OOC focussed on game mechanics and house rules

Posting guidelines (not hard and fast rules)

Please start your post with a header that indicates the location where the action is occurring.

Double check grammar and spelling; I'm not picky about these things, but they can detract from the story and, in some cases, cause confusion.

Use quotation marks for speech and feel free to use a different text color for speech if that's your thing. Please reserve orange text for OOC comments.

More Text less Dice. Don't try to end every post with a move. In fact, don't try to end any post with a move. I know, moves and dice make the game a game! I'll decide if a roll is required or if you just get your way. It's fine to let a post stand on its own without a roll. If you think your character can reasonably do something, just tell me they did it. I'll believe you, or if I want to complicate matters for the character, I'll toss in a move or another curve ball.

Add details, don't ask for details. You can decide for yourself based on what's sensible for the environment. Can you reprogram the deflector dish? Give it a try. Did you bring a tricorder? You tell me. Does the Cardassian Gul remember you? Sure they do. Stay within the genre, remember that you're not a Q and we should be fine.

The exception of course is direct conflict or combat and any rare instances where it's player vs player.

Finally, the game is placed in mature section as some game material may be considered offensive.  Mature themes, strong language, drug use, violence are permissible.  Romantic encounters are welcome but sexual themes will fade to black.  In addition to being tasteless, graphic violence is not permitted. Racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, queerphobia and other forms of prejudice won't be tolerated.

Common game mechanics and terms:

Success & Failure
10+ strong success, the action plays out as the character intended
7+ weak success, the action succeeds but there are complications
6 and under, fail

Boosted
There are no specific modifiers for any moves, although when a PC is boosted they are unable to fail.

Glitched
There are no specific modifiers for any moves, although when a PC is glitched they are unable to generate a strong success.

Hold
Hold is currency that allows you to make some choices later on by spending the hold as the move describes. Hold is always saved up for the move that generated it and in a situation that would normally demand use of that same move.

Using hold PCs may boost a roll (in the same way as Edge boost) or improve a roll (in the same way as Edge bump).  A PC may also expend Hold to reveal an important detail about a situation either by asking a question that or adding a detail that is advantageous to the character.

Hold +1
Where PCs have taken control of a situation or have some kind of advantage they can use at any time they Hold +1.  This means they may add +1 to a future roll if they choose to do so.  Hold +1 is usually one-time add to a roll (to bump from fail to weak success or weak success to strong success).  This bump is applied after the results of the roll.

Take +1/-1 forward
In favorable conditions PCs may take +1 forward (adding +1 to the next roll)
In unfavorable conditions PCs may take -1 forward (subtract -1 from the next roll)

Edge boost
A point of Edge may be used before a roll to make the PC boosted.

Edge bump
Using a point of Edge after a roll to bump the roll +1 turning a fail into a weak success or a weak success into a strong success. An Edge bump can also be used to increase damage dealt by +1.

Snake eyes & Box cars
On a natural roll of 2, something bad happens...
On a natural roll of 12, something good happens...
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:05, Sat 05 Mar 2022.

Basic Moves

Open Fire! (War)
When you use force to attempt to damage, capture, or disable another creature or ship, roll +War. On a 10+, choose two options. On a 7­-9, choose one.
● You suffer little harm
● You inflict terrible harm
● You rattle, stun or disable a system of your target
● You take definite hold of what you want

Open a Channel (Peace)
When you make contact in an attempt to discuss, negotiate, or come to terms, roll +Peace. On 10+, hold 3. On a 7­-9, hold 2. While you’re interacting with them, spend the holds to ask questions.
● Is your character hiding something?
● What are your character’s cultural differences with mine?
● What does your character intend to do?
● What does your character wish I would do?
● How can I get your character to ______?
● How can I avoid offending/upsetting/annoying your character?

Go Boldly (Duty)
When you need to react or perform in a difficult situation, relying on your training and reaction time, roll +Duty. On a 10+, you do it. On a 7-­9, you flinch, hesitate, or stall: you will be offered a worse outcome, hard bargain, an ugly choice.

Issue Orders (Rank)
When you issue orders to a character who falls under your chain of command to perform a task on your behalf, roll +Rank. If it is an NPC, on a 10+ they follow your orders to the best of their ability. You may reproduce another move this way, but the best they can do is the 7-­9 result. On a 7­-9, in addition to the effect happening, the GM chooses one:
● They require something in exchange, like concrete reassurance of safety or promise of recognition.
● You reflect poorly on the crew: take Disadvantage Forward on your next Issue Orders.
● They panic, choke, or otherwise don’t do the job entirely as expected.

If you issue orders to another PC in a difficult situation who falls under your chain of command, on a 10+, the crewmember takes Advantage Forward on their roll if they choose to follow the order. On a 7­-9, the crewmember can follow the order with no bonus, or disobey the order and mark experience. In either case, on a 6­, the order was the wrong call, and you both suffer the repercussions.

Spout Technobabble (Explore)
When you use your expertise to speak out about a scientific principle at work or recall information from a database, roll +Explore. On a 10+, the GM will tell you about it. (You can name the phenomena, if applicable.) On a 7­-9, the GM will only tell you something interesting about it, it’s on you to make it useful.

Perform a Scan (Explore)
When you perform a scan, choose wide band or narrow band and roll +Explore. On a 10+, hold 2. On a 7­9, hold 1. As long as you can interpret the data, spend hold to ask any of the following questions.

● What are the properties of this area?
● What are the immediate dangers?
● What here is useful to me?
● What kind of lifesigns are present?
● What just happened here?
● What should I be on the lookout for?

Supplementary Moves

Brace for Impact
When your ship takes Harm that is not absorbed by Shields, the bridge officer in charge rolls +Rank. On a 10+, the bridge sprays harmless sparks and the bridge crew rocks back and forth. On a 7­-9, choose 1 from the list below. On a 6­, choose 2.
● Shields or another key system go offline and will require extensive repairs.
● Multiple crew casualties inflicted (Disadvantage ongoing to Issue Orders until resolved)
● Bridge takes damage, inflicting equal Harm on a member of the bridge crew.
● Hull breaches on multiple decks­ increase Harm to the ship inflicted by 1.

Initiate Self­-Destruct Sequence
A command officer may roll +Rank to initiate the self­-destruct sequence. On a 10+, there is enough time left for most crew to get to escape pods. On a 7-­9, the self­-destruct sequence will require multiple officers to pull off correctly, or will need to happen quickly. On a 6­, the self­-destruct sequence is offline.

Countdown Clocks

Conscious of the fact that several missions or storylines might overlap and all may seem urgent from a PC perspective, I'm stealing the concept of Countdown clocks from another PbtA game.

Countdown clocks are a timing mechanism; a countdown to a figurative “midnight” when a crisis or a key storyline culminates.  You can infer that any storylines not being tracked by a mission countdown clock are not a ship-wide problem or crisis.

As things happen in the story, they will cause the countdown clock will “advance”. Each time on the clock represents an emerging phase of the story (or an act of the episode).

1500 - initial indications that there may be a problem ... traveling to the crisis might be underway but no urgent action is required

1800 - identification and definition of the problem ... things still don't seem all that urgent

2100 - problem develops into crisis ... growing sense of urgency

2200 - crisis developing ... urgent activities like damage control, combat, life saving medical care are required

2300 - crisis peaks ... decisions and actions made here are crucial to determining outcome

0000 - crisis culminates leading to a positive, neutral or negative outcome

To advance a countdown clock, I will strike out the leftmost unstruck time in the list.

So when you read a countdown clock, the leftmost unstruck number is the clock’s value; (eg if 1500 and 1800 are crossed off, the clock is at 2100).

Player actions and GM injects change the time on the clock. As the clock advances to certain values, it might trigger certain effects in the story. It is also possible that PC action will reverse a clock to stall or delay a problem from becoming a true emergency.