Elite Dangerous has been on the news a lot in the past week or two. The recent Unknown Flying Objects (we’ll get an acronym sorted for that later) incursion has caused some huge waves not just within the large Elite community but through the gaming community as a whole. Certainly with the build up over the last couple of years, when the (we’re suspecting) Thargoid ships turned up finally on xbox player DR Sayre’s activity feed a few days ago, everybody went wild.

Well for those new bloods who are still saying they can “give it up anytime” (haha the naivety of the new Elite player) and likewise to the rugged and experienced commanders who’ve been playing for the last two, or thirty, years there is still more to come.

Especially exciting for those of us who are also a little bit in love with tabletop roleplay there’s a new Kickstarter on the horizon, in the shape of the officially licensed E.D.R.P.G. which will be going live on the 16th of January and will run for 30 days. We will be giving a bit more information on the pledge amounts and goals below but please note that these are a work in progress and while a good guide, are subject to change.

For those who don’t know about the RPG, creators Spidermind Games are looking to produce one CRB (or Core Manual) along with 4 suppliments which will allow any fan to continue their adventures, and knowing our fellow geeks we’re sure folks will be very happy to create their own. Each of the books will be created using industry designers, writers, editors and artists and these also include some familiar names to long standing fans of the series, notably Mike Brookes, executive producer of Elite Dangerous who is on board as a writer for the RPG. Having people like this on board, as well as the official license from Frontier Developments, it’s pretty certain that the lore and history of Elite will continue well.

As above the kickstarter for the set begins this month on the 16th and delivery is estimated to be between August and December 2017. Spidermind are currently looking to secure a relatively small £45,000 from the crowd-funding website which will cover the production of the main 350 page Core Manual as well as four 50 page supplements (and you can find out a little more of what’s in each of these, just here)

As usual, the Kickstarter has a number of pledges available. Starting at £5 for a thank you in the first edition (The “Harmless” pledge) all the way up to £500 (“Elite”). Pledges contain all sorts from the game itself, obviously, in printed or PDF format as well as exclusive T-shirts, collectors sleeves, GM kits, USB keys, and much more. For the “Elite – Exploration” level pledge, Spidermind are even looking to include time for you and up to 6 friends to enjoy a session GM’d by the creators of the game themselves. The Hardback copy of the Core Rule book is looking to be as little as £30 at the “Competent” level, or £25 for those who catch the early-bird offer. For those after

It’s a huge galaxy out there, and from what we’ve seen of the kickstarter so far there will be enough to please even die hard Elite fans. Being hardcore Elite fans, as well as Tabletop RPG lovers, we’ll definitely be looking further into this and we’re looking forward to getting a full review up as soon as possible, so watch this space.

There will be more information coming this weekend to those who’ve signed up for the Spidermind newsletter, and there’s some great detail on combat damage, economy, personal combat (SPACE LEGS!) and the flexibility of gameplay coming, as well as Sneak Peak Monday. We’ll not spill the beans on any of that here, but be sure to sign up to the newsletter when you download a copy of the playtest, where you can get some in depth information on the title, as well as handy links to their insights above