Pioneer Kickstarter Preview
- Thread starter Takei
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CordwainerFish
Emperor Mongoose
I think it's primarily meant to be a learn by doing skill, as you automatically get Zero-G 0 if you go on a space mission and come back alive; also if you ever get Athletics (Dex) 2, you immediately also get Zero-G 0 if you didn't have it (found that buried in the text).
I wonder if this is based on the Preview nature of rules, and the full release will add more details - Learn by doing makes a lot of sense though
Thanks for the answers. Zero-G being a learning by doing skill makes a lot of sense (I'm not sure if spending time in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab or in the Vomit Comet would give you full skill levels). I was mostly curious as some of the pre-gens have levels of Zero-G, not just 0. Chris the Engineer has Zero-G 2 but no Space Suit 0 so rules-wise has not spent any time in space. Whenever I read a new game I use any presented charaters as reference for how chargen (and the game in general) works.
I like what I see so far. The layout is clean and readable, and most of the art pieces look OK to good. Although some of them needed to be reality-checked (the location of the umbilicals on the cover, the guard rails on the gantry on page 69, and the rockets on page 71).
I like what I see so far. The layout is clean and readable, and most of the art pieces look OK to good. Although some of them needed to be reality-checked (the location of the umbilicals on the cover, the guard rails on the gantry on page 69, and the rockets on page 71).
Yes
One thing that really made me smile in the preview is the unwritten story of the girl sitting on her dad's shoulders on page 7 to being in space on page 90. I've heard many interviews with astronauts (mainly on NASA's "Houston, We Have a Podcast") and quite a few of them say it was watching a launch with a parent or at school that got them interested in space.
shirgall
Banded Mongoose
From the description it's a collection of missions, so you want to separate it for reference by the referee and not necessarily include it in the core rulebook.
Zero-G zero is also among the skill package skills, and you can get any skill from a Connection. Those do appear to be the only way for an Engineer or Technician to get Zero-G without Athletics (DEX) 2 or getting the Space Tourist life event.
However, Military careers have a "gain any skill of your choice at level 1" event at result 5 and "Increase Space Suit or Zero-g by one level" on Event roll 4; no skill level would become level 1. Which makes sense - of the three careers in the preview they're the one you would expect most likely to provide active training and experience in freefall. Technicians (but not Engineers) also have Athletics in their skill tables; Military (Flight) have it as a branch skill as well as a service skill.
However, Military careers have a "gain any skill of your choice at level 1" event at result 5 and "Increase Space Suit or Zero-g by one level" on Event roll 4; no skill level would become level 1. Which makes sense - of the three careers in the preview they're the one you would expect most likely to provide active training and experience in freefall. Technicians (but not Engineers) also have Athletics in their skill tables; Military (Flight) have it as a branch skill as well as a service skill.
lategamer
Banded Mongoose
The Sample scenario I'll be running in just over a week - but it's probably the most deadly scenario I've ever read.
Results like this:
The fuel stuff is all a little railroaded. How are we going to manage that in-game? My players are generally used to being able to jury-rig something.
Results like this:
The fuel stuff is all a little railroaded. How are we going to manage that in-game? My players are generally used to being able to jury-rig something.
lategamer
Banded Mongoose
For planned missions, sure. But for stuff happening at the minute with a serious time component?
You can certainly get Mission Control to give you a DM+2 if you give them 4 hours to analyse the issue (page 74). Or a DM+1 if you give them d6*10 minutes.
Those plotted plans for spacecraft flight take days to plot.
(Edit: Rich Purnell in Astrodynamics came up with the Slingshot - those of us who are geeks came up with it ages before. But doing it right, with the right calculations, that took ages)
Yatima
Cosmic Mongoose
This. The Mongeese are crafting an RPG, which should enable all sorts of people to have fun in a near future space programme setting, and orbital mechanics and other real-world concerns should impinge only in so far as is compatible with suspending disbelief. Of course, what constitutes a sufficient simulation to suspend disbelief will vary among players, but as you say it just ceases to be a fun game with player buy in at some point.
All models are wrong, but some are useful.
J
shirgall
Banded Mongoose
Completely counter to the very word "Pioneer" isn't it?
AndrewW
Emperor Mongoose
That's what they thought with Apollo, the computer would just be two buttons, land and leave. Of course technology has advanced a bit since then.
lategamer
Banded Mongoose
Whereas I can see the need for humans for quick responses.
The computer technology level may be important. I mean I'm guessing that Pioneers are not asking an LLM to plot a course, it will be a proper navigation computer (by 2025, we've got a lot of really cool tech in automated marine navigation, even in the consumer app space). Projecting forwards thirty years, having a nav-computer in your pocket isn't unreasonable.
But...if we replace stuff that people do (Why even have Pilots?) then the point of the game starts to disappear.
Yes, and the computers, the communication equipment, and networks are going to have a lot more to do as the Satellite constellations keep increasing the possibility of conjunctions.
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