Tabletop RPG · since 2016 · #75 most discussed

Coriolis

Play crews of desperate spacefarers in a closed Arabian-flavored star cluster, balancing faith, debt, and survival under a hostile sky.

Year Zero EngineSpace operadice poolpush your luckstress or sanityfaction playtravel procedureszone combatCampaignsNeeds a GM

5.8

Geek rating

From 8 firsthand play reports in 3 r/rpg threads. The threads alone average 6.2.

Player rating— / 10

No visitor ratings yet.

Discussion5.7 / 10

88 r/rpg posts named it, October 2023 to October 2026.

Rules weight

Medium. Hype 4.0 for its age.

Have you played it?

Rate Coriolis from 1 to 10. One rating per browser and device; you can change it any time.

Didn't work for usOne of our best

What players say

At the table

Most of the firsthand play here comes from one long campaign thread, with a few shorter reports alongside it. Tables describe a setting that carries the game and mechanics that need work. Several groups ran Coriolis for months or years, and some of them changed the rules to do it.

What works

A long-running player-driven sandbox built on archaeological mystery and political intrigue, with a first-Mass-Effect feel, worked very well. One campaign reached about 550 hours over four years. (thread)
The corebook's starter adventure, Statuette of Zhar, is rated highly for its simple, exciting setup, good NPCs and room to veer off script. (thread)
One group that finished a small campaign called the game fantastic overall. (thread)
A player who has run it calls it a very good game, with a vivid, adventure-oriented Arabian Nights-in-space feel. (thread)
One table converted to Fate to keep its campaign going, and found most modifiers carried over easily. (thread)

What tables struggle with

The corebook has too few talents, so players soon don't know where to spend XP. (thread)
Long campaigns need many house rules, and the GM must study the book and put in a lot of prep. (thread)
Combat was one group's biggest complaint. They said it felt like a prototype for later Year Zero Engine games. (thread)
The rulebook is hard to use at the table. Players cite its layout and a useless index. (thread)
The published campaign is railroady if run as written, which is harder with passive players. One group moved to Fate because the rules didn't produce the intended feel. (thread)

Who it suits

GMs who want a distinctive, mystery-driven setting and will invest prep time and house rules.
Groups that like the specific Arabian Nights-in-space theme, which is hard to separate from the game.

In players' words

"It's brought almost 550 hours of delight and fun to our table, but it's also been a real labour of love" (thread)
"I found Coriolis one of the worst books to use at the table in practice." (thread)
"Otherwise it's fantastic." (thread)

The threads behind it

Each thread is rated for the play it describes, from the firsthand reports in it. Load one here or read it on Reddit.

6.3

Reflecting on my 4 year Coriolis (Third Horizon) campaign

The OP's 4-year, roughly 550-hour sandbox campaign is a clear success. It needed heavy houseruling, especially for XP and talents, and the setting is far stronger than the mechanics. Other players give mixed accounts: one praises the sandbox mystery, one left a bad year-long game (blamed on the GM, not the system), one GM has passive players, and one group switched the rules to Fate. 5 firsthand · 27 comments

Open on Reddit

5.5

Coriolis: The third horizon vs Traveller update 2022

The thread is mostly a hexcrawl-fit comparison of Coriolis and Traveller, and very little of it is firsthand play of Coriolis. The two firsthand voices call Coriolis a very good game with a strong setting, but say its rulebook is hard to use at the table. 2 firsthand · 11 comments

Open on Reddit

—

Free League has announced Coriolis: The Great Dark RPG

The thread is mostly about the announcement of Coriolis: The Great Dark and general Free League recommendations (Forbidden Lands, Alien, Vaesen). It has almost no table-level reports about playing Coriolis. The only play mention is one person who has 'only played Coriolis a bit' and gives no detail about how it went. 1 firsthand · 36 comments

Open on Reddit

7.0

Coriolis: Third Horizon is great sci-fi and rules

Only one commenter describes actually playing Coriolis: Third Horizon. Their group ran a small campaign and found it fantastic apart from weak combat and a poor rulebook index. Most of the thread is hype from the original poster, who hasn't played yet, plus talk about Free League dropping the line for The Great Dark, whose quickstart reports are about a different game and were ignored. 1 firsthand · 36 comments

Open on Reddit