What is the most important thing about Pirates?
Pirates in Space began when Dave Traub had a smashing idea for a sci-fi game. He got a small group of folks together to make characters using a simplified version of GURPS lite. After a session or two, I discovered a free system online that fit what we were doing better called The Anime RPG through http://come.to/akane/ or perhaps Uncle Bear (aside: I may have the only complete electronic copy of this game left - I should think about hosting it). Finally, we settled on a d20 fantasy-based system that I cobbled together. After the system transition, I started to share GMing duties with Dave, and took over as the main GM not long after that. Tom Beebe ran some memorable sessions as well. The game has been on hiatus since Christmas of 2002, if memory serves me correctly, and our last session ended on a hell of a cliffhanger.
Over the years, I've practiced my game design skills by tweaking existing systems to portray the Pirates universe and its characters, though I never play-tested any of these ideas. I'm quite proud of collection of character classes that I wrote (or adapted to the setting from the d20 SRD, Aracana Evolved, and Elements of Magic Revised, etc.), and I may compile them sometime.
Anyways, I'm ready to tackle Pirates again in earnest, but I need your help. Pirates in Space was a chaotic smörgåsbord of a game. We threw shadowy government conspiracies, a demonic invasion, a Ryōōki knock-off, NPCs named after historical people (Klaus Störtebeker, Martin Frobisher), giant robots, magical swords, peacemaker revolvers, and man-portable sci-fi autocannons together and tried to make sense of it all. For the most part we had a rip-roaring good time. There were plenty of missteps, though: head-spinning history, politics, and factions, delayed gratification from the overuse of "fetch quests" and villains with escape plans, rotating GMs who didn't coordinate enough, and out-of-control character niches (more about those below).
The crazy, anything-goes nature of the game was exhilarating but overwhelming. I think that if we ever play Pirates again, the game would benefit if we focused on only the best, most characteristic, most fun aspects of the game and the setting.
I have a few ideas of what I want to see in the latest version, but I don't claim to be the expert. I want to hear it from you, former players, GMs, and people who've seen my setting encyclopedia or who've otherwise heard about the game. Please answer these questions if and when you get a chance:
1) Describe the in-game event or scene was the most fun for you. What made it so fun? Can you categorize what happened or otherwise say how one might make a similar experience in the future?
2) List three details about the setting or history of Pirates that hooked you the most. What made them so intriguing?
3) Name one part of the game or the setting that you'd hate to see go and describe why its so important.
4) What wouldn't you mind cutting from the game?
5) What kind of new stuff - themes, story lines, game mechanics, etc. - would you like to see included?
6) What do you feel was the core, the most important element of Pirates in Space?
Email me your responses or leave them as a comment below. Be as brief or as verbose as you like.
Here's the promised note on character niches: Some characters were so incredibly good at what they did that they overshadowed everyone else at the table if they could bring their advantage to bear in a given scenario. What we needed to do was tie some kind of resource management to these powers to facilitate the sharing of screen time - like how Fate Points are used in Spirit of the Century.
In other news:
I just put a copy of The Princess Game in my mom's lap. It's a tight, 16 page game that looks like it would appeal to 7-10 year-olds or so, and I'm excited about playing it sometime with either kids or adults.
Next Time:
(I know I haven't followed up on these "next time" sections in the past, but this time it's for real!)
I'll introduce Max Brimstone, Professor of Experimental Religion and the rest of the pulpy crew from my Northern Virginia Spirit of the Century game! (Link is to the SotC wiki).
Over the years, I've practiced my game design skills by tweaking existing systems to portray the Pirates universe and its characters, though I never play-tested any of these ideas. I'm quite proud of collection of character classes that I wrote (or adapted to the setting from the d20 SRD, Aracana Evolved, and Elements of Magic Revised, etc.), and I may compile them sometime.
Anyways, I'm ready to tackle Pirates again in earnest, but I need your help. Pirates in Space was a chaotic smörgåsbord of a game. We threw shadowy government conspiracies, a demonic invasion, a Ryōōki knock-off, NPCs named after historical people (Klaus Störtebeker, Martin Frobisher), giant robots, magical swords, peacemaker revolvers, and man-portable sci-fi autocannons together and tried to make sense of it all. For the most part we had a rip-roaring good time. There were plenty of missteps, though: head-spinning history, politics, and factions, delayed gratification from the overuse of "fetch quests" and villains with escape plans, rotating GMs who didn't coordinate enough, and out-of-control character niches (more about those below).
The crazy, anything-goes nature of the game was exhilarating but overwhelming. I think that if we ever play Pirates again, the game would benefit if we focused on only the best, most characteristic, most fun aspects of the game and the setting.
I have a few ideas of what I want to see in the latest version, but I don't claim to be the expert. I want to hear it from you, former players, GMs, and people who've seen my setting encyclopedia or who've otherwise heard about the game. Please answer these questions if and when you get a chance:
1) Describe the in-game event or scene was the most fun for you. What made it so fun? Can you categorize what happened or otherwise say how one might make a similar experience in the future?
2) List three details about the setting or history of Pirates that hooked you the most. What made them so intriguing?
3) Name one part of the game or the setting that you'd hate to see go and describe why its so important.
4) What wouldn't you mind cutting from the game?
5) What kind of new stuff - themes, story lines, game mechanics, etc. - would you like to see included?
6) What do you feel was the core, the most important element of Pirates in Space?
Email me your responses or leave them as a comment below. Be as brief or as verbose as you like.
Here's the promised note on character niches: Some characters were so incredibly good at what they did that they overshadowed everyone else at the table if they could bring their advantage to bear in a given scenario. What we needed to do was tie some kind of resource management to these powers to facilitate the sharing of screen time - like how Fate Points are used in Spirit of the Century.
In other news:
I just put a copy of The Princess Game in my mom's lap. It's a tight, 16 page game that looks like it would appeal to 7-10 year-olds or so, and I'm excited about playing it sometime with either kids or adults.
Next Time:
(I know I haven't followed up on these "next time" sections in the past, but this time it's for real!)
I'll introduce Max Brimstone, Professor of Experimental Religion and the rest of the pulpy crew from my Northern Virginia Spirit of the Century game! (Link is to the SotC wiki).