Cypher system returns for Feb. Saturday Night Space Opera!

I'm super excited about this one--THE STARLIGHT FILIGREE is an original adventure by Jenifer Doll that is practically ripped from the headlines. Jen has done an amazing job writing and GMing these big, cosmic mysterious for us to unravel. Having one set amidst an alien megastructure while we're all running around inside our mechsuit/bodies/robopants sounds pretty fantastic.

If you've yet to try the Cypher system, come to this game. It's very story-centric and uses some wonderful, elegant mechanics for resolving combat, skills, etc. Plus, Jen is always on top of her game with player aids and pre-gen material so you can fashion a character in short order. Here's her synopsis:

MISSION DETAILS:

The Descendants have lost Earth, their mortality, and their fear of the unknown. But then they found the Starlight Filigree, a mass of alien architecture encasing an entire star system--dwarfing their own Dyson spheres. They have sent you, mechwarrior and master of timespace, to enter the structure and make contact with whatever built it.

6:00 pm / Saturday, February 6

Source Comics + Games

RSVP now and let us know you're coming!

You also can RSVP on the SNSO Google+ Community page. Click the image below:

  PLAYERS:

• BYO dice (d6, 2d10, and d20)
• Pre-generated character templates
• No prior experience with Cypher rules necessary
• Check out this free preview of Cypher rules
  
  
  Illustration: Jenifer Doll

Luke, before the Awakening...

by Adam Hughes

by Stuart Immonen

by Terese Nielsen

Sign up for Saturday Night Space Opera games at Con of the North!

I'd posted this on the SNSO site, but totally forgot to make sure to post it here--go check out the full list of Saturday Night Space Opera Games we'll be running next month! I've posted a list of all the games, complete with descriptions, GMs, dates, and times.

I think online registration is closed, but you can still register onsite. And there's TONS of other tabletop RPGs, board games and card games. The Twin Cities has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to capable GMs and games for every taste. It really is a blast and if you live within driving distance you should come join us!

Details, including hotel and parking info at Con of the North's official site.

GAME AT ME BRO!

Last year, after Con of the North, I'd had this dumb idea to bring a big, shabby tagboard hobo sign that says GAME AT ME BRO! and set up shop at empty table. I'd egg on passers by to sit with me and craft an RPG on the spot. Had things not gotten so busy with Saturday Night Space Opera, I might have still done it. Anyway, here were my thoughts:

GAME DESIGN
Total development time cannot exceed 60 minutes. Tasks to be completed include:

1. MECHANICS - Game must have a basic mechanic for resolving conflicts/problems/combat, etc. Doesn't matter if it's dice, cards, hand signals, staring contest, etc.--but there needs to be some sort of action in play, other than storytelling. This can be an existing ruleset, if both GMs agree.
2. SETTING - No more than 10 minutes permitted to brainstorm on genre and setting using the infallible Jeff Reints alchemical game creation proposal (omitting part 1, but using parts 2 and 3). Difficulty = using only resources available at the Con (any books on hand or immediately available via electronic device or memory)
3. CHARACTERS - Game must include at least 3 player-character types. (I don't want to say "classes" or "races" that's up to the GMs to figure out).
4. DETAILS - Once setting is established, GMs divide up duties of fleshing out as many foes/monsters, locations/maps, treasure/gear, what-have-you as the remaining time allows. Using existing resources from step 2 is totally acceptable, as long as some cross-pollination of sources was accomplished in that step. 

MARKETING
After one hour, the sign gets flipped around on the table. The GMs write the name of the new game on the tagboard with the added note of "WE JUST MADE THIS GAME. SEEKING PLAYERS TO PLAY NOW." Once at least three people show up to fill out the party, GMs can flip a coin to see who runs it. Anything not created ahead of time (e.g., rules, setting, etc.) is made up on the spot.

GAME ON
The game is played right then and there, for better or worse. It might suck, but everyone has a story to tell about that one time they played an insane game that was invented minutes before they sat down at the table. This could be a fun activity at a smaller con too--make it into sort of tournament style game design. Maybe something like this has been tried (I have no idea).

Even if none of this actually ends up being finished or made usable in 60 minutes, you'll end up having an awesome conversation with total strangers about games and what you love about them. Maybe your tastes will be totally incompatible. Or maybe you'll strike creative gold.

Either way, you're not stuck reading the same books, having the same boring debates about rules, or trudging along your same, overly-trod gamer paths.

In the time it usually takes you to sit down with a stack of RPG books and try and come up with next week's adventure, you've completely given yourself over to gamer ADHD and made something half-baked, but spontaneous. Ugly, but beautiful. Uneven, but exhilarating. Isn't that worth 100 real-life XP?

RAD ASTRA: Knights of Nuclei

From the heart of Hexuba to her farthest flung fingers, the citizens of the galaxy have long sung tales of the heroic Knights of Nuclei--warriors clad in radically augmented battle armor. 

Knights of Nuclei are wanderers, taking payment in the form of tribute or tips after their escapades. As they crave high adventure above all else, payment is deemed a nuisance--a formality, really. It's against their code to set terms of business before an adventure starts.

Every knight is enthralled  by the pursuit of excellence and purity of her or his deeds. While they have never been great in number, their passion and clarity of purpose is the stuff of starry legend.

In order to become a Nucleic Knight, you must first squire with a journeyman knight in order to learn the ways of the order. Most knights have been around for centuries and have undergone some sort of cybernetic enhancement to continue adventuring in space or harsh environs.

Atomic Armor in Ritual and Practice
Knights regard their appearance in battle with cult-like dedication, hyper-conscious of their reputations and the iconography they employ to support their image. Every knight of the order is learned in constructing their own atomic armor, powered by some exotic element or energy crystal. This process is not undertaken lightly, but is the very threshold quest that bestows knighthood on lowly squires.

Armor is custom to the tastes and fabricated mythos of each knight--as beasts, gods, and other supernatural creatures of the cosmos.

In some cases, you may come across a knight who has taken to long-term suspended animation (further adding to the longevity of the order). Knight's are acutely aware that their legacies are directly related to their ability to get around the galaxy--which takes time. The longer they're "in play" and aggrandizing their daring deeds, the longer their names will echo across eternity.

Rarest of the Order: Knights of Modesty
Since their payment can vary greatly, atomically-powered armor as well as their weaponry (including cybernetics) is a reflection of their service. But even within their own ranks, some knights eschew the ostentatious displays of expensive accouterments. They'll appear as errant paupers, holding themselves to a "higher" moral code of humility and poverty. Though still recognizeable due to their haughty demeanor, these knights confer prestige and poise in the face of even the most dangerous of quests.


Knights of Nuclei will appear in a forthcoming Rad Astra publication. Role-playing tips, the Knights' Code, and armor stats and requirements to be available in publication only. Watch for upcoming announcements.

Inspiration: Sir Didymus, Don Quixote, Outer Spacemen, King Pelinore, Micronauts, Iron Man, ROM Spaceknight