Rust Never Sleeps is a grunge solo ttrpg in which you play as a doomed mech pilot in the post-apocalyptic Pacific Northwest. It explores “burning out” through the stories of doomed mech pilots and the discourse inspired by the Godfather of Grunge’s album Rust Never Sleeps.

The Beta edition will be released on 5/01/25. Claim it for free before its release!

What kind of TTRPG is RNS?

Rust Never Sleeps is a comprehensive solo rpg with mission modules and journaling.  In other words, Rust Never Sleeps…

• offers lite yet complete mechanics for gameplay and character creation;
• provides pre-written missions modules as well as mission generators for your pilot; and
• invites the player to journal in their pilot’s log during both character creation and mission generation.

What's it like to play?

In Rust Never Sleeps, you progress through journal prompts as a doomed mech pilot. You use your pilot’s skills or your mech’s equipment to complete tasks, overcome obstacles, and complete challenges for your mission. 

You get to decide which skill checks or equipment checks to make, and you can make any type of check, so long as it is narratively congruent with the plot. 

But every check that you make uses up your cards and draws on your battery pack. You must complete your mission before the deck runs out.

What do you need to play?

This tabletop roleplaying game is played with a standard deck of cards, a printed character sheet, coloring utensils, and a music playlist.

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The deck of cards is your battery pack. 

Using your mech expends energy and brings you one step closer to burning out. Complete your mission before you run out of cards.

Push your mech to the limits. 

PUNCH the big red button on your character sheet for a blackjack-inspired boost. Don’t “bust” or you will burn through your energy.

Rock out to your mixtape. 

Your mech came with an ancient mixtape. It has a mind of its own, playing thematically relevant songs at just the right moment.

Upgrade your mech. 

Collect loot to upgrade your mech’s equipment. Connect the parts on your schematic sheet and color in your mech for each upgrade.

Grow weary with experience. 

Every mission teaches you something new. It also wears you down. Remove a card of your choice from your battery pack after every mission.