clarence

The first reviews of M-SPACE have started to appear, and here’s one on the Spanish site Mundos Inconclusos: http://mundos-inconclusos.blogspot.se/2016/10/m-space.html?m=1 If you, like me, don’t read Spanish, try Google Translate to get the big picture. A short quote: "A combination of the D100 system and classic science fiction. Thoroughly recommendable. Hopefully M-Space will inspire the emergence of more publications by third parties for Mythras. With the level of this game, I welcome it." I’m actually surprised the translation between Spanish and English isn’t working better. Drop me a line if you know of a more accurate tool than Google!

Lots of good questions there Belgath. And good reflections g33k. Designing aliens can be tricky. To come up with interesting results, you need to shortcircuit your creativity a bit. Ask questions, apply some randomness, and accepting apparent contradictions is a good start. I think the system in M-SPACE provides a backbone to avoid too human-centric results, but it's not a replacement for creativity. What I would add to the questions in the first post, is one or several major conflicts. Just like humanity seems to struggle with similar issues throughout its history, other (intelligent) species will probably do the same. It's also a good way to make a species less homogenous and to include some scenario hooks at its core.

It's just for Initiative. It used to affect Pilot skill too, but I found that unnecessary with the system for dynamic Initiative (ie. changing Initiative depending on who won the previous roll).

Engine and Maneuver is completely separate. Most of the time I start with the same number of modules to simplify the process, and then make small adjustments, but that's just me. Don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions. Good luck with the pitch.

The updated character sheet is now available on our webpage.

Sorry for the confusion. Evade/Dodge: It should be Evade everywhere. Medicine: I'm adding that to the character sheet on our webpage. The new version will be uploaded later today. Unarmed: As TrippyHippy says, it's in the combat box on page 2 of the character sheet. Pilot skill: This is a professional skill and it just ended up in the wrong place on page 24. Acting: Again, as TrippyHippy states, all professional skills must be picked to start at STAT+STAT or STAT x2. Otherwise they remain at zero. Regarding the starship design rules, I would say they are pretty straightforward. But for Engines and Maneuvering, and their connection to the stats Speed and Handling, you need to bring out the calculator. There´s a detailed walkthrough you can download from our webpage (www.frostbytebooks.com) that might clear things up a bit. The basic concept is that every thruster module, both Engines and Maneuver, has an efficiency called Thrust Rating (TR). For example, for a very simple shuttle with 10 Modules (let's say 2 Cockpit Modules, 8 Passenger Modules) we try adding 2 Engine and 2 Maneuver modules. The new ship total is 10+2+2=14 modules, that is Size 14 Starting with an Engine TR of 70: 70x2=140 as the total TR for the Engine. Divide that with the total number of ship modules: 140/14=10. Resulting in Speed 10. The calculation for Maneuver is the same here, resulting in a Handling of 10. Does that make things clearer?

Congratulations! Good work Paolo. Really looking forward to this.

Sorry... I had actually seen that, but replied much later, when it had fallen out of my memory. Oh well : )

Thanks, both of you! And yes, Matthias Utomo is a really talented illustrator. I'm in discussions with him about doing the cover for the first M-SPACE scenario, so there's more to come.

Aha, I see. I use the Habcat coordinates for the star maps in Odd Soot, but I kept distances as is. With the information we have today about habitable systems, that turned out quite good as I compressed everything into a classic 2d map (the way Traveller always did it). On a side note, I still find it amazing the number of exoplanets and potentially habitable planets they keep finding. With a good candidate for life just four lightyears away (Proxima B), we really need to send some micro-probes soon...

Is that star map based on true 3d coordinates? That's what it looks like to me at least...

Good observations, both of you. I often use this simplified table for NPCs I have not prepared: Low-level NPC: Stat 6, Skill 30% Mid-Level NPC: Stat 11, Skill 50% High-Level: Stat 16, Skill 75% (That's the most relevant stat (like CHA in a social conflict) and skill (Influence for example)). Or sometimes the sneaky "values three fourths of the opposing PC's". Combining rolls and talking works very well. And for people not into acting it out, they will at least give a good description of what their character says, making the situation much more than a series of dice rolls.

Interesting idea. Reminded me that I should get Elder Godlike...

Life support is automatically included; just like food, airlocks, vacc suits, a computer and the hull. I decided early on that some essential systems simply are included in all ships. As you really wouldn't build a ship without any of those, it made more sense to integrate them with the other Modules. Regarding food, water, air and so on, resource management is more of a hard sci-fi thing I would say. That's not to say it can't add some interesting storytelling complications in soft sci-fi, but there are no rules for that in M-SPACE. I haven't tried to emulate Star Trek. I think most aspects will be quite easy to work out. My players always found the idea of a strict hierarchy too restricting...

Ok, here's the starship design walkthrough that I promised a few days ago. I hope it will be easy to follow. Rather long post though. (Oh, and M-SPACE just hit #1 in gaming books at Lulu!) This is a walkthrough of the starship design rules in M-SPACE. It will cover the creation of a typical starship for player characters, housing 4 people for longer periods of time. It can be hard to pinpoint exactly what type of ship this is, so I will simply call it an Explorer. It has a good cargo hold, a sick bay, a small common area and is lightly armed. (The cubicles can theoretically hold two people, but then it will be a bit too crowded for any real privacy. As a temporary solution, if the number of players vary between scenarios, it should be fine though). The first step is to determine the ideal number of people that’s going to use the ship. As stated above, I’m going for 4 people. That’s 1 pilot and 3 crew members or passengers. Let’s start with the cockpit. 1 Module would be enough, but as some of the storytelling action often happens in the cockpit, I’m making it 3 Modules. The second cockpit Module will be ideal for a gunner. I add “Cockpit, 3” under the Modules heading on the starship sheet. As the ship must be functional for longer trips, cubicles are needed: that means 4 Cubicle Modules per person, a total of 16 Modules. I add “Crew (4), 16” to the sheet. Time to add a common room. As it will be a combined meeting, dining & hanging out type of space, I make it a bit bigger than necessary: 15 Modules. Cargo holds are always difficult to determine the size of, but I’ll go for 22 Modules here. Not big enough for a regular trader, but enough to fit an ATV and some dandy exploration equipment (not included in the purchase though…). Characters tend to get hurt a lot, so a good 4 Module sick bay is needed. And as a precaution I throw in an Autodoc too (2 Modules). That’s 6 Modules. The ship also needs reasonable hyperspace capabilities: 3 Modules. The ship will be able to go 3 hexes per jump when used together with a standard subsector map. Regarding weapons, two lasers will do (one operated by the pilot, the other by the gunner). I’m upping damage to 2d6 though, using the rules from the advanced combat rules. This will take 2 Modules. This is what the list of Modules looks like now: Cockpit, 3 Crew (4), 16 Open Space, 15 Cargo hold, 22 Sick Bay, 4 Autodoc, 2 Hyperspace, 3 Weapons, 2 All in all, 67 Modules so far. I take a moment to look through what Modules I have. Flicking through the rulebook, I make sure I haven’t missed any of the functions the ship needs. After some consideration, I decide that I’m happy as it is. (The main reason for double-checking at this stage, is to avoid recalculating Speed and Maneuver more than necessary). Now that the ship's layout is firmly set, it’s time for Engines and Maneuver; I grab my iPhone calculator. I will try with a Thrust Rating (TR) of 70, and see how it works. I start with a size 1/10th of the total Modules, just to get my bearings on the Speed and Maneuver values: 7 Engine Modules and 7 for Maneuver. Let’s see what Speed and Maneuver values we get with that: TR multiplied with the number of Engine (or Maneuver) Modules: 70x7=490. That’s the total TR. Total ship Modules will now be 67+7+7=81 Total TR divided by ship Modules: 490/81=6 Speed and Maneuver at 6 is a bit low for what I had in mind. So, either I increase the number of Modules or raise TR. Let’s try 10 Modules of each; if that’s not enough, I will raise the TR. The new calculations look like this: 70x10=700 in total TR Total Modules: 67+10+10=87 700/87=8 8 is still a bit low. Raising TR to 100: 100x10=1000 in total TR Total Modules is the same: 67+10+10=87 1000/87=12 (11.5 rounded up) Speed and Maneuver at 12 is a good start! I will keep 12 for Maneuver, but go back to TR70 for the Engine Modules (the engine, I decide, is a bit old). That means ship stats are ready: SPEED 8 MANEUVER 12 SIZE 87 Armor and Shields are next. In the context of the intended setting, Armor will be fine at 2 and Shields at 7. The values can be determined in one of two ways: either by deciding what is normal in the setting, or just add as much as the ship builder affords. As I’m not doing the economic calculations for this ship, I’m going for the first method here. For the remaining attributes I go for: Stealth (no), Streamlining (yes) and Apps (no). I will not use Recovery, to keep any combat quick. If you don’t want to use Hit Locations, the ship is done! Just set General Hit Points to 87 and you’re good to go. I prefer Hit Locations for the detailed story hooks they can provide though, so stay with me for a few moments if you want to see how they work. To calculate Hit Locations, I bring out my calculator again. I’m dividing the number of Modules for each individual section with the total number of Modules. So, for the cockpit it's 3/87=0.03. Times 100, we get 3. Thus, the Hit Location table starts like this: Cockpit 01-03 Next, cubicles (Crew): 16 Modules. 16/87=0.18. Multiplied by 100, we get 18. Just take the last number in the table (3) and add 18 to that: the range will be between 04 and 21. Cockpit 01-03 Crew 04-21 For the rest of the sections it looks like this (with section Hit Points in brackets): Cockpit 01-03 (3 HP) Crew 04-21 (16 HP) Open Space 22-38 (15 HP) Cargo hold 39-63 (22 HP) Sick Bay 64-69 (4 HP) Autodoc 70-71 (2 HP) Hyperspace 72-74 (3 HP) Weapons 75-76 (2 HP) Engines 77-87 (10 HP) Manuever 88-00 (10 HP) That’s it! The ship is done. I will call it Aajege, a Sïmmedh word meaning a spring of water. But there’s one more thing I want to add... I’m planning for this ship to be slightly old, a bit battered and to have some personality. I’m halving hit points for some of the sections (Open Space and Cargo Hold) and take away 3 Hit Points each from Engines and Maneuver. I also set Ship Condition to -20; all Pilot rolls will be Hard, just as all Mechanics rolls. The GM is also free to call for Pilot rolls for standard maneuvers, and any failed such roll may result in a malfunction. (See more about Ship Condition at page 101 in M-SPACE). Just enough to keep the players on their toes, not relying too heavily on their tech.

There's also my own Mythras-based game M-SPACE if you need more sci-fi details. (And regarding the rules, I'm still quite impressed with not having to change the core rules of Mythras Imperative to make them work in a sci-fi book).

Looking good. What program are you using?

Yes, both Revolution and M-SPACE could turn this situation into a good detailed conflict. In essence, I see a two-way conflict in front of a "judge" (the prince). Have the players pick a representative to speak for them, perhaps with one more person to lend a helping hand by augmenting skill rolls now and then. (You can let different players roll too, but only one person per round to even out the odds). I'm very happy with the results I've had when using characteristics as hit points in social situations. In this case, I would probably use a CHA+POW combination, as it is both about social aptness and willpower. For round length, I would go for somewhere between 2-5 minutes. As for skills, Naisha uses Deceit with a bit of Seduction at times. The characters will use Influence (or whatever social skills they have) - and perhaps throw in anything they can to augment their lowly status. Highest CHA+POW rolls first, though the character's "initiative" should come with a penalty. So, I would probably let Naisha begin by making her accusations. With a successful opposed roll against the characters, she will reduce the character's conflict pool (CHA+POW) by 1d6. (If she fails, the prince gets to roll Insight: if that succeeds, Naisha's next roll will be Hard - to remove the penalty she will try to use Seduction on the prince; either as a separate roll against his Willpower, or for simplicity just as an augment to her Deceit roll). If the characters win a roll, they reduce Naisha's conflict pool by 1d6. If they fail, their next roll will be Hard. The first side to reach zero will lose the argument and has to face the consequences the prince declares. Playing it out is part of the fun. The GM makes Naisha's accusations, one player makes a counter-argument. Both roll, and the GM tells the players "The prince nods at Naisha's speech" if she won the opposed roll. And so on.

Let us know how it goes.

No problem : )

You have some interesting ideas here Belgath. Looking forward to how they develop.

Good to hear you like it so far. There is a very short example in the sidebar on page 89, but I've been planning to make a more thorough write up too. Give me a couple of days and I will put something together.

Yes, you are right Chris! Thanks for spotting that. I'll make the change. (You can also raise Thrust Rating if you want to keep the Speed value at 8).

With all the praise I've heard about this supplement the last year, it's very hard to resist : )

Thank you HaganeHebi!