FKR Revenant Sector Session 1 Report

-

This week I got to playtest Revenant’s Hack in the sci-fi sandbox I am developing. I was joined by three players from the Free Kriegsspiel Roleplaying discord. Here is a brief recap of the events that took place.


Character creation

Character creation went fast for all players involved. There isn’t that much to do in Revenant’s Hack besides distributing 2 points over 3 stats. However, I also tested out a skill list which they got to distribute 4 points over. Besides the stats, I also asked them “Why did you die and wake up in a cryogenics correctional facility?” which sparked a brainstorm about why these characters were in their predicament. 


It turns out that Terry died in a car crash, allegedly escaping from law enforcement. Silas apparently shot Malik, but it was unclear why this happened. Discovering their past becomes a mystery that they would like to uncover, but due to their cyberbrains being installed in new bodies, their memories are vague and unreliable. 


In the course of a few minutes, it seems like the players got a good feel of their characters. 


A pilot, a driver, and a hacker, respectively.


The session

The players are told that they are enlisted in a probation program. They are asked to head to the neighboring world of Taphos to recover a derelict government ship. The ship, also known as the Raker,  was last seen at Maxwell’s Outpost. The crew had abandoned the ship and returned to Stemma without it, but due to the logs they returned with, that crew had been arrested. With few other prospects, the players accept the mission and head to the starport. They are told they are on the world of Stemma. Beyond the viewports, they see sharp contrasts between favelas and futuristic skyscrapers. Military checkpoints are ubiquitous and 


They stop for a coffee at the orbital side of the starport, discussing their situation. While this part of the summary is short, the players also frequently asked questions about the setting. I described the world with a mostly hard sci-fi veneer, including things like space elevators and the absence of artificial gravity. 


The players end up boarding the Redoubt, a simple transport ship that is bound for Taphos. While in transit, they read up on facts about Taphos and work on their skills. Silas encounters a person by the name of Tobias Alcantar, who apparently lives at Maxwell’s Outpost. Out of politeness, Tobias invites them over at his place, should they ever come by. 


The session ends after roughly 3 hours of play. The next session will start as the Redoubt exits hyperspace near Taphos. 


Impressions

The game was off to a good start thanks to the players being creative and curious. The session was slightly rail-roady, so I tried to compensate by dealing some agency to the character background stories. The result was a band of characters with a rag-tag scoundrel feel, including some hints to betrayal. 


Otherwise, the session was essentially a “cold start”, with the players not necessarily being oriented in the setting I made. I tried to take it slow, but not overwhelm the players with details. I am looking forward to the next session, where the options for the players will open up more. Taphos will be a whole world as a sandbox. The players will have to figure out where the Raker is, which will require some investigation.


The Revenant’s Hack as a system was not really “tested” that much. Not a single dice roll was made. Given the Free Kriegsspiel nature of the game, I consider it a win. 



Popular posts from this blog

Brutalist Adventure Game Design

-
Image
Consider this a manifesto of sorts. Inspired by brutalist architecture and the development of brutalist web design , I want to get the ball rolling on the Brutalist Manifesto for adventure game design. I consider these to be principles to strive for, but not dogmatically adhere to.   Image generated with Midjourney. Usability Functionality First The form, text and presentation should be functional. They should be usable for the players at the table. The form should be practical and easy to arrange on the table. The text should be concise and easy to read and reference. The presentation should convey information that reduces the need for text. Material-Adaptive The game should function well in any format—printed, online, or hand-written. Whether players are using graph paper or a digital tablet, the game should adapt to their needs. This can mean supplying character sheets for physical play and online play. Consider the environmental impact when designing physical components. Ease of R
Read more

Getting started with Free Kriegsspiel Roleplaying

-
Image
This post is my attempt to lay bare how to play a roleplaying game using FKR methods. I will presume no prior experience. Actually, I will presume you don’t even have a roleplaying game. It’s alright, you won’t need one. Mind you, this post is still just a brief overview. Each of the topics I cover here are just barely scratching the tips of their respective icebergs.    Dreams by Rogier Hoekstra via Pixabay. Image used with permission. How to roleplay First off, roleplaying is not acting. It is not stage-play. Instead, it is about saying or doing things that you would do given a role. That’s it. It might even sound familiar, like play pretend. What you and your friends at the table will be doing is using roleplay to set up an ongoing fiction or narrative. When you roleplay, you are basically addressing the ‘facts’ that are in the fiction. Depending on your role, you could change or add facts to the fiction. If you’re in a room with a sarcophagus, you might want to examine some things
Read more

Heroic Relics or Class-Inspired Items for Into the Odd Characters

-
Image
So me and a few of my coworkers decided we want to start a new campaign. Almost all of them have never touched an RPG before, so I want to run Into the Odd for them, but still sprinkle in a bit of the fantasy-element found in Dungeons and Dragons. To that effect I've started making some items that are themed after the classes in D&D. This will be a series of posts, essentially, where I post 6 items per class. I'm doing the full array of classes found in 5th Edition, so the order of appearance will be the following: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric Druid, Fighter, Monk Paladin, Ranger, Rogue Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard Barbarian   Image generated with Midjourney. Belt of Raging Strength : Wearing this belt grants +d6 Strength. Once per day, the wearer can tap on the belt to gain bonus HP equal to their Willpower.  Bracers of Wind: Wearing these bracers grants the wearer d12 HP. Once per day, the wearer may re-roll the d12. The bracers do not work if worn along with armor.  Greataxe of
Read more