u/MaximumCashew0

I was listening to an actual play to help learn and prepare to GM a game, and the GM brought up how a gun that uses combustion ammunition wouldn’t work in the vacuum of space. It made me realize that I don’t know a lot about how anything would work in space 😅.

What scenarios, science, or general situations do you or your players typically run into while playing mothership that pull on your knowledge of space or sci-fi technology? I’d love to start brushing up on my knowledge. I’m about to run a Mothership campaign, and I’d hate to say something works one way, only for a player to gently tell me that actually no, it doesn’t.

I don’t need to become an expert overnight. I’d just love some basic starting points and recurring situations to help me cover my bases.

I was listening to an actual play to help learn and prepare to GM a game, and the GM brought up how a gun that uses combustion ammunition wouldn’t work in the vacuum of space. It made me realize that I don’t know a lot about how anything would work in space 😅.

What scenarios, science, or general situations do you or your players typically run into while playing a sci-fi TTRPG that pull on your knowledge of space, science, or physics? I’d love to start brushing up on my knowledge, and I’d hate to say something works one way, only for a player to gently tell me that actually no, it doesn’t.

I was listening to an actual play to help learn and prepare to GM a game, and the GM brought up how a gun that uses combustion ammunition wouldn’t work in the vacuum of space. It made me realize that I don’t know a lot about how anything would work in space 😅.

What scenarios, science, or general situations do you or your players typically run into while playing mothership that pull on your knowledge of space or sci-fi technology? I’d love to start brushing up on my knowledge. I’d hate to say something works one way, only for a player to gently tell me that actually no, it doesn’t.

Hi! I'm a player/DM who is desperate to expand my online playgroup's horizons. We always love the idea of DnD, but rarely has it worked out for more than a few sessions.

I believe this is because we're not experienced enough to use a system like DnD for a narrative, cinematic, or emotive storytelling. DnD CAN absolutely be used like that, but our group just doesn't see the thread yet. They are too focused on the meta. DnD came from wargaming, after all.

We don't want a gridded map system. We don't want a "game" simulation. We want a storytelling format that uses game mechanics to set up guardrails, stakes, and opportunities for inventive interactions.

Our ideal system would, through its mechanics, help us run it like a TV show: strong plots, character arcs, etc. But we also need more than "No real rules, just make it up together!" systems I've seen out there. I'd like a system with mechanics that enhance narrative, not just provide an excuse to storytell. Lite-to-medium crunch?

We want to get lost in our characters. We want to feel like we're stepping into a living world full of dramatic potential. I also have to note that I think classes with unique or distinct abilities would be a good carrot-on-stick for this group to become more expressive.

In my research, Mothership stands out as great for a one-shot or miniseries to shake them out of what they're used to. Dramatic, pulpy, mechanically interesting. What else, perhaps for a more long-form story?

Numenera?

Stonetop?

Corilois?

Genesys?

Wildsea?

Something else?

Right now, I'm trying to zero-in on a system or engine that will better align with what we're trying to do: a storytelling adventure with dangerous combat, high stakes, and an emphasis on drama.