Let the games begin!

You can play Synthetic Starlight using only your character sheet. For Gen Con, we set up each table so that it could run tactical combat just in case anyone wanted to get a taste of it. That's why the playmats were there.

Jorge of the Battlemaps

Jorge was the only one of us that actually created his own battlemaps for this Gen Con, rather than purchasing them. One of the company's goals is to produce our own battlemaps and to facilitate players being able to share, trade, or sell their own.

The Crux System - and by extension, Synthetic Starlight - don't require anything more than theater of the mind. However, it does include rules to leverage battlemaps as combat aids, if players or arbiters want to use them.

Matt Unleashes the Beast!

Synthetic Starlight contains a vast array of both playable, and not intended to be playable, species. One of the non-playable species are the crystalline, theocratic Volxon. A species which prefers to be left alone, which is great, because they're essentially indestructible. Seen as vicious monstrosities by most other species in the galaxy, it makes you wonder what kind of person would lure a Volxon into conflict with others?

Jacob the Destroyer

Maybe the reason we had so many great players at Gen Con was because Jacob was our bouncer? We may never know the answer to this question, but one thing is certain; the only time Jacob isn't giggling is when his photo is being taken.

Decisions, Decisions

Perhaps the central theme of Synthetic Starlight, and of the Crux System itself, is the interplay between circumstance and agency. By design, the system encourages arbiters to present players with complex decisions. And each decision should have consequences. But the path forward is up to you and your crew. Suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or break your fate to forge your own path.

Jorge, Necrosynth Orchestrator

Why fight zombies when you can fight technozombies? Also, we designed our games for Gen Con this year to be pretty straightforward so that anyone unfamiliar with the Crux System wouldn't feel overwhelmed. Hopefully, even TTRPG veterans like these two still enjoyed their time as they steamrolled the opposition.

David and Adversity

Synthetic Starlight is first and foremost a setting intended to be used however a group wants it to be used. But, some of the tools it focuses on creating do have a common purpose, such as presenting puzzles, mysteries, and other difficulties which are often easier to overcome by working together.

Resonant Emergence

Having a robust, flexible system allows for the mixing and matching of ingredients to best suit the tastes of everyone at the table. The Crux System kicks that up a notch by allowing for many changes - including switching from tactical combat, to elegant combat, to streamlined combat - at any moment. Its scalability is there for you and your table when you want it, as you want it.

Gen Con Was a Ton of Fun

Thank you everyone who helped us out at Gen Con. Whether it was by commenting on Reddit posts, purchasing a ticket, or showing up for a game. All of your help and engagement is deeply appreciated.

See You Next Year (hopefully...)