1.

0: What is Space Pirates:​ It is an ultra simple science fiction roleplaying game where you board a  Armor  Items 
captured high command ship to save its crew from pirates. It can be played solo or with a traditional GM if 
you so wish. This game is based on the extremely popular grimdark fantasy Micro Chapbook RPG system.  Triton Fabric Uniform  +3H  1c  (2) Rations  1D3 H  1c 
 
2.0: What You Need:​ ​2 six-sided dice, graph paper, note paper/character sheet, a pencil w/eraser, this  Comm Badge  +3W  1c  (3) Deblorian Ale  1D3 W  1c 
chapbook.  Flux Shield  +6H  2c  (4) Stim Kit  1D6 H  2c 
 
3.0: Rolling:​ ​During play, you always roll 1D6, trying to score equal to or lower than your stat score. If you  Cybernetic Uplink  +6W  2c  (5) Tranquilizer   1D6 W  2c 
are proficient, roll 2 dice and take the better result of the 2. 1 always succeeds. 6 always fails. (NOTE: When 
Personal Force Field  +6HW  3c  (6) Emergency Med Kit  FULL HW  6c 
you see 1D3 it means you roll a die and half the result rounding up.)  
   
4.0: Characters: ​To create a character, do the following:  7.0: Generating Rooms:​ ​Begin by choosing a random square on the graph paper and generating the first 
1. STATS:​ You have 4 statistics. ​ST​rength, ​DE​xterity, ​WI​ts, ​CH​arisma. You have 7 points to assign  room. To generate a room, roll the D6. The number rolled in the number of squares in the room. These can 
between them as you see fit. No stat can have a score lower than 1 or higher than 4.  be drawn in any way, shape, or form so long as they are orthogonally connected. Next, roll 1D3 (1D6 divided 
2. CLASS:​ ​Choose a class. There are 4 to choose from. Each one will make you proficient in one  by 2 rounded up). This is the number of doors in the room. Draw small rectangles to represent the doors 
area. ​Soldier:​ ​Proficient in ST ​Ranger:​ Proficient in DE ​Tech:​ Proficient in WI ​Diplomat:​ ​Proficient  along any single square’s edge to designate an exit.  
in CH.   
3. RANK​: ​Choose a rank. Rank grants you a +1 bonus to one stat. ​Security:​ ​+1 ST ​Engineering:​ ​+1 DE  8.0: Room Type: ​Each newly generated room has a type. Roll 1D6 to determine the type. Note this in the 
Science:​ +1 WI ​Command: ​+1 CH  room with a letter. 
4. HEALTH​:​ Your health is your ST+DE+20 (+30 for an easier game).  ● (​1​) Breach​:​ (B) This room has a hole in the hull. Make a DE roll or take 1D3 damage. 
5. WILL​: ​Your will is your WI+CH+20 (+30 for an easier game).  ● (​2​) Corridor :​ (Cr) An empty ship corridor. No effect. 
  ● (​3)​ Med Bay:​ (M) Make a WI check to gain 1D6 health. 
5.0 Weapons:​ Roll 2D6 to determine your credits. You may buy equipment now. Weapons have a damage  ● (​4)​ Hostages:​ (H) This room houses hostages. After clearing this room, you earn x2 credits. 
rating and a cost in credits (c).   ● (​5)​ Council Room​ (Co) The MAX number of aliens is increased by 1.  
  ● (​6)​ Captain’s Room:​ ​(Ca) This room has been taken over for the pirate king. +1 CH rolls. 
 
Melee Weapons  Ranged Weapons 
9.0: Doorways:​ Next, you will choose one door to move through into the next room. Roll 1D6 to determine 
Dagger  1  1c  Throwing Star  1  2c  the door type. After moving, generate the new room. 
● (​5-6​) Unlocked​: ​Move through freely. 
Short Sword  1D3  2c  Stun Gun  1D3  3c  ● (​4​) Stuck​:​ Must make a ST check to get through. Lose 1 WILL to reroll and try again. 
● (​3)​ Locked​: Must make a WI check to get through. Lose 1 WILL to reroll and try again. 
Hand Axe  1D3+1  3c  Phaser   1D3+1  4c 
● (​1-2​) Malfunction​: ​Must make a WI check to safely repair and move. If you fail, take 1D3 damage 
Vibro Sword  1D6  4c  Blaster  1D3+2  5c  and try again. 
 
Vibro Axe  1D6+1  5c  Phaser Rifle  1D6  7c  10.0 Aliens:​ ​After Entering any room. Roll to generate the aliens in the room. Roll once for the alien type 
  and a second time for the number of that aliens (this can never exceed the MAX). Each alien has a Max 
6.0: Armor and Items: ​Armor grants the wearer a boost to their health, will, or both. Other items such and  number of that type that can appear in a room, a Health Damage, a Will Damage, and a Life Force. 
food and stim kits can be used to restore lost health and will.   
   Monster Type  Max  H DMG  W DMG  LF 

1  Robotic Parrot   6  1  1  3 

2  Cabin Boy  4  1D3  -  5 

3  Pirate Gunner  3  1D3+1  1  7 

4  Vibro Sword Swashbuckler  2  1D6  1D3  10 

5  Second Mate  1  1D6  1D6  15 

6  Pirate King  1  1D6+1  1D6+1  25 

 
11.0: Fighting:​ To fight the aliens in your room, follow these steps in order: 
1. Bravery:​ Make a CH check. If you pass, gain 1 Will. If you fail, you lose Will according to the 
alien’s W DMG. If your Will is ever 0, all rolls take a +1 modifier. (A roll of 1 STILL always 
succeeds) 
2. Ranged Attack:​ If the room is 4 squares or larger you may make a ranged attack. Roll a DE check. 
If you succeed, apply weapon damage to the alien’s LF.  
3. Melee Attack:​ You MUST now make a melee attack using a ST check. If you succeed, apply the 
weapon’s damage to the alien’s LF. If you fail, roll the alein’s H DMG and apply it to your health. 
4. Repeat:​ ​Repeat this process until either you die or you’ve killed all the aliens in the room. Run 
away with a successful CH roll. 
 
12.0: Search: ​Roll 1D6. If you get 1 through 5 you earn that many credits. If you roll a six, roll on the Items 
chart on the previous page. If you roll a 1 on the items chart you find nothing. 
 
13.0: The Boss:​ The Pirate King is the boss of the scenario and will not appear until you’ve encountered all 
the other aliens at least once. Additionally, he will only appear in the Council or Captain’s Room. If you roll 
him when he can’t appear, reroll. Once he is defeated, the game ends.  
 
14.0: Rank Up:​ In between games you may spend 100 credits to add +1 to one stat. No stat can be higher 
than 5. (For an easier game, reduce this cost to 50). You may also buy new equipment. You may only have 1 
melee and 1 ranged weapon at a time.  

 
 CHAPBOOK ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS 
 
1. Print off the first two pages back to back. 
2. Fold the pages in half to form a chapbook folio so that the cover art is on the front of the 
chapbook and the alien chart is on the back.  
3. Print the third page separately. 
4. Cut off these assembly instructions (and the Note on Gameplay) and discard them leaving you 
with just the character sheet. 
5. Alternatively, keep this section as an “extra” page and put it in the middle of the Chapbook.  
6. OR forgo printing the third page and use your own note paper or note card as the character 
sheet. 
 
A NOTE ON GAMEPLAY and CLARIFICATIONS 
 
● Natural rolls of 1 ALWAYS succeed, despite die modifiers from room types or loss of Will (as 
indicated in Bravery). Natural rolls of 6 always fail. 
● Play the game multiple times to rank up your character and make them stronger. 
● Use the character in this Micro Chapbook RPG in other Micro Chapbooks for mixed up gameplay. 
● Interchange weapons, aliens, rooms, etc. with other Micro Chapbook RPGs for more options 
and variety.  
● Make the game easier by allowing Rank Up at the end of every successful scenario run. 
● The game may be played as a “traditional” RPG with one person acting as a GM. 
● The GM can choose to prebuild the scenario beforehand, choosing what is in each room, the 
layout, the doors, where the Boss is hiding, and more.  
● The GM can add in loot chests with set credits or items inside.  
● The GM may choose to run the game in a more “roleplay” style with added story elements, 
non-player characters, quest goals, etc. 
● In this way, the GM can use WI for all reading, writing, and intelligence based rolls. The GM may 
also use CH for all social based rolls with NPCs, enemies, and more.  
● Try playing the game on a traditional grid based game mat with miniatures. 
● Each miniature can move 1 square at a time orthogonally as part of the melee attack phase.  
● Ranged attacks may be made at a distance. Melee attacks may be made while adjacent.  
● Come up with your own house rules!   
 
 
Micro Chapbook RPG System 
Copyright © 2020 Noah Patterson