We are using the Savage Worlds Deluxe rules (soon to be made obsolete by the introduction of the next edition of Savage Worlds, but we may stick with what we know). House rules are minimal, currently the only one that springs to mind is the use of Spirit as the default for the Guts Skill (which players can overspend to boost but are advised not to be so silly).
I have individual rules for various Weird Science devices that cause issues, like Matt's goober gun. When fired for 2 points it very obviously uses his Shooting Skill roll, the rules are clear on that, but he can overcharge it to convert it to a burst template effect. I've ruled that if fired in this mode, the hit is guaranteed but the targets get the usual template chance to dodge.
So when he SHOOTS, he rolls a 4 or better, then makes his WEIRD SCIENCE roll to determine the level of effect as per the ENTANGLE spell. If he overcharges the weapon, he "hits" automatically but his WEIRD SCIENCE roll is matched vs the targets' Agility for escape purposes before being used to evaluate the level of gluey entanglement the enemy has suffered. I should probably have just ruled that he had no overcharge ability but I like the mayhem.
The Red Sands setting is a rather thin book that covers some of what's needed to play an enjoyable variation of the game of Space 1889. We also have the legacy GDW book to hand for more in-depth discussion of various in-world matters such as Martian waterway construction and more complete fauna lists. Getting players to reference this book BEFORE the SWD rulebook was a challenge. There are several neat options in the Red Sands book that can be made impossible to achieve after building out a character to SWD rules. A matter of available edges and prerequisites.
All the books I mention are available as PDFs from DrivethruRPG, though the PDF of the original GDW Space 1889 rulebook is an optical scan only with no OCR behind it, with no usable chapter index sidebar, which makes finding stuff very tedious indeed. I have yet to find a proper PDF of this book.
Savage Worlds has the significant advantage over all other versions of Space 1889 I've seen in that the system is very easy to pick up and quite straightforward to understand. It has only one way of approaching tests and challenges (unlike the original system which uses different mechanisms for skill checks and combat resolution).
If there's a downside it is that the magic system can seem rather lacklustre when compared to High Fantasy game engines like Pathfinder or D&D. That can be retrofitted by the GM of course, but the SW take offers much and from a small set of "template" spells a vast number of variations can be quickly run up using the concept of trappings. Thus lightning bolts and fire balls can start as the same basic spell with the same basic way of figuring out what happens to who, but the trappings make the effects of each quite different. Those interested might benefit from seeking out the Explorer's Edition which can be had for under $10.
One might think magic plays little part in the Victorian Steampunk world of Space 1889, but Weird Science is actually a pseudo-technological wrapper for the magic system of Savage Worlds. As per the rules that is all it is, but I know GMs who allow all sorts of wild ideas to be floated under the concept. I fall closer to the "as written" camp, at least for now, so as the game progresses you can follow along using the rules to see what's going on "under the hood" without assuming "hand waving".
I'll be coming back to this again in future interlude posts.
Resources:
Space 1889:Red Sands setting rulebook
Original Space 1889 Rulebook (GDW)
Savage Worlds Deluxe Rulebook
All links point to DriveThruRPG but RPGNow also carries the same titles.
PEG carries the Savage Worlds rules on their own site.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
The Adventure Begins, and A Trip To Mars
This blog will record the progress (or otherwise) of the Space 1889 Red Sands campaign running on the first Saturday of each month at Legendary Realms' store in Lindenhurst, LI.
The team has previously survived the ordeal of the crazed, diseased legionaries in Fort Oublié in the heart of the Libyan desert, recovering pages of the commanding officer's diary and a fragment of a scroll case with curious hieroglyphs incised on it. The scroll case itself has been spirited away by the fiendish couple calling themselves Mme and Msr Bourgeois, suspected in the poisoning of the unfortunate legionaries of Fort Oublié.
Professor Bottoms tasked the team to accompany his daughter Esmeralda to Mars, where she will compare the strange hieroglyphs on the fragment of scroll case with writing on sundry tombs and relics.
The trip was tediously uneventful until, with scant few miles to go before the ship would put into port at Syrtis Major - the hub of British influence on Mars - their aethership was attacked, crippled and boarded by dastardly Space Pirates! The pirates boarded in force, subduing all passengers whom they met and dealing violently with the crew.
The player characters rallied the remainder of the passengers and led them in a brave frontal counter-attack, which was successful in killing all the pirates except for the four on the bridge, who the players corralled by means of a Weird Science entanglement gun before themselves boarding the pirate vessel to recover the kidnapped Esmeralda.
No sooner was the poor girl in safe hands than the pirate ship started to break away, threatening to decompress the PC's vessel and kill all aboard. Luckily, Wilhelm was able to rapidly instruct the passengers in the improvisation of a patch from whatever was to hand - beds, carpet and the like - and the departure of the pirate vessel was not accompanied by a grisly display of floating corpses.
But trouble was still at hand as the vessel had no aether propeller thanks to the pirates' opening shot, and no crew thanks to the boarding party's savage bloodthirst. Thus, the trapped pirates were forced to assume the duties of helmsman and trimsman as the ship plunged into Mars' atmosphere. The pirate at the helm was able to control the ship's direction, but the man at the trimsman console was in a blue funk and fumbled at every opportunity, resulting in the ship striking Mars' surface at great speed, breaking up on impact.
The PC's found themselves battered and sporting numerous minor wounds, as did the surviving pirates who immediately attacked. The PCs were eventually able to kill them all, but were aghast at what they were able to see once the battle was over.
They were standing in the matchwood remains of their ship, passengers lying pitifully on the wreckage, somewhere on the steppes of Mars.
The team has previously survived the ordeal of the crazed, diseased legionaries in Fort Oublié in the heart of the Libyan desert, recovering pages of the commanding officer's diary and a fragment of a scroll case with curious hieroglyphs incised on it. The scroll case itself has been spirited away by the fiendish couple calling themselves Mme and Msr Bourgeois, suspected in the poisoning of the unfortunate legionaries of Fort Oublié.
Professor Bottoms tasked the team to accompany his daughter Esmeralda to Mars, where she will compare the strange hieroglyphs on the fragment of scroll case with writing on sundry tombs and relics.
The trip was tediously uneventful until, with scant few miles to go before the ship would put into port at Syrtis Major - the hub of British influence on Mars - their aethership was attacked, crippled and boarded by dastardly Space Pirates! The pirates boarded in force, subduing all passengers whom they met and dealing violently with the crew.
The player characters rallied the remainder of the passengers and led them in a brave frontal counter-attack, which was successful in killing all the pirates except for the four on the bridge, who the players corralled by means of a Weird Science entanglement gun before themselves boarding the pirate vessel to recover the kidnapped Esmeralda.
No sooner was the poor girl in safe hands than the pirate ship started to break away, threatening to decompress the PC's vessel and kill all aboard. Luckily, Wilhelm was able to rapidly instruct the passengers in the improvisation of a patch from whatever was to hand - beds, carpet and the like - and the departure of the pirate vessel was not accompanied by a grisly display of floating corpses.
But trouble was still at hand as the vessel had no aether propeller thanks to the pirates' opening shot, and no crew thanks to the boarding party's savage bloodthirst. Thus, the trapped pirates were forced to assume the duties of helmsman and trimsman as the ship plunged into Mars' atmosphere. The pirate at the helm was able to control the ship's direction, but the man at the trimsman console was in a blue funk and fumbled at every opportunity, resulting in the ship striking Mars' surface at great speed, breaking up on impact.
The PC's found themselves battered and sporting numerous minor wounds, as did the surviving pirates who immediately attacked. The PCs were eventually able to kill them all, but were aghast at what they were able to see once the battle was over.
They were standing in the matchwood remains of their ship, passengers lying pitifully on the wreckage, somewhere on the steppes of Mars.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)