New Children of Time RPG Promises Epic Sci-Fi (And Giant Spiders)

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Rowan, Rook and Decard, the award-winning tabletop RPG publisher behind Spire, Eat the Reich and Heart, has officially announced their next big project: Children of Time: The Roleplaying Game.

Based on the acclaimed “Children of Time” sci-fi novels by British author Adrian Tchaikovsky, the game seeks to capture the unique themes of the books, with players guiding the fate of both human ark ships and an evolving alien civilization over the course of multiple generations. A crowdfunding campaign for the RPG will be hitting Backerkit in June 2026, but you can sign up now for notifications.

Below, we take a closer look at what to expect from this TTRPG take on a modern sci-fi classic.

What are the Children of Time novels about?

Children of Time is a four-book hard sci-fi series written by award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky.The story takes place in the far distant future in which the last remnants of humanity are forced to take to the stars aboard massive ark ships following the complete ecological collapse of the Earth. Their destination is a series of fully terraformed worlds that were seeded thousands of years earlier by their human ancestors.

Unbeknownst to the colonists, however, an evolutionary nanovirus originally intended for monkeys was transmitted to a species of jumping spiders on the planet, who, over the millennia, become a sentient arachnoid species known as the Portiid, who develop their own unique society and advanced technology. The novels explore the clash of cultures between humanity and the Portiid, following characters from both species. Later books in the series explore other uplifted species on colony worlds, including civilizations of sentient octopuses and evolved corvids.

The first book in the series, Children of Time, was published in 2015 and won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award. It was followed up by Children of Ruin in 2019, Children of Memory in 2022 and Children of Strife, which was only recently published in March 2026. Notably, the first three books were also nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Series in 2023.

What is the Children of Time RPG about?

While many details about the game are still under wraps, we do know a few things about the system:

• Dual Focus: Gameplay will shift back and forth between aging ark ships and terraformed planets, with players able to create their own versions of both or use the existing settings from the books.
• The System: The mechanics will build on previous Rowan, Rook and Decard games, including the multi-generational system of Legacy: Life Among the Ruins and the “Fallout/Beats” system from Heart: The City Beneath.
• Narrative Roles: Players don’t just take on a single character, with the game allowing them to switch perspectives, playing as The Viewpoint (the current hero), The Crowd (the voice of the people) or The Ship (one of the aging colonial vessels).

When will the Children of Time RPG BackerKit launch?

Crowdfunding for the Children of Time RPG is scheduled to launch in mid-June 2026. You can, however, sign up now for Day One notification and access to any early-bird rewards and preview materials.

Why we’re excited about the Children of Time RPG?

• The creative team: The game features some absolute A-list talent in the TTRPG space, including Grant Howitt (founder of Rowan, Rook and Decard and creator of Honey Heist and the DIE RPG), along with Minærva McJanda (who worked on Voidheart Symphony and Lancer) and Elaine Lithgow (who is perhaps best known for her work on the Warhammer Fantasy RPG for Cubicle 7).
• A unique playstyle: Rather than focusing on a single character, the Children of Time RPG offers differing view points and characters, with play taking place over generations – all of which sounds incredibly ambitious and unique.
• Impressive art: From the few images we’ve seen so far, the art for the Children of Time RPG looks gorgeous, with illustrator Sam Lamont using a blend of 3D modeling and digital painting.
• An epic sci-fi property: If you haven’t read the “Children of Time” series, it’s absolutely brilliant and explores some genuinely thought provoking themes that could work surprisingly well within a TTRPG.

Final Thoughts

Children of Time: The Roleplaying Game looks to have the potential to become a major crowdfunder. In fact, we’ve seen the potential in popular novels being adapted to TTRPGs, with Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere RPG becoming one of the biggest crowdfunders in history. Whether this new project can become a similar sci-fi TTRPG success, however, only time will tell.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on the project in the days ahead, but in the meantime you can learn more and sign up for notifications on Backerkit.