Fragging Out

Intergalactic work continues.

I'm constantly reminding myself that the first Mythic Bastionland playtests (then Primeval Bastionland) were based on an extremely rough document, with vastly different rules to how the game turned out, especially in terms of the structure of myths, omens, and hexcrawling the realm.

Even with such a patchy version of the game, those initial playtests were incredibly useful in working out what I wanted the game to be, and how I was going to get there.

So I'm trying to get Intergalactic to that point, knowing that anything I put in place for initial testing is ripe for the chopping block. A means to an end that may have little resemblance to these untested ideas.

Here's a grab bag of stuff that's currently in the mix.

Fragging Out
Most crew aim to cash in their record of service for a payout of Frags, enough to retire. Characters track this in as a Record score, starting at 0 and modified by the following events.

Year of Service (Hand): +1 Record
Half Year of Service (Head): +1 Record
Month of Service (Officer): +1 Record
Reward: +1 Record
Reprimand: - 1 Record
Early Payout of 10 Frags: -1 Record

20 Record is enough for a humble retirement.
50 is comfortable, or enough to captain a Boat.
100 is luxurious, or enough to captain a Frigate.

Becoming a ship captain is beyond a life’s honest work.

Incidents
For journeys of multiple days, roll d20. If this is equal or lower than the journey’s length then there is a mid-journey incident. If required, the d20 roll dictates how many days into the journey the event occurs.

Roll d6 to discover its nature.

1: Detour. The stars alter your course. If travelling between stars, roll a random world on any star. If travelling between worlds, roll a random world in that system.
2-3: Ship Incident. Consult a random world page.
4-6: Crew Incident. Consult a random world page.

Incidents may present an ongoing problem that will get worse if not managed.

At the end of a transit or cooldown period of multiple days, roll for each unresolved incident.

1: It reaches immediate crisis point, and will now be resolved one way or another.
2-3: It Gets Worse. The stakes are raised, presenting greater consequences if it cannot be resolved.
4-6: No Change. Things hold steady for now.

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If you want to support my blog, podcasts, and video content then head over to my Patreon.

Transit

Setting a Bearing
Before casting off, the ship must set its bearing to an agreed destination. This requires a meeting of the Bearing Council, which consists of the captain and their officers.

The Bearing Council acts as a microcosm of a Captain’s authority on their ship. Yes, the Captain has the power to assign, dismiss, reward, and reprimand their officers, but the ship’s destination is always subject to a vote. Even the Captain is just one vote, with ties broken by the Commander-at-the-Helm.

Captains technically have a veto, but using it is a surefire way to incur a mutiny.

Not every officer really cares where the ship is headed, so they’ll throw their support behind another in return for a promised favour.

Duties
There’s nothing worse than idle crew, so every Officers begin a transit meeting with their Heads and assigning duties, most being self-sufficient enough to continue their ongoing responsibilities. The Heads then delegate to their Hands accordingly.

Reprimands
Whether for a dereliction of duty, misbehaviour at port, or general insubordination, punishments are usually administered during transit. The most common are:

1. Night Labour - You’re given sleep suppressants and forced to work through the nights.
2. Beating - Good old fashioned violence.
3. Public Rebuke - A stern talking down in front of, and involving, your peers.
4. The Grey Cell - A sensory void, where even a few days can feel like a life sentence.
5. Demotion - There’s always a lower rank you can be bumped down to.
6. Debugging - Your mind is at the mercy of the Peoples Executive and their corrective methods.

Traditions

• Any brand new crew members are welcomed to the bridge for casting off from port.
• Officers have the first meal of a transit with their Heads.
• Stowaways are not punished the first time, but punished harshly if caught a second time.
• The Ship’s Song is sung before the first meal past the midpoint of transit.
• Those who die in transit are cast to the void.
• The Captain has the final meal of a transit with their Officers.

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This post was originally sent as a reward to all Patreon supporters, and is released freely on this site the week after its original publication.

If you want to support my blog, podcasts, and video content then head over to my Patreon.

Bastionland Podcast Series 6

That's a wrap on another series of the Bastionland Podcast! If you haven't been following for long, here's the line up who each discussed three games that are important to them:

Episode 1 - LUKE STRATTON
If you ever meet a BORG-like sceptic, point them towards everything Luke has done with Pirate Borg. Always a pleasure to hear him talk about the pirate life with such passion. 

Episode 2 - AMANDA LEE FRANCK
One of the greatest artists in the scene right now and winner of the first guest of this series to make me go out and buy one of her choices.

Episode 3 - COLE WEHRLE
Continuing my theory that you can ask just about anybody to come on your podcast, even the biggest legends of game design, and they might just say yes. 

Episode 4 - GEORGE BICKERS
Creator of the buzz-magnet Mappa Mundi, the first brave soul of this series to bring a videogame choice. 

Episode 5 - BRAD KERR
Brad requires no blurb.
Brad transcends blurbs.

Episode 6 - MARK DIAZ TRUMAN
I feel like I could fill a whole series with just Mark talking about games. I'm hesitant to dig up the questionable OSR/Storygame divide, but if you've never ventured into the latter then listen to Mark talk about his picks. 

It was also a lot of fun making a piece of music for this podcast, returning to the hobby after almost twenty years away. 

If you're inclined to hear more then I'm challenging myself to actually upload stuff on soundcloud and over here with some cutting edge turn of the millennium visuals.