distrOrbiters Local 519 is a complete sci-fi RPG about disassembling derelict starships, built for open tables and one-shots. It focuses on dungeoncrawling, with one important difference: instability. As the players move through the derelicts, seeking valuable components, the ship falls apart. Pipes explode, walls collapse, and entire rooms may separate from the core.

Along with this natural damage, the players are given the tools needed to demolish their environment: welding torches, plasma cutters, and explosives.

It includes:

•  Streamlined exploration mechanics built around an Event Die, which handles creature movement, derelict collapse, and oxygen depletion.
•  Robust derelict ship generation that determines the ship's type, the disaster that claimed it, and a room-by-room map creator.
•  Class-based character advancement and management.
•  Highly randomized character generation meant to create unique teams of scavengers.

The Open Table

The default structure for many games tends to be one of two options: either a single session with a clearly defined start and end, or a long campaign with a single set of players changing little over months or years.

Orbiters Local 519 is intended for a different format: an open table, made more popular in recent years by some corners of the OSR. Here, a single GM runs consistent sessions with a constantly varying set of players; some people may come for one or two games,Archons Court Games some may make it to many.

Orbiters explicitly supports this play structure in a few ways: 

First, its character creation is meant to be quick, allowing new players to build their scrapper in the first few minutes of the session, or make it easier for particularly active players to maintain a set of characters to choose from. 

Secondly, core mechanics like inventory management are made to work on a single-derelict basis, instead of needing to be tracked between sessions: vital necessities like oxygen and batteries are provided by the Company as your shift begins, and whatever remains is claimed by them when your shift ends. The few things that can't be tracked in this way - like upgrades for your home ship - are integrated into a single sheet for the GM.

What Needs to Be Done?