Toronto-based indie studio Ox Games launches its debut science-fantasy tabletop roleplaying game, Sine: A Story-Driven RPG, on Kickstarter on 7 October. Designed by Canadian improv comedians Jason Ox and Julian Frid, the game casts players as clone soldiers striving to rebuild Earth two decades after an alien invasion wiped out human infrastructure.
The project funding covers physical production of two core volumes, the Player’s Sourcebook and the Handler’s Sourcebook, alongside custom equipment card decks. Ox Games has established a strict human-creator policy for the release, confirming that crowdfunding revenue will finance original commercial illustrations from human artists rather than generative machine tools.
Jason Ox, game designer at Ox Games, said in a statement:
In Sine, players take on the role of a Catalyst: a genetically engineered super soldier created to fight an alien invasion. Twenty years after humanity was ravaged by the invaders, your mission is no longer simply to survive. It’s to help rebuild society from the ruins.”
The Setting: Post-Invasion Earth and the Catalysts
Sine takes place twenty years after an alien force designated “the Stock” dismantled human civilisation. Players take the role of Catalysts, genetically modified super-soldier clones originally bred as defensive shock troops.
With the primary invasion over, the Catalysts return to an altered biosphere where humanity survives in scattered pockets. The core plot centres on civil reconstruction, local diplomacy, and ecosystem salvage rather than standard survival combat.
Rules Engine and Dice Mechanics
The system abandons miniature distance grids, tactical battle maps, and spell point tracking in favour of a two-mode structure: Freeplay and Turn-based play.
| Mechanic | Operational Rule |
| Primary Dice | 1d6 for Action checks; 1d20 reserved exclusively for Luck rolls. |
| Action Resolution | Roll 1d6 + Stat modifier; compare the total against the Sine Scale to judge outcome quality. |
| Stat Array | Six traditional character attributes establish baseline modifier bonuses. |
| Pursuits & Skills | A Pursuit defines character background and competence pools; specialised Skills grant a flat +1 bonus. |
| Freeplay Pacing | Squad discussions, travel, investigation, and prolonged downtime projects resolve directly against the Sine Scale. |
| Turn-Based Pacing | Combat, pursuits, standoffs, and timed crises trigger opposed rolls between player Actions and opponent Reactions. |
| Active Defence | Defending characters roll active offensive or evasive Reactions against every incoming hostile strike. |
Cinematographic Action
Sine incorporates cinematic blocking vocabulary directly into its rules text. The game instructs Handlers and players to narrate table actions through the framing of a film camera:
- Close-Ups: Tight framing on equipment details, such as combat boots stepping into mud or the mechanical wear on an axe handle.
- Tracking Pans: Continuous visual descriptions moving along characters to establish environment and physical wear.
- Long Shots: Wide environmental framing to establish relative distances between squads and approaching alien xenos.
- Emotional Focus: Shifts in facial expression and subtle character tells during dialogue checks.
Quickstart Rules Preview
Ox Games has released a complete introductory Quickstart package covering fundamental mechanics, sample Catalysts, and rules overviews:
[Click to read the quickstart]
