Tag Archives: Fluff/Inspiration

RPGs

Review – Distress Signal Tundara

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Distress Signal Tundara is a new adventure module for 3-6 adventurers of levels 1-2 compatible with White Star. After the cover, title page, one page of deck plans and the final page for the OGL, the rest of this 17 page PDF is the text of the adventure. In addition, it comes with two image files for the deck planes, one with a grid for the GM and one without the grid for the players.

There were only minor production issues. I noted was one typo in the first few pages. A description of a creature used yards, when the map is in meters. And the non-grided map makes reference to the scale of the grid, which is missing. Other things referred to feet using the apostrophe character, which is part of White Box information, so not a problem of the author.

Each referee will have to work out for themselves, whether to use English or metric units, and whether to convert White Box feet to meters. Where outdoor movement is in yards, this is easy enough to hand wave as meters. Feet can be crudely approximated to 1/3 of a meter. Personally, I prefer to use metric in a Science Fiction game, but having been raised on English units, I think in those units, so not a problem for me.

The author did his own graphics, with some open content. I like the cover and the deck plans provided.  It would be nice if the original and now damaged area of the ship were shown in outline, so one knew it’s original structure. But that is only my desire for a complete deck plan for future use. [One thing I wish I had was a 75% view of the ship. Not to detract from the module, but something I feel would be cool to show the players from their scans/view of the ship on approach. The burst of new ship types and graphics by some on the White Star community can help fill this want.]

The premise of this adventure is not entirely new, but is presented in a way that is clear, concise, and ready to run after a quick read and a few minutes to think of how to approach it.

The GM is left to determine how the players are in the area, whether as passengers on a ship, or a ship of their own. This is not a major issue, as it allow the module to fit into an existing campaign, or be a one-shot.

There is enough detail in each area of the ship, that curious and careful players will manage to find something in most rooms. However, there are notes that the referee will have to fill in things that he or she feels are necessary in their game. There are also hazards for players that are rash and forget that there are in space. The issue of explosive decompression of a hatch that is forced open is dealt with, as I was thinking about how I might handle it as I began the text, there it was a bit further in. Excellent!

Several NPC’s are suggested for various ways that the GM might impact the scenario. This gives maximum flexibility to work into existing campaigns, or ideas for similar adventures. There are also potential plot hooks that could lead to more adventures that can easily fit into an existing campaign.

This seems like a scenario that would be a good fit for a con, but I don’t know if it would fill a four hour slot. Still, it might be fun to try it.

There is a lot here for $1.00. I think that I would enjoy playing this as a GM or a player.

Funny: At first glance, I thought the title was Distress Signal Tundra. Tundra made me think of ice, and I thought of the movie, Ice Station Zebra. Now I have thoughts of a White Star scenario on ice. Now all I need is Snoopy….

RPGs

AD&D – Appendix D – Random Generation of Creatures from the Lower Planes

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Pages 194 and 195 of the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide present a few tables for generating random creatures from the lower planes, i.e. demons & devils.

There is a grouping of 21 tables for the appearance of such creatures that define the appearance of the head, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, overall visage, head adornment, body attributes, skin, color, and more.

Head adornment includes such things as antlers and crests. The head has options of bat-like, snake-like, etc. Ears can be dog-like. Eyes deal with color, and size/type of eyes and their number. Various similar suggestions are given for the nose and mouth tables.

The body attributes determines the type of torso, either bipedal, or quadrupedal/other.

The type of tail, if any, such as prehensile, and various body odors, such as blood, mold, vomit, etc.

One table for the texture of the skin and another for the predominant color of the skin/fur/whatever.

Is the back normal, hunched, spiked, etc. Are there wings?

How many arms/tentacles and what kind, and what are the hands like? Similarly, the treatment of legs and feet.

After all these tables define the appearance, then any attacks, and defenses, including special one and and spell-like abilities and immunities.

All these things give lots of ideas for mixing things up. These tables need not be limited to fantasy creatures, but can be used for any genre of creature, including horror and science fiction.

Reading the last page with 5 tables on Random Humanoid Species Appearance Charts in the Outer Space Raiders, Vol. I reminded me of Appendix D as a supplement for White Star. One can easily make collections of nouns for various aspects of body types and associated body parts to come up with unique creatures. Take the stats from goblins or other well-known creatures to “re-skin” them for an appropriate challenge, as others have indicated they do so that players don’t know what every creature is or does by memorizing their descriptions.

I am not finding via a quick Google search the OSR blog(s) that discussed this a few years ago. I keep coming up with links about re-skinning creatures in MMO’s, or locating or painting miniatures.

In the case of White Star, one can have all intelligent aliens be humanoid, if you want to follow the tropes of most illustrations, TV shows and movies. Or you can mix it up, and have something that deviates from bilateral symmetry, and have something besides carbon and silicon based life. The movie Evolution has an interesting take on silicon based life.

Does the life form have DNA, or something that serves the function of DNA? If they have DNA, is it composed of a right or left turning structure. This is something I recall from a book I read in the 80’s, The Right Hand of Dextra [Amazon Affiliate link], with a cool cover illustration.  The idea is the DNA on Earth has a left spiral and the planet in the book, the DNA has a right spiral, so the wild animals native to the planet leave humans alone, since they can’t eat them.

One thing left out of Appendix D and from Outer Space Raiders, is communication method.

Communication Method – d10

  1. Vocalizations
  2. Pheromones
  3. Scents/Odors
  4. Color Changes (Chameleon feature, color and or pattern changes to the “face” or other body part.)
  5. Volume (Ability to expand like a puffer fish, but controls and varies the size in pattern or rhythm.)
  6. Empathy
  7. Telepathy
  8. Temperature
  9. Motion
  10. Combination

NOTE: Sound can be above or below the range of human hearing, and color changes can be above or below the range of human sight, etc.

Diet

  1. Herbivore
  2. Carnivore
  3. Omnivore

Carnivores and Omnivores could include cannibals that eat their own species, or scavengers that eat dead things they find.

Young d10

  1. Eggs – left to fend for themselves/guarded/warmed and nurtured by parent(s)
  2. Marsupials – Eggs/pouches
  3. Born – rapid walking/locomotion or months/years to moving on their own
  4. Sprouted from spores
  5. Budding from body
  6. Division – like a cell
  7. Regeneration – like a starfish
  8. Clones grown in a vat
  9. Robots/Machines that are built and programmed.
  10. Hybrid of the above.

Type d3

  1. Plant Based
  2. Animal Based
  3. Mineral Based

Temperature

  • Cold Blooded
  • Warm Blooded
RPGs

Asteroid Mining

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While thinking about a recent article on a company wanting to mine asteroids, I started this article. Then White Star came out and I decided to revise it touch specifically on White Star.

Mining an asteroid changes its mass and therefore it is likely, if not guaranteed, to change its orbit.

A permit system would develop for mining and shipping ore, water, etc. to ensure proper and safe orbits of mined and other asteroids. This would be most true in system with a sentient, space faring race(s). It might also be true of low tech systems watched over by the authorities, to protect the non-space faring natives from destruction, and so they can use the resources of their own system.

Pirate Miners – No permits and perhaps no eye to the safety of orbits.

Remnants of star systems, like a system that went nova, and far between other stars might be a haven for illegal miners, pirates, and other ne’er do wells. What ancient alien artifacts best left untouched might they uncover?

Asteroids

The asteroids that are nearest the Sun are mostly made of carbon while the ones further away are made up of silicate rock. The metallic asteroids are composed of up to 80% iron and 20% a mixture of nickel, iridium, palladium, platinum, gold, and other precious metals. There are those few that are made up of half silicate and half metallic.[1]

Comets

They are composed of rock, dust, ice and frozen gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia. Sometimes called dirty snowballs, recent studies have shown that the ice of a comet is covered by a crust. Comets also contain a variety of organic compounds as well as the gases already mentioned. Some of these are methanol, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, ethanol, and ethane. More complex molecules such as long-chain hydrocarbons and amino acids may also be in comets. Because of their low mass, comets cannot become spherical under their own gravity, and will thus have irregular shapes. [2]

Since comets eject part of their mass and are “unstable” as they warm up from drawing near the sun, mining would only be practical for “inactive” comets far enough from the sun to not be active. They would still be likely to react to an approaching ship that generated heat. Only places with a severe lack of water would resort to such dangerous mining.

Asteroid mining is dangerous, but comet mining is downright foolhardy! Only the truly desperate, severely in debt, or adrenaline junkies will risk the dangers of comet mining. You can’t spend your money if you’re dead.

Asteroid/Comet mining
  • Water/ice Water ice is theorized to exist on some asteroids.
  • Metals: iron, nickel, iridium, palladium, platinum, gold, and other precious metals.
  • Carbon: What forms of carbon? Coal, graphite, diamonds, graphene, carbon nanotubes, buckminsterfullerene, etc.
  • Exotic metals – Adamantium, Mithril, Unobtanium, etc.

Of course, in science fiction, asteroids can contain anything you want. Unobtanium for powering ships, giant diamonds, other elements, etc.

Asteroids that are big enough might be re-purposed as generation ships, space stations, weapons or fuel depots, etc.

Would any asteroids use mass drivers to bring them nearer the inhabited planet(s)? [3] That is, part of the mass of the asteroid is ejected to provide thrust to position the asteroid in the desired orbit.

RPGs

White Star – Space Travel

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Travel among the stars has many varieties of technology.

Page 59 of the White Star rules tell us: “The details of how a starship moves from planet to planet should be decided by
the Referee.”

Below are some thoughts on space travel and various aspects of it. I am not proposing any rules or tables, just spit balling some ideas for future reference.

Can any of them be used when in orbit of a planet or star, or near another ship? How far from X must you be to use this type of drive? The White Star rules say you have to be out of combat, Rule 0 says, “Not in my game.”

  • Old & Slow (or just slow) – Less than light speed. Only generation ships, hibernation ships, or ships that are adrift in space, such as damaged ships or life pods, will be found between systems. Most such slow ships will never leave their home system.
  • Light Speed – Still years between systems. Trips would still tend to be one way, or use some sort of hibernation.
  • Faster than Light Speed (FTL) – Still in regular space using some technology to push or pull the ship or generate a warp field for it to ride. This would allow months to weeks to even days or hours between systems.
  • Jump Technology – Engines or Jump Gates that allow ships or other things to skip over vast distances. May use some controllable form of wormhole or other way of slipping between the seams of reality. Hyperspace is most often used to refer to the space outside of space/reality. Could be instantaneous, or still require some about of time in “null space”. Is it an instantaneous trip, or does it take a certain amount of time, like 1 round per light year, or some such?

Each of these types of transit will rely on different technology. 

Things to keep in mind: All of these devices require a certain level of technology. Some of the most “primitive”, such as chemical rockets, are very complex and prone to failure. Whereas, various nuclear powered devices would have few working parts and less complexity that results in far fewer catastrophic failures. More advanced and mature technology would be closer to airline or automobile safety and reliability, provided proper and adequate maintenance were performed over time.

  • Chemical and fission tend to be the extremes of slow. Other methods of slow travel within a system would rely on things such as rail guns and/or the complex math of celestial mechanics for gravity assists to speed up and slow down to minimize fuel use.  The crudest form of fission drive would involve a series of “warhead” exploding behind a ship with an immense radiation shield. This leaves a trail of highly volatile radiation that is very easy to track. Such methods would have to be far enough away from planets and other ships and habitations to avoid causing problems due to the IMP.
  • Solar Sails – Possible to attain very high speeds given large enough sail and enough time. Still sub light speed.
  • Ion Drive – Electric drive. Potential for high speed, still sub light speed.
  • Fusion – Might be enough to get something up to light speed. As with fission drive, the crudest form of such drive would involve a series of explosions of “warheads”.
  • Anti-Matter – Definitely light speed and perhaps more.
  • Dark Matter/Dark Energy – Would this allow jumps between the stars? (I have not read any current SF that delves into this.)

Distance

Would travel still be limited to a single galaxy, or is there something fast enough, or a shortcut available to make the long journey to another galaxy?

Encounters/Events

Realistically, in the vastness of space there is little difference to the type of encounter, whether within or between systems, as there is a lot of space between any two points. The relatively less huge distances within a system would be more conducive to rescue or a landing on a habitable planet than an incident between systems.

Intra System – In System Encounters

The Kuiper Belt begins at about 50 AU from the sun, out to about 200 AU. The gravity of the sun affects objects at a distance to about 1.87 light years, about half the distance to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star. [1] It is a bit under 30 AU between Earth and Neptune. [2]

  • Nothing would be most likely.
  • Asteroids, comets, or other space rocks
  • Other ships – merchant/bureaucrat/derelict/probe/pirates/renegades/aliens/enemy warship
    • Distress Signal
    • Collision – This would be very rare. Only likely if trying to dock with a ship in distress or attacked by another ship.
    • How likely/easy is it to track and follow another ship using this method of space travel? For example, in some universes, there can be no fighting in hyperspace.
  • Events –
    • System goes out – Weapons/life support/navigation/drive/communications/scanners/tractor beam/etc.
      • How well it is designed and manufactured and maintained and any extraordinary wear and tear or battle damage will affect the likelihood of this.
    • Illness  – Individual, small group, large group, or most of ship – Dues to: Disease/Radiation Sickness/Poisoning
    • Fight/Rivalry/Feud – Between crew members, between crew and passengers, between passengers, etc. Families, clans, races, gangs, etc. that don’t get along.
    • Murder/Assassination – could relate to illness or a fight.
    • Plot – could relate to the above.

Inter System – Between Systems Encounters

  • Nothing but the vastness of space would be most likely.
  • Other ships – merchant/derelict/probe/pirates/renegades/aliens/enemy warship
  • Events – System goes out – Weapons/life support/navigation/drive/etc. Basically the same events that can happen to ships travelling within a system.
  • Rogue planets & planetoids – Perhaps there is an asteroid like field between stars that is the remnants of a system or two from stars that went nova and have since burned out.
  • Brown Dwarfs – i.e. ancient stars that are nearly burnt out.

Communication

How to talk when Light Speed and FTL ships can outrun radio waves? Subspace or Superspace communications? Would communication be faster than ships? That is, could the players rob a bank in one system, and get to another system before word reached that system? Is communication only faster than in system travel? This would make it likely that a patrol on the outskirts of the system might be able to get word and intercept or chase the party. This does not necessarily require a complex table or mechanic for resolution. A simple statement about the speed of communication vs. the speed of travel within and between systems will let players make informed decisions of their actions.

Any large empire would need a reliable means of transport, even if slow, and loyal and dedicated people to administer far flung systems. The British Empire of the 1700’s required a few weeks to cross the Atlantic and a few months to get to India, yet it held together. The quicker communications and travel became, the better the control and taxation became.

Scanners

Neutrino Scanners would be the most sophisticated. Neutrinos pass through “everything”, so with a neutrino detector, one could see all the things it has passed through. Would this allow tracking an FTL ship?

How scan ahead of your ship if it is travelling FTL?

Can planet based scanners track FTL ships like an airplane with radar, or is it only “radio” communications.

What is long range vs. short range scanners, and what information/level of detail is available to each?

Orbit

When going into orbit around a primitive planet, does a ship drop communication buoys in geosynchronous orbit to avoid blind spots?

Without a means to see the other side of a planet, entire armadas could hide from a single ship. Unless there is a neutrino scanner that “sees” through the planet.

Gravity – One need not become a master at celestial mechanics, that is beyond overkill. Just keep in mind that everything with mass is attracted to everything else with mass, and that the “biggest”, more correctly, the most massive object “wins”. Loss of propulsion will mean that something is attracting a ship. If between systems, it would have to be beyond 2 light years for a yellow star to not win. Trapped in an orbit of thousands of years would be an eerie tomb…. Orbits that passed closed enough to planets would be altered. Some alterations might lead to entering the orbit of a planet, or crashing into a planet, or being shot into a new orbit that ends in the sun.

Can escape pods within a system reach a high enough speed to get close to a habitable planet? Think about their range and limitations.

Ship to Shore Transport

  • Shuttles – Both Passenger and Cargo, as well as mixed purpose.
  • Ship can land on planet.
  • Portion of ship can land on planet.
  • Military ships will be able to use drop ships, or have men in mech like armor that can drop. Orbit is the high ground, but landing ships and troops would be at a disadvantage for part of their journey.
  • Transporters – Range?
    • Ship transporter bay to special planet based transporter bay.
    • Ship transporter bay to anywhere in range.
    • Ship  – Anywhere on ship to anywhere in range.
    • Portal like a jump portal?

Ground to Orbit Transport

Is there a shuttle that takes passengers, crew, and cargo to a space station for subsequent loading/transfer to a ship?

If players don’t have a ship that can land and return to orbit, how is it handled?

Railguns for launching cargo to orbit?

Space elevators?

The above topics are a lot to consider. The bare bones of it is just having an idea of the relative speed of ships vs. communication, and methods to get to and from a planet and its orbit.

In most instances, a lot of this can be hand waved, unless something in the situation that has arisen through GM plan, actions of the players, or the roll of the dice. For example, what if the players start with a ship and somehow it is impounded, disabled,  or destroyed and they need to get into orbit, or down to the planet quickly?

RPGs

Railroad vs. Sandbox – The Timeline

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Railroading players by forcing them to do what the DM wants is a bad thing. However, there is a “railroad” that runs through sandbox style play that should be acceptable and welcomed.

The timeline.

What I mean is, the DM comes up with plots, situations, rumors, etc. and puts certain things on the campaign calendar, things that WILL happen – barring intervention by the PC’s or others.

For example, the sun comes up every day, unless something changes that.

The DM comes up with a situation and puts it on the calendar/timeline of the campaign. That “something major” event will happen unless something stops it. This major event could be good or bad.

An example of a good event is a diplomatic marriage that will end decades of tragic war. This event will happen barring outside intervention. A powerful wizard may like that this war keeps these two nations too busy to stop her consolidation of power among groups of humanoids. The end of hostilities means that she will have to use her time and other resources to stop their meddling instead of putting it towards her own goals. Thus it makes sense that this major NPC would hire an assassin to keep her own involvement in the background. Perhaps the PC’s have not discovered the existence of this “big bad.”

The DM assigns a chance that the assassination will succeed or fail. The DM determines through a roll or through choice that the assassination will succeed unless someone finds out about it.

It is up to the DM whether or not the PC’s ever find evidence of any plot. If the evidence is put into the campaign, what if the PC’s NEVER find it? This is NOT a problem. If the PC’s don’t know about something, they can’t do anything about it. The assassination goes through and then the PC’s are tasked with getting to the bottom of it. If the assassin gets away without leaving a trail, what do they do? If they would rather go fight giants, or seek out a dragon, let them.

If the PC’s happen to have done something that merits their presence at the wedding, maybe then they get wind of something, and have a chance to change the course of the timeline. However, it should not be a requirement that the PC’s even know about this. If the “big bad” has the resources to hire the best assassin, how likely is this person to make a mistake? There is a chance, and the DM should decide if there is a chance of failure, or how exactly they want to play it.

If the PC’s are nowhere near the scene, i.e. they are across the world, or in a dungeon, or otherwise unavailable for the event, it goes down as pre-determined.

In my mind, this is the only thing that some might consider a “railroad” that is permitted.

However, it is still possible that through the actions of the PC’s the original assassin might be met in another situation before then. If they take out this assassin, then the next best assassin must be assigned to the task, and their chance of success or failure is likewise determined.

Perhaps, the PC’s decide to go investigate something that leads them to discover the big bad and interrupt her plot.

I have played in many games and GM’d several with all kinds of options presented to players. The players ALWAYS manage to find some significance where the GM may not have intended it to be. This is OK. The players sense that something is important and it opens up a whole new something to be explored, be it a plot, dungeon, monster, etc.

The calendar or timeline for the campaign is the schedule and not the railroad. Just as something can delay a train, tracks out, accidents, fuel shortage, robbery, etc., many things can delay or redirect the events of the campaign timeline. In some places, the train never runs on the times stated on the schedule.

For my campaign, I determine a year or two worth of events. I like the idea in the AD&D Oriental Adventures for determining the event for each year and for each month in the year. Some events, like a flood or earthquake may be nearly impossible for the PC’s to stop. Other events, like an invasion, might be something that can be stopped or delayed, or prepared for, if the players find out about it and can get word to the right people.

Having a campaign timeline with nearly inevitable events planned is not a railroad. A railroad would be forcing the players to do something about them. What if the players don’t see their involvement as required or important? What if they see some other plot or action in the world as more important?

An example from my campaign is a wedding between the ruler of the town that is the home base for the players, and the king’s niece. The players had just found a magic sword and shield that I expected them to use. Instead, they had their own plans. They want to get in good with the powers that be for their own ambitions. So they make a present of this sword and shield to the Baron, and because there is some well-known lore associated with them, they get invited to the wedding and later reception/party, where they get to meet the princess, the king, and several other powerful people.

My plan was that the wedding happened and they might get a glimpse of the king and retinue when they came into town and for the procession to and from the temple for the wedding, and perhaps again when they left. How many players just give up a magic weapon and armor, KNOWING that they are magical?

I never saw their actions coming, so I had to improvise a wedding ceremony and party and have other NPCs generated on the fly.

The players were much more excited to have met the king and queen, and gotten in the good graces of the baron, who is now married to the king’s niece. Yes, the magic items were cool, but the roleplaying and the player driven goals were so much more fun and interesting than I could ever come up with on my own.

It is like the twist ending of a book or movie that is handled so well that you don’t see it coming and are rewarded by getting the full effect due to the finesse with which it was presented. If you have ever seen a movie, or read a book with a big twist at the end that is predictable and not well presented, it leaves one feeling uneasy and disappointed. A railroad that forces the players to go where, when, and how the DM wants them to go is like the poorly executed twist, totally unsatisfying.

A timeline or calendar is not a railroad, just a schedule of possible future events in the course of the game. The players don’t know about this schedule, and only learn of events as they happen, or if they happen to be in the right place at the right time to learn of them before they happen. Even if players know that something is up, they have the power to decide if that something is important enough to figure out what it is, and if they should do anything about it.

For example, suppose the players learn of an assassination plot to disrupt the wedding? What if they just get word to the appropriate authorities about this, and the location or timing of the wedding changes? That alone might be all that it takes to foil the plot. Or it might force the big bad to come out of hiding and get involved personally to make things go her way.

As I have said elsewhere, if the DM/GM has a story to tell, they should write the story, instead of forcing the players to do something in-game that does not interest them.

RPGs

Motivations

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My recent post on the Vikings season 3 finale got me to thinking about motivations.

Simply put, motivations are what “makes” us do the things we do?

The Wikipedia article on motivation goes into great detail on the psychological study of motivation. While it is helpful and might spur one to have an idea that can be applied to an RPG, it gets into too much detail.

Motivations are filtered through many different  categories that someone falls into, plus the means available to act on that motivation.

Basic needs drive us, such as food, clothing, shelter, sexual desire, etc.

It is our ability to act on fulfilling these needs that shades our actions. That is, our means to achieve the desired end. A poor person who can’t hunt or fish, will resort to theft or begging. A person who is not destitute, will have other means available to them. One’s culture and background will influence what is acceptable for food. A cannibal who is poor might resort to murder in order to eat. Cultural norms around cannibalism might prevent eating anyone in your own tribe or ethnic group, motivating one to find some other type of food.

Higher order “needs” might be the desire for power, whether it is magical, religious, political, etc. Depending on the alignment of one seeking power, it might be sought and achieved in a way that is a benefit to a large number, thus getting “buy-in” from others. For example, a strong orc chief that unites the tribes and becomes a king, will have support from others because they all get a shot at the increased loot, etc. A powerful evil wizard who is manipulating this orc king for her own ends sees the orcs as only a tool and could care less how the common orc benefits.

With the passage of time and other events that occur, the motivation may change. It may be redirected to a new motivation, or the original motivation may be strengthened or weakened. For example, if the evil wizard acquires the item she was looking for, how does this change the motivation? If the item is not the all powerful thing it was supposed to be, does that result in seeking a different item, renewed efforts to seek the real or a better item, or cause them to give up on their quest for power?

The changing situation can result in a reversal. We all know that once we get something we think we really want, that all too often, we realize that having it is not what we thought it would be. Our initial excitement about finally having a long desired item falls flat. Do we then stop seeking such things, or do we move on to acquiring the next new thing?

Below are some ideas for tables to help craft motivations for NPCs.

Circumstances

  • Social Status – peasant, noble, monster, etc.
  • Economic Status – rich, poor
  • Cultural Status – How does the culture view something?
  • Religious Status – Religious/non-religious and to what degree? Is there some goal that one’s religion places in high regard, like a pilgrimage to a specific destination?
  • Current Events Status – How does the present state of the world influence the ability to act on a motivation? If there is a war, how does that change things?
  • Alignment – How does one’s adherence to good/evil, law/chaos affect their motivation? For example, good would not do something evil without a “good” reason, even if it is self-justification.

Means

What is needed to make this happen, and does the individual or group have what they need, or the ability to make or acquire it?

Fishermen without a boat and nets can’t fish. Can they build, buy, or steal the needed equipment? If they know how to make their own boats and nets, do they have the tools and enough food to last them until they are ready to start fishing again?

Why are they motivated?  

For example, a hungry person is motivated to seek food due to hunger. But why are they hungry?

  • Normal biological process
  • Lack of food due to war, famine, crop failure due to floods, hail, etc.

There are lots of reason why a person is motivated to do something. Revenge, desire (physical, mental, emotional- love/hate/greed, economic, social), justice (could be colored by revenge).

What is the object of their motivation? This could be a who.

  • Food is the object of the hungry.
  • Money, power, magic, etc. is the object of the greedy.
  • Fame and glory and wealth is the object of the adventurous.

Apply the 5 H’s of Journalism to an NPC’s motivations:

  • Who wants it? Which NPC or group?
  • What do they want?
  • When do they want it? When will they get it? (If the PC’s or other circumstances don’t stop them. Does the time of year, phase of the moon, presence of a legendary comet matter?)
  • Where is the thing they want? (Distance, difficulty, challenge, feasibility, etc.)
  • How will they get the thing they want? (Is it even possible to get it? Is a ritual that can be interrupted required?)
  • Why do they want it? This is their motivation.

For some hill giants robbing travelers on the road, it might look like this:

  • Who – A group of 4 or 5 hill giants.
  • What – They want loot.
  • When – Whenever they see travelers on the road.
  • Where – On the travelers on the road.
  • How – Carrying big clubs, and saying, “Aw’rite, what ya got, we’re ‘er ta loot ya.” Those who do not comply get thumped with the clubs.
  • Why – It’s what they do, you might call it their job.

There are some interesting list of motivations that seek to boil down motivations into a “standard” list, like for stories. They can help inform the adventure of the week, or writing a module or campaign setting, or story.

TV Tropes – Motivation Index

List of Motivations for Your Characters

15 Interesting Motivations for Villains and Heroes

  1. Romance
  2. Revenge
  3. To distinguish oneself
  4. To fit in/gain acceptance
  5. Justice
  6. Greed
  7. Fear
  8. Desperation
  9. Social Cohesion
  10. A desire to better oneself
  11. A desire to better humanity and/or society
  12. Curiosity/Search for knowledge
  13. A desire to gain power to achieve a goal
  14. To escape one’s destiny
  15. To achieve one’s destiny

Motivations are closely related to the Standard 36 Dramatic Plots.

Of course, don’t forget to add a good twist to it.

  1. Supplication – Persecutor, Suppliant, a Power in Authority
  2. Deliverance – Unfortunates, Threatener, Rescuer
  3. Revenge – Avenger, Criminal
  4. Vengeance by Family upon Family – Avenging Kinsman, Guilty Kinsman, Relative
  5. Pursuit – Fugitive from Punishment, Pursuer
  6. Victim of Cruelty or Misfortune – Unfortunates, Master or Unlucky Person
  7. Disaster – Vanquished Power, Victorious Power or Messenger
  8. Revolt – Tyrant, Conspirator(s)
  9. Daring Enterprise – Bold Leader, Goal, Adversary
  10. Abduction – Abductor, Abducted, Guardian
  11. Enigma – Interrogator, Seeker, Problem
  12. Obtaining – Two or more Opposing Parties, Object, maybe an Arbitrator
  13. Familial Hatred – Two Family Members who hate each other
  14. Familial Rivalry – Preferred Kinsman, Rejected Kinsman, Object
  15. Murderous Adultery – Two Adulterers, the Betrayed
  16. Madness – Madman, Victim
  17. Fatal Imprudence – Imprudent person, Victim or lost object
  18. Involuntary Crimes of Love – Lover, Beloved, Revealer
  19. Kinsman Kills Unrecognised Kinsman – Killer, Unrecognised Victim, Revealer
  20. Self Sacrifice for an Ideal – Hero, Ideal, Person or Thing Sacrificed
  21. Self Sacrifice for Kindred – Hero, Kinsman, Person or Thing Sacrificed
  22. All Sacrificed for Passion – Lover, Object of Passion, Person or Thing Sacrificed
  23. Sacrifice of Loved Ones – Hero, Beloved Victim, Need for Sacrifice
  24. Rivalry Between Superior and Inferior – Superior, Inferior, Object
  25. Adultery – Deceived Spouse, Two Adulterers
  26. Crimes of Love – Lover, Beloved, theme of Dissolution
  27. Discovery of Dishonor of a Loved One – Discoverer, Guilty One
  28. Obstacles to Love – Two Lovers, Obstacle
  29. An Enemy Loved – Beloved Enemy, Lover, Hater
  30. Ambition – An Ambitious Person, Coveted Thing, Adversary
  31. Conflict with a God – Mortal, Immortal
  32. Mistaken Jealousy – Jealous One, Object of Jealousy, Supposed Accomplice, Author of Mistake
  33. Faulty Judgment – Mistaken One, Victim of Mistake, Author of Mistake, Guilty Person
  34. Remorse – Culprit, Victim, Interrogator
  35. Recovery of a Lost One – Seeker, One Found
  36. Loss of Loved Ones – Kinsman Slain, Kinsman Witness, Executioner
RPGs

Review – Star Temple of Saturgalia

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The first(?) available third party adventure for White Star, Star Temple of Saturgalia is a six page PDF, that after the cover and OGL leave four pages for the adventure.

This was billed as an introductory adventure. Nowhere in the PDF does it indicate that is is for low level characters. It is obvious from a reading of the text that it is for a group of low level characters.

The method of handling encounters almost guarantees that there will be three space encounters en route to the planet. Instead of a 1 in 6 chance of there being an encounter, there is a 1 in six chance of no encounter. The odds of the encounter ignoring the players or being friendly combined are 50% or greater. So even if there is an encounter, it does not guarantee a chase or fight. The intent of the designer is to have tension. If one is playing up to the tropes of the genre, this is understandable. However, the GM is free to handle this his or her own way.

Once on the planet, there are two encounters, potentially competition from an NPC party, or natives are the greatest possibility. A natural disaster or a creature encounter are also likely. The use of bumble dogs, or a new creature, the gindo, introduced at the end of the module.

This is a very basic outline of an adventure. With the near guarantee of one or two ship encounters, plus two encounters on the way to the temple, it will stretch out the adventure. If you go by the roll of the dice, and there are no space encounters, and the planet side encounters are neutral or friendly, this could be a quick one maybe two hour one shot.

It is an interesting idea, and has enough meat on it that an experience GM could make an evening of it. If you don’t have a list of natural disasters, you will need to make your own table, as the author only gives a couple of suggestions.

The temple itself is a basic dungeon crawl, and it an interesting twist. The map is he standard square rooms and passages, which server to get the point across. The fonts used for the room numbers are not clear, so that some numbers look like each other. I assume that the rooms and areas are numbered in a clockwise fashion, so it is easy to make sense of it, but it still takes a moment to be sure of this. There are also a few grammatical errors, indicating that the text needed a quick review by a new set of eyes or to sit for a few days before finalizing. A suggested description of the natives of the planet, if not a new race, would be interesting.

At one dollar, the items, tables, new creature, and other ideas presented can make an interesting one-shot introduction of the rules to new players, and a skilled GM can easily expand it to be something more substantial in their own campaign.

If you need some help for prepping last minute, this module only needs a few things to be ready to play on short notice.

RPGs

Review – DayTrippers Planet Generator

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DayTrippers Planet Generator, is a section pulled from the DayTrippers GM Guide.  DayTrippers is an RPG game by Tod Foley of As If Productions. I had not heard of this game, but this is one piece that many complain is not in the White Star framework. It is a nice piece to have if you don’t have another ruleset to borrow from, or don’t wish to create your own tables. It is a system agnostic method for generating star systems from the size and type of star, to the number and size of planets.

This six page document is 4 pages of tables for system generation and half a page of converting character abilities, skills, and difficulty levels to other systems. The first page being the cover and last half page being split between more information on Day Trippers and blank space.

It is reminiscent of what I recall from other science fiction games back in the day, most likely Traveller, but perhaps also Star Frontiers. At 50 cents, it is hard to say no to this.

If you need something to get your juices flowing with ideas so that every system is not the same, this can do the trick. If you don’t want to invest in a complete rules system just for these tables, it is a great value.

RPGs

Review – Outer Space Raiders Volume I

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+Chuck Thorin of Magic Pig Media has produced Outer Space Raiders, Vol. 1, an interesting set of 6 new classes compatible with White Star. At $1.49 it is very affordable.

In 20 pages are packed 16 pages of information. Unlike many small PDF’s, this one includes clickable links in the table of contents. While not necessarily needed in so few pages, it is much appreciated!

The classes presented are alien, astromancer, engineer, lost worlder, scoundrel, and warp ninja.

Aliens are a generic class to cover any kind of alien you can imaging. 8 abilities are suggested, from which the player picks one. There is also an option to convince the GM to let you make up an ability. These would also make good generic NPC aliens.

Astromancers remind me a bit of illusionists, but have some very interesting “Quantum Formulae” that they can use. Many of the names of these re-worked spells give a science fiction flair to otherwise standard and well known spells. There are a few new “spells” here, along with some interesting abilities.

Engineers read like a cross between MacGiver and Mr. Scott. With abilities that allow them to do various kinds of “save the day” things. I really love the techno-babble chart for generating random terms, such as “quantum radiation capacitor”.

The lost worlder is a “barbarian in spaaaace!” The don’t use high tech gear, but have a chance to randomly push buttons to make something work, with an equal chance of catastrophic failure. One of the abilities is extra resistance to disease and poison, with a bonus on such saving throws. I am reminded of Leela from Dr. Who, and similar such characters.

Warp Ninjas are an interesting idea. It takes ninjas and crosses them with a dash of science fiction, and uses a black hole to power their abilities. Two of their abilities are dangerous and actually cause damage if used. They are powerful, but a bad roll could mean it’s time to roll up a new character.

Scoundrels are an obvious homage to Han Solo, and other stereotypical characters in all manner of fiction. One of their skills is “know a guy”, giving them a chance to know someone, not necessarily friendly. This single page sums up what most of us envisage a scoundrel to be.

Finally, the last page of game material is a set of charts for Random Humanoid Species Appearance Charts, for skin color, hair, ears, eyes, and miscellaneous features. These charts use a d6, three of them use a d8, and a d20, so 5 dice, if the d8’s are specified, can roll a random creature quickly.

The simplicity of each class fits right in with the overall theme of White Star.

If you want more classes, or ideas for modding or making your own classes for White Star, or Swords & Wizardry White Box, this is a good start!