ASTRA ARCANUM — First look at a solar-system RPG with some serious grit

 I'm launching a new series for the upcoming TTRPG from Metis Media / Creative

Every once in a while, a TTRPG trailer drops and you just feel your brain whisper, “Yeah… we’re gonna need to talk about this.” That’s exactly what happened when ASTRA ARCANUM rolled onto my radar.

If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the Release Trailer that kicked off my whole descent into the Solar Reach. 

Go ahead, I’ll wait...

…Right? I know.

A Premise That Hooks You Fast

ASTRA ARCANUM plants you in a future where humanity has been exiled from Earth. Not “wander the stars eternally” exiled — more like condemned to rebuild across the Solar System with limited resources, fragile alliances, and the constant threat of old secrets coming back to bite us.

It’s got that perfect blend of:

• somber but hopeful sci-fi,
• political tension simmering just under the surface,
• and the sense that every outpost, station, or colony has something broken, haunted, or half-forgotten buried under the dust.

Think The Expanse crossed with post-collapse archaeology, but with a magical twist woven into a hard-sci-fi skeleton.

Why I’m Covering This (And Why I’m All In)

I didn’t just watch the trailer and clap politely. No, no. I went full “shut up and take my money” and backed the project on Kickstarter, grabbing the EARLY BIRD Collector’s Box Set — a deal only available through the campaign.

Here’s what’s coming my way:

💥 Collector’s Box Set — Early Bird Edition💥

A Kickstarter-exclusive box stuffed with:

• Both Core Rulebooks
• 3 Adventure Zines
• GM Screen
• Bestiary, Spell, and Item Cards
• ASTRA ARCANUM Resin Dice Set (6× d20s — because the universe loves chaos)
• Deluxe Solar Reach Map
• Deluxe Encounter Map Pack
• All digital files
• Access to one VTT of my choice (Foundry or Alchemy)

It’s basically the “Welcome to the Solar Reach, don’t die” starter kit.

As an early backer, I’ve been following Metis Creative’s livestreams, design updates, and lore drops pretty closely — and trust me, the worldbuilding is deep, weird, and begging to be explored.

What This Blog Series Will Cover

Over the next few posts/months, I’m going to dig into:

• the setting and tone (why this “post-post-apocalypse” hits differently),
• the factions and frontier conflicts,
• the system and dice mechanics,
• what the developers shared during their livestreams,
• and how this game balances grit, mysticism, and hard science.

Basically: everything that made me hit “Back This Project” in record time.

My take (for now)

If the trailer is the spark, the lore is the wildfire.

ASTRA ARCANUM feels like one of those rare TTRPG worlds where the constraints make things more interesting — limited travel, limited resources, and unlimited trouble waiting behind every airlock.

And that’s exactly the kind of playground I love.

So, stay tuned: next up, I’ll break down what Metis Creative revealed during their first livestream, and why this setting might be the most exciting sci-fi TTRPG I’ve seen in years.