Next Weekend: Cosmic Patrol!

Next weekend, SF&F author and historian Carolyn Ives Gilman will be guest of honor at Diversicon. This is the most intimate and literary con in the Twin Cities scene. There has never been too much gaming at the con, but a few years ago I started running a late Saturday afternoon game that ties in to some of the themes of the convention. With one of the foremost scholars on the Lewis and Clark expedition as our guest of honor, I decided to run some deep space exploration themed Cosmic Patrol.

If you're coming to this con stop by and play! Cosmic Patrol is easy to learn and play. I'll be using a modified version of Cosmic Patrol's rotating Lead Narrator model at the con. We'll rotate scene narration so that everybody has a chance to direct part of the story, but I'll handle the combat. Should be fun to see where people take the story! 

Here are the adventure details:

Cosmic Patrol: Rescue the Lewis and Clark! Saturday afternoon, 4-6 PM on August 2, in the RailRoad Lobby at Diversicon. A easy to learn, pulpy SF roleplaying game inspired by the works of our living & posthumous Guests. John Everett Till, gamemaster. Rules will be taught, and the game uses a rotating storyteller model. We'll take turns moving the story forward!

The Overkilled

The Overkilled. No one likes that term, but it has stuck as a general descriptor for those unfortunates cursed with unlife after being struck by an Annihilator beam. They are a constant danger for those exploring space hulks, abandoned bases, and ruined cities recently devastated by war. Wherever there is one of the Overkilled, there are undoubtedly many, many more.

Fury and relentlessness personified, the Overkilled thirst for the flesh of the living.  Some have speculated that the Annihilator animates the Overkilled by activating latent infections by nanites or prions. Their bodies undergo a number of changes including a general weakening of the integrity of their integument, and a diamond-sharp hardening of teeth and nails.

The Overkilled bite, gobble, claw, and tear at the flesh of their victims, as if consumed with hunger. But very little flesh and blood makes it down their gullets. Indeed, it often seems like more matter is leaving their bodies than getting in: foul black and green ichors pour from their mouth and nostrils, and from suppurating pustules on their chest, face, and extremities. This ichor contaminates their garments and the spaces around them - it is the surest sign that the Overkilled may be nearby.

The Overkilled are almost impossible to detect using sensors. Indeed, without the presence of living flesh to prey upon they are almost entirely quiescent. Are they conscious? Do they have memories or will? Who knows. The Nexialists claim that the Overkilled are a product of "supercivilization" - which says everything and explains nothing.

The R.U.R. contend that the Overkilled are an infinitesimal of the great Anti-Consciousness lurking in the galactic core. They say they have seen this contagion before, many times. It's a sign of things to come.

***

In Cosmic Patrol, treat the Overkilled as mooks: Cbt D8, Special: Ichor Splash D10, EvElse D6; Armor 1, Health 1; Bite/Claw 2; Equipment: Tattered garments, green or black ichor.

OGL MECHANICS

The Overkilled
Undead humans (inimical)

ASPECTS:

• High Concept: Furious and relentless undead
• Trouble: Attack without strategy
• Aspect: Unreasoning hatred of life
• Aspect: Undetectable except in the presence of life
• Aspect: Disgusting ichor and suppurating pustules

APPROACHES

• Careful: +1
• Clever: 0 
• Flashy: 0
• Forceful: +2
• Quick: +3
• Sneaky: +2

STUNTS:

• Green/Black Ichor - See future posts for the affects of these contaminants.
• Sharp Teeth and Claws - Because the Overkilled have diamond sharp teeth and claws, they take +2 to their Attack when an opponent is not wearing armor. 

REFRESH: 3

Annihilators For Cosmic Patrol

Annihilators are one of the most feared weapons in the galaxy. Equipping a ship with one is practically a declaration of war, which is why very few Cosmic Patrol vessels carry this weapon. In contrast, many pirates take a fierce pride in the use of Annihilators, which have often been seized from the most ruthless and unspeakable of alien menaces.

First and foremost, they are a terror weapon. A species of Death Beam, Annihilators are so effective because they completely bypass armor, concentrating their lethal effect on living matter. This is of course very convenient for pirates (at least in theory) because Annihilators are a weapon which eliminates people while leaving plunder intact.

Of course, the truth is a bit more complicated yet.

Annihilators often inflict a condition known as Overkill. When absorbing annihilation radiance, the flesh has two responses. For most victims, contact with an Annihilator spells death. However a small but certain number of those targeted by this lethal radiance experience a weird transformation, leaving behind a ravenous, living corpse hell-bent on revenge. Many a pirate boarding party has learned to rue the day their Captain trained an Annihilator on another ship.

This terrible weapon also comes in hand-held portable versions:

• Annihilator Pistol: D6 damage that bypasses armor*;  Ranges: OK, OK, -3
• Annihilator Rifle: D10 damage that bypasses armor*; Ranges: -3**, OK, OK

*Energy screens may provide protection against this weapon.
**Because it is a very bulky weapon

It is unusual for a combat team to be equipped with more than one of these weapons, as the beam's penetrance combined with crossfire quickly poses lethal problems for all sides.

Special: Any time a target's health is reduced to Knocked Out by Annihilator damage, someone may spend 1 Plot Point to declare that the target has succumbed to Overkill. (Players can negate this for their own character by spending a Plot Point.) The target rises, and the person who spent the Plot Point determines who the Overkilled attacks next. It's future actions are determined by the LN, subject to narrative challenges by players.

Mooks In Cosmic Patrol

Lesser NPCs in Cosmic Patrol are hard to kill; here are some rules for NPC mooks:

• A mook has four skills: Brawn, Brains, Charisma, and Combat. Assign a d8, and d10 to one of the four stats each; give the two others d6's.    
• A garden variety mook gets one point of Armor.
• A garden variety mook gets one point of Health. When this is checked off, the mook is unconscious or dead. 
• Weapons and Equipment are assigned normally.

Alternatively, a mook has just two stats: Combat and Everything Else. Assign the two stats a d6 and d8 respectively, or a d8 and d10, depending on the desired competence of the mook. Armor, Health, Weapons and Equipment are unchanged.

A third variation may be used for mooks with unusual or special abilities. Give the mook three stats: Combat, Special, and Everything Else. Specify a special ability for the Special stat. Then assign dice to the three stats as follows: d6,d8, d10. Alternatively, promote the d10 to a d12, and reduce the d6 to a d4. Armor, Health, Weapons and Equipment are unchanged.

Mooks can act in groups. To create a group of mooks that act as one, the only change you need to make is to add the number of Health points corresponding to the additional members making up the group. Every hit to health after the first and only point of Armor is expended kills one of the mooks. 

The number of mooks in the mook group serves as a bonus to the mook's Combat roll as follows: 

• Mook Group Combat Roll = d12 + Combat/Special + Modifier [# Additional Mooks] 
• As mooks in the group are killed, the Modifier decreases accordingly

Keep the size of mook groups to about 3-4 members total. An NPC can control as many mooks (single or in groups) as their die type in Charisma. 

Cosmic Patrol Was A Hit!

We ran the Cosmic Patrol RPG for the first time today as part of Free RPG Day at the Source. I had four players and two very nice observers who hung out for big chunks of the game (one for the beginning-middle, and one for the end). Open gaming like this has its risks; just earlier this week, I read a horror story about a player's bad experience with other players and GMs in the Games on Demand space at Origins.

But open gaming events like this also offer us the chance for valuable kinds of exchange:

• The ability to try out new games with folks who are curious and interested in them
• The opportunity to meet new players
• The chance to share knowledge about games and how they're played with other GMs and players

For example, the second observer (Dennis, I am pretty sure) asked me to hang out for a bit after the game, so that I could give him a look under the hood at the dice mechanics in Cosmic Patrol.  I did that, and then I asked him what RPGs he likes. He was similar in age to me, and shared that he enjoyed a broad range of games and systems - with an emphasis on ones that facilitate character-driven storytelling.

Dennis said that he likes to run Fantasy Flight Games' new line of Star Wars RPGs, especially Age of Rebellion. I shared that I had found Edge of Empire difficult to read because of all the different dice type icons in the text. Dennis smiled, pulled out his dice bag, and ran me through a couple examples of how the Star Wars dice are used. I really appreciated the exchange!

The Cosmic Patrol scenario I used was the provided in the 2014 Free RPG Day Cosmic Patrol booklet at the top of this post. I ran the first part of The Continuance Contingency in the four hour game slot, which is spot on with the book's guidance that each part takes a game session. I did a lot of improvisation, and so did the players. The Stat Die mechanics encourage the players to do a fair amount too - which they did. The Plot Point mechanics in Cosmic Patrol further facilitate players making narrative declaration, in much the same way that in Fate, you can spend Fate Points at any time to make a declaration.

Cosmic Patrol is designed so that the players will rotate GMing responsibilities between scenes. Players normally take turns being the "Lead Narrator" but for this open gaming event, I GM'ed the entire session myself. Asking players - who are just learning the game mechanics - to take turns running a published scenario: that's asking a lot. The LN model probably works best with a group of players who have experience with the mechanics, and are comfortable with improvisational play and narrative power-sharing. I'd also guess that the LNing also works better without a formal written scenario, so that successive LNs can take the story in whatever direction they prefer without worrying about "breaking links" that connect one part of a scenario to another.

Since I'd like to run Cosmic Patrol at some point for my own Thursday Night Group, I won't say too much about the storyline except that it has things that John Clute's Encyclopedia of Science Fiction calls World Ships: some of my favorite objects in the YOU-KNEE-verse, as Brian Cox might say. Well, I can also share that the players encountered one of the most loquacious Cylon Centurions in galactic history.

One more thing I can share is that the PCs had a shootout with some Achernarians, one of the alien species that are the brainchild of the Hereticwerks blog. (The Achernarians have also made their way into my Doctor Who games. They're called the people from The End of the River for a reason. They get around.)

While we're talking about Hereticwerks, be sure to stop by here and pick up Hereticwerks' Free RPG Day scenario at their blog.

So I'll be running Cosmic Patrol again. It's a great rules-light pick-up game.

If you look at the picture at the top of the post you will see that I also picked up a copy of the Valiant Universe Universe RPG Quick Start Rules today. Valiant uses a modified version of the Cosmic Patrol rules, so I guess I'll be buying that game when it gets released in August!

Cosmic Patrol For Free RPG Day

We'll be running Cosmic Patrol for Free RPG Day at 2 PM Saturday, June 21. The action happens at Source Comics and Games in Roseville, Minnesota.

Cosmic Patrol is a fast-paced game of pulp-inspired SF. Friends have asked whether it is similar to Lady Blackbird (which I have never played). I gather it may be, from the number of times I have been asked this. I do know it has aspect-like Cues and Tags, so I gather it has some similarities to Fate. Cosmic Patrol also uses different die types for characters' different attributes, so it may also share something in common with Savage Worlds (another game that I'd really like to play some day).

My past posts about Cosmic Patrol can be found here. The creators even game me permission to convert a few of their lovely finned rocket ships for the Fate system, so you will find them in the link above. So if you are curious about Cosmic Patrol, please stop by and give it a try!

I'll let people know how the session went next week!

Cosmic Patrol Conversion - Patrol Cruiser

Sample page from Into the Cosmos
Art by Leanne Buckley

Deck plans by Matt Heerdt

The Cosmic Patrol uses Patrol Cutters to investigate situations and deal with small problems. It uses Patrol Cruisers to solve bigger problems - especially those where the application for force may be required.  With science labs, conference rooms, a rec room, and real restrooms, the Cruiser is larger than the Patrol Cutter, but it is still a cramped vessel. As with the Cutter design, any prisoners will have to be chained to a bulkhead, chair, or bunk. It helps that the vessel is atmosphere-capable, because frequent planetside action helps to relieve crew stress associated with long periods working together in very close quarters.

The Patrol Cruiser is less customizable than a Cutter, but the version of the vessel that is described below has been equipped with a torpedo launcher, mine dispensers, and an Electronic Warfare System - all significant improvements over the Cutter.

Cosmic Patrol deck plans are by Matt Heerdt for Catalyst Game Labs. Text is by John Everett Till, based on the Cosmic Patrol and Into The Cosmos publications by Catalyst Game Labs. All content before the OGL Mechanics section is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

OGL MECHANICS

Patrol Cruiser

Scale: Huge (5)
Structural Stress: 6
Systems Stress: 8
Fate Points/Refresh: 4

ASPECTS: 5

• Roomier than a Patrol Cutter...
• But you'll still want to go planetside frequently
• Ideal for longer missions
• Cutters get their attention, but cruisers make 'em run!
• Actual restrooms!
• Science labs!

SKILLS: 

• 2 Good (+2): Advanced Sensor Suite, Beam Weapon
• 4 Fair (+2): Electronic Warfare Suite, Energy Shield, Maneuver, Ship Systems
• 6 Average (+1): Ablative Armor, Hardened Structure, Mine Dispenser, SL Engines, Stardrive (fractum drive), Torpedo Launcher

STUNTS:

• Advanced EWS - Electronic Warfare System skill (p.325)
• Afterburner - Maneuver skill (p.323)
• Atmospheric Entry - Maneuver skill (p.323)
• Hardened Ship Systems - Ship Systems skill (p.321)
• Knowledge Base - Ship Systems skill (p.321)
• Research Computer - Ship Systems skill (p.321)

Table of Modified Cosmic Patrol Cutters

On Friday, FATE SF published an intro to the Cosmic Patrol RPG, as well as a conversion to FATE of a Cosmic Patrol Cutter vessel, the workhorse three person tramp vessel that is the hallmark of the Cosmic Patrol. As a tramp vessel, it is highly customized - much more so than the purpose built Patrol Cruisers. And cutters also fall into the hands of pirates, smugglers, and spies! So here is a table with several different modifications on the Patrol Cutter design.

Roll 1d6-1d6.

Results:

The Patrol Cutter:
-5    Has a cloaking system
-4    Has a torpedo launcher
-3    Has a plasma weapon
-2    Has a grappling system for space salvage and/or boarding
-1    Has equipment to suppress other vessels' fractum drives
 0    Has no fractum drive
+1   Is drifting without signs of life, and is...

• Roll a 1d6:
• If 1-3, broadcasting an automatic distress signal; 
• If 4- 6, ominously silent

+2   Has been Beowulfed, and is now a tramp merchant
+3   Has been Grendeled, and is now a pirate vessel
+4   Is now crewed by robots (flying under the flag of Planet Metalloid)
+5   Has alien markings on the hull


The Cosmic Patrol RPG is by Catalyst Game Labs. Text is by John Everett Till, based on the Cosmic Patrol RPG and Into The Cosmos publications by Catalyst Game Labs. This content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Monstrous Mondays: The Zhop

Art by Leanne Buckley
From "Into the Cosmos"

It looms over you, five humans tall. Its tentacular arms wave slowly back and forth. Is it reaching for you? Is it hungry? Its bulging eyes betray a certain degree of confusion and consternation.

"Zhop" may be the name of an individual. For all the Cosmic Patrol knows, however, it may also be the name of the race. They seem friendly, but the sight of one suddenly looming overhead has caused many a near tragedy when a surprised Patrolman has pulled out their raygun and fired on instinct.

These aliens' homeworld has not yet been determined. It has not yet been possible to establish clear communications with them either, which has delayed the development of some sort of alliance between the Zhop and the Cosmic Patrol. Hopefully these giant aliens are not the innocent pawns of more sinister players on the galactic scene!

Sample Zhop Aspects:*

• Very Model Modern Major Humungulous
• Seems friendly but unreachable
• Gesticulating tentacular arms
• What is it trying to say?
• Bug eyed monster
• Obvious potential to be dangerous
• Don't let it grab you!
• Don't smoke around it!
• Puny human!
• Where are they from?

*Some Aspects listed here are quotes from the Cues and Dispositions listed for the creature in the "Into the Cosmos" supplement for Cosmic Patrol.

The Zhop art is by Leanne Buckley for Catalyst Game Labs. Text is by John Everett Till, based on the Cosmic Patrol and Into The Cosmos publications by Catalyst Game Labs. All content before the OGL Mechanics section is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

OGL MECHANICS

The Zhop

Scale 3 (Medium)
Physical Stress: 7
Composure Stress: 6
Fate Points: 6

Skills:

• 1 Great (+4): Might
• 2 Good (+3): Endurance, Fists
• 3 Fair (+2): Alertness, Intimidation, Science
• 4 Average (+1): Empathy, Engineering, Mysteries, Resolve

Monstrous Special Abilities: 3

• Extreme Conditions (Endurance skill, p. 257)
• Extreme Habitat (Endurance skill, p. 257) - vacuum
• Tentacles x 2 (Fists skill, p.258)

Weaknesses:

• Elements Exposure - Fire (Minor Weakness) -  Hydrogen gas buoyancy 
• Elements Exposure - Air (Minor Weakness) - Can be pushed by strong winds

Notes: The Weaknesses are my guesses about how these creatures are put together and survive with such a large body. These guesses are informed by some of the Cues for the creature in "Into the Cosmos".

Cosmic Patrol Conversion - Patrol Cutter

Patrol Cutter art by Leanne Buckley
http://leannebuckley.com/

The three person Patrol Cutter is the workhorse vessel of the Cosmic Patrol. The Patrol Cutter is a versatile design that can be used for exploration and reconnaissance, anti-piracy operations, and stealth missions. The most common rocketship used by the Cosmic Patrol, Patrol Cutters are are classified as a tramp vessel design: unlike the larger purpose-built vessels used by the Patrol, the Patrol Cutters have a very simple and readily customizable design. So you will see many variants out there, including FTL variants equipped with fractum drives.

Cosmic Patrol ship art is by Leanne Buckley for Catalyst Game Labs. Text is by John Everett Till, based on the Cosmic Patrol and Into The Cosmos publications by Catalyst Game Labs. All content before the OGL Mechanics section is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

OGL MECHANICS

Patrol Cutter

Scale: Large (4) - Advanced
Structural Stress: 6
Systems Stress: 5
Fate Points/Refresh: 7

ASPECTS:

• Underestimate this ship at your own risk!
• The tramp workhorse of the Cosmic Patrol
• Three is company...
• Easy to customize

SKILLS: 

• 2 Good (+2): Advanced Sensor Suite, Beam Weapon*
• 3 Fair (+2): Energy Shield, Maneuver, Ship Systems
• 4 Average (+1): Ablative Armor, Hardened Structure, SL Engines, Stardrive (fractum drive)**

STUNTS:

• Afterburner - Maneuver skill (p.323)
• Atmospheric Entry - Maneuver skill (p.323)
• Knowledge Base - Ship Systems skill (p.321)

*Not all Patrol Cutters will have weapon systems. If your vessel doesn't have weapon systems, you may want to substitute in the Electronic Warfare System skill or the Cloaking System skill.
**Not all Patrol Cutters will have a fractum drive. If your vessel doesn't have a fractum drive, you can substitute another skill in place of the Stardrive skill.

Introducing Cosmic Patrol

Are you ready to join the Cosmic Patrol? We need frontline leaders from Earth, brainy scientist-scholars from Venus, and the axe-wielding Amazons of Mars to JOIN US, and defend our Grand Union of the Inner Planets. We face many threats - from the perils of the Outer Planets and beyond! There's lots out there to watch out for, from the Automen, to the mysterious psychically powered Moon Men, to Killbots, the three-eyed diminutive clone warriors of the Eiger Empire, the reptilian Uth, and much, much more!

Cosmic Patrol is a neat indie-flavored pulp SF RPG, published in a beautiful digest-sized hardcover. The game uses a rotating GM model so that players take turns leading an adventure as Lead Narrator, or playing Patrolmen. Cosmic Patrol uses a multiple dice type mechanic for differentiating skill levels, and PCs have Aspect-like Cues that help to affect the narrative.The game uses exceptionally clear and very pulp SF inspired line art! The entire package is beautiful, as is the game's new supplement Into the Cosmos, which shares ship designs, more aliens, and adventures.

Cosmic Patrol is published under a Creative Commons license, and the creators have been kind enough to grant me permission to do some FATE conversions of their creations. Coming up soon, you will see FATE stats for a Cosmic Patrol Cutter - the workhorse tramp rocketship, finned (of course!), of the Cosmic Patrol.

On Monday, as part of Tim Brannan's Monstrous Monday blog hop (you can see the first installments here and here - and The Everwayan's and FATE SF's contributions are in the second "here"), I will be posting FATE conversions for an alien from the Cosmic Patrol setting.

FATE SF will "pay it back" by posting some free original Cosmic Patrol content under their Creative Commons license.