"One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams...”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Desert Moon of Karth is a space western sandbox adventure zine for the Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG.
Karth is a tiny mesa studded moon on the galaxy's edge. The only way down is an antique space elevator to the lawless boomtown of Larstown; a place surrounded by even greater danger and strangeness in the wastes beyond. Survival or salvation is not guaranteed, partner.
Harvest ossified coral corpses to live forever. Become an involuntary organ donor. Dodge ancient orbital defenses. Explore sand blown ruins. Hunt the fearsome sandsquid. Ride camels through the dunes. Drink whisky until you’ve forgotten your own name.
Karth's inspirations include Dune, Firefly, Alien, John Carter of Mars, Cowboy Bebop, The Dark Tower, spaghetti westerns, and modern adventures like Hot Springs Island, A Pound of Flesh, Ultraviolet Grasslands, and Slumbering Ursine Dunes.
You'll find plenty to use for your other sci-fi RPG of choice like Stars Without Number, Traveler, or Starfinder with a touch of back alley stat surgery.
Desert Moon of Karth is a meaty 52 pages, chock full of evocative illustrations and also includes:
- 10 detailed and dangerous locations to explore including a ship graveyard, camel ranch, organic coral caves, and a decadent shattered spire.
- Regional Moon Map and rules for point crawling navigation.
- Detailed Larstown map, rumors, NPC’s, prospective jobs, and fine establishments.
- 4 volatile factions for players to interact with including immortal organ harvesters, tribal park rangers, extinct coral beings, and a colonial boomtown of prospectors.
- Evolving encounters based on the day/night cycle (and it’s sometimes night for a week).
- Tons of 1d10 tables ranging from creepy prayers, to strange technology, to requested organs, to random drugs.
- Rules for sandsquid hunting and a dungeon crawl within one, should you be devoured.
- 3 detailed dungeon maps, 8 new creatures, the dark secrets of eternal youth and more!
Writing: Joel Hines
Illustrations: Logan Stahl, Francesco Zanieri, Glynn Seal, and Ben Smith.
Editing: Jarrett Crader (MRC) and Fiona Geist (MRC)
Layout: Simeon Cogswell
Development: Ian Yusem
