Kickstarter-Watch: Space 1889 After

I’ve written before about the ever-increasing ubiquity of the 5E ruleset for Dungeons & Dragons. More and more games, whether fanmade or professional; original or licensed, seem to be getting released using this framework. The latest game to get the 5E treatment is Space 1889.

Space 1889 has been around since 1989, originally having been put out by Game Designers’ Workshop. It’s gone through several iterations since, under a range of different publishers. The campaign page describes the publishing history as “four publishers, three game systems, and multiple media continuities“. Strange Owl Games is crowdfunding the 5E version of the game. The campaign looks pretty promising.

I’ve never played Space 1889, but I’ve long been aware of it. I like the idea of the setting. Space 1889 takes place in a world of Victorian sci-fi. Great ships are able to travel the stars using Edison’s ether propeller, leading to the colonisation of the solar system. World powers trampling native species in the quest for expansion and resources? Twas ever thus…

There’s a ton of cool alternative history, steampunky themes, exploration of alien worlds, space-based buckling of swashes… so much potential. The exploration in particular is emphasised as a big focus of this edition.

In terms of the campaign, it’s interesting. The video isn’t fantastic, but it’s alright and pretty informative. The most interesting thing about the campaign to me is that there is a pretty huge bifurcation in the proposed product line. The title of the campaign includes the term 5E, but this isn’t necessarily what you’re going to end up with. At least, it might not, depending on your purchasing decisions.

Strange Owl Games appear to be hedging their bets. There are two core rulebooks:

One is the promised 5E book. The description of this book reads:

“If you find the steampunk setting compelling, but are uncertain about learning a new ruleset, we’ve got you covered! Space 1889: After is available for the fifth edition of the most popular game system in the world. 

The converted rules for ether-fliers, sky galleons, and aerial gunboats are compatible with any space-faring 5th edition game, and the Space 1889: After setting itself is a potential destination for any spell mishap or astral plane excursion.”

This is a 5E game. There are many of those. The selling point is that it’s a reasonably solid system that many people are familiar with at this point. There’s also the possibility of some interesting cross-play as you bring Space 1889 content into other games, or other games’ content in Space 1889. That’s cool.

The thing is, you might not choose that book. Instead, you may be more interested in Strange Owl’s own system that they have created for the campaign. Of these rules, we are told:

“Players use their hand of cards to determine initiative and defenses, and to trigger special abilities. A standard deck of cards works just fine, but our first stretch goal—the custom Order Deck—is thematic and has the special rules and options printed on the cards themselves for easy reference.

The rules emphasize the use of ether-fliers (Victorian spaceships) and sky galleons. You’ll find adventures in the skies and in space, as well as integrated encounter rules for vehicles and characters that easily scale to either.“

And… that’s all.

That’s a problem. Strange Owl Games is not a proven company with a track record of good products. They have another RPG slated for release in 2023 and that’s all I can see. We have an untested, unproven company with no mention of previous titles that they or their designers have been involved with, and who want to put out not one core rulebook for a game, but two rulebooks with completely different underlying systems. One of these systems is a known quantity. It’s 5E. It’s possible to do a bad conversion job, but the core is established and is sound.

When it comes to pushing their own system, there should be plenty of examples, intro rules, and maybe some playthrough videos. I’ve seen comments from the company promising previews after the Kickstarter funds clear. That’s not a good look. They talk about having some creators do some videos for them. Is this not the sort of thing that needs to be done before you ask for money?

Look at other campaigns that have done this well, either by giving some great preview rules or by engaging with content creators in advance of their campaign. These are simple actions that build credibility.

Let’s look at cost. For either core rulebook, you’re looking at $25 for a PDF or $70 for a physical book/PDF bundle. If you want both editions, you’re looking at $40 for both PDFs or $130 for both physical books and the accompanying PDFs. DriveThruRPG is being used to deliver the physical book pledges. This might explain why the books are so expensive. They feel like print-on-demand prices. I’m aware that some people have complained of binding issues in the long term with DTRPG’s print-on-demand books. Personally, I’ve not had issues, but I’ve not used these books particularly heavily. UK shipping is a very reasonable $9.

Is it worth it? Well, I’m going to pass. The proposed game sounds decent, but I have nothing to go on to suggest that these promises will be delivered. The product may well turn out to be fantastic, but the campaign is lackluster and suffers from a lack of preparation. It’s sparse. It’s vague. It seems to lack pride in the product.

You can click here to visit the Space 1889 project page at Kickstarter.