I pre-ordered the Space: 1999 role-playing game coming from Modiphius not because I am a big fan of the show (the only complete episode I've seen as an adult I reviewed here) but I do like retro-sci-fi in general, and I am always at least curious about another instantiation of the 2d20 system, which I like a lot in Star Trek Adventures. With my pre-order I got the quickstart and with it a window into what the game is going to be like.
First off, they get the aesthetic right. There is a lot of beige and orange in this pdf. Unlike the Trek books, they use stills from the show in this one, though there is some original art.
Characters are defined by Skills and Attitudes. The Skills (Command, Flight, Medicine, Security, Technical) seem analogous to STA's Disciplines (Command, Conn, Medicine, Security, Science, Engineering), but they also serve an attribute function with the rules telling us Command has to do with "charm" and Flight with "athletics," for example. Attitudes (Bravery, Compassion, Dedication, Improvisation, Mystery, Perseverance) are essentially approaches as used in Fate and other games (the 2d20 Dishonored game calls them "Styles"), though they don't work as well conceptually for me because they seem to be a mix of character traits and traits and motivations, but they probably will work okay. One problem I forsee is that with approaches/styles doing things one way means you probably aren't doing it another way, e.g. if you are Quick you aren't Careful or Sneaky. It's less clear to me that the Attitudes have that sort of exclusivity.
Beyond Momentum and Threat, which are in most 2d20 games, Space: 1999 characters have Spirit which serves the functions of both Determination and Stress in STA.
There are some sample characters in the quickstart and a short adventure, but no real gear, aliens or monsters. Still, from what's shown it looks like a good 2d20 riff on the lower crunch side. I'm looking forward to seeing the full game.
Apparently I accidentally deleted Dick McGee's comment. He said:
ReplyDeleteSome of that sounds kind of awkward to me (why is Flight athletics, for ex?) but I've never been a huge fan of 2d20 anyway. Star Trek probably is the best fit for the system (at least from what I've seen) but even there I think I'd dig up a copy of the old Last Unicorn version instead if the whim took me to go a-trekking again. :)
OTOH, I am a big fan of Space 1999, but that's almost all for Anderson's model work, not anything I'd be roleplaying with. Kitbashing countless old Eagle model kits into my own spacefleets and starbases and building a moonbase with spares and sprues as a kid sure did kickstart my love of modelling and miniatures. I can still remember my grandfather yelling at me for not building the kits "right" and using them for parts instead. The man had zero imagination even before he went senile.
Well, thanks for dredging that up. Not a big deal, I figured I'd managed to click off without hitting Publish again. Wouldn't be the first time when something suddenly came up IRL.
ReplyDeleteI just don't want anybody to think I deleted their comment for some reason! I appreciate everyone I get.
ReplyDeleteWhile not having a lot of familiarity with the series, I love retro sci-fi and am curious about this game.
ReplyDelete