It’s been two months since Perseverance launched as a blog-based design series – a space western setting for QuestWorlds, developed one post at a time on playtesting.org. The idea was simple: no drafts in the dark, no big secret doc. Just worldbuilding and game design done live, out in the open.

Now, with over fifteen posts published, it’s clear that this isn’t just a setting – it’s the foundations of a real genre pack, one that’s heading toward full release on itch.io and DriveThruRPG under the ORC license.

Here’s what’s taken shape in the past two months – and where it’s headed next.

The World Comes First

Perseverance began with the planet itself: a broken world orbiting on the fringe of the Terran Commonwealth, rich in minerals and misery.

• The Planet and Life in Perseverance laid out the terrain and social structure – deserts, plains, icebound wastes, crashsite cities, river settlements, and a deep divide between Fallpoint’s elite and the frontier’s hardened survivors.
• The Hazards of the Frontier – Part 1 and Part 2 detailed the threats that shape daily life: deadly weather, unstable terrain, and apex predators like storm wraiths and cliff striders.

This wasn’t just geography – it was tone-setting. Every canyon and ice road helps define the kind of stories this world demands: tough choices, scarce resources, and power that’s never given freely.

Power in the Dust

Then came the question of control: who really runs this place?

• Who Rules Perseverance answered with a mix of half-truths and heavy firepower: the Commonwealth’s reach is shallow, and most authority is local, personal, and fragile.
• The Factions and Figures series drilled into this further:
  • The Commonwealth Presence gave us governors, guards, and rangers – with just enough muscle to matter, and too few boots on the ground to hold it all.
  • Wealth and Influence in the Frontier mapped out the corporate scene: Perseverance Metals (local, entrenched, brutal), Dawes-Kessler (off-world, expansionist, ruthless), and Orion Geotech (secretive, maybe digging into more than minerals).
  • Outlaws, Smugglers, and Rebels brought the chaos: warlords, separatists, and ghost towns that write their own rules with bullets.

Each faction comes ready to drop into play: allies, enemies, employers, or complications.

From Keywords to Characters

To help players build heroes who belong here, the series tackled Keywords next.

• Origin Keywords – Part 1 and Part 2 explore where you come from: Commonwealth enclaves, outlaw settlements, frozen wastes, riverboats, and everything in between. They define your perspective on the world before your story begins.
• Occupational Keywords – Part 1 and Part 2 define what you do now: ranger, rancher, rebel, smuggler, scout, fixer. They come loaded with thematic Breakout Abilities and embedded flaws to fuel drama.
• Community Keywords in Perseverance added a flexible third axis: affiliations like the Free Miners’ League, the Dustborn Prophets, or the Black Veil Society. These aren't just backgrounds – they’re relationship anchors that reflect the collective stories around your character.

Together, they form the mechanical and narrative backbone of character creation – whether you're using the prose method or classic builds.

Running Perseverance: Tools for GMs

Beyond setting material, Perseverance already includes GM-facing tools that support its tone and pacing.

• Playing in Perseverance – Game Examples (Part 1) and Part 2 blended narrative snippets with rules in motion, showing what conflict resolution feels like in a harsh frontier world.
• Running Perseverance (originally posted as How to Set Stakes and Pace Episodes) delivered a full approach to structuring play:
  • Framing challenges with clear stakes and escalating twists
  • Using zero-degree outcomes to shape uncertainty
  • The “Escalate, Twist, Reframe” model for episodic pacing

It’s not just theory – it’s a usable framework for storytelling in a broken world.

Mechanics in the Mud: Tags and Temporary Truths

In Tags and Situational Truths in QuestWorlds, I introduced temporary tags as situational modifiers that act like augments or hindrances. These tags model injuries, emotions, narrative states, or environmental effects.

They offer a lightweight, narrative-first way to introduce mechanical consequences and opportunities. If you're used to Fate’s aspects or temporary conditions from other systems, this is QuestWorlds' own take – fully setting-agnostic, and already part of Perseverance’s DNA.

Meet the Crew: Dust Runner Blues

To make it all tangible, I introduced a playable smuggler crew in two parts:

• Dust Runner Blues – Part 1 focused on the Dust Runner, a low-altitude skiff perfect for canyon runs, cargo swaps, and escape jobs.
• Dust Runner Blues – Part 2 introduced the crew, each written with the prose method:
  • Sandra “Lark” Vance – fast-talking captain
  • Jace “Burn” Halloran – daredevil pilot
  • Mira Vos – ex-corporate techie with enemies
  • “Grim” Navarro – wilderness enforcer with scores to settle

They’re available as NPCs, pregens, rivals – or as the heart of your next campaign.

The Road Ahead

The goal is still the same: to release a complete QuestWorlds genre pack under the ORC license, with everything a GM needs to run a Perseverance campaign.

What’s already in place:

• Full character-building options (origin, occupation, community keywords)
• A richly detailed world, from regions to factions to hazards
• Mechanics for tags, story pacing, and conflict framing
• Game examples and pregen characters

What’s next:

• Sample adventures and episodic arcs
• NPC and adversary templates
• Layout, playtest feedback, and zine-format publishing
• Final release on itch.io and DriveThruRPG

We’re well past the halfway mark. And still moving forward.

Thanks for Riding Along

Writing Perseverance out in the open has been one of the most satisfying creative projects I’ve taken on. It’s kept me honest, pushed the ideas further, and opened up great conversations around genre, structure, and story.

If you’ve been following along – thank you. If you’re just joining, welcome. There’s a whole frontier to explore, and you’re right on time.

“Doesn’t matter how many miles are behind you. What matters is what you're willing to face next.”
— Sandra Vance, Dust Runner Captain

Next post’s coming soon. Saddle up.