Did you ever get turned off from certain sci-fi RPGs because of their lack of real character development, or by the lack of real control over your crew’s fate? Perihelion Interactive has a brand new sci-fi RPG that is poised to recreate that engaging experience that made shows like Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and Firefly such classics – which is protecting and developing relationships with your crew members.

The story behind The Mandate is similar to a lot of science fiction set in space – a ruined, resource depleted Earth spurred a race for humans to find salvation in the stars. Things get interesting after survivors successfully establish a new empire in the further reaches of space. Instead of typical themes and art styles, Perihelion is going for a style based off the Royal Navy from the 18th century as well as Tsarist Russia.

The game is all about choices, even though you begin with a second chance at life by serving the newly crowned Empress, you could choose to join the very rebels that you’ve been sent out to squash. You could focus on assembling and training the meanest crew in the galaxy, or you could expand your influence by setting up space stations, which in turn could produce entire armadas of ships.

You can check out their kickstarter pitch below:

Perihelion Interactive is currently sitting at almost half their initial funding goal of $500K. If you’re interested in backing this very ambitious project, you can pledge on their kickstarter page.