Orbital Blues: Blackstar – The Upcoming Sci-fi Western Actual Play From RPGeeks

After their terrific superhero series, Masks 2044 and an April Fools special of Blood on the Clocktower, the RPGeeks are back with their new miniseries, Orbital Blues: Blackstar!

If this is your first time hearing about the RPGeeks, they are an Actual Play channel made up of science communicators with a flair for drama. Together, they play TTRPGs filled with fun, science and top quality storytelling. If you want to find out more about them, check out this previous interview article with the geeks!.

Fans of RPGeeks‘ previous two-part miniseries; Universally Acknowledged, played in A Good Society, will recognize returning GM (or Fate Weaver) Edward Spence. Ed is joined by RPGeeks core members, Shamini Bundell and Emily Bates as well as three more guest players. They are returning guests Fiona K T Howat, Drakoniques and new player, Dillin Apelyin.

Together, they’ll be playing the game, Orbital Blues, a TTRPG created by Soul Muppet Publishing. The cast will be working together to tell a story of sad space cowboys, struggling to escape their past misdeeds and engaging in wild heists! I caught up with the cast to find out all about what we can expect in this upcoming four-part miniseries.

Orbital Blues: Blackstar will premiere live on RPGeeks‘ Twitch on Monday 8th April at 7pm BST. Each subsequent episode will premiere following Mondays throughout April. You can also catch each episode on demand on their YouTube after their Twitch debut.

If you subscribe to RPGeeks‘ Patreon, you can check out their Session 0 where Ed explains the game, the story and guides the players through character creation.

Ed Spence is a GM extraordinaire ready to take you on an incredible journey!

The Story – Sad Cowboys in Space

The phrase ‘sad cowboys’ has been used a lot to describe this game and this series. When asked to expand on that, Ed had this to say:

It’s not a flippant thing to say it’s about sad Space Cowboys because it is baked into the mechanics of the system. You choose troubles and from your troubles you accrue blues. And the more blues you accrue, the more things you can do essentially, so it is a game that does encourage you to explore those, those darker emotions, but also to to heal as well.

Drak also chimed in on this:

We keep talking about how sad this game is. Like, it is, but it’s sad in the way that life is sad. You know where you still have to find reasons to move on and move forward.

Drakoniques plays meal on wheels [BLANK], the mute Orbital Racer!

The RPGeeks and their guests are certainly no strangers to emotionally charged performances. Whilst their shows are filled with light-hearted fun and lots of laughs, their characters are very well thought out with a lot of struggles to overcome and development to be had.

Speaking to the cast, both the game and the story have strong elements of characters banding together over a shared crisis, all whilst dealing with the figurative demons of their past. Here’s what Fiona had to say:

Ultimately, it’s a group of misfits put together by circumstances and having to deal with the fallout of that whilst also having, yes, emotions, yes, but also high stakes action.

Whilst the cast were very careful to avoid spoilers, I did learn that we can expect the likes of heists, down to the wire action, revenge and even some slapstick humor for good measure. The cast also praised Ed for his use of flashbacks and flashforwards to fill out characters’ stories and help get into their mindset. As Emily puts it:

The use of flashbacks and flash forwards throughout this series is exquisite, and it makes everything so worthwhile when it comes to the end. There’s no need for exposition here. You just feel it.

Emily Bates plays Tia, the bar owner who asks you to give revenge a chance!

Characters – The Misfits You Can’t Help But Root For

Orbital Blues: Blackstar will be the RPGeeks‘ first miniseries with five cast members plus a GM. The cast described the characters they play with a big focus on their flaws and their scoundrel nature. However, it was very striking that the cast described each other’s characters with a lot more warmth and affection. As Ed puts it:

It’s very telling that with all of these characters, the players are struggling to think of reasons to root for their own characters, but every single other person around the table can think of at least one thing about the others. I think it speaks to the care with which you’ve created your characters, but also, how much of a profound effect they’ve had on the other characters.

Let me introduce you to this hopeless gang of misfits destined to find their way into your hearts against all odds!

First of all, there’s Kingsley, played by Fiona. She described Kingsley as a ‘legitimate businessman’ in very heavy inverted commas! It seems that a lot of the early comic relief comes from Kingsley’s dodgy dealings and his relationship with sibling, Jules.

Fiona Howat plays Kingsley the ”legitimate businessman”.

Jules is played by Shamini and is described as a good counterpart to Kingsley. This muscle-bound gambler seems more of a blunt instrument compared with Kingsley’s more conniving nature.

Then, there’s Tia, played by Emily. Emily explained that, having recently enjoyed Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical, she was inspired by the idea of Bonnie going solo and having her own bar. She also mentioned that revenge is a significant part of her story so be prepared for her to throw down!

Drak plays a character simply known as [BLANK], a character they previously played in an Orbital Blues series on My First Dungeon. [BLANK] is a keen Orbital Racer, who wears a face covering and is notably completely mute. This has provided an interesting challenge for Drak and the rest of the cast to rise up to. As Dillin puts it:

I think that [BLANK] having that unique characterization … pushes us to find new ways to interact with them and offers new opportunities in terms of how you can show closeness or distance from this character.

Last, but not least, Dillin plays Wyla, the perpetual outlaw. Dillin described Wyla as a self made mechanic always being on the run, living a difficult and dangerous life. However, she also seems to encapsulate the feeling of always finding hope even when there isn’t any.

Dillin Apelyan plays Wyla, the perpetual outlaw able to find hope even where there isn’t any.

Performances – Supportive Cast Members Bringing Heart and Humor

The cast clearly work well together as performers, but also as emotional support for exploring these difficult themes. As Emily puts it:

I think that doesn’t work unless you trust the people around the table to explore those those difficult but also those euphoric feelings and emotions.

Though the story inevitably goes some challenging places, it was clear that a lot of care was taken to make sure that the challenges they faced were ones that would allow them to flourish as performers. Ed summarized the role of a good GM very succinctly.

You provide the provide the dragons that the heroes need to slay.

Dillin put it in a different but equally effective way:

You are the jerk. You’re the jerk I needed you to be.

The cast revealed that Ed’s GM duties went even further than setting appropriate challenges for them. In the leadup to the series, he sent them all detailed questionnaires about their characters. Ed used the answers to these questions to make the story even more tailored to the characters. The result was a story in which they truly belonged and non-player characters who truly knew them, warts and all. As Fiona puts it:

You fill out these 30 questions or whatever and then send it back again. Who’s gonna read this bullsh*t? Then you’re like, oh, no, somebody read my inner thoughts!

The cast had a lot of praise for one another as well. This was not just for their amazing performances but also for providing performance opportunities for each other. Emily had this to say on the subject:

The way Shamini uses Jules to bring out other people’s stories was incredible… I could feel Shamini putting Fiona under the spotlight and it was brilliant.

Shamini Bundell plays Jules the muscle for hire with a weakness for gambling.

This camaraderie between the players seemed to resemble the camaraderie between the characters who find solace and kinship in each other in tough times. The cast spoke a lot about the connections the characters made and the ways they surprised each other.

All in all, RPGeeks‘ Orbital Blues: Blackstar is looking to be a treat of pulpy sci-fi action with a strong element of ‘found family’ among misfits. Whilst it may be hard going at times, it’s looking to also be incredibly rewarding in sharing this journey of finding hope and strength in the strangest of places.

Where Can I Find Everyone?

If you want to catch the premiere of Orbital Blues: Blackstar, head over to RPGeeks‘ Twitch on Monday 8th April 7pm BST and each Monday after for the following episodes. Stick around after each show and you’ll be able to enjoy live aftershow chats with some of the cast as well. You’ll also be able to catch each episode on their YouTube shortly after their Twitch release.

The amazing cover art for this series was done by Esther Letts. If you’d like to see more of her art or even commission some of her art yourself, you can check out her Instagram page. 

Be sure to look out for Dillin on the One Shot Podcast Network. There, they host a variety of games with different systems and different guests. If you want yet more sad space cowboys, they’ll be hosting another game of Orbital Blues starring Ed and Drak.

Drak can also found on an upcoming two-part miniseries of The Corrupted on 3 Black Halflings. They and Ed also worked together on the Beyond the Brook Actual Play series. This beautifully put together odyssey is inspired by the animated series, Over the Garden Wall and played in the Babes in the Woods system.

Fiona is a prolific podcaster and Actual Play performer who you can find all over the internet. She is most commonly found on her podcasts; What Am I Rolling and The DM’s Book Club. She and Emily will also be starring in Science & Sorcery‘s Playing for Palestine event on Friday 1st May.

Emily and Shamini can be found regularly on RPGeeks along with their co-hosts, Ali Jennings and Simon Clark. Together, they have a great wealth of incredible adventures to enjoy and much more to look forward to no doubt!