Terminal

The world as you know it, early 21st century Earth, is nothing but a lie. In truth, it is a simulation called the Terminal, a lie to keep humanity under the control of the Robot Authority. In the Wake, the real world, pirates trawl the seas and plug back into the simulation. Inside they battle the system's agent and try to free other restless sleepers.

This a Digital Pirate Action TTRPG for 3-7 players, including a GM, built on a focused system to tell exciting and epic stories of grave consequence. The players act as members of a daring pirate crew. They will walk the path of Omen, the latest in a cycle of reincarnation, someone with extraordinary power and a sign that this iteration of the Terminal is close to collapse. Total system crash is coming.

The crash could spell disaster and death for pirates, or an opportunity to claw back their autonomy. Shatter the nightmare, take back your life, crash the world.

The System

In this game our swashbuckling cyberpunk misfit heroes sail the perilous seas, clash swords with killer robots, brawl with dangerous programs inside cyberspace and face off the manipulative architects of the living nightmare that is the Terminal.

The rules are simple and rely on your character's Reputations. A pirate who is Brash, Troubled, Righteous will have a very different Terminal campaign to one that is Considered, Loyal, Inquisitive. There are two kinds of rolls in Terminal; Challenges, as you face adversity in the rising action, and Showdowns, when you face down your foes at the climax of an operation.

In a Challenge you build a dice pool by answering questions about your Reputations and the obstacles you face. In a Showdown you instead negotiate with the GM about what your character is prepared to lose in this conflict, gaining larger bonuses for a single climactic roll the more your character is able to sacrifice.

The book features a strong GM section full of advice for running the game and structuring a campaign and a thrilling setting guide with six major story arcs featuring dangerous threats that could all escalate to spell total disaster.

Terminal is written by Kayla Dice (Transgender Deathmatch Legend, Old Gods & Young Guns), illustrated by Gormengeist (Bubblegum Vampires, Nuclear Knights) and edited by Alyssa Ridley (Tournament Arc, The Levante Papers). 

What People Are Saying About Terminal

"Terminal is a salt-encrusted love letter to The Matrix and its technognostic brethren, pitting pirate hackers against a controlling computer – and also against the cycle of uprising, crash and reset that traps their world. The game's setting – from the free pirate city of the real world to the virtual palaces of the Terminal's inhabitants – jumps off the page with vivid art and writing, and the system is laser-focused on who your crew really are and what they'll sacrifice to get the ending they want." - Minerva McJanda (Voidheart Symphony, Rhapsody of Blood)

Featuring Guest Writing from...

• Jo Winter (The Falle of Home, Last Orders)
• JellyMuppet (Best Left Buried, Orbital Blues, Inevitable)
• Chloe Montgomery (Goblin Country, Tournament Arc)
• Gormengeist (GREED, Nuclear Knights)
• Alyssa Ridley (Tournament Arc, The Levante Papers)
• Tanya Floaker (Lo! Thy Dread Empire, The Connection Machine)
• Clove Fulminata (Our Minerva, Revenant World, CHOKE.)

Additionally the Map of the Wake featured in the game was designed by Molomoot!

Buy Terminal in Print

You can purchase Terminal physically from the Rat Wave Webstore. If you use the contact form on ratwave,uk and email Kayla proof of PDF purchase she can offer discount voucher for physical purchase. Similarly if you've purchased the physical copy from the Rat Wave Webstore and email Kayla she can provide a complimentary download key.

Watch the Game in Action

Interviews and Other Press

The Weekly Scroll Episode 097 | Interview with Kayla Dice

This is Your Lifepath | Kayla Dice (Terminal) w/ guest host Zach Cox

Dicebreaker | "Swashbuckling, surreal sci-fi RPG Terminal is The Matrix by way of Black Sails, with a dash of Twin Peaks"