The Fore Edge Campaign: Mulligan Psmith and the Wild Goose

 I played out on adventure in this campaign, using the Starforged rules almost exclusively. I kept it light and ignored stuff I didn't want to deal with, such as "Iron vows". Mostly wanting to see if I could use it to play something less grimdark. I think it worked reasonably well. I also kept minimal notes as I didn't want to spend much time writing up more detailed stories.

Starting planet:

Tir

minor military base and associated town: Sirius Station

population: thousands

first look: rustic architecture

settlement projects: pacifism

local landscape/biomes: coastal wetlands

Note: One decision I made here is that the biome I roll for a planet is the biome for the part of it where I am at at the time, rather than a planet-wide biome as in some sci-fi stories.

Thread: (using One-Page Mythic from Mythic Magazine 25)

Learn about ship; where did it come from, who did it belong to, what happened to them, etc.

• Was it in the starport? Nearly certain = exceptional yes

Maybe? yes, and it was fully serviced, stocked, and fueled up; or yes, and the owners hadn't claimed it for so long it was considered abandoned? I wasn't sure so decided to roll 1D6, 1-3 -> first option, 4-6 -> second option = 6, port authorities declared the ship abandoned and put it up for sale/auction

• Were other parties interested in it? very likely = yes

I gave this some thought and realized that in Starforged you are generally meant to have a spaceship as one of your starting assets. I also decided I didn't want to spend time playing around with who the other parties were (at least not at this time - maybe it will come up at some point in the future?) or with whether Psmith was able to acquire it or not or play out that scenario. 

In any case, I decided instead that Mulligan was able to pay for the ship, and now has legal title to it.

So, now that he has his ship, time to find things to do.

Day 1

Mulligan walks through the starport, to find news, job postings, etc.

(rolling on a table for benign starport encounters (I forgot where I found these) – results may just be for flavor or may lead to more)

He notices a group of religious pilgrims standing at a window, watching a ship loading cargo. Nothing of any real interest there for him.

A concerned looking team in hazmat gear run past.

hmmm, wonder what that was about...

Mulligan continues on and finds a computer terminal where he can check for job listings.

(rolling on the Jobs table from The Book of Random Tables Science Fiction, by Matt Davids) (later, I found Starforged has some options that could work for this, too – such as the table on page 130)

Rescue survivors of a pirate attack. Search and Rescue mission – I will probably mostly use Expedition moves, with a progress bar (Troublesome) and tension clock (6 segments)

To start out, I'm going to roll on the Swear a Vow move (just not calling it a vow; more like, taking on a job).

Rolled 2 and 2 on challenge dice; rolled 3 on action die, plus 1 for Heart = strong hit

(the doubles on the challenge dice could give an interesting twist or opportunity)

“you are emboldened and it is clear what you must do. Take +2 Momentum.”

Mulligan has a good idea of where to look for the victims of the pirate attack.

So let's start with Set a Course.

Rolled 2 and 9 on challenge dice; rolled 5 on action die, plus 5 for Supply = strong hit

arrive safely at destination (last know location of pirate victims' ship). +1 Momentum.

Note: The Wild Goose is the gray ship, which looks larger because it is closer - it's a very common ship model; sort of like the VW van of starships. The white ship is the damaged vessel that had been attacked by pirates.

Next step, could be either Gather Information or Explore a Waypoint – both use Wits.

I think I'll go with Explore a Waypoint.

Rolled 4 and 9 on challenge dice; rolled 6 on action die, plus 3 for Wits = weak hit

Need to hide from pirates until they move on (next move is probably in the direction they came from). No progress. +1 Momentum, and +1 for Explorer.

Acting casual, parked next to an asteroid, as a pirate ship sails past in the foreground.

Search continues. Going with Gather Information, looking for the ship or escape pods or anything else.

Rolled 9 and 10 on challenge dice, rolled 1 on action die, plus 3 for Wits = miss

Pay the Price. Tension clock advances. I decide to roll on the Spaceborne Peril table. 59 = others obstruct your path

Looks like too much pirate activity nearby; I'll have to try sneaking around. It will take longer, but there is still time.

I'll try Undertake an Expedition, using Shadow to keep under the radar, and try to sneak past the pirates.

Rolled 5 and 7 on the challenge dice; rolled 2 on action die, plus 2 for Shadow = miss

Pay the Price. Tension clock advances. Another Spaceborne Peril. 23 = gravity well or vortex takes hold.

Calling this Face Danger. Mulligan tries to pull the ship out of the vortex. Focusing his wits on that task.

Rolled 6 and 8 on the challenge dice; rolled 6 on action die, plus 3 for Wits = strong hit

Marking progress, +1 Momentum. He manages to pull the ship out of the vortex.

Explore a Waypoint to look for signs of the pirate victims.

Rolled 6 and 9 on the challenge dice; rolled 4 on action die, plus 3 for Wits = weak hit

Rolling on Spaceborne Opportunity; 17 = clear path through otherwise perilous space. +2 Momentum.

Gather Information; looking for clues or signs

Rolled 4 and 6 on the challenge dice; rolled 4 on the action die, plus 3 for Wits = strong hit

I'm going to mark progress; Momentum is at 10.

Mulligan spots the escape pod from the ship the pirates had attacked, and brings the victims aboard the Wild Goose.

Now we just need to chart a course back to Tir, and avoid any pirates who might still be lurking about.

Rolled 8 and 9 on challenge dice; rolled 2 on action die. Even when adding 5 for Supply it would be a miss. Mulligan burns Momentum of 10 to turn this into a strong hit.

Upon their return to Tir, Mulligan makes a “Progress move” to Finish an Expedition.

Rolled 2 and 6 on challenge dice; Progress of 9 = strong hit

One tick mark on discoveries legacy track

Everyone celebrates the rescue!

Cue celebratory music!

This concludes this chapter of the adventures of Mulligan Psmith and the Wild Goose in the Fore Edge Campaign.

I may return to this at some point, but for now I want to try some other games, and get some more minis painted.

Starforged - campaign setup

 It's been a long time! I got sidetracked from painting minis due to various circumstances, the heat of summer being one of them. Recently I finally got around to starting a solo sci-fi RPG campaign, mostly using Starforged, but trying to keep things light, and a simplified version of the Mythic Game Master Emulator as needed, called One Page Mythic. The latter came from Mythic magazine.

The setup:

Fore Edge Campaign

Basic Premises

There is a vibrant mix of people and cultures.

There are many different alien species.

Settlements can be scattered and isolated, or abundant and near other settled places.

Discoveries await. Even in settled regions new things can be found.

The galaxy is full of wonder, ancient mysteries, space-faring creatures, startling phenomenon, and other marvels.

Despite any challenges, hope remains.

Truths

Laws: there are various governments and jurisdictions, laws vary, level of enforcement varies, etc.

Religions are as diverse as the people and cultures.

Many have no religion, or offer an occasional prayer out of habit. Others pay homage to the gods of their forebears as a way of connecting to their roots. Some idealize the natural order of the universe, and see the divine in the gravitational dance of stars or the complex mechanisms of a planetary ecosystem. And some now worship the Primordials—gods of a fallen people who once dwelt within the region, or precursor races.

Magic, or something like it, can be wielded by some people. There are likely different kinds of magic or psychic powers or other skills. Some may be specific to a given race or culture.

Communication: there is FTL communication, as well as slower forms of delivering data and information. Personal communicators and devices similar to cell phones/smart phones are also common.

Medicine is advanced, but may not be widely available in isolated locations. Still, ships will usually have some facilities, and people may have personal kits and supplies for healing and treating patients to some extent even in uninhabited places or in emergencies.

AI, robots, droids, etc., are common.

War: usually not widespread or large scale, but there may be wars, raids, and other actions at various levels. Most major factions and many minor factions will not be in a constant state of war.

Lifeforms: intelligent life, various flora and fauna, can be found in many places. Many planets and some moons can support life. There may be some lifeforms in space, too.

Precursors: previous civilizations have left traces behind. Ruins, artifacts, derelicts, etc., may be discovered in space and on planets, moons, asteroids, and other celestial bodies.

In addition to any of the above, there is scope for other stuff, events, places, things, etc.

Major Factions

Wide spread, found in many places, sometimes as the controlling power, sometimes as invaders, attackers, visitors, ambassadors, etc.

• The Empire

• The Federation

• Orks

Minor Factions or Organizations

Could be widespread or could be limited to a few places or just one

Might be allied with a major faction or other minor factions, long term or temporarily

Might have rivalries and enemies

Might be generic, with similar groups found in many places, but not all from the same organization

(for example, each independent planet will have its own planetary forces0

• planetary governments

• corporations

• crime gangs

• pirates

• some alien species (maybe space dwarves and space elves fit here?)

forces:

• planetary defense

• corporate security

Individuals

Big Bad Guys, Evil Overlords, leaders (good, bad, allies, friends, enemies, etc., usually leader of minor factions/orgs), other major characters and recurring characters

Main Player Character

Name: Mulligan Psmith Species: human

Explorer, Navigator

Backstory: Wanderlust

Character Goal: Gain Knowledge

stats:

Edge 2

Heart 1

Iron 1

Shadow 2

Wits 3

Starship: Found abandoned in perfect condition

Looks defenseless, but exterior panels open to reveal weapons

Hull rattles and groans in atmospheric flight (so, maybe not quite perfect condition? Ha ha)

Ship Name: the Wild Goose

Companion: utility bot 

10-Kr (Tinker)

Personal items:

1. Small collection of paper books – some favorite fiction books, which he likes to re-read occasionally; some non-fiction/reference books; other books?

May provide some comfort, relief, information

Roll to see if he has any books that may help in a given situation

If yes, +1 on some “Move” rolls

Mulligan Psmith and Tinker at the starport