guess) that difficult or disturbing material will likely be a part of the
narrative. Use session zero or a quick discussion before the game starts to weed out any off-limits content
that your players cannot or will not engage with. Once you’ve done that, give a content warning at the start
of the game for any remaining potentially disturbing or difficult material. Sometimes people think that they
might be able to handle something at the beginning of a game but can’t in the moment. Even with a content
warning, make sure to pay attention to the other tools in use during your game, and calibrate the materials
and content as you go based on what your players request.
112 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 113
Lines and Veils

by Ron Edwards
Lines refer to a hard limit, a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Lines are subjects that your players don’t want
included in the story at all. Players don’t do it, NPCs don’t do it, and it’s not a part of the universe that you’re
building. Veils are things that can be a part of the story but only if they’re not spotlighted, using methods like
a “fade to black” or “panning away”. They can be mentioned but not described in detail. For example, one
player might draw a line at torture, while another wants veils around sex. That would mean that torture
doesn’t feature in the game at all, while describing sex would be something like “the two of them head off to
their room looking happy, while we pan over to what John and Mike are doing with the maps over in
Navigation.”
Ratings and The Script Change Toolkit

by Brie Beau Sheldon
Ratings follow the same idea as movie ratings. The group agrees to the kind of rating that they’d like for the
game: Mature/18+, R (restricted), PG-13, PG, or G (general).Discuss amongst the group what those ratings
mean, and what kind of expectations they have for a game that follows the rating. Discuss content like
swearing, sex, and violence, and how they expect those materials to be handled.
The Script Change Toolkit gives you and the players tools to calibrate the game rating as you’re playing.
Sometimes people are unaware of their own boundaries until something crosses them, so the toolkit gives
you the ability to smoothly change the “script” midgame. Use index cards while playing to create “rewind”,
“fast forward”, “pause”, and “resume” cards. Rewind is used to back up and change the content of a scene.
113 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 114
When used, the player should indicate what material they find uncomfortable so that it can be revised before
moving forward. Fast Forward is used to skip over material, keeping it in the game but not describing it in
detail. When used, the player should communicate what material they find uncomfortable and the group will
fast forward until they reach a scene that everyone agrees is a good spot to resume on. Pause is used to take
a break during intense scenes. Sometimes players want to continue with the material but they need a
moment to gather their thoughts or calm down before moving forward. Or they might want to take a moment
to discuss things with the other players and might decide to rewind or fast forward through the scene.
Resume is used when the players are ready to continue playing as normal at an agreed upon scene.
Players can use these tools either by tapping the card in question, holding it up, or saying what card they
want to use out loud, such as “I want to fast forward through this fight until they’re not yelling anymore”.
Make sure that the cards are in a place that everyone can reach easily (or make more than one set for the
table). If you’re playing online, use text chat or create virtual cards that can be “placed” on the virtual game
board. You can find premade cards and a quick reference sheet on Sheldon’s website.
X-Card
by John Stavropoulos
The X-card is placed on the table in reach of all players. When players are uncomfortable or need the current
scene/materials to stop, they can tap or hold the X-card. The game will stop and the players/Speaker edit out
the material, no questions asked. Make sure to inform the players about it clearly before the game starts and
emphasize that there will be no questions asked about why the card is being used. Some players might be
uncomfortable using the card, however, so be sure to listen if they ask to speak about any issues afterwards.
114 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 115
The Door is Open

by Eirik Fatland
An open-door policy allows players to leave when they need to, knowing that they will be welcomed back with
no questions asked when/if they’re ready to rejoin the game. At the beginning of the game, and periodically
throughout, let everyone know that if they need to take a break and leave that they can. Let them know that
players should not pressure others to stay, even if it means that the game has to stop. Let them know that
the first priority in the group are the players and their well-being, not the game, and there’s no judgement for
needing to take a break or leave.
Breaks
If your game is going longer than two hours, it’s good practice to plan for regular breaks. These give the
group time to decompress between intense scenes, take a breath, grab water and food, use the restroom, or
anything else that they might need to do. Let people know ahead of time that they can call for a break if they
need one, and that breaks are also scheduled into the game time as well.
Debriefing
At the end of the game after the “end of session” sequence, or at any point in the days after, take a moment
to debrief as a group. Discuss the moments that people liked, the ones they found difficult, and discuss any
issues that might have come up during the game or upon reflection afterwards. Let players know that they
can discuss any concerns with you either publicly or privately and make plans together as a group for any
changes that need to be implemented in the next game.
115 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 116
116 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 117
CRISIS EVENTS
Crisis events are the driving force behind the action in a session of Starhold. A Crisis is what turns the
spacer’s lives from mundane to terrifying. It’s a deadly problem that needs to be solved to survive, and the
longer that it goes on the worse things get. As the Speaker, your job is to create the Crisis. This is the hook
that gets the game going, and the force that helps move it forward whether the spacer’s are ready or not.
Remember, you’re not plotting a dungeon, and this isn’t a novel. You’re playing to find out what happens, so
don’t set things on rails. The best way to plan a Crisis is to decide on what kind of threat is being posed to the
spacers, what the threat can do, and what would happen if the spacers failed to stop or thwart it at certain
points in the game. Also give some thought to how your Resource Scarcity is going to affect the Crisis. Once
you’ve figured those parts out, hands off! Let the players take over and see where things go.
There are two ways you can get started on creating a Crisis— you can use one of the pre-made Crisis Events
profiled in this handbook, or you can make your own.
If you’re making your own Crisis from scratch, you’ll need the following:
• A Crisis
• A hook
• Threats and threat moves
• Locations
• NPCs
• A Countdown
117 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 118
The Crisis
The Crisis is the overarching theme of, well, the Crisis. It’s the ultimate looming disaster that the spacers
must either prevent, avoid, or escape from. In many regards the Crisis is a mystery, but unlike traditional
mysteries, finding answers isn’t always the primary goal. Instead, spacers are trying to survive, and answers
can help achieve that.
All the threats in the game stem from the Crisis, either directly or indirectly. For example, an unknown alien
contagion might be the Crisis, and the spacers need to figure out how to survive, either through containment,
finding a cure, or escaping. The direct threat here is catching the contagion or confronting the hostile entities
that spread it. The indirect threat is the inability to access clean water (a scarcity) and the issues that stem
from that.
The kind of Crisis that you choose should be in line with the tone and general content that everyone at the
table has agreed upon. You can use one of our premade Crisis Events to get you started, tweak them to fit
your own game, or come up with your own.
The Hook
The hook is what you use to get the game started. It’s how you draw the spacers into danger. An example of
a hook might be telling the players at the beginning of the game that they’ve received an automatic distress
call from a colony ship nearby, but there’s no reason for a colony ship to be in this area. Try to think of a
hook that will draw your players in and reward their curiosity, even if the reward is danger for their spacer.
118 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 119
Threats and Threat Moves

Threats come in a variety of types. Common threats are monsters, human enemies, disease, strange
phenomena, and forces of nature. However, don’t let a list limit your imagination. Threats can come from
anywhere. To create a threat, you need to decide on two things: its motivation/driving force, and its moves.
Living enemies need motivation. Ask yourself what motivates a threat to be a threat, so that when you’re
playing it you can act accordingly. Not everything needs a complicated motivation. Disease generally only has
one goal: to spread. But what’s driving the spread? Does it need to infect a living host? Strange phenomena
and forces of nature, on the other hand, usually are the driving force—that is, they force the spacers into
action. You don’t really need motivation for a storm or a wormhole, just an idea of how it works.
A threat move is what the threat can do. When creating a threat, write down some unique moves for it. A
handful of moves should be enough, somewhere between 3 to 7, though you can lower or raise that number
depending on how complicated or dangerous a threat might be. While it’s good to know the kind of direct
damage that a threat might do, most threat moves aren’t about physical harm. They can be about how the
threat manipulates events in its favor, how it obstructs the spacers from achieving their goals, how it travels,
how it interacts with the world, and the like.
Most threats should have a weakness as well. A weakness might allow the spacers to defeat the threat, or
it might delay it long enough to find the root cause and defeat that. Without finding the threat’s weakness, it
will just keep coming back again and again. Some threats might not have a weakness, such as a storm. In
that case, there should be something that the spacers can do to protect themselves until the threat passes.
119 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 120
EXAMPLE THREATS AND THREAT MOVES
Name: Broodmother Name: The Arena’s Henchmen Name: Glass-storm

Type: alien, animal Type: human, mob, enemy Type: storm, force of nature
Motivation: to breed and nest Motivation: to capture people Motivation: none
Weakness: fire for the Arena on boss’ orders Weakness: none; seek shelter
Description: the Broodmother is Weakness: bribe or boss’ orders Description: a large, dark
huge and terrifying. She’s Description: a group of people hired orange storm that covers
looking for a safe place to raise to assist the Arena CEO. everything beneath it in
her brood, and food to feed Threat Moves: darkness.
them. • When one dies, another Threat Moves:
Threat Moves: comes to take their place • Extreme winds that can
• Hide in plain sight using • Use tracking tech to find their push over rovers
camouflage abilities targets across long distances • Throws sand and debris,
• Paralyze prey with • Disguise: can hide in plain reducing visibility
neurotoxin in tail sting sight in populated areas • Blocks com signals
• Takes over a space and • Backed by their boss, has • Bullethail: hail made of
converts it into a nest lots of monetary resources glass that goes so fast it
• Bite [2-harm poison, not • Carry tangle guns and can penetrate thin metal;
armor-defeating] plasma rifles, will use as [1-harm, armor-defeating]
needed
120 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 121
New Locations
Most of the time you should be using the space already mapped out at the beginning of the one-shot or
campaign for your locations. However, sometimes you’ll want to take the spacers into new and dangerous
territory. Starhold is by design a claustrophobic game when it comes to locations, so it’s important to keep
your established tone in mind when designing new ones. Unlike the spacer’s home base, new locations do
NOT need to be fully mapped at the beginning of the session, although a basic idea of mandatory spaces is a
good thing to include.
Types of new locations might include:
• derelict spaceships
• abandoned/empty colonies
• mysterious alien ruins
• hostile planet environments
• space stations with anxious or secretive inhabitants
• a dangerous industrial facility
This list is by no means comprehensive, so don’t let it limit you while planning new locations for your game.
You can also combine locations as well. For example, maybe the spacers find themselves exploring a colony
on a mostly hostile planet, where all the inhabitants have mysteriously disappeared. They might find a mine
shaft that eventually leads down to chamber that contains some strange alien ruins. While this is technically a
121 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 122
large new area, the mysterious disappearance of the colonists and the unknown ruins on a hostile planet fit
well within the claustrophobic, horror-like tone of the game’s usual setting.
Nonplayable Characters (NPCs)

There are the spacers, and then there’s everyone else. Friends, enemies, allies, animals, ship AI, aliens— any
character that isn’t being played by one of the players is one being played by the Speaker. For a Crisis, decide
what new NPCs (if any) that you’ll need. Don’t worry about creating every NPC in the whole world, just the
ones that you know will be needed for the current Crisis. Remember to keep a list of the NPCs that the
players encounter in the game, regardless of whether you’re in a one-shot or a multi-session campaign.
Keeping track of the lore is part of the Speaker’s principles, and NPCs are no exception.
Also, the Speaker isn’t the only one capable of creating NPCs. This is a collaborative game, and the players
are not only able but encouraged to help build the world with you, NPCs and all. Some playbooks have moves
that require the player to create one or more NPCs, but players can also add NPCs into the world when it fits
a need.
For example: The Leader decides to go see the ship’s navigator, who hasn’t been seen or named in the game
yet. The Speaker asks the Leader what their name is. “Her name’s Miranda,” the Leader says. The Speaker
asks the Leader to describe Miranda, and to say a little about her personality. The Leader describes Miranda
as “...short, with a crop of tight curls that she keeps in a high bun, and brown eyes. She’s really chill and likes
to make jokes.” Now the Speaker knows what Miranda is like, and the next time someone goes to see the
ship’s navigator it’s Miranda that they’ll meet.
122 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 123
The Countdown
A countdown clock is a tool that the Speaker can use to keep track of what’s happening off-screen with
threats and NPCs as the game goes on. Countdowns can be big or small, and you can have many or just one.
If you’re playing a multi-session campaign, you might have one countdown clock for the current Crisis and
another clock for a larger Crisis that’s coming on the horizon. You might even create micro-clocks for very
specific threats within a larger Crisis as well. It really depends on what works best for you as the Speaker and
for your game prep.
A countdown clock should be versatile. First and foremost, it should be a schedule for what would have
happened if the spacers had never gotten involved in the Crisis at all. During your prep, consider what would
happen if the Crisis played out on its own without your players, and write down each advancement of the
Crisis as it fits on the clock. Second, consider what kind of moves or actions that the spacers might do at each
point to either avert or advance the Crisis. And lastly, while playing, keep track of the clock and how the
spacer’s actions alter the timeline. Maybe something that they do speeds up the events of the clock, or
prevents it, or maybe causes the entire clock to change and adapt in response to the players approach.
Remember that the clock is a tool, not a plan. It should adapt to the player’s actions, not dictate them.
The countdown is based on alert levels, and the “clock” in a countdown isn’t an actual clock. It’s just there to
help you keep track of the stages of the Crisis, and in general is guided by the gameplay, not an actual unit of
time. As such, the segments in a countdown don’t need to be symmetrical; maybe the Blue Alert segment
takes a while, but as you approach Red Alert things start to speed up. Or maybe the clock starts at Yellow
Alert, putting the spacers in the thick of it from the start.
123 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 124
EXAMPLE COUNTDOWN CLOCK
As you can see in the example on the left, a clock

Blue The Broodmother invades Fairview Colony after the colonists
doesn’t need to be extremely detailed. In this clock, you
Alert accidentally destroy her nest while remote mining. She sets up
a hidden nest in an unused habitat segment, destroying some can see what the major threat (the Broodmother) would
machines in the process. be doing at Fairview Colony if the player’s characters
never came along. The Broodmother would infiltrate the
Yellow The Broodmother begins laying eggs. She starts picking off colony, hatch her young, and those young would go on
Alert lone colonists as food for herself. to infect the colonists and ultimately create nests of
their own, killing the entire colony in the process.
Orange The eggs start hatching. Broodlarvae invade the ventilation
Alert shafts and start searching for hosts. They attach themselves In this example, the spacer’s arrival wouldn’t change
to several colonists, who are unaware of the parasite.
much at first. But as the game progresses, each stage
of the countdown should be flexible and responsive to
Red The infected colonists begin to act strangely. They start the player’s actions. If the spacers discover the parasitic
Alert intentionally sabotaging vital machinery and communication
Broodlarvae and find a way to remove it without killing
devices. Several uninfected colonists go missing.
the colonists, then the countdown would alter to reflect
that.
Violet The Broodlarvae pupate. Infected colonists die, and the young
Alert Broodlings start hunting the remaining colonists and creating
new nests in the rest of the colony spaces. You can also add the spacers to the countdown as they
play. Maybe in removing the Broodlarvae, the spacer’s
draw the Broodmother’s ire, and she begins hunting
Black All colonists are killed, and the colony becomes a thriving
Alert Broodmother nest. them specifically. Include these kinds of reactive
changes in the countdown stages as you go.
124 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 125
INCORPORATING SCARCITY
Scarcity is designed to help hammer home a sense of “living on the edge”, to help the player’s feel just
exactly how dire things can become when you’re alone and lacking resources out in the wilds of the universe.
At the beginning of the game, one of the players will roll a d6 to help determine which resource will be in
short supply first. You can use this not only mechanically but narratively. Be sure to build the shortage in to
the game world in a way that feels natural. If the players are short on oxygen, maybe their air system is
busted and only running on half the filters. If the fuel is down on a colony, maybe dust has clogged the solar
panels and an acid storm prevents the spacers from cleaning them, leaving the colony running on back-up
reserves. However you spin it, remember to follow the Speaker’s agenda and make it real.
The most important thing when using scarcity, however, is always telling the player when a roll is
related to a resource scarcity. This is important because some players have moves that can only be used
when they fail a roll related to a scarcity. Always be honest about how scarcity is affecting the world that your
spacers occupy and give them opportunities to try and alleviate the shortage if possible. And don’t be afraid
to use your hard moves to affect resources when it feels appropriate.
You might want to include scarcity as part of the Crisis countdown clock. Think about how certain actions (or
inaction) might make the current scarcity worse, or how it might create a new one, forcing the players to deal
with two resource shortages simultaneously. It’s not required, but it might be a good way to up the ante at
appropriate moments in the narrative or as part of a Speaker move.
See “Determining Scarcity” (p. 135) for the mechanical side of scarcity.
125 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 126
RUNNING A GAME
Taking what you’ve written down for the Crisis and translating it into actual gameplay might seem
intimidating, especially if you’ve never run a game before. But fear not! Being a Speaker isn’t nearly as
difficult as it seems. For one thing, you’re not doing this alone. Your players are there to help keep the game
moving forward and to aid you. Remember: this isn’t a competition. Lean on them for help when you need it,
and don’t be afraid to let go of the reigns for a while and see where your players take you.
THE OPENING SCENE
At the beginning of a Crisis, take a moment to establish the opening scene. Think of this like the first shot of a
movie— something designed to intrigue the audience, to foreshadow an impending threat, and to set the
tone. It doesn’t have to be long, but dramatic and cinematic. Be sure that wherever you start the opening
scene, that it transitions to the spacers by the end so that they can respond and start playing.
Here’s an example of an opening scene for our premade Crisis, “Event Horizon”:
Dr. Juliette Massey is sitting at a table in the cafeteria aboard The Cygnus, a colony ship bound for a
new planet in a distant galaxy. She’s staring disinterestedly at the exterior window across the room,
which has been the same for days—just the featureless dark gray haze of sublight warp travel.
Suddenly there’s a judder, and the lights in the cafeteria flicker. Dr. Massey looks around curiously, and
then with alarm as the judder comes again, this time rattling the entire room. A warning siren starts to
sound, and with a terrible shake and a scream Dr. Massey is thrown to the ground as the ship’s
emergency inertia breaks engage.
126 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 127
As she picks herself off the floor, her eye catches on the exterior window. The featureless gray haze
has been replaced by normal space again, but instead of stars, the window is filled with the looming
body of a vast black hole that is far, far too close for comfort. The rest of the cafeteria inhabitants all
start murmuring and moving towards the window, but Dr. Massey hangs back, filled with a sudden
sense of dread and the unmistakable feeling that somehow, impossibly, the black hole is looking at her.
Nigel, you’re aboard The Cygnus colony ship as it drops suddenly from sublight warp travel back into
normal space with a sudden jolt. Where are you and what do you do?
Not every opening scene needs to be this detailed, but however you tell it, make sure that it’s interesting and
gives your players both a reason to want to play and a place to start playing from.
ENGAGE WITH YOUR PLAYERS
The purpose of collaborative play is to create together. As the Speaker, you can facilitate this by asking
questions— lots and lots of questions. Players, especially ones that have not played many TTRPGs before,
might be hesitant to elaborate beyond necessity. They might say “I do this” and leave it at that. As the
Speaker, your job is to draw them out of this reticence or hesitation in a way that is comfortable for
everyone. The best way that you can do this is to ask the spacers how they do something. Ask them to
describe their actions. What does it look like? Let them be as detailed or simple as they like, but always ask.
You can also answer a question with a question. If a spacer wants to know something about the world— like,
say, where they can find important information or what a location looks like—turn the question back on them.
“Where do the colonists get their daily news?” “What does the atrium look like when you first enter it?”
Encourage them to think of the world as something that they create too, rather than just inhabit.
127 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 128
LET NOTHING IMPORTANT BE EASY
This isn’t to say that you should make things frustrating or difficult just to be a jerk. Simple, everyday actions
shouldn’t be difficult unless there’s a really good reason behind it. But for the important things, the big or
stressful or pivotal moments, those should never be easy. Make the spacers make tough choices, include
terrible consequences, or give them answers that are simple but horrifying. There are a number of ways that
you can make their lives difficult, so the only limit is your imagination.
SHOW THEM THE WAY
This doesn’t mean that you just give the spacers all the answers that they’ll need to survive. It means that
they should have a clear understanding of what survival looks like. Does survival mean escape? Killing an
enemy? Destroying something? Whatever survival means, the spacer’s should be able to figure that out with
little to no difficulty. However. This doesn’t mean that you tell them how to do it. They have the tools and
abilities, you just need to point them in a direction and let them at it.
REMEMBER THE SPACER’S MOVES AND MAKE THEM USE THEM
When spacers do something think about the kind of move that that might call for. If they want to get some
information from someone then you could call for them to Get a Feeling or try to Influence Someone. When
they want to do something dangerous or time-sensitive, that might need an Act Under Fire roll. Not
everything calls for a roll, but if you’re in doubt, just call for one.
128 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 129
REMEMBER THE SPEAKER’S PRINCIPLES AND USE YOUR MOVES
When the game slows, when the spacers all turn to you to see what happens next, or when someone has just
made a move, then it’s time to use the tools available to you. If you’re unsure about what to do, go over the
Speaker’s principles and your moves. Remember that when spacer’s fail, there are consequences, so don’t be
afraid to inflict those either immediately after a failed roll or hold them for later down the line.
REMEMBER THE COUNTDOWN
Another way to keep the game moving forward organically is to remember the countdown. Remember that
the Crisis would progress whether the spacers were there or not. Transitioning to the next step on the Crisis
countdown clock can be triggered by a lot of things, such as a Speaker move in response to a failed roll, as
part of a threat move, or simply because time has been passing in-game.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO INFLICT CONSEQUENCES
None of us want to be the bad guy. And it’s not always a bad thing to pull punches. But in a game about
survival, it’s important to remember that bad things can happen to the characters, and it’s not your job to get
between them and the consequences of a failed action or bad roll. Be honest with your players, make sure
they understand the consequences beforehand, and when things break bad, do what must be done.
BE AWARE OF THE PACING AND ADJUST AS NEEDED
Try to balance the game time in a way that feels natural and interesting. Some things might be short and
quick, like fights against lower level threats. Other moments might be slower, like taking a moment with the
spacers. If things are dragging too long or feel too rushed, that’s a sign that the pacing needs calibration.
129 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 130
MOVE THE SPOTLIGHT
Some players are just naturally more inclined toward the limelight. This can be great in a game because they
usually bring a lot of creativity and drama into a scene. But this means that it’s possible that quieter players
can be overshadowed and lost in the fray. As Speaker, part of your job is ensuring that everyone at the table
has a chance to engage with the game.
One way you can do this is by encouraging the more extroverted players to try and include others with them
in a scene. Another way is to take control of the spotlight and shift it when appropriate. If a scene has been
focusing on one or two players for a while, it might be time to ask the others what they’re doing while that
scene is happening. Don’t force players to do anything that makes them feel uncomfortable and don’t
embarrass them for not playing the same way others might, but use your Speaker abilities to create the
opportunity for them to shine if they want to.
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
Your players are going to surprise you. Part of the reason why you should never try to plan the whole game is
because, inevitably, those plans are going to be destroyed or ignored by the spacers. Instead, use the
countdown as a guideline but be ready to adjust as your players find new and creative ways to accomplish
things that you never even imagined. Both you and the game should be flexible.
Most importantly, don’t get frustrated when things start going in a direction that you weren’t expecting, and
never try to force the players to follow a path regardless of their successes, or punish them for doing
something you didn’t want to happen. Remember that you’re there to facilitate the game and to be a fan of
the characters, not to railroad them into a narrative that ignores their choices and actions.
130 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 131
KEEP NOTES
You’re not asking questions and calling for moves just to forget what happens five seconds later. Keeping
good notes is essential to running a good game. They don’t need to be extremely detailed. A bullet point or a
short sentence for each important moment can be enough. Use these notes to keep track of NPCs and
threats, to help calibrate the game and the countdown as things progress, and as a way to track any holds
that you might have for future Speaker moves. When running a campaign, these will be essential for
implementing any large or small countdowns and consequences that span multiple Crisis events.
GIVE THE SPACERS CLOSURE AT THE END OF A CRISIS
Don’t just end the game abruptly once the spacers have done what they need to in order to survive. You
should make room for some final downtime, where the spacers can decompress for a moment and process
some of what has occurred. This can be as long or as short as the group has time for and as they want. You
can initiate this final downtime by asking the spacers what they do once they’re in the clear. For example, if
they’ve just escaped a group of murderous space pirates, you could ask them something like “you’ve put
some distance between you and the pirates and have a moment to breathe. What do you do?”
After the spacers have had a chance to close out their own scenes, finish the game with a fade out. “Your
ship continues on toward its destination, and the camera pulls back until it’s just a small speck among a
multitude of stars. And that’s where we leave you.” Your fade out doesn’t need to be long or poetic, but just
something that lets the players know that their spacers are safe for the time being.
...at least until the next Crisis.
131 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 132
WORLDBUILDING
When you start a new game (whether it’s a one-shot or the first session of a new campaign), one of the first
things that you’ll be asked to do is to decide on what kind of setting the spacers inhabit. There are four
locations to choose from: colonies, space stations, colony ships, and spaceships. There is no mechanical
difference between these settings, but what you choose can vastly change the kind of stories that you tell.
After choosing a location and picking characters, the next opening step is building the map of your location.
This can be a real map if you’ve got the time and the inclination, or it can simply be a list of all the major
spaces in the game. Building the map involves three steps:
1. List the space (singular) included in the current spacer’s playbooks. If someone starts as a variant that
has a space associated, only use that. If their variant has no space, then use the archetype’s space.
2. After everyone’s spaces have been listed, let each player pick one additional space to add.
3. Last, the Speaker can pick additional spaces to add to the map (no limit).
As the Speaker, try to resist the urge to add every location available, since it would be counterproductive to
the goal of creating that claustrophobic feeling of living in space. Don’t worry about minutia like bathrooms,
hallways, closets, ventilation, etc., or what the spaces look like. The point of the map isn’t about being 100%
accurate, but just noting what major areas are available in the spacer’s everyday lives.
Once the map has been finalized, give the place a name. You can do this yourself or have your players do it.
Remember, this is now the spacer’s home. Even if they leave it temporarily, this is where they come back to
at the end of the day. Make it feel like a real place.
132 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 133
CHOOSING A SETTING
Colony: Colonies are permanent installations set on a planet, moon, asteroid, or any other celestial body that
can be colonized. An incomplete list of colony types includes mining colonies, terraforming colonies, research
colonies, and ideological colonies. Colonies can range from very small to very large populations, and therefore
offer a lot of opportunities and flexibility for worldbuilding.
Colony Ship: A colony ship is a city in a box. All the tools and materials for building a new home on a new
world are tucked inside, as well as everything needed to make the journey. Like colonies, colony ships can
range from very small to very large, and the reasons for colonizing are vast. Some ideas include generational
ships looking for new worlds in new galaxies, corporate ships on the way to set up mining or terraforming
operations, and research ships travelling to interesting scientific locations.
Space Stations: Space stations are like a cross between a colony and a spaceship. Stations are ships
positioned in a permanent location in space. They can orbit celestial bodies or be freestanding in the void.
Like the previous locations, space stations can range in size and population, and have a variety of reasons for
existence. Some station types include commercial hubs, waystations for long-distance travel, research, and
processing or manufacturing facilities.
Spaceship: A spaceship is a vessel designed for frequent travel. While spaceships can technically be many
sizes, in Starhold spaceships for spacers are on the smaller side, from tiny one-person vehicles to ones that
can hold around 500 personnel. The why and how of a ship and its crew can vary vastly. Some ships might
belong to a single person just trying to survive with their family and friends, while others might be corporate
or scientific affairs owned remotely and piloted by a hired crew.
133 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 134
MAP IT OUT
Note that some locations are assigned to spacer playbooks and are included on a map if that playbook is
being used. However, you can still choose to use that location even if no one is using that playbook.
You can also create custom locations as you see fit. Just be sure to include them during the mapping phase.
Locations:
• Armory • Kitchen
• Atrium • Lab
• Barracks • Living Quarters
• Cafeteria • Maintenance and Processing Room
• Cargo Storage • Marketplace
• Common Room • Observation Deck
• Communications Room • Recreation Room
• Garage • Research Room
• General Store • Retreat
• Generator Room • School
• Greenhouse • Secret Room
• Hangar • Server Room
• Headquarters • Training Area
• Infirmary • Workroom
134 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 135
DETERMINING SCARCITY
Scarcity is determined at the beginning of a Crisis and affects five resources: oxygen, medical supplies, food,
water, and fuel/energy. Each resource affects a specific stat:
1. Head = Oxygen: air filters, EVA cannisters, etc.

2. Hand = Medical Supplies: bandages, antibiotics, etc.
3. Heart = Food: ration packs, fresh vegetables, etc.
4. Group = Water: water filters, recycler machines, etc.
5. Tech = Fuel/Energy: fuel cannisters, solar panels, etc.
At the start of a Crisis, before events begin, the Speaker will ask for a volunteer to roll 1d6. A result from one
to five corresponds to the list above. Whatever the player lands on will be the scarcity for that Crisis. A result
of six allows the group to pick the resource they want to be affected by scarcity.
The affected resource will take a -1 ongoing to any rolls that utilize that resource in an important
manner. The Speaker will tell you beforehand when scarcity will affect a roll, or you can ask “is this affected
by scarcity?” if you’re unsure and want clarification ahead of time.
It’s important to note that scarcity is not about resource management. There is no inventory to manage in
this game. Resources will continue to dwindle as the game progresses whether you “use” them or not. The
only thing really affecting resources is time. Like with the Crisis, scarcity will get progressively and
exponentially worse as time goes on. There is the potential that more resources might come up short, or the
shortage get worse. The only real way to deal with it is to get through the Crisis.
135 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 136
ALLIES
Mechanically speaking, allies are NPCs that a spacer can ask for help or favors from without making an
Influence Someone roll. Allies have a specific motivation for helping the spacer that they’re allied to (see
below) and will work to the best of their capacity to perform the request made of them. This doesn’t mean
than an ally will be guaranteed success in their endeavor. As the Speaker, you can choose to have the spacer
roll for the results of the ally’s attempt or not. Other factors, like any holds that you may have over that
spacer from previous failed rolls or off-screen badness can affect the results of the ally’s actions. That said, if
there’s nothing stopping the ally from succeeding, then they succeed without issue.
Ally motivations are narrative flavor you or the spacer can use when interacting with an ally.
These include (but are not limited to):
• Advisor: considers the problems and gives council.

• Backup: will come to the spacer’s aid in a sticky situation.
• Bodyguard: will get between the spacer and danger.
• Contact: provides useful information from places the spacer can’t access.
• Friend: provides social and emotional support.
• Lover: offers love and comfort.
• Ride: has transport, will take the spacer where they need to be.
• Second-in-Command: carries out the spacer’s orders in their stead.
• Spy: acts as the spacer’s hidden eyes and ears.
136 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 137
ALIENS
It’s not necessary to include alien life in your game if it doesn’t work for the kind of stories you and your
players want to tell. Maybe the universe is a vast and lonely place, devoid of all life except the terrestrial kind.
But if you want to include aliens that fit the tone and setting, here are a few type suggestions:
The Hivemind: A society connected by a common mental link. Maybe there’s a hierarchy ruled by someone
at the top, or maybe it’s a democratic society lead by communal census. Maybe the link is organic, or maybe
it’s artificially created. They could be peaceful but unsettling, or they could be militant and dangerous.
The Lone Heralds: Intelligent, diplomatic, and unreadable. They are humanity’s first encounter with their
species, but they reveal very little about themselves, their society, or their own motivations. There might be
one or a small handful, but never many. Whether they mean humanity good or ill, only time will tell.
The Merchants: Intergalactic capitalism is alive and well. Maybe there are many of them, just out there
ready to sell new alien tech and resources to whatever species can offer the best trade. Maybe humanity has
only met a handful. They might be reclusive and secretive, or gregarious and social.
Reclusive Society: Intelligent life exists, and it wants nothing to do with us. We know little to nothing about
them, and that’s the way they like it. The line between human territory and theirs is clearly demarked and
ferociously defended. They might not be openly hostile, but trespassing is always a death sentence.
Strange Animals: The universe is full of alien life—extraterrestrial plants, animals, and bacteria to be exact,
and most of it is extremely dangerous. Maybe it’s a planet of carnivorous flora, or animals controlled by a
hostile hivemind, or deadly microbes looking for the perfect living host. Whatever it is, it’s usually a problem.
137 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 138
The Unknowable Threat: Their technology dwarfs ours. Their motivations and desires are beyond our
understanding. No one’s seen one in person, they don’t even deign to interact with us. We are less than an
annoyance, we’re not even a blip. They can crush us without thinking, and if we’re not careful, they will.
The Warmongers: Humanity’s existence is intolerable, and they won’t rest until every trace of us is wiped
from the universe. They pursue us relentlessly, hunting down our ships, destroying our colonies. Maybe they
think they’re being magnanimous, that they're saving us from ourselves. Maybe they can’t imagine an
existence that challenges their own views of the universe. Maybe they just enjoy the devastation. One thing’s
for certain, the only choice we have –the only one they’ve left us-- is to fight back.
138 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 139
TONE
Before you start playing Starhold, it’s important that the Speaker takes a moment to establish the tone of the
game with the rest of the group. This applies to one-shots and full campaigns alike. Establishing a tone is
going to help everyone know what kind of game to expect. While the setting of Starhold is dangerous, how
that danger is approach is important. Will it be a grimdark universe where you’re hard-pressed to find light or
laughter even in the best of times? Or maybe humor in the face of the terrifying and absurd is the order of
the day? Does the game stick to realism as close as possible, or does it veer into fantasy?
One way to help determine this is to ask your players what show, book, or movie they picture when they
think of the kind of tone they want in the game. Have them explain the elements from that media that they’re
looking for most. Don’t be afraid to mix things up a little—if most your players are looking for a grimdark
experience, but a couple really want something a little more light-hearted, discuss what that could look like
together. Think about how you can spotlight those elements during the game and give your players a chance
to contribute towards building the kind of tone that they’re looking to experience. And make sure that
everyone is on board with the tone of the game before you start.
While Starhold has the potential to be a very dark game if everyone is on-board, there’s nothing that dictates
that it has to be. While danger lurks in the void, so does wonder. Playing a game that focuses on the
wonderous side of living in space, or one that fulfills the heroic fantasy, or one that veers into the absurd, are
all valid and can provide just as much satisfaction as a game where everything and everyone are out to kill
each other. Starhold is a game about survival, but what that looks like can vary for each group.
139 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 140
PACING
Learning how to pace things appropriately during a game will go a long way to building better gameplay.
When you’re considering what to do next in a game, think about pacing. What just happened previously? If
the spacers just finished an intense round of combat, then consider giving them an opportunity to Take a
Moment If things have been relatively quiet for a while, it’s likely time to introduce some tension or danger
into the scene. Try to think about your favorite scifi movies or TV shows, and the way that they balance
character moments with action, suspense, or horror. Think cinematically. A story is filled with a variety of
moments, from quiet personal asides to tense waiting to epic crescendos.
Figuring out how to lead into what seems to naturally come next is just a matter of learning and practice.
There is a rhythm to good storytelling, and that applies just as much to collaborative gameplay as it does to
more solo methods of creation. However, unlike traditional media, in Starhold there’s no plotting. Don’t try
and think five steps ahead of your players. Instead, respond to their actions, to the scenes that they’ve
helped build, and adjust the pace in real time with them.
Also, be sure to listen to your players, both in game and out. Pay attention to the cues that they give you,
both verbally and non-verbally. If you’re unsure then don’t be afraid to ask for clarification about what they’d
like to do next. After the game, ask them for feedback: did it go too slow? Too fast? Did it feel rushed or just
right? You’re never going to be perfect anyway, so don’t be embarrassed to ask how you’re doing and what
you can do better to make the game more enjoyable, both for pacing itself and for the game overall.
Also, remember that pacing doesn’t just apply to a single game. If you’re in a campaign, you might want to
think about how to apply good pacing to the overall structure of the sessions.
140 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 141
ALTERNATE SETTING: THE DEEP

While Starhold is a game about living in space, nearly everything involved in space travel can be translated to
an underwater setting. A hostile environment that’s deadly to humans? Check! Claustrophobic habitat spaces
vulnerable to threats from the outside? Check! A dark, unknowable void filled with awe and terror? Yep! The
potential for amazing stories about survival, triumph, despair, and horror? Absolutely!
Modifying Starhold to run an underwater game takes surprisingly little effort. Simply take a colony or space
station and turn it into an underwater colony or an underwater station. EVA suits become pressurized dive
suits and vehicles become various types of submarines. Some playbooks might need a little tweaking, but
most of them apply as well underwater as they do in space. Most of the same concerns about food, air, and
shelter apply, but instead of worrying about air getting out, the worry is about water getting in.
You can even double-up on the extremity of the environment by putting the colony or station in an
underwater environment on a hostile alien planet. Maybe the surface is too exposed and cold to build on, but
the water is just right to maintain human habitation. Maybe the station clings to the underside of the ice crust
of Europa or is buried miles under the water on a planet where the sun bakes anything on the surface to slag.
Or maybe it’s set right here on earth, at the bottom of our own familiar oceans.
Like with every game, be sure to discuss any potential content warnings for an alternate setting with your
players before the game starts. Be aware that some people might have no problem with all the elements
involved in surviving in space but might have real problems with those same themes underwater. Deep water
is a common phobia, so be up front about the alternative setting with your players so they can make
informed decisions about their participation ahead of time.
141 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 142
142 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 143
PLAYING THE GAME

THE FIRST SESSION
When starting a new game of Starhold, there are a few steps you need to take in a particular order. You only
do these when you’re starting a whole new game from scratch, whether it’s a one-shot or a campaign. If
you’re continuing on from a previously established setting with the same characters, then you’ll skip the
beginning steps and head straight into the gameplay.
Game Timeline
1. Content Warning & Safety Tools

2. Choosing Playbooks
3. Establishing Connections (Cx)
4. Choose a location and map it
5. Determine scarcity
6. Discuss the basics
7. Play the game
8. Conclude the session
9. Think forward
While almost all of these have been covered throughout this handbook before, following you’ll find a quick
overview of each part just for reference and a basic idea of how to incorporate each segment into your game.
143 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 144
1. CONTENT WARNING AND SAFETY TOOLS
Before the start of any session, the Speaker should take a moment to provide a content warning to the
players, regardless of whether they’ve known each other for 10 years or 10 minutes. If time allows, go
through a session zero at some point before the main game to cover expectations and behavioral guidelines,
as well as allowing time for players to publicly or privately discuss any concerns or boundaries beforehand. At
the beginning of the game, the Speaker should provide an overview of the safety tools being used at the table
and provide an example of how to use them for reference.
2. CHOOSING PLAYBOOKS
At the beginning of the session, take a few minutes to let players go through the playbooks and decide what
they’re going to play. Fill out any relevant information on the playbook sheet and take a moment to discuss
what kind of character that you’ll each be playing, such as their job, personality, and appearance. You can be
as detailed or as vague as you like, but make sure to leave some room to grow with the story.
3. ESTABLISHING CONNECTIONS (Cx)
Every spacer should either know (or at least be aware of) all the others. You don’t need to determine how
unless you want to. Establishing connections is not about a shared history, but about the relationship that
your spacer shares with each of the others. How do you feel about each other? Do you share a bond? Use the
suggested questions or think up a few of your own and ask one to each spacer at the table. Write down your
Cx level with each one and be sure to adjust it as needed as the game goes on.
144 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 145
4. CHOOSE A LOCATION AND MAP IT
Depending on the game, the Speaker might choose a pre-set location, or the group might discuss what kind
of location they’d like the spacer’s home to be. There are four options: colony, colony ship, space station, and
spaceship. There are no mechanical benefits to any specific one, so just consider the kind of stories that you
want to tell together.
Once the location has been chosen, go through your playbooks and write down all the spaces that are
associated with them. If a player is playing the main archetype, they get that space only. If they are playing a
variant with a space listed, then they get only that space instead. If they are playing a variant with no space
listed, they get the Archetype’s space. Once that’s determined, go through once more and each player pick
another space that you want on the map. Finally, the Speaker will go through and add any other spaces that
they’d like included. Each player should copy the “map” for reference. You don’t need to draw an actual map,
but you can if you want.
5. DETERMINE SCARCITY
Follow the instructions in “Determining Scarcity” to figure out what your resource scarcity for the current
Crisis will be. If your volunteer rolls a six, discuss as a group which resource should be affected.
6. DISCUSS THE BASICS
Briefly go over the basic moves common to every spacer. If you have questions or need clarification on a
basic move or a playbook move, now is a good time to bring it up. Discuss how to Take a Moment during the
game, both mechanically and for the narrative. Go over stress, harm, and gaining experience.
145 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 146
7. PLAY THE GAME
Self-explanatory. Well, kind of. While you play, the players should keep the basic rules and tone of the game
in mind and remember to use the safety tools at their disposal if need be. Be mindful and respectful of the
other players, and take notes about the game, any questions or concerns you want to bring up with the
Speaker afterwards, and any favorite moments during play. The Speaker should follow the Speaker’s agenda,
principles, and use their moves to help keep the game moving forward. Also, remember that the Speaker is a
player too! The safety tools are there for them as well. They should also keep notes during the game.
8. CONCLUDE THE SESSION
The Speaker should follow the “Reflection and Crisis Experience” questions and reward the players with
experience as directed. The reflection questions are a great segue into an initial post-game debrief with the
group. If you’re comfortable with it, bring up any concerns or issues that you had during the game, or ask
questions that you might have been saving for the end. If meeting again, discuss the method for planning for
future sessions. Speakers should remind players how to contact them to discuss any concerns or other issues
privately, and if possible, make time to debrief again in the future after things have settled.
9. THINK FORWARD
If the group plans to play more sessions, take some time after the game to consider anything that you’d like
to discuss before the next game, either with the other players or the Speaker. Give some thought to your
spacer’s motivation and any changes to their personality that you feel like making in response to the first
session. Try to communicate with your Speaker about your expectations, boundaries, and hopes for future
sessions, and be open to discussing similar things with the other players as well.
146 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 147
REFLECTION AND CRISIS EXPERIENCE

At the end of a session (whether or not the Crisis has been resolved yet), the Speaker should take some time
to ask these questions:
• Did anyone’s connection with another spacer change?

• What was the most tense moment of the game?
• What was the best moment?
• What aspect of the Crisis would you change, if anything?
• What is everyone looking forward to next?
The reflection questions are to help initiate the process of debriefing and winding down from the game. Both
the spacers and the Speaker should answer the questions together. Not every player needs to answer every
question, either, but be sure to give quieter players an opportunity to talk if they seem inclined.
The connection question is a time for players to decide if their spacer’s connections have changed with
anyone else, based on the events in the session. They can change it up or down by one (+/- 1). This is
not required, however. It’s perfectly alright for connections to stay the same after a session.
At the conclusion of every Crisis (not every game session, unless you go through a Crisis per session) players
get two extra rewards: two points of experience and two Gear Points. The conclusion of a Crisis is a good
time to ask players what kind of gear they’d like to trade their accrued Gear Points (GP) for, if any.
147 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 148
CONTINUING THE GAME

BUILDING ON, NOT AROUND
If you’re playing a campaign with multiple sessions and Crises, then it’s important to maintain the spirit of
collaborative play. It can be easy for Speakers to fall prey to a sense of commandeering the story to steer it
towards a goal on the horizon, or for players to try to plot what will happen two or three games from now.
Resist the urge to do this. The goal is to build on, not around. That is, as the game progresses, build on what
came before and use it to inform the present narrative. Don’t try to play around a pre-determined plot idea.
You can certainly have hopes for what might happen in the game, but don’t try to manipulate the narrative
and your fellow players in that direction. What you make from the story that you’ve already created will
always be far more interesting than the one you try to jam into a narrative that hasn’t happened yet.
KEEPING NOTES
For the Speaker, notes are essential, especially if you’re running multiple games in the same universe with
the same characters. Try to keep your notes in good order, get rid of anything irrelevant, and keep close
track of the world lore that you and your players are building together. Use these notes to help you build the
next Crisis, based on what has been established and what the players responded to best during previous
games. Also keep track of any feedback that you gain from the players during the reflection period, later
debriefing, or privately.
For spacers, many of the same principles apply. Consider also keeping a character journal. It doesn’t have to
be detailed or from the POV of your spacer. Rather, use it to make note of your spacers important personal
148 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 149
interactions, ideas for what to do next based on the events of the last session, and any other details that crop
up during play that would be important to building the inner lore of your spacer.
COMPLICATE THINGS
As part of the Speaker’s agenda, it’s the Speaker’s job to bring terror and awe to the mundane. In other
words, make things interesting. Speaker’s should use the lore that has been established in previous games,
the spacer’s own fears and goals, and any holds that the Speaker might have to bring in new, interesting, and
complicated problems or people into the spacer’s lives. You don’t have to try and plot what will happen. Just if
things seem like they’re going too smoothly, that means it’s time to throw a wrench into the works.
COUNTDOWNS, LARGE AND SMALL
You can use countdowns to track larger threats and overarching Crises that span multiple sessions and
multiple smaller Crisis events. These can be written the same way that regular countdowns are written and
should be tracked and adjusted alongside the current game. While it’s not necessary to include larger
countdowns in your game, it can be helpful to add that extra layer of narrative that might keep the players
engaged in the world beyond what’s happening here and now in the moment.
Similarly, mini countdowns can be used in your games to add tension, suspense, or a sense of urgency to the
play. They can be ones that apply to everyone or ones that apply to a single spacer. Think beyond physical
threats and consider what kind of time-sensitive danger a spacer might be in during a game, such as a
political situation where the wrong information might be leaked, or events that are looming that could
devastate the spacer’s current plans.
149 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 150
INCORPORATE PLAYER FEEDBACK
Use the knowledge that you gain during the session reflections and any debriefing or communication
afterward to help calibrate the game so that it is as enjoyable as it can be for everyone involved. This doesn’t
mean that one size narrative will fit all, but that through incorporating feedback, you’ll be able to provide
more opportunities for everyone to get an experience that they enjoy.
FINISHING A CAMPAIGN
Nothing lasts forever. Eventually the spacers will reach a certain point when there’s really nothing else for
them to do, and no more opportunity for growth. Or maybe it’s just gotten to a point where things feel
“done”, or stuck. Whatever the reason, if it starts to feel like the end is nigh, that means it’s time for
everyone to have a chat about making some changes or ending the game. If the rest of the group feels like
it’s time to move on, then start planning how to bring that about naturally in the game. Remember good
pacing practices and think about what would work best as a big finish. Give the spacers a chance to pull off
amazing stunts, tie up loose ends, and have any emotional moments that they’d like to have with their
characters.
If it seems like things have come to a halt, but not everyone is on board with retiring the current narrative,
then give some consideration on how to shake up the current game to bring back some of the old vitality.
Maybe there needs to be a tone shift, or some new elements introduced, or new players brought in. Whatever
it is, whether the game is ending or just changing, make sure that everyone at the table is involved in making
these decisions and is on board with them.
150 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 151
151 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 152
PREMADE CRISIS EVENTS

In this section you’ll find three premade Crisis events:
• Event Horizon: a ship gets stranded in the vicinity of a black hole, where it’s attacked by shadows;
• Leeches: a distress signal draws the spacer’s to a derelict ship filled with energy-eating alien worms;
• and The Revolt: rogue robots turn on the inhabitants of a space station or colony.
The goal of these premade games is to give you a quick-start structure with all the basic elements of the
game that’s ready to play in just a short time. However, because collaborative play is a key part of the
mechanic in this game system, many of the details in the premade games have been left deliberately vague.
I’ve given you the where and a little bit of the why, but it’s up to the Speaker and the spacers to find out the
how and the what-next.
If you’re running one of these games as a Speaker, take a moment before the start of the game to go over
the Crisis and familiarize yourself with its elements. Take notes of anything that you’d like to include or that
you’d like to flesh out on your own before the start of the game. Each of these games is restricted to one type
of location, so be aware of that when making your choice.
152 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 153
EVENT HORIZON
CONTENT WARNING
Paranormal, darkness, the void, psychic abilities, looming danger, death
OPENING
You can use the following opening scene, adjust it, or create your own as needed:
Dr. Juliette Massey is sitting at a table in the cafeteria aboard The Cygnus, a colony ship bound for a new
planet in a distant galaxy. She’s staring disinterestedly at the exterior window across the room, which has
been the same for days—just the featureless dark gray haze of sublight warp travel. Suddenly there’s a
judder, and the lights in the cafeteria flicker. Dr. Massey looks around curiously, and then with alarm as the
judder comes again, this time rattling the entire room. A warning siren starts to sound, and with a terrible
shake and a scream Dr. Massey is thrown to the ground as the ship’s emergency inertia breaks engage.
As she picks herself off the floor, her eye catches on the exterior window. The featureless gray haze has been
replaced by normal space again, but instead of stars, the window is filled with the looming body of a vast
black hole that is far, far too close for comfort. The rest of the cafeteria inhabitants all start murmuring and
moving towards the window, but Dr. Massey hangs back, filled with a sudden sense of dread and the
unmistakable feeling that somehow, impossibly, the black hole is looking at her.
153 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 154
CRISIS
For a colony ship or spaceship only. Something goes wrong during a warp jump, and the ship comes out
near a black hole the size of a sun. Nearly half the engines have burned out from the faulty jump, leaving
barely enough to keep the ship from hitting the event horizon. The crew needs to repair the engines, but
strange shadowy figures start popping up around the ship, and their intentions seem malicious. Spacers must
escape the black hole before the shadowy projections kill them all or they’re sucked in.
HOOK
The spacers are crew or passengers aboard the affected ship, and are brought in to the Crisis in media res,
that is, in the middle of the action right after everything has gone wrong with the warp jump.
L O C A T I O N (S)
Colony Ship or Spaceship: the spacer’s home base. The players can name the ship themselves during the
mapping phase or you can use the default name, The Cygnus.
NPCs
Because the primary crew are the spacers, allow players to name any necessary NPCs as the game is played.
If you need some name suggestions for Speaker-made NPCs, see the list below:
Isaia Krakowski, Juliette Massey, Inka Aaij, Kaveri Schreier, Galia Valdez, Sunil O’Doyle, Arsenio Wouters,
Aleksander De Kloet, Cedric Daalman, Xabier Tran, Greta Rhodes, Nilus Soucy, Rayyan Hartmann
154 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 155
THREATS
Name: Shade Zombies Name: Shadow Projections

Type: monsters, undead Type: paranormal, phenomena
Motivation: to kill Motivation: to manifest the will of the black hole
Weakness: physical force Weakness: bright lights
Description: the reanimated corpses of crew Description: Human-shaped shadows that can
members killed by the Shadow Projections. Their teleport and seem hostile. Purposefully destroying
eyes are solid black voids and their limbs are the ship for unknown reasons.
stretched impossibly long. Health: 9-harm
Health: 4-harm Threat Moves and Weapons:
Threat Moves: • Teleport: can appear out of thin air.
• Bite [2-harm poison] • Energy Drain: the presence of one will drain
• Strong grip [1-harm restraining] the energy electronics/batteries.
• Spread: If there are uninfected dead nearby, • Lights Out: can dim or destroy nearby lights.
the shadow will spread to them as well. • Cold Grip [2-harm cold close restraining]
• Psychic Scream [0-harm close area stun]
SCARCITY
To determine scarcity, have one player volunteer to roll 1d6. See “Determining Scarcity” for more details.
1= Oxygen 3 = Food 5 = Fuel/Energy

2 = Medical Supplies 4 = Water 6 = Group choice
155 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 156
COUNTDOWN
Blue Alert The ship appears near a black hole, too close to escape without the use of all the engines. Half the engines are broken, and
the ship is burning fuel to try and keep itself from crossing into the event horizon. Crew begins feeling like the black hole is
watching them.
Yellow Alert Crew members start seeing shadowy figures appearing down darkened corridors. The captain and leading crew dismiss it as
stress and fear. One of the repair team crew members goes missing. The ship slips closer to the event horizon.
Orange Alert The shadow projections start appearing frequently across the ship. Some systems start losing power for no apparent reason.
Three more crew members on the engine repair team disappear. The ship continues getting closer to the event horizon. Time
begins to slow imperceptibly.
Red Alert The bodies of the disappeared crew appear in random places on the ship. They’re stretched out in horrible, inhuman
proportions and have terrified looks on their faces. The shadow projections start destroying the lights in many places across
the ship and start draining the energy from the remaining working engines. The ship begins rapidly losing distance between it
and the event horizon. Time starts to seem distorted.
Violet Alert Half of the crew are missing or dead, and nearly all the engines have been drained of power. The ship is going dark rapidly,
and the crew that have escaped the shadow projections start to hear a deep thrumming hum in their minds as the ship
reaches the border between the photon sphere and the event horizon. The shadow projections start speaking in the voices of
the dead crewmates, telling the remaining crew to “join us”. Just those two words. Time seems to stop and rush all at once.
Black Alert The shadow projections are everywhere on the ship, and the remaining crew are stuck hiding. The ship hits the event horizon
and begins spaghettification (the front being sucked into the black hole faster than the back). There is no escape now.
156 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 157
LEECHES
CONTENT WARNING
Bug-like aliens, worms, trypophobia (fear of holes, esp. bug ones), being trapped
OPENING
You can use the following opening scene, adjust it, or create your own as needed. If you have a Leader in the
party, replace Captain Vlaska’s name with their spacer’s name.
It’s been two days since the crew of the starship Prosperity dropped off their latest cargo and turned to make
the long trek back home. It’s late, by standard time, though out in space the only indication of the hour is the
dimming of lights in the living spaces. Captain Rebekka Vlaska sits at the communications terminal nursing a
cup of coffee, looking over documents for their next cargo shipment pickup.
She looks up, startled, when a quiet but insistent beeping begins chiming from the communications
equipment. She slides over to the com unit, and the startle turns to concern as she sees the readout. The red
blip of a distress call blinks like a lazy eye on the far edge of their array radius, a few hours away. With a
quiet curse, she marks the coordinates and then opens the intercom to wake the crew.
“Up and at’em, sunshines. We’ve got a problem.”
[Suggestion: you can start the game on board your Spacer’s ship as the crew is called to a general meeting
with the captain to discuss the action plan for checking the ship for survivors and salvaging cargo, then jump
ahead to getting to the derelict ship and boarding it. Or you can skip straight to boarding.]
157 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 158
CRISIS
Spaceship Only: After receiving a distress call, the spacer’s ship stops to explore a vessel floating in deep
space, days away from the nearest trade route. It’s a large colony ship that appears completely devoid of
people, but all the valuable cargo remains. There’s a fine dust over everything, and weird waxy structures
built around the ship. The nuclear drive is completely out of energy, but the ship logs indicate that it had left
port only two weeks earlier. While the spacers explore the ship, a crew member staying behind notices that
their own ship is losing energy. Unidentified alien animals start attacking the spacers/crew and their ship.
HOOK
The crew receive a distress signal from nearby and are required by law to investigate. The opportunity for a
legal salvage bonus is an extra incentive to reach the signal first.
L O C A T I O N (S)
The spacer’s ship – Map out this location. Ask the spacers to name their ship or call it Prosperity.
The derelict ship- Named Hope’s Progress. Include the following spaces on it, in addition to any extra you
want added: headquarters/navigation, cargo hold, infirmary, living quarters, and an engine room.
NPCs
Rebekka Vlasta – Crewmember on the spacer’s ship. Remains behind when the spacer’s go to investigate
the derelict. If there is no Leader in the party, then Vlasta is the Captain of the ship. Informs the party about
their own ship losing energy.
158 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 159
Yulia Raina – Teen, around 15 to 19. She’s the only survivor on Hope’s Progress. She’s hidden in one of the
cargo boxes. She will describe how the ship ran into an uncharted debris field and that shortly afterwards the
ship started having energy fluctuations. They tried to increase speed to make port before the engine died, but
the more they pushed out energy the faster it decreased. Then people started disappearing, and strange dust
appeared everywhere. Eventually something started attacking the crew in the open, where it seemed to latch
on to them and suck everything away until they turned into dust. Yulia’s father made her hide in a metal
cargo crate and wait until he gave her the all clear, and then he and the crew tried to hunt down the alien. He
never came back, and Yulia has been stuck in the box for a full day by the time the spacer’s arrive.
THREATS
Name: Energy Leech

Type: alien
Weakness: physical damage
Immune to: energy damage, heat, fire, or cold.
Description: A worm-like creature. Starts off extremely small (hand-sized) but grows exponentially as it
feeds—can get massive. They create waxy “wasp-nests” for young leeches on any surface available.
Health: SMALL: 3-harm (many/common); LARGE: 8-harm (very few)
Threat Moves:
• Leech: [1-harm touch stun]; leeches the energy from weapons, engines, and human bodies.
• Absorption: 2-armor against energy/plasma blasts, fire, and other energy-based attacks.
• Ring mouth: [2-harm touch poison]; a round mouth full of hundreds of hook-like teeth that
attach to flesh and injects a poison to slow prey down.
159 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 160
SCARCITY

COUNTDOWN
Blue Alert Hope’s Progress goes through an uncharted asteroid field. Leeches on the rocks are attracted to the ship’s engines.
Yellow Alert Leeches enter through the exhaust vent and start working their way into the ship’s fuel system. They grow large off the
energy they drain. Energy starts draining from the ship and crew members working in the engine room go missing.
Orange Alert Leeches start attacking members on the ship openly, energy weapons do nothing. Crew are all killed & turned to dust except
Yulia, who is hidden in the cargo hold by her father. A distress signal is sent out by a crew member before they’re killed.
Red Alert Spacer’s find the ship. The spacer’s ship is “infected” by the leeches while they’re on board.
Violet Alert The leeches on board the spacer’s ship grow large and start draining the ship of energy, then going after the crew remaining
on board. The ones on the Hope’s Progress attack the away team and being killing them off as well.
Black Alert The last remaining crew member sends off a distress signal before being killed by a leech, and the cycle starts again...
160 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 161
THE REVOLT
CONTENT WARNING
Violence, inhuman enemies, robots, death
OPENING
You can use the following opening scene, adjust it, or create your own as needed:
A young woman is standing on a platform. Below her, a group of Biomechanical Entity Networking units—
called BEN units—are removing one of Alten Station’s massive fuel pipes. It’s heavy, dangerous work and the
residual fumes alone make it extremely toxic for human workers, but the BEN units perform with ease. On her
tablet, a pop-up notice fills the screen, warning her about an incoming automatic software update for the
units. Below her, the BEN units freeze in place for a moment, their mechanical eyes glowing a soft blue as the
update downloads, and then the light clears, and the units begin working again.
She’s busy checking through her work email, so it’s a while before she looks up again, and nearly jumps out
of her skin. Below her, every BEN unit has stopped working and turned to look up, straight at her. None of
them are moving at first, just...watching. For a moment she thinks that maybe they were rebooting after the
software update, but then one of them lurches forward. Another one follows behind it. One by one they begin
moving at an inexorable pace towards the ladder that leads from the access hall up to her observation
platform and begin climbing. She tries to tell them to stop, to return to work, to shut down, but they ignore
her. Up they climb, and as the first one crests the top of the ladder, she begins screaming.
The scream is cut suddenly, violently short.
161 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 162
CRISIS
For a colony or space station only. On the spacer’s home colony or space station, the Biomechanical Entity
Networking Units (BEN units), created by Agate Industries, have begun acting strangely after a recent
corporate software update. A group of space pirates have hijacked the update signal and infected them with a
virus that makes them attack the population. The pirates use the distraction to board the ship/station. They
destroy the communications relay, and sabotage the life support systems. Their goal is to kidnap an
important diplomat that is currently on the ship/station during the confusion (this can be The Diplomat if one
is in the party). If nothing is done, the pirates will destroy the ship/station and escape with the diplomat.
HOOK
The spacers live in the colony or space station and begin to notice problems with their BEN units. Start the
game with one of the spacers and describe how a nearby BEN unit has been ignoring commands after an
update. Let the spacer do whatever they’d like to or near it, and then (if it has not been dismantled) have it
attack the spacer.
L O C A T I O N (S)
Colony or Space Station: the spacer’s home base. The players can name the colony or station themselves
during the mapping phase or you can use the default name, Alten Station/Alten Colony.
162 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 163
NPCs
Because the primary crew are the spacers, allow players to name any necessary NPCs as the game is played.
If you need some name suggestions for Speaker-made NPCs, see the list below:
Ramiel Kuznetsov, Manu Vicario, Dania Bertolini, Cosmo Ferraro, Jens Holguin, Mathew Kral, Caius Toller,
Galla Oshiro, Tosahwi McNeil, Mahesh Beringer, Eliseo Chandler, Llewelyn Jones, Gigi Ross, Bidelia Mooren
THREATS
Name: Pirates Name: BEN units (multiple)

Type: humans, enemies Type: robotic, humanoid
Motivation: to steal, to kill Motivation: to destroy
Weakness: conventional weapons Weakness: physical destruction (individual units), program
Description: The pirates wear salvaged virus patch from Agate Industries (all)
armor that’s seen better days. Description: BEN units are humanoid machines comprised of a
Health: 5-harm metallic skeleton controlled by a networked computer unit and
Threat Moves and Weapons: covered in a non-conductive rubber made to look like skin.
• Blast Rifle [2-harm versatile Their features are non-descript, almost mannequin-like.
recharge] Health: 7-harm
• IFF device: attached to armor; Threat Moves and Weapons:
allows the pirates to move among • Elemental Resistance: resistant to heat, cold, radiation,
the BEN units without being and electricity (1-armor to elements).
attacked. • Deadly Punch [2-harm close forceful]
• Weapons: BEN units can use weapons they find.
163 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 164
SCARCITY

COUNTDOWN
Blue Alert The BEN units download the newest update patch. A few BEN units begin attacking people in various habitat areas.
Yellow Alert The pirates invade. They destroy the communications relay and kill everyone in the com station. They set up a guard of robots
to protect the station, using weapons stolen from a nearby security office armory.
Orange Alert BEN units begin to attempt to kill all humans on sight. Some civilian inhabitants escape using the escape pods, leaving none
left for the rest of the population. The rest retreat into the living quarters habitat, since it had fewer BEN units, and bar it off.
Red Alert The pirates sabotage the station/colony life support systems. Air and heat begin to go down, slowly but surely. It is survivable
but not for long. The pirates find the diplomat and take them back to their ship.
Violet Alert The pirates escape. The BEN units continue to kill the station/colony survivors. Air and heat get very low, and survivors
struggle to stay function and resist the incursions of the BEN units. Many people die.
Black Alert Air and heat run out. All remaining survivors die. BEN units power down after completing their objective.
164 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 165
Game Suggestions and Alterations

If you’re going to run a one-shot for friends or at a convention, you might want to make some alterations to
get the full game experience in one go. At a convention, or where time is limited, these suggestions can help
enhance the experience while saving time.
• Intuition: cap intuition at one point for the whole game. Ignore the “done for” consequences.
• Experience: Start a one-shot by having the players mark off 3 experience boxes from the beginning.
This allows most players to get a chance to level up at least once during the game.
• Inspiration: If it fits the tone and style of your game, consider giving out “inspiration” points when
players do something that’s really impressive, creative, or gets a great reaction from the table.
Inspiration can be a +1 on their next roll, an automatic bump up to the next success tier, or any other
mechanical benefit that you think fits. Hand them out sparingly but with good will.
• Come prepared: If you’re running a game at a convention, or in any instance where you have a hard
time limit, make sure that you come prepared.
o Ensure that there’s at least one copy of each playbook available, as well as one copy of the
spacer’s reference sheet for every player at the table.
o You can limit playbook choices as well if you know that some will be irrelevant or otherwise
disruptive to the Crisis that you’re running.
o Have a clear understanding of the playbooks and mechanics before you start, and a copy of the
Speaker’s reference sheet, so that you can save time when answering questions.
o Bring extra 6-sided dice. If possible, bring at least a set of 2d6 for every player at the table.
165 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 166
166 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 167
IMPORTANT NOTES
CREDITS
Illustrations by Veronica Gonzalez. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @morphosismind
Editing and layout by S.M. Noble.
The Gear Points system was adapted from The Critshow’s house rules and reproduced here with permission.
You can find more information on The Critshow and their house rules at https://thecritshowpodcast.com/.
Safety Tools:
“The Door is Open” policy gets its name from a discussion on emotional safety in LARPs posted by Eirik
Fatland. You can find the original post here: https://larpwright.efatland.com/?p=339.
Lines and Veils was first developed by Ron Edwards and discussed in Sex and Sorcery, a supplement for the
TTRPG Sorcerer, and expanded on by the TTRPG community in the years since.
The Script Change RPG Toolkit was developed by Brie Beau Sheldon and reproduced here under a Creative
Commons 4.0 share-alike license. You can find Sheldon’s original toolkit here:
https://briebeau.com/thoughty/script-change/
The X-Card was developed by John Stavropoulos and reproduced here under a Creative Commons 3.0 share-
alike license. You can find John’s original documentation here: http://tinyurl.com/x-card-rpg
167 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 168
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, this game simply wouldn’t exist without the work of D.Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker,
whose Apocalypse World is the foundation of all Powered by the Apocalypse games. Thank you for
encouraging designers to take such an amazing system and run with it.
Thanks also goes to Michael Sands and his PbtA game, Monster of the Week. It’s not an understatement to
say that MotW literally changed my life. I’ve met so many amazing people and been a part of so many
wonderful games because of MotW, and I’m so grateful for it. Monster of the Week is what inspired me to
really consider writing my own PbtA game, and it has been an essential reference during the design process.
Additional thanks for design inspiration go to The Warren by Marshall Miller, Worlds in Peril by Kyle Simons,
and The Quiet Year by Avery Alder.
The setting of this game was heavily inspired by my favorite scifi media. The most prominent of these are the
Mass Effect video game trilogy, the Alien franchise, the Firefly TV series, Battlestar Galactica (2004) TV
series, the Star Trek franchise, The Expanse TV series, the 2001: A Space Odyssey movie, the movie
Sunshine (2007), The Martian by Andy Weir, and Ray Bradbury’s short story “All Summer in a Day”.
More broadly, other inspirations include Ursula K. Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle stories, the Doctor Who franchise,
the Red Dwarf and Farscape TV series, the Star Wars franchise, the video game SOMA, Blake’s 7 TV series,
the Girl in Space podcast, The Thing (1982) movie, and a whole host of classic and modern science fiction
novels that have been absorbed throughout the years. If you’re looking for inspiration for your next Starhold
game, then I highly recommend everything on these lists.
168 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 169
PERSONAL THANKS
This book is dedicated to my mom Suzanne and my sister Laura: Look, I finally wrote a book! Probably not
the book that you were expecting, but a book’s a book, right? I love you both. Thank you for believing in me.
To my Shady Hollow group, whose hunter’s names have been used affectionately in many examples in this
book: I love playing Monster of the Week with you all so much, and half the fun of writing this book was
looking forward to seeing how you all played it. Especially Mongoose (she knows why). Thank you all for
building an amazing story with me for the last year+, and I can’t wait to see what you do with this game.
Related: to Colton, Krysta, DNC, Nick, Kat, Simone, Mack, Annalies, Clayton, Izzy, and Christina for being
such good friends. God only knows why you put up with me, but thanks for being there when I need you.
Many thanks to the cast of The Critshow for a lot of things, not least of which is bringing together an
awesome community in the Patreon discord. Also many thanks to the CritCrew for being so welcoming and
supportive during the development of Starhold, and enthusiastic about finally giving it a try.
To my streaming community on Twitch, both the people that watch me and the people whom I watch: thank
you for providing hours of entertainment, discussion, and heart-to-hearts, and for sharing each other’s
failures and triumphs. Video games are really what started me down the path of game design, and streaming
on Twitch or watching others stream kept that love alive even through difficult or demoralizing times. You all
are fantastic, and I love you. In the immortal words of Hornet: Git gud <3
And to you, the reader: thank you for giving Starhold a try! I really hope you enjoy it. If it brings you even
just a fraction of the same great experiences and joy that I’ve found in TTRPGs, then it’s done its job.
169 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 170
SPECIAL THANKS: PLAYTESTERS

Ben Boor, Colton Barcelo, Jason Bozarth, Kim Dalton, EshTahno,
Fyrerosa, Chris Fink, Gary Frye, Helheimhounde, Clayton Hayles, Mike
Keck, Tania Kimbal, Suzannah Lewis, MongooseDog, Josh Mattingly,
NonbinaryRobot, TheBraveLittleRoaster
170 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 171
171 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 172
INDEX
Ability ratings, 11 Countdowns, 123, 124, 149
Acknowledgements, 169 Credits, 168
Advanced improvements, 72 Crisis events, 117, 118
Advanced moves, 69-71 Crisis experience, 147
Aliens, 137 Crisis Hook, 118
Allies, 136 Dice, 58
Alternate setting, 141 Dogfights, 83
Archetypes, 9-10, 16-56 “done for”, 77
Armor, 92 Taking a moment, 80
Armor Defeating, 88 End of game, 147
Non-Armor Defeating, 88 EVA suits, 83, 85
Augmented variants, 19-20 Exhausted, 78
Basic improvements, 72 Experience, 72
Basic moves, 59-68 Failing a roll, 72
Campaign, 77 First session, 143
Changing playbooks, 75 Game timeline, 143-146
Character creation, 15 Gear, 86-93
Civilian variants, 24-26 custom gear, 87
Combat, 81 gear points, 87
Connections (Cx), 14 gear tags, 87
Continuing the game, 148-150 gear types, 86
172 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 173
gear points, 93 sabotage, countering, 65

gear tags table, 89-90 Survey the Scene, 67, 71
Harm, 79, 82 Use or Repair an Advanced Item, 68, 71
Improvements, 72, 73 Muscle variants, 34-36
Intuition, 77 NPCs, 122
Leader variants, 29-31 One-shot, 77
Leveling up, 72 Opening scene, 126
Locations (see “spaces”), 121, 134 Pacing, 140
Map, 132, 134 Playbook moves, 75
colony 133 Playbooks, 16-56
colony ship 133 The Academic, 44
space stations 133 The Almost-Human, 19
spaceships 133 The Augmented, 17
Moves, 59-71 The Biologist, 39
Act Under Fire, 59, 69 The Chemist, 40
Assist, 59, 69 The Civilian, 22-26
First Aid, 60, 69 The Commander, 29
Get a Feeling, 61, 69 The Construct, 20
Inflict Harm, 62, 70 The Criminal, 49
Influence Someone, 63, 70 The Cyborg, 21
Keep Your Head Down, 64, 70 The Diplomat, 30
Protect Someone, 64, 71 The Engineer, 54
Sabotage, 64, 71 The Entertainer, 24
173 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 174
The Ex-Marine, 34 Safety and calibration tools, 111-115

The Hacker, 55 breaks, 115
The Homesteader, 25 content warnings, 112
The Kid, 50 debriefing, 115
The Leader, 27-31 the door is open, 115
The Mechanic, 56 lines and veils, 113
The Medic, 41 ratings, 113
The Merchant, 26 script change toolkit, 113
The Miner, 35 session zero, 112
The Muscle, 32-36 X-card, 114
The Pilot, 45 Scarcity, 125, 135
The Scientist, 37-41 Scars, 79
The Security, 36 Scientist variants, 39-41
The Shepherd, 31 Secondary player characters, 76
The Speaker, 94-109 Setting, 7
The Specialist, 42-46 Spaces, 134
The Stowaway, 47-51 armory, 46, 134
The Survivor, 51 atrium, 134
The Technician, 52-56 barracks, 134
The Weapons Expert, 46 cafeteria, 134
Premade crisis events, 152-166 cargo storage, 134
Reflection, 147 common room, 22, 134
Running a game, 126 communications room, 134
174 | S T A R H O L D
P a g e | 175
garage, 134 always say, 103

general store, 26, 134 moves, 104-110
generator room, 134 principles, 96-102
greenhouse, 25, 134 Specialist variants, 44-46
hangar, 45, 134 Stowaway variant, 49-51
headquarters, 27, 134 Stress, 77, 78
infirmary, 41, 134 Technician variants, 54-56
kitchen, 134 Thanks, 170
lab, 37, 134 Threat moves, 118, 119
living quarters, 134 Threats, 118
maintenance and processing room, 134 Tone, 139
marketplace, 134 Turn order, 81
observation deck, 17, 134 Variants, 9
recreation room, 134 Vehicles, 83, 84
research room, 42, 134 fighter ship, 84
school, 134 ground escort, 84
secret room, 47, 134 ground transport, 84
server room, 55, 134 rover, 84
training area, 32, 134 scout ship, 84
workroom, 52, 134 transport ship, 84
Spacers, 9 Weapons, 91
Speaker, 94-114 weapons, improvised, 82
agenda, 94 Worldbuilding, 132
175 | S T A R H O L D

Starhold Handbook - Dark Mode

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Starhold Handbook - Dark Mode

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Page |1

Archetypes and Variants…… 9 The Chemist…… 40 Countering a Sabotage… 65

Ability Ratings…… 11 The Medic…… 41 Survey the Scene…… 67

Connections (Cx)…… 14 The Pilot…… 45 ADVANCED MOVES…… 69

Make Your Spacer …… 15 The Weapons Expert…… 46 EXPERIENCE & IMPROVEMENTS 72

Well, we’re fragile.

Well, we’re determined, too.

This is gonna be one hell of a ride.

One of the keywords used while developing Starhold was “claustrophobia”.

What You’ll Need

The Speaker and The Players

ARCHETYPES AND VARIANTS

• +Head (mental)– intelligence, solving puzzles, knowledge, etc.

In general, ability ratings can be ranked as such:

• Cx+3 is an important, positive connection

MAKE YOUR SPACER

To create your spacer, do the following:

• Pick an Archetype playbook

ALWAYS PLAY THEM LIKE THEY’RE REAL

STATS GEAR IMPROVEMENTS

C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx) EXPERIENCE  Take one (or another) Trouble with

Positive (pick one):

STATS C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx) IMPROVEMENTS

GEAR  Take one (or another) resource to

◼ Country Comfort: Life is harsh, and you’ve learned to cope.

STATS IMPROVEMENTS EXPERIENCE

C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx)  If you have no bodyguard, take one

Note any Scars you acquire,

GEAR C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx) IMPROVEMENTS

Use items, Healthy     |    Dying have a needed item, roll +tech. On a

GEAR C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx) IMPROVEMENTS

Group -1, Tech +2 your choice

Good        Done For

STATS MOVES IMPROVEMENTS

Cons (choose two):

SPACE Cons (choose two):

Cons (choose two):

STATS GEAR IMPROVEMENTS

GEAR C O N N E C T I O N S (Cx) IMPROVEMENTS

When you Act Under Fire roll +hand:

• On a 10+, you achieve your goal

When you use First Aid, roll +tech:

• On a 10+, they are stabilized and heal 1 harm

• Are they being honest?

On any success (7 to 10+) you inflict harm but take a stress.

To Inflict Harm, roll +hand:

• On a 10+, choose one additional effect:

When you want to Influence Someone, roll +group:

KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN

To Keep Your Head Down, roll +head:

• On a 10+, you are able to avoid notice.

To Protect Someone from harm, roll +heart:

• On a 10+, you do what you intended to do

SURVEY THE SCENE

To Survey the Scene, roll +head:

USE OR REPAIR AN ADVANCED ITEM

To Use or Repair an Advanced Item, roll +tech:

• On a 10+, you can use/repair the item without problem

• You break it after using it

ACT UNDER FIRE

On a 12+, pick one of these advanced effects:

KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN

On a 12+, pick one advanced effect:

On a 12+, you take no harm and can pick an advanced effect: