Justice Union - Collective Vigilance

It’s a tricky thing, justice. Best method I’ve found is making sure everyone feels both ends of the stick at some point in their life, just to give them faith that it’s all fair and equal. If you think justice is against you, we’re here to see you right. If you think justice is on your side it means you’re overdue a crack of the whip. 

The point of the union is that the people decide what’s right. All people, not just a gang of enforcers or a parliament of lawmakers. That’s why we have universal membership.

Being right isn’t enough, you’ve got to make the wrong thing right. Enough of us want someone dead, we can make that happen. That’s why we have universal jurisdiction. 

Everyone’s a member, and everyone’s a valid target.

That all sounds very sinister. It’s not all about taking out bad actors. We put food in bowls by putting people in work by pressuring the fatcats to make more jobs. Pushing the captain to hire a full crew. Efficiency is a waste and profit a missed opportunity. A big heap of nothing compared to seeing people living their best lives, earning their way, looking out for one another. 

While membership is universal, of course we adhere to the standard status tiers. 

Status

Blacklisted: Enemies of the people. Must immediately submit to custody or face wild justice. 

Flagged: Members under review, whether through suspicious behaviour or lack of enthusiasm for the cause. Ineligible for work where registered members are available. . 

Registered: The minimum expected level of membership, entered into upon reaching an age of working, no formal signup required. Duty bound to serve fellow people and report wrongful action. 

Certified: Those who carry out righteous action at the command of the union. Voices and hands of the people. 

Sponsored: Those who have served the union well and earned the use of universal jurisdiction. Action carried out by these heroes must be backed by the people.

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Konkord - Peace Operations

[A former Konkord Star Major, name since redacted, in response to an audience question at the Windfall Orbital State of the Dragon Conference. Recording provided by FXT Free Bulletin.]

Well, I’ve never been asked such a brave question by such a scholar of the stars.

[there is a pause, the panel host beginning to speak, before being cut off by the Star Major in a mocking voice]

“They’re just mercenaries and arms dealers with a vested interest in stoking war under the flag of peace. I see through their machinations.”

[scattered laughter from the audience, the Star Major stands]

Get this into your hollow head.

Konkord does not get to have machinations. We are in the business of stopping machinations. 

Business, yes. 

We fight for those who can afford us. We sell weapons to warmongers. We get paid to legitimise atrocities. Your currency is minted from starlight, ours from blood and ash. 

[there is movement off stage, the Star Major casting a hard look before turning back to the audience, speaking with more urgency]

And it is a righteous war chest. If that is the cost of Konkord, it is the price of peace, a debt we can never truly repay. 

We hold the guns so you can hold your techtile and read about some skirmish between nobles in the Falcon system. So you can lament how awfully brutal security has gotten at Arsewash Orbital since Konkord took over from those brave local militia. 

We keep those wars in your bulletin so they aren’t in your home. We keep those yokels in Konkord uniforms so they don’t get riled up into a crusade by some bloody-mouthed politician.

So yes, you saw through the name. You saw through the dream.

We DON’T make peace. 

We CAN’T make peace. 

But we make war better for everyone.

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Sovereign - Independence Charter

There’s a saying that all of the institutions are really just about pushing pencils. The FXT buys the pencils, the NCA tells you what colour you’re allowed to use, and Sovereign tells you that’s not your pencil so put it back.

I didn’t say it was a good saying. I got it from a Notarianshand up on fifth, so take it up with them.

Sovereign knows everything has a rightful owner, and it’s probably not you. In fact, the act of claiming ownership is already mighty suspect. 

The Captain has (hopefully!) a good enough relationship with them that they can operate one of the few independent ships. Stars forbid anything happen to our brave Captain, of course, but any potential successors to that seat would do well to maintain a close relationship with a Sovereign agent or two. 

Of course, this matters most when we’re talking about planets, and most would agree with the Sovereign policy that institutions shouldn’t be allowed to just gather up worlds into empires. Luckily, any time an institution gets a little too close to acting as an interstellar government, there are four other institutions suddenly passionate about the Sovereign cause, eager to bring ownership back to the world’s rightful inhabitants. That is, whoever Sovereign likes best.

The trick is in keeping all of those planetary governments on side, and Sovereign manages that by keeping them apart. Diplomatic assemblies aboard the First Forum lend Sovereign a sense of gravitas, for sure, but they also unleash the catastrophe of letting world leaders speak openly to each other. Much better to keep them focused on their own worlds, liaising through their entrusted Sovereign Charterhouse. Being gently overseen by Sovereign is so much more proper than being puppeted around by an institution. 

In the end, nobody really minds that there’s a border between the starport and the world-proper. It makes it easier for the FXT to run a frictionless orbital operation, and it gives the NCA a job to do keeping the border tight. 

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Starpath explains that you don’t need a pencil anymore, Konkord is hiding all the sharpeners, and the Justice Union has already stabbed the pencil into your back.

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The Free Exchange Trust

It’s easy to underestimate the great institutions. Look no further than the FXT, which some mistake for a corporation. 

They control money, but they aren’t a bank. They control trade, but they aren’t merchants. They’re a monopoly, but they’re not a monolith. They’re a sprawling web of open hands and closed fists.

Confused? Think of it this way.

Claiming ownership of clusters of stars is no true power. Instead, it lies in controlling a vital element of interstellar life. The six great institutions have each managed to do this, getting all the benefits of power without the need to operate as a traditional government or corporation. 

The Free Exchange Trust did this with trade. They don’t do the trading themselves, but the traders can’t operate without them. Traders need loans to invest in stock, orbitals to drop the cargo, and they get paid in Frags. Guess who controls all those things?

Controls, not owns, right? Look, I didn’t say this would be simple.

The institutions have surprisingly few employees, and the FXT are no exception. Instead, they rely on their network of sponsored agencies and organisations. Though technically independent, they rely on their institution in order to operate within its domain. 

All those parts of the network treat you differently based on your status with the institution. Everyone’s status is recorded as one of the following:

Sponsored: Given support and authority
Certified: Trusted and recognised
Registered: Permitted to operate
Flagged: Monitored and restricted
Blacklisted: Denied all access

Sponsored by the FXT? Now you’ve got more frags than you know what to do with.

Registered? Sure, you can go about your business as long as it’s benefiting them. 

Blacklisted? Good luck getting anything done when you can’t dock at an orbital and nobody trusts you to pay your debts. 

Sure, you could start up a new bank that isn’t part of the FXT. See how that works out. Getting Blacklisted is far from the worst outcome there. 

Despite their omnipresence, institutions are still made up of individuals. Discovering their personal agenda and desire is more important than understanding the wider machinations of the institution.

When you make a deal with the FXT, they always win, so find a way to make a deal with that desperate person behind the suit instead.

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NCA Directives

Although the six great institutions sprawl across the Home Cluster, your Ship is independent, at least in principle. It’s a certainty that your Captain holds the favour of some institutions and the ire of others. 

If there’s one that a Captain must manage especially carefully, it’s the NCA.

The New Compliance Authority replaced the Compliance Authority, which replaced the Compliance Agency which replaced the Security and Compliance Agency, which was essentially a wing of the Free Exchange Trust. 

None of this matters as much as knowing that what started as an earnest attempt to ensure safe space travel and combat piracy has become a sprawling organisation equal parts pencil-pushing bureaucrats and barely-legitimised pirates, sharing the common goals of spreading NCA influence while building their own pension pots. Critics will tell you they’re just making up the rules as they go, an excuse to deal out fines, but there’s definitely a rulebook.

Or, at least, rulebooks. They can’t be expected to carry every volume at all times. The most commonly seen incomplete collection is the Selected NCA Directives - Core Edition which contains nine-hundred and ninety-nine (technically more if you count the sub-directives) of the most important rules any starfaring vessel and its crew must follow if they wish to avoid NCA reprimands. 

Here are a few: 

Directive 009 - All goods must have their NCA Standard Goods Type and Point of Origin marked on at least five faces of their container. 

Penalty - Fine of 1 Frag for each container of goods found in breach of the directive.

Directive 200 - No Independent Ship’s Captain shall attend a meeting with a member of any great institution, NCA excluded, without at least one other member of their crew present. 

Penalty - Captain must immediately step down and appoint a successor. 

Directive 200d - No crew member of head or hand rank may refuse or resist questioning by an NCA agent in matters relating to their Captain. 

Penalty - Crew found to be in breach of the directive must be left at the nearest inhabited world and cannot serve as crew for a full year. 

Directive 290 - No vessel may undertake enterprise bordering on piracy, plunder, buccaneering, bootlegging, or freebooting. Crew witness to these acts must report their vessel to the NCA. 

Penalty - Vessel must operate under supervision of an NCA Agent and advisory team until parole review to be set at their convenience. 

Directive 338f - Goods designated as Illicit may only be traded by vessels in possession of an NCA Illicit Goods Warrant, each warrant being good for a single transit of such goods. 

Penalty - Seizure of goods found to be in breach of the directive. 

Directive 464 - A Vessel’s registered name must successfully evoke its purpose and character without unnecessary aggrandisement. 

Penalty - Vessel must set bearing for nearest NCA Full Inspection Depot and report to their assigned Agent for rebranding. 

Someone once told me the second half isn’t worth reading, so I took that as gospel.

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Ski Jump Design

Continuing from last week’s thoughts. 

In a recent conversation we had, Ed Jollyboat used the analogy of an airport runway as a linear introductory section to a game, which opens up into blue sky freedom. I want to run with that, but I’m moving over to a ski jump analogy instead.

In short:

Climb: Make it easy to get the book to the table and have other players want to play.
Descent: Begin with limitations and linearity to give the game momentum. 
Launch: Now get the players making big choices. 
Flight: Support the play that comes from player freedom. 
Landing: Have a finishing point in mind, even if you don’t stick to it. 

Now the longer version. 

The Climb

Sure, there are no-prep games, but really I think any activity that involves simultaneously getting a bunch of friends around the same table requires at least a form of prep. Forget drawing maps and practising NPC voices, the real climb is done in the real world.

I’ve heard much anger at the idea of putting marketing copy inside your gamebook but... hear me out... in some groups... the GM does need to market the game to players in order to get that game to the table. 

Worse still, as a GM with a bunch of books on my shelf, those books aren’t done marketing themselves to me yet. They need to sell their dream to me even as I hold them in my hands. Not vying for my attention, but working to convince me that I can and will run this game, leaving me passionate enough to draw a group of players in and make the dream a reality. 

The Descent

That’s the hard part out of the way. It’s all downhill from here. Of course, you can’t change direction, but it’s just for a little while. This is the part where you set the players quickly off in a certain direction and stack up the momentum. Traveller’s lifepath and ship mortgage are classic examples. Electric Bastionland’s Debt and Mythic Bastionland’s Oath are my attempts at this. 

The Launch

The point of transition between that linear descent and the open skies of flight. At its most basic level I plan my RPG sessions to have an important decision thrown at the players almost immediately. A dungeon with a front door and a sneaky tunnel round back. A hex map with a starting point and vague directions to your first hook. The splash of cold water that wakes up the decision-making brain. 

The Flight

This is the “hey this game runs itself” dream. With the players fully engaged, invested, directing the play, all you’ve got to do is enjoy the view and watch out for geese. The important thing here is that the players enjoy this freedom that we’ve been building up to, without feeling overwhelmed as they might be if we just shot them out of a cannon without warning. The GM also needs support, typically from library content in the book, or tools to help with improvisation. 

The Landing

I imagine Ski Jumping 101 has a pretty early class on “how to land”, but for a long time I didn’t really think about how my sessions or campaigns might finish. I’m especially interested in the latter, now, as you’ll see in the City Quest of Mythic Bastionland, or the equally appealing “you might die of old age”. Even if you never get there, I’ve started noticing that players appreciate at least a suggestion of how the game might reach a conclusion.

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A Game you Play

Pandemic Legacy (2015) wasn’t the first legacy boardgame, but it was the breakthrough moment when many players became aware of the format.

Imagine you play a game of monopoly (I’m so sorry) but throughout the game you make permanent changes to the board, adding shortcuts and roadblocks. You tear up some cards and add secret new cards to the chance deck. Next time you play, the game is slightly different, working through a campaign affected by your individual games. After a certain number of games, the campaign ends. 

Pandemic Legacy’s campaign lasts 12-18 games, after which you’re done. You can’t play the game anymore. You can’t even sell it, as you’ve modified and destroyed the components. 

I remember arguments that Pandemic Legacy was unappealing because you could only play it a dozen or so times. Why get this, when you can get the regular Pandemic game for half the price and play it hundreds of times?

A counterpoint stuck with me.

Most boardgames are games you could play a hundred times. Pandemic Legacy is a game you will play 12-18 times.

My shelf is full of TTRPGs, adventures, and campaigns that I could play hundreds of times. What makes a game something that I will play a few times? Despite my usual tastes, I don’t think this is about simplicity. 

What takes a game from “I’ve been meaning to run that some day” to “yeah, I ran that it was great”.

This is brewing for now, but expect more next time.

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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.

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