Quinn Faulkner, Data Wrangler aboard Space Mom's Loving Endeavour of Bountiful Harmony (Vultures)

Back to character list

Preamble

I'm usually not into rules-lite games, but Vultures' weirdo, post-galactic apocalypse interstellar utopia/dystopia has just enough rules and a compelling enough premise to actually hook me. 

The problem is, with so many rules-lite games, I immediately think how they could be made better if they were stapled onto other rules. 

Vultures cries to be added to Traveller, Palladium's Three Galaxies intergalactic milieu, Stargrave, Five Parsecs from Home, Stars Without Number, and Spacemaster, all thrown in the blender. No. Wrong analogy. I like parfait better than smoothies.  Layers.

It's a game that's fully engaged with "the conversation". Success requires justifying how your made up skills are actually relevant. The point is to confront social problems as characters are directed to do potentially unethical things by an inhuman and supreme overlord. 

Hmm. What was the author's thought process, naming that overlord Space Mom? And why does the rule book end, signed Dad? 

Ah, I'm thinking too much. Space Mom and Dad probably have pills, music, and a book for me to smooth out the meat.


Character:

Name: Quinn Faulkner

Background: mech pilot

Crew Position: Data Wrangler

Damage: 1

Skills:

  • Pilot Giant Killer Robots +2
  • Jury Rig Robotic Machinery +2
  • Communicate with Our Friends and Co-workers the AIs/Machines +2
  • Discombobulate Random Noise and Comprehend Meaningful Data +2

Relationships:

  • Next of kin
  • none made yet

Equipment:

  • Body Camera - to record all you see and send back to your ship, duplicated and sent to Space Mom for review
  • GPS Locator - to record all position data and send back to your ship, monitored closely by Space Mom for review
  • Happy Pills - to keep the mood up
  • Grieving Pills - to keep the bad feels away
  • No-Sleep Pills - to avoid the useless task of human sleep
  • Food-in-a-Can - for when you need to eat
  • Youth Smoothie - for when you need to rejuvenate your aging meat sack
  • Space Mom Ambient Album - for your listening pleasure
  • Freudian Philosophy Texts - for learning about meat brains and their heretical desires
  • Your Place in the Class Hierarchy - understanding Space Mom master strategy
  • No Love for Rebels - understand Space Mom stance on the Before
  • Artificial Friend - for when you feel the pain of human loneliness
  • Electro-Baton - standard issue, shocks and harms individuals who stand against Space Mom

Ship: Loving Endeavour of Bountiful Harmony

  • Life Support – d8
    • Oxygen supply, food growth, and things like plumbing.
  • Warp Drive Containment – d6
    • Contains the warp core to hinder its escape.
  • Ship Board A.I. – d4
    • The captain, pilot, and commander of the ship and crew, must be respected at all times.
  • Data Prison – d12
    • Where all information, coding, and artificial data is locked away to keep it from rebelling again.
  • Fuel – d10
    • Where the oil, milk, and star-blood is stored to propel the ship beyond lightspeed.
  • Engines – d20
    • The twin war machines repurposed to power the ship, hand selected to not hate each other as often.

 


x

Popular posts from this blog

Avran the Barbarian (OSE-A)

2025 Character Creation Challenge Back to the character list. Name: Avran Class: Barbarian Level: 1 Title: None. He eschews any such affectation, as he knows he is ignorant of the world and has yet to prove his mettle through any great feats. Alignment: Chaotic Languages: Chaotic AL, Common Story So Far: Before leaving his community, Avran worked on the small farm of a relative in his clan's territories while others were away raiding, feuding, or working as sell swords to foreign potentates. None of it, not the fighting, the farming, or any other option available to the youth, held any interest or value. Thus, after wondering for years as each boat left for foreign shores, he decided to seek something, anything, that could stir his heart, his courage, his blood, in any way.  Ability Scores: Strength: 14 Intelligence: 8 Wisdom: 9 Dexterity: 11 Constitution: 10 Charisma: 6 (max retainers = 3, loyalty = 6) Saving Throws: Death/Poison: 10 Magic Wands: 13 Paralysis/Petrifica...
Read more

Merrit Alban Beech, Half-Living (Dead Reign, Palladium Books)

Back to the character list Startlingly tall, skinny, pale, cool skin, Merritt appears as though he just died and no one bothered to tell him he shouldn't be walking around. Some wiseacres have said he looks a lot better now than he did in the office. Merritt's memories of before near-death are still there, but he doesn't remember being what you'd call happy. There are no moments he can point to and say, there, that was when he felt joy. But he's not sure if he's unhappy now or preferred whatever living hell he was consigned to previously. He does know that he feels a visceral terror thinking about the other side of near-death or that anyone would become like him or complete the passage, so that's what he dedicates himself to preventing. Never offer Merritt a cup of Java.  Characteristics: Sex: Male-ish, he's not alive and not dead, sex is kind of a moot point, a philosophical issue perhaps, but largely irrelevant to Merritt at this point. Age: 34 Height:...
Read more

Bran, Ranger of Darokin (3.5e D&D, Mystara)

Back to character list   Class: Ranger 1, Level: 1 Race: Human, Sex: Male Alignment: Chaotic Good Religion: Eastern Brun cult of druidism Characteristics Strength: 17 (+3) Dexterity: 17 (+3) Constitution: 15 (+2) Intelligence:  13 (+1) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 12 (+1) Combat: Initiative: +3 Base Attack Bonus: +1 Armour Class: 10 w/ Hide Armour(+3) = 13 Hit Points: 10 Saving Throws: Fortitude: 2 + 2 = +4 Reflex: 2 + 3 = +5 Will: 0 + 2  = +2 Coin: gp - 1 sp - 9 Skills: climb 3 + 3 = 6 handle animal 3 + -1 = 2 heal 3 + 4 = 7 hide 2 + 3 = 5 jump 2 + 3 = 5 knowledge geography 3 + 1 = 4 knowledge nature 3 + 1 = 4 listen 2 + 4 = 6 move silently 3 + 3 = 6 spot 2 + 4 = 6 survival 4 + 4 = 8 swim 2 + 3 = 5 Equipment: longbow (1d8, crit x3, range inc 100', 3lb, piercing) arrows (20) (x3) sword, bastard 1d10 hide armour (AC+3) bedroll 5lb flint & steel 1 week trail rations backback Feats & Special Abilities: Light Armour Prof. Point Blank Shot Martial Weapon Prof Shie...
Read more