Aether Mayfly, ett rollspelsprojekt: AMA

[Man Mountainman]

Hej!

Jag tänkte att det kunde vara kul att visa upp ett av de rollspelsprojekt jag jobbar på av och till. Tyvärr är mitt arbetsdokument lite för kaotiskt för att tåla andras ögon, men jag postar introduktionstexten jag skrivit, så kan ni ju ställa frågor om ni tycker det verkar intressant.

Konceptet är typ: Planetary romance möter socialrealism möter tonårsdrama? Det är tänkt att vara ganska traditionellt och mission-baserat, men med lite regler för att uppmuntra karaktärsutveckling och relationsdrama. Vi får se om jag lyckas få ihop det på nåt bra sätt. Den grundläggande tärningsmekaniken är snodd från @Krille s T10-system: exploderande T10 där 10:an läses som en nolla, plus egenskap, mot svårighetsgrad.

Without further ado: Aether Mayfly.

Aether Mayfly is a tabletop role-playing game where you portray adventurers who travel through the solar system and Known Space in aethercraft: large, insect-like vessels that sail the aether winds on gossamer wings. You wear elaborate golden masks to protect you against the mind- and body-altering influence of the aether.

Earth is overcrowded, cosmopolitan, decadent, and weird. The ISC, the Independent Space Command, encourages young people with few options to wager their future on the stars. You are one of these young people. Together with your comrades, you have taken out a loan from the ISC to equip an aethercraft and try your luck in space. Now, you must carry out dangerous missions to repay your loans and earn enough for yourself to make a better life for you and your loved ones—or abandon your obligations and go fugitive, only to be hunted across Known Space by the agents of the ISC.

You are a young person with big dreams and big passions. Your comrades, likewise. You may get in the way of each other; and at any rate, the world is almost guaranteed to get in the way of your ambitions. Back home, you may have dependents who trust you to send money home and bring them out of poverty. The ISC sees you as a deniable asset and a disposable tool. They will not hesitate to send you into death’s way if they calculate that the benefits outweigh the costs, and they may not always inform you of their calculations beforehand.

The character creation rules allow you to play one of nine intelligent species from across Known Space. Your character is composed of abilities—broad areas of knowledge or talent that you use to succeed on tasks—and knacks—special abilities that allow you to interact with the rules system in novel ways. Your character will also have dependents, beliefs, and a dark side. These connect her to the setting and guide your portrayal of her. Your beliefs constitute a resource you can use to perform better, but if your beliefs are challenged you run the risk of losing confidence in yourself and succumbing to your dark side.

 

[God45]

Finns det Aether pirater?

Berätta om de andra raserna!

 

[Man Mountainman]

Finns det Aether pirater?

Givetvis. Man kan bli en sådan själv om man tröttnar på att jobba för ISC (eller, ibland, på uppdrag av ISC -- de är inte 100% hederliga aktörer alla gånger). Eller så kan man slåss mot dem.

Berätta om de andra raserna!

Det här är en grej som är ganska luddig än så länge. Tanken är att spelet ska utspela sig i vårt solsystem, fast en fantasy-version därav. Så det finns lunianer, marsianer, venusianer, neptunianer osv. Frågan jag brottas med är dock hur jag ska gestalta dessa raser, i vilken mån jag ska hänfalla till stereotyper (marsianer är dekadenta kanalbyggare eller stolta höglandskrigare, etc.) Borde kanske kolla in lite litteratur i genren för att få inspiration.

 

[entomophobiac]

Your beliefs constitute a resource you can use to perform better, but if your beliefs are challenged you run the risk of losing confidence in yourself and succumbing to your dark side.

Det här låter ju väldigt mycket som "the force" måste jag säga?

Annars supercoolt! Jag blir väldigt nyfiken på vad för saker som finns att hitta därute. Vad det är som gör att aetherianerna tjänar peng de kan skicka hem.

 

[Man Mountainman]

Det här låter ju väldigt mycket som "the force" måste jag säga?

Haha kanske? Fast psykologiskt, då, snarare än övernaturligt. Det kommer väl finnas ett magisystem också men jag har inte riktigt fått grepp om det ännu. Tänker nog att det ska vara mer ockult, mer symboliskt, mer amoraliskt än the Force.

Annars supercoolt! Jag blir väldigt nyfiken på vad för saker som finns att hitta därute. Vad det är som gör att aetherianerna tjänar peng de kan skicka hem.

Jag skrev några saker om detta idag (ursäkta oredigerad och stundtals klumpig engelska):

As GM, it is your responsibility to prepare missions for the crew. These missions can come in two main varieties.

• Missions from the ISC
• Missions from other actors.

The ISC operates on a franchise model: it gives loans to would-be adventurers, lets them equip their own aether sailers, and then send them off to do whatever pleases them—with the proviso that if they are to be able to repay their loans and meet their interest payments, they better take some of the missions sent them by the ISC. A crew that repeatedly turns down ISC missions, or repeatedly fails their missions, will see their standing lowered [en mekanik som styr hur bra uppdrag man får av ISC och hur mycket de litar på en].

In addition to taking jobs from the ISC, the crew are welcome to take any other mission they like, though their agreement with the ISC explicitly debars them from acting against the ISC’s interests or engaging in criminal activity. However, space is large, ISC HQ is far away, and who will know?

ISC Missions
It is an open secret that the reason the ISC prefers to engage independent agents through a franchise model, rather than employing its agents directly, is for purposes of plausible deniability. Almost all official ISC missions are, on paper, completely legal and in accord with interplanetary agreements, but the crew will often find out that there are details unmentioned in the mission brief that require them to engage in illicit activity in order to succeed. Should they choose to remain honest, they risk failing the mission and become unreliable in the ISC’s eyes, leading to fewer, less lucrative, and more dangerous missions in the future (i.e., lowering their standing). Should they choose the dishonest route and be discovered, the ISC can simply disavow them, pointing to the mission brief as evidence of their own innocence.

As the crew’s confidence score increases, the ISC may decide that they are trustworthy enough to be given more information and more insight into the inner workings of the organization. They may be granted more plainly questionable or illegal missions, such as espionage, smuggling, or outright “wetwork.”

The ISC takes on missions from other actors—governments, companies, private individuals—and subcontracts them to their agents. In practice, then, the crew will only rarely work directly for the ISC: most of the missions they receive from the organization will be for the benefit of some third party.

Some examples of ISC missions include:

• Exploration
• Trade
• Salvage
• Anti-piracy
• Missing person
• Escort
• Hunting down rogue crews [alltså före detta ISC-agenter som inte betalat sina skulder]
• Smuggling
• Espionage
• Piracy
• Debt enforcement
• Assassination