A mystic, a robot and a canine-alien aboard the White Dwarf. Bounty Hunters on a mission! What could go wrong...
Continuing international RPGs, with solo playthroughs following on from Fléaux with the Scum and Villainy! Also using GM Apprentice Cards for my oracle and emulator.
Scum & villainy solo - intro | start | partway | finish | all rolling solo
Rolling solo - all | dragonbane | fléaux | ironsworn | scum & villainy
Oracles in use - gm apprentice | mythic 2e | pum | tri-cube
Disclosure - I'm a DriveThru RPG affiliate
RPG Introduction - Scum and Villainy
scum & villainy intro | solo tools | chars | chargen
Scum and Villainy is a science-fiction RPG using inspiration from Star Wars, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy and Cowboy Bebop (among others). It builds on the ruleset popularised by Blades in the Dark.
I'll also be taking inspiration from the British comedy classic Red Dwarf.
You have a crew of characters, each with a playbook such as Mechanic, Pilot and Speaker
Basic skill checks use a dice pool, rolling a number of d6 equal to the skill rating. So a Scrap of 2 will give you two dice. You can get extra dice by pushing yourself, help from another character, a devil's bargain (something bad or interesting will happen in exchange) or using a gambit (group resource that refreshes each mission).
The highest die determines what happens. If the highest is 1-3 the action misses and there's a consequence. 4-5 is a partial success, being a consequence but also succeeding in the action. a 6 is a success and double 6 is a critical success.
The consequence can be many things, from taking Harm to being spotted by the wrong person, reduced impact, being in a worse position, losing some equipment. They drive the game, as many actions will succeed but at a cost. Misses always have an effect. There's no roll to hit and just missing in this game.
Players can choose to reduce or remove consequences with a resistance roll, at the cost of Stress. Stress is a player resource, which can be used to push rolls and power special abilities. Bad things happen if a character takes too much Stress, but it can be restored by characters indulging their Vice during downtime. Such as gambling or taking refuge in faith.
There's a lot more to Scum and Villainy (and other similar games), from fortune rolls to position and effect, to clocks and gear loadout and the ship
The second part of the game is the game loop. You perform a mission, deal with any consequences, see if there's any bad events with Entanglements, perform down time activities such as indulging a vice, resting or research. Then onto free play to see what else happens, determine your next mission and start the process over again!
Solo Tools
scum & villainy intro | solo tools | chars | chargen
I'm going to try using Game Master's Apprentice (GMA) as my only tool for this Rolling Solo. Specifically GameMaster's Apprentice: Sci Fi as this is a science-fiction setting. My deck of 60 cards have been printed in black and white, cut out and sleeved in plastic card protectors.
I've used GMA in other solo games, but never as my only tool. Each card has the things needed to be a dice roller, oracle and source of inspiration.
It has dice rolls, yes/no oracles with options for Extreme Yes and Extreme No. Then sights, sounds, smells, equipment, NPC traits, names, locations, images, action and themes.
A couple examples in the image below.
Introducing Characters and Crew
scum & villainy intro | solo tools | chars | chargen
Gwydion Lister
Spacer Mystic, vice of Gambling. From an asteroid mining family (crystals). Brash.
Attune 2, Consort 1, Rig 1, Scramble 1, Scrap 3
Abilities - The Way, Psy-blade
Friends (Close) Hicks, a mystic good supplier (crystals); (Rival) Blish, a fellow mystic; Laxx, xeno; Rye, unrequited love; Horux, former teacher.
Sapphire
Manufactured (urbot) Speaker. vice of Luxury. Brought up by a reclusive noble as their heir. Prefers a low profile.
Command 1, Consort 2, Hack 1, Helm 1, Skulk 2, Doctor 1
Abilities - Air of Respectablity, Favors Owed
Friends (Close) Arryn, a noble; (Enemy) Je-Zee, a diplomat; Manda, guild member; Kerry, doctor; One unknown as yet.
Basset
Xeno (Caninite) Scoundrel. vice of Faith (always trying a new one). Aliens species with a suspicious similarity to dogs. Troublemaker
Scramble 1, Scrap 1, Skulk 3, Study 1, Sway 2
Abilities - Serendipitous*, Tenacious
Friends (Close) Rhin, a smuggler with solid contacts; (Pain in the ass) Battro, a bounty hunter looking for Basset; Nyx, moneylender; Ora, info broker; Jal, ship mechanic.
(Basset was going to have dog-themed xeno powers, but after looking at the sparse guidelines I stuck with just the scoundrel abilities)
The White Dwarf
(Name inspired by Red Dwarf, the British games magazine and the star!)
Cerberus-class ship. Daring reputation. 1 Cred. Gambits - 2*
Crew 0, Comms 2, Engines 2, Hull 1, Weapons 1
Upgrades; Long-range scanners, jump drive, grappler arm, particle cannons, nexus link, brig, stun weapons.
Abilities: Deadly
Factions. Acolytes of Brashkadesh (-1), Cobalt Syndicate +2, Janus Syndicate +1, owe a favour), The Maelstrom (-2), Nightspeakers (+1)
Favourite contact - Lix, a Caninite xeno who smells out people with bounties
Other contacts - Stacey Weathers, reporter; Arlox, syndicate leader and former assassin; Ishi, weapons dealer; Jezri, fixer.
Character Generation for Scum and Villainy
scum & villainy intro | solo tools | chars | chargen
In Scum and Villainy you go through several steps, choosing playbook, heritage, abilities and skills you're good at. There's no randomness and usually you want to do it together with other players.
At the end of it your character will have a friend and a rival, a vice and a place in the world. They're fairly easy to give motivations and reasons to be in the game.
The ship is billed as the star, one of three choices of playstyles (smugglers / bounty hunters / rebels). It goes through a similar process as character creation, gaining upgrades and modules, determining factions your ship and crew are at odds with or friendly to.
Finishing Up
I'm sure the crew of the White Dwarf will lead long and productive lives!
Have you played Scum and Villainy?
