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Stalker The SciFi Roleplaying Game
In the Zones, the laws of nature have gone insane. Deadly anomalies defy logic and reason. Monsters roam the streets of dead cities and the bones of the fallen crack beneath your feet. No one knows what really happened, nor do they really care. The World wants the Zones closed off, walled in and forgotten. The governments were only too happy to oblige and gave them away to the Institute.
The Institute answers to no one.
The borderlands between our world and the Zones are now lawless frontiers where the Institute wields absolute power. Zone refugees are hunted like animals. Scientists experiment on human captives. Criminal activity of every kind flourishes in the shadow of the border, well and truly beyond the reach of law.
Even in the Zones, there are things that people want. Things that promise the impossible; infinite energy, the cure for all ailments, or the power to rewrite fate. Leaders, businessmen and generals would kill to get their hands on them, or to keep from the hands of others. Which is why you are here. Looter. Criminal. Stalker.
If you come back with swag – it’s a miracle
If you come back alive – it’s a success
If the patrol bullets miss you – it’s luck
And as for anything else – that’s fate
Stalker - the SciFi Roleplaying Game is the one and only true "Stalker" roleplaying game, based on the novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky but brought to the modern times and modern audiences. The Finnish-language original was released in 2008 to rave reviews. The leading daily newspaper named it as one of the top culture events of the year. Years of insistence by hardcore fans lead to it being translated into English and now here we are.
The Institute answers to no one.
The borderlands between our world and the Zones are now lawless frontiers where the Institute wields absolute power. Zone refugees are hunted like animals. Scientists experiment on human captives. Criminal activity of every kind flourishes in the shadow of the border, well and truly beyond the reach of law.
Even in the Zones, there are things that people want. Things that promise the impossible; infinite energy, the cure for all ailments, or the power to rewrite fate. Leaders, businessmen and generals would kill to get their hands on them, or to keep from the hands of others. Which is why you are here. Looter. Criminal. Stalker.
If you come back with swag – it’s a miracle
If you come back alive – it’s a success
If the patrol bullets miss you – it’s luck
And as for anything else – that’s fate
Stalker - the SciFi Roleplaying Game is the one and only true "Stalker" roleplaying game, based on the novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky but brought to the modern times and modern audiences. The Finnish-language original was released in 2008 to rave reviews. The leading daily newspaper named it as one of the top culture events of the year. Years of insistence by hardcore fans lead to it being translated into English and now here we are.
246 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2008
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About the author
Ville Vuorela
21 books19 followersAfter a wild youth of teaching, translating, being a technical writer for various industries and keeping the Finnish RPG writing scene alive in the late nineties, Ville finally settled down as a game designer for the videogames industry in 2004. In these days he is a freelancer in the booming Finnish videogame industry.
Writing in Finnish and English, Ville has produced a fantasy novels, a fact books and two semi-autobiographical works on working in and with the games industry and the educational sector. In some circles he is still best known for his five tabletop roleplaying games, two of which became best-sellers in Finland. The English version of Stalker RPG has a steadily growing fanbase abroad as well.
Stalker RPG was possible thanks to a license from the late Boris Strugatsky, the co-author of the legendary Roadside Picnic. It is this partnership that has allowed him to extend the setting of Roadside Picnic into the modern age, first with his roleplaying game and then with his first English-language novel, The Hollow Pilgrim.
Writing in Finnish and English, Ville has produced a fantasy novels, a fact books and two semi-autobiographical works on working in and with the games industry and the educational sector. In some circles he is still best known for his five tabletop roleplaying games, two of which became best-sellers in Finland. The English version of Stalker RPG has a steadily growing fanbase abroad as well.
Stalker RPG was possible thanks to a license from the late Boris Strugatsky, the co-author of the legendary Roadside Picnic. It is this partnership that has allowed him to extend the setting of Roadside Picnic into the modern age, first with his roleplaying game and then with his first English-language novel, The Hollow Pilgrim.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 17, 2017
Read this earlier in the year. Incredibly faithful worldbuilding to the world of the Zone, with a system that encourages genuine contemplation and creative problem solving. Can't wait to run a game.
March 23, 2025
For a while I was searching for a RPG on which I could play in the manner of 60's and 70's Russian SF. What was my surprise to find exactly what I looked for: a game made from Roadside Picnic / Tale of the Troika and the movie Stalker by the great Andrei Tarkovski.
An this game was MUCH MORE than I expected.
It took the already detailed and complex world of the novel and the film and expanded very thoughtfully, filling with all kind of clever details, giving incredible descriptions and options, clarifying concepts, detailing how the societies around the Zones would be, adding more incredible objects and hazards. My complaints? The diceless system is not very robust, as should be expected for an absolutely narrative setting, and WHY THE HELL USE COMIC SANS!!?? Otherwise, this is absolute perfection for a "franchised" game.
An this game was MUCH MORE than I expected.
It took the already detailed and complex world of the novel and the film and expanded very thoughtfully, filling with all kind of clever details, giving incredible descriptions and options, clarifying concepts, detailing how the societies around the Zones would be, adding more incredible objects and hazards. My complaints? The diceless system is not very robust, as should be expected for an absolutely narrative setting, and WHY THE HELL USE COMIC SANS!!?? Otherwise, this is absolute perfection for a "franchised" game.
December 11, 2022
Roadside Picnic-inspired fun with a diceless system. Full review: https://refereeingandreflection.wordp...
June 2, 2019
I haven't read this cover to cover but it's a great setting and a fantastic resource. I don't necessarily agree with some of the advice for running the game and, despite there being nothing wrong with the system, I probably wouldn't use it as is.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews