RPG of the Week: Mothership RPG

Space is the new frontier. A place where you’re isolated and where help is hard to find. Add in some alien monster or threat and it’s terrifying!

In mothership RPG, space really is a place where something will go wrong. Inspired by Alien, Aliens, Event Horizon and Dead Space it really captures the feeling of isolation where things are built by the lowest-bidder.

First let’s start with the mechanics. It uses a percentile dice system, where you want to roll under a given stat or skill – which is quite similar to games like Call of Cthulhu or Delta Green. However dice can also be added together to give different scores, (like between 20-200) which makes this game more versatile.

Character creation is streamlined, with all character details including stats and skills all available on one character sheet. This makes it easier to create a character on the fly – and it will only take 15mins for beginners meaning its more accessible. Unlike other percentile rpgs, this game does use classes instead of occupations. This game sits somewhere between a class game (e.g DnD) and skills based game (e.g Call of Cthulhu) and it works well.

The game is also investigation based and usually involves player characters (PCs) entering a location to achieve a simple goal – like to solve a mystery, rescue a group of people in danger, or sometimes just to survive. The GM aka the Warden tells the story while crew members (the PCs) make their way through a scenario. Combat is deadly here, and fast. One wrong move and the crew member will die, forcing a player to roll a new one on the spot.

Another thing interesting about this system, is the unique art style used. The core rulebook for example is mostly monochrome and sometimes uses darker colours. Character sheets are also basic and trimmed of colour, which really leans into the space horror vibe. Also there is no established canon, so Wardens can design their games and worlds as they see fit. Whether it’s based on Aliens, the Expanse or even Star Wars, the flexibility is there!

Other than that this system is great, with simple character generation, mechanics and rules that support roleplaying of space horror. Even better, you can run it rules light at a convention without creating too many notes so you can focus on the gameplay. So have a look at this for yourself!

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