Interest Check: (SWADE or SWN) Mines of Kirell Station

The war is over—but peace never came. Across the galaxy, the ruins of ancient empires smolder beneath the stars. Alien factions press outward, carving up forgotten systems. The central galactic authority, once a beacon of order, is fractured and barely holding together. Trade routes are unstable. Colonies are left to fend for themselves. And in the shadows, old technologies whisper to those reckless enough to listen.

Kirell Station was supposed to be a routine stop—a quiet mining outpost on the edge of the Verge. But its comms went silent. The crew vanished. And the last hauler sent to investigate transmitted only fragments before going dark: shadows moving in the tunnels, drones glitching and turning hostile, and then—static.

Now, a corporate upstart with more ambition than caution has hired your crew—a ragtag band of freelancers, ex-militia, and desperate spacers—to finish the job. Escort a shipment. Check the site. Report back. The pay’s decent. The risks? Unclear.

Simple, right?

Except the deeper you go, the stranger it gets. Malfunctioning tech. Echoes in the dark. Signs of something ancient stirring beneath the rock.

Whatever’s down there isn’t just dangerous—it’s probably hungry. And it’s been waiting.

Hey everyone! I’m putting out a quick interest check to see who might be up for a sci-fi one-shot sometime in December. I’ll be using either Stars Without Number or SWADE Sci-Fi—both systems offer great storytelling potential, and I’m excited to explore either.

System Options
*Stars Without Number: Everyone starts as an Adventurer archetype. Expect a grounded, colony-world vibe with a focus on survival, exploration, and gritty realism.

*SWADE Sci-Fi: More or less everyone starts out as a broadly skilled, adaptable explorer who can slot into almost any role—scout, negotiator, technician, or backup combatant. I can provide a template for reference.

Note: I can accommodate other archetypes or roles. We'll just need to discuss about it.

Setting Overview
The galaxy is still recovering from a massive war. Ancient empires have collapsed, alien factions are expanding, and the central galactic authority is just beginning to rebuild. Your crew will be navigating this fractured landscape, starting with a seemingly routine job at Kirell Station, a mining colony with secrets buried deep beneath its surface. The adventure is a sci-fi remix inspired by the Lost Mine of Phandelver.

What to Expect
This one-shot is designed to be short-ish, focused, and story-driven. I’ll be taking a relaxed approach with a few house rules to keep things smooth (I know not ideal for someone who is new to the system but necessary for the PbP format, plus there are personal flavors I wish to impart). The group size will be small to begin with. Again, I am new to both systems but once we decide which system to go with then I'll dive right in and do my utmost not to crash and burn. Hope you'll bring in a bagful of patience. Cheers!

Interested?
Drop a reply with:
- Your preferred system (SWN or SWADE)
- A rough character concept or role you’d like to play
- Any questions or ideas you’d like to explore

Looking forward to seeing who’s up for the ride!

Count me as interested:

Of the two systems I am much more familiar with SWADE but would be willing to learn SWN (I'm pretty sure I bought it in a Bundle of Holding somewhere along the way) and it might be a better fit for the game.

I"m thinking of something along the lines of a combat medic who was having trouble fitting back in to civilian life so is looking for somewhere he can use his skills for good and make a living without having to fit in.

I don't know how deep questions to dig into in a one shot but what it means to be a part of civilization when it's showing its cracks and failing in places is (while maybe too close to reality) interesting to me.

Greetings Bullseyepsa and thanks for your interest. If your willing to learn SWN then that makes two of us! Your SWADE experience would be a huge help and a steadying presence. As for the setting, I’m still fleshing out the rest of it, but the cracks have always been there and have widened into full-on fractures and fissures after a "great conflict". Maybe you—and anyone else willing to come out of retirement—can help hold things together. Think of it as if WH40k had a bubblier, less-grim cousin who, for some reason, really loves butterknives. "Have a great day!

I love a story driven SF game and I have always wanted to learn SWN but never had the chance to. However, I have no problem learning SWADE.

As for character, I'm thinking a technician that got drafted and forced into service for the war. Unfortunately, as consequences of the conflict his home was destroyed. Having no place to go back to he was left to wandering in hopes of finding some place he could put down roots.

I never could resist a SWADE game. If you decide to go that route, please keep me in mind.

Count me in! I enjoy both systems, but I've been leaning towards OSR systems lately so SWN just beats out SWADE, for me.

The story sounds good. I have never played in either system before hence I am a noobie, but I am down to try.

Salutations and I hope ya'll had a good weekend. Thanks for showing interest in the game concept—and for being open to either SWN or SWADE. I should have my final call by next week. At the moment, I’m locked in a friendly internal argument between SWN (my inner AD&D 2e goblin is shrieking "OSR! OSR!") and SWADE, which keeps flaunting its skill system like, "Hey… you know you wanna do this right?"

Happy Thanksgiving!
Awesome—this indeed will be a story-driven sci-fi game, and even though it’s just a one-shot, the universe lore and background tales will still be there to make the setting feel like being part of a much larger galaxy. I do plan to include the "adventure" as part of a bigger set of stories that can end up connecting—or stay totally independent—depending on which way the solar winds drift.

A technician, eh? Interesting! What tech field does your PC lean toward—starships, mechs, industrial machines, cybernetics, drones, salvage rigs, or something more exotic?
I have yet to view the SWADE campaign you mentioned on another post, but I am interested to check it out.
I know how you feel since I am very connected to my OSR roots as well.
You and me both! I’m familiar with SWN system-wise and the OSR feel, but I’ve been really drawn to SWADE’s skill-based mechanics, which I’ve appreciated for a long time. Both are great platforms for the story, but they scratch very different itches—so my old neural cores are still grinding through the calculations. Cheers!

I'm thinking more of a jack-all-trades type mechanic. If something was broken the military asked him to fix it, thus he got shuffled around a lot. Since the war he took whatever work this way came about. So he is more of a generalist not an expert in any way but someone who could tinker with whatever was broke, eventually figure out how it was supposed to work and try to fix it.

If you end up going with SWADE, I'd be interested in playing a scout. She was a special forces member in the military and now uses her training in that field to keep herself and her companions alive.