Francesca Viganò
I want to thank the Swedish publisher Free League Publishing for sending us a digital copy of Coriolis: The Great Dark, which we will be discussing in this review. It’s a science fiction roleplaying game centered on exploration and intrigue. It is also a standalone sequel to the award-winning Coriolis – The Third Horizon, originally released in 2017.
If, after reading this article, you would like to find out more about the project and purchase the game, you can buy it from the publisher’s official store for 538 Swedish kronor (approximately 48 euros). The store also sells the game master’s screen and dice sets designed for the game. As with other modules from this Swedish publisher, this one is also available for the Alchemy platform.
The Lost Horizon…
If you’ve already played Coriolis: The Third Horizon, you’ll have no difficulty approaching this new version. If you’ve never explored the Third Horizon, its culture, and its stories, don’t worry: no prior knowledge is necessary to immerse yourself in the Lost Horizon. The manual provides everything you need to start playing. All you need to know is that a group of individuals, approximately 200 years before the game’s zero time, decided to leave the Old Horizon (a group of inhabited planets in sidereal space), which was then at war.
The Diaspora was a motley fleet of spaceships whose crew included artists, philosophers, refugees, children, priests, thieves, spies and soldiers. Representing different factions, planets and cultures, people chose to embark following a faint signal emanating from a cluster deep in space. The twelve-year journey was a difficult period known as The Long Traverse. Incidentally, during this time, the fleet encountered an unknown phenomenon that accelerated the ships and propelled them towards their destination.
The system in which they landed was called Jumuah. While there were no life or habitable planets, there were minerals to be mined and ice to be harvested. The star also radiated light.
…And Its More Recent History
The sequence of events in the timeline that serves as the backdrop to the game’s universe is summarized in Chapter 7 of the manual, and we find it in the form of a table. Spanning approximately 200 years, it recounts how members of the Diaspora established their base in an area they call the Lost Horizon. They explored its expanses and founded the great Ship City, which evolved from a makeshift asteroid base into a city of stone and hulls.
However, the Lost Horizon was once home to the Builders, a great civilization that left behind magnificent structures and artefacts, as well as building portals to the stars. The characters will explore these ruins, where they must be wary of numerous dangers. The most insidious danger is the Plague, a strange and deadly organic disease that seems to emanate from the depths of the ruins. However, within these structures, which are thousands of years old, lies a priceless treasure and perhaps the key to humanity’s survival.
Ship City
The manual dedicates an entire chapter to the city, providing detailed information on its districts, inhabitants, calendar and government. While the city is a marvel of machinery and engineering, it lacks basic resources. The Jumuah system and Ship City can no longer support their populations, but algebraists from the Navigators’ Guild have discovered hidden routes through space.
These star routes require long, imposing ships. The Great Ships were constructed from the remains of the old fleet and the Machinists’ factories. New star systems are being explored, and the Great Ships are filled with eager explorers and prospectors, ready to bring home new riches. This is where your character and crew can make a difference.
Guilds and Factions
The Diaspora fleet carried a diverse group of people from almost every major faction in the Old Horizon region. Thus, despite leaving to escape conflict and war, they were followed by internal dissension. This situation escalated upon their arrival in Jumuah and the establishment of Ship City, leading to a four-year conflict. In year 21, three guilds stepped forward to restore order, and their initiative was enthusiastically welcomed. Consisting of collectives of professionals from various fields, these groups evolved into the Navigators’ Guild, the Machinists’ Guild and the Gardeners’ Guild.
In the shadows of Ship City, vestiges of the past endure. The Coriolites still murmur prayers that recall an ancient and glorious past, and whisper prophecies. They are not a true Guild or an organization, but rather a group of families who consider their heritage sacrosanct. Anchored in old traditions, they see themselves as the rightful holders of power.
The Black Toad is a mysterious group with a cult-like structure. Some speculate that it is a deity of some sort. Its members bear a toad tattoo somewhere on their body that is usually hidden from view. The Explorers’ Guild, founded in 171, serves as the characters’ base. While the Explorers are technically freelancers and free to roam as they please, they have a contract with the Guild. They receive a constant stream of quests to complete from the Guild.
Each guild is presented in detail in the manual. This variety demonstrates the depth of the solid setting, in which you can play with not only light, but also the many shades of shadow.
Coriolis: The Great Dark Character Review
As with all previous versions of the original Swedish publisher’s ruleset, the characters in Coriolis: The Great Dark are quick to build. Just a few simple steps are required. A functional diagram summarizing all the steps is provided for reference.
First, we must choose our character’s origin (or select it randomly) and mark the features related to this aspect. Depending on whether we grew up in a decrepit orphanage, a Great Ship or under the iron sky of the Dome, we will obtain a specific Talent, a Faction to which we belong and a Contact.
The second step is to choose your character’s profession, i.e. what they did before becoming an Explorer. The rulebook presents eight professions, including artist, esotericist, scholar and swindler. Your profession influences many aspects of your Explorer, including their attributes, talents, and equipment.
The character has 24 points to distribute among six attributes: Strength, Agility, Empathy, Logic, Perception and Insight. Each attribute receives between 2 and 5 points, except for the key attribute for your profession, which can have up to 6 points. These values also determine Health, Hope and Heart. These three fundamental resources represent, respectively, physical health, willpower, and humanity.
Once the points have been distributed and the resources calculated, you just need to allocate three more points to talents and select the quirk, a peculiar aspect from a dedicated table, or invent one. Some final touches include selecting the character’s equipment, name and appearance, and the reason they became an Explorer.
The Ship’s Crew
The Lost Horizon certainly can’t be explored alone. Therefore, it is important to create a crew for the ship with which you will embark on a search for mysteries, resources and new hope. Each explorer, and therefore each character, must find their role within the crew. The crew will have a shared pool of resources to manage throughout the game. These roles are crucial as you delve into the mysterious remains of the Lost Horizon and plunge into the unknown. There are five roles available:
- Delver: leads the descent into the ruins, choosing the path in the darkness.
- Scout: the one designated to uncover hidden dangers.
- Burrower: the one who digs and secures passages in the caves and tunnels of the ruins.
- Guard: protects the crew from any adversary the Great Dark throws at them.
- Archaeologist: the one who knows how to interpret the ruins, glyphs, and artefacts.
At the start of the game, each crew member is assigned a specific maneuvre, but more can be learned during your adventures.
The crew wouldn’t be complete without their Garuda: a guardian spirit in the form of a bird. Each Garuda has different health and energy levels, as well as a unique appearance, which can be chosen (or even selected at random) from a dedicated table. Garudas are not real animals and are not native to Ship City; they are bioengineered artefacts encountered while exploring the Mapped Sphere. In-game terms, Garudas are not simply ornaments or symbols of wealth; they have their unique mechanics and powers, which are described in detail in a specific chapter of the rulebook.
The Game Rules: An Even Bigger Year Zero Engine
The Coriolis: The Great Dark game rules are based on the latest version of the Year Zero Engine. As a core mechanic, when you face a challenge, you roll a pool of six-sided dice determined by your character’s base attribute value and talents. The more proficient you are in a particular area, the more dice you can roll. Any roll of 6 indicates a success, with additional successes triggering bonus effects. You can re-roll any dice but be careful — you might not survive the horrors of the Great Dark!
I find it particularly interesting that another Explorer can voluntarily take on a companion’s burden. If you want to reroll a failed dice roll, a companion can choose to suffer a loss of Hope in your place. However, this will cost the Explorer an additional Hope point (at least one point). While offering Hope in this way is not a combat action, it does require the characters to be able to communicate.
Another interesting feature is the crew’s maneuvres. The manual provides a list of options from which you can select your favourites. However, each Scout can only perform one manoeuvre — the one appropriate to their crew role — during the entire battle.
Each new mechanic is explained simply, adding variability and depth to the YZE‘s dynamics without overwhelming them.
The Combat: Fast and Intense
Combat is divided in turns, with each turn representing approximately ten seconds. At the start of each round, initiative is determined, which establishes the order in which combatants will act. To determine this, each player draws a card from a deck numbered from 1 to 10. The Game Master draws cards for the opponents in the same way. Whoever draws the lowest number takes the initiative first. In Coriolis: The Great Dark, it is possible to exchange your card with that of another character or non-player character (NPC), thus making combat more effective or advantageous.
During their turn, each character can perform one movement and one action. Some actions, such as parrying or dodging, can be performed on an opponent’s turn. However, if a character has already performed an available action, they can only move on their turn.
Unlike other games from the Swedish publisher, maps play a very important role in Coriolis: The Great Dark. They are divided into zones, each of which can have different characteristics that influence the ability to perform specific actions within them.
I found the quick and concise tables summarising each type of conflict particularly useful. Another interesting feature is the way social conflict is presented as a dynamic supported by precise mechanics.
The Black Ziggurat Review: an Introductory Adventure for Coriolis: The Great Dark.
At the end of the manual is The Black Ziggurat, an introductory adventure into the world of Coriolis: The Great Dark. At fifteen pages long, it will immerse you in the game’s setting and mood.
The Explorers’ Guild archives record an enigmatic structure known as Nazlut-Katar on the moon Asherot. When a senior member of the Navigators’ Guild goes missing near the ruins, the worst is feared. A team is dispatched to investigate.
This adventure is designed for a group of three to five players, as well as a narrator, and does not provide pre-generated characters.
There are plenty of dangers and twists, and the timely suggestions for setting the mood guarantee the right level of tension to accompany the characters as they explore the themes.
The plot structure adheres to the editorial guidelines, presenting itself in all its exploratory glory. The maps are not only extremely useful for this type of session, but also extremely beautiful and functional. All materials, including handouts, are available to the narrator, but can also be downloaded from the publisher’s website if needed, along with the fillable character sheets.
A Solo Mode Maybe not so Necessary
Like almost all recent titles, Coriolis: The Great Dark offers the option to play solo. In this case, you play an outcast who has been rejected by everyone. The Explorers’ Guild offers you quests without caring whether you will ever return.
The rules remain unchanged, but since there is no narrator, it is up to you to decide how to approach each test and roll the dice to determine the outcome. You will find a variety of tools and inspirational tables to help you find answers as you explore the Red Garden, a vast valley dotted with labyrinthine Builders ruins.
The Outcast character creation process adheres to the standard rules of the classic version, with a few minor adjustments to facilitate solo exploration. These include a larger sum of money, 28 stat points instead of 24, some unique talents and a slightly more powerful Garuda.
While playing a game like this alone might be an interesting challenge, I’m not convinced it’s the best way to approach Coriolis: The Great Dark. For me, sharing the experience is one of the most appealing elements of this tabletop RPG.
Coriolis: The Great Dark Aesthetics Review
This new addition to the science fiction series from the Swedish publisher holds its own against its predecessors. At just over 300 pages long, it features beautiful illustrations by Martin Grip that convey the wonder of space exploration. The sense of being embraced by infinite space is amplified when the images span the full page.
Compared to previous volumes, the background colour of the pages is predominantly light. This makes the two-column layout crisper and more legible, even for those who have difficulty with contrasting colours. Specific pages dedicated to summaries or timelines are an exception. Boxes and tables are highlighted with subtle graphics that separate information and highlight key points without disrupting the overall aesthetic.
Designed by Francesca Baerald, who curated the game’s cartography, the map of Ship City gives the city an ancient flavour that is both delicate and strong.
Although it is still a highly visual work, Coriolis: The Great Dark is a step forward in terms of readability. I appreciated this.
Coriolis: The Great Dark Review Conclusions
To conclude this review, I can confidently say that Coriolis: The Great Dark is a beautiful product. It takes a fascinating and rich setting and transforms it, imbuing it with tension, urgency, suffering and a glimmer of hope. Free League Publishing has accustomed us to products of the highest quality, and this latest book is no exception. In my opinion, it sets an even higher standard, positioning itself among the best ones.
Coriolis: The Great Dark fills the gaps left by Coriolis: The Third Horizon. While it is not necessary to be familiar with the imagery of The Third Horizon to enjoy The Great Dark, the two are a natural complement to each other, opening the door to new and wonderful — as well as harrowing — stories.
This book is highly recommended for science fiction fans and surely is a wonderful addition to your library. Once you start reading, you won’t be able to put it down, as it will captivate you and take you on a journey through space alongside the characters.
