Over on my gaming blog, I give the blow by blow from our first honest to dog game of Diaspora, which is a kind of ‘hard sci-fi’ roleplaying game, using the DIY kung-fu of the FATE system.
Someone called it “the softest hard sci-fi game out there”, and I agree.
Anyway, that post is kinda long, so let me tell you about my character give you the short version, because it makes me kinda happy.
Last night was the first real game session. I sketched out a pretty standard “free traders” scenario in which [CLIENT] needs [CARGO] carried to [DESTINATION], so we can learn the system and blow some stuff up.
The players all (and I mean ALL) have prioritized skills related to space combat. They’re flying a former pirate ship that you need military training to pilot. If there is a method in which a ship can engage in offensive action, they by-god have such method spot-welded to the hull.
I have clearly, CLEARLY been given the high-sign to start the game off with a space battle.
I do prep work: stat out the ships and the crew for the bad guys, and read and re-read the space combat rules til I’ve got em DOWN.
We start play and I foreshadow the shit out of the coming fight; I whisper the promise of attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, or something.
We get to the point where the beam weapons shall, verily, hit the fan. Bad Guys! In ships! With guns! Prepare to be boarded!
And my players basically force the situation into a Social Combat.
Which I’m totally unprepared for. Totally.
So… we do that. The opening volley of the exchange is fired via piña colada.
And it’s awesome. One of the enemy pirate captains flew away from the confrontation, put his ship in dry dock, sold it (at a loss), and took up farming on a world with carnivorous plant life… and he considers himself better off.
It was a good game, and a fine night.
*satisfied sigh*
Okay, I’m done.
Tomorrow I’ll write about staying focused. As one does, right after a tangent.