Shatterzone: Xenos Alpha (MACE 2017)

Some crafts I used in my Shatterzone RPG at MACE 2017 – billowing fires (explosions), and body markers. Inspired by many crafts from here.

This game went well but took too long.  I decided to do a random encounter en-route from Point A to point B and while fun, it took too long.  I did get to tell them the overall story and while going through it, thought of ways to shorten it even further. They did like the story.  They did get it, which was fun.  My struggles with system seemed to diminish when I got into a rhythm.  I had a young kid in the group, which I did not expect.  I coached her because it was her first RPG ever!  Not exactly the best game to play for their first game, but she did well. I think she had fun.

The game system takes some getting used to.  I still did movement wrong.  I forgot to convert it to a value.   I have changed the character sheet to reflect that.  Otherwise the combat went fairly smoothly.

I enjoyed the reaction to the central premise of the game.  The players enjoyed it too. These are sci-fi fans and appreciated the sci-fi aspect of the game.  They also invested into their characters a little more than the playtesters did.  One guy really got the Ishantran creature.  As did the Fleet Marine.  They got so invested that perhaps that is what slowed us down.

I did story tell the rest of the adventure, and they enjoyed it.  I think I am going to go back and re-write it, eliminating the last encounter on the station, perhaps using that as the second adventure.  Going from the opening encounter, to the pits of Taril, to Point Bren is probably enough for one adventure.