Neon Odyssey is a complete space opera reimagining of D&D that has already raised more than $5 million with almost a month to go.
“D&D in Space” is an idea that has been stuck in the collective unconscious since probably day 2 of D&D’s existence. There’s just something about it that endures. Probably because the people who love D&D also love things like Star Wars and Cowboy Bebop. And conveniently enough, those are two touchstones for a new project from Avantris Entertainment (makers of The Crooked Moon, a folk horror supplement for D&D). Avantris’ new project, Neon Odyssey, is a space opera reimagining of D&D in glorious, crunchy detail.
Because this isn’t just a single supplement. There are more than 1400 pages of material, spread across three core books, with rules for everything from space ships and the combat thereof, to new skins for the classes you know and love, and subclasses to transform your D&D into a space opera. The Kickstarter campaign also launched with an animated music video from The Midnight, which is just kind of cool.
Neon Odyssey – The Player’s Handbook
Neon Odyssey is exactly what it promises. If you want to play 5.5E but in space, this is one way to do exactly that. But what does reimagining D&D as a space opera actually mean? How does it work? Well if you want to see for yourself, there’s a quickstart/playtest version of the rules that will let you take them for a spin. But let’s go through each of the three sourcebooks, because that should give you a big picture understanding of the scope of this total conversion campaign setting.
First up is the Outrunner’s Handbook, which is the player’s guide. This book is the core of what you need to make characters and actually play through the game. This is where you’ll find all the newest, shiniest toys. Everything from new alien species to reimagined “class skins,” which is what Neon Odyssey calls its take on the core D&D classes.
What is a class skin exactly? It’s more than just a name change (though it is also a name change) it’s a reimagining of how the class works – while still trying to keep to the familiar bounds of what you might expect. For instance, the Ranger is renamed to the Tracer, and the Rogue is renamed to the Scoundrel. They’re still recognizable as their core elements. For instance, the Tracer still has a d10 hit dice, still uses Martial Weapons, and gets up to Medium armor and shields. But there are also some important differences.
For instance, the Tracer is presented more as a Bounty Hunter type class. Which I guess makes sense as an extension of the D&D class that features a Hunter. A bounty hunter is just the sci-fi version of that, though looking through the Tracer, you can still very much play it as a primal powered hunter of alien beasts.
To do this features like Favored Enemy get renamed to Hunter’s Eye, a superficial change, sure. But there are some other more impactful tweaks, like the level 13 Relentless Hunter (the feature that means you don’t lose concentration on Hunter’s Mark when you take damage) getting moved to level 5 instead. There’s also some new spells added to the list, like Shrapnel Burst and Raking Shot. But by and large, if you are playing a Ranger and picked up a Tracer, you’d know pretty much how to play your character still.
Where the differences really shine is in the subclasses. Like the included Powertech, a subclass all about bonding with a suit of armor to become the ultimate bounty hunter. The whole deal is it lets you turn a suit of armor into special Hunter’s Armor which comes with a few different abilities, including and especially a Metroid-style arm cannon.
Then there are all the new species you can play as. Like the Oozoid and the Saurians, whose names suggest exactly what they are. There’s also “glowblins” and Clawderans and even the dog-like Laika. And of course, there are plenty of new mechanical subsystems to integrate into the game.
Because you can’t just reskin the D&D player classes as sci-fi things and call it a day. Any total conversion mod worth its salt adds on rules for spaceship combat, and Neon Odyssey does that. But you can also find rules for racing your vehicles, gambling, dealing with stress and entertainment, and more. All the sci-fi stuff you’d want to do in a big sprawling campaign. Probably plenty you won’t even notice on your first campaign – these books take the ‘pack it with stuff’ approach. And to be fair, that works.
What About DMs?
Of course, there’s plenty for DMs to sink their teeth into as well. The core setting book comes with a whole catalogue of new creatures and cryptids for you to play with. You’ll find descriptions of whole new worlds, whole star systems full of factions that play off of each other.
And then there’s the expansion book, which is the third book, that has even more for both players and DMs. Including new magic items, more subclasses, more monsters, more everything. All of which are at the core of the Kickstarter campaign:
“Neon Odyssey is Avantris Entertainment’s largest project to date, built for both longtime players and newcomers who want to blast off to the stars, explore the galaxy, and chart their own cosmic destiny. Drawing inspiration from iconic sci-fi films, retro video games, classic animation, and pop culture nostalgia, Neon Odyssey is built to provide gaming groups everything they need to experience an unforgettable and cinematic space opera with friends, with a plethora of galactic Game Master tools in a vibrant campaign setting or an astral arsenal of player options to soar among the stars.
Explore the Stardust Rhapsody, an entire galaxy with infinite horizons of neon-soaked aether. Discover 30 strange new worlds filled with endless opportunities for astral adventure or voyage beyond to 6 interdimensional realms like the digitized cyberspace of the Hypergrid or the reality-warping chaos of the Cacophony. Build your own Space Opera adventure with 40 missions that span all tiers of play.”
And all that’s without even getting into the Kickstarter add ons. Like miniatures. Dice. A custom oracle deck. Reference card decks. If you like stuff, boy oh boy is there stuff to be found. Including and especially in the stretch goals – most of which have been unlocked by this point, given the Kickstarter campaign’s massive success already. At press time, unlocks include: a new reputation system, extra subclasses, a few new species, and a music album to set the mood for your campaign.
With a month to go, this is only the beginning.
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