Salvage Aces is a card-based rpg system set in a distant future at the brink of an astral frontier. From within the visage nebula, lost ships are dropping out of warp, returning from their mysterious voyages broken and empty. Players take on the role of salvage aces, scrappers pulling in and tearing apart these ghost ships for profit. This wreck rush has brought new blood to the edge of the nebula, opportunists, charlatans, and criminals have all descended to grab their fortunes while they can. Players play to: find out what the characters find in the wrecks that arrive on their claims, make as much profit as they can from their salvage, protect their claims from rustlers and outlaws, and experience the mysteries of the visage nebula.

Quick-Start Preview Rules

This preview set of rules includes everything needed to play Salvage Aces in its most basic form. The basic rules are presented across a 3 pages of general reference and 2 pages of GM reference with a set of 6 pregenerated characters to get started. Salvage Aces is playable with a GM, coop (many players, but no GM), or solo.

To Play You Will Need:

• 1-5 Players
• A Deck of Playing Cards, with Jokers
• A Set of Pregenerated Character Sheets
• Writing Utensils and Paper
• A Copy of the Reference Pages (A Few if There are Several Players)

Mechanics

Salvage Aces is played with a deck of playing cards rather than with dice. Players keep a hand of cards between skill checks and play those cards to complete checks. To beat a skill check, a player is attempting to pay off cards played to the table, challenge cards, with the cards in their hand. A weak hit leaves them with a set back, while a miss imposes a cost. A character's skills allow more cards to be drawn at the end of a check, and abilities allow the character to perform feats others can't.

A simple story inspiration system using card pulls allows the game to be played Solo or Coop. A couple of oracles help answer questions traditionally posed to the GM and another table allows scenes to be modified from what the players expect.

Project Goals

I'm a hobbyist who enjoys making RPGs for fun. I do have a few goals for Salvage Aces though.

• Have a starter adventure done and play test the game for Halloween 2022
• Complete a full draft of the rules by the end of 2022
  • Character Creation
  • Core Mechanics
  • World Building
  • GM Support
  • Oracles and Solo Play Support
• Release the game here and as POD through DriveThru by June 2023