Our Space: 1999 Roleplaying Game will be available to experience soon with the forthcoming release of the core rulebook. This co-production between Anderson Entertainment and Modiphius thrusts you into the world of Space: 1999 and allows you to create your very own cosmic adventures with fellow Alphans!
To get you up to speed with the ins and outs of RPGS, Modiphius’ Andrew Peregrine has previously explained what you can expect from the game. With those basics secured, Andrew next explains where and how you can actually start your RPG Space: 1999 experience.
So, you have this rulebook, and this game looks interesting, but what do you do next? Getting started can be the hardest obstacle to beginning a role-playing game, as the rules and logistics of it all might seem rather overwhelming to newcomers. It isn’t as easy as just setting up a board game or turning on a video game, but it is well worth the extra effort, which won’t seem much at all once you know what you are doing.
Get a group together
Role playing is a very social activity, so you’ll need a few other people to play the game with. Plenty of fellow Space: 1999 fans who may also wish to get involved in our forthcoming RPG can be found on our official Facebook groups, but other interested parties may be available on various gaming forums. How many is really up to you. One person will need to run the game (the “gamemaster”) and everyone else will create their own character as a “player”. The ideal group size is about 5-6 people. But games can work with more or less. Consider an episode of the show; most involve around 3-4 of the main characters in a landing party or setting out in an Eagle. So a group of 3-4 players plus a gamemaster lets you mirror the sort of episodes you have seen.
But groups can be smaller or larger for the same reasons. The season one episode Missing Link is essentially a solo adventure for Koenig. Just as in the episode, a game with a single player and gamemaster can be more intense and involve more of the character’s backstory and choices. Other episodes like The Last Sunset or The Bringers of Wonder involve the whole base in some way, and would suit a larger group. So it doesn’t really matter how many people want to join your gaming group as long as you have at least two people and you have enough chairs for everyone!
Where can you play?
As long as everyone can hear everyone else, and you have somewhere to put your dice and character sheets, you can play the game anywhere. You don’t need a computer, or electricity (unless you are playing online) so you can play on a train, in a living room or even in a café. It’s useful to have a table to put things on, but that need not be very large, and even that isn’t essential. Tables are good for putting snacks on though, so that is worth considering!
One thing you should do is keep the area clear of distractions as much as possible. Music or noise in the background will make it hard to hear everyone. People who are not playing the game and are watching television in the background will also be distracting. Ideally, everyone should put their phones down during the game as well so they can focus on what is going on. Just like when you are watching the show on television, checking your phone ensures you miss bits and lose track of the story.
If you have trouble with scheduling everyone getting together, you can meet in virtual space. As long as everyone has what they need, a simple Teams, Zoom or Google meet set up will let you play the game with people across the world (or who moved recently to the next town). In addition to these options, there are several online platforms (such as Discord, Roll20, Fantasy Grounds and Role) designed specifically for online gaming. They offer digital dice rollers and options to share rulebooks and handouts. But while they are great, they are not essential.
What equipment do you need?
Once you have a copy of the rulebook, that’s pretty much all you need. In an ideal world, everyone will have their own copy of the book. That way they can easily reference rules and their character’s abilities during play. But one book shared by the whole group is usually enough. The only other things you’ll need are pencils and paper, and dice.
Each player will need a record of their character’s abilities called a “character sheet”. This is a form that is usually available online or can be photocopied from the book. Some players also like to take notes or write journals for their character, and that’s to be encouraged as they are great to look back on.
In the case of dice, for Space: 1999 you just need 5 twenty-sided dice. These are more commonplace than you might think though. Any gaming shop can sell you a set of dice and Modiphius do a number of special dice packs for other 2D20 rules system games that are perfectly good for Space: 1999. Just typing twenty-sided dice into a search engine will get you a multitude of options, and all of them are good, so pick the best price or the prettiest! You can also buy a set of dice as part of the Space: 1999 Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, which can be pre-ordered this coming Breakaway Day (September 13th).
How much preparation do you need?
This one is really up to you. The gamemaster should ideally have read the whole rulebook so they can direct the game and teach the players what they need to know. This might seem a lot but there is also the Quickstart Guide which offers a much shorter version of the rules to get you playing earlier. The Quickstart Guide is part of the Space: 1999 Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook set. The players will also need to create characters, although this is best done in a group where they can discuss how those characters will connect to each other and make sure they all have a broad range of abilities. Quite often this is done as the first meeting of the group as a “session zero” to set everything up. But if this seems a lot to do, then the Quickstart Guide also has six readymade characters you can just pick up and play.
The Quickstart Guide itself will be available to download as a pdf as part of the pre-order for the Core Rulebook. Once you’ve pre-ordered, you can download the Quickstart Guide immediately and get to work familiarising yourself with the Space: 1999 Roleplaying Game while you wait for the Core Rulebook to arrive.
If the gamemaster wants to create their own adventure (or adapt their favourite episode), this takes a bit more preparation time. But how much is up to the gamemaster. Some toil for hours on maps, handouts and various angles of the plot, others think up a rough structure and improvise their way along. Thankfully, the Quickstart Guide and the Core Rulebook both contain a readymade adventure that the gamemaster just needs to read and then they are ready to go.
So, in short, you just need some friends, a place with a little peace and quiet, a few dice, pencils and paper. Then you are ready to play. Be sure to use the Space: 1999 Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook as your definitive guide on this fantastic cosmic journey you’ll be embarking on. Gamemaster group Lurking Fears is hosting a series of livestreams of the group playing the Space: 1999 RPG for you to experience it in action, which take place this coming Breakaway Day (September 13th). Tickets for the livestreams can be ordered now!
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