The New Unknown | a sci-fi role playing game

The New Unknown is a full science-fiction Core Rulebook for Daggerheart™ Compatible. It works as a stand-alone TTRPG system using and building onto the core mechanics of Daggerheart's freely available SRD, providing you with everything you need to start your own science-fiction roleplaying campaign!

The New Unknown is crafted to thrive across a vast spectrum of sci‑fi worlds. Each Class and Domain carries its own unique identity, rooted in our Core Frame the Campaign Frame Insomnium. Yet the system is deliberately open, inviting adventures in settings both familiar and iconic: from the galaxy‑spanning conflicts of Star Wars and Mass Effect, to the mythic struggles of Destiny, and even the gritty, human‑driven sagas of Battlestar Galactica or Cyberpunk. It is a framework built for exploration, for discovery, and for stories that transcend the boundaries of any single universe.

What's inside?

The New Unknown will feature two major parts, delivering everything you need for epic sci-fi adventures. The core rulebook features the ruleset for your characters while a second book will cover our very own rules for Space travel, Spaceship building and – of course – ship to ship combat in space. 

While the digital versions are available separately, giving you the option to choose them individually or together, the printed version always comes as the full version containing both parts. That will include:

Learn more about our four Campaign Frames on our free Patreon. 

Playtest

As we already have created a huge part of the content, we are excited to share it with you. In March 2026 we started our first open Playtest, to get our community's opinion on the materials. This includes a first draft of our design as well as three playable Classes, three Domains, three Ancestries, and three Communities. You can check it out for free on our Patreon. We are happy to receive your honest feedback!

Please note: All content shown in the Playtest and the Kickstarter campaign is a work in progress and subject to change. This also applies to the layout and artwork.

Why Daggerheart?

Daggerheart is the new TTRPG by Darrington Press and the creators behind Critical Role.

Why do we love it? Daggerheart rewards bold choices, heroic risk, and collaborative storytelling - and that is exactly where science-fiction thrives. With its Hope and Fear dice, versatile Class and Domain structure, Daggerheart gives us a framework that feels alive, reactive, and player-driven. It encourages big feelings, messy crew dynamics, surprise betrayals, last-stand heroics, and desperate leaps into the unknown.

For us, not only the strong narrative focus but also the elegantly simple yet deeply rewarding mechanics make the system great for beginners and veterans alike. The modular game design and the creator-friendly policies of the publisher, invite to build on the strong base of the Daggerheart SRD.

Stretch Goals

AI Statement

The New Unknown is made by humans for humans. We are creatives that love our craft and we don't use AI in the making of this product. The only AI you will find in The New Unknown are killer robots… and those are totally relevant to the story! 

The Crew

We are three friends with a shared passion for interactive storytelling, gaming and tabletop roleplaying games in particular. While we have all these interests in common, we come from various backgrounds:

• Flo (she/her) is studying Game Design. She makes sure what we create is not just aesthetically pleasing but also well balanced and fun to play. She holds a bachelor's degree in Educational Science (Erziehungswissenschaften) and brings a strong focus on user experience to our projects. Outside of her studies, she's a passionate tabletop gamer and contributes to our game development – always with the goal of making the experience as smooth, engaging, and player-friendly as possible.
• Alexander (he/him) studied philosophy and history, worked as a bookseller, and is now an educator at a private school. He is a living encyclopedia of roleplaying systems across all genres and is well known as a Reddit Moderator in r/daggerheart (u/Tenawa) as well as for his homebrewed rules and content – some of which can be found on DriveThruRPG.
  With over 25 years of experience as a gamemaster, he has run games for dozens of groups – from kids and teens to young adults and “older adults” (like himself). 
  He is married to a fellow nerd and is the proud father of two.
• Chris (he/him) is all about storytelling and character development – and since he’s a bit of a lazy reader, he prefers systems with the simplest rules possible. He studied Screenwriting and has worked in film, radio and as a writer for a German tabletop roleplaying game. With his background in media education (Medienpädagogik), he also teaches kids and students about the risks and opportunities of media. 
  For our projects, he mainly focuses on worldbuilding, community and project management.

Fulfillment & Print-On-Demand Partner

Using DriveThruRPG and DriveThruCards we will offer an easy way for Backers to receive their rewards - digitally and as print-on-demand. This means you pay separately for printing and shipping when placing your print-on-demand order. Shipping costs vary by country and local taxes. Depending on your local regulation customs fees or import duties may also apply.