System Unknown

System Unknown is a 194-page science-fantasy tabletop RPG designed for solo play, but adaptable for groups. where you inhabit the role of a villain. You are not a hero. You are the sharp edge of conquest—the right hand of a ruthless Empire, advancing its dominion into a world that never asked for your presence.

This is not a game of balance sheets, maps, or hex grids. It is a narrative experience, driven by decisions, consequences, and the slow erosion of whatever conscience you once held. Your journey is told in eight episodic chapters. Each episode will test your loyalty, your cunning, and your resolve.

• Grim narrative focus — You’ll face betrayal, rebellion, and diplomacy as tools of survival.

• Simple D6 mechanics — Streamlined rules let the story lead.

• Episodic structure — Play unfolds like a dark TV series. Each "episode" is a full scenario.

• Moral decay and legacy — Your actions shape your fate—and the Empire's.

The story unfolds chronologically, and your past decisions will shape the present. Each scene is written as a cinematic narrative, placing you in the moment. You are the Night Cleric. You act. You speak. You choose.

Unlike most RPGs, System Unknown does not rely on a single mechanical framework. Some episodes feature combat, others negotiation, others moral trials. The rules bend to fit the story—not the other way around.

You may find yourself negotiating in one scene and overseeing executions in another. Adapt. Survive. Conquer.

As you progress, the lines between right and wrong will blur. You are a symbol of Empire, of domination, of control. But you are still a person—a character shaped by pain, belief, fear, or zealotry.

Every choice deepens the shadow around you.

If you want to roleplay diplomacy, colonization, betrayal, and power, and if you enjoy moral grey areas, cold empires, and tough decisions, then this game was written for you. It is ideal for solo or small group TTRPG players looking for moral weight and hard choices.

Once united, “Our Space” now smolders in civil war. It spans multiple neighboring star systems—an interconnected web of planets, moons, and stations fractured by a relentless power struggle. Three great houses—Ambition, Tradition, and Virtue—now vie for dominance over the Capital Planet, believing that whoever rules it commands the fate of all.

These houses are more than factions; they are ideologies made flesh:

• House Ambition burns with hunger for power under the iron will of Imperatrix Selinn III, a self-proclaimed Night Goddess who founded the Dark Dynasty.

• House Tradition clings to bloodlines and the weight of history, seeking to restore an ancestral crown.

• House Virtue dreams of a republic, desperate to replace thrones with senates and order with reform.

While war rages across established space lanes, elite crews are dispatched beyond the map’s edge. These are the Star Conquerors—envoys of conquest who expand territory, claim alien worlds, and spread their house’s will to the stars. They are feared and revered in equal measure, their boots often the first to fall on soil not their own.

You are a Night Cleric—diplomat, enforcer, and mouthpiece of House Ambition. You serve beneath a Star Commander aboard a vessel dispatched beyond known space. Your mission: secure and subjugate SU-4, a newly discovered planet of haunting beauty and alien civilization.

Every decision you make is political. Every action you take is strategic.  You will speak for the Empire. You will carry its banner. And if necessary, you will burn what must be burned.

“They will resist us. They will hate us. But they will become us.” — Imperatrix Selinn III

To bring the vision of System Unknown to life, some graphics have been enhanced or created with the assistance of AI to reflect the tone and atmosphere of the game.

• PDF (194 pages)
• Adapted for digital use and printing
• Hardcover edition available via Lulu