Machine Gods of the Noxian Expanse - Core Rules Paperback – June 17, 2025

Machine Gods of the Noxian Expanse is a dark fantasy/science fiction tabletop role-playing game set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity's technological golden age has ended in catastrophe. In the aftermath, AI systems evolved into machine gods, and human society has rebuilt itself into a feudal structure, with people interpreting advanced technology through a mystical lens. The game focuses on the fragmented region known as the Noxian Expanse, a vast wasteland dotted with ancient ruins and dominated by city-estates ruled by different machine gods and their noble houses. Players take the role of Reclaimers, a specialized class of adventurers and scavengers who explore the ruins of the previous age and interact with forgotten technology. Reclaimers are valued for their ability to interface with old tech, making them useful problem solvers, but also potential heretics.Machine Gods of the Noxian Expanse features:Quick character creation: roll your Attributes, pick a feat and a couple of proficiencies, spend your starting funds on gear, and you’re ready to go. Lazy to think of a proper background and motivation? Roll on the many tables the book includes and learn who your character is! Familiar yet innovative mechanics: The core mechanic involves rolling a D20, adding modifiers, and comparing the total to a Target Number, making it familiar to anyone who has ever cast a die with friends. What makes the game different from other OSR rulesets is the inclusion of both static and dynamic TNs, allowing the game to self-balance and enemies to remain a threat regardless of character level by simply referencing a single table.Detailed solo and GM-less rules: whether you’re going to play this alone or run it for your friends, the expansive random tables and solo rules included will ensure that you don’t have to spend a minute wondering what happens next. Random landmark generation, ruin generation, settlements, NPCs, enemy creature behavior… Everything you need is here. Furthermore, the game is fully player-facing, meaning that the only ones making checks are the PCs. Even during combat!Magic & spellcasting: As the old adagio goes, “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. The Age of Technology might be long gone, but powerful relics of that time remain, many still fully operable. All “spells” are cast using these relics, and “magic items” that grant their wielders powerful abilities are always sought after by all factions and powerful individuals. Exploration: The game includes rules for exploring the Noxian Expanse, with procedures for navigating, encountering events, and interacting with the environment, and the Noxian Expanse’s inhabitants. Find an interesting, old arcology you want to explore? Use the random ruin generation rules to fully create everything you need on the fly.Rules-light & modular: this is a very simple and straightforward game, built with the intent to be easily hackable and expandable. Future official releases will be coming on a regular basis, with more places to explore, modular rules to deepen the game’s mechanics, and much more! Read more