Player's Guide

What is Going On?
The Narrow Expanse is a science-fiction role-playing game set in the distant future. The humans of Earth have expanded their domain to include the entire Solar System, and beyond. But humans aren’t alone in the world of The Narrow Expanse. The discovery of an Einstein-Rosen bridge hiding beyond Pluto’s moon Sedna in the year 2221 changed the trajectory of the human race forever. Humans entered the wormhole, with no knowledge as to where it might lead. More wormholes were discovered across various star systems in the Milky Way, linking them all in a random circuit of instantaneous space travel. As humans traveled through the wormholes, they discovered and came into contact with dozens of other races, from the amphibious Ewolsans to the prosperous Shivans. The shared science and knowledge of these newly-connected races led to leaps and bounds for every race. Eventually, technology was developed that allowed the people of the Milky Way to navigate through the wormholes. In 2326, the Galactic Systems’ Union was formed, in hopes of promoting galaxy-wide peace, security, and cooperation.

The Narrow Expanse puts you in the shoes of a citizen of the Milky Way in the year 2535. Are you a fisher earning a living on the ocean-world of Mohiri, a miner gathering resources in a mining colony on Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, a high-class partier living in the planet-wide city of Thesulia Prime, or a bounty hunter living by your own rules across the galaxy? This is The Narrow Expanse, and the choice is yours.

Who are the Major Players?
The people of the Milky Way galaxy have formed multiple governmental bodies, from system-wide councils to single-planet authorities. These are the major governing bodies and other formidable groups that you are likely to come into contact with in your life and adventures in The Narrow Escape.


 * Galactic Systems’ Union (GSU): Galaxy-wide governing body whose goal is to promote galaxy-wide peace, security and cooperation. The GSU has no official military power, but has an enforcement branch that ensures order is kept. Headquartered on a giant space station named The Felicity.


 * Galactic Systems’ Council (GSC): Body of representatives from nearly every race in the Milky Way that debates and votes on laws and decisions brought before them.
 * Peacekeepers: Elite division inside the GSC’s law enforcement branch. The best of the best when it comes to combat and government operations.
 * Solar Confederacy: Sol System’s governing and militaristic authority. Military strength is well-regarded across the galaxy. Capital is located on Venus.
 * Shivan Alliance: Alliance formed between the Shivans, Dalthians, and Askorrans that works together to oversee and protect the Shivan System.
 * Edgeri Federation Union: Governing and military authority of the Edgeri System. This is the most diverse of the system governing bodies, made up of six different races.
 * Pantorian Empire: The conquering and invasive empire of the Pantor race. Has dominated and controls most of the Phaelong System.
 * Bounty Hunter’s Guild: The guild is a “professional” organization that helps those who can afford it place a bounty on someone and connect them with possible bounty hunters.
 * Galactic Crime Syndicate: Name given to the confederation of the largest and most powerful crime organizations in the Milky Way, often referred to simply as the Syndicate

Traits
There is a set of seven different characteristic traits that impact the outcomes of many in-game situations. These traits can make or break a character build and can be the difference between life and death. There are two methods for generating the scores for each trait. The first method is to roll a d20 dice seven times, one time for each trait, and then assign one of the seven generated numbers to each trait. The second generation method is to give each trait a score. To do this, each player has a pool of 84 points. No trait can have a score lower than 9 or higher than 15, regardless of the method used to generate them. The traits and their functions are listed below:


 * Strength: Natural athleticism, bodily power, melee combat
 * Nimbleness: Physical agility, reflexes, balance, poise
 * Intelligence: Knowledge, technical skills, science
 * Perception: Awareness, observation skills, worldly grasp
 * Charm: Confidence, eloquence, leadership, persuasion
 * Constitution: Stamina, resistance, health
 * Marksmanship: Handling projectile weaponry, shooting, throwing

Stats
While traits have a lot of influence in The Narrow Expanse, they are not all that matters. Stats are important details that help shape your character. Stats include your character’s hit points, armor points, and movement. Some stats directly affect gameplay, while others help fill out your character's backstory.


 * Hitpoints: determines the amount of damage your character can endure. Hit points are determined by adding your character’s Constitution and Strength scores.
 * Armor: Your character’s base armor rating is 8. This means that if your character is not wearing any armor, an attacking enemy needs to roll higher than an 8 on a d20 in order to deal damage.
 * Movement: The base movement for all characters is 30 feet per turn. Movement can be increased based on race, background, and even equipment. Movement can also be decreased by injuries or status effects.
 * Homeworld: Your character’s homeworld has little effect on gameplay, but does affect how they relate to the world and how others view them. Homeworlds are listed in the Appendices section of the Player’s Guide.
 * Ammunition: Keeping ammunition handy is essential in The Narrow Expanse. Slugthrowing weapons are fed by magazines, energy weapons by type A power cells, and heavy weapons by type B power cells. Each character starts off with 5 magazines or power cells of their chosen ranged combat skill.
 * Chips: Chips are the galactic currency of The Narrow Expanse. Each character starts off with 1800 chips.

Character Creation
(At the top of this page is a blank character sheet template.)

The first step in character creation is deciding who you want to be during your time in The Narrow Expanse. You need to determine which of the various races you would like to play as, what your niche is in the world of The Narrow Expanse, and what kind of person you are. The choices are nearly endless, but so are the consequences. You can plan your character’s abilities wisely, or you can fly on a whim. Are you building your character to be a member of a close-knit group that compliments the strengths and weaknesses of one another? Or would you have more fun being the lone wolf, not worrying about covering someone’s back or who’s covering yours? After you conceive an idea of who you want to be in The Narrow Expanse, it’s time to start getting it all on paper.

Choose Your Race
Choosing the race of your character is a deceptively simple task. Each race has their own reputation, their own tendencies, and their own culture. After you decide what race you want to play as, the next step is to pick your name. There are 27 different playable races in The Narrow Expanse, and you have to choose only one to play as. The possible races for your character are listed below:


 * Aquarnish: Amphibious, AR 10
 * Askorran: Fast, +1 to Marksmanship
 * Ballarian: +1 Intelligence, +1 Perception
 * Callian: Four-armed, +1 Nimbleness
 * Corrunish: +1 Strength, +1 Charm
 * Dalthian: +2 Intelligence
 * Edonese: +1 Nimbleness, +1 Constitution
 * Ewolsan: Amphibious, +1 Nimbleness
 * Flufean: +1 Strength, +1 Perception
 * Goskilian: +2 Perception
 * Human: +1 Charm, +1 Perception
 * Insuhmian: Ar 10, +1 Strength Rolls
 * Jestefedi: AR 10, +1 Constitution
 * Kamarian: Four-armed, +1 Charm
 * Kanadarian: +1 Intelligence, +1 Nimbleness
 * Kucheysti: +2 Marksmanship
 * Naclorian: +2 Charm
 * Nexumish: +1 Charm, +1 Strength
 * Olloonian: Fast, +1 Charm
 * Pantorian: +1 Perception, +1 Intelligence
 * Rekilian: Fast, +1 Nimbleness
 * Sartan: +1 Constitution, +1 Charm
 * Shivan: +2 Intelligence
 * Umman: +2 Constitution
 * Vobarti: +2 Strength
 * Yulorian: +2 Intelligence
 * Zuolitan: +1 Perception, +1 Constitution

What Can You Do For Your Crew?
After choosing a race for your character, the next step is to choose your character’s role. The world of The Narrow Expanse is a very diverse and demanding one. Just as on today’s Earth, everyone has a way of earning their pay. Some people are miners, some work on a factory line, some are in the various militaries across the galaxy, and some work office jobs. But you are destined, or doomed, to a more adventurous life. Your character finds themselves on the path of adventure, leaving behind their old, mundane, daily routine. Your character's new role is tied to a ship and crew. Deciding your character’s role is an important step, because each role comes with built-in bonuses and weaknesses. Proficiencies are skills that each role is innately good at, and will not need usually need to make a skill check for. The listed skills are skills that a person in that particular role would be experienced in, but have not yet mastered. Each role has two proficiencies, and two minor skills. Each minor skill is level 4. But just as each role has unique strengths, they have unique limitations. Limitations are skills in which a particular role is inept.


 * Armsman:
 * Proficiencies: Deadeye, Dual Wielding
 * Skills: Archery, Athletics, Bombardment
 * Limitations: Chemistry 1, Zoology 1, Botany 1
 * Armor: All armor types
 * Captain:
 * Proficiencies: Persuasion, Navigation
 * Skills: Piloting, Sword Fighting
 * Limitations: Mechanics 2, Medicine 1, Geology 1
 * Armor: Shields, street armor
 * Communications:
 * Proficiencies: Language, Programming
 * Skills: Insight, Law
 * Limitations: Martial Arts 2, Deadeye 1, Dual Wielding 1
 * Armor: Shield, street armor
 * Medic:
 * Proficiencies: Medicine, Chemistry
 * Skills: Cooking, Survival
 * Limitations:  Athletics 2, History 1, Grappling 1
 * Armor: Shields, street armor
 * Pilot:
 * Proficiencies: Piloting, Navigation
 * Skills: Mechanics, Astronomy, Bombardment
 * Limitations: Survival 1, Intimidation 1, Law 1
 * Armor: Shields, street armor
 * Strongman:
 * Proficiencies: Grappling, Martial Arts
 * Skills: Athletics, Intimidation
 * Limitations: Language 2, Persuasion 1, Stealth 1
 * Armor: All armor types
 * Technician:
 * Proficiencies: Programming, Engineering
 * Skills: Mechanics, Survival
 * Limitations: Intimidation 2, Deadeye 1, Animal Handling 1
 * Armor: All armor types

Everybody Makes Mistakes
In The Narrow Expanse, every character has at least one flaw. One negative trait that affects their life. Flaws add an interesting dynamic to the game, but also help make your character feel more believable. Your character’s flaws can be anything from being an addict, to being a kleptomaniac, to having a limp. Be careful though, the GM has full discrepancy on punishing players who do not adhere to their chosen flaws.

Occupations
Just as in the real world, everybody has something to bring to the table in The Narrow Expanse. Your character has to be good at something. After all, they probably weren’t always dashing around the Milky Way aboard a starship. Odds are, your character lived a pretty normal life before being thrust into whatever adventures The Narrow Expanse has in store. Were they a dockworker? Did they help build starships? Maybe they owned or worked on a farm? Each character has, or had, an occupation before becoming the adventurer they are today. Each occupation has its own unique bonus built in. If an occupation has two skills listed, your character gains level 5(+2) in one and level 4(+1) in the other. The choice is yours to make. If only one skill islisted, your character gains level six (+3) in that skill.


 * Aboriginal: Archery, Survival
 * Accountant: Bartering, Law
 * Apothecary: Botany, Chemistry
 * Archaeologist: Geology, History
 * Armorer: Metallurgy, Engineering
 * Artist: Performance
 * Astronomer: Astronomy, Navigation
 * Athlete: Athletics
 * Author: Persuasion, Language
 * Aviator: Piloting
 * Biologist: Zoology, Botany
 * Bombardier: Bombardment
 * Botanist: Botany
 * Bounty Hunter: Survival, Deadeye
 * Business Owner: Insight, Bartering
 * Chef:  Cooking
 * Chemist: Chemistry
 * Clergyman: Insight, Persuasion
 * Computer Tech: Programming
 * Construction Worker: Grappling, Engineering
 * Criminal: Stealth, Deception
 * Doctor/Nurse: Medicine
 * Electrician: Mechanics, Programming
 * Engineer: Engineering
 * Farmer: Survival, Animal Handling
 * Fighter: Grappling, Athletics
 * Fisherman: Swimming, Animal Handling
 * Firefighter: Survival, Engineering
 * Frontiersman: Survival, Advanced Weaponry
 * Geologist: Geology
 * Gunsmith: Metallurgy, Deadeye
 * Hacker: Programming, Sleight of Hand
 * Historian: History
 * Hunter: Deadeye, Animal Handling
 * Janitor: Insight
 * Jeweler: Metallurgy, Sleight of Hand
 * Journalist: Insight, Language
 * Lawyer: Law
 * Law Enforcement: Law, Athletics
 * Librarian: Language, History
 * Linguist: Language
 * Mechanic: Mechanics
 * Mercenary: Bartering, Advanced Weaponry
 * Military: Deadeye, Bombardment
 * Miner: Geology, Metallurgy
 * Musician: Performance, Language
 * Physicist: Engineering, Chemistry
 * Pirate: Bombardment, Advanced Weaponry
 * Plumber: Mechanics, Engineering
 * Politician: Deception, Language
 * Private Eye: Insight, Stealth
 * Royalty: Intimidation, Persuasion
 * Salvage Worker: Survival, Engineering
 * Sex Worker: Performance, Deception
 * Spacer: Navigation, Mechanics
 * Spy: Stealth, Deception
 * Teacher: Persuasion, Language
 * Theologian: History, Insight
 * Thief: Stealth, Sleight of Hand
 * Trader: Bartering
 * Vagabond: Survival, Insight
 * Xenologist: Astronomy, Zoology
 * Zoologist: Zoology

We Know What You Did, But How Did You Live?
After picking an occupation, the next step is to pick a background for your character. Backgrounds are similar to occupations in the sense that they both reflect your character’s former way of life. Your character’s occupation reflects what they did for a living before being whisked away in the name of adventure. Backgrounds, however, are how your character lived their life. They add smaller, role-playing oriented bonuses to your character, such as the ability to read or speak multiple languages or starting with more chips.


 * Alert: Your character cannot be surprised
 * Combat Trained: Your character starts out with proficiency in three combat skills
 * Connected: Your character has a contact that offers up helpful information
 * Quick Responder: Your character rolls 1d4 to determine initiative
 * Inheritance: Start with 1d6 x1000 extra chips
 * Learned: Can speak two additional languages
 * Munitions Expert: Your character starts out with twice as much ammo
 * Sociopath: Your character cannot be charmed
 * Sprinter: Your character gains 15 additional feet of movement
 * Treasure Hunter: Can roll 1d6 for extra loot chance, but if you fail, you get no loot
 * Well-Armed: Your character starts with two weapons

Skills
Skills are the basic capabilities of your character in The Narrow Expanse. Each time your character tries to do something, their proficiency in certain skills will help determine their success. If your character wants to scale a cliff, they will need to make an athletics check. Similarly, if your character is trying to fly a starship, they will need to pass a piloting check. Each skill is correlated to one of the seven traits, and being proficient in a skill gives a bonus to that trait. Each trait has six levels of proficiency, ranging from to -2 to +3. Each level grants a bonus to the corresponding trait, as it pertains to skill checks. For example, if your character is attempting to scale a cliff, and has an athletics level of five, you will roll a strength check while adding +2 to the roll for your athletics level. This kind of roll is called a skill check. Your character may not always have to make a skill check, however. If your character’s role is pilot, then it’s safe to assume they know how to fly a starship and will not need to make a piloting skill check, according to the GM’s discretion. The skills and their correlated traits are listed below.


 * Strength:
 * Athletics
 * Grappling
 * Swimming
 * Sword Fighting
 * Nimbleness
 * Acrobatics
 * Sleight of Hand
 * Stealth
 * Intelligence:
 * Astronomy
 * Botany
 * Chemistry
 * Engineering
 * Geology
 * Language
 * Mechanics
 * Programming
 * Zoology
 * Perception:
 * History
 * Insight
 * Law
 * Navigation
 * Piloting
 * Charm:
 * Deception
 * Intimidation
 * Performance
 * Persuasion
 * Constitution:
 * Animal Handling
 * Cooking
 * Medicine
 * Survival
 * Marksmanship:
 * Advanced Weaponry
 * Archery
 * Deadeye
 * Dual Wielding

Combat Skills
In a universe as diverse as The Narrow Expanse, conflict is all but guaranteed. Your character and their crew are going to come across people they don’t like, and people that don’t like them. More often and not, your character’s persuasion and intimidation skills are going to fall short. When that happens, they will need to rely on their combat skills or learn to run away (the latter is most often the best choice). Is your character a swordsman? A fully loaded heavy gunner? Or an old school gunslinger dual-wielding pistols? Each character in The Narrow Expanse starts off with proficiency in two combat skills of their choosing.


 * Energy
 * Blasters: Classic laser weaponry, from rifles to sub machine guns
 * Pistols: one-handed laser projectile weaponry
 * Snipers: large, long rifles designed to be used from a safe vantage point, not made with mobility in mind
 * Heavy
 * Heavy Weaponry: Your classic heavy projectile weapons; miniguns, rocket launchers, etc.
 * Slugs
 * Slugthrowers: Non-laser projectile weapons that fire bullets and produce kick, ammo is very hard to come by
 * Bows/crossbows
 * Heavy Melee: Strong, powerful melee weapons such as great axes and staves
 * Martial Arts: Any unarmed fighting style you can think of
 * Melee Weaponry: Standard melee weapons such as swords, daggers, and axes
 * Thrown Weapons: Just what it sounds like; javelins, throwing knives, bolos

Armor Types
There are four main categories of armor: shields, street, combat, and power. Shields are just that, shields. There’s not much variation when it comes to shields, they’re the cheapest and most simple form of protection. Street armor is the second most common type of armor in The Narrow Expanse. Street armor is designed not to draw eyes or cause social repercussions. Street armor is commonly worn under clothing and is relatively easy to come by. Combat armor is exactly what it sounds like: armor designed for combat. Combat armor is military-grade and as such tends to draw attention, especially from law enforcement. Power armor is highly advanced, and highly conspicuous. Power armor increases its wearer's mobility and strength.