Expansive Circumstances
An Expansive tale
If you're not familiar with the Expanse saga by James S.A. Corey I highly recommend you get yourself stuck in and enjoy the phenomenal first chapter, Leviathan Wakes.
The books focus around a future in which humanity has flourished and grown to inhabit all but the most remote parts of the Solar system.
The Earth, under the direction of the United Nations, now deals with overpopulation, under-employment and a precarious grasp on its dominance in the region.
The upstart brother, Mars, under the control on the Martian Congressional Republic, strives forward to terraform the world and push technology and its colonists to their limits.
And then there's the Belt, the focal point for those living on the edge of what it could be classed as human. With their unique physiology, strange dialects and even stranger customs the belt is viewed as a useful resource by both Mars and Earth, but its inhabitants are tolerated rather than embraced by either side. This has led to the rise of factions such as the Outer Planets Alliance who represent those outcast by their more “civilised” kin.
Lastly, we have the mega corporations, affiliated with anyone and everyone so long as they have the money and resource. These take the form of conglomerates such as Tyco Corp and Protogen to name but two.
All this was originally developed by the masterminds of the series as a backdrop for a roleplaying game. One that is finally happening.
Kicking it all off
On the 23rd July 2018 Green Ronin Publishing put forward a campaign on Kickstarter to get the Expanse RPG launched. In 54 minutes they achieved this ambition. The current pledge stands at just over $400k, of which the publisher required $30k.
Many stretch goals have been unlocked, including the game master screen, unique artwork, collectors editions and a new short story from the authors themselves. You can already get a taste of the game for yourself using the quick play demo that can be found on the Kickstarter feed linked here.
Making our own stories
So, why all the preamble? Well, the new system is arriving imminently with the full PDF and hard copies of the game releasing in the next month or two. Mosaic Gaming Network's team of explorers will, under the Rolling with the Regulars umbrella, be playing a new campaign. Our intrepid band will be playing a group of convicts who are being transported for reasons unknown and crimes unclear. But glory and freedom await those strong enough to survive.
The Expanse RPG is set between the events of the first book in the series, Leviathan Wakes, and the second book, Calibans War. This is due to the 18 month period between the books giving the developers a nice period to work with. The events of what has been and what will be can be explored without causing too much damage to the timeline. Players can freely get into and explore this strange and terrifying new world.
We look forward to revealing more as we get closer to the release and hope to see you there on launch.
For more details on the Expanse RPG follow the Green Ronin Publishing Kickstarter campaign.
The Expanse Roleplaying Game is ©2018 Green Ronin Publishing, LLC. The Expanse is ©2011-2018 Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.