Strange Stars: We're All Pirates Now

Rad Astra Galaxy Map

Our second game at Con of the North using Trey Causey's Strange Stars setting was a pick-up game. It was not on the event schedule for the convention. The session was an informal on-demand game requested by people who could not get into my scheduled Fate Strange Stars scenario -  as well as by one player who had been in that first scenario and wanted another dose of the Strange Stars. 

It was a Saturday night, just after a fun session of Jay MacBride's Rad Astra setting (you can see his awesome map of the six-armed Hexuba galaxy up above) using the old school X-plorers RPG. I was super-tired, so I asked my friend Bob Cook, a seasoned Fate Strange Stars GM to run an on-the-fly game.

I went out to the Crown Vic and got my Fate gear. I went to the hotel's service desk, and asked if they could point me to a copier so that I could run off some character sheets. The staff offered to do it for free on their copier (they will do this kind of thing if you are polite!), and I tipped to say thanks for their courtesy (this is essential).

Bob GMs Strange Stars

The players decided to create a group of space pirates. Jay wondered if he could make a PC that was a “one off” type not featured in any of the Clade Templates for the Fate Strange Stars. Bob and I answered “Sure!” 

Galaxy Laser Team Toy

Jay was looking at a big green space toy on the game table. The toy was a Star Wars knockoff. Imagine a Wookie, but with Yantran antennae, and a skull face like a demonic Ferengi! He decided that was his character’s exact appearance! Jay was also flipping through the character templates in a copy of the D6 Star Wars RPG. Then he said, “I’m a Chewie that lost his Han Solo”: that was a rocking High Concept for a Fate character! 

The GM created a Vokun space convoy for the players to raid. He figured that the Vokun fleet consisted of a very large transport vessel (think of Metamorphosis Alpha’s Warden) and a few very well-armed escorts. 

The GM also decided that the transport vessel contained all sorts of endangered and dangerous species destined to stock a Vokun safari tourism world. That set-up was about all that was needed for a great, really rip-roaring adventure! If you’ve seen the Doctor Who episode “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” you have an idea what the players encountered - plus giant purple worms and cyber apes! 

Add the transport's stoner "free-as-a-bird" AI to the mix, and you can imagine just how trippy and fun this game was!

What a great way to to wrap up a Saturday night at Con of the North!