Free League Publishing is returning to space, though it won’t be with the Alien license this time. Instead, the publisher is going back to their roots with the spiritual sequel to Coriolis – The Third Horizon, their very first science fiction RPG, in Coriolis: The Great Dark.

Coriolis: The Great Dark will be launched on Kickstarter on March 19, and is inspired by 19th century polar expeditions, deep sea diving and pulp archeology, emphasizing mystery, a sense of wonder and breathtaking visuals. You can check out the sign-up page, beforehand.

All backers who pledge levels with physical rewards within the first 24 hours will receive a bonus item soon to be revealed. If successfully funded, all backers will get the PDF version of the game months ahead of the official release.

Utilizing the Year Zero Engine (the same one used for ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game), Coriolis: The Great Dark launches you into a desolate part of space – The Lost Horizon. Here, those humans who fled war try to stake out a new life in a harsh environment, while expeditions are sent out into deep space to find resources for survival and valuable artifacts. As explorers in forgotten star systems, players will partake in expeditions on mighty Greatships and venture into old ruins after a long-lost civilization of God-like beings. Coriolis: The Great Dark is a game about Hope and enduring against all odds.

The RPG will showcase the all-new setting as well as mechanics – with themes like exploration, sense-of-wonder, sci-fi action and faction intrigue. The rules will include explorer generation, combat, exploration, and expeditions.

A boxed campaign set entitled The Flowers of Algorab will also be part of the Kickstarter and delivered alongside the core game.

If you’re keen on learning more about Coriolis: The Great Dark, you can check out the Q&A session that will go live tomorrow (video down below).